Anyone notice how little energy we're getting out of the southern ocean in terms of weather front formation?
The 10 day forecast through to 23 June shows slow moving Tasman lows, which is great for moisture (finally!), but not the deep southern energy that will bring snow and hence snow packs.
Yes, I certainly do notice that. It's been the case for a while now; at least, it's been patently obvious to those of us living in the far south; at first we said, "sleeping dragon', knowing it was just building, ready to burst upon us the way at always has done, only it doesn't any more; our weather is tame compared to what it was. Both encouraging and concerning at the same time.
Yeah, strange days in Whakatipu. I'm looking out my window at a green, sort of growing lawn, this time of year it would normally be browned off by the frost. Go onto a north facing hill and there's quite a bit of growth, and grazed out paddocks are coming back green after a week or so.
The way the forecast models are looking there's not going to be any change from this pattern until maybe early July, maybe… So no natural snow for southern skifields, and temperatures too warm for any meaningful snowmaking until after the school holidays.
This could get rather interesting around the town.
Apparently there is a anomaly around the Antarctic, saw a technical explanation I didn’t understand and didn’t talk about nearby land masses. Will see if I can find the tweets.
Build to need i agree (though what constitutes need will cause debate e.g. cycle bridges)….build in the knowledge that everything built creates emissions and consumes limited resources in its construction and importantly in its maintenance.
edit
And also build to last for just 50 years rather than the 100 years someone mentioned previously. Everything changes rapidly so be prepared with Plan B if a weather event happens or with a sea bridge, a ship loses steering or something and wipes out essential parts.
Think Picton – Mikhail Lermontov, Italy – dozy navigation also there etc. And possibly government-sponsored terrorism, Rainbow Warrior v France, USA v Iran. We are not immune from that even if we are dancing away from Covid19.
I used to have thoughts like that whenever Rick Astley and anyone out of the Stock Aitken and Waterman school of mid 1980s music was pushed into my ears in a supermarket.
But helpfully I didn't run the country at the time.
In your case, mozzie, I think we'd be happy to find you somewhere you could learn to just post once, before progressing to something much much more difficult such as wit (relatively speaking).
"In New Zealand, about 50 percent of our overall homeless population are women, which is internationally quite rare…
Women had an average of 2.6 children, while men had an average of 1.6 children.. Four out of every five women were Māori while for men, two thirds were Māori
Dr Fraser said the statistics showed the welfare system was not working. "It really just shows our benefits aren't high enough. They need to be higher, they need to be easier to access.
"These are really vulnerable people and their children deserve the best possible start in life that they can, but they're clearly not getting that if their mums are so stressed out and needing that wrap-around housing support."
It offers rebates of up to $8,625 for a new electric car and up to $5750 for a plug-in hybrid car – but will not be given on cars that cost $80,000 or more. Cars had to have at least a three-star safety rating to be eligible.
Fees on higher emitting vehicles will start from January 1, 2022.
i guess they set 'affordable' until it hits 79.999.99 NZD……..oh boy.
Well i guess the new minimum wage will making the buying of such a car within a year totally affordable. Totally. Or else those making that amount should just cycle from South Auckland to their jobs. But then maybe when all those that can not afford to buy a new car between now and Jan 2022 are to be 'fined' out of car ownership, rather then 'incentivised in' via cheap to free and punctual, safe and regular public transport. Something we are still not able to provide pretty much anywhere in the country.
But i hope that the Middleclass in NZ that changes things is very happy and pleased and totally not ashamed of the fact that the lower class is financing their Middle Class status to great measure. Maybe Labour needs to rename itself the "Middle Class Party of Aotearo".
And last but least, read the article to the end, and realise that not word not one pixle was used on 'bicycles, or buses, or trams, or any other form of public transport'. It is not the 'tradies subsidizing teslas', it is the poor NZ who needs a car because they have no public infrastructure what so ever that is subsidizing the schmucks in Wellington, and the million dollar burbs in Auckland.
Or in words that some might understand better, The tax payer from South Auckland is financing a new car or several new family cars for the likes of Mike Hoskins and everyone in his ‘class’. The Upper Class. The Middle class gets a treat for buying the used cars of the likes of Mike Hoskins, and the proletariat is financing all of it.
Stats NZ (link to Excel sheet on this page) sez the median gross household income for Auckland year ended 30 June 2020 was $104,821 – and the mean gross household income was $128,138.
But yeah, plenty of opportunity there for $15,000 cars. Or even a $50,000 car every few years. It might just need a sacrifice of a few expensive holidays.
It might just need a sacrifice of a few expensive holidays.
There’s a lot of pent-up money because people had to cancel their overseas holidays in 2020 and also this year. So, let’s spend it on a Tesla or some other vital material wealth.
Gotta admit, every now and then I sneak a fantasy peek at Tesla's NZ inventory list. They seem to be shifting them a lot faster now than even just a few months back, let alone last year.
Sabine this was a Green Policy which was stymied by NZ First. It is designed to encourage the greater buying of electric and hybrid vehicles by those who can make the choice, as most of us have never purchased a new car and need more second hand choices.
In your usual fashion you poke the Government instead of looking at the intended outcomes James Shaw and Julie Anne Genter were aiming for. There is so much bile in your system it is clouding your judgement and causing many to be turned off posting, but then that is perhaps your goal? There is no suggested "Other" way.. just bile.
What got left out of Sabine's critique of the article might be important.
"and about $3,500 for used cars."
"Rebates of up to $3,450 will be given to those who buy used electric cars and $2,300 for plug-in hybrids. From January, smaller rebates will also be offered to buyers of other low emission cars."
"Wood said those fees would not apply to cars already in the country, which meant low-income families who relied on cheaper second-hand cars would not face the fee."
"Petrol cars with lower emissions – such as a Toyota Rav 4 or Suzuki Vitara – would not face fees."
It means that people that have the means get government tax rebates as per the cars the y buy.
As i said Incognito
The rich can get up to 8700 NZD per vehicle they purchase, the not so rich can get a few grand less, and the rest of the country that can't afford a used or a new electric or hybrid vehicle and is dependend on an old gasguzzler get to pay for the boondoogle.
And not a single word and pixle was extended to the announcment of the Government and dear Green Co leader Shaw to the tax rebates commuters that use public transport will get with the purchase of an annual bus ticket. – Got any comment to that?
And thus you discuss me and the details of the money, and rest assured Mike Hoskins and his wife and their children could easily buy a car for each of them, rake in the 8700 max per vehicle and thus get 5 for the price of 4 all courtesy of those that actually pay taxes in this country.
Good grief, this is the best national government we could get. Maybe that is why it is so appreciated by Middle Nuzilind.
No, this government should be looking at being fair.
So this particular announcement should have been coupled with an announcement for the many that use public transports. Tax rebates for both.
Is that really so hard to understand?
Disclaimer, i don't own a car, never did. I am a public transport user, a walker, a cycler, i ride share etc.
So in my opinion this announcement will do very little to encourage people that don't have the money to buy up and into a better car generation to use buses and trains instead. But i guess that was never the point. It is however nice to know that we are not so broke as a country to not give away a few tax incentives to people who already aren't known for paying much taxes.
Sabine asseverates, "the rest of the country that can't afford a used or a new electric or hybrid vehicle and is dependent on an old gasguzzler get to pay for the boondoogle."
