Problems arise though, when the photoshopping – both metaphorical and literal – is carried out with a bit too much gusto.
Just ask Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who found himself the butt of ridicule when his staff botched an unnecessary photoshop job, by pasting hip new sneakers over his tired old kicks.
Mistakenly giving the embattled leader two left feet in the process was just too good for the internet to let slide. More seriously, the gaffe served to highlight the level of detail a leader’s army of press secretaries will go to, to control their image.
New Zealand’s politicians are no different in that regard.
Whether it’s Clark Gayford breaking a month-long Instagram hiatus to poke self-deprecating fun at his “christmas belly”, National leader Simon Bridges guzzling a beer in a floral shirt, or Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern signing on for a round of soft media in the gossip mags.
None of these images tell us anything worth knowing about them. All are designed to give the illusion that they do.
Sadly, in the case of women, it’s more closely aligned to the subject’s looks. But as it applies to male political leaders, it could perhaps be more accurately described as the “beer test”, as in “he seems like a good guy to have a beer with”.
Hence the beer gut, the drinking shot, and myriad softly-lit photo shoots.
But that only gets a politician so far and this is the year where the rubber hits the road for the leaders of both major parties.
The Government’s stalled as long as it can with sundry working groups. The trouble with appointing experts to these things is that they’re incredibly earnest in their responsibilities to come up with solutions.
Solutions which cost money, of which the Government has plenty but still not enough to fulfil the promises it’s made.
Health, mental health, education reform, justice reform, public service pay, climate change and tax issues are all crying out for bold decisions and tankers of cash.
For the Opposition, getting through the inevitable return of Jami-Lee Ross unscathed, and avoiding a significant drop in the polls, will be what decides Simon Bridges’ leadership.
It looks likely it will be a make or break year for the leadership Bridges. More of the same is not going to do it.
It could also be the making or breaking of the current Government. They will have to make tangible moves on fulfilling a number of significant promises.
perhaps the media will shift more focus from PR onto substance too. There are signs this may be happening from some of them, but there is little sign yet what the Prime Minister’s priorities and plans will be, and her Government is yet to get going in a crucial year for them.
Maybe it’s all a kneejerk reaction to Keys cult of personality.
Clark Gayford isn’t a politician so you need to retract that BS. Then after actually talking about MP’s (being in social media means you aint working) you bring in the opposition to appear balanced.
Kind of dishonest wrapped in cheese.
You got nothing but you’re gonna have a jab anyway.
Could be make or break for James Shaw and climate change measures – he has to start coming up with substantial and credible and affordable plans or many Green supporters and potential supporters will be disillusioned (there’s already some signs of that).
It could also be make or break for the Green Party, whose less popular social reform faction seems to get much more media attention than their environmental faction. A split vote may make 5% difficult to achieve. There were warning signs last election.
Nah, they’ll be fine. It’s Bridges who’ll be sweating bricks. No one’s got his back and it’s a knife-magnet. His yapping in the House is annoying all those inside and even his own “family” think he needs time on the porch. What can he do, cease his constant wimpering and hope to allowed to stay inside, or bark louder to convince the Household he’s indispensable as a guard dog?
There’s really nothing a dog can do.
Could be make or break for the new Conservatives! Lack of solid backing makes 5% unlikely and it’s not clear which electorate the Nats will gift them – or if the coat-tailing provisions will survive long enough for it to pay off.
(How am I doing at this distraction thing?)
…many Green supporters and potential supporters will be disillusioned…
Always a problem for political parties. Even in opposition you can’t be all things for all people. It gets harder in government. And all political parties are coalitions internally. They are always annoying supporters.
This is why Labour often leaks support to the Greens and NZ First and there are the floaters who leak between NZ First, Labour to and from National.
However the harder line Green supporters have the same problem as the remaining hardline NAct supporters. Where are they going to go? Their choice really is to vote for their best party to:-
1. express vaguely something like their views and hope.
2. not vote – something that extremists don’t usually do.
3. waste their vote on a party that has no hope of hitting the threshold – which most of the time is a zero sum game (the extremists from all angles generally cancel themselves out). Think mana, conservatives, and united future (the beige extremists).
4. get involved in a viable political party and try to shift their positions.
With the greens of all flavors, once you get outside of the flaky fashion voters (useless damn voters for any party to pursue in my opinion), then they usually do something like 1 or 4 and almost invariably within the Greens.
It is pretty damn apparent to any green voter that they either figure out how to tolerate each other ( for instance the the conservationists and social equity crowds ) or they they just forget about having any say in parliament.
This isn’t exactly rocket science. After all the Nats are a complete anathema to almost every consistent green voter I have ever run across outside of the fashion victims. National have a very long and extended history of being environmental and social terrorists – and are complete hypocrites about it. And they don’t think that Labour is much better.
Sure in theory a new party could form. But that is so virtually impossible with a 5% threshold that I feel it is unlikely to happen. I suspect that any attempt to do so will just cause the Green supporters to vote tactically to make sure that National won’t get in (and I think that a lot of NZ First voters feel the same way).
“It could also be the making or breaking of the current Government. They will have to make tangible moves on fulfilling a number of significant promises.
perhaps the media will shift more focus from PR onto substance too. There are signs this may be happening from some of them, but there is little sign yet what the Prime Minister’s priorities and plans will be, and her Government is yet to get going in a crucial year for them.”
Yes to all that pete, I agree fully.
Jacinda made us vote for her on her solid performance with her famous “auckland town Hall speech” which still remains to be largely fulllfilled in it’s promises made.
Things such as “Climate Change” ‘This is my generations nuclear moment’ – has been left on the back burner along with getting regional rail freight moving again, because labour in their last time in Government in 2008 bought the rail back for us all, and now in power she has done little to restore regional rail freight, as it and free up roads for tourists and Kiwi people to travel fafer, but all we see so far is Labour pouring more god money after bad into minior alterations to make roads better for trucks so that is dumb as trucks are now wrecking our climat change emisions targets.
Next was Labour Jacinda promised was to bring us a Government that was a softer, gentler, caring, inclusive, considerate and transperant Government who will listen to our concerns, and provide ousing for all and jobs, but this was the basic plan Jacinda made us believe, and sadly so far the opposite has occurred here.
The clock is ticking jacinda so please make this wish come true for us all this year. ‘Lets do this’. – (Jacinda called her plea as in pre-election 2017.)
Sometimes the symbolism of one small action that goes against the flow can make all the difference.
Regional rail to Gisborne could be one such example.
Electrifying the main trunk line could be another. Doubling the rail line to Northland another.
All of sudden you have a nation that is seen on the world stage as being serious in standing up to roading lobby.
The fact that there is such antipathy, to even taking this one small first step, is an , indication that the roading and trucking lobby know the power of symbolism. And fear it.
“That’s not surprising given that Americans by a similarly large plurality agree with the proposition that “the U.S. has been engaged in too many military conflicts in places such as Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan for too long and should prioritize getting Americans out of harm’s way” far more than they agree with the pro-war view that “the U.S. needs to keep troops in places such as Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan to help support our allies fight terrorism and maintain our foreign policy interests in the region.””
Greenwald reports the evidence that the real warmongers are the Democrats: “But what is remarkable about the new polling data on Syria is that the vast bulk of support for keeping troops there comes from Democratic Party voters, while Republicans and independents overwhelming favor their removal. The numbers are stark: Of people who voted for Clinton in 2016, only 26 percent support withdrawing troops from Syria, while 59 percent oppose it. Trump voters overwhelmingly support withdraw by 76 percent to 14 percent.”
There is zero evidence that the Ukrainian political consultant ..note ..Ukrainian not Russian, Konstantin Kilimnik , has ties to the Russian security services.
