The John Key National government backed by the Auckland Chamber of Commerce wanted to build a road tunnel under the Waitemata Harbour.
Writing at the time, Patrick Reynolds, explained why that was a bad idea.
Will the proposed Waitemata Harbour Crossing be good for drivers?
Patrick Reynolds | January 12, 2016
…it [the road tunnel] simply enables more vehicles to travel across a short point in the middle of the city, yet this is by no means an obviously good thing: The list of unwanted outcomes from the current proposal is so extensive that the benefits had better be so extraordinary and so absolutely certain in order to balance them all.
But perhaps there is no greater reason to not do it than that it simply won’t improve things for drivers.
Really? How can this be? As well the obvious problem with this project that it will add super capacity for a short stretch of the motorway network and therefore just shifts any bottleneck to the next constriction, particularly the extremely difficult to expand CMJ or Spaghetti Junction, there’s also a bigger structural problem with building more roads to fight traffic congestion. It can’t work.
……Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson said the Government is considering scrapping plans to build a dedicated bike bridge alongside the existing Auckland Harbour Bridge.
Robertson, who is Minister of Finance and Infrastructure, told the Herald the Government wants to bring forward on a second Waitematā crossing, likely to be a tunnel.
To give credit where credit is due; In proposing the bike bridge, the Finance Minister and the Minister for Transport were trying to honour an election promise made to Aucklanders to get cyclists and walkers accross the Waitemata, in-line with the government's ambition to encourage greener more sustainable means of transport in our biggest city.
Unfortunately the eight lane motorway, which essentially is what the Auckland Harbour Bridge is, resisted retrofitting for cycling and walking. Simply put, physics are against it.And the Skypath was cancelled.
In response to the 'Skypath' cancellation, cyclists staged a protest asking that one lane be taken away from cars on the existing bridge carriageway and made into a cycle way.
Rather than take the cyclists request for a dedicated bike lane, seriously. To maintain the bridge carriageway for the exclusive use of cars, the government instead offered to build a separate stand alone bridge for cyclists and walkers, at a cost of $785 million.
Sticker shock, and the fact that the cyclists had not asked for this option, made this proposal unpopular even with bike advocates.
Auckland harbour cycle and pedestrian bridge facing criticism from both sides
Radio New Zealand 5 June 2021
….Bevan Woodward, a cycling campaigner who has clashed with Waka Kotahi – the New Zealand Transport Agency – in the past, was wondering why the government had just committed to spending close to a billion dollars without even trying an obvious alternative.
"That is to take the westernmost lane for walking and cycling. Do it initially as a trial to see if it works. We know it's worked many times overseas. Let's try it out – if it works, then that should be the solution," Woodward said.
Since the promised 'Skypath' add-on is not a goer, and the fall back alternative, an over priced completely bonkers stand alone bike bridge, is looking politically shaky, the government are re-considering building a third harbour crossing, "likely" to be a tunnel
A $6 billion road tunnel under the Waitemata was proposed by the John Key National government.
Details of the current government's 'likely' tunnel proposal have not yet been released, what shape this latest tunnel will take, and the time frame for its construction and costings have not been released.
The original Key National government plan, was for an automotive only tunnel under the Waitemata. cost estimate $6 billion. Green Party Transport Spokesperson Julie Anne Genter, said at the time, the Green Party would support the Key government tunnel if a rail option was added, total cost estimate for this combined road rail tunnel proposal $10 billion. The Green Party have since, reconsidered this position and now support a rail only crossing.
The question is; will the government be able to resist the combined pressure from the powerful Roading Lobby, the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the National Party, to build more roads across the Waitemata?
Will the government choose a road tunnel, or a rail tunnel?
Or, will the government go for the much more expensive combined road and rail tunnel?
The rail tunnel would solve the bicyle problem as bikes are allowed on trains.
Make the existing bridge a two lane cycle walking bridge, high clear sides to stop wind and jumpers, 6 remaining lanes (or less if removing the clip ons eases maintenance and increases longevity)for light vehicles only ,possible routed so they dont connect easily to the city so only through traffic use it .
Bless my soul, as John Key lives and breathes,
At an estimated cost of $10 billion for a combined road/rail tunnel, I reckon, your 'reckons' are mighty expensive.
And as to who's arses are being kicked;
Will the proposed Waitemata Harbour Crossing be good for drivers?
