Marc Daalder writing for Newsroom has a brilliant fact filled explanation of the energy supply "problems." Brown should be shamed for using his misinformation about gas etc for political gains. (There is still more than enough gas available but usage has dropped.)
Third, exploration is not the barrier to the development of new offshore fields. There are already known reserves that companies can exploit now in up to five fields that have been exempted from the ban covering more than 5400 square kilometres of ocean off the coast of Taranaki and the Waikato.
Actually Newsroom does a much better job than most Media outlets.
I figure if we are at the tipping point, for it to be cost efficient to go all electric domestically, then surely we are there for commercial purposes.
Cold houses to blame for people needing to 'blast the heater' – Green Building Council
"Research from Otago University shows actually if we built to best-practice standards, as the majority of the OECD already are, we could reduce the winter peak by 75 percent. That's huge, and not only takes pressure off the grid, but would be a massive win for New Zealander's health and cost of living."
That’s precisely the situation my 88 year old mother is in. She still lives in the (small) family home we all grew up in in the ‘60’s and 70’s, but with ceiling insulation and a heat pump added. She has fantastic neighbours, and has no desire to move to something new.
I didnt say they did. Also, did you read the link?
"For years we've been calling for [governments] to deal with the terrible state of New Zealand homes. Millions of New Zealanders live in poorly insulated and draughty housing – there's no wonder when the weather gets cold, they need to blast the heater."
He said the government should commit to a major retrofit programme similar to those being done in Ireland, Australia and the US.
And it may be you are the fortunate person who has either their own home and managed to insulate…or fortunate enough to have a Landlord who cares about more than the rental income?
Unlike….
We're still hearing stories of cold, damp, mouldy rentals, four years after the introduction of Healthy Homes standards. What exactly are the rules, and why are so many landlords able to duck them?
It's also difficult for tenants to complain if they have a problem. They can go to the Tenancy Compliance and Investigations Team (TCIT), or the Tenancy Tribunal, but that's not an easy task.
"That's quite a difficult undertaking – and especially if you're not certain of what you're entitled to and how it all works," Bell says.
Bell says only about 18 percent of tenants that have gone to the tribunal with Healthy Homes compliance issues have received some form of remedy.
I actually don't think we are. Most houses have good insulation: top, bottom,sides. double glazing, many have air/heat transfer kits, heat pumps. They don't have forced air mechanical ventilation or automatic temperature control. Still a limiting factor is our prevalent building material of wood
The trouble is that the features that would be the icing on the cake for many such as radiators or whole house heating are beyond the reach of the typical home house builder. We rely on heat pumps on walls rather than harnessing the power of heat pump technology to power whole house heating. (ie a bank of pumps connected to radiators) Solar is not yet mainstream in new builds. Individual wind turbines are not seen much here in the perennially windy city (clue not Chicago!)
But our existing housing stock is fine to be renovated. Many sustainable firms do not offer programmes with loans etc to insulate walls or do double glazing (except the poor people's Dble glazing kits which are great). They are not doing any research into solutions for accessing under floor insulation for home built with no human under floor access.
Our small street though we witnessed tunneling on the scale of Douglas Bader at Stalag Luft III B when a neighbour had tunnelers working to make tracks for humans to install underfloor insulation.
Even though we can do all of these things, some better/more effectively than others, the elephant in the room is always the cost of electricity.
Max Bradford needs to make himself ponder on how difficult his reforms have made it for most to afford even a modest heater to take the chill off. Failing Bradford seeing the light then some sort of review should be done with an aim of winding back the rich boys electricity 'reforms'.
Perhaps Labour could add this to the list, and any other 'state' owned assets that may fall into private hands with this Govt.
Sorry I meant in relation to brick or stone. We have to work with what we have got, stone & brick are so expensive, and so as compared with solid as stone or brick we do have a limitation to start with.
And sure we are good at upping the rating with innovative sheetings/sheathings behind.
Ok, I'll go all hippy on you and mention straw bale, cob, aircrete and rammed earth.
Having said all that we have just redone the lean-to in the west wall hat is part of the master bedroom on our villa. Ready for elderly Mum to occupy.
6×2 framing for the walls and 10×2 rafters for the ceiling for the thicker Batts, expol under floor and heat pump plus radiators.
My 1933 bungalow is constructed of kauri weatherboards on the outside and 9 by 1 inch rimu planking on the inside. Add building paper and a lining of Gib to the internal walls, lots of Batts in the attic, and insulation to the underfloor spaces, – it is very snug. I could retrofit double glazing, but for the moment, good curtains will have to do. There is a heat pump in the kitchen/family room and the site is north/west facing so gets good sun.
Nothing wrong with well built and insulated wooden houses.
Quite apart from the privacy aspect every little bit of protection against the cold helps. I suspect that they are related to the ones though who never pull their curtains back to get solar warming during the day or ventilate their houses to change air and prevent mould (and know the best times to do this).
We seem to have lost much of the commonsense about 'driving' a home somewhere along the way.
I really don't get why we have so many damn windows.
Glazing on north-facing walls can be reasonably large. Where there is good solar access and exposed concrete floors to provide thermal mass, north-facing windows should be approximately 10-15% of total floor area. With timber floors, north-facing windows should be closer to 10% of floor area. Where solar access is poor, the north-facing windows should be less than 8% of floor area.
Glazing that is east, west or south-facing should be smaller and designed mainly to meet daylight and view requirements. This glazing is usually a net heat loser in winter, depending on climate and heating.
East-facing windows should be reasonably small – less than 5% of the home's total floor area.
South and west-facing windows should ideally be less than 3% of floor area and be designed for daylight, views and cooling cross-flow breezes in summer.
warmth, light, view. One of the reasons for having decent east facing windows is if you are in a hot climate you can open those windows in the afternoon when it is hottest, and close the curtains on the west and north sides. If there were limited windows on the east, it would be hotter inside and darker.
I do agree that some house builds go completely over board. Also, why did high ceilings come back into style? It’s like the efficiencies gained by insulation and better passive solar were seen as something that could be spent by doing high ceilings, floor to ceiling windows and no curtains. That’s not conserving energy, it’s excessive energy use despite the triple glazing and high R value insulation.
Interesting question. And why did high ceilings become 'fashionable' in the first place – a woman's (or man's) home is her/his castle?
Just for info – I don't know the answer, but joe90 is probably on to it.
