Middle class welfare! The new target group for National. Having belted beneficiaries, de-unionised workers, they're now after the middle class.
They're wrong on two counts. First, the Tesla meme is an exaggerated reaction to a policy that moves NZ car owners towards fuel efficiency and renewable energy.
Second, the middle class are the "mum and dad investors", those "ordinary hard-working kiwis" and middle of the road voters. National mocks them at their peril.
"the luvies who want to drive a Tesla to lunch" indeed!
All they'll have left are the one per centers and their 10% wannabes to compete with ACT for.
Or are we seeing a new rural conservative party arising out of the ashes of National as the middle class hate meme and the 'luvies to lunch' seems to indicate a rural bias there.
Which brands do hybrids? I know Toyota are working on a hybrid ute but it may not be available for a while and as you say, Ford Ranger don't do one. Do Mazda or Mitsubishi do them?
Looking through the main car sites, there doesn't seem to be any hybrid alternatives at the moment for utes, so I guess diesel Ford Rangers, Toyota Hilux and Mitsubishi Tritons will all remain in the top 10 selling vehicles for a while yet.
All well and good Ad if you live in USA…………..and even then production starting middle of 2022!
"Right now it seems that this Lightning will only be available in America, with left-hand drive production kicking off in the middle of 2022. We're reached out to Ford New Zealand for comment, but we won't be holding our breath for the electric truck. "
They are very practical vehicles for throwing timber in the back along with a wheel barrow and a ladder. Try doing that with a Nissan leaf. So often is a need. Currently in NZ there seems to be no alternative and probably the Hybrid Toyota Hilux will most likely be the first available non diesel option in NZ but probably wont be until 2022 at earliest.
Yes, there are a few that * need * a double-cab ute – or at least, a double-cab ute is the most practical vehicle for them.
I suspect they're a small minority of double-cab ute purchasers. Certainly of the double-cab ute owners I know, the majority of them are quite open that a station wagon or van would be much more practical, with a trailer for the very rare big loads, but the tax benefits and image of the ute swung it for them. Oh, plus towing the boat, although they don't mention that bit to the IRD.
After all, all these various groups of people managed just fine in the times not very far back when double-cab utes weren't the domineering feature of our roads.
Pop down to any country golf course and see how many tradies, rural estate agents and farmers have used their "work essentials" to get them to golf. And the farmers are probably using pink diesel to power them as well …
Now I've never owned a new ute and never will I guess, but there are valid reasons to turn you utes over every 3 years or so due to thier resale value falling off a cliff after that
Pat – yes RUC, but the diesel that fills the tanks of the farm ute is not from the local bowser. It is delivered in bulk to the farm for the tractors and some of it finds its way into the ute's tanks.
The whole reason for ruc's is because it's the simple way for road tax to be gathered when huge amounts of diesel is not for rd usage . I'm picking more than a few farmers pay alot of ruc while not actually on the nzta road network.
Funny how many of the ones in the supermarket carparks or on a school run have neither trade tools or advertising. I guess they're all undercover tradies.
BTW, since 2019 the rav4 has had a hybrid option, so low emission. the farmers and tradies can all buy them.
I wonder if toyota do the black trim and tints for extra, like some of the other road tanks? Gotta look butch, but as soon as it's about emissions then "omagerd I haz no cash" lol
You letting your bias show , I just firmly believe that social good taxs need to be avoidable to be fair . And ite are hands down the best option for us out here .
Got my ute 2nd hand ,got mint tints btw bit of a midlife c thing😀
The number of people who will "need" to buy a new 4wd in the (maybe) months between when the fees start and when more varieties of low/no-emission (therefore rebated) 4wd come on the market will be very small indeed.
I suggest it will be much smaller than the listed number of 4wds sold in 2020, which was Jimmy's response to my "who needs to urgently buy a 4WD?" I doubt anywhere near that number were in a sudden, urgent need to have a new 4wd that day.
Thing that interests me more is how the 2nd hand market will be affected. Theory 1 is that prices will increase as utes/4WDs become less available. Theory 2 is that prices will drop as there will be an excess on the market due to Aucklanders buying EVs rather than SUVs. We're all guessing atm.
I'm less optimistic about the EV 4WD market than you. I want to hope I am wrong, but the whole thing is shifting deck chairs on the Titanic, so I should probably shut up.
Well here you go McFlock. Seems like Jacinda has been given incorrect info. regarding the availability of electric / hybrid utes. Farmers and some tradies if they need a ute are not going to have any electric option for over two years. And if you think the Ford Lightning will be available in two years time right hand drive, I have a bridge to sell you.
"Toyota has since confirmed it has no plans to bring any electric utes into New Zealand within the next two years."
If you require machinery for your business, like a farm, isn't that a tax-deductible expense?
Same for tradies, I thought that's the reason many tradies have to top-of-the-range utes with sports-package etc. Surely that's the only version suitable for the job they have to do.
I think it's essential long-term to reduce the number of gas-guzzlers coming into the country now. Those cars – the majority of those are not used on farms (Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger have the highest sales in NZ) – will be on the road for the next 15 to 20 years. Same with busses: Wellington Council should have been forced to replace the trolley buses with fully electrical ones. Instead we got more polluting (incl. noise as a form of pollution) ones, that will be around for a long, long time.
what size ranch do you have that needs a 500 k range? our farm vehicles (utes and four wheelers) hardly ever do more that 80-100 k a day, and thats going between five different farmblocks and moving stock twice a day(currently doing that and grazing drycows). electric would suit us perfectly.as for towing power, electrics have unbeatable torque figures ,so towing is fine.
