We knew this already, but sleepily ignored for the most part.
Major leak containing a register of nearly 2 MILLION CCP operatives has occurred – exposing members who are now working all over the world (Australia, UK, USA) in key positions in business & government. Believed to be the 1st leak of its kind in the world.https://t.co/V6veCLWO0apic.twitter.com/tWb40oOHJk
One of the many points in favour of a carbon tax is that it gets support across the political spectrum, if it's reasonably well designed. Here's noted extreme RWNJ Eric Crampton in support of Canada's carbon tax:
A key point is what Canada proposes to do with the revenue from the carbon tax. It's going to be divvied up evenly among Canadians and rebated back to them. So people with low carbon emissions will be better off, they'll get more back from the rebate than they pay in tax. But the high emitters pay more, preferably a lot more. This is the model used by British Columbia for quite a while now, and it has broad support there.
Another key point is that a carbon tax directly targets the behaviour we want to eliminate. None of the monkeying around trying to hide it as something else, or setting up weird trading schemes that imply some sort of "right to pollute". Just the simple message that if you dump hazardous waste into the atmosphere, you have to pay, no ifs buts or maybes.
The main flaw I see in the proposal is that it targets a price, and gives the message that whatever reductions achieved are OK. I'd rather see a scheme that spells out the emissions reductions targets, and spells out that the carbon tax will rise as quickly and as high as needed to meet the emissions reduction targets.
I'd expect that if a carbon tax were designed around reduction targets, with price as the variable to be adjusted in order to meet the targets, then it would also include the modelling results of what the price trajectory would be. Something like year 1 $10/ton, year 2 $20/ton, year 3 $30/ton, year 4 $50/ton, year 5 $70/ton, year 6 $90/ton, year 7 $110/ton, year 8 $140/ton, year 9 $170/ton …
It's also worth bearing in mind that if the tax works as intended, the rebate back to low emitters would rise for a few years, then fall back down as emissions dropped and there becomes less carbon tax revenue to divvy up and rebate back out. It is purely a temporary thing to speed the transition to a zero-emissions economy.
The British Columbia tax is now at $40/ton, so it's still at a very low level. Nevertheless, it's credited with reducing BC emissions by 5% to 15%. Even though it's only adding around 9cents/litre to petrol prices. More than quadruple it to $170/ton (40ish cents/litre) and it's going to have a much bigger effect.
Well, my record on predictions in US politics is even worse than yours on Brexit, but since you've asked … here cometh the waste of pixels.
I'm hopeful about the Georgia senate by-elections. My take on the disappointing results down-ballot on Nov 4th is that good Repug results were driven by MAGAmorons turning out for Crassius Cray-Cray himself, and they voted for down ballot Repugs just because. Now that Hairplug Himmler is not on the ballot, that enthusiasm won't be there. Indeed, we've had the gobsmacking spectacle of MAGAmorons actually discouraging voting and directly attacking the idea of turning out for Insider Trading Barbie and Chicken Man.
Furthermore, Biden comes across as so innocuous and harmless, moderate Republicans won't feel as motivated to turn out to deny him the senate. At the same time, Georgia Democrats will be energised by the Nov 4th example that when they actually get the turnout, they can get the result.
I don't think Biden will try for DC and Puerto Rico statehood, though he won't try to block it if someone else takes it up. It's just too low a chance of actually getting a result, and Biden will have more than enough on his hands trying to rebuild from the vandalism and scorched earth of the last four years. It will also be much too easy for Repugs to paint a DC and PR statehood effort as Dems trying to pack Congress for their partisan benefit – even though PR would probably be closer to purple than blue.
Very overly simplistic comparison so take with a grain of salt, but MAGA seems to have morphed into a right wing version of the cultural revolution, with Trump = Mao and the MAGAts = the Red Guards, only the goal of Trump’s people is to restore their version of the ‘Four Olds’.
The previous Deputy Speaker Anne Tolley made changes to the tax payer paying out damages to a person in a defamation case, think last August. Since 2001 MPs have had assistance when it comes to legal fees.
Now that Tolley is no longer an MP Mallard is in the spotlight. Recall that Tolley was involved with a breach of privacy when it came to Peter's NZ super annuation payment, Bennett was to.
This is where I get peeved off. Not enough is being done by any political party about historical or current sexual harassment, indecent assault, sexual assault or gaslighting in parliament or by government agencies e.g police, defence force, fire and emergency. The Mariya Taylor case which has gone to the Supreme Court is an historical example. Legal fees for this by the defence force is over $800k.
Correction the defence force and government legal fees are nearly 900k.
How much more dysfunctional can it get when the government is doing this to one person?
This needs to change. I am sick of the BS bla bla from every political party on sexual crime. The ACC Act for mental injury (both historical and current) is a disgrace and the legislation used (the Crimes Act 1961) is so out dated.
As I understand it it was Mallard who pushed through the changes that allowed damages to be paid by the State where an MP had, as Trevor would certainly seemed to have done, defamed someone.
Tolley was involved only because it was the Speaker who was trying to get bailed out and it is a general principle that a person cannot approve the payment of money to themselves. Thus Anne, as deputy, had to decide whether Trevor qualified and therefore should get the money. She was not the person who pushed through the changes to the scheme.
Tolley signed off on it. Yes I did look it up and Mallard pushed for it. It was in the interest of Tolley to do so. The bigger picture was, what was going on in the National party at the time with the caucus privacy breaches. Mallard did them a favour by changing the rules.
Anne Tolley said "It didn't seem right that there was not a similar protection for him" saying "I was surprised, in fact, that they didn't [qualify for legal financial support] so we set up a system whereby they did,"
"The decision I made was to put in place a process that gave the speaker of Parliament the same protections as a Cabinet minister" saying "At some stage National will be in government and they will have a speaker. We're a much more litigious community these days, so it may well be that National's speaker gets into trouble."
Which doesn't sound like Mallard pushed for it nor was Tolley forcibly coerced to do it and she had sought advice from the Solicitor-General and from Crown law before signing it off.
This government sure could do with more international pressure on carbon trading to see that our reputational risk is our most important trade risk and hence economic sustainability risk.
Or they could do their job for once in their ineffectual lives, and listen to the people they ostensibly represent. Plenty of local folk could tell them, if they were not too big-headed to listen.
"Greta Thunberg is essentially pointing out what we already know: that we have a long way to go to narrow the gap between what our emissions are right now, and what they need to be in the future.
"We are working on this as quickly as we can and the declaration of a climate emergency is actually helping – because now every part of government is clear that action to cut emissions is a priority.
"This is what climate emergency declaration should do. It is not an end in itself, rather it signals our intent to do everything we can to tackle the climate crisis and build a better, safer future for our kids and grandkids.
"Over the next 12 months, we will agree the first three emissions budgets required under the Zero Carbon Act, publish an emissions reduction plan to meet these budgets, consider updating New Zealand's target under the Paris Agreement, and adopt a plan to meet our international obligations for the period 2021-2030.
"Work is underway on each of these and together they will ensure we are playing our part to cut global emissions in half by 2030."
As he is a minister in the government she leads, that's to be expected.
