Well it’s still relevant if it is going to be cleared.
I’d like to see an international agreement that protects (and offers an allowance) to the world’s natural areas like rainforests and jungles, to keep them natural and untouched, free of people apart from indigenous people and free of habitat destruction. This would contribute to international biodiversity and helping climate change and help the world retain those areas. I’m pretty sure there is only 4% jungles left for example in the world and they house a significant proportion of biodiversity in the world.
I’d also like to see another measure for forests and international agreements for retaining them.
Sad that the antarctic fishing marine reserves have been stopped by some greedy countries.
Not sure if this is true (from 2005) but I was surprised what countries had the most forests. At that time the world had approx 30% still in forests although that was 13 years ago. (Not sure if this is a measure of the quality of the forests though, aka are they monocultures like pines?)
Forest-rich and forest-poor countries. The five most forest-rich countries (the Russian Federation, Brazil, Canada, the United States and China) account for more than half of total forest area (2 097 million hectares or 53 percent). The Russian Federation alone accounts for 20 percent of the world total. Seven countries have more than 100 million hectares of forest each. The ten most forest-rich countries account for 66 percent of total forest area (Figure 2.3). The remaining 34 percent is spread among 212 countries and areas. Seven countries and areas (the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, the Holy See, Monaco, Nauru, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands and Tokelau) reported having no areas that qualify as forests using the FRA 2005 definition.
High and low forest cover countries. Forty-five countries and areas have more than half their total land area covered by forests (Figure 2.4), and 11 of these have more than 75 percent of their total land area covered. Most of these are small island states or territories, but the list also includes three low-lying coastal states in South America and one country in the Congo Basin (Table 2.2).
Sixty-four countries and areas have less than 10 percent of their total land area covered by forests. These include many SIDS and dependent territories, as well as 17 larger countries with relatively substantial forest areas (more than 1 million hectares each). Three of these (Chad, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Mongolia) have more than 10 million hectares of forest, but still qualify as LFCCs.
At the regional level, South America is the region with the highest percentage of forest cover, followed by Europe and North and Central America. Asia is the region with the lowest percentage of forest cover (Table 2.3).”
“The Amazon Rainforest has been described as the “Lungs of our Planet” because it provides the essential environmental world service of continuously recycling carbon dioxide into oxygen. More than 20 percent of the world oxygen is produced in the Amazon Rainforest.
More than half of the world’s estimated 10 million species of plants, animals and insects live in the tropical rainforests. One-fifth of the world’s fresh water is in the Amazon Basin.
One hectare (2.47 acres) may contain over 750 types of trees and 1500 species of higher plants.
At least 80% of the developed world’s diet originated in the tropical rainforest. Its bountiful gifts to the world include fruits like avocados, coconuts, figs, oranges, lemons, grapefruit, bananas, guavas, pineapples, mangos and tomatoes; vegetables including corn, potatoes, rice, winter squash and yams; spices like black pepper, cayenne, chocolate, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, sugar cane, tumeric, coffee and vanilla and nuts including Brazil nuts and cashews.”
The left cuddles up to Fascism? How did you get to that conclusion?
Hi Sanctuary,
Maybe you need to address that question to the biggest, (remaining), Left Assad apologist on this site.
But since you asked:
Cuddling up to fascism
New Zealand’s biggest Centre Left blogsite gives TS author Bill, free reign to censor comment that provides factual evidence of the fascist nature of the Assad regime.
In refusing to address the evidence I presented here and earlier, Bill continually and repeatedly made accusations that I am liar. Bill has never tried to refute what I have written. Neither has Bill ever pointed out where I am have supposed to have lied about him or any other author. NOT ONCE! NOT EVER!
In this way we see the convergence between fascists and some on the Left, not just in ideas but in tactics. Having no moral defence for his position on Syria, Bill and others like him have to resort to these sorts of methods.
Maybe Bill hopes that by continually repeating the accusation without evidence that I am a liar often enough, people will believe him. ie the big lie tactic,
Bill uses this blanket accusation of lying (without giving any evidence of it), along with bans, as a way to avoid addressing the Issues I raise.
Bill is not bothered with lies, but with truth.
Bill is a conscious genocide ignorer. To suit his argument Bill actively ignores the evidence of the huge crimes against humanity committed by the Assad regime. Bill has repeatedly refused to address the evidence of this genocide that I have put before him. And rather than defend his position with rational debate, or refute this evidence, Bill chooses to deliberately ignore it. Rather than attempting to refute my position, Bill chooses outright censorship, or comment suppression. (ie shunting my refutation of his claims, to the bottom of open mike where he hopes no one will see them), above discussion.
This behaviour is allowed, or at the least tolerated by the other Standard authors.
Sanctuary, You may not agree with me that this is the Left cuddling up to fascism, but in my opinion it indicates a certain level of comfort with it.
Another symptom of this political malaise was the promotion of Colonial Viper to Author status not that long after CV had openly called for the gunning down of, at that time, peaceful protesters in the most bloodthirstiest of terms.
I remember writing to CV at the time, trying to gently as I could, chide him for his use of extreme calls for bloodshed, saying that I thought it had no place in family friendly website like The Standard.
However my cautions went unheeded.
And the elevation of this openly pro-fascist supporter of mass murder to authorship had its inevitable dismal conclusion.
And this softness towards Syrian fascism continues.
The Standard may not have an actual editorial line on Syria. But as far as I know The Standard has never allowed one single post defending the Syrian revolution.
In the light of this glaring omission…..
“….It came to me as a shock, actually, that most of them have sided with Bashar al-Assad. I don’t expect much out of the international left, but I thought they would understand our situation and see us as a people who were struggling against a very despotic, very corrupt, and very sectarian regime. I thought they would see us and side with us. What I found, unfortunately, is that most people on the left know absolutely nothing about Syria. They know nothing of its history, political economy, or contemporary circumstances, and they don’t see us.
In America, the leftists are against the establishment in their own country. In a way, they thought that the U.S. establishment was siding with the Syrian revolution — something that is completely false and an utter lie — and for this reason they have stood against us. And this applies to leftists almost everywhere in the world. They are obsessed with the White House and the establishment powers of their own countries. The majority are also still obsessed with the old Cold War-era struggles against imperialism and capitalism.
Recently, an event in Rome that displayed images of those tortured and killed by Assad was attacked by fascists. Just days before, it had also been attacked in a local communist newspaper for promoting “imperialism.” There is a growing convergence between the views of fascists and the far-left about Syria and other issues….”
Yassin Al-Haj Saleh* – .The Intercept, October 27,2016
The film Nae Pasaran is a timely antidote to this moral malaise and spiritual sickness afflicting the modern Left that allows us to ignore genocide, and support dictatorship. The film Nae Pasaran is a window looking into a past and showing us the Left’s once disgust at dictatorship. This is the sort of courageous, uncompromising and uplifting message that we sorely need today.
There was a phrase that jumped out at me from the promo of this film;
Recounting the solidarity shown to the Chilean people by the Left in Scotland in the ’70s, Is the phrase attributed to a Chilean activist. “We often thought the world had forgotten us”
So often I have heard almost the exact same quote from those suffering under the Assad fascist style genocide.
Unfortunately for Syria, it is true.
*Yassin Al-Haj Saleh Wikipedia:
Yassin al-Haj Saleh
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Yassin al-Haj Saleh
Born 1961 (age 56–57)
Raqqa,Syria
Residence Berlin,Germany
Alma mater University of Aleppo
Occupation writer, political dissident
Spouse(s) Samira Khalil
Website http://www.yassinhs.com
Yassin al-Haj Saleh(born inRaqqain 1961)[1]is aSyrianwriter and political dissident. He writes on political, social and cultural subjects relating to Syria and the Arab world.[1]
From 1980 until 1996 he spent time in prison in Syria for his membership in the left-wing opposition groupSyrian Communist Party (Political Bureau),[2]which he calls a “communist pro-democracy group”.[3][4]However, he has also stated that his time in prison allowed him to break out of the “internal prisons [of] narrow political affiliation [and] rigid ideology”, and has called theSyrian revolutionan “open-ended and multi-leveled struggle”, while remaining supportive of aspects ofMarxism.[2]He was arrested while he was studying medicine inAleppoand spent sixteen years in prison, the last inTadmur Prison. He took his final examination as a general medical practitioner in 2000, but never practiced.[1]
He has been granted aPrince Claus Awardfor 2012 as “actually a tribute to the Syrian people and theSyrian revolution. He was not able to collect the award as he is living hiding in the underground in Syria.[5]He was awarded Swedish Tucholsky Prize in 2017.[6]He was one of the talkers in a two-day anti-capitalist forum, which was held in Ankara, Turkey, on Nov 23rd-24th, 2013. Additionally, he was speaking at the event ‘Reporting Change – Stories from the Arab region’ in Amsterdam on 15 June 2014, an event jointly organized byHuman Rights WatchandWorld Press Photo.[7]
Al-Haj Saleh is married toSamira Khalil, a communist dissident, former political detainee and a revolutionary activist abducted in Douma in December 2013.[8]After 21 months of hiding inDamascusand wholeSyria, for being wanted by both the government and radical Islamist militants, he fled toTurkeyand lived inIstanbuluntil 2017. Al-Haj Saleh is now a fellow atBerlin Institute for Advanced Study(Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin).[9]
Works[edit]
One of the most influential Arab writers and dissidents as well as a prominent intellectual voice of theSyrian revolution, Yassin Al-Haj Saleh writes on political, social and cultural subjects relating to Syria and the Arab world for several Arab newspapers and journals outside of Syria, and regularly contributes to the London-basedAl-Hayat newspaper, the Egyptian leftist magazine Al-Bosla, and the Syrian online periodical The Republic.
