Open mike 10/12/2019

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, December 10th, 2019 - 77 comments
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Open mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Step up to the mike …

77 comments on “Open mike 10/12/2019 ”

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  1. Jenny How to get there 1
    10 December 2019 at 7:14 am

    Thunberg says 'our voices' being heard but not translating into action

    Teenage activist Greta Thunberg says although the voices of young climate strikers are being heard — politicians are still not taking action.

    https://play.stuff.co.nz/details/_6113747997001

    ‘

    Case in point:

    “The Zero Carbon Act does not introduce any policies to actually cut emissions but rather sets a framework”

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2019/12/world-doomed-to-3c-temperature-rise-if-everyone-copied-new-zealand-report.html?fbclid=IwAR1BPVSmGqtbeWSVq0GrBWHFIP9Siv-DcCAR-y4uwudNL0WPNtBJvXvgldE

    • Peter chch 1.1
      10 December 2019 at 8:39 am

      Well maybe she should lead by example and cease her constant Twitter and Facebook posts. Social media has now been identified as a significant factor in climate change. Apart from the power consumed, the heat of the servers used worldwide is a significant factor.

      Human made climate change is real, but screaming crazy hypocrits abusing people without offering solutions just turns people away from the crisis.

      • weka 1.1.1
        10 December 2019 at 9:42 am

        "screaming crazy hypocrits abusing people without offering solutions"

        Who are you referring to there?

        If using the internet causes CC and stopping using it is a valid solution, then presumably your posting here means you don't want to stop CC?

        • Peter chch 1.1.1.1
          10 December 2019 at 10:24 am

          My social media footprint is tiny, unlike prolific professional users like Thurnberg, who is obviously who I was referring to.

          Additionally, I dont make a career out of telling others what to do and throw tantrums to get attention.

          • weka 1.1.1.1.1
            10 December 2019 at 10:29 am

            You appear to be quite the idiot then. For one, Thunberg does offer solutions, they're central to her whole position. The other is that reducing GHG emissions has to happen across the board. NZ is well into overshoot for its ecological footprint. Nothing to do with Thunberg, everything to do with you and me.

            The crazy slur is sign of someone who is ignorant of neurodiversity but also who can't formulate an argument and so seeks to undermine the credibility of the person they are critiquing. I'm being rude here because I'm sick of the low level of political argument from some.

    • McFlock 1.2
      10 December 2019 at 2:51 pm

      I reckon she's underestimating her effect. According to Clarkson, she has managed to "kill the car show" and stopped young people being interested in cars.

      I think the phrase most suited to his claim is "ok, boomer" lol

  2. Sacha 2
    10 December 2019 at 7:30 am

    No signs of life, 8 people still on Whakaari White Island, volcanic activity at level 3. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/405170/white-island-eruption-eight-still-missing-police-believe-there-are-no-survivors

  3. Sanctuary 3
    10 December 2019 at 7:36 am

    NZ Helicopter pilots – Kiwi sangfroid, daring do and flying skill at its best.

    • Bearded Git 3.1
      10 December 2019 at 11:14 am

      Or maybe just crazy…..

      "…based on figures from 2011 to 2017, the fatality rate for commercial helicopter pilots per 1000 workers on an annual basis was 75 times the national average for all workplaces, compared with 44 times the average for forestry, which was the next worst workplace."

      • Sanctuary 3.1.1
        10 December 2019 at 12:20 pm

        Sometimes it helps to be a little crazy, like when putting your slick onto a literally hot LZ to rescue people…

        I have an in-law who was a chopper deer shooter back in the days of the good ol’ boys down south, and while they not as crazy these days as back then I believe the spirit lives on in NZ helicopter pilots.

      • James 3.1.2
        10 December 2019 at 1:24 pm

        Depends on the industry. A lot of commercial pilots are using little under powered ones chasing cattle or spraying which have a far higher crash rate.

        eurocopters etc that are used in higher end tourism have a very low crash rate.

        which is why I chose never to fly in the small helicopters and never let the kids do so either.

        most of them don’t want to die – so are far from crazy.

