I'm not really a rugby fan (or indeed, sports in general) – but from all accounts that was an outstanding win for the Black Ferns in the Women's Rugby World Cup last night.
Family and friends who had tickets are raving about the game – a nail-biter to the finish – and where both sides played their hearts out.
Correct. NZ would probably have lost to a full strength English side. The same goes for their game against France in the semis. A couple of fortuitous calls saw them progress to the finals. That said, luck is always in play regardless of the sport. And lady luck smiled benevolently on our ladies last night. I think to be competitive in the future we will need a new generation of faster and stronger forwards. Women’s rugby is now hardcore. With that goes higher expectations.
Yes, but … they are two dimensional. A dominant forward pack and a very good backline. But they lack the link play that comes with more mobile loose forwards, thus can be taken in a faster pace game. It was a little hidden because they were the first team to go professional and thus were fit. But now France and New Zealand have their measure (as will a professional Canada). They will not get to 30 games again.
Apparently the physical stats of rugby players is important. That's why they are often quoted in media coverage. That's why the pro rugby sites usually carry stats of players on their roster.
Why should the weight of male players be available and the females ones not?
True – however one does have to be careful with celebrity sportspeople. I was one of a busload of Labour people who went down to Wellington to canvass for Chris Laidlaw in the Wellington Central by-election, He won, but by the time the General election rolled around he had alienated almost everyone on his LEC and the Nats put up a smart, liberal woman who ran a good campaign and won the seat. He does seem to have learned from that and has prevailed on the Regional Council, but I have been cautious of the "celebrity" factor ever since.
Laidlaw fell out with the public over a reorganisation of the Wellington bus services while head of the WRC and quit at the 2019 election. He wasn't the favourite Local Body politician in Wellington after the "bustastrophe" as it was labelled.
… new online survey created as part of Auckland Council’s investigation into future options for people wanting to drive, walk, cycle, transport freight, take the bus or travel by light rail across the Waitematā Harbour. [my italics]
Any big project like that is always a partnership of some sort between central and local govt. Brown's recent desperate chestbeating is too insignificant to shape the ongoing governance of the project. The Minister knows that.
They were promoting this down at Smales Farm markets this morning Michael Wood was in attendance with young son.
How many years have governments/councils been talking about an additional harbour crossing and what have seen apart from untold millions spent on consultants ….. nada.
Mt Cook Salmon's construction crew would have a walking cycling bridge across that harbour in six weeks or less – for less than $500k. Folk who get things done.
What is the point of the survey indeed. Mayor Brown will have no say in it other than probably to oppose it in the RLTP due to the massive knock-on spending the tunnel will require of AC in consequent local road and utilities upgrades.
If Labour get back in they will accelerate light rail and make harbour crossing the second cab off the rank.
If National gets it light rail is dead and harbour crossing gets accelerated.
Both jobs require international conglomerates to construct and likely to fund.
Renegotiating the central/local share of the CRL (50/50) to be more like the Let's Get Wellington Moving programme (60/40) would give the Minister more leverage over other projects like this third harbour crossing.
CRL has not released the updated costs of the project to the council or the share holding ministers,the release was delayed till after the elections,and further delays to increases in the cost of money.
Treasury projections (risk models) have increased the cost to over 6b$,which Labour will not want on its balance sheet prior to the elections,along with problematic issues on the length of the debt bonds and cost.
CRL is the problem at the moment with the information constraints.The Treasury financial models for the project includes cost to date,additional work signaled including financials to date (borrowing costs)
The problematic issue is where the costs will lie,fully on the government books,with dual problems from Housing corp ( debt blowout and value depreciation).When AT gets the hit ,it is ACC that sees the full debt costings on their books,over 11.5b$ now and increasing as bonds roll over without additional spending.
Let's see if Mayor Brown can prize open the books of our biggest alliance. Crown still has 51% but much of the asset falls into Auckland Council so the liability is also going to be theirs. I expect this is the very last time Auckland Council does this kind of partnership.
The Auditor generals report did little to provide confidence in that,despite saying nice things about no things with the significant co governance issues.
3.61
CRL Ltd is currently assessing the Covid-19 pandemic's impact on the CRL project's time frame and costs. CRL Ltd has publicly advised that it has a pending claim for additional costs from the Link Alliance for matters related to the Covid-19 pandemic. The claim covers the period from 20 June 2020 to 31 December 2021.
The CRL Ltd Board is accountable for successfully completing the CRL project. However, it does not have authority over all the work needed to achieve this, such as the wider network improvements that Auckland Transport and KiwiRail are responsible for.
In 2019, the Delivery Partner Steering Committee was set up. The Committee is a forum for senior managers from five agencies to co-ordinate the works that the delivery partners (CRL Ltd, Auckland Transport, and KiwiRail) need to complete for the rail system to operate effectively on opening day.
However, I am not yet satisfied that there is an effective forum for the delivery partners' governing Boards to resolve issues that the Delivery Partners Steering Committee cannot.
In my view, as the CRL project moves into its next phase, there needs to be effective and timely processes that enable the delivery partners' governing Boards to help with resolving problems and take the "best for Auckland" approach that the Sponsors require.
Significance suggests that the model does not work,with too many interacting agencies,with their own agendas (KPI controlled) , poor accounting both from the Alliance and from the agencies
Reply to Observer from their comment in ''Equality For The Black Ferns'':
No, we aren't in a better place. Much of this brave new world has a ''forced'' feel about it; egged on by wokey media. Under the surface hate and mistrust boils. That's my opinion. The upcoming election will prove me either right or wrong.
