The outcome of today's midterm elections could very well spell the end of civil rights in the USA.
The Republican Party is more racist, homophobic, transphobic, mysoginost anti union, anti welfare, religious, and in favour of reversing social progress than ever before, and after decades of smearing blacks as criminals, LGBT's as paedophiles, the poor as lazy, union members as overpaid, women wanting access to reproductive healthcare as selfish, the US public is now believing them, and will vote to turn the clock back 60-70 years.
Forget civil rights, The outcome of today's elections in the united states have the potential to be the end of democracy in the united states.
Considering the ammount of election deniers on the ballot saying they'd refuse to certify presidential elections if they they disagree with the results.
Focusing almost soley on civil rights, identity politics and abortion (and not being able to say the word woman while doing it) rather than the god damned economy during a cost of living crisis is political suicide and it's sadly going to lose the democrats this election and labour 2023.
After the 2020 election members on both sides talked about passing legislation that would prevent future election results being uncertified by partisan politicians, that should have been made a top priority. It wasn't. This is on the democrats.
If the global left wants to win elections going forward it needs to ditch identity politics, stop alienating and lecturing voters and get back into the mainstream and advance center left economic reforms first, go back to being defenders of free speech which has been our traditional role at least when I was growing up in the 2000s and protect democracy.
With regards to the economy, Americans have gotten so right wing, they see the way to stop inflation is to screw down wages and conditions, as well as outlaw trade unions, not to mention hack away at what is left of the social safety net (which is bugger all). Rather like here.
Free speech always boils down to wanting the right to go around calling people "ni******s" or "sodomites", which is what the the current debate in the USA boils down too.
The biggest threat in the USA is bible bashing evangalicals and their catholic callabortars (sp) who wish to impose their religion on the wider population, through bans on abortion and whatnot. Also the criminalisation of homosexuality and transgenderism is in the mix.
There seems to be an unhealthy preoccupation with what 'the right' is up to. I have been wondering what it means to be 'left' nowadays.
I have had a few values tested lately.
The current war enthusiasm is an example. Only a couple of days ago, a commenter here expressed the sentiment "As long as lots more Russian soldiers than Ukrainian ones are dying I am pleased to see the US war machine doing some good for a change."
This went unchallenged. Russian soldiers, like Ukranian ones, and Afghan, Syrian… are largely the poorer, less privileged citizens. This used to matter to us, the working class used as cannon fodder to further the powerful's interests.
"The farmer’s taken reasonably good steps, and sometimes these things happen, but we’ll certainly try to learn as much as we can from it."
" reasonably good steps " ? ! Well he had a fucking good clearance by fire..so I suppose that worked out. And for free. And what learning?
Over decades, in Otago (and NZ) more fire…. clearances ?…like this, than could be counted on many hands. And apparently …still nothing to see here. Ah well.
huh? What are you on about? Have I got a Mind Read on him? Its my Opinion. Just like yours. Mine is from years of Observation.Of extremely similar. Take that how you like….
ok, so you made it up. There's no basis to the idea that the fire is useful to this farmer, other than that some other farmers have found rogue fires useful.
Maybe just explain your thinking next time instead of casting random aspersions. eg "there have been examples in the past of farmers doing well from accidental fires because it clears land they wouldn't otherwise be allowed to". But I'd probably still ask for examples or some back up for your thinking (eg an explanation of your experience).
Psyc-I agree it is scandalous that the clearly negligent farmer gets off scot free while the taxpayer picks up a $400k bill. While this attitude prevails other farmers will take risks.
There have been a number of fires in the Wanaka/Hawea rural regions over the last 10-15 years that have destroyed large areas of native bush. These fires were caused by farmers, residents and tourists and to my knowledge nobody has been fined or made to pay any kind of costs.
If you have evidence that the farmer was negligent, can you please link to it? Or recount local knowledge (I couldn't find anything online about the area burned, what was on it, and what part of the farm it is).
The ODT has FENZ saying,
"The farmer’s taken reasonably good steps, and sometimes these things happen, but we’ll certainly try to learn as much as we can from it."
Do you think Mawhinny is being politic?
I take it that you think everyone who accidentally causes a fire should pay for it? Camping fires during a fire ban? Camping fires when there's no fire ban? Permitted backyard fires where precautions where taken? Housefires? Fireworks fires? Fires started by lawnmowers? Powerlines arcing?
Should people who allow dangerous levels of flammable materials build up on their property be fined? People who don’t mow their lawns? DOC letting their land be covered in bracken or pine?
How about people having to pay for car accidents?
These fires were caused by farmers, residents and tourists and to my knowledge nobody has been fined or made to pay any kind of costs.
