The success or failure of a political party often hangs on the the effectiveness and public profile of its leaders.
Todd Muller, the laughably titled National Party spokesperson for climate change, has publicly attacked the government, accusing the government of being “….blinded by Green ideology”.
Alongside his assault on the government and the Green Party, Todd Muller also launched into an attack on climate change pressure group, Generation Zero as being a Green Party version of the Young Nats.
The success or failure of a political party often hangs on the the effectiveness and public profile, (or lack thereof), of its leaders.
Leadership means being out there.
Leadership means defending your corner in the public arena, (especially when you are being attacked in the public arena).
There is no room in politics for a leader who keeps silent when his party and its allies are being attacked.
Todd Muller has launched an attack on the government and Generation Zero
Will James Shaw use his right of reply and stand with Generation Zero and other climate activists?
Will James Shaw defend the government’s record on climate change?
Or will James Shaw continue to maintain his invisible man act, and condemn his party, and himself, to falling polls and political irrelevancy?
James Shaw needs to take a note from US member of Congress Ocasio Cortez
Despite not even being officially sworn in yet.
US Congresswoman Ocasio Cortez shows what leadership looks like.
Does that propaganda piece from Muller really need any response from the Greens?
Anyone who gives a shit about the environment already knows that National’s approach is to pay lip-service to climate change and the need to protect the environment, while pursuing policies that assume neither of those things matter. Muller’s blather is just one further example of that approach. Anyone fooled by it was unlikely to be a potential Green voter anyway.
Plus the duty journalists are probably getting more fed up by the day with the rostered National Party tyre kicking, so allowing their tedious yapping to be seen for what it is is not a negative at all.
James may be giving Todd Muller the rope he needs. Sometimes, leaping up to counter hot-headed claims such as those of Todd, give those claims more exposure than they would have got, had they been ignored for a while. In any case, Get Zero can look after themselves and will doubtless take the opportunity to make Todd look like the methane-emmitting dinosaur he’s showing himself to be 🙂
Perhaps if you stopped viewing everything as a war requiring a violent approach you might see that there is little to be gained from Shaw responding to Muller.
The trouble with your approach, and that of most Rightwingers, Solkta, is that you view legitimate peaceful protest or outspokeness by the Left as violence.
According to you we should quietly shut up and bow down to Right Wing attacks.
Meanwhile the Right dominate the airwaves with continual and aggressive attacks on climate change and social justice activists.
If you don’t recognise it, the quote is from Donald Trump justifying Right Wing violence at Charlottesville that culminated in the murder of Heather Heyer.
Here is another quote you may not recognise;
Michael Moore. ‘How did you pull this [Trump’s election] off?’
Steve Bannon, ‘It’s a very easy answer. Our side, we go for the head wound. Your side, you have pillow fights.’ ”
I also disagree that Todd Muller’s ‘claims’ were ‘hot-headed’.
Todd Muller’s public statement was an obviously well crafted and thought-out attack piece.
It needs to be answered in the same manner.
That it is not – is in my opinion, a clear failure of leadership.
If the Government Climate MInister cannot answer this very public attack from the Opposition, then he needs to seriously rethink his position and role.
Politics is a public exercise, if James cannot step up, he needs to step down.
It was just a positioning thing. Propaganda ought to serve a useful purpose, not just operate as hot air. At a guess, I’d say he’s positioning himself as next leader of the bluegreens. Much ado about nothing, seems to me. It’s not as if his conceptualising of issues is impressive. At least Simon Upton got the basics right. Hasn’t been any Nat since who’s managed that!
As regards your idea that James ought to be out there tilting at this particular windmill, I suspect doing the Don Quixote isn’t a realistic option for him. Zen teaches the best way to deal with an oncoming opponent is to sidestep & let him flounder on by. He could foot-trip him, but since the Nats flounder so well all by themselves it’s hardly worth the effort.
Then there’s the fact that he’s been working with the guy in a collaborative effort to produce non-partisan policy on our highest-priority issue. According to the Nat leader, the process is working. Until complete, he needs to avoid distractions, and any personal antagonism that your suggestion would produce.
…… he’s been working with the guy in a collaborative effort to produce non-partisan policy on our highest-priority issue.
It is clear from this attack piece penned by Todd Muller, that the price for getting National’s agreement on non-partisan policy, will be to allow them to repeal the current government’s ban on the issuing of new off shore oil and gas exploration permits on their return to the Treasury benches – And that no agreement will bind them into supporting action against climate change in the here and now, (especially if it is in lead of any of our trading partners).
Which is probably what ties into Todd Muller’s antipathy towards Gen Zero. Gen Zero despite being nearer the conservative end of the climate movement, than most climate activist groups, are for taking action in the here and now, where Todd Muller, and National Party are for dragging out taking any concrete action on climate change as long as they possibly can.
If you asked me. I would say that the price for National’s sign on, is currently way too high.
I’m not under the impression that any binding of National in that regard is intended, or even possible. We must wait to see the text of the eventual agreed legislation to check on that, eh?
Further exploration may not be excluded. There’s no cost to the public if the Nats want to allow private industry to find new fields to drill – as long as drilling them isn’t allowed, and the agreed limits suitably restrict aggregate emissions in accord with our national commitments to the international agreements.
What we’re waiting for is Nat political culture to shift into responsible behaviour. As long as their denial persists, they’ll remain in the corner they’ve painted themselves into. No MMP partners, relying on coalition screw-ups to piss voters off & return them to power.
Generation Zero are a voluntary group, (of mostly young), people. As such they don’t have the platform accorded to James Shaw as a Government Minister, and co-leader of the Green Party.
Any public statement of reply issued by Gen Zero is likely to completely ignored by the media.
Not so the Minister.
So let’s hear it James,
Do you agree, or disagree, with Todd Muller that the Government are, “….blinded by Green ideology”. ?
James, are Generation Zero, a genuine independent youth pressure group concerned about climate change, or a Green Party Front, as alleged by Todd Muller, “….a pseudo-Green Party campaign machine”?
James, your silence is not an option. It is a dereliction of duty. And an abandonment of leadership, in the face of a very public attack by the opposition party on the government and your role in it.
So your response to Muller describing Generation Zero as a pseudo-Green Party campaign machine would be for the Greens to quickly jump to their defense? Sounds like playing into Muller’s hand to me.
Gen Zero can speak for themselves, whether their statement of reply is reported or not is another matter.
The accusation is that Generation Zero is a Green Party Front.
Is Generation Zero a Green Party Front?
The question is just being left to hang there.
What has James Shaw got to say about this accusation?
James Shaw’s silence gives credence to Todd Muller’s accusation that Generation Zero are “….a pseudo-Green Party campaign machine”, to the detriment of Gen Zero’s reputation and credibility.
How can the Green Party leader in good conscience let Gen Zero swing in the wind like this?
“A new study shows that Americans overwhelmingly want a reduction in global warming and support renewable energy development. But according to the data, Americans don’t realize how many people share their beliefs.”
There would be more fatih if they had been going to the polls for the last couple or so elections but they don’t, getting them there is the best response to what Muller and the National Party have or don’t have on offer. Those prattling on the air-waves are preaching to the “unconverted”.
Hi Robert, from the poll results I supplied, you might get an inkling of, why I think that James Shaw needs to answer Todd Muller’s attack, how a strong lead given on climate action from the Climate Change Minister, could both strengthen, and benefit, from this relatively high public understanding of this issue.
In my opinion James Shaw’s silence in the face of this Opposition attack, and his and Marama Davidson’s invisibility in general, are not doing themselves, or their party, any favours.
There was some concerning information for the Green Party in the report.
UMR’s polling showed their support dropping to just 4 percent. This was lower than other polls — Newshub showed the Greens falling to 4.9 percent in early September, while Colmar Brunton had them at 4.3 percent in early August.
National Party tracking polls had the Greens fall to between 3 and 4 percent.
This will worry the left bloc, which needs the Green party to poll above 5 percent to stay in Parliament. Anything less would waste a huge number of votes and not just see the Greens fall out of Parliament, but likely cause Labour to lose any chance of forming a government.
There is a widespread acknowledgement within the Green Party that Jacinda Ardern’s popularity will mean they will poll lower than when they were in Opposition and the party will have to depend on its loyal base to ensure its vote does not crash below 5 percent.
The Greens crashing out of Parliament would have the effect of inflating National’s share of seats, making it less likely they would need support partners to govern.
That the Green Party leadership are missing a prime opportunity to raise their Party profile should be concerning, to Green Party members and supporters.
So come on James and Marama, break the silence, get out and vigorously defend your corner.
Take a note from Ocasio Cortez who answers every Republican attack and raises her profile in the process.
Picture it the other way. We’re all aware that the Taxpayers’ Union is an ACT/National-run astro-turfing operation (and genuinely an astroturfing initative, unlike Gen Zero being allegedly a Green Party astroturfing initiative).
Not many outside of those interested in politics are aware of that. But, suppose the leaders of ACT and National went to the effort of putting out a release to media denying that the Taxpayers’ Union is an ACT/National astroturfing operation. Their die-hard supporters might be chuffed to read their staunch denial, but most people reading it would be hearing for the accusation for the first time, and would think “Hmm, no smoke without fire – they wouldn’t be making such a fuss if they didn’t have something to hide, I guess the Taxpayers’ Union must really be a Nat/ACT astroturfing operation.”
Shaw would be a mug to get tempted into denying this.
Never believe anything until the Government denies it, Eh, Psycho
What do you think about Muller’s other accusation which directly targets the government? That the Government are, “….blinded by Green ideology”. ?
Do you also think that James Shaw as the Minister shouldn’t answer this accusation, in case people think he was being defensive and had something to hide?
If what you maintained here was true, Psycho, then the Minister and the Government should never defend themselves from opposition attacks.
Do you really think that if James Shaw got off his chuff and took the opportunity to respond with his own opinion piece, in which he laid out the best up-to-date, science backed information available to him. Which showed that the government is not blinded by Green ideology, but in fact is acting on the best scientific information available, that most people would disregard this, and instead think ‘Hmm, no smoke without fire’, the government must be blinded by Green ideology.
Never believe anything until the Government denies it, Eh, Psycho
Not what I was saying at all. Just pointing out a PR commonplace, that if you go out of your way to publicly deny some piece of foolishness about you that most people would never have heard anyway, the biggest effect of your denial is to associate you with that foolishness in the minds of the people who would otherwise never have heard of it. Sometimes it’s better to just ignore stupid stuff.
What do you think about Muller’s other accusation which directly targets the government? That the Government are, “….blinded by Green ideology”. ?
I think “Well, he would say that, wouldn’t he?” Even if National weren’t ideologically opposed to everything the Green Party stands for, it would still be his job as an Opposition MP to trash-talk the government. Issuing outraged denials would give the trash-talk more credibility than it deserves.
…if James Shaw got off his chuff and took the opportunity to respond with his own opinion piece, in which he laid out the best up-to-date, science backed information available to him…
How would that be different from all the other press releases he puts out on this subject, eg International global warming report lays out the critical challenge?
Psycho Milt
It would be different,
It would be a living rebuttal, part of an impassioned debate in reply.