Among his books (the majority in Arabic):
Syria in the Shadow: Glimpses Inside the Black Box(2009, Dar Jidar);
Walking on One Foot(2011, Dar al-Adab, Beirut), a collection of 52 essays about Syrian affairs, written between 2006 and 2010;
Salvation O Boys: 16 Years in Syrian Prisons(2012, Dar al-Saqi, Beirut);
The Myths of the Latters: A Critique of Contemporary Islam and a Critique of its Critique(2012, Dar al-Saqi, Beirut);
Deliverance or Destruction? Syria at a Crossroads(2014, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies);
The Impossible Revolution: Making Sense of the Syrian Tragedy(2017, Hurst Publishers, London). [In English]
Jenny, I value what you have to add here and I’m sorry to see you go after stoushes like this one looks likely to turn into.
In the meantime, I’d like to suggest an alternative way of interpreting Bill’s contributions. It seems to me that Bill has a streak of compulsive contrarianism, particularly with respect to msm reporting. This contrarianism leads him to take positions that appear to support some really ugly regimes, but are much more the result of contrarianism rather than holding sympathies towards those regimes. And when defending those contrarian positions in the heat of the moment, things can be said which can easily be misinterpreted to reinforce an impression of regime sympathies.
Kia ora, Jenny. I think you are going way to far in concluding that because some TS authors are less critical of the Assad regime than others, that means that we are cuddling up to fascism. Eddie, Michael Valley, MS and myself posts all wrote posts early in the Syrian civil war that were far from complimentary about the Syrian Government.
Later on, TS clearly was swamped with trolly pro-Putin, pro Assad posts, but that was mainly from an author who you correctly identify as being from the far right and who is here no more.
Additionally, the complexity of this war and the ongoing fight against religious fascism in the regime makes it incredibly hard to work out where support should go at any given time. Kinda like the Falklands/Malvinas blue, where two nasty regimes came to blows, I see Syria as two (or more) strains of fascism fighting amongst themselves. And, as always in war, the real losers are the civilians.
There are a couple of authors at TS who remain deeply cynical about the ‘truth’ in the Syrian conflict, but so what? You, and anybody else, are free to post alternatives. Just don’t personalise your responses and you should be fine.
Kim Hill is casually toying with Seymour on Morning Report. “A listener has suggested that the seat of Epsom might qualify as a taxpayer funded junket.” Great to listen to.
Btw @ ScottGN, how do you think we should measure the success of the jaunt to Japan by the two that Mr Rimmer is trying to ‘hold to account’.
Should it be statisically on the basis of a weight to benefit ratio?
or
Should it be statistically on the basis of a ‘heft’ to benefit ratio? (going forward)
A graphic that is both terrible and awesome. So many died – so many of us.
“More than 18,000 New Zealanders lost their lives in World War One. You can find out more about them in this interactive graphic, which shows every person who died.”
So true. We are still suffering as a society for this.
“A lot of people lost their lives. Those that didn’t gave up a significant period of their lives, and those who weren’t killed came home often with severe injuries, physically and certainly mentally, and many struggled to fit back into society.
“When I have been to Gallipoli and Passchendaele … you look down and pick out a grave and you think, ‘What would have happened? How would history have changed if that person wasn’t killed?’
I am so over this glorification of WW1 which is a distraction from the real feelings of outrage and grief we might feel about the courageous and/or dogged sacrifices of the dead of other wars since. We are up to our eyes in a wash of sentiment being organised around a significant date, out of all the significant war dates that should be memorialised, and have been excluded from mention. I remember General Eisenhower of the USA* and his reference to the USA industrial-military complex is in this link. More info about him and his Presidential term below.
Now we will remember them, tomorrow we will move on and not think about it. Going through the motions about war, and its continuance and in preparation for more affrays all the time. I have taken the opportunity to buy some books on WW1 and some illustrated ones and these have displayed the reality. When I go to Anzac Day ceremonies they are repetitive memorials about the disastrous event where people were forced to try to kill others and often received the same result. While remembering the past event and the fallen, it shows a resigned, almost inevitable attitude and anti-war and anti-belligerence approach is very slightly mentioned.
Instead of having a compulsory study of our human history, including wars and national economic forces we have these parades that don’t convey the spectrum of losses caused by war. They finish, leaving an open wound in political and national co-operation and trust between humans and examples of how relatively easy it is for nations to throw out respect and human rights for individuals and groups. Post-war, we lack ‘debriefing’ with the nation and particularly its young, and this just puts a scab over that wound; there is no lasting restoration to a state of higher morality and human respect, and declining and demeaning behaviours lurk in the human herd and heads, always ready to appear from our dark corners.
This 1982 video is from the USA archives and shows how there is a constant campaign to create unrest so that countries are destabilised from foreign interference.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeFgd6gGTWk
No glorification just remberance. Not many families here unaffected. In today’s world few want to front up to the hard questions and hard conclusions around war. Too many put their head in the sand and then wonder why it all happens again.
Pardon me! It is indeed glorification when John Key and the RSA spend $120 million? on the project to provide a new WW1 memorial because a certain date is reached.
After the actual WW1 people who cared paid for memorials themselves all around the country. There are plenty of memorials already; people since 1915 have not forgotten. The memorials were funded by local communities without government assistance. Those who had raised patriotic funds during the war, especially women, often did the hard work. https://teara.govt.nz/en/memorials-and-monuments/page-4
The construction of the park and Arras tunnel needed for the project started in October 2012 at the cost of $120-million.
Curator of the National War Memorial Paul Riley said it was a much-needed addition.
“A few years ago we had a mobile petrol station, a vehicle testing station, tire shop and hire pool right opposite where we are standing now,” Mr Riley said.
“We have a complete contrast now. This is far more appropriate opposite a national shrine.”
The park has a new Australian memorial, featuring fifteen columns of rugged red sandstone blocks.
It is a reciprocal gesture to the “basket handles” of the New Zealand Memorial in Canberra.
A sculpture of a Hinerangi figure, symbolising the daughter of the heavens, by Maori sculptor Darcy Nicholas was also unveiled.
The park will be officially opened on 18 April, a week before Anzac Day.
We have been remembering WW1 for ever on Anzac Day and in other ways and with more people going to view the early morning gathering of veterans marching to the memorials that are in every city.
It is hard for me to find information about the total cost of the Wellington memorial, it does not come up in a discussion about it at stats or in the factual detail from other sources, but I believe that the actual memorial cost $16 million, plus the acquisition of the land for Pukeahu Park.
It was glorification to put up another memorial. That money should have gone to help veterans with treatment needed, to enable peace meetings, to pay for stories about brave forces people, and brave resistance people, and brave civilians, and brave anti-war people on both sides. We should remember these people for sure, and not just at parades and photo-ops for politicians. because they are us and we should be spending on projects preventing more wars arising from clashes between political cultures; a peace museum? That could be used for holding conferences, talks, displays about war and about development to help the people of the world. The subjects discussed would include ending inhumanity in our own country, assisting that in other countries, what is important. Because we are all one entity, one animal, though in many forms different only in our looks.
Okay you just started me off on a line of thought that has been in mind for a while so it’s good to put that up.
Sorry if it wasn’t just on your thought.
I am right with you, Greywarshark. I fear that remembrance is constantly being turned into glorification. Celebrating the brilliant feats pulled off by our Kiwi guys in France using their No 8 Fencing Wire mentality, blah blah. WW1 was an utter bloody tragedy that should have been curtailed. Our media are not promoting the true lessons of history, and are thereby propelling us towards a foolish repetition.
Why not have a look at every person killed in that war and consider the question raised about what the world would have been if those individuals were not slaughtered.
They died in the mud and shit and stink – for what? So that you can say, “Celebrating the brilliant feats pulled off by our Kiwi guys in France using their No 8 Fencing Wire mentality, blah blah.”
Yes what a waste of good people marty mars. Do you think we don’t care about them. If they had cared so much the government wouldn’t be so quick to send troops off to the badlands of WW1.
That is why it is a travesty to pretend to care by building an extra monument; tidying up the old one and setting up a fund to help our youth so they have trades and jobs and going to war isn’t the only thing for them. The gummint could have set up WW1 Memorial Apprenticeships to aim for. Getting ‘on their feet’ would be something the dead guys and women would have liked for their grandchildren.
No I don’t think you care. But that’s okay. I’m not glorifying war or death – I’m not arguing about the utter waste of people or the callous disregard for them by generals and politicians then or now. I simply acknowledging that they died horribly. That there is a new interactive site where every dead person is named and described. And I put another link up to an article talking about the loss of these people and the loss for us all when the survivors and maimed returned home.
Marty – are you one of those who has to have ‘sarc’ signalled after every example that seemed obvious to the writer? Or do you just rush and not think about what you read?
I take people as they write and respect that they say what they mean and put the tags they want on anything they write. I spose i do sometimes get surprised by some of the comments i read. For instance the jamileeross stuff filled me with great sadness when i read the stupid comments from people i normally admire comment wise. Sometimes also i agree with something someone says and then really disagree with what they write. Such is life. I’m sure others would have harsher thoughts on me but mostly I try not to give a fuck too much on what others think and stick to my kaupapa.
Appears the attack line from the Hosk, HDPA et al is to call for immediate sacking of any minister that appears to have a challenge in the carrying out of their job. According to the Hosk today the immigration minister has made a “catastrophic” error and must lose his job. If Hosk, let alone that HDPA twit, were subject to the same view, by all accounts they would have been gone long ago.
Just don’t “click” on them it has become bizarre and the Herald had a major announcement this morning that Hosking is going to be made to work a whole ½ longer today – all that means to me is another ½ spent avoiding that radio feed.
The trouble is ignoring the Herald won’t make this nonsense disapear. The likes of the Herald hold sway over a fair chunk of the electorate’s opinions and for that reason they must be held to account. My response is to throw the nonsense back at them and make them qualify what they print. This mornings effort is a classic example of pure headline grabbing beat up.
Just a shame they didn’t see fit to hold the previous Minister to the same standard, who when it comes down to it all, is responsible for the mess I L-G is in today.
Oh don’t be so bloody mean @Psyche nurse.