The long bow being strung here is that when Kilimkin applied for his job at the International Republican Institute(strongly associated with the US govt), he was perfectly open about where he learned his fluent English…at a Soviet military school ,pretty standard for Soviet citizens, and later worked as a translator for the Russian army.He was jokingly referred to as GRU.and not considered a security risk
Kilimnik worked for Manafort’s consultancy in Ukraine, which was advising Yanukovich to turn towards the west and pursue admittance to the EU.Yanukovich straddled a line between Russia and Europe and tried to play both off against each other as a way to tread water
(In the event, the EU aid package didnt weigh up against the loss of Ukraine’s biggest trading partner, Russia , some 60 billion dollars down according to Yanukovich’s own treasury advisors.The Russian offer along with cheap gas was the only workable one.
When Yanukovich pleaded with the EU to cut him a better deal, they refused.)
So working with an American flash Harry who’s advising a Ukrainian despot to turn west is apparently the work of a “Russian operative”… but these are the times we live in , where journalism is in thrall to partisan, old and tired geopolitical agendas .
And we the consumers have to pretend not to gag on outlandish bullshit .
Repeat after me, Black is White
Here’s the Nation , rather more Democrat aligned than Republican
Heh. The most libertarian free-marketeer in the US Senate rejects the services available from his home free market and goes to a foreign country with a socialist system and socialized service providers to get his medical care.
I think we are going to have to bring back the death penalty. Such behaviour as this mean that this person should never be let out into society again. With a planet full of people, and not able to look after the innocent and vulnerable now, those who cross over into viciousness have no place in the world and should be humanely put down.
Yellow shirts argue for tax reform… …on the rich. How about banning foriegn multi millionaires? over say 100 million from travel overseas. Those individuals that rich are incapable of spend even a smidgen in a foreign country, except on homes,so reek havoc to the global economy in inequality, and it’s not like their numbers are growing, in fact wealth is falling to fewer and fewer. When there is a threat to the people our leaders must act… …and it’s not like the wealthy will have it hard, they are swimming in money, they can fly the four star French chef over and simulate the world economy for a change. And it’s not like they are thick, they have the ability to give to charity, raise wages of faithful employees, or family…etc. Why would we create and maintain a system of economic value, that allows value to be acrued, yet then once acrued inhibits wider wealth dissipation, or we could, as the yellow shirts want, just tax them more to pay for the troubles tgey are producing. although a few Saudi princes kept at home might have redirected their locus of perception and saved a journalist.
Up to €9,807: 0%
€9,807–27,086: 14%
€27,086–72,617: 30%
€72,617–153,783: 41%
€153,783+: 45%
………………
In addition to the basic rates of income tax those fortunate few with a taxable income of upwards of €250,000 pa are liable for a special tax called contribution exceptionnelle sur les hauts revenus.
This tax is at the rate of 3% on income up to €500,000, and at the rate of 4% on income above €500,000.
Married couples and those in a civil partnership are exempt up to €500,000, when they then become liable at the rate of 3% to €1m, and 4% above this figure.
The tax is imposed on net income, after determination of the tax liability under the standard scale rates.
…………….
They also rebate tax liability for dependants.
A couple with 2 kids pay no tax until €47,452
So how are the rich not paying there fair share of tax. They are already not far off the only ones paying.
In practice, less than 50% of inhabitants in France pay any income tax at all; only around 14% pay at the rate of 30%, and less than 1% pay at the rate of 45%.
My guess is the ones protesting are in that 50% figure and pay no tax.
Tax was lowered on the wealthiest. Still you miss the point, great wealth can buy real estate in nz that harms our economy, pushing up housing costs for citizens here. The idea is either raise taxes on the wealthy, or stop them travelling and using that wealth to collude, distort and open unproductive relationships. Sure we want the good investments just have the debate also about the bad. giving someone bragging rights over multiple homes, boats, etc in multiple dominion is wealth pollution. Look a fail maker who moves here and invests great, a psuedo journalist who never made a buck anyone actually needed… …why expose ourselves to wealth acquired by colluding in foreign. We don’t allow free movement of people, why should we want fire movement of wealth people who have all the same spectrum of infalliabilities just more money to damage economies.
John Key millionarie exception brought in dotcom… …really can’t we debate now was that good policy, is it good to have nonproductive ownership…
Get down where you belong NZs – where tourism is king and queen or Irish or something. Tote that barge, lift that rubbish, joyride in a car and you’ll really be rubbished.
Guess what – all the same group. The Brits won the pools and came to rubbish us,
supposed to be Irish but who knows. For the reporter this was the gift that kept on giving. Watch out they might be headed your way and ready for some hooliganism.
soddenleaf says what about banning multi millionaires?
What about getting $100 per tourist up front, plus an insurance policy against damage and possible costs they incur in this country. We don’t know actually how much profit we get from this people invasion. And then if there is profit, how much of it stays in NZ. Bet they set up here as foreigners, get cheap people from overseas, arrange to receive all their country’s people so they can speak their own language, so easy, and then pocket everything and send the profit to a tax haven with us getting diddleysquat and I don’t know what that is, but it looks like trouble!
Bruce That’s very informative – I had heard that some Chinese were getting offered very cheap tours, but finding that they were subject to stand-over tactics by tour organisers.
I wonder if countries are allowed to set up their own tourist offices in China.
This would ensure that the idea of being shown the country to the Chines as guests being cared for by the host country might go down well. With more Chinese speakers being churned out of course to talk face to face with the people.
I don’t think so , but it’s easy to see the country from local perspective esp now with google maps, not sure about China but here we just pick a place thats looks interesting and try to find the bus, truck or whatever to get there. And if your lucky enough to get lost and end up in the hands of the locals to get back to civilisation the fun really begins. These days though, I stay around one area so have to wait till it looks like rain, head off into the hills, get caught in the rain find shelter, wait for some locals to take pity on me and take me home. I used to feel uncomfortable with the disparity in wealth and circumstance but have since learned that the hill people have no idea of how we live and are quite content in their lives and are happy to share, there are always ways to appropriately respond.
Have you ever toured in the Shansi province north of Xian? I was fascinated by the story of the little woman missionary Gladys Aylward who managed to raise her own money to get herself to a mission in China in that province.
She went by sea, then railway, then sea again, and I think finally by donkey
to a lower mountain walled township. They seemed to be very able people, in a hard climate. The remote mountain villages had scattered gardens of millet as their main food I think. I have thought of going there but it is getting off the main tourist drag and of course I have to save up a fair bit.
Have you been there? I think she was in Feng Yang. Or have you been to where Rewi Alley established a school over in the west?
No never into China, Mong la on the border in Shan State but it’s just a casino so no interest back to Kentung.
It’s only the airfare that costs and with an eye on the specials you can get to Bangkok for under a thousand and then 30 or 40 a day is ample. 12 to 15 for nice room, I’m fussy and immune suppressed so choosy. Meals are dollar or two, buses are generally safe $40 gets 1000 ks . Just stay as long as possible to dilute the airfare cost .
It’s an international problem, not just Chinese. All group / package tourism markets have this aspect.
Probably the most blatant is the cruise ship industry who are there to fleece their punters in every way they can and demand huge commissions from any outside operator they might throw a few crumbs to.
Mmm. Venice has been cutting down hard on day trippers etc. I Think that NZ is fooled a bit – we are making money from dairying – but what is the net return when you deduct the lost or damaged resources. Tourism – what clever ways of siphoning off profits and minimising taxes and the crowds needing resources!
Try to set up some hiousing project and a fair proportion of the group are from
the USA. When can we have our own country as a resource for ourselves? Of course what Maori have been asking for years.
We could set up a little enclave in Todd McClay’s Rotovegas and call it Benedorm.
Just think of all the opportunities for development and growth going forward.
It’d be a ‘win win’ situation for all. We could even schedule a RoNS extension from Paengaroa and capture the cruise ship market calling in at Tearwronga
The tourist spend was $11.8 billion.
There were 3,733,707 visitors.
So each visitor spends $3160.
So if they are charged $100, if >1 in 31.6 visiters decides not to come to NZ then we loose income.
