My pick is that no-one will correct the systemic failures that give rise to a country with 90% renewable energy having to subsidise its citizens’ power bills.
And that’s not just the latest crowd, that’s your beloved lefty parties too.
All the power for three years, but not an ounce of courage amongst them.
That is the beauteous thing about sell offs of state owned organisations to make them privately owned "for profit" companies, which have as their primary aim to make profits for shareholders. Make it a small group of companies and there should be competition between them – "Right" Chess Player? Well actually they of course act independently, but since that watching isn't too hard, nobody needs to work too hard to keep the price escalator moving up step by step with different companies leading or trailing from time to time. But they are even better than that – the prices are now so bound up with sign up bonuses and loyalty bonusses and free hours and other complications that many can no longer determine who is cheapest this month . . .
So what can be done – well of course they should be bought back – we have all that money raised from the sales, shouldn't that be available? Well actually no; it disappeared very quickly into other government priorities of the day. With recent other priorities of dealing with Covid and just a few extreme weather events, what do you think should have been done by the last government, Chess Player? Or what do you think should be now done by the current government?
But to give just a little suggestion, it should be possible to require providers to accept power fed back to the system to be received at the average price of electricity charged to that customer on that day, or perhaps an average for the billing period. Perhaps that may make a marginal difference to get a few more people to invest in generation through their own resources (wind, solar or water).
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday that a “gap” remains between Israel’s stated intent of protecting civilians in the Gaza Strip and what has unfolded over the past week as fighting has resumed.
At a news conference alongside Britain’s foreign minister, former prime minister David Cameron, Blinken was asked whether the Israelis have “disregarded” what he requested last week when he announced that they had agreed to the Biden administration’s “imperative” to mitigate civilian casualties after restarting the offensive in Gaza. In response, Blinken listed what the administration considers several positive developments.
For instance, he said the Israelis now are evacuating neighborhoods instead of entire cities. He also highlighted Israel’s creation of “deconfliction areas” where people can “be safe” from surrounding violence and said its military operation is being conducted in a “more narrowly focused area.”
“Having said that,” Blinken added, “as we stand here almost a week into this campaign in the south after the humanitarian pause ended, it is imperative — it remains imperative — that Israel put a premium on civilian protection. And there does remain a gap between exactly what I said when I was there — the intent to protect civilians — and the actual results that we’re seeing on the ground.”
Israeli forces should focus on “a number of things,” Blinken said. The administration wants them to tell civilians where to go and when so they can be safe. Israel should also make “very clear” when it’s safe to move, he said. Israeli leaders must ensure that these “daily pauses” apply to a broad area, not just a single neighborhood, so people “have confidence to know that they can move out of harm’s way.”
They should also pledge to “fully” supply the safe zones with food, medicine and water, Blinken said.
I would have thought the recent American statement an expression of concern about past civilian deaths and expectations about IDF procedures. Which includes improved guarantees of safe passage from areas under attack.
In the instance in the above report – there was a time for leaving the hospital, but no ambulances arrived because the only body supplying them said it was not safe.
And the addition of US expectation of full supply to the safe zones (given another truce including aid hostages swaps is not likely in the short term) is because of both lack of amount being processed through the border (and the claims of lack of safety for UN workers moving it – some deaths in the recent past).
Why the UN is not talking about shipping in aid to the safe zone by the coast is beyond me.
The ability to spew death of Gaza are based on a simple premise, the USA Empire is providing arms and more importantly, cover – in the way of forward naval projection.
So sure distract with nice words if you want.
But the bottom line is the IDF lied, they have been caught out, once again, and all we get is misdirection and obfuscation. While Palestinian Jews, Christians and Muslims die in droves.
In theory demand for oil should begin to fall as EV's take over.
However, EV's are predicted to be less than 30% of the stock of light vehicles in use in the world in 2035. This is way too slow. There need to be much stronger incentives and regulations forcing the switch to EV's.
Luxon took the government's EV discount for himself (his Tesla) and then dumped it. He has ended the ban on offshore oil and gas prospecting and production. He has committed to building 13 massive roading projects but has dumped light rail and is scaling back bike trails….and so on.
We already have a Green Party with considerable economic nous-take a look at their clever Wealth Tax proposal in their manifesto under "Ending Poverty".
Well, the Greens and National worked together on the home insulation improvements, so collaboration is definitely possible.
Collaboration on specific policies is a far better way to achieve improvements than having to wait until Labour gets its occasional turn in government.
But I do realise that most on this blog are too highly principled to be pragmatic.
Imagine if we had a large right-wing party that said it "cared deeply" about getting GHG emissions down, but clearly intended to do nothing effective about it – and on top of that pretended that the reason it wasn't going to do anything about it was because it had economic 'nous' and 'knew' that only market-led solutions were acceptable?
And if imagine if that economically-illiterate, large right-wing party insisted that a well established environment party, which really did have economic 'nous' and a record of commitment, support them in whatever f*ckwittery the large party wanted to do?
Imagine if wishes were horses. It's at least a reasonable expectation of Labour, given the Greens tend to be their natural coalition party, although the environment seems to becoming increasingly less important to the Green back benchers.
I don't know what you're smoking, but I hope you brought enough for everyone. I don't care how big you try to make the centre – National is on the right of it.
Na my principles don't matter, national don't give a fuck about the environment, remember wadable rivers are good enough for them , they've started oil and Gas exploration again , ypu either a dreamer or a shit stirrer,
$16B to provide for dry years and protect us from the market – I guess National plans to finance their future tax cut plans out of the profits in the power companies (rising charges to the public for powering up their cars).
Little wonder they seek to maintain the car addiction.
The alternative is power companies have surplus carrying capacity to cover dry years. Expensive and thus higher costs every year.
The battery storage development would be more likely to cover variability in wind generation, or seasonal cold, as it is not on this scale.
The government owns 49% of most power companies. FACT.
So far it earns more from 49% ownership than from 100% in the past. Thus offload of a nice earner to those looking to diversify their investment portfolio – the profiteering off historic government assets to a minority of the people.
There is a growth in power demand coming from EV's. FACT
An investment in dry year management is advantageous for consumers, including business. And hydro stuff lasts decades.
It would also allow more flexibility on the power currently going to the smelter.
It is much sounder strategically.
But then NZ Inc, is not how National think.
No need to be in the dark. This information is freely available by using google – Onslow dam.
Where will we put the next dam, once the current and planned ones feed the growth economy and we need more?
South Island people aren't keen on damming more rivers, which is why the two attempts on the Clutha and one on the Waitaki in recent decades have failed.
People like Onslow because its in the back of beyond and most people don't understand what is there and think it's just a nothing space, Terra Nullius.
it's moving us to a steady state or degrowth economy
It would only be there as a reserve for dry years (when hydro dams are not providing the usual power generation). It would not add to normal year capacity.