Shaw’s rebuttal if he chose to make it, would have a frisson not commonly found in a dry academic treatise, or one sided press release, or essay,
As such it would be likely to get far more media and public attention.
Who knows; Shaw’s rebuttal (if he ever makes one), may even draw a counter response from Todd Muller, which would continue and heighten the public interest in this very important debate, and bring out the issues in a way that no one-sided monologue ever could.
At the very least it could lift Shaw’s public invisibility.
Shaw’s current objective is to get the widest possible buy in for the Zero Carbon Act. This particularly includes National. For National to support it they will have to go through some face saving process, otherwise they would have to admit to being fuck useless and/or wrong. They will need to continue to signal to their core support that they can be relied upon to put the economy first. There is no benefit in Shaw engaging in a public scrap that could push National into a public position of opposition to the Bill.
There is no benefit in Shaw engaging in a public scrap that could push National into a public position of opposition to the Bill.
solkta
And I could think of three benefits, at least.
1/ It could rescue the Greens from their current public invisibility and resulting low polling results, which risks political oblivion
2/ It would represent a clear division between the government and the opposition.
If the results in the polls above are credible, a clear difference between the Government and the Opposition over climate change, could greatly influence which way undecided voters choose to place their ballot. to the benefit of the government.
What are the negative results of your strategy?
What are the negatives from allowing Opposition to attack the government without response, in the hope that they will back the Zero Carbon Bill?
From Todd Muller’s statement it seems that the opposition has three basic pre-conditions for supporting the Zero Carbon bill,
1, On a change of government immediate repeal the current government’s ban on issuing new oil and gas exploration permits.
2, pushi any concrete action towards making New Zealand Zero Carbon away from action in the here and now. and into some time in the future.
3, Thirdly, to not move faster than any of our competitors.
Plus reserving the right to attack the government unhindered and unchallenged.
I think you are far more concerned with your “war” than with actually making sustainable changes to the law to address CC.
I don’t see the article as an attack on the government but rather as Nact trying to justify itself to itself. They are between a rock and a hard place. If they support the Bill they risk their core supporters considering they have sold out, but if they don’t support the Bill then they risk alienating lots of centrist voters who are becoming continually more concerned about CC.
They are not going to get the things you list. If they don’t support the Bill as a consequence it will pass anyway, and then will be the time for you to bayonet their guts.
“Are Gen Zero a Green Party front, or not? The public need to know.”
No evidence for that at all, is there? In psychology, they call this projection. The GP does not need a front. The fact that a lobby group has goals which seem similar, if not identical, is not reason to assume any deeper relationship.
Toddy is trying to make himself hot via Muldoonist framing (`anyone who disagrees with me is a communist’). I very much doubt tapping into Muldoon nostalgia will make a hot toddy.
Generation zero seems more like a corporate driven group as seen by it’s website, which is all about getting donations, volunteers, and so forth run with a development agenda which ‘sprung’ up to support unitary plan and more urbanisation branded under buzz words like carbon neutral etc in cities. Very subjective to brand themselves for youth. How many youth are there wanting more concessions to developers to create $600+k apartments? Not many I know of!
Weird then, that Todd Muller should single them out for attack.
Maybe Muller senses that Gen Zero are encroaching on what he sees as his natural constituency, and that his pandering to the oil and gas lobby, is losing ground, even with conservatives, and business.
How NZ has changed from being Green, clean social democrat country to the current neoliberal Nat Lite one, is by keeping all discourses and solutions as far right as possible and appropriating groups and pretending to speak for them through marketing aka pretending to speak for ‘youth’ when you are really pushing a slightness left version of a right future.
Example GenZero were for the PPP for Skypath which charges walkers and cyclists while the trucks and cars go across Auckland Harbour Bridge for free? Sound like a front for PPP’s and developers pretending to represent sustainable carbon free future or having completely privatisation led solutions that apparently youth are all for, sarcasm?
I am not aware that Gen Zero have ever claimed to speak for all youth.
But if the rest of what you say is true. Strange, that Todd Muller finds them so threatening.
Maybe Muller is much, much, further to the Right than he tries to make out.
Or maybe Muller is trying to attack the wider climate movement through attacking Gen Zero
Who knows?
Whatever the murky motives for Muller’s attack on Gen Zero, all further reason for James Shaw to take a stand and debunk Muller’s attack on the government and defend the climate movement.
Weird then, that Todd Muller should single them out for attack.
I’m thinking you didn’t spend a lot of time reading the article. It starts off Despite the claims of Generation Zero, with the “claims of generation Zero” clickable which takes you to an article on Stuff from last Wednesday where Lisa McLaren, who leads the Zero Carbon Act campaign for Generation Zero, attacks Muller and Bridges and National’s record:
I believe it is high time for the National Party to retire their climate villain persona. US president Donald Trump has already taken that position on the global stage so it’s time for National to bow out gracefully.
Let me be clear – if we get an insufficient draft Zero Carbon Bill next year it will be because the National Party is using the futures of all Kiwis as a political football. An ego-driven, point scoring game.
…
So if you have a problem with ambitious climate action, Mr Bridges and Mr Muller, then step aside. It appears you wouldn’t know ambition if you tripped over it. What is being proposed next year with the Zero Carbon Bill is the bare minimum. So let’s pull on our collaboration boots and get on with the job.
Personally I think that Lisa Mclaren’s criticisms of National are well founded.
Mclaren calls on National (in quite flowery language), to pull their collaboration boot on. ie work with the government over the Zero Carbon Bill. Todd Muller and National are refusing to negotiate over the Zero Carbon bill in good faith. Instead setting out hard preconditions and demands that have effectively torpedoed the negotiations.
I suppose, if Shaw’s silence in the face of opposition attacks continues, that at least the Greens will know who to blame when they miss the 5% threshold.
I am not privy to any demands that Todd Muller himself has not made public.
But the hard demands he has made public are the right to return to deep sea oil exploration and drilling.
And that New Zealand must not lead any of our trading partners in any climate change legislation.
The National Party’s other more wishy washy demand, as voiced by Todd Muller, National’s Climate change Spokesperson, is that New Zealand not do anything about climate change in the here and now, which is what Gen Z are demanding and which has seen them particularly singled out for Todd Muller’s ire.
On 15 January, they are set to update the World Magnetic Model, which describes the planet’s magnetic field and underlies all modern navigation, from the systems that steer ships at sea to Google Maps on smartphones.
The most recent version of the model came out in 2015 and was supposed to last until 2020 — but the magnetic field is changing so rapidly that researchers have to fix the model now. “The error is increasing all the time,” says Arnaud Chulliat, a geomagnetist at the University of Colorado Boulder and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) National Centers for Environmental Information.
Worth noting – “Update, 9 January: The release of the World Magnetic Model has been postponed to 30 January due to the ongoing US government shutdown.”
Jesse McKinley, a New York Times journalist, wrote on Twitter: “It sounds like spy fiction but it is not: the FBI was investigating the president of the United States to see if he was working for the Russians.”
The president tried to fight back in characteristic style, by firing off half a dozen intemperate tweets.
The first said: “Wow, just learned in the Failing New York Times that the corrupt former leaders of the FBI, almost all fired or forced to leave the agency for some very bad reasons, opened up an investigation on me, for no reason & with no proof, after I fired Lyin’ James Comey, a total sleaze!”
A great article that will support non toxic masculinity
For the first time in its 127-year history, the American Psychological Association has issued guidelines to help psychologists specifically address the issues of men and boys — and the 36-page document features a warning.
“Traditional masculinity ideology has been shown to limit males’ psychological development, constrain their behavior, result in gender role strain and gender role conflict and negatively influence mental health and physical health,” the report warns.
I think hearing Joe Talbot bellowing “I kissed a boy and I liked it!” and pondering why that has so much more impact than Katy Perry kissing a girl and liking it would be a good starting point for those wondering what ‘toxic masculinity’ is.
The new “Guidelines for the Psychological Practice with Boys and Men” defines “masculinity ideology” as “a particular constellation of standards that have held sway over large segments of the population, including: anti-femininity, achievement, eschewal of the appearance of weakness, and adventure, risk, and violence.” The report also links this ideology to homophobia, bullying and sexual harassment.
Even if you reject the behaviour towards other demographic groups, surely “walking off” injuries rather than treating them, or keeping depression to oneself until suicide happens are both “toxic”?
You asked what “toxic masculinity” is. I repeated the definition, and added a couple of general examples which have occurred to my knowledge over the years. You then ask if that’s my definition of “masculinity”?
No, it’s not my approach to masculinity. But it is one I have encountered. And I’ve met some men who could provide for their families (“protection” being largely exagerrated as a requirement in this day and age) without carrying the toxic aspects of previous generations.
Unfortunately we live in a world of labels, and some of these labels irritate us to the point of ignoring an underlying value. The term ‘toxic masculinity’ is typical of such a label. Because it has been variously defined, it is often poorly understood or simply dismissed.
But underneath the irritating label, there is value, because in a world in which radical feminism has at times sought to emasculate men, it is important that men are able to reclaim true manhood.
“…a narrow and repressive description of manhood, designating manhood as defined by violence, sex, status and aggression. It’s the cultural ideal of manliness, where strength is everything while emotions are a weakness; where sex and brutality are yardsticks by which men are measured, while supposedly “feminine” traits – which can range from emotional vulnerability to simply not being hypersexual – are the means by which your status as “man” can be taken away.”
Gee gee I like that one ‘a crock of complete horse shit.’
You remind me of Wayne and Shuster the Canadian comedy duo from long ago.
they used to come up with one-liners; here is a clip. They are funnier than you, but you can keep trying and may be a winner on stage and screen.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKMBTUkJF3g
If anyone is interested in what’s actually at the US-Mexico border right now, here’s an interactive map that lets you look at aerial helicopter footage anywhere you want along the entire length.
Spoiler: wherever there’s easy access, there’s pedestrian fence or wall. Fence meaning tall closely spaced steel columns. Wherever it’s remote but still drivable, there’s vehicle barrier fencing. It’s only in very rugged terrain (mostly in parks and reserves) or where there another natural barrier such as the Rio Grande that’s there’s nothing. And the whole damn thing is heavily sensored and patrolled, even the remote areas with no physical barrier.
He’s a “former San Antonio mayor and former secretary of Housing and Urban Development” (Obama cabinet). His twin brother (a congressman) will be his campaign chair.
“His biggest asset is he’s a policy wonk. I mean, this guy is really, really smart,” said Gilberto Hinojosa, the Texas Democratic Party chairman. “He knows a lot about a lot of issues. He is extremely articulate. He’s got really good ideas and he’s able to put those ideas in terms where ordinary Americans can understand them and I think what that does is puts him in the situation where he is best, not only talking to large crowds but talking to smaller crowds where he can answer questions and articulate and share his ideas on his vision for America.”
