Cabinet said on Wednesday investigations will continue into both the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro project and a “portfolio” approach to electricity generation including geothermal and biomass for meeting New Zealand’s future energy needs.
Minister of Energy and Resources Megan Woods says Cabinet has agreed the strategic and economic details of both should be scrutinised before a decision is made mid-next year on which option to pursue.
A North Island pumped-hydro project and investment in green hydrogen as “dry year” solutions have been dropped.
The further work could soak up $69 million of the project’s total $100 million feasibility budget. Over $20 million has been spent investigating the Onslow option already, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment says. Construction of the scheme or the alternative projects could begin in 2027 or 2028.
Kicking the can down the road into the next electoral cycle has become Labour's favourite political tactic. For a positive take on this you could say they're being honest in admitting inability to cope – you'd be kidding yourself, though, since they haven't admitted any such inadequacy!
Spending millions investigating schemes is sensible to discern details, feasibility, implications, etc. Too bad the process always takes forever to complete.
This measure of popular opinion translates into voter collective opinion. Unfair to Chris & Chris, who have worked so hard to be as bland as possible? Doesn't matter if you answer yes or no. Our leadership vacuum will persist regardless. Democracy rules.
“If I were to be charitable, I would simply say that Clark and her fellow travellers need to understand that the PRC of 2008, when the FTA was negotiated, no longer exists. Gone is the relative openness and transparency of the CCP regime led by Hu Jintao and in its wake has risen the repressive and expansionist regime led by Xi Jinping. Clark and others may wax nostalgic for a past where the PRC would adopt liberal internationalist principles when it comes to foreign affairs and join the community of nations as a democratising Great Power, but that sadly has not happened. Instead, Xi has consolidated his grip on power, increased authoritarian powers against civil society, moved to culturally extinguish restive minorities like the Uyghurs, and de facto annexed Hong Kong while sabre-rattling against Taiwan and usurping the maritime territory of its littoral neighbours around the South China Sea. All while expanding its military capabilities (including its nuclear arsenal) and conducting global political influence (United Front) and espionage campaigns that include large-scale as well as focused cyber intrusions, intimidation of diaspora populations and industrial-size patent and copyright theft. That in turn has reconfigured the threat environment in which NZ is situated. The recently released package of NZ security documents pointedly make reference to these facts, among other things.”
Do you believe the Government is living up to its commitment made in this international declaration?
For example, the cost of carbon is built into the price of goods. Therefore, are people's incomes taken into account when they are billed for their power use? When purchasing petrol or food, are low income earners given a discount?
How is the Government meeting its obligation to a just transition, ensuring no one is left behind?
Low income power consumers who are forced into using pre-paid electricity….they pay the highest rates of all..
As they have no other options…they can be royally screwed..and they are .
Isn't the market a wonderful thing..?
And funny story…I actually thought this would be one of the first gross inequities/exploitations of the powerless..that a transforming labour majority govt would rush to fix..
Going off their reported stance re the BlackRock deal, the Greens also don't seem to care about the increasing cost of power.
The Green Party says the government's collaboration with BlackRock is an important step along the country's journey towards 100 percent renewable electricity generation.
“Climate action and support for energy poor households should be a core design feature of our electricity market,” says Green Party’s energy and resources spokesperson, Julie Anne Genter.
“Access to clean, affordable energy is an essential component of dignified life, yet successive governments have designed an electricity market that puts shareholder profit ahead of public interest.
“As today’s report shows, these design flaws have led to massive under investment in generating capacity and low carbon technologies.
“National’s partial privatisation of the electricity market in 2014, in particular, has held back climate action, promoted fossil fuels, and left households much worse off.
“Burning fossil fuels and keeping bills higher than necessary has become a strategy for profiteering that Mr. Luxon seems eager to promote.
“The fundamental failures of past governments cannot be addressed through incremental improvements while leaving the underlying design of the system intact.
“The Green Party is clear that the imperative to invest in a climate-friendly future is too important to outsource.
“Massive electricity profits should be reinvested into renewables, action to reduce household bills, and local clean energy projects, such as shared or community energy.
“An excess profit tax can help address the immediate challenges we face, while work is done to redesign the electricity market to build the better, cleaner and more equal future our children deserve.
“In a strong position to shape the direction of the next government, the Green Party will accelerate a just transition to a clean energy future where people and communities are better off than they are today,” says Julie Anne Genter.
That statement from Genter is all good. But their support for the BlackRock deal goes against that stance.
For example, she says successive governments have designed an electricity market that puts shareholder profit ahead of public interest. Which is largely what the BlackRock deal is going to further do.
Their support of BlackRock deal is conditional on the yet-to-be-announced details and stresses that any action that moves us towards 100% renewables is a good thing:
Its co-leader James Shaw said that the country had a massive challenge ahead in electrifying transport and heavy industry.
In terms of New Zealand, BlackRock has announced "a country specific fund designed to enable a whole country to decarbonise in a very short period of time", he said.
That did not address the whole challenge, but it was a step along the journey, Shaw said.
"As long as we're providing alternatives for people to put their money into I think what you'll see is less investment in the fossil fuel industry and more investment in renewables."
Shaw said while BlackRock had a few questions to answer regarding where it was investing, he believed the fund would lead to less investment in fossil fuel and more in renewables.
Their support of BlackRock deal is conditional on the yet-to-be-announced details
Is it? I was under the impression that Labour had basically take a position of trusting BR to do the right thing. I was disappointed in Shaw's statement tbh, even allowing for the constraints of the L/G government agreement.
No one has seen the specifics of the deal so we are all responding to the announcement conditionally. I am certain that if there are significant concerns when more is known, the criticism will be forthright. The important part is the belief in the announcements purpose of 100% renewables, objectively a good thing given the urgency of the climate crisis, but the proof will be in the pudding.
Woods on RNZ the day of the accouncement (sorry, don't remember which show) was asked about issues like ethical investment, and it really did come across like Labour haven't built those safeguards in.
Stressing that any action that moves us towards 100% renewables is a good thing is the problem with this current Green lot.
Too focused on the Green issue while not really caring about the cost to low income earners and the other negatives that come with taking a market approach.
The market approach is something largely expected from National, ACT, or Labour. But seeing the Greens being happy about a market approach is very disappointing.
The Greens really do cop it from every angle don't they. Criticised for not being an environmental party and too focused of social equity while also being criticised for being too focused on green issues and not caring about low income earners.
'Being happy about a market approach' is a misrepresentation of Shaw's statement. Just remind me which parties are advocating for fairer taxation and an income guarantee?
For example, the cost of carbon is built into the price of goods. Therefore, are people's incomes taken into account when they are billed for their power use? When purchasing petrol or food, are low income earners given a discount?
Odd framing. The government doesn't own the power companies, nor petrol stations, nor food outlets.
Odd framing. The government doesn't own the power companies, nor petrol stations, nor food outlets.
The Government imposes the carbon cost on them, which they then pass on to us. Making no allowance to ensure it is passed on in a just, fair or equitable way.
There is nothing in Just Transition that says everyone should be subsidised by the government as society forces businesses to pay for their pollution. If you think there is, you have failed fundamentally to understand what JT is.
Maybe put up an actual example of what you are talking about.
A party that rules out a fairer taxation system is unlikely to be overly concerned about people being left behind is it?
You have not linked to which party this is but I'm picking Labour….to which I reply
Really? There is more than one way of skinning a cat as that horrible expression goes. The Greens wealth tax was just an election policy, a policy like the dental policy, populist, possibly with suspect costings ( I felt this about the wealth tax and the release of the Treasury work confirmed it……the figures from the Greens did not need to include the family home nor start at $2m to make a difference – Treasury was recommending $5m.
Labour had been working on its own wealth tax, which in my view would have been much fairer and realistic. However the fallout from wealth tax discussions, I'm guessing in the groups that Labour was tapping into, has meant that wealth tax has been put aside.
I have yet to see any of those who lauded the Greens tax look at and comment on the work that Labour was doing. It seemed to be much fairer, tackle the wealthy, leave out the family home from the calcs…. etc
Treasury estimates reckoned the wealth tax would have hit about 25,000 people – the top 0.5 per cent of New Zealanders. Their total wealth reckoned to be $300b, or 26 per cent of the total wealth held by New Zealanders.
……Economic costs and other risks The wealth tax will incentivise taxpayers to change their behaviour in order to minimise their wealth tax liability. Some of these behavioural changes (which include migrating away from New Zealand and changes to saving and investment decisions) will impose costs on the wider economy.
The wealth tax will also impose a significant compliance cost burden on taxpayers (relative to the compliance burden of most other taxes) and will come with some significant integrity risks.
Assessment
While the wealth tax is likely to meet your revenue and distributional objectives, this will come with economic and integrity costs. While there is uncertainty over the costs of the tax, these could be large. Some of these economic costs are inherent to any tax increase, but some are due to the nature of the wealth tax…….
So there are other ways of increasing the tax take that do not involve a wealth tax eg stamp duty, death duty, financial transactions tax, higher tax take on higher incomes.
It is noteworthy that the The Guardian Essential poll, does mention tax but in the context of take home pay ie bracket creep and adjustment of brackets.
'Here is a list of things the Labour-led New Zealand government could try to deal with the rising cost of living.'
one was 'cut income taxes'
62% felt it was something that the Govt should do and that it would make difference.
This seems to be a report well worth reading and dispels some myths and confirms others ie there is concern about energy prices and perhaps it is something a Govt could look at. I have been advocating this since the year dot.
'Here is a list of things the Labour-led New Zealand government could try to deal with the rising cost of living.'
one was 'cut income taxes'
62% felt it was something that the Govt should do and that it would make difference.
Strangely enough:
“The Green Party’s plan to ask the wealthiest 0.7 to pay their fair share through a wealth tax would pay for an Income Guarantee that would benefit over 3.7 million people. Under our plan, 95 percent of New Zealanders would receive a tax cut and have more money in their back pockets to cover life’s essentials.
The 'work' Labour were doing has being put aside though. All roads seem to lead to Labour ruling out tax changes doesn't it? It's all well and good to prefer a change that isn't coming, especially if you're not currently struggling financially. The Greens are offering 95% of people an income tax cut, something you point out 62% of people would favour.
Really? There is more than one way of skinning a cat as that horrible expression goes. The Greens wealth tax was just an election policy, a policy like the dental policy, populist, possibly with suspect costings ( I felt this about the wealth tax and the release of the Treasury work confirmed it……the figures from the Greens did not need to include the family home nor start at $2m to make a difference – Treasury was recommending $5m.
