The economy is only temporarily enhanced by oil extraction (ie, in terms of the length of time we'd like Homo Sapiens to be endemic to Aotearoa, the decades of benefit from oil extraction are a brief sugar rush) and "wellbeing of Kiwis" isn't enhanced by causing rapid change in the global climate, which is what burning fossil fuels does.
"It is time to reimagine how we can make a difference. It makes sense economically and strategically, and is expected by all our stakeholders. But most importantly, it is simply the right thing to do."
Velcro doesnt seem to know that Paula Bennett and Simon Bridges – as Climate change ministers went to Paris and signed NZ up to the agreements to reduce greenhouse gases below 2005 levels by 30% by 2030.
Its a financial penalty year by year, when they arent met so it costs , mostly the taxpayer, nearly $1 bill per year every year the numbers are above ,as they still are, the treaty targets.
Its in your interest velcro for OMV not to find anything
There would be something in the argument if NZ retained a substantial proportion of the value of any discovery, but sadly, under the feckless governance of the Key Kleptocracy the NZ share of any discovered petroleum fell to somewhere around 5%.
Sourcing our oil from the middle east causes us ongoing trade deficits and exposes us to price shocks arising from political instability. No meaningful steps have been taken to mitigate this – we are still substantially a full-on petroeconomy.
The Prime Minister says she would never stop people from having their say, expressing their opinions and using their voices, but then came the admonishment. Blocking people from going about their daily business "doesn't necessarily take us any closer to the climate action they're calling for".
Really- does our PM not know our history – 1981 was going beyond her limits. Remember the current govt is progressing an ambitious target of carbon neutral in 2050. Sounds like a Key comment not to hold the govt to account for being ambitions 🤮🤑
"There are 15,473 vehicles in the government fleet and only 78 are electric. When the coalition Government came into power in late 2017, the agreement between Labour and New Zealand First stipulated that the entire fleet would be emissions-free by mid-2025, "where practicable".
Although it was repeated as recently as June, that goal has been quietly revised to a commitment that, after mid-2025, all new vehicles entering the fleet will be emissions-free."
Why the surprise? Can you really picture a situation in which the head of the New Zealand government endorses disrupting the functioning of the government?
It is not as if our PM wasn’t going to be asked questions, and that all those support people could not prepare a better response.
So from inference our PM was against the land matches, bastion pt. And any others that involved say the harbour bridge or queen st being closed? Eg strike marches
P.Milt interesting that we will all claim the advancement that protest action has achieved ; civil rights, vote for woman, 1981 tour yet many including our PM condemn how this was achieved. If it all was nice lovey dovey should serious change occur ?
IMO once power has been achieved don’t rock the boat as you now reap the rewards of being institutionalised.
If the "better" response you're looking for is the head of the NZ government endorsing disruption of government functions, disappointment is guaranteed. The reason why should be obvious.
There is no climate 'crisis' – except in the minds of warmist bedwetters. The relationship between atmospheric CO2 concentration and atmospheric temperature is logarithmic. The more CO2 there is, the less effective it becomes as a warming agent because the ability of any one CO2 molecule to absorb IR radiation at 14.5 micron wavelength is being shielded by the increasing number of other CO2 molecules.
[I warned you the other day about not running climate denial under posts I put up. You’ve had multiple comments shifted to Open Mike with the off-topic warning, which you seem to be ignoring. You’re now in the banned list for a while until I see you have read this note and responded to it. It won’t show on the front end but I will still see it and make a decision about releasing the ban. I want to see two things. One is that you agree to not run climate denial lines under my posts or posts I put up (err on the side of caution if you can’t tell who put it up). Two, that you will stop treating the site like a spam exercise and pay attention to what happens to your comments – weka]
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Remember today is the last day to post your vote in the local government elections. So far turnout in Auckland is low. I am hoping that the one stop enrol and vote stall will help increase turnout. Campaigning in South Auckland I am very aware that high transience means many people do not feel connected to their communities. They also dont receive voting papers in the mail box. The papers in the box are those of previous residents.
I see they are pushing online voting again as we face a democratic crisis in local body elections. Online voting might make voting easier, but IMHO it won't increase voter turnout for local elections by more than a fraction and online voting is a terrible, terrible idea. People need to take their democratic duties more seriously – and be encouraged to do so. So:
Make voting day for local bodies and the general election a compulsory paid public holiday – make it a Wednesday so people can't just skive off for a long weekend – but you only get paid for the day off if you present an official chit or certificate or even an indelible ink hand stamp to your employer saying you voted. Make sure that voting stations has candidate material outlining their policies, and encourage people to study it before they vote with free tea, coffee and biscuits. So if you earn $25 an hour, you are up to lose $200 if you don't bother voting and just sit on your arse at home instead.
On election days fund communities to organise "celebrate democracy" street parties and make election coverage compulsory for free to air media outlets.
IMHO unless they put voting onto a phone with biological i.d., most people under 30 will never vote at all.
So instead of actually voting in a live election – with plenty of rankings about their views on climate change – we get people not voting and instead just sitting on the streets. The Prime Minister is right, but not helpful either.
All of those people sitting o the streets and in the banks have phones, and its the only way they organise their lives now. Not voting by phone is simple disenfranshisement.
Electronic voting is very insecure you must read about the pitfalls there. The “scouce code” is a doggy system that hides the voting electronic returns that are falsified
Electronic voting machines are a replacement for paper ballots. They have nothing whatsoever to do with online voting.
And the heritage foundation as a source on anything electoral? Do fuck off.
New York, N.Y. – The Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity relies on a database produced by the Heritage Foundation to justify baseless claims — by President Trump and some of the panel’s members — of rampant voter fraud. But according to an analysis of the database by the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, the numbers in the database reveal exactly the opposite.
Claims that the database contains almost 1,100 proven instances of voter fraud are grossly exaggerated and devoid of context, according to Heritage Fraud Database: An Assessment. It confirms what numerous studies have consistently shown: Voter fraud is vanishingly rare, and impersonating a voter at the polls is less common a phenomenon than being struck by lightning
I don't know how it could be done satisfactorily, but there needs to be a limit on the number of candidates for each local body position. I am sure many people have been turned off by the huge number of candidates on offer this time around. All it does is add another layer of confusion to an already confusing system.
I know of people who are not going to vote for this particular reason. Keep it simple and people will respond.
It used to be the 'deposits' candidates had to lodge when nominated. You had to get a good proportion of the winning candidates votes to get your money back. Its still applies but has inflation made it meaningless
I'd say it has. I think the mayoralty race has got a big parade of eccentrics and comedians that mock the democratic process and trivialize it. Its attention seeking behaviour. Mind you with a large deposit rich clowns could still participate and poor people whether clowns or or not would be excluded. I wouldn't want the deposit raised.
Half those running for Mayor are only doing it so they get publicity to get a Council position. The real problem with voting is not knowing how to distinguish one candidate from another.
Thanks for the reminder. I admit that I feel very apathetic. However due to your post I'm going to go vote…looking for those from a particular party as I have no idea about most candidates.
If you live in Auckland A "City Vision" are generally centre-left candidates as opposed to C&R (used to be called Citizens and Ratepayers) who are the National Party in drag.
If anyone lives on the Shore please consider "Heart of the Shore" candidates for their local board.
The historical revisionism around the Cook 250th anniversary is simply outrageous. In particular, I heard on NatRad a highly coloured view of Cook's contact with Poverty Bay Maori presenterd as an unprovoked assault with locals murdered in cold blood (complete with emotional guess work about Maori tearing off their clothes in panic and leaping into the ocean in a frantic attempt to escape the white man's unprovoked and genocidal actions).
As far as I know, only one primary source exists of this encounter – that being Cook's journals. What does the primary source actually say of this encounter?
"…Monday [Tuesday] 10th PM I rowed round the head of the Bay but could find no place to land, on account of the great surf which beat every where upon the shore; seeing two boats or Canoes coming in from Sea, I rowed to one of them in order to seize upon the people, and came so near before they took notice of us that Tobiaupia called to them to come along side and we would not hurt them, but instead of doing that this they endeavoured to get away, upon which I order'd a Musket to be fired over their heads thinking this would either make them surrender or jump over board. But here I was mistaken for they immediately took to their arms and/or and whatever they had in the boat and began to attack us, this obliged us to fire upon them. and unfortunately either two or three was were kill'd, and one wounded, and three jumped over board, these last we took up and brought on board, where they were clothed and treated with all imaginable kindness and to the surprise of every body became at once as cheerful and as merry as if they had been with their own friends; they were all three young, the eldest not above 20 years of age and the youngest about 10 or 12.
I am aware that most humane men who have not experienced things of this nature will censure my conduct in firing upon the people in this boat. Nor do I myself think that the reason I had for seizing upon her will at all justify me . And had I thought that they would have made the least resistance I would not have come near them. But as they did I was not to stand still and suffer either my self or those that were with me to be knocked on the head…"
Note the journal entry I have put in italics – never mentioned by Maori radicals keen on painting Cook in the worse possible light- hardly paint Cook as a cold blooded killer. He clearly bitterly regretted killing anyone.
Cook was by the standards of his time an enlightened and civilised man. He was one of the greatest navigators and explorers who ever lived. Smearing him as part of some sort of a historical revisionist project is regrettable, to say the least.
More to the point, only one account exists. The unchallenged slant put on the account by someone who clearly had an agenda was bad reporting of bad history.
The guy should have challenged on his account. If he claimed it to be from oral tradition, then the reporter has a duty to point out this oral tradition is at significant odds with the contemporary written account of one of the participants in the encounter, and leave it to the listener to judge what weight to give either point of view.
We owe it to ourselves as a people to make sure the historical record is correct.
Reality is, Sanctuary, that any historical record in cases such as this will be unlikely to be correct or accurate. Open-ended discussions without full resolution is the best you can hope for.
Written contemporary documents – while valuable – are not infallible. The interpretation or bias of the writer can make them unreliable, or at least raise areas of contention. It is human nature to view one's actions in the best possible light, especially in an official record such as a logbook, perhaps Cook recorded his journals in such a way.
<i>" We owe it to ourselves as a people to make sure the historical record is correct. "</i>
As 'a' people?
As people, we should be able to acknowledge that there is no hard and fast full and final truth to be pinned down. Everyone who was present at historical events had their own perspective as it took place. Some did not live to pass theirs on, others did so using oral traditions, Cook wrote his down. It does not mean that the written record should take precedence in terms of accuracy. Although this seems to be the standard in history, it is not necessarily the whole truth.