  4. pat 4
    10 December 2019 at 8:08 am

    "The authors warn this vast water tower – a term they use to describe the role of water storage and supply that mountain ranges play to sustain environmental and human water demands downstream – is unlikely to sustain growing pressure by the middle of the century when temperatures are projected to rise by 1.9C (35.4F), rainfall to increase by less than 2%, but the population to grow by 50% and generate eight times more GDP."

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/09/billion-people-risk-water-supply-rising-demand-global-heating-mountain-ecosystem

    "Citing recent research by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Davies said 75% of high-altitude snow and ice would be retained if global warming could be kept within 1.5C. However, 80% would be lost by 2100 if the world continued on a path of business as usual."

    Where will the world place 1.9 billion migrants?

  5. Cricklewood 5
    10 December 2019 at 8:38 am

    Unfortuantly the real elephant in the room is that many areas of the planet are over populated, such over population has only been made possible by cheap energy in the form of oil and we all know what that is doing to the climate.

    • Peter chch 5.1
      10 December 2019 at 8:43 am

      Agree effect of population growth but that has not been enabled by cheap oil, but eradication of many diseases through better hygiene and science. And what is the solution? China tried one child policy and it failed miserably. Roman Catholicism and its anti birth control stance being banned would be effective but not going to happen anytime soon.

      • Cricklewood 5.1.1
        10 December 2019 at 10:33 am

        Sure hygiene has played a role, but without oil and industrialization there is no way you could feed cities of millions or support populations in the millions on a relativly small landmass.

        In essence oil has allowed vast areas of the planet to support populations far greater than local resources would otherwise allow.

      • greywarshark 5.1.2
        10 December 2019 at 10:50 am

        If one looks at death notices with all the family descendants named, do family history searches with all the family descendants named down generations, look at local histories, the descendants still alive, from two people – back to the great-great-grandparents, is massive.

        It goes relatively slowly – say two having six living to adulthood who become the great grandparents, three of them having families (three didn't, killed in war, never married). We now have better medical care so babies don't die, and old people can live till 80+ and not late 70's as previously. Parents of the present generation can become great-(great?) grandparents while still living.

        Say if the original parents, now elderly, had had four children who went on to reproduce, but limited their families to the extent that each generation had only two living children. Which would be reasonable one would think. I can't work it out in my head – so have attempted below to see the multiplying numbers.

        Year 1 – Originating 2 people both aged 20,
        By years 11-21 have 4 children (6 in current family),

        Years 21 to 31- 4 young adults average 1 child = 4 (10 in current family; 4 reproducing and 4children/2adults),

        Years 31-41 four young adults repeat x one = 4 (14 in current family; 4 reproducing and 8children/2adults ),

        (Four young adults have had average of only 2 children each).

        Years 41 – 51 children of young adults start having babies at 20 years still averaging two babies. In first decade (20 in current family; 8 reproducing and 8 children/4 adults),
        Years 51 – 61 repeat (28 in current family; 8 reproducing with 16 children/4adults)

        Year 62 the elders die at an old age of around 80, leaving a family of 26, plus the partners of their children who fathered and mothered the additional babies for each generation.

        • alwyn 5.1.2.1
          10 December 2019 at 12:38 pm

          You have to do the calculation properly. You can't just talk about 2 becoming 26 or whatever. You gave to count in all the partners parents, gran parents etc as being the founding stock.

          If we use your method for a case where a couple has 2 children. They marry and each has 2 children. The a third generation does the same. You would say that the family grew from 2 to 4 to 8 to 16. What has really happened is that the final generation of 16 actually have 16 parents, and 16 grandparents and 16 great grandparents. The number of people in each generation is not increasing at all.

        • Ad 5.1.2.2
          10 December 2019 at 7:55 pm

          A quick trawl through the NZStats site will give you accurate tracking of the relative strength of replacement cohorts.

          No need to guess this stuff.

          • greywarshark 5.1.2.2.1
            10 December 2019 at 8:03 pm

            It is interesting that no one wants to think for themselves. You have to follow a set formula that the state has set up. How do you know they have done that correctly – they want to blind the unknowing with science. And to get put down by the ones who have the training and who are in the know, that stops the ordinary person from trying to think for themselves, and many don't try.