The article Sabine quotes says "Petrol cars with lower emissions – such as a Toyota Rav 4 or Suzuki Vitara – would not face fees." They don't pay for the boondoogle. Nor do people who keep their cars, gas guzzlers or no.
The article also says that those who buy a car already in the country do not pay the fee- "low-income families who relied on cheaper second-hand cars would not face the fee."
Funny how people get things wrong. ACT's Seymour says that Tesla buyers will get all this money, but the announcement limits the EV/hybrid fees to cars below $80,000.
for what its worth, i must be too poor as i don't know many people who can afford that much for a car, but then i am proud proletariat and i know my place :).
What i am saying is that those that don't get tax rebates – are the ones that finance tax rebates generally the tax paying working public, many who are not in a financial position to take the government up on its offer. And in this announcement there is no mention of tax rebates for people that use public transport all year round, or those that have bought a decent bicycle to ride all year round. – Care to comment on that?
What it does is it affords a tax incentives to people that can buy an EV or lower emission vehicle in the time. Are you one of these people ? Because then you may are biased in your assumption.
Did you miss the bits where the funding for the rebates is going to come from fees loaded onto the highest emitting vehicles such as Ford Ranger Codpiece Editions? That the whole programme is set up to be zero cost to the government? That it only affects the cost to those buying freshly imported vehicles (new or used), that it will not have direct effects on the used vehicle market within NZ?
That is not at all what i missed. As i said, many that drive high emission vehicles are not forcibly in a postion to actually change their cars. For a starter. So yeah, again those that can't afford to buy a decent car get to subsidze those that don't need a hand out. Maybe they should have targeted the group that drives old and high emission vehicles with that incentives.
Did you miss where i advocate for tax rebates for people that commute? Have you got a comment to that? You know, incentives people out of gazz guzzlers or other cheap polluters by making public transport cheap?
Those not in a position to change their cars are completely unaffected by this emissions fee and rebate scheme. They can continue driving the cars they already have in exactly the same way they are doing now. Yes, you have completely missed that part of it.
Public transport users are already heavily subsidised, and very likely will continue to get ever more subsidies. Just by tweaking where NZTA spends money. Where does NZTA get its money? Almost entirely from road users. But that's a completely separate funding give and take from this emissions feebate scheme. And the way road users subsidise public transport users means there's already a pretty good argument the poor family from Otara that drives because public transport just can't work for their workplaces and schedules is already subsidising the hi-falutin mirror-glazed office denizens of central Auckland.
Where the money for public transport comes from
The NZ Transport Agency and public transport 2013The NZ Transport Agency’s investment in land transport comes mainly from the National Land Transport Fund (NLTF) – a three-year funding pool, currently at $9.3 billion. Other sources include local authorities, developers, landowners, and the Crown (government). These funding sources are combined and paid out on a three yearly basis through the National Land Transport Programme (NLTP).Who contributes to the NlTF?Anyone who owns or runs a motor vehicle invests in land transport, and therefore in public transport. New Zealand’s road users contribute to the $9.3 billion NLTF through fuel excise duty (around 52%), road user charges (39%), and motor vehicle registrations (6%). The rest comes from people who lease or buy state highway property. By law, NLTF money has to be invested in land transport.
snip
How we invest through the NlTP
Investments of more than $1.7 billion will be paid out through the 2012-15 NLTP for public transport services, infrastructure and planning. This amount is over 15% of the total NLTP, and includes the money from our regional and territorial authority partners.
We pay out 50% of the subsidy for urban buses, and between 40% and 60% of the subsidy for the Total Mobility scheme (help for people with impairments who cannot use public transport).
About 80% of all Tesla sales are Model 3s. You can get a new one of these in New Zealand for just under $70,000.
64% of all the new battery electric cars sold in New Zealand in March 2021 were model 3 Tesla vehicles. So a lot of Tesla buyers will certainly be cashing in. They won't get "all" the money but I would like to see your evidence that Seymour really made that statement and used those words. How about a link for him saying that?
Context should give you that I was quoting from the article that I was quoting higher in the comment which linked to the comments I made to Sabine' article available in her original comment.
I was wrong is saying all Teslas were outside the $70 grand range. There is a cheaper model at $69 grand so Seymour is not wrong.
There was a hefty price drop on Tesla models announced 19//4/21, less than a month ago dropping the entry model to below $70 grand.
Thank you for replying. No I didn't get any hint from the context, but I now see where you were getting it from. Seymour was coming close to your interpretation but it isn't that much divorced from the reality of the 64% numbers implication.
Thanks, Alwyn. How many EV or hybrids, bought in NZ are second-hand as opposed to new Teslas? I'm asking whether new Teslas are a significant part of total EV sales.
I have a second hand Leaf. Three people I know have the same. I know of no Teslas. One mechanical buff I know- I saw his EV today….. a second hand EV ute that he converted to be an EV from a petrol ute using a Leaf battery and some sort of lower-powered electric motor.
I'm not at all sure whether I am reading this correctly but if I am there were 427 more new-import pure EVs at the end of March than February and 256 more used-import EVs for the same period. That would seem to make New Tesla vehicles about half of all the EVs registered in the month.
I'm not sure where to get the number of used Tesla cars though. Be very cautious with my calculation though. I'm not at all sure on whether I am reading these numbers correctly.
I have noticed a great increase in the number of Tesla cars in Wellington this year. That probably is only due to the fact that a Tesla is very distinctive and I tend to notice them. I don't think I would recognize a Leaf at a glance.
We have a hybrid Camry and an ICE Jazz. We use about 4.6 l/100 Km in the Camry and 5.7 l/100 Km in the Jazz. The Jazz is all around town usage in a hilly Wellington. Those aren't too bad for fuel consumption really.
And thus you discuss me and the details of the money, and rest assured Mike Hoskins and his wife and their children could easily buy a car for each of them, rake in the 8700 max per vehicle and thus get 5 for the price of 4 all courtesy of those that actually pay taxes in this country.
Happy to discuss. You have an issue with Mike Hosking, which is why you can’t stop ranting about him. In fact, my diagnosis is that you have Mike Hosking Syndrome. And please leave his children out of your tirades; what have they done to you to deserve your scorn? A very low blow by anyone’s standard.
You obviously didn’t read the press release from Government on this announcement. Doesn’t surprise me, because ignorance is bliss, isn’t it?
“We’ve already committed to policies that will make a difference, like the Clean Car Import Standard, decarbonising the public transport bus fleet and revitalising rail, but we have to do more.
Surprisingly, there was nothing in the announcement either about the movie on the Christchurch mosque shootings, but maybe that was just an oversight or a deliberate omission by “Government and dear Green Co leader Shaw”, if you’re inclined that way, as you clearly are.
But then again, this announcement was on “Clean car package to drive down emissions”. PT is already heavily subsidised and you obviously didn’t know this or deliberately left it out of your comments because it obviously doesn’t suit your narrative.
… it is the poor NZ who needs a car because they have no public infrastructure what so ever that is subsidizing the schmucks in Wellington, and the million dollar burbs in Auckland.
Coming from you, calling them “schmucks” is quite something. Of course, your comments are completely disconnected from reality and it just shows your blind envy and hatred for people whom you don’t even know.