Talking of war, the Taiwanese people are facing the reality of having to fight for their homeland and democracy. We shit over our democracy; both in the past and present. Taiwan holds their democracy dear. They only have to look across the straight to see how a country devoid of democracy functions. We have no such template making us ruminate and appreciate what we have, and what we potentially may lose.
This seems an unbelievable and utterly 'cutting one's nose off to spite ones face' move. Mind you in the South where sheepdogs decked in blue ribbons sit on mailboxes getting all the votes, the home of Groundswell and the lovely placards, it is not perhaps all that amazing.
Until we see the SDC report I guess we won't know what else, other than pure politics, is behind this rejection. It seems fiendishly short sighted to me.
I don't have enough information to form an opinion. I doubt the turbines were rejected for political reasons. So that would leave, for whatever reason, problems with the placement of these turbines. No big loss in my opinion. Having travelled in the Wairarapa recently and seen the visual pollution wind turbines have created, the Islanders may have dodged a bullet.
Most carbon efficient in the world doesn't mean shit if it's not reducing GHGs fast enough. Just because other countries are worse, doesn't mean NZ is good. Your argument is a form of climate denial.
When it comes to farming, we have the one of the lowest emission rates in the world. The law ofdiminishing returns has come into effect. If calling out the stupidity and blinkered reality this government promotes then I'd rather be a denier than a fool.
BTW – looking forward to people trying to charge their EVs with public charging stations over the Xmas break. Another example of a government jumping into something that feels good without considering the Infrastructural realities needed to support their vision.
All this is so sad because with a little less ideology, and a little more fore thought, Labour could have gone into the upcoming election with a fighting chance to retain power.
BTW, with you on "a little less ideology". Selfishly, all that matters is the next 10 – 15 years; after that, improving soil fertility is all I'll be good for.
The future of farming: how global crises are reshaping agriculture [9 Oct 2022]
Like most who are experimenting with regenerative methods, Fiennes has sometimes experienced negative results due to the changes he made: “it’s a learning process”. The timing of planting and applying inputs and the vagaries of the weather are all crucial.
Nevertheless, an increasing number of farmers are receptive to his message — especially once they can see that his farm makes profits. His second year of production at Holkham led to lower input costs as he allowed inefficient parts of the farm to revert to their natural state and increased biodiversity while productivity increased. “We’re in year three so we’ll have more data,” he says.
Some of his conversations with growers through his speaking engagements around the country and visits by farming groups to Holkham have been difficult. But many are persuaded after he demonstrates what can be achieved with changes in farming methods.
“It’s amazing how enthused they are,” he says. “The next food crisis, if we can have resilience through biodiversity and healthy soils, that will protect us from whatever comes next.”
Comment: "People don't often think beyond today's meal…"
When it comes to farming, we have the one of the lowest emission rates in the world.
I already explained that if the rest of the world isn't dropping GHGs fast, then NZ having 'one of the lowest' is a nonsense. Do you not understand the argument?
The question is – do you understand the argument? Your argument is based on some hypothetical future. My argument is based on the here and now. You do understand that if farming goes under, we go under?
Farming isn't going to go under unless we get runaway climate change and can't grow enough reliable food. Mainstream organisations are talking about this already, we're in the beginning of climate crisis, it's not some vague thing in the future.
Industrial farming causes so many problems, not just climate. I support farmers being financially assisted to transition to sustainable ag. Those that cling to pollution/extraction models I have little sympathy for.
But anyway, I don't argue with climate deniers, because it's just a distraction from what needs to be done. Good to get up to speed with where you are at.
From what I can see the present government has little time for farmers. If farmers weren't the mainstay of our economy, I believe this government would have stomped them into oblivion long ago.
Your second paragraph is what I have a problem with. You can barely disguise your anti-farming meme. If we follow your vein of thought we get the possibility of madness as this post from one, Tony Veitch, testifies to:
Quote:
''Reducing the number of ruminants by at least three quarters.''
Your second paragraph is what I have a problem with. You can barely disguise your anti-farming meme.
Here’s what I said,
Industrial farming causes so many problems, not just climate. I support farmers being financially assisted to transition to sustainable ag. Those that cling to pollution/extraction models I have little sympathy for.
I didn’t diss farming, I dissed industrial farming. Can you not tell the difference? I’ve written about regenerative agriculture as well as the need to support farmers. I also said that I have littel sympathy for the farmers clinging to the pollution/extraction models as we transition. If you think that’s being anti-farming, then I can only assume that you think the pollution/extraction model should be valued and upheld. Which is frankly bizarre.
I didn’t diss farming, I dissed industrial farming.
Yet industrial farming is what feeds 8 billion people. Pre-industrial agriculture absorbed at least 90% of all human labour, fed barely less than a billion people – and famines regularly stalked our history.
We might both agree the regenerative approach has many important and valuable ideas; but in reality the immense productivity of industrial farming cannot be unwound without incurring monstrous risks.
There are any number of good reasons why we would want to evolve our current agricultural systems but selling these ideas and methods to the people who matter – farmers – is careful patient work. And they are by definition careful patient people; which is exactly how we would want them to be.