A gisborne coast farmer going to the sale in Napier would chew some ks in a day I expect. Pulling a 3 tonne trailer loaded up would take some grunt dontya think.
Interesting point BW and I'm afraid I don't see farmers as the enemy. A lot of farming communities have been gutted by big biz buying up and forest planting or running industrial cow size cow farms.
Yes there appear to be hybrid utes coming (but the toyota mentioned below may well not qualify because the other toyota hybrids are not actually plug in). Work vehicles are also tax deductible which lessens the impact – or purchasing off the second hand market.
What do you think would be the best transitional policy until electric and hybrids are more readily available in that sector.
Just let them claim back the tax until such time there are atleast 2 or 3 models available that can do the job.
Shit if I was in the position to I'd buy an electric tomorrow, I cant wait till our 4 wheelers are electric , one gets sick of the constant noise of the motor.
Not quite the quad you're bouncing around on right now, but close. Won't be long before some chinese company decides to do a standard traditional quad in electric, if they haven't already. Then it's just a matter of someone importing it.
Fantastic result overnight, our men's cricket team convincingly beating England to win a rare test series and return to the number one spot in rankings.
6 first choice players were rested or injured and they still won in a canter. Great bowling, solid batting and disciplined feilding from our side was met with tardy fielding, sub-standard wicket keeping and poor batting.
We take confidence and momentum into the Test Final vs India on Friday.
They have been wary for a while,the BCCI pulled all the strings they could to get the final in Southampton, the home of world cricket ( yeah right ) and the most spin friendly pitch in England. Let’s put Ajax’s and Ish in the lineup and bowl the manipulators out of contention. Now that would be irony.
It's not just the announcement of the riding and walking bridge over the Waitemata Harbour, the directive to Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency to investigate opening a lane on the bridge for people on bikes, walking, scootering, or the various announcements that this Government will now not be sinking resources into specific road building projects that will bake in carbon emissions and poor health for the community for decades to come.
Indeed, rather than looking at isolated local proposals, look at the overall picture that is emerging, which is pretty good from my PoV.
I don't imagine that this is particularly easy for Wood. It has taken a long time for anyone in power to really get moving on this journey, which is a pretty good metric that challenging the status quo is hard when you want to collaborate and make it stick.
It's not just about wanting it to happen, you need to keep your values front and centre, have the right amount of power at the right time, good relationships, as well as being confident in the evidence in the face of a very loud opposition to change.
And on this issue it is only going to get louder as experts like Dr Kirsty Wild show us. I suspect it has been as much about convincing those who want to keep the status quo in his own party as anything – transport mode shift is not simply a party political issue, it's about values, identity and emotions.
Well said. It really puzzles me that quite a few commenters here run the neo-liberal ruler over proposals like hardcore economists of the NZI and focus relentlessly on cold hard dollars, business plans, and ROIs. No values in sight but plenty of negative emotions on display.
The linked article by Dr Kirsty Wild is very good too and the word “bikelash” is a perfect description of the anti-cycling bridge hysteria we have witnessed lately, here on TS and elsewhere.
Two very good reads and highly recommended, as they filled a few gaps in my understanding, which is still vast and huge.
Yes – this bikelash thing seems very peculiar. Here in Aus I can see and use plenty of cycling oriented infrastructure and I'm not seeing any particular reaction to it. Maybe there are some merits to being a pack of feral racist rednecks after all. /sarc
Yes Redlogix, they (Aus) came at it from a health and fitness angle, and added exercise parks along the routes. Great example in Hervey Bay from the Urangan Pier to the Esplanade. Another advantage is five times our population to help bear costs.
A good leverage to get government to act to help 'ghost' houses to be used, inhabited, managed competently and lawfully, and insured. There is one empty in Nelson where the children cannot agree on parents' estate terms and the house sits empty for years.
Something went wrong when I put up this and then made change. I got my previous comment back. This is what was meant to go under yours Patricia.
I read of a small town in Austria with nice scenery and needing some business. They established some lovely walks, in a loop which became popular and brought business. They had stops on the walk with seats at a view, and an attraction at each stop, also exercises to do – part of a health plan, where if you stayed two weeks say and did part of the walks, and ate to a special diet, you went away feeling rejuvenated and refreshed.
That would be better than having madmen, women and children, throw themselves onto bikes and streak about the place, or ride side by side blocking access, or hare up hill and down dale in races or doing bike tricks. Inevitably there will be more accidents from being on two wheels than two legs.
Well a bikelash is hardly surprising. Don't get me wrong I am not interested in building more grand road projects (the Key holiday highway being a good example) . Putting more money into public transport yes.
But
massive funding for a preferred leisure/health activity for a few people – not interested
massive funding for a harbour crossing that benefits a very limited geographic area – not interested
massive funding for a transport means used by very few people even if the current usage trebles- not interested.
massive funding for projects that a good number of the community are physically unable to access – not interested
This funding is being taken from a community that is constantly being told there is not money for hospitals, leaking schools, feeding kids, housing etc.It smacks far too much of entitlement by a very small group not a green solution for the many. Even down to the ‘why do we have to look at any cost benefits analysis” lines being run.
All of those are used by few travellers, most physically unable to access them, all involve huge volumes of capital both private and public, all achieve minimal returns if measured by kind of trips taken on average, all are subsidised up to their eyeballs.
When you scroll down to the Auckland modeshare maps by data meshblock, you can see that the areas with the most investment over the last two decades are the areas where public transport use is over 60%, and those areas are:
And for that amount of subsidy per trip, and all of that capital, Auckland is barely holding steady against the car as a preferred means of getting to work. The 2018 Census Journey to Work stats show:
Private vehicle use in Auckland is slightly above that nationally but it has some down more, dropping from 72% to 70% in 2018.