That's because in civil society we accept that accidents happen and we that we shouldn't bankrupt people when they do.
Another good reason not to do that is people won’t call the fire brigade if they believe they will be found legally and financially liable.
I think there are better ways to approach this. Mass climate crisis education around fire risk, to get all of NZ up to speed so that we take it seriously like Australia does. Tourism needs it own particular approach. Farming. Property maintenance. Look at the main fire causing activities in each reason and go hard on helping people prevent them.
"… the investigation is yet to be finalised, but it’s likely the blaze, which destroyed about 230 hectares, was started by an ember from a "burn pile". The farmer had been burning piles of material at the time, including manuka slab, which had been cut down, Mawhinney says, and it appears a stray ember landed in nearby vegetation, and spread at pace."
The farmer was burning and allowed his fire to escape and burn 230 hectares. That looks like a clear-cut case of negligence.
I live in the Queenstown Lakes District and even when the fire warning level is on green you never start a fire if there is more than a breath of wind, and you also check the wind forecast.
are you suggesting that the farmer knowingly started the burn pile when it was windy? Or with wind forecast? Because I'm not seeing anything about that in your quote
the issue is the contention that the farmer was negligent and lit a fire knowing it could spread. It's a serious allegation, wanting some explanation or evidence is reasonable.
for instance, I can think of someone lighting a fire in reasonable conditions and being caught out by a freak wind. Certainly getting enough freak winds this spring.
There are all sorts of problems with burning slash, I don't think it should be generally allowed, but there's not a lot of good options being made available either.
and yet it's an ongoing conversation. If you want to use TS to throw out random aspersions without explaining your thinking, you can expect people to respond to that as a problem.
If it was pastoral lease land then there is a right to burn subject to conditions.
Some farmers in the high country have traditionally used fire, often with disastrous results, to burn off 'surplus' vegetation and to fire tussocks to reveal fresh young growth. I am being sarcastic but with a background of truth that some high country farmers did not believe their farming year was complete without having had a box of matches in their hand and good old burn-off.
These days more modern farmers/agricultural people believe firing is an inefficient way of farming. Reading the work by Dr Alan Mark on how tussocks work to trap moisture in these high country you would probably come to believe tussock grasslands need to be protected both for their landscape and water protection values. And you'd be right.
Modern thinking sees a way to control grazing is by animal mouths munching but this needs top notch pasture and stock management working some times by the day. This is not the way that some pastoralists work.
While pastoral leases still do have a right to burn there are ways to control this with
constantly looking at land tenure options……when is burning too much and when do we bite the bullet and buy back land?
Looking at who is taking over these high country runs. While we want experienced people we don't need the sons or daughters of the match box carrying farmers of yore, unless they have undergone an epiphany.
we need to look at the terms and conditions imposed for burning
we need to introduce newer way of farming, in the olden days the old Soil and Rivers Control Council, and their regional bodies had the ability to subsidise to get results. This worked. In my neck of the woods the work done as part of soil con has been subsumed by Reg Councils and has disappeared from sight.
I know that since the neo lib experiment subsidies is a dirty word but it works if done tightly and outcomes clearly defined. ( I know there will be those saying that in the push for more stock water and firefighting ponds subsidies brought about the building of large numbers of stock water and firefighting ponds cunningly disguised as swimming pools. They'd be right)
I did touch on fire as a pastoral tool on 4/11 when trying to rebut a presumption that 'Murrays' were the cause of fired land in NZ. These were my links
(NB on some pastoral leases in the South Island firing areas is still common practice/permitted)
I think fire as a tool needs looking at. I tend to support PL in their horror that this is still permitted.
This is an extract from the link from the ODT.
‘Fire and Emergency New Zealand risk reduction adviser Mark Mawhinney says the investigation is yet to be finalised, but it’s likely the blaze, which destroyed about 230 hectares, was started by an ember from a “burn pile”.
The farmer had been burning piles of material at the time, including manuka slab, which had been cut down, Mawhinney says, and it appears a stray ember landed in nearby vegetation, and spread at pace.
“The farmer’s taken reasonably good steps, and sometimes these things happen, but we’ll certainly try to learn as much as we can from it.” ‘
yeah, I wondered how carefully chosen Mawhinney's phrasing was there. Sounds like it wasn't a burnoff but burning slash pile/s. That's just as much bullshit as burning off, but the problem we have is that there are places in NZ now where we have no solutions to flammable material. Mānuka, pine, scrub is going to burn live or dead if a fire gets going. Many farmers believe that it's better to burn it in the spring than let it build up over the spring and dry out over the summer. It's also harder now because there is more rain in some places, leading to more growth.
