The Standard: totally not racist and not at all a totally tone-deaf echo chamber of white people
[That’s another silly comment in a series of silly comments and you (should) know better. Your comments got moved to OM but you didn’t get booted off the site. As such, it is just a minor action to keep the flow of comments tidy, relevant and on-topic. My advice is to not read more (too much) into it – Incognito]
The comments got moved from a place where they were relevant to a place where they were not. That’s bad moderation. Do better.
[FYI, I did not move your comments but I fully agree with the move. Secondly, you don’t decide what Moderators here should or shouldn’t do, which means you don’t criticise or litigate moderation; asking for clarification, for example, is generally (but not always!) fine. Thirdly, I care little about the cause of disagreement for want of a better description but I do care about behaviour. That was bad commenting behaviour. Finally, it would be a silly choice IMO if you opt for a ban. Please do better – Incognito]
I've stretched my bubble gum as far as it will go I think, and just puffing a bit – the bubble is getting bigger – wow splatter all over my mouth. Good for another go. Got to keep pushing the envelope, I mean the gummy, and they make the strength and ingredients very long-lasting these days. I haven't anything more important to do than blow bubbles and people get quite amused at my antics.
It is all a delaying tactic I must confess. I actually do have more important things to do but stay on hoping for some advance in the nature of progress, or the progress of nature, whatever.
I didn't move it either but I think the original comment was under one of my posts (wilding pines). It came late in the piece when I tend to let things slide more. It didn't make much sense in context and seemed a jabby, throw away comment that was trying to make a point but doing it badly. Can't really complain about it now being out of context when you didn't bother to make your point clearly*
And yeah, please don't have a go at moderators.
*TS does tend to reflect Pākehā values, but I'm still not sure why the wilding pine post or discussion specifically warranted comment.
Big issues with winter grazing, some practices are just filthy and heartbreaking.
Damien is doing something about it
Images of cows up to their knees in mud, unable to lie down and rest and calving in these conditions is unacceptable to me and I’ve heard loud and clear from the public that it’s unacceptable to them too.
But, but… Kindergartens South website it says "we are fortunate to have land with trees and grassy areas attached to our kindergarten where tamariki / children are able to build strong ecological identities and are able to make connections from home."
Hardly. With 329 million, even a tiny percentage of the population doing crazy stuff would still appear statistically significant to outsiders. Despite how mad it appears to us, I feel revolution is still some way off, and would require a near-total collapse of the financial systems before that was to occur.
I disagree. Firstly, most revolutions and civil wars involve a small percentage of the population only, particularly at the beginning. Secondly, most revolutions and upheavals begin before people notice.
Let's look back in ten years time and see what history has to say about this and when it started..
I would suggest pretty much every crowd at an event and every mall shopper will have this risk in their mind today and tomorrow and onwards… another indicator it is underway… the population is cowering
I saw a graph of mass shootings this year, USA at 400+ at number one, followed by 2 in India, then NZ at number 3 with one mass shooting. I also happened on an American's IG page the other day and it was just pictures upon pictures of guns, even celebrating his kids 5th birthday with guns. They really do have a problem uniquely theirs.
trump…… offers support and condolences in the wake of the latest mass shootings…. meanwhile, elsewhere in the USA, ICE is doing the biggest round up of immigrants in ten years.
Australia when remonstrated with about uplifting of Kiwis from their homes to detention centres brings up the terms of rapist, sex offender etc as if it applied to all, as a justification. We have got Little America right on our doorstep. NZ is going to be the Mexican immigrant wave when it suits the Oz government to go lower.
Couldn't sleep last night following those images of children suddenly bereft of their parents – many of whom had been in the US for many many years working and productive people. Insane and inhumane.
The arrests targeted chicken processing plants operated by Koch Foods, one of the largest poultry producers in the U.S. Last year, Koch Foods paid out $3.75 million to settle an Equal Employment Opportunities Commission class-action suit charging the company with sexual harassment, national origin and race discrimination, and retaliation against Latino workers at one of its Mississippi plants. Labor activists say it’s the latest raid to target factories where immigrant workers have organized unions, fought back against discrimination or challenged unsafe and unsanitary conditions.
ps This is not the infamous Koch Bros – but another group.
That's fkn shameless, brazenly repeating a Queens loofah-faced shitgibbon lie. Google Obama child separation and you'll be deluged with stuff showing how wrong that statement is. Here's just one:
Who gives a fuck? Seriously, you read about kids getting left at school because their parents have been rounded up, and the best response you can come up with is Obama did it too.
And it's obvious that this isn't a continuation of Obama's policies – because if Obama had enthusiastically followed the midnight raid programme, dolt45 would be creating DACA on steroids and naturalising everyone who gets across the border.
infused It seems you are spreading lies. Do you think you are at the right address when you come here? I think that a higher standard of communication is required. Isn't there somewhere you can go who will swallow all your rats?
"Intensive winter grazing is a vital practice used in Clutha-Southland by farmers. Without it, there would be serious repercussions for the area and as a flow-on effect our rural towns, such as Gore, Winton and Lumsden."
Walker said farmers have made dramatic improvements in how they graze stock, including the fencing of waterways, the buffer zones around critical source areas and grazing crops strategically."
"Clutha-Southland MP Hamish Walker, who is the associate spokesperson for agriculture, said "the protesters at Ihumātao are standing in mud – why is it only farmers being targeted and not them?"
?
"Walker said winter grazing working group was "more money down the drain" and "another orchestrated attack on farmers by this Government".
"In light of the winter grazing photos released, the Government has chosen to establish yet another group to address the issue. Instead of getting around a table and having discussions to see what work is being done, or can still be done, they react as soon as a vegan movement shouts live cattle exports or an environmentalist shouts winter grazing."
Disgraceful thinking – shows the mentality and lack of education about the important matters for the country and ethical standards that all farmers sons should learn about. Their schools are too busy drilling scientific and business-related knowledge into them during formal learning hours and in the rest how to keep fit and be competitive in sports. Nothing about the philosophic understanding that an advanced developed nation would know. All competition and person advancement using the money system, not human collaboration.
I put up the link again about the UK study on the education of the wealthy and aspirational there and how parents don't care and love their children enough to give them the emotional ties that would result in a strong individual who is empathetic and understanding of others.
Britain’s public school system has for generations produced a high proportion of its political leaders, despite the number of children attending these schools representing a tiny fraction of the larger population….
But a British psychotherapist says schools such as Eton produce damaged individuals and very poor leaders suffering a form of “privileged abandonment.”
Dr Nick Duffell is the founder of the boarding school survivors organisation, he himself went to Oxford and taught at a boys’ boarding school, and is the author of The Making of Them: The British Attitude to Children and the Boarding School System, and more recently, Wounded Leaders: British Elitism and the Entitlement Illusion…
"For New Zealanders, one "immediate and striking recommendation" was to alter diets from being high in meat and dairy, to being more balanced with plant-based food choices. This would use less land and water and emit fewer greenhouse gases, Hayward said."
Eat plants to help the climate, IPCC report suggests
The report suggests a lot of other things as well:
"The report makes clear that much of the onus is on industrial, transport and other emitters to urgently cut greenhouse emissions to give food growers the friendly climate they’ll need to feed a growing and increasingly affluent global population.
Agriculture itself is in a tricky position: its existence as an industry is non-negotiable if people are going to continue to eat."
affluent countries need to lower their standard of living. Low hanging fruit: eat seasonally, eat local food. These drop emissions, but also sharpen the mind around what is involved in producing food for everyone, not just the people with the most money.
Considering affluent (OECD) countries are responsible for the bulk of emissions they indeed should be making the most radical lifestyle changes….that involves far more than eating habits
yep, I was just responding to food issue, because it's coming up a lot at the moment, and eating plants from the other side of the world isn't much of an improvement for NZers over eating NZ farmed meat.
Also using that as example of how affluent countries can do something meaningful. Thinking that the whole world can have our lifestyles is a madness, utter madness. We have to give away some of our privilege. It won't hurt us, it might make us a better country.
Meat is not actually mentioned in the report,its land use changes ie deforestation, (south america asia and africa.)
There seems to be a lot of creative reporting in the press (mostly due to the hard reading of the report under a legal framework)
you would struggle to find that land use changes are both a source and a sink (the emission imbalance due to deforestation)
Land is simultaneously a source and a sink of CO2 due to both anthropogenic and natural drivers, making it hard to separate anthropogenic from natural fluxes (very high confidence). Global models estimate net CO2 emissions of 5.2 ± 2.6 GtCO2 yr-1 (likely range) from land use and land-use change during 2007-16. These net emissions are mostly due to deforestation, partly offset by afforestation/reforestation, and emissions and removals by other land use activities (very high confidence) (Table SPM.1)23.There is no clear trend in annual emissions since 1990 (medium confidence) (Figure SPM.1). {1.1, 2.3, Table 2.2, Table 2.3}
The natural response of land to human-induced environmental changes such as increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration, nitrogen deposition, and climate change, resulted in global net removals of 11.2 +/– 2.6 Gt CO2 yr–1 (likelyrange) during 2007-2016 (Table SPM.1). The sum of the net removals due to this response and the AFOLU net emissions gives a total net land-atmosphere flux that removed 6.0+/-2.6 GtCO2 yr-1 during 2007-2016 (likely range). Future net increases in CO2 emissions from vegetation and soils due to climate change are projected to counteract increased removals due to CO2 fertilisation and longer growing seasons (high confidence). The balance between these processes is a key source of uncertainty for determining the future of the land carbon sink. Projected thawing of permafrost is expected to increase the loss of soil carbon (high confidence). During the 21st century, vegetation growth in those areas may compensate in part for this loss (low confidence). {Box 2.3, 2.3.1, 2.5.3, 2.7; Table 2.3}
They also want limits on urban expansion ie removal of agriculture land for housing etc.
The foremost take home message is the need to increase the sink capacity.
been reading a new book called "what the fast", by some AUT experts based off south auckland population studies and recent science into "low carb healthy fat" food. lots of healthy recipes
"There are now over 500 million people living in desert areas that would not have been considered deserts before the 1980s. A full quarter of the world's ice-free land mass is subject to land degradation as a result of human activity."