NZ fashion icon Dame Trelise Cooper selling her luxury apartment – just weeks after moving in [16 April 2024]
He noted that the 275sqm apartment, which has a CV of $10.5 million, was the size of a large family home and the biggest in the Sonata. “The views that captivate you when you walk into the apartment and the sheer volume and the high stud – it’s iconic. The quiet luxury of this apartment will appeal to people who put a premium on privacy,” he said.
How High [20 May 2009]
Are high ceilings a sign of wretched architectural excess or just good taste?
Living and working in older buildings, people discovered that taller rooms simply felt—and looked—better. Builders were happy to oblige since tall ceilings didn’t cost much more, as Stern points out—but you could charge more for them.
High ceilings are best [3 March 2023]
Ideally we want lofty spaces for socialising and smaller ones to retreat to, says Gibberd: “If you look at a Georgian townhouse, the ceiling heights change as you go up,” he says. “On the ground floor, they tend to be high to portray a sense of grandeur. On the upper floors, where bedrooms are, they’re lower.” Large rooms are inevitably more expensive to heat, and the acoustics a challenge, especially if you have hard floors. You don’t need high ceilings for sleeping.
Agree with this. My house has stood the test of time and is as warm and comfy as I want it to be. (I generally function on a lower temperature than many homes are heated to and having opening windows/access to fresh air are key to me. I suffered terribly (like no other time) with sinus and other chest/nasal infections while living in apartments with non opening windows in Europe.
Human-induced effects through increases in heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere continue, and warmer oceans and higher sea levels are guaranteed. As we have seen in 2022, whether from drought, heat waves and wildfires, or floods and super storms, there is a cost to not taking action to slow climate change, and we all are experiencing this now.
According to a quote from the late 19th century, often attributed to Mark Twain, ‘Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.’ Now humans are changing the weather, and still nobody does anything about it!
Friends in the South are hoping for aurora views this evening – though may be hampered by cloud-cover (not as cold as last night, but less visually exciting)
Sadly, we're not likely to see them in Auckland; both because we're likely too far north – but also the light pollution would drown it out. Perhaps they could save power by dowsing the street lights to let us see the aurora!
Strapped down, blindfolded, held in diapers: Israeli whistleblowers detail abuse of Palestinians in shadowy detention center
[…]
They paint a picture of a facility where doctors sometimes amputated prisoners’ limbs due to injuries sustained from constant handcuffing; of medical procedures sometimes performed by underqualified medics earning it a reputation for being “a paradise for interns”; and where the air is filled with the smell of neglected wounds left to rot.
We were told they were not allowed to move. They should sit upright. They’re not allowed to talk. Not allowed to peek under their blindfold.
An Israeli whistleblower recounting his experience at Sde Teiman
According to the accounts,the facility some 18 miles from the Gaza frontier is split into two parts: enclosures where around 70 Palestinian detainees from Gazaare placed under extreme physical restraint, and a field hospital where wounded detainees are strapped to their beds, wearing diapersand fed through straws.
“They stripped them down of anything that resembles human beings,” said one whistleblower, who worked as a medic at the facility’s field hospital.
“(The beatings) were not done to gather intelligence. They were done out of revenge,” said another whistleblower. “It was punishment for what they (the Palestinians) did on October 7 and punishment for behavior in the camp.”
The Carrington Event in early September 1859 was the largest solar storm on record.
Auroras were visible in low latitudes and miners in the Rockies were said to have arisen and breakfasted in the middle of the night thinking dawn was approaching. Induced current in telegraph lines caused fires, ignited batteries, and allowed telegraphs to be sent and received despite batteries being disconnected.
An event of that magnitude today would likely cause hundreds of billion of dollars worth of damage.
Stunning display south of here. Mostly red spreading from the southern horizon to near overhead, looks very like a bushfire sunset, with occasional vertical greens.
Our electromagnetic infrastructure, and indeed life itself as we know it, is possible only because of spaceship Earth's magnetosphere – and it's FREE! "Raise shields!"
The one on the right seems to have a penis on the end of the pointing arm, perhaps mocking the idea that a man can protect a woman's space literally/figuratively while having a penis. Or that anyone with a penis can protect a space designed for women or mocking that women, unless they have lady dick, are not women?
But I don't know…..
So many have got the wrong end of the press release because of the MSM mistake in saying NZ first were refusing access to unisex spaces. Par for the course for MSM in NZ. Wouldn't have a clue about women's issues even if they had said issues piled up in boxes in their lounge.
Hipkins repeated the lie about unisex as well. Totally fucking bizarre.
I usually find Murdoch's cartoons self explanatory, but I really have no idea what she is trying to say with that one. Does 'I trust you do have a women's space' refer to women's vaginas?
The proposed legislation (members bill only – not coalition) requires a minimum of two separate toilets – one for each sex. And legal consequence for those who use one not of their birth sex.
greater interest about who is a women's sex toilet, than the other one.
and who is going to police correct use of toilets and how they are going to do it.
She could have gone further – does one need a "birth certificate" or drivers licence or passport ID to access a public place toilet (all currently issued based on self gender ID). This is like the "phony war", just the beginning.
It applies here because a member proposing legislation about having separate toilets based on sex, will come up against earlier parliamentary legislation to enable gender self ID (as per birth certificate, DL and passport).
To have any meaning, it would have to impact on other legislation.
I don't see how you got those two points from that cartoon.
And I do not know what other conclusions could be drawn.
To have any meaning, it would have to impact on other legislation.
generally yes, that is the norm. However there is legislation that predates self ID eg the right to discriminate on the basis of sex was established in BORA 1990 and HRA 1993
Afaik, the BDMRR amendment was never intended to change the definition of sex, it was simply to make changing the BC easier.
The DIA FAQ page had one thing to say about women,
How will you protect women’s rights to sex segregated spaces if self-identification is introduced?
The sex printed on a birth certificate does not determine someone’s legal sex and any associated rights, and there is no legal provision for definitively determining sex in New Zealand legislation. A self-identification process doesn’t change the protections for sex segregated spaces.
People have been able to change the sex on their birth certificate since the Births, Deaths, Marriages and Relationships Registration Act 1995 was first enacted, and to self-identify gender on passports since 2012, and we haven’t seen any evidence of this being abused.
So what we have is protections that allow for single sex spaces, social conventions around that eg that sex refers to biology, and the DIA stating in 2021 that single sex spaces aren't affected by self ID.
We also have a sociopolitical push from gender identity activists to make changes socially eg remove single sex spaces. That is why this Bill exists. That it's being done by Peters/NZF as a form of populism doesn't alter that changes are being made without consultation and that will attract backlash. I'm not convinced that this Bill is necessary, nor that it is well written, but it's what we have in the absence of meaningful debate.
