Fonterra cleared the cows from 16 farms and is using the land to dispose of wastewater, which could be leaching a colourless, tasteless and odourless pollutant into private drinking water supplies.
It was on his runs that Neville Ross first noticed cows were slowly disappearing from local farms. In 2017 most of the stock vanished from two farms. A year later they disappeared from a third Cambridge farm.
"Some places you realise there's no animals – at all – for like a year."
Neville's not a farmer, he's a cop and has been part of Waikato's police force for 42 years. Despite being a detective sergeant, when the working dairy farms became ghost farms, it didn't weigh on his mind. All three were owned by Fonterra. If it was a case of cattle-rustling or alien abduction, the multi-national dairy giant would have sounded the alarm.
The CEO of Fonterra is paid to do this and the board would have known about it. I draw the same link with the previous Air NZ CEO when it comes to a 3rd party contract and the CEO and board at Air NZ dropping the ball.
If I was a conscientious farmer, trying to do my best by the environment and make a living, I'd be outraged by this tarring with the dirty-dairy brush.
Mr Wagstaff has to go…NZ workers need a central labour organisation (NZCTU) leader with some spark and class left conviction. Yet again the Govt. is gifting employers COVID assistance that could be going straight to the relevant workers.
Has Mr Wagstaff ever dealt with a slippery private sector employer one wonders, or checked out the MSD roll of dishonour of employers that trousered COVID assistance that they were not entitled to, and or did not need? The mediation service and employment court are currently clogged with literally thousands of cases of forced and stolen annual leave, dismissals and other lockdown related matters.
Helen Kelly, and dare I say it, Jim Knox would likely have said “pay it directly to affected workers, bring in 10 days sick leave immediately, NZ workers will take appropriate action against any employers not showing good faith over this payment”…not Richard’s waffle as per the RNZ link.
It does annoy me intensely that we fast track people like this ,(Peter Thiel being another)into NZ.
They seem to be the worst thieves of their own country's wealth and will be bringing the same mind set here. I suspect he likes NZ because of the unfettered opportunities he sees in real estate
Yes I saw that the other day. If this can be industrialised at scale it might prove a dramatic game changer – a really effective electrofuel will be one of the pivotal factors to push fossil fuels out of the picture fast.
Since it looks like Facebook may now have started dismantling News Front France's network, I wanted to go into a bit more detail about an interesting part of the activity covered in this report: the deliberate targeting of conspiracy groups as part of this pro-Kremlin campaign. https://t.co/m02RmLsI8B
Nurses work long irregular hours, for insufficient pay represented in negotiations by a union that many suspect is not on their side. I can't imagine how nightmarish that must be when combined with an MIQ work environment.
"I can never hug anybody, and nobody wants to hug me. People step away from me if they know I'm in managed isolation. They literally go 'oh my god get away from me'. So, it's lonely."…
*RNZ has agreed to change the names of the nurses, as they fear they will face retribution for speaking out.
Yup. The human cost that's been overlooked. This country owes these people a great deal more recognition and recompense if this crisis is going to stretch out into another whole year.
People will step up to a crisis for a while, but after a period they start to ask why they're paying the costs while everyone else gets the benefit.
She also experienced severe staff shortages, and said things got 'significantly worse' when the district health boards (DHBs) took over employing staff from healthcare agency, Geneva, towards the end of last year.
"At least twice a week I'm on the phone looking for staff for the next day, because I know that we're going to be short. It's hard, it's stressful."
Lynda's pay was slashed from $50 to $35 an hour when the DHBs took over.
She said staff at MIQ facilities don't receive hazard pay, making it difficult to retain employees.
maybe we should just put their pay back up to what it was?
The money would be a start Sabine, but too few people cannot continue doing the work of too many nurses. They seemed pretty clear that we need either; more staff, or fewer MIQ places:
Alison said MIQ facilities were fragile and unsustainable, and said there was only one solution.
"We need to reduce the number of flights coming into New Zealand. The work force is not capable. There are not enough nurses."
It might be possible to train student nurses as MIQ nurses free for course credit? I don't know their student loan equations – but otherwise where are we going to get a new lot of nurses to operate that side of MIQ care?
The nurses' quotes have a different sense of urgency to the NZNO's mouthpiece. What exactly does "escalated those concerns" mean? In terms of improved work conditions for MIQ nurses:
"It's distressing but unfortunately it's not surprising. Ours members have been contacting us with their distress around unsafe staffing in these facilities and as NZNO, we have escalated those concerns.
train student nurses as MIQ nurses free for course credit
A good idea – practical course element & relevant to contemporary health work. And a few perks for critical workers are overdue – wretched staffing agencies have been sucking up benefits that once would've gone to workers.
Nurses having to speak out is adding to the stress they are already under. Raising a weak link is to be praised and the nurses need to be listened to immediately by the DHB.
The ability of Radionz to bring important issues to light and report on them in a factual and informative manner must mean that we ensure that there isn't any blend with television. It is a different type of media, and let's face it goes to receptors in a different part of the brain, which must not be enabled to atrophy by government.
The latest on nitrates and Fonterra and dairying expansion with accompanying increased pollution volumes is a case in point.
Brain receptors have nothing to do with it. RNZ has just endured less undermining of its public broadcasting culture so far. TVNZ is a disastrous mismatch, I agree.
At the virtual Pacific Islands forum held on Waitangi week it was all sweetness and light.
In fact the Chair of the forum said that the new Chair was appointed by consensus (after an 8-9 vote). While knifing their Micronesian cousins in the back, the Chair fronts with a special brand of Pacific bullshit: "We upheld our principles and values as characterised through the Pacific Way. Central to our Pacific Way is our values of the collective good, maintaining relationships, talanoa and mutual respect."
So far there's no official response to this massive diplomatic collapse from New Zealand or Australia. It would be a great moment for Prime Minister Ardern and Minister Mahuta to do some solid diplomatic work and make it worth the while of the Micronesian leaders to come back in.
For a country that knows how much it relies on multilateralism – and multilateralism from a rich country to a bunch of poor ones is pretty important – New Zealand has a task that it seriously needs attending to.
Otherwise China can just take its time and buy them off with massive infrastructure projects one by one. No rush.
Kiribati seems to be 'the weakest link'. The idea that the yellow peril could increase its regional 'influence' via [much needed?] "massive infrastructure projects" is scary.
Three of the Pacific states who have left – Palau, FSM, and the Marshall Islands – are closely allied to the United States, in compacts of free association with Washington.
Kiribati has recently ‘flipped’ its formal diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to mainland China, leading to concerns over an increased presence and influence of Beijing over the massive archipelago.
Nauru, a former Australian colony, remains closely hewn to Canberra and dependent on its financial support.
Fun fact – Kiribati is the only country in the world to be situated in all four hemispheres.
Well, "quadrant" is a 2-dimensional division where the X and Y axes go into negatives. "Octant" applies to the equivalent for a cube. But with a sphere (although technically I saw on QI that the term "oblate spheroid" is a more precise description of the Earth) the Z axis (depth/altitude) seems less meaningful, and with map geometry we're generally discussing 2d represeantations of a 3d object – the surface, not the full sphere.
So I'd go with "quadrant", except talking about being in "4 hemispheres" is more explicit that each axis is considered seperately in the calculation.
ok, so 4 hemispheres because the object approaching sphereness was cut in half twice along two difference axes?