She’s not brown or black or yellow (maybe a bit orange), is reasonably wealthy, married to a bastion of the 4th Estate, has her own ‘show’, has never been surveilled by Thompson and Clark, and would probably figure quite low on a non-racist demographic risk management spreadsheet
… and you forgot to add is as shallow as they come, which is a prerequisite for a successful career as a populist political commentator where taking money for nothing of substance is the primary motivation.
I kinda recall something about the duke getting told to take a break until next year, but now I can’t find where that happened. If solkta copped a whack from the ban hammer, I missed it.
It’s an interesting phenomenon – sometimes folks who care passionately seem to recognise that they’re getting too worked up and picking fights with a moderator (often an author moderating their own post, but also often just a mod who’s doing their community maintenance volunteer work). But maybe they can’t draw themselves away and decide they need to get banned for their own good.
Last sightings of solkta seem to be OM 3 Nov and Labour Conference Notes 3 Nov, but am assuming he/she has other priorities or has decided of their own volition to take a break. Actually comment numbers seem to be down the last few days overall – perhaps the weather, spring, start of build up to the end of year celebrations etc.
Last sightings of duke on 5 Nov, OM and JLR Tapes – some things to be worked out re postings the previous day.
If people can prove to whoever that they are rehabilitated then they should get the chance to live their lives. I wouldn’t extend that to sex offenders on registered sex offender lists.
Being vindictive to those that have made mistakes, learned from it, and want to move on is childish and ineffective.
Totally depends. Anonymity is not useful when repeat offender violent and predatory types exist, and there’s a fair few of them.
‘Victim-less’ crime might be wiped after a pattern of good living for x years. The sociopaths and evil dirt bags should be monitored for life. Gang members zero reprieve till they leave their gang, and then a pattern of good living for x years.
Not everyone is a misunderstood youth in need of a hug, some are complete assholes. That counts especially for white collar crims.
Why let a fraudster back in business. They can be employees but not bosses imo. Likewise embezzlement etc. These crims have myriad victims, a lot worse than a poor kid who pinches stuff. No record wiping for these premeditating deliberately callous self obsessed criminals.
People make mistakes and learn. But some plot for themselves 24/7. Screw those people make the penalties harsher.
You raise a valid point. Why let a fraudster back in business. They can be employees but not bosses imo. Likewise embezzlement etc. These crims have myriad victims, a lot worse than a poor kid who pinches stuff. No record wiping for these premeditating deliberately callous self obsessed criminals.
About criminals. The word sounds really bad but mothers trying to bring up kids, trying to run a household and have a life on an inadequate income get put in jail because they coudn’t manage with what they had. Just give them more money, more training, more child care, less oppressive claw-back as soon as they earn something. The hatred and meanness of the government ‘welfare’ system is a bloody disgrace. And succeeding governments seem powerless to adopt reasonable approaches and ensure that reason and kindness are ingrained into the system, and all that work within it.
Yet private people prey on others and manage to weave their way round the legal system leaving ordinary people who try to be good citizens impoverished in their wake.
Of course NZ is second in the world for being easy to get into business, can’t put limits on the crooks or we might spoil our well-known record, which brings investment money into NZ for some purpose and gives the effect of having a booming economy. Yeah right.
Part of the problem is the way that Ministries contract out their work and take no responsibility for the way it is carried out. ‘Oh’ says the National Minister ‘I can’t do anything about (whatever disgraceful matter). That’s an operational matter’. It was shown up this morning on Radionz when a Transport agency man was being questioned about faulty checks on imported cars. They get away with sloppiness that wouldn’t be acceptable by a part-time low paid casual worker. Yet they can ponce around on high salaries. They aren’t doing their work lawfully, as in being suitable for their purpose, or in not meeting the standards of service that they hold themselves out to deliver.
We are run by she’ll-be-rights who pay themselves too much, deliver too little, fudge too much, pull the wool over our eyes too much, and punish the little people struggling with difficulties overwhelming them too much.
Yep, that whole “I can’t comment because it’s ‘an operational’ matter” croc is used all too often. And the definition of what is ‘operational’ and what is not seems pretty flexible.
I’m not sure why elected representatives can’t comment on ‘operational matters’ – especially when the operatives are not living up to what is expected of them.
I might be wrong, but it seems to have become a convenience since the last round of public service/corporatisation reforms.
Oh, and btw, that NZTA thing was a shocker, even if you’re forgiving yourself for thinking Kim Hill is driving a second hand Japanese import and is worrying about the integrity of its airbags whilst rolling down a Brooklyn hill on her way to an RNZ studio.
(Don’t mention the trucking industry towbars! Shhhhhh! Wet Wellington bus tickets at the ready – and ‘moreover’ this is a ‘technical issue’ that you just wouldn’t understand – because WE are the professionals and we’re ‘officials’ not to be challenged, not never!)
Yes it was good to hear that NZTA boss explain it all to Kim Hill who couldn’t seem to see why she shouldn’t keep asking some direct questions and get a direct answer of explanation. Sweet fudging.
Rising levels of ‘black carbon’ in Queen St heighten health risk for Aucklanders
“Pedestrians and workers in Auckland’s Queen St are being exposed to high levels of “black carbon”, or ultra-fine carbon particles associated with a number of health problems.
Black carbon emissions are more than three times higher than Canadian cities and twice as high for concentrations in major European, UK and American cities, according to an article published by Auckland Council’s research and evaluation unit.”
“The article said high buildings in Queen St reduce airflow and allow air pollutant concentrations to increase close to ground level. High numbers of diesel buses in the central city and emissions from the port and ferry terminal contributed to air pollution levels.”
Time to put the stadium and all the other polluting enterprises like Cruise ships and actually concentrate on safety of all the people and develop the wharf area and the city into open spaces free of pollution that workers and residents living in central Auckland can escape to! Not be polluted further by!
NZ is not going to have people living in Auckland city (and other cities) in those apartments or working there if the air quality they breathe is harming them!
As for the diesel fuelling public transport and trucks, again, NZ councils and government have clearly got their head’s up their arses on this one as they continually introduce more and more polluting elements into our city and our RMA laws and interpretation of them is dysfunctional.
There’s reason to be cautious about some testing regimes, notably TOEFL, in which the relatively high variation serves the business model (by encouraging multiple resits).
IELTS is more robust, and the convention that working at an academic level requires a basic standard less arbitrary.
I’d be interested to know where the story came from: government seeking to lower the bar to ease recruitment, non-state employers looking for cheap labour, or extant teachers trying to prevent creeping erosion of standards.
I think that some of our laws need to be more tightly focussed. I am thinking it is too general to have a law forbidding ‘sexual harassment’ which doesn’t convey well the extent of the fault.
Geoffrey Rush’s defamation case a ‘roll-call’ of actors
From Morning Report, 8:56 am today
Listen duration 4′ :26″ A defamation case brought by the Oscar-winning actor Geoffrey Rush against the Daily Telegraph newspaper in Sydney is nearing a close.
Rush is suing the newspaper over articles it published last year, which claimed he behaved inappropriately with a co-star during a King Lear production in 2015.
Eryn-Jean Norvill, who played Cordelia in the Shakespeare play, has given evidence in the federal court in Sydney that Rush sexually harassed her.
He denies the allegations.
It may come that men will start suing women about the way they dress, showing body parts that have strong sexual connotations and attraction to men such as breasts, and saying that they are deliberately displaying themselves which introduces thoughts of sexuality which otherwise would not have arisen, and that is a form of sexual harassment!
Ocean Cloud Water owns an existing 33-metre deep bore in the northern suburb of Belfast, from which it is extracting and bottling 4.3 million litres of water a day.
It has now applied to the Environment Canterbury for permission to extract water from a 186-metre deep bore at the plant so it can sell it abroad.
Vicki Buck the former mayor of Christchurch and chair of the Council’s Innovation and Sustainability Committee, says this could compromise Christchurch’s water supply.
Kathryn also talks with Steve Lowndes, Chair of Environment Canterbury.
Kathryn Ryan and Vicki Buck Christchurch Councillor, had a very interesting conversation in this interview about water bottling demands being made on Christchurch city pure water aquifer.
“Unemployment has dropped to 3.9 per cent, the lowest level since the global financial crisis, causing the New Zealand dollar to surge.
On Tuesday Statistics New Zealand revealed that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.9 per cent in the three months to September 30, down from 4.4 per cent at the end of June.
It is the lowest unemployment rate since June 2008, when unemployment was 3.8 per cent.”
Well now partner the ways I sees it is I reckon that if’n Nationals going to be blamed for all the negative stuff then it seems only fair to my ways of thinking that they need to be praised for all of the good stuff to
no numbers of new jobs created
how many people of benefit into studies
how many people of unemployment benefit to other benefits
how many unemployed people retiring
how many unemployed people going still unemployed but not listed as unemployed
this article is actually really lazy and leaves more questions then answers. as to business confidence, who was asked? Bankers?
Yes that dropping out of the system could be the answer. Going along to register and getting treated like a dropout, and being forced to apply for useless jobs where the hours are shit and the transport is not available to suit the hours, or the cost uses all your wages up. And you try and have a life but can’t carry out your duties to family and wor at all odd hours when the fingers get snapped. And you have to notify the Dept each week probably about your earnings so you get a cut in your benefit immediately but they probably take a while to bring it up to a normal level when the hours are cut. It could make you feel like suicide.
And don’t forget how they keep changing the way unemployment is measured – to make Govt. look good by not counting people who used to be counted. I don’t trust this rubbish at all. It is not lowest…
I’m going to make enquiries as to how they get the employment figures. Looking up google all the detail is about measuring the unemployed HxLxW. Stats advise who constitutes an unemployed person but I would like it spelled out as to who is employed – it must be paid work for a start, and how many hours, and it will probably say a minimum of one but I want to know for sure. I guess it will be phrased like ‘Did you do any paid work in the last week and how many hours? The last month and how many hours?
Do they count travelling time? If you have to travel an hour there and another back to work two hours, then that should be counted in a separate column which would also be interesting to see.
StatsNZ are pretty good at putting everything online, but the volume of what they publish means that getting the vibe of what search terms to use (or avoid) can take a while.