If you use tax gained from the activity at the immediate level you have GST but also Tax on wages, fuel, Buisiness profits, etc. Once you count flow on activity like the worker spending wages the Tax generated begins to add up. It should be similar to the result. The % of the economy the government takes in taxes. Our Tax to GDP rate is 32%.
So the government gets about. $1,011 a tourist.
Tax vs Levi. If >1 in 10 tourists doesn’t come to NZ the Government gets less taxes.
Other issue.
How much does the tourist have to spend. If they only have $3160 then they including the Levi will still spend $3160. So it won’t be $3160, plus all of the $100.
So the income figure, and tax figure would be affected by that change in figures.
It could end up generating more revenue if numbers are less affected, and spend is less affected by an additional $100 levy.
But nothing expands exponentially. The way we are is one of the pleasures of coming here. Are we too nice? We will gradually get sourer as numbers mount.
And the hospitality industry is dependent on tourists, and they are poorly paid.
Revenue isn’t everything, it can’t buy us pristine water for instance.
And some visitors don’t spend a lot, are quite poor, these are woofers. And they often are very genuinely interested in the country and people and put a lot of effort into helping horticulture etc.
Just taking averages is interesting but not really informative. Some nations spend more than others according to the stats.
A lot of Australians come here for short holidays; some are Kiwis and stay with family. Not much to feed the hopeful tourist businesses. Then the very wealthy, do they go off to a remote hacienda and fish fine trout or something.
Not much expenditure for the locals, except for the guide to the best spots.
Plus @DJW, each tourist shits on average 1kg per day, and the average length of stay is between 19 and 22 days.
So lets be fair and say the average excrement load per tourist is 20 kilograms.
So lets multiply that by the record breaking 3.7 million tourists per year.
That’s approximately 74,000,000 kilograms of shit per annum or 74,000 tonnes looking for prospects.
Admittedly some of it will be high quality shit but a lot of it will be pretty average but it seems to me there must be a business opportunity for some entrepreneurial ‘type’ such as yourself.
Money money money ……etc.
Oh, and by the way “Once you count flow on activity like the worker spending wages the Tax generated begins to add up.”
I could probably arrange for a few Dalits to come and assist with the enterprise if you’d like – strictly below minimum wage of course and they’ll spend all they earn.
Well as a former minimum/low wage worker for a good part of my early life I had to make hard choices. I left a Job that over time was paying OK to study, living on the bones of my arse as it took to September to get a allowance approved. I moved city ariving with $5 to my name to start a new job that led to my position today. I abandoned that job to study a subject I needed to learn but new little about. I worked 8 to 12 hour night shifts and studied during the day. I moved city again and luckily got a job I wanted, again with nothing. My pay effectively doubled but your making a mistake if you think I don’t know how hard it is.
Money, money, money!
As a stay at home dad that chooses to work part time so I can have a quality life with my kids while they are young, I got my priorities and balance spot on.
Yes I know @ DJ. Some of us have had similar experiences and so if everybody just pulled themselves up by their bootstraps like you and me, the world would be a much better place.
It’s so good to be able to just sit back in the knowledge we’re both the self-made man
Yep. The Trump and Bush Senior hard worker driven types with the silver spoon are rare. The rest like Bush junior not so much.
There is other rarities like Musc.
The hard parts of life help show the value of the free things all around you.
My brother who I had to take custody when I was 19 left school young to go on the independent youth benifit, on the day he qualified. Eventually he decided to do something with himself. He door knocked, offered his services for free to a business starting by sweeping the floor. Obviously that’s exploitation by the buisness but he learnt a skill that led to a job, a better job, his present job where he earns over 6 figures, flash vehicle, and boss to about 60 staff.
Yea yea, understand mate. Fully! Fully!
But you know what? as me dear ole mum said on her death bed just before she popped her clogs …. she said “son, I know its been a hard life with that useless git of a father of yours and all, and I couldn’t have done it without ya. I’m proud of ya son”
And I said “yea mum, I know ya struggled but I didn’t get where I am today with all that bleeding heart liberal stuff”
And I thought, if I an do it, ANYBODY can!
And just before she departed this glorious world, she said “son, just remember, ya don’t owe noone nuttin”.
I ‘ve remembered that to this very day. It’s what drives me in every thing I do
And if anybody still thinks Orwell’s 1984 is fiction, that things are more extreme in the US and similar conditions can’t happen here… where have these dreamers been since 1984? Chris Hedges nails it.
‘Neoliberalism argues that the essence of freedom is free enterprise, while never addressing workers’ surrender of basic freedoms. Neoliberalism holds out the promise, which has not been true since before the Industrial Revolution, that workers can become self-employed if they are hardworking and innovative. We all have the ability to achieve economic independence or become industry leaders if we draw on our inner resources, according to the neoliberal mantra, one popularized by mass culture. […] This is a con.’
Well you can start your own Buisiness if you like can’t you. I’m self imployed. I was a worker on a wage. I was a worker on a salary. But I’ve always had the choice to be self employed, or start a Buisiness. Starting a Buisiness however takes commitment, hard work, and the willingness to risk ones own money and pay taxes on profits.
What does the worker risk?
Men get paid more for the risky jobs they do vs females low risk jobs, shows worker risk gets rewarded.
People who start Buisiness.
The very same people who create those modern day slavery workers jobs.
Imagine what the workers would do if nobody created jobs.
You are the master of your own destiny in a free society.
Change job it it’s not making you happy.
No guarantees, but with a good social system to help the unfortunate, or lazy.
If you wish to start a Buisiness there is free classes, and grants. There’s nothing stopping you, other than your own glass ceiling.
To a certain extent that’s right. But it takes a careful man or woman to keep a business going. Got to get paid and be carefully regular checking and working out payments with the strugglers and others. You actually have to have some spare money or assets to get started. Lots of businesses go down because they are under capitalised, and can’t get that extra loan to tide them over. You are in a business that needs your skills. So good luck with that.
If you have a family your children might never see you and you slave away all hours, and have to live on tick while you work at getting the money in. And if the business doesn’t work out, it can sap all your energy. You have a change of lifestyle, have to give up your house and buy a caravan and start all over in another direction.
“Good on you for cutting him off, Wallace!”
Wallace Chapman, Hero. Or is he? The Panel, RNZ National, Tuesday 15 January 2019
Wallace Chapman, David Cormack, Janet Wilson, Caitlin Cherry
First item for the day: a discussion about the wisdom or otherwise of police car chase policies. The “expert” for this topic was one John Lambert, an Australian road safety expert. However, this came to an abrupt end when Lambert claimed that Maori were more likely to break the law than Pakeha. This elicited gasps from David Cormack and host Wallace Chapman, who said: “We can’t accept that” and quickly got rid of him. He then condemned “that bizarre and woeful comment.”
Five minutes later…..
WALLACE CHAPMAN: A lot of responses about the gentleman from Australia. A lot of people hated the way I cut him off, but then a lot of people said “Good on you for cutting him off.”
DAVID CORMACK: Good ON you for cutting him off, Wallace!
You will never be 100% happy with any reporter, journalist or media commentator other than the handful of ones you idolize. I’m sure the file you have on Wallace is better ranked than the one on Mora, so be thankful there’s been a change on The Panel 🙂
I expect them to do their job, which is to understand their subject to an expert level, report the facts, and to rigorously hold politicians and propagandists to account. Some reporters—Glenn Greenwald, Jon Stephenson, Nicky Hager, Robert Fisk, Jeremy Scahill—do exactly those things. Some, on the other hand—Jim Mora, Rachel Maddow, and as I showed in those three references, Wallace Chapman—fail to do those things.
Yes, I’m thankful there’s been a change on The Panel. Today we saw a new Wallace Chapman. Time will tell whether he keeps challenging people like he did John Lambert this afternoon, or whether he will be as supine and indolent as he was when he let Lee Child vomit his disgusting views.