Which begs the question of countries along the equator, which hemisphere are they in? But more importantly, where is the line that separates East from West to form two hemispheres? (one set of hemispheres is geographical and the other political?).
So the first line is easy – it's the bit midway between the north&south poles, and closest to the sun. The equator.
The second line runs from one cold pole to the other, and it's an arbitrary placement. Because colonialism, the generally-accepted common reference is a literal mark on the ground at the Greenwich Royal Obervatory, in England. The longtitude line.
But because politics, someone pointed out that if days started at Greenwich, then either the clocks will be wrong or half of London will be on one day andeveryone west of Greenwich will be on the other day. Fortunately, by putting a couple of kinks in the 180 degree line through the Pacific, there would be no issues about timezones in absurdedly small places (e.g. one house celebrating happy new year, and tne next street over celebrating it 24 hours later because they were across the date line). But Kiribati regained possession of a couple of islands across the line, so even though the date line hasn't officially changed, they pretend they're all on the same day.
But there are also five "North Poles", so answers change all the time depending on who's answering lol
But yeah – countries can be in both hemispheres at the same time.
The Kiribati Islands, a remote country of 33 scattered coral atolls spread over more than 2,000 miles across the equator. It is the only country that is situated within all four hemispheres as its islands extend into the eastern and western hemispheres, as well as the northern and southern. Kiribati (pronounced Keer-ree-bas) is one of the poorest nations in the world.
It does make sense, but the seasons and a 'top'-down approach to dividing globes that spin on an axis have captured our thinking.
If all our Parliament's MPs were shunted off a cliff and we were only left with Ardern, Robertson, Hipkins, Woods and Parker running the joint, not many would notice the difference.
In case it slipped by anyone, since 1984 every NZ election has essentially been a vote for “continuance”–of monetarism and neo liberal hegemony. It was not on the ballot any more than the continuance of the world rotating on its own axis was, and that is exactly how Finance Capital and the rest of the parasites prefer their bourgeois democracy.
Exploitation and oppression are to be perceived as being as natural as the falling rain…not everyone sees it that way of course, but enough do to keep the tills jingling.
Not sure if you missed it but Robertson generated the largest per capita economic intervention in the developed world last year. Keynes would be proud.
You're living in one of the best-performing economies in the world. We're contented, stable, employed, and incredibly well led. And with China, Japan, and Australia recovering very quickly, I suspect that we are in for a boomtime comparable to the mid 1950s.
There is going to be an ideological struggle over the narrative going forward.
Unfortunately Robertson equivocated at the first hurdle with the statement that he 'didn't think QE would do that' (raise house prices). He was right of course, and acting in agreement to Hickey who was supportive of both using QE to get the govt familiar with funding itself again and trying to tackle house prices maybe via a CGT. Never the less the battle is on over how much the govt QE program can be held responsible for house price rises.
It should be highlighted that the alternatives of,
1) the govt funding itself directly, with the RBNZ simply buying all the debt the govt issues
2) the govt not borrowing and just spending directly
And 3) no QE intervention and the govt matching its spending with borrowing
Would all have resulted in the same kinds of house price hikes. In fact 3 is likely to have resulted in much higher govt bond interest rates paying (default risk free) into peoples kiwisaver so could have meant a larger price spike. But its the on going buyer race to borrow sufficient to get up another rung of the housing ladder at work here and liquidity has never restricted that.
This debate is of course not unique and already in the UK austerians are arguing for the govt to add major economic problems to the problems presented by the pandemic.
Encouraging to see a sustained decrease in global daily new cases of Covid-19, even allowing for delayed reporting over Christmas. The 7-day average of daily new cases has dropped ~40% since it peaked at nearly 750,000 on 10-12 January.
There's even a hint that the number of active cases is starting to decline from a 'peak' of ~26.1 million. Don't know if vaccine roll-outs are a contributing factor (seems too soon?), but fingers crossed.
Hmmm, shallow political governance. Who would have thought this were possible with the previous and present outstanding Government that won the popularity and majority vote last year.
They say a week is a long time in politics. For Mayor Wayne Brown, turns out 24 hours was long enough for many of us to see, quite obviously, “something isn’t right here…”. That in fact, a lot was going wrong. Very wrong indeed.Mainly because it turns ...
One of the most effective, and successful, graphics developed by Skeptical Science is the escalator. The escalator shows how global surface temperature anomalies vary with time, and illustrates how "contrarians" tend to cherry-pick short time intervals so as to argue that there has been no recent warming, while "realists" recognise ...
A new Prime Minister, a revitalised Cabinet, and possibly revised priorities – but is the political and, importantly, economic landscape much different? Certainly some within the news media were excited by the changes which Chris Hipkins announced yesterday or – before the announcement – by the prospect of changes in ...
Currently the government's strategy for reducing transport emissions hinges on boosting vehicle fuel-efficiency, via the clean car standard and clean car discount, and some improvements to public transport. The former has been hugely successful, and has clearly set us on the right path, but its also not enough, and will ...
Buzz from the Beehive Before he announced his Cabinet yesterday, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announced he would be flying to Australia next week to meet that country’s Prime Minister. And before Kieran McAnulty had time to say “Three Waters” after his promotion to the Local Government portfolio, he was dishing ...
The quarterly labour market statistics were released this morning, showing that unemployment has risen slightly to 3.4%. There are now 99,000 people unemployed - 24,000 fewer than when Labour took office. So, I guess the Reserve Bank's plan to throw people out of work to stop wage rises "inflation", and ...
* Dr Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Chris Hipkins continues to be the new broom in Government, re-setting his Government away from its problem areas in his Cabinet reshuffle yesterday, and trying to convince voters that Labour is focused on “bread and butter” issues. The ministers responsible for unpopular ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins continues to be the new broom in Government, re-setting his Government away from its problem areas in his Cabinet reshuffle yesterday, and trying to convince voters that Labour is focused on “bread and butter” issues. The ministers responsible for unpopular reforms in water and DHB centralisation ...
Completed reads for January Lilith, by George MacDonald The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (poem), by Samuel Taylor Coleridge Christabel (poem), by Samuel Taylor Coleridge The Saga of Ragnar Lodbrok, by Anonymous The Lay of Kraka (poem), by Anonymous 1066 and All That, by W.C. Sellar and R.J. ...
Pity the poor Brits. They just can’t catch a break. After years of reporting of lying Boris Johnson, a change to a less colourful PM in Rishi Sunak has resulted in a smooth media pivot to an end-of-empire narrative. The New York Times, no less, amplifies suggestions that Blighty ...
On that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth.Genesis 6:11-12THE TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS that dumped a record-breaking amount of rain on Auckland this anniversary weekend will reoccur with ever-increasing frequency. The planet’s atmosphere is ...
Buzz from the Beehive There has been plenty to keep the relevant Ministers busy in flood-stricken Auckland over the past day or two. But New Zealand, last time we looked, extends north of Auckland into Northland and south of the Bombay Hills all the way to the bottom of the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters When early settlers came to the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers before the California Gold Rush, Indigenous people warned them that the Sacramento Valley could become an inland sea when great winter rains came. The storytellers described water filling the ...
Dr Bryce Edwards writes – Last night’s opinion polls answered the big question of whether a switch of prime minister would really be a gamechanger for election year. The 1News and Newshub polls released at 6pm gave the same response: the shift from Jacinda Ardern to Chris Hipkins ...
