Something I have been wondering about for awhile that I would be interested in comments on.
Given the need for more renewable power to avoid using coal fired generators, along with the increasing pressure on the grid due to the influx of electric vehicles, it seems that the government urgently needs more renewable sources of energy.
Options such as building dams etc are incredibly expensive, environmentally damaging, and take many years to impliment.
Given those constraints, why doesn't the government introduce a scheme to heavily subsidise domestic solar power generation and storage? Especially for houses where that option would be effective.
This type of solution should be much faster to implement, and wouldn't have the environmental issues associated with other power generation options. Plus, it would also have the benefit of lowering power costs for consumers, and thus reduce their living costs. Imagine the impact on power generation if even say 30% of houses in NZ had solar panels and storage.
I believe there was some sort of subsidy scheme around solar a number of years back, but I don't think that is around anymore. But it seems like a sensible option given the costs of the alternatives. I just don't understand why it isn't happening already.
Minister Parker has in his drafting hand the ability to amend the new version of the RMA to specifically enable "renewable energy generation" in the text, rather than rely on the far weaker National Policy Statement on Renewable Energy Generation which TBF merely acts as a guide to local governments when evaluating such applications.
My suspicion is that Minister Woods will not be shaken out of her torpor to amend the Electricity Authority to expand its remit into something useful, until there is a further major blackout from renewables as occurred last year.
Until then we have just two weeks until the Carbon plan is showered with billions from the new Fund. Your guess is as good any what that will achieve in the mitigation v adaptation game.
"There are no subsidies or incentives in New Zealand for homeowners to install solar power systems. The Government did provide subsidies for solar hot water systems for a few years, but that was never applied to solar power."
I imagine there are a number of impediments, not least of which is the fact almost all of the materials will have to be imported….then there is capacity to install/maintain at the level you outline (30% of households = 600,000 units) and issues with grid stability.
It will be a slowly solved (if at all) problem I suspect, especially given we are likely returning to supporting our economy through population growth.
I have submitted to the Queenstown Lakes District Council saying that it should be compulsory for all new buildings to install solar when they are built.
I would have thought solar farms, or hydro dams, have a bigger footprint on the landscape than wind generators. Which of course still have a much smaller footprint than AGW.
Then there is tidal power. Ideal spot not far away.
Queenstown is about as far away from the ocean as you can get (unless you are suggesting the small tide that Lake Wakatipu has?). It's also very unsuitable for wind power for the immediate area, which would mean shifting electricity from Central or Northern Southland, and that starts to defeat the purpose.
Anyone know if grid tied solar or wind can be adapted to off grid if a quake takes out the grid connection?
There is a safety issue, that you don't want the solar or wind powering up the grid supply part during a grid power cut. Not nice to get zapped when you expect the line to be dead.
I have recall of a tv item about a solar farm with the panels set high enough that the cattle or sheep could graze round them and use their shade in the summer. I don't recall the name of the programme. Someone else may have better recall.
N.B.: There are large protests in Europe about the number of windmills planned as it also means that land is being made to concrete deserts. You might power your vehicle but you wont have anything to eat. (So to speak).
Recommendation is generally that residential housing should be 2 Km away. Low frequency noise can interfere with the health of people living close by. The effects are studied and we should not forget that we are not looking at a lot of time when data is collected.
I am all for alternative generation, but we don't need to but the baby out with the water. Calling concerns with a "swoosh" rubbish is not very constructive. I appreciate that you might have a firm point of view because it seems you were working close to Marsden point. Nonetheless, I stand by what I have written.
Go for a drive through the vast French countryside and you will see (but not hear) wind generators dotted all over the landscape…and no concrete in sight.
Pat, if you drive through the French countryside you should pick up a paper in the next town. You might read about the concerns of the folks that have to live near the turbines and farmers who lose arable land. Also, the blades need changing on occasions and give me a guess what happens with them? Yep, they are just deposited on the ground. How green is that!
I am all for Windmills but some reason and science has to apply. Unless you want to pay a gold bar for a kg of potatoes.
…foundations are usually simple concrete blocks called footings that are placed under building walls and columns, or in the case of wind turbines, beneath the tower.
A typical slab foundation for a 1 MW turbine would be approximately 15 m diameter and 1.5 – 3.5 m deep. Turbines in the 1 to 2 MW range typically use 130 to 240 m3 of concrete for the foundation. Multi-pile foundations are used in weaker ground conditions and require less concrete.
Your wind turbines are going to have a capacity factor of around maybe 20% in a good location. So you will need roughly 5 times more of them than your calculation suggests.
Then you need to consider that much of the land does not have a good wind potential or that some seasons can have weeks of low wind. Gets messy quickly.
Compare to biofuels which does require significant land use.
And. A large proportion of the best wind locations are not suitable for housing or farming. Steep and windswept, are places we use for sheep, or gorse.
NZ on a global scale has a reasonably good wind resource and getting the current annual contribution from around 4% to say 20% seems feasible and desirable.
Although given much of the easy, high productivity sites have already been utilised – it will probably take a covering a bit more land than you would imagine to get us even to 20%. And that assumes there is never any growth in total demand into the future.
On a global scale the picture is even less rosy – but given how we have seen Greenies shut down perfectly good nuclear power plants so as to intentionally burn more brown coal – I guess anything is possible.
They may but i suspect their solution will be more along the lines of large schemes (solar pumped hydro at Onslow?) implemented and controlled by the main sector players rather than individual set ups.
The time frames on fleet replacement may never come to fruition.
The Onslow project does look like it has potential Pat. But it is going to take time. With the lack if rainfall down South this year, we could really have done with this now:
Dry year storage—we are specifically investigating Lake Onslow given its ability to store up to 5-7TWh for dry year support
Intermittency back up—our existing hydro lakes can increase or decrease their output to offset the variation in wind or solar generation, but this capacity is limited. Pumped hydro could provide a form of back-up to ensure electricity supply and demand is met when generation from solar, wind and existing hydro are not enough.
I recall that the Green Party used to have a plan to install Solar panels on schools to act as cores for community produced electricity (less line loss). But that isn't even in the online precis of their clean energy policy anymore. Though there is proposed solar support more in line with what was discussed upthread:
1. We’ll upgrade all 63,000 social and community homes with solar panels and batteries
2. We’ll introduce grants to halve the price of installing solar in privately-owned homes, and offer grants and low-interest loans for businesses to transition to renewable energy
I imagine that; social and community homes, means Kaianga Ora (HNZ). I didn't trawl through the full detail pdf to find out. It all comes down to postelection numbers next year anyway.
Though the GP have always been good with other parties swiping their ideas, so long as the ill gets cured.
The solar on schools (and businesses) is an interesting one…I have seen a number of reports on instances and the overwhelming theme is they only partially offset use….some at very low levels, which highlights KJTs point about economy of scale, not to mention the fact a few major players are easier to coordinate than 10s of thousands individual installations.
I guess the GP might have crunched the numbers and found that the cost benefit analysis didn't stack up. I think it was more Hughes who was pushing for it, so with him out of Parliament these days, it has languished a bit.
It was certainly an ambitious scheme. But if the government can mandate the abolishing of coal burners in schools, they can certainly make funding conditional upon schools allowing them to install solar panels and batteries on their grounds. Especially since the schools would have first call on the subsidized power thus produced.
Weka had a point (somewhere) upthread about the fragility of the lines system. Which is certainly true in Dunedin where decades of underfunding (to prevent rates increases) have left the grid in a woeful state. Having a more distributed network would give more systematic resilience.
Solar on schools, reduces the cost of outgoings for the school,produces good surpluses over holidays and weekends,and a surplus back to the grid for the peak use ,(during the spring to autumn period) where you can reduce daytime hydro flows.
As more uptake comes on stream,then surpluses can be banked into community batteries (which essentially become local peakers) and reduces the high cost of distribution.
A major cost in installing PV solar is that you really need to run it through batteries and inverties unless you want to fry your old electrical gear. Did that to a keyboard up in a commune about a decade back – never did get another with quite the same tone bank settings. Though the tech has probably improved these last few years.
Anyway, it is still likely more efficient for a medium size structure such as a school to aggregate and distribute the local solar electricity network with good sized battery banks and true sine-wave inversions (rather than many budget setups with modified square-wave).
Excess could be shunted off to the grid more easily than with multiple small connections from individual houses. And likely get bulk discount on buyback to make that work out better too. Sure, maybe not as technically efficient as larger projects, but also avoiding lots of line-loss. More of an intermediate step.
Though Pandemic supply lines to this country might be too stretched to make this viable at present. Plus no one really seems to be advocating for it anymore.
Community batteries store the excess generation locally when households are at work etc.They return to the local grid for the peak flows .This reduces the need for local network upgrades,transmission loss etc.
There's a lot of unbuilt wind farms in Southland (you could say Southland is the Saudi Arabia of wind), that haven't been built because there's nothing apart from more coal to provide backup on the rare day's it's not blowing it's tits of along the south coast.
Onslow and / or the Tiwai hydrogen proposal will get those wind proposals going and I suspect a lot more. Could be an interesting period coming up for the South with the Green Hydrogen development leading to a dramatic expansion of the region's industrial sector.
That is a useful site Pat…thanks for the link. We've flirted with the idea of a hybrid system with battery back up for our wee place here in the Far North, but have been disappointed with the detail provided from the couple of 'quotes' we've had. $30,000 or a 5kw system…no idea of how many panels, batteries, brands etc. Most seem to be tied into some kind arrangement with a particular electricity retailer. The 'we're not sure if there will be over runs on installation until we start…' proviso, in small print at the bottom of the quote leaves me more than a little nervous. I did purchase a generator to keep freezers and our pumps running and have an 'ups' thingy as back up for the phone an internet.