The Post today told an outright lie about the Bill,
one that the leader of the Opposition repeated. It's bizarre beyond belief, but here we are.
Ani did a mega thread,
A THREAD OF EXAMPLES & REASONS WHY SINGLE SEX TOILETS/BATHROOMS ARE IMPORTANT. Plus history & info. These are of course in addition to the fact that women (and most men) want single sex spaces in which to pee & poo.
The meaning is that self ID no more impacted on spaces than the right given since 1995 to identify differently (via a managed process) to birth sex – or the more general point that there was no legal definition of sex identity.
Thus sex based identity can be extended (via gender identity) to those not born of that sex, and unless this is seen to be in conflict with the rights of those born of that sex it would not be a breach of human rights.
Not that they are prepared to put it that baldly without a court determination.
Is it then possible to identify the legal circumstance of any bathroom "incident" without court precedent (and after Court of Appeal and Supreme Court also concluded)?
In the meantime, police action launched as a result of managing an incident – without any legal resolution, until a case went to court.
At the moment there is presumably no requirement to have separate male and female sex toilets in new public buildings, but this is common and with unisex areas as well – often with wheel chair access, which "others" can use.
A headline saying that the legislation would ban the provision of just unisex toilets in new buildings would be valid.
The meaning is that self ID no more impacted on spaces than the right given since 1995 to identify differently (via a managed process) to birth sex – or the more general point that there was no legal definition of sex identity.
actually self ID legislation is having a significant impact in that it is affirming social change that is distorted because of No Debate. Consider why there are no posts about this on TS now. Or why there are few left wing voices address the issues for women.
what is sex based identity? Sex isn't an identity, it's a fixed state of being.
If you mean that trans women can self ID into women's toilets even where those toilets are designated female only, then use, this is exactly what the Bill is designed to address.
Consider a pub that has a women's toilet, men's and unisex. The women's toilet is a large room with basins/mirrors and cubicles that don't got floor to ceiling. Under the proposed law, if a man goes into that space, women could go to the owner of the pub and ask them to take action eg evict the man from the pub. If the man refuses to leave, the police can be called. Just like any other barring that happens in a pub.
At the moment, the same pub could take the same actions, because single sex spaces are protected in law. But I think the legislation used in court would be whatever allows pubs to evict patrons. The problem we have at the moment is that self ID is effecting a cultural shift. No Debate means that many places that might want to remove men from women's toilets won't do so for fear of being cancelled. And there are of course many people who are ok with men in women's spaces and they're not going to support women in that situation.
This is a really good example of why the issue isn't about genital inspections or transphobia. Even allowing for Bomber's fairly extreme and nonsensical rant style, it neatly points to the fact that men can just decide to ride roughshod over women's rights and then women have to fight. That's the war.
This is a really good example of why the issue isn't about genital inspections or transphobia. Even allowing for Bomber's fairly extreme and nonsensical rant style, it neatly points to the fact that men can just decide to ride roughshod over women's rights and then women have to fight. That's the war.
Agree Weka. I am concerned that there is so little in the way of widespread support for women from the community of men generally. This is not about being kind or using pronouns.
I think the community of men should step up and say, 'it doesn't matter how you are dressed fellow man you are able to come into the the toilets of your biological sex'.
This would work for all the well intentioned trans 'women'. They would recognise that it doesn't matter how you are dressed you are still a male.
It would not work on the AGP males.
Autogynephilia is defined as a male's propensity to be sexually aroused by the thought of himself as a female. Being frank the ability to do something about being sexually aroused is to masturbate, possibly rape. The numbers of pictures of males masturbating in womens toilets is legion.
I have not got figures but I suspect that in this cohort it is highly unlikely that they would have surgery to create a vagina, that would miss the point. They need male apparatus to do the next step. Sorry for being frank but in the dreamy world of rainbows and so called 'trans rights' this is ignored
Part of 'passing' as a female is to do 'female' things like going to the womens toilets. Of course they look nothing like a female. They are instantly recognisable as male. Many women have an inbuilt/innate sense of being able to recognise males no matter how they dress. This most acute at times when we have to let our guard down eg toiletting, breastfeeding children, tending to childrens' needs generally a fractious child in a stroller will take most of a mother's attention.
If there were unisex toilets then anyone could use them. This of course would not be supported by the AGP men.
The aim and object of these men is to gain access to women's toilets. I suspect this is who the legislation is primarily aimed at. It cannot come soon enough.
I hope that along with it, in the future, we will look at the building regs that seem to have screwball requirements for the proportions of male/female toilets. Many women have found themselves using or guarding men's toilets, at say concert venues, so that other women can use them, while an equal number, and counting, are using and lining up to use the women's toilets.
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Back in 2023, a "prominent political figure" went on trial for historic sex offences. But we weren't allowed to know who they were or what political party they were "prominent" in, because it might affect the way we voted. At the time, I said that this was untenable; it was ...
I'm going, I'm goingWhere the water tastes like wineI'm going where the water tastes like wineWe can jump in the waterStay drunk all the timeI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayAll this fussing and fighting, man, you know I sure ...
Waitangi Day is a time to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and stand together for a just and fair Aotearoa. Across the motu, communities are gathering to reflect, kōrero, and take action for a future built on equity and tino rangatiratanga. From dawn ceremonies to whānau-friendly events, there are ...
Subscribe to Mountain Tūī ! Where you too can learn about exciting things from a flying bird! Tweet.Yes - I absolutely suck at marketing. It’s a fact.But first -My question to all readers is:How should I set up the Substack model?It’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask since November ...
Here’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s political economy on politics and in the week to Feb 3:PM Christopher Luxon began 2025’s first day of Parliament last Tuesday by carrying on where left off in 2024, letting National’s junior coalition partner set the political agenda and dragging ...
The PSA have released a survey of 4000 public service workers showing that budget cuts are taking a toll on the wellbeing of public servants and risking the delivery of essential services to New Zealanders. Economists predict that figures released this week will show continued increases in unemployment, potentially reaching ...
The Prime Minister’s speech 10 days or so ago kicked off a flurry of commentary. No one much anywhere near the mainstream (ie excluding Greens supporters) questioned the rhetoric. New Zealand has done woefully poorly on productivity for a long time and we really need better outcomes, and the sorts ...