There is a lot of criticism of land being returned to DOC and then becoming a fire hazard. There is a clear conflict between this and biodiversity, and I don't see any easy answers. Regenerative land management that allows high country tussock to grow, increases fire risk. Or that seeks to let forest regenerate, likewise, because it can take decades to get past the scrub/bracken stage, also very flammable.
One thing that would be helpful would be teaching NZ to be fire safe. Everyone. It's important now, it will be vital in the future.
One thing that would be helpful would be teaching NZ to be fire safe. Everyone. It's important now, it will be vital in the future. (weka)
and
I live in the Queenstown Lakes District and even when the fire warning level is on green you never start a fire if there is more than a breath of wind, and you also check the wind forecast. (Bearded git)
Also look for imminent rain. And look at what kind of winter you have had. And the potential if there is an escape.
For those interested here is info on the tenure review proposals.
Good to see Minister Wood require higher forward contracts for all kinds of fuel, and also give Commerce Commission powers to rule of fairer petrol and diesel prices.
Now it just needs a big diesel fleet user to take up a test case.
Or the government could buy back and recommission Marsden Point. Give it to Transpower perhaps.
I have also read that voting levels are heavier than any seen for midterms for decades.
The impact of an unexpected defeat on the Republicans can well be imagined – it'll be stolen, fraudulent, call to arms, attempts to subvert the count and suppress results, etc etc etc.
We certainly need ways in which the right can disgrace itself without inflicting its customary dose of harm on people. This might be one of them. In NZ, Covid did that very nicely for a while.
Interesting article on the benefits of immediate electrification. Aussie engineer dispels many myths (as he sees them):
• Electrification for NZ is much easier than it's made out to be; we'd only need 250% of elec than we use currently. Completely doable with decent investment in solar and more wind.
• Cheaper: stop saying subsidy and start saying investment. A house could save $40k a decade on energy, by switching to solar, getting rid of gas.
• Electric vehicles are better in every way; even the utes and things being produced now in the States. And a battery for a typical ute can power a home for a week. So plug your house in to your ute at night, if you don't have a home battery.
• The fiscal wastage in continuing to use fuel is more (per year) than the upfront cost to switch over to elec. It is much cheaper over the long run without sacrificing any standard of living, in fact has a net benefit.
• Recyclability of batteries, turbines, panels is much easier than the current myths suggest.
• Reduce, reuse, recycle is NOT meaningless, it actually helps; it is just an old solution for an old problem (fuel energy crises) that would become less of an issue with full electrification.
"we'd only need 250% of elec than we use currently".
Do you mean that or is it a typo? We are currently using, according to Transpower about 5,450 megawatts. Of this 90% is from Hydro and Geothermal with only about 5% from wind.
If your 250% is right you are saying we would need about 13,625 Mw. If it is going to come from wind we would need to increase windpower to about 36 times the current production, Where are we going to put 35 times the current turbines and what do we do when the wind doesn't blow?
If you are going to do it from solar what are we going to do when the sun isn't shining? Please bear in mind, when you work it out, that the wind tends to drop after sunset so both sources will have less capacity available in the evening, which is the main period of high demand.
It really doesn't sound as easy as you imply, at least to me.
I'm not saying it, or thinking it, just summarising the interview. Dr Saul Griffith is an engineer with presumably far more knowledge and experience than me. I'd suggest listening to the interview and responding to those points? There's a RNZ written summary as well. He probably is looking at increasing effficiency:
He believes the typical New Zealand lifestyle could be achieved using half the energy it currently does.
He didn't mention Tiwai's massive drain on power, nor the decreased costs as we move away from energy-intensive agriculture.
And fair point to you, it’s not ‘easy’ (or we would have done it), just ‘easier’ than we collectively imagine.
"I'm not saying it, or thinking it, just summarising the interview"
OK. Yes I was reading it as being you promoting the ideas, rather than just quoting from his story. It was the "only 250%" of current production that set me off. I worry about our going all in on wind power. It is so unpredictable when it is supposed to be the main supplier of electricity.
Well, the Chinese do not have 750 plus publicly admitted off shore Military bases and facilities as per the USA. Iran is surrounded by approx 45 US military and intelligence bases in neighbouring countries.
Adam has mentioned a real possibility for the direction of the United States of America. Fascist is a word that should be used with extreme caution, but some of the current Republican candidates and supporters certainly meet that definition unfortunately.
Adam asked the question about trading with Fascists, and it is China not the United States that defines that.