Link to where Treasury have commented on the GP policy package, or retract please.
I have linked to the Treasury papers on the wealth tax several times.I think you have misread what i was saying.
I had doubts about the Greens wealth tax particularly about the level of $2m and the fact that it caught the family home. I felt instinctively that the level was too low, for city dwellers and those who had opted to save for thier retirement and that the policy to include the family home was also unfair.
When the Treasury papers came out they illustrated that a level of $5m in assets and not including the family home would generate significant amounts. To me this reinforced what i was saying. I have not said the Treasury analysed the Greens policy.
[please link to the Treasury report now so that people can see what you are talking about – weka]
I think you need to be more careful in how you say things. You have stated that the Greens tax policy has suspect costings, "the release of the Treasury work confirmed it".
If that's not what you meant, you appear to be conflating two separate pieces of work (GP policy, Treasury work on tax), and somehow saying that the Treasury work has bearing on the GP policy, despite them being separate work.
From reading your comments in the past, the Treasury work wasn't about funding a GMI, free dental etc, so it's really a nonsense to be comparing the two things in this way. All you are saying is that you like the Treasury work better, which is fine, but it's not about eliminating poverty.
thanks. A cursory look tells me this was prepared by Treasury for the government (Labour), for the purposes of,
This report provides officials’ policy advice on the effectiveness of a net wealth tax (a “wealth tax”) in achieving your revenue and distributional objectives, as well as the likely economic costs and other risks associated with the tax.
In other words, this is about Labour objectives, it's nothing to do with the Greens' objectives.
Granted I see that see that I should punctuated more clearly and will do this more carefully in future.
I am not conflating.
I am on record, like a cracked record actually, not liking the Greens wealth tax.
I am also on record at disagreeing with the need to set the level at $2m and at including the family home.
I am also on record disagreeing with including retirement savings.
I am also of the view and stated this more than once, that funding itnitiatives to eliminate poverty should be up front and centre of work on the Vote: budget of those departments that are responsble for this and not hidden away in this wealth tax.
The dental policy suffers the same flaws in my view plus others that Belladonna has mentioned.
The extension of the free allowance for dental work 'should be up from and centre of work on the Vote: budget of those departments that are responsble for this and not hidden away in this wealth tax.'
Because I have mentioned that the Treasury in its work on a wealth tax did not see the need to include the family home not set the level at $2m does not mean I am conflating anything.
I think you need to be more careful in how you say things. You have stated that the Greens tax policy has suspect costings, "the release of the Treasury work confirmed it". (from Weka)
I have not stated this at all, all along I have stated my view about the costings.
If that's not what you meant, you appear to be conflating two separate pieces of work (GP policy, Treasury work on tax), and somehow saying that the Treasury work has bearing on the GP policy, despite them being separate work. (from Weka)
Treasury work has bearing on the GP policy, despite them being separate work.
I have not said this at all. I have said my view is I trust the costings from Treasury more than the Greens costings…
I have disagreed with the wealth tax and, by extension, the using of of it as a funding mechanism for specific initiatives. Election policies followed by Departmental budgets through the yearly budget rounds are the places for initiatives like eliminating poverty and extending dental care.
I have also mentioned several times the fact that from my experience in the PS The Treasury does not like the concept of tied taxes. The wealth tax and its pre-ordained use is what they call a tied tax. It diminishes the amount of money that a govt has to allocate to pursue its policies.
In other words, this is about Labour objectives, it's nothing to do with the Greens' objectives.
I am so totally bewildered now.
I have never ever said The Treasury report was a report by Treasury on the Greens policy.
The Treasury paper was a summary of the work that the Treasury had been doing that Hipkins cancelled. He did this after widespread chatter (huge chatter I mentioned it myself) about wealth taxes, and the Greens one was the only one that was about so where did this chatter come from?
I was sad he did away with the work as, in my view, the Treasury figures seemed to have a robustness that I liked. I liked how they excluded the family home and they also seemed to signal that they were working on how to extract the family home on a money making farm business so it did not attract the wealth tax. They were also doing work on a retirement policy issue and that is the defined benefit plan and how it would be covered.
I repeat it was not my intention to conflate the Greens policy with the Treasury report.
I don't believe I did.
The Greens wealth tax came out before the wealth tax details that The Treasury was working on came out.
The Treasury papers came out after Hipkins had said he was not going ahead. It is my understanding the specific papers were released at that time either by OIA or because there was now no longer any need to keep the policy work in the orbit of 'free & frank' between Ministers/Treasury. There were some write-ups about high net worth individuals that had come out in the last year but these were by IRD.
My only intention was to compare the inputs/outputs both used. Comparing does not mean conflating.
At varsity we had endless 'compare and contrast' requirements, this kind of methodology flows through into any policy work looking at two or more alternatives. Forced comparisons are the stuff of strategic business planning exercises as well. The alternatives do not have to be like for like.
I did compare the two and I noted that Treasury in its work on a wealth tax had a $5m start and did not include the family home whereas The Greens policy did.
I have never said that the Greens should have been aware of the Govt's work on the wealth tax so how would anyone be beholden to the other. This is not part of my argument at all? The timings alone would have prevented that let alone the fact that The Greens not being able to access advice from The Treasury. Thye are two different papers discussing a possible wealth tax.
No forget the conflating it was just a straighforward comparison. Had both taxes been election policy I am sure there would be more people than just me saying 'Huh. They both want a tax but why does the Greens one come down so low in assets?'
Actually it would be a good question to get an answer to, as well as why the family home was included?
My opinion is that the work The Treasury was doing for the Govt on a wealth tax had a far better chance of being enacted, before the ‘horses were scared’. It seems fairer in that the family home was excluded and some forms of retirement planning as well…..both had been part of moves/encouragement by Govts in power and it seemed churlish to me to include them as wealth.
Treasury may have recognised this or it may have come about in discussions. You can see that there was further work on family homes on farms and some forms of retirement planning.
The end result of the Wealth tax is/was unimportant. Labour's was to fund the $10,000 tax free zone. I have always said that this is my opinion. So it was the set-up of the tax and not its end result that was my concern.
The wealth tax – which has since been ruled out by Prime Minister Chris Hipkins – would have meant about 46,000 individuals with net worth of more than $5 million had to pay 1.5% tax on that wealth.
'In New Zealand electricity is generated by 4 major electricity generating companies. Genesis Energy, Mercury and Meridian Energy operate under a mixed ownership model in which the government holds a majority stake, while Contact is a private sector company.'
so? I'm all for nationalising electricity in NZ. Or even more government intervention into the market. Anyone that wants a Just Transition should vote Green or TPM.
It's an interesting philosophical position, which hinges on fundamentals like efficiency, equity, competence, systems design, incentive-structures.
The historical reason the left abandoned socialism back in the 1970s is highly relevant – the more so due to never having been explained by leftists!!
I recall the gist from the Rogernomes around statist constipation, stultifying bureaucracy, employing endless losers off the street, etc. So they wheeled in market forces and we got all sorts of other types of shit instead.
The moral of the history is that centralised control systems only work well when they are well-designed, with effective incentives to motivate performance and work ethos, and competently managed. Do we trust either National or Labour to get this into their heads and produce the thing satisfactorily? Not a snowball's chance in hell. Most critical issue is accountability.
So whereas I agree that nationalising electricity makes sense in principle, folks would need to see that it gives them equity of outcome & is designed well enough to make Aotearoa resilient nationwide. Regional/local governance would have to be catered for seamlessly in that design, transparent enough to give most folks confidence in the system.
Well the model allows the government to get one power company to go into debt to transfer assets to another power company to then pay that value into the government coffers.
It clearly isn't a hands off model. It is just a right wing rort.
The Government will receive a $521 million special dividend from Meridian Energy thanks to Genesis Energy borrowing money from its bankers to help pay for Meridian's Tekapo assets.
State-owned Genesis borrowed $546 million from its senior bankers and is in the process of raising $275 million from investors to pay state-owned Meridian $821 million for the Tekapo A and B hydro stations.
Meridian will pay the Government a special dividend of $521 million at the completion of the sale on June 1.
That suggests the real value of the Tekapo stations is $300 million but the Government clicked the ticket along the way for $521 million by setting the price for the Tekapo assets and forcing Genesis to pay that price.
Indeed if we can promise to spend $40+billion on tunnels for cars, and another $20+billion on Auckland isthmus light rail, with that kind of money they could buy out all the Mercury+Meridian+Genesis+Contact Energy and have enough left over to buy most of us an electric car as well.
But good news they launched an Energy Transition plan yesterday. Great.
Excellent project to deal with the slash problem while also using ancient methods to improve that land:
According to Mashaba, the project involved taking some of the abundance of slash scattered across the region, and burning it in a sealed environment, which turned it into bio-char.
"It's controlled burning that's done in an enclosed container, and this keeps all the gases that could be going up, going back into the drum and burning, and then eventually they become part of the carbon, and form the charcoal that remains in the drum."
The charcoal could then be activated with something like animal urine, which made it a nutrient-rich fertiliser for soil.
"With the heavy flooding there's been a loss of nutrients [from] the soil, with that clear felling [of forestry plots] there's also been a lot of erosion of the soil itself, so what you then apply back as activated biochar will allow the land to heal."
Back to Victorian era times for fertiliser! In those days the main waste products from households were wood ash from domestic fires and human waste. Everything else was recycled or sold.
The contents of the pit toilets in your back yard, or the waste gunnels in streets were raked out, mixed with the household ash and carted off to be spread on fields.
Biochar is a fantastic use of the slash clogging waterways and a great way to reduce fossil fuel sourced fertiliser use. It's an example of the more circular systems we need to return to, like nitrogen-fixing cover crops.
Quite right. Seems to have special properties that scale up fertility for growers. I discovered it when I interviewed a local who'd been into it for a few years, about a decade back on GreenPlanetFM – he told the audience about how it had been used since ancient times in the Amazon.
I recall a stat along the lines of 1 teaspoon of charcoal has the same surface are as a rugby field.
Biochar (crushed charcoal soaked in a liquid fert eg comfrey, chook pooh or seaweed 'tea') isn't a miracle nutrient more a potentiator of what already exists in the soil. Easiest made in a steel container (think conical skip bin, no lid) filled with wood burning on the top. The fire acts as a 'flame cap' preventing oxygen from getting to the wood below, allowing pyrolisis to occur.