And an update on this major solar power project… you'll be pleased to know that the crop of maize grown on this site was harvested a month or so ago, so I guess there has been solar energy utilized. Other than a sign and a chunky gravel carpark the sod-turning photo- op is as far as its gone.
I think individual solar good IF you can develop a system for your own use AND have some form of storage but despite the sales pitch the commercially available set ups still require considerable outlay and pay back periods are extensive….the costs increase considerably the moment it is grid tied.
Personally I would like to try to build a battery based system using DC only. Feed that with AC and covert to DC appliances at various voltage/amp. Almost everything i use is DC in their internal reality. Computers monitors, TVs, power tools, fans,
The exception appears to be heat generators like ovens, stove tops, heater, hot water…
Inverters are a waste of power. So are most of electric AC to DC adapters.
Then once that is running – look at alternate power supplies to feed DC batteries. Pointless having alternate power sources ifbyou are going to have major inefficiences in converting DC to AC to DC to charge a phone (for instance).
I wouldn’t bother feeding the grid when I had excess. The rates are pitiful against the equipment costs to do that. I would need the grid to get the electric ecosystem setup, and as a supplement.
Yes but most dont have the ability to create a bespoke system for themselves….and the moment you tie to the grid you are bound to use approved (and consequently) more expensive componentry, not to mention various fees.
A 12v system is common in many home designed systems often tied to 12v appliances.
Those who want individual households to install solar power, are ignoring efficiencies and economics of scale..
Individual small solar installations are many times more expensive and require more manufactured resources, than a large solar or wind installation.
Government money is better used in building larger scale sustainable generation, for everyone instead of subsidising upper middle class who can afford to add solar panels.
While we have a privatised electricity industry whose business model depends on keeping energy scarce and expensive, though!
The economics of roof solar have changed dramatically over the last few years. Two minutes of surfing showed this:
"Costs for solar energy systems have come down substantially over the past decade. A fully-installed system in 2008 could run you about $40,000 — now, prices are only a fraction of that amount. The cost for a solar system starts around $5,990."
There's no reason that large scale solar farm can't be virtual and spread over a hundred or thousand roof tops.
That's what Solar Zero have done, but their model is putting their panels on your roof, and giving you cheaper (maybe) power in lieu of rent.
I'd be interested in a more co-operative model where the property owner owns the panels and shares in a wholesale marketing organisation to sell their surplus energy
I agree, it makes more sense from an efficiency point of view to build large solar arrays. I have seen these type of installations in Germany.
A counter to that is that such installations would take a long time to go through the approval process, actually get built, and have supporting infrastructure built. Also, they use up huge amounts of land. In that respect, is the offset cost of the lost opportunity cost of alternative usages for the land taken up by solar arrays. For instance, lost opportunities for food production, or even using the land for planting native forests as a carbon-offset.
While subsidies for domestic solar installations would not be as efficient, they would provide much quicker sources of renewable energy and wouldn't need the same amount of supporting infrastructure as they would be using the infrastructure already in existence.
Perhaps, a solar subsidy arrangement could be an interim goal to fill the gap while more efficient solutions are implemented over a longer timeframe.
Yes I agree with your thoughts above and have done so for at least 20 years! I worked in the solar hot water side for awhile – before PV became more viable – and even then there were immense gains to be made both economically and environmentally. WA had a similar scheme – sunny days are the rule there, so an obvious source of energy. Traveling in the train south from Perth you will see house after house with solar panels. It was so popular that the WA Govt overran its budget and, as it was then a liberal govt, cut the scheme. But the die had been cast and there is still a good uptake on solar energy installation on new builds.
Many of the solar hot water systems installed in NZ are manufactured in WA – it was there that they were developed.
Israel mandates all new buildings to be fitted with solar energy and has done for decades, obviously to reduce its reliance on imported fossil fuels.
Yes you are correct in that roof-top solar has far more penetration in Australia than NZ. As a guess I would say the rate is between 5 – 8 times higher.
Still the reality is that Australia has one of the best solar and wind power potential anywhere on the planet – and it is still a non-trivial task to turn off all the coal until you have solved the storage problem.
Last year saw Australians install rooftop solar like never before, with 40% more installed in 2021 than in 2020. Solar system installations now make up 7% of the energy going into the national electricity grid.
[…]
But such a dramatic surge in solar output also poses challenges for Australia’s power system for two main reasons.
It results in increased periods of large oversupply when weather conditions favour solar energy. This leads to energy being wasted due to the need for solar curtailment – when a solar system shuts down or stops exporting energy to the grid to counter the energy spike.
On the other hand, there is little solar generation during peak demand hours in the morning and evening. This requires more expensive generators to run.
These are huge problems from a market operations perspective, as the pressure on the system may result in blackouts and disruptions. It also creates large price swings for retailers, which then can increase costs for consumers. As a result, we may see it become more expensive to decarbonise the national energy market.
I came up with a hair brained scheme a while back where government rolls out solar that pays for itself.
Put solar on state housing and recoup the costs from tenants paying their power bills – but at the same time (calculated by their average/historic use) offer them some of the savings (will make buy in much easier) from the savings generated. Win – Win.
You could roll out a portion of it, show the bank the payments coming in, and get finance for the next portion. Very little govt spending required if they shuffle their cards right.
Many other government properties could do with the retrofit too.
It would make the government a major power generator in short order. And yes, it would certainly help take the pressure off our systems.
there was talk some time back of us manufacturing solar here. I have no idea why that's not happening, it was another no-brainer.
Given the need for more renewable power to avoid using coal fired generators, along with the increasing pressure on the grid due to the influx of electric vehicles, it seems that the government urgently needs more renewable sources of energy.
Here's what the sustainable and resilient solution looks like, see if you can spot the pattern:
use less power
stop wasting power
retrofit existing houses with passive solar tech/design
all new builds required to have passive solar tech/design (space and water heating in particular, doesn't have to be PassivHaus although that is one example)
retrofit existing houses with active solar (panels and water heaters), grid tied where appropriate
all new builds required to have active solar (panels and water heaters), grid tied where appropriate
build neighbourhood power generation that will withstand climate, quake, tsunami events (eg if the grid goes down, power can still be generated and reticulated locally)
build larger scale district power generation, as above
don't build any more Muldoon-esque power schemes unless there is a compelling reason to and that can be done with a) full community input and consultation and b) minimal environmental impact
What that does is use less resources, require less maintanence, create less pollution, make NZ more self sufficient, make local areas, neighbourhoods and households more self sufficient and resilient going into our climate and quake future.
outside my lane about what would work, but couple that with manufacturing components in NZ as much as possible.
At the moment, we have some pretty important infrastructure that relies on overseas manufacturers for replacement parts. Consider current supply line interruptions magnified, and what would happen if your town electricity or supply stopped working because something broke. How much redundancy do we have?
I can't say I disagree with any of that Weka. It just seems to make more sense compared to anything else which will be expensive, long to implement, and damaging to the environment.
I imagine such a solution would also have good buy-in from the public who would directly benefit from such a concept.
It's a good question that some of us have been asking for a while now. Would have to look up exactly when, but the Greens pushed quite some time ago (pre Key?) for solar install subsidies that would also have had the effect of upscaling solar business in NZ and thus lowering prices. You can understand why some of us are frustrated with NZ voters.
Further to my comment, probably the only point I would disagree with is that I don't think that the government should be subsidising or requiring (in the case of new builds) every house should have solar energy. That is because not all houses are oriented to efficiently take advantage of solar.
The optimal orientation is east-west oriented houses (with the exposed roof facing north). So, perhaps at the consenting side of the equation the approval authority could decide whether the orientation of the house qualifies for the government subsidy or not so that taxpayer money is used in the most efficiently.
Ha! Have you seen the new builds in Auckland. 8 townhouses crammed literally side-by-side on a section which previously contained 1 house.
Sections are covered to 95% of area with housing (and the rest is driveway).
Under the new government intensive building plans – town planners will have little if any control over what is built where.
Really. I invite you to take a look at the intensive housing going in along the main transit corridors (but still suburban streets) in Auckland.
Literally 4 doors down from me (side street connection to a main road) they are building 8 townhouses on the site where they've removed one house. They're 3 story – in order to get the most density on the site possible.
And the building is right from one boundary to the driveway (which is on the other boundary)
The only non-built space is the driveway.
This may have required a resource consent (i.e. isn't a normally allowed activity) – but they are routinely being rubber-stamped in Auckland's drive for intensification along PT corridors (and linked areas).
This is repeated on building-site after building-site across the suburbs I drive through.
For example, 50% max. building coverage on a site of 10 m by 20 m (200 meter squared) means the building footprint cannot be more than 100 meter squared, e.g. 6 m by 16 m (96 meter squared). To you that may look like 95% while in actual fact it is (only) 48%. (NB there are all sorts of boundary requirements, but this is just a simple example to illustrate your optical illusion)
In the real world: Building from one side of the site to the other (excluding the driveway), building from front berm to to back boundary.
I don't see in what rational world that can be described as 48% of the site.
I acknowledge that this may have required a resource consent for an exemption to the standard rules. However, as I said, these are clearly being routinely granted.
What I'm describing is anything but an isolated incident.
And the new legislation is specifically designed to allow 3x3story houses on the site where previously 1 was permitted.
