Open mike 11/08/2024
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6:00 am, August 11th, 2024 - 62 comments
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- Time for a Change
You act as thoughYou are a blind manWho's crying, crying 'boutAll the virgins that are dyingIn your habitual dreams, you knowSeems you need more sleepBut like a parrot in a flaming treeI know it's pretty hard to seeI'm beginning to wonderIf it's time for a changeSong: Phil JuddThe next line ...7 hours ago - Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt Six.
The “double shocks” in post Cold War international affairs. The end of the Cold War fundamentally altered the global geostrategic context. In particular, the end of the nuclear “balance of terror” between the USA and USSR, coupled with the relaxation … Continue reading ...8 hours ago - Buried deep
Here's a bike on Manchester St, Feilding. I took this photo on Friday night after a very nice dinner at the very nice Vietnamese restaurant, Saigon, on Manchester Street.I thought to myself, Manchester Street? Bicycle? This could be the very spot.To recap from an earlier edition: on a February night ...13 hours ago - Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies, Excerpt Five.
Military politics as a distinct “partial regime.” Notwithstanding their peripheral status, national defense offers the raison d’être of the combat function, which their relative vulnerability makes apparent, so military forces in small peripheral democracies must be very conscious of events … Continue reading ...1 day ago
- Leadership for Dummies
If you’re going somewhere, do you maybe take a bit of an interest in the place? Read up a bit on the history, current events, places to see - that sort of thing? Presumably, if you’re taking a trip somewhere, it’s for a reason. But what if you’re going somewhere ...1 day ago - Home again
1 day ago - Dead even tie for hottest August ever
Long stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer:The month of August was 1.49˚C warmer than pre-industrial levels, tying with 2023 for the warmest August ever, according ...2 days ago - The Hoon around the week to Sept 7
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts and talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate science on rising temperatures and the debate about how to responde to climate disinformation; and special guest ...2 days ago
- Have We an Infrastructure Deficit?
An Infrastructure New Zealand report says we are keeping up with infrastructure better than we might have thought from the grumbling. But the challenge of providing for the future remains.I was astonished to learn that the quantity of our infrastructure has been keeping up with economic growth. Your paper almost ...2 days ago - Councils reject racism
Last month, National passed a racist law requiring local councils to remove their Māori wards, or hold a referendum on them at the 2025 local body election. The final councils voted today, and the verdict is in: an overwhelming rejection. Only two councils out of 45 supported National's racist agenda ...2 days ago - Homage to Simeon Brown
2 days ago
- Government of deceit
When National cut health spending and imposed a commissioner on Te Whatu Ora, they claimed that it was necessary because the organisation was bloated and inefficient, with "14 layers of management between the CEO and the patient". But it turns out they were simply lying: Health Minister Shane Reti’s ...2 days ago
- The professionals actually think and act like our Government has no fiscal crisis at all
Treasury staff at work: The demand for a new 12-year Government bond was so strong, Treasury decided to double the amount of bonds it sold. Photo: Lynn GrievesonMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, September ...2 days ago - Weekly Roundup 6-September-2024
Welcome to another Friday and another roundup of stories that caught our eye this week. As always, this and every post is brought to you by the Greater Auckland crew. If you like our work and you’d like to see more of it, we invite you to join our regular ...2 days ago - Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies; Excerpt Four.
Internal versus external security. Regardless of who rules, large countries can afford to separate external and internal security functions (even if internal control functions predominate under authoritarian regimes). In fact, given the logic of power concentration and institutional centralization of … Continue reading ...2 days ago
- A Hole In The River
There's a hole in the river where her memory liesFrom the land of the living to the air and skyShe was coming to see him, but something changed her mindDrove her down to the riverThere is no returnSongwriters: Neil Finn/Eddie RaynerThe king is dead; long live the queen!Yesterday was a ...2 days ago - Bright Blue His Jacket Ain’t But I Love This Fellow: A Review and Analysis of The Rings of Power E...
My conclusion last week was that The Rings of Power season two represented a major improvement in the series. The writing’s just so much better, and honestly, its major problems are less the result of the current episodes and more creatures arising from season one plot-holes. I found episode three ...3 days ago - Who should we thank for the defeat of the Nazis
As a child in the 1950s, I thought the British had won the Second World War because that’s what all our comics said. Later on, the films and comics told me that the Americans won the war. In my late teens, I found out that the Soviet Union ...3 days ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #36 2024
Open access notables Diurnal Temperature Range Trends Differ Below and Above the Melting Point, Pithan & Schatt, Geophysical Research Letters: The globally averaged diurnal temperature range (DTR) has shrunk since the mid-20th century, and climate models project further shrinking. Observations indicate a slowdown or reversal of this trend in recent decades. ...3 days ago - Media Link: Discussing the NZSIS Security Threat Report.
I was interviewed by Mike Hosking at NewstalkZB and a few other media outlets about the NZSIS Security Threat Report released recently. I have long advocated for more transparency, accountability and oversight of the NZ Intelligence Community, and although the … Continue reading ...3 days ago
- How do I make this better for people who drive Ford Rangers?