I wonder how they define "land degradation" and whether they consider agriculture to be improving of degrading what was forested land?
"Under this Bill, Parliament will no longer determine the question to be considered, which means there will be no opportunity for any public input through the select committee process. Rather, the referendum question will be set by Order-in-Council, (that means a regulation passed by the Executive Council on the recommendation of the Cabinet, which, in turn, means that the Cabinet will effectively decide the question to be considered, without any external scrutiny)."
I'm agnostic on this. I can see merit in using efficient practical politics to produce a cabinet consensus on the questions to be put in the referenda. Parliament's process could be messier & more time-consuming. But if it turns out to be quicker & gets the result more efficiently, why not run the cabinet decision past parliament anyway? Doing so would flush out any short-comings – which cabinet could consider as amendments – or confirm the merit of their decision.
As we get to Day +4 after the police rarked things up at Ihumatao, Newsroom have done an interview with the Ihumatao camp's liaison with the police who notes that;
"As part of reducing that footprint Tawha asked if mana whenua could move their presence to the Kaitiaki Village – an area for which they’ve been served eviction notices by Fletcher Building.
Many school groups had bookings to do tours of the stone fields in the coming weeks and SOUL was keen to continue the educational kaupapa there, she said.
“He said he’d talk to Fletchers, and I said we’d have to talk to our people – that was it.”
A decision was made to halt the talks for the day until both negotiators could consult their respective parties."
That night the cops flooded the site, presumably because someone high up heard about the request and made a massive assumption about intentions, completely messing it all up in the process.
Obviously District Commander Rogers stands by her statement that kaitiaki had already occupied that space and that they acted on "information" that they were going to retake the village.
Matthew Hooton has it that Julie Ann Genter should resign over her handling of communications to do with the Wellington transport plan."Genter is a disgrace to her party and herself and should either release her letter in full or resign," he says.
Nothing unusual in that, simple politics and perspectives.
Something that puts a perspective on the perspective is his bit, "It has even been reported that Julie Ann Genter and another Green MP threatened to resign if the tunnel went ahead before the tram."
It has been reported? Is that bit added to give substance or merely chucking toys out of the cot because things aren't as he wishes?
It has been reported? If I were to report that Matthew Hooton is a fuckwit with mental health issues someone can pick that up and use that in a headline story in the country's biggest media outlet saying, " It has even been reported that Matthew Hooton is a fuckwit with mental health issues?"
Already today on Newstalkzb news I've heard two politicians reported as saying something was or wasn't a case and then the final word being given to MP Sarah Dowie speaking directly on tape, that what they said couldn't be believed as if hers was the definitive and authoritative version of reality.
I wish these pollies could be allowed to get on with plans that have been thought about and that offer a way forward and improvements without some carping shit coming along and throwing cow pats or other messy missiles at them in an attempt to start a stoush and stop the solution.
Doing the process properly is important though. I expect oppositions to hold governing parties accountable on such stuff. Murky spindoctors, not so much.
How opposition parties choose to hold the governing parties accountable and for what is extremely important. When the opposition acts like a murky spindoctor they are traitors to the citizens of the country. Now that is the sort of emotive term that can bring the termites out of the woodwork!
The artical on spinoff is interesting… tbh I find it a bit disapponting that the new govt is as bad as the old govt when it comes to accountablity and wearing of 'hats'.
Cant understand the secrecy either everyone knows and understands that the Greens are pro public transport and for very good reason. They shouldnt be ashamed of using whatever leverage they have at their disposal to achieve what are very important changes in the NZ transport system.
WTF? How is it that jailhouse snitches can in any way be considered evidence reliable enough to be introduced at a trial without solid corroboration from non-jailhouse evidence?
Frankly, if I were ever on a jury considering uncorroborated jailhouse snitch evidence, I'd view it as evidence the prosecutors were trying to do a frame-up.
Are Regional Councils useful and worth the money to run them or are they majorly a law unto themselves and a millstone to the Councils in their area trying to get stuff done that their constituents expect them to be in charge of?
Arrowtown has a lot of air pollution.
Otago Regional Councillor Michael Laws had himself called it to report burn-offs dropping ash on properties, and said the regulatory committee was ignoring increasing complaints, leading to people being more reckless with burn-offs.
"It gives you an example of the bizarre priorities of the Otago Regional Council and their policy team, that they're trying to stop people burning wood in the dead of night, to stay warm, in their wood burner – but they refuse to do anything about the daytime pollution which is likely to have a more deleterious effect on communities," he said.
Recently we have heard about Wellington buses, largely the work of the regional council there. I see dv is concerned about that.
Numerous problems are arising. Should regional councils go or are they mostly okay, and problems should go to combined committees with a larger group coming from the concerned councils who can push for needed improvements to contested plans and systems?
I was recalling the change over a couple? years ago. Then went with the cheaper option, paid drivers less. Lost drivers etc. Many buses cancelled AND flyer NOT included in metlink software ETC !!!!!!
ORC are having real difficulties. A large part of the problem is that they are Dunedin based and dominated due to population representation of the ward system, when most of the Council's work is in Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes which have little representation. ORC didn't have an office in Queenstown for 3 years after the sole staff member here died. It's a hangover from the goldrush days perpetuating Dunedin's economic model of clipping the ticket (raping and pillaging in some cases) of the Central Otago economy.
Now that the Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes economy equals, and probably exceeds Dunedin's, especially if activity derived in Central is omitted from Dunedin, maybe it's time for a local government re-organisation around community of interest.
A possible starting point could be DCC becoming a unitary covering the Taieri and Shag catchments, with the remainder of Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes amalgamating and also becoming unitary, or having a seperate Catchment Authority covering the Clutha catchment.
ORC also have a huge problem with water permits that expire in 2021 and have to be renewed. Generally these permits grossly over-allocate the catchments. Since the permit holders (farmers mostly) are reluctant to accept a reduced allocation progress on renewals has been glacial at best to current situation of effectively back to square one. Government intervention is probably inevitable.
That is good backgrounding Graeme thanks. Perhaps there need to be a series of meetings from gummint around the country and some new borders for local authorities drawn up.
There was a strong call I think Nick Smith led, for Nelson and Tasman to amalgamate in a Top of the south grouping but I don't know how the city and country can co-ordinate. We have Nelson – Richmond (Tasman's main town) urban areas separated by playing grounds, settled suburbs and some industrial and farming area. This is a bit like Napier and Hastings.
Richmond is the growing area for housing with quite a big industrial estate. It is the headquarters for Tasman District Council which is a Unitary Authority. It abuts onto the Marlborough District Council and the West Coast District Council and Canterbury.
The Nelson-Marlborough Regional Council was one of 13 regional councils established through the passing of the Local Government Act 1987. The council was established in the 1989 local government reforms, but disestablished only three years later in 1992, when its functions went to the unitary authorities of Nelson City Council, Tasman District Council, and Marlborough District Council.[1] Kaikoura District had belonged to the Nelson-Marlborough Regional Council but with the 1992 reform was transferred to the Canterbury Regional Council.[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson-Marlborough_Regional_Council
Central government had a go at having a combined Nelson-Marlborough Regional Council but that was for just a few years. The Marlborough council has plenty to do with the port at Picton within its area, and the unsettling possibility of a new port being established further down the coast which only was abandoned when there were hefty earthquakes in the area. (It being a waste of capital, infrastructure and investment in Picton was not the important point – I think it suited the trucking firms and self-drive tourists mostly.)
In the south the issues are around population shifts, being the rise of the former "hinterland" and the decline of the cities. Dunedin and Invercargill are going backwards and Central Otago forwards rapidly. Where resources should be going into Central and Northern Southland they are increasingly being drawn back into the cities to maintain services there. Lumsden and Wanaka / Central Otago / Queenstown maternity being an illustration of this.
But dramatic changes are happening with the population growth in Queenstown, Wanaka, Cromwell and Alexandra. The regional airport is now Queenstown with 10 international flights a day to 3 cities, Dunedin has less than 1 to 1 city (Brisbane), and that's marginal. Most of the passengers through Queenstown airport are going to / from somewhere outside Whakatipu, 40% from Wanaka / Central. Southland, Waitaki and South Westland are significant contributors as well. Consequently the shit has hit the fan and QLDC (75.1% shareholder in airport) has put the brakes on the airport's expansion plans as the natives were getting restless, and that's putting it diplomatically, https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/396263/queenstown-airport-expansion-plans-on-hold-after-public-vitriol
Local and regional government structures tend to be historically based and the entrenched interests don't take kindly to reduced circumstances. Change is inevitable but it could be an interesting ride.
The bullshit maternity "hub" decisions are based on the bullshit "debt" Southern DHB has accrued because of the bullshit funding model over the last couple of decades.
The issue you allude to with QLDC is the permanent population vs the tourist population (and I mean "permanent" not "been there ten weeks and calls themselves 'local'" syndrome) is interesting and needs to be accounted for. But what's basis for elevating Lakes District Hospital into tertiary status?
But what's basis for elevating Lakes District Hospital into tertiary status?
Probably none, but there's a very rapidly developing case for a tertiary hospital to serve the Central Otago / Queenstown region. The time / distance thing becomes crippling, both for the patient, and the provider.
We are currently immersed in a situation with a friend who has kidney failure coupled with onset of diabetes. The lady is in her early 70's and has alway lived life at 100 mph. She also is also caregiver to her 86 yo husband who suffered a very serious head injury about 20 years ago. They married when she was 17. His head injury means he cannot drive, and is pretty slow and unsteady at getting around.
She has been in hospital care for two months now, with an in and out bit at the start. Over that time she's had two trips to Dunedin, one down by air and one by road, but both back by road, and one to Invercargill for a test that took 10 minutes, but resulted in a week's stay there until she was able to return to LDH. In the meantime he has soldiered on as best he can, not knowing if he'll ever see his wife again. He's had a few falls and the stress of the situation has knocked him back a lot, and worrying about him isn't helping her recovery either.
While the care she has received is exemplary, along with the support he's getting from agencies, it's difficult to see how this is efficient, and humane, due to the distance and time involved. Multiply this out over probably hundreds of patients in varying circumstances a month along with the socialised costs, and there's got to be a better way of doing it.