            I wasn't guessing Ad I followed a process based on stated factors and showed how even a modestly fertile family proliferates.

            As to Alwyn, fluff around, find fault, as you want. I couldn't care less about your opinions.

            • Ad 5.1.2.2.1.1
              10 December 2019 at 8:25 pm

              Which bits of the NZStats population forecast methodology do you disagree with and why?

              The ones you are looking for were released in March this year called the "New Zealand Cohort Life Tables".There are pretty well-rehearsed statistical pathways about replacement in there.

      • Gabby 5.1.3
        10 December 2019 at 9:36 pm

        Cos of the rocketing birthrate in Italy right Peetee.

  6. ianmac 6
    10 December 2019 at 9:27 am

    For those interested in the Matthews Auditor General issue yesterday, Kim Hill had an interview with him this morning.

    The critical thing is that fraud was never raised with Mathews until he was tipped about the previous fraud conviction which had been withheld by court and Joanne Harrison had changed her name. He then acted in accordance with the rules and she was "uncovered." So the "whistle blowers" were actually complaining about non-compliance of invoicing, and not fraud.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/audio/player?audio_id=2018726190

    • gsays 6.1
      10 December 2019 at 11:54 am

      Isn't invoice non-compliance a white collar euphemism for fraud?

      In the preamble to the interview, it was said that the legal eagle at NZTA got the whistle blowers to pipe down.

      • ianmac 6.1.1
        10 December 2019 at 12:35 pm

        "sn't invoice non-compliance a white collar euphemism for fraud?"

        Not necessarily. Can be sloppy accounting. Matthews said he addressed that and she promised to do better. Out of thousands of invoices I bet it is not unusual to slip up.

    • greywarshark 7.1
      10 December 2019 at 11:19 am

      I thought that the innkeeper told the enquiring, needy couple something like this below. The innkeeper apparently did what he could for the pair.

      1 There is no room in the inn – it is full of paying guests.

      2 I do have stables where you can have a roof over your heads, and a place to sleep. Basic, but with straw the animals have, to sleep in but you should be okay.

      This is a following of events around the birth of Jesus looking at Mary's history. http://kingjamesbibledictionary.com/Dictionary/Mary

      Soon after this the decree of Augustus (Luke 2:1) required that they should proceed to Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), some 80 or 90 miles from Nazareth; and while they were there they found shelter in the inn or khan provided for strangers (Luke 2:6, 7). But as the inn was crowded, Mary had to retire to a place among the cattle, and there she brought forth her son, who was called Jesus (Matthew 1:21),

      To say that the innkeeper was at fault so Herod can't be blamed is a bit of a 'strawman' isn't it.

      • Sabine 7.1.1
        10 December 2019 at 10:01 pm

        the innkeeper was at fault for not providing a save space for a women in labour to give birth.

        giving birth in a shit infested cow/sheep stall at the time would have been a good chance to die of birthing.

        essentially it was greed that won and not compassion and humanity.

  8. Gosman 8
    10 December 2019 at 10:35 am

    Please name me a country on the planet with a more vibrant and diverse media than the UK?

    FFS the UK has a massive public service media organisation that many lefties in NZ have been demanding we have in NZ yet apparently that isn't good enough for some.

    I think the real problem is some lefties don't like the fact that many people don't like either hard left policies, or certain hard left political leaders, or both.

    [TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]

    • Bill 8.1
      10 December 2019 at 10:45 am

      You're not pulling that shit on my post. You want to talk about media diversity? Okay. Show me the plethora of diverse takes from UK pop media on…Syria, Russia, Corbyn, Trump, US elections…etc, etc, etc.

      • Gosman 8.1.1
        10 December 2019 at 10:47 am

        I asked you to name me a more diverse media environment than the UK. I bet you can't.

        • Bill 8.1.1.1
          10 December 2019 at 10:54 am

          In terms of a "diverse media environment", the USA is probably ahead of the UK because there's more 'independent' media of all spots and stripes using internet platforms in the US than in the UK (or elsewhere).