Home, home again to a long warm embrace. Plenty of reasons to be glad to be back.But also, reasons for dejection.You, yes you, Simeon Brown, you odious little oik, you bible thumping petrol-pandering ratfucker weasel. You would be Reason Number One. Well, maybe first among equals with Seymour and Of-Seymour ...3 days ago - A missed opportunity
The government introduced a pretty big piece of constitutional legislation today: the Parliament Bill. But rather than the contentious constitutional change (four year terms) pushed by Labour, this merely consolidates the existing legislation covering Parliament - currently scattered across four different Acts - into one piece of legislation. While I ...3 days ago
- Nicola Willis Seeks New Sidekick To Help Fix NZ’s Economy
Synopsis:Nicola Willis is seeking a new Treasury Boss after Dr Caralee McLiesh’s tenure ends this month. She didn’t listen to McLiesh. Will she listen to the new one?And why is Atlas Network’s Taxpayers Union chiming in?Please consider subscribing or supporting my work. Thanks, Tui.About CaraleeAt the beginning of July, Newsroom ...3 days ago - Inflation alive and kicking in our land of the long white monopolies
The golden days of profit continue for the the Foodstuffs (Pak’n’Save and New World) and Woolworths supermarket duopoly. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, September 5:The Groceries Commissioner has ...3 days ago - The thermodynamics of electric vs. internal combustion cars
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler I love thermodynamics. Thermodynamics is like your mom: it may not tell you what you can do, but it damn well tells you what you can’t do. I’ve written a few previous posts that include thermodynamics, like one on air capture of ...3 days ago
- Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt Three.
The notion of geopolitical “periphery.” The concept of periphery used here refers strictly to what can be called the geopolitical periphery. Being on the geopolitical periphery is an analytic virtue because it makes for more visible policy reform in response … Continue reading ...3 days ago
- Venus Hum
Fill me up with soundThe world sings with me a million smiles an hourI can see me dancing on my radioI can hear you singing in the blades of grassYellow dandelions on my way to schoolBig Beautiful Sky!Song: Venus Hum.Good morning, all you lovely people, and welcome to the 700th ...4 days ago - I Went to a Creed Concert
Note: The audio attached to this Webworm compliments today’s newsletter. I collected it as I met people attending a Creed concert. Their opinions may differ to mine. Read more ...4 days ago - Government migration policy backfires; thousands of unemployed nurses
The country has imported literally thousands of nurses over the past few months yet whether they are being employed as nurses is another matter. Just what is going on with HealthNZ and it nurses is, at best, opaque, in that it will not release anything but broad general statistics and ...4 days ago
- A Time For Unity.
Emotional Response: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon addresses mourners at the tangi of King Tuheitia on Turangawaewae Marae on Saturday, 31 August 2024.THE DEATH OF KING TUHEITIA could hardly have come at a worse time for Maoridom. The power of the Kingitanga to unify te iwi Māori was demonstrated powerfully at January’s ...4 days ago - Climate Change: Failed again
National's tax cut policies relied on stealing revenue from the ETS (previously used to fund emissions reduction) to fund tax cuts to landlords. So how's that going? Badly. Today's auction failed again, with zero units (of a possible 7.6 million) sold. Which means they have a $456 million hole in ...4 days ago
- Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt Two.
A question of size. Small size generally means large vulnerability. The perception of threat is broader and often more immediate for small countries. The feeling of comparative weakness, of exposure to risk, and of potential intimidation by larger powers often … Continue reading ...4 days ago
- Nicola Willis’s Very Unserious Bungling of the Kiwirail Interislander Cancellation
Open to all with kind thanks to all subscribers and supporters.Today, RNZ revealed that despite MFAT advice to Nicola Willis to be very “careful and deliberate” in her communications with the South Korean government, prior to any public announcement on cancelling Kiwirail’s i-Rex, Willis instead told South Korea 26 minutes ...4 days ago - Satisfying the Minister’s Speed Obsession
The Minister of Transport’s speed obsession has this week resulted in two new consultations for 110km/h speed limits, one in Auckland and one in Christchurch. There has also been final approval of the Kapiti Expressway to move to 110km/h following an earlier consultation. While the changes will almost certainly see ...4 days ago
- What if we freed up our streets, again?
This guest post is by Tommy de Silva, a local rangatahi and freelance writer who is passionate about making the urban fabric of Tāmaki Makaurau-Auckland more people-focused and sustainable. New Zealand’s March-April 2020 Level 4 Covid response (aka “lockdown”) was somehow both the best and worst six weeks of ...4 days ago
- No Alarms And No Surprises
A heart that's full up like a landfillA job that slowly kills youBruises that won't healYou look so tired, unhappyBring down the governmentThey don't, they don't speak for usI'll take a quiet lifeA handshake of carbon monoxideAnd no alarms and no surprisesThe fabulous English comedian Stewart Lee once wrote a ...4 days ago - Five ingenious ways people could beat the heat without cranking the AC
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Daisy Simmons Every summer brings a new spate of headlines about record-breaking heat – for good reason: 2023 was the hottest year on record, in keeping with the upward trend scientists have been clocking for decades. With climate forecasts suggesting that heat waves ...4 days ago
- No new funding for cycling & walking
Studies show each $1 of spending on walking and cycling infrastructure produces $13 to $35 of economic benefits from higher productivity, lower healthcare costs, less congestion, lower emissions and lower fossil fuel import costs. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note ...5 days ago - 99
Dad turned 99 today.Hell of a lot of candles, eh?He won't be alone for his birthday. He will have the warm attention of my brother, and my sister, and everyone at the rest home, the most thoughtful attentive and considerate people you could ever know. On Saturday there will be ...5 days ago - Open Government: National reneges on beneficial ownership
One of the achievements of the New Zealand’s Open Government Partnership Fourth National Action Plan was a formal commitment from the government to establish a public beneficial ownership register. Such a register would allow the ultimate owners of companies to be identified - a vital measure in preventing corruption, money ...5 days ago
- Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt One.