“The United States Census uses the ethnonym Hispanic or Latino to refer to “a person of Dominican, Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latino
“Latinos made up an estimated 11% of all voters nationwide on Election Day, nearly matching their share of the U.S. eligible voter population (U.S. citizens ages 18 and older).” “In U.S. congressional races nationwide, an estimated 69% of Latinos voted for the Democratic candidate and 29% backed the Republican candidate”. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/11/09/how-latinos-voted-in-2018-midterms/
1.5 Plato’s Right-wing Collectivist Utopia
Plato’s search for a hierarchical, collectivist utopia found its classic expression in his most famous and influential work, The Republic. There, and later in The Laws, Plato sets forth the outline of his ideal city-state: one in which right oligarchic rule is maintained by philosopher—kings and their philosophic colleagues, thus supposedly ensuring rule by the best and wisest in the community. Underneath the philosophers in the coercive hierarchy are the”guardians” — the soldiers, whose role is to aggress against other cities and lands and to defend their polis from external aggression. Underneath them are to be the body of the people, the despised producers: laborers, peasants, and merchants who produce the material goods on which the lordly philosophers and guardians are to live. These three broad classes are supposed to reflect a shaky and pernicious leap if there ever was one — the proper rule over the soul in each human being.
Thousands of years, no change.
The system we have has been destroying societies for a long time as resources are used to provide only for the few at the top. It is time to change from this failed hierarchical system and go to a full democracy and to base our economy upon what is needed to ensure that all have a good living standard while also keeping resource use at a sustainable level.
Then why did you need to cut&paste from mises.org, a site ISTR is not exactly left wing?
“despised workers” involves a large amount of unique interpretation of the work, in my opinion. If the attitude is more neutral, then The Republic could also apply to a centrally-planned left wing society, almost communist in nature. Not democratic, but without alienation between members of that society.
Could you, based on your close reading of Republic, please point us to the section where Plato expresses or implies that he (via his Socratic Mary Sue) despises workers.
He did that because Athens had trialled democracy for a couple of centuries before abandoning it. The interesting part is why everyone formed a consensual view that the experiment was a failure.
” In 621 BC, Draco codified a set of notoriously harsh laws designed to reinforce aristocratic power over the populace.” That’s obviously why they decided he was a bastard.
“In the year 507 B.C., the Athenian leader Cleisthenes introduced a system of political reforms that he called demokratia, or “rule by the people.” This system was comprised of three separate institutions: the ekklesia, a sovereign governing body that wrote laws and dictated foreign policy; the boule, a council of representatives from the ten Athenian tribes; and the dikasteria, the popular courts in which citizens argued cases before a group of lottery-selected jurors. Although this Athenian democracy would survive for only two centuries…” https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-greece/ancient-greece-democracy
“Participation was not open to all residents, but was instead limited to an adult, male citizens (i.e., not a foreign resident, a slave, or a woman), who “were probably no more than 30 percent of the total adult population.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athenian_democracy
If they had ditched the patriarchy & included women, one suspects an increase in resilience in the design & likelihood of lasting longer. “Democracy was suppressed by the Macedonians in 322 BC. The Athenian institutions were later revived, but how close they were to a real democracy is debatable.” “Athens was not the only polis in Ancient Greece that instituted a democratic regime.”
The wikipedia editors lost the plot here: “democratic forms persisted until the Macedonian army of Phillip II conquered Athens in 338 BC.” A sixteen year discrepancy with the date given in the previous paragraph.
Then “democracy was restored in 307 BC. However, by now Athens had become “politically impotent”. An example of this was that, in 307, in order to curry favour with Macedonia and Egypt, three new tribes were created, two in honour of the Macedonian king and his son, and the other in honour of the Egyptian king.”
Sadly, the creation of new tribes as a political strategy has fallen out of favour. Just think what a boon it would be to the American people at present. Creating a new tribe of trumpians would be a clever move. Park them on a reservation somewhere, build a nice wall around them to make them feel protected. Trump would jump at the chance of becoming their king, and would promptly resign as president in considerable relief.
Wikipedia reports on the failure of Greek democracy:
“Athenian democracy has had many critics, both ancient and modern. Ancient Greek critics of Athenian democracy include Thucydides the general and historian, Aristophanes the playwright, Plato the pupil of Socrates, Aristotle the pupil of Plato, and a writer known as the Old Oligarch. While modern critics are more likely to find fault with the restrictive qualifications for political involvement, these ancients viewed democracy as being too inclusive. For them, the common people were not necessarily the right people to rule and were likely to make huge mistakes. According to Samons:
The modern desire to look to Athens for lessons or encouragement for modern thought, government, or society must confront this strange paradox: the people that gave rise to and practiced ancient democracy left us almost nothing but criticism of this form of regime (on a philosophical or theoretical level). And what is more, the actual history of Athens in the period of its democratic government is marked by numerous failures, mistakes, and misdeeds—most infamously, the execution of Socrates—that would seem to discredit the ubiquitous modern idea that democracy leads to good government.”
“Thucydides, from his aristocratic and historical viewpoint, reasoned that a serious flaw in democratic government was that the common people were often much too credulous about even contemporary facts to rule justly.” You mean, like believing in the Republicans & Democrats, or National & Labour?
“Similarly, Plato and Aristotle criticized democratic rule as the numerically preponderant poor tyrannizing the rich. Instead of seeing it as a fair system under which everyone has equal rights, they regarded it as manifestly unjust. In Aristotle’s works, this is categorized as the difference between ‘arithmetic’ and ‘geometric’ (i.e. proportional) equality.”
Democracy was in the making. Getting the recipe right relies on good thinking and commitment. And there is always the transfer of power. Ever been on a committee and sat through numerous sessions working out a viable plan. Then the next group of numbskulls changes it all without even reading the work that has gone before. This is the difficulty with humans. The new is always better and somebody has a ‘cunning idea’ and wants to be thought the big man.
Christchurch designer Steven Junil was an art school student when he committed to creating only objects with both functionality and integrity.
The 26-year-old hand-makes clothes, shoes and accessories with natural, found and recycled materials for his label 6×4.
“The garment industry is so problematic, it is the second most polluting industry in the world next to petroleum and there are massive ethical issues as well. I think it’s good to be passionate about clothing – and I’m very passionate about clothing – but you can’t really separate the fact that the fashion industry has so many ethical issues, particularly environmentally. If you’re looking at the wider world of what’s happening in the world of fashion or clothing you can’t ignore the context.
“I’m trying to make stuff that has integrity in terms of where the materials come from and how they’re used and trying to do things on a smaller scale because if I produce everything myself I can have a lot of control over how things are made.”
Should we organise a Saturday when women are encouraged not to buy any new female clothes! Good for their pocket, good for the NZ balance of paymenhts? and good for the waste fills. And go op shoppping instead if you have to buy.
This is a excellent way to build a cost effective enviromentally friendly whare / house harvest rain water compost toilet wood stove for cooking and solar panels for the devives and lights . His cost to keep the whare running would be low and so would the whare carbon foot print . The cost of a sepitc tank for the olden style toilets are massive some places you can build your own sepitc systems like my dad did .
But for most one is looking at $20.000 at the least for the sepitc system and connecting to the power grid can cost the same as one can build a off grid solar power system with minimal cost to maintain the system new battries every few years
Bart Cox lives in a former smoko room. His house cost less than his stove.Bart Cox works for Greater Wellington Regional Council as an environmental adviser. He’s pictured in his Carterton home, with his girlfriend Isobel MacKinnon, an actor, director, and theatre maker, and his mum, Liz.
BART: I grew up in Wellington but I have a connection to Wairarapa – my family on mum’s side have been there for some time. Mum moved back to Masterton when I was 15, when my dad died. I was painting mum’s shed for her one day and I had this overwhelming feeling that I should move there. I asked Mum if I could put a little house on her block of land, out of Carterton. She said she’d love that.
I was working in this delicatessen in Masterton making coffee, living in a caravan. This guy Jim was a building recycler, but he hates knocking down buildings, especially if they’re nice old wooden ones. He always tries to resell the materials or, even better, resell the house to someone else who wants to remove it from the land. He was a regular in the deli, and one day he was trying to sell the customers a little smoko room from this industrial part of Masterton. He had pictures of it on his phone. I knew if I looked at it I’d probably want it. Eventually I was like, “OK, give me a look at the photos.” And I was like, “Argh! I Love it!” He goes, “Come on. Just buy it off me. Otherwise I’m going to have to knock it down.” I was like, “I can’t, it’s too A local removal company plonked it down on the land and I got into doing it up. It’s only 50 square metres. It was lined with all kinds of materials like MDS but underneath the bones were mostly old native timbers from the 60s. to much of a project.” He sold it to me for $2500.
I gibbed it inside and connected it to solar panels with my friend Ed. His way is sort of DIY – you can tailor-make it to your lifestyle. The house ended up being like something from pre-internet era – all wood and simple technologies – and then it suddenly jumps right into the future: high-tech in a small way. Ka kite ano links below
P.S I see the alt right trolls jumping on this good story to one can build a house down south that needs no extra heat Tama-nui-te-RA provides all we need.
Air pollution is as bad for pregnant women as smoking in raising the risk of miscarriage, according to a scientific study. They said the finding was upsetting and that toxic air must be cut to protect the health of the next generation.
Air pollution is already known to harm foetuses by increasing the risk of premature birth and low birth weight. Recent research has also found pollution particles in placentas.
The effect of long-term exposure to dirty air on the risk of miscarriage has been analysed previously. Studies from Brazil to Italy to Mongolia found a link, but others failed to do so.
However, the latest study is the first to assess the impact of short-term exposure to air pollution. It found that raised levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution that are commonplace around the world increased the risk of losing a pregnancy by 16%.
It’s pretty profound,” said Dr Matthew Fuller, at the University of Utah’s department of emergency medicine and one of the research team. “If you compare that increase in risk to other studies on environmental effects on the foetus, it’s akin to tobacco smoke in first trimester pregnancy loss.” NO2 is produced by fuel burning, particularly in diesel vehicles.
Air pollution harm to unborn babies may be global health catastrophe, warn doctors
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The research, published in the journal Fertility and Sterility, was conducted in Salt Lake City in the US, and surrounding urban areas. But Fuller said the results were applicable elsewhere: “There are many places in the world that suffer from pollution that is far greater, so this is not a problem unique to Utah. This is a problem we are all facing.” NO2 levels in Salt Lake City are similar to those in cities such as London and Paris.
Fuller was initially alerted to the issue when a family member lost a miscarried during a particularly poor period of air quality in 2016. He said: “That triggered the question in my mind and then I started noticing anecdotally that I was seeing spikes in miscarriage Ka kite ano links below.
Eco Maori backs our Papatuanuku World society to change the way we live drop the negitive effects in the way we live at the minute to a life style that does not ruin OUR enviroments that we leave behind for te mokopunas grandchildren.
We have to move away from the modle of growth is best .Goverments like this modle why because they are sold the theory that they can use inflation to borrow money now and in the future the money leant is less of a % of GDP but in reality they are still loading te mokopunas with DEPT because inflation takes a % of ones purchasing power per unit I.E the dollars. So inflation is loading the future a burden that we leave the grandchildred the dollar has less value than when the grandparents had that dollar hence property is the best currency to give the moko’s.
Albert Einstein theory is a fact one can not get nothing for nothing money power goods .