WALLACE CHAPMAN: Ha ha! I mean: “Painful and real disincentive against holding pistols again until they have healed, which could be a long time depending on their approach to nutrition and antisepsis.” [nervously] Ha ha ha ha ha ha!
LEE CHILD: Ha ha ha ha! Well, that’s the thing with Reacher. He’s got a heart of gold, but he’s not a goody-goody. You know, he will get the job done in the most brutal way imaginable. Which I think also resonates with people.
WALLACE CHAPMAN: Ha ha ha!
LEE CHILD: I mean, people are FED UP with all these rules—
WALLACE CHAPMAN: Ha ha!
LEE CHILD: I mean, if you want to do something, just DO it.
Gang members break into a property you own, say they own it (they don’t), and move in.
Police are brought in and those squatting in the property are trespassed, but tough shit for you the property owner because nothing else happens and you run out of money paying for the mortgage, and legal bills.
I’m all for tenant rights but the scale needs balance if only to stop incidents like this, rare though it is. WHY AREN’T THEY ARRESTED FOR TRESPASS AGAIN? Useless cops.
Did you notice that the gang used to own the property. They don’t now as they got bankrupted? Or had it taken off them when they got had on drug dealing.
But they had built it themselves. If we had legalised marijuana back then they could have been encouraged to drop the meth and go legit on quality, tested grass.
If only.
Yes I know, a little dream. My quote – ‘If wishes were horses, beggars would
ride.’ If only, about the saddest most evocative words there are in the language.
After I read this story I new google shonky + tara Iti golf club and sure enough he is linked in this mess he goal was to serve his rich amercian m8 he would have bulldozed through all the laws we have to protect OUR indangered animals to get this golf club built and worse still the named the club after the Bird that they are causing the EXTINCTION of both links below. We have a obligation to protect these TARONGA birds of Aotearoa FROM the greedy wealthy men
New Zealand’s rarest bird on the brink of extinction: ‘This is a crisis year’
A disastrous breeding season has plunged one of the world’s rarest birds even deeper into crisis.
The critically endangered fairy tern/tara iti, the country’s rarest native bird species with fewer than 40 individuals, has had only three chicks hatch this season.
New Zealand Fairy Tern Charitable Trust convenor Heather Rogan says one chick has gone missing, which could make this the worst breeding season in at least 27 years.
The Department of Conservation maintained on Monday that all three chicks were alive and well. If that’s the case and they all fledge, this would still be the worst season since 1996-7, the last time three chicks fledged.
The luxury Tara Iti Golf Club has been built nearby and exclusive housing developments are planned in the old Mangawhai Forest, bought by Te Uri o Hau in its Treaty settlement. As part of the developments, a public reserve is to be created.
“It just seems one thing after the other has been piling pressure on,” says Rogan.
It appears, however, that DOC has dropped the ball. A 10-year fairy tern recovery plan was produced in 2005 but the recovery group was disbanded before the term was finished.
“If all the things that were in there had been followed, we might be a bit better off,” says Rogan.
(Iftikar didn’t know why the group was disbanded.)
SLOW PROGRESS
Progress also seems slow. DOC called a meeting of interested groups in March last year to discuss some of the strategies and priorities for saving the fairy tern. A recovery group was one of the top priorities, yet it’s still not established.
Looking back five years, the Fairy Tern Trust, set up in ka kite ano links below. P.S I can see the money mens spin doctors are using the media one story I found stated the Tara iti had a good season what lies the alt right throw at us.
The moon
Giant leaf for mankind? China germinates first seed on moon
A small cotton shoot is growing onboard Chang’e 4 lunar lander, scientists confirm
A small green shoot is growing on the moon after a cotton seed germinated onboard a Chinese lunar lander, scientists said.
The sprout has emerged from a lattice-like structure inside a canister after the Chang’e 4 lander touched down earlier this month, according to a series of photos released by the Advanced Technology Research Institute at Chongqing University.
“This is the first time humans have done biological growth experiments on the lunar surface,” said Xie Gengxin, who led the design of the experiment, on Tuesday.
Plants have been grown previously on the International Space Station, but this is the first time a seed has sprouted on the moon. The ability to grow plants in space is seen as crucial for long-term space missions and establishing human outposts elsewhere in the solar system, such as Mars.
Harvesting food in space, ideally using locally extracted water, would mean astronauts could survive for far longer without returning to Earth for supplies.
The Chang’e 4 probe – named after the Chinese moon goddess – made the world’s first soft landing on the far side of the moon on 3 January,
Chang’e 4 is also equipped with instruments developed by scientists from Sweden, Germany and China to study the lunar environment, cosmic radiation and the interaction between solar wind and the moon’s surface.
Sign up for Lab Notes – the Guardian’s weekly science update
Read more
The lander released a rover, nicknamed Yutu 2 (Jade Rabbit), that will perform experiments in the Von Kármán crater.
The agency said four more lunar missions are planned, confirming the launch of Chang’e 5 by the end of the year, which will be the first probe to return samples of the moon to Earth since the 1970s. ka kite ano links below
One simple — but really hard — solution to stop climate change
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One simple — but really hard — solution to stop climate change
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One simple — but really hard — solution to stop climate change
US carbon emissions on the rise again 06:24
(CNN)There may actually be a way to keep the worst of climate change at bay, but it’s going to take a herculean effort, according to a new study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications.
Climate change is well underway already, the time to act and limit its human causes is now, many studies have shown. This latest report maps out what it may take to get there.
Antarctica ice melt has accelerated by 280% in the last 4 decades
It posits that if the world was to phase out its “carbon-intensive infrastructure” at the end of its design lifetime starting from the end of 2018, there’s a 64% chance that the planet’s peak temperature can remain below the goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels. Above that, scientists predict the planet will see even more extreme weather events such as wildfires, droughts, floods, massive animal die offs and food shortages for millions. The planet is already two-thirds of the way there, with global temperatures having warmed about 1 degree Celsius.
To keep the global median temperature within this optimal 1.5 degree-Celsius limit, according to this study, change would have to happen across all sectors, not just in the energy sector. Power plants would need to be replaced, but so would gas and diesel-fueled cars, aircraft, ships and and industrial plants. Even cows would have to go — essentially, anything that contributes to global warming.
Under this scenario, infrastructure such as power plants wouldn’t have to be scrapped and replaced with a non-carbon emitting technology — at least, not immediately. The researchers are talking about a “design lifetime.” In the case of power plants, the average lifetime based on historic data, is about 40 years. The average lifetime of a car on the road now is more than 11 years, according to Consumer Reports, but could last for about 200,000 miles, or 15 years, US estimates show. Once they wear out, stop working or die, they’d be replaced with technology or products that do not contribute to climate change Ka kite ano link below
I see the alt right reporters are using cunning sly tact ticks to scare people off the ideas that a fare tax system in Needed .I SAY that it’s is need a tax on people who can afford it .The way s honky has setup the tax system a the minute the people who are broke are paying a higher tax % than a person making millions in proffets in the share market and that ain’t correct. The the more money the government gives the wealthy they take that money out of the system under there mattresses. The more money the government’s give the poor the money keeps flowing through the systems and is good for a capitalist based system. The wealthy people let there greed replace any logically humane way of thinking with bigotry. Ka kite ano. P.S we need to make this country fare that will fix some of the problems we have now links below https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/366876/two-options-proposed-for-taxing-capital-gain https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/business/359921/cap-gains-would-cut-house-prices-increase-ownership-study
Goods need to be made to last a life time not 2 to 5 years
frustrating: you buy a new appliance then just after the warranty runs out, it gives up the ghost.
You can’t repair it and can’t find anyone else to at a decent price, so it joins the global mountain of junk.
You’re forced to buy a replacement, which fuels climate change from the greenhouse gases released in the manufacturing process.
No captionPhoto: 123RF
But help is at hand, because people in Europe and parts of the USA will soon get a right to repair – of sorts.