I like the Iwasaki kiln for a non moveable machine and there is the bonus of harvesting wood vinegar (pyroligneous acid), Here is a good once over of biochar, making charcoal and wood vinegar and other products. 15 minutes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTOHBrFuh68
It is commercially available but my arms are too short and my pockets are too deep for that. Simple DIY is to get a clean coffee, Milo, or paint tin, punch several holes inthe lid. Fill the tin with dry sticks (willow twigs makes a great artist medium). and put the lid on. Put it on a fire/in a log burner and wait and watch. The wood gases will start leaving the tin and ignite. When this has abated, remove tin, open container and quench the charcoal with water. Then crush charcoal and put in bucket and pee on it. Leave for a week.
Far from expert, but enthusiastic amateur. TBH the biochar was a branch (boom boom) I experimented with as a byproduct of making charcoal for my drum smoker and to make fireworks black powder with. 75/15/10.
Absolutely but this project is about dealing with the aftermath of the cyclones on the East Coast:
When Thabiso Mashaba arrived in the northern Tai Rāwhiti town of Uawa in early March, cyclones Hale and Gabrielle had blown through in quick succession, leaving the region strewn with slash and silt.
As an Edmund Hillary Fellow, he was interested in helping the Tolaga Bay residents find their own solutions to local problems – as well as making sure they could be compensated for their work.
This is astonishing, well done everyone involved. #rewilding #regeneration
For those us that don’t know Wellington, can someone please explain the landscape? I assume by suburb they don’t mean kiwi running through people’s backyards.
Karori is separated from Makara by highish hills, that have the Skyline walkway running along near the ridge. Hopefully that link will show you Google maps, switch to satellite view to get a good idea of the lay of the land. Karori on the east side is suburban down mainly in the valley, Makara is on the west side & is rural.
The kiwi were released well to the southwest & several have moved through Makara village to near the walkway, hence the present concern about dogs being off leash.
No, They were released well southwest of there. The Capital Kiwi facebook page had a post on 12 May saying
"The first 25 (of 50) kiwi were welcomed with an emotional pōwhiri at Pipitea Marae at dawn on Tuesday. The kiwi were then ferried west and released on to Terawhiti hills behind Mākara – they will have put their in-built raincoats to good use this week."
Terawhiti Station is on the southwest tip of the North Island. It's still farmed but certainly marginal, parts are regenerating. There's manuka, gorse, tauhinu, certainly not bush such as mature forest. The project's website has photos that will give an idea of what's there. The project includes the land extending north to Porirua but the release so far has only been in the area near Makara.
We are so fortunate in Wellington having Zealandia. It has made such a difference to the spread of birds across Wellington and has given groups like the ones who relased the Kiwi confidence. Wellington also has readymade bird 'islands' with the Town belt. (Dunedin has similar) Up the Kapiti coast the presence of Kapiti Island (a protected area) and the Nga Manu bird Sanctuary has meant we see lots of birds there too.
During the only week I ever had in Los Angeles I saw it just after it opened at the dome cinerama on Hollywood Boulevard, 1978. Stand-out for me was their buddy Neil Diamond doing Dry Your Eyes…
A fave song of mine when it was a bit of a sleeper on hit radio. Me & student flatmates turned it up whenever it came on, in our flat just above the Telair shop in the heart of K Rd. Transition from fast rock into that country blend was gathering pace…
No footage from me today, I suspect police smuggled him in and out a side door.
…
The defendant's demeanor today was calm and relaxed, unlike last time. If I was to guess, I'd say he's been told that the court process is just something he has to go through and that eventually he'll be discharged without conviction.
…
It seemed to me the judge merely rubbed-stamped whatever the defendant's barrister Emma Priest suggested. The police prosecutor did not speak AT ALL throughout the hearing.
The elderly lady started that fracas by trying to push over a counter protestor. Then she began to lay in to who [I presume]was the defendant. He responded in kind and knocked her off balance. Didn't leave her prostrate on the ground as the exaggerated versions at the time would have us believe.
Moral of the story. don’t be foolish and lay in to ta much younger and fitter person. They are going to win. Leave it to their peers to do the pushing and shoving.
The woman protestor started pulling up the line that was separating the protestors from LWS. When the elderly woman realised this she went over and pushed the protestor to the side to stop her. So far, so normal in a situation like that.
By then the protest crowd had started to invade the LWS area. The defendant sees what the elderly woman has done and tackles. When they're both standing upright again, she approaches him and he starts punching her.
But thanks for minimising MVAW and victim blaming. He didn't respond 'in kind'. She pushed the woman protestor aside with no harm, he criminally assaulted her. There is no excuse for what he did. None.
This is the result of being hyped up on adrenaline, testosterone disinhibition & moral certitude. It's also abject cowardice. What do you suppose the likes of this brave SJW would've done to PP if he'd got his hands on her. Had a nice chat?
No doubt there will be some who'll try to excuse this by saying "but she supports PP so she's a Nazi & it's okay to punch Nazis". Is it okay to cause broken bones, brain damage or death, because when a young man punches an elderly person in the head, it's likely outcome.
Men punch far harder than women, even an angry toddler-man like this one. Older brains are more susceptible to concussion. Women's posterior cervical spinal musculature is less powerful than men's & we suffer whip lash injury more as a result – I know this from experience.
An older woman is likely to be osteoporotic which greatly increases risk of fracture of facial bones or more dangerously, cervical vertebrae.
I'm minimising nothing! Just adding a little balance to an overhyped reaction coming from one side in particular. While not a nice scene by any means, the level of violence involved has been hyped up out of proportion to the actual facts of the case.
The judge, who is in possession of all those facts and who has no doubt studied the video in minute detail, would appear to agree. The assailant is to be punished for what he did and rightly so. But he is not going to be hung, drawn and quartered which would appear to be the desire of some in this case.
So, it was obviously a surprise to the woman to turn and find people pulling up some of the barriers that they were also advised to stay within.
The protestors were violent, intimidatory and abusive. The video evidence not only shows the incident, but the confidence and arrogance of those who were determined to stop the event.
You really should investigate why you are so determined to make apologies for this type of violent behaviour. I find it unfathomable.
Along with hyperbole such as this: “But he is not going to be hung, drawn and quartered which would appear to be the desire of some in this case.”
Can you post to the comments where this has been stated?
"A young LGBTQ rights activist who was filmed punching a 71-year-old woman in the head during the heated Posie Parker counter-protest in Auckland this year has pleaded guilty to assault.
The 21-year-old Gisborne resident, who continues to have interim name suppression, appeared in Auckland District Court today.
Judge Debra Bell granted defence lawyer Emma Priest’s request to not yet enter a conviction until sentencing. A date for that hearing has not yet been scheduled.
The victim, who did not attend today’s hearing, told the Herald she was pleased to hear about the guilty plea.
“I am feeling very good today,” said the grandmother of six, who suffered a concussion and facial bruising as a result of the attack. “I’m glad he has pleaded guilty. That made me feel a lot better.”"
"…The charge against the then-20-year-old LGBTQ rights activist came after footage circulated widely on Twitter showing a heated meeting of the two groups that day. In the video, he can be seen striking the woman in the face.
Court documents obtained by the Herald today note that the defendant and the victim did not know each other before the raucous gathering.
“About 11am an unknown person began pulling out pegs placed in the ground to separate the two groups,” police noted in the summary of facts for the case. “The group protesting against the speaker Posie Parker pushed over a metal fence and began approaching the group supporting her.
“The victim put her hands out to stop the group and made contact with a female from the opposing group, the same one that had been removing the pegs.”
The defendant approached the victim after noticing the physical contact, court documents state.
“The victim turned towards the defendant who responded by punching the victim three times in the head area,” police noted.
“In explanation, the defendant stated he believed the victim had assaulted a fellow protester and that the victim was going to assault him next.”"
I don't think the judge is weighing up whether the offence occurred and its gravity. The judge is clearly weighing up the sentencing as the young person, rumour has it, is at Auckland Uni and a punishment that might trigger passport or visa concerns or job prospects has to be seen and assessed as to whether it will be disproportionate.
That, if you like it or not, is how it works here.
Unfair as these concerns only seem to lay heavily when the offenders are white. middle class etc. Put it this way I'm not sure I have noticed as many pleas using this type of excuse from offenders from the likes of South Auckland.
Personally I think this type of 'excuse' should not be allowed. I think the full weight of the law should be felt for all offenders. Perhaps there could be a sentence quashing or review after 5 or 8 years, available to all, that sets out the work that has been done to ensure they don't offend again has been done and to wipe the offence from the need to mention it for travel etc.
"I don't think the judge is weighing up whether the offence occurred and its gravity."
He's not weighing up whether the offence occurred because it did occur. Its all there in the video. But of course he's weighing up the gravity of the offence. What would be the point of a justice system without differing levels of crime and violence being the primary consideration.
If there is circumstantial evidence to be considered as well… I'm happy to accept the judge's decision. Judges are in a far better position than you or I – or anyone else – to pass judgement on such matters.
As you say, that, if you like it or not, is how it works here. There is a system. Evolved over time.
It could change of course, evolve over time to something else. How about a system that looks only at the activity itself, the quite specific behaviour, nothing behind it or about the people involved? The, "you stole a loaf of bread off your hand" approach.
Judges' judgement only being used in outlining what wrongdoing happened.
I see cases where understanding, compassion and regard for the future of a guilty person are called for. And others where a 'gallows only' approach are demanded.
I am certain there are those who favour the former approach who at other times want the latter and think nil tolerance at all should be available. Ever.
"In Trafalgar Square, a man called for violence against women. Specifically, it seems, intellectually curious women, those unruly harridans who refuse to bow down to certain beliefs. Punch them ‘in the fucking face’, he bellowed into a mic. The heaving mob around him cheered. An electric current of hate seemed to flow through their ranks. Some punched the air, others laughed, taking delight in their leader’s invitation to hit ‘bad’ women.
The speaker was Sarah Jane Baker. He is a man who identifies as a woman. He is an ex-con too – he spent 30 years in jail for kidnap, torture and attempted murder. And yet here he was taking to the stage at Trans Pride – a gathering passionately backed by London mayor Sadiq Khan – where he made the case for slapping women who don’t support trans rights. He said he had intended to be ‘really fluffy’ at this event, but he changed his mind."
Fortunately, after a lot of protest against inaction on the part of the authorities, the speaker was arrested and recalled to the prison from where he was out on license.
I have long thought that because mangrove areas do not fit any trite definition of beauty of some people they do not deserve to be protected no matter how important mangroves are to ecosystems and no matter the work they do.