Our international reputation was already damaged following the exposure of the hollowness of the 100% pure nz campaign. The tourism that it was sustaining isn't returning soon either.
Greta Thunberg is continuing to highlight the ineffectiveness of the incremental approach successive governments have taken. And so should we all.
Lis Ku, De Montfort University Since the onset of the pandemic, everyone from newspaper columnists to Twitter users has advanced the now idea that extroverts and introverts are handling the crisis differently. Many claim that introverts adapt to social distancing and isolation better than extroverts, with some even suggesting that ...
A friend of mine pointed me in the direction of this blog post by New Zealand’s “Plan B” group. While initially this group opposed the government’s use of lockdowns to manage covid19 outbreaks in this country, they seem to have since moved on to opposing the rollout of vaccines against ...
Twenty years after it invaded, the US is finally leaving Afghanistan. What's surprising is that it took them so long - its been clear for over a decade that their presence there was pointless and just pissing people off. But imperial pride leads to exactly this sort of stupidity. Their ...
The government has announced that it will ban the export of livestock by sea. Huzzah! A vile, cruel and unconscionable trade will be ended! But there's a catch: the ban won't kick in until 2023, giving farmers two ful years to continue to profit from extreme animal cruelty. But why ...
Today is unexpectedly a Member's Day - the Business Committee granted it early in the year, to make up for time list to government business. First up is a two-hour debate on the budget policy statement, with questions to Ministers, replacing the general debate. Then its the second reading of ...
. . Two stories which appeared almost side-by-side on RNZ’s website. Parent, Miranda Cross, was quoted as saying; “I think the expectations are that we can at least send our kids to school where they will receive an education.” An American parent would probably demand; “I think the expectations are ...
Time for reviewing something a bit different. Move over Tolkien adaptations, hello Japanese splatter movie. Specifically, a certain 2009 movie called Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl. I watched this one a few days ago with some acquaintances, never having seen it before, and not being familiar with the manga ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters, PhD An above-average Atlantic hurricane season is likely in 2021, the Colorado State University (CSU) hurricane forecasting team says in its latest seasonal forecast issued April 8. Led by Dr. Phil Klotzbach, with coauthors Dr. Michael Bell and Jhordanne Jones, the CSU ...
How seriously does the Māori Party take issues of corruption and the untoward influence of big money in politics? Not very, based on how it’s handling a political finance scandal in which three large donations were kept hidden from the public. The party is currently making excuses, and largely failing ...
The annual inventory report [PDF] of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing a significant increase in emissions: (Note that this is UNFCCC accounting, not the weird fudged figures the Climate Change Commission is using). Emissions increased by almost 2 million tons in 2019, from 80.6 MT ...
The melody from the classic movie Wizard of Oz echoes as Jacinta Ruru explains what inspired her to attend university, and her ambition to help create a more just society in Aotearoa. Jacinta, who affiliates to Raukawa and Ngāti Ranginui, specialises in the research areas of indigenous peoples and the law. ...
Stuff reports that National is refusing to back the Climate Change Commission's recommendations, which is apparently a Bad Thing: The National Party says it can’t support the Climate Change Commission’s draft plan to cut New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions unless changes are made. If National maintains this position when ...
Driven, accountable, unafraid to test limits and connected to the communities she serves are traits that come to mind when thinking about Dr Anne-Marie Jackson. (Ngāti Whātua, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu o Whangaroa, Ngāti Wai) She specialises in Māori physical education and health research disciplines while incorporating tikanga Māori and Te ...
This is my first post for a while. I have been a bit overwhelmed by other work in the last several weeks, with teaching and other commitments, and the blog has sadly suffered. But I’m still here. This morning, while sitting in a car in the permanent traffic jam through ...
Predatory Morality: Is geopolitical consultant, Paul Buchanan, right? Does the rest of the world truly monitor New Zealand’s miniscule contribution to the international arms trade so closely? Are foreign chancelleries truly so insensitive to their own governments’ complicity in the world’s horrors that they expect all other sovereign states to ...
Anna Källén, Stockholm University and Daniel Strand, Uppsala University A middle-aged white man raises his sword to the skies and roars to the gods. The results of his genetic ancestry test have just arrived in his suburban mailbox. His eyes fill with tears as he learns that he is “0.012% ...
March 2021 The housing crisis right now in New Zealand is one of our biggest contributors to income and wealth inequality. “With the explosive increase in sales and prices, those with houses have their income and/or wealth rapidly increasing, and those who are not on the property ladder are falling ...
Samoans went to the polls on Friday, and delivered a stinging blow to Prime Minister Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi one-party state. Pre-election Malielegaoi's Human Rights Protection Party had controlled 44 of 49 seats in Parliament, while using restrictive standing orders to prevent there from even being a recognised opposition in ...
Prof Nick Wilson, Dr Jennifer Summers, Prof Michael BakerIn this blog we briefly consider a new Report from a European think tank that aims to identify an optimal COVID-19 response strategy. It considers mortality data, GDP impacts, and mobility data and suggests that COVID-19 elimination appears to be superior ...
Something I missed on Friday: the Māori Party has been referred to police over failure to disclose donations over $30,000. Looking at the updated return of large donations, this is about $320,000 donated to them by three donors - John Tamihere, the National Urban Māori Authority, and Aotearoa Te Kahu ...
Stormy Seas: Will Jacinda Ardern's Labour Government stand behind the revolutionary proposals contained in He Puapua – the 20-year plan devised by a government appointed working group to realise the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Aotearoa/New Zealand?“GETTING AHEAD of the story” is one of the most ...
We have not been fans of the Climate Change Commission’s draft report. New Zealand has an Emissions Trading Scheme with a binding cap, and a declining path for net emissions in the covered sector. Measures taken within the covered sector cannot reduce net emissions. NZU not purchased by one sector get ...
For several decades under Labour and National-led governments New Zealand has claimed to have an independent (and sometimes autonomous) foreign policy. This foreign policy independence is said to be gained by having a “principled but pragmatic” approach to international relations: principled when possible, pragmatic when necessary. More recently NZ foreign ...
This video produced in Seattle looks at the gender identity curriculum used in schools in the US. A thin veneer of pseudoscience is being used to indoctrinate children with an ideology based on scientific and medical inaccuracies. ...
For once, I have written my submission on a bill with enough time to spare to both enocurage any of you who wants to make a submission to do so as well, and to give you time to spot the typos in mine.Louisa Wall's Harmful Digital Communications (Unauthorised Posting of Intimate ...
A friend found a concerning FB post (see below – this is a public post & so I have not redacted the name) & – as you do – immediately queried it with Southern Cross Life & Health Insurance as well as sending the screenshot to me¹. We both read ...
Judith Collins’ National Party leadership is under more scrutiny, with increased talk in the media of her being replaced by brand new MP Christopher Luxon. For many commentators it’s just a question of “when” rather than “if” Collins is replaced. While others ponder whether Luxon really has what it takes ...
‘Tis the season for unearthing the rarest gems in Tolkien adaptation – which, considering that the fandom has been dominated by Peter Jackson for nigh on two decades, is a positively heart-warming development. It is why I have devoted so much blog space to the obscure and weirdly wonderful ...