As far as I know, only one primary source exists of this encounter – that being Cook's journals. What does the primary source actually say of this encounter?
At the local commemorations of the 150th anniversary of the NZ wars, we had a history walk through a couple of our local sites of interest.
An event reported as settlers being holed up in the local church, was actually not in response to local iwi hostilities but as a response to local militia grandstanding. In the end, a local battle began against military orders because imported mercenaries were looking for a fight. It was easy to find documentation of all soldiers killed at the battle, because contemporary papers listed them by name, and those records were often repeated throughout the years. The soldiers were also laid out – by the opposing Māori fighters after the battle, so that they could be retrieved and buried, while they carried their own away for burial.
Even contemporary reports did not record the number of Māori killed. A combination of not knowing, and their relevance to readers makes that understandable. The local iwi actually became no more when their land was confiscated, and members left and joined other tribes, and the hapu exists no more. This along with oral histories, and lack of familial connections which repeats oral histories, means iwi recollections are hard, and in many cases, impossible to collate.
Which makes the discussion around the lack of fixed numbers in situations such as this a purely academic exercise, but we just need to admit that the full truth may never be known.
Odds are the SDF, who actually did most of the fighting and dying in the defeat of ISIS, will be so busy fighting Erdogan's neo-ottoman armies they'll just turn loose the 10,000 or so ISIS fighters they're holding prisoner
Meanwhile, there's a few feeble mouse squeaks of minor disapproval, but no doubt a personalised tweet from Darth Hater will send them scurrying back into cowering subservience.
Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Monday that US forces were beginning to withdraw from positions in northeastern Syria on the border with Turkey, after Ankara announced it was planning a military offensive there.
"Despite our efforts to avoid any military escalation with Turkey, the US forces have not fulfilled their obligations and withdrew their forces from the border areas with Turkey," the SDF said in a statement.
"Turkey is now preparing an invasion of northern and eastern Syria," the statement said.
this is so disgusting and will imo lead to massive death and pain for the Kurdish people. The scarlett scumsock with tiny baby-sized hands is a monster.
NZ continuing the direction away from supporting and giving attention to the lives of the young and helping them as they face the future. Instead, the interest is on the middle-aged and older consolidating their wealth and adding wealth creation by any means, and their increase in longevity so they have time to spend their putea on their own enjoyment and wants.
The focus is on maintaining the living standards of the comfortably-off retired, which the poorer ones also benefit from as fringe dwellers of the 'golden aged'. For the rest it's the End of the Golden Weather'.
Brian Fallow: Wealth gap widens as economic growth leaves poorest Kiwis behind [25 January, 2019]
"Many older people have relatively high wealth (often in the form of a mortgage-free home in the main) but low income."
"The survey also gives us information about the distribution of wealth among individuals as distinct from the households they live in.
Unsurprisingly, perhaps, it found that net worth is strongly correlated with age.
The richest age group is 65- to 74-year-olds, who also enjoyed the strongest rise in net worth: at the median up $110,000 to $416,000 over the past three years."
So according to you, all middle aged and older women are consolidating their wealth, looking for a big spend up in their golden years? Perhaps you'd like to take a poll on here about wealth, or ask around, before you peddle idiotic nonsense as fact. If you're going to throw people under the bus, at least know who it is you're sacrificing first.
It should also be noted the article you've linked to makes no mention of old being treated before the young, no treatment or queue jumping based on an age divide, instead noting multiple dhb's are under stress and only accepting urgent referrals.
Yeah, don't know how age and wealth came into that, other than the health system has been underfunded and monkeywrenched by neoliberals for 30 years. Hard even to separate out whether women are being particularly disadvantaged (although it won't be a surprise if they are). We live in an age of rationing cancer treatment and epilepsy drugs, I think the inequities are grossly across the board.
I also just read how 60% of pensioners rely week to week on their super, so not sure where the idea came from they're living it up large more than the rest of us pay cheque to pay cheque warriors.
Here's Mike Hosking… as he takes several knees to the groin from the Red Princess.
"Here is the problem for your Government image-wise in that you are pro drugs, you're loose on drugs, you're soft on drugs, you want to vote on drugs," Hosking said.
"You want to drug test at festivals and you want us to legalise cannabis."
Ardern then said, "Mike, do you know how ridiculous you sound right now?
"It's not ridiculous," Hosking replied. "It's all linked."
Prohibition has been tried in NZ all.of my life, and failed all.of my life.
Having said that, there is no question that the current crop of lab produced drugs like Sin and Meth are destroying our society and the lives of so many, both directly and indirectly.
What's the answer? Will legalising soft drugs like marijuana or relegalising party pills make a difference? Probably not, probably not make things worse either. And at least it removes the present hypocrisy.
Ardern then said, "Mike, do you know how ridiculous you sound right now?
That's like asking your cat if it knows how ridiculous it looks right now when its tongue is sticking out – the subject has to have at least some capacity for self-reflection for a question like that to have any point.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/400505/fire-rages-through-100-hectares-near-lake-wanaka
This fire is not regarded as suspicious. There was another fire recently arising from a burnoff that got out of hand. The situation seems suspiciously as if it is BAU and the farmers are needing to be put under a permanent ban of burnoffs. They will then likely want to spray herbicides and that will have to be banned as well.
Perhaps aerial seeding and seed or plant balls to start off alternative growth to weeds etc. But fire is our enemy now, far more than before since colonisation when it helped to kill off the huia.
I saw that but think they will have said if it was a farmer burnoff.
When farmers do burn off, they're burning bracken to try and retain pasture. There's really no good way to keep pasture in that kind of hilly country (it's burn or spray regularly). The only sustainable way out is to work with nature and let it reforest. Seedballs would help, but nature is pretty good at restore land like that via bracken then shrubs then trees (assuming destocking and rabbit control).
Sheep farming in bracken prone areas is just badly inappropriate land use. Climate change is going to make this worse, and we need to get those areas reforesting as soon as we can to get them past the bracken, highly flammable stage. There's probably some kind of fire ecology there, but it didn't evolve in bare farmland, it should be surrounded by mature forests that act as buffers, keep things more moist, and provide seed banks.
"The Climate Change Commission will be established if and when Parliament passes the Zero Carbon Bill. The Bill sets out a desire to reduce emissions of all greenhouse gases, aside from biogenic methane, to net zero by 2050. Shaw expects the Bill to pass by Christmas and says the advice the Commission provides to government on future emissions budgets has the potential to shape and reshape industries and communities for decades to come"…….
…..Shaw says he's still considering his preferred candidates for the other six Commissioners and hopes to announce appointments to these roles in coming months."
The Government has unveiled a bumper $7.5 billion surplus and the lowest debt levels in almost a decade, the latest Crown accounts reveal.
Huh? But Simon Says that the present Government is hopeless and managing the economy. All his mates complain about it so how will the Opposition spin that headline?
nor am oI 2 @Anne, but the gNatz are doubling down aye. Pass the popcorn will ya (Love), but be quick will ya, I've got an appointment at the Caci Clinic soon, and then Jen and Burton are due for drinks
I appear to have jumped the gun OWT. It looks like it was an inside job:
Peters tweeted on Tuesday night that the leak was a "deliberate and malicious misappropriation of data by a disgruntled source."
So a disgruntled former member chooses to release personal details of individuals who have nothing to do with the spat (whatever it is) presumably as an act of revenge. Whoever it was, they can do without them.
Presumably that sauce was that frightful man that's just resigned. Just as well darling.
Tols is up from the Bay and Maggers is due in any moment from the Shore and we really really must get that horrid couple Paula and Simon through finishing school before the election and I really am trying to keep it all mum from Jen and B.
The low commentator turnout in relation to that (NZ First) privacy breach may be some indication of the lack of outrage on behalf of such funders and other supporters of the party. It did a few nice things for some people long ago, but it would be reasonable to presume that most people now see it as being close to redundant, despite the Winston Peters sole, “Kingmaker” star turn, post the 2017 election which really wasn’t considered to be a nice situation by many.
Also, if certain within NZ First had seen this breach event as likely, then so as to come out sort of smelling like pansies, they'd have sterilised or cleansed any really damaging material ahead of time, surely?
If so, and I cannot say that it is so, then there would be little doubt that both National and Labour would have also gone through their supporter database by now in order to remove anything and anyone contained on/in it which might be considered more than just a little smelly.
Yes more publicly of local elections will help boost local elections participants. I still say online voting will boost voter turnout numbers. Heaps of people have phones so long as the system is set up wisely easy to use and safely more people will vote online.
Spark getting some of the sports broadcasting rights is good I assume that they will play the matches delayed on free TV I think this will get people to learn how to use our 21 century communication device.
There you go they have to much power to manipulate the people of our country they can do things illegally they don't have to worry because its all a secret they can manipulate every person in Aotearoa.
The Austrian down hill race looks like fun I have similar experiences
I know a couple of rural areas that have had a down turn in their economy's over the last 10 years its not just the West Coast that got that going down
Those Capybara are real beautiful creatures they look like a happy heard.
Kia Ora Here it is facts wealthy big carbon companies distorting the fact on Human Caused Global Warming. They have gone to great lengths to hide their behaviour of suppressing our realities on Global Warming and the damage the Phenomenon will do to the tangata of the Papatuanuku. Hence Eco Maori is like a broke record on the subject of Global warming and our futures rights to a livable environment for all.
How vested interests tried to turn the world against climate science
For decades fossil fuel majors tried to fight the consensus – just as big tobacco once disputed that smoking kills
In 1998 a public relations consultant called Joe Walker Petroleum Institute (API), a trade association representing major fossil fuel companies, with a proposed solution to a big problem.
In December the previous year, the UN had adopted the Kyoto protocol, an international treaty that committed signatory countries to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions in order to avert catastrophic climate breakdown.
Reducing emissions represented a direct threat to the profits of fossil fuel companies and the API was working on an industry response.
“As promised, attached is the Global Climate Science Communications Plan that we developed during our workshop last Friday,” Walker wrote. The workshop had involved senior executives from fossil fuel companies, including the oil multinationals Exxon – later part of ExxonMobil – and Chevron, and the gas and coal utility Southern Company, and a handful of rightwing thinktanks
Our Wild birds are like the canary in A mine the lack of birds in country's should be taken as a sign that the environment is in sharp decline. We must look after our Papatuanuku environment and all her wildlife. We must plant billions of trees to protect our futures environment.
