"We were told it was important that New Zealanders understand what social cohesion means for democracy and what everyone can do to embrace ethnic and religious communities and promote social cohesion"
Aw… can't I tell the bible bashers arriving unvited at my doorstep to p### off anymore?
On the diversity issue not sure what use increasing ethnic operatives would achieve when the issue is redneck white boys.
DPMC and Andrew Little avoided criticism given they didn't seem to know what they wanted of their agencies.
Perhaps those pesky bloody doorstep bible bashers won't be able to, as some of their publications I would consider hate speech. Good riddance to them. I notice the "Witnesses" have gone to ground in the Far North lately, busy trying to hide their International Pedo Enquires maybe?
Multiple deaths, undermines Mayor, opposes Americas Cup raceways, opposes any ports shift, fails at automation, retailers fucked off, ships turned away, no staff to do work.
Ports of Auckland is 100% owned by Auckland Council. The Ports reps appeared before Council yesterday.
So far Goff in his governance role has managed to force out the CE of Watercare, and merged ATEED and Facilities, and has formed two large partnerships with central government in the big commercial alliances.
So he can actually make the moves.
But he really needs to show some muscle with Ports. They are running game against him.
Len Brown and now Phil Goff tossers both of them and there's no one of any merit looking likely to run in the next elections, not that anyone seems to bother voting.
I hope the ghost of dear old Penny Bright haunts the crap out of the lot of them.
The 12hr night shifts are the killer. I'm familiar with them from my own working life, there is nothing good about them for any number of reasons; physical and mental health, the high cost to family and social life, plus of course the obvious safety issues with people working in a high risk environment while fatigued.
A big review and updated regulation around working hours and shift conditions is something well within the reach of this government.
fails at automation
It's entirely normal for large and complex new automation installations to experience 6 – 18 months of commissioning issues of varying significance. Need more information before calling it out as a 'fail'.
I managed shift workers for many years: 6hr, 8hr, 12hr, fixed & rotating, 4d, 5d, 6d. 95% of shift workers prefer fixed shift hours whether day or night to suit their personal body rhythm. It's always the shift change that really knocks their health.
One plant moved to a 3day/37.5 hour shift structure (12.5hr shifts including 30min handover overlap for 24hr continuous operations) for wage paid staff which proved very popular, as staff then had 3d on/4d off. This factory went well over a decade without a LTA.
I was also responsible for major capital investment works for many years, including automation projects. 6-18 months of "commissioning issues" would have seen many people sacked, including myself & the factory closed down. That was the private sector where failure to meet customer demand simply means your competitors get the business. PoA & other quasi taxpayer/ratepayer funded monopoly organisations just sting their customers & stakeholders more for their incompetence.
It's always the shift change that really knocks their health.
Absolutely. And perhaps this preference should be more clearly expressed in the legislation. Even so, if someone is going to do a 12hr night shift, unless they totally give up all daylight activity socially, they're still going to get their body clocks knocked about.
6-18 months of "commissioning issues" would have seen many people sacked, including myself & the factory closed down.
As I said, of varying significance … most 'issues' will have virtually no real impact on production, and are effectively small upgrades as operating experience kicks in. (It depends also a bit on the industry, mining plant for instance is especially rough to get going well.)
But it's real easy for outsiders with an agenda to misrepresent them as more serious than they really are. I can only think of one large scale project that I knew of which could be described as a 'fail', and that was 20yrs ago now.
For this reason I'd like to know more about this story before calling it.
This AustralianSuperFund proposed takeover of Infratil is close-to as bad as the entire Key government asset sale programme.
If it is successful – and at a 28% share price premium it is exceedingly attractive – the Australians will own all of Vodafone, all of TrustPower's assets, a majority of Wellington Airport, some major data hubs, in fact a serious list of our public assets remaining in public hands.
A simple test of this government is whether it can put some muscle into ACC who own a chunk of Infratil.
My expectation will be that this Government and in particular Robertson will find sound reasons to say that intervention was too hard.