Patrick Reynolds | January 12, 2016
……such big tunnels and interchanges [$5-$6 billion and four times as much as just building rail tunnels], to the undesirable flooding of city streets and North Shore local roads with even more cars, to the increase in air pollution and carbon emission this will create, the loss of valuable city land to expanded on and off ramps and parking structures, to the impact on the harbour of exhaust stacks and a supersized motorway on the Shore, to the pressure this will put on the rest of the motorway system particularly through the narrow throat of Spaghetti Junction. It is both the most expensive and least efficient way to add capacity across this route, and if resilience is the aim then the double-down on reliance the motorway system rather works against this….
Make the existing bridge a two lane cycle walking bridge, high clear sides to stop wind and jumpers,…." bwaghorn
You are dreaming if you think building more roads will allow more room for bikes and pedestrians, just the opposite, more roads build more cars.. You need to read this;
…..We all have experienced being stuck in traffic on a motorway and sat there wishing if only the authorities had just built an extra lane all would be sweet, well it would, wouldn’t it? However the evidence from all round the world shows that while that may help for a little while it never lasts, especially in a thriving city and especially if these extension starve the alternatives of funding, condemning ever more people to vehicle trips on our roads. Soon we’re stuck again wishing for another few billions worth of extra lanes all over again.
Here’s how it works; each new lane or route simply incentivises new vehicle journeys that weren’t made before; a well known phenomenon called induced demand. Road building is also traffic building, the more we invest in roads the more traffic and driving we get, and not just on the new road; everywhere. Traffic congestion is, of course, simply too much traffic, too much driving. Take for example the I-10 in Houston, the Katy Freeway. In that famously auto-dependent city they freely spent Federal money and local taxes disproportionately on just one way to try to beat traffic congestion, the supply side: ever more tarmac [Houstonians can boast the greatest spend per capita on freeways in the US]. The I-10 which began at six to eight lanes has just had its latest ‘upgrade’ to no fewer than 26 lanes! That ought to be more than enough in a flat city with multiple routes and only half the population Los Angeles. So what happened? According to recent analysis it has made driving this route significantly worse……
When the full connection from the Northwestern motorway to the Northern motorway opens next year, that may make a noticeable change to some of the traveling public. By diverting some of the Harbour Bridge traffic around the end of the harbour.
Or perhaps not. Maybe it'll be just me, if I've still got a regular need to go to Silverdale next year.
Re MIQ problems. There are many many instances of difficulties for people not able to access a MIQ stay. Some of these of people left New Zealand for a "better life", higher pay, adventure, and have been away for 5, 10, 15, 20 years. They have not been contributing to this country for that time. They now demand they be able to come back because life wherever they are is not great and expect taxpayers to provide more and more MIQ facilities.
I know a couple who have been in London for 20 years who want to get back now but in all that time never wanted to live here. So if and when they get back they will add to the demand for a house, a school place, a doctor etc. Yes, a lovely couple who will be great citizens. A really problematic situation for those here and those overseas. Is there a solution?
I guess many of them are professional or semi professional people who have been able to further there careers wherever they are living. But they are still NZers so I can't see how they can be stopped from returning. On the plus side, the knowledge and experience gained overseas could be useful back in NZ.
Given the long term prospects for Covid 19, I think most will end up by staying here.
If the professional or semi professional people who have been able to further their careers choose to return to NZ to live, you have a point. However, if it is the likes of Ms Birt who featured on Morning Report a few days ago in support of her petition, no way! The self-entitled who want to swan back to NZ without the grind of full MIQ to see family without any compelling health or 'life and death' issues can take their place behind the likes of sportspersons, entertainers or people with specialist skills that are needed. Those of us who didn't head off overseas but bit the bullet to 'keep NZ clean' deserve some reward apart from just being covid free.
Yes, I'm with you in this case. Somebody will correct me if I am wrong, but I seem to remember last year the government gave NZers a reasonably big window in which to get themselves home before the borders were closed. It was noted at the time that a lot of them did not take up the opportunity when it was offered them.
Part of the great New Zealand cult of the 'personality'. If you're well-known, you can pronounce on anything cos you're famous. The question to ask is what experts have been advising you, Mr Key? What did they say?
Or has he become now the person who offers another opinion?
"experts were like lawyers" and you could always find another to give a different opinion." John Key 2011
I think many of the Kiwi's overseas are influenced by living in places like the UK where Boris has been happy to drop virtually all Covid restrictions because 57% of the population have been vaccinated.