Well if we’re reading between the lines as (Jacinda) likes to say then I’m guessing ILG is not going to be feeling too comfortable for the next wee while (nor should he)
Well much like National wanted Little to stay I’m guessing Labour want Bridges to stay and since I’m advising Jude I’ll let you in on what I’ve advised her
Let Bridges stay on untill after the next election and then take over in a very seamless, orderly transition a couple of months after
Of course whether she takes my advice is another story…
Saint Jude the Saviour lol certainly a lot needs saved that’s for sure but based on her track record she may as well be called St Jude the Saveloy cos she ain’t got it – never had it and never will imo.
For those of us who watch Question Time in Parliament, we won’t see either the PM or Simon Bridges there today. Seems they are in Ratana to celebrate the centenary “since prophet Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana is said to have received a divine revelation from which the Ratana Church was born.”
Marama Davidson is also there as is Shane Jones, according to the Herald.
Considering the discussions here in the last few days or so re Kiwibuild etc, people may be interested in this little snippet in the last paragraph of the Herald article, which is easy to miss lost due to its stupid placement between “Related Articles” and “Herald Recommends”:
“The Government is expected to make an announcement on housing at Ratana. Previous governments have also used Ratana celebrations to make similar announcements.”
Meanwhile, it looks like Winston Peters and Paula Bennett have been left to mind the shop. Winston is not at Ratana according to the above article, and Bennett has Question 2 this afternoon to the PM -“the usual “Does she stand by all of her Government’s statements and actions?”
Presumably Peters and Bennett will still be minding the shop tomorrow, Thursday, as the PM and Leader of the Opposition do not attend Question Time on Thursdays.
So the next time we can hope to see the “Clash of the Titans” between Ardern and Bridges* is not until 27 November for the final three weeks of the House sitting for 2018, as the House is in recess for the next two weeks. The final sitting session will only be three weeks as opposed to the usual four weeks as the House is due to rise for the Summer Recess on Thursday, 13 December.
* Assuming Bridges is still Leader of the National Party …
I don’t disagree that such questions are a problem and have become too much a case of game playing, rather than the Govt being properly being held to account, etc in Question Time.
Their purpose is so that the Govt Minister answering the primary question (or rather, their advisers, Ministry etc) cannot prepare detailed answers as they do for more specific primary questions on specific topics – thus leaving the Minister in the firing line unsure what is going to follow in the supplementary questions.
Thus, behind the scenes it becomes a guessing game as to what is going to follow and advisers etc end up rushing around trying to cover all possibilities in terms of providing briefing notes to the Minister.
From Robin Westenra.
This needs to be a thread.
The second most important story in New Zealand.
This is quite simply the best item mainstream media has come out on this story.
It illustrates why John Campbell had to leave Radio NZ – it is far too politically-correct to have given him to follow this robust line of enquiry.
Campbell makes the essential point that trying to gain influence is natural for any superpower and that, while the US, through the 5 Eyes can simply come through the front door with their spy equipment the Chinese are forced to come through the back door.
Kia ora The Am Show The American midterm election has thrown a spanner in trump’s ——– this is a win for the Wahine and minority cultures with the House won by the Democrats that give’s America a humane voice with gerrymandering what has happened there they change the electoral lines that give the go oil party a huge advantage in the House election’s because of gerrymandering so in many of those seats the Democrats won the mojority but republicans still get the seat shonky would have pulled tactics like that if national won .
.https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/04/america-minority-rule-voter-suppression-gerrymandering-supreme-court
Fuel tax is all good seenothing at least that revenue serves the Majority unlike big business were there profits only serve your rich m8’s % 00.1 no .
Of coarse one of the % 00.1 the ceo of walmart is going to say that about trump .
Its the middle and poor classes and minority groups that are getting ripped off buy the go oil party .
Its cool that the ban smoking in cars is getting big support as it should.
Kaiapo school being burnt is a stupid act who burns down a school for te mokopuna’s is a fool.
I agree with Amada we need those corporate fight’s need more laws to protect the fighters . Ka kite ano .
To all the good people who got up and voted for the left Ladies and Minority cultures .
Eco Maori THANKS YOU ALL KIA KAHA this is a big win for the LEFT.
This is just a distraction taxing red meat they say the big picture is we need a world carbon TAX lets stay focused on the real threat to OUR future it is not cow farts it is the petrol we put in our car trucks buses boat’s .
Get a good working world tax on carbon and use the money to pay for renewable energy a oil baron’s investment on the propagandize machine link below ka kite ano.
I agree with George on this story I read it on another site we need OUR voices heard on protecting the innocent wild life and our children Ka pai.David Attenborough has betrayed the living world he loves
Ka kite ano link below.
Geothermal renewable base load energy is a technology the oil barons have suppresed
we have a couple running in Aotearoa NZ
A trailblazing energy project has started drilling the UK’s deepest ever borehole in Cornwall in a bid to use heat from hot rocks as a zero-carbon source of electricity.
The team behind the £18m scheme hopes to create the UK’s first deep geothermal power station and ignite a renewed interest in the technology’s wider potential.
The project near Redruth involves two deep holes being drilled over a course of around six months. Drilling began on Tuesday, with one hole expected to be 1.6 miles (2.5km) deep and the other as far as 2.8 miles (4.5km) down, which would be a UK record for a borehole.
Water will then be pumped into the shallower well, where it should be heated by naturally fractured hot rocks deep underground, hitting temperatures of up to 195C.
Ka kite ano link below P.S let hope this project is successful.
The Man accused of blackmailing DOC over 1080 programme named you will see what type of person is making these foolish threats to state employees ka kite ano link below
Kia ora Tekaea I say its cool that NZFirst is doing to helping Ross and his el
30.000 Ratana people in Australia that’s heaps its a shame that they have to go there to get a better life there was no reason but suppression why te tangata whenua moved from te whenua .
The Ngapuhi settlements should settle and use the money to lift te tangata wairua.
The sport training Awhata is a good thing its cool to teach the tamariki about fitness and control.
Ka kite ano
Kia ora Newshub I still say Galloway was set up when I take on new management roles I have most time’s clean out the rat’s the one time I did not do this it bit me on the——-.
IPCA washing there image typical tactic the car chase 200 klm 3 dead.
Jeff Sessions is a honorable person Kia Kaha Jeff.
Is that global warming the West coats of Aotearoa getting hammered by tawhirimatea well that will fill some of the hydro power lakes .
Yes I say all the taps and pluming parts that are used in out water supply should be looked at and tested for lead content .
Our power prices are one of the highest in the OECD and what they use hydro to provide most of our power supplies.???? A lot of lies have been told about why our power prices are so high.
The new phones are advancing fast and with them battery technology I say battery power storage is going to revolutionize the renewable energy sector .
Ka kite ano .
Kia ora James & Strrom from The Crowd Goes Wild That’s awesome Trent bolt got a hatrick in the Pakistan first one day over test game and won that;s the way Ross Taylor let em know that you can see what they are up to good game.
That reff let the player know who’s boss by yellow card both front rows in Rugby .
Good on Sulu the netball player for getting a tattoos to show her culture and she is having a good run Mana Wahine .
Ka kite ano P.S good luck to the Black Ferns game in France
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 27 were:1. The Minister for Ford Rangers strikes againTransport Minister Simeon Brown was again the busiest of the Cabinet ministers this week, announcing an ...
You got a fast carAnd I want a ticket to anywhereMaybe we make a dealMaybe together we can get somewhereAny place is betterYesterday’s newsletter, Trust In Me, on the report of abuse in state care, and by religious organisations, between 1950 and 2019, coupled with the hypocrisy of Christopher Luxon ...
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
Te Rangi e tu nei (The sky above us) Te Papa e takoto nei (The land beneath us) Tatou katoa te hunga ora (To us all the living) Tena koutou katoa (Greetings) ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
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Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
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Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
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In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
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The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
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A law firm that specialises in working with survivors of abuse in State care is disappointed that the Government fails to recognise that its boot camps can be directly compared to previous boot camps from the 1990s and 2000s. ...
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Ecuador planning to sell large tracts of its rainforest to China.
What could possibly go wrong?
A quick Google search reveals that this was reported about 4-5 years ago.
Well it’s still relevant if it is going to be cleared.
I’d like to see an international agreement that protects (and offers an allowance) to the world’s natural areas like rainforests and jungles, to keep them natural and untouched, free of people apart from indigenous people and free of habitat destruction. This would contribute to international biodiversity and helping climate change and help the world retain those areas. I’m pretty sure there is only 4% jungles left for example in the world and they house a significant proportion of biodiversity in the world.
I’d also like to see another measure for forests and international agreements for retaining them.
Sad that the antarctic fishing marine reserves have been stopped by some greedy countries.
Not sure if this is true (from 2005) but I was surprised what countries had the most forests. At that time the world had approx 30% still in forests although that was 13 years ago. (Not sure if this is a measure of the quality of the forests though, aka are they monocultures like pines?)
Forest-rich and forest-poor countries. The five most forest-rich countries (the Russian Federation, Brazil, Canada, the United States and China) account for more than half of total forest area (2 097 million hectares or 53 percent). The Russian Federation alone accounts for 20 percent of the world total. Seven countries have more than 100 million hectares of forest each. The ten most forest-rich countries account for 66 percent of total forest area (Figure 2.3). The remaining 34 percent is spread among 212 countries and areas. Seven countries and areas (the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, the Holy See, Monaco, Nauru, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands and Tokelau) reported having no areas that qualify as forests using the FRA 2005 definition.
High and low forest cover countries. Forty-five countries and areas have more than half their total land area covered by forests (Figure 2.4), and 11 of these have more than 75 percent of their total land area covered. Most of these are small island states or territories, but the list also includes three low-lying coastal states in South America and one country in the Congo Basin (Table 2.2).
Sixty-four countries and areas have less than 10 percent of their total land area covered by forests. These include many SIDS and dependent territories, as well as 17 larger countries with relatively substantial forest areas (more than 1 million hectares each). Three of these (Chad, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Mongolia) have more than 10 million hectares of forest, but still qualify as LFCCs.