Unless you have been living under a rock the United States had mid-term elections today. Not even New Zealand does that. We may be one of the least corrupt but we are actually one of the most quiescent, passive-aggressive and servile of peoples.
Democracy in the United States is far more thorough than it is here. People who get anxious about how rough elections are in the United States should just read what the Democrats were like in Texas in the 1960s. Or Louisiana in the 1930s. Or Illinois and New York in the 1940s. Democrats smashed heads without being labelled fascist or authoritarian. What they were doing was fighting actual power.
People in politics here – Ardern's generation in particular – are too weak to even meet protesters in their proper form. They'd rather just demonise them as enemies of the state and absolve themselves of the necessary conflict involved in managing actual power.
No, democracy (in terms of voting) in the US is convoluted, exclusionary, and designed to maintain class power relations i.e. capitalist hegemony. In 2020 80 million eligible voters in the USA did not exercise their vote.
We don’t have long enough parliamentary terms in NZ to bother with “mid terms”. And…pull your head in Ad, I was closely watching the mid term results on various channels last night.
Pundit Michael Moore was right again, as he was in predicting the Trump victory when the NY Times and Washington Post were calling Clinton. There was no blue surge, and more importantly no red surge. But a hell of a lot of effort went into achieving that position given the media/poll blitz.
People that have known no other world than a monetarist dog eat dog Aotearoa do things differently. But protest lives on every day regardless of the NZ Labour Caucus or PM. Unions work away for their members, reforms are advanced, battles are won like Ihumatāo.
It is fair enough to enquire what motivates a right opportunist like yourself to even bother posting on the Standard?
So lets stop trading with China. Been a fan of that for while.
2. I did not call the USA fascist, I said their was a real possibility of out Fascists gaining control of larger sections of the USA state. Which thank goodness, they have not. But, they stay a real danger.
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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 ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
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. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
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. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
I was initially resistant to the idea often suggested to me that the Government should deliver an arts strategy. The whole point of the arts and creativity is that people should do whatever the hell they want, unbound by the dictates of politicians in Wellington. Peter Jackson, Kiri Te Kanawa, Eleanor ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...
The Prime Minister has committed to resuming direct flights to Thailand. But it’s not a promise he will be able to deliver on anytime soon. The post Prime Minister jumps the gun in Thailand appeared first on Newsroom. ...
It’s not that long ago Eliza McCartney was seriously wondering if the Paris Olympics would be her pole vaulting swansong. After years of being hounded by injury after injury, the Rio Olympics bronze medallist was still confident she would compete at her second Olympics in Paris in July, unless something ...
FICTION 1 Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) There’s commercial fiction, like this book, and then there’s quality fiction, quality writers, quality literature; the forthcoming Auckland Writers Festival is full of quality, and ReadingRoom has two tickets to give away to the following events: Paul Lynch (Dublin ...
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You can’t have missed the Gallipoli story as the movies, documentaries, essays and books capture what it was like for New Zealand troops in their eight-month campaign on the Peninsula. But this Anzac Day the Auckland War Memorial Museum has published a book that sheds light on a little-known aspect of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk this week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to ...
Asia Pacific Report Chief Mandla Mandela, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa and Nelson Mandela’s grandson, has joined the Freedom Flotilla in istanbul as the ships prepare to sail for Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. Mandela is also the ambassador for the Global Campaign to Return to ...
Pacific Media Watch Journalists who report on environmental issues are encountering growing difficulties in many parts of the world, reports Reporters Without Borders. According to the tally kept by RSF, 200 journalists have been subjected to threats and physical violence, including murder, in the past 10 years because they were ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
ACT's Rural Communities and Veterans spokesman Mark Cameron responds to cancellations and protests of ANZAC Day commemorations in Wellington. He says, "These pitiful attempts to detract from ANZAC Day are not at all indicative of the feelings of mainstream ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Pōneke based peace activists staged a silent protest at the ANZAC day service to highlight New Zealand’s complicity in war and genocide, and urge the government to take concrete steps to stop the genocide in Palestine. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Magdalena M.E. Bunbury, Postdoctoral Researcher, James Cook University Burial with a horse at the Rákóczifalva site, Hungary (8th century AD).Sándor Hegedűs, Hungarian National Museum, CC BY How do we understand past societies? For centuries, our main sources of information have been ...
Amanda Thompson doesn’t really do Anzac Day. But what she does do is remember the people she knew who had a lifetime to remember stuff they didn’t really want to, because of a war they didn’t ask for. And she does make Anzac biscuits.First published in 2021.All my ...
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The outcome of today's midterm elections could very well spell the end of civil rights in the USA.