This project analyzes security politics in three peripheral democracies (Chile, New Zealand, Portugal) during the 30 years after the end of the Cold War. It argues that changes in the geopolitical landscape and geo-strategic context are interpreted differently by small … Continue reading ...5 days ago
- Tea and Toast
When the skies are looking bad my dearAnd your heart's lost all its hopeAfter dawn there will be sunshineAnd all the dust will goThe skies will clear my darlingNow it's time for you to let goOur girl will wake you up in the mornin'With some tea and toastLyrics: Lucy Spraggan.Good ...5 days ago - NLTP 2024 released – destroying pipeline of shovel ready local projects
Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Waka Kotahi yesterday released the latest National Land Transport Plan (NLTP) for 2024-27. The NLTP sets out what transport projects will be funded for the next three years, including both central and local government projects. As expected given the government’s extremely ideological transport policy, it’s ...5 days ago
- Can Brown deliver his roads
The Government’s unveiling of its road-building programme yesterday was ambitious and, many would say, long overdue. But the question will be whether it is too ambitious, whether it is affordable, and, if not, what might be dropped. The big ticket items will be the 17 so-called Roads of National Significance. ...6 days ago
- New paper about detecting climate misinformation on Twitter/X
Together with Cristian Rojas, Frank Algra-Maschio, Mark Andrejevic, Travis Coan, and Yuan-Fang Li, I just published a paper in Nature Communications Earth & Environment where we use the Computer Assisted Recognition of Denial and Skepticism (CARDS) machine learning model to detect climate misinformation in 5 million climate tweets. We find over half ...6 days ago
- Excerpting “Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies.”
In the late 2000s-early 2010s I was researching and writing a book titled “Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Chile, New Zealand and Portugal.” The book was a cross-regional Small-N qualitative comparison of the security strategies and postures of three small … Continue reading ...6 days ago
- Hating for the Wrong Reasons: Of Rings of Power, Orcs and Evil
A few months ago, my fellow countryman, HelloFutureMe, put out a giant YouTube video, dissecting what went wrong with the first season of Rings of Power (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ6FRUO0ui0&t=8376s). It’s an exceptionally good video, and though it spans some two and a half hours, it is well worth your time. But ...6 days ago - Climate Change: “Least cost” to who?
On Friday the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment released their submission on National's second Emissions Reduction Plan, ripping the shit out of it as a massive gamble based on wishful thinking. One of the specific issues he focused on was National's idea of "least cost" emissions reduction, pointing out that ...6 days ago
- Israeli Lives Matter
There is no monopoly on common senseOn either side of the political fenceWe share the same biology, regardless of ideologyBelieve me when I say to youI hope the Russians love their children tooLyrics: Sting. Read more ...6 days ago - Luxon Cries
Over the weekend, I found myself rather irritably reading up about the Treaty of Waitangi. “Do I need to do this?” It’s not my jurisdiction. In any other world, would this be something I choose to do?My answer - no.The Waitangi Tribunal, headed by some of our best legal minds, ...6 days ago
- Just one Wellington home being consented for every 10 in Auckland
A decade of under-building is coming home to roost in Wellington. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Monday September 2:Wellington’s leaders are wringing their hands over an exodus of skilled ...6 days ago - Container trucks on local streets: why take the risk?
This is a guest post by Charmaine Vaughan, who came to transport advocacy via her local Residents Association and a comms role at Bike Auckland. Her enthusiasm to make local streets safer for all is shared by her son Dylan Vaughan, a budding “urban nerd” who provided much of the ...6 days ago
- 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #35
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, August 25, 2024 thru Sat, August 31, 2024. Story of the week After another crammed week of climate news including updates on climate tipping points, increasing threats from rising ...7 days ago
- An Uncanny Valley of Improvement: A Review and Analysis of The Rings of Power, Episodes 1-3 (Season ...
And thus we come to the second instalment of Amazon’s Rings of Power. The first season, in 2022, was underwhelming, even for someone like myself, who is by nature inclined to approach Tolkien adaptations with charity. The writing was poor, the plot made no sense on its own terms, and ...1 week ago - Alcohol debris and Crocodile Tears
I write to you this morning from scenes of carnage. Around the floor lie young men who only hours earlier were full of life, and cocktails, and now lie silent. Read more ...1 week ago - When Do We Look Away?
Hi,The first time I saw something that made me recoil on the internet was a visit to Rotten.com. The clue was in the name — but the internet was a new thing to me in the 90s, and no-one really knew what the hell was going on. But somehow I ...1 week ago - The decades just fly by
You turn your back for a moment and a city can completely transform itself. It was, oh, just the other day I was tripping up to Kuala Lumpur every few months to teach workshops and luxuriate in the tropical warmth and fill my face with Char Kway Teow.It has to ...1 week ago - 2024 Reading Summary: August
Completed reads for August: Aesop’s Fables (collection), by Aesop Berserk: Volume XXV (manga), by Kentaro Miura Benighted, by J.B. Priestly Berserk: Volume XXVI (manga), by Kentaro Miura Berserk: Volume XXVII (manga), by Kentaro Miura Berserk: Volume XXVIII (manga), by Kentaro Miura Berserk: Volume XXIX (manga), by Kentaro Miura ...1 week ago - Is recent global warming part of a natural cycle?
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 John Mason. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is recent global warming part ...1 week ago
- White Noise
Now here we standWith our hearts in our handsSqueezing out the liesAll that I hearIs a message, unclearWhat else is there to decide?All that I'm hearing from youIs White NoiseLyrics: Christopher John CheneyIs the tide turning?Have we reached the high point of the racist hate and lies from Hobson’s Pledge, ...1 week ago - The Death Of “Big Norm” – Exactly 50 Years Ago Today.
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- Claims and Counter-Claims.
Whose Foreshore? Whose Seabed? When the Marine and Coastal Area Act was originally passed back in 2011, fears about the coastline becoming off-limits to Pakeha were routinely allayed by National Party politicians pointing out that the tests imposed were so stringent that only a modest percentage of claims (the then treaty ...1 week ago
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1 week ago
- The Principles of the Treaty
Hardly anyone says what are ‘the principles of the treaty’. The courts’ interpretation restrain the New Zealand Government. While they about protecting a particular community, those restraints apply equally to all community in a liberal democracy – including a single person.Treaty principles were introduced into the governance of New Zealand ...1 week ago - The Only Other Reliable Vehicle.
