The government continues to shift their portion of the blame for Auckland’s RWC public transport fail, but there had been a 2009 report warning that Auckland’s infrastructure wasn’t up to it.
Yesterday Labour slammed what it called an “embarrassing shambles” that left thousands stranded on Auckland trains ahead of the world cup opening ceremony, but Prime Minister John Key refused to accept responsibility.
“I am more than happy to apologise to those individuals involved, but at the end of the day, the responsibility rests with the delivery agent that is in Auckland,” Mr Key said.
Transport Minister Steven Joyce will meet officials and Auckland Mayor Len Brown today as train operator Veolia Transport scrambles to produce a report on the failure, expected tomorrow.
Joyce puts all the blame on operational failures beyond his control. He claims that the recommendations of the 2009 report had been acted on. But those of us who use Auckland’s trains regularly, that it is a system in need of a lot of infrastructure improvement.
But Labour says the Government must accept at least some of the blame, because it had received a report from the Auckland Regional Transport Authority on Rugby World Cup transport planning in July 2009.
The report, obtained by Stuff, said at that time there was “an attitude of `this is a small increase in business as usual’.”
“The impression is that the level of public transport required for RWC2011 is a little above normal. The levels of patron movement and operational standard [needed for the RWC] are in reality significantly above what is currently delivered.”
The Queens Wharf fan zone would “create a number of transport challenges given its close proximity to the Ferry Terminal, Queen Street and Britomart”, the report said.
Sure, NAct have been stopping PT development in Auckland and elsewhere so that they can build their useless Roads of Nationals Significance but Labour aren’t blameless – they needed to put huge amounts of funding into PT from the time that the secured having the RWC here and they didn’t.
Labour was starting to promote more development of Auckland’s PT. But yes, The Greens were the ones really on to the need for intensive development of the PT system, and Labour were lagging behind. Nevertheless, the report referred to above was a 2009 one, and should have been a wake-up call for the current government… and they are continuing to refuse to take ANY blame.
…and they are continuing to refuse to take ANY blame.
That’s part of the normal psyche of the RWA. When they screw up really badly they’ll automatically blame someone else while patting themselves on the back and giving themselves a bonus cheque.
Not quite true Draco. Part of the problem was the scuttling of the regional fuel tax by the ants in 2009. This held up and delayed various projects.
In 2000 there were about a million train trips a year in Auckland. The past year there have been over 10 million.
The increase has been extraordinary but we are not there yet. National needs to keep funding PT the way that Labour did and in about 10 years the system may be reasonable. It has gone from appallingly bad to bad.
The fan zone was the item that really stuffed the system up, not the game itself. Who’s bright idea was Party Central?
IIRC, it was in about 2k7/8 while Labour were still in power that it was mentioned that Labour’s funding for roads in Auckland was three or four times higher than funding for PT and that was when they started on it a good 2 years after getting the RWC. They needed to start earlier and put in more funding. The venue was going to be central (Waterfront or Eden Park) so boosting the PT to outlying areas would have been a good first step and it really needed to be done anyway.
Part of the problem was the scuttling of the regional fuel tax by the ants in 2009.
Yep, as I pointed out NAct have been stopping PT development in Auckland.
Party Central was a stupid idea and is indicative of NActs overall grasp of reality. There should have been several venues in the scattered CBDs that make up Auckland.
What Labour is overlooking is the fact that the infrastructure was all there on Friday night. There were plenty of trains, plenty of carriages, plenty of buses, taxis galore, the roads were working well … the railway lines are already all double tracked – what do you want? four tracks? eight tracks? A separate carriage for each passenger?
What was missing was the organisation – both from Veolia and from the Auckland Transport Committee. Both
Closely followed by contingency plans. Question 1 for any transport planner has to be “how many?” Question 2 is “what if?”
Graham Sibery and Mike Lee have been very quiet over this…
I heard that earlier in the night someone did a head count of the people in and
around the party zone, and there were many more than expected. That
was then no communicated to alert managers that there would be a gult
of people using public transport to get to the game. Worse, with such
large numbers of people, many from abroad who typically don’t have cars
and are likely to have relied on public transport, would not have known
where to go and so would have needed people at the stations managing the
crowd flows. They were not there. So that wasn’t management on the
night, it was ‘pre-management’ and proper costing. Now add to that
the Auckland super city is a new council, you have a lot of new
people, you have a new site for a party, you have a cost tight government
and it was surprising it went so WELL! Who the genius was who thought
up to have the opening in the center city and then have a large
crowd movement to Eden park! shakes head, and why not use the Domain,
atleast there was history to how the crowds move about.
People got drunk and pulled the emergency cords, it was the first time
local kiwis had ever been on a train, they were young kiwis who
are taught not to mind their manners and ‘innovate’ without limits
of authority telling them what to do, what light bulb to buy, and hey
its public transport nobody likes public transport.
So yeah, government dropped the ball, but then it never brought into
the idea of public transport. National historical hates government.
Loathes contingency planning, and time after time wants the market
to provide the solutions but never acknowledges that the free market
isn’t perfect, in fact ideologically they believe free markets are perfect.
Good points but as any regular train user would know the system can’t even cope with a concert at Mt Smart so what was being asked of it was akin to biffing 10ton of load on your trailer and wonder why the car can’t pull it.
No surprise a labour scapegoats (Brown) been found whilst all the ministers, organising officials and actual transport chiefs are blameless.
looking forward to another 3 years of feckless leadership from the nats via a dysfunctional supershity structure…..yeah right.
Whole thing is snafu. McCully announced a takeover under the RWC Act thingy, had a press conference saying so and giving quotes. So all sorts of media are running that story.