At the regional level, South America is the region with the highest percentage of forest cover, followed by Europe and North and Central America. Asia is the region with the lowest percentage of forest cover (Table 2.3).”
https://www.greenfacts.org/en/forests/l-3/2-extent-deforestation.htm#1p0
Maybe a very good strategic move by China?
“The Amazon Rainforest has been described as the “Lungs of our Planet” because it provides the essential environmental world service of continuously recycling carbon dioxide into oxygen. More than 20 percent of the world oxygen is produced in the Amazon Rainforest.
More than half of the world’s estimated 10 million species of plants, animals and insects live in the tropical rainforests. One-fifth of the world’s fresh water is in the Amazon Basin.
One hectare (2.47 acres) may contain over 750 types of trees and 1500 species of higher plants.
At least 80% of the developed world’s diet originated in the tropical rainforest. Its bountiful gifts to the world include fruits like avocados, coconuts, figs, oranges, lemons, grapefruit, bananas, guavas, pineapples, mangos and tomatoes; vegetables including corn, potatoes, rice, winter squash and yams; spices like black pepper, cayenne, chocolate, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, sugar cane, tumeric, coffee and vanilla and nuts including Brazil nuts and cashews.”
http://www.rain-tree.com/facts.htm
Yeah they could transport the clean air over to China.
Extinction rebellion.
“We refuse to bequeath a dying planet to future generations by failing to act now.”
https://twitter.com/ExtinctionR?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
A movie about a time when the Left condemned fascism, instead of cuddling up to it.
The left cuddles up to Fascism? How did you get to that conclusion?
Idiot post not worth responding to.
Hi Sanctuary,
Maybe you need to address that question to the biggest, (remaining), Left Assad apologist on this site.
But since you asked:
Cuddling up to fascism
New Zealand’s biggest Centre Left blogsite gives TS author Bill, free reign to censor comment that provides factual evidence of the fascist nature of the Assad regime.
[For ignoring moderation and lying about authors…continuing with the same old tiresome pattern of bullshit – 1 year ban] – Bill
In refusing to address the evidence I presented here and earlier, Bill continually and repeatedly made accusations that I am liar. Bill has never tried to refute what I have written. Neither has Bill ever pointed out where I am have supposed to have lied about him or any other author. NOT ONCE! NOT EVER!
In this way we see the convergence between fascists and some on the Left, not just in ideas but in tactics. Having no moral defence for his position on Syria, Bill and others like him have to resort to these sorts of methods.
Maybe Bill hopes that by continually repeating the accusation without evidence that I am a liar often enough, people will believe him. ie the big lie tactic,
Bill uses this blanket accusation of lying (without giving any evidence of it), along with bans, as a way to avoid addressing the Issues I raise.
Bill is not bothered with lies, but with truth.
Bill is a conscious genocide ignorer. To suit his argument Bill actively ignores the evidence of the huge crimes against humanity committed by the Assad regime. Bill has repeatedly refused to address the evidence of this genocide that I have put before him. And rather than defend his position with rational debate, or refute this evidence, Bill chooses to deliberately ignore it. Rather than attempting to refute my position, Bill chooses outright censorship, or comment suppression. (ie shunting my refutation of his claims, to the bottom of open mike where he hopes no one will see them), above discussion.
This behaviour is allowed, or at the least tolerated by the other Standard authors.
Sanctuary, You may not agree with me that this is the Left cuddling up to fascism, but in my opinion it indicates a certain level of comfort with it.
Another symptom of this political malaise was the promotion of Colonial Viper to Author status not that long after CV had openly called for the gunning down of, at that time, peaceful protesters in the most bloodthirstiest of terms.
I remember writing to CV at the time, trying to gently as I could, chide him for his use of extreme calls for bloodshed, saying that I thought it had no place in family friendly website like The Standard.
However my cautions went unheeded.
And the elevation of this openly pro-fascist supporter of mass murder to authorship had its inevitable dismal conclusion.
And this softness towards Syrian fascism continues.
The Standard may not have an actual editorial line on Syria. But as far as I know The Standard has never allowed one single post defending the Syrian revolution.
In the light of this glaring omission…..
The film Nae Pasaran is a timely antidote to this moral malaise and spiritual sickness afflicting the modern Left that allows us to ignore genocide, and support dictatorship. The film Nae Pasaran is a window looking into a past and showing us the Left’s once disgust at dictatorship. This is the sort of courageous, uncompromising and uplifting message that we sorely need today.
There was a phrase that jumped out at me from the promo of this film;
Recounting the solidarity shown to the Chilean people by the Left in Scotland in the ’70s, Is the phrase attributed to a Chilean activist. “We often thought the world had forgotten us”
So often I have heard almost the exact same quote from those suffering under the Assad fascist style genocide.
Unfortunately for Syria, it is true.
*Yassin Al-Haj Saleh Wikipedia:
Self-martyrdom coming up in 3 … 2 … 1 …
Jenny, I value what you have to add here and I’m sorry to see you go after stoushes like this one looks likely to turn into.
In the meantime, I’d like to suggest an alternative way of interpreting Bill’s contributions. It seems to me that Bill has a streak of compulsive contrarianism, particularly with respect to msm reporting. This contrarianism leads him to take positions that appear to support some really ugly regimes, but are much more the result of contrarianism rather than holding sympathies towards those regimes. And when defending those contrarian positions in the heat of the moment, things can be said which can easily be misinterpreted to reinforce an impression of regime sympathies.
Kia ora, Jenny. I think you are going way to far in concluding that because some TS authors are less critical of the Assad regime than others, that means that we are cuddling up to fascism. Eddie, Michael Valley, MS and myself posts all wrote posts early in the Syrian civil war that were far from complimentary about the Syrian Government.
Later on, TS clearly was swamped with trolly pro-Putin, pro Assad posts, but that was mainly from an author who you correctly identify as being from the far right and who is here no more.
Additionally, the complexity of this war and the ongoing fight against religious fascism in the regime makes it incredibly hard to work out where support should go at any given time. Kinda like the Falklands/Malvinas blue, where two nasty regimes came to blows, I see Syria as two (or more) strains of fascism fighting amongst themselves. And, as always in war, the real losers are the civilians.
There are a couple of authors at TS who remain deeply cynical about the ‘truth’ in the Syrian conflict, but so what? You, and anybody else, are free to post alternatives. Just don’t personalise your responses and you should be fine.
Looks awesome. Thanks Jenny.
Kim Hill is casually toying with Seymour on Morning Report. “A listener has suggested that the seat of Epsom might qualify as a taxpayer funded junket.” Great to listen to.
Good eh? A delight to listen to. One or two pregnant inhalations as well by Mr Rimmer
Btw @ ScottGN, how do you think we should measure the success of the jaunt to Japan by the two that Mr Rimmer is trying to ‘hold to account’.
Should it be statisically on the basis of a weight to benefit ratio?
or
Should it be statistically on the basis of a ‘heft’ to benefit ratio? (going forward)
And earlier on MR, there was this:
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018670092/migrant-workers-union-welcomes-exploitation-inquiry
As a pompous Woodhouse would say: “Standby”
More to come
A graphic that is both terrible and awesome. So many died – so many of us.
“More than 18,000 New Zealanders lost their lives in World War One. You can find out more about them in this interactive graphic, which shows every person who died.”
https://insights.nzherald.co.nz/article/world-war-one-roll-of-honour/
So true. We are still suffering as a society for this.
“A lot of people lost their lives. Those that didn’t gave up a significant period of their lives, and those who weren’t killed came home often with severe injuries, physically and certainly mentally, and many struggled to fit back into society.
“When I have been to Gallipoli and Passchendaele … you look down and pick out a grave and you think, ‘What would have happened? How would history have changed if that person wasn’t killed?’
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/last-post-first-light/108380440/lessons-for-today-100-years-on-from-the-armistice
I am so over this glorification of WW1 which is a distraction from the real feelings of outrage and grief we might feel about the courageous and/or dogged sacrifices of the dead of other wars since. We are up to our eyes in a wash of sentiment being organised around a significant date, out of all the significant war dates that should be memorialised, and have been excluded from mention. I remember General Eisenhower of the USA* and his reference to the USA industrial-military complex is in this link. More info about him and his Presidential term below.
Now we will remember them, tomorrow we will move on and not think about it. Going through the motions about war, and its continuance and in preparation for more affrays all the time. I have taken the opportunity to buy some books on WW1 and some illustrated ones and these have displayed the reality. When I go to Anzac Day ceremonies they are repetitive memorials about the disastrous event where people were forced to try to kill others and often received the same result. While remembering the past event and the fallen, it shows a resigned, almost inevitable attitude and anti-war and anti-belligerence approach is very slightly mentioned.
Instead of having a compulsory study of our human history, including wars and national economic forces we have these parades that don’t convey the spectrum of losses caused by war. They finish, leaving an open wound in political and national co-operation and trust between humans and examples of how relatively easy it is for nations to throw out respect and human rights for individuals and groups. Post-war, we lack ‘debriefing’ with the nation and particularly its young, and this just puts a scab over that wound; there is no lasting restoration to a state of higher morality and human respect, and declining and demeaning behaviours lurk in the human herd and heads, always ready to appear from our dark corners.
This 1982 video is from the USA archives and shows how there is a constant campaign to create unrest so that countries are destabilised from foreign interference.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeFgd6gGTWk
*https://millercenter.org/president/eisenhower/impact-and-legacy
No glorification just remberance. Not many families here unaffected. In today’s world few want to front up to the hard questions and hard conclusions around war. Too many put their head in the sand and then wonder why it all happens again.
We will remember them because they are us.
Pardon me! It is indeed glorification when John Key and the RSA spend $120 million? on the project to provide a new WW1 memorial because a certain date is reached.
After the actual WW1 people who cared paid for memorials themselves all around the country. There are plenty of memorials already; people since 1915 have not forgotten.