Or in words that some might understand better, The tax payer from South Auckland is financing a new car or several new family cars for the likes of Mike Hoskins and everyone in his ‘class’.
Oh, that’s right, only the poor pay taxes and the rich evade and avoid their dues. FYI, Mike Hosking has no class.
“Importantly the policy only applies to new and used cars arriving in New Zealand, so the existing second hand market of cars that lower income families tend to purchase from will not be affected.
Do you want NZ to become “a dumping ground for millions of "dirty second-hands"”.
Oh, that’s right, only the poor pay taxes and the rich evade and avoid their dues. FYI, Mike Hosking has no class.
“Importantly the policy only applies to new and used cars arriving in New Zealand, so the existing second hand market of cars that lower income families tend to purchase from will not be affected.
Do you want NZ to become “a dumping ground for millions of "dirty second-hands"”.
No Mike Hoskins is part of the 'Upper Class'. You or anyone else liking him or not has got nothing to do with that, that status is based on income and he has that income. Secondly, he and his wife are be financially flush enough to take the government up on this offer to buy a brandnew vehicle for each and everyone of their whanau and this will then be a nice discount if you can get it. – Or do you dispute that reality?
Next, NZ is already a dumping ground for millions of dirty second hands, as most Kiwis can't afford anything better, and this country does not builds its own vehicles. So by essence every vehicle is imported and NZ will thus become its burial ground. – Or do you dispute that reality?
As for who pays taxes in this country, are you now saying that the rich do pay their full share of taxes and thus we don't need to tax the rich? Because it is not the poor that depend on puplic transport that are being offered tax incentives to get out of their unwarrnated, unlisenced, dangerous cars that they drive because that is all they can afford, and that is the only transport they have due to systematically underfunding of the public transport. – Or do you dispute that reality?
I do hope that you are able to at least think a bit further then "labour good' everyone else who don't agree is bad. It makes you look deeply lazy and conformist.
The best way to get the roads free of cars for cyclists is to get people into public transport. And a really good way of doing that is to make it cheap, safe, fast, reliable and often. And by paying the people that drive the buses, and such a decent wage. Unless of course we are too broke for that.
Looking at the list of comments on the right hand side I realise that your icon is a nice colour Sabine, and you have so many there will soon be enough to wallpaper a small room.
I do hope that you are able to at least think a bit further then "labour good' everyone else who don't agree is bad. It makes you look deeply lazy and conformist.
You can read my mind like an open book, but you’re too illiterate to understand the words.
The best way to get the roads free of cars for cyclists is to get people into public transport. And a really good way of doing that is to make it cheap, safe, fast, reliable and often. And by paying the people that drive the buses, and such a decent wage. Unless of course we are too broke for that.
Do you know what zero cost to the Government means?
Do you know what “Clean car package to drive down emissions” means?
Do you think it has anything to do with saving the lives of penguins?
I don’t, which is why I stay on topic and you’re all over the place with your comments. It is not that people disagree with your opinions, it is that they have pointed out what you have missed and what you got wrong. Unfortunately, there’s quite a lot of it and sadly, you simply ignore it, as usual. You call yourself “proud proletariat” but your comments are not helping anybody.
I cannot dispute your ‘reality’ because it is all true, in your head.
I fear this is a policy being rapidly over run by events. Much cheaper electrics and hybrids are coming onto the market fast.
The whole of life cost of running electric and hybrid vehicles compares very very well with running an equivalent ICE vehicle. So much so that if you have the money (and a bit of solar on the roof makes it even better) frankly you are nuts to not buy electric unless there are range issues where a hybrid is the best answer. I simply would not have subsidised the high price vehicles – maybe a cap at around $32k if you have to do this at all. It would have been far better to do a smaller ongoing subsidy to lower the buy price for the cheap vehicle market with maybe some limited repayment through slightly higher rego. fees. You want the people who spend $5k to $15k on vehicles being able to get the lower running costs of small electrics not continuing to use ICE vehicles And with no run out market the new market for ICE cars is likely to collapse quite quickly.
This looks like a trickle down vehicle market where the wealthier get the subsidy and the poorer wait for the left overs.
As to fleet vehicles – given the economics I'd give about an 18mth grace period then wack them with the tax system if they haven't changed over from ICE.
I see that it only applies to plug in hybrids according to the news story
If a country with one of the highest vaccination rates on the planet is struggling with the Delta variant, imagine countries with low vaccine coverage.
It's just more evidence to get your jabs when they are offered to you.
With two doses of a coronavirus vaccine showing good protection against infection from the Delta variant, the government is seeking to get more jabs into arms. Currently, 55.4 per cent of the adult population has had two doses. (from the ft link in the tweet joe90 linked)
Dr. William Moss, executive director of the International Vaccine Access Center at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said the large share of those waiting for approval came as a surprise.
[…]
"Yes, it's kind of a formal stamp of approval, but I don't think it really provides much more than what we already know," he said. "We have more data on vaccine safety than with any other vaccine, even before the review of the full approval."
Here in the Waikato there is virtually no information being given out by the DHB for those of us in Group 3 except to say they will contact us. Been waiting since early May – not a dicky bird.
"Currently, 55.4 per cent of the adult population has had two doses".
Wouldn't it be wonderful if they could say the same about New Zealand? We are at about one tenth of that figure aren't we?
And wouldn't it be wonderful if we were actually being offered the jabs instead of being told, basically, Shut up and wait. Don't call us. We'll call you at some future time. Maybe.
Fuck me you're a clueless selfish whining twat, alwyn. Clue for the clueless: it’s not all about you.
You are not at risk of getting covid at the moment, unlike those in the UK or just about anywhere else.
Getting our population vaccinated will be a good thing economically for those reliant of foreign warm bodies arriving here, but really for just about everyone else here, economically it's ticking along similarly to how it would be without covid. A little bit of patience is in order.
"You are not at risk of getting covid at the moment".
Really? When we have thousands of people who have been in Melbourne and who are allowed back without any isolation at all I am entitled to be worried.
After all, Melbourne was meant to be safe too, wasn't it? Look how that has turned out? I am of an age, and with a suitably compromised state of health to be concerned. But you say that I'm not at risk and you know, or at least claim to know all about such things.
I can assure you that there is no way that I plan to take up your offer to "fuck you" as you so delicately put it. On the other hand I don't mind suggesting that you get fucked.
Their struggle could well become our struggle. The longer the virus runs rampant in unvaccinated people and populations with low vaccination rates, the higher the chances of new variants evolving that might be resistant to existing vaccines. Looker after Number One only is the most shortsighted thing to do, as it generally is anyway.
Making good progress in my burg. 0800 booking secures group 3's and over 50 Māori an appointment within a week and supply dependent after 4pm walk-ups, afaik all over 16's, are available.
Beggars belief that these top flight world leaders, including the queen, would be allowed to gather and hob- nob unfettered in this stinking plague pit.
Originally the delay between doses was three weeks IIRC. As was used for the phase 3 trials.
When the UK started running short with the AZ, they decided to delay the second dose to 12 weeks to free up those doses for other people to get their first dose. Since then, it seems they've decided the longer delay actually gives a better immune response. But now they're closing the gap between doses to try to get more people double-dosed as quickly as possible because of the new variants.