Really? Is the government planning to tell people they can’t have more power?
Obviously there is a relationship between demand and low hydro lake levels and the need for more power.
Steady state in this context means we build the storage and we reduce demand for power. Not build the storage and pretend we don’t live in an economy that is increasing demand.
Surely not the same power companies of which large stakes were flogged off by John Key and his merry band? I wonder who the current shareholders are and how they voted in GE-2023.
You asserted that these investors can be found in the respective Annual Reports, which is misleading, at best, so you may want to correct your faux pas and apologise. And while you’re at it, you may want to include information on how the(se) shareholders voted in the latest General Election.
I suggest it’s you who need to apologise. But you won’t. Shareholder disclosures for the electricity companies are required and have been for decades under the Companies Act 1993. It’s also a requirement under the NZX listing rules.
You want to know how the voted at the last election? The largest shareholder is the government. Ask the Labour minister then responsible how the voted.
If you call talking if fact rather than ignorance trolling , I plead guilty your high reverence.
[Where is your link to a list of individual shareholders?
Despite several clear warnings, incl. a Mod note on 19 Oct, you continue trolling and showing blatant disrespect for others on this site. Since you’re pleading guilty, don’t act surprised when I hand down your sentence – Incognito]
See my comment at 7:33 pm. A list from any of those companies will do if you wish to keep your commenting privileges here at all. You claimed it’s easy to find because of legal disclosure requirements and all that. I’d suggest that you won’t be providing anything, because you can’t – you’re talking out of your arse aka you’re trolling. You may want to refresh your obviously short memory and go back to my rhetorical question (for your convenience: https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-09-12-2023/#comment-1980275).
Bradford's reforms were a bloody stupid idea back in 1998 and all the evidence was against it. But National ploughed ahead anyway with their ideological fantasies, and the Kiwi consumer got shafted. SOP for the Gnats.
Asset sales cost hits $1 billion [24 Feb 2016]
“Every year since National’s asset sales, New Zealanders are losing out on millions of dollars that are going to private investors instead,” Green Party energy spokesperson Gareth Hughes said.
“With the cost of asset sales tipping over a billion dollars, it’ll only be a few more years before the total cost is more than the asset sales raised – after that, there will be an ongoing net loss to New Zealand.
we can't triple our energy production, and there's not much point given the limits of growth and nature. We live on a finite planet, best we get used to it now while we still have some choices.
Fortunately we have alternatives. Public transpower, relocalising economies, creating urban villaged, relocalising food and many other things.
We don't need to use the amount of energy we do, we are just habituated to it.
“A historic Waitangi Tribunal report expected to call for the return of all Crown-owned land across much of Northland will be handed over to the country's largest iwi this morning.
The almost 2000-page stage 2 report of Te Paparahi o Te Raki, also known as the Northland Inquiry, details land loss, military conflict and Treaty breaches suffered by Ngāpuhi between 1840 and 1900.”
This is an interesting statement about the Labour Party, from its own leader. That it will not be driven to the left by the election defeat in 2023.
The Labour Party will not be driven to the left by October's election loss, leader Chris Hipkins says.
Hipkins said the election result came about because of the mood that "people were looking for a change" and it "wasn't necessarily a policy-driven vibe".
"I think it was a reflection of the fact New Zealanders have had a tough time with COVID and cost of living and a whole lot of other things and were just looking for something different."
The other things that are not to be named are Labour being seen as pro Maori and the Kiwi not iwi 2005 reprise this time came to bite.
But that is because the "left wing" impulse is to confront inequality and injustice and seek to do better. However the three headed hydra managed to create a climate of fear and insecurity around "Maori privilege" and this added to a post COVID cloud exacerbated by rising costs.
I suspect what he has overlooked, both before and now after the election, is the necessity to provide hope.
Agreeing with the Greens 3% rent increase cap and placing 5% windfall profits tax on major banks to finance an increase to IETC would have given more working class people confidence they would get by.
It might have made for a close contest. Probably still a losing one given the NZF role as conduit for majoritarian conservatives.
In that sense there is a positive in not losing because of the captains call on the modest wealth tax proposal (as per DP and GR). Only losing left wing votes to Greens and TPM.
But the future of Labour is in stating the obvious, 35 of 36 OECD nations have either a CGT or estate tax or both. That is not left wing, that is the mainstream of the first world.
A modest wealth tax is a CGT and estate tax in one – where it only applies in the top 10% level of wealth in the society.
The other things that are not to be named are Labour being seen as pro Maori and the Kiwi not iwi 2005 reprise this time came to bite.
I suspect Labour is well aware of those other 'unnamed' causes but have chosen to say nothing about them.
What Hipkins did say about two weeks ago is that everything is back on the table. I think we can safely assume that a "modest" CGT type tax is going to be back on the table – iirc ten years after it was first mooted under the Cunliffe leadership.
So Cunliffe just might end up having the last laugh.
Another bad captains call. Kiwis wanted change, Chippy stopped it. Kiwis were tired of identity politics and the cabal of ideologues (in the vein of Dr Elizabeth Kerekere) that appeared to be running things to the detriment (and alienation) of the working class. So what does he do? Nothing. A failure to identify the actual problems, again.
Hipkins keeps pumping the brakes. We need a few basic reforms to make Aotearoa a "kinder" place again, instead of its current sorry state as a playground for the 1% and screw the rest.
One tax that had potential to make a real difference was Robbo's "Closing the loophole" tax on negatively geared property investments. That was one of the first things on the Nats' chopping block.
What to do when the lower rate of nicotine results in less use and lower tax revenues?
Germany to grow local: Germany’s centre-Green coalition government has also agreed on several changes to their cannabis legislation. The proposals are now expected to be enacted in two parts: legalisation of adult use and home growing from March or April 2024, and the licensing of cultivation associations in July.
USA
Martha Stewart “I was an early adopter of CBD and have become an advocate because I’ve experienced first-hand the benefits of adding it to my health and wellness routine”
Where cannabis has been made legal, the biggest growth in use has been with seniors. Some have rediscovered cannabis they long ago stopped using, while others have been turned on to the wellness benefits of CBD and THC. Latest figures show more than ten percent of older Americans have used cannabis in the past year.
A legalisation or full on decriminalisation would generate revenue
cannabis legalisation would generate $1 billion in tax revenue and 3000 legit jobs.
In addition to the existing medicinal marijuana regime, legal possession (up to maximum amounts) and licensed growing of low THC product product for personal use and commercial supply.
The best cup of "tea" I've ever had was a THC infused honey and herbal mixture – was buzzing for a few days and actually felt good about myself for once.