Next minute, McCully goes on Nat Radio and says it’s not a takeover, they are just using some of the powers under the Act to get some resource consents through a bit quicker, and it’s all being done by some ‘officials’ working together with the Council.
If you were wondering when all those nasty anti terror and anti freedom of speech laws would come into play, here is your answer. Whether you find the activist in this case Vinny Eastwood a 911 truther in Auckland and and American Freedom radio host irritating or not the news is chilling. No pamphleteering and no sharing of political information on public roads.
The issue is not Vinny but the fact that neither he nor you nor anybody can spread info we deem to be of importance out on the streets any more. You might not like his opinions on some matters but I for one will fight for him to have the right to have these opinions. That is the hallmark of an open and free well functioning Democracy.
I agree with that, so why is it commercial radio stations can park up seemingly wherever they like and plant big ass public address speakers atop their vehicles and blast commercial radio into public spaces for hours at a time as they hand out Energy Drinks and self promoting T.shirts?
Although frankly everyone involved in the youtube link were nutbars except the cops. And if the council wants to limit litter and noise pollution, fair enough. But the guy who wuss-pushed him was a bigger dick than the noise-polluter.
I am reminded of the Daddies Rights loon who used to drive around Pt Chev, screeching his hatred of mothers into his sound system, up and down and through Pt Chev shops… thankfully he seems to have retired!
What will all the free community newspapers do? then there are the foreign languagenewspapers, the real estate handouts the religous firestarter materials, or are they all going to get the ‘look the other way’ treatment as the only real focus of a law like this is supression of freedom !
Anyone in Auckland looking into how this affects Party Electioneering material ? Or does that have some self serving bylaw protecting it? If so on what basis is it built and where is the law allowing the removal or special allocation of rights to communicate with the Public? Wouldn’t it be funny if they have they overlooked the Electioneering needs of Central and Local bodies and the right wing wish to silence dissent has silenced their own voice.
Take the megaphone restrictions. I understand that you cannot have people willynilly screaming amplified bs across the city centre. I agree with that, so why is it commercial radio stations can park up seemingly wherever they like and plant big ass public address speakers atop their vehicles and blast commercial radio into public spaces for hours at a time as they hand out Energy Drinks and self promoting T.shirts?
My suggestions ignore the law, let it inspire us to turn up with more pamhplet’s than ever. Laws which destroy pirogue to free speech should be ignored, broken and challenged.
Find irregularities in the law, first to expose loopholes, then to exploit the loopholes.
It’s what the experts do everyday and we know it works. Sooner or later the law will be changed or those making the laws will be changed. Exposing yourself unnecessarily to fines and or legal hassle is counterproductive and expensive 🙂
Or; we could take a leaf out of The Yes Men’s book. They created their own version of The New York Times and handed it out to morning commuters. Perhaps we could create a better more honest issue of The Herald, and pass that out instead of pamphlets.
Gerry Brownlee’s present location of Monaco was unfortunate for giving the impression that he is hard at work massaging the reinsurance corporates on behalf of Christchurch. The reinsurers have cushy surroundings!
Isn’t that fellow… what’s his name now… ah that’s right… Owen Glenn based in Monaco? Got a lot of spare cash going to the highest bidders I believe. That is, if he gets his name on a few plaques and a knighthood or two and oh… a diplomatic passport, and a say in who runs NZ even though he hasn’t lived here for yonks and doesn’t have the first clue about the place.
Peter ‘lap dog’ Dunne gives us another reason to banish him and the brains of the outfit – his sentient hairpiece – back into the oblivion of irrelevance from whence they came…
After years of propping up big tobacco he has found another way to maximize harm, rejecting the three strikes cannibis recommendation from the law commission report.
I just hear ion National Radio’s news that Stephen Joyce is coming to Auckland to show us how to get our PT right. This should be interesting as this Clown is part of the problem.
This was followed with Kathryn Ryan conducting an apology for an interview with Michael Barnett, CEO of Auckland Chamber of Commerce, who “didn’t want to point any fingers at who to blame” and then proceeded to repeatedly point the blame at only Auckland Council.
Of course Veolia, the privately owned international transport operator who run Auckland trains, were blameless.
Auckland Transport, the CCO set up by Hide under the amalgamation to manage Auckland’s public transport, were blameless.
Murray McCully and John Key, who spent 18 months encouraging one and all to come to “Party Central”- a venue with a capacity of mere 12,000, were blameless.
Steven Joyce, who refuses to recognise that Auckland is in dire need of a workable PT system, was blameless.
The RWC organisers, who decided to hold the opening ceremony and opening game on the same weekday night, were blameless.
So what did we learn from Michael Barnett? Well we learnt that he doesn’t like Len Brown and the current Auckland Council – but then we knew that already.
Well done National Radio!- I guess at least your boss will be pleased.
Wasn’t Michael Barnett the co-ordinator of RWC events? Was he paid? If so then surely he’s accountable. But then he’s CEO of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and people like him don’t do accountability well.
On the 9th the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Pike River Mine heard from a trainer for mines rescue, Glen Stiles, who said that the equipment in the fresh air base contained nothing of use for somebody trying to escape.
Today we learn that the Police believe men could have survived the initial blast, and were waiting to be rescued around that air pocket.
But if all that wasn’t bad enough, the New Zealand Herald reported today that Pike River Coal’s receivers will get a big payout…
There’s nothing in that Herald report about the receivers getting a payout, jackal, though I presume they are getting paid for their efforts. They’ve done excellent work here freeing up money for the creditors, who are, for the most part, local contractors and the former workers at the mine. I’m told most of the locals are well chuffed at the early payout, and when the mine is sold in a month or two, there is a good prospect of the rest of what is owed being paid out too.
I’m just not sure what you see as the problem here, as it appears to be a terrific boost to the people owed money by PRC and it will probably save a few local businesses from folding.