The Herne Bay set will be pleased with the government. Last week they got the billion dollar bike bridge to bayswater, this week they got a subsidised Tesla.
Sorry folks in the rest of Auckland where your roads have been cancelled and now your subsidising someone else’s Tesla.
Similar point made in an excellent Listener article this week, when they compared the 'bike bridge' to the private 'green school' funding. “The Greens cannot credibly claim to be the party most dedicated to the vulnerable and marginalised when they’re seduced into showboating projects such as this.”
“The Greens cannot credibly claim to be the party most dedicated to the vulnerable and marginalised when they’re seduced into showboating projects such as this.”
Intriguing quote Gypsy. I cancelled my Listener subscription earlier this year, so perhaps you could check for me – did the author(s) of that "excellent Listener article" happen to indicate which political party, if not the Greens, they think is "most dedicated to the vulnerable and marginalised"? Perhaps the Māori party?
They didn't pass that judgement, I'm afraid. I believe their point was to highlight the hypocrisy of paying for education and cycling for the wealthy while championing the cause of the downtrodden. You know, the old 'actions speak louder than words' thing?
So then it's possible that the Greens are (still) "the party most dedicated to the vulnerable and marginalised"? Disappointing that the author(s) didn't clarify what they believed in their otherwise "excellent article" – how difficult could it be?
The author(s) are right, of course: hypocrisy – there’s a lot of it about.
It's possible they still are. The authors point is that they may no longer be able to credibly claim to be. But to be fair you haven't read the article.
To be fair I made that clear, and the quote you provided is confirmation that the decision to cancel my Listener sub was a good one, so thanks for that.
"It's possible they still are." "…they may no longer be able…"
Still relatively good then – they’ve got my party vote until it’s shown that the Greens are no longer “the party most dedicated to the vulnerable and marginalised” – could be a looooong wait.
James Shaw accepted that, while there were green positives in relation to the green school, the funding model supported was a mistake.
Maybe we need more honest parties like the Greens in parliament.
Meanwhile gypsy you ignore all of the positive work being done by the Greens on climate change and poverty. Take s look at their proposal for a wealth tax for instance…. something Jacinda and Robertson are far to neo-liberal to contemplate.
Proposals are not 'positive work being done'. The funding of a school for the wealthy was an actual policy put into action and supported by the Green party.
No, Drowsy – just a light-weight, cheap shot at the Greens with no serious analysis of any party's social policy.
When Pamela Stirling became Editor of the Listener, Chris Trotter related in a recent post that she said that the Listener would cease being the mouthpiece of the Alliance Party. Chris then said she had since pretty well transformed it into a mouthpiece for the National Party.
I saw this editorial as confirming what Chris wrote.
You are misinformed or do have a selective memory.
“Just to be clear, never, ever was this a 100 per cent grant – not at all,” Chris Edwards, Green School New Zealand chief executive, said on Wednesday. “The application was for a 25 per cent grant – the rest was a series of loans.”
I didn't claim the school received a 100% grant. I described the money as 'funding'. James Shaw himself described the decision as an error of judgement, and went on to say this:
"So again I apologise. I apologise to parents, to teachers, to unions. I apologise to Green Party members who have been working tirelessly in their communities to make sure that the Green’s are a party the next Government and have felt demoralised by this decision. I apologise to the schools in Taranaki who quire rightfully want the best for their children. And I want you to know, all of you, that I have listened to your concerns."
Gypsy – you knew all that which you have just quoted, and that James Shaw had clearly stated that it was an error of judgement… Yet you sneakily used it to back up the Listener Editorial which I have described as a cheap shot, but which you described as 'excellent'.
I think we can all see where you are coming from, Gypsy.
… paying for education and cycling for the wealthy … [my italics]
Make of that what you will, but to me you were lying by omission to tell the full story, which would make you a hypocritical troll, in my book. This seems to a hallmark of commenters who have an engrained anti-Green Party bias. Quoting from a propaganda magazine that is not accessible to others here is very poor form but goes with the trolling, I guess.
The fee only occurs if you buy in a vehicle from overseas- cars already in NZ don't pay a fee. The fee occurs if you choose to buy a petrol /diesel car with more than low emissions.
You get a fee paid to you if you choose to buy a car that is new or second hand and it's an EV or a hybrid and costs less than $80,000.
You avoid paying a fee if you choose to buy a car with low emissions.
You neither pay or receive a fee if you choose an EV of hybrid costing over $80,000 or if you choose a low emissions vehicle.
There are choices. You can choose to subsidise, or not.
The bit about changes "that improved how investigations were managed" – were they part of the results from the suggested programme, or did the project take so long to get off the ground that other managers implemented a workaround that turned out to be better than the proposed project?
Or maybe it just took so long to get going that it became obsolete before it started lol.
I was unclear what all these groups needed to "investigate" or was it a dodge to cover up prying into the personal affairs of their fellow citizens without checks nd balances.
The 2 year delay at the start probably sunk it – they attempted to tender in 2016 and then the only company which met the requirements went into liquidation.
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Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
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http://metvuw.com/forecast/forecast.php?type=rain®ion=swp&noofdays=10
Anyone notice how little energy we're getting out of the southern ocean in terms of weather front formation?
The 10 day forecast through to 23 June shows slow moving Tasman lows, which is great for moisture (finally!), but not the deep southern energy that will bring snow and hence snow packs.
Yes, I certainly do notice that. It's been the case for a while now; at least, it's been patently obvious to those of us living in the far south; at first we said, "sleeping dragon', knowing it was just building, ready to burst upon us the way at always has done, only it doesn't any more; our weather is tame compared to what it was. Both encouraging and concerning at the same time.
Yeah, strange days in Whakatipu. I'm looking out my window at a green, sort of growing lawn, this time of year it would normally be browned off by the frost. Go onto a north facing hill and there's quite a bit of growth, and grazed out paddocks are coming back green after a week or so.
The way the forecast models are looking there's not going to be any change from this pattern until maybe early July, maybe… So no natural snow for southern skifields, and temperatures too warm for any meaningful snowmaking until after the school holidays.
This could get rather interesting around the town.
Same up here at ruapehu, freaky june weather, not complaining to much was good for shearing last week .
Usually the rock n roll weather starts after the shortest day ,but we haven't even had a taste of winter yet.
Apparently there is a anomaly around the Antarctic, saw a technical explanation I didn’t understand and didn’t talk about nearby land masses. Will see if I can find the tweets.
https://twitter.com/scottduncanwx/status/1403370165195128833?s=21
I hope that simply means our big cold hit is in August ie later, harder, and shorter.
Getting in training for the Hump Ridge for later.
There is an explanation by Ben Noll .
1 There is a strong polar vortex (pv)operating.
2 The pv is found when the southern oscillation is positive.
3 The exceptional cold anomaly in the Antarctic (-6.9c) moves all indicators the SH is around -0.6 and the global anomaly is 0.
https://twitter.com/BenNollWeather/status/1403719990394556422
yeah, its muggy alright, but sadly no drops are falling.
Build less, not more.
Yes.
With some exceptions to that rule. Projects pandering to my personal interests and hobbies is a good place to start
[typo fixed in e-mail address]
Build better, and build to need rather then status.