That's a serious list of assets – basic services and the telco and power assets in oligopoly type situations. Both power and telco assets in this country could do with some serious rationalisation – rather than the going to the aussies can some of this stuff be sold to say the super fund? To kick start the process – although we run the risk of paying the monopoly premium.
Robertson looks like a flabby, fat, self-satisfied pussy. And just watch him live up to that. I saw Bryan Gould giving him a bit of praise the other day but that is giving him the Dale Carnegie treatment, and Gould is so supportive of conservative systems that he would be hard put to openly find fault. He did tentatively suggest an Investment Bank for NZ though. If Robertson did something eventually everything would be sold and we wouldn't be able to afford to buy them back. Bottled inertia for sale here, cheap hot air, good for blowing up balloons for Christmas parties.
We've also just sold 20% of the fibre rollout to an Ozzie fund who already own our natural gas network which had Rockgas added to as sold from contact energy approved late 2018.
Kiwi infrastructure, going once, twice sold to the next banksta.
One should also be questioning Aus Super as they invest in top 300 ASX listed entities on behalf of the super fund so wtf are they taking it over as this isn't their business model.
The fibre rollout – didn't us taxpayers fund that? And no wonder my gas is so expensive. Time for a serious regulator for these infrastructure assets plus declaring them as strategic assets and subject to the TOW.
BTW do you think the Aussie super fund has disposal agreements for some of the infratil assets already. But we need to get the stuff out of overseas hands, The lines company in Wgtn has been owned overseas for years now.
The action taken by a governor to silence a data scientist exposing the truth and how the police responded, I find this to be a misuse of power by the governor and the police.
In comparison to other studies estimating future final energy demand, our DLE estimates are remarkably low, with global final energy consumption at 149 EJ in 2050 or 15.3 GJ/cap/yr). This is over 60% lower than current consumption (despite the 2050 population being ~30% larger than the present day);
This implies that their DLE (Decent Living Energy) is set at a very modest level indeed. What exactly would be the global appetite for this, forever into our future?
2. On the supply side they make this very simple assumption:
Currently, only 17% of global final energy consumption is from non-fossil fuel sources
And only roughly two thirds of that is coming from SWB renewables. Worse still this is only the aggregate for the whole year, but currently their intermittency means this is nowhere near enough to provide 100% of all energy at all times for a whole year.
Combined these three simple (and fundamental considerations) mean that the gap between where we are at present, and need to be by 2050 is much larger than the authors imply.
This doesn't negate the value and interest in the paper, I found it well worth the time to read, but on close reading, even the authors are implicitly acknowledging the very real difficulties involved in achieving their vision.
Being a cynic to me Global warming was not all caused by us humans and 80% could be put down to natural causes.
I have recently seen a programme on Australian ABC Network about the aftermath of those devastating bush fires in Australia. The programme is called “Wild Australia After the Fires”
I am now a convert and we have got to start like last week ways and means to save this only spaceship we live on called Earth. One of the things that came out in this docu was the devasting effects introduced species has on the local Fauna. One commentator said because of the introduced domestic cat that has gone feral and the Fox a lot of the small animals that used to keep the forest floor clean of debris are now extinct through the introduction. This is one of the causes of the bushfires, a massive build-up of forest debris on the ground that is very volatile and liable to burst into flames at the next lightning strike or some snot who thinks it is “fun” to start fires.
The saddest part in this doco was a lot of good people were doing their utmost for the survivors and monitoring to see how species had faired. One commented, (my words cannot remember exactly what he said) “Whatever they do because of Global Warming and introduced species they cannot stop it from happening again, that is the big catastrophic bush fires like the ones this last OZ summer, not the normal bush fires the OZ bush needs to germinate seeds and clear some debris.
Too many of these massive bush fires and I can see the Oz bush completely wiped out. I feel sad over that having travelled the outback with great photographic areas like Halls Gap.