The poll took responses from 1000 eligible New Zealand voters, 800 by phone and 200 by online panel, with results weighted for gender, age and location, with a 3.1% margin of error…
So long as Winston and Shane Jones keep their marbles in check and don't start saying stupid shit they could well get their 5% on Election Day, actually some good policy and people within the NZF Organisation. A lot of policy put through by the 2017 Labour/NZF Coalition was actually NZF Policies.
Buzz from the Beehive The Minister of Defence has returned from Noumea to announce New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting and (wearing another ministerial hat) to condemn malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government. A bigger cheer from people who voted for the Luxon ...
The suppression of individual thought in our universities spills over into society, threatening free speech everywhere.Elizabeth Rata writes – Indigenising New Zealand’s universities is well underway, presumably with the agreement of University Councils and despite the absence of public discussion. Indigenising, under the broader umbrella of decolonisation, ...
Now that he’s back as Foreign Minister, maybe Winston Peters should start reading the MFAT website. If he did, Peters would find MFAT celebrating the 25th anniversary of how New Zealand alerted the rest of the world to the genocide developing in Rwanda. Quote: New Zealand played an important role ...
It must have been a hard first couple of weeks for National voters, since the coalition was announced. Seeing their party make so many concessions to New Zealand First and ACT that there seems little remains of their own policies, other than the dwindling dream of tax cuts and the ...
It’s Friday again and Christmas is fast approaching. Here’s some of the stories that caught our attention. This week in Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt covered some of the recent talk around the costs, benefits and challenges with the City Rail Link. On Thursday Matt looked at how ...
Amsterdam to Hong Kong William McCartney16,000 kilometres41 days18 trains13 countries11 currencies6 long-distance taxis4 taxi apps4 buses3 sim cards2 ferries1 tram0 medical events (surprisingly)Episode 4Whether the Sofia-Istanbul Express really qualifies to be called an express is debatable, but it’s another one of those likeably old and slow trains tha… ...
Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro arrives for the State Opening of Parliament (Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)TL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:New Finance Minister Nicola Willis set herself a ...
Sometimes one gets morbidly curious about the oddities of one’s own legal system. Sometimes one writes entire essays on New Zealand’s experience with Blasphemous Libel: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2017/05/09/blasphemous-libel-new-zealand-politics/ And sometimes one follows up the exact historical status of witchcraft law in New Zealand. As one does, of course. ...
Don’t expect any fiscal shocks or surprises when the books are opened on December 20 with the unveiling of the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU). That was the message yesterday from Westpac in an economic commentary. But the bank’s analysis did not include any changes to capital ...
It is quiet reading time in Room 13! It is so quiet you can hear the Tui outside. It is so quiet you can hear the Fulton Hogan crew.It is so quiet you can hear old Mr Grant and old Mr Bradbury standing by the roadworks and counting the conesand going on ...
It looks like the new ministerial press secretaries have quickly learned the art of camouflaging exactly what their ministers are saying – or, at least, of keeping the hard news out of the headlines and/or the opening sentences of the statements they post on the home page of the governments ...
The big dairy co-op Fonterra had some Christmas cheer to offer its farmers this week, increasing its forecast farmgate milk price and earnings guidance for the year after what it calls a strong start to the year. The forecast midpoint for the 2023/24 season is up 25cs to $7.50 per ...
Michael Bassett writes – Many of the comments about the Coalition’s determination to wind back the dramatic Maorification of New Zealand of the last three years would have you believe the new government is engaged in a full-scale attack on Maori. In reality, all that is happening ...
Mary Robinson asked Al Jaber a series of very simple, direct and highly pertinent questions and he responded with a high-octane public meltdown. Photos: Getty Images / montage: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR The hygiene effects of direct sunshine are making some inroads, perhaps for the very first time, on the normalised ‘deficit ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – Appointed by new Labour PM Jacinda Ardern in 2018, Cindy Kiro headed the Welfare Expert Advisory Group (WEAG) tasked with reviewing and recommending reforms to the welfare system. Kiro had been Children’s Commissioner during Helen Clark’s Labour government but returned to academia subsequently. ...
It seems even our transport agencies don’t want Labour’s harbour crossing plans. In August the previous government and Waka Kotahi announced their absurd preferred option the new harbour crossing that at the time was estimated to cost $35-45 billion. It included both road tunnels and a wiggly light rail tunnel ...
Hi,Paying Webworm members such as yourself keep this thing running, so as 2023 draws to close, I wanted to do two things to say a giant, loud “THANKS”. Firstly — I’m giving away 10 Mister Organ blu-rays in New Zealand, and another 10 in America. More details down below.Secondly — ...
Yesterday saw the State Opening of Parliament, the Speech from the Throne, and then Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s dream for Aotearoa in his first address. But first the pomp and ceremony, the arrival of the Governor General.Dame Cindy Kiro arrived on the forecourt outside of parliament to a Māori welcome. ...
Probably not since 1975 have we seen a government take office up against such a wall of protest and complaint. That was highlighted yesterday, the day that the new Parliament was sworn in, with news that King Tuheitia has called a national hui for late January to develop a ...
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). War, conflict and climate change are tearing apart lives across the world. But these aren't separate harms - they're intricately connected. ...
These dire woeful and intolerant people have been so determinedly going about their small and petulant business, it’s hard to keep up. At the end of the new government’s first woeful week, Audrey Young took the time to count off its various acts of denigration of Te Ao Māori:Review the ...
The new white supremacist government made attacking te reo a key part of its platform, promising to rename government agencies and force them to "communicate primarily in English" (which they already do). But today they've gone further, by trying to cut the pay of public servants who speak te reo: ...
Buzz from the Beehive The biggest buzz we bring you from the Beehive today is that the government’s official website is up and going after being out of action for more than a week. The latest press statement came from Education Minister Eric Stanford, who seized on the 2022 PISA ...
There was another ETS auction this morning. and like all the other ones this year, it failed to clear - meaning that 23 million tons of carbon (15 million ordinary units plus 8 million in the cost containment reserve) went up in smoke. Or rather, they didn't. Being unsold at ...
This isn’t news, but the National-led coalition is mounting a sustained assault on Treaty rights and obligations. Even so, Christopher Luxon has described yesterday’s nationwide protests by Maori as “pretty unfair.” Poor thing. In the NZ Herald, Audrey Young has compiled a useful list of the many, many ways that ...
New Zealand’s dairy industry, the mainstay of the country’s export trade, has been under pressure from rising costs. Down on the farm, this has been hitting hard. But there was more positive news this week, first from the latest Fonterra GDT auction where prices rose, and then from a report ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In their rush to discredit the new government (which our MainStream Media regard as illegitimate and having no right to enact the democratic will of voters) the NZ Herald and Newshub are arguing ACT’s Deputy Leader Brooke van Veldon is not following Treasury advice ...
Even many young people who smoke support smokefree policies, fitting in with previous research showing the large majority of people who smoke regret starting and most want to quit. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Wednesday, December ...
Well it didn’t take six months, but the leaks have begun. Yes the good ship Coalition has inadvertently released a confidential cabinet paper into the public domain, discussing their axing of Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs).Oops.Just when you were admiring how smoothly things were going for the new government, they’ve had ...
A wave of new and higher fees, rates and charges will ripple out over the economy in the next 18 months as mayors, councillors, heads of department and price-setters for utilities such as gas, electricity, water and parking ramp up charges. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Just when most ...
Hi,Kiwis — keep the evening of December 22nd free. I have a meetup planned, and will send out an invite over the next day or so. This sounds sort of crazy to write, but today will be Tony Stamp’s final Totally Normalcolumn of 2023. Somehow we’ve made it to ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
The electorate has high expectations of the new government. The question is: can it deliver? Some might say the signs are not promising. Protestors are already marching in the streets. The new Prime Minister has had little experience of managing very diverse politicians in coalition. The economy he ...
Nicola of Marsden:Yo, normies! We will fix your cost of living worries by giving you a tax cut of 150 dollars. 150! Cash money! Vote National.Various people who can read and count:Actually that's 150 over a fortnight. Not a week, which is how you usually express these things.And actually, it looks ...
When this government came to power, it did so on an explicitly white supremacist platform. Undermining the Waitangi Tribunal, removing Māori representation in local government, over-riding the courts which had tried to make their foreshore and seabed legislation work, eradicating te reo from public life, and ultimately trying to repudiate ...
Buzz from the Beehive Maybe this is not the best time for our Minister of Defence to have gone overseas. Not when the Maori Party is inviting (or should that be inciting?) its followers to join a revolution in a post which promoted its protest plans with a picture of ...
A Maori Party post on Instagram invited party followers to …. Tangata Whenua, Tangata Tiriti, Join the REVOLUTION! & make a stand! Nationwide Action Day, All details in tiles swipe to see locations. • This is our 1st hit out and tomorrow Tuesday the 5th is the opening ...
The RBNZ governor is citing high net migration and profit-led inflation as factors in the bank’s hawkish stance. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Tuesday, December 5, including:Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr says high net migration and ...
Willis has accused labour of “economic vandalism’, while Robertson described her comments as a “desperate diversion from somebody who can't make their tax package add up”. There will now be an intense focus on December 20 to see whether her hyperbole is backed up by true surprises. Photo montage: Lynn ...
The City Rail Link has been in the headlines a bit recently so I thought I’d look at some of them. First up, yesterday the NZ Herald ran this piece about the ongoing costs of the CRL. Auckland ratepayers will be saddled with an estimated bill of $220 million each ...
Is this the most shambolic government in the history of New Zealand? Given that parliament hasn’t even opened they’ve managed quite a list of achievements to date.The Smokefree debacle trading lives for tax cuts, the Trumpian claims of bribery in the Media, an International award for indifference, and today the ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis late yesterday stopped only slightly short of accusing her predecessor Grant Robertson of cooking the books. She complained that the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU), due to be made public on December 20, would show “fiscal cliffs” that would amount to “billions of ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The year was 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ with Bruno Mars was at the top of the music charts. Jurassic World was the most popular new movie in theaters. And decades of futility in international climate negotiations was about to come to an end in ...
As a heads-up, I am not one of those people who stay awake at night thinking about weird Culture War nonsense. At least so far as the current Maori/Constitutional arrangements go. In fact, I actually consider it the least important issue facing the day to day lives of New ...
Strong Words: “We do not consent, we do not surrender, we do not cede, we do not submit; we, the indigenous, are rising. We do not buy into the colonial fictions this House is built upon. Te Pāti Māori pledges allegiance to our mokopuna, our whenua, and Te Tiriti o ...
Some days it feels like the only thing to say is: Seriously? No, really. Seriously?OneSomeone has used their health department access to share data about vaccinations and patients, and inform the world that New Zealanders have been dying in their hundreds of thousands from the evil vaccine. This of course is pure ...