5 councillors claim the finding that they were in breach of their code of practice was only because the Mayor and Council hired a partisan lawyer/shark.
The review's findings were councillors Calvert, Young, Chung and Pannett breached the code by failing to observe confidentiality when they responded to media inquiries.
Randle and Young breached the code by failing to show respect to other councillors when they made comments casting aspersions on the actions and motivations of fellow councillors who could not speak out in reply.
Chung, Calvert and Young breached the code by criticising council staff in public statements.
As surprising number of these (but not any of the others) made comments about the Mayor's drinking and suggested she resign.
The Epsom seat deal where ACT got a free pass from National for years. I started thinking, what benefit have the voters of that electorate got from the deal having Seymour as their MP over Paul Goldsmith. Goldsmith being told he cannot campaign for the seat but instead he has to sit back and pretend he is fine with Seymour taking what would naturally be his seat. Must privately be quite humiliating for him to watch Seymour suck John Key even if he publicly says he is ok with it. That aside though, the benefits to Epsom voters. Someone feel free to add if I have overlooked anything.
Charter schools – which made little if any difference to education but added costs to the education system
3 strikes law – which made little if any difference to crime rates but added extra costs
A euthanasia law – which might be beneficial for people who want to do so, but very very very very very very minute in comparison to big issues the country is facing.
plus the tens of thousands of dollars payable to Seymour as ACT leader, and often only MP, and his party leaders budget over paying Goldsmith as an MP.
Seems like Epsom got a pretty crap deal and frankly it has cost NZ millions more dollars than it could have. A case it seems, with ACT wanting to cut government costs, of doing what I say not what I do.
Last night the largest solar storm in decades resulted in Aurorae being seen across Aotearoa, causing many to ask why?Why was the sky pink? What was all this stuff about the power grid? Have we, as so many have wondered since the election, reached the end of days?I had a ...
We have been on the road in England, squeezing down narrow lanes, flying up the M6, loving hedgerows and villages and cathedrals, liking the 21st century less.There have been moments when it’s felt like a movie trope. The pub in Exford, lovely seventeenth century bar, almost more dogs than people, ...
There’s a solar-storm on at the moment, and since the South Island is having a day and night with clear skies, that means Aurorae. I have just got back from a midnight visit to Tunnel Beach – southwards-looking over the Sea, and without the light pollution. Quite a few others ...
Michael Bassett writes – I’m not sure that it’s much comfort to anyone to know that the post-Covid surge in violent crimes, gang activity, ram raids, random shootings, thuggery and stabbings is occurring in other countries as well as New Zealand. These days, wagging school, out-of-control welfare and ...
Oliver Hartwich writes – Cast your mind back to mid-December. A new Prime Minister had just been sworn in, the new Government started its 100-day programme, and Christmas was only days away.Amid all the haste, a report landed that would have deserved our attention.I am talking about the ...
TL;DR: An unseasonally early icy blast at the same time as some long-overdue maintenance almost caused Aotearoa-NZ’s electricity system to black out this week. That’s because a quadropoly of gentailers1 have prioritised paying dividends from their rising profits and adding debt over investing in 1.5 GigaWatts of new wind farms ...
Hi,Before we crack into today’s Webworm, I wanted to acknowledge the fact that Israel is pushing into Rafah. Over 100,000 Palestinians are now attempting to flee the one place that was deemed “safe”.Trouble is, the place they’re fleeing to is already destroyed. Total annihilation is the end goal here.“Israel is ...
‘It has been said that figures rule the world. Maybe. I am quite sure that it is figures which show us whether it is being ruled well or badly.’ GoetheI was struck at a recent conference on equity for the elderly, how many presenters implicitly relied upon Statistics New Zealand. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveReporting on defence spending late last year, RNZ said the coalition government will have to make some tough calls this term to help the force address staff shortages and ageing infrastructure. “These are huge, huge amounts of government spending. It’s a significant proportion of the government’s ...
Peter Dunne writes – I am always wary when I hear that the Controller and Auditor-General has commented on or made recommendations to the government about an issue of public policy that does not relate strictly to public expenditure. According to the legislation, the role of the Controller ...
How Labour’s and National’s failure to move beyond neoliberalism has brought NZ to the brink of economic and cultural chaos Chris Trotter writes – TO START LOSING, so soon after you won, requires a special kind of political incompetence. At the heart of this Coalition ...
And why did the Crown not challenge the Tribunal’s jurisdiction? Gary Judd writes – Retired District Court Judge, David Harvey, has posted on his A Halflings View Substack an excellent summary of Justice Isacs’ judgment declining to uphold the witness summons issued by the Waitangi Tribunal ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result?As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and ...
Macklemore isn’t someone I’d usually think about. Sure I liked his big hit from a few years back, everybody did it was catchy and cool with some memorable lines. But if I was going to think of artists who might speak out on political matters or world events, he wouldn’t ...
Another week goes by in the Luxon government’s efforts to roll back the past 70 years of social progress. The school lunches programme is to be downgraded by $107 million, and women need bother their heads no longer about pay equity, let alone expect ACC to provide adequate sexual violence ...
Brrr, the first cold snap of the year. Hope you’re rugged up nice and warm. Here are some stories that caught our eye this week… This Week on Greater Auckland On Monday, we had a post from a new contributor, Connor Sharp, who dug into the public feedback ...
Almost all of the Wellington City Council’s recommended zoning changes to allow many more apartments and townhouses in its inner-suburbs have been approved.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guest on geopolitics, ...
Open access notablesA Global Increase in Nearshore Tropical Cyclone Intensification, Balaguru et al., Earth's Future:Tropical Cyclones (TCs) inflict substantial coastal damages, making it pertinent to understand changing storm characteristics in the important nearshore region. Past work examined several aspects of TCs relevant for impacts in coastal regions. However, ...
Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result? As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and always answered “yes”, with very few ...
Thus far May has followed on from a quiet April in the blogging department, but in fairness, it has been another case of doing what I am supposed to be doing, namely writing original fiction. Plus reading. So don’t worry – I have been productive. But in order to reassure ...
Buzz from the Beehive A new government agency will open for business on July 1 – the Social Investment Agency. As a new standalone central agency effective from 1 July, it will lead the development of social investment across Government, helping ministers understand who they need to invest in, what ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The ...
Alwyn Poole writes – After being elected to Parliament in 2008 the maiden speech of Hipkins was substantially around education policy. He was Labour’s spokesperson for education 2011 – 2017. He was Minister for Education from 2017 until February 2023. This is approximately 88% of the time Labour ...
Eric Crampton writes – A fashion industry group is lobbying for protections. They make the usual arguments and a newer one. None of it makes sense. An industry group says it pumped $7.8 billion into the economy last year – that’s 1.9 percent of New Zealand’s GDP. ...
