‘Don’t let anyone tell you different. Yes, extreme heat is the trigger but, Lake Taupo’s problem is years of phosphorous and nitrogen build-up from dairy farming.’
wondering if it would have an effect on the volcano, am not a scientist, but would the phosphorous and nitrogen blend via water tables/routes with other chemicals/elements found only around volcanoes? Will climate change light the fuse (ie hot weather)?
Hope that makes sense, am alarmed at the news about the lake.
35 years of neoliberalism are we are reduced to this.
A country owned and being destroyed by corporations.
‘Minister warned of critical pressure on natural resources.
‘In its briefing to Minister David Parker the ministry said pressure from the primary sector was exacerbated by population growth, increasing visitor numbers, and urban growth.
It said the evidence showed environmental constraints and pressure points were being reached, adding from a Māori perspective, the mauri, or life force, of land and water was being compromised.
The ministry said the scale of change needed was significant, and would require co-ordinated government activity across a number of portfolio areas including managing resource use, planning, housing, infrastructure, transport, and local government.
It outlined three priority areas the minister should take action on: climate change resilience, freshwater management, and improving the liveability of New Zealand’s cities.
“These issues are of such magnitude that their impacts are being felt across New Zealand,” said the briefing.
“They contribute to wider impacts (eg, on housing affordability, tourism revenue and health), which means more than one benefit can be achieved if the right actions are taken – for example, the potential for significant emissions reductions through improved urban design.”
i was hoping for something that backed Stewart’s claim . There is bugger all dairy around taupo and over half it’s rivers would barely touch a farm and many non at all
yeah I know – I was trying to help out. I think you know the answer.
Anyway, maybe this/these
“Lake Taupō is under threat from increasing nitrogen leaching from land uses in the catchment. In order to maintain the lake’s water quality, we need to reduce the amount of nitrogen reaching the lake from farmland and urban areas by 20 per cent.”
Dunno about “… over half it’s rivers would barely touch a farm…”. Looking at the google satellite images it’s pasture for quite a way inland for roughly 3/4 of the way around Lake Taupo.
Been a while since I’ve driven that back road from Turangi through Kuratau up to Whakamaru, but it was definitely pasture most of the way. Didn’t pay attention to what was grazing it though.
i think it’s on Stewart or her supporters to back her ranting up , i was on a station there recently and large chunks have been taken out of stock and planted , they operate under some stiff nitrogen rules in the taupo catchment. is it enough i don’t know.
Yes OAB,
It seems that the farmers took the mobney and ran is they must have been John Key clones to eh?
Steven Joyce must know more paid out clones did the some as this as his $11.7 Billion hole is now emerging, after Labour is now finding that lot’s of National’s promises made before the election were left without funding too??????
National = criminal gang
Also very wise man has advised yesterday, that there is a inquiry going on now in the US and here, into a case where John Key apparently gave $13 million of NZ taxpayer money to Hillary Clinton’s election campaign.
This was illegal also without notifying NZ taxpayers of the NZ or US Government, and John Key had been forced to resign after being warned of the illegal move to spend unlawful Government money to swing a foriegn county election.
Seems like it will all come out in the wash in months I and guessing.
Just a question.
Why were they not saying this to Smith and the rest of the National gansters in the past 9 years.
Or were they?
And being ignored?
‘The Environment Ministry has warned its minister that pressures on New Zealand’s natural resources are reaching a critical point.
It said the country’s economic reliance on primary sector exports was starting to show its environmental constraints.
In its briefing to Minister David Parker the ministry said pressure from the primary sector was exacerbated by population growth, increasing visitor numbers, and urban growth.
It said the evidence showed environmental constraints and pressure points were being reached, adding from a Māori perspective, the mauri, or life force, of land and water was being compromised.
The ministry said the scale of change needed was significant, and would require co-ordinated government activity across a number of portfolio areas including managing resource use, planning, housing, infrastructure, transport, and local government.
It outlined three priority areas the minister should take action on: climate change resilience, freshwater management, and improving the liveability of New Zealand’s cities.’
And in fact, too. The charities that have been given repeated bills of health by independent charity-watch organisations. If you have some evidence (not assertions) to the contrary please share.
“One Anonymous Bloke” states, in apparent high seriousness, that the notorious Clinton charity racket has “been given repeated bills of health by independent charity-watch organisations.”
His faith-based assertion stands in stark contrast to the evidence presented so clearly in that item. Could “One Anonymous Bloke” tell the rest of us exactly how the following “good works” carried out by the Clinton “charities” actually did any good?….
It was also been revealed the Clinton charities utilised the devastating Haiti earthquake to implement disaster capitalism, funneling funds into Haiti under the pretense of aid but only for the funds to flow away from the Haitians desperately in need and instead to companies who had made previously large donations to the Clinton Foundation.
Then there is the $145 million ‘pay for play’ contributions made to the Clinton Foundation by shareholders of Canadian company Uranium One, a mining company with concessions in Kazakhstan and the US. Uranium One sought to sell these concessions to the Russians, but the deal had to be approved by a government committee due to the implications to national security.
On this beautiful summer day I won’t inflict Standardisti with any offensive footage of the Old Groper, but here’s a clip of his wife speaking with her characteristic “charity” about black people….
1. If you could post the evidence (rather than the assertions) that would be choice. I said ‘please’.
2. I have zero regard for your opinion, Morrissey. You bring nothing substantive to this or any other discussion other than your entertainment value.
3: Get a clue: you can post a billion videos of Hillary Clinton saying things I disagree with and none of them will be evidence against the employees of the Clinton Foundation. Got that?
1. If you could post the evidence (rather than the assertions) that would be choice. I said ‘please’.
I posted the evidence. Bill and Hillary Clinton’s involvement in predatory “disaster capitalism” has been exhaustively documented. Are you trying to suggest they have not been exposed repeatedly?
2. I have zero regard for your opinion, Morrissey.
Ooohh, that’s a bit mean, isn’t it?
You bring nothing substantive to this or any other discussion other than your entertainment value.
Mean—and more than a bit extreme. I bring “nothing substantive” to discussions? Never?
Still, on the bright side, you’ve paid tribute to my “entertainment value”, so that’s a positive.
3: Get a clue: you can post a billion videos of Hillary Clinton saying things I disagree with and none of them will be evidence against the employees of the Clinton Foundation. Got that?
I didn’t just post a video of her saying things you or I disagree with: I posted a video of her unleashing a cynical, horrible, racist rant that could have been delivered by Donald Trump at his most deranged. The point of my posting that horror was to underline the point that the very idea of the Clintons and “charity” is an absurdity.
All charity is obscene. That is not the same as saying, as dv did and you implied (“racket”), that Clinton diverts money from the CF for her own gain.
I note that the POTUS does exactly that with his own “charities”. The accusations you are so eager to mindlessly sponge and parrot are motivated by projection.
As for your smear against the CF’s employees, just chuck them under a bus eh.
The contributions made by this “One Anonymous Bloke” are becoming more bizarre. Let’s inspect his latest offering….
1.) So that’s no evidence then. Exactly as expected.
This is what is known as “attempting to brazen it out” of an awkward situation. This writer, i.e., moi, had pointed out to him that the Wake Up NZ site referenced by “dv” in 1.3.2 had shown clearly that the Clinton “charities” racket is little more than a brutal exercise in disaster capitalism. This presentation of evidence was not good enough for dear old O.A.B., however; he apparently thinks closing his eyes and stubbornly insisting he can’t see what is shown to him is enough to win his point.
2.) All charity is obscene.
????? Would I be the only person to think that is one of the stupider statements to be posted on this forum in all of 2017?
3.) The accusations you are so eager to mindlessly sponge and parrot are motivated by projection.
???? Again, what the HELL is this fellow trying so ineptly to say?
4.) As for your smear against the CF’s employees, just chuck them under a bus eh.
Anybody who works for the Clintons is either inordinately ambitious, and unscrupulous, or simply bewildered—kind of like the poor sods who worked for their election campaigns.
dv that was never told us before thhe election was it and here is another site claiming Key was guilty of using taxpayer fuds to put into a foriegn election, ad this is highly a crime againt international law and NZ law.
You are really intense about this.
As a point you are the one that have implied that mfat , Clinton association are corrup.
I have not used those words, or close.
This is a direct result of our current industrial farming methods which not only are destroying our soils but also killing our water ways, lakes, and coastal waters.
At the present time the destruction of our soils by tillage and chemical fertilisers is occurring at the alarming rate of around 24bn tonnes per year, and according to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) the planet can only employ current practice for another 60 years before the situation is so bad that the dirt remaining will not support plant life. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/only-60-years-of-farming-left-if-soil-degradation-continues/
The situation that is now occurring in our largest lake is something that has been happening in the Great Lakes of North America since the early 2000’s. This year has been no different for the residents of Toledo. 3 million people are dependent upon their drinking water from Lake Eire and for at least 3 years now their water supply has been so toxic that they have had to truck in water from elsewhere yet they live in the edge of one of the largest “freshwater” lakes on the planet.
The mayor of Toledo, Paula Hicks-Hudson, wrote a letter to President Donald Trump on Sept. 26, calling on the federal government to declare Lake Erie impaired, which would allow for the lake’s nutrient loads to be regulated under the Clean Water Act.
“There is something very wrong with our country when our rivers and lakes turn green,” Hicks-Hudson wrote in her letter. “As I look out my office at a green river, I can tell you one thing: The status quo is not working.”
The causes of soil destruction include chemical-heavy farming techniques, deforestation which increases erosion, and global warming. The earth under our feet is too often ignored by policymakers, experts said.
“Soils are the basis of life,” said Semedo, FAO’s deputy director general of natural resources. “Ninety five percent of our food comes from the soil.”
Unless new approaches are adopted, the global amount of arable and productive land per person in 2050 will be only a quarter of the level in 1960, the FAO reported, due to growing populations and soil degradation.