Go argue with your calculator and work out the building footprint after you have measured yourself those sites with new housing builds (incl. terraced houses and apartments) that, in your mind, occupy 95% of the total site area. You may want to ask permission before you enter those properties. Alternatively, you could tell us the exact area you’re talking about; Auckland Council has these very handy maps and other handy data …
What you think you see in the real world is in your head.
I acknowledge that this may have required a resource consent for an exemption to the standard rules. However, as I said, these are clearly being routinely granted.
What I'm describing is anything but an isolated incident.
Spot the ambiguity if not contradiction.
And the new legislation is specifically designed to allow 3x3story houses on the site where previously 1 was permitted.
What does this have to do with building footprint maxima?
The new law requires Auckland Council to allow medium-density housing (3 houses of 3 stories high on the site currently required for one) – as a default across most of their area.
I expect this drive for intensification to continue. And the cheapest way for developers to do this, is what they're already doing: cramming as many townhouses as possible on a single site.
This amendment to the RMA does two things. Firstly, it requires tier 1 councils in Auckland, and greater Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington and Christchurch to change their planning rules so most of their residential areas are zoned for medium density housing.
In other words, it has not happened yet (“from August 2022”), so you cannot have seen it yet, whatever it is that you think you saw.
No. What I'm seeing is resource consent variations over site-coverage being routinely granted to enable Auckland Council’s goals of intensification along PT corridors.
The point I was making is that this intensification (resulting in virtually zero un-built-on land on the site) will increase (and become more widespread) when the new legislation comes into effect.
At least you agree that the new legislation has not yet come into effect. Now, can you tell us what the building coverage limits are that are allegedly “resulting in virtually zero un-built-on land on the site” in the new legislation, which by your reckons is already happening in Auckland? You’re repeating the same stupid line but with not a shred of support.
They were not economical then,its only in the last 3-4 years that costs have decreased substantially as large scale manufacturing became more cost effective.
Private solar installations are already subsidised in a roundabout way. My son who has a PhD in Battery Technology countered my arguments about more house solar and why werent the prices paid for supply to the grid closer to what we pay. The reply was that there are a few unique aspects to NZs electricity systems, and the cost of production of is only about 7cents a kw, the distribution is the killer.
1, most of the rest of the world needs electricity to cool buildings in the summer when solar and wind is a lot more efficient, US and Europe heat their houses and factories with gas or oil and it will take quite sometime to phase out up to a billion systems. We on the other hand use electricity for heating in the winter and don't cool very many buildings in summer, our winter solution is to put on another bloody jersey, one area where our Scots and Irish heritage favours conservation!
2, the majority of the cost of electricity is in the distribution, and NZ is very difficult terrain to manage. I live 25kms from a large SI town yet between here and there there are tens of millions of dollars of installations, a lot disquised as normal houses used to manage voltage and other aspects, all of which require a huge amount of maintenance, again an almost unique NZ problem, because of the long distances and consequently a fraction of the consumers to pay for it compared to other countries.
Heres the political problem, more houses with solar means less consumers to pay for the distribution costs and that system is vital, small private solar installations are very prone to lack of sunlight and wind just when you need the power hence the need for most to be connected to the grid and the nessecity to pay the same as someone without solar supplementation. Just because you may ride a bike a lot of the time you still may need a car to do what cannot be managed on a bike and I'm pretty sure no government is going to subsidise the capital cost of a car for you just because it sits idle until you need it.
There are many, many other complications, but one of his interesting comments was that the future will see that a much larger proportion of the worlds industrial production will occur 10-20 degrees either side of the Equator in highly automated factories with few staff because of the amount of sunlight available ( closer to the sun ) and the reliability of tropical winds for cheaper energy and shorter freight distances, ( not by much but everything helps ).
Hey tsmithfield, do you want to walk back the lying propaganda you posted yesterday about another Russian ship being sunk? No evidence whatsoever except the lies you picked up from Western media. It didn't happen, just like the Russian Generals killed in action .. all bullshit .. You really need to learn how to do real research.
Yes – the whole invasion is a Nazi fake. Real research would show that Putin was correct all along when he told everyone back in Feb that Russia was never going to invade Ukraine.
Thanks for this. I met Paul just the once at Masterton Rail station on his way into the Tararuas and got to chat with him for a while. Yes he is a legend – quite well known.
I know for certain they took out a landing craft type boat as pointed out by Red below. So, that could be a source of confusion.
I will reserve my position on the Makarov because I haven't seen any firm evidence that the Makarov is actually around still. I have seen several photos put up by pro-Russian sources on Twitter, apparently of the Makarov in port, or some other location after the attack. But, those pictures have been easily identified as fakes. Hence, I will wait until there is actually firm evidence that the Makarov is actually still around before conceding anything.
If you are referring to the article linked to by Red Logix above, you obviously didn't read the part where it said:
"Satellite photos analysed by the Associated Press show the aftermath of an apparent Ukrainian drone strike on Friday on Russian positions on Snake Island, with thick black smoke rising overhead."
So maybe you need to update your technique for sorting fact from fiction.
tsmithfield the Russian frigate was and is nowhere near Snake Island, the source of another PR stunt gone wrong by Ukraine, remember the valiant soldiers who all actually surrendered to the Russians .. It is you that needs to update your technique for sorting fact from bullshit. You show a twitter feed as proof .. ha ha ha ha ha ha. If you want to actually educate yourself about what is happening in Ukraine I can give you some real independant analysis from actual experts, not armchair experts.
'Actual experts' who can tell us this 'so called 'war' is all just a Ukrainian PR stunt right? Real research would show Russian soldiers being welcomed with hot food, flowers and enthusiastic fucks by happy locals glad to be free of Nazis oppressing them.
Red Logix you need to drink less alcohol or inbibe less on substances before making comments which defy logic .. read your above post and get help friend!
If the ship has been damaged enough to require that sort of attention, then it could be out of the game for quite awhile, even if it is still floating.
Belladonna .. au contraire you need to provide actual proof of the frigate being damaged, I don't have to prove anything, because nothing happened except on a keyboard spewing propaganda and lies .. show me the money shot boys!
RedLogix .. come on Man pull yourself together, you simply don't make sense or offer an argument .. You say .. The Great Lord Putin has promised a wonderful victory over the hordes of lying Nazi monkeys pounding out endless lies and filth on their keyboards! Explain this nonsense?
An apolitical energy expert told me that solar is marginal in NZ but great in Australia. Aussie have a lot of sun when they need the most energy (in summer to run aircons). Whereas in NZ we need enrgy for winter heating and that's when there's too little sun.
Solar in NZ is good for water heating (which is a waste of electricity) but not so good for making electricity.
I have rooftop solar thermal hot water and photovoltaic panels and a battery so I speak from experience. There is a hybrid inverter that automatically sends surplus production to the grid and draws from the grid when the battery is at my reserve value. It can disconnect from the grid in an outage and provide power from the battery and reconnect in phase when the grid is back up. This is a Harrison's system and they have backed up their product with appropriate service. The cost is worth bearing for those who have the resources; our total electricity bill last year was little more than $300, and includes charging a Mitsubishi PHEV for local driving. I've long advocated for a government loan guarantee for such installations with savings on electricity applied to amortising the loan. This requires a suitable payback tariff for energy sent to the grid. This is not available from all electricity retailers and is not sufficient from others, but even then it works given some time. Other comments about large scale installations and upgraded distribution systems are correct and will be necessary for the progress of NZ into the rest of this century. Getting the government policies needed to accomplish this is an ongoing task.
Pete Buttigieg does a good job naming the "high water mark" of freedom within both the likely reversal of Roe and the Florida State "don't ask don't tell" law.
It's 6 minutes but he does a good job, noting his own point that 10 years ago it would have been laughable that he be able to discuss that he is married to a man and has two children, and that now such a statement is to be deemed only suitable for adults.
Yes, slay Buttigieg for that. Ponder his views and ways as illustrated in that 2019 link and that performance (above) on YouTube and the proven views and ways of Donald Trump. Which one of those two would have better qualities and less negatives to be President after 2024?
So it turns out that Omicron is just as severe as the previous Covid variants. It was all media bollocks from the business lobby to support opening up.
Interesting. That was the assumption that I made when I looked at those original studies on omicron.
They looked far too coarse grained for a population that was partially immunised and had treatments. Just simple bean counting without looking at nuance.
If you look closely at the NZ hospialisation demographic rates for unvaccinated where known (after the delta cases passed through), they look like Italy in early 2020.
Exactly. The continuous repetition of "more infectious but milder" smacked of an orchestrated campaign by business interests. It was never backed by the WHO.
Nope. The speculators and investors are unlikely to be hurt. Pretty much all of them have a healthy buffer of equity. And losses are only losses once you sell – so they're motivated to hang on to the property – for at least the 10 years required to escape the bright line test. Of course, in the meantime, they're also highly motivated to ratchet up the rent every year…
The people it clobbers are the new homeowners – with mortgages less than 3 years old. *If* they can hang on, they'll be OK. Banks have been stress-testing mortgage repayments at 7-8% over the last 2+ years before loaning money.
But anyone who is obliged to sell (marriage break up, illness, job loss, etc.) will take a hammering – and will probably come up with negative equity.
There will be some mortgagee sales – but everyone (banks included) wants to keep them to a minimum.
No. Banks very, very rarely require an infusion of equity for existing loans – where there is a strong payment history.
Unless you have some evidence that this past practice is about to change.
Of course, if you want a further loan (say for renovations) or want to shift to interest-only, then they'll force a revaluation.
But banks don't want to force a sale — they'll make a heck of a lot more money, long term, off the mortgage repayments.