What can I say? Guilty as charged. Just imagine flying into Steward Island and having the captain say:
''Ladies and Gentleman, below are the two huge turbines that power all of Steward Islands energy needs. The locals call them Rangi and Sally. While they don't really blend in with the landscape, the locals say they have no fear of their Jacuzzis going cold. ''
the most striking thing about that article is that it said this,
However, just 16-months later, in March 2021, it was announced the wind turbine project had been scrapped after agreement could not be reached on a suitable location for the turbines.
But didn't explain what the location issues were. I doubt it's a secret.
The proposal would have meant a two kilometre access road, and then turbine platforms, in a conservation reserve of 800-year-old podocarp forest, Thompson said.
Good stuff. Everyone thought that the Dems would be swept away these mid terms, but they pretty much held on in the face of the most right wing reactionary GOP in decades.
They still have a mathematical chance of holding the House, but we will see how it goes.
So a really interesting question for the United States – by proxy – winning the Ukraine war. When do we start admitting that the United States is not in the least bit declining, and is in fact reinforcing its primacy?
For New Zealanders every time they bought a fridge, a car, a movie ticket, or a computer or radio for 100 years, we've joined the rest of most of the world living through an American era: dominated by US power, wealth, ideas, alliances, entertainment, capital, and more.
But from Noam Chomsky to Chris Hedges, many have been prophesising that this long epoch had been drawing to a close. The old US-led world was giving way to some post-American, post-Western, postliberal anomie marked in no small part by the rise of China. Apparently the US was slowly losing its commanding position in the global distribution of power.
Now check out the side-conversation of Biden and Xi at the G20 tomorrow. Biden will talk Russia, trade, and Taiwan from an entirely different position to 6 months ago. This time Biden brings a very strong hand:
US weapons are defeating Russia and US weapons are in the hands of Taiwan.
US has stopped all computer chips to China, required mass business withdrawals, and it is a further trade dagger straight at Xi that there is no ready answer for.
US and EU sanctions are crippling Russia and we all know how Xi signed up to that eternal friendship.
Sure they both have strong recent political mandates. Only one is in the ascendancy any more.
It's a weird feeling for some I'm sure, but the US is head and shoulders the lead political power on this planet.
It seems odd, that an old man like Biden should be the one to hold back the encroaching night. America has returned to its old role – helping defend against malign aggression. It likes to be popular – and Putin has thoroughly burned the goodwill once extended to him as the inheritor of the post-soviet mess.
The extent of Russian media ops against the West has also been exposed. Some of their more aggressive projects – Trumpism, weaponized migration, and hackmail are facing a higher level of preparedness. Disinformation survives, for the moment, but the proximate demise of Murdoch may even see a resurgence of professional journalism. It would be nice to see.
Likely people on this site are sick of me posting about the Health work force crisis. Everyday our media are reporting on this. I think this not wanting to hear on this site is because in posting this stuff, it is a criticism of Labour.
This is straight from the horses mouth i.e the health workers who sound like they are at breaking point.
I have decided I will keep going. Even if people scroll past.
Its a terrying situation.
A plan to increase the workforce would have been my first job as Min of Health when Labour came into power. They had two years before covid. They knew about it then.
As more staff burn out and student nurses think they don't really want to work in nursing this catastrophe will only get worse.
Importing health care workers? – outcome: downward pressure on wages, and less job oppurtunities for NZ graduates..see below article from 2013, when National was in power and bringing in workers by the plane load:
Or imposing US-style health care. Rationing demand by charging people. They tried that in 1993, it just led to people getting sicker, because they couldnt afford treatment.
Andrew Little is the first health minister in decades that see the value of the public healthcare system.
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The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
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. ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government is talking up the crucial role of gas as a transition fuel “through to 2050 and beyond”. In a gas strategy to be released on Thursday, the government envisages the fuel’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Next week the government will again next try to get its legislation through to deal with non-citizens who won’t cooperate with efforts to deport them. The bill, which the opposition and crossbench refused to rush ...
A long-term project that will set out an alternative vision for Aotearoa that looks beyond the narrow confines of the policy straight jacket adopted by successive governments. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bree Hurst, Associate Professor, Faculty of Business and Law, QUT, Queensland University of Technology TK Kurikawa/Shutterstock A much-awaited report into Coles and Woolworths has found what many customers have long believed – Australia’s big supermarkets engage in price gouging. What started ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Ghezelbash, Associate Professor and Deputy Director, Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW Law & Justice, UNSW Sydney The Albanese government wanted to avoid an inquiry into its migration amendment bill. The report, handed down yesterday by a senate committee that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joo-Cheong Tham, Professor, Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne Lobbying is at the heart of government. Who has access to and influence over key government officials shapes the decisions governments make – and how they make them. The ability to influence ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Myfany Turpin, Associate Professor, Ethnomusicology, Linguistics and Ethnobiology, University of Sydney The act representing Australia at this year’s Eurovision contest has sadly not qualified for the grand final. Yet for Zaachariaha Fielding and Michael Ross, the duo that makes up Electric Fields, ...
In announcing changes to the school lunches programme, David Seymour said kids would no longer be served ‘woke’ foods. To clear up any confusion, The Spinoff has compiled a guide to the wokeness levels of some common food items. Apple = NOT WOKE Avocado = WOKE Avocado, smashed = EVEN ...