Buses have increased share by 1.1% to 7.1%, trains have gone from 1.7% to 3%. That means a combined bus and train increase of 2.4%. Combined with ferries, PT is sitting at 10.7% share of journeys to work.
Working from home has also gone up but only by 0.9% so not as much as it has nationally.
Like Nationally, the overall share of walking and cycling has decreased but only just and it looks to be a reflection of other modes growing more strongly.
If we are do defeat carbon saturation against the worst of our carbon debts, we are going to keep throwing $$billions of public subsidy against all kinds of non-car modes for decades. That will take all available modes, forming new networks, using lots of capital.
The arguments you are using are the same ones I’ve heard used for decades, against any mode that competes against the car.
If bikes are so great why did people ever shift to cars? And last time I looked most of NZ still lived outside Auckland – but hey we should be so grateful that we want to pay for the bridge that is used by a small group of people from a very confined geographic area. We’d be better off shifting businesses to smaller towns.
Rather than this mode shifting just up the public transport and maybe have bus lanes only on some of the mojor routes. No cars and no expensive outlay for an unproven mode shift.
Cars are certainly a superior form of transport to the truck, horse, train, bicycle, scooter, and to walking, if you live in a city in which:
– Central government completely reversed investment in rail and trams, and towards motorways and cars, since 1949 when Labour were voted out, totalling hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars
– all the tramlines were been stripped out 60 years ago
– all the planning over 70 years had huge industrial areas separated by tens of kilometers from residential areas
– passenger rail was stripped down so bad that they were close to just scrapping it in the 1990s
– bus transport was privatised and essentially left for dead since the late 1980s
– RUC was unable to be used on rail for multiple decades
– cities were spread out and high rises were discouraged until the 1970s
– road design favoured the car for nearly a century
– cities were dominated by National-aligned majorities and mayors
– where National-led governments since 1949 (ie over 50% of Parliamentary dominance) actively undermined public transport .. until the second term of the Key government.
And as a result we have the most car-dominated urban environment in the OECD, one of the most car-saturated, most carbon-polluting, and in public health we have the third most obese city in the world.
I've said before, the horse people resisted the car… forcing cars to have a person walking in front yelling "Car coming" so they would not scare the horses.
Now we need bells on the bikes.. especially in shared spaces. Pedestrians will need to be aware how quiet EVs are, when sharing spaces.
It worries me that Sydney has about 4x the Auckland population, has a better climate for riding more year round, and is a flat bridge, and yet the cycle traffic per day is around 2,000 people. It's hard to imagine even 1,000 people using this in Auckland especially on a day like today.
By cutting down refining in NZ, and relying on that done in other countries and having to be shipped here, people may have to cycle if transport systems are curtailed by fuel problems. Business will be given some leniency presumably. But we are getting more dependent on imports to keep the country going.
With imported refined fuel there can be possible consequences if it isn't good quality (there has been fuel here – diesel? -that had some substance polluting it.) We are importing mostly unrefined fuel now, but we control our refining systems.
We should be continuing with the refinery to ensure an intelligent cross-over to other fuels, and encouraging diminishing individual trip numbers with public transport – could be small local tuk-tuks and encouraging taxi circles with neighbourhoods using group trips to bus hubs, or where there are few buses available.
Transport companies could be encouraged to reform their business style to use rail where it provides good value for both entities. We have to plan for the South Island where high seas will threaten the present main line, and roads can be blocked by slips and ruined bridges. Co-ordination and forethought, not precipitate business action would be wise.
"The agreement includes provision for third party access to unutilised capacity on its Refinery to Auckland Pipeline (RAP). Refining NZ remains focused on concluding negotiations with its only other current refinery customer Mobil," the company said..
"Refining NZ processes a range of crude oils imported from offshore markets to produce premium and regular petrol, diesel, aviation and kerosene, and fuel oils for our oil company customers (BP, Mobil and Z Energy). The Marsden Point oil refinery supplies around 70% of New Zealand fuel demand, delivering fuel to Auckland through the Refinery to Auckland Pipeline (RAP), to Northland from the Marsden Point site and to other parts of New Zealand through coastal shipping vessels," the company says…
Refining NZ is pushing ahead with plans to stop refining operations at New Zealand's only oil refinery at Marsden Point, Northland.
Depending on various approvals the company is looking at switching to an import-only model by the middle of next year.
"On current estimates, a final decision in Q3 2021 would enable a conversion to occur by mid-2022." …
James said the company had been working hard on the detailed planning about "exactly how we might run an import terminal operation", and what other opportunities there might be for the site.
"Marsden Point has huge potential being a large industrial consented site, with deep water port access, large electricity and gas connections and a highly skilled workforce. We want to explore what the best opportunities are for the site, for our region, and for New Zealand."
Leaders at the G7 summit in England have been told to demonstrate the “global will” to tackle climate change by David Attenborough.
The television naturalist said the scientific response to the Covid-19 pandemic had demonstrated what was possible when there was a “clear and urgent” goal.
But the fight against climate change was as much a “political and communications” challenge as a scientific one, he said in a video address.
And the G7 is also expected to commit to increasing their contributions to international climate finance, to help developing countries deal with the impact of climate change and to support sustainable growth.
But environmentalists have warned that previous climate finance targets have already been missed, and that aspirations to conserve 30% of our land and sea lack any form of plan as to how the areas will actually be protected.