Britain continues to average around 30,000 cases a day; there are alternative sources that say the number is higher and the 30,000 figure is because of fewer tests.
Effectively Boris is going for herd immunity before winter arrives, through vaccination and by allowing 200,000 people a week to catch Covid.
My guess is that Kiwi expats living in the UK and influenced by this outlook find it hard to come to terms with the zero covid tolerance approach in NZ. It doesn't help that some of them sound self-entitled where the rules are ok except when they themselves aren't effected. They need to realise that NZ has limited resources. NZ's MIQ system has worked well overall-the media are always gong to be able to find the tiny percentage of cases where it hasn't worked well.
I'd just like to support the continued Presidency of John Goodfellow. Outstanding work over the many years, and look forward to more of his campaigns and candidate selection.
We're fortunate to have John and Judith leading National.
anyway the latest bullsh*t from the little people is that Jacinda has no experience???
after four years in the job and the dweebs are pushing this one?
Jacinda is New Zealands Angela Merkel.
no matter how hard the right wing meedja push and shove and try to snow kiwis under a blizzard of crassby tegtor toghma gorem slime the people of this country know what is best for them and it ain't the tories and their laissez faire devil take the hindmost trickle down puke.
The virtual flag-waving, appeals to personal liberty, and warnings about fascism suggest there is something fundamentally un-American about vaccine mandates. But requirements to get inoculations have been around since the very first days of the republic, claiming broad support and withstanding legal challenges.
This isn't because officials or judges are ignoring freedom. It's because they believe vaccination is a key to securing it. In fact, among those who support vaccine requirements today are some well-known conservative judges and libertarian scholars ― in other words, precisely the sort of people you would expect to protest government overreach most vociferously.
What Liberals And Conservatives Say About Vaccine Mandates
A basic justification for vaccine mandates is that your freedom doesn't include the freedom to endanger the rest of your community. The principle is a bedrock of democratic philosophy and the American legal tradition, with courts applying it to a variety of contexts including public health.
tell me how you'd like to see the political process go of altering the NZ Bill of Rights. Also the Health and Disability Act. Probably the Privacy Act too.
Mind pointing out to me where in those bits of legislation there is language that would prevent implementing a vaccine mandate restricting the unvaccinated from airplanes, private businesses such as gyms, theatres etc?
"your freedom doesn't include the freedom to endanger the rest of your community"
Aye – in fact their freedom from a nasty virus depends on you being vaccinated. Just as your freedom from a nasty virus depends on them being vaccinated.
So much of the sh*te we hear on this topic stems from a defective understanding of freedom. I have ranted about this before – but freedom is something that has to be constructed every day through collective obligations. It is not some mythological pre-existing magical thing that innately inheres in individuals.
Yep. Pretty much all freedoms start getting restricted when they start imposing risks or burdens on others.
I have the freedom to get falling down drunk if I want to, anytime I want to, in my own home. Although if it became a problem for any of my kids living with me, there would be grounds for intervention.
In a public bar, not quite so much, the staff have a few obligations to ensure I don't become a problem for other patrons.
But if I am detected attempting to drive a car while in the state of being falling down drunk, then the consequences will be severe. Because of the risk of injury and death to the general public. The consequences are not as severe as they should be in NZ, but that's a separate topic.
If I attempt to board public transport while in the state of being falling down drunk, it's also quite likely intervention will get called. Because of the risk of me becoming a problem to other members of the public.
Rights always have limits when they start overlapping with other people's rights. In the case of the right to refuse the reasonable precaution of a safe and free vaccination, that runs into a boundary at the point of other people's right not to be unreasonably exposed to avoidable disease.
Or carting a gun around and knocking off the occasional old lady would not be looked upon kindly.
AB @ 7.2 is 100% correct. This freedom shite is so much gobbledygook. It smacks of inherent stupidity and the fact it is being advocated by right-wingnuts is no surprise.
Absolutely would be fine for you to email me about a post.
A problem though, my email address is an old one and the account is now shut down.
If I replied to you with my current email address would you get it?
In these debates it is really important to me that I remain annonymous for all the obvious reasons of what happens if you speak up. Would other authors be able to see my email address? Is there another way?
David Carter gone from the board. Resigned, citing no confidence in the president.
Gee, how long have National been infighting now? It seems like forever and this episode shows they have a long, long way to go before the internal war is over.