Whatever the damage, especially to the British economy, Brexit has done us a service by illustrating the complexity of trade.Brexit is the only example we have of two closely integrated sophisticated economies severing trading ties. The European Union and Britain still do not have tariffs or import quotas between them ...
The Palmerston North City Council has voted for Māori wards: Palmerston North Māori will be guaranteed one or two seats on the city council from 2022, and this time, there is nothing opponents can do about it. The council decided by an 11-5 vote at its monthly meeting this ...
Kids are striking for the climate today, demanding a decent, liveable future. Meanwhile, the National Party, the reliable servant of the farm lobby and other polluting businesses, is calling for action to be delayed: National has written to Climate Change Minister James Shaw calling for him to extend the ...
Today tens of thousands of schoolkids have walked out of school to strike for a future free from climate change. And tens of thousands of older New Zealanders have joined them. Their demands are clear: eliminate fossil fuels, implement 100% renewable energy with a just transition, and support our Pacific ...
The Gods That Failed.We studied the dialecticRead the whole of ‘Capital’So we could follow youSo we could follow youHow we shoutedHow we scrawledPainted slogans on city wallsOn prison wallsProof we had followed youBut, we still didn’t find what we’re looking forAnd we still haven’t found what we’re looking forWhen they ...
Conventional Wisdom? The Republican Right is convinced that to “go woke” is to “go broke”. It simply does not believe sufficient Americans feel strongly enough about social justice to make any kind of boycott remotely effective. Clearly, the Boards of Directors of more and more American corporations disagree. RECENT MOVES by ...
On November 25, 2020 Skeptical Science Inc. became a registered nonprofit organization and on March 17, 2021 our application to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service for 501(c)(3) status was approved. In this blog post, we’ll explain why we went down this path and what will come next. Since its ...
Blowing Hot And Cold: Mike Hosking’s bosses should, perhaps, ask themselves what message Newstalk-ZB (and NZME) is sending to the people of New Zealand if Mike Hosking, their self-appointed “People’s Prosecutor”, is accorded bragging rights for “cancelling” the democratically-elected Prime Minister of New Zealand. Especially when said Prime Minister’s only ...
Ali Boyle, University of CambridgeIf you ask people to list the most intelligent animals, they’ll name a few usual suspects. Chimpanzees, dolphins and elephants are often mentioned, as are crows, dogs and occasionally pigs. Horses don’t usually get a look in. So it might come as a surprise that ...
Selwyn Manning and I dedicated this week’s video podcast to the potential emergence of rival blocs within the transitional process involved in the move from a unipolar to a multipolar international system currently underway. However one characterises the phenomenon–autocracies versus democracies, East versus West, colonial versus post-colonial–the global order is ...
With the rediscovery of the lost Soviet Lord of the Rings, the time has come for the important things in life. Specifically, compiling the Tom Bombadil scenes from the three known screen adaptations that feature him: This is a collection of scenes from:– Sagan om Ringen (1971: ...
Back in February the Climate Change Commission recommended a ban on new coal-fired boilers, and a phase out of existing ones by 2037. And today, the government has said they will implement that policy, and backed it up with funding to help transition some of our large pollution sources: ...
A ballot for three members bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Income Tax (Adjustment of Taxable Income Ranges) Amendment Bill (Simon Bridges) Regulatory Standards Bill (David Seymour) Human Rights (Disability Assist Dogs Non-Discrimination) Amendment Bill (Ricardo Menéndez March) The first two ...
Back in 2014, the police raided and searched journalist Nicky Hager's home over his book Dirty Politics, seizing his journalistic work in an effort to identify his sources to please their political masters in the National party. The raid - and much of the police's related investigative work - was ...
By Professor Tony Blakely, Dr Tim Wilson, Luke Thorburn and Professor Nathan Grills, University of MelbourneA new web tool, COVID-19 Pandemic Trade-offs, allows people to weigh the costs and benefits of different policy responses as Australia rolls out vaccines and considers opening borders.See here for an associated explanatory ...
This evening I was engaging in polite conversation (well, I was polite, anyway) on an RNZ Facebook post about – you guessed it! – the covid19 vaccination program. One of those present offered up a link to a blog post by Joseph Mercola to support a claim he was making ...
by Jordan Levi (Contributed) I don’t remember when I first came across the concept of gender identity, but it was definitely before Caitlyn Jenner (formerly Bruce Jenner) came out as transgender because I’m sure that would’ve confused me way more if it was my first acquaintance with the phenomenon. The ...
The fact that the much vaunted “most advanced, richest Nation on the planet, ever”, that being America, ran into a brick wall in its responses to the problems across the world of late is because, at its heart, of the economic system that we’ve all been largely forced to ...
The EPA has commenced the 2021 “denewing” of new organisms. Their New Organisms team explain what this means, and ask you to put forward your proposals. The places we inhabit are shared with thousands of different kinds of organisms. They’re in the trees, flying in the sky, in our yoghurt, ...
As we roll out the COVID-19 vaccine across NZ there will inevitably be people who experience adverse events after getting their jab. Here are some super important things to keep in mind about adverse events following immunisation. Terminology – words matter Any event that is undesirable and follows administration of ...
Nature Climate Change celebrates 10 years of obfuscation The Nature Publishing Group is distinguished not only by what we're told (most of us must take somebody's word for it) are exceptionally high quality research publications but also by what some might term an outlier, extremist policy on locked-down content. In many ...
How can we stop the Ministry of Health censoring and sanitising vital mental health statistics to make themselves (and Ministers) look good? Legislate for annual reporting: Green Party mental health spokeswoman Chlöe Swarbrick says the Ministry of Health should be legally required to produce a wide range of mental ...
Here’s a few short interesting developments or discussions I’ve seen recently. Loosely bundled together in a theme of “values.” Irregular labour Is the private sector the best provider and facilitator of “gig work”? That’s challenged in a New Yorker profile of Wingham Rowan, an English social entrepreneur. For many years ...
In 1997 the Law Commission reviewed the OIA. In the process, they identified a problem: decisions to transfer a request could not be investigated by the Ombudsman under the Act. They also identified a workaround: transfer decisions by agencies subject to the Ombudsmen Act could be investigated under that Act, ...
Today is a Member's Day, though with no particularly controversial bills up, it is likely to be a pretty boring one. First up is Maureen Pugh's Adverse Weather-affected Timber Recovery on Conservation Lands Bill, an attempt to sidestep the Forests (West Coast Accord) Act 2000 and allow the effective mining ...
The area of mental health has been a key strength for Jacinda Ardern and her Labour Government over the last few years. They campaigned strongly in 2017 on fixing up the dysfunctional system, and initially they made some vital strides forward in reforming the sector. An in-depth inquiry was instigated ...
By Jamie Stewart, Federated Mountain ClubsFederated Mountain Clubs (FMC), founded in 1931, represents 96 clubs, 22,000 members and 300,000 people that regularly recreate in the New Zealand backcountry. This article first appeared in the June 2020 issue of Backcountry magazine and is reproduced with permission. (Read the original article). ...