I feel with any future global warming legislation etc, there must look at the devastating effects introduced species have caused to the local fauna of any country. and rules will have to be introduced to control any introduced species
I won’t hold my breath though for anything to be done, action will only start when it hurts the pockets of some fat cat. Then it will be too late, if not now.
That’s my rant for the year, but I would like to add as a thicky I enjoy the high standard of intelligent debate on here even if I don’t agree with it at times, far superior to the MSM which I now class as pathetic juvenile drivel which I avoid reading and watching and come here for keeping myself informed, a decent review and views on a lot of subjects.
So, to all you contributors to this site Compliments of the season.
In a café this morning (I never buy the Herald) I read what I thought was a good piece by Aliya Danzeisen critiquing the Mosque attack report. No link, sorry – I cannot find it on the Herald website.
Main points included: Terms of Reference of the Inquiry were unduly limited; much information was withheld on grounds of it being 'sensitive' in one way or another, and all this secret info is to remain secret for another 30 years. Consequently, the report fails to answer many of the questions it should.
If she is right, surely this makes the report yet another whitewash, unworthy of a civilised country?
If she is right, surely this makes the report yet another whitewash, unworthy of a civilised country?
We have to face it I think, that the machinations of the very people that used to warn against us being a banana republic because they couldn't get something that was available in some bigger fully developed country, have brought that very result to us.
If I wasn't neck deep in bids I'd do something on the implied failings of the collective intelligence community on this.
Our spy team were fine going hard out with their Five Eyes partners putting out a media release that pissed off China two weeks ago, but when it comes to institutional reform in their own back yard after a genuine terrorist massacre they all clam up and there's no recommendations for reforming them anywhere.
Instead as Bomber notes it's a whole lot of feelgood Woke claptrap about encouraging and loving and training and forming a little micro-Ministry etc etc.
It’s begging for a Nicky Hagar book on the Commission’s absences all by itself.
It is like most reports or Commissions of Enquiry, either the terms of reference are too narrow or the recommendations are not acted on. Complete waste of money. The latest Welfare Enquiry is so disheartening that it may as well not been commissioned. Waste of Space all of them. The Mosque Attack Report is a classic example In Vino and I agree with you.
What gets me is ignoring that some people in our community knew the attack was about to happen. There is no mention of this in the report. An individual well known for his views in the Canterbury area had sporadic contact with an individual I know of but frequent phone calls on the day of the attacks and this individual was waiting in front of the TV for the event to unfold, information that was forwarded to police.
The one thing I want the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care to answer is:
Why does Sonja Cooper have 1400 clients still waiting for final settlement?
Cooper Law only takes clients who were in state care. Some cases take years to settle and claimants are aging. Cooper is doing a remarkable job to get compensation for her clients through the sick ACC system for mental injury.
I got a list of 22 lawyers recently from Way Finders (they assist on navigating ACC, they are not lawyers) only 2 on the list of 22 accept legal aid. Maybe my above question is partly answered, the cost to settle and covering claimants properly is another reason for the stale mate.
If we don't want to be surveilled and run by AI and other tech from the air, at ground level too, do we have a chance of deciding against these inventions, these machines which destroy our planet and our way of life? Or are our addicted government and business controllers presenting us with the end of our chance to be self-determining beings whether or no? Could we have to go underground for freedom from the dominant?
In a world-first, the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has granted Dawn Aerospace an Unmanned Aircraft Operator Certificate to fly a suborbital spaceplane from a conventional airport.
Authorised under Civil Aviation Rule Part 102, Dawn is setting a new precedent for how we access space. Presently, flights will operate without the need for restricted airspace, proving the worlds of spaceflight and civil aviation can fly in harmony.
I mention John Christopher’s imaginings in his books – especially the trilogy called Sword of the Spirits.
Can get on Trademe – John Christopher books –
Listing #: 289532996
Two of McKinnon's sisters were in court to give victim impact statements and other family members were on video link from Australia.