In December 2006, Fiji's military leader Voreqe Bainimarama overthrew the elected government in a coup. He ruled Fiji for the next 16 years, first as dictator, then as "elected" Prime Minister. But now, he's finally been sent to jail where he belongs. Sadly, this isn't for his real crime of ...
Don't like National's corrupt Muldoonist "fast-track" law? Aotearoa's environmental NGO's - Greenpeace, Forest & Bird, WWF, Coromandel Watchdog, Coal Action Network Aotearoa, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining, and others - have announced a joint march against it in Auckland in June: When: 13:00, 8 June, 2024 Where: Aotea Square, Auckland You ...
Seymour describes sushi as too woke for school meals. There are no fish sushi meals recommended by the School Lunches programme. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Government will swap out hot meals for packaged sandwiches to save $107 million on school lunches for poor kids. MSD has pulled ...
I don't mind stealin' bread from the mouths of decadenceBut I can't feed on the powerless when my cup's already overfilled, yeahBut it's on the table, the fire's cookin'And they're farmin' babies, while slaves are workin'The blood is on the table and the mouths are chokin'But I'm goin' hungry, yeahSome ...
The Ardern Government’s chickens came home to roost yesterday with the news that the country is short of natural gas. In 2018, Labour banned offshore petroleum exploration, and industry executives say that the attendant loss of confidence by the industry impacted overall investment in onshore gas fields. Energy Resources Minister ...
Hi,If you’ve been digging through the newly launched Webworm store (orders are being dispatched worldwide as I type!) you’ll have noticed the best model we had was Calvin.This is Calvin.Calvin.Calvin is 7, and is the son of my producer over on Flightless Bird, Rob — aka “Wobby Wob”. Rob also ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Climate change is everywhere. And when something's everywhere it can feel like it's nowhere. So how do we get our heads ...
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
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Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
“Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes – I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
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Gary Judd writes – The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline “Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
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With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
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A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
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Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
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David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
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TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
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. ...
New Zealand voted in favour of a resolution broadening Palestine’s participation at the United Nations General Assembly overnight, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The resolution enhances the rights of Palestine to participate in the work of the UN General Assembly while stopping short of admitting Palestine as a full ...
Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
PNG Post-Courier New Zealand High Commissioner Peter Zwart and PNG Defence Minister Dr Billy Joseph welcomed a C-130 Hercules to Port Moresby this week to support Papua New Guinea’s response to the March 24 earthquake and recent severe flooding. “Papua New Guinea has requested New Zealand’s assistance to transport emergency ...
Grub Street King Luxon rode through the streets Of King’s Landing, and was troubled By the sight of hungry urchins in the mud. “Who would be the best of my Lords To deal with this negative optic?” He pondered. The answer came to him instantly. “Seymour!” he said to himself. ...
“The Bill does not provide environmental protection, good quality decision making, certainty, public participation or speed. It should be withdrawn.” ...
RNZ News Television New Zealand has breached its collective agreement with the E tū union when deciding on discontinuing programmes, the Employment Relations Authority has ruled. It was announced in March that 68 staff members who work for news programmes Midday and Tonight, consumer justice programme Fair Go, current affairs ...
Asia Pacific Report Barangay New Zealand’s Rene Molina has interviewed the country’s first Filipino Green MP Francisco Hernandez who was sworn into Parliament yesterday as the party’s latest member. This is the first interview with Hernandez who replaces former Green Party co-leader James Shaw after his retirement from politics to ...
An Australian Strategic Policy Institute report says Pillar Two could raise the industry to state of the art capability - or "crush" it "under the weight of the globe's biggest player". ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marlene Longbottom, Associate Professor, Indigenous Education & Research Centre, James Cook University ShutterstockThis article contains information on deaths in custody and the violence experienced by First Nations people in encounters with the Australian carceral system. It also contains references to ...
“Instead of following along countries that are investing in death and better ways of killing people faster, we need to invest in life and in making Aotearoa a fair, just and equitable place where everyone has what they need for a dignified life.” ...
MARIAMENO KAPA-KINGI, TPM MP FOR TAI TOKERAU This Government will not waver in its mission to exterminate Māori. CHRISTOPHER LUXON Oh well look you know I don’t think that hard-working Kiwis want to hear language like that. It’s just really unhelpful rhetoric. My Government is genuinely committed to advancing outcomes ...
The body positivity movement started with women confronting the unrealistic expectations and unrepresentative portrayals of them in media and advertising. Men weren’t part of it … their bodies hadn’t been sexualised to the same extremes and they didn’t really need it. But now that’s changed. And in a warped sort ...
The New Zealand comedy legend takes us through her life in television, including the time she hugged Elton John and the unshakeable legacy of a girl named Lyn. In 1981, Ginette McDonald stood on the stage of Auckland’s St James Theatre and directly addressed Queen Elizabeth II. It was a ...
An essay by Lily Duval from the just-released anthology Otherhood: Essays on being childless, childfree and child adjacent.I was 22 when my friend Alice gave birth in the living room of our pokey Addington flat. She laboured in the blow-up pool for hours. Garish fish swam along the inflated ...
Ella Borrie on the best books about motherhood she’s come across so far. Over the past few years I’ve been drawn to books about motherhood. I’m fascinated by the joys and horrors of becoming a parent. The question of children also feels more pressing than it used to. It’s like ...
Out of gift ideas for mum? You can’t go wrong with a bottle of toilet cleaner and a new squeegee. Emily Writes is the writer and editor of Emily Writes Weekly. This week marks five years since I published a post on The Spinoff about Mother’s Day marketing titled ‘A ...
My husband is posted overseas for 12 months and I’m armed with an expensive, newfangled vibrator. Will I miss him? The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.A few days after my husband leaves, a new sex toy arrives at the front door. Nestled ...
Jaimie Baird’s new book Here Today Gone Tomorrow is a record of four decades of graffiti and street art in Wellington, told through more than 1,200 photographs. He spoke with Joel MacManus about what inspired the book. How did you first get interested in photographing street art? I remember ...
Editor Madeleine Chapman looks back at a busy week where food of all political leanings dominated. Sometimes you’re just going about your week thinking you’ve got a good handle on what might be coming as far as news topics and then someone (usually a politician) says something so ridiculous that ...
In a week of cold rain and frost, the climate in courtroom four upstairs at the Invercargill courthouse was simmering with restrained indignation. At times it felt like the famous Mexican standoff scene from Reservoir Dogs, or, as someone watching the proceedings described it, there was so much throwing of ...
A banner notification alerts me to the fact that I’ve received an Instagram message from @felicity.loves. She always comments on my posts. I shouldn’t have opened the message, but clicked on the notification before rationalising this. OMG! Are you in Wellys? X I debate not replying, but Instagram will inform ...