President Trump on the day he announced tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China, unleashing a shock to supply chains globally that is expected to slow economic growth and increase inflation for most large economies. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 9 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 3Politics: New Zealand Government cabinet meeting usually held early afternoon with post-cabinet news conference possible at 4 pm, although they have not been ...
Trump being Trump, it won’t come as a shock to find that he regards a strong US currency (bolstered by high tariffs on everything made by foreigners) as a sign of America’s virility, and its ability to kick sand in the face of the world. Reality is a tad more ...
A listing of 24 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, January 26, 2025 thru Sat, February 1, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
What seems to be the common theme in the US, NZ, Argentina and places like Italy under their respective rightwing governments is what I think of as “the politics of cruelty.” Hate-mongering, callous indifference in social policy-making, corporate toadying, political bullying, intimidation and punching down on the most vulnerable with ...
If you are confused, check with the sunCarry a compass to help you alongYour feet are going to be on the groundYour head is there to move you aroundSo, stand in the place where you liveSongwriters: Bill Berry / Michael Mills / Michael Stipe / Peter Buck.Hot in the CityYesterday, ...
Shane Jones announced today he would be contracting out his thinking to a smarter younger person.Reclining on his chaise longue with a mouth full of oysters and Kina he told reporters:Clearly I have become a has-been, a palimpsest, an epigone, a bloviating fossil. I find myself saying such things as: ...
Warning: This post contains references to sexual assaultOn Saturday, I spent far too long editing a video on Tim Jago, the ACT Party President and criminal, who has given up his fight for name suppression after 2 years. He voluntarily gave up just in time for what will be a ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is global warming ...
Our low-investment, low-wage, migration-led and housing-market-driven political economy has delivered poorer productivity growth than the rest of the OECD, and our performance since Covid has been particularly poor. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty this ...
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.As far as major government announcements go, a Three Ministers Event is Big. It can signify a major policy development or something has gone Very Well, or an absolute Clusterf**k. When Three Ministers assemble ...
One of those blasts from the past. Peter Dunne – originally neoliberal Labour, then leader of various parties that sought to work with both big parties (generally National) – has taken to calling ...
Completed reads for January: I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson The Black Spider, by Jeremias Gotthelf The Spider and the Fly (poem), by Mary Howitt A Noiseless Patient Spider (poem), by Walt Whitman August Heat, by W.F. Harvey Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White The Shrinking Man, by Richard Matheson ...
Do its Property Right Provisions Make Sense?Last week I pointed out that it is uninformed to argue that the New Zealand’s apparently poor economic performance can be traced only to poor regulations. Even were there evidence they had some impact, there are other factors. Of course, we should seek to ...
Richard Wagstaff It was incredibly jarring to hear the hubris from the Prime Minister during his recent state of the nation address. I had just spent close to a week working though the stories and thoughts shared with us by nearly 2000 working people as part of our annual Mood ...
Odd fact about the Broadcasting Standards Authority: for the last few years, they’ve only been upholding about 5% of complaints. Why? I think there’s a range of reasons. Generally responsible broadcasters. Dumb complaints. Complaints brought under the wrong standard. Greater adherence to broadcasters’ rights to freedom of expression in the ...
And I said, "Mama, mama, mama, why am I so alone"'Cause I can't go outside, I'm scared I might not make it homeWell I'm alive, I'm alive, but I'm sinking inIf there's anyone at home at your place, darlingWhy don't you invite me in?Don't try to feed me'Cause I've been ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ star is on the rise, having just added the Energy, Local Government and Revenue portfolios to his responsibilities - but there is nothing ambitious about the Government’s new climate targets. Photo: SuppliedLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...
It may have been a short week but there’s been no shortage of things that caught our attention. Here is some of the most interesting. This week in Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt took a look at public transport ridership in 2024 On Thursday Connor asked some questions ...
The East Is Red: Journalists and commentators are referring to the sudden and disruptive arrival of DeepSeek as a second “Sputnik moment”. (Sputnik being the name given by the godless communists of the Soviet Union to the world’s first artificial satellite which, to the consternation and dismay of the Americans, ...
Hi,Back on inauguration day we launched a ridiculous RFK Jr. “brain worms” tee on the Webworm store, and I told you I’d be throwing my profits over to Mutual Aid LA and Rainbow Youth New Zealand. Just to show I am not full of shit, here are the receipts. I ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Government’s move to increase speed limits substantially on dozens of stretches of rural and often undivided highways will result in more serious harm. ...
In her first announcement as Economic Growth Minister, Nicola Willis chose to loosen restrictions for digital nomads from other countries, rather than focus on everyday Kiwis. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Government’s growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. “Just over a year ago this Government was elected by ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. “The Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,” says Mr ...
The Government is relaxing visitor visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting New Zealand, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Tourism Minister Louise Upston say. “The change is part of the Government’s plan to unlock New Zealand’s potential by shifting the country onto ...
The opening of Kāinga Ora’s development of 134 homes in Epuni, Lower Hutt will provide much-needed social housing for Hutt families, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I’ve been a strong advocate for social housing on Kāinga Ora’s Epuni site ever since the old earthquake-prone housing was demolished in 2015. I ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay will travel to Australia today for meetings with Australian Trade Minister, Senator Don Farrell, and the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF). Mr McClay recently hosted Minister Farrell in Rotorua for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministers’ meeting, where ANZLF presented on ...
A new monthly podiatry clinic has been launched today in Wairoa and will bring a much-needed service closer to home for the Wairoa community, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.“Health New Zealand has been successful in securing a podiatrist until the end of June this year to meet the needs of ...
The Judicial Conduct Commissioner has recommended a Judicial Conduct Panel be established to inquire into and report on the alleged conduct of acting District Court Judge Ema Aitken in an incident last November, Attorney-General Judith Collins said today. “I referred the matter of Judge Aitken’s alleged conduct during an incident ...
Students who need extra help with maths are set to benefit from a targeted acceleration programme that will give them more confidence in the classroom, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Last year, significant numbers of students did not meet the foundational literacy and numeracy level required to gain NCEA. To ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced three new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ...
Ki te kahore he whakakitenga, ka ngaro te Iwi – without a vision, the people will perish. The Government has achieved its target to reduce the number of households in emergency housing motels by 75 per cent five years early, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The number of households ...