What is the object of having victim impact statements? Is the perpetrator supposed to have a change of heart and his/her callousness and self-centredness be washed away? It is bad enough to read about the crime and hear all about it, and whether the person was loved or not, was good or not, the crime against them has been committed. The grief that is felt being trotted out to everyone just makes a spectacle, a drama of the tragedy.
And how repetitive the statements are. People listening can understand the private grief but not share it, and it is often said that the person will eventually be out of prison to live the rest of their lives, but the dead person has been cruelly robbed of his or hers for ever. It is true and awful but becomes a cliche'. I think we should stop this practice, it serves no useful purpose.
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
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Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
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The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
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Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
I was initially resistant to the idea often suggested to me that the Government should deliver an arts strategy. The whole point of the arts and creativity is that people should do whatever the hell they want, unbound by the dictates of politicians in Wellington. Peter Jackson, Kiri Te Kanawa, Eleanor ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...
The Prime Minister has committed to resuming direct flights to Thailand. But it’s not a promise he will be able to deliver on anytime soon. The post Prime Minister jumps the gun in Thailand appeared first on Newsroom. ...
It’s not that long ago Eliza McCartney was seriously wondering if the Paris Olympics would be her pole vaulting swansong. After years of being hounded by injury after injury, the Rio Olympics bronze medallist was still confident she would compete at her second Olympics in Paris in July, unless something ...
FICTION 1 Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) There’s commercial fiction, like this book, and then there’s quality fiction, quality writers, quality literature; the forthcoming Auckland Writers Festival is full of quality, and ReadingRoom has two tickets to give away to the following events: Paul Lynch (Dublin ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 26 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
You can’t have missed the Gallipoli story as the movies, documentaries, essays and books capture what it was like for New Zealand troops in their eight-month campaign on the Peninsula. But this Anzac Day the Auckland War Memorial Museum has published a book that sheds light on a little-known aspect of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk this week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to ...
Asia Pacific Report Chief Mandla Mandela, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa and Nelson Mandela’s grandson, has joined the Freedom Flotilla in istanbul as the ships prepare to sail for Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. Mandela is also the ambassador for the Global Campaign to Return to ...
Pacific Media Watch Journalists who report on environmental issues are encountering growing difficulties in many parts of the world, reports Reporters Without Borders. According to the tally kept by RSF, 200 journalists have been subjected to threats and physical violence, including murder, in the past 10 years because they were ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
ACT's Rural Communities and Veterans spokesman Mark Cameron responds to cancellations and protests of ANZAC Day commemorations in Wellington. He says, "These pitiful attempts to detract from ANZAC Day are not at all indicative of the feelings of mainstream ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Pōneke based peace activists staged a silent protest at the ANZAC day service to highlight New Zealand’s complicity in war and genocide, and urge the government to take concrete steps to stop the genocide in Palestine. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Magdalena M.E. Bunbury, Postdoctoral Researcher, James Cook University Burial with a horse at the Rákóczifalva site, Hungary (8th century AD).Sándor Hegedűs, Hungarian National Museum, CC BY How do we understand past societies? For centuries, our main sources of information have been ...
Amanda Thompson doesn’t really do Anzac Day. But what she does do is remember the people she knew who had a lifetime to remember stuff they didn’t really want to, because of a war they didn’t ask for. And she does make Anzac biscuits.First published in 2021.All my ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathryn Willis, Postdoctoral Researcher, CSIRO Xavier Boulenger/Shutterstock In the two decades to 2019, global plastic production doubled. By 2040, plastic manufacturing and processing could consume as much as 20% of global oil production and use up 15% of the annual carbon ...
With our collective remembrance, and steadfast belief in our common humanity, we strengthen our hope and resolve to do what we can to foster dialogue and understanding, and to heal divisions in our pursuit of peace. ...
Principal reasons for the opposition is the loss of the public’s democratic right to have “a fair say” and the vital need for a government free from corruption, said Casey Cravens of Dunedin, president of the New Zealand Federation of Freshwater ...