Ahead of his address to world leaders, Sir David had said: "The natural world today is greatly diminished. That is undeniable."
"Our climate is warming fast. That is beyond doubt. Our societies and nations are unequal and that is sadly is plain to see."
…
On Saturday night, the leaders enjoyed a beach BBQ in Carbis Bay and witnessed a flypast by the Red Arrows.
Critics questioned the display by nine aerobatic jet aircraft amid the summit’s focus on climate change.
Maybe a 'spend & consume' strategy will limit global warming to 1.5˚C – time will tell.
I'm wandering around in short sleeves and the woolly hats sitting on the bike ( a stones throw from ruapehu), it's hard not to think 1.5° is already in the rearview mirror.
Not so good for NZ winters. We benefit from the cold in all sorts of ways – keeping the bugs down for one. And some trees and plants need freezing as part of their growth cycle.
Thanks Grey – good in NZ winters for some cold-sensitive people who enjoy the outdoors, even the odd winter dip, and don't have much fruit'n'veg in their diets.
Wearing sensible clothes in winter here would help. Schoolkids don't like wearing raincoats, girls abandon long sleeves in favour of shoestring straps the minute some sun peeps through. Miniskirts come and go, hardly covering any leg, just leggings are worn instead of under trousers, jeans are worn though they are just cold cotton and wouldn't stop a snowman freezing. Getting away from computers or studying small oblongs, weird habit, would mean a short walk which is what I will have to do this winter.
Have you worked in an op shop, and seen the stuff there that is passed over because 'not everyone is wearing it'?
Alternatively some op shops CHARGES are Too High. They need to find a way, about a month after every new season changeover, and people dash in to get the best stuff, to have families that are known to be needy come in on a closed morning say, and get all the family something warm and a few extras for just a few dollars; good to pay something then they don't feel like absolute beggars.
But people often don't buy useful stuff in reasonable condition. I think even amongst the hard-up there is a dress code that governs the choices.
Yes that bug thing makes my skin crawl! Mainly at the thought of the combination of us and CC killing the world. And yet so many people go blithely on.
…Uncertain and afraid
As the clever hopes expire
Of a low dishonest decade:
Waves of anger and fear
Circulate over the bright
And darkened lands of the earth,…
Faces along the bar
Cling to their average day:
The lights must never go out,
The music must always play,…
This is an example of how womens lib didn't finish its task of improving conditions for women, gaining proper respect and understanding for their vital role in guiding their children and being in a mutual nurturing partnership with their partner, attaining reasonable and secure standard of living, and realising a full life in the community.
For men, there was a 4.4 percent drop in those in less secure jobs, and only a slight 0.2 percent decrease in those in permanent work….
Contract work Pffftttt.
But she'd like something more secure – a permanent part-time job.
"I'd prefer that over doing the contracting work, purely because you just don't know how much money's coming in every week and when it's going to stop, because at any stage they can actually turn around and say we've got no more work for you."
But permanent jobs that she can fit around her kids are hard to come by.
"There's probably quite a few mums that feel the same way. We all want to work and we've got the skills to work. It just means that we have to find employers that are keen to actually take us on."
Here is a very excellent interview with author Jenny Chan, talking about her book on contemporary industrial Chinese workers and the dire conditions in the mega factories they work in while making so much of what we all consume….strangely enough this issue is never really brought up any more, even throughout this current anti-China moment…very strange.
Hi Adrian. I have visited factories in a number of locations in China, Vietnam, Bangladesh and into the Pacific (although obviously not since early 2020). I have visited factories in China that would do any country proud in terms of workers conditions, but I have also visited many that were stuck in a time warp of shocking conditions, both in the factories themselves and in worker hostels/accommodation. I have walked out of more than one in utter disgust.
What kind of administration gets its Justice Department to secretly investigate one of its own top lawyers while said top lawyer is still serving with zero hint of any kind of impropriety or disloyalty?
Is it just me, or does it really look like the only criteria Repugs use for selecting their presidents is whether their choice can be bad enough to make previous Repugs look better in hindsight? I mean geez, trying to dig dirt on McGahn is waay lower than even anything Nixon tried.
A good leverage to get government to act to help 'ghost' houses to be used, inhabited, managed competently and lawfully, and insured. There is one empty in Nelson where the children cannot agree on parents' estate terms and the house sits empty for years.
Geoff Williams of Rotorua's council is enviably adept at flannel with his outward looking internally appointed 7 outcome focused deputy ceos blahblahblah.
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Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Photo by Jari Hytönen on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
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 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 ...
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https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300331693/government-offers-8625-discount-on-evs-reviving-policy-killed-by-nz-first
I ask you to put aside your enmity for farmers and consider how unfair it is to tax farmers for buying Utes when there is no viable other option.
We carry dogs ,chemicals,chainsaws and alsorts of other things you really dont want in the back seat.
And who the hell would be seen in the Tesla ute!!
This policy is not designed for the productive economy. It’s middle class welfare for the luvies who want to drive a subsidised 80k Tesla to lunch.
Middle class welfare! The new target group for National. Having belted beneficiaries, de-unionised workers, they're now after the middle class.
They're wrong on two counts. First, the Tesla meme is an exaggerated reaction to a policy that moves NZ car owners towards fuel efficiency and renewable energy.
Second, the middle class are the "mum and dad investors", those "ordinary hard-working kiwis" and middle of the road voters. National mocks them at their peril.
"the luvies who want to drive a Tesla to lunch" indeed!
All they'll have left are the one per centers and their 10% wannabes to compete with ACT for.