Two-thirds of bird species in North America are at risk of extinction because of the climate crisis, according to a new report from researchers at the Audubon Society, a leading US conservation group.
Record numbers of Australia's wildlife species face 'imminent extinction'
The continent could lose 389 of the 604 types of birds studied. The species face threats to their habitats from rising temperatures, higher seas, heavy rains and urbanization.
Those at risk include the wood thrush, a well-known songbird, and the Baltimore oriole, the mascot of Maryland’s baseball team. The recognizable common loon could disappear, as could the vibrant mountain bluebird.
“Birds are indicators of the health of our environment, so if they disappear, we’re certainly going to see a lot of changes in the landscape,” said Brooke Bateman, the senior researcher who wrote the report. “If there are things changing with birds we have to understand that the environment is changing for us as well.”
Bateman said birds are an excellent lens for viewing environmental destruction, because they are visible and respond quickly. In the 1970s, humans realized the pesticide DDT was dangerous when birds were unable to successfully breed, she noted
Everyone was warned that pool games could be cancelled because of bad weather.
Condolences to Blairs whanau for their loss.
Did you see Tawhirimate crying rents are spiking still he is still trying to make Aotearoa a utopia for his wealth m8. But no Aotearoa has changed for the better.
Awsome that the council concent process is going to be streamline for prefabricated House as I have just said rents are still spiking in 2 years rental av will be $800.00
Every living thing needs a habitatable environment to live in full stop
That's great our government investment of $7 million more help disabled people with sports
Ka pai to Lloyd logging hard mahi is good for the health and wairua.
Kormaru sestanable Maori business is good. Yes Tangata Whenua O Aotearoa Culture Mana is growing Papatuanuku wide.
Kia Kaha to Niue for treasureing their te reo and passing it on to their mokopuna I have seen some cultures that nearly lost their Te Reo. Thanks to our Tipuna our culture is Mana
Aotearoa has quite a few easy changes The low hangingffruit in our cities to lower our carbon footprint it looks like capping Nelson cities rubbish dump captureing the methane gas using it to generate energy will have a major influence on reducing the citys carbon footprint.
A United Nations-accredited climate specialist from Central Otago has been named as the person charged with bringing Nelson City Council up to speed on climate change.
Council spokesperson Paul Shattock said Cameron was a "UN-accredited expert inventory reviewer on greenhouse gas emissions", who was part of New Zealand's delegation to meetings of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) in Europe and Indonesia in 2007 and 2008.
Cameron led Wellington City Council's climate change office before undertaking a PhD in climate science four years ago.
Council undertook a baseline survey of its greenhouse gas emissions last year, and expected to release a detailed action plan for reducing them next year
Eighty per cent of its emissions were identified as coming from the York Valley landfill, which services both Nelson and Tasman
It was taking an "adaptive pathways" approach to helping communities adapt to climate change, and was due to start engaging with communities to work out which action to take when certain impacts occurred Ka kite Ano link below.
Looks like it's is best to divert organic waste from our rubbish dumps and compost it. Minimise our waste recycling everything we can. This problem is one of the biggest Elephants in the Papatuanuku that no one is really highlighting. Its one of the biggest industries greenhouse gas producers in the Papatuanuku that no one is taking about.
LANDFILLS HAVE A HUGE GREENHOUSE GAS PROBLEM. HERE’S WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT.
Food and yard waste make trash a prolific producer of methane — but fixes exist
October 25, 2016 — We take out our trash and feel lighter and cleaner. But at the landfill, the food and yard waste that trash contains is decomposing and releasing methane, a greenhouse gas that’s 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Landfill gas also contributes to smog, worsening health problems like asthma.
Globally, trash released nearly 800 million metric tons (882 million tons) of CO2 equivalent in 2010 — about 11 percent of all methane generated by humans. The United States had the highest total quantity of methane emissions from landfills in 2010: almost 130 million metric tons (143 million tons) of CO2 equivalent. China was a distant second, with 47 million (52 million), then Mexico, Russia, Turkey, Indonesia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Brazil and India, according to the Global Methane Initiative, an international partnership of government and private groups working to reduce methane emissions.
A more direct — and likely more successful — way to reduce landfill methane would be to reduce the amount of methane-generating materials going into landfills in the first place
With some 40 percent of all food wasted in the United States, reducing food waste offers big opportunities. Last year the EPA and U.S. Department of Agriculture set a target to reduce food waste by 50 percent by 2030, with programs for public education and commercial policies. “Let’s feed people, not landfills,” said EPA administrator Gina McCarthy in announcing the initiative. “By reducing wasted food in landfills, we cut harmful methane emissions that fuel climate change, conserve our natural resources, and protect our planet for future generations.”
After reducing food waste, the next best step is turning what remains, along with yard waste, into compost rather than sending it to landfills, says Neil Seldman, cofounder of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, a nonprofit that helps communities fight landfills and waste incinerators and institute composting, recycling and zero-waste programs.
If the ruling class oil barons had not covered up the effects of Global Warming in the 50s we could have already had a green Papatuanuku economy and slowed global warming.
I went shopping in Repco I seen some cockroches.
Aotearoa economy will be fine no matter what happens in Britain.
Abiy Ahmed congratulations on the winning of the Noble Peace Prize.
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Concern is growing about wide-ranging local repercussions of the new Setting of Speed Limits rule, rewritten in 2024 by former transport minister Simeon Brown. In particular, there’s growing fears about what this means for children in particular. A key paradox of the new rule is that NZTA-controlled roads have the ...
Speilmeister:Christopher Luxon’s prime-ministerial pitches notwithstanding, are institutions with billions of dollars at their disposal really going to invest them in a country so obviously in a deep funk?HAVING WOOED THE WORLD’s investors, what, if anything, has New Zealand won? Did Christopher Luxon’s guests board their private jets fizzing with enthusiasm for ...
Christchurch City Council is one of 18 councils and three council-controlled organisations (CCOs) downgraded by ratings agency S&P. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories shortest:Standard & Poor’s has cut the credit ratings of 18 councils, blaming the new Government’s abrupt reversal of 3 Waters, cuts to capital ...
Figures released by Statistics New Zealand today showed that the economy grew by 0.7% ending the very deep recession seen over the past year, said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney. “Even though GDP grew in the three months to December, our economy is still 1.1% smaller than it ...
What is going on with the price of butter?, RNZ, 19 march 2025: If you have bought butter recently you might have noticed something - it is a lot more expensive. Stats NZ said last week that the price of butter was up 60 percent in February compared to ...
I agree with Will Leben, who wrote in The Strategist about his mistakes, that an important element of being a commentator is being accountable and taking responsibility for things you got wrong. In that spirit, ...
You’d beDrunk by noon, no one would knowJust like the pandemicWithout the sourdoughIf I were there, I’d find a wayTo get treated for hysteriaEvery dayLyrics Riki Lindhome.A varied selection today in Nick’s Kōrero:Thou shalt have no other gods - with Christopher Luxon.Doctors should be seen and not heard - with ...
Two recent foreign challenges suggest that Australia needs urgently to increase its level of defence self-reliance and to ensure that the increased funding that this would require is available. First, the circumnavigation of our continent ...
Here’s my selection1 of scoops, breaking news, news, analyses, deep-dives, features, interviews, Op-Eds, editorials and cartoons from around Aotearoa’s political economy on housing, climate and poverty from RNZ, 1News, The Post-$2, The Press−$, Newsroom/$3, NZ Herald/$, Stuff, BusinessDesk/$, Politik-$, NBR-$, Reuters, FT/$, WSJ/$, Bloomberg/$, New York Times/$, The Atlantic-$, The ...
According to RNZ’s embedded reporter, the importance of Winston Peters’ talks in Washington this week “cannot be overstated.” Right. “Exceptionally important.” said the maestro himself. This epic importance doesn’t seem to have culminated in anything more than us expressing our “concern” to the Americans about a series of issues that ...
Up until a few weeks ago, I had never heard of "Climate Fresk" and at a guess, this will also be the case for many of you. I stumbled upon it in the self-service training catalog for employees at the company I work at in Germany where it was announced ...
Japan and Australia talk of ‘collective deterrence,’ but they don’t seem to have specific objectives. The relationship needs a clearer direction. The two countries should identify how they complement each other. Each country has two ...
The NZCTU strongly supports the OPC’s decision to issue a code of practice for biometric processing. Our view is that the draft code currently being consulted on is stronger and will be more effective than the exposure code released in early 2024. We are pleased that some of the revisions ...
Australia’s export-oriented industries, particularly agriculture, need to diversify their markets, with a focus on Southeast Asia. This could strengthen economic security and resilience while deepening regional relationships. The Trump administration’s decision to impose tariffs on ...
Minister Shane Jones is introducing fastrack ‘reforms’ to the our fishing industry that will ensure the big players squeeze out the small fishers and entrench an already bankrupt quota system.Our fisheries are under severe stress: the recent decision by theHigh Court ruling that the ...
In what has become regular news, the quarterly ETS auction has failed, with nobody even bothering to bid. The immediate reason is that the carbon price has fallen to around $60, below the auction minimum of $68. And the cause of that is a government which has basically given up ...
US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats have dominated headlines in India in recent weeks. Earlier this month, Trump announced that his reciprocal tariffs—matching other countries’ tariffs on American goods—will go into effect on 2 April, ...
Hi,Back in June of 2021, James Gardner-Hopkins — a former partner at law firm Russell McVeagh — was found guilty of misconduct over sexually inappropriate behaviour with interns.The events all related to law students working as summer interns at Russell McVeagh:As well as intimate touching with a student at his ...
Climate sceptic MP Mark Cameron has slammed National for being ‘out of touch’ by sticking to our climate commitments. Photo: Lynn GrievesonMōrena. Long stories shortest:ACT’s renowned climate sceptic MP Mark Cameron has accused National of being 'out of touch' with farmers by sticking with New Zealand’s Paris accord pledges ...
Now I've heard there was a secret chordThat David played, and it pleased the LordBut you don't really care for music, do you?It goes like this, the fourth, the fifthThe minor falls, the major liftsThe baffled king composing HallelujahSongwriter: Leonard CohenI always thought the lyrics of that great song by ...
People are getting carried away with the virtues of small warship crews. We need to remember the great vice of having few people to run a ship: they’ll quickly tire. Yes, the navy is struggling ...