The Republican Party is more racist, homophobic, transphobic, mysoginost anti union, anti welfare, religious, and in favour of reversing social progress than ever before, and after decades of smearing blacks as criminals, LGBT's as paedophiles, the poor as lazy, union members as overpaid, women wanting access to reproductive healthcare as selfish, the US public is now believing them, and will vote to turn the clock back 60-70 years.
Ain't dead yet but as Biden says it's in their hands.
Forget civil rights, The outcome of today's elections in the united states have the potential to be the end of democracy in the united states.
Considering the ammount of election deniers on the ballot saying they'd refuse to certify presidential elections if they they disagree with the results.
Focusing almost soley on civil rights, identity politics and abortion (and not being able to say the word woman while doing it) rather than the god damned economy during a cost of living crisis is political suicide and it's sadly going to lose the democrats this election and labour 2023.
After the 2020 election members on both sides talked about passing legislation that would prevent future election results being uncertified by partisan politicians, that should have been made a top priority. It wasn't. This is on the democrats.
If the global left wants to win elections going forward it needs to ditch identity politics, stop alienating and lecturing voters and get back into the mainstream and advance center left economic reforms first, go back to being defenders of free speech which has been our traditional role at least when I was growing up in the 2000s and protect democracy.
With regards to the economy, Americans have gotten so right wing, they see the way to stop inflation is to screw down wages and conditions, as well as outlaw trade unions, not to mention hack away at what is left of the social safety net (which is bugger all). Rather like here.
Free speech always boils down to wanting the right to go around calling people "ni******s" or "sodomites", which is what the the current debate in the USA boils down too.
The biggest threat in the USA is bible bashing evangalicals and their catholic callabortars (sp) who wish to impose their religion on the wider population, through bans on abortion and whatnot. Also the criminalisation of homosexuality and transgenderism is in the mix.
"collaborators"
Entirely agree – never ever trust a religious fundamentalist – of which Chris Luxon is a prime example in this country.
Hey Corey, you often say what I am thinking.
There seems to be an unhealthy preoccupation with what 'the right' is up to. I have been wondering what it means to be 'left' nowadays.
I have had a few values tested lately.
The current war enthusiasm is an example. Only a couple of days ago, a commenter here expressed the sentiment "As long as lots more Russian soldiers than Ukrainian ones are dying I am pleased to see the US war machine doing some good for a change."
This went unchallenged. Russian soldiers, like Ukranian ones, and Afghan, Syrian… are largely the poorer, less privileged citizens. This used to matter to us, the working class used as cannon fodder to further the powerful's interests.
Indeed. Will no one think of these men as they go about their raping, torturing, looting, and murdering.
/
Thanks for so eloquently demonstrating my point.
How unsurprising.
" reasonably good steps " ? ! Well he had a fucking good clearance by fire..so I suppose that worked out. And for free. And what learning?
Over decades, in Otago (and NZ) more fire…. clearances ?…like this, than could be counted on many hands. And apparently …still nothing to see here. Ah well.
do you know that the burnt area was useful clearance for the farmer, or are you making that up?
huh? What are you on about? Have I got a Mind Read on him? Its my Opinion. Just like yours. Mine is from years of Observation.Of extremely similar. Take that how you like….
ok, so you made it up. There's no basis to the idea that the fire is useful to this farmer, other than that some other farmers have found rogue fires useful.
Maybe just explain your thinking next time instead of casting random aspersions. eg "there have been examples in the past of farmers doing well from accidental fires because it clears land they wouldn't otherwise be allowed to". But I'd probably still ask for examples or some back up for your thinking (eg an explanation of your experience).
This isn't FB.
lol. Yea I will leave you to it.. better things to do with my time.
Psyc-I agree it is scandalous that the clearly negligent farmer gets off scot free while the taxpayer picks up a $400k bill. While this attitude prevails other farmers will take risks.
There have been a number of fires in the Wanaka/Hawea rural regions over the last 10-15 years that have destroyed large areas of native bush. These fires were caused by farmers, residents and tourists and to my knowledge nobody has been fined or made to pay any kind of costs.
If you have evidence that the farmer was negligent, can you please link to it? Or recount local knowledge (I couldn't find anything online about the area burned, what was on it, and what part of the farm it is).
The ODT has FENZ saying,
Do you think Mawhinny is being politic?
I take it that you think everyone who accidentally causes a fire should pay for it? Camping fires during a fire ban? Camping fires when there's no fire ban? Permitted backyard fires where precautions where taken? Housefires? Fireworks fires? Fires started by lawnmowers? Powerlines arcing?
Should people who allow dangerous levels of flammable materials build up on their property be fined? People who don’t mow their lawns? DOC letting their land be covered in bracken or pine?