Meh. Any National improvement will be at the expense of the false numbers ACT are currently enjoying.
There is no left to right swing.
An example of the ridiculousness of David Rimmer's publicity and marketing heavy style of politics is the position he took this week on Expo workers returning later this year. These people are going there to reach out to global business which I thought was a priority for ACT but no, the twerking sensation decided to use it as a stick with which to attack the government.
We once thought we were sentencing our children and grandchildren to experience this, and that it wouldn't affect us.
We are living through a new, horrible phase of climate change
The warnings of scientists are no longer about some far off glaciers melting – the warming planet is creating havoc right before our eyes, says Pilita Clark.
…..In the past four weeks alone, wildfires virtually burnt a Canadian village off the map after it shattered the national record with heat of 49.6 degrees Celcius. Floodwaters tore through German towns like a tsunami, tossing cars like corks.
Terrified Chinese subway passengers stood in chest-high water as nearly a year’s worth of rain fell in three days.
Much of this was predicted. Scientists have warned for years that a warming climate will lead to more weather extremes.
Yet the frequency and severity of these events raise unsettling questions: could we be entering a period of non-linear climate change, where temperatures and extreme events do not increase smoothly as expected but instead come suddenly, more often and perhaps more powerfully?…..
The tragic floods in Germany were nothing unusual, as numerous flood level markings on old buildings demonstrate. What is unusual is the covering of flood plains with houses and concrete and tarmac, thus increasing risk. The lack of foresight by the German government is disgraceful. While the Pacific Northwest had a heat wave, the midwest and eastern states were having colder than average conditions. And snow in southern Brazil destroyed much of the coffee crop.
Admitttedly the BBC (at least in this report), don't refer to any data sets that this rain was record breaking.
But even if you are right, that markings on old buidings show that floods of this magnitude have occurred before, (and they probably have), that is not the full story.
Climate change made extreme floods in Germany and Belgium more likely
New Scientist,16 July, 2021
By Layal Liverpool
The weather events that are thought to have contributed to extreme floods in western Europe are becoming more likely due to climate change, according to climate and meteorology researchers……
Psychology researchers have delved into what makes some New Zealanders more reluctant about receiving the Covid-19 vaccine – finding a link to right-wing beliefs, but only when in tandem with conspiratorial thinking.
While new survey data suggests four in five adult Kiwis now either intend to get vaccinated or likely will – a record result likely reflecting a growing trust in vaccine safety – experts have still sounded concern that a social-media driven "misinfodemic" could undermine health efforts.
Meh – the state, having under Rogergnomics broken just about everything in the country, cannot be allowed to weasel out of its responsibilities by blaming its victims.
Apparently the leader-in-waiting (looking more and more like Edgar Ætheling by the day) has dropped the phrase a couple of times, so maybe Judith's "bottling" line really was an example of how the nats get even more out of touch when they try to speak like the hoi polloi.
I suspect he's getting mixed up with hacked off. Thinks the expression is jacked off. Not a good start to a stellar political career. Mind you Key was a word mangler too.
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This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blogIn 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
Citizen Science writes – Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
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 ...
You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
Karl du Fresne writes – There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
The Fast-track Bill, if passed, would allow three Ministers, unchallenged and unchecked, to approve the immediate extraction and exhaustion of one-off resources. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne iamharin/Shutterstock For many people, the term “bulk billed” refers to a GP visit they don’t have to pay ...
Emmas Hislop, Sidnam and Wehipeihana discuss what’s in a name. Emma Sidnam: Hello Emmas! Thank you so much for agreeing to do this with me. My first question for you is related to what’s been on my mind for a while. It’s very important. You see we’ve recently had some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Sievers, Research Fellow, Global Wetlands Project, Australia Rivers Institute, Griffith University Chris Brown Humans love the coast. But we love it to death, so much so we’ve destroyed valuable coastal habitat – in the case of some types of habitat, ...
Josh Thomson on the 80s milk ad jingle he can’t stop singing, the beauty of The Simpsons, why Jersey Shore is as good as Shakespeare and more. For someone who spends a lot of time on our screens, popping up in everything from 7 Days to Taskmaster, Educators to Good ...
In apparent defiance of the Biden administration, the Netanyahu government has now initiated missile strikes against Iran. Last Saturday night (Sunday morning in New Zealand) Iran launched more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles against Israeli military targets. With the assistance of US, UK and possibly French forces, ...