In Melbourne’s hardscrabble western suburbs where AFL – Aussie rules football – is a state religion, Callum Donaldson has been quietly grafting away, four months into an odyssey that he hopes will take him to another promised land: the NRL. It was a solid 2023 for the softly spoken 20-year-old ...
Pacific Media Watch Television New Zealand Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver has been made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to investigative journalism and Pacific communities in a ceremony at Government House, reports 1News. She has been the Pacific correspondent for 1News since 2002, breaking many ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Tuesday’s budget will respond to the deepening public agitation over Australia’s housing shortages by pouring new money into crisis accommodation for women and children, social housing and infrastructure. A specially-convened national cabinet late Friday ticked ...
By Kaneta Naimatu in Suva Journalists in the Pacific region play an important role as the “eyes and ears on the ground” when it comes to reporting the climate crisis, says the European Union’s Pacific Ambassador Barbara Plinkert. Speaking at The University of the South Pacific (USP) on World Press ...
Aldora Itunu is back in the Black Ferns squad after a three-year absence. The last of her 24 internationals was an underwhelming loss to France (7-29) in Castres to conclude the disastrous 2021 Northern Tour. The powerhouse prop won a Rugby World Cup in 2017 and thought she was done. ...
The fight to control major transport policy and projects in Auckland has burst into the open again, with councillors rejecting Mayor Wayne Brown’s latest attempt to steer things more under his influence. Councillors from the left and right broke ranks on the mayor’s bid to control Auckland Transport more directly ...
Exhausted by the general election campaign, horrified by the twilight zone of coalition negotiations, distracted by the silly season and waiting for the honeymoon to begin, Raw Politics has been in hibernation since October. From today, we’re back. Our weekly political video show and podcast returns for ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk Authorities in the small town of Boulouparis have commemorated Armistice Day on May 8 with a new memorial honouring New Zealand soldiers who were stationed in New Caledonia during World War II. The ceremony took place in the township on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Dehm, Senior lecturer, international migration and refugee law, University of Technology Sydney The High Court unanimously ruled today that the Australian government can keep asylum seekers in immigration detention indefinitely in cases where they do not “voluntarily” cooperate with their own ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Munro, Lecturer, Creative Industries and Digital Media, University of South Australia Twenty-four hours after the release of Macklemore’s pro-Palestine protest song Hind’s Hall on social media on May 7, the video had already notched up over 24 million views. In ...
Failing to anticipate the complexity of the consenting system is being cited as the the current builder's shortcomings, an Infrastructure Commission review says. ...
Failing to anticipate the complexity of the consenting system is being cited as the the current builder's shortcomings, an Infrastructure Commission review says. ...
350 Aotearoa is calling the Environment Select Committee’s decision to allow oral submissions from just 40% of individual, unique submitters who asked to speak to the committee ‘a disgraceful blight to democracy’. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Helal, Assistant Dean (Sustainability), The University of Melbourne Dubai skylineAleksandarPasaric/Pexels Since ancient times, people have built structures that reach for the skies – from the steep spires of medieval towers to the grand domes of ancient cathedrals and mosques. Today ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edward Musole, PhD Law Student, University of New England Girts Ragelis/ShutterstockRecent trends show Australians are increasingly buying wearables such as smartwatches and fitness trackers. These electronics track our body movements or vital signs to provide data throughout the day, with ...
Papua New Guinea experienced a significant earthquake on 24 March in East Sepik and there has also been recent flooding there and in surrounding provinces. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yousuf Mohammed, Dermatology researcher, The University of Queensland Maridav/Shutterstock You wake up, stagger to the bathroom and gaze into the mirror. No, you’re not imagining it. You’ve developed face wrinkles overnight. They’re sleep wrinkles. Sleep wrinkles are temporary. But as your ...
The Environment Select Committee has just announced that 60 percent of individuals who asked to speak at the hearings will not be heard. This equates to almost 700 people who made individual submissions and more than 1000 more who made a form submission. ...
The Royal New Zealand Ballet is performing Swan Lake around the country. What kind of dream does the ballet sell?Before going to see the Royal New Zealand Ballet perform Swan Lake, I had about as much familiarity with the plot of this ballet as could be expected from having ...
A new poem by Auckland poet Eamonn Tee. High Tide at Local Maxima It is only going to get worse. The streams will be narrow and fickle. The week will bend and buckle like a pot-bellied waist. You will make it to the weekend with one ...
The New Zealand entrepreneur behind beauty business Ethique is gearing up to launch a new eco-venture. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Our thirst for a tasty bevvy is insatiable, but it comes with a hefty plastic price for the planet: 580 billion ...
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 James by Percival Everett (Mantle, $38) A retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from ...
By Kamna Kumar in Suva Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Henry Puna stressed the importance of media freedom and its link to the climate and environmental crisis at the 2024 World Press Freedom Day event organised by the University of the South Pacific’s journalism programme. Under the theme “A Planet for ...
Tara Ward previews a new local TV series offering alternative visions of motherhood. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. A woman is clambering up the side of her two-story house, clinging desperately to a drainpipe. Nearby, her child is perched on the ...
Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) is supportive of the cross-party approach to climate adaptation announced by the Minister of Climate Change today. ...
The Sustainable Business Council (SBC) and Climate Leaders Coalition (CLC) welcome today’s announcement from Government around a bipartisan inquiry into an enduring climate adaptation framework for New Zealand. ...
The Free Speech Union welcomes the decision by the Department of Internal Affairs, and Minister Brooke Van Velden, to abandon proposals to further regulate online speech. ...
Its new building in Wellington will not be nearly big enough for all its records, and it has also run out of money to build its new storage facility in Levin. ...
BusinessNZ is congratulating the Minister of Climate Change for his work in achieving cross-party consensus for a way forward on climate adaptation. ...
Recent research reveals the repeal of smokefree measures is not only bad for our health, but also the economy. The Government has repealed various smokefree measures to ensure it keeps collecting $1.2 billion a year in tobacco taxes, in order to pay for tax cuts already being delivered to ...
The club’s surprisingly good season is built on the desire to prove a random A-League YouTuber wrong… and a few other factors.“There’s no way that Wellington Phoenix play finals this year. I can’t see it happening at all.” Those are the words of Lachlan Raeside, an Australian football content ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By César Albarrán-Torres, Senior Lecturer, Department of Media and Communication, Swinburne University of Technology Apple TV+ As one of billions of bilingual individuals in the world, it disappoints me when a film or TV show with characters of a non-English-speaking background is ...