The Minister Responsible for GCSB and the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security have been notified of this review, and have been provided a finalised Terms of Reference. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Minglu Chen, Senior Lecturer, Government and International Relations, University of Sydney Robert Way/Shutterstock As the past few years have illustrated so clearly, the Australia-China relationship is complicated. As such, it is crucial for Australians to develop a more nuanced understanding of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mariana Campbell, Research Lecturer, Conservation, Charles Darwin University Marilyn Connell Australian freshwater turtles are facing an alarming trend. Almost half of these species are listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. The Mary River turtle (Elusor macrurus) is one of Australia’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Debbie Passey, Digital Health Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne Algorithms have become integral to our lives. From social media apps to Netflix, algorithms learn your preferences and prioritise the content you are shown. Google Maps and artificial intelligence are nothing without ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Josephine Barbaro, Associate Professor, Principal Research Fellow, Psychologist, La Trobe University Unsplash We’ve come a long way in terms of understanding that everyone thinks, interacts and experiences the world differently. In the past, autistic people, people with attention deficit hyperactive disorder ...
PNG Post-Courier Papua New Guinea’s deputy opposition leader James Nomane has accused the government of “reckless economic management” that has forced devaluation to manage loan repayments in foreign currency and placate the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Prime Minister James Marape “must stop lying to the people of Papua New Guinea”, ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Bookseller Confessional, in which we get to know Aotearoa’s booksellers. This week: Jane Arthur, author of Brown Bird, and former bookseller at Good Books.The book I wish I’d writtenI have been working on not comparing myself to others. On accepting that what I can ...
The final decision on the Wellington District Plan makes it official: High-density housing is legal across most of Wellington. Housing minister Chris Bishop has announced his decision on the Wellington District Plan, approving a series of amendments to radically upzone most of Wellington, allowing tens of thousands of new townhouses ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. “Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to ...
RNZ News As Israel presses ahead with strikes in Rafah and seizing the Rafah crossing from Egypt, aid agencies are sounding the alarm of a “catastrophic humanitarian situation”. Rafah was “significant” because it was the only part in Gaza that had not been terribly damaged by the conflict, United Nations ...
With funding set to be scrapped for the Hamilton-Auckland commuter train, Te Huia enthusiast Georgie Dansey argues for it to be thrown a lifeline. It’s 5.45am and the chain of my crappy old bike falls off slugging up the one hill in Hamilton. I contemplate yeeting the bike into the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Cooke, Honorary Fellow, School of the Environment, The University of Queensland We feel ecological grief when we lose places, species or ecosystems we value and love. These losses are a growing threat to mental health and wellbeing globally. We all see ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shauna Brail, Associate Professor, Institute for Management & Innovation, University of Toronto A shift to hybrid and remote work continues to affect worker presence in Toronto’s downtown.(Shutterstock) Downtown Toronto, the core of Canada’s largest city, continues to reel from the lingering ...
Responding to an Auditor-General's report slamming failures in the administration of the 2023 General Election, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said: ...
Productivity apps now make up a big chunk of the software market. But do they work? And why do they all have AI integrations?Despite being firmly on the record as a physical planner fan, I sometimes dream of something better than my pretty diary and its scrawled, ugly, interior ...
The Taxpayers’ Union says the Beehive need to lead by example, following reports of more than $50,000 spent upgrading video conferencing equipment and furniture in the Prime Minister’s office. Taxpayers’ Union Campaign Manager, Connor Molloy, ...
An objective list of the 50 most powerful people in New Zealand, as judged by the Spinoff Editorial Board. It’s power list season, baby, and we want in on the action. Sure, there’s the rich list and the powerful “c-suite” list and the young people with power (hmmm) but here, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thalia Anthony, Professor of Law, University of Technology Sydney ShutterstockThis article contains information on deaths in custody and the names of deceased people, and describes ongoing colonial violence towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. First Nations people in Australia ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Simpson, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Macquarie University Netflix Baby Reindeer’s phenomenal success has much to do with its writer and lead, Richard Gadd, who plays Donny in a tender semi-autobiographical account of sexual abuse, harassment and stalking. Gadd’s story has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Collins, Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Newcastle KarolinaGrabowska/Pexels If you didn’t have food allergies as a child, is it possible to develop them as an adult? The short answer is yes. But the reasons why are much ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Moon, Professor of History, Auckland University of Technology Ans Westra, self-portrait, c. 1963. National Library ref AWM-0705-F They try but invariably fail – those writers who believe they are capable of encapsulating in prose or verse the essence of ...
Stewart Sowman-Lund looks at the growing concern around the world in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. What’s all this? When Covid-19 arrived on our shores in early 2020, some argued we were too slow, or crucially, ill-prepared for a pandemic. So ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Franco Montalto, Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering and Director, Sustainable Water Resource Engineering Laboratory, Drexel University Water runs into a storm drain in a Los Angeles alley on Aug. 19, 2023, during Tropical Storm Hilary.Citizen of the Planet/Universal Images ...
The inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones has turned up a new witness who says he saw two teenagers and a small child in a high vis vest in the area where the boy’s body was found the day he died. Lachie’s body was discovered face up ...
Stories from the tenancy trenches, featuring spider infestations, cupboard rats and same-sex discrimination. Lucy’s brother was living in a damp 1930s building in Mt Eden where “he had to tie the cupboard doors closed so the rats didn’t get in”. Although he shared custody of his six-year-old son, his property ...
Simeon Brown, Chris Luxon, and Wayne Brown climbed into a hole and announced a plan to solve Auckland’s water woes. This is how it’ll work. New Zealand’s pipes are munted. They’re cracked and leaking, and struggling to handle all the extra poos excreted by our rising population. It’s a big, ...