The opening of Palmerston North’s biggest social housing development will have a significant impact for whānau in need of safe, warm, dry housing, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The minister visited the development today at North Street where a total of 50 two, three, and four-bedroom homes plus a ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced the new membership of the Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control (PACDAC), who will serve for a three-year term. “The Committee brings together wide-ranging expertise relevant to disarmament. We have made six new appointments to the Committee and reappointed two existing members ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora, good morning, talofa, malo e lelei, bula vinaka, da jia hao, namaste, sat sri akal, assalamu alaikum. It’s so great to be here and I’m ready and pumped for 2025. Can I start by acknowledging: Simon Bridges – CEO of the Auckland ...
The Government has unveiled a bold new initiative to position New Zealand as a premier destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) that will create higher paying jobs and grow the economy. “Invest New Zealand will streamline the investment process and provide tailored support to foreign investors, to increase capital investment ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced the largest reset of the New Zealand science system in more than 30 years with reforms which will boost the economy and benefit the sector. “The reforms will maximise the value of the $1.2 billion in government funding that goes into ...
Turbocharging New Zealand’s economic growth is the key to brighter days ahead for all Kiwis, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. In the Prime Minister’s State of the Nation Speech in Auckland today, Christopher Luxon laid out the path to the prosperity that will affect all aspects of New Zealanders’ lives. ...
The latest set of accounts show the Government has successfully checked the runaway growth of public spending, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. “In the previous government’s final five months in office, public spending was almost 10 per cent higher than for the same period the previous year. “That is completely ...
The Government’s welfare reforms are delivering results with the number of people moving off benefits into work increasing year-on-year for six straight months. “There are positive signs that our welfare reset and the return consequences for job seekers who don't fulfil their obligations to prepare for or find a job ...
Jon Kroll and Aimee McCammon have been appointed to the New Zealand Film Commission Board, Arts Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “I am delighted to appoint these two new board members who will bring a wealth of industry, governance, and commercial experience to the Film Commission. “Jon Kroll has been an ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has hailed a drop in the domestic component of inflation, saying it increases the prospect of mortgage rate reductions and a lower cost of living for Kiwi households. Stats NZ reported today that inflation was 2.2 per cent in the year to December, the second consecutive ...
Two new appointed members and one reappointed member of the Employment Relations Authority have been announced by Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden today. “I’m pleased to announce the new appointed members Helen van Druten and Matthew Piper to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) and welcome them to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jacinta Humphrey, Research Fellow in Urban Ecology, RMIT University Golf courses are sometimes seen as harmful to the environment. According to the popular notion, the grass soaks up too much water, is cut too short and sprayed with dangerous chemicals. But in ...
The poll, conducted between 02 and 04 February, shows National up 2.3 points to 31.9 percent, while Labour has risen 0.4 points from last month to 31.3 percent. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina McFerran, Professor and Head of Creative Arts and Music Therapy Research Unit; Director of Researcher Development Unit, The University of Melbourne New York Public Library Many of us take pleasure in listening to music. Music accompanies important life events and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina McFerran, Professor and Head of Creative Arts and Music Therapy Research Unit; Director of Researcher Development Unit, The University of Melbourne New York Public Library Many of us take pleasure in listening to music. Music accompanies important life events and ...
The Cook Islands finds itself in a precarious dance — one between the promises of foreign investments and the integrity of our own sovereignty. As the country sways between partners China and Aotearoa New Zealand, the Cook Islands News asks: “Do we continue to haka with the Taniwha, our constitutional ...
A diplomatic scuffle with the Cook Islands. Plus: What went down at Waitangi. The Cook Islands prime minister, Mark Brown, has provoked the wrath of the New Zealand foreign minister with his decision to head to China to sign a new strategic deal. By failing to consult on the ...
The deputy chairperson of the Australasian College of Emergency Medicine, Dr Michael Connelly, said simply setting targets without "resourcing" them was a pointless exercise, as the number of patients - and their acuity - continuing to grow. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suvradip Maitra, PhD Student, Australian National University Tero Vesalainen/Shutterstock Late last year, ChatGPT was used by a Victorian child protection worker to draft documents. In a glaring error, ChatGPT referred to a “doll” used for sexual purposes as an “age-appropriate toy”. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Niven Winchester, Professor of Economics, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Donald Trump has already made good on his threat to impose an additional 10% tax on Chinese goods, and is due to announce a 25% tariff on all steel and ...
Diplomatic tension between the Cook Islands and New Zealand is growing. Here's what it's about about, what China has to do with it, and why it matters. ...
Sick of human reality TV? Alex Casey has found a perfect solution in David Attenborough’s latest. I’m know I’m not alone when I say this: humans are bleaking me out at the moment. Turn on the news for the bleakest updates imaginable. Try to numb the pain with Married at ...
The Director of Public Health is a statutory role providing public health leadership across the Public Health Agency, within the Ministry of Health, and the National Public Health Service within Health NZ. ...
Zachary Forbes, a maths teacher from Whanganui, has started an unusual initiative on videogame streaming service Twitch. Shanti Mathias interviews him. “The people want First Samuel,” says the man who calls himself Brother Zac. Brown hair, headphones on, a wall behind him, he pauses and reflects on the comments he’s ...
Endless New Zealand politicians, including the present government, have pointed to our support for a rules-based international system, says PSNA National Chair John Minto. ...
In January, the reversals to speed limit reductions on the state highway network began. Councils have been asked to reverse all reduced speed limits since 2020 by July. A retired rural healthcare worker found something missing from the conversation – a maths equation she learned in high school. As told ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Natarsha McPherson, PhD Candidate in Spatial Ecology, University of Adelaide Rob D / Shutterstock On the vast expanse of the Nullarbor Plain in South Australia, two very different creatures live side by side – but not always peacefully. One is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John White, Associate Professor in Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Deakin University Fire broke out in the Grampians National Park (Gariwerd) in December and raged for weeks. Then lightning strikes ignited fresh blazes late last month, which merged to form a mega-fire that’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karley Beckman, Senior Lecturer in Digital Technologies for Learning, University of Wollongong If you are a parent of a school student, you may have received a form seeking permission to use your child’s image on school social media accounts. It’s very ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Garritt C. Van Dyk, Senior Lecturer in History, University of Waikato The day he took office for his second term, United States President Donald J. Trump unveiled his “America First” trade policy, including tariffs on imported goods from Mexico, Canada (both of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jack McGrath, Lecturer in Animation, University of Newcastle Netflix The 2025 Academy Awards could shape up to be a big one for stop-motion animation. Australian director Adam Eliott’s Memoir of a Snail (2024) has raked in a nomination for Best Animated ...