Soils play a key role in absorbing carbon and filtering water, the FAO reported. Soil destruction creates a vicious cycle, in which less carbon is stored, the world gets hotter, and the land is further degraded.
“We are losing 30 soccer fields of soil every minute, mostly due to intensive farming,” Volkert Engelsman, an activist with the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements told the forum at the FAO’s headquarters in Rome.
One of the fastest, cleverest, most exciting football players of his generation, Colin Kaepernick led San Francisco to the 2013 Super Bowl, the first time the 49ers had made it in twenty years.
But it’s as a moral leader that he has really made his mark. To register his disgust at police killings of black citizens and the war crimes of the United States overseas, Kaepernick refused to stand for the militarised national anthem ceremony before games. He has carried on the proud tradition of Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, John Carlos, Tommie Smith, and countless other black athletes who have refused to be bullied into silence by politicians and their media accomplices.
To the fury of the flag-idolating right wing, Kaepernick’s leadership has inspired hundreds of athletes in many sports, from professional to high school level, to refuse to participate in state-sponsored obedience ceremonies before their games.
So influential, and so threatening, has Kaepernick’s moral stature become that he provoked the Groper-in-Chief to unleash a public tirade against him, hilariously urging NFL owners to “Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out. He’s fired. He’s fired!”
“He’s one of the brightest, most articulate and committed people that I have ever come across. I knew Muhammad Ali. I most certainly worked with Carlos and Smith. Bill Russell, Jim Brown, some of these people from the 1960s, Arthur Ashe—I put him in that class. And I’m pushing him. I hope that he’ll become a person of the year—all of the athletes collectively—and I personally am pushing him for a Nobel Peace Prize nomination, even if he doesn’t get it, because I think he’s going to have that impact as we look back 20 years from now, 30 years from now. And I think it should be recognized.”–Dr. Harry Edwards https://www.democracynow.org/2017/9/25/dr_harry_edwards_nominate_football_player
“Heroes” is a series devoted to those courageous and brilliant people who show us that, in a world seemingly run by flag-fetishists, cowards, conformists, crooks, abusers, scoundrels, mass murderers and liars, there are still reasons for optimism.
It also seems “The Intercept has exclusive publishing rights and an exclusive hold on the content of the Snowden leaks, of which this newly released document is a part. Indeed, the Intercept was founded after the Snowden leaks were made public and its first hires were Glenn Greenwald and Lauren Poitras, the only journalists possessing the full Snowden cache. Those documents now belong to the Intercept’s founder — billionaire eBay founder, — and his for-profit media company, First Look Media.”
“His (Omidyar) investments with USAID have continued since the Intercept’s founding, helping fund the NGO’s more recent overseas programs aimed at “advancing U.S. national security interests” abroad.”
What do we do when we can’t even trust The Intercept?
I think we can trust Glenn Greenwald and the rest of the brilliant and principled writers there. But, as with all owners of media outlets—like the Kochs, the Murdochs, the Russian, Australian and British governments—Omidyar needs to be scrutinized.
We can only hope National’s “legacy” of Child poverty, Homelessness, Degraded lakes and waterways, degraded public health system, idiotic education “reform”, and general gifting of money in large amounts to ones friends and oneself, will quickly disappear to be replaced by a far more equitable, caring and environmentally friendly society. That is a legacy one would hope would endure.
‘A Hong Kong businessman’s plan to build a $3 million lodge on Crown land bordering a scenic South Island lake has raised the hackles of the Acting Commissioner of Crown Lands. But there are strong signals the lakeside land will be offered up for sale, David Williams reports.
A massive lodge could be built on what is now Crown land, just 40 metres from the shore of pristine Lake Pukaki.
Why a sale’s even being considered isn’t clear. LINZ’s consent says “there are no applicable offer-back provisions” and Blue Lake “is not entitled to the benefit of any offer back”. But the Crown considered it had a “moral duty” to offer the land back to Guide Hill’s former owners, the Gould family, and the new allotment should “logically” be amalgamated with the rest of the station. Forest & Bird’s Canterbury/West Coast regional manager Jen Miller says the whole situation “stinks” and appears murky. She also believes a neighbouring landowner might be disputing the potential sale.
Revealed: who bought NZ’s most expensive home of 2017
‘State-owned enterprise Quotable Value records show that the buyer was Lichun Gao. A check on other titles shows he has been active since 2015, buying a number of properties across the city, valued collectively at more than $56m. Most of his properties are on the North Shore and some have big development potential.
Companies Office records show Gao is the sole director and shareholder of New Zealand-registered company Far East NZ Investment and gives his address as 17 O’Neills Ave, Takapuna.
‘Far East is listed in one business directory as a milk products manufacturing business.
Titles which QV lists as those Gao owns are:
• 19 O’Neills Ave: a residential dwelling on a 4396sq m site, three separate titles of 19, 21 and 23 O’Neills Ave. Two homes were built there by Sky TV founder Craig Heatley who had a helipad on the property. Gao bought it in July, QV records showed.
• 84 Trig Rd, Whenuapai: Auckland Council says is valued at $9.8m. A 4.04ha lifestyle property which is now bare land with subdivision potential, sold to Gao last year;
• 62 Paritai Dr, Orakei: a residential dwelling built between 1914 and 1929 on a 1173sq m site. This is in one of Auckland’s best streets, home to the $39m property which set the national record in 2013 as New Zealand’s most expensive residential property, sold by agent Graham Wall. Auckland Council valued this place at $7.4m. QV records the place as being sold to Gao last April.
• 11 Spedding Rd, Whenuapai: a 4.9ha lifestyle property now bare land but with subdivision potential, sold to Gao last year. Auckland Council has this property valued at $7,170,000.
• 52 Dairy Stream Rd, Dairy Flat: a 3.2ha site listed as a lifestyle property, being bare land with subdivision potential which Gao bought in April, 2015.
New Zealand’s immigration system “lacks integrity” and is so financially hamstrung it can’t investigate fraud and exploitation cases, its new Minister says.’
Typical of how national views immigration. They just wanted more immigrants to dilute the Maori vote an put us on the bread line I’m working my ass off going nowhere because of keys immigration policy and now we find another state organisation in a mess we will never let national back in government the corrupt money worshipers Ana to kai
Yep, very much doubt that Maori will be the 2nd largest ethnicity in NZ anymore after National’s immigration policy. National have prospered vote wise by importing in votes and moving poorer people out of main cities and making them homeless.
For sale.
Our assets, our environment, our sovereignty.
35 years of neoliberalism.
‘A Chinese-owned corporation is converting a former wool scouring factory in the Christchurch area into a water bottling factory, and it has consent to extract more than 4.5 million litres of water per day. Environment Canterbury is among the groups expressing concern about the new neighbour.’
The private rental market is forcing low-income Kiwis to move too often, the human rights watchdog has told the new Government.
Housing Minister Phil Twyford has promised new legislation by the end of 2018 that would get rid of no-cause terminations and limit rent increases to once per year.
But the Human Rights Commission suggest more than just new rental laws: officials within the document suggest that for the most vulnerable the security provided by state housing is the best option.
With almost 6000 thousand on the waiting list for a state home, it shows what Labour are currently offering is vastly insufficient, thus the pressure is mounting on Labour to build more state homes. The question is, will they?
Apart from your bizarre Labour bashing stance (you never criticised National on housing policy), that’s a valuable article you link to which describes an awful problem in NZ where low income families are forced to move often on the say so of amateur landlords. This transience creates fractured communities where children struggle to feel valued and struggle to form important long term social connections.
I myself don’t think a massive social housing drive is the answer. I think much more needs to be done to make anyone involved in rental investments know that they are first providing a social service and second providing for their own benefit.
I went mowing lawns today an the idiots were playing all sorts of dum ass games they think they are going to break me YEA RIGHT. I will keep going hard for my family and this is why I won’t back down. I no if I move they will chase me were ever I go so_______them.
I’m at the farm relief milking and mowing my lawns in between milking I get to spend time with our moko my youngest granddaughter is a paua to her Papa when ever she sees me she has her hands out for me to pick her up she has just started crawling she is away into everything lol she has beautiful blue eyes and I call her my prime minister lol I want her to have a very secsessfull long happy life and I will do what it takes for all our children and mokos to give them a good life. Kia kaha
“…From 2018, as the new look takes final shape, shop owners and landlords may be encouraged by more pleasant surrounds to spruce up their acts; and developers heartened by a new vitality may be drawn to further breathe life into a town centre that otherwise may have died.
Where we now have some run-down premises, we could in the future find medium-rise developments (the Unitary Plan allows for four-to-eight storeys in town centres – logically with shops below and apartments and perhaps offices above) and a more appealing retail and food mix.
…”
First – remove the parking – kill small businesses so property developer$ can buy these buildings, and help drive customers to the multi-national run malls?
Not only clear out small business but increase the risk of flooding with the amount of paving. Who knows why Auckland Transport and their overpaid band of consultants hates trees so much? Never mind it can all be sold cheap and converted with overseas money to apartments for new residents not bankrupted by government and council policy and lowered wages.