I knew Taika Waititi quite well when he was a kid. His mother lived in a tall narrow house in Aro St, and my youngest sister had a similar house two doors along. They were both single mums, they each had a son aged seven. Taika and my nephew Stepan ...
Opinion: “As time passes, knowledge of the circumstances of the August 2016 outbreak will fade and its immediate impact will be lost.” This statement is from the 2017 report of the Official Inquiry into the Havelock North campylobacteriosis outbreak. The then National-led government established the inquiry after the outbreak left ...
Opinion: Nicholas Khoo looks at two key points in the high-stakes foreign policy pact debate – and asks if NZ can engage with as little drama as possible. The post Where to next for the Aukus ruckus? appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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Opinion: ‘Reference-class forecasting’ is at the heart of improving pricing a project and identifying the expected timeframe but it doesn’t appear to be in use here The post ‘Think fast and act slowly’ is failing big projects appeared first on Newsroom. ...
What do a sombrero in Argentina and cognitive driving tests have in common? Don’t worry, we’re not setting up a bad joke. Hinengaro Clinic dementia clinician Gregory Winkelman has the answer on today’s episode of The Detail. “We ask a patient’s spouse or son or daughter: If you went to ...
Wellington long jumper Phoebe Edwards is back and she’s having fun again. Until this year, Edwards, a top athlete in her teens, had never competed as a senior athlete in New Zealand. In March, the 26-year-old won a national long jump title in a lifetime best of 6.28m after ...
After replacing a fifth of their caucus in just four months, the Greens’ opportunity to reset, reshuffle and refocus on the Government is quickly slipping away The post Persistent Green Party scandals delay caucus reset appeared first on Newsroom. ...
ANALYSIS:By Olli Hellmann, University of Waikato When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day today on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also to mark a defining event for national identity. The battle of Gallipoli against ...
By Robin Martin, RNZ News reporter A New Zealand local authority, Whanganui District Council, has passed a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, condemnation of all acts of violence and terror against civilians on both sides of the conflict and the immediate return of hostages. It comes as ...
Asia Pacific Report The Aotearoa chapter of the Women’s International league for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) has appealed to the New Zealand government to call out Israel over the “cruel and barbaric use of force” in Gaza and demand a permanent ceasefire. The league’s open letter was sent to Prime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will invest $566 million over a decade on data, maps and other tools to promote exploration and development in Australia’s resources industry. The project will fund “the first comprehensive map of what’s ...
Asia Pacific Report Following an open letter by Auckland University academics speaking out in support of their students’ right to protest against the genocidal Israeli war on Gaza, a group of academics at Otago University have today also called on New Zealand academic institutions to “repair colonial violence” and end ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Linda J. Graham, Professor and Director of the Centre for Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology Ryan Tauss/ Unsplash, CC BY Two male students have been expelled from a Melbourne private school for their involvement in a list ranking female students. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The Reserve Bank is now assuming Australians will see no interest rate cuts this year – and quite possibly none before the next federal election, due next May. That’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University The Victorian budget offered more of the same on Tuesday, with the only change being how the budget papers were packaged. The usual shrink wrap was gone, hinting at savings in the pages ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Coalition is demanding extensive amendments to the government’s legislation targeting non-citizens who refuse to co-operate with their removal. In a dissenting report to the senate inquiry into the legislation, the Coalition says it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vanita Yadav, Senior Research Fellow, Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University Brett Boardman/Belvoir The complex and grappling issue of violence against women takes centre stage in the soul-stirring solo dance drama Nayika: A Dancing Girl. During a dinner conversation ...
I'm not really a rugby fan (or indeed, sports in general) – but from all accounts that was an outstanding win for the Black Ferns in the Women's Rugby World Cup last night.
Family and friends who had tickets are raving about the game – a nail-biter to the finish – and where both sides played their hearts out.
It was a terrific game the woman play at pace and arnt constantly fouling so the games frantic.
That said if England hadn't of had a player red carded early thay would have wiped the floor with our wahine
Correct. NZ would probably have lost to a full strength English side. The same goes for their game against France in the semis. A couple of fortuitous calls saw them progress to the finals. That said, luck is always in play regardless of the sport. And lady luck smiled benevolently on our ladies last night. I think to be competitive in the future we will need a new generation of faster and stronger forwards. Women’s rugby is now hardcore. With that goes higher expectations.
It's impolite to ask a woman her weight but the roses looked a lot bigger.
Yes, but … they are two dimensional. A dominant forward pack and a very good backline. But they lack the link play that comes with more mobile loose forwards, thus can be taken in a faster pace game. It was a little hidden because they were the first team to go professional and thus were fit. But now France and New Zealand have their measure (as will a professional Canada). They will not get to 30 games again.
Apparently the physical stats of rugby players is important. That's why they are often quoted in media coverage. That's why the pro rugby sites usually carry stats of players on their roster.
Why should the weight of male players be available and the females ones not?
Not if all our attempted goal kicks had gone over.
Yes, Patricia. Yes.
Get Ruby Tui on the Labour list next year!
Sanctuary, agreed Tiu is a great motivator. Her final "Let's do this" along with the singalong with the crowd Just wonderful.
True – however one does have to be careful with celebrity sportspeople. I was one of a busload of Labour people who went down to Wellington to canvass for Chris Laidlaw in the Wellington Central by-election, He won, but by the time the General election rolled around he had alienated almost everyone on his LEC and the Nats put up a smart, liberal woman who ran a good campaign and won the seat. He does seem to have learned from that and has prevailed on the Regional Council, but I have been cautious of the "celebrity" factor ever since.