Build to need i agree (though what constitutes need will cause debate e.g. cycle bridges)….build in the knowledge that everything built creates emissions and consumes limited resources in its construction and importantly in its maintenance.
edit
And also build to last for just 50 years rather than the 100 years someone mentioned previously. Everything changes rapidly so be prepared with Plan B if a weather event happens or with a sea bridge, a ship loses steering or something and wipes out essential parts.
Think Picton – Mikhail Lermontov, Italy – dozy navigation also there etc. And possibly government-sponsored terrorism, Rainbow Warrior v France, USA v Iran. We are not immune from that even if we are dancing away from Covid19.
"And also build to last for just 50 years rather than the 100 years"
Are you sure you have that the way round you intended?
That upcoming Hollywood treatment of the Christchurch massacre
I wonder if they'll show the dramatic sequel involving Chelsea Clinton at the vigil in New York….
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-17/hillary-clintons-daughter-accused-of-stoking-islamophobia/10909366
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faiK4M7LXc4
Kim Jon Un wants to crack down hard on anyone listening to K-Pop with hard labour and work camps.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/music/300331611/kim-jong-un-calls-kpop-a-vicious-cancer-that-merits-work-camp-execution
I used to have thoughts like that whenever Rick Astley and anyone out of the Stock Aitken and Waterman school of mid 1980s music was pushed into my ears in a supermarket.
But helpfully I didn't run the country at the time.
Could Kim Jong Un send Chance the Rapper to a labour camp? He might learn to write something witty and clever there?
Could Kim Jong Un send Chance the Rapper to a labour camp? He might learn to write something witty there.
In your case, mozzie, I think we'd be happy to find you somewhere you could learn to just post once, before progressing to something much much more difficult such as wit (relatively speaking).
Baby steps.
Ah yes.
You can be sure to be well informed by reading the entertainment sector of any publication. That's for sure.
These are the women that women and concerned men should be advocating for:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/444596/homeless-women-more-likely-than-men-to-be-younger-maori-and-sole-parents-study
The Otago University research analysed data of nearly 400 men and women who were homeless before being re-housed by Housing First services…
"To address the issue to the best of our ability, we need to know more about the different experiences of different groups, and that includes women.
"In New Zealand, about 50 percent of our overall homeless population are women, which is internationally quite rare…
Women had an average of 2.6 children, while men had an average of 1.6 children..
Four out of every five women were Māori while for men, two thirds were Māori
Dr Fraser said the statistics showed the welfare system was not working.
"It really just shows our benefits aren't high enough. They need to be higher, they need to be easier to access.
"These are really vulnerable people and their children deserve the best possible start in life that they can, but they're clearly not getting that if their mums are so stressed out and needing that wrap-around housing support."
Such a kind and gentle government.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/the-feebate-govt-confirms-rebates-for-buyers-of-electric-cars-but-petrol-car-buyers-will-cop-it/TEJ3V5CF72YFTT5NPQTOWJ3AAE/
i guess they set 'affordable' until it hits 79.999.99 NZD……..oh boy.
Well i guess the new minimum wage will making the buying of such a car within a year totally affordable. Totally. Or else those making that amount should just cycle from South Auckland to their jobs. But then maybe when all those that can not afford to buy a new car between now and Jan 2022 are to be 'fined' out of car ownership, rather then 'incentivised in' via cheap to free and punctual, safe and regular public transport. Something we are still not able to provide pretty much anywhere in the country.
But i hope that the Middleclass in NZ that changes things is very happy and pleased and totally not ashamed of the fact that the lower class is financing their Middle Class status to great measure. Maybe Labour needs to rename itself the "Middle Class Party of Aotearo".
And last but least, read the article to the end, and realise that not word not one pixle was used on 'bicycles, or buses, or trams, or any other form of public transport'. It is not the 'tradies subsidizing teslas', it is the poor NZ who needs a car because they have no public infrastructure what so ever that is subsidizing the schmucks in Wellington, and the million dollar burbs in Auckland.
Or in words that some might understand better, The tax payer from South Auckland is financing a new car or several new family cars for the likes of Mike Hoskins and everyone in his ‘class’. The Upper Class. The Middle class gets a treat for buying the used cars of the likes of Mike Hoskins, and the proletariat is financing all of it.
Did you know the median household income p.a.in Auckland in 2020 is $140,000, for rest of NZ its $114,000
yes no one can afford at $15,000 car at all
No I don't know that.
Stats NZ (link to Excel sheet on this page) sez the median gross household income for Auckland year ended 30 June 2020 was $104,821 – and the mean gross household income was $128,138.
But yeah, plenty of opportunity there for $15,000 cars. Or even a $50,000 car every few years. It might just need a sacrifice of a few expensive holidays.
There’s a lot of pent-up money because people had to cancel their overseas holidays in 2020 and also this year. So, let’s spend it on a Tesla or some other vital material wealth.
Gotta admit, every now and then I sneak a fantasy peek at Tesla's NZ inventory list. They seem to be shifting them a lot faster now than even just a few months back, let alone last year.
We all have our weaknesses but mine is not Teslas, I have to confess.
https://ecoprofile.infometrics.co.nz/auckland/StandardOfLiving/Household_Income
Infometrics would use official information – the link is a time series table and easier to read without Excel
Your infometrics link says mean household income, not median.
It doesn't say where it gets its information from – I wouldn't assume anything about where it comes from.
Sabine this was a Green Policy which was stymied by NZ First. It is designed to encourage the greater buying of electric and hybrid vehicles by those who can make the choice, as most of us have never purchased a new car and need more second hand choices.
In your usual fashion you poke the Government instead of looking at the intended outcomes James Shaw and Julie Anne Genter were aiming for. There is so much bile in your system it is clouding your judgement and causing many to be turned off posting, but then that is perhaps your goal? There is no suggested "Other" way.. just bile.
What got left out of Sabine's critique of the article might be important.
"and about $3,500 for used cars."
"Rebates of up to $3,450 will be given to those who buy used electric cars and $2,300 for plug-in hybrids. From January, smaller rebates will also be offered to buyers of other low emission cars."
"Wood said those fees would not apply to cars already in the country, which meant low-income families who relied on cheaper second-hand cars would not face the fee."
"Petrol cars with lower emissions – such as a Toyota Rav 4 or Suzuki Vitara – would not face fees."
Thank you for adding that; it obviously didn’t fit her usual vitriolic
rantnarrative.yes, it does.
It means that people that have the means get government tax rebates as per the cars the y buy.
As i said Incognito
The rich can get up to 8700 NZD per vehicle they purchase, the not so rich can get a few grand less, and the rest of the country that can't afford a used or a new electric or hybrid vehicle and is dependend on an old gasguzzler get to pay for the boondoogle.
And not a single word and pixle was extended to the announcment of the Government and dear Green Co leader Shaw to the tax rebates commuters that use public transport will get with the purchase of an annual bus ticket. – Got any comment to that?
And thus you discuss me and the details of the money, and rest assured Mike Hoskins and his wife and their children could easily buy a car for each of them, rake in the 8700 max per vehicle and thus get 5 for the price of 4 all courtesy of those that actually pay taxes in this country.
Good grief, this is the best national government we could get. Maybe that is why it is so appreciated by Middle Nuzilind.
This government should do nothing because someone will miss out according to sabine
No, this government should be looking at being fair.
So this particular announcement should have been coupled with an announcement for the many that use public transports. Tax rebates for both.