We need to make goods to last a life time Thanks to Japan for making cars that are reliable and can last for 30 years or longer with good care. With the grandchildren in mind we must move away from those modles to one were we value life before money profts The capitialist system has to evovle or collapse Isaac Newton humans have to evovle or collapse . Eco Maori can see the new currency evolving NOW what is that well it will be the amount of hits one gets on there pages on the many platforms on the internet at the minute in the future everyone will have there own online profile given by goverments that is unhackable and it will have value a big value component to it the more LIKES or HITS one gets the more value that person has the more dislikes the less value one has and so on. I say that will be the start of Equality for all. People/Countrys that go around spraying wai on the world other beings will soon be worthless hence a world society with a humane conscience that is rewarded for good behaviour and punished for bad behaviour . This is the world the 00.1% are trying to fool us that EXIST now the intelligent people know that is a FAllACY we know that the wealthy can do what they want if they get caught cheating killing plundering there money buys them a get out of jail free card while the 99% get the harshest end of there laws heaped on us. Ka kite ano links below.
Kia ora Mike from Newshub That was not very good behaviour from our over seas guests. The gnome has vanished it will be melted down by now it looks like they we all skinny buggers feeding there PE habitats. The warming of Tangaroa and global warming has been covered up for so long it’s now showing us reality the harshest weather man kind has seen is rising out of Tangaroa. I have seen a good movie on allergic reaction to food its best to expose children earlier in life to all things that can cause them problems later in life instead of keeping them in a glass bubble. Some of my Mokopunas were allergic to a animal they kept the animals and now they are fine. One of my workers had his eye swell in the Bush I told him to harden up next minute I seen him I got one van to take him to get some antihistamine tablets he had hay fever. Some of the world leaders think they can hide their body language from most people but some can read them like a book. I say the unprocessed grass feed meat is good for people My meat consumption has dropped but just because its to expensive to buy now. Some mothers do have them that young Australian boy crashed his girlfriends car him and his m8 pushed it home
The Antonio Gaudies design church in Barcelona is a magnificent building it will be really cool to see it when it’s finished. I don’t fancy eating chicken feathers it’s all protein tho A. Ka kite ano
We have to make laws to force battery makers into making them reusable / recyclable now don’t wait till we have a sea full of waste and try and fix the problem thats not very intelligent and cost will be 1000 % more to the pocket and enviroment having the forsight to see the problem now and not weight till its a disaster is the correct way to handle this problem .
Ion age: why the future will be battery powered
The variable nature of wind and solar power means storing energy is a huge part of the fight to mitigate climate change
Why have batteries become important?
In a world increasingly anxious about climate change, the surge in the generation of renewable energy over the past 20 years offers a sliver of hope. But the variable nature of wind and solar power means that storing energy until consumers need it has become the next big challenge. And so, large-scale battery installations are springing up across electricity grids around the world, to make them more flexible. In 2017, more than 1GW of energy storage capacity was added around the world – a record, yes, but still a drop in the ocean of global energy demand.
So how many of these big batteries are there?
There is around 500MW of large-scale battery capacity installed around the UK, a figure that is expected to double within three years, according to the analysts Aurora Energy Research. Almost all capacity uses lithium-ion.
Globally installed capacity is expected to top 50GW by 2020 – and surge to almost 1,000GW by 2040, according to Bloomberg NEF. That would equate to about 7% of the world’s energy capacity.
What about other modes of transport?
Electric double-decker buses, built by the Chinese manufacturer BYD, already ply the streets of London. Elon Musk has announced plans for an electric truck.
But the energy density required for heavy transport makes it a lot harder for batteries to beat fossil fuels. “It’s definitely more challenging,” says Prof Paul Shearing, the Royal Academy of Engineering’s chair in emerging battery technologies. “[But] I think the future is going to be electric, no matter which way you cut it.”
Will we all be flying around in electric jumbo jets soon? “Not yet,” says Shearing, who adds that energy density and weight of batteries meant there would probably only be used in unmanned aerial vehicles in the short term. “I think it’ll be a long time until we see an electric passenger plane,” he says.
What next?
Companies are working hard to increase the amount of energy that can be packed into a battery, and to bring down the cost of making them.
Future prices are unlikely to fall as fast as they have in the past, says Ostermann, because reductions have already been so rapid. Sonnen has seen prices fall from more than €1,000 (£905) per kilowatt hour of capacity when it started in 2010, to about €150-200 per kWh today. But the company expects to cut costs in electronics such as inverters.
New wonder materials will take a while to break through, Shearer says. “The next 10 years are going to continue to be lithium-ion dominated. It’s taken a long time to get to this productivity and technological maturity level. For anything to catch up will take a while.”
Most innovation will be around lithium-ion, he believes, such as improving the energy density and lowering costs by reducing the amount of cobalt in a battery. The rate at which batteries can take on a charge will also improve, Shearer adds.
Radcliffe agrees that lithium-ion will continue to dominate. Cost and performance will improve, driven by the scale-up of manufacturing and continued research, he says.
Batteries will also be put to new uses. Fisker says that as technology improves, he expects to see them eventually appear on construction sites, in mines and in industrial equipment, replacing diesel generators. They will be deployed in increasingly small devices, such as medical implants, Shearer says.
Ka kite ano links below
This is how corrupt the NZ justice system is first the sandflys play silly buggers on the road and get there m8’s to give Eco Maori false fines . I go to the police station because I have some how over paid fines there no help what so ever then I tryed ringing on the 7/1/19 I get told they would send me out a form to file for hardship . That was a totally falous call because I go to the court house and they say no record of the call and there is a warrent for my arrest WTF for fines they are to scared to arrest Eco Maori tangata.
No wonder they have stepped up there indimadation games in the last 2 weeks the system is corupt whano keep your nose clean and stay out of its CLAWS because the unjustice system will never let you go Ka kite ano
I tryed to post a story with Peter Tosh song but the sandflys are stuffing with my computer it’s about how the younger people behaviour is better than the last generation Ka kite ano
Here is a link with my HUAWEI phone the sandflys are blocking my over divices muppets I social media is giving people a education about the system and a conscious that the 00.1 % don’t want us to have Ka kite ano links below P.S it took 2 hours to get the last post out to Te tangata
Here you go tangata global warming is here and now don’t let the pollies lie and tell you its a myth.
Australia extreme heatwave: records broken for highest minimum temperatures
Severe weather conditions forecast to bring maximum temperatures 8C to 16C above average, as three towns record overnight minimums of 33C
All-time highest minimum temperatures have been broken in three places as a heatwave sets in across much of Australia, threatening more record hot days.
Meekatharra in Western Australia and Fowlers Gap and White Cliffs in New South Wales all registered an overnight minimum of 33C on Monday.
Severe to extreme heatwave conditions extending from the interior of WA across South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, the ACT and NSW will bring maximum temperatures of 8C to 12C above average, and in some places up to 16C above average before the end of the week.
Record-breaking heatwave to hit Australia’s south-east, restricting sporting events
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From Tuesday through to Friday, parts of South Australia, Victoria and NSW may break January heat records, with daytime maximums extending up to the mid-40s.
“It’s quite a significant heatwave because we are expecting a number of records to fall across those areas for both minimum and maximum temperatures,” said Dean Sgarbossa, a senior meteorologist with the Bureau of Meteorology.
Ka kite ano links below
Kia ora Newshub no comment.
It would be cool if the district health boards looked after our young doctors .
I feel for the fast food staff as many of them are not given guarnteed 40 hour week and that is not on .
Lloyd brexit is the alt right move Britain should stay in the Europeen Union.
Simon I say NCA fees should be scrapped .
The Knome has a turned up looks like the story is giving a few people a smile.
NZ busniess should
I tryed to find a song from the Cranberries in the 1990 I will keep looking its was a sad day for the world when Dolores died condolences to her love ones.
There you go Milisa the internet and social media is change the ways of the world its giving the world a conscience and thats a GOOD phenomenon.
That was a good picture of a pohutukawa tree bloom Alex
Ka kite ano
Kia ora James & Mulls from The Crowd Goes Wild its quite hot at the tennis in Melbourne
All the best to Makere Gibbons on her new journey. Yes high prefomance sports takes a toll on ones bodys I give thanks to all of the sports stars for the entertainment they give us.
Simon Doull is a climate change denier
Its the week for the egg I see one has crashed the internet and now the Allblacks are painting them they are good food to don;t believe the negative story about eggs.
The Halberg awards has a lot of people to chose from this time Storm ka kite ano
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 27 were:1. The Minister for Ford Rangers strikes againTransport Minister Simeon Brown was again the busiest of the Cabinet ministers this week, announcing an ...
You got a fast carAnd I want a ticket to anywhereMaybe we make a dealMaybe together we can get somewhereAny place is betterYesterday’s newsletter, Trust In Me, on the report of abuse in state care, and by religious organisations, between 1950 and 2019, coupled with the hypocrisy of Christopher Luxon ...
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
Te Rangi e tu nei (The sky above us) Te Papa e takoto nei (The land beneath us) Tatou katoa te hunga ora (To us all the living) Tena koutou katoa (Greetings) ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
If you haven’t started watching yet, Tara Ward begs you to reconsider. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In the world of New Zealand reality television, we have many gems in our crown. There’s the delicious second season of the Celebrity Treasure ...
A new poem by Fiona Kidman. The clothes of the dead I did not keep my mother’s furry red beret for long nor the stringy scarves that adorned the necks of my aunts, although I have kept tag ends of gold, the rings and trinkets they wore, the brooches no ...
The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
The 2004 Act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown, extinguishing any Māori claims to ownership and causing widespread outrage and protests among Māori communities. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antje Deckert, Associate Professor (Criminology), Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Despite the connection between institutional harm and gang membership made clear in this week’s mammoth royal commission abuse-in care report, the government seems unlikely to soften its “get tough on ...
From Lewis Clareburt in the swimming to the start of the rowing – the first seven days of Paris 2024 promise to be big for New Zealand. There are few events that bring the country together quite like an Olympic Games. Nothing quite matches the excitement of getting up in ...
Groundbreaking local science just showed up in the most surprising of places: the season finale of The Kardashians. In the season five finale of The Kardashians last night, several members of the family gathered together in one of their signature empty, cream-coloured rooms to hear test results that had been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University The Middle East is on the brink of a possibly devastating regional war, with hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reaching an extremely dangerous level. Washington has engaged in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Elizabeth Eades, Rheumatologist, Monash University Lupus is an inflammatory autoimmune illness, where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks itself. Lupus can affect virtually any part of the body, although it most commonly affects the skin, joints and kidneys. The symptoms ...
A law firm that specialises in working with survivors of abuse in State care is disappointed that the Government fails to recognise that its boot camps can be directly compared to previous boot camps from the 1990s and 2000s. ...
Dying is a natural part of life, like updating your Wof or seeing your hairdresser, but without the word-of-mouth recs that help guarantee a good service. What if we changed that? Dying Reviews received by The Spinoff have had the names of organisations redacted while Hospice NZ collects further data. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland Mike Lewinski/Flickr, CC BY On any clear night, if you gaze skywards long enough, chances are you’ll see a meteor streaking through the sky. Some nights, however, are better than others. At ...
Despite having no bars or other designated spaces for lesbians, Auckland boasts a small but mighty lesbian museum. So how did it get here? The past 18 months has brought increasing hostility towards the queer community across Aotearoa. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull’s anti-trans rally in Tamaki Makaurau last March led to a ...