Mōrena. Here’s my selection1 of scoops, breaking news, news, analyses, deep-dives, features, interviews, Op-Eds, editorials and cartoons from around Aotearoa’s political economy on housing, climate and poverty from RNZ, 1News, The Post-$2, The Press−$, Newsroom/$3, NZ Herald/$, Stuff, BusinessDesk/$, Politik-$, NBR-$, Reuters, FT/$, WSJ/$, Bloomberg/$, New York Times/$, The Atlantic-$, ...
US President Donald Trump’s hostile regime has finally forced Europe to wake up. With US officials calling into question the transatlantic alliance, Germany’s incoming chancellor, Friedrich Merz, recently persuaded lawmakers to revise the country’s debt ...
We need to establish clearer political boundaries around national security to avoid politicising ongoing security issues and to better manage secondary effects. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) revealed on 10 March that the Dural caravan ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi have reiterated their call for Government to protect workers by banning engineered stone in a submission on MBIE’s silica dust consultation. “If Brooke van Velden is genuine when she calls for an evidence-based approach to this issue, then she must support a full ban on ...
The Labour Inspectorate could soon be knocking on the door of hundreds of businesses nation-wide, as it launches a major crackdown on those not abiding by the law. NorthTec staff are on edge as Northland’s leading polytechnic proposes to stop 11 programmes across primary industries, forestry, and construction. Union coverage ...
It’s one thing for military personnel to hone skills with first-person view (FPV) drones in racing competitions. It’s quite another for them to transition to the complexities of the battlefield. Drone racing has become a ...
Seymour says there will be no other exemptions granted to schools wanting to opt out of the Compass contract. Photo: Lynn GrievesonLong stories shortest:David Seymour has denied a request from a Christchurch school and any other schools to be exempted from the Compass school lunch programme, saying the contract ...
Russian President Boris Yeltsin, U.S. President Bill Clinton, Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, and British Prime Minister John Major signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in ...
Edit: The original story said “Palette Cleanser” in both the story, and the headline. I am never, ever going to live this down. Chain me up, throw me into the pit.Hi,With the world burning — literally and figuratively — I felt like Webworm needed a little palate cleanser at the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah Wesseler(Image credit: Antonio Huerta) Growing up in suburban Ohio, I was used to seeing farmland and woods disappear to make room for new subdivisions, strip malls, and big box stores. I didn’t usually welcome the changes, but I assumed others ...
Myanmar was a key global site for criminal activity well before the 2021 military coup. Today, illicit industry, especially heroin and methamphetamine production, still defines much of the economy. Nowhere, not even the leafiest districts ...
What've I gotta do to make you love me?What've I gotta do to make you care?What do I do when lightning strikes me?And I wake up and find that you're not thereWhat've I gotta do to make you want me?Mmm hmm, what've I gotta do to be heard?What do I ...
Here’s my selection1 of scoops, breaking news, news, analyses, deep-dives, features, interviews, Op-Eds, editorials and cartoons from around Aotearoa’s political economy on housing, climate and poverty from RNZ, 1News, The Post-$2, The Press−$, Newsroom3, NZ Herald, Stuff, BusinessDesk-$, NBR-$, Reuters, FT-$, WSJ-$, Bloomberg-$, New York Times-$, The Atlantic-$, The Economist-$ ...
Whenever Christopher Luxon drops a classically fatuous clanger or whenever the government has a bad poll – i.e. every week – the talk resumes that he is about to be rolled. This is unlikely for several reasons. For starters, there is no successor. Nicola Willis? Chris Bishop? Simeon Brown? Mark ...
Australia, Britain and European countries should loosen budget rules to allow borrowing to fund higher defence spending, a new study by the Kiel Institute suggests. Currently, budget debt rules are forcing governments to finance increases ...
The NZCTU remains strongly committed to banning engineered stone in New Zealand and implementing better occupational health protections for all workers working with silica-containing materials. In this submission to MBIE, the NZCTU outlines that we have an opportunity to learn from Australia’s experience by implementing a full ban of engineered ...
The Prime Minister has announced a big win in trade negotiations with India.It’s huge, he told reporters. We didn't get everything we came for but we were able to agree on free trade in clothing, fabrics, car components, software, IT consulting, spices, tea, rice, and leather goods.He said that for ...
I have been trying to figure out the logic of Trump’s tariff policies and apparent desire for a global trade war. Although he does not appear to comprehend that tariffs are a tax on consumers in the country doing the tariffing, I can (sort of) understand that he may think ...
As Syria and international partners negotiate the country’s future, France has sought to be a convening power. While France has a history of influence in the Middle East, it will have to balance competing Syrian ...
One of the eternal truths about Aotearoa's economy is that we are "capital poor": there's not enough money sloshing around here to fund the expansion of local businesses, or to build the things we want to. Which gets used as an excuse for all sorts of things, like setting up ...
National held its ground until late 2023 Verion, Talbot Mills & Curia Polls (Red = Labour, Blue = National)If we remove outlier results from Curia (National Party November 2023) National started trending down in October 2024.Verion Polls (Red = Labour, Blue = National)Verian alone shows a clearer deterioration in early ...
In a recent presentation, I recommended, quite unoriginally, that governments should have a greater focus on higher-impact, lower-probability climate risks. My reasoning was that current climate model projections have blind spots, meaning we are betting ...
Daddy, are you out there?Daddy, won't you come and play?Daddy, do you not care?Is there nothing that you want to say?Songwriters: Mark Batson / Beyonce Giselle Knowles.This morning, a look at the much-maligned NZ Herald. Despised by many on the left as little more than a mouthpiece for the National ...
Employers, unions and health and safety advocates are calling for engineered stone to be banned, a day before consultation on regulations closes. On Friday the PSA lodged a pay equity claim for library assistants with the Employment Relations Authority, after the stalling of a claim lodged with six councils in ...
Long stories shortest in Aotearoa’s political economy:Christopher Luxon surprises by announcing trade deal talks with India will start next month, and include beef and dairy. Napier is set to join Whakatane, Dunedin and Westport in staging a protest march against health spending restraints hitting their hospital services. Winston Peters ...
At a time of rising geopolitical tensions and deepening global fragmentation, the Ukraine war has proved particularly divisive. From the start, the battle lines were clearly drawn: Russia on one side, Ukraine and the West ...
Here’s my selection1 of scoops, breaking news, news, analyses, deep-dives, features, interviews, Op-Eds, editorials and cartoons from around Aotearoa’s political economy on housing, climate and poverty from RNZ, 1News, The Post-$2, The Press−$, Newsroom3, NZ Herald, Stuff, BusinessDesk-$, Newsroom-$, Politik-$, NBR-$, Reuters, FT-$, WSJ-$, Bloomberg-$, New York Times-$, The Atlantic-$, ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 9, 2025 thru Sat, March 15, 2025. This week's roundup is again published by category and sorted by number of articles included in each. We are still interested ...
Max Harris and Max Rashbrooke discuss how we turn around the right wing slogans like nanny state, woke identity politics, and the inefficiency of the public sector – and how we build a progressive agenda. From Donald Trump to David Seymour, from Peter Dutton to Christopher Luxon, we are subject to a ...
The Government dominated the political agenda this week with its two-day conference pitching all manner of public infrastructure projects for Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories shortest in our political economy this week: The Government ploughed ahead with offers of PPPs to pension fund managers ...
You know that it's a snake eat snake worldWe slither and serpentine throughWe all took a bite, and six thousand years laterThese apples getting harder to chewSongwriters: Shawn Mavrides.“Please be Jack Tame”, I thought when I saw it was Seymour appearing on Q&A. I’d had a guts full of the ...
So here we are at the wedding of Alexandra Vincent Martelli and David Seymour.Look at all the happy prosperous guests! How proud Nick Mowbray looks of the gift he has made of a mountain of crap plastic toys stuffed into a Cybertruck.How they drink, how they laugh, how they mug ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is waste heat from industrial activity the reason the planet is warming? Waste heat’s contribution to global warming is a small fraction of ...
Some continue to defend David Seymour on school lunches, sidestepping his errors to say:“Well the parents should pack their lunch” and/or “Kids should be grateful for free food.”One of these people is the sitting Prime Minister.So I put together a quick list of why complaint is not only appropriate - ...
“Bugger the pollsters!”WHEN EVERYBODY LIVED in villages, and every village had a graveyard, the expression “whistling past the graveyard” made more sense. Even so, it’s hard to describe the Coalition Government’s response to the latest Taxpayers’ Union/Curia Research poll any better. Regardless of whether they wanted to go there, or ...
Prof Jane Kelsey examines what the ACT party and the NZ Initiative are up to as they seek to impose on the country their hardline, right wing, neoliberal ideology. A progressive government elected in 2026 would have a huge job putting Humpty Dumpty together again and rebuilding a state that ...
See I try to make a differenceBut the heads of the high keep turning awayThere ain't no useWhen the world that you love has goneOoh, gotta make a changeSongwriters: Arapekanga Adams-Tamatea / Brad Kora / Hiriini Kora / Joel Shadbolt.Aotearoa for Sale.This week saw the much-heralded and somewhat alarming sight ...
Here’s my selection1 of scoops, breaking news, news, analyses, deep-dives, features, interviews, Op-Eds, editorials and cartoons from around Aotearoa’s political economy on housing, climate and poverty from RNZ, 1News, The Post-$2, The Press−$, Newsroom3, NZ Herald, Stuff, BusinessDesk-$, NBR-$, Reuters, FT-$, WSJ-$, Bloomberg-$, New York Times-$, The Atlantic-$, The Economist-$ ...
By international standards the New Zealand healthcare system appears satisfactory – certainly no worse generally than average. Yet it is undergoing another redisorganisation.While doing some unrelated work, I came across some international data on the healthcare sector which seemed to contradict my – and the conventional wisdom’s – view of ...
When Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, he knew that he was upending Europe’s security order. But this was more of a tactical gambit than a calculated strategy ...
Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Over the last year, I’ve been warning about Luxon’s pitch to privatise our public assets.He had told reporters in October that nothing was off the cards:Schools, hospitals, prisons, and ...
When ASPI’s Cyclone Tracy: 50 Years On was published last year, it wasn’t just a historical reflection; it was a warning. Just months later, we are already watching history repeat itself. We need to bake ...
1. Why was school lunch provider The Libelle Group in the news this week?a. Grand Winner in Pie of The Yearb. Scored a record 108% on YELP c. Bought by Oravida d. Went into liquidation2. What did our Prime Minister offer prospective investors at his infrastructure investment jamboree?a. The Libelle ...