Stuff had an appalling story on Sunday about the Ministry of Health's attempts to hide unflattering mental health statistics and sanitise a regular report. The report came out last week, and showed a massive increase in the use of "seclusion", a practice which has been condemned by the UN Committee ...
Another unpleasant surprise at Tiwai Point: in addition to the declared stockpiles of toxic waste, they may have tens of thousands of tons secretly buried in the early 1990's to avoid the RMA: Investigators are looking into claims highly toxic waste has been buried in unmapped sites at Tiwai ...
This morning the government is deciding on the start-date for a trans-Tasman travel bubble. Note the way that that's phrased: the existence of such a bubble is taken as a given, and the only question is how to implement it. Obviously, we're going to have to re-open the borders eventually, ...
Qualified To Give - And Take - Advice: Most Labour MPs are self-conscious members of the meritocracy, meaning they have succeeded where the vast majority of their fellow citizens have failed. The primary political obligation, understood by all members of the First Labour Government, was to listen to the people. ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters, PhD A critical global shipping node – Egypt’s Suez Canal – was reopened on Monday, March 29, six days after being shut down when the 400-meter-long container ship Ever Given became lodged in the canal. A statement by the Suez ...
Red, red whines.That’s all you’ll hear.Not like those glory daysWhen we would cheer. Red, red whines.If it were up to us,We'd make a proper jobOf transforming the world. We would beMore than kind.Offer so much more than spin.Makes us sadWhen we findThere’s so much you won’t begin. Red, red whines.Now ...
Worlds Apart: According to the report of the British Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities: “family structure and social class had a bigger impact than race on how people’s lives turned out”. These are not the sort of findings that New Zealand fighters against "White Supremacy" and "Colonisation" are eager ...
Caitlin Clark, Colorado State UniversityWhether baked as chips into a cookie, melted into a sweet warm drink or molded into the shape of a smiling bunny, chocolate is one of the world’s most universally consumed foods. Even the biggest chocolate lovers, though, might not recognize what this ancient food ...
The Green Party supports the open letter released today by a cross-sector coalition calling for the Government to treat all drug use as a health issue, to repeal and replace the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975. ...
Small businesses are not only the heart of our economy – they’re also the heart of our communities. They provide important goods and services, as well as great employment opportunities. They know and love their locals. And after a tough year, they need our support! ...
Green Party spokesperson for Pacific Peoples Teanau Tuiono MP, supports the demand from Pasifika communities fighting for climate action as their homelands are more at risk in the Pacific region. ...
The Green Party supports the six demands for climate action put forward by School Strike for Climate NZ, who are striking across the country today. ...
The Ministry of Justice Māori victimisation report, released today, reinforces what we already know about the impact of systemic racism in Aotearoa and that urgent action is needed. ...
Ricardo Menéndez March’s Members Bill to ensure that disabled New Zealanders do not face discrimination for having a disability assist dog was today pulled from the biscuit tin to be debated in Parliament. ...
More than one million people will be better off from today, thanks to our Government’s changes to the minimum wage, main benefits and superannuation. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to do more for New Zealanders who continue to miss out, as main benefits are set to rise by less than $8 a week tomorrow, Thursday 1 April (at the start of the financial year). ...
Sunday 28th March 70 Rongomaiwahine descendants welcomed members of the Green Party’s Māori Caucus, Te Mātāwaka, Dr Elizabeth Kerekere and Teanau Tuiono, to discuss concerns about RocketLab’s operations on the Mahia Peninsula. ...
A stocktake undertaken by France and New Zealand shows significant global progress under the Christchurch Call towards its goal to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. The findings of the report released today reinforce the importance of a multi-stakeholder approach, with countries, companies and civil society working together to ...
Racing Minister Grant Robertson has announced he is appointing Elizabeth Dawson (Liz) as the Chair of the interim TAB NZ Board. Liz Dawson is an existing Board Director of the interim TAB NZ Board and Chair of the TAB NZ Board Selection Panel and will continue in her role as ...
The Government has announced that the export of livestock by sea will cease following a transition period of up to two years, said Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. “At the heart of our decision is upholding New Zealand’s reputation for high standards of animal welfare. We must stay ahead of the ...
For the first time, all 18 prisons in New Zealand will be invited to participate in an inter-prison kapa haka competition, Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis announced today. The 2021 Hōkai Rangi Whakataetae Kapa Haka will see groups prepare and perform kapa haka for experienced judges who visit each prison and ...
The Government has introduced the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Bill, designed to boost New Zealand's ability to respond to a wider range of terrorist activities. The Bill strengthens New Zealand’s counter-terrorism legislation and ensures that the right legislative tools are available to intervene early and prevent harm. “This is the Government’s first ...
Coal boiler replacements at a further ten schools, saving an estimated 7,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide over the next ten years Fossil fuel boiler replacements at Southern Institute of Technology and Taranaki DHB, saving nearly 14,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide over the next ten years Projects to achieve a total ...
Attorney-General David Parker today announced the appointment of Cassie Nicholson as Chief Parliamentary Counsel for a term of five years. The Chief Parliamentary Counsel is the principal advisor and Chief Executive of the Parliamentary Counsel Office (PCO). She is responsible for ensuring PCO, which drafts most of New Zealand’s legislation, provides ...
Every part of Government will need to take urgent action to bring down emissions, the Minister for Climate Change, James Shaw said today in response to the recent rise in New Zealand’s greenhouse emissions. The latest annual inventory of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions shows that both gross and net ...
Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister David Clark says Aotearoa New Zealand has become the first country in the world to introduce a law that requires the financial sector to disclose the impacts of climate change on their business and explain how they will manage climate-related risks and opportunities. The Financial ...
Exceptional employment practices in the primary industries have been celebrated at the Good Employer Awards, held this evening at Parliament. “Tonight’s awards provided the opportunity to celebrate and thank those employers in the food and fibres sector who have gone beyond business-as-usual in creating productive, safe, supportive, and healthy work ...
Applications are now invited from all councils for a slice of government funding aimed at improving tourism infrastructure, especially in areas under pressure given the size of their rating bases. Tourism Minister Stuart Nash has already signalled that five South Island regions will be given priority to reflect that jobs ...
The Construction Skills Action Plan has delivered early on its overall target of supporting an additional 4,000 people into construction-related education and employment, says Minister for Building and Construction Poto Williams. Since the Plan was launched in 2018, more than 9,300 people have taken up education or employment opportunities in ...
An innovative new Youth Justice residence designed in partnership with Māori will provide prevention, healing, and rehabilitation services for both young people and their whānau, Children’s Minister Kelvin Davis announced today. Whakatakapokai is located in South Auckland and will provide care and support for up to 15 rangatahi remanded or ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today expressed New Zealand’s sorrow at the death of His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. “Our thoughts are with Her Majesty The Queen at this profoundly sad time. On behalf of the New Zealand people and the Government, I would like to express ...
We, the Home Affairs, Interior, Security and Immigration Ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States of America (the ‘Five Countries’) met via video conference on 7/8 April 2021, just over a year after the outbreak of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Guided by our shared ...
Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Carmel Sepuloni has today announced the opening of the first round of Ngā Puninga Toi ā-Ahurea me ngā Kaupapa Cultural Installations and Events. “Creating jobs and helping the arts sector rebuild and recover continues to be a key part of the Government’s COVID-19 response,” Carmel ...
Interim legislation that is already proving to keep people safer from drugs will be made permanent, Health Minister Andrew Little says. Research by Victoria University, on behalf of the Ministry of Health, shows that the Government’s decision in December to make it legal for drug-checking services to operate at festivals ...
Public consultation launched on ways to improve behaviour and reduce damage Tighter rules proposed for either camping vehicles or camping locations Increased penalties proposed, such as $1,000 fines or vehicle confiscation Rental companies may be required to collect fines from campers who hire vehicles Public feedback is sought on proposals ...
The Government is continuing to support Air New Zealand while aviation markets stabilise and the world moves towards more normal border operations. The Crown loan facility made available to Air New Zealand in March 2020 has been extended to a debt facility of up to $1.5 billion (an additional $600 ...
Christchurch’s Richmond suburb will soon have a new community hub, following the gifting of a red-zoned property by Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) to the Richmond Community Gardens Trust. The Minister for Land Information, Damien O’Connor said that LINZ, on behalf of the Crown, will gift a Vogel Street house ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio says the reopening of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples’ (MPP) Languages Funding in 2021 will make sure there is a future for Pacific languages. “Language is the key to the wellbeing for Pacific people. It affirms our identity as Pasifika and ...
It is a pleasure to be here tonight. Thank you Cameron for the introduction and thank you for ERANZ for also hosting this event. Last week in fact, we had one of the largest gatherings in our sector, Downstream 2021. I have heard from my officials that the discussion on ...
Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods has today announced the 16 projects that will together get $3.9 million through the 2021 round of Te Pūnaha Hihiko: Vision Mātauranga Capability Fund, further strengthening the Government’s commitment to Māori knowledge in science and innovation. “We received 78 proposals - the highest ...
The Government is delivering on a key election commitment to tackle climate change, by banning new low and medium temperature coal-fired boilers and partnering with the private sector to help it transition away from fossil fuels. This is the first major announcement to follow the release of the Climate Commission’s ...
Six projects, collectively valued at over $70 million are delivering new schools, classrooms and refurbished buildings across Central Otago and are helping to ease the pressure of growing rolls in the area, says Education Minister Chris Hipkins. The National Education Growth Plan is making sure that sufficient capacity in the ...
Two more schools are now complete as part of the Christchurch Schools Rebuild Programme, with work about to get under way on another, says Education Minister Chris Hipkins. Te Ara Koropiko – West Spreydon School will welcome students to their new buildings for the start of Term 2. The newly ...
The Government is acting to ensure decisions on responding to the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic are informed by the best available scientific evidence and strategic public health advice. “New Zealand has worked towards an elimination strategy which has been successful in keeping our people safe and our economy ...
Six Māori scholars have been awarded Ngārimu VC and the 28th (Māori) Battalion Memorial scholarships for 2021, Associate Education Minister and Ngārimu Board Chair, Kelvin Davis announced today. The prestigious Manakura Award was also presented for the first time since 2018. “These awards are a tribute to the heroes of the 28th ...
New Zealand’s aerospace industry is getting a boost through the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), to grow the capability of the sector and potentially lead to joint space missions, Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods has announced. 12 New Zealand organisations have been chosen to work with world-leading experts at ...
The Government is backing more initiatives to boost New Zealand’s food and fibre sector workforce, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced today. “The Government and the food and fibres sector have been working hard to fill critical workforce needs. We've committed to getting 10,000 more Kiwis into the sector over the ...
Minister for Social Development and Employment Carmel Sepuloni has welcomed the first reading of the Social Security (Subsequent Child Policy Removal) Amendment Bill in the House this evening. “Tonight’s first reading is another step on the way to removing excessive sanctions and obligations for people receiving a Main Benefit,” says ...
The Government has taken a significant step towards delivering on its commitment to improve the legislation around mental health as recommended by He Ara Oranga – the report of the Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction, Health Minister Andrew Little says. The Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Amendment ...
Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta has welcomed the Local Government (Rating of Whenua Māori) Amendment Bill passing its third reading today. “After nearly 100 years of a system that was not fit for Māori and did not reflect the partnership we have come to expect between Māori and the Crown, ...
New Zealand’s successful management of COVID means quarantine-free travel between New Zealand and Australia will start on Monday 19 April, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed the conditions for starting to open up quarantine free travel with Australia have ...
Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little welcomed ngā uri o Ngāti Hinerangi to Parliament today to witness the third reading of their Treaty settlement legislation, the Ngāti Hinerangi Claims Settlement Bill. “I want to acknowledge ngā uri o Ngāti Hinerangi and the Crown negotiations teams for working tirelessly ...
Minister of Police Poto Williams has announced the members of the Ministers Arms Advisory Group, established to ensure balanced advice to Government on firearms that is independent of Police. “The Ministers Arms Advisory Group is an important part of delivering on the Government’s commitment to ensure we maintain the balance ...
Kiri Allan, Minister of Conservation and Emergency Management will undertake a leave of absence while she undergoes medical treatment for cervical cancer, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “I consider Kiri not just a colleague, but a friend. This news has been devastating. But I also know that Kiri is ...
Excellent progress has been made at the new prison development at Waikeria, which will boost mental health services and improve rehabilitation opportunities for people in prison, Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis says. Kelvin Davis was onsite at the new build to meet with staff and see the construction first-hand, following a ...
To reduce the trauma of road crashes caused by drug impaired drivers, an Independent Expert Panel on Drug Driving has proposed criminal limits and blood infringement thresholds for 25 impairing drugs, Minister of Police Poto Williams and Transport Minister Michael Wood announced today. The Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Bill ...
Temporary COVID-19 immigration powers will be extended to May 2023, providing continued flexibility to support migrants, manage the border, and help industries facing labour shortages, Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi announced today. “Over the past year, we have had to make rapid decisions to vary visa conditions, extend expiry dates, and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Scott Morrison has defended his intemperate language in parliament against Christine Holgate last year, saying he had to protect taxpayers’ money and Labor was calling for her resignation. Pressed to respond to the former Australia ...
A View from Afar: Midday Thursday (NZST, Wednesday 7pm US EDST) – Join this LIVE recording of this week’s podcast where Selwyn Manning and Paul Buchanan will debate: Why regional powers including Russia, Israel, Iran are willing to provoke flash-points that risk triggering a wider war. In recent weeks, Israel ...
Bills get killed a lot at Parliament. But when a bill comes back for a second go - zombie style - the coup de grâce is trickier. Today's Order Paper at Parliament includes a debate that looked like that. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna M. Kotarba-Morley, Lecturer, Archaeology, Flinders University An almost 3,400-year-old industrial, royal metropolis, “the Dazzling Aten”, has been found on the west bank of the Nile near the modern day city of Luxor. Announced last week by the famed Egyptian archaeologist Dr ...