Never mind the scoreboard – in the 2000 Bledisloe Cup decider, the real trans-Tasman battle was won before kickoff.First published in 2016. The dawn of the new millennium was a dark time for the All Blacks. Their final game pre-Y2K was a 22-18 loss to South Africa in the ...
I’m on the wrong side of 40, I never pursued creative work and now my job is killing my soul. Help! Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,May I start with the least original conversation opener you’re likely to hear around the motu at the moment, particularly in Wellington: ...
“Never again - No AUKUS” was the message of the wreath laid at this morning’s national ANZAC Day commemorative service at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park this morning by the Stop AUKUS group. ...
Until this month, Auckland swimmer Hazel Ouwehand had never met a qualifying time in an Olympic event for a New Zealand team, even as a junior. Now she’s very likely off to the Paris Olympics after swimming well under the qualifying standard in the 100m butterfly twice – both in ...
While Anzac Day has experienced a resurgence in recent years, our other day of remembrance has slowly faded from view.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Original illustrations by Hope McConnell.First published in 2022.The high school’s head girl and ...
Ploughing through the report.
"We were told it was important that New Zealanders understand what social cohesion means for democracy and what everyone can do to embrace ethnic and religious communities and promote social cohesion"
Aw… can't I tell the bible bashers arriving unvited at my doorstep to p### off anymore?
On the diversity issue not sure what use increasing ethnic operatives would achieve when the issue is redneck white boys.
DPMC and Andrew Little avoided criticism given they didn't seem to know what they wanted of their agencies.
Until meaningful change occurs with broken down systems those caught up in the broken system are being harmed by it.
For someone who doesn't like Christians, you have one of the most Christian names there is.
Ad Hominem.
Ad sapentium ad astra
Perhaps those pesky bloody doorstep bible bashers won't be able to, as some of their publications I would consider hate speech. Good riddance to them. I notice the "Witnesses" have gone to ground in the Far North lately, busy trying to hide their International Pedo Enquires maybe?
Someone fire the Ports of Auckland board and CE.
Multiple deaths, undermines Mayor, opposes Americas Cup raceways, opposes any ports shift, fails at automation, retailers fucked off, ships turned away, no staff to do work.
Fire their asses Mayor.
I don't think he can ….can he? (f u Rodney Hide)
Ports of Auckland is 100% owned by Auckland Council. The Ports reps appeared before Council yesterday.
So far Goff in his governance role has managed to force out the CE of Watercare, and merged ATEED and Facilities, and has formed two large partnerships with central government in the big commercial alliances.
So he can actually make the moves.
But he really needs to show some muscle with Ports. They are running game against him.
Pity the poor Auckland ratepayers..
Len Brown and now Phil Goff tossers both of them and there's no one of any merit looking likely to run in the next elections, not that anyone seems to bother voting.
I hope the ghost of dear old Penny Bright haunts the crap out of the lot of them.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300101360/auckland-port-another-serious-incident-revealed-nightshift-culture-criticised,
Multiple deaths
The 12hr night shifts are the killer. I'm familiar with them from my own working life, there is nothing good about them for any number of reasons; physical and mental health, the high cost to family and social life, plus of course the obvious safety issues with people working in a high risk environment while fatigued.
A big review and updated regulation around working hours and shift conditions is something well within the reach of this government.
fails at automation
It's entirely normal for large and complex new automation installations to experience 6 – 18 months of commissioning issues of varying significance. Need more information before calling it out as a 'fail'.
I managed shift workers for many years: 6hr, 8hr, 12hr, fixed & rotating, 4d, 5d, 6d. 95% of shift workers prefer fixed shift hours whether day or night to suit their personal body rhythm. It's always the shift change that really knocks their health.
One plant moved to a 3day/37.5 hour shift structure (12.5hr shifts including 30min handover overlap for 24hr continuous operations) for wage paid staff which proved very popular, as staff then had 3d on/4d off. This factory went well over a decade without a LTA.