How about people having to pay for car accidents?
That's because in civil society we accept that accidents happen and we that we shouldn't bankrupt people when they do.
Another good reason not to do that is people won’t call the fire brigade if they believe they will be found legally and financially liable.
I think there are better ways to approach this. Mass climate crisis education around fire risk, to get all of NZ up to speed so that we take it seriously like Australia does. Tourism needs it own particular approach. Farming. Property maintenance. Look at the main fire causing activities in each reason and go hard on helping people prevent them.
Weka. From the article in the ODT.
"… the investigation is yet to be finalised, but it’s likely the blaze, which destroyed about 230 hectares, was started by an ember from a "burn pile". The farmer had been burning piles of material at the time, including manuka slab, which had been cut down, Mawhinney says, and it appears a stray ember landed in nearby vegetation, and spread at pace."
The farmer was burning and allowed his fire to escape and burn 230 hectares. That looks like a clear-cut case of negligence.
I live in the Queenstown Lakes District and even when the fire warning level is on green you never start a fire if there is more than a breath of wind, and you also check the wind forecast.
are you suggesting that the farmer knowingly started the burn pile when it was windy? Or with wind forecast? Because I'm not seeing anything about that in your quote
Embers don't walk around-it must have been blown by the wind.
the issue is the contention that the farmer was negligent and lit a fire knowing it could spread. It's a serious allegation, wanting some explanation or evidence is reasonable.
for instance, I can think of someone lighting a fire in reasonable conditions and being caught out by a freak wind. Certainly getting enough freak winds this spring.
There are all sorts of problems with burning slash, I don't think it should be generally allowed, but there's not a lot of good options being made available either.
and yet it's an ongoing conversation. If you want to use TS to throw out random aspersions without explaining your thinking, you can expect people to respond to that as a problem.
If it was pastoral lease land then there is a right to burn subject to conditions.
Some farmers in the high country have traditionally used fire, often with disastrous results, to burn off 'surplus' vegetation and to fire tussocks to reveal fresh young growth. I am being sarcastic but with a background of truth that some high country farmers did not believe their farming year was complete without having had a box of matches in their hand and good old burn-off.
These days more modern farmers/agricultural people believe firing is an inefficient way of farming. Reading the work by Dr Alan Mark on how tussocks work to trap moisture in these high country you would probably come to believe tussock grasslands need to be protected both for their landscape and water protection values. And you'd be right.
https://www.odt.co.nz/lifestyle/magazine/standing-his-ground
https://hail.to/nz-festival-of-nature/article/Tu0Bvw5/accessibility
Modern thinking sees a way to control grazing is by animal mouths munching but this needs top notch pasture and stock management working some times by the day. This is not the way that some pastoralists work.
While pastoral leases still do have a right to burn there are ways to control this with
I know that since the neo lib experiment subsidies is a dirty word but it works if done tightly and outcomes clearly defined. ( I know there will be those saying that in the push for more stock water and firefighting ponds subsidies brought about the building of large numbers of stock water and firefighting ponds cunningly disguised as swimming pools. They'd be right)
I did touch on fire as a pastoral tool on 4/11 when trying to rebut a presumption that 'Murrays' were the cause of fired land in NZ. These were my links
(NB on some pastoral leases in the South Island firing areas is still common practice/permitted)
https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1998/0065/latest/DLM427002.html
https://fireandemergency.nz/en_NZ/farms-rural-properties-and-rural-businesses/fire-as-a-land-management-tool/
https://teara.govt.nz/en/fire-and-agriculture
https://digitalnz.org/stories/5b19a05ffb002c36a2c014e6
I think fire as a tool needs looking at. I tend to support PL in their horror that this is still permitted.
This is an extract from the link from the ODT.
‘Fire and Emergency New Zealand risk reduction adviser Mark Mawhinney says the investigation is yet to be finalised, but it’s likely the blaze, which destroyed about 230 hectares, was started by an ember from a “burn pile”.
The farmer had been burning piles of material at the time, including manuka slab, which had been cut down, Mawhinney says, and it appears a stray ember landed in nearby vegetation, and spread at pace.
“The farmer’s taken reasonably good steps, and sometimes these things happen, but we’ll certainly try to learn as much as we can from it.” ‘
‘Reasonably good steps’ I find this concerning.
yeah, I wondered how carefully chosen Mawhinney's phrasing was there. Sounds like it wasn't a burnoff but burning slash pile/s. That's just as much bullshit as burning off, but the problem we have is that there are places in NZ now where we have no solutions to flammable material. Mānuka, pine, scrub is going to burn live or dead if a fire gets going. Many farmers believe that it's better to burn it in the spring than let it build up over the spring and dry out over the summer. It's also harder now because there is more rain in some places, leading to more growth.