Buzz from the Beehive After $21.8 million was spent on investigations, the plug has been pulled on the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro electricity scheme, The scheme – that technically could have solved New Zealand’s looming energy shortage, according to its champions – was a key part of the defeated Labour government’s ...
If those elected to the Māori Seats refuse to take them, then what possible reason could the country have for retaining them?Chris Trotter writes – Christmas is fast approaching, which, as it does every year, means gearing up for an abstruse general knowledge question. “Who was ...
The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies.Brian Easton writes – The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he ...
The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out – for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable ...
As Deb Te Kawa writes in an op-ed, the new Government seems to have immediately bought itself fights with just about everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Monday December 4, including:Palau’s President ...
Let’s begin today by thinking about job interviews.During my career in Software Development I must have interviewed hundreds of people, hired at least a hundred, but few stick in the memory.I remember one guy who was so laid back he was practically horizontal, leaning back in his chair until his ...
New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align ...
Auckland’s city rail link is the most expensive rail project in the world per km, and the CRL boss has described the cost of infrastructure construction in Aotearoa as a crisis. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The 3.5 km City Rail Link (CRL) tunnel under Auckland’s CBD has cost ...
The first big test of the new Government’s approach to Treaty matters is likely to be seen in the return of the Resource Management Act. RMA Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed that he intends to introduce legislation to repeal Labour’s recently passed Natural and Built Environments Act and its ...
Time to revisit something I haven’t covered in a while: the D&D campaign, with Saqua the aquatic half-vampire. Last seen in July: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/07/27/the-song-of-saqua-volume-ii/ The delay is understandable, once one realises that the interim saw our DM come down with a life-threatening medical situation. They have since survived to make ...
A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 26, 2023 thru Dec 2, 2023. Story of the Week CO2 readings from Mauna Loa show failure to combat climate changeDaily atmospheric carbon dioxide data from Hawaiian volcano more ...
Affirmative Action was a key theme at this election, although I don’t recall anyone using those particular words during the campaign.They’re positive words, and the way the topic was talked about was anything but. It certainly wasn’t a campaign of saying that Affirmative Action was a good thing, but that, ...
It was at the end of the Foxton straights, at the end of 1978, at 100km/h, that someone tried to grab me from behind on my Yamaha.They seemed to be yanking my backpack. My first thought was outrage. My second was: but how? Where have they come from? And my ...
There’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...
Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...
Like earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...
1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. Under New Management 2. Which of these best describes the 100 days of action announced this week by the new government?a. Petulantb. Simplistic and wrongheaded c. ...
Sorry to say, the government’s official website is still out of action. When Point of Order paid its daily visit, the message was the same as it has been for the past week: Site under maintenanceBeehive.govt.nz is currently under maintenance. We will be back shortly. Thank you for your ...
Radio NZ reports: Te Pāti Māori’s co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has accused the new government of “deliberate .. systemic genocide” over its policies to roll back the smokefree policy and the Māori Health Authority. The left love hysterical language. If you oppose racial quotas in laws, you are a racist. And now if you sack ...
Open access notables From this week's government/NGO section, longitudinal data is gold and Leisorowitz, Maibachi et al. continue to mine ore from the US public with Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy, Fall 2023: Drawing on a representative sample of the U.S. adult population, the authors describe how registered ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Winston Peters reckons media outlets were bribed by the $55 million Public Interest Journalism Fund. He is not the first to make such an accusation. Last year, the Platform outlined conditions media signed up to in return for funds from the PJIF: . . . ...
Wow, it’s December already, and it’s a Friday. So here are few things that caught our attention recently. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt covered the new government’s coalition agreements and what they mean for transport. On Tuesday Matt looked at AT’s plans for fare increases ...
Late 1996, The Dogs Bollix, Tamaki Makaurau.I’m at the front of the bar yelling my order to the bartender, jostling with other thirsty punters on a Friday night, keen to piss their wages up against a wall letting loose. The black stuff, long luscious pints of creamy goodness. Back down ...
Nicola Willis, Chris Bishop and other National, ACT and NZ First MPs applaud the signing of the coalition agreements, which included the reversal of anti-smoking measures while accelerating tax cuts for landlords. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote ...
Labour’s immigration spokesperson Phil Twyford is calling on the Government to follow the example of Australia and help New Zealanders’ close family members stuck in Gaza to escape and take shelter here. ...
The Green Party is urging the Government to recognise its commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi so our tamariki and mokopuna can grow up in an Aotearoa where their language is celebrated, their health is prioritised, and their whenua is protected. ...
By scrapping Aotearoa’s world-leading smokefree laws, this government is sacrificing Māori lives to fund tax cuts for the wealthy. Not only is this plan revolting, but it doesn’t add up. Treasury has estimated that the reversal of smokefree laws to pay for tax cuts will cost our health system $5.25bn, ...
Figures showing National needs to find another $900 million for landlords highlights the mess this coalition Government is in less than a week into the job. ...
Community organisations, mana whenua and the Greens have written to the incoming Minister of Oceans and Fisheries to call for the progression without delay of the Hauraki Gulf/Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill. ...
"On behalf of the Labour Party I would like to congratulate Christopher Luxon on his appointment as Prime Minister,” Labour Party Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
NZ First has gotten their wish to ‘take our country back’ to the 1800s with a policy program that will white-wash Aotearoa and erase tangata whenua rights. By disestablishing the Māori Health Authority this Government has condemned Māori to die seven years earlier than Pākehā. By removing Treaty obligations from ...
Te Pāti Māori have called for the resignation of the Ministry of Foreign and Trade chief executive Chris Seed following his decision to erase te reo Māori from government communications. While the country still waits for a new government to be formed, Mr Seed took it upon himself to undermine ...
The New Zealand Labour Party is urgently calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and Israel to put a halt to the appalling attacks and violence, so that a journey to a lasting peace can begin, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon joined Cyclone Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell and Transport and Local Government Minister Simeon Brown, to meet leaders of cyclone and flood-affected regions in the Hawke’s Bay. The visit reinforced the coalition Government’s commitment to support the region and better understand its ongoing requirements, Mr Mitchell says. ...
New Zealand has joined the UK and other partners in condemning malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government, Minister Responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau Judith Collins says. The statement follows the UK’s attribution today of malicious cyber activity impacting its domestic democratic institutions and processes, as well ...
The Government has begun the process of disestablishing Te Pūkenga as part of its 100-day plan, Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills Penny Simmonds says. “I have started putting that plan into action and have met with the chair and chief Executive of Te Pūkenga to advise them of my ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will be leaving for Dubai today to attend COP28, the 28th annual UN climate summit, this week. Simon Watts says he will push for accelerated action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, deliver New Zealand’s national statement and connect with partner countries, private sector leaders ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins yesterday announced New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting (SPDMM). “Having just returned from this year’s meeting in Nouméa, I witnessed first-hand the value of meeting with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security and defence matters. I welcome the opportunity to ...
The Government is committed to lifting school achievement in the basics and that starts with removing distractions so young people can focus on their learning, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. The 2022 PISA results released this week found that Kiwi kids ranked 5th in the world for being distracted ...
Today I met with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to set out my expectations, which he has agreed to, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. Under section 16(1) of the Policing Act 2008, the Minister can expect the Police Commissioner to deliver on the Government’s direction and priorities, as now outlined in ...
New Zealand needs a strong and stable Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that is well placed for the future, after emission units failed to sell for the fourth and final auction of the year, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. At today’s auction, 15 million New Zealand units (NZUs) – each ...
With 2022 PISA results showing a decline in achievement, Education Minister Erica Stanford is confident that the Coalition Government’s 100-day plan for education will improve outcomes for Kiwi kids. The 2022 PISA results show a significant decline in the performance of 15-year-old students in maths compared to 2018 and confirms ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today departed for New Caledonia to attend the 8th annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ meeting (SPDMM). “This meeting is an excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security matters and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Pacific,” Judith Collins says. ...
Putting more money in the pockets of hard-working families is a priority of this Coalition Government, starting with an increase to Working for Families, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “We are starting our 100-day plan with a laser focus on bringing down the cost of living, because that is what ...
Most weeks, following Cabinet, the Prime Minister holds a press conference for members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery. This page contains the transcripts from those press conferences, which are supplied by Hansard to the Office of the Prime Minister. It is important to note that the transcripts have not been edited ...
The Government has axed the $16 billion Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme championed by the previous government, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says. “This hugely wasteful project was pouring money down the drain at a time when we need to be reining in spending and focussing on rebuilding the economy and ...
New Zealand welcomes the further one-day extension of the pause in fighting, which will allow the delivery of more urgently-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza and the release of more hostages, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. “The human cost of the conflict is horrific, and New Zealand wants to see the violence ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters today expressed on behalf of the New Zealand Government his condolences to the family of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who has passed away at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut. “While opinions on his legacy are varied, Secretary Kissinger was ...
Every child deserves a world-leading education, and the Coalition Government is making that a priority as part of its 100-day plan. Education Minister Erica Stanford says that will start with banning cellphone use at school and ensuring all primary students spend one hour on reading, writing, and maths each day. ...
I would like to begin by echoing the Prime Minister’s thanks to the organisers of this Summit, Fran O’Sullivan and the Auckland Business Chamber. I want to also acknowledge the many leading exporters, sector representatives, diplomats, and other leaders we have joining us in the room. In particular, I would like ...
Good morning. Thank you, Rosemary, for your warm introduction, and to Fran and Simon for this opportunity to make some brief comments about New Zealand’s relationship with the United States. This is also a chance to acknowledge my colleague, Minister for Trade Todd McClay, Ambassador Tom Udall, Secretary of Foreign ...
Good morning, tēnā koutou and namaskar. Many thanks, Michael, for your warm welcome. I would like to acknowledge the work of the India New Zealand Business Council in facilitating today’s event and for the Council’s broader work in supporting a coordinated approach for lifting New Zealand-India relations. I want to also ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has laid out the Coalition Government’s plan for its first 100 days from today. “The last few years have been incredibly tough for so many New Zealanders. People have put their trust in National, ACT and NZ First to steer them towards a better, more prosperous ...
A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bianca Baggiarini, Lecturer, Australian National University Last week, reports emerged that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are using an artificial intelligence (AI) system called Habsora (Hebrew for “The Gospel”) to select targets in the war on Hamas in Gaza. The system has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Johan Lidberg, Associate Professor, School of Media, Film and Journalism, Monash University The most significant recommendation in the Senate inquiry report on the functionality of the Commonwealth FOI system is this: move the federal Freedom of Information (FOI) function from the Office ...