It might have the same name, but Popstars is nothing like the original show. And that’s a problem, writes Sam Brooks.The first episode of Popstars, way back in 1999, got through the auditions stage in one segment, literally 10 minutes of television. The rebooted version of Popstars, which aims to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kylie Quinn, Vice-Chancellor’s Research Fellow, School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University This week, US health authorities recommended pausing the rollout of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine while investigations into exceptionally rare blood clots take place. Six women suffered ...
The Māori Party is demanding the police minister stop racism within the force, after the police watchdog found a wāhine Māori had her photo unlawfully taken. ...
The programmes were the same. But the ads weren’t. Toby Manhire watches them all.The 1999 reality TV phenomenon Popstars was defrosted from its cryogenic slumber on Monday night. Not only had this epoch-defining show straddled millennia, it now straddled channels, appearing on both TVNZ 1 and TVNZ 2 at the ...
Māori Party co-leaders are directing all questions about donations to the party executive, but say they have sought assurances everything is above board. ...
Amnesty International is calling on the New Zealand Government to oppose the Government of Japan’s decision to release more than one million tonnes of radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean. We join a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sujeet Kumar, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, Jawaharlal Nehru University India is witnessing a sharp spike in COVID-19 cases after months of declining numbers had given the country hope it had made it through the worst ...
A new white paper commissioned by UP Education and Yoobee Colleges looks at how Aotearoa can better support and sustain its creative industries. 2020 may have been a year of unprecedented challenges, but for Aotearoa’s creative industries, it was also one in which incredible pressure produced outstanding results. With our government’s ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the border security guard who had not been tested since last November lied to his employer First Security about the tests he was supposed to have had. ...
The Harmful Digital Communications (Unauthorised Posting of Intimate Visual Recording) Amendment Bill is still open for public submissions, and the Justice Committee is interested in hearing from everyone, especially young people. Alongside making a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tuffley, Senior Lecturer in Applied Ethics & CyberSecurity, Griffith University Some weeks ago, a nine-year-old macaque monkey called Pager successfully played a game of Pong with its mind. While it may sound like science fiction, the demonstration by Elon Musk’s neurotechnology ...
The Government’s decision to ban exports of livestock for breeding is morally and practically unjustified, according to the Animal Genetics Trade Association, as it will financially devastate many farmers and require the premature slaughter ...
For many years, New Zealand’s parliament has been in the unusual position of renting much of its office space. The speaker says it’s now time to stop being renters and build. Justin Giovannetti looks at the plan.While most legislative precincts around the world are owned by the public and serve ...
Metlink understands that members of the Tramways Union at NZ Bus have voted in favour of industrial action during a stop work meeting today. Metlink will now await notice from NZ Bus when this action might occur. Typically, unions are required to give ...
A Russian version of Fellowship of the Ring is taking YouTube by storm. How does it compare to our homegrown version?During the last months of the Soviet Union, Leningrad TV attempted something Peter Jackson wouldn’t have the guts to do for another decade: make a live-action Lord of the Rings. ...
The New Zealand government has just announced they will ban the live export trade. As a global animal welfare organisation that has worked on the issue of live export locally in New Zealand, World Animal Protection has prepared the below statement. ...
An investigation is underway into Case B in the recent Covid cluster, who may be fined up to $1000 for misrepresenting their testing history Police were called in to investigate wrong information given by an MIQ worker about receiving regular testing, raising questions about the timeliness of the introduction of ...
The New Zealand Law Society | Te Kāhui Ture o Aotearoa has told a parliamentary select committee it supports a bill giving effect to the Government’s Christchurch Call commitment (a commitment by several governments and technology companies to ...
Local Government Minister Nanaia’s intentions were plainly proclaimed soon after the Ardern Government began its second term. She was determined to remove legislative machinery that enabled public polls to be conducted when councils attempted to create Māori wards. The headline on an RNZ report summed up her commitment: Mahuta vows to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cameron Stewart, Professor at Sydney Law School, University of Sydney Last week, the federal government changed its recommendation for COVID-19 vaccines. The Pfizer vaccine is now the “preferred” jab for adults under 50. Amid the political fallout and worries about what it ...
With multiple lockdowns and curfews over the past year, the city of lights has been cast into darkness by Covid-19. But how has the one New Zealand-themed bar in Paris fared through the hard times? Kristian Rusten went to find out.Black Sheep Society is the one, the only, Kiwi bar ...
Victoria University’s Jordan Anderson’s comment that the ‘stress’ created for an offender being placed on the child sex offender register would trigger them into reoffending is dangerously out of touch, says Darroch Ball co-leader of Sensible ...
The energy industry is at the heart of New Zealand’s journey to carbon zero. Ben Fahy spoke to Flick’s CEO about how we make that transition in an equitable and innovative way. A couple of weeks ago, I was having a beer in the late afternoon sun at a reasonably new ...
The New Zealand Initiative has welcomed the National Party’s announcement of its housing policy and legislation. “Housing affordability is all about supply. This legislation will make it easier to build a house so we support this bill,” Executive ...
The Government today has announced a ban on the export of livestock by sea. The trade will be phased out over two years. SAFE CEO Debra Ashton said she’s pleased to see the Government is taking animal welfare seriously. "SAFE has been campaigning ...
The Spinoff, alongside the Science Media Centre and supported by NZ On Air, is now accepting applications for Drawing Science, a free intensive one-day workshop for researchers and illustrators interested in developing their skills in collaborative science communication. Nau mai, haere mai!Te kaupapaLast year, during the height of the Covid-19 ...
Attempting to mitigate the problem doesn’t go far enough, writes Hayley Pardoe – New Zealand needs to commit to changing the way it farms.As a nation, we can’t meaningfully reduce our emissions and level of pollution without addressing how we farm and what we eat. Crucial to this is addressing ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the National Party’s housing policy to force councils to reduce the regulatory constraints on land supply, but has concerns about the blank cheque approach to giving councils even more money. “The biggest constraint ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage. Click here to subscribe to Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup and New Zealand Politics Daily. Today’s contentHousing crisis Henry Cooke (Stuff): Housing bonus: National say councils should be given $50,000 for every ...
The New Zealand Dental Association (NZDA) says a study published in The Lancet Planetary Health strengthens global evidence for levies on sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs). Researchers found South Africa’s 2018 levy on sugary drinks reduced sugar by 51%, ...
It’s been 22 years since Popstars changed reality television forever. Alex Casey chats to the people who were there, and those involved in rebooting the format for a new generation. It could have been our own “day the music died”. A small regional Air New Zealand plane, flying back to Auckland ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Eric Jorden Raes, Postdoctoral researcher Ocean Frontier Institute, Dalhousie University Aboard an Australian research vessel, the RV Investigator, we sailed for 63 days from Antarctica’s ice edge to the warm equator in the South Pacific and collected 387 water samples. Our goal? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tanya Notley, Senior Lecturer in Digital Media, Western Sydney University For most of us, it’s hard to imagine a media-free day. Understanding what’s happening in the world, maintaining our social media profiles, staying in touch with family, being entertained, making new friends, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Bagnall, Senior Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania Chinese Australian history is primarily told as a history of men. Population figures suggest why — in 1901, there were almost 30,000 Chinese men in Australia, yet fewer than 500 women. But despite ...