Is that really so hard to understand?
Disclaimer, i don't own a car, never did. I am a public transport user, a walker, a cycler, i ride share etc.
So in my opinion this announcement will do very little to encourage people that don't have the money to buy up and into a better car generation to use buses and trains instead. But i guess that was never the point. It is however nice to know that we are not so broke as a country to not give away a few tax incentives to people who already aren't known for paying much taxes.
You forgot about 'the nurses'…. early starts late finishes and all that
Sabine asseverates, "the rest of the country that can't afford a used or a new electric or hybrid vehicle and is dependent on an old gasguzzler get to pay for the boondoogle."
The article Sabine quotes says "Petrol cars with lower emissions – such as a Toyota Rav 4 or Suzuki Vitara – would not face fees." They don't pay for the boondoogle. Nor do people who keep their cars, gas guzzlers or no.
The article also says that those who buy a car already in the country do not pay the fee- "low-income families who relied on cheaper second-hand cars would not face the fee."
Funny how people get things wrong. ACT's Seymour says that Tesla buyers will get all this money, but the announcement limits the EV/hybrid fees to cars below $80,000.
and you will have seen that i mentioned the price ticket. You can get some nice cars for 79.999
according to this the cheapest comes in at 49.900
https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/evs/124395353/lowest-to-highest-every-new-electric-car-you-can-buy-in-nz-in-2021
for what its worth, i must be too poor as i don't know many people who can afford that much for a car, but then i am proud proletariat and i know my place :).
What i am saying is that those that don't get tax rebates – are the ones that finance tax rebates generally the tax paying working public, many who are not in a financial position to take the government up on its offer. And in this announcement there is no mention of tax rebates for people that use public transport all year round, or those that have bought a decent bicycle to ride all year round. – Care to comment on that?
What it does is it affords a tax incentives to people that can buy an EV or lower emission vehicle in the time. Are you one of these people ? Because then you may are biased in your assumption.
Did you miss the bits where the funding for the rebates is going to come from fees loaded onto the highest emitting vehicles such as Ford Ranger Codpiece Editions? That the whole programme is set up to be zero cost to the government? That it only affects the cost to those buying freshly imported vehicles (new or used), that it will not have direct effects on the used vehicle market within NZ?
That is not at all what i missed. As i said, many that drive high emission vehicles are not forcibly in a postion to actually change their cars. For a starter. So yeah, again those that can't afford to buy a decent car get to subsidze those that don't need a hand out. Maybe they should have targeted the group that drives old and high emission vehicles with that incentives.
Did you miss where i advocate for tax rebates for people that commute? Have you got a comment to that? You know, incentives people out of gazz guzzlers or other cheap polluters by making public transport cheap?
Those not in a position to change their cars are completely unaffected by this emissions fee and rebate scheme. They can continue driving the cars they already have in exactly the same way they are doing now. Yes, you have completely missed that part of it.
Public transport users are already heavily subsidised, and very likely will continue to get ever more subsidies. Just by tweaking where NZTA spends money. Where does NZTA get its money? Almost entirely from road users. But that's a completely separate funding give and take from this emissions feebate scheme. And the way road users subsidise public transport users means there's already a pretty good argument the poor family from Otara that drives because public transport just can't work for their workplaces and schedules is already subsidising the hi-falutin mirror-glazed office denizens of central Auckland.
Most public transport is heavily subsidized
Oppd I see Andre beat me to it with a far better effort
Thanks mac1; as good as Readers Digest's "How to increase your word power."
About 80% of all Tesla sales are Model 3s. You can get a new one of these in New Zealand for just under $70,000.
64% of all the new battery electric cars sold in New Zealand in March 2021 were model 3 Tesla vehicles. So a lot of Tesla buyers will certainly be cashing in. They won't get "all" the money but I would like to see your evidence that Seymour really made that statement and used those words. How about a link for him saying that?
My links are
https://yourcar.co.nz/new-car-quotes/tesla-model-3-342/spec
https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/evs/124764306/these-are-the-most-popular-electric-and-electrified-vehicles-in-nz
Context should give you that I was quoting from the article that I was quoting higher in the comment which linked to the comments I made to Sabine' article available in her original comment.
I was wrong is saying all Teslas were outside the $70 grand range. There is a cheaper model at $69 grand so Seymour is not wrong.
There was a hefty price drop on Tesla models announced 19//4/21, less than a month ago dropping the entry model to below $70 grand.
Thank you for replying. No I didn't get any hint from the context, but I now see where you were getting it from. Seymour was coming close to your interpretation but it isn't that much divorced from the reality of the 64% numbers implication.
Thanks, Alwyn. How many EV or hybrids, bought in NZ are second-hand as opposed to new Teslas? I'm asking whether new Teslas are a significant part of total EV sales.
I have a second hand Leaf. Three people I know have the same. I know of no Teslas. One mechanical buff I know- I saw his EV today….. a second hand EV ute that he converted to be an EV from a petrol ute using a Leaf battery and some sort of lower-powered electric motor.
I'm not at all sure whether I am reading this correctly but if I am there were 427 more new-import pure EVs at the end of March than February and 256 more used-import EVs for the same period. That would seem to make New Tesla vehicles about half of all the EVs registered in the month.
I'm not sure where to get the number of used Tesla cars though. Be very cautious with my calculation though. I'm not at all sure on whether I am reading these numbers correctly.
https://www.transport.govt.nz/statistics-and-insights/fleet-statistics/sheet/monthly-ev-statistics
I have noticed a great increase in the number of Tesla cars in Wellington this year. That probably is only due to the fact that a Tesla is very distinctive and I tend to notice them. I don't think I would recognize a Leaf at a glance.
We have a hybrid Camry and an ICE Jazz. We use about 4.6 l/100 Km in the Camry and 5.7 l/100 Km in the Jazz. The Jazz is all around town usage in a hilly Wellington. Those aren't too bad for fuel consumption really.
Happy to discuss. You have an issue with Mike Hosking, which is why you can’t stop ranting about him. In fact, my diagnosis is that you have Mike Hosking Syndrome. And please leave his children out of your tirades; what have they done to you to deserve your scorn? A very low blow by anyone’s standard.
You obviously didn’t read the press release from Government on this announcement. Doesn’t surprise me, because ignorance is bliss, isn’t it?
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/clean-car-package-drive-down-emissions
Surprisingly, there was nothing in the announcement either about the movie on the Christchurch mosque shootings, but maybe that was just an oversight or a deliberate omission by “Government and dear Green Co leader Shaw”, if you’re inclined that way, as you clearly are.
But then again, this announcement was on “Clean car package to drive down emissions”. PT is already heavily subsidised and you obviously didn’t know this or deliberately left it out of your comments because it obviously doesn’t suit your narrative.
Coming from you, calling them “schmucks” is quite something. Of course, your comments are completely disconnected from reality and it just shows your blind envy and hatred for people whom you don’t even know.
Oh, that’s right, only the poor pay taxes and the rich evade and avoid their dues. FYI, Mike Hosking has no class.
Do you want NZ to become “a dumping ground for millions of "dirty second-hands"”.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/06/nz-risks-becoming-dumping-ground-for-dirty-petrol-cars-if-ban-comes-too-late-climate-change-minister-james-shaw.html
I’d rather listen to dear Mr Shaw than the reckons of an ignorant simpleton. Any time.