“The explosions mostly take place in poor countries because international oil and gas companies often fail to bury or protect their pipelines as they would have to do by law in rich countries. The easily accessible pipes, which often run through slums and informal settlements in burgeoning cities, are tempting to desperately poor communities, who often have no electricity and must rely on oil lamps for lighting and power.”
North Sea oil bosses have told the Government that uncertainty over who will pay the £30bn bill for dismantling old platforms is even more harmful to investment than the Chancellor’s unpopular tax grab on energy companies.
joe90 The oil ring demolishment cost discussion illustrates clearly one of the problems with technologies that can be harmful if not controlled closely from start to finish. Once the finish comes and the money is rung out of it, then what to do with the messy leftover bits. Same for nuclear power when the time arrives to relinquish the old infrastructure. Who pays the piper then?
Another smaller technology disposal problem is being dealt with in a practical way, though I don’t know if NZ has caught up with it. We tend to languish with egg on our face behind the others in the egg and spoon race. I like the idea of more being paid up front for computers and so on to cover the cost of its disposal. Of course the money has to go into a separate holding and safe account held by reliable authorities. Can’t leave it with the business or you can get the same situation of those suffering from disappearing pension funds.
Same old top end welfare Prism, years of dividend gains are private but because royalties have been paid any wind up costs become solely the taxpayers responsibility. And if you don’t pay we’ll take our bat and go play somewhere else.
The Pike river debacle will be our own version. Had the scheme been a winner those behind it would have quite happily taken profits while complaining bitterly about compliance and royalty costs.
Now they’ll hide behind limited liability and put their hand out for top end welfare while bleating about how we, the heroic investors, took a punt and did our dough and now we’re broke the costs of the disaster and site clean are beyond us.
Now some of us may remember the Aral Sea as being used in a Soviet experiment to become self-sufficient in cotton and rice.
Their trick was to redirect the two rivers feeding the Aral into their cotton/rice lands.
Result – no water into the Aral sea [in the 1960’s]. Now empty.
Also – no joy on growing cotton or rice.
Yep – the UN Secretary General says this is evidence of catastrophic Climate Change
A few days ago I wrote about the trouble I was having over at Wikipedia, in a post entitled Will Wikipedia Kill The Jackal?
Well it turns out to be a bit more than just other editors fucking with my articles by not following the rules. Since I started editing Wikipedia entries, an increase in cyber-warfare has seen the death of one of my email accounts and attack bots trying to harvest info from my blogger account…
Gareth Morgan and Susan Guthrie answered the critics of their ideas to transform NZ’s tax and welfare system in a great read on the New Zealand Herald website today. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no fan but I believe in giving credit where credit is due. They answer the three main criticism to their proposals, and the main one to stand out for me was their answer for CRITICISM 2: Many people will choose not to work at all if they get the UBI…
Minor point, it was Murray McCully not the PM. But yeah, its an awesome because the stuff that Len had no control over, will know be the stuff that McCully has no control over.
The Arctic sea ice hit a record low of 4.24 million square kilometres on Sept. 8, breaking a previous record set on Sept. 16, 2007 by 27,000 square kilometres, the Physical Analysis and Remote Sensing Images unit at the University of Bremen’s Institute of Physical Analysis reported in a news release.
Federal budget cuts are threatening to leave the U.S. without some critical satellites, the officials say, and that could mean less accurate warnings about events like tornadoes and blizzards. In particular, officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are concerned about satellites that orbit over the earth’s poles rather than remaining over a fixed spot along the equator
Just been announced on SkyNews Australia that Obama is to visit Oz in late November. Sadly, there won’t be time to catch up with BFF John Key. Obama is said to be gutted, repeatedly asking ‘who?’.
This is a post about the Mountain Tui substack, and small tweaks - further to the poll and request post the other day. Please don’t read if you aren’t interested in my personal matters. Thank you all.After oohing-and-aahing about how to structure the Substack model since November, including obtaining ...
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Hi,I woke up feeling nervous this morning, realising that this weekend Flightless Bird is going to do it’s first ever live show. We’re heading to a sold out (!) show in Seattle to test the format out in front of an audience. If it works, we’ll do more. I want ...
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The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: on the week in geopolitics, including the latest from Donald Trump over Gaza and Ukraine.Health expert and author David Galler ...
In an uncompromising paper Treasury has basically told the Government that its plan for a third medical school at Waikato University is a waste of money. Furthermore, the country cannot afford it. That advice was released this week by the Treasury under the Official Information Act. And it comes as ...
Back in November, He Pou a Rangi provided the government with formal advice on the domestic contribution to our next Paris target. Not what the target should be, but what we could realistically achieve, by domestic action alone, without resorting to offshore mitigation. Their answer was startling: depending on exactly ...
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guest David Patman and ...
I don't like to spend all my time complaining about our government, so let me complain about the media first.Senior journalistic Herald person Thomas Coughlan reported that Treasury replied yeah nah, wrong bro to Luxon's claim that our benighted little country has been in recession for three years.His excitement rose ...
Back in 2022, when the government was consulting internally about proactive release of cabinet papers, the SIS opposed it. The basis of their opposition was the "mosaic effect" - people being able to piece together individual pieces of innocuous public information in a way which supposedly harms "national security" (effectively: ...
With The Stroke Of A Pen:Populism, especially right-wing populism, invests all the power of an electoral/parliamentary majority in a single political leader because it no longer trusts the bona fides of the sprawling political class among whom power is traditionally dispersed. Populism eschews traditional politics, because, among populists, traditional politics ...