National is looking to cut hundreds of jobs at New Zealand’s Defence Force, while at the same time it talks up plans to increase focus and spending in Defence. ...
It’s been revealed that the Government is secretly trying to bring back a ‘one-size fits all’ standardised test – a decision that has shocked school principals. ...
The Green Party is calling for the compassionate release of Dean Wickliffe, a 77-year-old kaumātua on hunger strike at the Spring Hill Corrections Facility, after visiting him at the prison. ...
The Green Party is calling on Government MPs to support Chlöe Swarbrick’s Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence and illegal actions in Palestine, following another day of appalling violence against civilians in Gaza. ...
The Green Party stands in support of volunteer firefighters petitioning the Government to step up and change legislation to provide volunteers the same ACC coverage and benefits as their paid counterparts. ...
At 2.30am local time, Israel launched a treacherous attack on Gaza killing more than 300 defenceless civilians while they slept. Many of them were children. This followed a more than 2 week-long blockade by Israel on the entry of all goods and aid into Gaza. Israel deliberately targeted densely populated ...
Living Strong, Aging Well There is much discussion around the health of our older New Zealanders and how we can age well. In reality, the delivery of health services accounts for only a relatively small percentage of health outcomes as we age. Significantly, dry warm housing, nutrition, exercise, social connection, ...
Shane Jones’ display on Q&A showed how out of touch he and this Government are with our communities and how in sync they are with companies with little concern for people and planet. ...
Labour does not support the private ownership of core infrastructure like schools, hospitals and prisons, which will only see worse outcomes for Kiwis. ...
The Green Party is disappointed the Government voted down Hūhana Lyndon’s member’s Bill, which would have prevented further alienation of Māori land through the Public Works Act. ...
The Labour Party will support Chloe Swarbrick’s member’s bill which would allow sanctions against Israel for its illegal occupation of the Palestinian Territories. ...
The Government’s new procurement rules are a blatant attack on workers and the environment, showing once again that National’s priorities are completely out of touch with everyday Kiwis. ...
With Labour and Te Pāti Māori’s official support, Opposition parties are officially aligned to progress Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick’s Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in Palestine. ...
Te Pāti Māori extends our deepest aroha to the 500 plus Whānau Ora workers who have been advised today that the govt will be dismantling their contracts. For twenty years , Whānau Ora has been helping families, delivering life-changing support through a kaupapa Māori approach. It has built trust where ...
Labour welcomes Simeon Brown’s move to reinstate a board at Health New Zealand, bringing the destructive and secretive tenure of commissioner Lester Levy to an end. ...
This morning’s announcement by the Health Minister regarding a major overhaul of the public health sector levels yet another blow to the country’s essential services. ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill that will ensure employment decisions in the public service are based on merit and not on forced woke ‘Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion’ targets. “This Bill would put an end to the woke left-wing social engineering and diversity targets in the public sector. ...
Police have referred 20 offenders to Destiny Church-affiliated programmes Man Up and Legacy as ‘wellness providers’ in the last year, raising concerns that those seeking help are being recruited into a harmful organisation. ...
Te Pāti Māori welcomes the resignation of Richard Prebble from the Waitangi Tribunal. His appointment in October 2024 was a disgrace- another example of this government undermining Te Tiriti o Waitangi by appointing a former ACT leader who has spent his career attacking Māori rights. “Regardless of the reason for ...
Police Minister Mark Mitchell is avoiding accountability by refusing to answer key questions in the House as his Government faces criticism over their dangerous citizen’s arrest policy, firearm reform, and broken promises to recruit more police. ...
The number of building consents issued under this Government continues to spiral, taking a toll on the infrastructure sector, tradies, and future generations of Kiwi homeowners. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Prime Minister to rule out joining the AUKUS military pact in any capacity following the scenes in the White House over the weekend. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nathan Kilah, Senior Lecturer in Chemistry, University of Tasmania Karynf/Shutterstock There is something special about sharing baked goods with family, friends and colleagues. But I’ll never forget the disappointment of serving my colleagues rhubarb muffins that had failed to rise. They ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Kaiser, PhD Candidate, School of Social Sciences, University of Tasmania The South African National Antarctic Expedition research base, SANAE IV, at Vesleskarvet, Queen Maud Land, Antarctica. Dr Ross Hofmeyr/Wikimedia, CC BY-SA Earlier this week, reports emerged that a scientist at ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Intifar Chowdhury, Lecturer in Government, Flinders University Every generation thinks they had it tough, but evidence suggests young Australians today might have a case for saying they’ve drawn the short straw. Compared with young adults two or three decades ago, today’s 18–35-year-olds ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joshua Black, Visitor, School of History, Australian National University Fifty years ago, Liberal MPs chose Malcolm Fraser as their leader. Eight months later, he led them into power in extraordinary – some might say reprehensible – circumstances. He governed for seven and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andy G Howe, Research Fellow (Entomology), University of the Sunshine Coast Andy Howe, CC BY Playgrounds can host a variety of natural wonders – and, of course, kids! Now some students are not just learning about insects and spiders at school ...
From mockery and snobbery to mainstream appeal – the University of Auckland Anime and Manga Club has seen it all. As one of Japan’s biggest exports, anime has taken over almost every corner of planet Earth. If you have ever watched an episode of Beyblade or Yu-Gi-Oh after school, you ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Willis, PhD Candidate, Classics and Ancient History, University of Newcastle djkett/Shutterstock You wake up at night sensing a weight on your legs that you thought was your pet dog – only to remember they died years ago. Or perhaps you ...
New Zealand is officially out of recession, but the chaos of Trump’s tariff policy remains a threat to medium-term growth, writes Catherine McGregor in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here.We’re officially out of recession You might not have known it ...
The ship is thought to be carrying "furnace oil", described as dark thick, and when spilled, pernicious - but the government has rejected advice to carry out a survey. ...
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith reports from a public meeting held in Upper Hutt on the state of healthcare in a city where residents worry they could die before seeing a GP.An eight-week wait time to see a GP, closed books, no local hospital, primary birthing unit or after-hours care facility and ...
Tomorrow night, the unmistakable scent of petrol and mud will hang in the air at Western Springs Speedway for the last time. The floodlights will beam, the engines will roar and fans will gather for one final night of high-speed spectacle. For 96 years, Western Springs has been the ...
A high country station’s battle to retain a block of land reserved for national park purposes more than a century ago has hit the Court of Appeal.In 2021, the Commissioner of Crown Lands decided to renew Mt White Station’s 40,000ha pastoral lease, but excluded a 1000ha block, known as Riversdale ...
Good things keep on happening out in Penrose in the crater of the Rarotonga volcano.Mt Smart – or Go Media Stadium – a place with deep physical, cultural and sporting heritage in Auckland, is in a sweet spot for fans, professional teams and its owners.It’s now the country’s busiest stadium, ...
NONFICTION1 Hastings: A Boy’s Own Adventure by Dick Frizzell (Massey University Press, $37)Probably the most illustrious and attractive pairing at the Auckland Writers Festival in May is the event where I chair Dick Frizzell for an hour at the Aotea Centre. I’ll attempt to interrogate his childhood memories – the ...
Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have captured the world’s attention for their drawn-out drama on the International Space Station.Back on earth after nine months, their bodies and minds will continue to be under scrutiny by scientists including New Zealand space medicine researchers looking for ways to fight cancer and ...
The fishing arm of South Island iwi Ngāi Tahu has blown the whistle on the state of the Bluff oyster fishery and cancelled its harvest – but some in the industry claim it’s shaping up to be the best season in years.The Bluff oyster/tio season traditionally runs from March 1 to August ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bonny Parkinson, Associate Professor, Macquarie University Centre for the Health Economy, Macquarie University The United States pharmaceutical lobby has complained to US President Donald Trump that Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) is damaging their profits and has urged Trump to put tariffs ...
By Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist The parties involved in talks aimed at resolving an impasse over Bougainville’s push for independence are planning to meet several more times before a deadline in June. The leaders of Papua New Guinea and Bougainville have been meeting all week in Port Moresby, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anthony Scott, Professor of Health Economics and Director, Centre for Health Economics, Monash Business School, Monash University Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock Talks of a trade dispute between the United States and Australia over the cost of medicines have no doubt left many Australians scratching ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the Trump age, how the next government, whether Labor or Coalition, will handle foreign affairs, defence and trade is shaping as crucially important. It’s a weird time when your friends become almost as ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Today I attended a demonstration outside both Aotearoa New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Israeli Embassy in Wellington. The day before, the Israelis had blown apart 174 children in Gaza in a surprise attack that announced the next phase of the genocide. ...
Analysis - Most New Zealanders support the country meeting its international climate targets, according to a poll commissioned for the environment ministry. ...
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – Pacific Media WatchEarthwise presenters Lois and Martin Griffiths of Plains FM96.9 radio talk to Dr David Robie, editor of Asia Pacific Report, about heightened global fears of nuclear war as tensions have mounted since US President Donald Trump has ...
“New Zealanders want sanctions on Israel for genocide but Mr Peters refuses to say anything, let alone impose any form of sanction at all. That is appeasement,” Minto says. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Erin Brannigan, Associate Professor Theatre and Performance, UNSW Sydney Mass Movement.Morgan Sette/Adelaide Festival I arrived at Stephanie Lake’s premiere of Mass Movement a little late on my first day at Adelaide Festival. Walking down the hill from King William road ...
For the sake of the NZ economy, hence the wellbeing of Kiwis, one can only hope OMV are successful in their drilling off the South Island
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
The economy is only temporarily enhanced by oil extraction (ie, in terms of the length of time we'd like Homo Sapiens to be endemic to Aotearoa, the decades of benefit from oil extraction are a brief sugar rush) and "wellbeing of Kiwis" isn't enhanced by causing rapid change in the global climate, which is what burning fossil fuels does.
I hope they do not find a lot of oil because if the do the Americans will want to
bring us democracy.
"It is time to reimagine how we can make a difference. It makes sense economically and strategically, and is expected by all our stakeholders. But most importantly, it is simply the right thing to do."
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/09/beyond-business-as-usual-addressing-the-climate-change-crisis/
Velcro doesnt seem to know that Paula Bennett and Simon Bridges – as Climate change ministers went to Paris and signed NZ up to the agreements to reduce greenhouse gases below 2005 levels by 30% by 2030.
Its a financial penalty year by year, when they arent met so it costs , mostly the taxpayer, nearly $1 bill per year every year the numbers are above ,as they still are, the treaty targets.