The under-utilised course is a waste of space, and with a little political will, it could be turned into something better. For the duration of her stay in Wellington, my long-suffering cousin listened to me rant about golf courses. They’re bad for the environment: water intensive and pesticide heavy. They ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leah Ruppanner, Professor of Sociology and Founding Director of The Future of Work Lab, Podcast at MissPerceived, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock A recent report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows US fertility rates dropped 2% in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy Corderoy, Medical doctor and PhD candidate studying involuntary psychiatric treatment, School of Psychiatry, UNSW Sydney shop_py/Shutterstock Picture two people, both suffering from a serious mental illness requiring hospital admission. One was born in Australia, the other in Asia. Hopefully, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Treby, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, RMIT University P.j.Hickox, Shutterstock Peatlands store more carbon per square metre than any other ecosystem on Earth. These waterlogged, mossy bogs beat even dense rainforests for their ability to act as carbon reservoirs. Under the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Goss, Adjunct Associate Professor, Health Research Institute, University of Canberra Government spending on health has been growing so rapidly that a decade ago the then health minister Peter Dutton called it “unmanageable” and “unsustainable”. Health spending grew in real terms by ...
New Zealand's largest electricity distributor is warning the country to hurry up with controls around charging electric vehicles or face unnecessary bills running into the billions. ...
New Zealanders have been asked to conserve energy this morning to combat a possible electricity shortfall, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. A call to conserve power New Zealand is facing a possible electricity shortfall, with people up ...
Writer Rebecca K Reilly breaks down the national book awards. What are the Ockhams?The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are our annual national awards for books published for adults, and have existed in this form since 2016. There are four categories: Fiction, Poetry, General Non-fiction and Illustrated Non-fiction. There ...
What's your pick over the "Winter warmth allowance"?
1 Cancelled
2 Cancelled for beneficiaries but not superannuants
3 Untouched
My pick is number 3 because Winston won't allow 1 and 2 would be to damaging – but I guess the RW does love its raw meat so…?
ACT's policy was to make it targeted
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA2305/S00003/act-would-end-winter-energy-payment-money-go-round.htm
Would be good to know if anyone has done the costing on that.
I believe Act? did not want it for all.
My pick is that no-one will correct the systemic failures that give rise to a country with 90% renewable energy having to subsidise its citizens’ power bills.
And that’s not just the latest crowd, that’s your beloved lefty parties too.
All the power for three years, but not an ounce of courage amongst them.
That is the beauteous thing about sell offs of state owned organisations to make them privately owned "for profit" companies, which have as their primary aim to make profits for shareholders. Make it a small group of companies and there should be competition between them – "Right" Chess Player? Well actually they of course act independently, but since that watching isn't too hard, nobody needs to work too hard to keep the price escalator moving up step by step with different companies leading or trailing from time to time. But they are even better than that – the prices are now so bound up with sign up bonuses and loyalty bonusses and free hours and other complications that many can no longer determine who is cheapest this month . . .
So what can be done – well of course they should be bought back – we have all that money raised from the sales, shouldn't that be available? Well actually no; it disappeared very quickly into other government priorities of the day. With recent other priorities of dealing with Covid and just a few extreme weather events, what do you think should have been done by the last government, Chess Player? Or what do you think should be now done by the current government?
But to give just a little suggestion, it should be possible to require providers to accept power fed back to the system to be received at the average price of electricity charged to that customer on that day, or perhaps an average for the billing period. Perhaps that may make a marginal difference to get a few more people to invest in generation through their own resources (wind, solar or water).
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/12/08/middleeast/babies-al-nasr-gaza-hospital-what-we-know-intl/index.html
I'm not sure how the IDF can manage the PR on this one. Fortunate that the staff recorded their interactions.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/07/israel-hamas-war-news-gaza-update-palestine/
The will do what SPC did in response to your post, put out misdirection and obfuscation.
Too subtle?
I would have thought the recent American statement an expression of concern about past civilian deaths and expectations about IDF procedures. Which includes improved guarantees of safe passage from areas under attack.
In the instance in the above report – there was a time for leaving the hospital, but no ambulances arrived because the only body supplying them said it was not safe.
And the addition of US expectation of full supply to the safe zones (given another truce including aid hostages swaps is not likely in the short term) is because of both lack of amount being processed through the border (and the claims of lack of safety for UN workers moving it – some deaths in the recent past).
Why the UN is not talking about shipping in aid to the safe zone by the coast is beyond me.
Just more of it.
The ability to spew death of Gaza are based on a simple premise, the USA Empire is providing arms and more importantly, cover – in the way of forward naval projection.
So sure distract with nice words if you want.
But the bottom line is the IDF lied, they have been caught out, once again, and all we get is misdirection and obfuscation. While Palestinian Jews, Christians and Muslims die in droves.
Palestinian Jew, there have been none since 1948.
Your comment explains a lot.
So does the river to the sea terminology, mate.
Israel maintains a naval blockade
Oil is still US$75 a barrel despite war in Middle East.
OPEC's power has been broken by Russia invading Ukraine and dumping oil at massive discount.
Sure beats 1973 50 years ago.
But also underlines why NZ must achieve full energy production independence: this war suppresses both global economic growth and old alliances.
In theory demand for oil should begin to fall as EV's take over.
However, EV's are predicted to be less than 30% of the stock of light vehicles in use in the world in 2035. This is way too slow. There need to be much stronger incentives and regulations forcing the switch to EV's.
https://www.ev-volumes.com/
Imagine if we had an environment party that included people with economic nous, and would work with whatever large party was leading the government.
We’d be unstoppable.
Imagine if those 2 major parties gave the enviro/econ party you describe the influence it deserves; they'd be unstoppable.
Agreed – but can’t happen unless all parties open to a conversation
Luxon took the government's EV discount for himself (his Tesla) and then dumped it. He has ended the ban on offshore oil and gas prospecting and production. He has committed to building 13 massive roading projects but has dumped light rail and is scaling back bike trails….and so on.
We already have a Green Party with considerable economic nous-take a look at their clever Wealth Tax proposal in their manifesto under "Ending Poverty".
https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSWSfQJunWVEuNIQjF4sdIy3Qa7uFoe6R6vHIk5lh9EmSH_Amf7yXFssfK9GHzu8S19NbrzPcB8Oj_o/pub
Why would a Green party ever trust Luxon on anything Chess?
Two Teslas. Got to grab a good thing when it’s going cheap.
Well, the Greens and National worked together on the home insulation improvements, so collaboration is definitely possible.
Collaboration on specific policies is a far better way to achieve improvements than having to wait until Labour gets its occasional turn in government.
But I do realise that most on this blog are too highly principled to be pragmatic.
Fair call re the insulation.
But I do think this has the look of a one term government.
Luxon and Seymour are singularly unimpressive, and Peters has partially lost it.