Keep regional councils and adjust them to account for geographical spread. Put the main office in Alex if needed. Decentralise the district councils. I'm sure the Upper Clutha would be happy to separate from Queenstown, because of the large difference in communities and needs that QLDC is ignoring.
Amalgamation, along with strong community boards should get the best of both. Right now we need a strong hold on the rapidly changing regional issues, not more parochialism.
The other side of QLDC "ignoring" Wanaka is that Wanaka residents are quite happy to come to Queenstown to use the airport, and contribute a considerable proportion of the considerable aircraft noise issues Whakatipu suffers, but get rather upset at the thought of their share of the noise being created in their own geography.
Cromwell has become the defacto base for infrastructure servicing and is the logical place to base administrative services as well. A regional hospital would fit there as well, unfortunately at the expense of Dunedin and Invercargill.
Tthe noise and other problems with over use of flying are pretty much all on mass tourism. Maybe criticise Upper Clutha and Cromwell people for making a living from tourism.
As I understand the Wanaka/Queenstown issues, it's about voting population and representation. If smaller areas want to stay quieter and have a say in how their communities are run (and this applies to many place in NZ), then that way of structuring councils needs to change to be more democratic.
There's just as strong, maybe stronger, an argument that we are as much 'over localed' as over touristed. Wanaka's 40% share of ZQN passengers is mostly business and locals travel, there's not much tourism there compared to Queenstown, and virtually none in Cromwell or Central. On flights I'm on and in visits to the airport I'd put the passenger mix at around 50%, or maybe more, local or other than tourist.
Our region has experienced massive population growth, both from those that are sleeping in their own bed, and those that are hiring someone else's bed for the short to medium term. This growth is stretching the community and infrastructure and things are starting to give.
Thank you. It would be nice to see these issues getting wider discussion and leadership. There's potential for things to get out of control on multiple fronts resulting in unfortunate outcomes.
Laws is an idiot of epic proportions who somehow now seems to pop up occassionally on the right side of things. In this case, he's wrong. Ill health from woodfires at night in the winter is because of the long term exposure, over months. High country burnoffs last a day. There are really good reasons to not allow farmers to do them, but this isn't one of them (and if it was, farmers can burn when the wind is blowing the other way).
Can't see how we could get rid of regional councils, they do different things than city and district councils and as bad as regional councils can be I'd hate to see them taken over by townies who have a different set of priorities. The big problem with regional councils is that not enough people vote, so farmers get to stack them with people aligned with their values.
Michael Laws is unfortunately only the current iteration of 'different' representative Dunstan has had on ORC, a past example was Jerry Eckoff and there will undoubtedly be many more.
It's hard to say ORC is farmer dominated at a representative level, there's only 5 out of 12 with direct farming connections, most of the rest are technocrats closely related to the functions of the council, and half the councillors represent the Dunedin constituency, not many resource hungry farms there.
However at a submission level rural interests loudly predominate, and pay for the best consultants.
Agricultural burning is a fraught activity 'round these parts. It doesn't matter how careful you are, how well approved you've got the burn (that can involve up to 6 agencies, virtually none of which seem to know what the others are doing) and how well you think you've picked 'the day', it can all turn to custard and you're hosting lots of people in big red trucks with flashing lights, angry ORCs, and if you're really lucky a couple of helicopters.
Mostly it's disposing of development and land clearance waste. Removing D. Fir shelter belts has produced a few good plumes this winter. Our 'turnout' was disposing of the mess from gorse clearance and willow maintenance. We've got about 10 km of deer fence we have to defend from DOC's willows, so there's an ongoing trimming program which generates a lot of slash. And that's just one med – large property, the district's covered in large, elderly and often inappropriate trees. Many of which are downright dangerous. Also just had to deal with about a ha of very large, increasingly leaning silver poplars that were in their third (at least) phase of self coppice. That generated a very large pile of firewood logs and a good sized pile of slash
Slash = lignin habitat and food for fungi, the generators of soil health and wealth; why rob them of the stuff they need and instead, put it up in the air as heat and gas?
Like I said, it's a fraught exercise. The grief from the episode I described has resulted on a marked change in practices from the farm manager and owner concerned, granted we did close the airport for a little while. The remains are now composting well.
Following a "very stressful" night Elliot said he was relieved on Friday morning to find the massive blaze on his land between Kurow and Waimate, which began from a controlled burn, had largely "burnt itself out".
About 50 firefighters, nine appliances and two helicopters were called at the height of the blaze on Thursday, and a two man team monitored the fire throughout the night."
I was thinking farmers dominating regional councils across the country (farmers and allies), but even with the ORC they seem to have a large influence on what the council does (eg water or dairying).
Which is odd on both counts given more people live in cities now. We need more people voting and better support for progressive candidates.
"None of the local candidate nominees were presenting their plans at high schools, where there would be a lot of first time voters, Laker said.
"You only see signs around town and that is only a face and a name. It doesn't tell you what they are running for. "
Well, Ms Laker, your high school admin don't allow local body candidates to speak to students, donchaknow! I tried and had to jump through hoops to get anywhere at all as far as talking to students was concerned.
In any case, were you completely unaware of the efforts to have a climate emergency declared by some of your your regional councillors? It was on the front page of The Southland Times, twice! (The Southland Times is published on-line – you're on-line, right?)
The influence is at the submission and submission support level. I manage a couple or small water schemes and get to observe and engage through a recent consent renewal. It's quite a machine.
I'm not a huge fan of the ORC – even in Dunedin their treatment of public transport is abysmal. Dunno the pros and cons of splitting it or relocating head office, though.
I got no particular prob with councils trying to educate people concerning the desirability of burning well seasoned wood in their woodburners so long as they did so politely but beyond that they can go fuck themselves
Councils had to make changes according to a register of pollution days and how bad. I think there were big changes and much better readings but still there will be obligations to keep to.
Why public systems are better then those in the private sector in the long run. Few can be trusted completely these days, and to the private sector you are just a body to insert the consumer virus into, that they hope will promote a fever to spend on their product.
Don't know if it's confirmation bias on my part, but I'm intrigued by the divergence between different weather models this winter, and the volatility of forecasts, especially MetService's.
I don't think previous winters have have had forecasts and weather patterns as erratic as this winter in the Wakatipu.
They’re called ‘slugs’, and the defaults are always in 8 bit (ie 256 characters) rather than something that is 32 or even 16 bit. It is easier to store, compare and search on for computers.
This column is part one of three on Ihumātao. This part traces the historical injustices behind Ihumātao. Part two outlines the legal progress and rising opposition against the Fletchers Residential development, the contradiction between justice for Māori and preserving Māori as an artefact, and how the Crown has divided mana whenua. Part three examines the political implications of Ihumātao.
Won't happen, and Corbyn's an idiot if he truthfully believes that's going to happen.
If Boris loses a no confidence vote, under the fixed parliament legislation, he faces a second chance ballot a couple of weeks later. Lose that, and it goes to a general election.
The only way Corbyn has a legitimate chance of taking over is, after the first vote, he has the numbers to form a government, which is highly unlikely, even with the cons single, solitary majority.
Whilst conservative members may not want a bar of a no deal brexit, even the most europhile of their numbers won't cross the floor and vote Corbyn's labour in. I can see them wanting a snap election to stop the pm, but never propping up the opposition and certain expulsion, deselection and self inflicted career ending suicide.
“If the PM loses the motion of no-confidence, then under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act he would have another 14 days to win another vote.
If he fails to secure the vote then a general election would be called on a date advised on by the PM.
However, if another candidate can secure the confidence of the Commons then, under cabinet rules, Mr Johnson would be expected to resign and recommend the Queen appoints the other person.”
It depends on the NI MP's backing a Labour led coalition that kept the UK in the customs union and single market and then went to a general election including a referendum on accepting the deal. If the referendum failed and the Tories won they would have a mandate for a no deal Brexit. Or not.
Even with the unionists it would still need a tory to knife their career, and with Corbyn's pro IRA history, the odds on getting the orange order vote is pretty slim.
A couple of errors by me in the exchange above, notably around the second confidence vote and still needing a tory to jump ship in the unlikely event of a unionist shift.
This was on the BBC today, which explains the confidence vote.
There's been studies that we've done in New Zealand and also some work done overseas, especially in the UK, that are coming together to show blackcurrants in New Zealand have some activity around helping exercise recovery and helping your body cope with the stresses of exercise."
He said there were three ways recovery occurred – managing stresses, regulating the inflammatory pathways in the body so that tissue repair was promoted and the boosting of immunity. He said studies suggested New Zealand blackcurrants had higher levels of Polyphenol, which promoted this recovery. But he said more research was needed to scientifically validate the claim New Zealand blackcurrants were superior to other blackcurrants in this respect.
Frozen currants were just as good as fresh ones, he said. The study received funding from the government.
This Japanese firm did not require our production in 2018 and so the growers had to hastily look what to do. Why don't NZs make things themselves. If we as a country supported our own growers, they would be sure of a certain level of sales, and then could develop an overseas interest for exporting to increase business. And note that the Wikipedia item says that Suntory changed to artificial sweeteners as a result of a sugar tax in the UK. But people wanting a natural juice that is sweetened may prefer some sugar, or honey, compared to the laboratory equivalents, and may be affected adversely by them.
What makes the New Zealand blackcurrant better than others?
It's the ultra-violet sunlight that really benefits the New Zealand blackcurrant-growing environment, said Ms Cushman. "That stimulates the berry fruit into producing very high concentrations of poly phenols, the bio-actives that give blackcurrants their physiological benefits. "We are also blessed to have good varieties that thrive in the New Zealand conditions," she said.
Curranz launched the New Zealand blackcurrant product as a sports nutrition supplement, first in the UK, but now also in other countries, including New Zealand, Ms Cushman said. The company will be supplying High Performance New Zealand Olympic athletes for the next Olympic cycle.
"It is a big breakthrough for the Kiwis because British athletes have been using the black currant supplements and winning and it was embarrassing that New Zealand sports people were missing out"
We need to protect our own country's business. The idea that we are big world players is quite wrong; No matter how much we make or import we are always small.