An Elite Leader Awaiting Rotation? Hipkins’ give-National-nothing-to-aim-at strategy will only succeed if the Coalition becomes as unpopular in three years as the British Tories became in fourteen.THE SHAPE OF CHRIS HIPKINS’ THINKING on Labour’s optimum pathway to re-election is emerging steadily. At the core of his strategy is Hipkins’ view ...1 week ago
- A Big F U to this Right Wing Government
Open to all - deep thanks to those who support and subscribe.One of the things that has got me interested recently is updates about Māori wards.In April, Stuff’s Karanama Ruru reported that ~ 2/3 of our 78 councils had adopted Māori wards in NZ.That meant that under the Coalition repeal ...1 week ago - Climate Change: James Shaw’s legacy keeps paying off
One of the central planks of the previous Labour-Green government's emissions reduction policy was GIDI (Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry). This was basically using ETS revenue to pay polluters to clean up production, reducing emissions while protecting jobs. Corporate welfare, but it got the job done, and was often a ...1 week ago
- Gravity
Oh twice as much ain't twice as goodAnd can't sustain like one half couldIt's wanting moreThat's gonna send me to my kneesSong: John MayerSome ups and downs from the last week of August ‘24. The good and bad, happy and sad, funny and mad, heroes and cads. The week that ...1 week ago - Ditch the climate double speak and get real
Long stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer:The Government announced changes to the Fast-Track Approvals Bill on Sunday, backing off from the contentious proposal to give ...1 week ago
- The Hoon around the week to August 30
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts and talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest science of changing sea temperatures and which emissions policies actually work; on the latest from Ukraine, Gaza and ...1 week ago
- This Govt’s infrastructure strategy depends on capital gains taxes & new road taxes
Billions of dollars in value uplift was identified around the Transmission Gully project, but that was captured 100% by landowners and not shared to pay for the project. Now National is saying value capture should be used for similar projects. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/ Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my ...1 week ago - Weekly Roundup 30-August-2024
Kia ora and welcome to the end of another week. Here’s our regular Friday roundup of things that caught our eye, in the realm of cities and transport. If you enjoy these roundups, feel free to join our growing ranks of supporters by making a recurring donation to keep the ...1 week ago
- Table Talk: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
“That’s the sort of constitutional reform he favours: conceived in secret; revolutionary in intent; implemented incrementally without fanfare; and under no circumstances to be placed before the electorate for democratic ratification.”TO SAY IT WAS RAINING would have understated seriously the meteorological conditions. Simply put, it was pissing down. One of ...1 week ago
- Big Norm and Chris Hipkins
It’s 50 years ago today that “Big Norm” Kirk died of a heart attack in Wellington’s Home of Compassion. Home of Compassion. Although he was Prime Minister for only 623 days, he has an iconic place in New Zealand history, particularly Labour history. When Labour leaders like Jacinda Ardern recite ...1 week ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #35 2024
Open access notables Arctic glacier snowline altitudes rise 150 m over the last 4 decades, Larocca et al., The Cryosphere: We mapped the snowline (SL) on a subset of 269 land-terminating glaciers above 60° N latitude in the latest available summer, clear-sky Landsat satellite image between 1984 and 2022. The mean SLA was extracted ...1 week ago
- Sign the petition: Keep military-style firearms off our streets
Help us tell the Government that reintroducing military-style firearms should not be up for debate. ...1 day ago - Vast majority of councils support Māori wards
Councils across the country have now decided where they stand regarding Māori wards, with a resounding majority in favour of keeping them in what is a significant setback for the Government. ...2 days ago - Release: Government on the wrong side of Māori wards
The National-led government has been given a clear message from the local government sector, as almost all councils reject the Government’s bid to treat Māori wards different to other wards. ...2 days ago
- Release: Labour congratulates Kuīni Ngā Wai hono i te po Paki
The Labour Party congratulates Kuīni Ngā Wai hono i te po Paki on being crowned as the eighth Te Ariki Nui – head of Te Kiingitanga. ...3 days ago
- Green Party welcomes new Maaori Kuiini
The Green Party welcomes the coronation of the new Maaori Kuiini, Te Arikinui Nga Wai Hono i te Po, today in Turangawaewae. ...3 days ago
- ECE teachers deserve better than this Government
The Green Party is unsurprised but disappointed by today’s announcement from the Government that will see our Early Childhood Centre teachers undermined and pay parity pushed further out of reach. ...4 days ago
- Urgent intervention needed on supermarkets
The Green Party is calling on the Government to intervene in the supermarket duopoly dominating our supply of groceries following today’s report from the Commerce Commission. ...4 days ago
- Release: Rainbow youth neglected in mental health funding
Labour backs the call from The Rainbow Support Collective members for mental health funding specifically earmarked for grassroots and peer led community organisations to be set up in a way that they are able to access. ...5 days ago
- Release: Transport in NZ has to be more than just roads
As expected, the National Land Transport Programme lacks ambition for our cities and our country’s rail network and puts the majority of investment into roads. ...5 days ago
- Speech: Barbara Edmonds Building Nations 2024
Tēnā koutou katoa, Thank you for your warm welcome and for having my colleagues and I here today. Earlier you heard from the Labour Leader, Chris Hipkins, on our vision for the future of infrastructure. I want to build on his comments and provide further detail on some key elements ...5 days ago
- Govt transport plan deepens fossil fuel fix
The Green Party says the Government’s new National Land Transport Programme marks another missed opportunity to take meaningful action to fight the climate crisis. ...6 days ago
- Greens call for public to back Wrybill in BOTY and beyond
The Green Party is calling on the public to support the Ngutu Pare Wrybill not just in this year’s Bird of the Year competition but also in pushing back against policies that could lead to the destruction of its habitat and accelerate its extinction. ...6 days ago
- Building consents data bad news for construction
News that the annual number of building consents granted for new homes fell by more than 20 percent for the year ended July 2024, is bad news for the construction industry. ...1 week ago
- Te Pāti Māori Pay Tribute to Kiingi Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII
Papā te whatitiri, hikohiko te uira, i kanapu ki te rangi, i whētuki i raro rā, rū ana te whenua e. Uea te pou o tōku whare kia tū tangata he kapua whakairi nāku nā runga o Taupiri. Ko taku kiri ka tōkia ki te anu mātao. E te iwi ...1 week ago
- Release: Gaps still to be addressed in callouts response
The Government must guarantee New Zealanders will not be at risk after making changes to the way mental health callouts are handled. ...1 week ago
- Poroporoaki: Kiingi Tuheitia passing
Haere e te Kīngi o te kotahitangi Haere ki o nui, ki o rahi I te pō ...1 week ago
- Green Party pays respects to Kiingi Tuuheitia
The Green Party is paying tribute to the Māori King, Kiingi Tuuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero XVII, after he passed away earlier this morning. ...1 week ago
- Potaka Brings Whakaata Māori to its Knees
Today’s Whakaata Māori announcement is yet another colossal failure from Minister Potaka, who has turned his back on te reo Māori, forcing a channel offline, putting whānau out of jobs, and cutting Māori content, says Te Pāti Māori. “A Senior Māori Minister has turned his back on Te Reo Māori. ...1 week ago
- Release: National restricts access to disability care homes
With disability communities still reeling from the diminishing of Whaikaha, a leaked document now reveals another blow with National restricting access to residential care homes. ...1 week ago
- Release: Govt must help save 230 manufacturing jobs
Labour is calling on the Government and Mercury Energy to find a solution to the proposed Winstone Pulp mill closure and save 230 manufacturing jobs. ...1 week ago
- Govt shirks its responsibility to Whakaata Māori
The Green Party has called out the Government for allowing Whakaata Māori to effectively collapse to a shell of its former self as job cuts and programming cuts were announced at the broadcaster today. ...1 week ago
- NZ First Member’s Bill To Disestablish Auckland Transport
Today New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill that will restore democratic control over transport management in Auckland City by disestablishing Auckland Transport (AT) and returning control to Auckland Council. The ‘Local Government (Auckland Council) (Disestablishment of Auckland Transport) Amendment Bill’ intends to restore democratic oversight, control, and accountability ...1 week ago - Release: PM fails in constitutional role and leadership
The failure of the Prime Minister to condemn his Minister for personally attacking the judiciary is another example of this Government riding roughshod over important constitutional rules. ...1 week ago
- Waititi urges Rotorua Lakes Council to immediately stop works at Lake Rotokākahi
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and Member of Parliament for Waiariki, which includes Rotorua, has written to Rotorua Lakes Councillors requesting they immediately stop sewerage piping works at Lake Rotokākahi in Rotorua. “Mana whenua have been urging Rotorua Lakes Council to stop works and look at alternative plans to protect the ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Patient care at risk from redundancies
Patient care could suffer as a result of further cuts to the health system, which could lose thousands of staff who keep our hospitals and clinics running. ...2 weeks ago
- Greens call on Govt to wake up on child poverty
The Green Party says the latest statistics on child poverty in this country highlight the callous approach that the Government is taking on this issue of national shame. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Police are off the beat under National
Foot patrols around the country have decreased 15 percent since National took office, despite National’s Mark Mitchell claiming otherwise. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Climate denial is an insult to Pacific leaders
Winston Peters’ climate denialism at the Pacific Islands’ Forum is an embarrassing new low. ...2 weeks ago
- Govt must end solitary confinement
The Green Party is urging the Government to end the use of solitary confinement within our prisons after new research revealed some prisoners have been held in confinement for more than 900 days. ...2 weeks ago
- Fossil fuels never the answer in climate crisis
The Government’s moves to enable the import of Liquefied Natural Gas is another step away from the sustainable and affordable energy network that this country needs. ...2 weeks ago
- Government must respect Court’s Uber employee decision
Today’s court ruling upholding the rights of Uber drivers is a message to the Government that it must not tamper with employment protections. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Uber court decision recognises workers’ rights
The Court of Appeal decision that Uber drivers are entitled to employee rights such as minimum wage, sick leave, holiday pay and collective bargaining is welcome news for the drivers involved and their unions. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour calls on Govt to divest from illegal settlements
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Visa fee hikes will discourage migration to New Zealand – immigration advisors
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/chinese/524669/visa-fee-hikes-will-discourage-migration-to-new-zealand-immigration-advisors
Good.
And that's not self interest from the advisors is it?
[link fixed by removing tags]
The link fails for me
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/chinese/524669/visa-fee-hikes-will-discourage-migration-to-new-zealand-immigration-advisors
Why is this almost universally being regarded as a crisis? It's what the bloody planet needs! And I speak as one of those "oldies" who are supposedly going to need support (and who is currently supporting another).
https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/aug/11/global-birthrates-dropping
I've been wondering this too. As far as I can tell there are two issues,
Serious implications for women coming from the 'have more babies because of economics' people. This is why we have to talk about biological sex and women's rights.
I'd love to see an analysis of the issue from degrowth people. I might ask around.I would expect there are other solutions to the elder care problem (assuming it is one)
Not an expert in this area, by any means, but my understanding of the issues is:
The question is, if we move into a de-growth economy – how do we pay for the current standard of living (pensions, health-care for the elderly)? How do we retain the infrastructure that we currently have (all that solar panels and wind farm infrastructure is entirely dependent on world-wide supply chains, not to mention the high-level computer chips, manufactured almost entirely in Taiwan)? If de-growth is going to look and feel like a medieval village (with equivalent social structures and health-care standards) it's pretty hard to sell it to people as a desirable pathway forwards.
good point point about the importance of consumerism in keeping the economy going. The consumerist society is in the process of taking everyone down 🤷♀️ None of what you describe will survive climate collapse. Plus, the whole consumer driven thing looks like a ponzi scheme, at some point it just ceases to work.