Or are we seeing a new rural conservative party arising out of the ashes of National as the middle class hate meme and the 'luvies to lunch' seems to indicate a rural bias there.
There is a rebate is also available for hybrid vehicles. There are hybrid utes available. You don't all have to have a ranger.
Which brands do hybrids? I know Toyota are working on a hybrid ute but it may not be available for a while and as you say, Ford Ranger don't do one. Do Mazda or Mitsubishi do them?
I know that the hybrid toyota hi lux is just about here, if not already here.
From August last year.
The 4×4 hybrid technology is well developed – just the addition of a different body, and enough people demanding them.
Looking through the main car sites, there doesn't seem to be any hybrid alternatives at the moment for utes, so I guess diesel Ford Rangers, Toyota Hilux and Mitsubishi Tritons will all remain in the top 10 selling vehicles for a while yet.
Might change quicker than you expect. Supply and demand, mate.
With an $8k sweetener on offer, maybe some non-traditional names might see their opportunity to get their foothold in NZ. Like Great Wall, or LDV.
Both you and Jacinda seemed to believe the EV Hi Lux just about here. I tend to believe Toyota.
Toyota NZ CEO Neera Lala was lying in when he said we hope to have Hilux hybrid enter the market before the end of next year?
Well he certainly isn't saying it now!
How far away are electric utes? | Stuff.co.nz
Ford does the Ford 150, already launched and produced now.
They are already swamped with orders.
All well and good Ad if you live in USA…………..and even then production starting middle of 2022!
"Right now it seems that this Lightning will only be available in America, with left-hand drive production kicking off in the middle of 2022. We're reached out to Ford New Zealand for comment, but we won't be holding our breath for the electric truck. "
https://www.driven.co.nz/news/ford-s-all-electric-f-150-lightning-combines-practicality-and-impressive-performance/
So the gap between vehicles already in the country and that being available in mid-2022 is… how long?
Who needs to urgently buy a 4wd?
I think you're dreaming if you think that will be available in NZ in 2022.
Who needs one now? Seems like a lot of builders, electricians, plumbers?, Farmers and other trades people. Look at top vehicle sales in NZ for 2020.
https://www.autocar.co.nz/autocar-news-app/revealed-new-zealand-s-10-most-popular-cars-of-2020
"Need" is something different than "purchased for image or tax rort reasons".
They are very practical vehicles for throwing timber in the back along with a wheel barrow and a ladder. Try doing that with a Nissan leaf. So often is a need. Currently in NZ there seems to be no alternative and probably the Hybrid Toyota Hilux will most likely be the first available non diesel option in NZ but probably wont be until 2022 at earliest.
Well, the fees won't begin until 2022, so that's convenient timing, innit.
Yes, there are a few that * need * a double-cab ute – or at least, a double-cab ute is the most practical vehicle for them.
I suspect they're a small minority of double-cab ute purchasers. Certainly of the double-cab ute owners I know, the majority of them are quite open that a station wagon or van would be much more practical, with a trailer for the very rare big loads, but the tax benefits and image of the ute swung it for them. Oh, plus towing the boat, although they don't mention that bit to the IRD.
After all, all these various groups of people managed just fine in the times not very far back when double-cab utes weren't the domineering feature of our roads.
Pop down to any country golf course and see how many tradies, rural estate agents and farmers have used their "work essentials" to get them to golf. And the farmers are probably using pink diesel to power them as well …
@logie…pink diesel isnt a thing in NZ…we have RUC instead
Now I've never owned a new ute and never will I guess, but there are valid reasons to turn you utes over every 3 years or so due to thier resale value falling off a cliff after that
Pat – yes RUC, but the diesel that fills the tanks of the farm ute is not from the local bowser. It is delivered in bulk to the farm for the tractors and some of it finds its way into the ute's tanks.
The whole reason for ruc's is because it's the simple way for road tax to be gathered when huge amounts of diesel is not for rd usage . I'm picking more than a few farmers pay alot of ruc while not actually on the nzta road network.
@logie…very possibly so but that makes no difference to the RUC incurred.
Funny how many of the ones in the supermarket carparks or on a school run have neither trade tools or advertising. I guess they're all undercover tradies.
BTW, since 2019 the rav4 has had a hybrid option, so low emission. the farmers and tradies can all buy them.
I wonder if toyota do the black trim and tints for extra, like some of the other road tanks? Gotta look butch, but as soon as it's about emissions then "omagerd I haz no cash" lol
You letting your bias show , I just firmly believe that social good taxs need to be avoidable to be fair . And ite are hands down the best option for us out here .
Got my ute 2nd hand ,got mint tints btw bit of a midlife c thing😀
that lots of townies own utes and 4WDS isn't a good reason not to support country people owning them.
https://twitter.com/LewSOS/status/1404270199419801600
there's politics too,
https://twitter.com/LewSOS/status/1404274193466728454
The number of people who will "need" to buy a new 4wd in the (maybe) months between when the fees start and when more varieties of low/no-emission (therefore rebated) 4wd come on the market will be very small indeed.
I suggest it will be much smaller than the listed number of 4wds sold in 2020, which was Jimmy's response to my "who needs to urgently buy a 4WD?" I doubt anywhere near that number were in a sudden, urgent need to have a new 4wd that day.
Thing that interests me more is how the 2nd hand market will be affected. Theory 1 is that prices will increase as utes/4WDs become less available. Theory 2 is that prices will drop as there will be an excess on the market due to Aucklanders buying EVs rather than SUVs. We're all guessing atm.
I'm less optimistic about the EV 4WD market than you. I want to hope I am wrong, but the whole thing is shifting deck chairs on the Titanic, so I should probably shut up.