I was also responsible for major capital investment works for many years, including automation projects. 6-18 months of "commissioning issues" would have seen many people sacked, including myself & the factory closed down. That was the private sector where failure to meet customer demand simply means your competitors get the business. PoA & other quasi taxpayer/ratepayer funded monopoly organisations just sting their customers & stakeholders more for their incompetence.
It's always the shift change that really knocks their health.
Absolutely. And perhaps this preference should be more clearly expressed in the legislation. Even so, if someone is going to do a 12hr night shift, unless they totally give up all daylight activity socially, they're still going to get their body clocks knocked about.
6-18 months of "commissioning issues" would have seen many people sacked, including myself & the factory closed down.
As I said, of varying significance … most 'issues' will have virtually no real impact on production, and are effectively small upgrades as operating experience kicks in. (It depends also a bit on the industry, mining plant for instance is especially rough to get going well.)
But it's real easy for outsiders with an agenda to misrepresent them as more serious than they really are. I can only think of one large scale project that I knew of which could be described as a 'fail', and that was 20yrs ago now.
For this reason I'd like to know more about this story before calling it.
This AustralianSuperFund proposed takeover of Infratil is close-to as bad as the entire Key government asset sale programme.
If it is successful – and at a 28% share price premium it is exceedingly attractive – the Australians will own all of Vodafone, all of TrustPower's assets, a majority of Wellington Airport, some major data hubs, in fact a serious list of our public assets remaining in public hands.
A simple test of this government is whether it can put some muscle into ACC who own a chunk of Infratil.
My expectation will be that this Government and in particular Robertson will find sound reasons to say that intervention was too hard.
That's a serious list of assets – basic services and the telco and power assets in oligopoly type situations. Both power and telco assets in this country could do with some serious rationalisation – rather than the going to the aussies can some of this stuff be sold to say the super fund? To kick start the process – although we run the risk of paying the monopoly premium.
Robertson looks like a flabby, fat, self-satisfied pussy. And just watch him live up to that. I saw Bryan Gould giving him a bit of praise the other day but that is giving him the Dale Carnegie treatment, and Gould is so supportive of conservative systems that he would be hard put to openly find fault. He did tentatively suggest an Investment Bank for NZ though. If Robertson did something eventually everything would be sold and we wouldn't be able to afford to buy them back. Bottled inertia for sale here, cheap hot air, good for blowing up balloons for Christmas parties.
We've also just sold 20% of the fibre rollout to an Ozzie fund who already own our natural gas network which had Rockgas added to as sold from contact energy approved late 2018.
Kiwi infrastructure, going once, twice sold to the next banksta.
One should also be questioning Aus Super as they invest in top 300 ASX listed entities on behalf of the super fund so wtf are they taking it over as this isn't their business model.
It has a whiff to it IMO.
The fibre rollout – didn't us taxpayers fund that? And no wonder my gas is so expensive. Time for a serious regulator for these infrastructure assets plus declaring them as strategic assets and subject to the TOW.
BTW do you think the Aussie super fund has disposal agreements for some of the infratil assets already. But we need to get the stuff out of overseas hands, The lines company in Wgtn has been owned overseas for years now.
How many tonnes of Karma have landed in Trump's legal team actually collapsing due to being infected with Covid19?
The 15 million US infected and damaged and bereaved of the 290,000 dead I am sure can see it.
A terrible time to be a health worker or a medic in the US. Without a vaccine treating people with Covid is relentless.
Shutting down scientists who point out their crooked ways is all part of their ridiculous covid response.
https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2020/12/07/florida-police-seize-computer-of-covid-data-whistleblower/
Yes, I commented on last night's D.R.
An example just how close to becoming a fascist country America was becoming under Trump.
https://twitter.com/GeoRebekah/status/1336065787900145665
The action taken by a governor to silence a data scientist exposing the truth and how the police responded, I find this to be a misuse of power by the governor and the police.
trump is a fucken peacetime war-criminal..
he should be in the dock..for what he has done to the american people..