MATAURA RIVER
Yesterday the river made 1 news in Gore as the river has low flows and the town is running out of water
What could be the problem low rainfall or maybe a combination of low rainfall and the loss of our wetlands for recharging the river or the hundreds of km of drains under ground to stop the land holding water or the never-ending expansion of the center pivots which are running flat out today in the upper Mataura and the planting of pine forist on land that uesd to be tussock lands and this is all allowed by Environment Southland. This is looking more like It could end up like the disaster in Canterbury
You no how I told you that my MAMA die of a heart attack when I was 9. Well here’s the hole story. About a week before that event my mama an one of her grand sons that lived with us he is the one who named me honky they were arguing
about him not being a good father to his child he was still going out an shaging around and she wanted him to put his child first I remember her saying to him you all are getting nothing it is all going to eco. So a week goes by and mama and I were watching TV he comes home she goes into the kitchen to talk to him she closed the door to the sitting room and the argument started they were arguing about her will shouting she said no of use are getting my estate it is all going to eco than I heard her fall and he was over her as when I heard her fall I went it the kitchen at that time one of her son came in and they started arguing about what to do in stead of giving her angina pill. Next the ambulance came and they said she was dead So she had a will draw up and it was in her room. They burnt it and this story can be verified by my extended whano the ones who never called me honky there mother told them about the will and they told me she had a lot of shear in land up the east coast. The person that caused her death ripped me later on to I sold him my lawn run I set up his $20.000 loan as his bank manager was mine as well and the years before I had $100.000 going into my bank from forestry I gave him my business accounts so he could get the loan I had a loan of $10.000 so when his loan came through that got paid as we were walking out the bank he said that the other $10.000 of his loan was going to pay off his credit card. I was blown away but I was still submissive and had to start working in Hamilton in 3 days he had not paid me a cent of that money in 13 years. Did he give a______about my children missing out because of his actions no. The business was worth $30.000 WTF.
When my wife grandfather died he left me all his tools my wife’s brothers were pissed about that so was her 1 uncle he got the rife as I did not have a gun licence.
While we were planning his funeral his bank accounts were frozen and no one had any money to pay for it so my wife and I wrote out a check to pay for his funeral
We got our money back 12 months later we were just happy that his funeral went down with out any problems There are other story’s of me an my wife helping her family with other events like that to. That idiot who ripped me off had abandoned his first family of 2 children and to what a__________. That’s all for now Ka pai
I no that the Gisborne man is in the top command of the cops top 10 so he will have his boys spread any shit he can to save his religious self righteous ass but no ECO WILL WIN IN THE END Kai kaha
Speechless.“Forty years ago in Alabama, there’s a lot of mamas and daddies that’d be thrilled that their 14-year-old was getting hit on by a district attorney.” pic.twitter.com/Q6SUJzSBgF— Holly O'Reilly (@AynRandPaulRyan) December 8, 2017
Trump campaigning hard for Moore shows how confident he is of identifying and turning out his base, because FFS Obama is more popular than Trump in Alabama:
Moore will have no problem on the day getting over the line.
It’s lovely that the Dems are going for long-shots, but Alabama was wayyy too much of a long-shot to hit its target. You have to go back to you-know-who to remember a Democrat really making it there. Hint: it’s a little place called Hope.
Yeah, Jones is still a long shot. But if he pulled it off there’d be so many D.C. Repugs shitting themselves the sewers would erupt.
*There’s a New Hope and a Good Hope in Alabama, but no actual Hope. Perhaps you mean nearby Arkansas? The last Dem pres to win ‘bama was Carter. The last Dem to win statewide office was Shelby for his second term in 92, but even he decided life would be easier as a Repug so he switched in 94. I wonder if the Chump realized he was rallying for Moore in Florida, but the election is the next state over?
@CleanGreen.
I was thinking about the Gisborne line and the wash-out (both the real one and the gNat wash-out attitude), and thought you might be interested in this:
Yes we have an Indian Manager of a large Gisborne exporter and his home town has far worse geographical areas where rail goes and believes the washouts on the Gisborne section is minor compared to what he has seen.
We also have a ex rail manager from Kiwirail who kept the l;ine in top shape before the washouts and said it was caused by clearing of scrub in the hillside above the track ad heavy rail that blocked the old culverts and washed that section out again as this was the third time in 39yrs.
During Bola the Ministry of Works came along and fixed the washouts in 6 weeks after March 1988, we are advised when it was washed out during bola so you are right iit can be repaired within just weeks jnot months so we cant see why they just dont get it fixed and allow us to incease our rail freight as we proved durug the eight months before the washouts as we had inceased the freight three times higher then after a flat rail freight recorded prior when Toll had it.
A fellow Gisbornite supports you. There are a lot of us whisperers here
— we whisper because’ the few’ are very few here, and we speak because we are humans and NZers.
Hi,It’s almost Christmas Day which means it is almost my birthday, where you will find me whimpering in the corner clutching a warm bottle of Baileys.If you’re out of ideas for presents (and truly desperate) then it is possible to gift a full Webworm subscription to a friend (or enemy) ...
This morning’s six standouts for me at 6.30am include:Rachel Helyer Donaldson’s scoop via RNZ last night of cuts to maternity jobs in the health system;Maddy Croad’s scoop via The Press-$ this morning on funding cuts for Christchurch’s biggest food rescue charity;Benedict Collins’ scoop last night via 1News on a last-minute ...
A listing of 25 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 15, 2024 thru Sat, December 21, 2024. Based on feedback we received, this week's roundup is the first one published soleley by category. We are still interested in ...
Well, I've been there, sitting in that same chairWhispering that same prayer half a million timesIt's a lie, though buried in disciplesOne page of the Bible isn't worth a lifeThere's nothing wrong with youIt's true, it's trueThere's something wrong with the villageWith the villageSomething wrong with the villageSongwriters: Andrew Jackson ...
ACT would like to dictate what universities can and can’t say. We knew it was coming. It was outlined in the coalition agreement and has become part of Seymour’s strategy of “emphasising public funding” to prevent people from opposing him and his views—something he also uses to try and de-platform ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Are we heading ...
So the Solstice has arrived – Summer in this part of the world, Winter for the Northern Hemisphere. And with it, the publication my new Norse dark-fantasy piece, As Our Power Lessens at Eternal Haunted Summer: https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/issues/winter-solstice-2024/as-our-power-lessens/ As previously noted, this one is very ‘wyrd’, and Northern Theory of Courage. ...
The Natural Choice: As a starter for ten percent of the Party Vote, “saving the planet” is a very respectable objective. Young voters, in particular, raised on the dire (if unheeded) warnings of climate scientists, and the irrefutable evidence of devastating weather events linked to global warming, vote Green. After ...
The Government cancelled 60% of Kāinga Ora’s new builds next year, even though the land for them was already bought, the consents were consented and there are builders unemployed all over the place. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political ...
Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on UnsplashEvery morning I get up at 3am to go around the traps of news sites in Aotearoa and globally. I pick out the top ones from my point of view and have been putting them into my Dawn Chorus email, which goes out with a podcast. ...
Over on Kikorangi Newsroom's Marc Daalder has published his annual OIA stats. So I thought I'd do mine: 82 OIA requests sent in 2024 7 posts based on those requests 20 average working days to receive a response Ministry of Justice was my most-requested entity, ...
Welcome to the December 2024 Economic Bulletin. We have two monthly features in this edition. In the first, we discuss what the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update from Treasury and the Budget Policy Statement from the Minister of Finance tell us about the fiscal position and what to ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi have submitted against the controversial Treaty Principles Bill, slamming the Bill as a breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and an attack on tino rangatiratanga and the collective rights of Tangata Whenua. “This Bill seeks to legislate for Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles that are ...
I don't knowHow to say what's got to be saidI don't know if it's black or whiteThere's others see it redI don't get the answers rightI'll leave that to youIs this love out of fashionOr is it the time of yearAre these words distraction?To the words you want to hearSongwriters: ...
Our economy has experienced its worst recession since 1991. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, December 20 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above and the daily Pick ‘n’ Mix below ...
Twas the Friday before Christmas and all through the week we’ve been collecting stories for our final roundup of the year. As we start to wind down for the year we hope you all have a safe and happy Christmas and new year. If you’re travelling please be safe on ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the year’s news with: on climate. Her book of the year was Tim Winton’s cli-fi novel Juice and she also mentioned Mike Joy’s memoir The Fight for Fresh Water. ...
The Government can head off to the holidays, entitled to assure itself that it has done more or less what it said it would do. The campaign last year promised to “get New Zealand back on track.” When you look at the basic promises—to trim back Government expenditure, toughen up ...
Open access notables An intensification of surface Earth’s energy imbalance since the late 20th century, Li et al., Communications Earth & Environment:Tracking the energy balance of the Earth system is a key method for studying the contribution of human activities to climate change. However, accurately estimating the surface energy balance ...
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guests and , ...
“Like you said, I’m an unreconstructed socialist. Everybody deserves to get something for Christmas.”“ONE OF THOSE had better be for me!” Hannah grinned, fascinated, as Laurie made his way, gingerly, to the bar, his arms full of gift-wrapped packages.“Of course!”, beamed Laurie. Depositing his armful on the bar-top and selecting ...
Data released by Statistics New Zealand today showed a significant slowdown in the economy over the past six months, with GDP falling by 1% in September, and 1.1% in June said CTU Economist Craig Renney. “The data shows that the size of the economy in GDP terms is now smaller ...
One last thing before I quitI never wanted any moreThan I could fit into my headI still remember every single word you saidAnd all the shit that somehow came along with itStill, there's one thing that comforts meSince I was always caged and now I'm freeSongwriters: David Grohl / Georg ...
Sparse offerings outside a Te Kauwhata church. Meanwhile, the Government is cutting spending in ways that make thousands of hungry children even hungrier, while also cutting funding for the charities that help them. It’s also doing that while winding back new building of affordable housing that would allow parents to ...
It is difficult to make sense of the Luxon Coalition Government’s economic management.This end-of-year review about the state of economic management – the state of the economy was last week – is not going to cover the National Party contribution. Frankly, like every other careful observer, I cannot make up ...
This morning I awoke to the lovely news that we are firmly back on track, that is if the scale was reversed.NZ ranks low in global economic comparisonsNew Zealand's economy has been ranked 33rd out of 37 in an international comparison of which have done best in 2024.Economies were ranked ...
Remember those silent movies where the heroine is tied to the railway tracks or going over the waterfall in a barrel? Finance Minister Nicola Willis seems intent on portraying herself as that damsel in distress. According to Willis, this country’s current economic problems have all been caused by the spending ...
Similar to the cuts and the austerity drive imposed by Ruth Richardson in the 1990’s, an era which to all intents and purposes we’ve largely fiddled around the edges with fixing in the time since – over, to be fair, several administrations – whilst trying our best it seems to ...