We are a very wealthy country. The reason it looks like we can't afford stuff is because of the economic system we choose. eg one obvious way of paying for things is a wealth tax. But beyond that we have to change our economic system to live within our means. The same mentality that has us in resource overshoot is the same one that thinks that perpetual growth is the only way.
No need to frame it as a medieval village. We're not going to lose all our industrial tech. But it might look more like 1970s travel patterns. Or eating seasonally. How will we cope without fresh tomatoes in winter? There is a collossal amount of waste in global economic food production (food and energy waste) we could make changes there.
I agree with you that look and feel matter, which is why I keep banging on about the stories we tell and why telling stories of how things work out matters a great deal.
Besides, the alternative appears to be forcing women to have babies, or disposing of elders. How attractive will voters find that?
I've always been rather suspicious of the ACT advocacy for the end-of-life legislation.
It costs a huge amount in health and social care for the few years of life for an elderly and/or seriously unwell person. If you can persuade them that they should die earlier, then the 'state' is better off (in financial terms, setting aside ethics). And, once it's socially accepted, then it becomes easier for the state to withdraw health/social support in the final years (after all, you have a 'choice'). So you only get to live longer, if you can afford to pay for it, yourself.
A wealth tax is only effective in a consumer-driven society. It only re-distributes money within the country – and does nothing to address the need to import from beyond the borders. A wealth tax also won't solve the issue of fewer taxpayers (or wealthy individuals) supporting a larger group of elderly.
Most of NZ's wealth is tied up in property – and the vast majority of it is in people's houses (most people only own one house) – so it's paper wealth, driven by an insane property market.
If we are truly looking at a de-growth economy, then it would be good to have some examples of exactly how it would look. If we're looking at 1970s as a pattern – then landline phones (copper lines and mechanical exchanges); no computers, apart from huge organizations (no fibre optic network, or computer chips – because we can't make them locally); petrol/ethonol-driven transport – and no electronics in cars – so they can be locally repaired (although petrol would have to be imported – if no petrol, then we're back to horse and cart – EVs can't be manufactured locally, so they're right out); very limited health-care (no expensive imported cancer drugs, etc., and limited ongoing chronic health care (e.g. kidney dialysis is probably not going to happen).
If we're going to have exports at all (to purchase any of the things that we can't make locally), then it's almost certainly going to be agricultural (we don't really have anything else that the world wants – certainly not in a de-growth environment).
Not many that are working – Japan has tried sending people back to work
https://thediplomat.com/2023/01/surviving-old-age-is-getting-harder-in-japan/
Another option in Japan has been crime – with some elderly people committing crimes to get the care they need in prison.
https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-47033704
Korea is doing the same with more elderly in work
https://menafn.com/1108499038/South-Koreas-Economically-Active-Elderly-People-Hit-Record-High-In-2024
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/biz/2024/07/602_378782.html
those aren't solutions though. They're the expected response from neoliberal states who don't know what to do because of TINA.
It's a worry 'ant it.
as if we didn't have enough to worry about.
I find it intriguing that with all the brilliant efforts of Kiwi Olympians that there has been very little in the way of congratulatory talk from the government, it’s not something I would expect from Luxon anyway, as he appears to be of the disposition that praising anyone but himself may diminish his own fragile ego, much like most sociopaths.
I suspect there may be a more sinister side to the silence. I hope it doesn’t happen but I suspect that once the Olympics are all over the next thing we will see is quite severe cuts to sport and recreation funding right up to Olympic level.
Don't worry. He will be effusive and full of praise for them at tomorrow's Post Cabinet Conference then a few months down the track when everybody has forgotten the Olympics, he and Willis will start cutting the funding – with a heavy heart of course and blaming the Labour government in the process.
Thats about the timeline I thought.
Luxon's social media team have been busy on his Facebook page about NZ Olympic results.
On past form there'll be some kind of slap-up reception at Parliament for our returning heroines and heroes, with all kinds of photo/selfie ops for members of the government.
Serious question.
What would happen to Israel if Palestine was free?
Would they seek to exist?
Would we take refugees?
Would the Palestine people let them be?
What actually happens if Palestine is free?
Serious answers please.
Israel is a nuclear armed state to suggest that it would cease to exist if Palestinians were allowed their own state is laughable.
Given that the publicly stated position of Hamas is that Israel has no right to exist – then I don't think there would be any change. Palestinian extremists would continue to bombard Israel with rockets (albeit, with now a more robust support infrastructure to supply them). Iran, who also don't recognize the state of Israel, would continue to supply them with arms and support.
Israel would continue to retaliate (with disproportionate effect)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legitimacy_of_the_State_of_Israel
If Hamas (and others) agreed to the terms under which Palestine was established then attacks on Israel would cease. This has been the pattern previously with unsanctioned attacks punished by Hamas themselves. Its also the present pattern in the West Bank, though via collaboration with the Israeli occupation. At some time ahead we should expect the West Bank also to become as hostile to Israel as Gaza, given present encroachment of settlers continues.
The key word there is 'if'. I don't see any prospect of Hamas abandoning their stance against the existence of Israel. It's a key policy plank for them.
I can't find any reported instance of them willing to even discuss the possibility of recognizing Israel at any peace talks.
https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-gaza-war-f756cc054732eb3f7e0c49a9987560a0
Two glaring flaws in your argument.
One: you assume Hamas will win an election without Likud money. Actually that they could win any fair and open election.
Two: That a two state solution is something Palestine's want – in the face of all the lies and bullshit that has come out of Israel since the Oslo Agreement.
Freedom for Palestine is going to have to look very different from any the ideas being pushed by the west.
Not my argument.
I don't envisage any peaceful solution – because of the entrenched attitudes on both sides. If you do, then elucidate.
Lets try rephrasing it so you get what I said.
