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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A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne iamharin/Shutterstock For many people, the term “bulk billed” refers to a GP visit they don’t have to pay ...
Emmas Hislop, Sidnam and Wehipeihana discuss what’s in a name. Emma Sidnam: Hello Emmas! Thank you so much for agreeing to do this with me. My first question for you is related to what’s been on my mind for a while. It’s very important. You see we’ve recently had some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Sievers, Research Fellow, Global Wetlands Project, Australia Rivers Institute, Griffith University Chris Brown Humans love the coast. But we love it to death, so much so we’ve destroyed valuable coastal habitat – in the case of some types of habitat, ...
Josh Thomson on the 80s milk ad jingle he can’t stop singing, the beauty of The Simpsons, why Jersey Shore is as good as Shakespeare and more. For someone who spends a lot of time on our screens, popping up in everything from 7 Days to Taskmaster, Educators to Good ...
In apparent defiance of the Biden administration, the Netanyahu government has now initiated missile strikes against Iran. Last Saturday night (Sunday morning in New Zealand) Iran launched more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles against Israeli military targets. With the assistance of US, UK and possibly French forces, ...
Māori representation brings a perspective that encompasses not only the interests of Māori communities but also a broader, holistic approach to environmental stewardship and community well-being, principles deeply embedded in Te Ao Māori (the Māori ...
This week in Auckland, a group of young people took over the microphone at a ministerial press conference, to explain why they oppose the Fast-Track Approvals Bill. One young woman said, ‘We’re here because we love Aotearoa New Zealand. We want to raise our children in an environment that’s thriving, ...
The summer was wonderful. Evie was wonderful, too; finally a teenager, finally worthy of long, hot days. She shaved her legs for the first time and bought cut-off shorts from the op-shop that made them look long. She got a Warehouse singlet so tight on her new shape that her ...
When Thomas James was on his solo camp as part of Outward Bound, the keen outdoorsman didn’t find it too challenging, as others often do. In what might just be the perfect illustration of his character, he saw it as a great opportunity to solve a few problems. “I thought, ...
From the unstable and drippy to the hi-tech and pretty, here’s our ranking of all the tunnels you can drive through in this country. The first tunnel seems to have been built in 2200BC in Babylonia, kicking off a global phenomenon for digging holes in order to get places more ...
Lucinda Bennett on the art of being greedy but resourceful. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. When I picture the market, it is always this time of year. Crisp air, dripping nose, counting coins with cold fingers. Sunlight pale, filtered through specks of dew still ...
Zoë Colling’s favourite piece in the ‘That’s So Last Century’ collection is a lubrication chart for a sewing machine from the ’60s. It’s about the size of a postcard, and carefully maintained. “I like it that this piece of ephemera highlights that manual and technical side of the skill involved ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)Hot off the press, this debut ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
Yes, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...
“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Tenbensel, Associate Professor, Health Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Since coming into power, the coalition government has adopted a simple but shrewd see-how-fast-we-can-move political strategy. However, in the health sector this need for speed entails ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Darya Sannikova/Pexels Whether you’re watching TV, attending a footy game, or eating a meal at your local pub, gambling is hard to escape. Although the rise of gambling is not unique to Australia, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol T Kulik, Research Professor, University of South Australia IR Stone/Shutterstock In Australia, it’s not the done thing to know – let alone ask – what our colleagues are paid. Yet, it’s easy to see how pay transparency can make pay ...
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is sounding a warning to migrants, that running foul of the law may see them leaving the country prematurely. ...
The government’s plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Beneficiary numbers are up – and so are ...
Raglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best? I am a die-hard Raglan Roast fan. It’s consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, ...
Residents of University of Auckland halls are being urged to withhold their accommodation fees from May 1, in a bid to force the university to take student concerns over rent hikes seriously.The University of Auckland is facing a strike from students over the cost of on-campus accommodation. The Students ...
New Zealand and the Philippines have signed a new maritime security agreement and stated their concerns over activity in the South China Sea, as Chinese vessels continue to flout international law. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos committed to signing a Mutual Logistics Supporting Arrangement by ...
The thousands of government “back-office” job cuts are causing widespread pain in the capital city. In today’s episode of The Detail, we speak to three journalists and a think tank researcher, looking at the larger picture around the cuts and what effect it will have on Wellington, a city that’s ...
Opinion: The famed American architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham once said, “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood!” Burnham wouldn’t have been referring to the transport plans in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past five years; projects so big they hadn’t the credibility to ...
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Opinion: With maths understanding at 42 percent for Year 8 students, there’s no doubt something has to be done. But how? The post Financial literacy should be on all of us appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Hineaupounamu ‘Missy’ Nuku has been scaling mountains in Canada for her college basketball team, the Lakeland Rustlers. Alberta is currently home for the 20-year-old point guard, who is in her first year of a scholarship at Lakeland College, where she is studying for a business degree. She has certainly made ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra When ASIO boss Mike Burgess delivered his annual threat assessment earlier this year, he stressed the rising danger posed by espionage and foreign interference. “In 2024, threats to our way of life have surpassed ...
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