Imagine if we had a large right-wing party that said it "cared deeply" about getting GHG emissions down, but clearly intended to do nothing effective about it – and on top of that pretended that the reason it wasn't going to do anything about it was because it had economic 'nous' and 'knew' that only market-led solutions were acceptable?
And if imagine if that economically-illiterate, large right-wing party insisted that a well established environment party, which really did have economic 'nous' and a record of commitment, support them in whatever f*ckwittery the large party wanted to do?
That'd all be pretty bad eh?
Imagine if wishes were horses. It's at least a reasonable expectation of Labour, given the Greens tend to be their natural coalition party, although the environment seems to becoming increasingly less important to the Green back benchers.
Imagine if the right wing parties were laughing in your face at the suggestion.
There’s only one right wing party in parliament in NZ and that’s ACT.
And they’re about as far right as a mild Republican in the US, I’d say.
I don't know what you're smoking, but I hope you brought enough for everyone. I don't care how big you try to make the centre – National is on the right of it.
The greens working with a party that thinks allowing its support party to have Andrew Hoggard as associate environment minister is an impossible dream
Hoggard?
Bucolic but.
Ok, sure, while you pontificate on the perfect solution, and resist until that arrives, the world burns.
But you kept your principles intact aye, so all good.
Na my principles don't matter, national don't give a fuck about the environment, remember wadable rivers are good enough for them , they've started oil and Gas exploration again , ypu either a dreamer or a shit stirrer,
…plus passenger vehicles are only around 26% of global oil consumption…so 30% of 26% = 8% of total oil requirement.
Thanks Uncooked-interesting. And as you say puts further pressure on upping the percentage of EV's in use.
We need to triple our electricity production in order to switch our vehicle fleet to EV
Didn’t National just cancel a hydro project?
MBIE and EA could at least do us a national energy Strategy.
Or the market is going to fuck us.
Nope, they cancel a $16,000,000,000 bucket. Not generation capacity.
$16B to provide for dry years and protect us from the market – I guess National plans to finance their future tax cut plans out of the profits in the power companies (rising charges to the public for powering up their cars).
Little wonder they seek to maintain the car addiction.
Is that based on fact or reckons?
It is designed for dry years. FACT.
The alternative is power companies have surplus carrying capacity to cover dry years. Expensive and thus higher costs every year.
The battery storage development would be more likely to cover variability in wind generation, or seasonal cold, as it is not on this scale.
The government owns 49% of most power companies. FACT.
So far it earns more from 49% ownership than from 100% in the past. Thus offload of a nice earner to those looking to diversify their investment portfolio – the profiteering off historic government assets to a minority of the people.
There is a growth in power demand coming from EV's. FACT
An investment in dry year management is advantageous for consumers, including business. And hydro stuff lasts decades.
It would also allow more flexibility on the power currently going to the smelter.
It is much sounder strategically.
But then NZ Inc, is not how National think.
No need to be in the dark. This information is freely available by using google – Onslow dam.
National plans to finance their future tax cuts plans out of the profits in the power companies
Fact or reckon?
Fair call, National has proven they can deliver tax cuts without the money to afford them.
You need to wait until the budget on the 20th. Then you will have the facts.
build it and they will come.
Where will we put the next dam, once the current and planned ones feed the growth economy and we need more?
South Island people aren't keen on damming more rivers, which is why the two attempts on the Clutha and one on the Waitaki in recent decades have failed.
People like Onslow because its in the back of beyond and most people don't understand what is there and think it's just a nothing space, Terra Nullius.
I've been there, weka.
It's the most appropriate "space" imaginable for the proposed project.
I have no problem with using natural landscapes for such projects, under the following conditions.
Because there is no escaping the fact that if we keep breaking nature to grow the economy, the economy will keep growing until nature breaks us.
It would only be there as a reserve for dry years (when hydro dams are not providing the usual power generation). It would not add to normal year capacity.
Really? Is the government planning to tell people they can’t have more power?
Obviously there is a relationship between demand and low hydro lake levels and the need for more power.
Steady state in this context means we build the storage and we reduce demand for power. Not build the storage and pretend we don’t live in an economy that is increasing demand.
It is also designed to balance the grid due to increased renewables….without balance the grid goes down.
The options to balance that intermittence are limited and simply increasing capacity does not solve the problem.
All the options are expensive….though how expensive will never be known until delivery.
Surely not the same power companies of which large stakes were flogged off by John Key and his merry band? I wonder who the current shareholders are and how they voted in GE-2023.
I wonder who the current shareholders are
No need to be in the dark. This information is freely available in their annual report on each company’s website. Not hard.
Don’t be a disingenuous troll.
You asked the question. I gave you the answer. Problem?
'Twas a 2-part rhetorical question and only a dim-witted troll would take it as an excuse to troll.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/3732963/SOEs-to-be-sold-to-mum-and-dad-Kiwis-says-Key
You asserted that these investors can be found in the respective Annual Reports, which is misleading, at best, so you may want to correct your faux pas and apologise. And while you’re at it, you may want to include information on how the(se) shareholders voted in the latest General Election.
I suggest it’s you who need to apologise. But you won’t. Shareholder disclosures for the electricity companies are required and have been for decades under the Companies Act 1993. It’s also a requirement under the NZX listing rules.
Cool, then you won’t have any trouble linking to a list of all the shareholders of one of those companies.
And humour me, what should I apologise for?
You want to know how the voted at the last election? The largest shareholder is the government. Ask the Labour minister then responsible how the voted.
More disingenuous trolling; a troll on a roll.
If you call talking if fact rather than ignorance trolling , I plead guilty your high reverence.
[Where is your link to a list of individual shareholders?
Despite several clear warnings, incl. a Mod note on 19 Oct, you continue trolling and showing blatant disrespect for others on this site. Since you’re pleading guilty, don’t act surprised when I hand down your sentence – Incognito]
Mod note
Sorry your fucking thick.
Ive told you how and where to get this information, including why this is legally required to be disclosed.
There are many many electricity companies in New Zealand.
Which one would you specifically like more info on?
See my comment at 7:33 pm. A list from any of those companies will do if you wish to keep your commenting privileges here at all. You claimed it’s easy to find because of legal disclosure requirements and all that. I’d suggest that you won’t be providing anything, because you can’t – you’re talking out of your arse aka you’re trolling. You may want to refresh your obviously short memory and go back to my rhetorical question (for your convenience: https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-09-12-2023/#comment-1980275).
Bradford's reforms were a bloody stupid idea back in 1998 and all the evidence was against it. But National ploughed ahead anyway with their ideological fantasies, and the Kiwi consumer got shafted. SOP for the Gnats.
D, Kalderimis: PURE IDEOLOGY: THE "OWNERSHIP SPLIT" OF POWER COMPANIES IN THE 1998 ELECTRICITY REFORMS (wgtn.ac.nz)
I'd like to know roughly what proportion of the 51% of asset sale shares are still in Kiwi hands – see Blazer @7:43 pm. Not hard?