Libby Peake is senior policy adviser at Green Alliance, a UK charity and environmental think tank, she tells Summer Times it’s a problem all over the world.
“The right to repair movement really stems from consumer frustrations with products that break long before they should and can’t be repaired because it’s either too expensive, or it’s too much of a hassle. Increasingly, it’s because products aren’t designed to be repaired,”
She says consumer goods such as washing machines are often designed with sealed drums that prevent consumers and repairers from accessing parts that would be easily and cheaply replaced, such as ball bearings. Faced with the choice of an expensive repair, consumers often choose to simply buy a new machine – “and it’s no wonder”, she says.
The movement started in the United States, where lawmakers in Massachusetts passed legislation that forced car manufacturers to provide information to consumers which would allow them to make repairs to vehicles themselves.
Increasingly, it’s moved into consumer electronics. Eighteen states across the US have now passed legislation for the right to repair and now the European Union is gearing up to do the same. Already, the EU is looking at improving product standards for things such as fridges, washing machines, dishwashers and televisions.
No captionLibby Peake. Photo: Supplied
Ms Peake says the movement would be hugely beneficial to the environment.
“There are massively environmental consequences to the growing mountain of electronic waste that’s being created. It’s the fastest growing waste stream – not just the products, but the manufacturing itself which includes mining, water, and electricity use. It’s an energy intensive process.”
Previously the EU had focused on the eco-design directive which dictates standards on energy use, for instance LED lightbulbs and electricity or water use. Now it’s moving onto resource efficiency, product lifetime and the ease of repair.
Peake says several manufacturers have protested the proposed changes and argue only professional repairs should be conducted on their products. But the legislation has support from higher-end manufacturers who believe that if everyone were forced to meet minimum standards, it would make the industry more competitive and drive the least efficient products off the market.
Planned product obsolescence used to make sense for manufacturers to force new purchases of defunct electronics, but consumers are increasingly in favour of long-lasting products and Speake says their frustrations will begin to hit manufacturer bottom lines as consumers seek out more robust products. Ka kite ano
Peake says, now that jumps in technological advances have decreased, manufacturers could design things like phones and televisions with disassembly in mind, so the parts can be re-used or recycled. In terms of the losses they would incur by selling more robust phones for example, she says manufacturers may need to pivot to charging for things like software upgrades or repair services.
“People are increasingly sick of ‘take, make, dispose’ economy we’ve got. They want something that’s much more circular and doesn’t damage the planet so much – and ultimately – doesn’t damage their wallets.
Kia ora Newshub
History is in the making in Britain
Cryto currency is getting hacked Alot costing them billions they must have some power full computers to achieve that.
A fire at sea in Australia one has to be careful as on Tangaroa a fire at sea is a nightmare never seen one tho.
It must be a bad feeling knowing that you have a short time to live I could not fathom it.
Falling in love can turn Papatuanukue upside down.
A ride a horse in fast food outlet in Australia that’s a cool photo there are no shops were I rode my horses.
Tom its good to see one of the Football Ferns best players come back to play for them under a new coach. Ka kite ano
Time to listen to the people who’s only interest is saving OUR Papatuanuku and not the amount of interest there share’s are making while they are poisioning our Earth
WE HAVE TO MAKE THE COMPANYS AND CONSUMERS PAY MORE so there is a good price payed for plastic waste reclycling that will provide jobs and $$ for poor people .
1 billion is a drop in the bucket . NZ need to invest that amount alone let alone the hole planet investing 1 billion and trying to grab positive head lines in the media
Industry alliance sets out $1bn to tackle oceans’ plastic waste
Greenpeace sceptical about corporate polluters as alliance launched to reduce waste
Forbes, global plastics project leader at Greenpeace, said: “This is a desperate attempt from corporate polluters to maintain the status quo on plastics. In 2018 people all over the world spoke up and rejected the single-use plastics that companies like Procter & Gamble churn out on a daily basis, urging the industry to invest in refill and reuse systems and innovation. Instead of answering that call, P&G preferred to double down on a failed approach with fossil fuel giants Exxon, Dow and Total [which] fuel destructive climate change.”
He added: “Make no mistake, plastics are a lifeline for the dying fossil fuel industry, and this announcement goes to show how far companies will go to preserve it.”
Rob Kaplan, chief executive of Circulate Capital, which invests in recycling and other projects to reduce plastic waste, said businesses would provide the answer to plastic waste, but it would take many billions in investment. “There is no silver bullet to the plastic problem. Different parties are trying to push their own agenda, but there does not seem to be an alternative at present,” Ka kite ano links below
I hope this Goverment is going to back renewable Energy as fast as the Papatuanuku needs to . So we can guarantee a bright clean happy future for ALL Eco Maoris Wero to this Goverment.
Low-carbon electricity from wind and solar farms will be cheaper than gas and effectively subsidy-free by 2020, says the Committee on Climate Change (CCC).
In a new report, the government’s official climate change advisor says that low-carbon supplies will be the most cost-effective way to fill the looming generation gap in the 2020s, as the UK’s ageing coal and nuclear plants retire. A more flexible grid will be a crucial complement to this shift.
However, the CCC also rows back from the stretching 2030 power decarbonisation target it once advocated, citing delays to the deployment of nuclear and carbon capture and storage (CCS). The report is a prelude to the CCC’s fifth carbon budget advice. On 26 November this advice will recommend a UK emissions cap for the five years from 2028 to 2032. S&P Global reports the cost of solar with battery backup dropped precipitously in 2018. In a few cases in the sunny Southwest region of the United States, several tenders for solar plus storage came in at under $30 per megawatt-hour last year. Stand alone prices for installed battery storage — based on a 20 megawatt-hour system with 4 hours of storage — dropped 40% from the previous year to $357 per kilowatt-hour and are expected to keep falling. Bloomberg New Energy Finance projects a further 52% reduction by 2030.Such tumbling prices have led Wood Mackenzie to forecast that as the market for solar plus storage matures, it could put more than 6,400 MW of new natural gas-fired peaking capacity in the US at risk by 2027. “I can beat a gas peaker anywhere in the country today with a solar-plus-storage power plant,” says Tom Buttgenbach, CEO of developer 8minutenergy Renewables. “Who in their right mind today would build a new gas peaker? We are a factor of two cheaper.”
Progress in battery storage was uneven around the world last year. South Korea has put significant incentives in place, which have led to a boom in that country. So much so, in fact, that Korean battery manufacturers have dedicated much of their production to meeting that demand at the expense of automakers hungry for EV batteries and residential storage products.
“When you see projects now being planned at over 1 GWh in scale, when only 18 months ago a 300 MWh installation was something to behold, you know you have entered a new era,” says Simon Moores, managing director of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.. “It has been quite interesting to watch the battery makers’ dilemma of where to send the lithium ion cells. Of course they have contracts to honor with automotive producers, but the order inquiries from [energy storage] producers have been incredible.”
Some CleanTechnica readers have been wondering why Kia and Hyundai have such low production targets for their newest EV offerings. The clamor for battery cells to meet the energy storage demand may be part of the reason for those low numbers.
“Even though progress was uneven, there was a much greater consensus in 2018 over the importance of energy storage, even in the near term, in major markets,” says Logan Goldie-Scot, head of energy storage at Bloomberg NEF. “In 2017, there were still a lot of people talking about how energy storage was not necessarily a competitive solution and was going to be limited. I hear those conversations much less now. Energy storage is now becoming Ka kite ano links below P.S I say The NZ Goverment should be investing in solar and wind on the industrial and roof top solar make the power companys pay a net metering price that is the same as they charge us for the power.
A post from my phone gets them to stop there bullstuff you see people I post a post putting down the alt right and there sirens went off = alt right climate change denieing red necks the sandflys are ka kite ano
S&P Global reports the cost of solar with battery backup dropped precipitously in 2018. In a few cases in the sunny Southwest region of the United States, several tenders for solar plus storage came in at under $30 per megawatt-hour last year. Stand alone prices for installed battery storage — based on a 20 megawatt-hour system with 4 hours of storage — dropped 40% from the previous year to $357 per kilowatt-hour and are expected to keep falling. Bloomberg New Energy Finance projects a further 52% reduction by 2030.