Poneke Antifascist Coalition has invited Wellingtonians to stand in solidarity with the Kanak people at 12pm today outside the French Embassy in Wellington. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Layton, Visiting Fellow, Strategic Studies, Griffith University Drones are the signature technology of the Ukraine war. A few miniature aircraft designs were used in the war’s early days, but an incredible array of drones have now evolved. There are different types, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Slee, Associate Professor, Clinical Academic Neurologist, Flinders University Francisco Gonzelez/Unsplash Migraine is many things, but one thing it’s not is “just a headache”. “Migraine” comes from the Greek word “hemicrania”, referring to the common experience of migraine being predominantly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee White, Senior Lecturer and Horizon Fellow, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney Australia was slow to introduce minimum building standards for energy efficiency. The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) only came into force in 2003. Older homes ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Sherwood, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW Sydney The past century of human-induced warming has increased rainfall variability over 75% of the Earth’s land area – particularly over Australia, Europe and eastern North America, new research shows. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Heynen, Program Coordinator, Sustainable Energy, The University of Queensland A temporary stadium in the Champ-de-Mars, ParisEkaterina Pokrovsky/Shutterstock As Paris prepares to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the sustainability of the event is coming under scrutiny. The organisers have promoted ...
A night of karaoke and community in a pub that feels like a memory. You’d barely even notice it, unless you knew to look. Tucked away behind a liquor store on busy Constable Street is the capital’s last great pub. Newtown Sports Bar is an emblem of the pub culture ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Wright, Professor in Marine Geology, University of Canterbury Louise Corcoran/Getty Images The decline in the number of doctoral candidates at New Zealand universities is a worrying sign for the country’s effort to build a knowledge-based economy. Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laurie Berg, Associate Professor, University of Technology Sydney defotoberg/Shutterstock Migrant worker exploitation is entrenched in workplaces across Australia. Tragically, a deep fear of immigration consequences means most unlawful employer conduct goes unreported. On Wednesday, however, the government officially launched a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vaughan Cruickshank, Senior Lecturer in Health and Physical Education, University of Tasmania Paris is about to host its third summer Olympics. While we don’t yet know what the legacy of this year’s games will be, let’s take the opportunity to reflect on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hugh Breakey, Deputy Director, Institute for Ethics, Governance & Law, Griffith University In the wake of the assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump, there were calls from bothsides of US politics, as well as internationally, to reduce the brutal, ...
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Where are the Greens?
Why haven’t they replied to Todd Muller’s very public attack, yet?
The success or failure of a political party often hangs on the the effectiveness and public profile of its leaders.
Todd Muller, the laughably titled National Party spokesperson for climate change, has publicly attacked the government, accusing the government of being “….blinded by Green ideology”.
Alongside his assault on the government and the Green Party, Todd Muller also launched into an attack on climate change pressure group, Generation Zero as being a Green Party version of the Young Nats.
The success or failure of a political party often hangs on the the effectiveness and public profile, (or lack thereof), of its leaders.
Leadership means being out there.
Leadership means defending your corner in the public arena, (especially when you are being attacked in the public arena).
There is no room in politics for a leader who keeps silent when his party and its allies are being attacked.
Todd Muller has launched an attack on the government and Generation Zero
Will James Shaw use his right of reply and stand with Generation Zero and other climate activists?
Will James Shaw defend the government’s record on climate change?
Or will James Shaw continue to maintain his invisible man act, and condemn his party, and himself, to falling polls and political irrelevancy?
James Shaw needs to take a note from US member of Congress Ocasio Cortez
Despite not even being officially sworn in yet.
US Congresswoman Ocasio Cortez shows what leadership looks like.
On holiday at their eco bachs most likely
Does that propaganda piece from Muller really need any response from the Greens?
Anyone who gives a shit about the environment already knows that National’s approach is to pay lip-service to climate change and the need to protect the environment, while pursuing policies that assume neither of those things matter. Muller’s blather is just one further example of that approach. Anyone fooled by it was unlikely to be a potential Green voter anyway.
Plus the duty journalists are probably getting more fed up by the day with the rostered National Party tyre kicking, so allowing their tedious yapping to be seen for what it is is not a negative at all.
James may be giving Todd Muller the rope he needs. Sometimes, leaping up to counter hot-headed claims such as those of Todd, give those claims more exposure than they would have got, had they been ignored for a while. In any case, Get Zero can look after themselves and will doubtless take the opportunity to make Todd look like the methane-emmitting dinosaur he’s showing himself to be 🙂
James Shaw is the Government’s Climate Change Minister, by not defending the Government’s record, by being silent in the face of Muller’s attack
‘James may be giving Todd Muller the rope he needs’, to hang the Greens.
As for Generation Zero needing to look after themselves….
Brings to my mind the old saw…
If we don’t hang together we will be hung separately.
Perhaps if you stopped viewing everything as a war requiring a violent approach you might see that there is little to be gained from Shaw responding to Muller.
“There was violence on both sides folks”,
The trouble with your approach, and that of most Rightwingers, Solkta, is that you view legitimate peaceful protest or outspokeness by the Left as violence.
According to you we should quietly shut up and bow down to Right Wing attacks.
Meanwhile the Right dominate the airwaves with continual and aggressive attacks on climate change and social justice activists.
I’m not sure why you have quote marks around your first sentence. I don’t know why you think i am right wing just because i think you are foolish.
If you don’t recognise it, the quote is from Donald Trump justifying Right Wing violence at Charlottesville that culminated in the murder of Heather Heyer.
Here is another quote you may not recognise;
I also disagree that Todd Muller’s ‘claims’ were ‘hot-headed’.
Todd Muller’s public statement was an obviously well crafted and thought-out attack piece.
It needs to be answered in the same manner.
That it is not – is in my opinion, a clear failure of leadership.
If the Government Climate MInister cannot answer this very public attack from the Opposition, then he needs to seriously rethink his position and role.
Politics is a public exercise, if James cannot step up, he needs to step down.
It was just a positioning thing. Propaganda ought to serve a useful purpose, not just operate as hot air. At a guess, I’d say he’s positioning himself as next leader of the bluegreens. Much ado about nothing, seems to me. It’s not as if his conceptualising of issues is impressive. At least Simon Upton got the basics right. Hasn’t been any Nat since who’s managed that!
As regards your idea that James ought to be out there tilting at this particular windmill, I suspect doing the Don Quixote isn’t a realistic option for him. Zen teaches the best way to deal with an oncoming opponent is to sidestep & let him flounder on by. He could foot-trip him, but since the Nats flounder so well all by themselves it’s hardly worth the effort.
Then there’s the fact that he’s been working with the guy in a collaborative effort to produce non-partisan policy on our highest-priority issue. According to the Nat leader, the process is working. Until complete, he needs to avoid distractions, and any personal antagonism that your suggestion would produce.
It is clear from this attack piece penned by Todd Muller, that the price for getting National’s agreement on non-partisan policy, will be to allow them to repeal the current government’s ban on the issuing of new off shore oil and gas exploration permits on their return to the Treasury benches – And that no agreement will bind them into supporting action against climate change in the here and now, (especially if it is in lead of any of our trading partners).
Which is probably what ties into Todd Muller’s antipathy towards Gen Zero. Gen Zero despite being nearer the conservative end of the climate movement, than most climate activist groups, are for taking action in the here and now, where Todd Muller, and National Party are for dragging out taking any concrete action on climate change as long as they possibly can.
If you asked me. I would say that the price for National’s sign on, is currently way too high.
I’m not under the impression that any binding of National in that regard is intended, or even possible. We must wait to see the text of the eventual agreed legislation to check on that, eh?
Further exploration may not be excluded. There’s no cost to the public if the Nats want to allow private industry to find new fields to drill – as long as drilling them isn’t allowed, and the agreed limits suitably restrict aggregate emissions in accord with our national commitments to the international agreements.
What we’re waiting for is Nat political culture to shift into responsible behaviour. As long as their denial persists, they’ll remain in the corner they’ve painted themselves into. No MMP partners, relying on coalition screw-ups to piss voters off & return them to power.
How will generation zero look after themselves?
Indeed
Generation Zero are a voluntary group, (of mostly young), people. As such they don’t have the platform accorded to James Shaw as a Government Minister, and co-leader of the Green Party.
Any public statement of reply issued by Gen Zero is likely to completely ignored by the media.
Not so the Minister.
So let’s hear it James,
Do you agree, or disagree, with Todd Muller that the Government are, “….blinded by Green ideology”. ?
James, are Generation Zero, a genuine independent youth pressure group concerned about climate change, or a Green Party Front, as alleged by Todd Muller, “….a pseudo-Green Party campaign machine”?
James, your silence is not an option. It is a dereliction of duty. And an abandonment of leadership, in the face of a very public attack by the opposition party on the government and your role in it.
So your response to Muller describing Generation Zero as a pseudo-Green Party campaign machine would be for the Greens to quickly jump to their defense? Sounds like playing into Muller’s hand to me.
Yep, it’s a “pig-fucker” move by Muller: “of course it’s not true, I just want to make him publicly deny it.”
Gen Zero can speak for themselves, whether their statement of reply is reported or not is another matter.
The accusation is that Generation Zero is a Green Party Front.
Is Generation Zero a Green Party Front?
The question is just being left to hang there.
What has James Shaw got to say about this accusation?
James Shaw’s silence gives credence to Todd Muller’s accusation that Generation Zero are “….a pseudo-Green Party campaign machine”, to the detriment of Gen Zero’s reputation and credibility.
How can the Green Party leader in good conscience let Gen Zero swing in the wind like this?
Are Gen Zero a Green Party front, or not?
The public need to know.
The public couldn’t care less.
Hi Robert,
Your cynical lack of faith in the public, is not backed up by polling.
From the US;
Public support for climate policy remains strong, according to new poll
Melissa De Witte – Stanford News Service, July 16, 2018
From NZ;
Large numbers concerned by and will act on climate change
Horizon Poll, 15 May, 2015
Hi Jenny – I meant the public couldn’t care less whether Gen Zero is a front for The Green Party, or not. They won’t care, I reckon, a jot.
There would be more fatih if they had been going to the polls for the last couple or so elections but they don’t, getting them there is the best response to what Muller and the National Party have or don’t have on offer. Those prattling on the air-waves are preaching to the “unconverted”.
Hi Robert, from the poll results I supplied, you might get an inkling of, why I think that James Shaw needs to answer Todd Muller’s attack, how a strong lead given on climate action from the Climate Change Minister, could both strengthen, and benefit, from this relatively high public understanding of this issue.
In my opinion James Shaw’s silence in the face of this Opposition attack, and his and Marama Davidson’s invisibility in general, are not doing themselves, or their party, any favours.
Election polling data should worry left bloc
Thomas Coughlan – Newsroom, September 13, 2018
That the Green Party leadership are missing a prime opportunity to raise their Party profile should be concerning, to Green Party members and supporters.
So come on James and Marama, break the silence, get out and vigorously defend your corner.
Take a note from Ocasio Cortez who answers every Republican attack and raises her profile in the process.
Picture it the other way. We’re all aware that the Taxpayers’ Union is an ACT/National-run astro-turfing operation (and genuinely an astroturfing initative, unlike Gen Zero being allegedly a Green Party astroturfing initiative).