There is a lot of criticism of land being returned to DOC and then becoming a fire hazard. There is a clear conflict between this and biodiversity, and I don't see any easy answers. Regenerative land management that allows high country tussock to grow, increases fire risk. Or that seeks to let forest regenerate, likewise, because it can take decades to get past the scrub/bracken stage, also very flammable.
One thing that would be helpful would be teaching NZ to be fire safe. Everyone. It's important now, it will be vital in the future.
and
Also look for imminent rain. And look at what kind of winter you have had. And the potential if there is an escape.
For those interested here is info on the tenure review proposals.
https://www.linz.govt.nz/our-work/crown-property-management/types-crown-property/crown-pastoral-land/status-and-location-crown-pastoral-land/mt-creighton-station
I wonder, in a minor sort of way, if the escape was on to land that was to remain with Mt Creighton or on the land to go to DoC?
Is that farm going through tenure review?
I honestly think we are past the point of judging the burnability by recent and future weather. Everything is so weird now.
Good to see Minister Wood require higher forward contracts for all kinds of fuel, and also give Commerce Commission powers to rule of fairer petrol and diesel prices.
Now it just needs a big diesel fleet user to take up a test case.
Or the government could buy back and recommission Marsden Point. Give it to Transpower perhaps.
Still, baby steps are still steps.
https://twitter.com/NZedAUS/status/1590064219768393728
Lots of young people are getting to be extremely conservative though.
true. will be interesting to see the later analysis.
Any links to share?
https://edition.cnn.com/politics/live-news/midterm-election-results-livestream-voting-11-08-2022/index.html
I have also read that voting levels are heavier than any seen for midterms for decades.
The impact of an unexpected defeat on the Republicans can well be imagined – it'll be stolen, fraudulent, call to arms, attempts to subvert the count and suppress results, etc etc etc.
We certainly need ways in which the right can disgrace itself without inflicting its customary dose of harm on people. This might be one of them. In NZ, Covid did that very nicely for a while.
Republicans suppress their own vote when they instruct them not to trust voting.
Epistemic capture becomes a vortex sucking support right up their own foofoo valve.
Dose of hope:
Interesting article on the benefits of immediate electrification. Aussie engineer dispels many myths (as he sees them):
• Electrification for NZ is much easier than it's made out to be; we'd only need 250% of elec than we use currently. Completely doable with decent investment in solar and more wind.
• Cheaper: stop saying subsidy and start saying investment. A house could save $40k a decade on energy, by switching to solar, getting rid of gas.
• Electric vehicles are better in every way; even the utes and things being produced now in the States. And a battery for a typical ute can power a home for a week. So plug your house in to your ute at night, if you don't have a home battery.
• The fiscal wastage in continuing to use fuel is more (per year) than the upfront cost to switch over to elec. It is much cheaper over the long run without sacrificing any standard of living, in fact has a net benefit.
• Recyclability of batteries, turbines, panels is much easier than the current myths suggest.
• Reduce, reuse, recycle is NOT meaningless, it actually helps; it is just an old solution for an old problem (fuel energy crises) that would become less of an issue with full electrification.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/audio/player?audio_id=2018865830
"we'd only need 250% of elec than we use currently".
Do you mean that or is it a typo? We are currently using, according to Transpower about 5,450 megawatts. Of this 90% is from Hydro and Geothermal with only about 5% from wind.
If your 250% is right you are saying we would need about 13,625 Mw. If it is going to come from wind we would need to increase windpower to about 36 times the current production, Where are we going to put 35 times the current turbines and what do we do when the wind doesn't blow?
If you are going to do it from solar what are we going to do when the sun isn't shining? Please bear in mind, when you work it out, that the wind tends to drop after sunset so both sources will have less capacity available in the evening, which is the main period of high demand.
It really doesn't sound as easy as you imply, at least to me.
I'm not saying it, or thinking it, just summarising the interview. Dr Saul Griffith is an engineer with presumably far more knowledge and experience than me. I'd suggest listening to the interview and responding to those points? There's a RNZ written summary as well. He probably is looking at increasing effficiency:
He didn't mention Tiwai's massive drain on power, nor the decreased costs as we move away from energy-intensive agriculture.
And fair point to you, it’s not ‘easy’ (or we would have done it), just ‘easier’ than we collectively imagine.