Its in your interest velcro for OMV not to find anything
Exactly
There would be something in the argument if NZ retained a substantial proportion of the value of any discovery, but sadly, under the feckless governance of the Key Kleptocracy the NZ share of any discovered petroleum fell to somewhere around 5%.
Sourcing our oil from the middle east causes us ongoing trade deficits and exposes us to price shocks arising from political instability. No meaningful steps have been taken to mitigate this – we are still substantially a full-on petroeconomy.
The Prime Minister says she would never stop people from having their say, expressing their opinions and using their voices, but then came the admonishment. Blocking people from going about their daily business "doesn't necessarily take us any closer to the climate action they're calling for".
Really- does our PM not know our history – 1981 was going beyond her limits. Remember the current govt is progressing an ambitious target of carbon neutral in 2050. Sounds like a Key comment not to hold the govt to account for being ambitions 🤮🤑
And…
"There are 15,473 vehicles in the government fleet and only 78 are electric. When the coalition Government came into power in late 2017, the agreement between Labour and New Zealand First stipulated that the entire fleet would be emissions-free by mid-2025, "where practicable".
Although it was repeated as recently as June, that goal has been quietly revised to a commitment that, after mid-2025, all new vehicles entering the fleet will be emissions-free."
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2019/10/08/847665/government-quietly-abandons-electric-vehicle-target
2025 is about 6 years away Pat so a bit hard to condemn the result in 2019.
The condemnation is for the winding back (again)…and 6 years is further delay in meaningful action from a timeframe that is already non existent
What hasnt happened is a range of affordable electric vehicles to buy.
They are mostly high end vehicles
and that wasnt known in June when the policy was reaffirmed?
Why the surprise? Can you really picture a situation in which the head of the New Zealand government endorses disrupting the functioning of the government?
Then why enter into the debate then ?
It is not as if our PM wasn’t going to be asked questions, and that all those support people could not prepare a better response.
So from inference our PM was against the land matches, bastion pt. And any others that involved say the harbour bridge or queen st being closed? Eg strike marches
Herodotus,
So right you are,”’ Jacinda is looking more like a paper tiger today doesn’t she just.
A far cry from the Auckland town hall speech when she was giving her electric speech “climate change is our generations nuclear moment”
Fool me as I believed her sincerity then.
She has been hollowed out by big business now and their legions of corporate lobbyists it seems sadly.
P.Milt interesting that we will all claim the advancement that protest action has achieved ; civil rights, vote for woman, 1981 tour yet many including our PM condemn how this was achieved. If it all was nice lovey dovey should serious change occur ?
IMO once power has been achieved don’t rock the boat as you now reap the rewards of being institutionalised.
If the "better" response you're looking for is the head of the NZ government endorsing disruption of government functions, disappointment is guaranteed. The reason why should be obvious.
There is no climate 'crisis' – except in the minds of warmist bedwetters. The relationship between atmospheric CO2 concentration and atmospheric temperature is logarithmic. The more CO2 there is, the less effective it becomes as a warming agent because the ability of any one CO2 molecule to absorb IR radiation at 14.5 micron wavelength is being shielded by the increasing number of other CO2 molecules.
[I warned you the other day about not running climate denial under posts I put up. You’ve had multiple comments shifted to Open Mike with the off-topic warning, which you seem to be ignoring. You’re now in the banned list for a while until I see you have read this note and responded to it. It won’t show on the front end but I will still see it and make a decision about releasing the ban. I want to see two things. One is that you agree to not run climate denial lines under my posts or posts I put up (err on the side of caution if you can’t tell who put it up). Two, that you will stop treating the site like a spam exercise and pay attention to what happens to your comments – weka]
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Wow, what amazes me is that the the UN don't employ you as there sole climate scientist.
mod note for you above.
Remember today is the last day to post your vote in the local government elections. So far turnout in Auckland is low. I am hoping that the one stop enrol and vote stall will help increase turnout. Campaigning in South Auckland I am very aware that high transience means many people do not feel connected to their communities. They also dont receive voting papers in the mail box. The papers in the box are those of previous residents.
I see they are pushing online voting again as we face a democratic crisis in local body elections. Online voting might make voting easier, but IMHO it won't increase voter turnout for local elections by more than a fraction and online voting is a terrible, terrible idea. People need to take their democratic duties more seriously – and be encouraged to do so. So:
Make voting day for local bodies and the general election a compulsory paid public holiday – make it a Wednesday so people can't just skive off for a long weekend – but you only get paid for the day off if you present an official chit or certificate or even an indelible ink hand stamp to your employer saying you voted. Make sure that voting stations has candidate material outlining their policies, and encourage people to study it before they vote with free tea, coffee and biscuits. So if you earn $25 an hour, you are up to lose $200 if you don't bother voting and just sit on your arse at home instead.
On election days fund communities to organise "celebrate democracy" street parties and make election coverage compulsory for free to air media outlets.
IMHO unless they put voting onto a phone with biological i.d., most people under 30 will never vote at all.
So instead of actually voting in a live election – with plenty of rankings about their views on climate change – we get people not voting and instead just sitting on the streets. The Prime Minister is right, but not helpful either.
All of those people sitting o the streets and in the banks have phones, and its the only way they organise their lives now. Not voting by phone is simple disenfranshisement.
+100. All excellent ideas.
Sanctuary,
Electronic voting is very insecure you must read about the pitfalls there. The “scouce code” is a doggy system that hides the voting electronic returns that are falsified
VVTIP is safe though.
https://www.heritage.org/report/the-dangers-internet-voting
Electronic voting machines are a replacement for paper ballots. They have nothing whatsoever to do with online voting.
And the heritage foundation as a source on anything electoral? Do fuck off.
New York, N.Y. – The Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity relies on a database produced by the Heritage Foundation to justify baseless claims — by President Trump and some of the panel’s members — of rampant voter fraud. But according to an analysis of the database by the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, the numbers in the database reveal exactly the opposite.
Claims that the database contains almost 1,100 proven instances of voter fraud are grossly exaggerated and devoid of context, according to Heritage Fraud Database: An Assessment. It confirms what numerous studies have consistently shown: Voter fraud is vanishingly rare, and impersonating a voter at the polls is less common a phenomenon than being struck by lightning
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/analysis-heritage-foundations-database-undermines-claims-recent-voter
The scouce code only works in Liverpool cleenee.
And I would add one more proviso:
I don't know how it could be done satisfactorily, but there needs to be a limit on the number of candidates for each local body position. I am sure many people have been turned off by the huge number of candidates on offer this time around. All it does is add another layer of confusion to an already confusing system.
I know of people who are not going to vote for this particular reason. Keep it simple and people will respond.
It used to be the 'deposits' candidates had to lodge when nominated. You had to get a good proportion of the winning candidates votes to get your money back. Its still applies but has inflation made it meaningless
I'd say it has. I think the mayoralty race has got a big parade of eccentrics and comedians that mock the democratic process and trivialize it. Its attention seeking behaviour. Mind you with a large deposit rich clowns could still participate and poor people whether clowns or or not would be excluded. I wouldn't want the deposit raised.
Half those running for Mayor are only doing it so they get publicity to get a Council position. The real problem with voting is not knowing how to distinguish one candidate from another.
Thanks for the reminder. I admit that I feel very apathetic. However due to your post I'm going to go vote…looking for those from a particular party as I have no idea about most candidates.
If you live in Auckland A "City Vision" are generally centre-left candidates as opposed to C&R (used to be called Citizens and Ratepayers) who are the National Party in drag.
If anyone lives on the Shore please consider "Heart of the Shore" candidates for their local board.
The historical revisionism around the Cook 250th anniversary is simply outrageous. In particular, I heard on NatRad a highly coloured view of Cook's contact with Poverty Bay Maori presenterd as an unprovoked assault with locals murdered in cold blood (complete with emotional guess work about Maori tearing off their clothes in panic and leaping into the ocean in a frantic attempt to escape the white man's unprovoked and genocidal actions).
As far as I know, only one primary source exists of this encounter – that being Cook's journals. What does the primary source actually say of this encounter?
http://southseas.nla.gov.au/journals/cook/17691010.html – I have edited the account to make it easier to read for a modern reader and correct spelling mistakes, etc.
"…Monday [Tuesday] 10th PM I rowed round the head of the Bay but could find no place to land, on account of the great surf which beat every where upon the shore; seeing two boats or Canoes coming in from Sea, I rowed to one of them in order to seize upon the people, and came so near before they took notice of us that Tobiaupia called to them to come along side and we would not hurt them, but instead of doing that this they endeavoured to get away, upon which I order'd a Musket to be fired over their heads thinking this would either make them surrender or jump over board. But here I was mistaken for they immediately took to their arms and/or and whatever they had in the boat and began to attack us, this obliged us to fire upon them. and unfortunately either two or three was were kill'd, and one wounded, and three jumped over board, these last we took up and brought on board, where they were clothed and treated with all imaginable kindness and to the surprise of every body became at once as cheerful and as merry as if they had been with their own friends; they were all three young, the eldest not above 20 years of age and the youngest about 10 or 12.
I am aware that most humane men who have not experienced things of this nature will censure my conduct in firing upon the people in this boat. Nor do I myself think that the reason I had for seizing upon her will at all justify me . And had I thought that they would have made the least resistance I would not have come near them. But as they did I was not to stand still and suffer either my self or those that were with me to be knocked on the head…"
Note the journal entry I have put in italics – never mentioned by Maori radicals keen on painting Cook in the worse possible light- hardly paint Cook as a cold blooded killer. He clearly bitterly regretted killing anyone.
Cook was by the standards of his time an enlightened and civilised man. He was one of the greatest navigators and explorers who ever lived. Smearing him as part of some sort of a historical revisionist project is regrettable, to say the least.
History is written by the victors?
More to the point, only one account exists. The unchallenged slant put on the account by someone who clearly had an agenda was bad reporting of bad history.
The guy should have challenged on his account. If he claimed it to be from oral tradition, then the reporter has a duty to point out this oral tradition is at significant odds with the contemporary written account of one of the participants in the encounter, and leave it to the listener to judge what weight to give either point of view.
We owe it to ourselves as a people to make sure the historical record is correct.
Reality is, Sanctuary, that any historical record in cases such as this will be unlikely to be correct or accurate. Open-ended discussions without full resolution is the best you can hope for.