Well here you go McFlock. Seems like Jacinda has been given incorrect info. regarding the availability of electric / hybrid utes. Farmers and some tradies if they need a ute are not going to have any electric option for over two years. And if you think the Ford Lightning will be available in two years time right hand drive, I have a bridge to sell you.
"Toyota has since confirmed it has no plans to bring any electric utes into New Zealand within the next two years."
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/06/clean-car-package-toyota-new-zealand-shuts-down-jacinda-ardern-s-claim-company-is-talking-about-bringing-in-ev-utes.html
Seems like you're conflating electric and hybrid, which your link doesn't do:
If you require machinery for your business, like a farm, isn't that a tax-deductible expense?
Same for tradies, I thought that's the reason many tradies have to top-of-the-range utes with sports-package etc. Surely that's the only version suitable for the job they have to do.
I think it's essential long-term to reduce the number of gas-guzzlers coming into the country now. Those cars – the majority of those are not used on farms (Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger have the highest sales in NZ) – will be on the road for the next 15 to 20 years. Same with busses: Wellington Council should have been forced to replace the trolley buses with fully electrical ones. Instead we got more polluting (incl. noise as a form of pollution) ones, that will be around for a long, long time.
By all means tax townies lux's, and the more intelligent tradies I know use Van's, they are a far better fit for their type of cargo.
But until there is a selection of ev Utes with 500 is of distance and towing power , remove it from rural utes.
what size ranch do you have that needs a 500 k range? our farm vehicles (utes and four wheelers) hardly ever do more that 80-100 k a day, and thats going between five different farmblocks and moving stock twice a day(currently doing that and grazing drycows). electric would suit us perfectly.as for towing power, electrics have unbeatable torque figures ,so towing is fine.
A gisborne coast farmer going to the sale in Napier would chew some ks in a day I expect. Pulling a 3 tonne trailer loaded up would take some grunt dontya think.
Interesting point BW and I'm afraid I don't see farmers as the enemy. A lot of farming communities have been gutted by big biz buying up and forest planting or running industrial cow size cow farms.
Yes there appear to be hybrid utes coming (but the toyota mentioned below may well not qualify because the other toyota hybrids are not actually plug in). Work vehicles are also tax deductible which lessens the impact – or purchasing off the second hand market.
What do you think would be the best transitional policy until electric and hybrids are more readily available in that sector.
Just let them claim back the tax until such time there are atleast 2 or 3 models available that can do the job.
Shit if I was in the position to I'd buy an electric tomorrow, I cant wait till our 4 wheelers are electric , one gets sick of the constant noise of the motor.
Not sure when the policy comes in but we may see a peak in petrol buying before then?
People are thick it seems a no brainer to by ev if you can , just the service fees alone must be a huge saving.
Not quite the quad you're bouncing around on right now, but close. Won't be long before some chinese company decides to do a standard traditional quad in electric, if they haven't already. Then it's just a matter of someone importing it.
https://electrek.co/2021/02/06/awesomely-weird-alibaba-ev-of-the-week-40-mph-electric-dune-buggy/
Don't worry, we all know there'll be an except-for-farmers clause.
Fantastic result overnight, our men's cricket team convincingly beating England to win a rare test series and return to the number one spot in rankings.
6 first choice players were rested or injured and they still won in a canter. Great bowling, solid batting and disciplined feilding from our side was met with tardy fielding, sub-standard wicket keeping and poor batting.
We take confidence and momentum into the Test Final vs India on Friday.
Who misses out on selection will be interesting.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2021/jun/13/england-left-trailing-on-and-off-pitch-by-clear-thinking-new-zealand
Yes I reckon India may be more than a little wary of little old NZ.
They have been wary for a while,the BCCI pulled all the strings they could to get the final in Southampton, the home of world cricket ( yeah right ) and the most spin friendly pitch in England. Let’s put Ajax’s and Ish in the lineup and bowl the manipulators out of contention. Now that would be irony.
Well I guess this highlights the danger of both smoking and huffing.
A possible NZ entry for the Darwin awards.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/125398527/coroner-issues-huffing-warning-following-death-of-teen-in-deodorant-fireball
A great article on the Minister of transport and the transformation that is happening right now.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/politics/jess-berentson-shaw-michael-wood-a-new-leader-in-a-time-of-change
Indeed, rather than looking at isolated local proposals, look at the overall picture that is emerging, which is pretty good from my PoV.
Well said. It really puzzles me that quite a few commenters here run the neo-liberal ruler over proposals like hardcore economists of the NZI and focus relentlessly on cold hard dollars, business plans, and ROIs. No values in sight but plenty of negative emotions on display.
The linked article by Dr Kirsty Wild is very good too and the word “bikelash” is a perfect description of the anti-cycling bridge hysteria we have witnessed lately, here on TS and elsewhere.
Two very good reads and highly recommended, as they filled a few gaps in my understanding, which is still vast and huge.
Yes – this bikelash thing seems very peculiar. Here in Aus I can see and use plenty of cycling oriented infrastructure and I'm not seeing any particular reaction to it. Maybe there are some merits to being a pack of feral racist rednecks after all. /sarc
Yes Redlogix, they (Aus) came at it from a health and fitness angle, and added exercise parks along the routes. Great example in Hervey Bay from the Urangan Pier to the Esplanade. Another advantage is five times our population to help bear costs.
A good leverage to get government to act to help 'ghost' houses to be used, inhabited, managed competently and lawfully, and insured. There is one empty in Nelson where the children cannot agree on parents' estate terms and the house sits empty for years.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/444698/newtown-house-fire-burnt-property-s-manager-says-complaints-made-for-years
Something went wrong when I put up this and then made change. I got my previous comment back. This is what was meant to go under yours Patricia.