Mark Brown’s trip to China risks damaging the close bond between the Cook Islands and NZ, explains Stewart Sowman-Lund for The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ‘Significant concern’ New Zealand’s tight knit relationship with the Cook Islands is at risk after the nation’s prime ...
.Advisers warned the Minister for Resources that his plans to limit industry liability for the clean-up costs of was more lenient that Australia and the UK. ...
A snub by the Cook Islands prime minister will be watched by any nations keen to see how deep New Zealand's partnerships in the region really are, an expert on geopolitics in the Pacific says. ...
The union for public service workers has taken the "unprecedented" step of asking the Privacy Commissioner to urgently investigate Health NZ's plan to cut nearly half its IT staff as part of the government's cost-cutting drive. ...
The story so far: In his new unputdownable memoir, former Mockers singer Andrew Fagan writes of attempting to set the record for smallest boat to sail around the world solo via the Great Capes. He set off from Westhaven on his tiny 5.18-metre plywood yacht Swirly World. All went well ...
The last time New Zealand had this kind of recession we voted in MMP. What might we do this time? First published in Henry Cooke’s politics newsletter, Museum Street. New Zealand is not at its best right now. I write this from afar so I have to rely on brutal headline ...
Te Tiriti isn’t about affirmative action. It’s about power. In a recent Facebook post, Act minister Nicole McKee lambasted Wellington Water for a chief operating officer job listing which required applicants to have knowledge and understanding of te Tiriti o Waitangi. “Just fix the bloody pipes! The treaty doesn’t have ...
https://www.waikatotimes.co.nz/nz-news/350269895/tauhara-power-station-turbine-gets-test-drive
The knuckle dragging simian brown must have over looked this little bueaty when ranting about more gas needed for power production.
Marc Daalder writing for Newsroom has a brilliant fact filled explanation of the energy supply "problems." Brown should be shamed for using his misinformation about gas etc for political gains. (There is still more than enough gas available but usage has dropped.)
Actually Newsroom does a much better job than most Media outlets.
https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/05/10/government-hypes-gas-crisis-ahead-of-restarting-drilling/
Newsroom are well worth supporting with a subscription in my opinion.
Thanks for the link ian.
Informative and balanced, while being critical.
I figure if we are at the tipping point, for it to be cost efficient to go all electric domestically, then surely we are there for commercial purposes.
https://www.rewiring.nz/electric-homes-report
I freed myself from the shackles of the usurious power peddlers…
I have a large solar panel..two smaller panels..rechargable lights..sound system…cook with gas…
= Bye bye power bills…
It's not hard to do..
..imagine…no more power bills… self-sufficiency rules..!
Go you good thing.
When a Key commodity is privatised, shareholders rub their hands in glee when there are shortages.
Bradford's 'reforms' were what pushed me off grid. We are in the process of installing our 3rd and hopefully final system.
Then, commission the biodigester, made out of a 1000litre IBC(s) to get off the bottled gas…
So obvious..and such a no brainer. Sad that the NO brains were elected into, ironically, power .
Fast track coal, scream the shit heads.
As well as new building we also need to learn how to retrofit our existing housing stock and establish best practice for doing this.
Not everyone wants to live in a new house. Plenty still live and are happy in, an older house.
With the long time practice to ensure that older folk can stay in the community rather being warehoused somewhere else this is vital.
Families with children also need access to homes, that need not be new, that have good standards for warmth.
That’s precisely the situation my 88 year old mother is in. She still lives in the (small) family home we all grew up in in the ‘60’s and 70’s, but with ceiling insulation and a heat pump added. She has fantastic neighbours, and has no desire to move to something new.
Oh to be fortunate and wealthy enough to have that choice.
With the cost of new builds, some people have no choice but to stay in their old homes.
I didnt say they did. Also, did you read the link?
And it may be you are the fortunate person who has either their own home and managed to insulate…or fortunate enough to have a Landlord who cares about more than the rental income?
Unlike….
An..example of what the UNfortunate deal with
how far below best practice are we building?
I actually don't think we are. Most houses have good insulation: top, bottom,sides. double glazing, many have air/heat transfer kits, heat pumps. They don't have forced air mechanical ventilation or automatic temperature control. Still a limiting factor is our prevalent building material of wood
The trouble is that the features that would be the icing on the cake for many such as radiators or whole house heating are beyond the reach of the typical home house builder. We rely on heat pumps on walls rather than harnessing the power of heat pump technology to power whole house heating. (ie a bank of pumps connected to radiators) Solar is not yet mainstream in new builds. Individual wind turbines are not seen much here in the perennially windy city (clue not Chicago!)
But our existing housing stock is fine to be renovated. Many sustainable firms do not offer programmes with loans etc to insulate walls or do double glazing (except the poor people's Dble glazing kits which are great). They are not doing any research into solutions for accessing under floor insulation for home built with no human under floor access.
Our small street though we witnessed tunneling on the scale of Douglas Bader at Stalag Luft III B when a neighbour had tunnelers working to make tracks for humans to install underfloor insulation.
Even though we can do all of these things, some better/more effectively than others, the elephant in the room is always the cost of electricity.
Max Bradford needs to make himself ponder on how difficult his reforms have made it for most to afford even a modest heater to take the chill off. Failing Bradford seeing the light then some sort of review should be done with an aim of winding back the rich boys electricity 'reforms'.
Perhaps Labour could add this to the list, and any other 'state' owned assets that may fall into private hands with this Govt.
In a discussion about thermal performance how is timber, around R1.4/25mm, limiting?
Sorry I meant in relation to brick or stone. We have to work with what we have got, stone & brick are so expensive, and so as compared with solid as stone or brick we do have a limitation to start with.
And sure we are good at upping the rating with innovative sheetings/sheathings behind.
The R-value for most cladding is negligible.
Thickness required of various insulation materials to achieve an R-Value of 22.
The most utility method of upping R values is to increase insulation on the house side of the vapour barrier.
Ok, I'll go all hippy on you and mention straw bale, cob, aircrete and rammed earth.
Having said all that we have just redone the lean-to in the west wall hat is part of the master bedroom on our villa. Ready for elderly Mum to occupy.
6×2 framing for the walls and 10×2 rafters for the ceiling for the thicker Batts, expol under floor and heat pump plus radiators.
My 1933 bungalow is constructed of kauri weatherboards on the outside and 9 by 1 inch rimu planking on the inside. Add building paper and a lining of Gib to the internal walls, lots of Batts in the attic, and insulation to the underfloor spaces, – it is very snug. I could retrofit double glazing, but for the moment, good curtains will have to do. There is a heat pump in the kitchen/family room and the site is north/west facing so gets good sun.