The memorials were funded by local communities without government assistance. Those who had raised patriotic funds during the war, especially women, often did the hard work.
https://teara.govt.nz/en/memorials-and-monuments/page-4
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/regional/269566/war-memorial-park-blessed
The Ministry of Arts, Culture and Heritage acquired land on Buckle Street, across from the National War Memorial in 2005, and six years later opened a public space to remember those affected by war.
The construction of the park and Arras tunnel needed for the project started in October 2012 at the cost of $120-million.
Curator of the National War Memorial Paul Riley said it was a much-needed addition.
“A few years ago we had a mobile petrol station, a vehicle testing station, tire shop and hire pool right opposite where we are standing now,” Mr Riley said.
“We have a complete contrast now. This is far more appropriate opposite a national shrine.”
The park has a new Australian memorial, featuring fifteen columns of rugged red sandstone blocks.
It is a reciprocal gesture to the “basket handles” of the New Zealand Memorial in Canberra.
A sculpture of a Hinerangi figure, symbolising the daughter of the heavens, by Maori sculptor Darcy Nicholas was also unveiled.
The park will be officially opened on 18 April, a week before Anzac Day.
We have been remembering WW1 for ever on Anzac Day and in other ways and with more people going to view the early morning gathering of veterans marching to the memorials that are in every city.
More details about the building and landscaping – no mention of the cost because that gets swallowed up by the sentiment for the dead, and their belief that it was to ensure a good world for the living is by-passed.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/last-post-first-light/67854592/Pukeahu-National-War-Memorial-Park-officially-opens
https://mch.govt.nz/what-we-do/our-projects/current/first-world-war-centenary-projects
https://mch.govt.nz/pukeahu/park/redevelopment
It is hard for me to find information about the total cost of the Wellington memorial, it does not come up in a discussion about it at stats or in the factual detail from other sources, but I believe that the actual memorial cost $16 million, plus the acquisition of the land for Pukeahu Park.
It was glorification to put up another memorial. That money should have gone to help veterans with treatment needed, to enable peace meetings, to pay for stories about brave forces people, and brave resistance people, and brave civilians, and brave anti-war people on both sides. We should remember these people for sure, and not just at parades and photo-ops for politicians. because they are us and we should be spending on projects preventing more wars arising from clashes between political cultures; a peace museum? That could be used for holding conferences, talks, displays about war and about development to help the people of the world. The subjects discussed would include ending inhumanity in our own country, assisting that in other countries, what is important. Because we are all one entity, one animal, though in many forms different only in our looks.
I’m talking about what I put up in my two posts. I don’t know or care about what you’re going on about sorry.
Okay you just started me off on a line of thought that has been in mind for a while so it’s good to put that up.
Sorry if it wasn’t just on your thought.
I am right with you, Greywarshark. I fear that remembrance is constantly being turned into glorification. Celebrating the brilliant feats pulled off by our Kiwi guys in France using their No 8 Fencing Wire mentality, blah blah. WW1 was an utter bloody tragedy that should have been curtailed. Our media are not promoting the true lessons of history, and are thereby propelling us towards a foolish repetition.
Why not have a look at every person killed in that war and consider the question raised about what the world would have been if those individuals were not slaughtered.
https://insights.nzherald.co.nz/article/world-war-one-roll-of-honour/
They died in the mud and shit and stink – for what? So that you can say, “Celebrating the brilliant feats pulled off by our Kiwi guys in France using their No 8 Fencing Wire mentality, blah blah.”
Yes what a waste of good people marty mars. Do you think we don’t care about them. If they had cared so much the government wouldn’t be so quick to send troops off to the badlands of WW1.
That is why it is a travesty to pretend to care by building an extra monument; tidying up the old one and setting up a fund to help our youth so they have trades and jobs and going to war isn’t the only thing for them. The gummint could have set up WW1 Memorial Apprenticeships to aim for. Getting ‘on their feet’ would be something the dead guys and women would have liked for their grandchildren.
No I don’t think you care. But that’s okay. I’m not glorifying war or death – I’m not arguing about the utter waste of people or the callous disregard for them by generals and politicians then or now. I simply acknowledging that they died horribly. That there is a new interactive site where every dead person is named and described. And I put another link up to an article talking about the loss of these people and the loss for us all when the survivors and maimed returned home.
Marty – are you one of those who has to have ‘sarc’ signalled after every example that seemed obvious to the writer? Or do you just rush and not think about what you read?
I take people as they write and respect that they say what they mean and put the tags they want on anything they write. I spose i do sometimes get surprised by some of the comments i read. For instance the jamileeross stuff filled me with great sadness when i read the stupid comments from people i normally admire comment wise. Sometimes also i agree with something someone says and then really disagree with what they write. Such is life. I’m sure others would have harsher thoughts on me but mostly I try not to give a fuck too much on what others think and stick to my kaupapa.
Appears the attack line from the Hosk, HDPA et al is to call for immediate sacking of any minister that appears to have a challenge in the carrying out of their job. According to the Hosk today the immigration minister has made a “catastrophic” error and must lose his job. If Hosk, let alone that HDPA twit, were subject to the same view, by all accounts they would have been gone long ago.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12155789
Just don’t “click” on them it has become bizarre and the Herald had a major announcement this morning that Hosking is going to be made to work a whole ½ longer today – all that means to me is another ½ spent avoiding that radio feed.
The trouble is ignoring the Herald won’t make this nonsense disapear. The likes of the Herald hold sway over a fair chunk of the electorate’s opinions and for that reason they must be held to account. My response is to throw the nonsense back at them and make them qualify what they print. This mornings effort is a classic example of pure headline grabbing beat up.
Never read them.
Just a shame they didn’t see fit to hold the previous Minister to the same standard, who when it comes down to it all, is responsible for the mess I L-G is in today.
Typical National Party Dirty Politics MO then. The same was happening during the last Labour led term of government as well.
HDPA should be banned it taints shellfish in the can and cause tremors, palpitations and cricopharyngeal spasms in readers.
Announce a review of her immigration status and see how she squeels.
Oh don’t be so bloody mean @Psyche nurse.
She’s not brown or black or yellow (maybe a bit orange), is reasonably wealthy, married to a bastion of the 4th Estate, has her own ‘show’, has never been surveilled by Thompson and Clark, and would probably figure quite low on a non-racist demographic risk management spreadsheet
(/sarc)
… and you forgot to add is as shallow as they come, which is a prerequisite for a successful career as a populist political commentator where taking money for nothing of substance is the primary motivation.
Did the duke and/or solkta get banned?
I kinda recall something about the duke getting told to take a break until next year, but now I can’t find where that happened. If solkta copped a whack from the ban hammer, I missed it.
Dukeofurl is gone till Feb. Solkta is not on the naughty list that I can see.
Fucken sad that. ffs 🙄
Well, Duke was given a reasonable opportunity to respond positively to moderation and chose the opposite tack. We all know how that ends.
Yep. I could see it happening from a mile away and the instructions were clear – no excuses for him. Quite a skill skating around the bolded text 😉
It’s an interesting phenomenon – sometimes folks who care passionately seem to recognise that they’re getting too worked up and picking fights with a moderator (often an author moderating their own post, but also often just a mod who’s doing their community maintenance volunteer work). But maybe they can’t draw themselves away and decide they need to get banned for their own good.
Last sightings of solkta seem to be OM 3 Nov and Labour Conference Notes 3 Nov, but am assuming he/she has other priorities or has decided of their own volition to take a break. Actually comment numbers seem to be down the last few days overall – perhaps the weather, spring, start of build up to the end of year celebrations etc.
Last sightings of duke on 5 Nov, OM and JLR Tapes – some things to be worked out re postings the previous day.
Should the Clean Slate Act be extended to former prisoners?
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018669928/calls-for-clean-slates-for-former-prisoners
Probably. It’s there to give people their second chance.
I agree, unless it’s a pedo wanting to work with children, keep the kids safe.
Agreed
If people can prove to whoever that they are rehabilitated then they should get the chance to live their lives. I wouldn’t extend that to sex offenders on registered sex offender lists.
Being vindictive to those that have made mistakes, learned from it, and want to move on is childish and ineffective.
Totally depends. Anonymity is not useful when repeat offender violent and predatory types exist, and there’s a fair few of them.
‘Victim-less’ crime might be wiped after a pattern of good living for x years. The sociopaths and evil dirt bags should be monitored for life. Gang members zero reprieve till they leave their gang, and then a pattern of good living for x years.
Not everyone is a misunderstood youth in need of a hug, some are complete assholes. That counts especially for white collar crims.
Why let a fraudster back in business. They can be employees but not bosses imo. Likewise embezzlement etc. These crims have myriad victims, a lot worse than a poor kid who pinches stuff. No record wiping for these premeditating deliberately callous self obsessed criminals.
People make mistakes and learn. But some plot for themselves 24/7. Screw those people make the penalties harsher.
You raise a valid point.
Why let a fraudster back in business. They can be employees but not bosses imo. Likewise embezzlement etc. These crims have myriad victims, a lot worse than a poor kid who pinches stuff. No record wiping for these premeditating deliberately callous self obsessed criminals.
About criminals. The word sounds really bad but mothers trying to bring up kids, trying to run a household and have a life on an inadequate income get put in jail because they coudn’t manage with what they had. Just give them more money, more training, more child care, less oppressive claw-back as soon as they earn something. The hatred and meanness of the government ‘welfare’ system is a bloody disgrace. And succeeding governments seem powerless to adopt reasonable approaches and ensure that reason and kindness are ingrained into the system, and all that work within it.
Yet private people prey on others and manage to weave their way round the legal system leaving ordinary people who try to be good citizens impoverished in their wake.
Of course NZ is second in the world for being easy to get into business, can’t put limits on the crooks or we might spoil our well-known record, which brings investment money into NZ for some purpose and gives the effect of having a booming economy. Yeah right.