String-Pulling in the Dark: For the democratic process to be meaningful it must also be public. WITH TRUST AND CONFIDENCE in New Zealand’s politicians and journalists steadily declining, restoring those virtues poses a daunting challenge. Just how daunting is made clear by comparing the way politicians and journalists treated New Zealanders ...
Dear Nicola Willis, thank you for letting us know in so many words that the swingeing austerity hasn't worked.By in so many words I mean the bit where you said, Here is a sea of red ink in which we are drowning after twelve months of savage cost cutting and ...
The Open Government Partnership is a multilateral organisation committed to advancing open government. Countries which join are supposed to co-create regular action plans with civil society, committing to making verifiable improvements in transparency, accountability, participation, or technology and innovation for the above. And they're held to account through an Independent ...
Today I tuned into something strange: a press conference that didn’t make my stomach churn or the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Which was strange, because it was about the torture of children. It was the announcement by Erica Stanford — on her own, unusually ...
This is a must watch, and puts on brilliant and practical display the implications and mechanics of fast-track law corruption and weakness.CLICK HERE: LINK TO WATCH VIDEOOur news media as it is set up is simply not equipped to deal with the brazen disinformation and corruption under this right wing ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Acting Secretary Erin Polaczuk is welcoming the announcement from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden that she is opening consultation on engineered stone and is calling on her to listen to the evidence and implement a total ban of the product. “We need ...
The Government has announced a 1.5% increase in the minimum wage from 1 April 2025, well below forecast inflation of 2.5%. Unions have reacted strongly and denounced it as a real terms cut. PSA and the CTU are opposing a new round of staff cuts at WorkSafe, which they say ...
The decision to unilaterally repudiate the contract for new Cook Strait ferries is beginning to look like one of the stupidest decisions a New Zealand government ever made. While cancelling the ferries and their associated port infrastructure may have made this year's books look good, it means higher costs later, ...
Hi there! I’ve been overseas recently, looking after a situation with a family member. So apologies if there any less than focused posts! Vanuatu has just had a significant 7.3 earthquake. Two MFAT staff are unaccounted for with local fatalities.It’s always sad to hear of such things happening.I think of ...
Today is a special member's morning, scheduled to make up for the government's theft of member's days throughout the year. First up was the first reading of Greg Fleming's Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill, which was passed unanimously. Currently the House is debating the third reading of ...
We're going backwardsIgnoring the realitiesGoing backwardsAre you counting all the casualties?We are not there yetWhere we need to beWe are still in debtTo our insanitiesSongwriter: Martin Gore Read more ...
Willis blamed Treasury for changing its productivity assumptions and Labour’s spending increases since Covid for the worsening Budget outlook. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, December 18 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above ...
Today the Auckland Transport board meet for the last time this year. For those interested (and with time to spare), you can follow along via this MS Teams link from 10am. I’ve taken a quick look through the agenda items to see what I think the most interesting aspects are. ...
Hi,If you’re a New Zealander — you know who Mike King is. He is the face of New Zealand’s battle against mental health problems. He can be loud and brash. He raises, and is entrusted with, a lot of cash. Last year his “I Am Hope” charity reported a revenue ...
Probably about the only consolation available from yesterday’s unveiling of the Half-Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) is that it could have been worse. Though Finance Minister Nicola Willis has tightened the screws on future government spending, she has resisted the calls from hard-line academics, fiscal purists and fiscal hawks ...
The right have a stupid saying that is only occasionally true:When is democracy not democracy? When it hasn’t been voted on.While not true in regards to branches of government such as the judiciary, it’s a philosophy that probably should apply to recently-elected local government councillors. Nevertheless, this concept seemed to ...
Long story short: the Government’s austerity policy has driven the economy into a deeper and longer recession that means it will have to borrow $20 billion more over the next four years than it expected just six months ago. Treasury’s latest forecasts show the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s fiscal strategy of ...
Come and join myself and CTU Chief Economist for a pop-up ‘Hoon’ webinar on the Government’s Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) with paying subscribers to The Kākā for 30 minutes at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream to watch our chat. Don’t worry if ...
In 1998, in the wake of the Paremoremo Prison riot, the Department of Corrections established the "Behaviour Management Regime". Prisoners were locked in their cells for 22 or 23 hours a day, with no fresh air, no exercise, no social contact, no entertainment, and in some cases no clothes and ...
New data released by the Treasury shows that the economic policies of this Government have made things worse in the year since they took office, said NZCTU Economist Craig Renney. “Our fiscal indicators are all heading in the wrong direction – with higher levels of debt, a higher deficit, and ...
At the 2023 election, National basically ran on a platform of being better economic managers. So how'd that turn out for us? In just one year, they've fucked us for two full political terms: The government's books are set to remain deeply in the red for the near term ...
AUSTERITYText within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedMy spreadsheet insists This pain leads straight to glory (File not found) Read more ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi are saying that the Government should do the right thing and deliver minimum wage increases that don’t see workers fall further behind, in response to today’s announcement that the minimum wage will only be increased by 1.5%, well short of forecast inflation. “With inflation forecast ...
Oh, I weptFor daysFilled my eyesWith silly tearsOh, yeaBut I don'tCare no moreI don't care ifMy eyes get soreSongwriters: Paul Rodgers / Paul Kossoff. Read more ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob HensonIn this aerial view, fingers of meltwater flow from the melting Isunnguata Sermia glacier descending from the Greenland Ice Sheet on July 11, 2024, near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. According to the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE), the ...
In August, I wrote an article about David Seymour1 with a video of his testimony, to warn that there were grave dangers to his Ministry of Regulation:David Seymour's Ministry of Slush Hides Far Greater RisksWhy Seymour's exorbitant waste of taxpayers' money could be the least of concernThe money for Seymour ...
Willis is expected to have to reveal the bitter fiscal fruits of her austerity strategy in the HYEFU later today. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/TheKakaMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, December 17 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast ...
On Friday the government announced it would double the number of toll roads in New Zealand as well as make a few other changes to how toll roads are used in the country. The real issue though is not that tolling is being used but the suggestion it will make ...
The Prime Minister yesterday engaged in what looked like a pre-emptive strike designed to counter what is likely to be a series of depressing economic statistics expected before the end of the week. He opened his weekly post-Cabinet press conference with a recitation of the Government’s achievements. “It certainly has ...
This whooping cough story from south Auckland is a good example of the coalition government’s approach to social need – spend money on urging people to get vaccinated but only after you’ve cut the funding to where they could get vaccinated. This has been the case all year with public ...
And if there is a GodI know he likes to rockHe likes his loud guitarsHis spiders from MarsAnd if there is a GodI know he's watching meHe likes what he seesBut there's trouble on the breezeSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan Read more ...
Here’s a quick round up of today’s political news:1. MORE FOOD BANKS, CHARITIES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS AND YOUTH SOCIAL SERVICES SET TO CLOSE OR SCALE BACK AROUND THE COUNTRY AS GOVT CUTS FUNDINGSome of Auckland's largest foodbanks are warning they may need to close or significantly reduce food parcels after ...
Iain Rennie, CNZMSecretary and Chief Executive to the TreasuryDear Secretary, Undue restrictions on restricted briefings This week, the Treasury barred representatives from four organisations, including the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi, from attending the restricted briefing for the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. We had been ...
This is a guest post by Tim Adriaansen, a community, climate, and accessibility advocate.I won’t shut up about climate breakdown, and whenever possible I try to shift the focus of a climate conversation towards solutions. But you’ll almost never hear me give more than a passing nod to ...
A grassroots backlash has forced a backdown from Brown, but he is still eyeing up plenty of tolls for other new roads. And the pressure is on Willis to ramp up the Government’s austerity strategy. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
Hi all,I'm pretty overwhelmed by all your messages and emails today; thank you so very much.As much as my newsletter this morning was about money, and we all need to earn money, it was mostly about world domination if I'm honest. 😉I really hate what’s happening to our country, and ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 8, 2024 thru Sat, December 14, 2024. Listing by Category Like last week's summary this one contains the list of articles twice: based on categories and based on ...
I started writing this morning about Hobson’s Pledge, examining the claims they and their supporters make, basically ripping into them. But I kept getting notifications coming through, and not good ones.Each time I looked up, there was another un-subscription message, and I felt a bit sicker at the thought of ...
Once, long before there was Harry and Meghan and Dodi and all those episodes of The Crown, they came to spend some time with us, Charles and Diana. Was there anyone in the world more glamorous than the Princess of Wales?Dazzled as everyone was by their company, the leader of ...
The collective right have a problem.The entire foundation for their world view is antiscientific. Their preferred economic strategies have been disproven. Their whole neoliberal model faces accusations of corporate corruption and worsening inequality. Climate change not only definitely exists, its rapid progression demands an immediate and expensive response in order ...
Just ten days ago, South Korea's president attempted a self-coup, declaring martial law and attempting to have opposition MPs murdered or arrested in an effort to seize unconstrained power. The attempt was rapidly defeated by the national assembly voting it down and the people flooding the streets to defend democracy. ...
Hi,“What I love about New Zealanders is that sometimes you use these expressions that as Americans we have no idea what those things mean!"I am watching a 30-something year old American ramble on about how different New Zealanders are to Americans. It’s his podcast, and this man is doing a ...
National has only been in power for a year, but everywhere you look, its choices are taking New Zealand a long way backwards. In no particular order, here are the National Government's Top 50 Greatest Misses of its first year in power. ...
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...
After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026. ...
In response to a new report from ERO, the Government has acknowledged the urgent need for consistency across the curriculum for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. ...
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...
Thank you for the invitation to speak with you tonight on behalf of the political party I belong to - which is New Zealand First. As we have heard before this evening the Kinleith Mill is proposing to reduce operations by focusing on pulp and discontinuing “lossmaking paper production”. They say that they are currently consulting on the plan to permanently shut ...
Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says Health New Zealand will move swiftly to support dozens of internationally-trained doctors already in New Zealand on their journey to employment here, after a tripling of sought-after examination places. “The Medical Council has delivered great news for hardworking overseas doctors who want to contribute ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has appointed Sarah Ottrey to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). “At my first APEC Summit in Lima, I experienced firsthand the role that ABAC plays in guaranteeing political leaders hear the voice of business,” Mr Luxon says. “New Zealand’s ABAC representatives are very well respected and ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced four appointments to New Zealand’s intelligence oversight functions. The Honourable Robert Dobson KC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, and the Honourable Brendan Brown KC has been appointed as a Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants. The appointments of Hon Robert Dobson and Hon ...
Improvements in the average time it takes to process survey and title applications means housing developments can progress more quickly, Minister for Land Information Chris Penk says. “The government is resolutely focused on improving the building and construction pipeline,” Mr Penk says. “Applications to issue titles and subdivide land are ...
The Government’s measures to reduce airport wait times, and better transparency around flight disruptions is delivering encouraging early results for passengers ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Improving the efficiency of air travel is a priority for the Government to give passengers a smoother, more reliable ...
The Government today announced the intended closure of the Apollo Hotel as Contracted Emergency Housing (CEH) in Rotorua, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. This follows a 30 per cent reduction in the number of households in CEH in Rotorua since National came into Government. “Our focus is on ending CEH in the Whakarewarewa area starting ...
The Government will reshape vocational education and training to return decision making to regions and enable greater industry input into work-based learning Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds says. “The redesigned system will better meet the needs of learners, industry, and the economy. It includes re-establishing regional polytechnics that ...
The Government is taking action to better manage synthetic refrigerants and reduce emissions caused by greenhouse gases found in heating and cooling products, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Regulations will be drafted to support a product stewardship scheme for synthetic refrigerants, Ms. Simmonds says. “Synthetic refrigerants are found in a ...
People travelling on State Highway 1 north of Hamilton will be relieved that remedial works and safety improvements on the Ngāruawāhia section of the Waikato Expressway were finished today, with all lanes now open to traffic, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“I would like to acknowledge the patience of road users ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds, has announced a new appointment to the board of Education New Zealand (ENZ). Dr Erik Lithander has been appointed as a new member of the ENZ board for a three-year term until 30 January 2028. “I would like to welcome Dr Erik Lithander to the ...
The Government will have senior representatives at Waitangi Day events around the country, including at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, but next year Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has chosen to take part in celebrations elsewhere. “It has always been my intention to celebrate Waitangi Day around the country with different ...
Two more criminal gangs will be subject to the raft of laws passed by the Coalition Government that give Police more powers to disrupt gang activity, and the intimidation they impose in our communities, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. Following an Order passed by Cabinet, from 3 February 2025 the ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Justice Christian Whata as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Whata’s appointment as a Judge of the Court of Appeal will take effect on 1 August 2025 and fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Hon Justice David Goddard on ...
The latest economic figures highlight the importance of the steps the Government has taken to restore respect for taxpayers’ money and drive economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Data released today by Stats NZ shows Gross Domestic Product fell 1 per cent in the September quarter. “Treasury and most ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Minister of Education David Seymour today announced legislation changes to strengthen freedom of speech obligations on universities. “Freedom of speech is fundamental to the concept of academic freedom and there is concern that universities seem to be taking a more risk-averse ...
Police Minister, Mark Mitchell, and Internal Affairs Minister, Brooke van Velden, today launched a further Public Safety Network cellular service that alongside last year’s Cellular Roaming roll-out, puts globally-leading cellular communications capability into the hands of our emergency responders. The Public Safety Network’s new Cellular Priority service means Police, Wellington ...
State Highway 1 through the Mangamuka Gorge has officially reopened today, providing a critical link for Northlanders and offering much-needed relief ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“The Mangamuka Gorge is a vital route for Northland, carrying around 1,300 vehicles per day and connecting the Far ...
The Government has welcomed decisions by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and Ashburton District Council confirming funding to boost resilience in the Canterbury region, with construction on a second Ashburton Bridge expected to begin in 2026, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Delivering a second Ashburton Bridge to improve resilience and ...
The Government is backing the response into high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Otago, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says. “Cabinet has approved new funding of $20 million to enable MPI to meet unbudgeted ongoing expenses associated with the H7N6 response including rigorous scientific testing of samples at the enhanced PC3 ...
Legislation that will repeal all advertising restrictions for broadcasters on Sundays and public holidays has passed through first reading in Parliament today, Media Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “As a growing share of audiences get their news and entertainment from streaming services, these restrictions have become increasingly redundant. New Zealand on ...
Today the House agreed to Brendan Horsley being appointed Inspector-General of Defence, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Mr Horsley’s experience will be invaluable in overseeing the establishment of the new office and its support networks. “He is currently Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, having held that role since June 2020. ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the final regulations for the levy on insurance contracts that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand from July 2026. “Earlier this year the Government agreed to a 2.2 percent increase to the rate of levy. Fire ...
The Government is delivering regulatory relief for New Zealand businesses through changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act. “The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill, which was introduced today, is the second Bill – the other being the Statutes Amendment Bill - that ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed further progress on the Hawke’s Bay Expressway Road of National Significance (RoNS), with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board approving funding for the detailed design of Stage 1, paving the way for main works construction to begin in late 2025.“The Government is moving at ...
The Government today released a request for information (RFI) to seeking interest in partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned land with low farming and conservation value (excluding National Parks) Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced. “Planting trees on Crown-owned land will drive economic growth by creating more forestry jobs in our regions, providing more wood ...
Court timeliness, access to justice, and improving the quality of existing regulation are the focus of a series of law changes introduced to Parliament today by Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee. The three Bills in the Regulatory Systems (Justice) Amendment Bill package each improve a different part of the ...
A total of 41 appointments and reappointments have been made to the 12 community trusts around New Zealand that serve their regions, Associate Finance Minister Shane Jones says. “These trusts, and the communities they serve from the Far North to the deep south, will benefit from the rich experience, knowledge, ...
The Government has confirmed how it will provide redress to survivors who were tortured at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (the Lake Alice Unit). “The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that many of the 362 children who went through the Lake Alice Unit between 1972 and ...
It has been a busy, productive year in the House as the coalition Government works hard to get New Zealand back on track, Leader of the House Chris Bishop says. “This Government promised to rebuild the economy, restore law and order and reduce the cost of living. Our record this ...
“Accelerated silicosis is an emerging occupational disease caused by unsafe work such as engineered stone benchtops. I am running a standalone consultation on engineered stone to understand what the industry is currently doing to manage the risks, and whether further regulatory intervention is needed,” says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister ...
Mehemea he pai mō te tangata, mahia – if it’s good for the people, get on with it. Enhanced reporting on the public sector’s delivery of Treaty settlement commitments will help improve outcomes for Māori and all New Zealanders, Māori Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka says. Compiled together for the ...
Mr Roger Holmes Miller and Ms Tarita Hutchinson have been appointed to the Charities Registration Board, Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Louise Upston says. “I would like to welcome the new members joining the Charities Registration Board. “The appointment of Ms Hutchinson and Mr Miller will strengthen the Board’s capacity ...
More building consent and code compliance applications are being processed within the statutory timeframe since the Government required councils to submit quarterly data, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “In the midst of a housing shortage we need to look at every step of the build process for efficiencies ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey is proud to announce the first three recipients of the Government’s $10 million Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund which will enable more Kiwis faster access to mental health and addiction support. “This fund is part of the Government’s commitment to investing in ...
New Zealand is providing Vanuatu assistance following yesterday's devastating earthquake, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. "Vanuatu is a member of our Pacific family and we are supporting it in this time of acute need," Mr Peters says. "Our thoughts are with the people of Vanuatu, and we will be ...
The Government welcomes the Commerce Commission’s plan to reduce card fees for Kiwis by an estimated $260 million a year, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.“The Government is relentlessly focused on reducing the cost of living, so Kiwis can keep more of their hard-earned income and live a ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour has welcomed the Early Childhood Education (ECE) regulatory review report, the first major report from the Ministry for Regulation. The report makes 15 recommendations to modernise and simplify regulations across ECE so services can get on with what they do best – providing safe, high-quality care ...
The Government‘s Offshore Renewable Energy Bill to create a new regulatory regime that will enable firms to construct offshore wind generation has passed its first reading in Parliament, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says.“New Zealand currently does not have a regulatory regime for offshore renewable energy as the previous government failed ...
Legislation to enable new water service delivery models that will drive critical investment in infrastructure has passed its first reading in Parliament, marking a significant step towards the delivery of Local Water Done Well, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly say.“Councils and voters ...
New Zealand is one step closer to reaping the benefits of gene technology with the passing of the first reading of the Gene Technology Bill, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins says. "This legislation will end New Zealand's near 30-year ban on gene technology outside the lab and is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kasey Symons, Lecturer of Communication, Sports Media, Deakin University We are well and truly in cricket season. The Australian men’s cricket team is taking centre stage against India in the Border Gavaskar Trophy series while the Big Bash League is underway, as ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Woods, Lecturer, Nursing, Faculty of Health, Southern Cross University FTiare/Shutterstock Summer is here and for many that means going to the beach. You grab your swimmers, beach towel and sunscreen then maybe check the weather forecast. Did you think to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Saman Khalesi, Senior Lecturer and Discipline Lead in Nutrition, School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, CQUniversity Australia Dean Clarke/Shutterstock The holiday season can be a time of joy, celebration, and indulgence in delicious foods and meals. However, for many, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ari Mattes, Lecturer in Communications and Media, University of Notre Dame Australia Late Night With The Devil. Maslow Entertainment Marketing is critical to the success of commercial films, and companies will often spend half as much again on top of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Francisco Jose Testa, Lecturer in Earth Sciences (Mineralogy, Petrology & Geochemistry), University of Tasmania The Conversation As a kid, it was tough for me to grasp the massive time scale of Earth’s history. Now, with nearly two decades of experience as ...