Nothing wrong with well built and insulated wooden houses.
wall insulation?
I really don't get why people build these insulated houses and don't put up curtains.
I don't either Weka.
Quite apart from the privacy aspect every little bit of protection against the cold helps. I suspect that they are related to the ones though who never pull their curtains back to get solar warming during the day or ventilate their houses to change air and prevent mould (and know the best times to do this).
We seem to have lost much of the commonsense about 'driving' a home somewhere along the way.
I really don't get why we have so many damn windows.
Glazing on north-facing walls can be reasonably large. Where there is good solar access and exposed concrete floors to provide thermal mass, north-facing windows should be approximately 10-15% of total floor area. With timber floors, north-facing windows should be closer to 10% of floor area. Where solar access is poor, the north-facing windows should be less than 8% of floor area.
Glazing that is east, west or south-facing should be smaller and designed mainly to meet daylight and view requirements. This glazing is usually a net heat loser in winter, depending on climate and heating.
East-facing windows should be reasonably small – less than 5% of the home's total floor area.
South and west-facing windows should ideally be less than 3% of floor area and be designed for daylight, views and cooling cross-flow breezes in summer.
https://www.level.org.nz/passive-design/glazing-and-glazing-units/
warmth, light, view. One of the reasons for having decent east facing windows is if you are in a hot climate you can open those windows in the afternoon when it is hottest, and close the curtains on the west and north sides. If there were limited windows on the east, it would be hotter inside and darker.
Yes Weka this is what my sister in inland Otago does in summer. East windows & doors open, west closed and curtained
I do agree that some house builds go completely over board. Also, why did high ceilings come back into style? It’s like the efficiencies gained by insulation and better passive solar were seen as something that could be spent by doing high ceilings, floor to ceiling windows and no curtains. That’s not conserving energy, it’s excessive energy use despite the triple glazing and high R value insulation.
High ceilings have always been a display of wealth.
Interesting question. And why did high ceilings become 'fashionable' in the first place – a woman's (or man's) home is her/his castle?
Just for info – I don't know the answer, but joe90 is probably on to it.
"Adding to the list of the benefits of high ceilings, he gushed …"
Agree with this. My house has stood the test of time and is as warm and comfy as I want it to be. (I generally function on a lower temperature than many homes are heated to and having opening windows/access to fresh air are key to me. I suffered terribly (like no other time) with sinus and other chest/nasal infections while living in apartments with non opening windows in Europe.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/350272573/nz-weather-live-power-grid-emergency-due-geomagnetic-storm
Labour and the Greens fault, no doubt.
Thanks for that link to the Stuff article – TS is a great source of news.
Friends in the South are hoping for aurora views this evening – though may be hampered by cloud-cover (not as cold as last night, but less visually exciting)
Sadly, we're not likely to see them in Auckland; both because we're likely too far north – but also the light pollution would drown it out. Perhaps they could save power by dowsing the street lights to let us see the aurora!
"Perhaps they could save power by dowsing the street lights to let us see the aurora!"
They would if they could but wouldn't dare. Some grinch would take them to court. Damn pity.
I've just seen images of the aurora taken in Foxton. Stunning!
I thought it was one of the things that was bragging rights for our southern cousins.
The most moral army in the world…
//
Strapped down, blindfolded, held in diapers: Israeli whistleblowers detail abuse of Palestinians in shadowy detention center
[…]
They paint a picture of a facility where doctors sometimes amputated prisoners’ limbs due to injuries sustained from constant handcuffing; of medical procedures sometimes performed by underqualified medics earning it a reputation for being “a paradise for interns”; and where the air is filled with the smell of neglected wounds left to rot.
According to the accounts, the facility some 18 miles from the Gaza frontier is split into two parts: enclosures where around 70 Palestinian detainees from Gaza are placed under extreme physical restraint, and a field hospital where wounded detainees are strapped to their beds, wearing diapers and fed through straws.
“They stripped them down of anything that resembles human beings,” said one whistleblower, who worked as a medic at the facility’s field hospital.
“(The beatings) were not done to gather intelligence. They were done out of revenge,” said another whistleblower. “It was punishment for what they (the Palestinians) did on October 7 and punishment for behavior in the camp.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/05/10/middleeast/israel-sde-teiman-detention-whistleblowers-intl-cmd
Test
The Carrington Event in early September 1859 was the largest solar storm on record.
Auroras were visible in low latitudes and miners in the Rockies were said to have arisen and breakfasted in the middle of the night thinking dawn was approaching. Induced current in telegraph lines caused fires, ignited batteries, and allowed telegraphs to be sent and received despite batteries being disconnected.
An event of that magnitude today would likely cause hundreds of billion of dollars worth of damage.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world-news/350275087/rare-geomagnetic-storm-sparks-power-grid-alerts-around-world-stunning-auroras
Stunning photos of the Aurora including one from Blockhouse Bay Auckland. Can't see it from my place on the Shore. 🙁
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/stunning-aurora-lights-continue-for-nz-tonight-clear-skies-make-for-better-viewing-conditions/TDUYASBJBJDJ7AONV37Q75HRQE/
Stunning display south of here. Mostly red spreading from the southern horizon to near overhead, looks very like a bushfire sunset, with occasional vertical greens.
AJ.. heh heh. Waiting for the t-shirts. ..LABOUR DID THIS! Totally responsible for LARGEST SOLAR STORM ON RECORD!.
I might have believed you if you had claimed "Labour are planning to turn on the largest Solar Storm on Record"
Labour actually doing it? Who are you trying to kid? They never in actually succeeding with anything significant.
Alwyn’s more garbled than usual. Blame the aurora – it helps put things in perspective.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/05/11/awe-inspiring-aurorae-amaze-over-south-island-more-expected/
Our electromagnetic infrastructure, and indeed life itself as we know it, is possible only because of spaceship Earth's magnetosphere – and it's FREE! "Raise shields!"
https://scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/sun-space-weather/earth-magnetosphere
Does anyone understand this Sharon Murdoch cartoon and can explain it?
https://twitter.com/domesticanimal/status/1789386842078380240
Women only so best I check.
The one on the right seems to have a penis on the end of the pointing arm, perhaps mocking the idea that a man can protect a woman's space literally/figuratively while having a penis. Or that anyone with a penis can protect a space designed for women or mocking that women, unless they have lady dick, are not women?
But I don't know…..