Written contemporary documents – while valuable – are not infallible. The interpretation or bias of the writer can make them unreliable, or at least raise areas of contention. It is human nature to view one's actions in the best possible light, especially in an official record such as a logbook, perhaps Cook recorded his journals in such a way.
<i>" We owe it to ourselves as a people to make sure the historical record is correct. "</i>
As 'a' people?
As people, we should be able to acknowledge that there is no hard and fast full and final truth to be pinned down. Everyone who was present at historical events had their own perspective as it took place. Some did not live to pass theirs on, others did so using oral traditions, Cook wrote his down. It does not mean that the written record should take precedence in terms of accuracy. Although this seems to be the standard in history, it is not necessarily the whole truth.
"…. It does not mean that the written record should take precedence in terms of accuracy. Although this seems to be the standard in history…"
Pesky thing, literacy.
Sanctuary. I love reading written historical records, especially when they are written by persons unknown.
I also understand the failings of using written records – solely – as a measure of accuracy.
Do you really not see that there is a problem with keeping to this sole standard, in a vain attempt to determine accuracy?
(NB. Slick use of ellipticals in quoting me to remove context. A good example of written records removing truths – was that your intention?)
ellipticals…. ellipsis.Even the number killed varies between 3 and 9 according to who is reporting.
"…according to who is reporting…."
Are you aware of other contemporary reports?
I meant current radio comment.
I wonder if the current anti-Cook is just a strategy for gaining publicity for the cause. 250 years ago?
There were two parties to the slaughter mate – wise up thicko
While I am pleased that you've demonstrated a previously unsuspected ability to count, I don't believe I questioned the mathematics of the encounter.
no – what did you question again?
hmmm oh dear what a fail by you lol
At the local commemorations of the 150th anniversary of the NZ wars, we had a history walk through a couple of our local sites of interest.
An event reported as settlers being holed up in the local church, was actually not in response to local iwi hostilities but as a response to local militia grandstanding. In the end, a local battle began against military orders because imported mercenaries were looking for a fight. It was easy to find documentation of all soldiers killed at the battle, because contemporary papers listed them by name, and those records were often repeated throughout the years. The soldiers were also laid out – by the opposing Māori fighters after the battle, so that they could be retrieved and buried, while they carried their own away for burial.
Even contemporary reports did not record the number of Māori killed. A combination of not knowing, and their relevance to readers makes that understandable. The local iwi actually became no more when their land was confiscated, and members left and joined other tribes, and the hapu exists no more. This along with oral histories, and lack of familial connections which repeats oral histories, means iwi recollections are hard, and in many cases, impossible to collate.
Which makes the discussion around the lack of fixed numbers in situations such as this a purely academic exercise, but we just need to admit that the full truth may never be known.
An alternative view…
https://youtu.be/JmtytPiTZAo
[no climate denial under my posts – weka]
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
mod note for you above.
Amazing ,simply amazing.
Wow this guy is the lowest of the low.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12167698
Odds are the SDF, who actually did most of the fighting and dying in the defeat of ISIS, will be so busy fighting Erdogan's neo-ottoman armies they'll just turn loose the 10,000 or so ISIS fighters they're holding prisoner
https://twitter.com/RichardEngel/status/1181149669017231360
https://twitter.com/ddale8/status/1181178139193548800
McGurk was tRump’s envoy to the region.
https://twitter.com/brett_mcgurk/status/1181085818493927425
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1181085818493927425.html
What a surprise – guess who owns property where and (presumably) wants to keep in good with the local capo di capi?
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-kurds-turkey-istanbul_n_5d9b82ffe4b03b475f9de498
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/10/reminder-trump-has-a-massive-conflict-of-interest-in-turkey/
Meanwhile, there's a few feeble mouse squeaks of minor disapproval, but no doubt a personalised tweet from Darth Hater will send them scurrying back into cowering subservience.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mitch-mcconnell-trump-syria-turkey-kurds_n_5d9b7e38e4b0fc935edeabc2
From 2012 but yeah, feathering the family nest.
https://twitter.com/IvankaTrump/status/193337302066540545
tRump up and abandons the Kurds and the tanks roll in.
Crickets from cowards of both stripes.
https://twitter.com/worldonalert/status/1181293000133087233
Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Monday that US forces were beginning to withdraw from positions in northeastern Syria on the border with Turkey, after Ankara announced it was planning a military offensive there.
"Despite our efforts to avoid any military escalation with Turkey, the US forces have not fulfilled their obligations and withdrew their forces from the border areas with Turkey," the SDF said in a statement.
"Turkey is now preparing an invasion of northern and eastern Syria," the statement said.
https://www.dw.com/en/us-begins-troop-withdrawal-from-northeastern-syria-ahead-of-turkish-offensive/a-50719681
edit:
Of course tRump had the Kurds dismantle their own defencive positions before leaving them to the Turks.
https://twitter.com/cmoc_sdf/status/1181047175914110976
this is so disgusting and will imo lead to massive death and pain for the Kurdish people. The scarlett scumsock with tiny baby-sized hands is a monster.
I'm sure that's just a coincidence, but there seems to lots of criminals residing in tRump properties.
https://twitter.com/KlasfeldReports/status/1181252684441178112
Oh I dunno. Like attracts like. 😎
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/400491/women-denied-treatment-for-gynaecological-conditions
NZ continuing the direction away from supporting and giving attention to the lives of the young and helping them as they face the future. Instead, the interest is on the middle-aged and older consolidating their wealth and adding wealth creation by any means, and their increase in longevity so they have time to spend their putea on their own enjoyment and wants.
The focus is on maintaining the living standards of the comfortably-off retired, which the poorer ones also benefit from as fringe dwellers of the 'golden aged'. For the rest it's the End of the Golden Weather'.
+100. As waters rise, the 'golden aged' (nice phrase) are buying all the best ‘boats’.
Can’t say I blame them.
So according to you, all middle aged and older women are consolidating their wealth, looking for a big spend up in their golden years? Perhaps you'd like to take a poll on here about wealth, or ask around, before you peddle idiotic nonsense as fact. If you're going to throw people under the bus, at least know who it is you're sacrificing first.
It should also be noted the article you've linked to makes no mention of old being treated before the young, no treatment or queue jumping based on an age divide, instead noting multiple dhb's are under stress and only accepting urgent referrals.
Yeah, don't know how age and wealth came into that, other than the health system has been underfunded and monkeywrenched by neoliberals for 30 years. Hard even to separate out whether women are being particularly disadvantaged (although it won't be a surprise if they are). We live in an age of rationing cancer treatment and epilepsy drugs, I think the inequities are grossly across the board.
I also just read how 60% of pensioners rely week to week on their super, so not sure where the idea came from they're living it up large more than the rest of us pay cheque to pay cheque warriors.
yep. It's a myth from the whole boomer vs millennial hate fest.
The housing crisis must be hitting pensioners with rent or mortgages hard.
Any seniors who depend on investment returns for income will be suffering with low interest rates. Of course people with mortgages love those.
Any lower income/asset seniors. The higher ones won't be suffering 😉
Here's Mike Hosking… as he takes several knees to the groin from the Red Princess.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12274484
Prohibition has been tried in NZ all.of my life, and failed all.of my life.
Having said that, there is no question that the current crop of lab produced drugs like Sin and Meth are destroying our society and the lives of so many, both directly and indirectly.
What's the answer? Will legalising soft drugs like marijuana or relegalising party pills make a difference? Probably not, probably not make things worse either. And at least it removes the present hypocrisy.
Ardern made a big mistake, she added right now
I was disappointed in Hosking. I expected him to have said somewhere in his thing with the PM this morning, "I in my great and unmatched wisdom …"
Isn't that the current signature of f'wits?
Ardern then said, "Mike, do you know how ridiculous you sound right now?
That's like asking your cat if it knows how ridiculous it looks right now when its tongue is sticking out – the subject has to have at least some capacity for self-reflection for a question like that to have any point.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/400505/fire-rages-through-100-hectares-near-lake-wanaka
This fire is not regarded as suspicious. There was another fire recently arising from a burnoff that got out of hand. The situation seems suspiciously as if it is BAU and the farmers are needing to be put under a permanent ban of burnoffs. They will then likely want to spray herbicides and that will have to be banned as well.
Perhaps aerial seeding and seed or plant balls to start off alternative growth to weeds etc. But fire is our enemy now, far more than before since colonisation when it helped to kill off the huia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seed_ball
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/11/drones-plant-trees-deforestation-environment/
Necessity is the mother of invention, to those who are open to practical sustainable ideas.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z28screy0Mg
Could this be good? Is anyone looking and picking up the findings?
https://projects.sare.org/sare_project/fnc13-916/
https://forestsnews.cifor.org/41242/switching-swidden-to-agroforestry-a-small-intervention-with-big-potential-in-west-java?fnl=en
Indonesia – Farming trees and crops together could be a win-win solution for rural farmers in West Java, a study has found – increasing incomes, enhancing land tenure security and reducing deforestation and forest degradation.
Subterranean clover in NZ stands dry conditions.
https://beeflambnz.com/news-views/sub-clover-valuable-tool-dryland-farm-systems
I saw that but think they will have said if it was a farmer burnoff.
When farmers do burn off, they're burning bracken to try and retain pasture. There's really no good way to keep pasture in that kind of hilly country (it's burn or spray regularly). The only sustainable way out is to work with nature and let it reforest. Seedballs would help, but nature is pretty good at restore land like that via bracken then shrubs then trees (assuming destocking and rabbit control).
Sheep farming in bracken prone areas is just badly inappropriate land use. Climate change is going to make this worse, and we need to get those areas reforesting as soon as we can to get them past the bracken, highly flammable stage. There's probably some kind of fire ecology there, but it didn't evolve in bare farmland, it should be surrounded by mature forests that act as buffers, keep things more moist, and provide seed banks.
"The Climate Change Commission will be established if and when Parliament passes the Zero Carbon Bill. The Bill sets out a desire to reduce emissions of all greenhouse gases, aside from biogenic methane, to net zero by 2050. Shaw expects the Bill to pass by Christmas and says the advice the Commission provides to government on future emissions budgets has the potential to shape and reshape industries and communities for decades to come"…….
…..Shaw says he's still considering his preferred candidates for the other six Commissioners and hopes to announce appointments to these roles in coming months."
https://www.interest.co.nz/news/102030/climate-change-minister-james-shaw-names-rod-carr-chairman-climate-change-commission
The Chairman choice shows signs of being a good one but if hes as good as his word I hope frustration isnt a condition he suffers from
Huh? But Simon Says that the present Government is hopeless and managing the economy. All his mates complain about it so how will the Opposition spin that headline?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12274510
I'm not a NZ First voter but Dirty Politic is in full force!