          • Gosman 8.1.1.1.1
            10 December 2019 at 11:04 am

            Except the UK also has a plethora of those sorts of outlets. What the real issue seems to me is you don't like Right wing media full stop. You seemingly would prefer all your media came from a narrow band of views. In my mind you are a prime example why the hard left is dangerous to a open and pluralistic society. You want to control the message and how it is delivered rather than work within the constructs of a complex media environment.

            • Bill 8.1.1.1.1.1
              10 December 2019 at 11:22 am

              It really is a stretch to suggest that the number and diversity of political youtube channels in the UK stacks up against the situation in the US. Same goes for podcasts and web based news sites.

              My bug bear with pop media is precisely the issue you claim I'm supportive of. Pop media is basically homogenised – it's far too bound/narrow – some of the reasons being that they're keen to maintain government access for their easy stories and are dependent on revenue streams from advertisers(who are anything but neutral in their politics)

              Meanwhile, if you care to cast your mind back to the whole Laura Southern/Molenyeux debacle, you can read, right here on this site, how I vociferously opposed efforts to shut them down. Hardly indicative of this assertion you make about me wanting to 'control the message'.

              Anyway. If there's a breeze up by your way, you might not suffocate in any fug being generated by your endlessly farting brain Gosman. Talking of fresh air….I'm off.

        • Grafton Gully 8.1.1.2
          10 December 2019 at 5:52 pm

          What do you mean by "vibrant media" ?

        • Gabby 8.1.1.3
          10 December 2019 at 9:41 pm

          Germany, gozzeroni.

  9. joe90 9
    10 December 2019 at 10:43 am

    Pentagon Papers 2.0

    A confidential trove of government documents obtained by The Washington Post reveals that senior U.S. officials failed to tell the truth about the war in Afghanistan throughout the 18-year campaign, making rosy pronouncements they knew to be false and hiding unmistakable evidence the war had become unwinnable.

    […]

    Several of those interviewed described explicit and sustained efforts by the U.S. government to deliberately mislead the public. They said it was common at military headquarters in Kabul — and at the White House — to distort statistics to make it appear the United States was winning the war when that was not the case.

    […]

    Year after year, U.S. generals have said in public they are making steady progress on the central plank of their strategy: to train a robust Afghan army and national police force that can defend the country without foreign help.

    In the Lessons Learned interviews, however, U.S. military trainers described the Afghan security forces as incompetent, unmotivated and rife with deserters. They also accused Afghan commanders of pocketing salaries — paid by U.S. taxpayers — for tens of thousands of “ghost soldiers.”

    None expressed confidence that the Afghan army and police could ever fend off, much less defeat, the Taliban on their own. More than 60,000 members of Afghan security forces have been killed, a casualty rate that U.S. commanders have called unsustainable.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/investigations/afghanistan-papers/afghanistan-war-confidential-documents/

    http://archive.li/VZ53a

    • ianmac 9.1
      10 December 2019 at 12:42 pm

      During the Vietnam War the US Military were notorious for vastly exaggerating the number of enemy killed and softening their own casualty numbers. Strangely the Iraq war figures minimised the number of Iraq casualties, I suppose because 100s of thousands were civilians.

      Think of our Army minimising the number of dead during the current enquiry.

    • Jenny How to get there 9.2
      10 December 2019 at 6:20 pm

      joe90

      10 December 2019 at 10:43 am
      Pentagon Papers 2.0

      ……The Washington Post reveals that senior U.S. officials failed to tell the truth about the war in Afghanistan throughout the 18-year campaign, making rosy pronouncements they knew to be false and hiding unmistakable evidence the war had become unwinnable.

      Obfuscation and denial from the people in positions of responsibility.

      Watching Chernobyl on Prime. The same massive denial and downplaying of that disaster by the authorities there.

      Vietnam, Chernobyl, Iraq, Afghanistan.

      “making rosy pronouncements they knew to be false”

      It forms a distinct pattern.

      A pattern that helps us comprehend the downplaying by establishment authorities of the climate disaster.

  11. Incognito 11
    10 December 2019 at 11:26 am

    The Al1en, apologies.

    Do you have a copy of your comment posted @ 10:02 AM?

  12. The Al1en 12
    10 December 2019 at 11:57 am

    I don't, but I kept it simple, so I'll have another go at it. Ta.