Last night’s opinion polls answered the big question of whether a switch of prime minister would really be a gamechanger for election year. The 1News and Newshub polls released at 6pm gave the same response: the shift from Jacinda Ardern to Chris Hipkins has changed everything, and Labour is back ...
Over the last few years, it’s seemed like city after city around the world has become subject to extreme flooding events that have been made worse by impacts from climate change. We’ve highlighted many of them in our Weekly Roundup series. Sadly, over the last few days it’s been Auckland’s ...
A ‘small target’ strategy is not going to cut it anymore if National want to win the upcoming election. The game has changed and the game plan needs to change as well. Jacinda Ardern’s abrupt departure from the 9th floor has the potential to derail what looked to be an ...
When Grant Robertson talks about how the economy might change post-covid, one of the things he talks about is what he calls an unsung but interesting white paper on science. “It’s really important,” he says. The Minister in charge of the White Paper — Te Ara Paerangi, Future Pathways ...
The news media were at one ceremony by the looks of things. The Governor-General, the Prime Minister and his deputy were at another. The news media were at a swearing-in ceremony. The country’s leaders were at an appointment ceremony. The New Zealand Gazette record of what transpired says: Appointment of ...
I n some alternative universe, Auckland mayor Efeso Collins readily grasped the scale of Friday’s deluge, and quickly made the emergency declaration that enabled central government to immediately throw its resources behind the rescue and remediation effort. As Friday evening became night, Mayor Collins seemed to be everywhere: talking with ...
They called it an “atmospheric river”, the weather bombardment which hit NZ’s northern region at the weekend. It exacted a terrible toll on metropolitan Auckland and the rest of the region. Few living there may have noted a statement from electricity generator Mercury Energy labelled “WET, WET, WET!” This was ...
I know, that is a pretty corny title but given the circumstances here in the Auckland region, I just had to say it. The more oblique reference embedded in the title is to the leadership failures exhibited by Mayor Wayne Brown and his so-called leadership team when confronted by the ...
How much confidence should the public have in authorities managing natural disasters? Not much, judging by the farcical way in which the civil defence emergence in Auckland has played out. The way authorities dealt with Auckland’s extreme weather on Friday illustrated how hit-and-miss our civil defence emergency system is. In ...
Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.The recent leadership change in the governing Labour party resulted in a very strange response from National’s (current) leader, Christopher Luxon. Mr Luxon berated Labour for it’s change of leader, citing no actual change.As ...
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 22, 2023 thru Sat, Jan 28, 2023. Story of the Week New Study Reveals Arctic Ice, Tracked Both Above and Below, Is Freezing LaterClimate change is affecting the timing of both ...
Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.It was another ‘SHOCK! HORROR!’ headline from a media increasingly venturing into tabloid-style journalism:Andrea Vance’s article seemed to focus on the "million dollar sums from the Government as the country grapples with a housing ...
Dr Brian Easton writes: It’s the summer break. Everyone settles down with family, books, the sun and some fishing. But the Prime Minister has a pile of briefing papers prepared just before Christmas, which have to be worked through. I haven’t seen them. Here is my guess at some ...
What Was the Prime Minister Reading in the Runup to Election Year?It’s the summer break. Everyone settles down with family, books, the sun and some fishing. But the Prime Minister has a pile of briefing papers prepared just before Christmas, which have to be worked through. I haven’t seen them. ...
In case you hadn't noticed, FYI, the public OIA request site, has been used to conduct a significant excavation into New Zealand's intelligence agencies, with requests made for assorted policies and procedures. Yesterday in response to one of these requests the GCSB released its policy on New Zealand Purpose and ...
Farming leaders are watching closely whether Damien O’Connor keeps the key portfolios of Agriculture and Trade when Prime Minister Chris Hipkins restructures his Cabinet. O’Connor has been one of the few ministers during Labour’s term in office who has won broad support for what he has done ...
South Islands farmers are whining about another drought, the third in three years. If only we knew what was causing this! If only someone had warned them that they faced a drying climate! But we do know what is causing it: climate change. And they have been warned, repeatedly, for ...
Ok, there’s good news and bad news in this week’s inflation figures, but bad > good. Our inflation rate held steady but hey, at a level below the inflation rate in Australia. The main reason for the so/so result here? A fall in petrol prices of 7.2% offset the really ...
Dr Bryce Edwards writes: Since her shock resignation announcement, Jacinda Ardern has been at pains to point out that she isn’t leaving because of the toxicity directed at her on social media and elsewhere, rebutting journalists who suggested misogyny and hate may have driven her from office. Yet ...
Since her shock resignation announcement, Jacinda Ardern has been at pains to point out that she isn’t leaving because of the toxicity directed at her on social media and elsewhere, rebutting journalists who suggested misogyny and hate may have driven her from office. Yet there have been dozens of columns ...
The Clinical Magus: Of particular relevance to New Zealanders struggling to come to terms with the sudden departure of their prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, is Jung’s concept of the anima. Much more than what others have called the feminine principle, the anima is what the human male has made out ...
The Select Committee, considering the proposed RNZ-TVNZ merger, has come back with a report conceding many of the criticisms that were made of the original legislation. In what is one of the most comprehensive demolitions of a Bill submitted to a Select Committee, the Economic Development, Science and Innovation ...
Such are the 2020s, the age when no-one, it seems, actually respects the basic underpinnings of democracy. Even in New Zealand. This week, I stumbled across a pair of lengthy and genuinely serious articles, that basically argue that Something is Rotten in the state of New Zealand democracy. One ...
Buzz from the Beehive Hurrah. Today we found something fresh on the Beehive website, Beehive.govt.nz, which claims to be the best place to find Government initiatives, policies and Ministerial information. It wasn’t from Finance Minister Grant Robertson, whose reaction to the latest inflation figures would have been appreciated. So, too, ...
Smiling And Waiving A Golden Opportunity: Chris Hipkins knew that the day at Ratana would be Jacinda’s day – her final opportunity to bask in the unalloyed love and support of her followers. He simply could not afford to be seen to overshadow this last chance for his former boss ...
Extremism Consumes Itself: The plot of “Act of Oblivion” concerns the relentless pursuit of the “regicides” Edward Whalley and William Goffe – two of the fifty-nine signatories to King Charles I’s death warrant. As with his many other works of historical fiction, Robert Harris’s novel brings to life a period ...
To challenge the Government’s promotion of co-governance, to share power between Maori and public authorities and agencies, is to invite accusations of racism. An example: this article by Martyn Bradbury on The Daily Blog headed Luxon’s race baiting hypocrisy at Ratana. The article was triggered by National leader Christopher Luxon, ...
A very informative video discussion: Are we getting the whole story about Ukraine? | Robert Wright & Ivan Katchanovski Getting objective information on the situation in Ukraine and the cause of this current war is not easy. There is the current censorship and blatant mainstream media bias – which ...
Yesterday the Herald ran an op-ed from Mayor Wayne Brown titled “The case for light rail is lighter than ever” and a few things stood out. However, it’s getting more and more tricky to make a strong economic case for spending up to $29 billion on a single route of ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Samantha Harrington Imagine it’s a cold February night and your furnace breaks. You want to replace it with an electric heat pump because you’ve heard that tax credits will help pay for the switch. And you know that heat pumps can reduce ...