Māori representation brings a perspective that encompasses not only the interests of Māori communities but also a broader, holistic approach to environmental stewardship and community well-being, principles deeply embedded in Te Ao Māori (the Māori ...
This week in Auckland, a group of young people took over the microphone at a ministerial press conference, to explain why they oppose the Fast-Track Approvals Bill. One young woman said, ‘We’re here because we love Aotearoa New Zealand. We want to raise our children in an environment that’s thriving, ...
The summer was wonderful. Evie was wonderful, too; finally a teenager, finally worthy of long, hot days. She shaved her legs for the first time and bought cut-off shorts from the op-shop that made them look long. She got a Warehouse singlet so tight on her new shape that her ...
When Thomas James was on his solo camp as part of Outward Bound, the keen outdoorsman didn’t find it too challenging, as others often do. In what might just be the perfect illustration of his character, he saw it as a great opportunity to solve a few problems. “I thought, ...
From the unstable and drippy to the hi-tech and pretty, here’s our ranking of all the tunnels you can drive through in this country. The first tunnel seems to have been built in 2200BC in Babylonia, kicking off a global phenomenon for digging holes in order to get places more ...
Lucinda Bennett on the art of being greedy but resourceful. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. When I picture the market, it is always this time of year. Crisp air, dripping nose, counting coins with cold fingers. Sunlight pale, filtered through specks of dew still ...
Zoë Colling’s favourite piece in the ‘That’s So Last Century’ collection is a lubrication chart for a sewing machine from the ’60s. It’s about the size of a postcard, and carefully maintained. “I like it that this piece of ephemera highlights that manual and technical side of the skill involved ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)Hot off the press, this debut ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
Yes, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...
“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Tenbensel, Associate Professor, Health Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Since coming into power, the coalition government has adopted a simple but shrewd see-how-fast-we-can-move political strategy. However, in the health sector this need for speed entails ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Darya Sannikova/Pexels Whether you’re watching TV, attending a footy game, or eating a meal at your local pub, gambling is hard to escape. Although the rise of gambling is not unique to Australia, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol T Kulik, Research Professor, University of South Australia IR Stone/Shutterstock In Australia, it’s not the done thing to know – let alone ask – what our colleagues are paid. Yet, it’s easy to see how pay transparency can make pay ...
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is sounding a warning to migrants, that running foul of the law may see them leaving the country prematurely. ...
The government’s plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Beneficiary numbers are up – and so are ...
Raglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best? I am a die-hard Raglan Roast fan. It’s consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, ...
Residents of University of Auckland halls are being urged to withhold their accommodation fees from May 1, in a bid to force the university to take student concerns over rent hikes seriously.The University of Auckland is facing a strike from students over the cost of on-campus accommodation. The Students ...
New Zealand and the Philippines have signed a new maritime security agreement and stated their concerns over activity in the South China Sea, as Chinese vessels continue to flout international law. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos committed to signing a Mutual Logistics Supporting Arrangement by ...
The thousands of government “back-office” job cuts are causing widespread pain in the capital city. In today’s episode of The Detail, we speak to three journalists and a think tank researcher, looking at the larger picture around the cuts and what effect it will have on Wellington, a city that’s ...
Opinion: The famed American architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham once said, “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood!” Burnham wouldn’t have been referring to the transport plans in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past five years; projects so big they hadn’t the credibility to ...
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Opinion: With maths understanding at 42 percent for Year 8 students, there’s no doubt something has to be done. But how? The post Financial literacy should be on all of us appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Hineaupounamu ‘Missy’ Nuku has been scaling mountains in Canada for her college basketball team, the Lakeland Rustlers. Alberta is currently home for the 20-year-old point guard, who is in her first year of a scholarship at Lakeland College, where she is studying for a business degree. She has certainly made ...
You criticise the crimes of this outlaw regime at your peril
Cancel culture at its most menacing and illiberal.
https://twitter.com/abierkhatib/status/1424068636147339275
Nah… the Charlie Hedbo massacre was cancel culture at its most menacing… complaining on twitter… not so much…
The John Key National government backed by the Auckland Chamber of Commerce wanted to build a road tunnel under the Waitemata Harbour.
Writing at the time, Patrick Reynolds, explained why that was a bad idea.