Eco Maori has seen a story about the state of Indias Awa it is not good poverty and plastic waste is a big problem there .
Please clean up your rivers to leave the taonga wai treasure water for your mokopuna grandchildren. Aotearoa has banned single use plastic bags it is a minor inconvenience but well worth it not seeing plastic bags blowing all around the country side the effects of the ban on single use plastic bags can already be seen we will eventually ban most plastics in Aotearoa
Plastic, poverty and paradox: experts head to the Ganges to track waste
India’s most sacred river is also its most polluted, with plastic a major culprit. Now moves are afoot to monitor the flow of rubbish and assess its link to poverty
Drop a plastic bottle into the Ganges and where does it end up? An all-female team of engineers, explorers and scientists is about to find out by undertaking the first expedition to measure plastic waste in one of the world’s most polluted waterways
Following the Ganges upstream from where it empties in the Bay of Bengal to its source in the Himalayas, the National Geographic-backed expedition aims to better understand how plastic pollution travels from source to sea and provide solutions for reducing the amount that ends up in the world’s oceans.
The river is, therefore, a perfect starting point for measuring how plastic travels from land into rivers, and from rivers into the ocean, says National Geographic fellow and University of Georgia associate professor Jenna Jambeck, who is co-leading the expedition.
“We know there’s plastic in these river environments and that the plastic is heading into the ocean,” says environmental engineer Jambeck, whose previous research found that 8 metric tons of plastic waste entering the sea every year.
Wow a mean weather system is effecting the South Island lets hope that it doesn't make to big a Mess.
I think the Idea that moving the cars to a different location in the Auckland region if its works and saves money run with it work smarter not harder is one of my philosophys the other is keep it simple it looks like this Idea fits both.
What about the suppression order against Eco Maori what a joke.
Cool teaching tamariki how to eat healthy foods at a kindergarten very good I have dropped sugar our of my diet and I have lost 10 kg and feel much better sugar should be banned too the gasoline tanks of our cars.
Ka pai to the volunteers who have helped clean up the Awa river mess of a old dump down South Island.
Cool Idea including models with access needs in a fashion Show that should help lift there wairua.
A huge power cut in Britain that is not good at all lucky I harvest my power straight from Te Ra.
Thats heaps of Sharks in Australia they are beautiful creatures that need to be treasured and protected from over exploitation by greedy people.
Its not on having tamariki starving when Te Papatuanuku produce enough food and resources for all we have to change so food is not wasted 30% of food is wasted.
The rulers need to learn to share their lollipops sharing will be part of the changes needed to combat Human Caused Climate Change
World hunger on the rise as 820m at risk, UN report finds
Eliminating hunger by 2030 is an immense challenge, say heads of UN agencies
More than 820 million people worldwide are still going hungry, according to a UN report that says reaching the target of zero hunger by 2030 is “an immense challenge”.
The number of people with not enough to eat has risen for the third year in a row as the population increases, after a decade when real progress was made. The underlying trend is stabilisation, when global agencies had hoped it would fall.
Millions of children are not getting the nutrition they need. The UN says the pace of progress in halving child stunting and reducing the number of low birthweight babies is too slow, which jeopardises the chances of achieving another of the sustainable development goals.
Nearly half of all child deaths in Africa stem from hunger, study shows
Read more
The report is from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the UN Children’s Fund (Unicef), the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Two-thirds of the country think that “New Zealand’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful”. They also believe that “New Zealand needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful”. These are just two of a handful of stunning new survey results released ...
In today’s digital world, screenshots have become an indispensable tool for communication and documentation. Whether you need to capture an important email, preserve a website page, or share an error message, screenshots allow you to quickly and easily preserve digital information. If you’re an Asus laptop user, there are several ...
A factory reset restores your Gateway laptop to its original factory settings, erasing all data, apps, and personalizations. This can be necessary to resolve software issues, remove viruses, or prepare your laptop for sale or transfer. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to factory reset your Gateway laptop: Method 1: ...
“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
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. ...
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. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
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 ...
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, ...
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 ...
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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. ...
Principal reasons for the opposition is the loss of the public’s democratic right to have “a fair say” and the vital need for a government free from corruption, said Casey Cravens of Dunedin, president of the New Zealand Federation of Freshwater ...
Never mind the scoreboard – in the 2000 Bledisloe Cup decider, the real trans-Tasman battle was won before kickoff.First published in 2016. The dawn of the new millennium was a dark time for the All Blacks. Their final game pre-Y2K was a 22-18 loss to South Africa in the ...
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“Never again - No AUKUS” was the message of the wreath laid at this morning’s national ANZAC Day commemorative service at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park this morning by the Stop AUKUS group. ...
Until this month, Auckland swimmer Hazel Ouwehand had never met a qualifying time in an Olympic event for a New Zealand team, even as a junior. Now she’s very likely off to the Paris Olympics after swimming well under the qualifying standard in the 100m butterfly twice – both in ...
While Anzac Day has experienced a resurgence in recent years, our other day of remembrance has slowly faded from view.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Original illustrations by Hope McConnell.First published in 2022.The high school’s head girl and ...
Australian and New Zealand volunteers fought together in the Waikato War, yet still its place in the Anzac tradition is unacknowledged by our defence forces or Returned Services Association.First published in 2018.When I was a boy cub I attended Anzac Day services in the South Auckland suburb of ...
A poem by Wellington writer Tayi Tibble.Hoki Mai She kisses him goodbye with her eyes still wet and alight from their last swim in the Awatere river. At the train station celebration, she leads the Kapa Haka but her voice keeps breaking under and over itself like waves. ...
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There are three books I have wolfed down in one sitting over the last two years. Colleen Maria Lenihan’s gorgeous and sad debut Kōhine, Noelle McCarthy’s memoir Grand about becoming her mother and then unbecoming her, and now Hine Toa, a staunch yet gentle self-portrait by living legend Ngāhuia te ...
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, Thursday 25 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Asia Pacific Report Students and activist staff at Australia’s University of Sydney (USyd) have set up a Gaza solidarity encampment in support of Palestinians and similar student-led protests in the United States. The camp was pitched as mass graves, crippled hospitals, thousands of civilian deaths and the near-total destruction of ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Roberts, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong Aussie~mobs/FlickrVictor Farr, a private in the 1st Infantry Battalion, was among the first to land at Anzac Cove just before dawn on April 25 1915. Victor Farr ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Gregory Moore I had the good fortune to care for the sugar gum at The University of Melbourne’s Burnley Gardens in Victoria where I worked for ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cally Jetta, Senior Lecturer and Academic Lead; College for First Nations, University of Southern Queensland Australian War MemorialAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people, as well as sensitive historical information ...
RNZ News Melissa Lee has been ousted from New Zealand’s coalition cabinet and stripped of the Media portfolio, and Penny Simmonds has lost the Disability Issues portfolio in a reshuffle. Climate Change and Revenue Minister Simon Watts will take Lee’s spot in cabinet. Simmonds was a minister outside of cabinet. ...
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This is the whitest white-person thread of all time
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
The Standard: totally not racist and not at all a totally tone-deaf echo chamber of white people
[That’s another silly comment in a series of silly comments and you (should) know better. Your comments got moved to OM but you didn’t get booted off the site. As such, it is just a minor action to keep the flow of comments tidy, relevant and on-topic. My advice is to not read more (too much) into it – Incognito]
See my Moderation note @ 3:23 AM.
The comments got moved from a place where they were relevant to a place where they were not. That’s bad moderation. Do better.
[FYI, I did not move your comments but I fully agree with the move. Secondly, you don’t decide what Moderators here should or shouldn’t do, which means you don’t criticise or litigate moderation; asking for clarification, for example, is generally (but not always!) fine. Thirdly, I care little about the cause of disagreement for want of a better description but I do care about behaviour. That was bad commenting behaviour. Finally, it would be a silly choice IMO if you opt for a ban. Please do better – Incognito]
"The bin" would have met general approval, imo.
Racists don’t like being told they’re racists.
So they're not realists then, racists?
I've stretched my bubble gum as far as it will go I think, and just puffing a bit – the bubble is getting bigger – wow splatter all over my mouth. Good for another go. Got to keep pushing the envelope, I mean the gummy, and they make the strength and ingredients very long-lasting these days. I haven't anything more important to do than blow bubbles and people get quite amused at my antics.
It is all a delaying tactic I must confess. I actually do have more important things to do but stay on hoping for some advance in the nature of progress, or the progress of nature, whatever.
See my Moderation note @ 2:09 PM.
I didn't move it either but I think the original comment was under one of my posts (wilding pines). It came late in the piece when I tend to let things slide more. It didn't make much sense in context and seemed a jabby, throw away comment that was trying to make a point but doing it badly. Can't really complain about it now being out of context when you didn't bother to make your point clearly*
And yeah, please don't have a go at moderators.
*TS does tend to reflect Pākehā values, but I'm still not sure why the wilding pine post or discussion specifically warranted comment.
Kindy awash with cow farm muck
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/114862464/mud-and-sediment-from-winter-grazing-runoff-closes-rural-southland-kindergarten
Big issues with winter grazing, some practices are just filthy and heartbreaking.
Damien is doing something about it
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/agriculture-minister-establishes-winter-grazing-taskforce
But, but… Kindergartens South website it says "we are fortunate to have land with trees and grassy areas attached to our kindergarten where tamariki / children are able to build strong ecological identities and are able to make connections from home."
In the meantime, https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/396287/early-childhood-education-standards-too-low-researcher.
Parents cannot trust the early childhood licensing and regulatory system to ensure the quality of their child's centre…
America is clearly in a state of civil war, or revolution, with a mass shooting every day…
Or does everyone keep turning a blind eye and claim it's just a nutters with guns thing ..
it has started. where and when will it end
Hardly. With 329 million, even a tiny percentage of the population doing crazy stuff would still appear statistically significant to outsiders. Despite how mad it appears to us, I feel revolution is still some way off, and would require a near-total collapse of the financial systems before that was to occur.
I disagree. Firstly, most revolutions and civil wars involve a small percentage of the population only, particularly at the beginning. Secondly, most revolutions and upheavals begin before people notice.