In 2005, then-National Party leader based his entire election campaign on racism, with his infamous racist Orewa speech and racist iwi/kiwi billboards. Now, Christopher Luxon seems to want to do it all again: Fresh off using his platform at this week's Rātana celebrations to criticise the government's approach to ...
Inflation is showing little sign of slowing down, posing a problem for freshly minted PM Chris Hipkins. According to that old campaigner Richard Prebble, Hipkins should call a snap election. If he waits till October, he risks being swept away. The dilemma for the new leader is that fighting an election ...
Buzz from the Beehive A great deal has happened since January 19. Among other things, a new Prime Minister and deputy have been sworn in and our leaders (past, present and aspiring) have delivered speeches at Ratana. Newshub reported that politicians of all stripes had descended upon Rātana for the ...
It’s a big day for New Zealand; our 41st Prime Minister has taken office and the new, “Chippy” era of politics is underway. Or, on the other hand, the Labour Party continues to govern with an overall majority and much the same leadership team in place. Life goes on and ...
New Zealand has another Prime Minister who does not have a basic grasp of the three articles of the Treaty of Waitangi. THOMAS CRANMER writes: It is simply astonishing that New Zealand’s next Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins, is unable to give even a brief explanation of the three articles ...
A statue of a semi-naked Nick Smith puts the misogyny debate into perspective. GRAHAM ADAMS writes … In the wake of Ardern’s abrupt resignation, the mainstream media are determined to convince us she was hounded from office mainly because she is a woman and had to fall on her sword ...
A Different Kind Of Vibe: In the days and weeks ahead, as the Hipkins ministry takes shape, the only question that matters is whether New Zealand’s new prime minister possesses both the wisdom and the courage to correct his party’s currently suicidal political course. If Chris “Chippy” Hipkins is ...
An editorial in the NZ Herald last week, titled “Nimbyism goes bananas as housing intensifies“, introduced Herald readers to a couple of acronyms that go along with the now-familiar NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard): “bananas” (build absolutely nothing anywhere near anyone) “cave” dwellers (citizens against virtually everything). The editorial ...
Back in the dark autumn of 2020, when the prospect of Covid was freaking the country out, Finance Minister Grant Robertson set himself and Treasury a series of questions about what a post-Covid economy might look like. Those were fearful days, and the questions in part reflected a series ...
Buzz from the Beehive Yet another day has passed without Ministers of the Crown posting something to show they are still working for us on the Beehive website. Nothing new has been posted since January 17. Perhaps the ministers are all engaged in the bemusing annual excursion ...
Incoming Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has already indicated he intends making the tax system “fairer”. That points to the route a government facing an election could take to tilt the odds towards winning in its favour, given Labour’s support in the last months of the Ardern era had been ...
NewsHub has a poll on the cost-of-living crisis, which has an interesting finding: the vast majority of kiwis prefer wage rises to tax cuts: When asked whether income has kept up with the cost of living, 54.8 percent of people surveyed said no and according to 58.6 percent of ...
Labour has begun 2023 with the centre-left bloc behind in the polls and losing ground. That being so, did his colleagues choose Chris Hipkins as the replacement for Jacinda Ardern because they think he has a realistic shot at leading them to victory this year, or because he‘s the best ...
Two Flags, Two Masters? Just as it required a full-scale military effort to destroy the first attempt at Māori self-government in the 1850s and 60s (an effort that divided Maoridom itself into supporters and opponents of the Crown) any second attempt to establish tino rangatiratanga, based on the confiscatory policies ...
The first of Kiwirail’s big network shutdowns to fix the foundations on our tracks is now well underway with the Southern Line closed between Otahuhu and Newmarket. This is following on from the network wide Christmas/New Year shutdown, during which Kiwirail say that nearly 1,300 people working across 69 different ...
This is a re-post from the Citizens' Climate Lobby blogIn last year’s passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Congress included about $20 billion earmarked for natural climate solutions. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responsible for deciding how those funds should be allocated to meet the climate ...
You’ve really got to wonder at the introspection, or lack thereof, from much of the mainstream media post Jacinda Ardern stepping down. Some so-called journalists haven’t even taken a breath before once again putting the boot in, which clearly shows their inherent bias and lack of any misgivings about fueling ...
Over the weekend I was interviewed by a media outlet about the threats that Jacinda Ardern and her family have received while she has been PM and what can be expected now that she has resigned. I noted that the level of threat she has been exposed to is unprecedented ...
Dr Bryce Edwards writes: The days of the Labour Government being associated with middle class social liberalism look to be numbered. Soon-to-be Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni are heralding a major shift in emphasis away from the constituencies and ideologies of liberal Grey ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to provide direct support to low-income households and to stop subsidising fossil fuels during a climate crisis. ...
The tools exist to help families with surging costs – and as costs continue to rise it is more urgent than ever that we use them, the Green Party says. ...
A new Government and industry strategy launched today has its sights on growing the value of New Zealand’s horticultural production to $12 billion by 2035, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said. “Our food and fibre exports are vital to New Zealand’s economic security. We’re focussed on long-term strategies that build on ...
25 cents per litre petrol excise duty cut extended to 30 June 2023 – reducing an average 60 litre tank of petrol by $17.25 Road User Charge discount will be re-introduced and continue through until 30 June Half price public transport fares extended to the end of June 2023 saving ...
The strong economy has attracted more people into the workforce, with a record number of New Zealanders in paid work and wages rising to help with cost of living pressures. “The Government’s economic plan is delivering on more better-paid jobs, growing wages and creating more opportunities for more New Zealanders,” ...
The Government is providing a further $1 million to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Auckland following flooding, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced today. “Cabinet today agreed that, given the severity of the event, a further $1 million contribution be made. Cabinet wishes to be proactive ...
The new Cabinet will be focused on core bread and butter issues like the cost of living, education, health, housing and keeping communities and businesses safe, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has announced. “We need a greater focus on what’s in front of New Zealanders right now. The new Cabinet line ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins will travel to Canberra next week for an in person meeting with Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese. “The trans-Tasman relationship is New Zealand’s closest and most important, and it was crucial to me that my first overseas trip as Prime Minister was to Australia,” Chris Hipkins ...
The Government is providing establishment funding of $100,000 to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Auckland following flooding, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced. “We moved quickly to make available this funding to support Aucklanders while the full extent of the damage is being assessed,” Kieran McAnulty ...
As the Mayor of Auckland has announced a state of emergency, the Government, through NEMA, is able to step up support for those affected by flooding in Auckland. “I’d urge people to follow the advice of authorities and check Auckland Emergency Management for the latest information. As always, the Government ...
Ka papā te whatitiri, Hikohiko ana te uira, wāhi rua mai ana rā runga mai o Huruiki maunga Kua hinga te māreikura o te Nota, a Titewhai Harawira Nā reira, e te kahurangi, takoto, e moe Ka mōwai koa a Whakapara, kua uhia te Tai Tokerau e te kapua pōuri ...
Carmel Sepuloni, Minister for Social Development and Employment, has activated Enhanced Taskforce Green (ETFG) in response to flooding and damaged caused by Cyclone Hale in the Tairāwhiti region. Up to $500,000 will be made available to employ job seekers to support the clean-up. We are still investigating whether other parts ...