"I'm not saying it, or thinking it, just summarising the interview"
OK. Yes I was reading it as being you promoting the ideas, rather than just quoting from his story. It was the "only 250%" of current production that set me off. I worry about our going all in on wind power. It is so unpredictable when it is supposed to be the main supplier of electricity.
Cabinet paper discussing it 2nd week of December.
So they come over, rip us off, shit in our nest, then bugger off again. Why do we allow this again?
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/09/serious-concerns-raised-in-nz-about-environmental-impact-of-major-productions-including-amazons-rings-of-power?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
I wondering how many out fascists are going to get elected in the USA today?
Worst I've heard is three governors, and half the GOP. I hope not.
But begs the question, if those people are elected, should we openly trade with fascists? Should we be in treaties of defence with them?
As my grandfather shot fascists in WW2,are me and mine going to have to do it again?
China is our largest trading partner and a proper Leninist authoritarian state.
Well, the Chinese do not have 750 plus publicly admitted off shore Military bases and facilities as per the USA. Iran is surrounded by approx 45 US military and intelligence bases in neighbouring countries.
Adam has mentioned a real possibility for the direction of the United States of America. Fascist is a word that should be used with extreme caution, but some of the current Republican candidates and supporters certainly meet that definition unfortunately.
OK to clarify I mean Christian Fascists, which a very USA way of doing it.
Not unique to the US nor even a precedent. Franco ran an active and state sponsored Christian Fascism from 1936 to 1975.
Not at all what I mean. Franco's Spain was Catholic who embraced Fascism.
In the USA it is evangelical in nature, using the iconography and pageantry of Christianity, couple with a homely credo of wealth theology.
Same sick outcome, but different beast.
Adam asked the question about trading with Fascists, and it is China not the United States that defines that.
Unless you have been living under a rock the United States had mid-term elections today. Not even New Zealand does that. We may be one of the least corrupt but we are actually one of the most quiescent, passive-aggressive and servile of peoples.
Democracy in the United States is far more thorough than it is here. People who get anxious about how rough elections are in the United States should just read what the Democrats were like in Texas in the 1960s. Or Louisiana in the 1930s. Or Illinois and New York in the 1940s. Democrats smashed heads without being labelled fascist or authoritarian. What they were doing was fighting actual power.
People in politics here – Ardern's generation in particular – are too weak to even meet protesters in their proper form. They'd rather just demonise them as enemies of the state and absolve themselves of the necessary conflict involved in managing actual power.
Great comment. Your final paragraph is particularly powerful.
No, democracy (in terms of voting) in the US is convoluted, exclusionary, and designed to maintain class power relations i.e. capitalist hegemony. In 2020 80 million eligible voters in the USA did not exercise their vote.
We don’t have long enough parliamentary terms in NZ to bother with “mid terms”. And…pull your head in Ad, I was closely watching the mid term results on various channels last night.
Pundit Michael Moore was right again, as he was in predicting the Trump victory when the NY Times and Washington Post were calling Clinton. There was no blue surge, and more importantly no red surge. But a hell of a lot of effort went into achieving that position given the media/poll blitz.
People that have known no other world than a monetarist dog eat dog Aotearoa do things differently. But protest lives on every day regardless of the NZ Labour Caucus or PM. Unions work away for their members, reforms are advanced, battles are won like Ihumatāo.
It is fair enough to enquire what motivates a right opportunist like yourself to even bother posting on the Standard?
2. I did not call the USA fascist, I said their was a real possibility of out Fascists gaining control of larger sections of the USA state. Which thank goodness, they have not. But, they stay a real danger.
You could try this
https://theanalysis.news/will-jan-6-committee-investigate-christian-nationalism-gerald-horne/
Love the straw man.
As expected, the weak love weakness.
Stop being weak.
If you'd get off you high horse for two seconds, and stop being a know it all.
My question was specifically directed towards the USA elections, and a possible outcome.
Which by the was not delivered, and hopefully we seeing the signs of it being totally rejected/ejected from the GOP.
So go have a piss mate, get some of those toxins out of your body.
Apologies for the brief comment, but there may be some here interested in the High Court ruling re the removal of bush huts in the Ureweras:
https://twitter.com/NZStuff/status/1590196507655168000?t=WelDwofQtPCTNYuO4yMb9Q&s=19
Thanks Molly. I still can't quite understand why they can't build new huts before they remove the old ones?
Possibly for the same reason that you demolish a house, before you build again.
Insurance payout?
It's not the same thing. At least some of the huts were in use, and not all need replacing immediately. On top of that, "we don’t know how many structures will be built in their place or the expected timeline for the rebuild".
interesting read. Shame it's gotten to legal action, but this seems a good move. What a mess.