Analysis: The government was under attack on multiple fronts during a week of relentless criticism and then faced its first Question Time in Parliament, Peter Wilson writes. ...
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Further to the situation I posted to DR last night, there's more obfuscation on the energy resilience front from the govt: https://www.newsroom.co.nz/giant-pumped-hydro-scheme-up-in-the-air
Kicking the can down the road into the next electoral cycle has become Labour's favourite political tactic. For a positive take on this you could say they're being honest in admitting inability to cope – you'd be kidding yourself, though, since they haven't admitted any such inadequacy!
Spending millions investigating schemes is sensible to discern details, feasibility, implications, etc. Too bad the process always takes forever to complete.
Kiwis unimpressed by our mainstream left/right political leaders now poll at 73%:
This measure of popular opinion translates into voter collective opinion. Unfair to Chris & Chris, who have worked so hard to be as bland as possible? Doesn't matter if you answer yes or no. Our leadership vacuum will persist regardless. Democracy rules.
Nevermind the 'popularity' of the leaders….worry about the shell game being played with policies.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/giant-pumped-hydro-scheme-up-in-the-air
https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/auckland-top-stories/300944088/pm-chris-hipkins-reveals-bold-plan-to-have-second-auckland-harbour-crossing-with-road-tunnels-light-rail
Luxon and Hipkins could wake up leading the opposite party and really no one would blink.
This week Hipkins outlined huge roading projects and a fat deal with Blackrock.
This week Luxon went for no cellphones in classrooms which is now basic in Labor Australia
Currently the only difference is hair.
Ad, what do you think of schools becoming landlords? Apparently Epsom Girls? is.
We all love a good foreign policy scrap. Pablo not mincing words regarding Helen Clark’s latest comments.
https://www.kiwipolitico.com/2023/08/benign-strategic-nostalgia/
“If I were to be charitable, I would simply say that Clark and her fellow travellers need to understand that the PRC of 2008, when the FTA was negotiated, no longer exists. Gone is the relative openness and transparency of the CCP regime led by Hu Jintao and in its wake has risen the repressive and expansionist regime led by Xi Jinping. Clark and others may wax nostalgic for a past where the PRC would adopt liberal internationalist principles when it comes to foreign affairs and join the community of nations as a democratising Great Power, but that sadly has not happened. Instead, Xi has consolidated his grip on power, increased authoritarian powers against civil society, moved to culturally extinguish restive minorities like the Uyghurs, and de facto annexed Hong Kong while sabre-rattling against Taiwan and usurping the maritime territory of its littoral neighbours around the South China Sea. All while expanding its military capabilities (including its nuclear arsenal) and conducting global political influence (United Front) and espionage campaigns that include large-scale as well as focused cyber intrusions, intimidation of diaspora populations and industrial-size patent and copyright theft. That in turn has reconfigured the threat environment in which NZ is situated. The recently released package of NZ security documents pointedly make reference to these facts, among other things.”
In 2021 the Government announced its commitment to The International Just Transition Declaration.
Acknowledging the transition to a low carbon future needs to be a fair and equitable leaving no community, family or person behind.
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/nz-commits-just-transition
Do you believe the Government is living up to its commitment made in this international declaration?
For example, the cost of carbon is built into the price of goods. Therefore, are people's incomes taken into account when they are billed for their power use? When purchasing petrol or food, are low income earners given a discount?
How is the Government meeting its obligation to a just transition, ensuring no one is left behind?
Low income power consumers who are forced into using pre-paid electricity….they pay the highest rates of all..
As they have no other options…they can be royally screwed..and they are .
Isn't the market a wonderful thing..?
And funny story…I actually thought this would be one of the first gross inequities/exploitations of the powerless..that a transforming labour majority govt would rush to fix..
Silly me..!…eh..?
Going off their reported stance re the BlackRock deal, the Greens also don't seem to care about the increasing cost of power.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/495424/climate-policy-expert-cautiously-optimistic-over-blackrock-deal
https://www.greens.org.nz/fix_electricity_market_to_help_both_climate_and_cost_of_living
go easy on the long copypasta please.
That statement from Genter is all good. But their support for the BlackRock deal goes against that stance.
For example, she says successive governments have designed an electricity market that puts shareholder profit ahead of public interest. Which is largely what the BlackRock deal is going to further do.
Their support of BlackRock deal is conditional on the yet-to-be-announced details and stresses that any action that moves us towards 100% renewables is a good thing:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/495424/climate-policy-expert-cautiously-optimistic-over-blackrock-deal
A party vote for the Greens would increase their ability to pressure Labour to do better.
Is it? I was under the impression that Labour had basically take a position of trusting BR to do the right thing. I was disappointed in Shaw's statement tbh, even allowing for the constraints of the L/G government agreement.
No one has seen the specifics of the deal so we are all responding to the announcement conditionally. I am certain that if there are significant concerns when more is known, the criticism will be forthright. The important part is the belief in the announcements purpose of 100% renewables, objectively a good thing given the urgency of the climate crisis, but the proof will be in the pudding.
Woods on RNZ the day of the accouncement (sorry, don't remember which show) was asked about issues like ethical investment, and it really did come across like Labour haven't built those safeguards in.
Stressing that any action that moves us towards 100% renewables is a good thing is the problem with this current Green lot.
Too focused on the Green issue while not really caring about the cost to low income earners and the other negatives that come with taking a market approach.
The market approach is something largely expected from National, ACT, or Labour. But seeing the Greens being happy about a market approach is very disappointing.
The Greens really do cop it from every angle don't they. Criticised for not being an environmental party and too focused of social equity while also being criticised for being too focused on green issues and not caring about low income earners.
'Being happy about a market approach' is a misrepresentation of Shaw's statement. Just remind me which parties are advocating for fairer taxation and an income guarantee?
a wilful misrepresentation. I'm mindful that TC has a long history of using TS to slag off the government without much substance.
Whatever my disappointment about Shaw's response, it's an idiocy to frame his or the GP position as 'happy with a market approach'.
Or have you got it arse-backwards?
Of course they care about rising costs; the higher costs that will come if we DON'T change now.
Odd framing. The government doesn't own the power companies, nor petrol stations, nor food outlets.
Here's the Just Transition Declaration
https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20230313132211/https://ukcop26.org/supporting-the-conditions-for-a-just-transition-internationally/
It has six points, might be good to use the actual framework in the Declaration,
The Government imposes the carbon cost on them, which they then pass on to us. Making no allowance to ensure it is passed on in a just, fair or equitable way.
There is nothing in Just Transition that says everyone should be subsidised by the government as society forces businesses to pay for their pollution. If you think there is, you have failed fundamentally to understand what JT is.
Maybe put up an actual example of what you are talking about.
How is the Government going to ensure a just transition without subsidising low income earners, ensuring no one is left behind?
A party that rules out a fairer taxation system is unlikely to be overly concerned about people being left behind is it?
You have not linked to which party this is but I'm picking Labour….to which I reply
Really? There is more than one way of skinning a cat as that horrible expression goes. The Greens wealth tax was just an election policy, a policy like the dental policy, populist, possibly with suspect costings ( I felt this about the wealth tax and the release of the Treasury work confirmed it……the figures from the Greens did not need to include the family home nor start at $2m to make a difference – Treasury was recommending $5m.
Labour had been working on its own wealth tax, which in my view would have been much fairer and realistic. However the fallout from wealth tax discussions, I'm guessing in the groups that Labour was tapping into, has meant that wealth tax has been put aside.
I have yet to see any of those who lauded the Greens tax look at and comment on the work that Labour was doing. It seemed to be much fairer, tackle the wealthy, leave out the family home from the calcs…. etc
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/election-2023-chris-hipkins-confirms-he-killed-wealth-tax-capital-gains-tax-in-budget/LZNZMSBEBNEQFHUSJKP4637TIA/
https://www.treasury.govt.nz/sites/default/files/2023-07/b23-tax-4796987.pdf
Noting:
So there are other ways of increasing the tax take that do not involve a wealth tax eg stamp duty, death duty, financial transactions tax, higher tax take on higher incomes.
It is noteworthy that the The Guardian Essential poll, does mention tax but in the context of take home pay ie bracket creep and adjustment of brackets.
'Here is a list of things the Labour-led New Zealand government could try to deal with the rising cost of living.'
one was 'cut income taxes'
62% felt it was something that the Govt should do and that it would make difference.
This seems to be a report well worth reading and dispels some myths and confirms others ie there is concern about energy prices and perhaps it is something a Govt could look at. I have been advocating this since the year dot.
Strangely enough:
https://www.greens.org.nz/change_the_tax_system_to_support_struggling_households
Zoooooooom.
The respondents talked about tax brackets etc not a wealth tax. That was my point.
Not all roads lead to The Greens wealth tax.
Where are you whizzing off to?
The 'work' Labour were doing has being put aside though. All roads seem to lead to Labour ruling out tax changes doesn't it? It's all well and good to prefer a change that isn't coming, especially if you're not currently struggling financially. The Greens are offering 95% of people an income tax cut, something you point out 62% of people would favour.
Link to where Treasury have commented on the GP policy package, or retract please.
I have linked to the Treasury papers on the wealth tax several times.I think you have misread what i was saying.
I had doubts about the Greens wealth tax particularly about the level of $2m and the fact that it caught the family home. I felt instinctively that the level was too low, for city dwellers and those who had opted to save for thier retirement and that the policy to include the family home was also unfair.
When the Treasury papers came out they illustrated that a level of $5m in assets and not including the family home would generate significant amounts. To me this reinforced what i was saying. I have not said the Treasury analysed the Greens policy.
[please link to the Treasury report now so that people can see what you are talking about – weka]
mod note.
I think you need to be more careful in how you say things. You have stated that the Greens tax policy has suspect costings, "the release of the Treasury work confirmed it".
If that's not what you meant, you appear to be conflating two separate pieces of work (GP policy, Treasury work on tax), and somehow saying that the Treasury work has bearing on the GP policy, despite them being separate work.
From reading your comments in the past, the Treasury work wasn't about funding a GMI, free dental etc, so it's really a nonsense to be comparing the two things in this way. All you are saying is that you like the Treasury work better, which is fine, but it's not about eliminating poverty.
As above
https://www.treasury.govt.nz/sites/default/files/2023-07/b23-tax-4796987.pdf
and another
https://www.treasury.govt.nz/publications/wp/wp-23-01
thanks. A cursory look tells me this was prepared by Treasury for the government (Labour), for the purposes of,
In other words, this is about Labour objectives, it's nothing to do with the Greens' objectives.