God on Ruby though for the "lets do this" .
Laidlaw fell out with the public over a reorganisation of the Wellington bus services while head of the WRC and quit at the 2019 election. He wasn't the favourite Local Body politician in Wellington after the "bustastrophe" as it was labelled.
Louisa Wall; don't do it.
Get her coaching the backs as soon as possible.
Sample from French tv:
https://twitter.com/ek_rugby/status/1591373380980465665
Handy summary here too: https://thespinoff.co.nz/sports/13-11-2022/ten-incredible-moments-from-that-entirely-perfect-rugby-world-cup-final
I have a feeling that Transport Minister Michael Wood is going to make more waves and not just in the Waitematā Harbour.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/300737617/aucklanders-to-have-their-say-on-harbour-crossing-options-including-a-tunnel
Not a peep about Mr Brown and Auckland Council.
Edit:
A swipe at new Mayor, populist Wayne Brown who has been trashing the government at every opportunity for some sort of irrational revenge?
I can’t really tell but it doesn’t come across as bridge building between local and central government.
Any big project like that is always a partnership of some sort between central and local govt. Brown's recent desperate chestbeating is too insignificant to shape the ongoing governance of the project. The Minister knows that.
So, in a subtle way the Auckland Mayor (and Council) was told/put in his place (snubbed)?
Perhaps. The Mayor only gets one vote anyway as we know.
Who is going to be the one who breaks this to Mayor Brown?
We will tell him 8 minutes before he votesShaneagh.
They were promoting this down at Smales Farm markets this morning Michael Wood was in attendance with young son.
How many years have governments/councils been talking about an additional harbour crossing and what have seen apart from untold millions spent on consultants ….. nada.
Mt Cook Salmon's construction crew would have a walking cycling bridge across that harbour in six weeks or less – for less than $500k. Folk who get things done.
Mr Brown seems quite happy:
"Wayne Brown is pleased the Government is asking Aucklanders for their opinion on the Waitematā Harbour crossing. Following the announcement, Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown said he is "encouraged" by the Government's decision to seek feedback from Aucklanders on the future crossing. While a third crossing is decades away, with Brown noting the infrastructure is not his priority due to the "public-transport crisis", he said he's pleased the Government is asking Aucklanders for their opinion. "I'm pleased to see Wellington asking Aucklanders what we want in our city rather than the old practice of Wellington imposing its preferred solutions on us," Brown said. "It's the change Aucklanders told me they wanted in the election campaign, which I emphasised to Minister Wood in our recent meeting. He seems to be responding positively." Brown is urging as many Aucklanders as possible to give constructive feedback. "If Wellington finally has the courtesy to genuinely ask Aucklanders what we think, then as many Aucklanders as possible should have the courtesy to share our thoughts at central government's website, or by attending one of the public meetings," he said. "I will certainly be doing so as a private citizen. As Aucklanders, we must then hold Wellington to account by ensuring it listens to what we say and acts upon it over the decades ahead."
NZTA have designed and modelled the tunnel for over a decade now. It's a well rehearsed and quite detailed concept, waiting to go to market.
The Minister isn't promoting authentic public decisionmaking.
And Auckland Council once the CRL debt bomb truly lands are just financially fucked and don't have any say in the outcome either.
Thanks for that useful feedback.
What is the point of that survey?
When do you think it will go to market? Now seems the wrong time, economically/financially.
Will it need overseas investment and literal buy-in? If yes, where does that come from?
What is the point of the survey indeed. Mayor Brown will have no say in it other than probably to oppose it in the RLTP due to the massive knock-on spending the tunnel will require of AC in consequent local road and utilities upgrades.
If Labour get back in they will accelerate light rail and make harbour crossing the second cab off the rank.
If National gets it light rail is dead and harbour crossing gets accelerated.
Both jobs require international conglomerates to construct and likely to fund.
Renegotiating the central/local share of the CRL (50/50) to be more like the Let's Get Wellington Moving programme (60/40) would give the Minister more leverage over other projects like this third harbour crossing.
The Minister won't let AC near it and that's a very good idea.
I agree/hope this will happen Ad. Sharing, apart from throwing the other's child's toys out of the playpen does not seem to be a word known by Wayne.
I posted in the other Brown thread. He's a bit of a moaner too isn't he..old Wayne-baby. Perhaps the best thing would have been to just say thank you.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2022/11/government-calls-on-aucklanders-to-give-feedback-on-waitemat-harbour-crossing.html
CRL has not released the updated costs of the project to the council or the share holding ministers,the release was delayed till after the elections,and further delays to increases in the cost of money.
Treasury projections (risk models) have increased the cost to over 6b$,which Labour will not want on its balance sheet prior to the elections,along with problematic issues on the length of the debt bonds and cost.
If govt want to avoid CRLL affecting their balance sheet, then I guess it gives Ak Council more leverage instead?
Less financial leverage.
I'm talking political.
They are required to open their books prior to the election.
Remember when Treasury were touting 7.8% unempoyment?
NZ Election 2020: Government's opening of the books reveals some surprises | Newshub
CRL is the problem at the moment with the information constraints.The Treasury financial models for the project includes cost to date,additional work signaled including financials to date (borrowing costs)
The problematic issue is where the costs will lie,fully on the government books,with dual problems from Housing corp ( debt blowout and value depreciation).When AT gets the hit ,it is ACC that sees the full debt costings on their books,over 11.5b$ now and increasing as bonds roll over without additional spending.