I voted Green. The dividends are much better, even now, than bank term deposits.
Millions of shares were sold to offshore investors.
Yes some Kiwi 'mum and dad' investors bought shares…that was part of the 'justification'.
That's funny coz it's a dam held in reserve for dry years and generates power like any other dam.
we can't triple our energy production, and there's not much point given the limits of growth and nature. We live on a finite planet, best we get used to it now while we still have some choices.
Fortunately we have alternatives. Public transpower, relocalising economies, creating urban villaged, relocalising food and many other things.
We don't need to use the amount of energy we do, we are just habituated to it.
Yes, Lake Onslow, but it wasn’t a confirmed project as such yet.
Just one of the many infrastructure projects around the country that was log jammed in consultation.
“A historic Waitangi Tribunal report expected to call for the return of all Crown-owned land across much of Northland will be handed over to the country's largest iwi this morning.
The almost 2000-page stage 2 report of Te Paparahi o Te Raki, also known as the Northland Inquiry, details land loss, military conflict and Treaty breaches suffered by Ngāpuhi between 1840 and 1900.”
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/504282/waitangi-tribunal-to-present-historic-report-into-land-loss-treaty-breaches-suffered-by-ngapuhi
It will be fascinating to see how the new government handles this.
Let the Games begin!
This is an interesting statement about the Labour Party, from its own leader. That it will not be driven to the left by the election defeat in 2023.
The other things that are not to be named are Labour being seen as pro Maori and the Kiwi not iwi 2005 reprise this time came to bite.
But that is because the "left wing" impulse is to confront inequality and injustice and seek to do better. However the three headed hydra managed to create a climate of fear and insecurity around "Maori privilege" and this added to a post COVID cloud exacerbated by rising costs.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/12/election-2023-labour-party-won-t-be-driven-left-after-loss-chris-hipkins-says.html
I suspect what he has overlooked, both before and now after the election, is the necessity to provide hope.
Agreeing with the Greens 3% rent increase cap and placing 5% windfall profits tax on major banks to finance an increase to IETC would have given more working class people confidence they would get by.
It might have made for a close contest. Probably still a losing one given the NZF role as conduit for majoritarian conservatives.
In that sense there is a positive in not losing because of the captains call on the modest wealth tax proposal (as per DP and GR). Only losing left wing votes to Greens and TPM.
But the future of Labour is in stating the obvious, 35 of 36 OECD nations have either a CGT or estate tax or both. That is not left wing, that is the mainstream of the first world.
A modest wealth tax is a CGT and estate tax in one – where it only applies in the top 10% level of wealth in the society.
+100 on the Wealth Tax SPC.
CGT is very complicated, slow to start working and produces an unpredictable level of tax receipts.
Hipkins has to go. I'm so sick of being not given a reason to vote Labour. I guess this means the Greens again.
Ardern was 'Tony Blair in..high heels'…Hipkins is' Tony Blair…in…hush puppies'…hopeless!
So can anyone tell what kind of country Hipkins wants?
It's not too much to ask.
Obviously one with national in government for 9 years.
I suspect Labour is well aware of those other 'unnamed' causes but have chosen to say nothing about them.
What Hipkins did say about two weeks ago is that everything is back on the table. I think we can safely assume that a "modest" CGT type tax is going to be back on the table – iirc ten years after it was first mooted under the Cunliffe leadership.
So Cunliffe just might end up having the last laugh.
Another bad captains call. Kiwis wanted change, Chippy stopped it. Kiwis were tired of identity politics and the cabal of ideologues (in the vein of Dr Elizabeth Kerekere) that appeared to be running things to the detriment (and alienation) of the working class. So what does he do? Nothing. A failure to identify the actual problems, again.
Hipkins keeps pumping the brakes. We need a few basic reforms to make Aotearoa a "kinder" place again, instead of its current sorry state as a playground for the 1% and screw the rest.
One tax that had potential to make a real difference was Robbo's "Closing the loophole" tax on negatively geared property investments. That was one of the first things on the Nats' chopping block.
Bryan Cadogan is a shining light in the darkness.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/opinion/301020851/new-governments-te-reo-demotion-pandering-to-the-perpetually-outraged
Bryan unfailingly gets it, writes about it, and stands by it. He's a good man.
Bryan Cardogan..brilliant. Thanks for that.Where does he publish?
Southland Times via Stuff.co.nz
That's brave for a Southland mayor.
Heartwarming.
Agree 100% Ad, real blue down there.
What to do when the lower rate of nicotine results in less use and lower tax revenues?
A legalisation or full on decriminalisation would generate revenue
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2023/12/09/marijuana-media-auckland-j-day-cannabis-taxes-and-worldwide-weed/
In addition to the existing medicinal marijuana regime, legal possession (up to maximum amounts) and licensed growing of low THC product product for personal use and commercial supply.
https://cannaflower.com/low-thc-cannabis-popular/
Big ups to the sleep drops, especially for all you retired people.
You vouch for sleep drops actually working?
The best cup of "tea" I've ever had was a THC infused honey and herbal mixture – was buzzing for a few days and actually felt good about myself for once.
It seems the country has come to the town.
5 councillors claim the finding that they were in breach of their code of practice was only because the Mayor and Council hired a partisan lawyer/shark.
As surprising number of these (but not any of the others) made comments about the Mayor's drinking and suggested she resign.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/301023940/five-wellington-councillors-breached-code-of-conduct-investigation-finds
The Epsom seat deal where ACT got a free pass from National for years. I started thinking, what benefit have the voters of that electorate got from the deal having Seymour as their MP over Paul Goldsmith. Goldsmith being told he cannot campaign for the seat but instead he has to sit back and pretend he is fine with Seymour taking what would naturally be his seat. Must privately be quite humiliating for him to watch Seymour suck John Key even if he publicly says he is ok with it. That aside though, the benefits to Epsom voters. Someone feel free to add if I have overlooked anything.
Charter schools – which made little if any difference to education but added costs to the education system
3 strikes law – which made little if any difference to crime rates but added extra costs
A euthanasia law – which might be beneficial for people who want to do so, but very very very very very very minute in comparison to big issues the country is facing.
plus the tens of thousands of dollars payable to Seymour as ACT leader, and often only MP, and his party leaders budget over paying Goldsmith as an MP.
Seems like Epsom got a pretty crap deal and frankly it has cost NZ millions more dollars than it could have. A case it seems, with ACT wanting to cut government costs, of doing what I say not what I do.
Shoutout to Sanctuary for an awesome long lunch thankyou.
I just woke up from my post lunch nap! Lovely to see you.