Let's look back in ten years time and see what history has to say about this and when it started..
I would suggest pretty much every crowd at an event and every mall shopper will have this risk in their mind today and tomorrow and onwards… another indicator it is underway… the population is cowering
I saw a graph of mass shootings this year, USA at 400+ at number one, followed by 2 in India, then NZ at number 3 with one mass shooting. I also happened on an American's IG page the other day and it was just pictures upon pictures of guns, even celebrating his kids 5th birthday with guns. They really do have a problem uniquely theirs.
trump…… offers support and condolences in the wake of the latest mass shootings…. meanwhile, elsewhere in the USA, ICE is doing the biggest round up of immigrants in ten years.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/hundreds-arrested-largest-immigration-raids-decade-190808014646924.html
He's driving the same narrative as the shooters are using and it's revolting.
Yes he needs to be removed from office… Trump claimed the mexicans were rapists and murderers etc, so some Trump follower went and shot them…
total madness
Australia when remonstrated with about uplifting of Kiwis from their homes to detention centres brings up the terms of rapist, sex offender etc as if it applied to all, as a justification. We have got Little America right on our doorstep. NZ is going to be the Mexican immigrant wave when it suits the Oz government to go lower.
and right on cue… https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/114870450/man-in-us-anthem-attack-on-boy-convinced-trump-ordered-it
I don't think this shit can be ignored anymore
Yes I posted this last night:
Couldn't sleep last night following those images of children suddenly bereft of their parents – many of whom had been in the US for many many years working and productive people. Insane and inhumane.
https://twitter.com/AlexLoveWJTV/status/1159264049105973248
It gets worse!
ICE Raids Targeted Company Whose Workers Won Discrimination Lawsuit
ps This is not the infamous Koch Bros – but another group.
Amoral pricks.
https://twitter.com/nowthisnews/status/1159558146047795200
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/07/iraqi-man-dies-deportation-trump-administration-1643512
Beyond amoral. Knowingly deliberately evil.
Young Heinrich's work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ljz8y2qX1f4&feature=youtu.be
This is the sick prick behind it all.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/aug/13/stephen-miller-uncle-david-glosser-immigration-separation
Uncle of Trump adviser Stephen Miller voices 'horror' at immigration policies
This article is more than 11 months old
David Glosser says despite family ties, he cannot justify keeping silent about ‘virtual kidnapping of thousands of children’
Andrew Gumbel in Los Angeles
Tue 14 Aug 2018 00.47 BSTLast modified on Tue 14 Aug 2018 17.21 BST
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Stephen Miller’s uncle, David Glosser, described ‘dismay and increasing horror’ at Trump’s immigration policies. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
The Geheime Staatspolizei at work.
https://twitter.com/JoyceWhiteVance/status/1159480496470089728
https://twitter.com/ScottHech/status/1159522767798013952
You know this happened and started under Obama right?
[Please explain your ambiguous comment and demonstrate it was not deliberately misleading or lying – Incognito]
That's fkn shameless, brazenly repeating a Queens loofah-faced shitgibbon lie. Google Obama child separation and you'll be deluged with stuff showing how wrong that statement is. Here's just one:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/06/23/trump-falsely-says-obama-started-family-separation/1540733001/
Who gives a fuck? Seriously, you read about kids getting left at school because their parents have been rounded up, and the best response you can come up with is Obama did it too.
And it's obvious that this isn't a continuation of Obama's policies – because if Obama had enthusiastically followed the midnight raid programme, dolt45 would be creating DACA on steroids and naturalising everyone who gets across the border.
BULLSHIT!
This did not happen under Obama.
These ICE raids began under Bush. Obama put a stop to them and these are the first raids of this nature in a DECADE!
Stop spreading bullshit lies!
infused It seems you are spreading lies. Do you think you are at the right address when you come here? I think that a higher standard of communication is required. Isn't there somewhere you can go who will swallow all your rats?
See my Moderation note @ 2:32 PM.
Americans are beginning to ask themselves the same question..
https://twitter.com/roblogic_/status/1159503465665765376?s=21
National's MP Hamish Walker puts his foot in it.
"Intensive winter grazing is a vital practice used in Clutha-Southland by farmers. Without it, there would be serious repercussions for the area and as a flow-on effect our rural towns, such as Gore, Winton and Lumsden."
Walker said farmers have made dramatic improvements in how they graze stock, including the fencing of waterways, the buffer zones around critical source areas and grazing crops strategically."
https://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/108107742/walker-raises-concerns-about-new-farming-rules?rm=a
Yeah hamish… that's why the minister is doing something, because there is no problem…. lolz. I guess hamish doesn't get out much, or he is blind.
https://twitter.com/DamienOConnorMP/status/1158921011892330497
but we need to keep making a mess..
because otherwise the economy will suffer..
brainless
Keep up Mr.Guyton…they have a long term plan.
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/ox-rice-field.html
Flow on effect eh Hamey? Hur hur. Liddle kiddies can go get shat on.
"Dramatic" improvements!
"Clutha-Southland MP Hamish Walker, who is the associate spokesperson for agriculture, said "the protesters at Ihumātao are standing in mud – why is it only farmers being targeted and not them?"
?
"Walker said winter grazing working group was "more money down the drain" and "another orchestrated attack on farmers by this Government".
"In light of the winter grazing photos released, the Government has chosen to establish yet another group to address the issue. Instead of getting around a table and having discussions to see what work is being done, or can still be done, they react as soon as a vegan movement shouts live cattle exports or an environmentalist shouts winter grazing."
?
wow no wonder he's a gnat – he thick bigtime
Disgraceful thinking – shows the mentality and lack of education about the important matters for the country and ethical standards that all farmers sons should learn about. Their schools are too busy drilling scientific and business-related knowledge into them during formal learning hours and in the rest how to keep fit and be competitive in sports. Nothing about the philosophic understanding that an advanced developed nation would know. All competition and person advancement using the money system, not human collaboration.
I put up the link again about the UK study on the education of the wealthy and aspirational there and how parents don't care and love their children enough to give them the emotional ties that would result in a strong individual who is empathetic and understanding of others.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/2018707127/dr-nick-duffell-why-boarding-schools-produce-bad-leaders
Britain’s public school system has for generations produced a high proportion of its political leaders, despite the number of children attending these schools representing a tiny fraction of the larger population….
But a British psychotherapist says schools such as Eton produce damaged individuals and very poor leaders suffering a form of “privileged abandonment.”
Dr Nick Duffell is the founder of the boarding school survivors organisation, he himself went to Oxford and taught at a boys’ boarding school, and is the author of The Making of Them: The British Attitude to Children and the Boarding School System, and more recently, Wounded Leaders: British Elitism and the Entitlement Illusion…
True New Zealand hero, John Sato
https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/08-08-2019/john-sato-i-am-not-a-bleeding-heart-or-a-do-gooder-but-i-can-feel-for-people/?fbclid=IwAR2j9M26l8vHbiUTQdE7CpZvNZS_PuCw6S9C6AyxgkVmVcY8dvvKKkZQ4w8
Thanks for that link Jenny, a real NZ hero alright.
"For New Zealanders, one "immediate and striking recommendation" was to alter diets from being high in meat and dairy, to being more balanced with plant-based food choices. This would use less land and water and emit fewer greenhouse gases, Hayward said."
Eat plants to help the climate, IPCC report suggests
The report suggests a lot of other things as well:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/114866294/everything-we-do-affects-our-climate-experts-react-to-climate-change-report
Somewhat more complicated than that….
"The report makes clear that much of the onus is on industrial, transport and other emitters to urgently cut greenhouse emissions to give food growers the friendly climate they’ll need to feed a growing and increasingly affluent global population.
Agriculture itself is in a tricky position: its existence as an industry is non-negotiable if people are going to continue to eat."
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2019/08/08/746091/waste-less-food-eat-more-plants-defend-soil-ipcc
It's complicated alright. So many things will have to change.
affluent countries need to lower their standard of living. Low hanging fruit: eat seasonally, eat local food. These drop emissions, but also sharpen the mind around what is involved in producing food for everyone, not just the people with the most money.
Considering affluent (OECD) countries are responsible for the bulk of emissions they indeed should be making the most radical lifestyle changes….that involves far more than eating habits
yep, I was just responding to food issue, because it's coming up a lot at the moment, and eating plants from the other side of the world isn't much of an improvement for NZers over eating NZ farmed meat.
Also using that as example of how affluent countries can do something meaningful. Thinking that the whole world can have our lifestyles is a madness, utter madness. We have to give away some of our privilege. It won't hurt us, it might make us a better country.
Given the 80/20 rule it likely would make us a better country but I wouldnt hold my breath waiting for acceptance of such thought
Meat is not actually mentioned in the report,its land use changes ie deforestation, (south america asia and africa.)
There seems to be a lot of creative reporting in the press (mostly due to the hard reading of the report under a legal framework)
you would struggle to find that land use changes are both a source and a sink (the emission imbalance due to deforestation)
Land is simultaneously a source and a sink of CO2 due to both anthropogenic and natural drivers, making it hard to separate anthropogenic from natural fluxes (very high confidence). Global models estimate net CO2 emissions of 5.2 ± 2.6 GtCO2 yr-1 (likely range) from land use and land-use change during 2007-16. These net emissions are mostly due to deforestation, partly offset by afforestation/reforestation, and emissions and removals by other land use activities (very high confidence) (Table SPM.1)23.There is no clear trend in annual emissions since 1990 (medium confidence) (Figure SPM.1). {1.1, 2.3, Table 2.2, Table 2.3}
The natural response of land to human-induced environmental changes such as increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration, nitrogen deposition, and climate change, resulted in global net removals of 11.2 +/– 2.6 Gt CO2 yr–1 (likelyrange) during 2007-2016 (Table SPM.1). The sum of the net removals due to this response and the AFOLU net emissions gives a total net land-atmosphere flux that removed 6.0+/-2.6 GtCO2 yr-1 during 2007-2016 (likely range). Future net increases in CO2 emissions from vegetation and soils due to climate change are projected to counteract increased removals due to CO2 fertilisation and longer growing seasons (high confidence). The balance between these processes is a key source of uncertainty for determining the future of the land carbon sink. Projected thawing of permafrost is expected to increase the loss of soil carbon (high confidence). During the 21st century, vegetation growth in those areas may compensate in part for this loss (low confidence). {Box 2.3, 2.3.1, 2.5.3, 2.7; Table 2.3}
They also want limits on urban expansion ie removal of agriculture land for housing etc.