Following on the heels of the bike bridge controversy, Grant Robertson has resurrected the idea of an under harbour tunnel.
But has not yet revealed whether the new tunnel will be rail, or a road tunnel, or a combined road and rail tunnel.
To give credit where credit is due; In proposing the bike bridge, the Finance Minister and the Minister for Transport were trying to honour an election promise made to Aucklanders to get cyclists and walkers accross the Waitemata, in-line with the government's ambition to encourage greener more sustainable means of transport in our biggest city.
Unfortunately the eight lane motorway, which essentially is what the Auckland Harbour Bridge is, resisted retrofitting for cycling and walking. Simply put, physics are against it.And the Skypath was cancelled.
In response to the 'Skypath' cancellation, cyclists staged a protest asking that one lane be taken away from cars on the existing bridge carriageway and made into a cycle way.
Rather than take the cyclists request for a dedicated bike lane, seriously. To maintain the bridge carriageway for the exclusive use of cars, the government instead offered to build a separate stand alone bridge for cyclists and walkers, at a cost of $785 million.
Sticker shock, and the fact that the cyclists had not asked for this option, made this proposal unpopular even with bike advocates.
Since the promised 'Skypath' add-on is not a goer, and the fall back alternative, an over priced completely bonkers stand alone bike bridge, is looking politically shaky, the government are re-considering building a third harbour crossing, "likely" to be a tunnel
A $6 billion road tunnel under the Waitemata was proposed by the John Key National government.
Details of the current government's 'likely' tunnel proposal have not yet been released, what shape this latest tunnel will take, and the time frame for its construction and costings have not been released.
The original Key National government plan, was for an automotive only tunnel under the Waitemata. cost estimate $6 billion. Green Party Transport Spokesperson Julie Anne Genter, said at the time, the Green Party would support the Key government tunnel if a rail option was added, total cost estimate for this combined road rail tunnel proposal $10 billion. The Green Party have since, reconsidered this position and now support a rail only crossing.
The question is; will the government be able to resist the combined pressure from the powerful Roading Lobby, the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the National Party, to build more roads across the Waitemata?
Will the government choose a road tunnel, or a rail tunnel?
Or, will the government go for the much more expensive combined road and rail tunnel?
The rail tunnel would solve the bicyle problem as bikes are allowed on trains.
My reckons are thus::
Build a kickarse road /rail tunnel.
Make the existing bridge a two lane cycle walking bridge, high clear sides to stop wind and jumpers, 6 remaining lanes (or less if removing the clip ons eases maintenance and increases longevity)for light vehicles only ,possible routed so they dont connect easily to the city so only through traffic use it .
Bless my soul, as John Key lives and breathes,
At an estimated cost of $10 billion for a combined road/rail tunnel, I reckon, your 'reckons' are mighty expensive.
And as to who's arses are being kicked;
"Build a kickarse road /rail tunnel.
Make the existing bridge a two lane cycle walking bridge, high clear sides to stop wind and jumpers,…." bwaghorn
You are dreaming if you think building more roads will allow more room for bikes and pedestrians, just the opposite, more roads build more cars.. You need to read this;
They will kill the cycle bridge and put the tunnel back to the consultants.
No change to traveling public for over a decade.
More likely that National will start both projects in the 2026 term, because the designs will have settled.
No change to traveling public for over a decade.
When the full connection from the Northwestern motorway to the Northern motorway opens next year, that may make a noticeable change to some of the traveling public. By diverting some of the Harbour Bridge traffic around the end of the harbour.
Or perhaps not. Maybe it'll be just me, if I've still got a regular need to go to Silverdale next year.
The SH18-SH1 link travel time differences are miniscule.
Albany will appreciate the new busway.
Again, approved under National.
Re MIQ problems. There are many many instances of difficulties for people not able to access a MIQ stay. Some of these of people left New Zealand for a "better life", higher pay, adventure, and have been away for 5, 10, 15, 20 years. They have not been contributing to this country for that time. They now demand they be able to come back because life wherever they are is not great and expect taxpayers to provide more and more MIQ facilities.
I know a couple who have been in London for 20 years who want to get back now but in all that time never wanted to live here. So if and when they get back they will add to the demand for a house, a school place, a doctor etc. Yes, a lovely couple who will be great citizens. A really problematic situation for those here and those overseas. Is there a solution?