Bye bye for now, I’ve got work to do.
No Mike Hoskins is part of the 'Upper Class'. You or anyone else liking him or not has got nothing to do with that, that status is based on income and he has that income. Secondly, he and his wife are be financially flush enough to take the government up on this offer to buy a brandnew vehicle for each and everyone of their whanau and this will then be a nice discount if you can get it. – Or do you dispute that reality?
Next, NZ is already a dumping ground for millions of dirty second hands, as most Kiwis can't afford anything better, and this country does not builds its own vehicles. So by essence every vehicle is imported and NZ will thus become its burial ground. – Or do you dispute that reality?
As for who pays taxes in this country, are you now saying that the rich do pay their full share of taxes and thus we don't need to tax the rich? Because it is not the poor that depend on puplic transport that are being offered tax incentives to get out of their unwarrnated, unlisenced, dangerous cars that they drive because that is all they can afford, and that is the only transport they have due to systematically underfunding of the public transport. – Or do you dispute that reality?
I do hope that you are able to at least think a bit further then "labour good' everyone else who don't agree is bad. It makes you look deeply lazy and conformist.
The best way to get the roads free of cars for cyclists is to get people into public transport. And a really good way of doing that is to make it cheap, safe, fast, reliable and often. And by paying the people that drive the buses, and such a decent wage. Unless of course we are too broke for that.
Looking at the list of comments on the right hand side I realise that your icon is a nice colour Sabine, and you have so many there will soon be enough to wallpaper a small room.
You can read my mind like an open book, but you’re too illiterate to understand the words.
Do you know what zero cost to the Government means?
Do you know what “Clean car package to drive down emissions” means?
Do you think it has anything to do with saving the lives of penguins?
I don’t, which is why I stay on topic and you’re all over the place with your comments. It is not that people disagree with your opinions, it is that they have pointed out what you have missed and what you got wrong. Unfortunately, there’s quite a lot of it and sadly, you simply ignore it, as usual. You call yourself “proud proletariat” but your comments are not helping anybody.
I cannot dispute your ‘reality’ because it is all true, in your head.
I fear this is a policy being rapidly over run by events. Much cheaper electrics and hybrids are coming onto the market fast.
The whole of life cost of running electric and hybrid vehicles compares very very well with running an equivalent ICE vehicle. So much so that if you have the money (and a bit of solar on the roof makes it even better) frankly you are nuts to not buy electric unless there are range issues where a hybrid is the best answer. I simply would not have subsidised the high price vehicles – maybe a cap at around $32k if you have to do this at all. It would have been far better to do a smaller ongoing subsidy to lower the buy price for the cheap vehicle market with maybe some limited repayment through slightly higher rego. fees. You want the people who spend $5k to $15k on vehicles being able to get the lower running costs of small electrics not continuing to use ICE vehicles And with no run out market the new market for ICE cars is likely to collapse quite quickly.
This looks like a trickle down vehicle market where the wealthier get the subsidy and the poorer wait for the left overs.
As to fleet vehicles – given the economics I'd give about an 18mth grace period then wack them with the tax system if they haven't changed over from ICE.
I see that it only applies to plug in hybrids according to the news story
If a country with one of the highest vaccination rates on the planet is struggling with the Delta variant, imagine countries with low vaccine coverage.
https://twitter.com/jburnmurdoch/status/1403423583641210880
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1403423583641210880.html
Yes, I saw that speculated yesterday. 90% of the new infections are all Delta Variant. The fucking virus is not finished yet with us humans.
It's just more evidence to get your jabs when they are offered to you.
And there goes the but more data…
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation's latest vaccine monitor report, nearly a third — 32% — of unvaccinated adults are waiting for full FDA approval of a vaccine before getting it.
Dr. William Moss, executive director of the International Vaccine Access Center at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said the large share of those waiting for approval came as a surprise.
[…]
"Yes, it's kind of a formal stamp of approval, but I don't think it really provides much more than what we already know," he said. "We have more data on vaccine safety than with any other vaccine, even before the review of the full approval."
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/full-fda-approval-drive-covid-19-vaccinations-experts/story?id=78048166
Trying hard to organise my vaccination but best case scenario is currently second week of August.
This is Auckland Central.
Meanwhile…
Here in the Waikato there is virtually no information being given out by the DHB for those of us in Group 3 except to say they will contact us. Been waiting since early May – not a dicky bird.
When …….
right. 🙂
"Currently, 55.4 per cent of the adult population has had two doses".
Wouldn't it be wonderful if they could say the same about New Zealand? We are at about one tenth of that figure aren't we?
And wouldn't it be wonderful if we were actually being offered the jabs instead of being told, basically, Shut up and wait. Don't call us. We'll call you at some future time. Maybe.
Fuck me you're a clueless selfish whining twat, alwyn. Clue for the clueless: it’s not all about you.
You are not at risk of getting covid at the moment, unlike those in the UK or just about anywhere else.
Getting our population vaccinated will be a good thing economically for those reliant of foreign warm bodies arriving here, but really for just about everyone else here, economically it's ticking along similarly to how it would be without covid. A little bit of patience is in order.
"You are not at risk of getting covid at the moment".
Really? When we have thousands of people who have been in Melbourne and who are allowed back without any isolation at all I am entitled to be worried.
After all, Melbourne was meant to be safe too, wasn't it? Look how that has turned out? I am of an age, and with a suitably compromised state of health to be concerned. But you say that I'm not at risk and you know, or at least claim to know all about such things.
I can assure you that there is no way that I plan to take up your offer to "fuck you" as you so delicately put it. On the other hand I don't mind suggesting that you get fucked.
Alwyn, you sound almost sick with worry – I for one hope you pull through.
Andre
Their struggle could well become our struggle. The longer the virus runs rampant in unvaccinated people and populations with low vaccination rates, the higher the chances of new variants evolving that might be resistant to existing vaccines. Looker after Number One only is the most shortsighted thing to do, as it generally is anyway.
Making good progress in my burg. 0800 booking secures group 3's and over 50 Māori an appointment within a week and supply dependent after 4pm walk-ups, afaik all over 16's, are available.
Where do you live? Nobody in Wellington seems to have the faintest idea when over 75's are going to get the option?
Perhaps I can move into your neighborhood.
Whanganui.
UK….is struggling with the Delta variant … but in Cornwall,
luckily, G7 attendees appear immune.
Beggars belief that these top flight world leaders, including the queen, would be allowed to gather and hob- nob unfettered in this stinking plague pit.
Have they not heard of Zoom?
Bets on how many of them aren't fully jabbed?
Bojo might be one, having had it, but I'm betting the others were near the top of the queue.
"others were near the top of the queue."
You mean like all the many and varied Health Ministers, and Covid 19 Minister we seem to have who were getting done back in March.
Yes.
I do mean like that.
BloJo got his first late March. It's AZ, so he's probably close to getting his second.
Merkel mid-March with AZ, dunno about second dose
Biden second dose of Pfizer in January.
Trudeau first dose AZ late April
Macron says he's been vaccinated but haven't found further details
Suga fully vaccinated with Pfizer early April
Draghi got first AZ jab end of March.