The foremost take home message is the need to increase the sink capacity.
Tree trunks could be sunk in cold lakes.
They could be sunk to create a sink.
The Newsroom story makes that point well
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2019/08/08/746091/waste-less-food-eat-more-plants-defend-soil-ipcc
Ever increasing humans in ever decreasing circles…
A Standard blast from ~2 years' past – https://thestandard.org.nz/750816-2/
some 70 billion tons of CO2 ago
been reading a new book called "what the fast", by some AUT experts based off south auckland population studies and recent science into "low carb healthy fat" food. lots of healthy recipes
https://whatthefatbook.com/product/what-the-fast/
"There are now over 500 million people living in desert areas that would not have been considered deserts before the 1980s. A full quarter of the world's ice-free land mass is subject to land degradation as a result of human activity."
I wonder how they define "land degradation" and whether they consider agriculture to be improving of degrading what was forested land?
Is the coalition govt really Putinesque? Dunne thinks so. Yet his reasoning actually reads better than one might expect. https://www.newsroom.co.nz/@politics/2019/08/09/743756/rewrite-this-putin-esque-referenda-bill
"Under this Bill, Parliament will no longer determine the question to be considered, which means there will be no opportunity for any public input through the select committee process. Rather, the referendum question will be set by Order-in-Council, (that means a regulation passed by the Executive Council on the recommendation of the Cabinet, which, in turn, means that the Cabinet will effectively decide the question to be considered, without any external scrutiny)."
I'm agnostic on this. I can see merit in using efficient practical politics to produce a cabinet consensus on the questions to be put in the referenda. Parliament's process could be messier & more time-consuming. But if it turns out to be quicker & gets the result more efficiently, why not run the cabinet decision past parliament anyway? Doing so would flush out any short-comings – which cabinet could consider as amendments – or confirm the merit of their decision.
The wording on the canabus (sp?) referendum is Yes or No. Accept or not the Bill.
Only works if you have the bill ready.
But he retired didn't he?
Dunger wouldn't know a Pootin if he got shot in the face by one franko.
As we get to Day +4 after the police rarked things up at Ihumatao, Newsroom have done an interview with the Ihumatao camp's liaison with the police who notes that;
That night the cops flooded the site, presumably because someone high up heard about the request and made a massive assumption about intentions, completely messing it all up in the process.
Obviously District Commander Rogers stands by her statement that kaitiaki had already occupied that space and that they acted on "information" that they were going to retake the village.
Matthew Hooton has it that Julie Ann Genter should resign over her handling of communications to do with the Wellington transport plan."Genter is a disgrace to her party and herself and should either release her letter in full or resign," he says.
Nothing unusual in that, simple politics and perspectives.
Something that puts a perspective on the perspective is his bit, "It has even been reported that Julie Ann Genter and another Green MP threatened to resign if the tunnel went ahead before the tram."
It has been reported? Is that bit added to give substance or merely chucking toys out of the cot because things aren't as he wishes?
It has been reported? If I were to report that Matthew Hooton is a fuckwit with mental health issues someone can pick that up and use that in a headline story in the country's biggest media outlet saying, " It has even been reported that Matthew Hooton is a fuckwit with mental health issues?"
Already today on Newstalkzb news I've heard two politicians reported as saying something was or wasn't a case and then the final word being given to MP Sarah Dowie speaking directly on tape, that what they said couldn't be believed as if hers was the definitive and authoritative version of reality.
Just another day of media with shit standards.
This seems to be the basis of the claim: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/114828737/city-councillors-claim-green-party-agreement-used-as-leverage-to-get-agreement-on-lets-get-wellington-moving
I wish these pollies could be allowed to get on with plans that have been thought about and that offer a way forward and improvements without some carping shit coming along and throwing cow pats or other messy missiles at them in an attempt to start a stoush and stop the solution.
Doing the process properly is important though. I expect oppositions to hold governing parties accountable on such stuff. Murky spindoctors, not so much.
How opposition parties choose to hold the governing parties accountable and for what is extremely important. When the opposition acts like a murky spindoctor they are traitors to the citizens of the country. Now that is the sort of emotive term that can bring the termites out of the woodwork!
Someone needed to sort the Wtn transport mess.
Fortunately its paywalled so most people won't be able to read it.
The artical on spinoff is interesting… tbh I find it a bit disapponting that the new govt is as bad as the old govt when it comes to accountablity and wearing of 'hats'.
Cant understand the secrecy either everyone knows and understands that the Greens are pro public transport and for very good reason. They shouldnt be ashamed of using whatever leverage they have at their disposal to achieve what are very important changes in the NZ transport system.
WTF? How is it that jailhouse snitches can in any way be considered evidence reliable enough to be introduced at a trial without solid corroboration from non-jailhouse evidence?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/114434812/jailhouse-snitches-the-crowns-high-dependency-on-low-credibility-witnesses
https://www.innocenceproject.org/safeguarding-against-unreliable-jailhouse-informant-testimony/
Frankly, if I were ever on a jury considering uncorroborated jailhouse snitch evidence, I'd view it as evidence the prosecutors were trying to do a frame-up.
Are Regional Councils useful and worth the money to run them or are they majorly a law unto themselves and a millstone to the Councils in their area trying to get stuff done that their constituents expect them to be in charge of?
Arrowtown has a lot of air pollution.
Otago Regional Councillor Michael Laws had himself called it to report burn-offs dropping ash on properties, and said the regulatory committee was ignoring increasing complaints, leading to people being more reckless with burn-offs.
"It gives you an example of the bizarre priorities of the Otago Regional Council and their policy team, that they're trying to stop people burning wood in the dead of night, to stay warm, in their wood burner – but they refuse to do anything about the daytime pollution which is likely to have a more deleterious effect on communities," he said.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/396307/smokey-burn-offs-add-fuel-to-fire-over-air-pollution-issue
Recently we have heard about Wellington buses, largely the work of the regional council there. I see dv is concerned about that.
Numerous problems are arising. Should regional councils go or are they mostly okay, and problems should go to combined committees with a larger group coming from the concerned councils who can push for needed improvements to contested plans and systems?
dv You may have been thinking of this that has come out today 9/8 in the Scoop.
Regional Council seeks $415m for “essential” new trains to carry more people
http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=121184
I was recalling the change over a couple? years ago. Then went with the cheaper option, paid drivers less. Lost drivers etc. Many buses cancelled AND flyer NOT included in metlink software ETC !!!!!!
That was decided by the previous regional council to the current one under the national governments edict that lowest tender MUST win.
Yep, and surprise there have been problems.
ORC are having real difficulties. A large part of the problem is that they are Dunedin based and dominated due to population representation of the ward system, when most of the Council's work is in Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes which have little representation. ORC didn't have an office in Queenstown for 3 years after the sole staff member here died. It's a hangover from the goldrush days perpetuating Dunedin's economic model of clipping the ticket (raping and pillaging in some cases) of the Central Otago economy.
Now that the Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes economy equals, and probably exceeds Dunedin's, especially if activity derived in Central is omitted from Dunedin, maybe it's time for a local government re-organisation around community of interest.
A possible starting point could be DCC becoming a unitary covering the Taieri and Shag catchments, with the remainder of Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes amalgamating and also becoming unitary, or having a seperate Catchment Authority covering the Clutha catchment.
ORC also have a huge problem with water permits that expire in 2021 and have to be renewed. Generally these permits grossly over-allocate the catchments. Since the permit holders (farmers mostly) are reluctant to accept a reduced allocation progress on renewals has been glacial at best to current situation of effectively back to square one. Government intervention is probably inevitable.
That is good backgrounding Graeme thanks. Perhaps there need to be a series of meetings from gummint around the country and some new borders for local authorities drawn up.
There was a strong call I think Nick Smith led, for Nelson and Tasman to amalgamate in a Top of the south grouping but I don't know how the city and country can co-ordinate. We have Nelson – Richmond (Tasman's main town) urban areas separated by playing grounds, settled suburbs and some industrial and farming area. This is a bit like Napier and Hastings.
Nelson is a character town that is a Unitary Authority.
http://www.nelson.govt.nz/council/council-structure/unitary-authority/
Richmond is the growing area for housing with quite a big industrial estate. It is the headquarters for Tasman District Council which is a Unitary Authority. It abuts onto the Marlborough District Council and the West Coast District Council and Canterbury.
The Nelson-Marlborough Regional Council was one of 13 regional councils established through the passing of the Local Government Act 1987. The council was established in the 1989 local government reforms, but disestablished only three years later in 1992, when its functions went to the unitary authorities of Nelson City Council, Tasman District Council, and Marlborough District Council.[1] Kaikoura District had belonged to the Nelson-Marlborough Regional Council but with the 1992 reform was transferred to the Canterbury Regional Council.[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson-Marlborough_Regional_Council
Central government had a go at having a combined Nelson-Marlborough Regional Council but that was for just a few years. The Marlborough council has plenty to do with the port at Picton within its area, and the unsettling possibility of a new port being established further down the coast which only was abandoned when there were hefty earthquakes in the area. (It being a waste of capital, infrastructure and investment in Picton was not the important point – I think it suited the trucking firms and self-drive tourists mostly.)
In the south the issues are around population shifts, being the rise of the former "hinterland" and the decline of the cities. Dunedin and Invercargill are going backwards and Central Otago forwards rapidly. Where resources should be going into Central and Northern Southland they are increasingly being drawn back into the cities to maintain services there. Lumsden and Wanaka / Central Otago / Queenstown maternity being an illustration of this.