Not many outside of those interested in politics are aware of that. But, suppose the leaders of ACT and National went to the effort of putting out a release to media denying that the Taxpayers’ Union is an ACT/National astroturfing operation. Their die-hard supporters might be chuffed to read their staunch denial, but most people reading it would be hearing for the accusation for the first time, and would think “Hmm, no smoke without fire – they wouldn’t be making such a fuss if they didn’t have something to hide, I guess the Taxpayers’ Union must really be a Nat/ACT astroturfing operation.”
Shaw would be a mug to get tempted into denying this.
He’s no mug, 4 shaw.
The conspiracy theorists mantra;
Never believe anything until the Government denies it, Eh, Psycho
What do you think about Muller’s other accusation which directly targets the government? That the Government are, “….blinded by Green ideology”. ?
Do you also think that James Shaw as the Minister shouldn’t answer this accusation, in case people think he was being defensive and had something to hide?
If what you maintained here was true, Psycho, then the Minister and the Government should never defend themselves from opposition attacks.
Do you really think that if James Shaw got off his chuff and took the opportunity to respond with his own opinion piece, in which he laid out the best up-to-date, science backed information available to him. Which showed that the government is not blinded by Green ideology, but in fact is acting on the best scientific information available, that most people would disregard this, and instead think ‘Hmm, no smoke without fire’, the government must be blinded by Green ideology.
Never believe anything until the Government denies it, Eh, Psycho
Not what I was saying at all. Just pointing out a PR commonplace, that if you go out of your way to publicly deny some piece of foolishness about you that most people would never have heard anyway, the biggest effect of your denial is to associate you with that foolishness in the minds of the people who would otherwise never have heard of it. Sometimes it’s better to just ignore stupid stuff.
What do you think about Muller’s other accusation which directly targets the government? That the Government are, “….blinded by Green ideology”. ?
I think “Well, he would say that, wouldn’t he?” Even if National weren’t ideologically opposed to everything the Green Party stands for, it would still be his job as an Opposition MP to trash-talk the government. Issuing outraged denials would give the trash-talk more credibility than it deserves.
…if James Shaw got off his chuff and took the opportunity to respond with his own opinion piece, in which he laid out the best up-to-date, science backed information available to him…
How would that be different from all the other press releases he puts out on this subject, eg International global warming report lays out the critical challenge?
It would be different,
It would be a living rebuttal, part of an impassioned debate in reply.
Shaw’s rebuttal if he chose to make it, would have a frisson not commonly found in a dry academic treatise, or one sided press release, or essay,
As such it would be likely to get far more media and public attention.
Who knows; Shaw’s rebuttal (if he ever makes one), may even draw a counter response from Todd Muller, which would continue and heighten the public interest in this very important debate, and bring out the issues in a way that no one-sided monologue ever could.
At the very least it could lift Shaw’s public invisibility.
Shaw’s current objective is to get the widest possible buy in for the Zero Carbon Act. This particularly includes National. For National to support it they will have to go through some face saving process, otherwise they would have to admit to being fuck useless and/or wrong. They will need to continue to signal to their core support that they can be relied upon to put the economy first. There is no benefit in Shaw engaging in a public scrap that could push National into a public position of opposition to the Bill.
And I could think of three benefits, at least.
1/ It could rescue the Greens from their current public invisibility and resulting low polling results, which risks political oblivion
2/ It would represent a clear division between the government and the opposition.
If the results in the polls above are credible, a clear difference between the Government and the Opposition over climate change, could greatly influence which way undecided voters choose to place their ballot. to the benefit of the government.
What are the negative results of your strategy?
What are the negatives from allowing Opposition to attack the government without response, in the hope that they will back the Zero Carbon Bill?
From Todd Muller’s statement it seems that the opposition has three basic pre-conditions for supporting the Zero Carbon bill,
1, On a change of government immediate repeal the current government’s ban on issuing new oil and gas exploration permits.
2, pushi any concrete action towards making New Zealand Zero Carbon away from action in the here and now. and into some time in the future.
3, Thirdly, to not move faster than any of our competitors.
Plus reserving the right to attack the government unhindered and unchallenged.
I think you are far more concerned with your “war” than with actually making sustainable changes to the law to address CC.
I don’t see the article as an attack on the government but rather as Nact trying to justify itself to itself. They are between a rock and a hard place. If they support the Bill they risk their core supporters considering they have sold out, but if they don’t support the Bill then they risk alienating lots of centrist voters who are becoming continually more concerned about CC.
They are not going to get the things you list. If they don’t support the Bill as a consequence it will pass anyway, and then will be the time for you to bayonet their guts.
“Are Gen Zero a Green Party front, or not? The public need to know.”
No evidence for that at all, is there? In psychology, they call this projection. The GP does not need a front. The fact that a lobby group has goals which seem similar, if not identical, is not reason to assume any deeper relationship.
Toddy is trying to make himself hot via Muldoonist framing (`anyone who disagrees with me is a communist’). I very much doubt tapping into Muldoon nostalgia will make a hot toddy.
Generation zero seems more like a corporate driven group as seen by it’s website, which is all about getting donations, volunteers, and so forth run with a development agenda which ‘sprung’ up to support unitary plan and more urbanisation branded under buzz words like carbon neutral etc in cities. Very subjective to brand themselves for youth. How many youth are there wanting more concessions to developers to create $600+k apartments? Not many I know of!
Weird then, that Todd Muller should single them out for attack.
Maybe Muller senses that Gen Zero are encroaching on what he sees as his natural constituency, and that his pandering to the oil and gas lobby, is losing ground, even with conservatives, and business.
How NZ has changed from being Green, clean social democrat country to the current neoliberal Nat Lite one, is by keeping all discourses and solutions as far right as possible and appropriating groups and pretending to speak for them through marketing aka pretending to speak for ‘youth’ when you are really pushing a slightness left version of a right future.
Example GenZero were for the PPP for Skypath which charges walkers and cyclists while the trucks and cars go across Auckland Harbour Bridge for free? Sound like a front for PPP’s and developers pretending to represent sustainable carbon free future or having completely privatisation led solutions that apparently youth are all for, sarcasm?
I am not aware that Gen Zero have ever claimed to speak for all youth.
But if the rest of what you say is true. Strange, that Todd Muller finds them so threatening.
Maybe Muller is much, much, further to the Right than he tries to make out.
Or maybe Muller is trying to attack the wider climate movement through attacking Gen Zero
Who knows?
Whatever the murky motives for Muller’s attack on Gen Zero, all further reason for James Shaw to take a stand and debunk Muller’s attack on the government and defend the climate movement.
SNZ, I suspect you are on the correct track…
Some more time will tell the full story…
The Greens are gatekeepers…GZ appears to have taken up a similar position at the gate…
Weird then, that Todd Muller should single them out for attack.
I’m thinking you didn’t spend a lot of time reading the article. It starts off Despite the claims of Generation Zero, with the “claims of generation Zero” clickable which takes you to an article on Stuff from last Wednesday where Lisa McLaren, who leads the Zero Carbon Act campaign for Generation Zero, attacks Muller and Bridges and National’s record:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/109799207/national-party-must-stop-holding-kiwis-ransom-with-climate-change-outlook
Muller is not going on the attack but is rather fighting a rear guard defensive action (another war analogy since i know you like that stuff).
Hi Solka. Yes I had missed that.
Thanks for pointing it out.
Personally I think that Lisa Mclaren’s criticisms of National are well founded.
Mclaren calls on National (in quite flowery language), to pull their collaboration boot on. ie work with the government over the Zero Carbon Bill. Todd Muller and National are refusing to negotiate over the Zero Carbon bill in good faith. Instead setting out hard preconditions and demands that have effectively torpedoed the negotiations.
Shaw is smart not to respond at all.
I suppose, if Shaw’s silence in the face of opposition attacks continues, that at least the Greens will know who to blame when they miss the 5% threshold.
gives a damn about polls.
Shaw has his sight on cross-parliamentary carbon act.
Eyes on the prize Jenny.
Shaw is foolish to continue with the negotiations while National are insisting on non-negotiable demands.
What details of the negotiations over the bill are you privy to?
I am not privy to any demands that Todd Muller himself has not made public.
But the hard demands he has made public are the right to return to deep sea oil exploration and drilling.
And that New Zealand must not lead any of our trading partners in any climate change legislation.
The National Party’s other more wishy washy demand, as voiced by Todd Muller, National’s Climate change Spokesperson, is that New Zealand not do anything about climate change in the here and now, which is what Gen Z are demanding and which has seen them particularly singled out for Todd Muller’s ire.
But the hard demands he has made public
He hasn’t made any demands at all. All he has done is spout some rhetoric.
Interesting…
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00007-1
Worth noting – “Update, 9 January: The release of the World Magnetic Model has been postponed to 30 January due to the ongoing US government shutdown.”
Curious Droid has an interesting video about the Earths magnetic field, its movement over time and its implications.
Wow I loved that. Compulsory viewing although that shirt was tough lol – I’m going to watch more of this guy.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/12/trump-tweets-fbi-russia-new-york-times-james-comey
The endgame beginning for the putrid pinnacle.
A great article that will support non toxic masculinity
https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/american-psychological-association-links-masculinity-ideology-homophobia-misogyny-n956416
The Cure
https://youtu.be/VUztkXbv0vw
Maybe the APA are closet IDLES fans:
That was great. Bookmarked.
I think hearing Joe Talbot bellowing “I kissed a boy and I liked it!” and pondering why that has so much more impact than Katy Perry kissing a girl and liking it would be a good starting point for those wondering what ‘toxic masculinity’ is.
What a crock of complete horse shit.
What is “toxic masculinity”?
Even if you reject the behaviour towards other demographic groups, surely “walking off” injuries rather than treating them, or keeping depression to oneself until suicide happens are both “toxic”?
If that is your definition of being masculine then you need to think a bit more.
How about protecting your family and making sure they are happy?
How about making sure your partner has the support they need
And your kids
How about etc etc etc
You asked what “toxic masculinity” is. I repeated the definition, and added a couple of general examples which have occurred to my knowledge over the years. You then ask if that’s my definition of “masculinity”?
No, it’s not my approach to masculinity. But it is one I have encountered. And I’ve met some men who could provide for their families (“protection” being largely exagerrated as a requirement in this day and age) without carrying the toxic aspects of previous generations.
How about protecting your family…
Jeez where you live bro?
Hi Chris,
Unfortunately we live in a world of labels, and some of these labels irritate us to the point of ignoring an underlying value. The term ‘toxic masculinity’ is typical of such a label. Because it has been variously defined, it is often poorly understood or simply dismissed.
But underneath the irritating label, there is value, because in a world in which radical feminism has at times sought to emasculate men, it is important that men are able to reclaim true manhood.
If you are interested there is a very good article at https://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/the-difference-between-toxic-masculinity-and-being-a-man-dg/, which defines Toxic masculinity in the following words :
“…a narrow and repressive description of manhood, designating manhood as defined by violence, sex, status and aggression. It’s the cultural ideal of manliness, where strength is everything while emotions are a weakness; where sex and brutality are yardsticks by which men are measured, while supposedly “feminine” traits – which can range from emotional vulnerability to simply not being hypersexual – are the means by which your status as “man” can be taken away.”
tl,dr: “Remuera”
Cheers
That is actually quite a good read
Have a read of it. You’re going off half cocked.