Part of the problem is the way that Ministries contract out their work and take no responsibility for the way it is carried out. ‘Oh’ says the National Minister ‘I can’t do anything about (whatever disgraceful matter). That’s an operational matter’. It was shown up this morning on Radionz when a Transport agency man was being questioned about faulty checks on imported cars. They get away with sloppiness that wouldn’t be acceptable by a part-time low paid casual worker. Yet they can ponce around on high salaries. They aren’t doing their work lawfully, as in being suitable for their purpose, or in not meeting the standards of service that they hold themselves out to deliver.
We are run by she’ll-be-rights who pay themselves too much, deliver too little, fudge too much, pull the wool over our eyes too much, and punish the little people struggling with difficulties overwhelming them too much.
Yep, that whole “I can’t comment because it’s ‘an operational’ matter” croc is used all too often. And the definition of what is ‘operational’ and what is not seems pretty flexible.
I’m not sure why elected representatives can’t comment on ‘operational matters’ – especially when the operatives are not living up to what is expected of them.
I might be wrong, but it seems to have become a convenience since the last round of public service/corporatisation reforms.
Roll it on Chippie!
This is a good start:
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018670092/migrant-workers-union-welcomes-exploitation-inquiry
(it’d never have happened had there not been some serious ‘operational’ fuckups over the past decade)
Oh, and btw, that NZTA thing was a shocker, even if you’re forgiving yourself for thinking Kim Hill is driving a second hand Japanese import and is worrying about the integrity of its airbags whilst rolling down a Brooklyn hill on her way to an RNZ studio.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018670120/vehicle-importer-tester-conflict-a-serious-issue-nzta-boss
(Don’t mention the trucking industry towbars! Shhhhhh! Wet Wellington bus tickets at the ready – and ‘moreover’ this is a ‘technical issue’ that you just wouldn’t understand – because WE are the professionals and we’re ‘officials’ not to be challenged, not never!)
Yes it was good to hear that NZTA boss explain it all to Kim Hill who couldn’t seem to see why she shouldn’t keep asking some direct questions and get a direct answer of explanation. Sweet fudging.
Rising levels of ‘black carbon’ in Queen St heighten health risk for Aucklanders
“Pedestrians and workers in Auckland’s Queen St are being exposed to high levels of “black carbon”, or ultra-fine carbon particles associated with a number of health problems.
Black carbon emissions are more than three times higher than Canadian cities and twice as high for concentrations in major European, UK and American cities, according to an article published by Auckland Council’s research and evaluation unit.”
“The article said high buildings in Queen St reduce airflow and allow air pollutant concentrations to increase close to ground level. High numbers of diesel buses in the central city and emissions from the port and ferry terminal contributed to air pollution levels.”
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12155503
Time to put the stadium and all the other polluting enterprises like Cruise ships and actually concentrate on safety of all the people and develop the wharf area and the city into open spaces free of pollution that workers and residents living in central Auckland can escape to! Not be polluted further by!
NZ is not going to have people living in Auckland city (and other cities) in those apartments or working there if the air quality they breathe is harming them!
As for the diesel fuelling public transport and trucks, again, NZ councils and government have clearly got their head’s up their arses on this one as they continually introduce more and more polluting elements into our city and our RMA laws and interpretation of them is dysfunctional.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK1806/S00111/public-health-fears-over-wellington-bus-plan.htm
‘Each day a cruise ship emits as much particulate matter as a million cars’
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/pollution-cruise-ships-po-oceana-higher-piccadilly-circus-channel-4-dispatches-a7821911.html
https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/108358338/English-language-tests-for-foreign-teachers-likely-to-be-scrapped
There’s reason to be cautious about some testing regimes, notably TOEFL, in which the relatively high variation serves the business model (by encouraging multiple resits).
IELTS is more robust, and the convention that working at an academic level requires a basic standard less arbitrary.
I’d be interested to know where the story came from: government seeking to lower the bar to ease recruitment, non-state employers looking for cheap labour, or extant teachers trying to prevent creeping erosion of standards.
I think that some of our laws need to be more tightly focussed. I am thinking it is too general to have a law forbidding ‘sexual harassment’ which doesn’t convey well the extent of the fault.
This morning on the latest to come to the news:
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018670126/geoffrey-rush-s-defamation-case-a-roll-call-of-actors
Geoffrey Rush’s defamation case a ‘roll-call’ of actors
From Morning Report, 8:56 am today
Listen duration 4′ :26″
A defamation case brought by the Oscar-winning actor Geoffrey Rush against the Daily Telegraph newspaper in Sydney is nearing a close.
Rush is suing the newspaper over articles it published last year, which claimed he behaved inappropriately with a co-star during a King Lear production in 2015.
Eryn-Jean Norvill, who played Cordelia in the Shakespeare play, has given evidence in the federal court in Sydney that Rush sexually harassed her.
He denies the allegations.
It may come that men will start suing women about the way they dress, showing body parts that have strong sexual connotations and attraction to men such as breasts, and saying that they are deliberately displaying themselves which introduces thoughts of sexuality which otherwise would not have arisen, and that is a form of sexual harassment!
So I think more definition is needed about what constitutes sexual harassment. Also I would like murder to be cited in degrees as some of the States in USA do.
https://criminal-law.freeadvice.com/criminal-law/violent_crimes/degrees.murder.htm
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018670114/water-bottling-expansion-could-threaten-chch-drinking-supplies-councillor
A Christchurch City Councillor is strongly opposing the application by a Chinese owned bottling company to take 1.5 billion litres of water from a deep aquifer – saying it could threaten the city’s drinking supply.
Ocean Cloud Water owns an existing 33-metre deep bore in the northern suburb of Belfast, from which it is extracting and bottling 4.3 million litres of water a day.
It has now applied to the Environment Canterbury for permission to extract water from a 186-metre deep bore at the plant so it can sell it abroad.
Vicki Buck the former mayor of Christchurch and chair of the Council’s Innovation and Sustainability Committee, says this could compromise Christchurch’s water supply.
Kathryn also talks with Steve Lowndes, Chair of Environment Canterbury.
Kathryn Ryan and Vicki Buck Christchurch Councillor, had a very interesting conversation in this interview about water bottling demands being made on Christchurch city pure water aquifer.
Hey, hey….
More good news for our Coalition Government 🙂
“Unemployment has dropped to 3.9 per cent, the lowest level since the global financial crisis, causing the New Zealand dollar to surge.
On Tuesday Statistics New Zealand revealed that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.9 per cent in the three months to September 30, down from 4.4 per cent at the end of June.
It is the lowest unemployment rate since June 2008, when unemployment was 3.8 per cent.”
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/108414604/unemployment-drops-sharply-hitting-lowest-level-since-2008
Yes indeed, well done National for gifting the incoming government such a strong base 🙂
Lmao cheeky as ! Yeah, nah.
We’ve had a new government for a year, and would you look at that, with those figures it’s obvious business confidence is also up.
Well now partner the ways I sees it is I reckon that if’n Nationals going to be blamed for all the negative stuff then it seems only fair to my ways of thinking that they need to be praised for all of the good stuff to
I’ll be moseying off now
The problem in our thinking is that national is all the negative stuff .
Aaargh fucking your thinking that’s meant to be . And the edit function is mia on that post ? But not this one
Pretty sure the best thing about national for Pucky, would be….drum roll please….
judith collins.
You’re not wrong 🙂
Well howdy there partner I do believe you got it right
Puckish Rogue, I don’t think I got an impression of ‘gifting’ amongst the cries of “We wuz robbed”.
not to rain on any parade but
no numbers of new jobs created
how many people of benefit into studies
how many people of unemployment benefit to other benefits
how many unemployed people retiring
how many unemployed people going still unemployed but not listed as unemployed
this article is actually really lazy and leaves more questions then answers. as to business confidence, who was asked? Bankers?
Maybe we will find out more after question time today?
it would be good to know what caused the drop.
If its more jobs, awesome. If its just people dropping out of the system, then no its not good at all.
More info would be very much appreciated, and should have been provided in the article to be honest.
Yes that dropping out of the system could be the answer. Going along to register and getting treated like a dropout, and being forced to apply for useless jobs where the hours are shit and the transport is not available to suit the hours, or the cost uses all your wages up. And you try and have a life but can’t carry out your duties to family and wor at all odd hours when the fingers get snapped. And you have to notify the Dept each week probably about your earnings so you get a cut in your benefit immediately but they probably take a while to bring it up to a normal level when the hours are cut. It could make you feel like suicide.
And don’t forget how they keep changing the way unemployment is measured – to make Govt. look good by not counting people who used to be counted. I don’t trust this rubbish at all. It is not lowest…
I’m going to make enquiries as to how they get the employment figures. Looking up google all the detail is about measuring the unemployed HxLxW. Stats advise who constitutes an unemployed person but I would like it spelled out as to who is employed – it must be paid work for a start, and how many hours, and it will probably say a minimum of one but I want to know for sure. I guess it will be phrased like ‘Did you do any paid work in the last week and how many hours? The last month and how many hours?
Do they count travelling time? If you have to travel an hour there and another back to work two hours, then that should be counted in a separate column which would also be interesting to see.
Is this of any use to you?
StatsNZ are pretty good at putting everything online, but the volume of what they publish means that getting the vibe of what search terms to use (or avoid) can take a while.
Well if we’re reading between the lines as (Jacinda) likes to say then I’m guessing ILG is not going to be feeling too comfortable for the next wee while (nor should he)
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/108416607/prime-minister-jacinda-ardern-found-out-about-karel-sroubek-decision-through-the-media
“What is unusual is some of the basis of the minister’s decision has been contradicted by other information in the public domain.”
(PR, the PM’s name is Jacinda. There’s more than a hint of misogynist belittling with the alternative you used, which is not OK here. TRP)
Should be good to note the contrast with bridges who has dropped shit grenade after shit grenade into his team’s hooch.
Hes only keeping the seat warm until Saint Jude the Savior chooses to take over
LOL. See my 17 below.
But, but – what gives with the job situation?