I’ve spent the last week writing a fairly substantial review of a recent book (“Australia’s Pandemic Exceptionalism: How we crushed the curve but lost the race”) by a couple of Australian academic economists on Australia’s pandemic policies and experiences. For all its limitations, there isn’t anything similar in New Zealand. ...
Mr Mojo Rising: Economic growth is possible, Christopher Luxon reassures us, but only under a government that is willing to get out of the way and let those with drive and ambition get on with it.ABOUT TWELVE KILOMETRES from the farm on the North Otago coast where I grew up stands ...
You're nearly a good laughAlmost a jokerWith your head down in the pig binSaying, 'Keep on digging.'Pig stain on your fat chinWhat do you hope to findDown in the pig mine?You're nearly a laughYou're nearly a laughBut you're really a crySongwriter: Roger Waters.NZ First - Kiwi Battlers.Say what you like ...
This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Climate denial is dead. Renewable energy denial is here. As “alternative facts” become the norm, it’s worth looking at what actual facts tell us about how renewable energy sources like solar and wind are lowering the price of electricity. As ...
SIR GEOFFREY PALMER is worried about democracy. In his Newsroom website post of 27 January 2025 he asserts that “the future of democracy across the world now seems to be in question.” Following a year of important electoral contests across the world, culminating in Donald Trump’s emphatic recapture of the ...
The Government hasn’t stopped talking about growth since the Prime Minister made his “yes” speech at the Auckland Chamber of Commerce last week. But so far, the measures announced would seem hardly likely to suddenly pitch New Zealand into the fast-growth East Asian league. The digital nomad announcement hardly deserved ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Government’s move to increase speed limits substantially on dozens of stretches of rural and often undivided highways will result in more serious harm. ...
In her first announcement as Economic Growth Minister, Nicola Willis chose to loosen restrictions for digital nomads from other countries, rather than focus on everyday Kiwis. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to stand firm and work with allies to progress climate action as Donald Trump signals his intent to pull out of the Paris Climate Accords once again. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Government’s growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. “Just over a year ago this Government was elected by ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. “The Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,” says Mr ...
The Government is relaxing visitor visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting New Zealand, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Tourism Minister Louise Upston say. “The change is part of the Government’s plan to unlock New Zealand’s potential by shifting the country onto ...
The opening of Kāinga Ora’s development of 134 homes in Epuni, Lower Hutt will provide much-needed social housing for Hutt families, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I’ve been a strong advocate for social housing on Kāinga Ora’s Epuni site ever since the old earthquake-prone housing was demolished in 2015. I ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay will travel to Australia today for meetings with Australian Trade Minister, Senator Don Farrell, and the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF). Mr McClay recently hosted Minister Farrell in Rotorua for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministers’ meeting, where ANZLF presented on ...
A new monthly podiatry clinic has been launched today in Wairoa and will bring a much-needed service closer to home for the Wairoa community, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.“Health New Zealand has been successful in securing a podiatrist until the end of June this year to meet the needs of ...
The Judicial Conduct Commissioner has recommended a Judicial Conduct Panel be established to inquire into and report on the alleged conduct of acting District Court Judge Ema Aitken in an incident last November, Attorney-General Judith Collins said today. “I referred the matter of Judge Aitken’s alleged conduct during an incident ...
Students who need extra help with maths are set to benefit from a targeted acceleration programme that will give them more confidence in the classroom, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Last year, significant numbers of students did not meet the foundational literacy and numeracy level required to gain NCEA. To ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced three new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ...
Ki te kahore he whakakitenga, ka ngaro te Iwi – without a vision, the people will perish. The Government has achieved its target to reduce the number of households in emergency housing motels by 75 per cent five years early, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The number of households ...
The opening of Palmerston North’s biggest social housing development will have a significant impact for whānau in need of safe, warm, dry housing, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The minister visited the development today at North Street where a total of 50 two, three, and four-bedroom homes plus a ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced the new membership of the Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control (PACDAC), who will serve for a three-year term. “The Committee brings together wide-ranging expertise relevant to disarmament. We have made six new appointments to the Committee and reappointed two existing members ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora, good morning, talofa, malo e lelei, bula vinaka, da jia hao, namaste, sat sri akal, assalamu alaikum. It’s so great to be here and I’m ready and pumped for 2025. Can I start by acknowledging: Simon Bridges – CEO of the Auckland ...
The Government has unveiled a bold new initiative to position New Zealand as a premier destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) that will create higher paying jobs and grow the economy. “Invest New Zealand will streamline the investment process and provide tailored support to foreign investors, to increase capital investment ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced the largest reset of the New Zealand science system in more than 30 years with reforms which will boost the economy and benefit the sector. “The reforms will maximise the value of the $1.2 billion in government funding that goes into ...
Turbocharging New Zealand’s economic growth is the key to brighter days ahead for all Kiwis, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. In the Prime Minister’s State of the Nation Speech in Auckland today, Christopher Luxon laid out the path to the prosperity that will affect all aspects of New Zealanders’ lives. ...
The latest set of accounts show the Government has successfully checked the runaway growth of public spending, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. “In the previous government’s final five months in office, public spending was almost 10 per cent higher than for the same period the previous year. “That is completely ...
The Government’s welfare reforms are delivering results with the number of people moving off benefits into work increasing year-on-year for six straight months. “There are positive signs that our welfare reset and the return consequences for job seekers who don't fulfil their obligations to prepare for or find a job ...
Jon Kroll and Aimee McCammon have been appointed to the New Zealand Film Commission Board, Arts Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “I am delighted to appoint these two new board members who will bring a wealth of industry, governance, and commercial experience to the Film Commission. “Jon Kroll has been an ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has hailed a drop in the domestic component of inflation, saying it increases the prospect of mortgage rate reductions and a lower cost of living for Kiwi households. Stats NZ reported today that inflation was 2.2 per cent in the year to December, the second consecutive ...