So mostly not fully vaccinated.
how long before the second dose with AZ? Didn't think it was all that long, but haven't been looking too closely.
Originally the delay between doses was three weeks IIRC. As was used for the phase 3 trials.
When the UK started running short with the AZ, they decided to delay the second dose to 12 weeks to free up those doses for other people to get their first dose. Since then, it seems they've decided the longer delay actually gives a better immune response. But now they're closing the gap between doses to try to get more people double-dosed as quickly as possible because of the new variants.
Dunno what other countries are doing.
interesting.
Zoom's for ordinary people. And red-shirts.
https://twitter.com/kevinguilfoile/status/1403376339319668736
https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/covid-19-outbreakcloses-hotel-hosting-g7-summit-delegation-2021-06-10/
Children's learning game – Which one is not like the others? Interesting about red shirts joe90 – hadn't known that and funny (not) in this context.
They do look as if they've just been beamed down. Using Tesla Star Transport I presume.
The Herne Bay set will be pleased with the government. Last week they got the billion dollar bike bridge to bayswater, this week they got a subsidised Tesla.
Sorry folks in the rest of Auckland where your roads have been cancelled and now your subsidising someone else’s Tesla.
Herne Bay has resisted the shared path for over a decade.
Herne Bay people don't stoop to a car worth only $80k.
Try a different suburb for imagined grievance.
Similar point made in an excellent Listener article this week, when they compared the 'bike bridge' to the private 'green school' funding. “The Greens cannot credibly claim to be the party most dedicated to the vulnerable and marginalised when they’re seduced into showboating projects such as this.”
Intriguing quote Gypsy. I cancelled my Listener subscription earlier this year, so perhaps you could check for me – did the author(s) of that "excellent Listener article" happen to indicate which political party, if not the Greens, they think is "most dedicated to the vulnerable and marginalised"? Perhaps the Māori party?
They didn't pass that judgement, I'm afraid. I believe their point was to highlight the hypocrisy of paying for education and cycling for the wealthy while championing the cause of the downtrodden. You know, the old 'actions speak louder than words' thing?
So then it's possible that the Greens are (still) "the party most dedicated to the vulnerable and marginalised"? Disappointing that the author(s) didn't clarify what they believed in their otherwise "excellent article" – how difficult could it be?
The author(s) are right, of course: hypocrisy – there’s a lot of it about.
It's possible they still are. The authors point is that they may no longer be able to credibly claim to be. But to be fair you haven't read the article.
To be fair I made that clear, and the quote you provided is confirmation that the decision to cancel my Listener sub was a good one, so thanks for that.
Still relatively good then – they’ve got my party vote until it’s shown that the Greens are no longer “the party most dedicated to the vulnerable and marginalised” – could be a looooong wait.
Fair enough. At the moment mine will cancel yours out, but heh, you never know.
James Shaw accepted that, while there were green positives in relation to the green school, the funding model supported was a mistake.
Maybe we need more honest parties like the Greens in parliament.
Meanwhile gypsy you ignore all of the positive work being done by the Greens on climate change and poverty. Take s look at their proposal for a wealth tax for instance…. something Jacinda and Robertson are far to neo-liberal to contemplate.
I don’t want to derail this thread, but I’m curious how you found the new Cromwell-Clyde ride.
If you do reply, feel free to make it a standalone comment 😉
It was excellent.
You need an ebike or you have to be super fit. We rode the whole way from old Cromwell which is 43k and took 4 hours with stops.
You can start a few km closer to Cromwell amongst the vineyards at Bannockburn.
We had a car at each end. Friends have swapped keys at the half-way point.
Olivers is excellent for a beer/fud at the end.
The only downside is the noise of the traffic on the road across the lake.
Ta
Proposals are not 'positive work being done'. The funding of a school for the wealthy was an actual policy put into action and supported by the Green party.
No, Drowsy – just a light-weight, cheap shot at the Greens with no serious analysis of any party's social policy.
When Pamela Stirling became Editor of the Listener, Chris Trotter related in a recent post that she said that the Listener would cease being the mouthpiece of the Alliance Party. Chris then said she had since pretty well transformed it into a mouthpiece for the National Party.
I saw this editorial as confirming what Chris wrote.
You are misinformed or do have a selective memory.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/122640790/green-schools-117m-from-govt-never-ever-been-a-100-per-cent-grant-ce-says
I didn't claim the school received a 100% grant. I described the money as 'funding'. James Shaw himself described the decision as an error of judgement, and went on to say this:
"So again I apologise. I apologise to parents, to teachers, to unions. I apologise to Green Party members who have been working tirelessly in their communities to make sure that the Green’s are a party the next Government and have felt demoralised by this decision. I apologise to the schools in Taranaki who quire rightfully want the best for their children. And I want you to know, all of you, that I have listened to your concerns."
Gypsy – you knew all that which you have just quoted, and that James Shaw had clearly stated that it was an error of judgement… Yet you sneakily used it to back up the Listener Editorial which I have described as a cheap shot, but which you described as 'excellent'.
I think we can all see where you are coming from, Gypsy.
You said this:
Make of that what you will, but to me you were lying by omission to tell the full story, which would make you a hypocritical troll, in my book. This seems to a hallmark of commenters who have an engrained anti-Green Party bias. Quoting from a propaganda magazine that is not accessible to others here is very poor form but goes with the trolling, I guess.
The fee only occurs if you buy in a vehicle from overseas- cars already in NZ don't pay a fee. The fee occurs if you choose to buy a petrol /diesel car with more than low emissions.
You get a fee paid to you if you choose to buy a car that is new or second hand and it's an EV or a hybrid and costs less than $80,000.
You avoid paying a fee if you choose to buy a car with low emissions.
You neither pay or receive a fee if you choose an EV of hybrid costing over $80,000 or if you choose a low emissions vehicle.
There are choices. You can choose to subsidise, or not.
Some people don’t like others having choices because it is only fair if all people have the same choices. They’re living in Fantasy Land.
This sounds interesting though i haven't as yet read it.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/444634/internal-affairs-intelligence-and-investigation-system-panned
It set out in 2013 to set up a system that let investigators in five different units share intelligence.
"The ultimate outcome… will be to enable efficient single and multi-unit investigations," it said.
Instead, after a series of hurdles, eight years on it has spent about $2 million on the intelligence side of things.
Obvious why it didn't work – they hadn't spent enough millions on it! Everyone else just pours the $ on, with a cherry on top. /sarc
Heh, interesting.
The bit about changes "that improved how investigations were managed" – were they part of the results from the suggested programme, or did the project take so long to get off the ground that other managers implemented a workaround that turned out to be better than the proposed project?
Or maybe it just took so long to get going that it became obsolete before it started lol.
I was unclear what all these groups needed to "investigate" or was it a dodge to cover up prying into the personal affairs of their fellow citizens without checks nd balances.
Any ideas anyone?
Depends on the units involved. They mentioned passports, so there's one aspect. There's also financial stuff, like gambling, lotteries, and some international financing/laundering regulations.
The 2 year delay at the start probably sunk it – they attempted to tender in 2016 and then the only company which met the requirements went into liquidation.
To Ben Purua and all others who have and will turn their lives around: RESPECT!
Kia kaha
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/125383822/ben-purua-went-to-prison-for-manslaughter-at-16–farming-has-changed-his-life