Let's see if Mayor Brown can prize open the books of our biggest alliance. Crown still has 51% but much of the asset falls into Auckland Council so the liability is also going to be theirs. I expect this is the very last time Auckland Council does this kind of partnership.
The Auditor generals report did little to provide confidence in that,despite saying nice things about no things with the significant co governance issues.
https://oag.parliament.nz/2022/city-rail-link/overview.htm
Significance suggests that the model does not work,with too many interacting agencies,with their own agendas (KPI controlled) , poor accounting both from the Alliance and from the agencies
Lovely quote cheers.
You are nothing if not a forensic observer.
Bernie Sanders being very gracious and thankful after the mid-terms.
(381) Thank You. – YouTube
Take it in proxy.
Beware rich kids playing masters of the universe.
https://twitter.com/jmcrowell/status/1591474302385524737
https://fortune.com/2022/11/11/sam-bankman-fried-crypto-empire-ftx-alameda-run-gang-kids-bahamas-who-all-dated-each-other/
Reply to Observer from their comment in ''Equality For The Black Ferns'':
No, we aren't in a better place. Much of this brave new world has a ''forced'' feel about it; egged on by wokey media. Under the surface hate and mistrust boils. That's my opinion. The upcoming election will prove me either right or wrong.
Talking of war, the Taiwanese people are facing the reality of having to fight for their homeland and democracy. We shit over our democracy; both in the past and present. Taiwan holds their democracy dear. They only have to look across the straight to see how a country devoid of democracy functions. We have no such template making us ruminate and appreciate what we have, and what we potentially may lose.
I know there is no such things as a free lunch but two free wind turbines?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/130451387/wind-turbines-rejection-lost-opportunity-for-island
This seems an unbelievable and utterly 'cutting one's nose off to spite ones face' move. Mind you in the South where sheepdogs decked in blue ribbons sit on mailboxes getting all the votes, the home of Groundswell and the lovely placards, it is not perhaps all that amazing.
Until we see the SDC report I guess we won't know what else, other than pure politics, is behind this rejection. It seems fiendishly short sighted to me.
Stick a couple on Rangitoto then get back to them.
I don't have enough information to form an opinion. I doubt the turbines were rejected for political reasons. So that would leave, for whatever reason, problems with the placement of these turbines. No big loss in my opinion. Having travelled in the Wairarapa recently and seen the visual pollution wind turbines have created, the Islanders may have dodged a bullet.
"I don't have enough information to form an opinion."
"No big loss in my opinion."
Love your work!
DFTT
Everybody wants to get into heaven, but no one wants to die.
It's that old conundrum, reality v blind faith.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/09/renault-is-betting-the-market-for-gasoline-cars-will-continue-to-grow.html
https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/india-sees-no-transition-away-coal-foreseeable-future-2022-11-09/
Meanwhile in Aotearoa:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/the-country/news/new-zealand-beef-and-lamb-among-the-most-carbon-efficient-in-world-research/QLNBGJHVWBER7AYFIFLUID5LWA/
Will the government give our cocky’s a break?
Hell, no. CC is their vanity project regardless of the cost to farmers and New Zealand.
Most carbon efficient in the world doesn't mean shit if it's not reducing GHGs fast enough. Just because other countries are worse, doesn't mean NZ is good. Your argument is a form of climate denial.
When it comes to farming, we have the one of the lowest emission rates in the world. The law of diminishing returns has come into effect. If calling out the stupidity and blinkered reality this government promotes then I'd rather be a denier than a fool.
BTW – looking forward to people trying to charge their EVs with public charging stations over the Xmas break. Another example of a government jumping into something that feels good without considering the Infrastructural realities needed to support their vision.
All this is so sad because with a little less ideology, and a little more fore thought, Labour could have gone into the upcoming election with a fighting chance to retain power.
No need to choose
BTW, with you on "a little less ideology". Selfishly, all that matters is the next 10 – 15 years; after that, improving soil fertility is all I'll be good for.
"Secrets of the Soil Sociobiome" with Dr Christine Jones [30 March 2021]
"Variety is the very spice of life, That gives it all its flavor." – Cowper [1785]
"Kiss the Ground" – "From Dirt to Soil"
I already explained that if the rest of the world isn't dropping GHGs fast, then NZ having 'one of the lowest' is a nonsense. Do you not understand the argument?
The question is – do you understand the argument? Your argument is based on some hypothetical future. My argument is based on the here and now. You do understand that if farming goes under, we go under?
Farming isn't going to go under unless we get runaway climate change and can't grow enough reliable food. Mainstream organisations are talking about this already, we're in the beginning of climate crisis, it's not some vague thing in the future.
Industrial farming causes so many problems, not just climate. I support farmers being financially assisted to transition to sustainable ag. Those that cling to pollution/extraction models I have little sympathy for.
But anyway, I don't argue with climate deniers, because it's just a distraction from what needs to be done. Good to get up to speed with where you are at.
From what I can see the present government has little time for farmers. If farmers weren't the mainstay of our economy, I believe this government would have stomped them into oblivion long ago.
