‘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.
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1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
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TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
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Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
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About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
Te Rangi e tu nei (The sky above us) Te Papa e takoto nei (The land beneath us) Tatou katoa te hunga ora (To us all the living) Tena koutou katoa (Greetings) ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
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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