  13. UncookedSelachimorpha 13
    10 December 2019 at 12:19 pm

    If child poverty is caused by neoliberal policies, and the one thing you refuse to change is your neoliberal policies, this is what happens:

    Ardern government fails to reduce child poverty in New Zealand

    The children’s commissioner, Andrew Becroft, released the annual child poverty monitor on Monday which has found 148,000 children live in homes experiencing material hardship in six or more areas, including lack of access to basics such as warm clothing, health care and food. The figures are unchanged since the first report into child poverty in 2012.

    “I want to see family incomes dramatically raised by increasing benefits and making the minimum wage a living wage,” Becroft said.

    • Adrian 13.1
      10 December 2019 at 1:07 pm

      You have obviously missed ( deliberately ? )the full radio interview with Becroft when he stressed that the latest figures available predated the Ardern government and that he expected considerable improvement in the next lot with the things that have been done by the coalition.
      Eleanor Aige does have a tendency to selective reporting.

      • UncookedSelachimorpha 13.1.1
        10 December 2019 at 1:20 pm

        I did miss that, although not deliberately!

        Here's hoping things do improve – and yes, the last government made things worse. But "National did it" is a very poor excuse when you are now in the driving seat (with an NZF handbrake, to be sure) – we need things to become significantly better.

        Simply increasing benefit rates (plus scrapping the claw back when people start working) and lifting the minimum wage to the living wage – would give very rapid results. Only the barest minimum has been done by the coalition so far and I still hold they are hamstrung by being neoliberal at heart and believing that redistribution is a dirty word.

        Child poverty, welfare: government inaction frustrates advocacy groups

        The government has failed to take any immediate measures to fix child poverty, a member of an expert group set up to help reduce it says.

        ..nine months on from the report and its 120 detailed recommendations, just three would have been implemented.

        "It seems nothing has actually happened that's actually making a significant change in the welfare system to most people in the nine months since our report came out,"

  14. McFlock 14
    10 December 2019 at 5:27 pm

    Greens scrapping the budgetary responsibility rules.

    Labour looking to loosen the rules.

    The BRR were all about spiking tory allegations of spending the country into bankruptcy. They were training wheels to prove the coalition won't fall over. Well, it looks like next term a left govt will be able to control its cash like grown ups.

    • weka 14.1
      10 December 2019 at 5:38 pm

      Good news and good timing. Next year's budget should be interesting too.

    • UncookedSelachimorpha 14.2
      10 December 2019 at 7:00 pm

      Excellent news! Well done Greens!

      Hopefully we will now see a more mature discussion of the role of economics and the way economies actually work, instead of the right-wing bullshit and lies that underpinned the BRR commitment.

      National will keep to their debunked austerity / neoliberal / Chicago School ideology no doubt.

      • McFlock 14.2.1
        10 December 2019 at 8:14 pm

        lol I reckon you're optimistic about a more mature discussion.

        But the big change is that now labgrn can say "our economy is going gangbusters, let's help normal people rather than overseas billionaires".

        • UncookedSelachimorpha 14.2.1.1
          10 December 2019 at 8:43 pm

          You are right, unfortunately!

          The relaxation / abandonment of the BRR is based on the "economy doing well" (whatever that means), instead of the actual truth – that the whole rationale behind the BRR in the first place is bunkum.

          • McFlock 14.2.1.1.1
            10 December 2019 at 11:55 pm

            It's a bit like dealing with small children – sometimes it's easier to use reasoning they understand, even if it's incorrect and irrelevant to your motives lol

  15. Eco maori 15
    11 December 2019 at 6:31 pm

    Kia Ora 1 News.

    That's awesome putea to spend on making Hospitals heating environmentally friendly putea for Railways and renewable energy projects.

    I will be watching the British elections.

    The farmers milk will be covered by insurance.

    Ka kite Ano

  16. Eco maori 16
    11 December 2019 at 6:55 pm

    Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.

    That's is cool to see some technical buoys design to warm Aotearoa and our Pacific Cousin about Ngaru Ngaru Tsunami being setup in the Pacific Moana.

    That's the way get the tamariki into Maori sports and teach them their history at the same time.