Your second paragraph is what I have a problem with. You can barely disguise your anti-farming meme. If we follow your vein of thought we get the possibility of madness as this post from one, Tony Veitch, testifies to:
Quote:
''Reducing the number of ruminants by at least three quarters.''
https://thestandard.org.nz/holy-sht-overshoot-dont-dither-do/#comment-1918741
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/sustainable-future/nz-absent-on-cop27-agriculture-day
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/sustainable-future/the-fixation-on-a-pms-cop-out
Here’s what I said,
I didn’t diss farming, I dissed industrial farming. Can you not tell the difference? I’ve written about regenerative agriculture as well as the need to support farmers. I also said that I have littel sympathy for the farmers clinging to the pollution/extraction models as we transition. If you think that’s being anti-farming, then I can only assume that you think the pollution/extraction model should be valued and upheld. Which is frankly bizarre.
Yet industrial farming is what feeds 8 billion people. Pre-industrial agriculture absorbed at least 90% of all human labour, fed barely less than a billion people – and famines regularly stalked our history.
We might both agree the regenerative approach has many important and valuable ideas; but in reality the immense productivity of industrial farming cannot be unwound without incurring monstrous risks.
There are any number of good reasons why we would want to evolve our current agricultural systems but selling these ideas and methods to the people who matter – farmers – is careful patient work. And they are by definition careful patient people; which is exactly how we would want them to be.
Do you understand that if farming doesn't change, we go under?
Visual pollution? Nimby?
What can I say? Guilty as charged. Just imagine flying into Steward Island and having the captain say:
''Ladies and Gentleman, below are the two huge turbines that power all of Steward Islands energy needs. The locals call them Rangi and Sally. While they don't really blend in with the landscape, the locals say they have no fear of their Jacuzzis going cold. ''
the most striking thing about that article is that it said this,
But didn't explain what the location issues were. I doubt it's a secret.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/123607996/land-access-a-problem-for-wind-turbines-on-stewart-island?rm=a&cx_rmv3=true
Two more years.
https://twitter.com/CBSNews/status/1591616353471168514
Voting Warnock to make Manwithchin irreverant.
They will need to because he is not likely to hold the seat in 2024.
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/09/29/politics/joe-manchin-reelection/index.html
Good stuff. Everyone thought that the Dems would be swept away these mid terms, but they pretty much held on in the face of the most right wing reactionary GOP in decades.
They still have a mathematical chance of holding the House, but we will see how it goes.
GOP leads in 221 Dem in 214, but trends in vote counts could take it as close as 219-216. A narrow GOP win either way.
That's a great Sunday.
Oh, yes!
So a really interesting question for the United States – by proxy – winning the Ukraine war. When do we start admitting that the United States is not in the least bit declining, and is in fact reinforcing its primacy?
For New Zealanders every time they bought a fridge, a car, a movie ticket, or a computer or radio for 100 years, we've joined the rest of most of the world living through an American era: dominated by US power, wealth, ideas, alliances, entertainment, capital, and more.
But from Noam Chomsky to Chris Hedges, many have been prophesising that this long epoch had been drawing to a close. The old US-led world was giving way to some post-American, post-Western, postliberal anomie marked in no small part by the rise of China. Apparently the US was slowly losing its commanding position in the global distribution of power.
Now check out the side-conversation of Biden and Xi at the G20 tomorrow. Biden will talk Russia, trade, and Taiwan from an entirely different position to 6 months ago. This time Biden brings a very strong hand:
US weapons are defeating Russia and US weapons are in the hands of Taiwan.
US has stopped all computer chips to China, required mass business withdrawals, and it is a further trade dagger straight at Xi that there is no ready answer for.
US and EU sanctions are crippling Russia and we all know how Xi signed up to that eternal friendship.
Sure they both have strong recent political mandates. Only one is in the ascendancy any more.
It's a weird feeling for some I'm sure, but the US is head and shoulders the lead political power on this planet.
It seems odd, that an old man like Biden should be the one to hold back the encroaching night. America has returned to its old role – helping defend against malign aggression. It likes to be popular – and Putin has thoroughly burned the goodwill once extended to him as the inheritor of the post-soviet mess.
The extent of Russian media ops against the West has also been exposed. Some of their more aggressive projects – Trumpism, weaponized migration, and hackmail are facing a higher level of preparedness. Disinformation survives, for the moment, but the proximate demise of Murdoch may even see a resurgence of professional journalism. It would be nice to see.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/300736858/exhausted-and-demoralised-healthcare-workers-plead-for-help-amid-burnout-crisis
Likely people on this site are sick of me posting about the Health work force crisis. Everyday our media are reporting on this. I think this not wanting to hear on this site is because in posting this stuff, it is a criticism of Labour.
This is straight from the horses mouth i.e the health workers who sound like they are at breaking point.
You keep going its good.
Anker, it's good to be kept informed.
Like you, I think this issue is ongoing and causing great harm.
Cheers Ad.
I have decided I will keep going. Even if people scroll past.
Its a terrying situation.
A plan to increase the workforce would have been my first job as Min of Health when Labour came into power. They had two years before covid. They knew about it then.
As more staff burn out and student nurses think they don't really want to work in nursing this catastrophe will only get worse.
And what is your solution Anker?
Importing health care workers? – outcome: downward pressure on wages, and less job oppurtunities for NZ graduates..see below article from 2013, when National was in power and bringing in workers by the plane load:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/9110729/Graduates-frustrated-at-lack-of-jobs
Or imposing US-style health care. Rationing demand by charging people. They tried that in 1993, it just led to people getting sicker, because they couldnt afford treatment.
Andrew Little is the first health minister in decades that see the value of the public healthcare system.