Te Pāti Māori has had to adopt a new way of debating, operating and even thinking in Parliament in response to the Government’s “onslaught” against te ao Māori, co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer says.In an end-of-year interview with Newsroom, the Te Tai Hauauru MP reflected on how 2024 has differed from her ...
Opinion: The latest Trends in International Mathematics and Science report was announced earlier this month, yet it didn’t get the flurry of media attention and political hand-wringing that typically accompanies these announcements. This might be because it presented good news, or you could argue, no news; the results paint a ...
NewsroomBy Dr Lisa Darragh, Dr Raewyn Eden and Dr David Pomeroy
At long last, The Spinoff shells out for a nut ranking. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today.It recently came to The Spinoff’s attention ...
I was one of hundreds of people who lost my government job this week. Here’s exactly how it played out. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a ...
Summer reissue: One anxiously attentive passenger pays attention to an in-flight safety video, and wonders ‘Why can’t I pick up my own phone?’ The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up ...
Summer reissue: Why do those Lange-Douglas years cast such a long shadow 40 years on? The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today. First published June ...
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Lake Taupo is toxic.
Dr. Mike Joy on Facebook.
I see Mike Joy also refers to this story today.
‘And down south…#soldtothehighestbidder’
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/property/99659135/hong-kong-billionaire-businessman-plans-to-build-3m-pukaki-lakeside-lodge-on-crown-land
Rachel Stewart.
‘Don’t let anyone tell you different. Yes, extreme heat is the trigger but, Lake Taupo’s problem is years of phosphorous and nitrogen build-up from dairy farming.’
wondering if it would have an effect on the volcano, am not a scientist, but would the phosphorous and nitrogen blend via water tables/routes with other chemicals/elements found only around volcanoes? Will climate change light the fuse (ie hot weather)?
Hope that makes sense, am alarmed at the news about the lake.
35 years of neoliberalism are we are reduced to this.
A country owned and being destroyed by corporations.
‘Minister warned of critical pressure on natural resources.
‘In its briefing to Minister David Parker the ministry said pressure from the primary sector was exacerbated by population growth, increasing visitor numbers, and urban growth.
It said the evidence showed environmental constraints and pressure points were being reached, adding from a Māori perspective, the mauri, or life force, of land and water was being compromised.
The ministry said the scale of change needed was significant, and would require co-ordinated government activity across a number of portfolio areas including managing resource use, planning, housing, infrastructure, transport, and local government.
It outlined three priority areas the minister should take action on: climate change resilience, freshwater management, and improving the liveability of New Zealand’s cities.
“These issues are of such magnitude that their impacts are being felt across New Zealand,” said the briefing.
“They contribute to wider impacts (eg, on housing affordability, tourism revenue and health), which means more than one benefit can be achieved if the right actions are taken – for example, the potential for significant emissions reductions through improved urban design.”
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/345805/minister-warned-of-critical-pressure-on-natural-resources
did Stewart back her claim up with facts you can link to?
https://www.economist.com/news/asia/21731435-government-data-suggests-60-rivers-and-lakes-are-unswimmable-dairy-farming-polluting-new
i was hoping for something that backed Stewart’s claim . There is bugger all dairy around taupo and over half it’s rivers would barely touch a farm and many non at all
yeah I know – I was trying to help out. I think you know the answer.
Anyway, maybe this/these
“Lake Taupō is under threat from increasing nitrogen leaching from land uses in the catchment. In order to maintain the lake’s water quality, we need to reduce the amount of nitrogen reaching the lake from farmland and urban areas by 20 per cent.”
https://www.waikatoregion.govt.nz/community/your-community/for-farmers/taupo/
https://www.waikatoregion.govt.nz/Community/Your-community/For-Farmers/Taupo/Nitrogen-management-in-the-Lake-Taupo-catchment/
Dunno about “… over half it’s rivers would barely touch a farm…”. Looking at the google satellite images it’s pasture for quite a way inland for roughly 3/4 of the way around Lake Taupo.
https://www.google.co.nz/maps/place/Lake+Taupo/@-38.745358,175.602133,78903m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x6d6b93694c18b70b:0x2a00ef6165e1d880!8m2!3d-38.791557!4d175.9150389
Been a while since I’ve driven that back road from Turangi through Kuratau up to Whakamaru, but it was definitely pasture most of the way. Didn’t pay attention to what was grazing it though.
i think it’s on Stewart or her supporters to back her ranting up , i was on a station there recently and large chunks have been taken out of stock and planted , they operate under some stiff nitrogen rules in the taupo catchment. is it enough i don’t know.
if you look at the catchment map in mm s 1st link (cheers mm) you will see easily haif is non farmed
Yes OAB,
It seems that the farmers took the mobney and ran is they must have been John Key clones to eh?
Steven Joyce must know more paid out clones did the some as this as his $11.7 Billion hole is now emerging, after Labour is now finding that lot’s of National’s promises made before the election were left without funding too??????
National = criminal gang
Also very wise man has advised yesterday, that there is a inquiry going on now in the US and here, into a case where John Key apparently gave $13 million of NZ taxpayer money to Hillary Clinton’s election campaign.
This was illegal also without notifying NZ taxpayers of the NZ or US Government, and John Key had been forced to resign after being warned of the illegal move to spend unlawful Government money to swing a foriegn county election.
Seems like it will all come out in the wash in months I and guessing.
Just a question.
Why were they not saying this to Smith and the rest of the National gansters in the past 9 years.
Or were they?
And being ignored?
‘The Environment Ministry has warned its minister that pressures on New Zealand’s natural resources are reaching a critical point.
It said the country’s economic reliance on primary sector exports was starting to show its environmental constraints.
In its briefing to Minister David Parker the ministry said pressure from the primary sector was exacerbated by population growth, increasing visitor numbers, and urban growth.
It said the evidence showed environmental constraints and pressure points were being reached, adding from a Māori perspective, the mauri, or life force, of land and water was being compromised.
The ministry said the scale of change needed was significant, and would require co-ordinated government activity across a number of portfolio areas including managing resource use, planning, housing, infrastructure, transport, and local government.
It outlined three priority areas the minister should take action on: climate change resilience, freshwater management, and improving the liveability of New Zealand’s cities.’
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/345805/minister-warned-of-critical-pressure-on-natural-resources
“Ostensibly”.
And in fact, too. The charities that have been given repeated bills of health by independent charity-watch organisations. If you have some evidence (not assertions) to the contrary please share.
“One Anonymous Bloke” states, in apparent high seriousness, that the notorious Clinton charity racket has “been given repeated bills of health by independent charity-watch organisations.”
His faith-based assertion stands in stark contrast to the evidence presented so clearly in that item. Could “One Anonymous Bloke” tell the rest of us exactly how the following “good works” carried out by the Clinton “charities” actually did any good?….
On this beautiful summer day I won’t inflict Standardisti with any offensive footage of the Old Groper, but here’s a clip of his wife speaking with her characteristic “charity” about black people….
1. If you could post the evidence (rather than the assertions) that would be choice. I said ‘please’.
2. I have zero regard for your opinion, Morrissey. You bring nothing substantive to this or any other discussion other than your entertainment value.
3: Get a clue: you can post a billion videos of Hillary Clinton saying things I disagree with and none of them will be evidence against the employees of the Clinton Foundation. Got that?
1. If you could post the evidence (rather than the assertions) that would be choice. I said ‘please’.
I posted the evidence. Bill and Hillary Clinton’s involvement in predatory “disaster capitalism” has been exhaustively documented. Are you trying to suggest they have not been exposed repeatedly?
2. I have zero regard for your opinion, Morrissey.
Ooohh, that’s a bit mean, isn’t it?
You bring nothing substantive to this or any other discussion other than your entertainment value.
Mean—and more than a bit extreme. I bring “nothing substantive” to discussions? Never?
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aQ5mmM8WJCE/Vibu-dE103I/AAAAAAAAMDM/xVnXNLNDcg4/s1600/man_despair.jpg
Still, on the bright side, you’ve paid tribute to my “entertainment value”, so that’s a positive.
3: Get a clue: you can post a billion videos of Hillary Clinton saying things I disagree with and none of them will be evidence against the employees of the Clinton Foundation. Got that?
I didn’t just post a video of her saying things you or I disagree with: I posted a video of her unleashing a cynical, horrible, racist rant that could have been delivered by Donald Trump at his most deranged. The point of my posting that horror was to underline the point that the very idea of the Clintons and “charity” is an absurdity.
So that’s no evidence then. Exactly as expected.
All charity is obscene. That is not the same as saying, as dv did and you implied (“racket”), that Clinton diverts money from the CF for her own gain.
I note that the POTUS does exactly that with his own “charities”. The accusations you are so eager to mindlessly sponge and parrot are motivated by projection.
As for your smear against the CF’s employees, just chuck them under a bus eh.
The contributions made by this “One Anonymous Bloke” are becoming more bizarre. Let’s inspect his latest offering….
1.) So that’s no evidence then. Exactly as expected.
This is what is known as “attempting to brazen it out” of an awkward situation. This writer, i.e., moi, had pointed out to him that the Wake Up NZ site referenced by “dv” in 1.3.2 had shown clearly that the Clinton “charities” racket is little more than a brutal exercise in disaster capitalism. This presentation of evidence was not good enough for dear old O.A.B., however; he apparently thinks closing his eyes and stubbornly insisting he can’t see what is shown to him is enough to win his point.
2.) All charity is obscene.
????? Would I be the only person to think that is one of the stupider statements to be posted on this forum in all of 2017?
3.) The accusations you are so eager to mindlessly sponge and parrot are motivated by projection.
???? Again, what the HELL is this fellow trying so ineptly to say?
4.) As for your smear against the CF’s employees, just chuck them under a bus eh.
Anybody who works for the Clintons is either inordinately ambitious, and unscrupulous, or simply bewildered—kind of like the poor sods who worked for their election campaigns.