The 2023 General Election will be held on Saturday 14 October 2023, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “Announcing the election date early in the year provides New Zealanders with certainty and has become the practice of this Government and the previous one, and I believe is best practice,” Jacinda ...
Jacinda Ardern has announced she will step down as Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party. Her resignation will take effect on the appointment of a new Prime Minister. A caucus vote to elect a new Party Leader will occur in 3 days’ time on Sunday the 22nd of ...
The Government is maintaining its strong trade focus in 2023 with Trade and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor visiting Europe this week to discuss the role of agricultural trade in climate change and food security, WTO reform and New Zealand agricultural innovation. Damien O’Connor will travel tomorrow to Switzerland to attend the ...
The Government has extended its medium-scale classification of Cyclone Hale to the Wairarapa after assessing storm damage to the eastern coastline of the region. “We’re making up to $80,000 available to the East Coast Rural Support Trust to help farmers and growers recover from the significant damage in the region,” ...
The Government is making an initial contribution of $150,000 to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Tairāwhiti following ex-Tropical Cyclone Hale, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced. “While Cyclone Hale has caused widespread heavy rain, flooding and high winds across many parts of the North Island, Tairāwhiti ...
Rural Communities Minister Damien O’Connor has classified this week’s Cyclone Hale that caused significant flood damage across the Tairāwhiti/Gisborne District as a medium-scale adverse event, unlocking Government support for farmers and growers. “We’re making up to $100,000 available to help coordinate efforts as farmers and growers recover from the heavy ...
It’s the biggest week in Real Pod history! Jane made her debut in Treasure Island: Fans v Faves and we grill her all about the drama from week one. Why did she put up Micah? How brutal was the wrestling challenge IRL? And what were her concerns about joining Lance’s ...
Treasure Island is back, baby, and so are our power rankings. Tara Ward recaps all the big plays from the dramatic first week of Fans v Faves. Treasure Island: Fans v Faves has finally washed ashore, and after hoovering down the first three action-packed episodes, I’m fuller than a weatherman ...
By Felix Chaudhary in Suva New Zealand-based Fijian academic Professor Steven Ratuva says that if the coalition government is strong, resilient and lasts, “this will reflect well as a future model for coalitions in Fiji”. “It’s a learning process for a new government and a new democracy and we expect ...
By Finau Fonua, RNZ Pacific journalist Many Pasifika families affected by the flash floods and torrential rainfall that have lashed New Zealand’s North Island over the past few days were braced for more bad weather overnight. With four people dead and hundreds forced out of their homes over the weekend ...
RNZ Pacific A New Zealand-based professor in comparative politics says the Fiji constitution needs to clear up the role of the military. Dr Jon Fraenkel of Victoria University, formerly of the University of the South Pacific, says the 2013 constitution revived the provision that existed in the 1990 constitution which ...
By Repeka Nasiko in Lautoka Fiji’s Media Industry Development Act will soon be reviewed over the next few weeks. Speaking to The Fiji Times in Lautoka on Monday, Minister for Communications Manoa Kamikamica said the review was one of the main objectives of the coalition government when it came to ...
ANALYSIS:By Peter Wilson, political commentator for RNZ News Tuesday, February 7, at 2pm. That’s when New Zealand’s new Prime Minister Chris Hipkins’ parliamentary year begins and he faces National leader Christopher Luxon in the debating chamber for the first question time of 2023. He needs to “Win the House”, ...
Analysis - Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has had a dream start with polls showing Labour ahead of National, but now he has to prove himself in Parliament and quickly deliver on his promises. ...
Andrew Kirton has been appointed the prime minister’s staff by Chris Hipkins. He begins the role on February 8, replacing Raj Nahna, who has resigned. Nahna become Jacinda Ardern’s chief of staff after Mike Munro resigned for health reasons in 2019. A former Helen Clark staffer, Labour Party general secretary ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luciano Beheregaray, Matthew Flinders Professor of Biodiversity Genomics, Flinders University Shutterstock As the climate heats up rapidly, many species will struggle to avoid extinction. If they had time, they could evolve to the new environmental conditions. But they don’t. That’s ...
The Labour Party has selected Sarah Pallett as its candidate for the Ilam electorate in the 2023 general election. Sarah has been the MP for Ilam since the 2020 General Election. She currently sits on two Select Committees, is the Chair of the Labour ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Madison Williams-Hoffman, PhD Candidate in Environmental Radioactivity, Edith Cowan University WA Department of Fire and Emergency Services By now, you’ve probably heard about a tiny radioactive capsule that went missing from the back of a truck somewhere in Western Australia. ...
Auckland mayor Wayne Brown has welcomed the news that schools will be allowed to reopen from tomorrow morning. The Ministry of Education backtracked on its initial decision to keep schools closed until next week. In a statement, Brown also welcomed the blue sky that had replaced clouds across the super ...
Auckland Pride has quietly become one of the most culturally and economically important festivals in the country. Jade Winterburn writes about what it means to her as a queer Aucklander and her hopes for its future.It took some encouragement from a friend to get me out to see my ...
As Auckland begins a big dry following record rainfall and devastating floods, the official response from Mayor Wayne Brown and others has come under scrutiny. In The Spinoff’s politics podcast Gone By Lunchtime, Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas debate the deluge ...
How has Chris Hipkins performed in his first big tests as prime minister? Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas debate the deluge aftermath, as well as assessing Wayne Brown’s emergency response, and a pair of polls that show an election year in the balance. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan de Groot Heupner, Senior Research Fellow, Griffith University US Secretary of State Antony Blinken rushed to the Middle East this week to make yet another push for a negotiated settlement between Israel and the Palestinians following yet another dramatic escalation in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol Johnson, Emerita Professor, Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Adelaide Mick Tsikas/AAP Treasurer Jim Chalmers begins his Monthly essay “Capitalism After the Crises” with a quote from the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus: “No man ever steps in ...
New Prime Minister Chris Hipkins followed up an announcement of new cost of living measures on Wednesday with a visit to a North Shore Marae The clouds parted and a tableau of brilliant blue rushed in to fill the void as the fledgling Prime Minister made his rounds of Auckland ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Catherine Strong, Associate professor, Music Industry, RMIT University In its new national cultural policy, the Australian government grapples with issues extending well beyond the creative arts. The policy document places issues like First Nations representation, work and wages, technological upheaval, discrimination ...
Morningside Live Blockparty will proceed this Sunday February 5 as scheduled, and at this point sunshine is forecast. Severe weather over the weekend and last night, however, has seen the location of The Spinoff Carpet Club stage (a basement below The Carpet Court) flooded and unusable for the event taking ...
Auckland schools will be able to open their doors to students from tomorrow. That’s despite the Ministry of Education announcing late on Monday afternoon that all learning facilities, including kura and universities, must close until after the Waitangi long weekend. Schools have been notified today that the blanket directive to ...
What are you going to be watching in February? We round up everything coming to streaming services this month, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, Neon and TVNZ+. The biggies You (season four, part one on Netflix from February 9) When we last left murder-curious hipster Joe Goldberg, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Grattan Institute Lukas Coch/AAP Nine months after the 2022 federal election, voters finally get a look at how much the parties spent and who funded their campaigns. Data released today reveal Australia’s political parties collectively ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has welcomed the decision to lift the Ministry of Education’s directive on Auckland schools and other learning facilities, which means schools can open from tomorrow at their discretion. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, ...