Two new appointed members and one reappointed member of the Employment Relations Authority have been announced by Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden today. “I’m pleased to announce the new appointed members Helen van Druten and Matthew Piper to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) and welcome them to ...
Officially, they’re called ‘memecoins,’ but Kōura Wealth founder Rupert Carlyon says the crypto world has another name for them: ‘shitcoins’.In digital finance, that phrase is used for tokens that have no true value – in essence, a money-grab.A few days before his inauguration, US President Donald Trump launched his own ...
Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was. Guy Williams has made a whole show off the joke that he is a “volunteer” journalist. So getting publicly owned by David Seymour while trying to act as a journalist is a good and timely reminder not to underestimate the nuance and ...
Many of Sāmoa’s beloved dishes are the result of cultural collaboration, writes Madeleine Chapman. All photos by Jin FelletIf you ever find yourself at a barbecue in a Sāmoan home, there’s 99% chance that sapasui (chop suey) will be on the table. For the past century, sapasui has ...
The funnyman takes us through his life in television, including Jono and Ben mayhem, live Telethon flubs, and funnelling all those experiences into his new comedy Vince. There’s an inciting incident in Three’s new comedy Vince where morning television presenter Vince Walters (Jono Pryor) is visiting sick kids in hospital ...
People often claim they just want Waitangi Day to be a celebration. At Waitangi, away from the headlined political acrimony and the marae ātea, celebrating is what most people are doing. The Spinoff Essay showcases the best essayists in Aotearoa, on topics big and small. Made possible by the generous ...
Is there anything more fashionable than a Māori get together? One of the best things about Northland is that nobody cares what they look like — probably because they’re all naturally more stylish than the rest of us, famously. Māori from the Far North, especially. In 27 degree heat, wearing ...
Books of Mana: 180 Māori-Authored Books of Significance, edited by Jacinta Ruru, Angela Wanhalla and Jeanette Wikaira has just been released by Otago University Press. In this essay, Books are Taonga, Jeanette Wikaira explores her personal relationship to books and their value.For me, books are taonga. The knowledge ...
I’ve been in love with him since last July, but it’s only now in this tepid hotel room that I find myself wondering why. The first thing he does when we arrive is smoke a cone in the bathroom – he emerges, hacking up a lung, fists thrust into his ...
MONDAY“Name,” barked a representative of the lower orders.I regarded him with a look of stern disapproval, and told him from up high, “May I remind you that I have name suppression. I shall also thank you to ask with more respect as befits a former president of the Act Party, ...
Get to know Tara, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Tara’s human for their support! Dog name: Tara Age: Two Breed: Mostly Border Collie and a little bit Catahoula Leopard dog If dog ...
Health NZ's CEO has resigned, but frontline healthworkers are sceptical that installing new leadership will make any difference to a system grappling with problems. ...
Gail Duncan, Chairperson of the St Peter’s on Willis Social Justice Group, one of the organisations invited to submit on the Bill, says the Government’s actions are unprecedented. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amani Kasherwa, School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, The University of Queensland In late January, a rebel group that has long caused mayhem in the sprawling African nation of Democratic Republic of Congo took control of Goma, a major city of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yee-Fui Ng, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Monash University An ad falsely depicting independent candidate Alex Dyson as a Greens member.ABC News/Supplied The highly pertinent case of a little-known independent candidate in the Victorian seat of Wannon has exposed a gaping ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lauren Ball, Professor of Community Health and Wellbeing, The University of Queensland Nik/Unsplash You might have heard that eating too many eggs will cause high cholesterol levels, leading to poor health. Researchers have examined the science behind this myth again, and ...
Everything you missed from the third day of the Treaty principles bill hearings, when the Justice Committee heard four hours of oral submission. Read our recaps of day one of the hearings here, and day two here. Parliament was quiet on Friday for the third day of hearings on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thomas Jeffries, Senior Lecturer in Microbiology, Western Sydney University Tijana Simic/Shutterstock The news last week that three people in Sydney were hospitalised with botulism after receiving botox injections has raised questions about the regulation of the cosmetic injectables industry. The ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jens Blotevogel, Principal Research Scientist and Team Leader for Remediation Technologies, CSIRO Mino Surkala, Shutterstock Lithium-ion batteries are part of everyday life. They power small rechargeable devices such as mobile phones and laptops. They enable electric vehicles. And larger versions store ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edith Jennifer Hill, Associate Lecturer, Learning & Teaching Innovation, Flinders University Netflix Netflix’s new limited series, Apple Cider Vinegar, tells the story of the elaborate cancer con orchestrated by Australian blogger Annabelle (Belle) Gibson. The first episode opens with Gibson’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dee Ninis, Earthquake Scientist, Monash University Greece’s government has just declared a state of emergency on the island of Santorini, as earthquakes shake the island multiple times a day and sometimes only minutes apart. The “earthquake swarm” is also affecting other ...
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She’s back behind the wheel, and this time, she wants to find out what it is that makes us tick. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. After a prolific career on stage and screen, 83-year-old Miriam Margolyes is on the road again. ...
A new poem by Jordan Hamel. Real Poet Every word earned its place and so did he, so should you. Real poet lives in the capital but writes himself into the Mackenzie country golden hour, man of the paper land, he neglects to mention his pollen ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Understanding Te Tiriti by Roimata Smail (Wai Ako Press, $25) No better time to get ...
The committee has published this list to inform the public about its work, and to give clarity to submitters who have contacted the committee asking if they will be invited to make an oral submission. ...
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Politicians from the coalition government received a frosty reception at Waitangi this year, but Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka says the pōwhiri that received so much attention was just one part of many events throughout the week. ...