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for April 14, bringing you the latest news throughout the day. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 8.00am: Live exporter defends welfare of animals ahead of rumoured ban Following the top story out of this morning’s Bulletin: the head of a live export company is ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Live animal export ban on the way, New Zealand’s emissions increase again, and SkyCity cracking down on money laundering junkets.Live animal exports are set to be banned by the government, bringing an end to a controversial agricultural practice. The story was ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Scofield, Adjunct professor, University of Canterbury The flightless kiwi is an iconic bird for New Zealanders, but all five species are threatened by habitat loss and introduced predators. Recent genomic analysis focused on one species, the South Island brown kiwi or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Lueck, Professor of Tourism, Auckland University of Technology By this time next week flights between New Zealand and Australia will have been taking off and landing for roughly 48 hours. The quarantine-free trans-Tasman travel bubble, beginning April 19, will finally be ...
When the credibility of good information is undermined, we can't just rely on strategies we believe should work. We need to be one step ahead, writes Jess Berentson-Shaw. ...
Charlotte Grimshaw on the cost of writing her sensational memoir Even after The Mirror Book had gone to print my father was demanding (by email as usual) that I cancel it and rewrite my family memoir in a ‘celebratory’ tone. In the end, though racked with guilt and worried about ...
MediaRoom: New Zealand businesses spent $320m less on advertising in the pandemic year of 2020 than in 2019 – with firms turning to digital ads and away from traditional media in a big way. Tim Murphy reports. As businesses hunkered down last year – and then fought hard to get their products ...
With the trans-Tasman bubble set to open next week, 500 MIQ rooms will be kept unused in case of an Australian outbreak. Will this be enough? Matthew Scott investigates The first flights from across the ditch touch down on Monday. They represent New Zealand’s first go at widening the bubble ...
Olympic hopeful Jessie Smith has battled a loss of confidence - going from junior BMX world champion to 'riding like a five-year-old' - and chosen to take a break from the sport. Jessie Smith is used to riding the bumpy road of a BMX track. The 2019 junior world BMX champion has ...
A new report reveals the breadth of the loneliness epidemic among the disability community, writes Robyn Hunt – and provides a useful path towards more meaningful human connection.Still Alone Together sounds like a contradiction. It is the title of a very readable report from the Helen Clark Foundation and the consultancy ...
Seven years ago Elizabeth Kolbert wrote The Sixth Extinction. In her new book, Under a White Sky, she finds a middle ground between optimism and apocalyptic bleakness. “Soon it would be too hot” – J G Ballard, The Drowned World (1962)The real problem is the sun. It warms the earth – ...
The Reserve Bank is laying out its plans for stimulate the economy while reining in housing prices, but it's a poisoned chalice for first-time buyers as they assume massive mortgages. ...
Business & Investing: The FMA warns fund managers to keep reviewing their fees annually, Plus China's growth surging on global economic rebound from Covid-19 ...
A marina at picturesque Kennedy Point on Waiheke Island is the scene of a massive battle - and work has started in spite of a looming Supreme Court decision Developers and locals fighting over a planned marina on Waiheke Island are holding an urgent meeting today after a protest on ...
Economists have played down property investors' warnings of rent hikes – because tenants are already so stretched that the market won't sustain any further rises. So now a publicly-funded research project is investigating just what is affordable ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Scott Morrison will hold twice-weekly meetings of the national cabinet for the “foreseeable future”, as the government battles to get its slow and problem-laden vaccine rollout back on course. The Prime Minister says he has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra A wronged woman with a razor-sharp mind and meticulous records is a dangerous creature. Especially when delivering a counter punch to a prime minister who’d denounced her in the bully pit of parliament when he ...
Analysis by Bryce Edwards Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. How seriously does the Māori Party take issues of corruption and the untoward influence of big money in politics? Not very, based on how it’s handling a political finance scandal in which three large donations were kept hidden from the public. ...
Government ministers are confident no taxpayer money was caught up in donations to the Māori Party that have been referred to police for not being declared in time. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jamie Triccas, Professor of Medical Microbiology, University of Sydney As AstraZeneca is no longer the preferred vaccine for Australian adults under 50, attention is turning to what other COVID-19 vaccine options are in our arsenal. The federal government has ordered 40 million ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Scully, Senior Meteorologist, Australian Bureau of Meteorology Across most of Australia this week, people have woken up and thought “Goodness, it’s cold.” Summer doonas are being changed to winter doonas. Heaters are being switched on. Ugg boots are being dug out ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Scully, Senior Meteorologist, Australian Bureau of Meteorology Across most of Australia this week, people have woken up and thought “Goodness, it’s cold.” Summer doonas are being changed to winter doonas. Heaters are being switched on. Ugg boots are being dug out ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Palmer, Professor, RMIT University Review: Small Business, published by M.33, Melbourne, 2021 David Wadelton understands that photography is a form of time travel. Small Business, his new book of photographs, transports us to Melbourne’s vanishing architecture of interior workplaces created by ...
The Council of Trade Unions wants the government to do more to improve working lives for New Zealanders. CTU President Richard Wagstaff will tonight address Minister of Workplace Relations Michael Wood, other Labour and Green Party Members of Parliament, ...
We knew this already, but sleepily ignored for the most part.
Carbon tax is getting another flurry of articles in the media, spurred by Canada's announcement of a nationwide carbon tax of CAD$170/ton by 2030.
https://cleantechnica.com/2020/12/11/a-carbon-price-in-canada-of-170-cad-by-2030-is-great-climate-news/
One of the many points in favour of a carbon tax is that it gets support across the political spectrum, if it's reasonably well designed. Here's noted extreme RWNJ Eric Crampton in support of Canada's carbon tax:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/123689342/canada-offers-new-zealand-a-lesson-in-how-to-manage-carbon
A key point is what Canada proposes to do with the revenue from the carbon tax. It's going to be divvied up evenly among Canadians and rebated back to them. So people with low carbon emissions will be better off, they'll get more back from the rebate than they pay in tax. But the high emitters pay more, preferably a lot more. This is the model used by British Columbia for quite a while now, and it has broad support there.
Another key point is that a carbon tax directly targets the behaviour we want to eliminate. None of the monkeying around trying to hide it as something else, or setting up weird trading schemes that imply some sort of "right to pollute". Just the simple message that if you dump hazardous waste into the atmosphere, you have to pay, no ifs buts or maybes.
The main flaw I see in the proposal is that it targets a price, and gives the message that whatever reductions achieved are OK. I'd rather see a scheme that spells out the emissions reductions targets, and spells out that the carbon tax will rise as quickly and as high as needed to meet the emissions reduction targets.
Nice! Actually encouraging!
I understand your quibble at the end but price is a pretty universal form of legible value.
I'm looking forward to seeing what Biden can get through the Senate on this.
I'd expect that if a carbon tax were designed around reduction targets, with price as the variable to be adjusted in order to meet the targets, then it would also include the modelling results of what the price trajectory would be. Something like year 1 $10/ton, year 2 $20/ton, year 3 $30/ton, year 4 $50/ton, year 5 $70/ton, year 6 $90/ton, year 7 $110/ton, year 8 $140/ton, year 9 $170/ton …
It's also worth bearing in mind that if the tax works as intended, the rebate back to low emitters would rise for a few years, then fall back down as emissions dropped and there becomes less carbon tax revenue to divvy up and rebate back out. It is purely a temporary thing to speed the transition to a zero-emissions economy.