..all those innocents..dead..
..and so many more to come..
..and this directly down to this evil bastard..
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378020307512
Something to read as per Weka's powerdown/degrowth posts.
Ta … at first scan it looks interesting and highly pertinent to our discussion earlier.
Cheers
This implies that their DLE (Decent Living Energy) is set at a very modest level indeed. What exactly would be the global appetite for this, forever into our future?
2. On the supply side they make this very simple assumption:
And only roughly two thirds of that is coming from SWB renewables. Worse still this is only the aggregate for the whole year, but currently their intermittency means this is nowhere near enough to provide 100% of all energy at all times for a whole year.
3. On top of this time problem, SWB's have a geography problem. The best places to generate SWB energy are not where most people live.
Combined these three simple (and fundamental considerations) mean that the gap between where we are at present, and need to be by 2050 is much larger than the authors imply.
This doesn't negate the value and interest in the paper, I found it well worth the time to read, but on close reading, even the authors are implicitly acknowledging the very real difficulties involved in achieving their vision.
Red whatever happened to ceramic cables with zero heat loss for high voltage transmission?
I thought that was going to be like, a thing, for distributed energy for fat solar and wind farms?
Yup that would go a long way to helping. Realistically however I can't see the politics of this working for at least another 3 – 6 decades.
Transpower sure has a lot to answer for.
There was an inquiry back in 2017 into modernising Australia's electricity grid, but we are so well overdue the same here.
This is hilarious.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/dec/08/codpieces-zeppelins-best-brexit
Being a cynic to me Global warming was not all caused by us humans and 80% could be put down to natural causes.
I have recently seen a programme on Australian ABC Network about the aftermath of those devastating bush fires in Australia. The programme is called “Wild Australia After the Fires”
I am now a convert and we have got to start like last week ways and means to save this only spaceship we live on called Earth. One of the things that came out in this docu was the devasting effects introduced species has on the local Fauna. One commentator said because of the introduced domestic cat that has gone feral and the Fox a lot of the small animals that used to keep the forest floor clean of debris are now extinct through the introduction. This is one of the causes of the bushfires, a massive build-up of forest debris on the ground that is very volatile and liable to burst into flames at the next lightning strike or some snot who thinks it is “fun” to start fires.
The saddest part in this doco was a lot of good people were doing their utmost for the survivors and monitoring to see how species had faired. One commented, (my words cannot remember exactly what he said) “Whatever they do because of Global Warming and introduced species they cannot stop it from happening again, that is the big catastrophic bush fires like the ones this last OZ summer, not the normal bush fires the OZ bush needs to germinate seeds and clear some debris.
Too many of these massive bush fires and I can see the Oz bush completely wiped out. I feel sad over that having travelled the outback with great photographic areas like Halls Gap.
I feel with any future global warming legislation etc, there must look at the devastating effects introduced species have caused to the local fauna of any country. and rules will have to be introduced to control any introduced species
I won’t hold my breath though for anything to be done, action will only start when it hurts the pockets of some fat cat. Then it will be too late, if not now.
That’s my rant for the year, but I would like to add as a thicky I enjoy the high standard of intelligent debate on here even if I don’t agree with it at times, far superior to the MSM which I now class as pathetic juvenile drivel which I avoid reading and watching and come here for keeping myself informed, a decent review and views on a lot of subjects.
So, to all you contributors to this site Compliments of the season.
In a café this morning (I never buy the Herald) I read what I thought was a good piece by Aliya Danzeisen critiquing the Mosque attack report. No link, sorry – I cannot find it on the Herald website.
Main points included: Terms of Reference of the Inquiry were unduly limited; much information was withheld on grounds of it being 'sensitive' in one way or another, and all this secret info is to remain secret for another 30 years. Consequently, the report fails to answer many of the questions it should.
If she is right, surely this makes the report yet another whitewash, unworthy of a civilised country?