The government continues to shift their portion of the blame for Auckland’s RWC public transport fail, but there had been a 2009 report warning that Auckland’s infrastructure wasn’t up to it.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/fan-central/5611823/Auckland-World-Cup-warning-two-years-ago
Joyce puts all the blame on operational failures beyond his control. He claims that the recommendations of the 2009 report had been acted on. But those of us who use Auckland’s trains regularly, that it is a system in need of a lot of infrastructure improvement.
Sure, NAct have been stopping PT development in Auckland and elsewhere so that they can build their useless Roads of Nationals Significance but Labour aren’t blameless – they needed to put huge amounts of funding into PT from the time that the secured having the RWC here and they didn’t.
Labour was starting to promote more development of Auckland’s PT. But yes, The Greens were the ones really on to the need for intensive development of the PT system, and Labour were lagging behind. Nevertheless, the report referred to above was a 2009 one, and should have been a wake-up call for the current government… and they are continuing to refuse to take ANY blame.
That’s part of the normal psyche of the RWA. When they screw up really badly they’ll automatically blame someone else while patting themselves on the back and giving themselves a bonus cheque.
Imperator Fish has the scoop on it.
Not quite true Draco. Part of the problem was the scuttling of the regional fuel tax by the ants in 2009. This held up and delayed various projects.
In 2000 there were about a million train trips a year in Auckland. The past year there have been over 10 million.
The increase has been extraordinary but we are not there yet. National needs to keep funding PT the way that Labour did and in about 10 years the system may be reasonable. It has gone from appallingly bad to bad.
The fan zone was the item that really stuffed the system up, not the game itself. Who’s bright idea was Party Central?
IIRC, it was in about 2k7/8 while Labour were still in power that it was mentioned that Labour’s funding for roads in Auckland was three or four times higher than funding for PT and that was when they started on it a good 2 years after getting the RWC. They needed to start earlier and put in more funding. The venue was going to be central (Waterfront or Eden Park) so boosting the PT to outlying areas would have been a good first step and it really needed to be done anyway.
Yep, as I pointed out NAct have been stopping PT development in Auckland.
Party Central was a stupid idea and is indicative of NActs overall grasp of reality. There should have been several venues in the scattered CBDs that make up Auckland.
What Labour is overlooking is the fact that the infrastructure was all there on Friday night. There were plenty of trains, plenty of carriages, plenty of buses, taxis galore, the roads were working well … the railway lines are already all double tracked – what do you want? four tracks? eight tracks? A separate carriage for each passenger?
What was missing was the organisation – both from Veolia and from the Auckland Transport Committee. Both
Closely followed by contingency plans. Question 1 for any transport planner has to be “how many?” Question 2 is “what if?”
Graham Sibery and Mike Lee have been very quiet over this…
I heard that earlier in the night someone did a head count of the people in and
around the party zone, and there were many more than expected. That
was then no communicated to alert managers that there would be a gult
of people using public transport to get to the game. Worse, with such
large numbers of people, many from abroad who typically don’t have cars
and are likely to have relied on public transport, would not have known
where to go and so would have needed people at the stations managing the
crowd flows. They were not there. So that wasn’t management on the
night, it was ‘pre-management’ and proper costing. Now add to that
the Auckland super city is a new council, you have a lot of new
people, you have a new site for a party, you have a cost tight government
and it was surprising it went so WELL! Who the genius was who thought
up to have the opening in the center city and then have a large
crowd movement to Eden park! shakes head, and why not use the Domain,
atleast there was history to how the crowds move about.
People got drunk and pulled the emergency cords, it was the first time
local kiwis had ever been on a train, they were young kiwis who
are taught not to mind their manners and ‘innovate’ without limits
of authority telling them what to do, what light bulb to buy, and hey
its public transport nobody likes public transport.
So yeah, government dropped the ball, but then it never brought into
the idea of public transport. National historical hates government.
Loathes contingency planning, and time after time wants the market
to provide the solutions but never acknowledges that the free market
isn’t perfect, in fact ideologically they believe free markets are perfect.
Good points but as any regular train user would know the system can’t even cope with a concert at Mt Smart so what was being asked of it was akin to biffing 10ton of load on your trailer and wonder why the car can’t pull it.
No surprise a labour scapegoats (Brown) been found whilst all the ministers, organising officials and actual transport chiefs are blameless.
looking forward to another 3 years of feckless leadership from the nats via a dysfunctional supershity structure…..yeah right.
five hours and not a single comment? Remember the Happy feet articles that got zillions within a few hours or the PM fluff pieces that appear almost preloaded?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/politics/5611615/World-Cup-warning-two-years-ago
The latest is, that according to 3 News “the government is using emergency powers to take control of the waterfront for the duration”. What?
Whole thing is snafu. McCully announced a takeover under the RWC Act thingy, had a press conference saying so and giving quotes. So all sorts of media are running that story.
Next minute, McCully goes on Nat Radio and says it’s not a takeover, they are just using some of the powers under the Act to get some resource consents through a bit quicker, and it’s all being done by some ‘officials’ working together with the Council.
It’s an absolute farce.
If you were wondering when all those nasty anti terror and anti freedom of speech laws would come into play, here is your answer. Whether you find the activist in this case Vinny Eastwood a 911 truther in Auckland and and American Freedom radio host irritating or not the news is chilling. No pamphleteering and no sharing of political information on public roads.
Yep, what happened to free speech eh, it’s just a pity Vinny undoes himself with his climate change conspiracy theory…
http://thinkprogress.org/romm/issue/
The issue is not Vinny but the fact that neither he nor you nor anybody can spread info we deem to be of importance out on the streets any more. You might not like his opinions on some matters but I for one will fight for him to have the right to have these opinions. That is the hallmark of an open and free well functioning Democracy.