Well much like National wanted Little to stay I’m guessing Labour want Bridges to stay and since I’m advising Jude I’ll let you in on what I’ve advised her
Let Bridges stay on untill after the next election and then take over in a very seamless, orderly transition a couple of months after
Of course whether she takes my advice is another story…
LOL – I meant your job situation … Everything sorted?
Coming along nicely but very slowly, who’d thought a government role would take so damn long.
We have a site visit and testing on Friday and then the last thing should be a reference check and, hopefully, a job offer
If it wasn’t for the release of Red Dead Redemption 2 I’d be sooooo bored waiting 🙂
Saint Jude the Saviour lol certainly a lot needs saved that’s for sure but based on her track record she may as well be called St Jude the Saveloy cos she ain’t got it – never had it and never will imo.
I thought St. Jude’s moniker was ‘the obscure’. She certainly squawks like a skua.
Yeah Kate Winslet does look a bit like Jude
hahahahahahahahah
thanks for that, i needed a good belly laugh.
” Hes only keeping the seat warm until Saint Jude the Savior chooses to take over”
I thought her kind sunned themselves on rocks to warm the bloodstream.
No worries
Cheers, PR. George Costanza says it best:
Have a look at BM’s comments yesterday. Disgusting.
Every time you mention thee trolls it gives them a thrill. They thrill and trill when they troll, so roll on past why don’t you. You are feeding them.
For those of us who watch Question Time in Parliament, we won’t see either the PM or Simon Bridges there today. Seems they are in Ratana to celebrate the centenary “since prophet Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana is said to have received a divine revelation from which the Ratana Church was born.”
Marama Davidson is also there as is Shane Jones, according to the Herald.
Considering the discussions here in the last few days or so re Kiwibuild etc, people may be interested in this little snippet in the last paragraph of the Herald article, which is easy to miss lost due to its stupid placement between “Related Articles” and “Herald Recommends”:
“The Government is expected to make an announcement on housing at Ratana. Previous governments have also used Ratana celebrations to make similar announcements.”
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12154927
Meanwhile, it looks like Winston Peters and Paula Bennett have been left to mind the shop. Winston is not at Ratana according to the above article, and Bennett has Question 2 this afternoon to the PM -“the usual “Does she stand by all of her Government’s statements and actions?”
https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/order-paper-questions/list-of-oral-questions/oral-questions-7-november-2018/
Presumably Peters and Bennett will still be minding the shop tomorrow, Thursday, as the PM and Leader of the Opposition do not attend Question Time on Thursdays.
So the next time we can hope to see the “Clash of the Titans” between Ardern and Bridges* is not until 27 November for the final three weeks of the House sitting for 2018, as the House is in recess for the next two weeks. The final sitting session will only be three weeks as opposed to the usual four weeks as the House is due to rise for the Summer Recess on Thursday, 13 December.
* Assuming Bridges is still Leader of the National Party …
“Does she stand by all of her Government’s statements and actions?”
This question and others of its ilk should be banned. It is a complete waste of time. Both sides – Just state your damn case.
I don’t disagree that such questions are a problem and have become too much a case of game playing, rather than the Govt being properly being held to account, etc in Question Time.
Their purpose is so that the Govt Minister answering the primary question (or rather, their advisers, Ministry etc) cannot prepare detailed answers as they do for more specific primary questions on specific topics – thus leaving the Minister in the firing line unsure what is going to follow in the supplementary questions.
Thus, behind the scenes it becomes a guessing game as to what is going to follow and advisers etc end up rushing around trying to cover all possibilities in terms of providing briefing notes to the Minister.
New Zealand now has 3.9% headline unemployment.
Underutilization is at 11.3%.
Best since 2008.
Yes, we’re still one of the most unequal countries in the oecd.
But this is one very good stat.
More from Mother Agnes on Syria. No doubt the lefty fascists will scream, but, but.. Assad!
From Robin Westenra.
This needs to be a thread.
The second most important story in New Zealand.
Winston is going to take jlr’s proxy vote.
Wonder if simon wants to talk about it?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12156119
Winnie will be loving it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I know it won’t happen but I would love it if the media DID NOT ASK Bridges about it!
ROFL.
And here is Stuff’s article.
So timewise, National refused to exercise Ross’ proxy votes on Friday, 2 Nov and NZF received a letter from Ross on Sat, 3 Nov …
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/108429642/jamilee-ross-switches-his-proxy-vote-to-new-zealand-first
And Ross has tweeted about it here
https://twitter.com/jamileeross/status/1060003265297805312
And more –
Andrew Geddis’ considered legal opinion – “Oh, this is totally messed up … !
https://twitter.com/acgeddis/status/1060001425541935104
Toby Manhire – “What”
https://twitter.com/toby_etc/status/1059999008918138880
And love this one –
@LewSOS
55m55 minutes ago
More
Winston Peters Troll Level: is there a level higher than Grand Master
https://twitter.com/LewSOS/status/1060001385524035584
Some great reactions in all of the above full threads! ROFL
Wonder what tune Winston will put to this? Suggest “These Boots were made for Walking” Any other suggestions.
Nancy Sinatra – These Boots Are Made for Walkin
I reckon this one: Queen – If You Can’t Beat Them
Kia ora The Am Show The American midterm election has thrown a spanner in trump’s ——– this is a win for the Wahine and minority cultures with the House won by the Democrats that give’s America a humane voice with gerrymandering what has happened there they change the electoral lines that give the go oil party a huge advantage in the House election’s because of gerrymandering so in many of those seats the Democrats won the mojority but republicans still get the seat shonky would have pulled tactics like that if national won .
.https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/04/america-minority-rule-voter-suppression-gerrymandering-supreme-court
Fuel tax is all good seenothing at least that revenue serves the Majority unlike big business were there profits only serve your rich m8’s % 00.1 no .
Of coarse one of the % 00.1 the ceo of walmart is going to say that about trump .
Its the middle and poor classes and minority groups that are getting ripped off buy the go oil party .
Its cool that the ban smoking in cars is getting big support as it should.
Kaiapo school being burnt is a stupid act who burns down a school for te mokopuna’s is a fool.
I agree with Amada we need those corporate fight’s need more laws to protect the fighters . Ka kite ano .
To all the good people who got up and voted for the left Ladies and Minority cultures .
Eco Maori THANKS YOU ALL KIA KAHA this is a big win for the LEFT.
This is just a distraction taxing red meat they say the big picture is we need a world carbon TAX lets stay focused on the real threat to OUR future it is not cow farts it is the petrol we put in our car trucks buses boat’s .
Get a good working world tax on carbon and use the money to pay for renewable energy a oil baron’s investment on the propagandize machine link below ka kite ano.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/06/taxing-red-meat-would-save-many-lives-research-shows
https://globalnews.ca/news/4291256/carbon-tax-do-they-work/ I say they work one just has to look at the drop in NZ carbon this year 2018
The Democrats’ advances were essential, and will check Donald Trump’s power as well as boosting their morale. link below ka kite ano.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/07/the-guardian-view-on-the-us-midterms-a-welcome-start one has to keep the momentum going to have Equality for all and a clean environment for our decedents.
I agree with George on this story I read it on another site we need OUR voices heard on protecting the innocent wild life and our children Ka pai.David Attenborough has betrayed the living world he loves
Ka kite ano link below.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/07/david-attenborough-world-environment-bbc-films
Eco Maori Music wake up.
Geothermal renewable base load energy is a technology the oil barons have suppresed
we have a couple running in Aotearoa NZ
A trailblazing energy project has started drilling the UK’s deepest ever borehole in Cornwall in a bid to use heat from hot rocks as a zero-carbon source of electricity.
The team behind the £18m scheme hopes to create the UK’s first deep geothermal power station and ignite a renewed interest in the technology’s wider potential.
The project near Redruth involves two deep holes being drilled over a course of around six months. Drilling began on Tuesday, with one hole expected to be 1.6 miles (2.5km) deep and the other as far as 2.8 miles (4.5km) down, which would be a UK record for a borehole.
Water will then be pumped into the shallower well, where it should be heated by naturally fractured hot rocks deep underground, hitting temperatures of up to 195C.
Ka kite ano link below P.S let hope this project is successful.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/nov/06/drilling-starts-to-tap-geothermal-power-from-cornwalls-hot-rocks
The Man accused of blackmailing DOC over 1080 programme named you will see what type of person is making these foolish threats to state employees ka kite ano link below
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/375460/man-accused-of-blackmailing-doc-over-1080-programme-named
Kia ora Tekaea I say its cool that NZFirst is doing to helping Ross and his el
30.000 Ratana people in Australia that’s heaps its a shame that they have to go there to get a better life there was no reason but suppression why te tangata whenua moved from te whenua .
The Ngapuhi settlements should settle and use the money to lift te tangata wairua.
The sport training Awhata is a good thing its cool to teach the tamariki about fitness and control.
Ka kite ano
Kia ora Newshub I still say Galloway was set up when I take on new management roles I have most time’s clean out the rat’s the one time I did not do this it bit me on the——-.
IPCA washing there image typical tactic the car chase 200 klm 3 dead.
Jeff Sessions is a honorable person Kia Kaha Jeff.
Is that global warming the West coats of Aotearoa getting hammered by tawhirimatea well that will fill some of the hydro power lakes .
Yes I say all the taps and pluming parts that are used in out water supply should be looked at and tested for lead content .
Our power prices are one of the highest in the OECD and what they use hydro to provide most of our power supplies.???? A lot of lies have been told about why our power prices are so high.
The new phones are advancing fast and with them battery technology I say battery power storage is going to revolutionize the renewable energy sector .
Ka kite ano .
Kia ora James & Strrom from The Crowd Goes Wild That’s awesome Trent bolt got a hatrick in the Pakistan first one day over test game and won that;s the way Ross Taylor let em know that you can see what they are up to good game.
That reff let the player know who’s boss by yellow card both front rows in Rugby .
Good on Sulu the netball player for getting a tattoos to show her culture and she is having a good run Mana Wahine .
Ka kite ano P.S good luck to the Black Ferns game in France