Gee gee I like that one ‘a crock of complete horse shit.’
You remind me of Wayne and Shuster the Canadian comedy duo from long ago.
they used to come up with one-liners; here is a clip. They are funnier than you, but you can keep trying and may be a winner on stage and screen.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKMBTUkJF3g
If anyone is interested in what’s actually at the US-Mexico border right now, here’s an interactive map that lets you look at aerial helicopter footage anywhere you want along the entire length.
https://www.usatoday.com/border-wall/us-mexico-interactive-border-map/
Spoiler: wherever there’s easy access, there’s pedestrian fence or wall. Fence meaning tall closely spaced steel columns. Wherever it’s remote but still drivable, there’s vehicle barrier fencing. It’s only in very rugged terrain (mostly in parks and reserves) or where there another natural barrier such as the Rio Grande that’s there’s nothing. And the whole damn thing is heavily sensored and patrolled, even the remote areas with no physical barrier.
So high, so wide, so low…..
“When 44-year-old Julián Castro officially launched his presidential campaign Saturday, he became one of the youngest candidates in the prospective 2020 Democratic field — and the first major Latino candidate.” https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/12/julian-castro-2020-election-democrats-1098636
He’s a “former San Antonio mayor and former secretary of Housing and Urban Development” (Obama cabinet). His twin brother (a congressman) will be his campaign chair.
“His biggest asset is he’s a policy wonk. I mean, this guy is really, really smart,” said Gilberto Hinojosa, the Texas Democratic Party chairman. “He knows a lot about a lot of issues. He is extremely articulate. He’s got really good ideas and he’s able to put those ideas in terms where ordinary Americans can understand them and I think what that does is puts him in the situation where he is best, not only talking to large crowds but talking to smaller crowds where he can answer questions and articulate and share his ideas on his vision for America.”
“The United States Census uses the ethnonym Hispanic or Latino to refer to “a person of Dominican, Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latino
“Latinos made up an estimated 11% of all voters nationwide on Election Day, nearly matching their share of the U.S. eligible voter population (U.S. citizens ages 18 and older).” “In U.S. congressional races nationwide, an estimated 69% of Latinos voted for the Democratic candidate and 29% backed the Republican candidate”. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/11/09/how-latinos-voted-in-2018-midterms/
It all began, as usual, with the Greeks
Thousands of years, no change.
The system we have has been destroying societies for a long time as resources are used to provide only for the few at the top. It is time to change from this failed hierarchical system and go to a full democracy and to base our economy upon what is needed to ensure that all have a good living standard while also keeping resource use at a sustainable level.
Question: Have you actually read, closely and in full The Republic?
Yes.
Then why did you need to cut&paste from mises.org, a site ISTR is not exactly left wing?
“despised workers” involves a large amount of unique interpretation of the work, in my opinion. If the attitude is more neutral, then The Republic could also apply to a centrally-planned left wing society, almost communist in nature. Not democratic, but without alienation between members of that society.
Could you, based on your close reading of Republic, please point us to the section where Plato expresses or implies that he (via his Socratic Mary Sue) despises workers.
He did that because Athens had trialled democracy for a couple of centuries before abandoning it. The interesting part is why everyone formed a consensual view that the experiment was a failure.
” In 621 BC, Draco codified a set of notoriously harsh laws designed to reinforce aristocratic power over the populace.” That’s obviously why they decided he was a bastard.
“In the year 507 B.C., the Athenian leader Cleisthenes introduced a system of political reforms that he called demokratia, or “rule by the people.” This system was comprised of three separate institutions: the ekklesia, a sovereign governing body that wrote laws and dictated foreign policy; the boule, a council of representatives from the ten Athenian tribes; and the dikasteria, the popular courts in which citizens argued cases before a group of lottery-selected jurors. Although this Athenian democracy would survive for only two centuries…” https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-greece/ancient-greece-democracy
“Participation was not open to all residents, but was instead limited to an adult, male citizens (i.e., not a foreign resident, a slave, or a woman), who “were probably no more than 30 percent of the total adult population.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athenian_democracy
If they had ditched the patriarchy & included women, one suspects an increase in resilience in the design & likelihood of lasting longer. “Democracy was suppressed by the Macedonians in 322 BC. The Athenian institutions were later revived, but how close they were to a real democracy is debatable.” “Athens was not the only polis in Ancient Greece that instituted a democratic regime.”
The wikipedia editors lost the plot here: “democratic forms persisted until the Macedonian army of Phillip II conquered Athens in 338 BC.” A sixteen year discrepancy with the date given in the previous paragraph.
Then “democracy was restored in 307 BC. However, by now Athens had become “politically impotent”. An example of this was that, in 307, in order to curry favour with Macedonia and Egypt, three new tribes were created, two in honour of the Macedonian king and his son, and the other in honour of the Egyptian king.”
Sadly, the creation of new tribes as a political strategy has fallen out of favour. Just think what a boon it would be to the American people at present. Creating a new tribe of trumpians would be a clever move. Park them on a reservation somewhere, build a nice wall around them to make them feel protected. Trump would jump at the chance of becoming their king, and would promptly resign as president in considerable relief.
Wikipedia reports on the failure of Greek democracy:
“Athenian democracy has had many critics, both ancient and modern. Ancient Greek critics of Athenian democracy include Thucydides the general and historian, Aristophanes the playwright, Plato the pupil of Socrates, Aristotle the pupil of Plato, and a writer known as the Old Oligarch. While modern critics are more likely to find fault with the restrictive qualifications for political involvement, these ancients viewed democracy as being too inclusive. For them, the common people were not necessarily the right people to rule and were likely to make huge mistakes. According to Samons:
The modern desire to look to Athens for lessons or encouragement for modern thought, government, or society must confront this strange paradox: the people that gave rise to and practiced ancient democracy left us almost nothing but criticism of this form of regime (on a philosophical or theoretical level). And what is more, the actual history of Athens in the period of its democratic government is marked by numerous failures, mistakes, and misdeeds—most infamously, the execution of Socrates—that would seem to discredit the ubiquitous modern idea that democracy leads to good government.”
“Thucydides, from his aristocratic and historical viewpoint, reasoned that a serious flaw in democratic government was that the common people were often much too credulous about even contemporary facts to rule justly.” You mean, like believing in the Republicans & Democrats, or National & Labour?
“Similarly, Plato and Aristotle criticized democratic rule as the numerically preponderant poor tyrannizing the rich. Instead of seeing it as a fair system under which everyone has equal rights, they regarded it as manifestly unjust. In Aristotle’s works, this is categorized as the difference between ‘arithmetic’ and ‘geometric’ (i.e. proportional) equality.”
“To its ancient detractors, rule by the demos was also reckless and arbitrary. Two examples demonstrate this: …” There’s the wisdom of crowds: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wisdom_of_Crowds
There’s also the madness of crowds: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraordinary_Popular_Delusions_and_the_Madness_of_Crowds
Democracy was in the making. Getting the recipe right relies on good thinking and commitment. And there is always the transfer of power. Ever been on a committee and sat through numerous sessions working out a viable plan. Then the next group of numbskulls changes it all without even reading the work that has gone before. This is the difficulty with humans. The new is always better and somebody has a ‘cunning idea’ and wants to be thought the big man.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/summer-days/audio/2018678132/steven-junil-if-nz-stopped-importing-fabric-and-clothing-we-d-be-fine-for-another-50-to-100-years
Christchurch designer Steven Junil was an art school student when he committed to creating only objects with both functionality and integrity.
The 26-year-old hand-makes clothes, shoes and accessories with natural, found and recycled materials for his label 6×4.
“The garment industry is so problematic, it is the second most polluting industry in the world next to petroleum and there are massive ethical issues as well. I think it’s good to be passionate about clothing – and I’m very passionate about clothing – but you can’t really separate the fact that the fashion industry has so many ethical issues, particularly environmentally. If you’re looking at the wider world of what’s happening in the world of fashion or clothing you can’t ignore the context.
“I’m trying to make stuff that has integrity in terms of where the materials come from and how they’re used and trying to do things on a smaller scale because if I produce everything myself I can have a lot of control over how things are made.”
Should we organise a Saturday when women are encouraged not to buy any new female clothes! Good for their pocket, good for the NZ balance of paymenhts? and good for the waste fills. And go op shoppping instead if you have to buy.
Tulsi Gabbard to stand for POTUS, Democrats and Republicans not happy, they reckon she is another one of “Putins Puppets ?”
This is a excellent way to build a cost effective enviromentally friendly whare / house harvest rain water compost toilet wood stove for cooking and solar panels for the devives and lights . His cost to keep the whare running would be low and so would the whare carbon foot print . The cost of a sepitc tank for the olden style toilets are massive some places you can build your own sepitc systems like my dad did .
But for most one is looking at $20.000 at the least for the sepitc system and connecting to the power grid can cost the same as one can build a off grid solar power system with minimal cost to maintain the system new battries every few years
Bart Cox lives in a former smoko room. His house cost less than his stove.Bart Cox works for Greater Wellington Regional Council as an environmental adviser. He’s pictured in his Carterton home, with his girlfriend Isobel MacKinnon, an actor, director, and theatre maker, and his mum, Liz.
BART: I grew up in Wellington but I have a connection to Wairarapa – my family on mum’s side have been there for some time. Mum moved back to Masterton when I was 15, when my dad died. I was painting mum’s shed for her one day and I had this overwhelming feeling that I should move there. I asked Mum if I could put a little house on her block of land, out of Carterton. She said she’d love that.
I was working in this delicatessen in Masterton making coffee, living in a caravan. This guy Jim was a building recycler, but he hates knocking down buildings, especially if they’re nice old wooden ones. He always tries to resell the materials or, even better, resell the house to someone else who wants to remove it from the land. He was a regular in the deli, and one day he was trying to sell the customers a little smoko room from this industrial part of Masterton. He had pictures of it on his phone. I knew if I looked at it I’d probably want it. Eventually I was like, “OK, give me a look at the photos.” And I was like, “Argh! I Love it!” He goes, “Come on. Just buy it off me. Otherwise I’m going to have to knock it down.” I was like, “I can’t, it’s too A local removal company plonked it down on the land and I got into doing it up. It’s only 50 square metres. It was lined with all kinds of materials like MDS but underneath the bones were mostly old native timbers from the 60s. to much of a project.” He sold it to me for $2500.
I gibbed it inside and connected it to solar panels with my friend Ed. His way is sort of DIY – you can tailor-make it to your lifestyle. The house ended up being like something from pre-internet era – all wood and simple technologies – and then it suddenly jumps right into the future: high-tech in a small way. Ka kite ano links below
P.S I see the alt right trolls jumping on this good story to one can build a house down south that needs no extra heat Tama-nui-te-RA provides all we need.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/houses/109698930/bart-cox-lives-in-a-former-smoko-room-his-house-cost-less-than-his-stove
Air pollution is as bad for pregnant women as smoking in raising the risk of miscarriage, according to a scientific study. They said the finding was upsetting and that toxic air must be cut to protect the health of the next generation.