I support his right to stand on a soapbox and talk, but not the use of a megaphone.
I agree with that, so why is it commercial radio stations can park up seemingly wherever they like and plant big ass public address speakers atop their vehicles and blast commercial radio into public spaces for hours at a time as they hand out Energy Drinks and self promoting T.shirts?
+1, especially when I’m hungover on a weekend.
Although frankly everyone involved in the youtube link were nutbars except the cops. And if the council wants to limit litter and noise pollution, fair enough. But the guy who wuss-pushed him was a bigger dick than the noise-polluter.
I am reminded of the Daddies Rights loon who used to drive around Pt Chev, screeching his hatred of mothers into his sound system, up and down and through Pt Chev shops… thankfully he seems to have retired!
Agreed, wholeheartedly!
What will all the free community newspapers do? then there are the foreign languagenewspapers, the real estate handouts the religous firestarter materials, or are they all going to get the ‘look the other way’ treatment as the only real focus of a law like this is supression of freedom !
Anyone in Auckland looking into how this affects Party Electioneering material ? Or does that have some self serving bylaw protecting it? If so on what basis is it built and where is the law allowing the removal or special allocation of rights to communicate with the Public? Wouldn’t it be funny if they have they overlooked the Electioneering needs of Central and Local bodies and the right wing wish to silence dissent has silenced their own voice.
Take the megaphone restrictions. I understand that you cannot have people willynilly screaming amplified bs across the city centre. I agree with that, so why is it commercial radio stations can park up seemingly wherever they like and plant big ass public address speakers atop their vehicles and blast commercial radio into public spaces for hours at a time as they hand out Energy Drinks and self promoting T.shirts?
My suggestions ignore the law, let it inspire us to turn up with more pamhplet’s than ever. Laws which destroy pirogue to free speech should be ignored, broken and challenged.
Find irregularities in the law, first to expose loopholes, then to exploit the loopholes.
It’s what the experts do everyday and we know it works. Sooner or later the law will be changed or those making the laws will be changed. Exposing yourself unnecessarily to fines and or legal hassle is counterproductive and expensive 🙂
Or; we could take a leaf out of The Yes Men’s book. They created their own version of The New York Times and handed it out to morning commuters. Perhaps we could create a better more honest issue of The Herald, and pass that out instead of pamphlets.
Who knows somebody with a printing press?
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/minister-bad-manners-stuns-aussies-4398169
Who was it? Any takers?
Hidney?
local MP on North Shore, minister, history of bad behaviour in corporate boxes…..
Serious question about the trains in Auckland?
Could the doors NOT be opened?
What would have happened if there had been a fire?
I’m no expert but the doors are probably on an emergency open mechanism. There is an override.
In case of fire, put it out… don’t panic. Then call your mama to let her know you are all A OK Dv.
Gerry Brownlee’s present location of Monaco was unfortunate for giving the impression that he is hard at work massaging the reinsurance corporates on behalf of Christchurch. The reinsurers have cushy surroundings!
Isn’t that fellow… what’s his name now… ah that’s right… Owen Glenn based in Monaco? Got a lot of spare cash going to the highest bidders I believe. That is, if he gets his name on a few plaques and a knighthood or two and oh… a diplomatic passport, and a say in who runs NZ even though he hasn’t lived here for yonks and doesn’t have the first clue about the place.
Sounds like he’s a good spec. for the Key govt.
Peter ‘lap dog’ Dunne gives us another reason to banish him and the brains of the outfit – his sentient hairpiece – back into the oblivion of irrelevance from whence they came…
After years of propping up big tobacco he has found another way to maximize harm, rejecting the three strikes cannibis recommendation from the law commission report.
I just hear ion National Radio’s news that Stephen Joyce is coming to Auckland to show us how to get our PT right. This should be interesting as this Clown is part of the problem.
This was followed with Kathryn Ryan conducting an apology for an interview with Michael Barnett, CEO of Auckland Chamber of Commerce, who “didn’t want to point any fingers at who to blame” and then proceeded to repeatedly point the blame at only Auckland Council.
Of course Veolia, the privately owned international transport operator who run Auckland trains, were blameless.
Auckland Transport, the CCO set up by Hide under the amalgamation to manage Auckland’s public transport, were blameless.
Murray McCully and John Key, who spent 18 months encouraging one and all to come to “Party Central”- a venue with a capacity of mere 12,000, were blameless.
Steven Joyce, who refuses to recognise that Auckland is in dire need of a workable PT system, was blameless.
The RWC organisers, who decided to hold the opening ceremony and opening game on the same weekday night, were blameless.
So what did we learn from Michael Barnett? Well we learnt that he doesn’t like Len Brown and the current Auckland Council – but then we knew that already.
Well done National Radio!- I guess at least your boss will be pleased.
Wasn’t Michael Barnett the co-ordinator of RWC events? Was he paid? If so then surely he’s accountable. But then he’s CEO of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and people like him don’t do accountability well.
Ah, patents, don’t you just love them?
Pike River Payout
On the 9th the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Pike River Mine heard from a trainer for mines rescue, Glen Stiles, who said that the equipment in the fresh air base contained nothing of use for somebody trying to escape.
Today we learn that the Police believe men could have survived the initial blast, and were waiting to be rescued around that air pocket.
But if all that wasn’t bad enough, the New Zealand Herald reported today that Pike River Coal’s receivers will get a big payout…
There’s nothing in that Herald report about the receivers getting a payout, jackal, though I presume they are getting paid for their efforts. They’ve done excellent work here freeing up money for the creditors, who are, for the most part, local contractors and the former workers at the mine. I’m told most of the locals are well chuffed at the early payout, and when the mine is sold in a month or two, there is a good prospect of the rest of what is owed being paid out too.