The head of the South Island’s Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency says the new Cabinet announced by Prime Minister Chris Hipkins yesterday is good news for Māori, with Peeni Henare retaining his spot as Minister of Whānau Ora, and Kiri Allan and Willie ...
The latest report from Aroturuki Tamariki, the Independent Children’s Monitor, on Experiences of Care in Aotearoa shows that there is not yet a significant improvement in outcomes for children in care, or their whānau and caregivers. Experiences of ...
The Children’s Commissioner, Judge Frances Eivers, said today that the latest Independent Child Monitor report into the performance of Oranga Tamariki, provides valuable insights, but its findings are of huge concern. Judge Eivers said, “In ...
Auckland’s deputy mayor has commented (via tweet) after this morning appearing to label her boss “part of the problem” in an interview about the flooding. On TVNZ’s Breakfast this morning, Desley Simpson was asked when the media will be able to speak with Wayne Brown, who has been particularly reluctant ...
Found a lost pet? Wondering how the animal shelters are going? The SPCA and the Auckland Council animal management team share some advice. Floods don’t just affect humans, they affect the furry members of the family too. It’s important to look out for animals following the Auckland floods, although it’s ...
An assessment of the impacts on an “inundated” City Rail Link project is under way following flooding in Auckland. Crews have pumped water from tunnels and stations sites and equipment was being salvaged and inspected, said the project chief executive Sean Sweeney. “At this stage there is no known structural ...
The government has announced another extension of its cost of living package – the fourth time it has pushed out the end date. The 25 cent cut to petrol excise duty, along with half price public transport fares, will be kept in place until June 30. These were initially set ...
It’s one of the most explosive moments in New Zealand’s political history. Now, director Tony Sutorius (Campaign) lifts the lid on the Jami-Lee Ross saga in Elements of Truth. After a fallout with National that threatens to bring the entire party down with it, Jami-Lee Ross seeks a return to ...
It was one of the most explosive moments in New Zealand’s political history. Now, a new documentary from director Tony Sutorius (Campaign) is lifting the lid on the Jami-Lee Ross saga.After a fallout with National that threatened to bring the entire party down with it, Jami-Lee Ross sought a ...
Transporting New Zealand has applauded the decision of the Government to reinstate the Transport Support Package, which includes the discount to road user charges (RUC). "On behalf of the transport industry and those who run diesel fuelled vehicles, ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins who is in Auckland today has confirmed the cut to the fuel excise tax and half-price public transport will be extended until June. ...
The Tree Council is experiencing first hand, along with everyone else, the worst ravages of the flooding, landslips, chaos and carnage currently engulfing Auckland. The record-breaking rainfall and its unprecedented intensity is a clear signal of ...
Low unemployment and strong wage growth in the December quarter 2022 Household Labour Force Survey are further evidence of New Zealand’s robust recovery from the pandemic, says the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions. NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff said ...
The Taxpayers’ Union – which has been campaigning for an extension to the diesel road-user charges and petrol excise reductions – has welcomed the Government’s announcement today that the fuel tax cuts will continue until 30 June. They have, ...
Unemployment has risen slightly to 3.4%, just a 0.1 point bump from the December quarter. “The unemployment rate… has remained at or near historic lows since the September 2021 quarter,” said Stats NZ’s work and wellbeing statistics senior manager Becky Collett. The underutilisation rate, which measures spare labour capacity, such ...
Maybe twice a year is too many times to visit the villa, writes Alex Casey. This is an excerpt from The Spinoff’s weekly pop culture and entertainment newsletter Rec Room – sign up here.Lana is a simple girl with simple needs. “I like the simple things in life,” she tells ...
The length of time someone has spent in Australia will soon be a “primary consideration” when determining whether a visa should be cancelled. It’s a major softening of the controversial 501 deportation scheme that has caused tensions between Australia and New Zealand. Jacinda Ardern fought for changes to the rules ...
If you’re an investor, or looking to become one in 2023, Dean Anderson from Kernel Wealth sheds some light on what that might look like after the highs and lows of last year.Following the dizzying highs of 2021 when stocks skyrocketed to record-setting gains, 2022 proved to be a ...
We are now accepting applications for The Next Page, a programme focusing on the development of early-career magazine editors, with participants receiving mentorship and taking part in three wānanga across the year. Nau mai, haere mai!Te kaupapaEditors play a vital role in our media landscape, yet very few ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins who is in Auckland today has confirmed the cut to the fuel excise tax and half-price public transport will be extended until June. ...
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.4 percent in the December 2022 quarter, compared with 3.3 percent last quarter, Stats NZ said today. “The unemployment rate, as measured by the Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS), has remained at or ...
Engaging seniors and young people through workshops, creating a series of kaupapa Māori events for kaumātua and kuia, and delivering retirement workshops are among the latest projects funded by the Age friendly fund. Office for Seniors Director, ...
A Newshub item discussing the alleged misuse of public funds for safety improvements at a greyhound racetrack was unbalanced and inaccurate, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. The Authority has upheld a complaint by Greyhound Racing New ...
It’s Wednesday, February 1 and welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates – continuing our ongoing coverage of the flooding in Auckland and its aftermath. I’m Stewart Sowman-Lund, you can reach me on [email protected] What you need to know Auckland remains in a local state of emergency after ...
Under-fire Auckland mayor Wayne Brown has doubled (tripled?) down on his criticism of the media, accusing reporters of ignoring the work he has done in the wake of last week’s floods. In a conversation with Herald reporter David Fisher, who was first leaked the now infamous “drongo” text, Brown said ...
Residents in the flood-hit suburb of Browns Bay were outraged to find Auckland Transport traffic wardens had been out ticketing parked vehicles. According to Stuff, about 22 infringement notices were issued to cars in the North Shore suburb – seemingly going against the Civil Defence advice to stay home and ...
No one warned me how badly grief can make you yearn for physical intimacy – or how much backlash I would get for wanting to talk about it.On January 19, 2003, I moved to Aotearoa as the wife of a very handsome, very charming, very kind man. Jason Hotere ...
Stuff’s Luke Malpass is reporting that prime minister Chris Hipkins will announce an extension to the 25-cent petrol tax cut and half-price public transport. Those were set to end by March 31, as announced by finance minister Grant Robertson in December. The announcement is likely to be made today when Hipkins ...
The top of the country has endured another wild night of heavy rain and wind, with flash flooding hitting areas still recovering from Friday’s deluge. Parts of Auckland were cut off earlier this morning as the northern motorway closed in both directions. Waka Kotahi said all lanes had now opened, ...
Former physician Ayesha Verrall and former principal Jan Tinetti pick up big portfolios while Auckland gets an advocate in an otherwise well-anticipated cabinet reshuffle, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. An ...
The Free Fares coalition welcomes news that the Government will extend half-price public transport. “Affordable public transport is helping to ease cost of living pressures,” said Free Fares spokesperson Kate Day. “Right now, half-price fares ...