Such tumbling prices have led Wood Mackenzie to forecast that as the market for solar plus storage matures, it could put more than 6,400 MW of new natural gas-fired peaking capacity in the US at risk by 2027. “I can beat a gas peaker anywhere in the country today with a solar-plus-storage power plant,” says Tom Buttgenbach, CEO of developer 8minutenergy Renewables. “Who in their right mind today would build a new gas peaker? We are a factor of two cheaper.”
Progress in battery storage was uneven around the world last year. South Korea has put significant incentives in place, which have led to a boom in that country. So much so, in fact, that Korean battery manufacturers have dedicated much of their production to meeting that demand at the expense of automakers hungry for EV batteries and residential storage products.
“When you see projects now being planned at over 1 GWh in scale, when only 18 months ago a 300 MWh installation was something to behold, you know you have entered a new era,” says Simon Moores, managing director of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.. “It has been quite interesting to watch the battery makers’ dilemma of where to send the lithium ion cells. Of course they have contracts to honor with automotive producers, but the order inquiries from [energy storage] producers have been incredible.”
Some CleanTechnica readers have been wondering why Kia and Hyundai have such low production targets for their newest EV offerings. The clamor for battery cells to meet the energy storage demand may be part of the reason for those low numbers.
“Even though progress was uneven, there was a much greater consensus in 2018 over the importance of energy storage, even in the near term, in major markets,” says Logan Goldie-Scot, head of energy storage at Bloomberg NEF. “In 2017, there were still a lot of people talking about how energy storage was not necessarily a competitive solution and was going to be limited. I hear those conversations much less now. Energy storage is now becoming
Ikea Investment in New Plastic Recycling Technology at Port of Amsterdam
Plastic Recycling Amsterdam, a collaboration between Umincorp and Milieu Service Nederland, is constructing a new plastics recycling plant is to be built at the Port of Amsterdam.
Plastic Recycling Amsterdam (PRA), a collaboration between Umincorp and Milieu Service Nederland, is constructing a new plastics recycling plant is to be built at the Port of Amsterdam.
The organisation explained that the new facility, which can be expanded on a modular basis, will initially process 17,000 tonnes of plastics annually and prepare them to be reused.
The development is part of its move expand its circular plastics hub. Once operational it will first wash incoming plastic waste, shred it and then route through a magnetic bath. Using Magnetic Density Separation (MDS) technology, the plastics can be separated with a purity of 99% because different plastics have different weights.
The technology was originally developed at Delft University of Technology. The sorted plastics can then be processed into high-quality new packaging materials.
According to PRA the technology also represents a breakthrough in sustainable plastics recycling. Compared with traditional plastics, 90% of CO2 and 75% of costs in the supply chain are saved by using this circular process.
“With its existing large-scale collection of plastics and the growth of the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area in the years ahead, the Port of Amsterdam is the ideal location for
establishing PRA,” commented Jaap Vandehoek, CEO of Umincorp.
Last week, Ingka, Ikea’s parent company, announced last week that it will invest in Umincorp.
“We are determined to make the difference in plastics recycling with our unique MDS technology and the recent investment by Ingka Group,” said Vandehoek
Roon van Maanen, Director Circular & Renewable Industry at Port of Amsterdam added: “PRA transforms recyclable plastics into raw materials for new plastics, while non-recyclable plastics are converted into transport fuel by Integrated Green Energy Solutions Amsterdam, which is also established in our Port. Ka kite ano limks below
There you go whano I went to the courthouse to sort my false fines I get a paper take it to the bank expecting it to be filed. Because ECO MAORI trust no system I check it out today and what do you know the sandflys have been in the bank after me and flashed there shiny badge and bin the papers I filed to pay there false fine I will load the payment by Internet banking. The only system these redneck sandflys want to share with Maori is there jail system everything else they keep the best for them selves and let Maori have what falls of the side of their overflowing plates and encourage US to fight over it Ka kite ano
Kia ora Newshub like the professor said the information is on the Internet.
Australia is behaving badly the way they are treating the People who imagrated their and locking them on Manu Island treating them worsted animals.
Its up to the Auckland Council to make sure that there suburbs are clean and healthy without rubbish making the place smell. Was that a advert advertiseing that ladys miss fortunes WTF that’s not on hope that PBS gets sued but one has to have heaps of money to get justice in NZ. Newshub we need to move away from plastic waste wrapping product ASAP.
That’s cool that the kuia got some of her belongings back Ana to kai the offenders got name and shame on the net.
That a natural phenomenon A ice disk in Main America
I seen the story of that boy down a borehole hope they find him safely and unhurt. Even though China.s plants ended up freezing on the far side of the Marama it still gives a sign that plants can grow on the moon. Ka kite ano
Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka KotahiThe fact that a ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st CenturyThe SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims StuffSteve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
The pressure is mounting on the Government as it finalises its Budget Policy Statement, but yet more predicted revenue ‘goes missing’. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Climate Commission has delivered another funding blow to the National-ACT-NZ First coalition Government’s tax-cutting plans, potentially carving $1.4 billion off the ‘climate ...
The Government now faces the prospect of having to watch another tax raise the price of petrol when, only six days ago, it abolished the Auckland Regional Fuel tax. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon argued that the regional fuel tax imposed costs on lower-income people with less fuel-efficient vehicles and that ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
The government’s attack on Māori health this week is committing tangata-whenua to a premature death, says Te Pāti Māori. “The government have begun their onslaught on Māori health with the abolishment of the Māori Health Authority and smokefree laws in the same day” said health spokesperson and co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. ...
Today marks a tragic milestone for New Zealanders as the Coalition Government side with big tobacco to repeal the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act 2022, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins and Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
This year’s Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity and the contribution of Pacific communities to New Zealand culture, says Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti. Dr Reti announced dates for the 2024 Pacific Language Weeks during a visit to the Pasifika festival in Auckland today and says there’s so ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
Auckland Council is opposing a fast-track development backed by Sir John Kirwan and Spark NZ, because it doesn’t meet stringent new climate adaptation requirements The post Surf-data centre faces new 3.8C climate warming rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
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More on PR versus substance – from Stacey Kirk at Stuff: No amount of photoshop will paste over broken promises or scandal in 2019
It looks likely it will be a make or break year for the leadership Bridges. More of the same is not going to do it.
It could also be the making or breaking of the current Government. They will have to make tangible moves on fulfilling a number of significant promises.
perhaps the media will shift more focus from PR onto substance too. There are signs this may be happening from some of them, but there is little sign yet what the Prime Minister’s priorities and plans will be, and her Government is yet to get going in a crucial year for them.
Maybe it’s all a kneejerk reaction to Keys cult of personality.
Clark Gayford isn’t a politician so you need to retract that BS. Then after actually talking about MP’s (being in social media means you aint working) you bring in the opposition to appear balanced.
Kind of dishonest wrapped in cheese.
You got nothing but you’re gonna have a jab anyway.
Real class.
He’s just quoting a disgraceful hack from parliament’s press gallery. That’s who you need to complain about.
That Stacey Kirk is dreadful. I suspect Scott Morrison’s helpers were trying to cover the branding of his shoes rather than their age.
The *style* of his shoes is the theory.
Did scomofo get caught wearing Chinese shoes without an ocky tag sewn on?
Make or break for Bridges?
How could he possibly make it???
You’ve seen his “Chrissy-drinks” photo.
Could be make or break for James Shaw and climate change measures – he has to start coming up with substantial and credible and affordable plans or many Green supporters and potential supporters will be disillusioned (there’s already some signs of that).