Air pollution is already known to harm foetuses by increasing the risk of premature birth and low birth weight. Recent research has also found pollution particles in placentas.
The effect of long-term exposure to dirty air on the risk of miscarriage has been analysed previously. Studies from Brazil to Italy to Mongolia found a link, but others failed to do so.
However, the latest study is the first to assess the impact of short-term exposure to air pollution. It found that raised levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution that are commonplace around the world increased the risk of losing a pregnancy by 16%.
It’s pretty profound,” said Dr Matthew Fuller, at the University of Utah’s department of emergency medicine and one of the research team. “If you compare that increase in risk to other studies on environmental effects on the foetus, it’s akin to tobacco smoke in first trimester pregnancy loss.” NO2 is produced by fuel burning, particularly in diesel vehicles.
Air pollution harm to unborn babies may be global health catastrophe, warn doctors
Read more
The research, published in the journal Fertility and Sterility, was conducted in Salt Lake City in the US, and surrounding urban areas. But Fuller said the results were applicable elsewhere: “There are many places in the world that suffer from pollution that is far greater, so this is not a problem unique to Utah. This is a problem we are all facing.” NO2 levels in Salt Lake City are similar to those in cities such as London and Paris.
Fuller was initially alerted to the issue when a family member lost a miscarried during a particularly poor period of air quality in 2016. He said: “That triggered the question in my mind and then I started noticing anecdotally that I was seeing spikes in miscarriage Ka kite ano links below.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jan/11/air-pollution-as-bad-as-smoking-in-increasing-risk-of-miscarriage
Eco Maori backs our Papatuanuku World society to change the way we live drop the negitive effects in the way we live at the minute to a life style that does not ruin OUR enviroments that we leave behind for te mokopunas grandchildren.
We have to move away from the modle of growth is best .Goverments like this modle why because they are sold the theory that they can use inflation to borrow money now and in the future the money leant is less of a % of GDP but in reality they are still loading te mokopunas with DEPT because inflation takes a % of ones purchasing power per unit I.E the dollars. So inflation is loading the future a burden that we leave the grandchildred the dollar has less value than when the grandparents had that dollar hence property is the best currency to give the moko’s.
Albert Einstein theory is a fact one can not get nothing for nothing money power goods .
We need to make goods to last a life time Thanks to Japan for making cars that are reliable and can last for 30 years or longer with good care. With the grandchildren in mind we must move away from those modles to one were we value life before money profts The capitialist system has to evovle or collapse Isaac Newton humans have to evovle or collapse . Eco Maori can see the new currency evolving NOW what is that well it will be the amount of hits one gets on there pages on the many platforms on the internet at the minute in the future everyone will have there own online profile given by goverments that is unhackable and it will have value a big value component to it the more LIKES or HITS one gets the more value that person has the more dislikes the less value one has and so on. I say that will be the start of Equality for all. People/Countrys that go around spraying wai on the world other beings will soon be worthless hence a world society with a humane conscience that is rewarded for good behaviour and punished for bad behaviour . This is the world the 00.1% are trying to fool us that EXIST now the intelligent people know that is a FAllACY we know that the wealthy can do what they want if they get caught cheating killing plundering there money buys them a get out of jail free card while the 99% get the harshest end of there laws heaped on us. Ka kite ano links below.
Kia ora Mike from Newshub That was not very good behaviour from our over seas guests. The gnome has vanished it will be melted down by now it looks like they we all skinny buggers feeding there PE habitats. The warming of Tangaroa and global warming has been covered up for so long it’s now showing us reality the harshest weather man kind has seen is rising out of Tangaroa. I have seen a good movie on allergic reaction to food its best to expose children earlier in life to all things that can cause them problems later in life instead of keeping them in a glass bubble. Some of my Mokopunas were allergic to a animal they kept the animals and now they are fine. One of my workers had his eye swell in the Bush I told him to harden up next minute I seen him I got one van to take him to get some antihistamine tablets he had hay fever. Some of the world leaders think they can hide their body language from most people but some can read them like a book. I say the unprocessed grass feed meat is good for people My meat consumption has dropped but just because its to expensive to buy now. Some mothers do have them that young Australian boy crashed his girlfriends car him and his m8 pushed it home
The Antonio Gaudies design church in Barcelona is a magnificent building it will be really cool to see it when it’s finished. I don’t fancy eating chicken feathers it’s all protein tho A. Ka kite ano
Yes I know a few of you would have had a sore face but you got my point.
We have to make laws to force battery makers into making them reusable / recyclable now don’t wait till we have a sea full of waste and try and fix the problem thats not very intelligent and cost will be 1000 % more to the pocket and enviroment having the forsight to see the problem now and not weight till its a disaster is the correct way to handle this problem .
Ion age: why the future will be battery powered
The variable nature of wind and solar power means storing energy is a huge part of the fight to mitigate climate change
Why have batteries become important?
In a world increasingly anxious about climate change, the surge in the generation of renewable energy over the past 20 years offers a sliver of hope. But the variable nature of wind and solar power means that storing energy until consumers need it has become the next big challenge. And so, large-scale battery installations are springing up across electricity grids around the world, to make them more flexible. In 2017, more than 1GW of energy storage capacity was added around the world – a record, yes, but still a drop in the ocean of global energy demand.
So how many of these big batteries are there?
There is around 500MW of large-scale battery capacity installed around the UK, a figure that is expected to double within three years, according to the analysts Aurora Energy Research. Almost all capacity uses lithium-ion.
Globally installed capacity is expected to top 50GW by 2020 – and surge to almost 1,000GW by 2040, according to Bloomberg NEF. That would equate to about 7% of the world’s energy capacity.
What about other modes of transport?
Electric double-decker buses, built by the Chinese manufacturer BYD, already ply the streets of London. Elon Musk has announced plans for an electric truck.
But the energy density required for heavy transport makes it a lot harder for batteries to beat fossil fuels. “It’s definitely more challenging,” says Prof Paul Shearing, the Royal Academy of Engineering’s chair in emerging battery technologies. “[But] I think the future is going to be electric, no matter which way you cut it.”
Will we all be flying around in electric jumbo jets soon? “Not yet,” says Shearing, who adds that energy density and weight of batteries meant there would probably only be used in unmanned aerial vehicles in the short term. “I think it’ll be a long time until we see an electric passenger plane,” he says.
What next?
Companies are working hard to increase the amount of energy that can be packed into a battery, and to bring down the cost of making them.
Future prices are unlikely to fall as fast as they have in the past, says Ostermann, because reductions have already been so rapid. Sonnen has seen prices fall from more than €1,000 (£905) per kilowatt hour of capacity when it started in 2010, to about €150-200 per kWh today. But the company expects to cut costs in electronics such as inverters.
New wonder materials will take a while to break through, Shearer says. “The next 10 years are going to continue to be lithium-ion dominated. It’s taken a long time to get to this productivity and technological maturity level. For anything to catch up will take a while.”
Most innovation will be around lithium-ion, he believes, such as improving the energy density and lowering costs by reducing the amount of cobalt in a battery. The rate at which batteries can take on a charge will also improve, Shearer adds.
Radcliffe agrees that lithium-ion will continue to dominate. Cost and performance will improve, driven by the scale-up of manufacturing and continued research, he says.
Batteries will also be put to new uses. Fisker says that as technology improves, he expects to see them eventually appear on construction sites, in mines and in industrial equipment, replacing diesel generators. They will be deployed in increasingly small devices, such as medical implants, Shearer says.
Ka kite ano links below
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/jan/14/on-the-charge-why-batteries-are-the-future-of-clean-energy
Bio fuels will power our Planes and Ships
This is the future bio fuel
Solar powering OUR grandchildrens sustainable healthy happy future.
This is another way to solve our plastic waster problem’s
This is how corrupt the NZ justice system is first the sandflys play silly buggers on the road and get there m8’s to give Eco Maori false fines . I go to the police station because I have some how over paid fines there no help what so ever then I tryed ringing on the 7/1/19 I get told they would send me out a form to file for hardship . That was a totally falous call because I go to the court house and they say no record of the call and there is a warrent for my arrest WTF for fines they are to scared to arrest Eco Maori tangata.
No wonder they have stepped up there indimadation games in the last 2 weeks the system is corupt whano keep your nose clean and stay out of its CLAWS because the unjustice system will never let you go Ka kite ano
I tryed to post a story with Peter Tosh song but the sandflys are stuffing with my computer it’s about how the younger people behaviour is better than the last generation Ka kite ano
Here is a link with my HUAWEI phone the sandflys are blocking my over divices muppets I social media is giving people a education about the system and a conscious that the 00.1 % don’t want us to have Ka kite ano links below P.S it took 2 hours to get the last post out to Te tangata
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/health/109935581/why-young-kiwis-are-getting-better-behaved
Here you go tangata global warming is here and now don’t let the pollies lie and tell you its a myth.
Australia extreme heatwave: records broken for highest minimum temperatures
Severe weather conditions forecast to bring maximum temperatures 8C to 16C above average, as three towns record overnight minimums of 33C
All-time highest minimum temperatures have been broken in three places as a heatwave sets in across much of Australia, threatening more record hot days.
Meekatharra in Western Australia and Fowlers Gap and White Cliffs in New South Wales all registered an overnight minimum of 33C on Monday.
Severe to extreme heatwave conditions extending from the interior of WA across South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, the ACT and NSW will bring maximum temperatures of 8C to 12C above average, and in some places up to 16C above average before the end of the week.
Record-breaking heatwave to hit Australia’s south-east, restricting sporting events
Read more
From Tuesday through to Friday, parts of South Australia, Victoria and NSW may break January heat records, with daytime maximums extending up to the mid-40s.
“It’s quite a significant heatwave because we are expecting a number of records to fall across those areas for both minimum and maximum temperatures,” said Dean Sgarbossa, a senior meteorologist with the Bureau of Meteorology.
Ka kite ano links below
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jan/15/australia-extreme-heatwave-records-broken-amid-all-time-highest-minimum-temperatures
Kia ora Newshub no comment.
It would be cool if the district health boards looked after our young doctors .
I feel for the fast food staff as many of them are not given guarnteed 40 hour week and that is not on .
Lloyd brexit is the alt right move Britain should stay in the Europeen Union.
Simon I say NCA fees should be scrapped .
The Knome has a turned up looks like the story is giving a few people a smile.
NZ busniess should
I tryed to find a song from the Cranberries in the 1990 I will keep looking its was a sad day for the world when Dolores died condolences to her love ones.
There you go Milisa the internet and social media is change the ways of the world its giving the world a conscience and thats a GOOD phenomenon.
That was a good picture of a pohutukawa tree bloom Alex
Ka kite ano
Kia ora James & Mulls from The Crowd Goes Wild its quite hot at the tennis in Melbourne
All the best to Makere Gibbons on her new journey. Yes high prefomance sports takes a toll on ones bodys I give thanks to all of the sports stars for the entertainment they give us.
Simon Doull is a climate change denier
Its the week for the egg I see one has crashed the internet and now the Allblacks are painting them they are good food to don;t believe the negative story about eggs.
The Halberg awards has a lot of people to chose from this time Storm ka kite ano