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/116409225/major-leak-of-nz-first-membership-database-exposes-personal-details
Interesting that the only major party who doesn't get hit by these capers is National.
nor am oI 2 @Anne, but the gNatz are doubling down aye. Pass the popcorn will ya (Love), but be quick will ya, I've got an appointment at the Caci Clinic soon, and then Jen and Burton are due for drinks
I appear to have jumped the gun OWT. It looks like it was an inside job:
So a disgruntled former member chooses to release personal details of individuals who have nothing to do with the spat (whatever it is) presumably as an act of revenge. Whoever it was, they can do without them.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/116409225/major-leak-of-nz-first-membership-database-exposes-personal-details
Presumably that sauce was that frightful man that's just resigned. Just as well darling.
Tols is up from the Bay and Maggers is due in any moment from the Shore and we really really must get that horrid couple Paula and Simon through finishing school before the election and I really am trying to keep it all mum from Jen and B.
I've been all a fluster I can tell you!
The low commentator turnout in relation to that (NZ First) privacy breach may be some indication of the lack of outrage on behalf of such funders and other supporters of the party. It did a few nice things for some people long ago, but it would be reasonable to presume that most people now see it as being close to redundant, despite the Winston Peters sole, “Kingmaker” star turn, post the 2017 election which really wasn’t considered to be a nice situation by many.
Also, if certain within NZ First had seen this breach event as likely, then so as to come out sort of smelling like pansies, they'd have sterilised or cleansed any really damaging material ahead of time, surely?
If so, and I cannot say that it is so, then there would be little doubt that both National and Labour would have also gone through their supporter database by now in order to remove anything and anyone contained on/in it which might be considered more than just a little smelly.
Kia Ora Breakfast.
Yes more publicly of local elections will help boost local elections participants. I still say online voting will boost voter turnout numbers. Heaps of people have phones so long as the system is set up wisely easy to use and safely more people will vote online.
Spark getting some of the sports broadcasting rights is good I assume that they will play the matches delayed on free TV I think this will get people to learn how to use our 21 century communication device.
There you go they have to much power to manipulate the people of our country they can do things illegally they don't have to worry because its all a secret they can manipulate every person in Aotearoa.
The Austrian down hill race looks like fun I have similar experiences
I know a couple of rural areas that have had a down turn in their economy's over the last 10 years its not just the West Coast that got that going down
Those Capybara are real beautiful creatures they look like a happy heard.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora Here it is facts wealthy big carbon companies distorting the fact on Human Caused Global Warming. They have gone to great lengths to hide their behaviour of suppressing our realities on Global Warming and the damage the Phenomenon will do to the tangata of the Papatuanuku. Hence Eco Maori is like a broke record on the subject of Global warming and our futures rights to a livable environment for all.
How vested interests tried to turn the world against climate science
For decades fossil fuel majors tried to fight the consensus – just as big tobacco once disputed that smoking kills
Felicity Lawrence, David Pegg and Rob Evans
In 1998 a public relations consultant called Joe Walker Petroleum Institute (API), a trade association representing major fossil fuel companies, with a proposed solution to a big problem.
In December the previous year, the UN had adopted the Kyoto protocol, an international treaty that committed signatory countries to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions in order to avert catastrophic climate breakdown.
Reducing emissions represented a direct threat to the profits of fossil fuel companies and the API was working on an industry response.
“As promised, attached is the Global Climate Science Communications Plan that we developed during our workshop last Friday,” Walker wrote. The workshop had involved senior executives from fossil fuel companies, including the oil multinationals Exxon – later part of ExxonMobil – and Chevron, and the gas and coal utility Southern Company, and a handful of rightwing thinktanks
Ka kite Ano link below.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/10/vested-interests-public-against-climate-science-fossil-fuel-lobby
Our Wild birds are like the canary in A mine the lack of birds in country's should be taken as a sign that the environment is in sharp decline. We must look after our Papatuanuku environment and all her wildlife. We must plant billions of trees to protect our futures environment.
Two-thirds of bird species in North America are at risk of extinction because of the climate crisis, according to a new report from researchers at the Audubon Society, a leading US conservation group.
Record numbers of Australia's wildlife species face 'imminent extinction'
The continent could lose 389 of the 604 types of birds studied. The species face threats to their habitats from rising temperatures, higher seas, heavy rains and urbanization.
Those at risk include the wood thrush, a well-known songbird, and the Baltimore oriole, the mascot of Maryland’s baseball team. The recognizable common loon could disappear, as could the vibrant mountain bluebird.
“Birds are indicators of the health of our environment, so if they disappear, we’re certainly going to see a lot of changes in the landscape,” said Brooke Bateman, the senior researcher who wrote the report. “If there are things changing with birds we have to understand that the environment is changing for us as well.”
Bateman said birds are an excellent lens for viewing environmental destruction, because they are visible and respond quickly. In the 1970s, humans realized the pesticide DDT was dangerous when birds were unable to successfully breed, she noted
Ka kite Ano link below.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/10/bird-species-extinction-north-america-climate-crisis
Kia Ora 1 News.
Everyone was warned that pool games could be cancelled because of bad weather.
Condolences to Blairs whanau for their loss.
Did you see Tawhirimate crying rents are spiking still he is still trying to make Aotearoa a utopia for his wealth m8. But no Aotearoa has changed for the better.
Awsome that the council concent process is going to be streamline for prefabricated House as I have just said rents are still spiking in 2 years rental av will be $800.00
Every living thing needs a habitatable environment to live in full stop
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
That's great our government investment of $7 million more help disabled people with sports
Ka pai to Lloyd logging hard mahi is good for the health and wairua.
Kormaru sestanable Maori business is good. Yes Tangata Whenua O Aotearoa Culture Mana is growing Papatuanuku wide.
Kia Kaha to Niue for treasureing their te reo and passing it on to their mokopuna I have seen some cultures that nearly lost their Te Reo. Thanks to our Tipuna our culture is Mana
Ka kite Ano
Aotearoa has quite a few easy changes The low hangingffruit in our cities to lower our carbon footprint it looks like capping Nelson cities rubbish dump captureing the methane gas using it to generate energy will have a major influence on reducing the citys carbon footprint.
A United Nations-accredited climate specialist from Central Otago has been named as the person charged with bringing Nelson City Council up to speed on climate change.
Chris Cameron will take up the role of "climate change champion", a position established four months ago after the council declared a climate emergency.
Council spokesperson Paul Shattock said Cameron was a "UN-accredited expert inventory reviewer on greenhouse gas emissions", who was part of New Zealand's delegation to meetings of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) in Europe and Indonesia in 2007 and 2008.
Cameron led Wellington City Council's climate change office before undertaking a PhD in climate science four years ago.
Council undertook a baseline survey of its greenhouse gas emissions last year, and expected to release a detailed action plan for reducing them next year
Eighty per cent of its emissions were identified as coming from the York Valley landfill, which services both Nelson and Tasman
It was taking an "adaptive pathways" approach to helping communities adapt to climate change, and was due to start engaging with communities to work out which action to take when certain impacts occurred Ka kite Ano link below.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/116426907/nelson-names-champion-to-get-council-up-to-speed-on-climate-action
Looks like it's is best to divert organic waste from our rubbish dumps and compost it. Minimise our waste recycling everything we can. This problem is one of the biggest Elephants in the Papatuanuku that no one is really highlighting. Its one of the biggest industries greenhouse gas producers in the Papatuanuku that no one is taking about.
LANDFILLS HAVE A HUGE GREENHOUSE GAS PROBLEM. HERE’S WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT.
Food and yard waste make trash a prolific producer of methane — but fixes exist
October 25, 2016 — We take out our trash and feel lighter and cleaner. But at the landfill, the food and yard waste that trash contains is decomposing and releasing methane, a greenhouse gas that’s 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Landfill gas also contributes to smog, worsening health problems like asthma.
Globally, trash released nearly 800 million metric tons (882 million tons) of CO2 equivalent in 2010 — about 11 percent of all methane generated by humans. The United States had the highest total quantity of methane emissions from landfills in 2010: almost 130 million metric tons (143 million tons) of CO2 equivalent. China was a distant second, with 47 million (52 million), then Mexico, Russia, Turkey, Indonesia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Brazil and India, according to the Global Methane Initiative, an international partnership of government and private groups working to reduce methane emissions.
A more direct — and likely more successful — way to reduce landfill methane would be to reduce the amount of methane-generating materials going into landfills in the first place
With some 40 percent of all food wasted in the United States, reducing food waste offers big opportunities. Last year the EPA and U.S. Department of Agriculture set a target to reduce food waste by 50 percent by 2030, with programs for public education and commercial policies. “Let’s feed people, not landfills,” said EPA administrator Gina McCarthy in announcing the initiative. “By reducing wasted food in landfills, we cut harmful methane emissions that fuel climate change, conserve our natural resources, and protect our planet for future generations.”
Composting can help reduce the landfill methane problem by keeping some organic material out of the trash. Photo © iStockphoto.com/cjp
After reducing food waste, the next best step is turning what remains, along with yard waste, into compost rather than sending it to landfills, says Neil Seldman, cofounder of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, a nonprofit that helps communities fight landfills and waste incinerators and institute composting, recycling and zero-waste programs.
Ka kite Ano link below.
https://ensia.com/features/methane-landfills/
Some Eco Maori Music For The Minute.
https://youtu.be/hmu4wR1bTYE
Some Eco Maori Music For The Minute.
https://youtu.be/YgFyi74DVjc
Kia Ora TV 1 News
If the ruling class oil barons had not covered up the effects of Global Warming in the 50s we could have already had a green Papatuanuku economy and slowed global warming.
I went shopping in Repco I seen some cockroches.
Aotearoa economy will be fine no matter what happens in Britain.
Abiy Ahmed congratulations on the winning of the Noble Peace Prize.
Billy is a funny bugger kia kaha.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
Kia Pai to Robert Bongillies being honoured for your mahi when you were young fella your mahi made Tangata Whenua O Aotearoa famous.
That's how Te Maori of old are respectful humble and taonga Maori.
Ma Te Wa Hone Tamahiri green is the way to go.
Tennis is a great game for Maori tamariki to join one can see other minority cultures climbing up to the top rungs in that sport.
Ka kite Ano