It could also be make or break for the Green Party, whose less popular social reform faction seems to get much more media attention than their environmental faction. A split vote may make 5% difficult to achieve. There were warning signs last election.
Nah, they’ll be fine. It’s Bridges who’ll be sweating bricks. No one’s got his back and it’s a knife-magnet. His yapping in the House is annoying all those inside and even his own “family” think he needs time on the porch. What can he do, cease his constant wimpering and hope to allowed to stay inside, or bark louder to convince the Household he’s indispensable as a guard dog?
There’s really nothing a dog can do.
Could be make or break for the new Conservatives! Lack of solid backing makes 5% unlikely and it’s not clear which electorate the Nats will gift them – or if the coat-tailing provisions will survive long enough for it to pay off.
(How am I doing at this distraction thing?)
Robert priceless lol.
‘Affordable’?
Does life just pass you by in a blur Pete?
Where are well beyond the point where CC policies need to be affordable.
Always a problem for political parties. Even in opposition you can’t be all things for all people. It gets harder in government. And all political parties are coalitions internally. They are always annoying supporters.
This is why Labour often leaks support to the Greens and NZ First and there are the floaters who leak between NZ First, Labour to and from National.
However the harder line Green supporters have the same problem as the remaining hardline NAct supporters. Where are they going to go? Their choice really is to vote for their best party to:-
1. express vaguely something like their views and hope.
2. not vote – something that extremists don’t usually do.
3. waste their vote on a party that has no hope of hitting the threshold – which most of the time is a zero sum game (the extremists from all angles generally cancel themselves out). Think mana, conservatives, and united future (the beige extremists).
4. get involved in a viable political party and try to shift their positions.
With the greens of all flavors, once you get outside of the flaky fashion voters (useless damn voters for any party to pursue in my opinion), then they usually do something like 1 or 4 and almost invariably within the Greens.
It is pretty damn apparent to any green voter that they either figure out how to tolerate each other ( for instance the the conservationists and social equity crowds ) or they they just forget about having any say in parliament.
This isn’t exactly rocket science. After all the Nats are a complete anathema to almost every consistent green voter I have ever run across outside of the fashion victims. National have a very long and extended history of being environmental and social terrorists – and are complete hypocrites about it. And they don’t think that Labour is much better.
Sure in theory a new party could form. But that is so virtually impossible with a 5% threshold that I feel it is unlikely to happen. I suspect that any attempt to do so will just cause the Green supporters to vote tactically to make sure that National won’t get in (and I think that a lot of NZ First voters feel the same way).
“It could also be the making or breaking of the current Government. They will have to make tangible moves on fulfilling a number of significant promises.
perhaps the media will shift more focus from PR onto substance too. There are signs this may be happening from some of them, but there is little sign yet what the Prime Minister’s priorities and plans will be, and her Government is yet to get going in a crucial year for them.”
Yes to all that pete, I agree fully.
Jacinda made us vote for her on her solid performance with her famous “auckland town Hall speech” which still remains to be largely fulllfilled in it’s promises made.
Things such as “Climate Change” ‘This is my generations nuclear moment’ – has been left on the back burner along with getting regional rail freight moving again, because labour in their last time in Government in 2008 bought the rail back for us all, and now in power she has done little to restore regional rail freight, as it and free up roads for tourists and Kiwi people to travel fafer, but all we see so far is Labour pouring more god money after bad into minior alterations to make roads better for trucks so that is dumb as trucks are now wrecking our climat change emisions targets.
Next was Labour Jacinda promised was to bring us a Government that was a softer, gentler, caring, inclusive, considerate and transperant Government who will listen to our concerns, and provide ousing for all and jobs, but this was the basic plan Jacinda made us believe, and sadly so far the opposite has occurred here.
The clock is ticking jacinda so please make this wish come true for us all this year. ‘Lets do this’. – (Jacinda called her plea as in pre-election 2017.)
Wow! Two curmudgeons! Is there a conference somewhere?
Couldn’t agree on a caterer, much less a venue.
Oh, oh, Pete! It’s a wee pile-on!
Regional rail to Gisborne won’t solve climate change. Deal with it.
‘Collins CRUSH‘ climate change!
https://www.scidev.net/global/climate-change/news/un-gives-12-year-deadline-to-crush-climate-change.html
Every little bit helps.
And, With human beings perception is everything.
Sometimes the symbolism of one small action that goes against the flow can make all the difference.
Regional rail to Gisborne could be one such example.
Electrifying the main trunk line could be another. Doubling the rail line to Northland another.
All of sudden you have a nation that is seen on the world stage as being serious in standing up to roading lobby.
The fact that there is such antipathy, to even taking this one small first step, is an , indication that the roading and trucking lobby know the power of symbolism. And fear it.
Cleangreen, Did you think it would happen in a year?
Latest examination of US imperialism leads to surprising identification of the cause: https://exhalantblog.wordpress.com/2019/01/14/generals-gathered-in-their-masses-the-expansion-of-empire-continues-unabated/
“But while official Washington united in opposition, new polling data from Morning Consult/Politico shows that a large plurality of Americans support Trump’s Syria withdrawal announcement: 49 percent support to 33 percent opposition.” https://theintercept.com/2019/01/11/as-democratic-elites-reunite-with-neocons-the-partys-voters-are-becoming-far-more-militaristic-and-pro-war-than-republicans/
“That’s not surprising given that Americans by a similarly large plurality agree with the proposition that “the U.S. has been engaged in too many military conflicts in places such as Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan for too long and should prioritize getting Americans out of harm’s way” far more than they agree with the pro-war view that “the U.S. needs to keep troops in places such as Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan to help support our allies fight terrorism and maintain our foreign policy interests in the region.””
Greenwald reports the evidence that the real warmongers are the Democrats: “But what is remarkable about the new polling data on Syria is that the vast bulk of support for keeping troops there comes from Democratic Party voters, while Republicans and independents overwhelming favor their removal. The numbers are stark: Of people who voted for Clinton in 2016, only 26 percent support withdrawing troops from Syria, while 59 percent oppose it. Trump voters overwhelmingly support withdraw by 76 percent to 14 percent.”
Let’s wait and see if the withdrawal happens in praxis franxie. Til then it’s just words.
There’s a cold shower of reality falling on all those here who keep pretending that the Democrats are the good guys:
“Democratic policy elites in Washington are once again formally aligning with neoconservatives, even to the point of creating joint foreign policy advocacy groups (a reunion that predated Trump). The leading Democratic Party think tank, the Center for American Progress, donated $200,000 to the neoconservative American Enterprise Institute and has multilevel alliances with warmongering institutions.” https://theintercept.com/2019/01/11/as-democratic-elites-reunite-with-neocons-the-partys-voters-are-becoming-far-more-militaristic-and-pro-war-than-republicans/
There is zero evidence that the Ukrainian political consultant ..note ..Ukrainian not Russian, Konstantin Kilimnik , has ties to the Russian security services.
The long bow being strung here is that when Kilimkin applied for his job at the International Republican Institute(strongly associated with the US govt), he was perfectly open about where he learned his fluent English…at a Soviet military school ,pretty standard for Soviet citizens, and later worked as a translator for the Russian army.He was jokingly referred to as GRU.and not considered a security risk
Kilimnik worked for Manafort’s consultancy in Ukraine, which was advising Yanukovich to turn towards the west and pursue admittance to the EU.Yanukovich straddled a line between Russia and Europe and tried to play both off against each other as a way to tread water
(In the event, the EU aid package didnt weigh up against the loss of Ukraine’s biggest trading partner, Russia , some 60 billion dollars down according to Yanukovich’s own treasury advisors.The Russian offer along with cheap gas was the only workable one.
When Yanukovich pleaded with the EU to cut him a better deal, they refused.)
So working with an American flash Harry who’s advising a Ukrainian despot to turn west is apparently the work of a “Russian operative”… but these are the times we live in , where journalism is in thrall to partisan, old and tired geopolitical agendas .