But dramatic changes are happening with the population growth in Queenstown, Wanaka, Cromwell and Alexandra. The regional airport is now Queenstown with 10 international flights a day to 3 cities, Dunedin has less than 1 to 1 city (Brisbane), and that's marginal. Most of the passengers through Queenstown airport are going to / from somewhere outside Whakatipu, 40% from Wanaka / Central. Southland, Waitaki and South Westland are significant contributors as well. Consequently the shit has hit the fan and QLDC (75.1% shareholder in airport) has put the brakes on the airport's expansion plans as the natives were getting restless, and that's putting it diplomatically, https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/396263/queenstown-airport-expansion-plans-on-hold-after-public-vitriol
Local and regional government structures tend to be historically based and the entrenched interests don't take kindly to reduced circumstances. Change is inevitable but it could be an interesting ride.
The bullshit maternity "hub" decisions are based on the bullshit "debt" Southern DHB has accrued because of the bullshit funding model over the last couple of decades.
The issue you allude to with QLDC is the permanent population vs the tourist population (and I mean "permanent" not "been there ten weeks and calls themselves 'local'" syndrome) is interesting and needs to be accounted for. But what's basis for elevating Lakes District Hospital into tertiary status?
Probably none, but there's a very rapidly developing case for a tertiary hospital to serve the Central Otago / Queenstown region. The time / distance thing becomes crippling, both for the patient, and the provider.
We are currently immersed in a situation with a friend who has kidney failure coupled with onset of diabetes. The lady is in her early 70's and has alway lived life at 100 mph. She also is also caregiver to her 86 yo husband who suffered a very serious head injury about 20 years ago. They married when she was 17. His head injury means he cannot drive, and is pretty slow and unsteady at getting around.
She has been in hospital care for two months now, with an in and out bit at the start. Over that time she's had two trips to Dunedin, one down by air and one by road, but both back by road, and one to Invercargill for a test that took 10 minutes, but resulted in a week's stay there until she was able to return to LDH. In the meantime he has soldiered on as best he can, not knowing if he'll ever see his wife again. He's had a few falls and the stress of the situation has knocked him back a lot, and worrying about him isn't helping her recovery either.
While the care she has received is exemplary, along with the support he's getting from agencies, it's difficult to see how this is efficient, and humane, due to the distance and time involved. Multiply this out over probably hundreds of patients in varying circumstances a month along with the socialised costs, and there's got to be a better way of doing it.
Keep regional councils and adjust them to account for geographical spread. Put the main office in Alex if needed. Decentralise the district councils. I'm sure the Upper Clutha would be happy to separate from Queenstown, because of the large difference in communities and needs that QLDC is ignoring.
Alexandra is outside QLDC area
Central Otago District Councils towns are Alexandra,Cromwell Roxburgh and Ranfurly
The lakes part of QLDC is Hawea and Wanaka areas but quickly following the Clutha gets into Cromwell and Central Otago
I meant move ORC main office to Alex.
Amalgamation, along with strong community boards should get the best of both. Right now we need a strong hold on the rapidly changing regional issues, not more parochialism.
The other side of QLDC "ignoring" Wanaka is that Wanaka residents are quite happy to come to Queenstown to use the airport, and contribute a considerable proportion of the considerable aircraft noise issues Whakatipu suffers, but get rather upset at the thought of their share of the noise being created in their own geography.
Cromwell has become the defacto base for infrastructure servicing and is the logical place to base administrative services as well. A regional hospital would fit there as well, unfortunately at the expense of Dunedin and Invercargill.
Tthe noise and other problems with over use of flying are pretty much all on mass tourism. Maybe criticise Upper Clutha and Cromwell people for making a living from tourism.
As I understand the Wanaka/Queenstown issues, it's about voting population and representation. If smaller areas want to stay quieter and have a say in how their communities are run (and this applies to many place in NZ), then that way of structuring councils needs to change to be more democratic.
There's just as strong, maybe stronger, an argument that we are as much 'over localed' as over touristed. Wanaka's 40% share of ZQN passengers is mostly business and locals travel, there's not much tourism there compared to Queenstown, and virtually none in Cromwell or Central. On flights I'm on and in visits to the airport I'd put the passenger mix at around 50%, or maybe more, local or other than tourist.
Our region has experienced massive population growth, both from those that are sleeping in their own bed, and those that are hiring someone else's bed for the short to medium term. This growth is stretching the community and infrastructure and things are starting to give.
Nice work there
Thank you. It would be nice to see these issues getting wider discussion and leadership. There's potential for things to get out of control on multiple fronts resulting in unfortunate outcomes.
Stretch your legs and write a Standard post on QLDC/ORC election issues.
Go on.
Laws is an idiot of epic proportions who somehow now seems to pop up occassionally on the right side of things. In this case, he's wrong. Ill health from woodfires at night in the winter is because of the long term exposure, over months. High country burnoffs last a day. There are really good reasons to not allow farmers to do them, but this isn't one of them (and if it was, farmers can burn when the wind is blowing the other way).
Can't see how we could get rid of regional councils, they do different things than city and district councils and as bad as regional councils can be I'd hate to see them taken over by townies who have a different set of priorities. The big problem with regional councils is that not enough people vote, so farmers get to stack them with people aligned with their values.
Michael Laws is unfortunately only the current iteration of 'different' representative Dunstan has had on ORC, a past example was Jerry Eckoff and there will undoubtedly be many more.
It's hard to say ORC is farmer dominated at a representative level, there's only 5 out of 12 with direct farming connections, most of the rest are technocrats closely related to the functions of the council, and half the councillors represent the Dunedin constituency, not many resource hungry farms there.
However at a submission level rural interests loudly predominate, and pay for the best consultants.
Agricultural burning is a fraught activity 'round these parts. It doesn't matter how careful you are, how well approved you've got the burn (that can involve up to 6 agencies, virtually none of which seem to know what the others are doing) and how well you think you've picked 'the day', it can all turn to custard and you're hosting lots of people in big red trucks with flashing lights, angry ORCs, and if you're really lucky a couple of helicopters.
Why are people lighting fires in arid Central Otago?
Because they don't know how to farm any other way (or are willfully ignorant on it).
Mostly it's disposing of development and land clearance waste. Removing D. Fir shelter belts has produced a few good plumes this winter. Our 'turnout' was disposing of the mess from gorse clearance and willow maintenance. We've got about 10 km of deer fence we have to defend from DOC's willows, so there's an ongoing trimming program which generates a lot of slash. And that's just one med – large property, the district's covered in large, elderly and often inappropriate trees. Many of which are downright dangerous. Also just had to deal with about a ha of very large, increasingly leaning silver poplars that were in their third (at least) phase of self coppice. That generated a very large pile of firewood logs and a good sized pile of slash
Slash = lignin habitat and food for fungi, the generators of soil health and wealth; why rob them of the stuff they need and instead, put it up in the air as heat and gas?
Like I said, it's a fraught exercise. The grief from the episode I described has resulted on a marked change in practices from the farm manager and owner concerned, granted we did close the airport for a little while. The remains are now composting well.
"
Following a "very stressful" night Elliot said he was relieved on Friday morning to find the massive blaze on his land between Kurow and Waimate, which began from a controlled burn, had largely "burnt itself out".
About 50 firefighters, nine appliances and two helicopters were called at the height of the blaze on Thursday, and a two man team monitored the fire throughout the night."
https://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/114870627/firefighters-battle-night-long-blaze-in-meyers-pass-near-kurow
I was thinking farmers dominating regional councils across the country (farmers and allies), but even with the ORC they seem to have a large influence on what the council does (eg water or dairying).
Which is odd on both counts given more people live in cities now. We need more people voting and better support for progressive candidates.
"We need more people voting and better support for progressive candidates."
https://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/114576077/young-voters-in-the-south-show-lack-of-interest-in-local-government-elections
"None of the local candidate nominees were presenting their plans at high schools, where there would be a lot of first time voters, Laker said.
"You only see signs around town and that is only a face and a name. It doesn't tell you what they are running for. "
Well, Ms Laker, your high school admin don't allow local body candidates to speak to students, donchaknow! I tried and had to jump through hoops to get anywhere at all as far as talking to students was concerned.
In any case, were you completely unaware of the efforts to have a climate emergency declared by some of your your regional councillors? It was on the front page of The Southland Times, twice! (The Southland Times is published on-line – you're on-line, right?)
"Well, Ms Laker, your high school admin don't allow local body candidates to speak to students, donchaknow!"
What?!? Is that all high schools?
The one's I approached in Invercargill.
The influence is at the submission and submission support level. I manage a couple or small water schemes and get to observe and engage through a recent consent renewal. It's quite a machine.
Lhaws is an arse.
I'm not a huge fan of the ORC – even in Dunedin their treatment of public transport is abysmal. Dunno the pros and cons of splitting it or relocating head office, though.
I got no particular prob with councils trying to educate people concerning the desirability of burning well seasoned wood in their woodburners so long as they did so politely but beyond that they can go fuck themselves
Councils had to make changes according to a register of pollution days and how bad. I think there were big changes and much better readings but still there will be obligations to keep to.
Why public systems are better then those in the private sector in the long run. Few can be trusted completely these days, and to the private sector you are just a body to insert the consumer virus into, that they hope will promote a fever to spend on their product.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/396251/australian-medical-app-faces-fines-for-selling-patient-data
Weather wars,initial conditions and analysis from the same models.
https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/storm-brews-forecasters-disagree
https://www.weatherwatch.co.nz/content/after-attacking-us-metservice-now-agrees-with-us
https://twitter.com/MetService?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Don't know if it's confirmation bias on my part, but I'm intrigued by the divergence between different weather models this winter, and the volatility of forecasts, especially MetService's.
I don't think previous winters have have had forecasts and weather patterns as erratic as this winter in the Wakatipu.
Storm in a teacup possy.
Ahh you have read Einstein teacup .
https://aapt.scitation.org/doi/10.1119/1.3393055
w00t lol 😝 … whaleoil.co.nz now redirects to Matt Blomfield’s site
https://twitter.com/jonogaluszka/status/1159643968574857216?s=21
Check out this dude! 8 years old and looking after everyone. Awww.. ❥
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/114883701/ihumtaos-8yearold-mori-warden
Side note: What are Stuff doing with spelling “mori” like that? Surely they can afford software to spell Maori correctly.