I just pointed out that Hamas is not – the be all, and end all of power for Palestine's. Which over and over your arguments hinge on
Then I said, that in any solution agreeable to Palestine's, in all probability would not be a western solution. Again, all your assumptions and arguments are based on a western model. Even your clinging to a violent outcome.
Hamas violently took power in Gaza – they weren't elected. What makes you think that things would be any different in a Palestinian state?
Perhaps you can point to a non-violent outcome in internal Jewish-Arab relations anywhere in the Middle East.
Yeah right…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Palestinian_legislative_election
Hamas released an amendment to their charter in 2017 which stated they accept a Palestinian state on 1967 borders. That would be a reasonable starting point for eventual settlement. Unfortunately Israel has clearly and consistently refused to make any similar agreement making settlement impossible.
Of course (as you will predictably want to retort) it does not matter at all if Palestinians call their neighbor Israel or the Zionest entity, as long as they can maintain the settlement Israel has its security.
There is also the point the guarantee's required for Israel to stick to any agreement would be considerable and have vastly increased since when this was released.
The question is not whether they will accept a Palestinian state – the question was whether they would recognize an Israeli one. So far, the answer seems to be 'no'.
No, that is not an important question at all. The only relevant question Israel can ask is if a Palestinian state would continue to attack, or would allow attacks to continue, on a potentially unmentionable Israel.
Your talking point is just put there to obstruct progress on a settlement. Israel neither wants a settlement, nor is safety for Israeli’s important to them.
The second is predicated on the first. If they recognize the right of Israel to exist, then they have no moral justification for continued attack.
If they don't recognize Israel – then they will certainly continue to attack.
That is incorrect and your fundamental failure to understand international law. There is no such thing as a state's right to exist.
Nothing to do with international law. If Hamas doesn't recognize Israel as a legitimate state and neighbour – then there is zero chance of any form of peace.
New Zealand makes decisions all the time about which states we recognize – it has nothing to do with international law.
Your talking point it tired and invalid, cross it out and move onto the next one.
OK. Clearly you have no interest in actual debate.
Moving on.
As stated below, the claim that Israel has a "right to exist" is absurd.
Additionally, the creation of the Israeli state was illegitimate. Resolution 181 that partioned Palestine recognised that this could only be done with agreement on both sides. Due to lack of this agreement, and recognition by the UN that there was no authority to force partition, resolution 181 died. At the time, Zionists only owned 7% of Palestinian land. The rest was taken by force of ethnic cleansing. Entire villages were wiped out. Refugees, contrary to international law, were denied the right to return.
From the same reference as below.
Well. In that case, what is your solution to the current Israeli population? Or do we just switch from one kind of guerrilla warfare to another….
How does your argument of international standards hold up against any other country? Azerbaijan/Armenia, for example.
Israel withdraws all settlers and IDF personnel from the occupied territories and lifts the siege on Gaza so that Palestinians may excercise their fundamental right to self determination. This is all as per current international law.
If you are unable to see and understand that there nothing acceptable in genocide, torture, rape, and the targeting of children by the brave snipers of the IDF, I would say that it is you that are the waste of time trying to talk to and that you have absolutely nothing to contribute to a solution.
Well, its difficult to see with blinkers on. Cast them aside and you shall see!
Page 19
The Israel-Palestine Conflict: A Collection of Essays by Jeremy R. Hammond
There are no recent polls with that result.
If a Palestinian state on 1967 borders was imposed tomorrow, most of its residents would oppose the continuance of a state of Israel alongside it.
It is certainly interesting that Hamas ha from time to time stated its willingness to recognise a state of Israel, back in 2000 Arafat and Fatah/PLO would not do so without a right of return for the refugees (maybe the poll results of that time indicate some regret about that and otherwise an attempt of Hamas to remain relevent as a WB government in Gaza exile).
Cast your own blinkers aside.
Here's a selection of recent quotes from Hamas leaders (admittedly from an anti-Hamas site – but the quotes are legitimately sourced)
https://www.adl.org/resources/blog/hamas-its-own-words
The problem the Israelis would face is that any Palestinian state would devote itself to building a military force to use against them. The Israelis can blockade Gaza to try and minimise the amount of weaponry going in because it's not a country, but they couldn't do that to a Palestinian state.
On the wiki page you use as reference there is a hyperlink for right to exist. If you follow that link you will find it clearly stated that there is no such thing as the right of a state to exist in international law. The very notion is absurd. Individuals have rights not abstract political entities.
From Foreign Policy:
https://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2019/03/15/why-israel-has-no-right-to-exist/
So an argument for assisting the removal of nation state governments that do not allow the people to deny consent (contested elections) or organise their own self government? Iraqi Kurd and Shia?
Thus the Sudentenland and Donbass?
Or are nation state governments able to seek the support of other nations in their defence from internal rebellion? Such as the Russian military, Iranian units and Hezbollah in Syria. Or NATO and Iran backed militias against Islamic State in Iraq.
Of course the UNSC exists for the collective security of nation states (to preserve peace), and the UN has laws preventing the taking of territory by force (since 1949, not applying to Israel, Egypt (Gaza) and Jordan (WB) before that time.
Like most supporters of Zionism, you refuse to acknowledge the lack of rights for political entities and rights only for individuals and collections of individuals.
Also, Israel has no right to self defence in the occupied territories but rather an obligation to protect the civilians in those territories or leave.
The latest ruling by the ICJ is unequivocal. Israel is operating an apartheid system and must withdraw from all territory it now illegally occupies. This includes the abolition and removal of all settler communities.
This in itself will give the required space to implement the 2 state solution.
And of course, no Palestinian organisation would relinquish the right of return. It is after all enshrined in international law.
The UN recognises the legal existence of the state of Israel. And thus so do its institutions.
What if Israel said it would withdraw from Gaza, when Russia left Ukraine.