So many have got the wrong end of the press release because of the MSM mistake in saying NZ first were refusing access to unisex spaces. Par for the course for MSM in NZ. Wouldn't have a clue about women's issues even if they had said issues piled up in boxes in their lounge.
Hipkins repeated the lie about unisex as well. Totally fucking bizarre.
I usually find Murdoch's cartoons self explanatory, but I really have no idea what she is trying to say with that one. Does 'I trust you do have a women's space' refer to women's vaginas?
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA2405/S00077/new-zealand-first-members-bill-to-protect-womens-spaces.htm
The proposed legislation (members bill only – not coalition) requires a minimum of two separate toilets – one for each sex. And legal consequence for those who use one not of their birth sex.
yes, I know, but I don't understand what Murdoch is saying with the cartoon.
She is inferring
She could have gone further – does one need a "birth certificate" or drivers licence or passport ID to access a public place toilet (all currently issued based on self gender ID). This is like the "phony war", just the beginning.
I don't see how you got those two points from that cartoon.
the problem isn't having ID or not, it's that sex isn't formally defined in NZ law.
Not sure what you mean by phoney war. There are coherent reasons for having single sex toilets.
The term phony war comes from a period in WW2.
It applies here because a member proposing legislation about having separate toilets based on sex, will come up against earlier parliamentary legislation to enable gender self ID (as per birth certificate, DL and passport).
To have any meaning, it would have to impact on other legislation.
And I do not know what other conclusions could be drawn.
generally yes, that is the norm. However there is legislation that predates self ID eg the right to discriminate on the basis of sex was established in BORA 1990 and HRA 1993
https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1990/0109/latest/whole.html#DLM225519
https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1993/0082/latest/DLM304617.html
Afaik, the BDMRR amendment was never intended to change the definition of sex, it was simply to make changing the BC easier.
https://thestandard.org.nz/the-problems-for-women-with-sex-self-id-in-law-and-society/
So what we have is protections that allow for single sex spaces, social conventions around that eg that sex refers to biology, and the DIA stating in 2021 that single sex spaces aren't affected by self ID.
We also have a sociopolitical push from gender identity activists to make changes socially eg remove single sex spaces. That is why this Bill exists. That it's being done by Peters/NZF as a form of populism doesn't alter that changes are being made without consultation and that will attract backlash. I'm not convinced that this Bill is necessary, nor that it is well written, but it's what we have in the absence of meaningful debate.
The Post today told an outright lie about the Bill,
https://twitter.com/aniobrien/status/1789117790034772361
one that the leader of the Opposition repeated. It's bizarre beyond belief, but here we are.
Ani did a mega thread,
https://twitter.com/aniobrien/status/1789133707619836231
The meaning is that self ID no more impacted on spaces than the right given since 1995 to identify differently (via a managed process) to birth sex – or the more general point that there was no legal definition of sex identity.
Thus sex based identity can be extended (via gender identity) to those not born of that sex, and unless this is seen to be in conflict with the rights of those born of that sex it would not be a breach of human rights.
Not that they are prepared to put it that baldly without a court determination.
Is it then possible to identify the legal circumstance of any bathroom "incident" without court precedent (and after Court of Appeal and Supreme Court also concluded)?
In the meantime, police action launched as a result of managing an incident – without any legal resolution, until a case went to court.
At the moment there is presumably no requirement to have separate male and female sex toilets in new public buildings, but this is common and with unisex areas as well – often with wheel chair access, which "others" can use.
A headline saying that the legislation would ban the provision of just unisex toilets in new buildings would be valid.
actually self ID legislation is having a significant impact in that it is affirming social change that is distorted because of No Debate. Consider why there are no posts about this on TS now. Or why there are few left wing voices address the issues for women.
what is sex based identity? Sex isn't an identity, it's a fixed state of being.
If you mean that trans women can self ID into women's toilets even where those toilets are designated female only, then use, this is exactly what the Bill is designed to address.
Consider a pub that has a women's toilet, men's and unisex. The women's toilet is a large room with basins/mirrors and cubicles that don't got floor to ceiling. Under the proposed law, if a man goes into that space, women could go to the owner of the pub and ask them to take action eg evict the man from the pub. If the man refuses to leave, the police can be called. Just like any other barring that happens in a pub.
At the moment, the same pub could take the same actions, because single sex spaces are protected in law. But I think the legislation used in court would be whatever allows pubs to evict patrons. The problem we have at the moment is that self ID is effecting a cultural shift. No Debate means that many places that might want to remove men from women's toilets won't do so for fear of being cancelled. And there are of course many people who are ok with men in women's spaces and they're not going to support women in that situation.
This is a really good example of why the issue isn't about genital inspections or transphobia. Even allowing for Bomber's fairly extreme and nonsensical rant style, it neatly points to the fact that men can just decide to ride roughshod over women's rights and then women have to fight. That's the war.
Agree Weka. I am concerned that there is so little in the way of widespread support for women from the community of men generally. This is not about being kind or using pronouns.
I think the community of men should step up and say, 'it doesn't matter how you are dressed fellow man you are able to come into the the toilets of your biological sex'.
This would work for all the well intentioned trans 'women'. They would recognise that it doesn't matter how you are dressed you are still a male.
It would not work on the AGP males.
Autogynephilia is defined as a male's propensity to be sexually aroused by the thought of himself as a female. Being frank the ability to do something about being sexually aroused is to masturbate, possibly rape. The numbers of pictures of males masturbating in womens toilets is legion.
I have not got figures but I suspect that in this cohort it is highly unlikely that they would have surgery to create a vagina, that would miss the point. They need male apparatus to do the next step. Sorry for being frank but in the dreamy world of rainbows and so called 'trans rights' this is ignored
Part of 'passing' as a female is to do 'female' things like going to the womens toilets. Of course they look nothing like a female. They are instantly recognisable as male. Many women have an inbuilt/innate sense of being able to recognise males no matter how they dress. This most acute at times when we have to let our guard down eg toiletting, breastfeeding children, tending to childrens' needs generally a fractious child in a stroller will take most of a mother's attention.
If there were unisex toilets then anyone could use them. This of course would not be supported by the AGP men.
The aim and object of these men is to gain access to women's toilets. I suspect this is who the legislation is primarily aimed at. It cannot come soon enough.
I hope that along with it, in the future, we will look at the building regs that seem to have screwball requirements for the proportions of male/female toilets. Many women have found themselves using or guarding men's toilets, at say concert venues, so that other women can use them, while an equal number, and counting, are using and lining up to use the women's toilets.