You'd have to have property market crash of epic proportions for them to be moving into negative equity.
Property investors with portfolios older than 2 years – will have 'benefited' from the capital increase – and, again it would take an epic property crash to shift their loan into negative equity.
Highly leveraged property investors are pretty much a thing of the past in NZ.
Approximately 31% of mortgaged properties, or 47% of the value of outstanding loans, were found to be in negative equity at the end of 2010.[76]
As of September 2011, Central Bank figures show that 8.1% of private residential mortgage accounts are in arrears for more than 90 days – up from 7.2% at the end of June 2011.[77]
As of August 2012, more than 22% of Irish mortgages are in arrears or have been restructured.[78]
In the first 10 months of 2011, 8,692 houses were completed. This compares to 76,954 in 2004, 80,957 in 2005, 93,419 in 2006, 78,027 in 2007, 51,724 in 2008, 26,420 in 2009 and 14,602 in 2010.[79]
The Irish National Debt has significantly increased: Ireland's ratio of General Government Debt to GDP at the end of 2009 is estimated to have been 65.2%. The revised estimate for General Government Debt to GDP ratio at the end of 2010 is estimated to have been 92.5%. The forecast for General Government Debt to GDP ratio at the end of 2011 is estimated to be 105.5%.[79]
Finding it very curious that there have been numerous debates here on who is, should or can be a "woman". Over the last few days there has been much publicity about the nasty attack on Nadia Lim in the NBR by the Henry person. Pleasing to see all the support she has had from numerous people. But none or very little comment here!
The CEO Simon Henry is a misogynist, and has been outed.
Nadia is self made, but her business took advantage of shareholders and holes in the current system through pumping possible profits, selling shares and realising wealth where other investors won't get much.
So support for her position is muted, as the man is an egg, but his premise of overhyping the shares was real. imo.
Well I’m not going to get too excited about reality TV participants and their subsequent business activities–but Mr Henry deserves the shower of shit he is getting. He could have just stuck to his business grumble, without invoking misogyny and racial slurs.
“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.”
― Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
Oh that were so in NZ! The reality is NZ is a venal money trench for the elite and petit bourgeoisie, a neo liberal state in legislation and reality, so no revolution just yet. But change is a coming…one way or another. Generation rent and student loan and alienated working class know that, it is a matter of what the direction is.
The Convoys and Groundswells had their go at being that change, but have ‘blown their bags’ to use an old crudity, as far as can be seen, they had their chance.
A new political movement (not just Parliamentary Party) is certainly needed to challenge and retire neo liberalism. But given all the requirements to register new parties and do community organising and activism, that should probably be kicked out to the 2026 General Election. There are ultimately few ‘organisational solutions to major political problems.’
But for 2023 certainly the Greens and Te Pāti Māori should be the target for pressure to support working class friendly policy in case they are able to form a Government with Labour. A combination of tactics–turn Green and Māori left as possible, and strategy–keep the dirty filthy natzos out, as the ground is prepared for a generational break through in 2026.
This country is a Tale of Two Cities and needs people power to turn it around, passivity and compliant consumers have had their day.
To Labour and the Scientists Thanks for a great fight against Mico plasma bovis. In spite of the refusal to comply by some rednecks, we are almost free of this scourge.
Next will be the tropical blackworm which is able to demolish a garden in days.
"Biosecurity New Zealand is closely monitoring reports of a Foot and Mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in Indonesia, says Biosecurity New Zealand Deputy Director-General Stuart Anderson."
"We will review the latest information from Indonesia and boost our already strong measures at the border if required.
"An audit last year of Indonesia's supply chain for palm kernel, which is used as a feed supplement in New Zealand, showed it was meeting strong import health requirements."
There is a Turning Away happening in the US – not the Floyd version, but arguably a response to it. When working no longer gets one anywhere, that old tune in, turn on, & drop out looks better every day.
Sad, sad thread on how people were and are treated like dust in Russia.
1/ The following thread is an attempt to explain Russia(TM) to you from my Soviet-Russian-speaking-Ukrainian-Jewish perspective. I didn't eat wisdom with spoons. Please add and correct!
2/ We are currently seeing many Russians on the streets of Russian cities in heroic protest against the war. Navalnyj said "If we have to clog up their prisons with our bodies, then we'll do it".
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
Bryce Edwards writes – It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played.“Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I- Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka KotahiThe fact that a ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st CenturyThe SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims StuffSteve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Pacific Media Watch Earthwise hosts Lois and Martin Griffiths. Earthwise presenters Lois and Martin Griffiths on Plains FM 96.9 community radio talk to Dr David Robie, a New Zealand author, independent journalist and media educator with a passion for the Asia-Pacific region. David talks about the struggle to raise awareness ...
Pacific Media Watch Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who was held for 12 hours at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, says Israeli forces rounded up Palestinian journalists at the facility and made them kneel on the ground for hours, while naked and blindfolded. “The occupation forces handcuffed and blindfolded us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute chinasong, Shutterstock Electricity customers in four Australian states can breathe a sigh of relief. After two years in a row of 20% price increases, power prices have finally stabilised. In many places they’re ...
Chumbawamba have reportedly issued the deputy PM a cease-and-desist notice after he used their song 'Tubthumping' before his state of the nation speech. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
Auckland Council is opposing a fast-track development backed by Sir John Kirwan and Spark NZ, because it doesn’t meet stringent new climate adaptation requirements The post Surf-data centre faces new 3.8C climate warming rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
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Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
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The letters, which were published last week, were addressed to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, National Democrat Party (NasDem) Chairperson Surya Paloh, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) President Ahmad Syaikhu and United Development Party (PPP) Chairperson Muhammad Mardiono. In ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
Something I have been wondering about for awhile that I would be interested in comments on.
Given the need for more renewable power to avoid using coal fired generators, along with the increasing pressure on the grid due to the influx of electric vehicles, it seems that the government urgently needs more renewable sources of energy.
Options such as building dams etc are incredibly expensive, environmentally damaging, and take many years to impliment.
Given those constraints, why doesn't the government introduce a scheme to heavily subsidise domestic solar power generation and storage? Especially for houses where that option would be effective.
This type of solution should be much faster to implement, and wouldn't have the environmental issues associated with other power generation options. Plus, it would also have the benefit of lowering power costs for consumers, and thus reduce their living costs. Imagine the impact on power generation if even say 30% of houses in NZ had solar panels and storage.
I believe there was some sort of subsidy scheme around solar a number of years back, but I don't think that is around anymore. But it seems like a sensible option given the costs of the alternatives. I just don't understand why it isn't happening already.
Minister Parker has in his drafting hand the ability to amend the new version of the RMA to specifically enable "renewable energy generation" in the text, rather than rely on the far weaker National Policy Statement on Renewable Energy Generation which TBF merely acts as a guide to local governments when evaluating such applications.
National policy statement for renewable electricity generation | Ministry for the Environment
My suspicion is that Minister Woods will not be shaken out of her torpor to amend the Electricity Authority to expand its remit into something useful, until there is a further major blackout from renewables as occurred last year.
Until then we have just two weeks until the Carbon plan is showered with billions from the new Fund. Your guess is as good any what that will achieve in the mitigation v adaptation game.
"There are no subsidies or incentives in New Zealand for homeowners to install solar power systems. The Government did provide subsidies for solar hot water systems for a few years, but that was never applied to solar power."
https://www.mysolarquotes.co.nz/about-solar-power/residential/how-much-does-a-solar-power-system-cost/#:~:text=Are%20There%20Subsidies%20For%20Solar,never%20applied%20to%20solar%20power.
I imagine there are a number of impediments, not least of which is the fact almost all of the materials will have to be imported….then there is capacity to install/maintain at the level you outline (30% of households = 600,000 units) and issues with grid stability.
It will be a slowly solved (if at all) problem I suspect, especially given we are likely returning to supporting our economy through population growth.
Yes, I realise that the solar subsidy solution is not going to be immediate. I was thinking 30% over 10 years or something like that.
But there would be incremental gains over that time that would hopefully coincide with incremental increases in electric cars in the national fleet.
I have submitted to the Queenstown Lakes District Council saying that it should be compulsory for all new buildings to install solar when they are built.
Better to get a solar and/or wind power system for the whole district. Keep in local ownership?
More energy and resource efficient, and cheaper per household.
Also has the advantage of removing profit taking power companies from the equation.
Or. Close Tiwai point!
Onshore windfarms tend to destroy landscape values.
Better to have offshore wind or solar farms…there are 900 solar farms in the pipeline in the UK and NZ announced a couple a few weeks ago.
I would have thought solar farms, or hydro dams, have a bigger footprint on the landscape than wind generators. Which of course still have a much smaller footprint than AGW.
Then there is tidal power. Ideal spot not far away.
Queenstown is about as far away from the ocean as you can get (unless you are suggesting the small tide that Lake Wakatipu has?). It's also very unsuitable for wind power for the immediate area, which would mean shifting electricity from Central or Northern Southland, and that starts to defeat the purpose.
Anyone know if grid tied solar or wind can be adapted to off grid if a quake takes out the grid connection?
Pretty easily.
It just requires a switch.
There is a safety issue, that you don't want the solar or wind powering up the grid supply part during a grid power cut. Not nice to get zapped when you expect the line to be dead.
Queenstown is not far from Fovoux Strait, power transmission wise.
I have recall of a tv item about a solar farm with the panels set high enough that the cattle or sheep could graze round them and use their shade in the summer. I don't recall the name of the programme. Someone else may have better recall.