I guess many of them are professional or semi professional people who have been able to further there careers wherever they are living. But they are still NZers so I can't see how they can be stopped from returning. On the plus side, the knowledge and experience gained overseas could be useful back in NZ.
Given the long term prospects for Covid 19, I think most will end up by staying here.
If the professional or semi professional people who have been able to further their careers choose to return to NZ to live, you have a point. However, if it is the likes of Ms Birt who featured on Morning Report a few days ago in support of her petition, no way! The self-entitled who want to swan back to NZ without the grind of full MIQ to see family without any compelling health or 'life and death' issues can take their place behind the likes of sportspersons, entertainers or people with specialist skills that are needed. Those of us who didn't head off overseas but bit the bullet to 'keep NZ clean' deserve some reward apart from just being covid free.
But, but she speaks so nice.
Yes, I'm with you in this case. Somebody will correct me if I am wrong, but I seem to remember last year the government gave NZers a reasonably big window in which to get themselves home before the borders were closed. It was noted at the time that a lot of them did not take up the opportunity when it was offered them.
Oh great, now John Key has had exposure on the TV news at 6.00pm as an expert on Covid and MIQ.
What next?
Part of the great New Zealand cult of the 'personality'. If you're well-known, you can pronounce on anything cos you're famous. The question to ask is what experts have been advising you, Mr Key? What did they say?
Or has he become now the person who offers another opinion?
"experts were like lawyers" and you could always find another to give a different opinion." John Key 2011
Do we remember this 2016 National Party? https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/201807260/is-a-'post-truth'-era-upon-us
I think many of the Kiwi's overseas are influenced by living in places like the UK where Boris has been happy to drop virtually all Covid restrictions because 57% of the population have been vaccinated.
Britain continues to average around 30,000 cases a day; there are alternative sources that say the number is higher and the 30,000 figure is because of fewer tests.
Effectively Boris is going for herd immunity before winter arrives, through vaccination and by allowing 200,000 people a week to catch Covid.
My guess is that Kiwi expats living in the UK and influenced by this outlook find it hard to come to terms with the zero covid tolerance approach in NZ. It doesn't help that some of them sound self-entitled where the rules are ok except when they themselves aren't effected. They need to realise that NZ has limited resources. NZ's MIQ system has worked well overall-the media are always gong to be able to find the tiny percentage of cases where it hasn't worked well.
I'd just like to support the continued Presidency of John Goodfellow. Outstanding work over the many years, and look forward to more of his campaigns and candidate selection.
We're fortunate to have John and Judith leading National.
Yes Chris Finlayson heard the news live on RNZ's Sunday programme this morning and was amazed Goodfellow had kept his job.
It sends a signal that the Nats have given up on the next election already.
The Jude and John show. Book now candidates. We operate on the principle of first in first served plus fiscal generosity.
Hurry, tickets are going fast.
Big ups to Judith and John!
Yep, excellent news.
Has anyone asked the question: do wine-drinkers get covid?
not if they buy a bottle of trumps snake oil as a chaser
anyway the latest bullsh*t from the little people is that Jacinda has no experience???
after four years in the job and the dweebs are pushing this one?
Jacinda is New Zealands Angela Merkel.
no matter how hard the right wing meedja push and shove and try to snow kiwis under a blizzard of crassby tegtor toghma gorem slime the people of this country know what is best for them and it ain't the tories and their laissez faire devil take the hindmost trickle down puke.
Here's a good discussion piece around vaccine mandates in the US, and the ideas of freedoms and rights:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/vaccine-mandate-passport-freedom-liberty_n_610cd4d2e4b0cc1278b9fb08
tell me how you'd like to see the political process go of altering the NZ Bill of Rights. Also the Health and Disability Act. Probably the Privacy Act too.
Mind pointing out to me where in those bits of legislation there is language that would prevent implementing a vaccine mandate restricting the unvaccinated from airplanes, private businesses such as gyms, theatres etc?
Especially where those would be stronger than section 70 of the Public Health Act 1956, that gives wide powers in public health emergencies?
"your freedom doesn't include the freedom to endanger the rest of your community"
Aye – in fact their freedom from a nasty virus depends on you being vaccinated. Just as your freedom from a nasty virus depends on them being vaccinated.
So much of the sh*te we hear on this topic stems from a defective understanding of freedom. I have ranted about this before – but freedom is something that has to be constructed every day through collective obligations. It is not some mythological pre-existing magical thing that innately inheres in individuals.