This?
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/aliya-danzeisen-orwell-is-alive-and-well-in-nz
We have to face it I think, that the machinations of the very people that used to warn against us being a banana republic because they couldn't get something that was available in some bigger fully developed country, have brought that very result to us.
Thanks, Pat – that is not the Herald article I read, but it is equally good to my mind.
If I wasn't neck deep in bids I'd do something on the implied failings of the collective intelligence community on this.
Our spy team were fine going hard out with their Five Eyes partners putting out a media release that pissed off China two weeks ago, but when it comes to institutional reform in their own back yard after a genuine terrorist massacre they all clam up and there's no recommendations for reforming them anywhere.
Instead as Bomber notes it's a whole lot of feelgood Woke claptrap about encouraging and loving and training and forming a little micro-Ministry etc etc.
It’s begging for a Nicky Hagar book on the Commission’s absences all by itself.
It is like most reports or Commissions of Enquiry, either the terms of reference are too narrow or the recommendations are not acted on. Complete waste of money. The latest Welfare Enquiry is so disheartening that it may as well not been commissioned. Waste of Space all of them. The Mosque Attack Report is a classic example In Vino and I agree with you.
What gets me is ignoring that some people in our community knew the attack was about to happen. There is no mention of this in the report. An individual well known for his views in the Canterbury area had sporadic contact with an individual I know of but frequent phone calls on the day of the attacks and this individual was waiting in front of the TV for the event to unfold, information that was forwarded to police.
The one thing I want the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care to answer is:
Why does Sonja Cooper have 1400 clients still waiting for final settlement?
Cooper Law only takes clients who were in state care. Some cases take years to settle and claimants are aging. Cooper is doing a remarkable job to get compensation for her clients through the sick ACC system for mental injury.
I got a list of 22 lawyers recently from Way Finders (they assist on navigating ACC, they are not lawyers) only 2 on the list of 22 accept legal aid. Maybe my above question is partly answered, the cost to settle and covering claimants properly is another reason for the stale mate.
If we don't want to be surveilled and run by AI and other tech from the air, at ground level too, do we have a chance of deciding against these inventions, these machines which destroy our planet and our way of life? Or are our addicted government and business controllers presenting us with the end of our chance to be self-determining beings whether or no? Could we have to go underground for freedom from the dominant?
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC2012/S00017/dawn-aerospace-licensed-to-fly-nzs-first-spaceplane.htm
In a world-first, the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has granted Dawn Aerospace an Unmanned Aircraft Operator Certificate to fly a suborbital spaceplane from a conventional airport.
Authorised under Civil Aviation Rule Part 102, Dawn is setting a new precedent for how we access space. Presently, flights will operate without the need for restricted airspace, proving the worlds of spaceflight and civil aviation can fly in harmony.
I mention John Christopher’s imaginings in his books – especially the trilogy called Sword of the Spirits.
Can get on Trademe – John Christopher books –
Listing #: 289532996
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/432490/life-sentence-for-murder-of-australian-tourist-sean-mckinnon
Two of McKinnon's sisters were in court to give victim impact statements and other family members were on video link from Australia.
What is the object of having victim impact statements? Is the perpetrator supposed to have a change of heart and his/her callousness and self-centredness be washed away? It is bad enough to read about the crime and hear all about it, and whether the person was loved or not, was good or not, the crime against them has been committed. The grief that is felt being trotted out to everyone just makes a spectacle, a drama of the tragedy.
And how repetitive the statements are. People listening can understand the private grief but not share it, and it is often said that the person will eventually be out of prison to live the rest of their lives, but the dead person has been cruelly robbed of his or hers for ever. It is true and awful but becomes a cliche'. I think we should stop this practice, it serves no useful purpose.
..don't think they are for you grey..
..they are for the victims of crime..
..to give them their voice..
..and if it helps them..
..how can you possibly have a beef about that..?
..as i said..it isn't all about you..