Granted I see that see that I should punctuated more clearly and will do this more carefully in future.
I am not conflating.
I am on record, like a cracked record actually, not liking the Greens wealth tax.
I am also on record at disagreeing with the need to set the level at $2m and at including the family home.
I am also on record disagreeing with including retirement savings.
I am also of the view and stated this more than once, that funding itnitiatives to eliminate poverty should be up front and centre of work on the Vote: budget of those departments that are responsble for this and not hidden away in this wealth tax.
The dental policy suffers the same flaws in my view plus others that Belladonna has mentioned.
The extension of the free allowance for dental work 'should be up from and centre of work on the Vote: budget of those departments that are responsble for this and not hidden away in this wealth tax.'
Because I have mentioned that the Treasury in its work on a wealth tax did not see the need to include the family home not set the level at $2m does not mean I am conflating anything.
I have not stated this at all, all along I have stated my view about the costings.
Treasury work has bearing on the GP policy, despite them being separate work.
I have not said this at all. I have said my view is I trust the costings from Treasury more than the Greens costings…
I have disagreed with the wealth tax and, by extension, the using of of it as a funding mechanism for specific initiatives. Election policies followed by Departmental budgets through the yearly budget rounds are the places for initiatives like eliminating poverty and extending dental care.
I have also mentioned several times the fact that from my experience in the PS The Treasury does not like the concept of tied taxes. The wealth tax and its pre-ordained use is what they call a tied tax. It diminishes the amount of money that a govt has to allocate to pursue its policies.
I am so totally bewildered now.
I have never ever said The Treasury report was a report by Treasury on the Greens policy.
The Treasury paper was a summary of the work that the Treasury had been doing that Hipkins cancelled. He did this after widespread chatter (huge chatter I mentioned it myself) about wealth taxes, and the Greens one was the only one that was about so where did this chatter come from?
I was sad he did away with the work as, in my view, the Treasury figures seemed to have a robustness that I liked. I liked how they excluded the family home and they also seemed to signal that they were working on how to extract the family home on a money making farm business so it did not attract the wealth tax. They were also doing work on a retirement policy issue and that is the defined benefit plan and how it would be covered.
It has always been my views……
You said,
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-10-08-2023/#comment-1963686
This is where you are conflating two different things,
If you did not mean to say that the GP policy didn’t need to have a threshold of $2m because Treasury recommended $5m, then please clarify now.
I repeat it was not my intention to conflate the Greens policy with the Treasury report.
I don't believe I did.
The Greens wealth tax came out before the wealth tax details that The Treasury was working on came out.
The Treasury papers came out after Hipkins had said he was not going ahead. It is my understanding the specific papers were released at that time either by OIA or because there was now no longer any need to keep the policy work in the orbit of 'free & frank' between Ministers/Treasury. There were some write-ups about high net worth individuals that had come out in the last year but these were by IRD.
My only intention was to compare the inputs/outputs both used. Comparing does not mean conflating.
At varsity we had endless 'compare and contrast' requirements, this kind of methodology flows through into any policy work looking at two or more alternatives. Forced comparisons are the stuff of strategic business planning exercises as well. The alternatives do not have to be like for like.
I did compare the two and I noted that Treasury in its work on a wealth tax had a $5m start and did not include the family home whereas The Greens policy did.
I have never said that the Greens should have been aware of the Govt's work on the wealth tax so how would anyone be beholden to the other. This is not part of my argument at all? The timings alone would have prevented that let alone the fact that The Greens not being able to access advice from The Treasury. Thye are two different papers discussing a possible wealth tax.
No forget the conflating it was just a straighforward comparison. Had both taxes been election policy I am sure there would be more people than just me saying 'Huh. They both want a tax but why does the Greens one come down so low in assets?'
Actually it would be a good question to get an answer to, as well as why the family home was included?
My opinion is that the work The Treasury was doing for the Govt on a wealth tax had a far better chance of being enacted, before the ‘horses were scared’. It seems fairer in that the family home was excluded and some forms of retirement planning as well…..both had been part of moves/encouragement by Govts in power and it seemed churlish to me to include them as wealth.
Treasury may have recognised this or it may have come about in discussions. You can see that there was further work on family homes on farms and some forms of retirement planning.
The end result of the Wealth tax is/was unimportant. Labour's was to fund the $10,000 tax free zone. I have always said that this is my opinion. So it was the set-up of the tax and not its end result that was my concern.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/300927549/wealth-tax-would-create-compliance-headaches-little-gain
You didn't specify low income people. Like I said, give us some specific examples so we know what you are talking about.
'In New Zealand electricity is generated by 4 major electricity generating companies. Genesis Energy, Mercury and Meridian Energy operate under a mixed ownership model in which the government holds a majority stake, while Contact is a private sector company.'
Electricity industry | Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (mbie.govt.nz)
so? I'm all for nationalising electricity in NZ. Or even more government intervention into the market. Anyone that wants a Just Transition should vote Green or TPM.
It's an interesting philosophical position, which hinges on fundamentals like efficiency, equity, competence, systems design, incentive-structures.
The historical reason the left abandoned socialism back in the 1970s is highly relevant – the more so due to never having been explained by leftists!!
I recall the gist from the Rogernomes around statist constipation, stultifying bureaucracy, employing endless losers off the street, etc. So they wheeled in market forces and we got all sorts of other types of shit instead.
The moral of the history is that centralised control systems only work well when they are well-designed, with effective incentives to motivate performance and work ethos, and competently managed. Do we trust either National or Labour to get this into their heads and produce the thing satisfactorily? Not a snowball's chance in hell. Most critical issue is accountability.
So whereas I agree that nationalising electricity makes sense in principle, folks would need to see that it gives them equity of outcome & is designed well enough to make Aotearoa resilient nationwide. Regional/local governance would have to be catered for seamlessly in that design, transparent enough to give most folks confidence in the system.
So….' The government doesn't own the power companies'-you're wrong.
snort. Remind me how that particular business model enables the government to keep electricity prices low?
Well the model allows the government to get one power company to go into debt to transfer assets to another power company to then pay that value into the government coffers.
It clearly isn't a hands off model. It is just a right wing rort.
The Government will receive a $521 million special dividend from Meridian Energy thanks to Genesis Energy borrowing money from its bankers to help pay for Meridian's Tekapo assets.
State-owned Genesis borrowed $546 million from its senior bankers and is in the process of raising $275 million from investors to pay state-owned Meridian $821 million for the Tekapo A and B hydro stations.
Meridian will pay the Government a special dividend of $521 million at the completion of the sale on June 1.
That suggests the real value of the Tekapo stations is $300 million but the Government clicked the ticket along the way for $521 million by setting the price for the Tekapo assets and forcing Genesis to pay that price.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/tekapo-assets-gift-govt-521m/NOVUNCADGFG5BLUFMNB53WCIRU/
fucking neoliberalism. I hope The Chairman takes note and votes accordingly.
Indeed if we can promise to spend $40+billion on tunnels for cars, and another $20+billion on Auckland isthmus light rail, with that kind of money they could buy out all the Mercury+Meridian+Genesis+Contact Energy and have enough left over to buy most of us an electric car as well.
But good news they launched an Energy Transition plan yesterday. Great.
Jim Cramer is a low life, and a suck up to corporate leaders. So many scum like this in NZ.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLrsMG3M9Sg
Excellent project to deal with the slash problem while also using ancient methods to improve that land:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/495503/from-slash-to-cash-finding-innovative-ways-to-fertilise-and-heal-east-coast-land
Back to Victorian era times for fertiliser! In those days the main waste products from households were wood ash from domestic fires and human waste. Everything else was recycled or sold.
The contents of the pit toilets in your back yard, or the waste gunnels in streets were raked out, mixed with the household ash and carted off to be spread on fields.
Biochar is a fantastic use of the slash clogging waterways and a great way to reduce fossil fuel sourced fertiliser use. It's an example of the more circular systems we need to return to, like nitrogen-fixing cover crops.
Quite right. Seems to have special properties that scale up fertility for growers. I discovered it when I interviewed a local who'd been into it for a few years, about a decade back on GreenPlanetFM – he told the audience about how it had been used since ancient times in the Amazon.
The properties that helps in soil is it's massive surface area in relation to its volume.
It allows a strong mycorrhizal network to form thereby increasing the potency of the wood wide web.
I could go on and on but don't wanna risk being a charcoal bore..
Too late according to some that are close to me.
Interesting point about the fine structure. I wonder if it scales down to the molecular level. If so, would explain fungal symbiosis (as catalyst).
Is it a commercial product yet or do users still need to diy? You're clearly expert & may even be the guy I interviewed.
I recall a stat along the lines of 1 teaspoon of charcoal has the same surface are as a rugby field.
Biochar (crushed charcoal soaked in a liquid fert eg comfrey, chook pooh or seaweed 'tea') isn't a miracle nutrient more a potentiator of what already exists in the soil. Easiest made in a steel container (think conical skip bin, no lid) filled with wood burning on the top. The fire acts as a 'flame cap' preventing oxygen from getting to the wood below, allowing pyrolisis to occur.
I like the Iwasaki kiln for a non moveable machine and there is the bonus of harvesting wood vinegar (pyroligneous acid), Here is a good once over of biochar, making charcoal and wood vinegar and other products. 15 minutes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTOHBrFuh68
It is commercially available but my arms are too short and my pockets are too deep for that. Simple DIY is to get a clean coffee, Milo, or paint tin, punch several holes inthe lid. Fill the tin with dry sticks (willow twigs makes a great artist medium). and put the lid on. Put it on a fire/in a log burner and wait and watch. The wood gases will start leaving the tin and ignite. When this has abated, remove tin, open container and quench the charcoal with water. Then crush charcoal and put in bucket and pee on it. Leave for a week.
I wondered when you would comment. I am fascinated by your work and expositions on charcoal biomass and don't think you are a 'charcoal bore'.
I would say that on TS you are our charcoal expert.
And we cannot be wrong!
How very kind.
Far from expert, but enthusiastic amateur. TBH the biochar was a branch (boom boom) I experimented with as a byproduct of making charcoal for my drum smoker and to make fireworks black powder with. 75/15/10.
I'd prefer it if our forestry model didn't produce slash in the first place.
Short rotation monoculture ends up in ruinous bulk slash
I'd like to see high end mixed species forests with a permanent canopy and longer rotations,as exemplified by Tanes Tree trust
Absolutely but this project is about dealing with the aftermath of the cyclones on the East Coast:
Very true
I was responding to someone's comment that it could become part of the circular economy.