    Ka kite Ano

  17. Eco maori 17
    12 December 2019 at 8:26 am

    Kia Ora 1 News.

    People with superiority complex can not admit they are at fault.??????????????.

    Art is like any Phenomenon that gets people attention.??????.

    Congratulations on your win Te Rapa see one doesn't need chemicals to grow food just natural products like worm casting.

    . Ka kite Ano

  19. Eco maori 19
    12 December 2019 at 11:04 am

    Some Eco Maori Music For The Minute.

    https://youtu.be/cEXhZ8PwM-Y

  20. Eco maori 20
    12 December 2019 at 12:05 pm

    The corupt new Zealand sis look like they are going to try and frame me again today what have I done to deserve this SHIT THEY are showing the world how corupt new Zealand is I have seen 5 marked police cars going past around me with their lights flashing the muppet

  22. Eco maori 22
    12 December 2019 at 12:17 pm

    In the last week I had 2 of the SIS actors stop in front of my truck and step me out for a fight I know that is what they want to lock me in the jail and drug me and beat me and never bail me fucken wankers

  23. Eco maori 23
    12 December 2019 at 6:27 pm

    Kia Ora 1 News.

    Keep up the good mahi Time will tell keep up the pressure as once it becomes economically insane to back carbon the pollies will come running.

    I think that Te Tai tokerau doesn't want a port built making a mess of their Taonga harbour.

    Ka kite Ano.

  24. Eco maori 24
    12 December 2019 at 6:55 pm

    Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.

    Samoa would be a great place for a holiday.

    I think TVNZ needs more Tangata Whenua Culture included in its profile after all we are 16 to 20 % of the population not 1 %. Some of

    My best memories is home at our Marae.

    Ka kite Ano

  25. Eco maori 25
    13 December 2019 at 8:27 am

    Kia Ora Breakfast.

    That's good acting.

    Democracy is being tested.

    On the Big Farm we had a Bovine / Cow sauna to help Cows recover from paralysis caused by birth problems it worked. very well.

    I don't no why they cancelled School dental nurses.???????

    Ka kite Ano.

  26. Eco maori 26
    13 December 2019 at 8:58 am

    Mark our Coalition Government is going to save your mahi they believe in ballance media.

  27. Eco maori 27
    13 December 2019 at 10:59 am

    The public can see you sis actors driving right up the ass of my truck were ever i go sandflys muppets

  28. Eco maori 28
    13 December 2019 at 3:29 pm

    Keep up the excellent mahi the pollies have to stop putting money before your futures.

    Youth climate activists have called for a global strike on Friday to protest that human rights and social justice have been sidelined at the UN climate talks in Madrid, where governments look set to wrap up two weeks of negotiations without a breakthrough on the pressing issue of greenhouse gas reduction

    Campaigners have been frustrated not only at the slow progress of the talks but also that groups representing women, indigenous people and poor people have struggled to have their voices heard within the conference halls where the official negotiations are taking place, even while 500,000 people took part in a mass protest in the streets outside last Friday

    “Human rights and gender equity are at the heart of what we are talking about on the climate,” said Mary Robinson, former UN high commissioner for human rights and president of Ireland. “This is about people and people’s livelihoods. Gender and social justice have an enormous impact on what people face from climate [breakdown]. If we don’t have these issues included we are going to make enormous mistakes.”

    She said progress had been made on a gender action plan that was promised as part of the 2015 Paris agreement, but that some countries were still reluctant to include the language of human rights in official UN outcomes from the talks.

    Fridays for Future, the movement that coalesced around the world after Greta Thunberg’s solo school strikes, said the summit “has failed us. On 13 December, local Fridays for Future groups will strike because the outcomes of COP25 [the name for the UN meeting] are not only insufficient, but a painful image of how little the politicians care about the planet.

    “We stand in solidarity with indigenous people, people from the global south, and people already suffering from the climate crises

    Ka kite Ano link below.

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/12/activists-protest-un-climate-talks

  29. Eco maori 29
    13 December 2019 at 6:25 pm

    Kia Ora 1 News.