Been going on for ages. https://solargrazing.org/what-is-solar-grazing/
Lucky sheeps. So many live their lives indoors or on feedlots.
Thanks Rosemary.
Windmills generate extreme noise levels and you cannot escape this, it also devalues any property close by.
This is for kids to discover alternative energy:
https://kidsdiscover.com/teacherresources/whats-good-whats-bad-wind-energy/
N.B.: There are large protests in Europe about the number of windmills planned as it also means that land is being made to concrete deserts. You might power your vehicle but you wont have anything to eat. (So to speak).
"Extreme noise levels"?
How Loud Is A Wind Turbine? | GE News
Rubbish!
In Makara, the sheep are louder.
You haven’t worked next door to Marsden point.
Then there are alternatives.
https://vortexbladeless.com/#:~:text=Vortex%20technology%20uses%20no%20blades,a%20greener%20on%2Dsite%20generation.
https://www.windenergy.org.nz/sound-noise-standards
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210818130533.htm
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-97107-8
Recommendation is generally that residential housing should be 2 Km away. Low frequency noise can interfere with the health of people living close by. The effects are studied and we should not forget that we are not looking at a lot of time when data is collected.
I am all for alternative generation, but we don't need to but the baby out with the water. Calling concerns with a "swoosh" rubbish is not very constructive. I appreciate that you might have a firm point of view because it seems you were working close to Marsden point. Nonetheless, I stand by what I have written.
"it also means that land is being made to concrete deserts. You might power your vehicle but you wont have anything to eat. (So to speak)."
A dozen 15m diameter concrete footings within thousands of acres does not constitute a concrete desert and the fields were full of crops
I gave a link that showed you are repeating rubbish.
You even said it yourself. At 2 km you will not hear a wind generator over the ambient noise. Even in the countryside.
@KJT
Both solar and wind do have a real impact on their local environment – the sheer area of land involved cannot be so easily overlooked.
Go for a drive through the vast French countryside and you will see (but not hear) wind generators dotted all over the landscape…and no concrete in sight.
Pat, if you drive through the French countryside you should pick up a paper in the next town. You might read about the concerns of the folks that have to live near the turbines and farmers who lose arable land. Also, the blades need changing on occasions and give me a guess what happens with them? Yep, they are just deposited on the ground. How green is that!
I am all for Windmills but some reason and science has to apply. Unless you want to pay a gold bar for a kg of potatoes.
Windmills are anchored with steel and concrete.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-97107-8
…foundations are usually simple concrete blocks called footings that are placed under building walls and columns, or in the case of wind turbines, beneath the tower.
A typical slab foundation for a 1 MW turbine would be approximately 15 m diameter and 1.5 – 3.5 m deep. Turbines in the 1 to 2 MW range typically use 130 to 240 m3 of concrete for the foundation. Multi-pile foundations are used in weaker ground conditions and require less concrete.
The middle Waikato river produces 1450mW.
"A typical slab foundation for a 1 MW turbine would be approximately 15 m diameter".
To replace that with wind generators at 1 mW per 177m2 of land use per generator is 1450 x 177m2. 256650m2, Divide by 10 000 is how many hectares?
Total agricultural land area in New Zealand – Figure.NZ
I am not worried about space for wind generation, threatening my spud supply anytime soon.
@KJT
Your wind turbines are going to have a capacity factor of around maybe 20% in a good location. So you will need roughly 5 times more of them than your calculation suggests.
Then you need to consider that much of the land does not have a good wind potential or that some seasons can have weeks of low wind. Gets messy quickly.
Do the sums.
Still a miniscule fraction of NZ's arable land.
Let alone of total land area.
Compare to biofuels which does require significant land use.
And. A large proportion of the best wind locations are not suitable for housing or farming. Steep and windswept, are places we use for sheep, or gorse.
NZ on a global scale has a reasonably good wind resource and getting the current annual contribution from around 4% to say 20% seems feasible and desirable.
Although given much of the easy, high productivity sites have already been utilised – it will probably take a covering a bit more land than you would imagine to get us even to 20%. And that assumes there is never any growth in total demand into the future.
On a global scale the picture is even less rosy – but given how we have seen Greenies shut down perfectly good nuclear power plants so as to intentionally burn more brown coal – I guess anything is possible.
Obviously, arithmetic is not your strength.
They may but i suspect their solution will be more along the lines of large schemes (solar pumped hydro at Onslow?) implemented and controlled by the main sector players rather than individual set ups.
The time frames on fleet replacement may never come to fruition.
The Onslow project does look like it has potential Pat. But it is going to take time. With the lack if rainfall down South this year, we could really have done with this now:
https://www.mbie.govt.nz/building-and-energy/energy-and-natural-resources/low-emissions-economy/nz-battery/lake-onslow-option/
I recall that the Green Party used to have a plan to install Solar panels on schools to act as cores for community produced electricity (less line loss). But that isn't even in the online precis of their clean energy policy anymore. Though there is proposed solar support more in line with what was discussed upthread:
https://www.greens.org.nz/clean_energy_plan
I imagine that; social and community homes, means Kaianga Ora (HNZ). I didn't trawl through the full detail pdf to find out. It all comes down to postelection numbers next year anyway.
Though the GP have always been good with other parties swiping their ideas, so long as the ill gets cured.
The solar on schools (and businesses) is an interesting one…I have seen a number of reports on instances and the overwhelming theme is they only partially offset use….some at very low levels, which highlights KJTs point about economy of scale, not to mention the fact a few major players are easier to coordinate than 10s of thousands individual installations.
I guess the GP might have crunched the numbers and found that the cost benefit analysis didn't stack up. I think it was more Hughes who was pushing for it, so with him out of Parliament these days, it has languished a bit.
It was certainly an ambitious scheme. But if the government can mandate the abolishing of coal burners in schools, they can certainly make funding conditional upon schools allowing them to install solar panels and batteries on their grounds. Especially since the schools would have first call on the subsidized power thus produced.
Weka had a point (somewhere) upthread about the fragility of the lines system. Which is certainly true in Dunedin where decades of underfunding (to prevent rates increases) have left the grid in a woeful state. Having a more distributed network would give more systematic resilience.
Not sure about the boiler replacements either…..especially if replaced with biomass furnaces rather than electric.
https://impactful.ninja/the-carbon-footprint-of-biomass-energy/#:~:text=Biomass%20energy%20has%20the%20fourth,beneficial%20as%20it%20might%20seem.
Solar on schools, reduces the cost of outgoings for the school,produces good surpluses over holidays and weekends,and a surplus back to the grid for the peak use ,(during the spring to autumn period) where you can reduce daytime hydro flows.
As more uptake comes on stream,then surpluses can be banked into community batteries (which essentially become local peakers) and reduces the high cost of distribution.
A major cost in installing PV solar is that you really need to run it through batteries and inverties unless you want to fry your old electrical gear. Did that to a keyboard up in a commune about a decade back – never did get another with quite the same tone bank settings. Though the tech has probably improved these last few years.
Anyway, it is still likely more efficient for a medium size structure such as a school to aggregate and distribute the local solar electricity network with good sized battery banks and true sine-wave inversions (rather than many budget setups with modified square-wave).
Excess could be shunted off to the grid more easily than with multiple small connections from individual houses. And likely get bulk discount on buyback to make that work out better too. Sure, maybe not as technically efficient as larger projects, but also avoiding lots of line-loss. More of an intermediate step.
Though Pandemic supply lines to this country might be too stretched to make this viable at present. Plus no one really seems to be advocating for it anymore.
Community batteries store the excess generation locally when households are at work etc.They return to the local grid for the peak flows .This reduces the need for local network upgrades,transmission loss etc.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2022-04-05/battery-solar-energy-storage-community-neighbourhood-home/100128416
Thanks for the link there Poisson. I should have said so yesterday, but got busy with other things after I clicked away.
The good thing about schools as a site – is that you have unused solar being contributed to the grid 2/7 and during school holidays.
There's a lot of unbuilt wind farms in Southland (you could say Southland is the Saudi Arabia of wind), that haven't been built because there's nothing apart from more coal to provide backup on the rare day's it's not blowing it's tits of along the south coast.
Onslow and / or the Tiwai hydrogen proposal will get those wind proposals going and I suspect a lot more. Could be an interesting period coming up for the South with the Green Hydrogen development leading to a dramatic expansion of the region's industrial sector.
Perhaps it could be a requirement for all owners of EVs (license address) to demonstrate that they have solar power installed 😉
After all – if you can afford 70K or so to buy one – then you can easily afford the solar installation to power it.
[Yes, a bit tongue-in-cheek]
That is a useful site Pat…thanks for the link. We've flirted with the idea of a hybrid system with battery back up for our wee place here in the Far North, but have been disappointed with the detail provided from the couple of 'quotes' we've had. $30,000 or a 5kw system…no idea of how many panels, batteries, brands etc. Most seem to be tied into some kind arrangement with a particular electricity retailer. The 'we're not sure if there will be over runs on installation until we start…' proviso, in small print at the bottom of the quote leaves me more than a little nervous. I did purchase a generator to keep freezers and our pumps running and have an 'ups' thingy as back up for the phone an internet.
And an update on this major solar power project… you'll be pleased to know that the crop of maize grown on this site was harvested a month or so ago, so I guess there has been solar energy utilized. Other than a sign and a chunky gravel carpark the sod-turning photo- op is as far as its gone.
Lol…enjoyed the maize anecdote.
I think individual solar good IF you can develop a system for your own use AND have some form of storage but despite the sales pitch the commercially available set ups still require considerable outlay and pay back periods are extensive….the costs increase considerably the moment it is grid tied.