While Auckland was being devastated by flooding last weekend, a potentially more serious threat to life was playing out off Wellington’s south coast. The interisland ferry Kaitaki had lost power and was drifting in heavy swells towards the coastline. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Sawyer, Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Australian Catholic University Shutterstock Child abuse and neglect is, unfortunately, a far more common occurrence in Australia than many people realise. In Australia in 2020–21 (the most recent figures available), there were more than ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer Frost, Associate Professor, University of Auckland Paramount Pictures In his latest film, Babylon, director Damien Chazelle presents a very different vision of the home of America’s motion picture industry than he did in his Oscar-winning 2016 film, La La ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Roberts, Professor in Robotics, Queensland University of Technology frank60/Shutterstock With generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems such as ChatGPT and StableDiffusion being the talk of the town right now, it might feel like we’ve taken a giant leap closer to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vanessa Cobham, Professor of Clinical Psychology, The University of Queensland Shutterstock Many children come down with a case of the back-to-school blues as summer slips away. Having spent the holidays staying up late and having fun with friends and family, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Martijn Boersma, Associate Professor, University of Notre Dame Australia Ten years ago, the garment industry’s worst industrial accident – the Rana Plaza collapse in Dhaka, Bangladesh – killed more than 1,100 workers and highlighted the travesty of conditions for millions of garment ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Shaw, Professor of Politics, Massey University New prime minister Chris Hipkins with deputy Carmel Sepuloni.Getty Images With a cabinet reshuffle just a day after two polls showing Labour ahead again – in which he promoted more Māori MPs to the ...
What to do once the water levels recede and you’re allowed to return home. Assess the damage If you’ve safely evacuated your home from floodwaters, you’ll need to wait for Civil Defence to give you the OK to return. When you do, wear protective gear like gloves, a mask and ...
As the country’s northernmost GP, and later as the MP for the country’s northernmost Māori electorate, Bruce Gregory was the ultimate community doctor.We’re not on a road, not even a dirt road. We’re crawling through a rutted gap between sand dunes in Bruce’s ancient Land Rover. It is, to ...
The wrong tree in the right place is an ongoing conundrum for Central Otago District Council with a long-awaited compromise plan seemingly decided yesterday stalled at the 11th hour Ken Churchill has been turning up at council meetings in Alexandra with regular monotony for the past 17 months in a ...
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300224992/fonterra-discharging-nitrateheavy-water-onto-ghost-farms
The CEO of Fonterra is paid to do this and the board would have known about it. I draw the same link with the previous Air NZ CEO when it comes to a 3rd party contract and the CEO and board at Air NZ dropping the ball.
If I was a conscientious farmer, trying to do my best by the environment and make a living, I'd be outraged by this tarring with the dirty-dairy brush.
Use the train! Save the planet!
Three carriages total this morning, too full to get on, utterly standing room only start to finish. Top work Auckland.
Back to the car I think.
hah … was my life for five years commuting from the Wairarapa. Only upside was I got nicely toned leg muscles.
The passengers on the train you boarded were taking a risk as no social distancing was able to occur.
How long does the train trip take?
40 minutes is usual, but 50 minutes today.
Most were wearing masks.
And cycling is ridiculously unsafe here, so little alternative.
The temperature would increase if no decent air conditioning. I would not want to be 8 months pregnant on the train you boarded.
so cure how the train is always something someone else has to catch to save the planet. action is for everyone.
Mr Wagstaff has to go…NZ workers need a central labour organisation (NZCTU) leader with some spark and class left conviction. Yet again the Govt. is gifting employers COVID assistance that could be going straight to the relevant workers.
Has Mr Wagstaff ever dealt with a slippery private sector employer one wonders, or checked out the MSD roll of dishonour of employers that trousered COVID assistance that they were not entitled to, and or did not need? The mediation service and employment court are currently clogged with literally thousands of cases of forced and stolen annual leave, dismissals and other lockdown related matters.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018782755/covid-19-money-offered-to-help-workers-stay-home-for-tests
Helen Kelly, and dare I say it, Jim Knox would likely have said “pay it directly to affected workers, bring in 10 days sick leave immediately, NZ workers will take appropriate action against any employers not showing good faith over this payment”…not Richard’s waffle as per the RNZ link.
Would it help to have a tribunal a bit like the Tenancy Tribunal or to enlarge the employment court?
I can draw a link between an unfair employer and an unfair landlord. It would be awful if both are being experienced together.
Kleptocrats will save us apparently, through the magic of under-regulated markets.
Russian billionaire investing in Kiwibuild to help housing crisis | Stuff.co.nz
It does annoy me intensely that we fast track people like this ,(Peter Thiel being another)into NZ.
They seem to be the worst thieves of their own country's wealth and will be bringing the same mind set here. I suspect he likes NZ because of the unfettered opportunities he sees in real estate
He may be an exception for all I know – but the activities of the oligarchs in Russia (and the US) are a study in sociopathy.
Govt books in much better shape than first expected.
Robertson says he is going to keep a tight lid on spending and get tough on house prices by the end of this month.
Source?
A parsnip
so it would seem
There's a technology out there that might make hydrogen viable for transport – goop.
Powerpaste packs clean hydrogen energy in a safe, convenient gray goop (newatlas.com)
Yes I saw that the other day. If this can be industrialised at scale it might prove a dramatic game changer – a really effective electrofuel will be one of the pivotal factors to push fossil fuels out of the picture fast.
Putin won't like this..
"Putin won't like this.."
Oh I'm sure he's quaking.
Nurses work long irregular hours, for insufficient pay represented in negotiations by a union that many suspect is not on their side. I can't imagine how nightmarish that must be when combined with an MIQ work environment.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/436036/miq-nurses-speak-out-we-re-going-to-get-sloppy-we-re-tired-and-stressed
Yup. The human cost that's been overlooked. This country owes these people a great deal more recognition and recompense if this crisis is going to stretch out into another whole year.
People will step up to a crisis for a while, but after a period they start to ask why they're paying the costs while everyone else gets the benefit.
from the same article
maybe we should just put their pay back up to what it was?
The money would be a start Sabine, but too few people cannot continue doing the work of too many nurses. They seemed pretty clear that we need either; more staff, or fewer MIQ places:
It might be possible to train student nurses as MIQ nurses free for course credit? I don't know their student loan equations – but otherwise where are we going to get a new lot of nurses to operate that side of MIQ care?
The nurses' quotes have a different sense of urgency to the NZNO's mouthpiece. What exactly does "escalated those concerns" mean? In terms of improved work conditions for MIQ nurses:
Paying properly might attract some retired,etc nurses who otherwise do not think the job is worth the risk.
Well i guess they should have NOT cut the pay then and if only as a staff retention tool.
$ 35 with no extras to run our plague hotels err quarantine centres? And be treated like a leper oneself? Why would you even bother.
train student nurses as MIQ nurses free for course credit
A good idea – practical course element & relevant to contemporary health work. And a few perks for critical workers are overdue – wretched staffing agencies have been sucking up benefits that once would've gone to workers.
Nurses having to speak out is adding to the stress they are already under. Raising a weak link is to be praised and the nurses need to be listened to immediately by the DHB.
The ability of Radionz to bring important issues to light and report on them in a factual and informative manner must mean that we ensure that there isn't any blend with television. It is a different type of media, and let's face it goes to receptors in a different part of the brain, which must not be enabled to atrophy by government.
The latest on nitrates and Fonterra and dairying expansion with accompanying increased pollution volumes is a case in point.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/436030/fonterra-discharging-nitrogen-heavy-water-onto-ghost-farms
Brain receptors have nothing to do with it. RNZ has just endured less undermining of its public broadcasting culture so far. TVNZ is a disastrous mismatch, I agree.