I’m just not sure what you see as the problem here, as it appears to be a terrific boost to the people owed money by PRC and it will probably save a few local businesses from folding.
The oil engorged tentacles of the vampire squid:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/12/pipeline-fire-nairobi-slum
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/12/kenya-pipeline-explosion-deaths-analysis
“The explosions mostly take place in poor countries because international oil and gas companies often fail to bury or protect their pipelines as they would have to do by law in rich countries. The easily accessible pipes, which often run through slums and informal settlements in burgeoning cities, are tempting to desperately poor communities, who often have no electricity and must rely on oil lamps for lighting and power.”
And the threats by oil companies over dismantling old infrastructure.
North Sea oil bosses have told the Government that uncertainty over who will pay the £30bn bill for dismantling old platforms is even more harmful to investment than the Chancellor’s unpopular tax grab on energy companies.
joe90 The oil ring demolishment cost discussion illustrates clearly one of the problems with technologies that can be harmful if not controlled closely from start to finish. Once the finish comes and the money is rung out of it, then what to do with the messy leftover bits. Same for nuclear power when the time arrives to relinquish the old infrastructure. Who pays the piper then?
Another smaller technology disposal problem is being dealt with in a practical way, though I don’t know if NZ has caught up with it. We tend to languish with egg on our face behind the others in the egg and spoon race. I like the idea of more being paid up front for computers and so on to cover the cost of its disposal. Of course the money has to go into a separate holding and safe account held by reliable authorities. Can’t leave it with the business or you can get the same situation of those suffering from disappearing pension funds.
Same old top end welfare Prism, years of dividend gains are private but because royalties have been paid any wind up costs become solely the taxpayers responsibility. And if you don’t pay we’ll take our bat and go play somewhere else.
The Pike river debacle will be our own version. Had the scheme been a winner those behind it would have quite happily taken profits while complaining bitterly about compliance and royalty costs.
Now they’ll hide behind limited liability and put their hand out for top end welfare while bleating about how we, the heroic investors, took a punt and did our dough and now we’re broke the costs of the disaster and site clean are beyond us.
Ban ki-Moon says evidence of Global Warming can be found in…..
the state of the inland Aral Sea.
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/un-boss-urges-climate-sceptics-to-wake-up-20110909-1k11a.html
Now some of us may remember the Aral Sea as being used in a Soviet experiment to become self-sufficient in cotton and rice.
Their trick was to redirect the two rivers feeding the Aral into their cotton/rice lands.
Result – no water into the Aral sea [in the 1960’s]. Now empty.
Also – no joy on growing cotton or rice.
Yep – the UN Secretary General says this is evidence of catastrophic Climate Change
Would you want this man to lead the world?
Wanna buy some lignite?
http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.com/2011/09/lignite-salesman.html
Some useful lignite links:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Leave-the-Lignite-Save-the-Soil/129179047159254
http://www.facebook.com/groups/218300434877031/
Front page of the Waikato Times… Happy Feet has been eaten by a whale!
For real? Awesome! (Oh come on, it’s an animal, get a sense of proportion.) 😀
This’ll make ya smirk.
Wikipedia vs The Jackal
A few days ago I wrote about the trouble I was having over at Wikipedia, in a post entitled Will Wikipedia Kill The Jackal?
Well it turns out to be a bit more than just other editors fucking with my articles by not following the rules. Since I started editing Wikipedia entries, an increase in cyber-warfare has seen the death of one of my email accounts and attack bots trying to harvest info from my blogger account…
thejackal editing Wikipedia, well ain’t that something????
Time for a Tax Revamp
Gareth Morgan and Susan Guthrie answered the critics of their ideas to transform NZ’s tax and welfare system in a great read on the New Zealand Herald website today. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no fan but I believe in giving credit where credit is due. They answer the three main criticism to their proposals, and the main one to stand out for me was their answer for CRITICISM 2: Many people will choose not to work at all if they get the UBI…
What the …
Wellington is seizing control of AUckland’s waterfront using the RWC powers.
Pillocks. There are no further planned concerts and no likelihood of a repeat of Friday’s events.
They are trying to shift blame. This is deeply, deeply cynical.
If they didnt do it, people would complain, its a good move.
According to Brett Dale more dictatorship is good.
Draco T Bastard:
No i dont want aunty helen back.
No, you want actual dictators from the RWA NAct rather than someone capable of doing to job of PM who isn’t a dictator.
The role of govt is whatever govt say it is….. that’s the kind of thing a true dictator would say eh Draco.
Great move by the PM, Brown is an incompetent idiot and needs to be put in his place.
Minor point, it was Murray McCully not the PM. But yeah, its an awesome because the stuff that Len had no control over, will know be the stuff that McCully has no control over.
It’s amazing just how open the RWNJs are becoming about their desire for a dictatorship.
Arctic sea ice hits record low
The Arctic sea ice hit a record low of 4.24 million square kilometres on Sept. 8, breaking a previous record set on Sept. 16, 2007 by 27,000 square kilometres, the Physical Analysis and Remote Sensing Images unit at the University of Bremen’s Institute of Physical Analysis reported in a news release.
Yeah, the melt hasn’t finished yet.
The solution to all that bad news about sea ice melting, kill the satellite funding.
Federal budget cuts are threatening to leave the U.S. without some critical satellites, the officials say, and that could mean less accurate warnings about events like tornadoes and blizzards. In particular, officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are concerned about satellites that orbit over the earth’s poles rather than remaining over a fixed spot along the equator
Just been announced on SkyNews Australia that Obama is to visit Oz in late November. Sadly, there won’t be time to catch up with BFF John Key. Obama is said to be gutted, repeatedly asking ‘who?’.