Personally I would like to try to build a battery based system using DC only. Feed that with AC and covert to DC appliances at various voltage/amp. Almost everything i use is DC in their internal reality. Computers monitors, TVs, power tools, fans,
The exception appears to be heat generators like ovens, stove tops, heater, hot water…
Inverters are a waste of power. So are most of electric AC to DC adapters.
Then once that is running – look at alternate power supplies to feed DC batteries. Pointless having alternate power sources ifbyou are going to have major inefficiences in converting DC to AC to DC to charge a phone (for instance).
I wouldn’t bother feeding the grid when I had excess. The rates are pitiful against the equipment costs to do that. I would need the grid to get the electric ecosystem setup, and as a supplement.
One day when I feel like retiring.
Yes but most dont have the ability to create a bespoke system for themselves….and the moment you tie to the grid you are bound to use approved (and consequently) more expensive componentry, not to mention various fees.
A 12v system is common in many home designed systems often tied to 12v appliances.
I am grid tied (although the inverter is hybrid so are future proofed) the return on investment for me is 12% net,not many investments like that,
What are specs of system and who is providore?
Inverter here (on suppliers site)
https://cpssolar.co.nz/solar-product/goodwe-eh-series-grid-tie-hybrid-inverter/
Panels here.
https://cpssolar.co.nz/solar-product/trina-solar-panels/
Christchurch based.
kw and provider recompense?
So maximum 6kw….a 12 % return better than most….through which power co?….more than 0,08 (+ gst) an excess kw?
excess power 12c + genesis. My daily usage is around 11kwh.
What size system?…and 12c up to 50 kw (per billing period ?)
Gensis homegen is for solar or wind up to 50kw (output) best buyback price.
my unit is 5kw,getting around 4kw due to sun angle between the equinox's.Even on a cloudy day,i usually receive more then I use.
battery or not?
Hybrid so future proof ( can add battery later) as battery efficiency increases.
what (roughly) location?
43 south (chch)
How long you been running?
Since last year
Those who want individual households to install solar power, are ignoring efficiencies and economics of scale..
Individual small solar installations are many times more expensive and require more manufactured resources, than a large solar or wind installation.
Government money is better used in building larger scale sustainable generation, for everyone instead of subsidising upper middle class who can afford to add solar panels.
While we have a privatised electricity industry whose business model depends on keeping energy scarce and expensive, though!
The economics of roof solar have changed dramatically over the last few years. Two minutes of surfing showed this:
"Costs for solar energy systems have come down substantially over the past decade. A fully-installed system in 2008 could run you about $40,000 — now, prices are only a fraction of that amount. The cost for a solar system starts around $5,990."
Think for a moment about what those households could buy for that amount, if several thousand of them clubbed together and built a solar or wind farm.
Not to mention the savings on long term maintainance, of one solar farm compared to hundreds of individual roof top systems.
There's no reason that large scale solar farm can't be virtual and spread over a hundred or thousand roof tops.
That's what Solar Zero have done, but their model is putting their panels on your roof, and giving you cheaper (maybe) power in lieu of rent.
I'd be interested in a more co-operative model where the property owner owns the panels and shares in a wholesale marketing organisation to sell their surplus energy
Every one of those roof tops requires rectifiers, switching and controllers, plus probably batteries.
A lot of duplication of small and consequently, inefficient, equipment.
On the plus side, roof top solar doesn’t take up extra land.
Hopefully solar control systems will improve in cost and efficiency.
"There's no reason that large scale solar farm can't be virtual and spread over a hundred or thousand roof tops."
Its not impossible but is it the best and most efficient use of limited resources both now and for the future?
I agree, it makes more sense from an efficiency point of view to build large solar arrays. I have seen these type of installations in Germany.
A counter to that is that such installations would take a long time to go through the approval process, actually get built, and have supporting infrastructure built. Also, they use up huge amounts of land. In that respect, is the offset cost of the lost opportunity cost of alternative usages for the land taken up by solar arrays. For instance, lost opportunities for food production, or even using the land for planting native forests as a carbon-offset.
While subsidies for domestic solar installations would not be as efficient, they would provide much quicker sources of renewable energy and wouldn't need the same amount of supporting infrastructure as they would be using the infrastructure already in existence.
Perhaps, a solar subsidy arrangement could be an interim goal to fill the gap while more efficient solutions are implemented over a longer timeframe.
Yes I agree with your thoughts above and have done so for at least 20 years! I worked in the solar hot water side for awhile – before PV became more viable – and even then there were immense gains to be made both economically and environmentally. WA had a similar scheme – sunny days are the rule there, so an obvious source of energy. Traveling in the train south from Perth you will see house after house with solar panels. It was so popular that the WA Govt overran its budget and, as it was then a liberal govt, cut the scheme. But the die had been cast and there is still a good uptake on solar energy installation on new builds.
Many of the solar hot water systems installed in NZ are manufactured in WA – it was there that they were developed.
Israel mandates all new buildings to be fitted with solar energy and has done for decades, obviously to reduce its reliance on imported fossil fuels.
Yes you are correct in that roof-top solar has far more penetration in Australia than NZ. As a guess I would say the rate is between 5 – 8 times higher.
Still the reality is that Australia has one of the best solar and wind power potential anywhere on the planet – and it is still a non-trivial task to turn off all the coal until you have solved the storage problem.
The large uptake of solar in oz,has meant electricity prices have fallen,
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-19/how-low-electricity-prices-can-help-with-power-bills/100703726
Roof-top solar appears to have a few fishhooks.
Last year saw Australians install rooftop solar like never before, with 40% more installed in 2021 than in 2020. Solar system installations now make up 7% of the energy going into the national electricity grid.
[…]
But such a dramatic surge in solar output also poses challenges for Australia’s power system for two main reasons.
It results in increased periods of large oversupply when weather conditions favour solar energy. This leads to energy being wasted due to the need for solar curtailment – when a solar system shuts down or stops exporting energy to the grid to counter the energy spike.
On the other hand, there is little solar generation during peak demand hours in the morning and evening. This requires more expensive generators to run.
These are huge problems from a market operations perspective, as the pressure on the system may result in blackouts and disruptions. It also creates large price swings for retailers, which then can increase costs for consumers. As a result, we may see it become more expensive to decarbonise the national energy market.
https://theconversation.com/4-ways-to-stop-australias-surge-in-rooftop-solar-from-destabilising-electricity-prices-173592
I came up with a hair brained scheme a while back where government rolls out solar that pays for itself.
Put solar on state housing and recoup the costs from tenants paying their power bills – but at the same time (calculated by their average/historic use) offer them some of the savings (will make buy in much easier) from the savings generated. Win – Win.
You could roll out a portion of it, show the bank the payments coming in, and get finance for the next portion. Very little govt spending required if they shuffle their cards right.
Many other government properties could do with the retrofit too.
It would make the government a major power generator in short order. And yes, it would certainly help take the pressure off our systems.
there was talk some time back of us manufacturing solar here. I have no idea why that's not happening, it was another no-brainer.
"there was talk some time back of us manufacturing solar here. I have no idea why that's not happening, it was another no-brainer."
The simple answer is costs….most of the components would need to be imported anyway so is more efficient to buy in complete items.
Here's what the sustainable and resilient solution looks like, see if you can spot the pattern:
What that does is use less resources, require less maintanence, create less pollution, make NZ more self sufficient, make local areas, neighbourhoods and households more self sufficient and resilient going into our climate and quake future.
outside my lane about what would work, but couple that with manufacturing components in NZ as much as possible.
At the moment, we have some pretty important infrastructure that relies on overseas manufacturers for replacement parts. Consider current supply line interruptions magnified, and what would happen if your town electricity or supply stopped working because something broke. How much redundancy do we have?
I can't say I disagree with any of that Weka. It just seems to make more sense compared to anything else which will be expensive, long to implement, and damaging to the environment.
I imagine such a solution would also have good buy-in from the public who would directly benefit from such a concept.
You dont need the water part,there is an extra unit that you can install with solar pv which optimizes Water heating first (around 800)
It's a good question that some of us have been asking for a while now. Would have to look up exactly when, but the Greens pushed quite some time ago (pre Key?) for solar install subsidies that would also have had the effect of upscaling solar business in NZ and thus lowering prices. You can understand why some of us are frustrated with NZ voters.
Further to my comment, probably the only point I would disagree with is that I don't think that the government should be subsidising or requiring (in the case of new builds) every house should have solar energy. That is because not all houses are oriented to efficiently take advantage of solar.
The optimal orientation is east-west oriented houses (with the exposed roof facing north). So, perhaps at the consenting side of the equation the approval authority could decide whether the orientation of the house qualifies for the government subsidy or not so that taxpayer money is used in the most efficiently.
Perhaps planners should look at the possible orientation of houses when allowing for new subdivisions.
Ha! Have you seen the new builds in Auckland. 8 townhouses crammed literally side-by-side on a section which previously contained 1 house.
Sections are covered to 95% of area with housing (and the rest is driveway).
Under the new government intensive building plans – town planners will have little if any control over what is built where.
I call BS on that. The building coverage in Auckland cannot exceed 50% of the site and in most cases (e.g. zones) it is less than that.
Really. I invite you to take a look at the intensive housing going in along the main transit corridors (but still suburban streets) in Auckland.
Literally 4 doors down from me (side street connection to a main road) they are building 8 townhouses on the site where they've removed one house. They're 3 story – in order to get the most density on the site possible.