Its a very good short term solution to the damage from reckless forestry, wouldnt want to see it built in
On my charcoal journey I've learnt that a Collier was originally one who made charcoal.
The rise of coal mining saw that title move to those that worked in the pits.
Now with the decline of the mines and the resurgence of charcoal they have claimed the name back.
Nice to see that getting some MSM coverage.
Wellingtonians?
This is astonishing, well done everyone involved. #rewilding #regeneration
For those us that don’t know Wellington, can someone please explain the landscape? I assume by suburb they don’t mean kiwi running through people’s backyards.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/495507/after-150-year-absence-the-cry-of-the-kiwi-reaches-karori-in-wellington
Not yet in backyards I think.
Karori is separated from Makara by highish hills, that have the Skyline walkway running along near the ridge. Hopefully that link will show you Google maps, switch to satellite view to get a good idea of the lay of the land. Karori on the east side is suburban down mainly in the valley, Makara is on the west side & is rural.
The kiwi were released well to the southwest & several have moved through Makara village to near the walkway, hence the present concern about dogs being off leash.
So the kiwi were released in the Mākara Mountain Bike Park area (on that map)? Is that native bush?
No, They were released well southwest of there. The Capital Kiwi facebook page had a post on 12 May saying
"The first 25 (of 50) kiwi were welcomed with an emotional pōwhiri at Pipitea Marae at dawn on Tuesday. The kiwi were then ferried west and released on to Terawhiti hills behind Mākara – they will have put their in-built raincoats to good use this week."
Terawhiti Station is on the southwest tip of the North Island. It's still farmed but certainly marginal, parts are regenerating. There's manuka, gorse, tauhinu, certainly not bush such as mature forest. The project's website has photos that will give an idea of what's there. The project includes the land extending north to Porirua but the release so far has only been in the area near Makara.
We are so fortunate in Wellington having Zealandia. It has made such a difference to the spread of birds across Wellington and has given groups like the ones who relased the Kiwi confidence. Wellington also has readymade bird 'islands' with the Town belt. (Dunedin has similar) Up the Kapiti coast the presence of Kapiti Island (a protected area) and the Nga Manu bird Sanctuary has meant we see lots of birds there too.
.
https://variety.com/2023/music/news/robbie-robertson-dead-the-band-1235692172/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFqb1I-hiHE
I pulled into Nazareth, was feelin' about half past dead
I just need some place where I can lay my head
"Hey, mister, can you tell me where a man might find a bed?"
He just grinned and shook my hand, "no" was all he said
The Weight – Robbie Robertson
Bugger, lovely guitar player.
Only Garth Hudson remaining out of those gifted bandmates.
The voice.
Broken Arrow –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaXJYBHoxuo
Somewhere Down The Crazy River –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KP9PNSUME4
My big-favourite-in-car-by-yourself-full volume of hisis Somewhere Down That Crazy River.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KP9PNSUME4
Amazing percussion, lyrical solitude, spacious sound engineering.
1987 was certainly a moment for me so I will make sure I put it on full tilt on the way home tonight.
Great voice and great Band. "The Last Waltz" is one of my favourite films and I had the tape for years.
During the only week I ever had in Los Angeles I saw it just after it opened at the dome cinerama on Hollywood Boulevard, 1978. Stand-out for me was their buddy Neil Diamond doing Dry Your Eyes…
Me too.
A fave song of mine when it was a bit of a sleeper on hit radio. Me & student flatmates turned it up whenever it came on, in our flat just above the Telair shop in the heart of K Rd. Transition from fast rock into that country blend was gathering pace…
The Band wasn't it?
Man who punched elderly woman in the head three times at the Let Women Speak event in Auckland earlier in the year was in court yesterday.
Report from someone who attended,
https://twitter.com/SimonRAnderson1/status/1689411680810500096
Video of defendent punching her,
https://youtu.be/Dos0FlaWIxM
Those "most marginalised and oppressed people on the planet" sure have a lot of rich and powerful friends.
That's fucking disgusting
The elderly lady started that fracas by trying to push over a counter protestor. Then she began to lay in to who [I presume]was the defendant. He responded in kind and knocked her off balance. Didn't leave her prostrate on the ground as the exaggerated versions at the time would have us believe.
Moral of the story. don’t be foolish and lay in to ta much younger and fitter person. They are going to win. Leave it to their peers to do the pushing and shoving.
Personally I don’t condone either side.
You might want another look , the assailant came in from the side, the old lady pushed another person first but just coming in swinging is not on,
The woman protestor started pulling up the line that was separating the protestors from LWS. When the elderly woman realised this she went over and pushed the protestor to the side to stop her. So far, so normal in a situation like that.
By then the protest crowd had started to invade the LWS area. The defendant sees what the elderly woman has done and tackles. When they're both standing upright again, she approaches him and he starts punching her.
But thanks for minimising MVAW and victim blaming. He didn't respond 'in kind'. She pushed the woman protestor aside with no harm, he criminally assaulted her. There is no excuse for what he did. None.
Commentary from Lynn Williams in March,
https://twitter.com/LynnW192/status/1640062514905092096
What's MVAW when the cows come home?
I'm minimising nothing! Just adding a little balance to an overhyped reaction coming from one side in particular. While not a nice scene by any means, the level of violence involved has been hyped up out of proportion to the actual facts of the case.
The judge, who is in possession of all those facts and who has no doubt studied the video in minute detail, would appear to agree. The assailant is to be punished for what he did and rightly so. But he is not going to be hung, drawn and quartered which would appear to be the desire of some in this case.
Read again weka's response to your justification.
BTW, the woman was not a protestor. She was attending an event, where women were going to speak.
The police advised event organisers to ensure that all attendees faced the band rotunda:
https://rcrrealtalk.podbean.com/e/linda-sutton-on-the-posie-parker-let-women-speak-event-her-assault-the-police-investigation-8-aug-2023/
So, it was obviously a surprise to the woman to turn and find people pulling up some of the barriers that they were also advised to stay within.
The protestors were violent, intimidatory and abusive. The video evidence not only shows the incident, but the confidence and arrogance of those who were determined to stop the event.
You really should investigate why you are so determined to make apologies for this type of violent behaviour. I find it unfathomable.
Along with hyperbole such as this:
“But he is not going to be hung, drawn and quartered which would appear to be the desire of some in this case.”
Can you post to the comments where this has been stated?
Newstalk have published an update in the last hour or so:
https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/crime/posie-parker-protest-activist-pleads-guilty-to-punching-elderly-woman-at-heated-auckland-trans-rights-protest/
I don't think the judge is weighing up whether the offence occurred and its gravity. The judge is clearly weighing up the sentencing as the young person, rumour has it, is at Auckland Uni and a punishment that might trigger passport or visa concerns or job prospects has to be seen and assessed as to whether it will be disproportionate.
That, if you like it or not, is how it works here.
Unfair as these concerns only seem to lay heavily when the offenders are white. middle class etc. Put it this way I'm not sure I have noticed as many pleas using this type of excuse from offenders from the likes of South Auckland.
Personally I think this type of 'excuse' should not be allowed. I think the full weight of the law should be felt for all offenders. Perhaps there could be a sentence quashing or review after 5 or 8 years, available to all, that sets out the work that has been done to ensure they don't offend again has been done and to wipe the offence from the need to mention it for travel etc.
"I don't think the judge is weighing up whether the offence occurred and its gravity."
He's not weighing up whether the offence occurred because it did occur. Its all there in the video. But of course he's weighing up the gravity of the offence. What would be the point of a justice system without differing levels of crime and violence being the primary consideration.
If there is circumstantial evidence to be considered as well… I'm happy to accept the judge's decision. Judges are in a far better position than you or I – or anyone else – to pass judgement on such matters.
As you say, that, if you like it or not, is how it works here. There is a system. Evolved over time.
It could change of course, evolve over time to something else. How about a system that looks only at the activity itself, the quite specific behaviour, nothing behind it or about the people involved? The, "you stole a loaf of bread off your hand" approach.
Judges' judgement only being used in outlining what wrongdoing happened.
I see cases where understanding, compassion and regard for the future of a guilty person are called for. And others where a 'gallows only' approach are demanded.
I am certain there are those who favour the former approach who at other times want the latter and think nil tolerance at all should be available. Ever.
There is lots of context here.
"In Trafalgar Square, a man called for violence against women. Specifically, it seems, intellectually curious women, those unruly harridans who refuse to bow down to certain beliefs. Punch them ‘in the fucking face’, he bellowed into a mic. The heaving mob around him cheered. An electric current of hate seemed to flow through their ranks. Some punched the air, others laughed, taking delight in their leader’s invitation to hit ‘bad’ women.
The speaker was Sarah Jane Baker. He is a man who identifies as a woman. He is an ex-con too – he spent 30 years in jail for kidnap, torture and attempted murder. And yet here he was taking to the stage at Trans Pride – a gathering passionately backed by London mayor Sadiq Khan – where he made the case for slapping women who don’t support trans rights. He said he had intended to be ‘really fluffy’ at this event, but he changed his mind."
Fortunately, after a lot of protest against inaction on the part of the authorities, the speaker was arrested and recalled to the prison from where he was out on license.
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/how-did-trans-pride-allow-itself-to-become-a-front-for-misogyny/?fbclid=IwAR26PIPaNHh2NeLJi4nVtaUX9_QJwzUdFb6pxw2ytl7_iRI2tEuU7oAd4ok
Shades of Putiki; a mature mangrove forest has been cut down for another marina:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/ldr/495454/mature-mangrove-forest-cut-down-for-new-20-million-okara-marina
https://www.earthday.org/the-importance-of-mangrove-forests/
I agree Arkie, reprehensible.
I have long thought that because mangrove areas do not fit any trite definition of beauty of some people they do not deserve to be protected no matter how important mangroves are to ecosystems and no matter the work they do.
Winston back at 5.8% in the Tax Payers Union Curia Poll. Making progress come Election Day.
So their public has done a noteworthy 3% shift from Labour to Greens. Margin of Nats over Labour up to nearly 8% now. TMP same as the Guardian poll.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/495523/taxpayers-union-poll-suggests-seven-seats-for-nz-first-in-opposition
Greens 12 versus ACT 13 is a good trend.
So long as Winston and Shane Jones keep their marbles in check and don't start saying stupid shit they could well get their 5% on Election Day, actually some good policy and people within the NZF Organisation. A lot of policy put through by the 2017 Labour/NZF Coalition was actually NZF Policies.