    That's is the logical thing to do Railways has the lowest transport carbon footprint this will take the huge pressure off our road that big trucks put on our roads.

    Ka kite Ano

  30. Eco maori 30
    13 December 2019 at 6:52 pm

    Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.

    Its good to see respect of Maori Tikanga.

    Ka pai Winston for going to tau toko Samoa. The same to the Stars of Samoa going to tau toko Samoa.

    Mana Wahine.

    Ka kite Ano

  31. Eco maori 31
    14 December 2019 at 9:13 am

    Thanks Jim I have stated that you are a great Kiwi leader. Our mokopuna need a clean and green environment to have a healthy prosperous life with all the beautiful creatures that the God's gave us not piles of putea.

    Former PM Jim Bolger challenges 'status quo' approach to climate change

    Jim Bolger gives a speech after receiving an honorary doctorate from Waikato University.

    Jim Bolger attended more than 130 graduation ceremonies during his stint as Waikato University chancellor, conferring degrees on thousands of students.

    In a role reversal of sorts, the 84-year-old stepped back into the spotlight at Tuesday's capping ceremony, this time to receive an honorary doctorate.

    And he was happy to admit to a few nerves.

    "If you don't get nervous, then you've lost your sense of occasion," Bolger said afterwards

    Ka kite Ano link below.

    https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/education/118105291/former-pm-jim-bolger-challenges-status-quo-approach-to-climate-change

  32. Eco maori 32
    14 December 2019 at 11:12 am

    Condolences to Peter Whanau.

    Peter Snell winning the 800 metres at the 1960 Rome Olympics.

    New Zealand's greatest Olympian, Sir Peter Snell, has died, aged 80.

    Sports historian and friend Ron Palenski confirmed on Saturday morning that Snell had died at his home in Dallas.

    Snell, who first developed heart problems in 2010, passed out while driving and crashed into several parked vehicles last month

    Ka kite Ano link below.

    https://i.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sports/118196968/new-zealand-athletics-legend-peter-snell-dies-aged-80

  33. Eco maori 33
    14 December 2019 at 11:24 am

    Some Eco Maori Music For The Minute.

    https://youtu.be/hlfQVvsNLFk

  34. Eco maori 34
    14 December 2019 at 6:32 pm

    Kia Ora 1 News.

    Climate change is going to have a negative effect on our wildlife and as the temperatures rise any logical person knows that we will have more fires.

    I read that story of the Octopus and the Eagle locked in battle.

    Ka kite Ano

  35. Eco maori 35
    14 December 2019 at 6:49 pm

    Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.

    Awsome the Coalition government and council starting programs for screen to get Pacific tangata mahi on making TV and movies . Pacific tangata Mana shines on TV and Movie screens.

    Ka kite Ano

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  • Stories of varying weight

    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on anything you may have missed. Share Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 hours ago
  • Balancing External Security and the Economy

    New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    18 hours ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: The unravelling of the offsets

    The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    23 hours ago
  • What makes us tick

    This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    24 hours ago
  • Foreshore and seabed 2.0

    In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the Royal Commission report into abuse in care

    Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    1 day ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 26

    TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Weekly Roundup 26-July-2024

    Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 day ago
  • God what a relief

    1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • Trust In Me

    Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • The Hoon around the week to July 26

    TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Care report released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 26

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced $802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Radical law changes needed to build road

    The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #30 2024

    Open access notables Could an extremely cold central European winter such as 1963 happen again despite climate change?, Sippel et al., Weather and Climate Dynamics: Here, we first show based on multiple attribution methods that a winter of similar circulation conditions to 1963 would still lead to an extreme seasonal ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • First they came for the Māori

    Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Join us for the weekly Hoon on YouTube Live

    Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Will the real PM Luxon please stand up?

    Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Will debt reduction trump abuse in care redress?

    Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Care report in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Olywhites and Time Bandits

    About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Why were the 1930s so hot in North America?

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters and Bob Henson Those who’ve trawled social media during heat waves have likely encountered a tidbit frequently used to brush aside human-caused climate change: Many U.S. states and cities had their single hottest temperature on record during the 1930s, setting incredible heat marks ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • Throwback Thursday – Thinking about Expressways

    Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • The Possum: Demon or Friend?

    Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • Not a story

    Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry published its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • A tougher line on “proactive release”?

    The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • 'Let's build a motorway costing $100 million per km, before emissions costs'

    TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Lester's Prescription – Positive Bleeding.

    I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Casey Costello gaslights Labour in the House

    Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone icon on the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Why is the Texas grid in such bad shape?

    This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Headline from 2021 The Texas grid, run by ERCOT, has had a rough few years. In 2021, winter storm Uri blacked out much of the state for several days. About a week ago, Hurricane Beryl knocked out ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on a textbook case of spending waste by the Luxon government

    Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • LXR Takaanini

    As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    3 days ago
  • Four kilograms of pain

    Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Luxon gets caught out

    NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • A worrying sign

    Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Are we fine with 47.9% home-ownership by 2048?

    Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloitte report for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Let's Win This

    You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Waimahara: The Singing Spirit of Water

    There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    4 days ago
  • A major milestone: Global climate pollution may have just peaked

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’s Oliver LewisScoop: Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announced the Board of Te Whatu Ora- Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • HealthNZ and Luxon at cross purposes over budget blowout

    Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 2500-3000 more healthcare staff expected to be fired, as Shane Reti blames Labour for a budget defic...

    Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Might Kamala Harris be about to get a 'stardust' moment like Jacinda Ardern?

    As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    5 days ago
  • Solutions Interview: Steven Hail on MMT & ecological economics

    TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
    The KakaBy Steven Hail
    5 days ago
  • Reported back

    The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Vandrad the Viking, Christopher Coombes, and Literary Archaeology

    Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Biden Withdrawal

    History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    5 days ago
  • Joe Biden's withdrawal puts the spotlight back on Kamala and the USA's complicated relatio...

    This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Why we have to challenge our national fiscal assumptions

    A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Existential Crisis and Damaged Brains

    What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • A speed limit is not a target, and yet…

    This is a guest post from longtime supporter Mr Plod, whose previous contributions include a proposal that Hamilton become New Zealand’s capital city, and that we should switch which side of the road we drive on. A recent Newsroom article, “Back to school for the Govt’s new speed limit policy“, ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #29

    A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago
  • I'd like to share what I did this weekend

    This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • For the children – Why mere sentiment can be a misleading force in our lives, and lead to unex...

    National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Order image, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A friend in uncertain times

    Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • The Chaotic World of Male Diet Influencers

    Hi,We’ll get to the horrific world of male diet influencers (AKA Beefy Boys) shortly, but first you will be glad to know that since I sent out the Webworm explaining why the assassination attempt on Donald Trump was not a false flag operation, I’ve heard from a load of people ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • It's Starting To Look A Lot Like… Y2K

    Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 20

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Pharmac Director, Climate Change Commissioner, Health NZ Directors – The latest to quit this m...

    Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Flooding Housing Policy

    The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • A Voyage Among the Vandals: Accepted (Again!)

    As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā's Chorus for Friday, July 19

    An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 19-July-2024

    Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: A market-led plan for failure

    TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Tobacco First

    Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Trump’s Adopted Son.

    Waiting In The Wings: For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSA announced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Hoon around the week to July 19

    TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #29 2024

    Open access notables Improving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society: To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Joint statement from the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand

    Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue.  We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago
  • AG reminds institutions of legal obligations

    Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • More young people learning about digital safety

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views.  “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • Speech to the Conference for General Practice 2024

    Tēnā tātou katoa,  Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
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  • Funding confirmed for regions affected by North Island Weather Events

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  • Strengthening partnership with Ngāti Maniapoto

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  • Backing mental health services on the West Coast

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  • NZ support for sustainable Pacific fisheries

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  • Students’ needs at centre of new charter school adjustments

    Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
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  • Commissioner replaces Health NZ Board

    In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today.  “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
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  • Minister to speak at Australian Space Forum

    Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum.  While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation.  “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
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  • Climate Change Minister to attend climate action meeting in China

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan.  “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
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  • Oceans and Fisheries Minister to Solomons

    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
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    7 days ago
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    1 week ago
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    New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says.    “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
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  • New infrastructure energises BOP forestry towns

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  • 'Pacific Futures'

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