And the building is right from one boundary to the driveway (which is on the other boundary)
The only non-built space is the driveway.
This may have required a resource consent (i.e. isn't a normally allowed activity) – but they are routinely being rubber-stamped in Auckland's drive for intensification along PT corridors (and linked areas).
This is repeated on building-site after building-site across the suburbs I drive through.
Yes, really. Knock yourself out by searching the AUP (Auckland Unitary Plan) for “building coverage” aka building footprint. For example, here:
https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/plans-projects-policies-reports-bylaws/our-plans-strategies/hgi-district-plan/Documents%20%20PM14/pm14-attachment-e-aup-tracked-changes-part1.pdf [625 pages]
For example, 50% max. building coverage on a site of 10 m by 20 m (200 meter squared) means the building footprint cannot be more than 100 meter squared, e.g. 6 m by 16 m (96 meter squared). To you that may look like 95% while in actual fact it is (only) 48%. (NB there are all sorts of boundary requirements, but this is just a simple example to illustrate your optical illusion)
Have fun!
In the real world: Building from one side of the site to the other (excluding the driveway), building from front berm to to back boundary.
I don't see in what rational world that can be described as 48% of the site.
I acknowledge that this may have required a resource consent for an exemption to the standard rules. However, as I said, these are clearly being routinely granted.
What I'm describing is anything but an isolated incident.
And the new legislation is specifically designed to allow 3x3story houses on the site where previously 1 was permitted.
Go argue with your calculator and work out the building footprint after you have measured yourself those sites with new housing builds (incl. terraced houses and apartments) that, in your mind, occupy 95% of the total site area. You may want to ask permission before you enter those properties. Alternatively, you could tell us the exact area you’re talking about; Auckland Council has these very handy maps and other handy data …
What you think you see in the real world is in your head.
Spot the ambiguity if not contradiction.
What does this have to do with building footprint maxima?
The new law requires Auckland Council to allow medium-density housing (3 houses of 3 stories high on the site currently required for one) – as a default across most of their area.
https://www.hud.govt.nz/about-us/news/update-enabling-housing-supply-legislation-passes-to-help-grow-our-cities/
I expect this drive for intensification to continue. And the cheapest way for developers to do this, is what they're already doing: cramming as many townhouses as possible on a single site.
From your link:
In other words, it has not happened yet (“from August 2022”), so you cannot have seen it yet, whatever it is that you think you saw.
No. What I'm seeing is resource consent variations over site-coverage being routinely granted to enable Auckland Council’s goals of intensification along PT corridors.
The point I was making is that this intensification (resulting in virtually zero un-built-on land on the site) will increase (and become more widespread) when the new legislation comes into effect.
At least you agree that the new legislation has not yet come into effect. Now, can you tell us what the building coverage limits are that are allegedly “resulting in virtually zero un-built-on land on the site” in the new legislation, which by your reckons is already happening in Auckland? You’re repeating the same stupid line but with not a shred of support.
Even with the 3 levels,both the height control plane and expense will exclude lifts.
It should be mandatory for Woods and Brownlee to move the new owners fridge and washing machine up to level 3.
They manage moving to the 4th floor in the middle of Amsterdam just fine.
Well they should move to Amsterdam.
I’m sure NZ movers would love a trip to Amsterdam to learn the trade.
Na they would send the container with Brownlee and Woods in there.
Anyway the infill initiative falls over under high initial costs (land and property,high construction costs,and high interest rates to come.
Brownlee is very good at tampering with airport security and he’d get out of the container quite easily.
They were not economical then,its only in the last 3-4 years that costs have decreased substantially as large scale manufacturing became more cost effective.
Private solar installations are already subsidised in a roundabout way. My son who has a PhD in Battery Technology countered my arguments about more house solar and why werent the prices paid for supply to the grid closer to what we pay. The reply was that there are a few unique aspects to NZs electricity systems, and the cost of production of is only about 7cents a kw, the distribution is the killer.
1, most of the rest of the world needs electricity to cool buildings in the summer when solar and wind is a lot more efficient, US and Europe heat their houses and factories with gas or oil and it will take quite sometime to phase out up to a billion systems. We on the other hand use electricity for heating in the winter and don't cool very many buildings in summer, our winter solution is to put on another bloody jersey, one area where our Scots and Irish heritage favours conservation!
2, the majority of the cost of electricity is in the distribution, and NZ is very difficult terrain to manage. I live 25kms from a large SI town yet between here and there there are tens of millions of dollars of installations, a lot disquised as normal houses used to manage voltage and other aspects, all of which require a huge amount of maintenance, again an almost unique NZ problem, because of the long distances and consequently a fraction of the consumers to pay for it compared to other countries.
Heres the political problem, more houses with solar means less consumers to pay for the distribution costs and that system is vital, small private solar installations are very prone to lack of sunlight and wind just when you need the power hence the need for most to be connected to the grid and the nessecity to pay the same as someone without solar supplementation. Just because you may ride a bike a lot of the time you still may need a car to do what cannot be managed on a bike and I'm pretty sure no government is going to subsidise the capital cost of a car for you just because it sits idle until you need it.
There are many, many other complications, but one of his interesting comments was that the future will see that a much larger proportion of the worlds industrial production will occur 10-20 degrees either side of the Equator in highly automated factories with few staff because of the amount of sunlight available ( closer to the sun ) and the reliability of tropical winds for cheaper energy and shorter freight distances, ( not by much but everything helps ).
Get in now, buy desert in northern Australia.
Hey tsmithfield, do you want to walk back the lying propaganda you posted yesterday about another Russian ship being sunk? No evidence whatsoever except the lies you picked up from Western media. It didn't happen, just like the Russian Generals killed in action .. all bullshit .. You really need to learn how to do real research.
Poots' billion dollar gin palace will do.
https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/putins-superyacht-scheherazade-seized-italy/
Consolation prize
Yes – the whole invasion is a Nazi fake. Real research would show that Putin was correct all along when he told everyone back in Feb that Russia was never going to invade Ukraine.
Thought you may be interested in this RL.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/experiences/hiking-holidays/128541226/on-long-and-winding-trail-of-a-tramping-legend
Thanks for this. I met Paul just the once at Masterton Rail station on his way into the Tararuas and got to chat with him for a while. Yes he is a legend – quite well known.
Great article!
Positively inspiring.
I know for certain they took out a landing craft type boat as pointed out by Red below. So, that could be a source of confusion.
I will reserve my position on the Makarov because I haven't seen any firm evidence that the Makarov is actually around still. I have seen several photos put up by pro-Russian sources on Twitter, apparently of the Makarov in port, or some other location after the attack. But, those pictures have been easily identified as fakes. Hence, I will wait until there is actually firm evidence that the Makarov is actually still around before conceding anything.
tsmithfield .. The clip of the ship being hit is actually from a video game, wise up with your comments, you are spreading lies ..
If you are referring to the article linked to by Red Logix above, you obviously didn't read the part where it said:
"Satellite photos analysed by the Associated Press show the aftermath of an apparent Ukrainian drone strike on Friday on Russian positions on Snake Island, with thick black smoke rising overhead."
So maybe you need to update your technique for sorting fact from fiction.
tsmithfield the Russian frigate was and is nowhere near Snake Island, the source of another PR stunt gone wrong by Ukraine, remember the valiant soldiers who all actually surrendered to the Russians .. It is you that needs to update your technique for sorting fact from bullshit. You show a twitter feed as proof .. ha ha ha ha ha ha. If you want to actually educate yourself about what is happening in Ukraine I can give you some real independant analysis from actual experts, not armchair experts.
'Actual experts' who can tell us this 'so called 'war' is all just a Ukrainian PR stunt right? Real research would show Russian soldiers being welcomed with hot food, flowers and enthusiastic fucks by happy locals glad to be free of Nazis oppressing them.
Got it.
Red Logix you need to drink less alcohol or inbibe less on substances before making comments which defy logic .. read your above post and get help friend!
Выпить Карцу Путину !!!
RedLogix, I examined your letters and again you confirm the need for some assistance man, you lack logic or good sense, grow up!
The situation with the Makarov is a bit weird. Hopefully we will soon have some objective information about this.
There has been this tweet recently claiming that the ship was met back at dock by 20 ambulances suggesting something serious had happened on board.
If the ship has been damaged enough to require that sort of attention, then it could be out of the game for quite awhile, even if it is still floating.
It's been very widely reported in the media.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/russia-ukraine-war-putins-new-flagship-warship-on-fire-following-missile-strike-weeks-after-moskva-sunk/WH3QTI2QHZCJMO7RRANWDD2EHI/
Of course the Herald report comes from the International wires – rather than independent reporting.
If you have a reputable source to link to, that this is propaganda – then it would be good to see it.
Belladonna .. au contraire you need to provide actual proof of the frigate being damaged, I don't have to prove anything, because nothing happened except on a keyboard spewing propaganda and lies .. show me the money shot boys!
The Great Lord Putin has promised a wonderful victory over the hordes of lying Nazi monkeys pounding out endless lies and filth on their keyboards!!
RedLogix .. come on Man pull yourself together, you simply don't make sense or offer an argument .. You say .. The Great Lord Putin has promised a wonderful victory over the hordes of lying Nazi monkeys pounding out endless lies and filth on their keyboards! Explain this nonsense?
An apolitical energy expert told me that solar is marginal in NZ but great in Australia. Aussie have a lot of sun when they need the most energy (in summer to run aircons). Whereas in NZ we need enrgy for winter heating and that's when there's too little sun.
Solar in NZ is good for water heating (which is a waste of electricity) but not so good for making electricity.