Homeless Palestinians and this …
Is there a requirement to allow Palestinian refugees (descendants of) the right of return into the recognised territory of the state of Israel?
And are Arab nations required to allow Jews (descendants of) to return to where they went after the state of Israel was established?
Please supply a link. Your statement is ludicrous.
Depends what you mean by "Palestine." The Palestinians see "Palestine" as Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, so "Palestine" is only free if Israel ceases to exist. The Israelis aren't going to oblige.
For the sake of argument, if the Israelis did oblige and the three territories became a single state of Palestine with an Arab majority, there's the problem that Palestinians have spent 70+ years raising their children to believe they have a religious duty to kill Jews and their collaborators and incentivising them to do it. So, Israelis have in effect already seen what a free Palestine would mean for them, on 7 October last year. It's also why they'll never accept a single-state solution with an Arab majority.
The same problem affects a two-state solution. We've seen what that would be like in Gaza, where Hamas dedicated the entire resources of the territory to creating a force for attacking the Jews and a tunnel-based infrastructure for protecting Hamas (not Gazans in general, just Hamas) from Israeli retaliation. A Palestinian state would do the same thing.
I used to support the idea of "free Palestine" but in the last 20 years the above issues have changed my mind. These days I think western countries should cease funding UNRWA and tell the Arab countries the Palestinians are strictly their problem to deal with.
Sure the 2000 outcome of the Oslo Accord was disappointing, The disengagement (withdrawal from rather than expansion of settlements) approach afterward was a holding pattern for some sort of co-existence (but the security fencing created its own issues).
Then came the PA, in post Oslo Accord mode, allowing Hamas to stand in parliamentary elections – then losing and using the President control of the gun to drive them back to Gaza (they drove the forces of Fatah loyal to Abbas out of Gaza. Since then no elections and Fatah about as popular in the WB as Hamas now is in a ruined Gaza (support for Hamas rising in WB at the same time, resistance without cost being the more popular).
And at the same time, Israel is in its peak nationalism mode, ambition for de facto annexation (hiding behind a security imperative), but this is of a singular gotterdammerung approach, at some point this time will pass and those of it will make way for those choosing a different path.
The UN should provide Palestinian refugees with a UN passport.
The resources that went into building those tunnels could have helped a lot of people live better lives I'd have thought.
Better lives in prison (Gaza), or under occupation (West Bank)?
Precisely
Exactly. A huge number of Palestinian Arab Muslims have had their lives ruined or just plain ended due to the insane conviction that the 1948 war is ongoing and will one day end in victory of the Arabs over the Jews. Gaza didn't have to be a shithole, it was a conscious decision by Hamas leadership to make it one.
Bullshit. Doesn’t make any difference because the Israelis don’t care, all they want to do is to steal land and have a slave population under their military finger.
The PA and Fatah gave up that fight long ago. So what has happened in the West Bank?
The IDF keeps allowing settlers to steal land from Palestinians on the flimsiest of legal excuses. The IDF deny existing Palestinian titles going back to the Ottomans by losing paperwork for decades, then deny being able to build on their land because of a lack of title. Then bulldoze and evict so that the unclaimed ‘state’ land can be used for more Israeli state funded settlements.
The West bank runs on a series of ‘security’ checkpoints that open arbitarily and shut without a regular schedule. Exactly what is required to make sure that any local economy by Palestinians is continually disrupted.
Essentially the Israeli government and population are engaged in a slow ongoing unlawful ethnic cleansing of a military occupied area.
Address that rather than putting up a hypocritical straw man argument. All it does is look like you support criminals.
Probably we have Kiwi’s helping fund this Israeli state terrorism. Maybe you?
And a decision supported by all of the surrounding Arab countries. Both because they want a constant festering sore afflicting Israel (cf Iran); and because they don't want a wave of radicalized Palestinian immigrants (cf Egypt)
The misery in Gaza (pre the current war) was overwhelmingly created (deliberately) by Hamas and the supporting governments.
Wow! Its the victims fault they are raped and tortured and their hospitals destroyed! Who would of known! Smotrich even asserts that the moral thing to do is to starve the remaining population! And you think these views just suddenly popped up on Oct 7??!
It's the fault of the Arab countries that they failed to allow migration.
Oh right. And you're all good with the actual IDF rapists and presumably would have joined in with the riots to free them and clapped and cheered the speeches by the Members of the Knesset proclaiming the right of IDF to shove hot metal, electrified rods into the anus of Palestinians held in Israeli detention centres?
No, Sunshine. I'm pointing out the moral failure of the Arab countries, not condoning the moral failure of the Israelis.
wakanda forever! …lol…
Instructions on eradicating references to climate change, diversity, equity and inclusion, to only talk to conservative media and not to leave paper trails for watchdogs to discover is some chilling shit.
. But Project 2025’s plan to train an army of political appointees who could battle against the so-called deep state government bureaucracy on behalf of a future Trump administration remains on track.
One centerpiece of that program is dozens of never-before-published videos created for Project 2025’s Presidential Administration Academy. The vast majority of these videos — 23 in all, totaling more than 14 hours of content — were provided to ProPublica and Documented by a person who had access to them.
[…]
“If the American people elect a conservative president, his administration will have to eradicate climate change references from absolutely everywhere,” Kozma says.
In the same video, Kozma calls the idea of gender fluidity “evil.” Another speaker, Katie Sullivan, who was an acting assistant attorney general at the Department of Justice under Trump, takes aim at executive actions by the administration of President Joe Biden that created gender adviser positions throughout the federal government. The goal, Biden wrote in one order, was to “advance equal rights and opportunities, regardless of gender or gender identity.”
Sullivan says, “That position has to be eradicated, as well as all the task forces, the removal of all the equity plans from all the websites, and a complete rework of the language in internal and external policy documents and grant applications.
https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-project-2025-secret-training-videos-trump-election