I read of a small town in Austria with nice scenery and needing some business. They established some lovely walks, in a loop which became popular and brought business. They had stops on the walk with seats at a view, and an attraction at each stop, also exercises to do – part of a health plan, where if you stayed two weeks say and did part of the walks, and ate to a special diet, you went away feeling rejuvenated and refreshed.
That would be better than having madmen, women and children, throw themselves onto bikes and streak about the place, or ride side by side blocking access, or hare up hill and down dale in races or doing bike tricks. Inevitably there will be more accidents from being on two wheels than two legs.
Greywarshark, yes, now at 80 that I could do that. Lol Biking trails less my thing.
Well a bikelash is hardly surprising. Don't get me wrong I am not interested in building more grand road projects (the Key holiday highway being a good example) . Putting more money into public transport yes.
But
massive funding for a preferred leisure/health activity for a few people – not interested
massive funding for a harbour crossing that benefits a very limited geographic area – not interested
massive funding for a transport means used by very few people even if the current usage trebles- not interested.
massive funding for projects that a good number of the community are physically unable to access – not interested
This funding is being taken from a community that is constantly being told there is not money for hospitals, leaking schools, feeding kids, housing etc.It smacks far too much of entitlement by a very small group not a green solution for the many. Even down to the ‘why do we have to look at any cost benefits analysis” lines being run.
On that criteria you provide, Auckland would have:
https://at.govt.nz/media/1966910/simpler-fares-zone-map-web-sept-2016.pdf
All of those are used by few travellers, most physically unable to access them, all involve huge volumes of capital both private and public, all achieve minimal returns if measured by kind of trips taken on average, all are subsidised up to their eyeballs.
When you scroll down to the Auckland modeshare maps by data meshblock, you can see that the areas with the most investment over the last two decades are the areas where public transport use is over 60%, and those areas are:
https://www.greaterauckland.org.nz/2020/03/17/2018-census-travel-to-work-results/
And for that amount of subsidy per trip, and all of that capital, Auckland is barely holding steady against the car as a preferred means of getting to work. The 2018 Census Journey to Work stats show:
If we are do defeat carbon saturation against the worst of our carbon debts, we are going to keep throwing $$billions of public subsidy against all kinds of non-car modes for decades. That will take all available modes, forming new networks, using lots of capital.
The arguments you are using are the same ones I’ve heard used for decades, against any mode that competes against the car.
If bikes are so great why did people ever shift to cars? And last time I looked most of NZ still lived outside Auckland – but hey we should be so grateful that we want to pay for the bridge that is used by a small group of people from a very confined geographic area. We’d be better off shifting businesses to smaller towns.
Rather than this mode shifting just up the public transport and maybe have bus lanes only on some of the mojor routes. No cars and no expensive outlay for an unproven mode shift.
Cars are certainly a superior form of transport to the truck, horse, train, bicycle, scooter, and to walking, if you live in a city in which:
– Central government completely reversed investment in rail and trams, and towards motorways and cars, since 1949 when Labour were voted out, totalling hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars
– all the tramlines were been stripped out 60 years ago
– all the planning over 70 years had huge industrial areas separated by tens of kilometers from residential areas
– passenger rail was stripped down so bad that they were close to just scrapping it in the 1990s
– bus transport was privatised and essentially left for dead since the late 1980s
– RUC was unable to be used on rail for multiple decades
– cities were spread out and high rises were discouraged until the 1970s
– road design favoured the car for nearly a century
– cities were dominated by National-aligned majorities and mayors
– where National-led governments since 1949 (ie over 50% of Parliamentary dominance) actively undermined public transport .. until the second term of the Key government.
And as a result we have the most car-dominated urban environment in the OECD, one of the most car-saturated, most carbon-polluting, and in public health we have the third most obese city in the world.
I've said before, the horse people resisted the car… forcing cars to have a person walking in front yelling "Car coming" so they would not scare the horses.
Now we need bells on the bikes.. especially in shared spaces. Pedestrians will need to be aware how quiet EVs are, when sharing spaces.
+1
It worries me that Sydney has about 4x the Auckland population, has a better climate for riding more year round, and is a flat bridge, and yet the cycle traffic per day is around 2,000 people. It's hard to imagine even 1,000 people using this in Auckland especially on a day like today.
You mean to say Sydney Harbour Bridge actually has a bike lane, why didn't we think of that?
By cutting down refining in NZ, and relying on that done in other countries and having to be shipped here, people may have to cycle if transport systems are curtailed by fuel problems. Business will be given some leniency presumably. But we are getting more dependent on imports to keep the country going.
With imported refined fuel there can be possible consequences if it isn't good quality (there has been fuel here – diesel? -that had some substance polluting it.) We are importing mostly unrefined fuel now, but we control our refining systems.
We should be continuing with the refinery to ensure an intelligent cross-over to other fuels, and encouraging diminishing individual trip numbers with public transport – could be small local tuk-tuks and encouraging taxi circles with neighbourhoods using group trips to bus hubs, or where there are few buses available.
Transport companies could be encouraged to reform their business style to use rail where it provides good value for both entities. We have to plan for the South Island where high seas will threaten the present main line, and roads can be blocked by slips and ruined bridges. Co-ordination and forethought, not precipitate business action would be wise.
Some Marsden Point facts:
…[Refining NZ] The company said its agreement with Z Energy is for an initial term of 10 years.