Yep. Pretty much all freedoms start getting restricted when they start imposing risks or burdens on others.
I have the freedom to get falling down drunk if I want to, anytime I want to, in my own home. Although if it became a problem for any of my kids living with me, there would be grounds for intervention.
In a public bar, not quite so much, the staff have a few obligations to ensure I don't become a problem for other patrons.
But if I am detected attempting to drive a car while in the state of being falling down drunk, then the consequences will be severe. Because of the risk of injury and death to the general public. The consequences are not as severe as they should be in NZ, but that's a separate topic.
If I attempt to board public transport while in the state of being falling down drunk, it's also quite likely intervention will get called. Because of the risk of me becoming a problem to other members of the public.
Rights always have limits when they start overlapping with other people's rights. In the case of the right to refuse the reasonable precaution of a safe and free vaccination, that runs into a boundary at the point of other people's right not to be unreasonably exposed to avoidable disease.
My freedom to walk around town with no pants would be curtailed pretty quickly I would imagine.
Or carting a gun around and knocking off the occasional old lady would not be looked upon kindly.
AB @ 7.2 is 100% correct. This freedom shite is so much gobbledygook. It smacks of inherent stupidity and the fact it is being advocated by right-wingnuts is no surprise.
Highly recommended if you want to understand the gender criticial feminist position on the sex/gender wars.
https://twitter.com/Docstockk/status/1424229145756766214
Thanks Weka
👍
would it be ok to email you about a post?
Absolutely would be fine for you to email me about a post.
A problem though, my email address is an old one and the account is now shut down.
If I replied to you with my current email address would you get it?
In these debates it is really important to me that I remain annonymous for all the obvious reasons of what happens if you speak up. Would other authors be able to see my email address? Is there another way?
yes, other authors can see it. I will have a think about another way, because anonymity is important.
David Carter gone from the board. Resigned, citing no confidence in the president.
Gee, how long have National been infighting now? It seems like forever and this episode shows they have a long, long way to go before the internal war is over.
Long may it continue!
Hard to say who's happier… Labour or David Seymour….
Perhaps longer term it works out for the right in an mmp environment…
Act picks up the right wing rump… Nats get decimated and get reborn as a very centerist party with a Nikki Kaye type politician as Leader.
Meh. Any National improvement will be at the expense of the false numbers ACT are currently enjoying.
There is no left to right swing.
An example of the ridiculousness of David Rimmer's publicity and marketing heavy style of politics is the position he took this week on Expo workers returning later this year. These people are going there to reach out to global business which I thought was a priority for ACT but no, the twerking sensation decided to use it as a stick with which to attack the government.
We once thought we were sentencing our children and grandchildren to experience this, and that it wouldn't affect us.
The tragic floods in Germany were nothing unusual, as numerous flood level markings on old buildings demonstrate. What is unusual is the covering of flood plains with houses and concrete and tarmac, thus increasing risk. The lack of foresight by the German government is disgraceful. While the Pacific Northwest had a heat wave, the midwest and eastern states were having colder than average conditions. And snow in southern Brazil destroyed much of the coffee crop.
Hey Sticky Stuff,
You may be right,
But including links to back up your contention that the tragic floods in Germany, 'were nothing unusual',. might give your comment more credibility.
For example:
Admitttedly the BBC (at least in this report), don't refer to any data sets that this rain was record breaking.
But even if you are right, that markings on old buidings show that floods of this magnitude have occurred before, (and they probably have), that is not the full story.
Well wadaya know… Right-wing, conspiracy beliefs linked to vaccine scepticism
And the traditional Left believe the state cures every crisis and is our only redeemer from our perpetual victimhood.
Psychologists need to study the epistemic privilege of the Left.
Meh – the state, having under Rogergnomics broken just about everything in the country, cannot be allowed to weasel out of its responsibilities by blaming its victims.
Don't know if anyone's already shared this, but in lighter news Luxon seems to think "jacked off" means "angry".
Apparently the leader-in-waiting (looking more and more like Edgar Ætheling by the day) has dropped the phrase a couple of times, so maybe Judith's "bottling" line really was an example of how the nats get even more out of touch when they try to speak like the hoi polloi.
Maybe it's common in the nat caucus room so he thought we'd all be getting some. !
I suspect he's getting mixed up with hacked off. Thinks the expression is jacked off. Not a good start to a stellar political career. Mind you Key was a word mangler too.