Fuck the ' experts ' works perfectly fine on my roof and has done the last ten years .
Worked for my parents in Rotorua for a decade. Their grid power bills were minimal – about $30 per month in winter. Solar + water backed wood burner.
They moved about 5-6 years ago. I'd have liked to have tried lithium batteries as well. But they were too expensive at the time.
Worked for my parents in Rotorua for a decade. Their grid power bills were minimal – about $30 per month in winter. Solar + water backed wood burner.
They moved about 5-6 years ago. I'd have liked to have tried lithium batteries as well. But they were too expensive at the time.
I have rooftop solar thermal hot water and photovoltaic panels and a battery so I speak from experience. There is a hybrid inverter that automatically sends surplus production to the grid and draws from the grid when the battery is at my reserve value. It can disconnect from the grid in an outage and provide power from the battery and reconnect in phase when the grid is back up. This is a Harrison's system and they have backed up their product with appropriate service. The cost is worth bearing for those who have the resources; our total electricity bill last year was little more than $300, and includes charging a Mitsubishi PHEV for local driving. I've long advocated for a government loan guarantee for such installations with savings on electricity applied to amortising the loan. This requires a suitable payback tariff for energy sent to the grid. This is not available from all electricity retailers and is not sufficient from others, but even then it works given some time. Other comments about large scale installations and upgraded distribution systems are correct and will be necessary for the progress of NZ into the rest of this century. Getting the government policies needed to accomplish this is an ongoing task.
Pete Buttigieg does a good job naming the "high water mark" of freedom within both the likely reversal of Roe and the Florida State "don't ask don't tell" law.
It's 6 minutes but he does a good job, noting his own point that 10 years ago it would have been laughable that he be able to discuss that he is married to a man and has two children, and that now such a statement is to be deemed only suitable for adults.
(8) Pete Buttigieg BRINGS THE HOUSE DOWN with must-see speech – YouTube
Excellent link thanks Ad. A big part of why I come here is to be put on to links like this.
Throws more light on something I've thought for some time. That the USA is broken and I consider is incapable of healing itself.
I find the concept of a high-water mark useful.
Next week Pete might have changed his opinion. 🙂
He is the last person to be speaking about freedom when he doesn’t seem to know what it means.
https://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/elections/2019/05/01/pete-buttigieg-vaccines/3639678002/
Yes, slay Buttigieg for that. Ponder his views and ways as illustrated in that 2019 link and that performance (above) on YouTube and the proven views and ways of Donald Trump. Which one of those two would have better qualities and less negatives to be President after 2024?
'Heard says she wants the Government to do more to help those who may be facing mortgage stress.'
Already!
Expect anyone coming under mortgage stress to blame the….gummint now.
Mother says time with her baby will be cut short because monthly home repayments are set to jump $800 a month | Stuff.co.nz
High interest rates as passive population control. Awesome.
So long as the Ardern government imports enough Filipino RNs for rest homes we'll be right jack.
Do those who look constantly for handouts understand that it is tax money they demand? Who is going to pay? Or are we back to printing.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/126261112/who-will-pay-the-price-for-the-54-billion-spent-on-quantitative-easing
So it turns out that Omicron is just as severe as the previous Covid variants. It was all media bollocks from the business lobby to support opening up.
https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/omicron-severe-previous-covid-variants-large-study-finds-2022-05-05/?fbclid=IwAR2b5sJfZDgG_EjMkTWeWmS1V2S6SBVZICNuuM-hypVUcZ59V7EO8YT6Qf0
Interesting. That was the assumption that I made when I looked at those original studies on omicron.
They looked far too coarse grained for a population that was partially immunised and had treatments. Just simple bean counting without looking at nuance.
If you look closely at the NZ hospialisation demographic rates for unvaccinated where known (after the delta cases passed through), they look like Italy in early 2020.
Exactly. The continuous repetition of "more infectious but milder" smacked of an orchestrated campaign by business interests. It was never backed by the WHO.
I think the way to tame inflation is to crash the property market.
About a 60% fall should do it.
The effects of high mortgage and rent payments and their % of income is a big problem.
Mainly speculators and investors would be hurt.
More homes would appear on the market driving prices and rents even lower.
People who bought their houses to live in will still benefit from CG over decades,and FHB will be able to afford a…home.
Blazer, banks would fail, stocks would fall Kiwi saver balances would crash dreams would die.
Revolution of any kind has too many unintended consequences.
So whats the…bad …news!
Nope. The speculators and investors are unlikely to be hurt. Pretty much all of them have a healthy buffer of equity. And losses are only losses once you sell – so they're motivated to hang on to the property – for at least the 10 years required to escape the bright line test. Of course, in the meantime, they're also highly motivated to ratchet up the rent every year…
The people it clobbers are the new homeowners – with mortgages less than 3 years old. *If* they can hang on, they'll be OK. Banks have been stress-testing mortgage repayments at 7-8% over the last 2+ years before loaning money.
But anyone who is obliged to sell (marriage break up, illness, job loss, etc.) will take a hammering – and will probably come up with negative equity.
There will be some mortgagee sales – but everyone (banks included) wants to keep them to a minimum.
If prices drop,so will the equity required by banks regarding investors/speculators.
They will have to stump up or sell in a falling market.=more stock.
As prices rose 30% in Auckland in one year the rebalance is long overdue.
FHB's if the stress tests are real should be o.k.
No. Banks very, very rarely require an infusion of equity for existing loans – where there is a strong payment history.
Unless you have some evidence that this past practice is about to change.
Of course, if you want a further loan (say for renovations) or want to shift to interest-only, then they'll force a revaluation.
But banks don't want to force a sale — they'll make a heck of a lot more money, long term, off the mortgage repayments.
You will find banks most certainly require a capital injection from leveraged investors when the market tanks. Similar to a margin call on securities.
LVR restrictions mean that property investors (over the last 2? years) have needed to have a 40% deposit.
https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/education/at-a-glance-series/lvr-restrictions-at-a-glance
You'd have to have property market crash of epic proportions for them to be moving into negative equity.
Property investors with portfolios older than 2 years – will have 'benefited' from the capital increase – and, again it would take an epic property crash to shift their loan into negative equity.
Highly leveraged property investors are pretty much a thing of the past in NZ.
And the world dosn't end…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_property_bubble#:~:text=The%20collapse%20of%20the%20property,apartment%20prices%20down%20over%2062%25.
Finding it very curious that there have been numerous debates here on who is, should or can be a "woman". Over the last few days there has been much publicity about the nasty attack on Nadia Lim in the NBR by the Henry person. Pleasing to see all the support she has had from numerous people. But none or very little comment here!
The CEO Simon Henry is a misogynist, and has been outed.
Nadia is self made, but her business took advantage of shareholders and holes in the current system through pumping possible profits, selling shares and realising wealth where other investors won't get much.
So support for her position is muted, as the man is an egg, but his premise of overhyping the shares was real. imo.
Well I’m not going to get too excited about reality TV participants and their subsequent business activities–but Mr Henry deserves the shower of shit he is getting. He could have just stuck to his business grumble, without invoking misogyny and racial slurs.
“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.”
― Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
Oh that were so in NZ! The reality is NZ is a venal money trench for the elite and petit bourgeoisie, a neo liberal state in legislation and reality, so no revolution just yet. But change is a coming…one way or another. Generation rent and student loan and alienated working class know that, it is a matter of what the direction is.
The Convoys and Groundswells had their go at being that change, but have ‘blown their bags’ to use an old crudity, as far as can be seen, they had their chance.
A new political movement (not just Parliamentary Party) is certainly needed to challenge and retire neo liberalism. But given all the requirements to register new parties and do community organising and activism, that should probably be kicked out to the 2026 General Election. There are ultimately few ‘organisational solutions to major political problems.’
But for 2023 certainly the Greens and Te Pāti Māori should be the target for pressure to support working class friendly policy in case they are able to form a Government with Labour. A combination of tactics–turn Green and Māori left as possible, and strategy–keep the dirty filthy natzos out, as the ground is prepared for a generational break through in 2026.
This country is a Tale of Two Cities and needs people power to turn it around, passivity and compliant consumers have had their day.
To Labour and the Scientists Thanks for a great fight against Mico plasma bovis. In spite of the refusal to comply by some rednecks, we are almost free of this scourge.
Next will be the tropical blackworm which is able to demolish a garden in days.
http://www.voxy.co.nz/health/5/401947
"Biosecurity New Zealand is closely monitoring reports of a Foot and Mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in Indonesia, says Biosecurity New Zealand Deputy Director-General Stuart Anderson."
"We will review the latest information from Indonesia and boost our already strong measures at the border if required.
"An audit last year of Indonesia's supply chain for palm kernel, which is used as a feed supplement in New Zealand, showed it was meeting strong import health requirements."
NZs worst nightmare.
Yes Pat that would be very grim.
There is a Turning Away happening in the US – not the Floyd version, but arguably a response to it. When working no longer gets one anywhere, that old tune in, turn on, & drop out looks better every day.
Sad, sad thread on how people were and are treated like dust in Russia.
1/ The following thread is an attempt to explain Russia(TM) to you from my Soviet-Russian-speaking-Ukrainian-Jewish perspective. I didn't eat wisdom with spoons. Please add and correct!
2/ We are currently seeing many Russians on the streets of Russian cities in heroic protest against the war. Navalnyj said "If we have to clog up their prisons with our bodies, then we'll do it".
[…]
(Now also enjoy this thread as a blog post: marinaweisband.de/russia-verst… )
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