In a nutshell:
McFlock.
From the link at 1.3.2.2.2:
Good on you, O.A.B. Quoting the noted scholar and eminence grise McFlock is always a sound option.
http://www.ender.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Well-done.jpg
If I were quoting him as an authority, you’d have a point. But I’m not, so you don’t.
He just summed the argument up succinctly. That’s what “in a nutshell” indicates.
From the link at 1.3.2.2.2:
McFlock is a legend here. He’s an authority, whether we admit it or not.
The bloke is a sensitive soul M
dv that was never told us before thhe election was it and here is another site claiming Key was guilty of using taxpayer fuds to put into a foriegn election, ad this is highly a crime againt international law and NZ law.
https://investmentwatchblog.com/new-zealand-prime-minister-resigns-after-getting-caught-giving-13-7-million-in-taxpayer-money-to-the-clinton-foundation-merkel-gave-5-million-to-the-clinton-foundation-during-our-election/
Yes there seems to be enough murk for an investigation.
OAB
Re the clinton charities donation.
Why overseas US ‘charities’, and not our own charities!!! by Key.
If they are genuine charities are some what secondary.
The money in question was already earmarked for foreign affairs.
So?
No evidence there either. You’ve had your “turn” (pity you wasted it); now refute this.
Please try not to trash-talk the employees of Charity Watch the way you have the employees of the Clinton Foundation. If you can.
Yes if is such a trash talk word.
Why did key give money to the clintons charity?
MFAT gave the money to the CF. I daresay you can Google their stated reasons for doing so yourself.
Ah so it wa Mcully!
He has history.r
So you didn’t even bother to check eh. Lazy.
Obviously that means MFAT employees are all corrupt agents of the Clintons too 🙄
Get a grip.
You are really intense about this.
As a point you are the one that have implied that mfat , Clinton association are corrup.
I have not used those words, or close.
Your words.
So how the hell does the cash end up in HC’s campaign fund if the employees of the CF aren’t corrupt?
Looks pretty close to me.
As for intense, if no harm were being done that’s one thing. But political smears do real harm, and that’s before we even get to the shooting.
Well tha escalated quickly
This is a direct result of our current industrial farming methods which not only are destroying our soils but also killing our water ways, lakes, and coastal waters.
At the present time the destruction of our soils by tillage and chemical fertilisers is occurring at the alarming rate of around 24bn tonnes per year, and according to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) the planet can only employ current practice for another 60 years before the situation is so bad that the dirt remaining will not support plant life.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/only-60-years-of-farming-left-if-soil-degradation-continues/
The situation that is now occurring in our largest lake is something that has been happening in the Great Lakes of North America since the early 2000’s. This year has been no different for the residents of Toledo. 3 million people are dependent upon their drinking water from Lake Eire and for at least 3 years now their water supply has been so toxic that they have had to truck in water from elsewhere yet they live in the edge of one of the largest “freshwater” lakes on the planet.
http://nationalpost.com/news/canada/lake-erie-is-covered-by-a-growing-and-dangerous-algae-bloom-that-can-poison-drinking-water
Fat chance of the Vandal doing anything.
Expect this to be a regular feature of Lake Taupo into the future until such time as our farmers wake up to the realisation that not only are they trashing our rivers and lakes but they are ultimately trashing their own livelihood as they constantly degrade and rundown the fertility of the land they think they farm so diligently.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/only-60-years-of-farming-left-if-soil-degradation-continues/
Heroes
No. 3: COLIN KAEPERNICK
One of the fastest, cleverest, most exciting football players of his generation, Colin Kaepernick led San Francisco to the 2013 Super Bowl, the first time the 49ers had made it in twenty years.
But it’s as a moral leader that he has really made his mark. To register his disgust at police killings of black citizens and the war crimes of the United States overseas, Kaepernick refused to stand for the militarised national anthem ceremony before games. He has carried on the proud tradition of Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, John Carlos, Tommie Smith, and countless other black athletes who have refused to be bullied into silence by politicians and their media accomplices.
To the fury of the flag-idolating right wing, Kaepernick’s leadership has inspired hundreds of athletes in many sports, from professional to high school level, to refuse to participate in state-sponsored obedience ceremonies before their games.
So influential, and so threatening, has Kaepernick’s moral stature become that he provoked the Groper-in-Chief to unleash a public tirade against him, hilariously urging NFL owners to “Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out. He’s fired. He’s fired!”
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2748262-laila-ali-its-wonderful-colin-kaepernick-got-si-muhammad-ali-legacy-award
“Heroes” is a series devoted to those courageous and brilliant people who show us that, in a world seemingly run by flag-fetishists, cowards, conformists, crooks, abusers, scoundrels, mass murderers and liars, there are still reasons for optimism.
No. 1 Edward Snowden, No. 2 Gideon Levy
Speaking of Snowden, this is rather alarming
http://www.mintpressnews.com/intercept-withheld-nsa-doc-that-may-have-altered-course-of-syria-war/233757/
It also seems “The Intercept has exclusive publishing rights and an exclusive hold on the content of the Snowden leaks, of which this newly released document is a part. Indeed, the Intercept was founded after the Snowden leaks were made public and its first hires were Glenn Greenwald and Lauren Poitras, the only journalists possessing the full Snowden cache. Those documents now belong to the Intercept’s founder — billionaire eBay founder, — and his for-profit media company, First Look Media.”
“His (Omidyar) investments with USAID have continued since the Intercept’s founding, helping fund the NGO’s more recent overseas programs aimed at “advancing U.S. national security interests” abroad.”
What do we do when we can’t even trust The Intercept?
I think we can trust Glenn Greenwald and the rest of the brilliant and principled writers there. But, as with all owners of media outlets—like the Kochs, the Murdochs, the Russian, Australian and British governments—Omidyar needs to be scrutinized.
Thanks for that, Brigid, it’s very interesting.
It seems Tracey Watkins might be in the 5th phase of grief: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/99674132/going-going-gone-national-and-its-legacy
(maybe).
Not so many of the commenters
We can only hope National’s “legacy” of Child poverty, Homelessness, Degraded lakes and waterways, degraded public health system, idiotic education “reform”, and general gifting of money in large amounts to ones friends and oneself, will quickly disappear to be replaced by a far more equitable, caring and environmentally friendly society. That is a legacy one would hope would endure.
There’s an organization called “Exit” she might like to contact.
Must have piss Gisborne man off his people are going hard today they are put up all the dum ass tactics into play today. Kia kaha
New Zealand.
For sale.
To the highest bidder.
$3m lakeside lodge planned for Crown land
‘A Hong Kong businessman’s plan to build a $3 million lodge on Crown land bordering a scenic South Island lake has raised the hackles of the Acting Commissioner of Crown Lands. But there are strong signals the lakeside land will be offered up for sale, David Williams reports.
A massive lodge could be built on what is now Crown land, just 40 metres from the shore of pristine Lake Pukaki.
Why a sale’s even being considered isn’t clear. LINZ’s consent says “there are no applicable offer-back provisions” and Blue Lake “is not entitled to the benefit of any offer back”. But the Crown considered it had a “moral duty” to offer the land back to Guide Hill’s former owners, the Gould family, and the new allotment should “logically” be amalgamated with the rest of the station.
Forest & Bird’s Canterbury/West Coast regional manager Jen Miller says the whole situation “stinks” and appears murky. She also believes a neighbouring landowner might be disputing the potential sale.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2017/12/07/66498/3m-lakeside-lodge-planned-for-crown-land
Revealed: who bought NZ’s most expensive home of 2017
‘State-owned enterprise Quotable Value records show that the buyer was Lichun Gao. A check on other titles shows he has been active since 2015, buying a number of properties across the city, valued collectively at more than $56m. Most of his properties are on the North Shore and some have big development potential.
Companies Office records show Gao is the sole director and shareholder of New Zealand-registered company Far East NZ Investment and gives his address as 17 O’Neills Ave, Takapuna.
‘Far East is listed in one business directory as a milk products manufacturing business.
Titles which QV lists as those Gao owns are:
• 19 O’Neills Ave: a residential dwelling on a 4396sq m site, three separate titles of 19, 21 and 23 O’Neills Ave. Two homes were built there by Sky TV founder Craig Heatley who had a helipad on the property. Gao bought it in July, QV records showed.
• 84 Trig Rd, Whenuapai: Auckland Council says is valued at $9.8m. A 4.04ha lifestyle property which is now bare land with subdivision potential, sold to Gao last year;
• 62 Paritai Dr, Orakei: a residential dwelling built between 1914 and 1929 on a 1173sq m site. This is in one of Auckland’s best streets, home to the $39m property which set the national record in 2013 as New Zealand’s most expensive residential property, sold by agent Graham Wall. Auckland Council valued this place at $7.4m. QV records the place as being sold to Gao last April.
• 11 Spedding Rd, Whenuapai: a 4.9ha lifestyle property now bare land but with subdivision potential, sold to Gao last year. Auckland Council has this property valued at $7,170,000.
• 52 Dairy Stream Rd, Dairy Flat: a 3.2ha site listed as a lifestyle property, being bare land with subdivision potential which Gao bought in April, 2015.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11948282
More issuers caused by years of nglect.
‘Immigration NZ broke, new Minister says
New Zealand’s immigration system “lacks integrity” and is so financially hamstrung it can’t investigate fraud and exploitation cases, its new Minister says.’
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2017/11/30/64436/immigration-nz-broke-new-minister-says
Typical of how national views immigration. They just wanted more immigrants to dilute the Maori vote an put us on the bread line I’m working my ass off going nowhere because of keys immigration policy and now we find another state organisation in a mess we will never let national back in government the corrupt money worshipers Ana to kai
Yep, very much doubt that Maori will be the 2nd largest ethnicity in NZ anymore after National’s immigration policy. National have prospered vote wise by importing in votes and moving poorer people out of main cities and making them homeless.
For sale.