Looks like the Pacific Islands Forum is a wee bit fucked. The entire Micronesian grouping has just quit en masse:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/09/pacific-islands-forum-in-crisis-as-one-third-of-member-nations-quit
At the virtual Pacific Islands forum held on Waitangi week it was all sweetness and light.
In fact the Chair of the forum said that the new Chair was appointed by consensus (after an 8-9 vote). While knifing their Micronesian cousins in the back, the Chair fronts with a special brand of Pacific bullshit: "We upheld our principles and values as characterised through the Pacific Way. Central to our Pacific Way is our values of the collective good, maintaining relationships, talanoa and mutual respect."
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO2102/S00086/forum-chairs-statement-on-the-selection-of-the-pacific-islands-forum-secretary-general.htm
So far there's no official response to this massive diplomatic collapse from New Zealand or Australia. It would be a great moment for Prime Minister Ardern and Minister Mahuta to do some solid diplomatic work and make it worth the while of the Micronesian leaders to come back in.
For a country that knows how much it relies on multilateralism – and multilateralism from a rich country to a bunch of poor ones is pretty important – New Zealand has a task that it seriously needs attending to.
Otherwise China can just take its time and buy them off with massive infrastructure projects one by one. No rush.
Kiribati seems to be 'the weakest link'. The idea that the yellow peril could increase its regional 'influence' via [much needed?] "massive infrastructure projects" is scary.
Fun fact – Kiribati is the only country in the world to be situated in all four hemispheres.
There are 4 hemispheres???
north south east west 🙂
wouldn't those be demihemispheres? Or maybe demisemispheres?
Well, "quadrant" is a 2-dimensional division where the X and Y axes go into negatives. "Octant" applies to the equivalent for a cube. But with a sphere (although technically I saw on QI that the term "oblate spheroid" is a more precise description of the Earth) the Z axis (depth/altitude) seems less meaningful, and with map geometry we're generally discussing 2d represeantations of a 3d object – the surface, not the full sphere.
So I'd go with "quadrant", except talking about being in "4 hemispheres" is more explicit that each axis is considered seperately in the calculation.
Totally should get back to work, though lol
ok, so 4 hemispheres because the object approaching sphereness was cut in half twice along two difference axes?
Which begs the question of countries along the equator, which hemisphere are they in? But more importantly, where is the line that separates East from West to form two hemispheres? (one set of hemispheres is geographical and the other political?).
So the first line is easy – it's the bit midway between the north&south poles, and closest to the sun. The equator.
The second line runs from one cold pole to the other, and it's an arbitrary placement. Because colonialism, the generally-accepted common reference is a literal mark on the ground at the Greenwich Royal Obervatory, in England. The longtitude line.
But because politics, someone pointed out that if days started at Greenwich, then either the clocks will be wrong or half of London will be on one day andeveryone west of Greenwich will be on the other day. Fortunately, by putting a couple of kinks in the 180 degree line through the Pacific, there would be no issues about timezones in absurdedly small places (e.g. one house celebrating happy new year, and tne next street over celebrating it 24 hours later because they were across the date line). But Kiribati regained possession of a couple of islands across the line, so even though the date line hasn't officially changed, they pretend they're all on the same day.
But there are also five "North Poles", so answers change all the time depending on who's answering lol
But yeah – countries can be in both hemispheres at the same time.
Apparently – who knew?
It does make sense, but the seasons and a 'top'-down approach to dividing globes that spin on an axis have captured our thinking.
and the prime meridian intersects the equator in the Atlantic Ocean, south of Ghana.
Fun wee diversion to my day, that…
Chris Hipkins explorations of the proposed changes to history as to be taught to students in NZ schools were very good.
If all our Parliament's MPs were shunted off a cliff and we were only left with Ardern, Robertson, Hipkins, Woods and Parker running the joint, not many would notice the difference.
In case it slipped by anyone, since 1984 every NZ election has essentially been a vote for “continuance”–of monetarism and neo liberal hegemony. It was not on the ballot any more than the continuance of the world rotating on its own axis was, and that is exactly how Finance Capital and the rest of the parasites prefer their bourgeois democracy.
Exploitation and oppression are to be perceived as being as natural as the falling rain…not everyone sees it that way of course, but enough do to keep the tills jingling.
Not sure if you missed it but Robertson generated the largest per capita economic intervention in the developed world last year. Keynes would be proud.
You're living in one of the best-performing economies in the world. We're contented, stable, employed, and incredibly well led. And with China, Japan, and Australia recovering very quickly, I suspect that we are in for a boomtime comparable to the mid 1950s.
You don't know how lucky you are.
Just dont mention housing
or climate. Or rivers, biodiversity, and men's colonialist ties.
ties that bind
and blind apparently.
And colonialist cowboy hats
There is going to be an ideological struggle over the narrative going forward.
Unfortunately Robertson equivocated at the first hurdle with the statement that he 'didn't think QE would do that' (raise house prices). He was right of course, and acting in agreement to Hickey who was supportive of both using QE to get the govt familiar with funding itself again and trying to tackle house prices maybe via a CGT. Never the less the battle is on over how much the govt QE program can be held responsible for house price rises.
It should be highlighted that the alternatives of,
1) the govt funding itself directly, with the RBNZ simply buying all the debt the govt issues
2) the govt not borrowing and just spending directly
And 3) no QE intervention and the govt matching its spending with borrowing
Would all have resulted in the same kinds of house price hikes. In fact 3 is likely to have resulted in much higher govt bond interest rates paying (default risk free) into peoples kiwisaver so could have meant a larger price spike. But its the on going buyer race to borrow sufficient to get up another rung of the housing ladder at work here and liquidity has never restricted that.
This debate is of course not unique and already in the UK austerians are arguing for the govt to add major economic problems to the problems presented by the pandemic.
http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=46849
You forgot Andrew Little. I think he ought to stay.
A guardian article says Facebook is cleaning up its act by stopping false news around vaccines .
Encouraging to see a sustained decrease in global daily new cases of Covid-19, even allowing for delayed reporting over Christmas. The 7-day average of daily new cases has dropped ~40% since it peaked at nearly 750,000 on 10-12 January.
There's even a hint that the number of active cases is starting to decline from a 'peak' of ~26.1 million. Don't know if vaccine roll-outs are a contributing factor (seems too soon?), but fingers crossed.
https://reliefweb.int/report/world/coronavirus-disease-covid-19-weekly-epidemiological-update-2-february-2021
Did your parsnip read it and tell you that?
A more detailed look at Labour's uncomfortable underperformance south of the Waitaki River:
Southern Gothic Politics II: More Bluing of Otago-Southland
Interesting read. Do you think electoral boundary changes are a factor in Southland?
The rural dip in 2020 despite covid response is interesting. How does that compare to similar rural places further north?
One size doesn’t fit all in education and fortunately there are other sizes too that can provide a good fit.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/123482278/aurora-services-academy-building-tomorrows-leaders
Hmmm, shallow political governance. Who would have thought this were possible with the previous and present outstanding Government that won the popularity and majority vote last year.
From the Feeds section: https://democracyproject.nz/2021/02/09/ian-powell-when-business-consultants-are-commissioned-for-hatchet-jobs