"The agreement includes provision for third party access to unutilised capacity on its Refinery to Auckland Pipeline (RAP). Refining NZ remains focused on concluding negotiations with its only other current refinery customer Mobil," the company said..
Sydney is actually a really scary place to ride around off the few purpose built cycle paths.
Maybe a 'spend & consume' strategy will limit global warming to 1.5˚C – time will tell.
I'm wandering around in short sleeves and the woolly hats sitting on the bike ( a stones throw from ruapehu), it's hard not to think 1.5° is already in the rearview mirror.
Apparently not; yet!
Good for NZ winters; not so good for Aussie summers.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-02/queensland-braces-for-more-hot-weather-with-record-temperatures/12914932
Not so good for NZ winters. We benefit from the cold in all sorts of ways – keeping the bugs down for one. And some trees and plants need freezing as part of their growth cycle.
Thanks Grey – good in NZ winters for some cold-sensitive people who enjoy the outdoors, even the odd winter dip, and don't have much fruit'n'veg in their diets.
And in Aussie the summer heatwaves could keep the bugs down – who knows.
Wearing sensible clothes in winter here would help. Schoolkids don't like wearing raincoats, girls abandon long sleeves in favour of shoestring straps the minute some sun peeps through. Miniskirts come and go, hardly covering any leg, just leggings are worn instead of under trousers, jeans are worn though they are just cold cotton and wouldn't stop a snowman freezing. Getting away from computers or studying small oblongs, weird habit, would mean a short walk which is what I will have to do this winter.
Then there are the kids whose families can't afford good wet weather gear.
Have you worked in an op shop, and seen the stuff there that is passed over because 'not everyone is wearing it'?
Alternatively some op shops CHARGES are Too High. They need to find a way, about a month after every new season changeover, and people dash in to get the best stuff, to have families that are known to be needy come in on a closed morning say, and get all the family something warm and a few extras for just a few dollars; good to pay something then they don't feel like absolute beggars.
But people often don't buy useful stuff in reasonable condition. I think even amongst the hard-up there is a dress code that governs the choices.
Dunno about any of that. Just that some families report not being able to buy wet weather gear for kids because of financial restrictions.
Yes that bug thing makes my skin crawl! Mainly at the thought of the combination of us and CC killing the world. And yet so many people go blithely on.
The penguin's fomenting.
https://fyi.org.nz/request/15777-communications-with-staff#incoming-59161
Is Pengy entitled to info about communications in a non office of the PM capacity?
This is an example of how womens lib didn't finish its task of improving conditions for women, gaining proper respect and understanding for their vital role in guiding their children and being in a mutual nurturing partnership with their partner, attaining reasonable and secure standard of living, and realising a full life in the community.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/444662/more-women-working-in-precarious-jobs
Official figures show that in the March quarter, the number of women in casual, fixed-term or temporary roles was up 4.4 percent on a year earlier. There was a 2.2 percent drop in women in permanent roles.
For men, there was a 4.4 percent drop in those in less secure jobs, and only a slight 0.2 percent decrease in those in permanent work….
Contract work Pffftttt.
But she'd like something more secure – a permanent part-time job.
"I'd prefer that over doing the contracting work, purely because you just don't know how much money's coming in every week and when it's going to stop, because at any stage they can actually turn around and say we've got no more work for you."
But permanent jobs that she can fit around her kids are hard to come by.
"There's probably quite a few mums that feel the same way. We all want to work and we've got the skills to work. It just means that we have to find employers that are keen to actually take us on."
And now we have this deprivation that affects everyone.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/444669/taranaki-food-charity-introduces-lottery-system-to-manage-demand
Here is a very excellent interview with author Jenny Chan, talking about her book on contemporary industrial Chinese workers and the dire conditions in the mega factories they work in while making so much of what we all consume….strangely enough this issue is never really brought up any more, even throughout this current anti-China moment…very strange.
Dying for an iPhone
Hi Adrian. I have visited factories in a number of locations in China, Vietnam, Bangladesh and into the Pacific (although obviously not since early 2020). I have visited factories in China that would do any country proud in terms of workers conditions, but I have also visited many that were stuck in a time warp of shocking conditions, both in the factories themselves and in worker hostels/accommodation. I have walked out of more than one in utter disgust.
Interesting gypsy. We can look to you for some reliable information about some things we don't read much about.
Wow.
What kind of administration gets its Justice Department to secretly investigate one of its own top lawyers while said top lawyer is still serving with zero hint of any kind of impropriety or disloyalty?
Is it just me, or does it really look like the only criteria Repugs use for selecting their presidents is whether their choice can be bad enough to make previous Repugs look better in hindsight? I mean geez, trying to dig dirt on McGahn is waay lower than even anything Nixon tried.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/apple-trump-doj-don-mcgahn_n_60c635dee4b08ecb9afac078
Sounds a little like Nicky Hagar's treatment here when he spoke truth to power.
Unlike Nicky Hagar, I would be very surprised to see the US DoJ issue an apology and an undisclosed compensation.
Would be great if I were proven wrong on this one.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2018798993/finding-wellington-s-next-top-mould-el
Howsing – looking at what people are complaining about in Wellington.
A good leverage to get government to act to help 'ghost' houses to be used, inhabited, managed competently and lawfully, and insured. There is one empty in Nelson where the children cannot agree on parents' estate terms and the house sits empty for years.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/444698/newtown-house-fire-burnt-property-s-manager-says-complaints-made-for-years
Geoff Williams of Rotorua's council is enviably adept at flannel with his outward looking internally appointed 7 outcome focused deputy ceos blahblahblah.