Our assets, our environment, our sovereignty.
35 years of neoliberalism.
‘A Chinese-owned corporation is converting a former wool scouring factory in the Christchurch area into a water bottling factory, and it has consent to extract more than 4.5 million litres of water per day. Environment Canterbury is among the groups expressing concern about the new neighbour.’
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/concern-brewing-chinese-owned-water-bottling-plant-sets-up-shop-in-christchurch
A huge growth in demand for social housing will not be met by the current pipeline of new social houses, officials have told the new Government.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/99631678/Social-housing-demand-not-met-by-homes-in-the-pipeline-Officials
The private rental market is forcing low-income Kiwis to move too often, the human rights watchdog has told the new Government.
Housing Minister Phil Twyford has promised new legislation by the end of 2018 that would get rid of no-cause terminations and limit rent increases to once per year.
But the Human Rights Commission suggest more than just new rental laws: officials within the document suggest that for the most vulnerable the security provided by state housing is the best option.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/99660758/insecure-rentals-mean-kiwis-move-too-much-and-its-a-human-rights-issue-commission
With almost 6000 thousand on the waiting list for a state home, it shows what Labour are currently offering is vastly insufficient, thus the pressure is mounting on Labour to build more state homes. The question is, will they?
Apart from your bizarre Labour bashing stance (you never criticised National on housing policy), that’s a valuable article you link to which describes an awful problem in NZ where low income families are forced to move often on the say so of amateur landlords. This transience creates fractured communities where children struggle to feel valued and struggle to form important long term social connections.
I myself don’t think a massive social housing drive is the answer. I think much more needs to be done to make anyone involved in rental investments know that they are first providing a social service and second providing for their own benefit.
Nyttonbird
That is a really important housing issue that needs fixing as you say.
“I myself don’t think a massive social housing drive is the answer”
Really?
So where do you think the massive shortfall in low cost rentals are going to come from?
Why do you think my initial post was bashing Labour? I merely highlighted what was reported and asked a question. Is that bashing them in your eyes?
Russian band Little Big. Adult themes, dance music – one hell of a funny video.
A certain chubby North Korean dictator with an amusing haircut is not going to be happy. I laughed. Hard.
I went mowing lawns today an the idiots were playing all sorts of dum ass games they think they are going to break me YEA RIGHT. I will keep going hard for my family and this is why I won’t back down. I no if I move they will chase me were ever I go so_______them.
I’m at the farm relief milking and mowing my lawns in between milking I get to spend time with our moko my youngest granddaughter is a paua to her Papa when ever she sees me she has her hands out for me to pick her up she has just started crawling she is away into everything lol she has beautiful blue eyes and I call her my prime minister lol I want her to have a very secsessfull long happy life and I will do what it takes for all our children and mokos to give them a good life. Kia kaha
NZ WHISTLE-BLOWER ALERT!
(Saturday 9 December 2017)
IF YOU THOUGHT WHAT AK TRANSPORT (AT) HAD DONE TO WEST LYNN WAS BAD – CHECK OUT MT ALBERT!
Killing small businesses in town centres – by removing parking.
“No parking – no stopping – no shopping.”
Have YOU seen what’s happened to the Mt Albert shopping centre?
If you think what’s happened in West Lynn is bad – you need to see for yourselves what’s happened to Mt Albert!
Concrete everywhere – no parking!
How pushing cycle lanes in town centres – by removing parking – helps property developers?
How suburban cycleways in town centres help corporate shopping at the multi-national malls?
http://www.mtalbertinc.co.nz/mt-albert-town-centre-upgrade-long-path-turning-things-around/
“…From 2018, as the new look takes final shape, shop owners and landlords may be encouraged by more pleasant surrounds to spruce up their acts; and developers heartened by a new vitality may be drawn to further breathe life into a town centre that otherwise may have died.
Where we now have some run-down premises, we could in the future find medium-rise developments (the Unitary Plan allows for four-to-eight storeys in town centres – logically with shops below and apartments and perhaps offices above) and a more appealing retail and food mix.
…”
First – remove the parking – kill small businesses so property developer$ can buy these buildings, and help drive customers to the multi-national run malls?
Penny Bright
Anti-Corruption whistle-blower.
Not only clear out small business but increase the risk of flooding with the amount of paving. Who knows why Auckland Transport and their overpaid band of consultants hates trees so much? Never mind it can all be sold cheap and converted with overseas money to apartments for new residents not bankrupted by government and council policy and lowered wages.
From freshwater 111
MATAURA RIVER
Yesterday the river made 1 news in Gore as the river has low flows and the town is running out of water
What could be the problem low rainfall or maybe a combination of low rainfall and the loss of our wetlands for recharging the river or the hundreds of km of drains under ground to stop the land holding water or the never-ending expansion of the center pivots which are running flat out today in the upper Mataura and the planting of pine forist on land that uesd to be tussock lands and this is all allowed by Environment Southland. This is looking more like It could end up like the disaster in Canterbury
You no how I told you that my MAMA die of a heart attack when I was 9. Well here’s the hole story. About a week before that event my mama an one of her grand sons that lived with us he is the one who named me honky they were arguing
about him not being a good father to his child he was still going out an shaging around and she wanted him to put his child first I remember her saying to him you all are getting nothing it is all going to eco. So a week goes by and mama and I were watching TV he comes home she goes into the kitchen to talk to him she closed the door to the sitting room and the argument started they were arguing about her will shouting she said no of use are getting my estate it is all going to eco than I heard her fall and he was over her as when I heard her fall I went it the kitchen at that time one of her son came in and they started arguing about what to do in stead of giving her angina pill. Next the ambulance came and they said she was dead So she had a will draw up and it was in her room. They burnt it and this story can be verified by my extended whano the ones who never called me honky there mother told them about the will and they told me she had a lot of shear in land up the east coast. The person that caused her death ripped me later on to I sold him my lawn run I set up his $20.000 loan as his bank manager was mine as well and the years before I had $100.000 going into my bank from forestry I gave him my business accounts so he could get the loan I had a loan of $10.000 so when his loan came through that got paid as we were walking out the bank he said that the other $10.000 of his loan was going to pay off his credit card. I was blown away but I was still submissive and had to start working in Hamilton in 3 days he had not paid me a cent of that money in 13 years. Did he give a______about my children missing out because of his actions no. The business was worth $30.000 WTF.
When my wife grandfather died he left me all his tools my wife’s brothers were pissed about that so was her 1 uncle he got the rife as I did not have a gun licence.
While we were planning his funeral his bank accounts were frozen and no one had any money to pay for it so my wife and I wrote out a check to pay for his funeral
We got our money back 12 months later we were just happy that his funeral went down with out any problems There are other story’s of me an my wife helping her family with other events like that to. That idiot who ripped me off had abandoned his first family of 2 children and to what a__________. That’s all for now Ka pai
I no that the Gisborne man is in the top command of the cops top 10 so he will have his boys spread any shit he can to save his religious self righteous ass but no ECO WILL WIN IN THE END Kai kaha
This is why they are spending millions wasting their time chasing ECO Maori. Ana to kai
Alabama/Afghanistan.
Thanks for that link Joe. That is the age that Gisborne man would have realed my relation into his Webb of deceit and lies Ka pai
Ivanka’s words put in an appearance outside daddy’s rally to support Moore. Daddy will not be pleased.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ivanka-ad-trolls-trump-rally_us_5a2b63fbe4b0a290f050ed75
Trump campaigning hard for Moore shows how confident he is of identifying and turning out his base, because FFS Obama is more popular than Trump in Alabama:
http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign-polls/360807-fox-news-poll-obama-has-higher-favorability-in-alabama-than-trump
Moore will have no problem on the day getting over the line.
It’s lovely that the Dems are going for long-shots, but Alabama was wayyy too much of a long-shot to hit its target. You have to go back to you-know-who to remember a Democrat really making it there. Hint: it’s a little place called Hope.
There’s no Hope in Alabama.*
Yeah, Jones is still a long shot. But if he pulled it off there’d be so many D.C. Repugs shitting themselves the sewers would erupt.
*There’s a New Hope and a Good Hope in Alabama, but no actual Hope. Perhaps you mean nearby Arkansas? The last Dem pres to win ‘bama was Carter. The last Dem to win statewide office was Shelby for his second term in 92, but even he decided life would be easier as a Repug so he switched in 94. I wonder if the Chump realized he was rallying for Moore in Florida, but the election is the next state over?
Great correction!
I was awash in Bill Clinton Hope Arkansas nostalgia for a moment!
@CleanGreen.
I was thinking about the Gisborne line and the wash-out (both the real one and the gNat wash-out attitude), and thought you might be interested in this:
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/indian-railway-restores-andhra-pradesh-mountain-bridge-araku-valley-region-in-record-58-days-4974972/
I’m fairly sure no one died and also no one had HiViz fluros either – they just looked out for one another.
OnceWasTim, Thanks for the Indian story,
Yes we have an Indian Manager of a large Gisborne exporter and his home town has far worse geographical areas where rail goes and believes the washouts on the Gisborne section is minor compared to what he has seen.
We also have a ex rail manager from Kiwirail who kept the l;ine in top shape before the washouts and said it was caused by clearing of scrub in the hillside above the track ad heavy rail that blocked the old culverts and washed that section out again as this was the third time in 39yrs.
During Bola the Ministry of Works came along and fixed the washouts in 6 weeks after March 1988, we are advised when it was washed out during bola so you are right iit can be repaired within just weeks jnot months so we cant see why they just dont get it fixed and allow us to incease our rail freight as we proved durug the eight months before the washouts as we had inceased the freight three times higher then after a flat rail freight recorded prior when Toll had it.
Common Labour lets do this.
A fellow Gisbornite supports you. There are a lot of us whisperers here
— we whisper because’ the few’ are very few here, and we speak because we are humans and NZers.
6th mass extinction well underway….
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/dec/08/starving-polar-bear-arctic-climate-change-video