I think the macrons are the culprit
Yeah that would be it. They'd have an autogenerated address from the headline that trims address-breaking characters, e.g. the headline "Ihumātao: Why Ardern and the Government couldn't order police out" goes to the address https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/114786683/ihumtao-why-ardern-and-the-government-couldnt-order-police-out. Note the missing "ā, "'", and ":" in the address.
They’re called ‘slugs’, and the defaults are always in 8 bit (ie 256 characters) rather than something that is 32 or even 16 bit. It is easier to store, compare and search on for computers.
ah cheers.
Very interesting
Recommended reading thankyou Marty
There's still fight in the UK against Boris and the Cons.
https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/jeremy-corbyn-will-tell-the-queen-were-taking-over-if-boris-johnson-loses-a-vote-of-no-confidence/08/08/
Tell the Queen ?
hehehe too funny. The system means its the Queen who asks – on the advice of the existing PM.
Won't happen, and Corbyn's an idiot if he truthfully believes that's going to happen.
If Boris loses a no confidence vote, under the fixed parliament legislation, he faces a second chance ballot a couple of weeks later. Lose that, and it goes to a general election.
The only way Corbyn has a legitimate chance of taking over is, after the first vote, he has the numbers to form a government, which is highly unlikely, even with the cons single, solitary majority.
Whilst conservative members may not want a bar of a no deal brexit, even the most europhile of their numbers won't cross the floor and vote Corbyn's labour in. I can see them wanting a snap election to stop the pm, but never propping up the opposition and certain expulsion, deselection and self inflicted career ending suicide.
Edit:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-49285670
“If the PM loses the motion of no-confidence, then under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act he would have another 14 days to win another vote.
If he fails to secure the vote then a general election would be called on a date advised on by the PM.
However, if another candidate can secure the confidence of the Commons then, under cabinet rules, Mr Johnson would be expected to resign and recommend the Queen appoints the other person.”
It depends on the NI MP's backing a Labour led coalition that kept the UK in the customs union and single market and then went to a general election including a referendum on accepting the deal. If the referendum failed and the Tories won they would have a mandate for a no deal Brexit. Or not.
Even with the unionists it would still need a tory to knife their career, and with Corbyn's pro IRA history, the odds on getting the orange order vote is pretty slim.
https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/corbyns-links-to-proira-group-were-investigated-by-the-police-37230971.html
Most likely outcome will be a general election if enough tory worms turn.
There will be a few Tories who will not seek re-election under BJ and who could choose to leave having made a difference/blocking Brexit.
Still a lot of ducks to line up in a row.
There is a quote Churchill made about taking anyone as an ally against Hitler that the Unionist could make to justify using Corbyn to block Brexit.
A couple of errors by me in the exchange above, notably around the second confidence vote and still needing a tory to jump ship in the unlikely event of a unionist shift.
This was on the BBC today, which explains the confidence vote.
What is a vote of no confidence?
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-46890481
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/396328/blackcurrants-benefit-exercise-mood-and-recovery-study 9 August 2019
There's been studies that we've done in New Zealand and also some work done overseas, especially in the UK, that are coming together to show blackcurrants in New Zealand have some activity around helping exercise recovery and helping your body cope with the stresses of exercise."
He said there were three ways recovery occurred – managing stresses, regulating the inflammatory pathways in the body so that tissue repair was promoted and the boosting of immunity.
He said studies suggested New Zealand blackcurrants had higher levels of Polyphenol, which promoted this recovery. But he said more research was needed to scientifically validate the claim New Zealand blackcurrants were superior to other blackcurrants in this respect.
Frozen currants were just as good as fresh ones, he said. The study received funding from the government.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ribena 2 Feb 2018 Major blackcurrant buyer Ribena cuts NZ contracts
This Japanese firm did not require our production in 2018 and so the growers had to hastily look what to do. Why don't NZs make things themselves. If we as a country supported our own growers, they would be sure of a certain level of sales, and then could develop an overseas interest for exporting to increase business. And note that the Wikipedia item says that Suntory changed to artificial sweeteners as a result of a sugar tax in the UK. But people wanting a natural juice that is sweetened may prefer some sugar, or honey, compared to the laboratory equivalents, and may be affected adversely by them.
But note: 6/2/2018 https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/country/349725/health-benefits-of-nz-blackcurrants-tapped-into
What makes the New Zealand blackcurrant better than others?
It's the ultra-violet sunlight that really benefits the New Zealand blackcurrant-growing environment, said Ms Cushman.
"That stimulates the berry fruit into producing very high concentrations of poly phenols, the bio-actives that give blackcurrants their physiological benefits.
"We are also blessed to have good varieties that thrive in the New Zealand conditions," she said.
Curranz launched the New Zealand blackcurrant product as a sports nutrition supplement, first in the UK, but now also in other countries, including New Zealand, Ms Cushman said.
The company will be supplying High Performance New Zealand Olympic athletes for the next Olympic cycle.
"It is a big breakthrough for the Kiwis because British athletes have been using the black currant supplements and winning and it was embarrassing that New Zealand sports people were missing out"
We need to protect our own country's business. The idea that we are big world players is quite wrong; No matter how much we make or import we are always small.
It has been
0
days without an incident of John Key Derangement Syndrome
[lprent: And
0
hours since the occurrence of Jacinda Ardern Derangement Syndrome (also known as ‘good ole misogynist itch’)
If you want to make a point, then perhaps you could play with your teeny dick off my post…]
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
What's SirPonyboy been up to now shggy?
Amazing how moving a reply out from under the post that’s being replied to changes the context, geniuses.
So there was a context. Thanks for explaining something that was of no importance to anyone with even half a brain.
https://youtu.be/QAB6aXOfUmU
More rats rats being thrown at Eco Maori.
Some Eco Maori music for the minute.
https://youtu.be/tgIqecROs5M
Eco Maori has seen a story about the state of Indias Awa it is not good poverty and plastic waste is a big problem there .
Please clean up your rivers to leave the taonga wai treasure water for your mokopuna grandchildren. Aotearoa has banned single use plastic bags it is a minor inconvenience but well worth it not seeing plastic bags blowing all around the country side the effects of the ban on single use plastic bags can already be seen we will eventually ban most plastics in Aotearoa
Plastic, poverty and paradox: experts head to the Ganges to track waste
India’s most sacred river is also its most polluted, with plastic a major culprit. Now moves are afoot to monitor the flow of rubbish and assess its link to poverty
Drop a plastic bottle into the Ganges and where does it end up? An all-female team of engineers, explorers and scientists is about to find out by undertaking the first expedition to measure plastic waste in one of the world’s most polluted waterways
Following the Ganges upstream from where it empties in the Bay of Bengal to its source in the Himalayas, the National Geographic-backed expedition aims to better understand how plastic pollution travels from source to sea and provide solutions for reducing the amount that ends up in the world’s oceans.
The 2,525 km-long Ganges is a river of extreme paradox: though worshipped by 1 billion Hindus and relied on as a water source for roughly 400 million people, it is contaminated with industrial runoff, untreated sewage and household waste. It is also one of 10 rivers responsible for 90% of the plastic that ends up at sea.
The river is, therefore, a perfect starting point for measuring how plastic travels from land into rivers, and from rivers into the ocean, says National Geographic fellow and University of Georgia associate professor Jenna Jambeck, who is co-leading the expedition.
“We know there’s plastic in these river environments and that the plastic is heading into the ocean,” says environmental engineer Jambeck, whose previous research found that 8 metric tons of plastic waste entering the sea every year.
Ka kite ano link below.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/05/plastic-poverty-and-paradox-experts-head-to-the-ganges-to-track-waste
Kia Ora Newshub.
Wow a mean weather system is effecting the South Island lets hope that it doesn't make to big a Mess.
I think the Idea that moving the cars to a different location in the Auckland region if its works and saves money run with it work smarter not harder is one of my philosophys the other is keep it simple it looks like this Idea fits both.
What about the suppression order against Eco Maori what a joke.
Cool teaching tamariki how to eat healthy foods at a kindergarten very good I have dropped sugar our of my diet and I have lost 10 kg and feel much better sugar should be banned too the gasoline tanks of our cars.
Ka pai to the volunteers who have helped clean up the Awa river mess of a old dump down South Island.
Cool Idea including models with access needs in a fashion Show that should help lift there wairua.
A huge power cut in Britain that is not good at all lucky I harvest my power straight from Te Ra.
Thats heaps of Sharks in Australia they are beautiful creatures that need to be treasured and protected from over exploitation by greedy people.
Ka kite ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
It's sad that the Kua is closing after 15 years of teaching Te reo Maori Eco Maori hopes that their is plans to fill the void of this Kua closure
The final 33 students finished today Eco Maori hopes that they can climb up to greater hights on their ladders of LIFE.
There are 2 sides to a story the Ihumatao issue with tangata being called racist.
It's awesome to see Tangata Whenua O Aotearoa in Australia tau toko te tangata at Ihumatao.
The Australian Tangata Whenua have been treated very badly by the Australian government. Ka kite ano
https://youtu.be/qQfetkoGrpU
Some Eco Maori Music for the Minute.
https://youtu.be/u9Dg-g7t2l4
Its not on having tamariki starving when Te Papatuanuku produce enough food and resources for all we have to change so food is not wasted 30% of food is wasted.
The rulers need to learn to share their lollipops sharing will be part of the changes needed to combat Human Caused Climate Change
World hunger on the rise as 820m at risk, UN report finds
Eliminating hunger by 2030 is an immense challenge, say heads of UN agencies
More than 820 million people worldwide are still going hungry, according to a UN report that says reaching the target of zero hunger by 2030 is “an immense challenge”.
The number of people with not enough to eat has risen for the third year in a row as the population increases, after a decade when real progress was made. The underlying trend is stabilisation, when global agencies had hoped it would fall.
Millions of children are not getting the nutrition they need. The UN says the pace of progress in halving child stunting and reducing the number of low birthweight babies is too slow, which jeopardises the chances of achieving another of the sustainable development goals.
Nearly half of all child deaths in Africa stem from hunger, study shows
Read more
The report is from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the UN Children’s Fund (Unicef), the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization
Ka kite ano link below.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/15/world-hunger-un-report