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.
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.
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The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
I was initially resistant to the idea often suggested to me that the Government should deliver an arts strategy. The whole point of the arts and creativity is that people should do whatever the hell they want, unbound by the dictates of politicians in Wellington. Peter Jackson, Kiri Te Kanawa, Eleanor ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...
The Prime Minister has committed to resuming direct flights to Thailand. But it’s not a promise he will be able to deliver on anytime soon. The post Prime Minister jumps the gun in Thailand appeared first on Newsroom. ...
It’s not that long ago Eliza McCartney was seriously wondering if the Paris Olympics would be her pole vaulting swansong. After years of being hounded by injury after injury, the Rio Olympics bronze medallist was still confident she would compete at her second Olympics in Paris in July, unless something ...
FICTION 1 Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) There’s commercial fiction, like this book, and then there’s quality fiction, quality writers, quality literature; the forthcoming Auckland Writers Festival is full of quality, and ReadingRoom has two tickets to give away to the following events: Paul Lynch (Dublin ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 26 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
You can’t have missed the Gallipoli story as the movies, documentaries, essays and books capture what it was like for New Zealand troops in their eight-month campaign on the Peninsula. But this Anzac Day the Auckland War Memorial Museum has published a book that sheds light on a little-known aspect of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk this week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to ...
Asia Pacific Report Chief Mandla Mandela, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa and Nelson Mandela’s grandson, has joined the Freedom Flotilla in istanbul as the ships prepare to sail for Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. Mandela is also the ambassador for the Global Campaign to Return to ...
Pacific Media Watch Journalists who report on environmental issues are encountering growing difficulties in many parts of the world, reports Reporters Without Borders. According to the tally kept by RSF, 200 journalists have been subjected to threats and physical violence, including murder, in the past 10 years because they were ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
ACT's Rural Communities and Veterans spokesman Mark Cameron responds to cancellations and protests of ANZAC Day commemorations in Wellington. He says, "These pitiful attempts to detract from ANZAC Day are not at all indicative of the feelings of mainstream ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Pōneke based peace activists staged a silent protest at the ANZAC day service to highlight New Zealand’s complicity in war and genocide, and urge the government to take concrete steps to stop the genocide in Palestine. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Magdalena M.E. Bunbury, Postdoctoral Researcher, James Cook University Burial with a horse at the Rákóczifalva site, Hungary (8th century AD).Sándor Hegedűs, Hungarian National Museum, CC BY How do we understand past societies? For centuries, our main sources of information have been ...
Amanda Thompson doesn’t really do Anzac Day. But what she does do is remember the people she knew who had a lifetime to remember stuff they didn’t really want to, because of a war they didn’t ask for. And she does make Anzac biscuits.First published in 2021.All my ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathryn Willis, Postdoctoral Researcher, CSIRO Xavier Boulenger/Shutterstock In the two decades to 2019, global plastic production doubled. By 2040, plastic manufacturing and processing could consume as much as 20% of global oil production and use up 15% of the annual carbon ...
With our collective remembrance, and steadfast belief in our common humanity, we strengthen our hope and resolve to do what we can to foster dialogue and understanding, and to heal divisions in our pursuit of peace. ...
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..
https://twitter.com/elisethoma5/status/1358692480628137985
"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