While I'm sceptical that it would reduce emmisions it's a far better idea than carbon tax income going into some world wide trading scheme .
The British Columbia tax is now at $40/ton, so it's still at a very low level. Nevertheless, it's credited with reducing BC emissions by 5% to 15%. Even though it's only adding around 9cents/litre to petrol prices. More than quadruple it to $170/ton (40ish cents/litre) and it's going to have a much bigger effect.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/carbon-tax-bc-1.5083734
https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/july-2019/lessons-from-british-columbias-carbon-tax/
Andre what's your feeling on the Georgia Special for January 5th?
Also do you think Biden will go for full statehood for Washington DC and Puerto Rico – and get 2 more Senate seats inbound?
Well, my record on predictions in US politics is even worse than yours on Brexit, but since you've asked … here cometh the waste of pixels.
I'm hopeful about the Georgia senate by-elections. My take on the disappointing results down-ballot on Nov 4th is that good Repug results were driven by MAGAmorons turning out for Crassius Cray-Cray himself, and they voted for down ballot Repugs just because. Now that Hairplug Himmler is not on the ballot, that enthusiasm won't be there. Indeed, we've had the gobsmacking spectacle of MAGAmorons actually discouraging voting and directly attacking the idea of turning out for Insider Trading Barbie and Chicken Man.
Furthermore, Biden comes across as so innocuous and harmless, moderate Republicans won't feel as motivated to turn out to deny him the senate. At the same time, Georgia Democrats will be energised by the Nov 4th example that when they actually get the turnout, they can get the result.
I don't think Biden will try for DC and Puerto Rico statehood, though he won't try to block it if someone else takes it up. It's just too low a chance of actually getting a result, and Biden will have more than enough on his hands trying to rebuild from the vandalism and scorched earth of the last four years. It will also be much too easy for Repugs to paint a DC and PR statehood effort as Dems trying to pack Congress for their partisan benefit – even though PR would probably be closer to purple than blue.
Here's some MAGAmorons I could really encourage …
(warning, the video opens with the volume up painfully loud)
Very overly simplistic comparison so take with a grain of salt, but MAGA seems to have morphed into a right wing version of the cultural revolution, with Trump = Mao and the MAGAts = the Red Guards, only the goal of Trump’s people is to restore their version of the ‘Four Olds’.
The previous Deputy Speaker Anne Tolley made changes to the tax payer paying out damages to a person in a defamation case, think last August. Since 2001 MPs have had assistance when it comes to legal fees.
Now that Tolley is no longer an MP Mallard is in the spotlight. Recall that Tolley was involved with a breach of privacy when it came to Peter's NZ super annuation payment, Bennett was to.
This is where I get peeved off. Not enough is being done by any political party about historical or current sexual harassment, indecent assault, sexual assault or gaslighting in parliament or by government agencies e.g police, defence force, fire and emergency. The Mariya Taylor case which has gone to the Supreme Court is an historical example. Legal fees for this by the defence force is over $800k.
Correction the defence force and government legal fees are nearly 900k.
How much more dysfunctional can it get when the government is doing this to one person?
This needs to change. I am sick of the BS bla bla from every political party on sexual crime. The ACC Act for mental injury (both historical and current) is a disgrace and the legislation used (the Crimes Act 1961) is so out dated.
As I understand it it was Mallard who pushed through the changes that allowed damages to be paid by the State where an MP had, as Trevor would certainly seemed to have done, defamed someone.
Tolley was involved only because it was the Speaker who was trying to get bailed out and it is a general principle that a person cannot approve the payment of money to themselves. Thus Anne, as deputy, had to decide whether Trevor qualified and therefore should get the money. She was not the person who pushed through the changes to the scheme.
the whole thing stinks…
..of corruption…
Tolley signed off on it. Yes I did look it up and Mallard pushed for it. It was in the interest of Tolley to do so. The bigger picture was, what was going on in the National party at the time with the caucus privacy breaches. Mallard did them a favour by changing the rules.
Mallard did himself a favour too.
There is a cartoon on stuff.co.nz about cash from above.
Mallard is not denying his behaviour and he has apologised.
Knowing what the terms are for sexual offences under the Crimes Act 1961 is in every MPs interest to know the difference and what they are.
Some sort of on the spot test and many MPs would fail.
"Yes I did look it up and Mallard pushed for it"
Can you provide a link to that please.
Anne Tolley said "It didn't seem right that there was not a similar protection for him" saying "I was surprised, in fact, that they didn't [qualify for legal financial support] so we set up a system whereby they did,"
"The decision I made was to put in place a process that gave the speaker of Parliament the same protections as a Cabinet minister" saying "At some stage National will be in government and they will have a speaker. We're a much more litigious community these days, so it may well be that National's speaker gets into trouble."
Which doesn't sound like Mallard pushed for it nor was Tolley forcibly coerced to do it and she had sought advice from the Solicitor-General and from Crown law before signing it off.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/12/former-deputy-speaker-anne-tolley-expected-trevor-mallard-s-legal-dispute-to-be-costly-when-agreeing-to-it.html
Very interesting to see Greta Thunberg pop our smug reverie about climate change responsiveness, and then James Shaw have to respond hard against her:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/james-shaw-responds-after-greta-thunberg-calls-out-nz-over-lack-of-climate-change-action/O2IQVQ6QZ2O7OLYIKLI5FAAR3I/
This government sure could do with more international pressure on carbon trading to see that our reputational risk is our most important trade risk and hence economic sustainability risk.
sure could do with more international pressure
Or they could do their job for once in their ineffectual lives, and listen to the people they ostensibly represent. Plenty of local folk could tell them, if they were not too big-headed to listen.
respond hard against her
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/james-shaw-responds-after-greta-thunberg-calls-out-nz-over-lack-of-climate-change-action/O2IQVQ6QZ2O7OLYIKLI5FAAR3I/
Sounds like he's agreeing with her to me
Yeah nah the PM has had to back him up as well.
Greta is one of the most powerful influencers on earth.
As he is a minister in the government she leads, that's to be expected.
Our international reputation was already damaged following the exposure of the hollowness of the 100% pure nz campaign. The tourism that it was sustaining isn't returning soon either.
Greta Thunberg is continuing to highlight the ineffectiveness of the incremental approach successive governments have taken. And so should we all.
I agree that Shaw was agreeing with her. The sticking point is Ardern and Labour. Shaw and Thunberg are on the same side.
Shaw is Minister of Climate Change, not anyone else.
Shaw and Ardern are on the same side: the government.
Evidently the buck stops at the minister outside of cabinet’s desk.
“I would, of course, give the context there that, if that was the sum ambition of any government, then that would be worthy of criticism.
“It is not our sum ambition. And it is not the totality of our plans on climate change,” she said.
Ardern said she thinks it is a “good thing that there are people out there continuing to urge ambition and action”.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/ardern-responds-greta-thunbergs-criticism-over-nzs-climate-change-declaration