And we the consumers have to pretend not to gag on outlandish bullshit .
Repeat after me, Black is White
Here’s the Nation , rather more Democrat aligned than Republican
https://www.thenation.com/article/manafort-no-smoking-gun-collusion/
Heh. The most libertarian free-marketeer in the US Senate rejects the services available from his home free market and goes to a foreign country with a socialist system and socialized service providers to get his medical care.
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/14/rand-paul-canada-surgery-neighbor-attack-1099485
I think we are going to have to bring back the death penalty. Such behaviour as this mean that this person should never be let out into society again. With a planet full of people, and not able to look after the innocent and vulnerable now, those who cross over into viciousness have no place in the world and should be humanely put down.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/world/380139/jayme-closs-kidnap-suspect-tells-police-he-picked-her-at-random
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNrqyN6fTL8&ab_channel=SteveHofstetter
What’s that about adam. Can you explain its relevance?
Some men are so smart they can out smart scientists by decades. Even after death they can continue to show how smart they were.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/health/2017/10/science-backs-up-hugh-hefner-s-number-one-rule.html
What is the purpose of this comment? The objectification of women by one man is supported by others who regard sexual objectification as meritorious?
Yellow shirts argue for tax reform… …on the rich. How about banning foriegn multi millionaires? over say 100 million from travel overseas. Those individuals that rich are incapable of spend even a smidgen in a foreign country, except on homes,so reek havoc to the global economy in inequality, and it’s not like their numbers are growing, in fact wealth is falling to fewer and fewer. When there is a threat to the people our leaders must act… …and it’s not like the wealthy will have it hard, they are swimming in money, they can fly the four star French chef over and simulate the world economy for a change. And it’s not like they are thick, they have the ability to give to charity, raise wages of faithful employees, or family…etc. Why would we create and maintain a system of economic value, that allows value to be acrued, yet then once acrued inhibits wider wealth dissipation, or we could, as the yellow shirts want, just tax them more to pay for the troubles tgey are producing. although a few Saudi princes kept at home might have redirected their locus of perception and saved a journalist.
These are the present tax rates in France.
Up to €9,807: 0%
€9,807–27,086: 14%
€27,086–72,617: 30%
€72,617–153,783: 41%
€153,783+: 45%
………………
In addition to the basic rates of income tax those fortunate few with a taxable income of upwards of €250,000 pa are liable for a special tax called contribution exceptionnelle sur les hauts revenus.
This tax is at the rate of 3% on income up to €500,000, and at the rate of 4% on income above €500,000.
Married couples and those in a civil partnership are exempt up to €500,000, when they then become liable at the rate of 3% to €1m, and 4% above this figure.
The tax is imposed on net income, after determination of the tax liability under the standard scale rates.
…………….
They also rebate tax liability for dependants.
A couple with 2 kids pay no tax until €47,452
So how are the rich not paying there fair share of tax. They are already not far off the only ones paying.
In practice, less than 50% of inhabitants in France pay any income tax at all; only around 14% pay at the rate of 30%, and less than 1% pay at the rate of 45%.
My guess is the ones protesting are in that 50% figure and pay no tax.
Tax was lowered on the wealthiest. Still you miss the point, great wealth can buy real estate in nz that harms our economy, pushing up housing costs for citizens here. The idea is either raise taxes on the wealthy, or stop them travelling and using that wealth to collude, distort and open unproductive relationships. Sure we want the good investments just have the debate also about the bad. giving someone bragging rights over multiple homes, boats, etc in multiple dominion is wealth pollution. Look a fail maker who moves here and invests great, a psuedo journalist who never made a buck anyone actually needed… …why expose ourselves to wealth acquired by colluding in foreign. We don’t allow free movement of people, why should we want fire movement of wealth people who have all the same spectrum of infalliabilities just more money to damage economies.
John Key millionarie exception brought in dotcom… …really can’t we debate now was that good policy, is it good to have nonproductive ownership…
Get down where you belong NZs – where tourism is king and queen or Irish or something. Tote that barge, lift that rubbish, joyride in a car and you’ll really be rubbished.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz//nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12190151&ref=clavis
Bad tourists: Group refused to pay for food in restaurant ‘scam’, bullied staff
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12190060
Worst flight we’ve had’: Alleged chaos on travellers’ flight to NZ
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12189846
‘I’ll knock your brains out’: Unruly tourists dump rubbish at Takapuna Beach, threaten locals
(This from a 9 year old?)
Guess what – all the same group. The Brits won the pools and came to rubbish us,
supposed to be Irish but who knows. For the reporter this was the gift that kept on giving. Watch out they might be headed your way and ready for some hooliganism.
soddenleaf says what about banning multi millionaires?
What about getting $100 per tourist up front, plus an insurance policy against damage and possible costs they incur in this country. We don’t know actually how much profit we get from this people invasion. And then if there is profit, how much of it stays in NZ. Bet they set up here as foreigners, get cheap people from overseas, arrange to receive all their country’s people so they can speak their own language, so easy, and then pocket everything and send the profit to a tax haven with us getting diddleysquat and I don’t know what that is, but it looks like trouble!
I think Zero Dollar Tours is the term,
https://theaseanpost.com/article/zero-dollar-tourists-not-welcome
Bruce That’s very informative – I had heard that some Chinese were getting offered very cheap tours, but finding that they were subject to stand-over tactics by tour organisers.
I wonder if countries are allowed to set up their own tourist offices in China.
This would ensure that the idea of being shown the country to the Chines as guests being cared for by the host country might go down well. With more Chinese speakers being churned out of course to talk face to face with the people.
I don’t think so , but it’s easy to see the country from local perspective esp now with google maps, not sure about China but here we just pick a place thats looks interesting and try to find the bus, truck or whatever to get there. And if your lucky enough to get lost and end up in the hands of the locals to get back to civilisation the fun really begins. These days though, I stay around one area so have to wait till it looks like rain, head off into the hills, get caught in the rain find shelter, wait for some locals to take pity on me and take me home. I used to feel uncomfortable with the disparity in wealth and circumstance but have since learned that the hill people have no idea of how we live and are quite content in their lives and are happy to share, there are always ways to appropriately respond.
Have you ever toured in the Shansi province north of Xian? I was fascinated by the story of the little woman missionary Gladys Aylward who managed to raise her own money to get herself to a mission in China in that province.
She went by sea, then railway, then sea again, and I think finally by donkey
to a lower mountain walled township. They seemed to be very able people, in a hard climate. The remote mountain villages had scattered gardens of millet as their main food I think. I have thought of going there but it is getting off the main tourist drag and of course I have to save up a fair bit.
Have you been there? I think she was in Feng Yang. Or have you been to where Rewi Alley established a school over in the west?
No never into China, Mong la on the border in Shan State but it’s just a casino so no interest back to Kentung.
It’s only the airfare that costs and with an eye on the specials you can get to Bangkok for under a thousand and then 30 or 40 a day is ample. 12 to 15 for nice room, I’m fussy and immune suppressed so choosy. Meals are dollar or two, buses are generally safe $40 gets 1000 ks . Just stay as long as possible to dilute the airfare cost .
It’s an international problem, not just Chinese. All group / package tourism markets have this aspect.
Probably the most blatant is the cruise ship industry who are there to fleece their punters in every way they can and demand huge commissions from any outside operator they might throw a few crumbs to.
Spare a thought for Mediterranean tourist spot locals. They’ve had decades worth of the same shit.
Mmm. Venice has been cutting down hard on day trippers etc. I Think that NZ is fooled a bit – we are making money from dairying – but what is the net return when you deduct the lost or damaged resources. Tourism – what clever ways of siphoning off profits and minimising taxes and the crowds needing resources!
Try to set up some hiousing project and a fair proportion of the group are from
the USA. When can we have our own country as a resource for ourselves? Of course what Maori have been asking for years.
We could set up a little enclave in Todd McClay’s Rotovegas and call it Benedorm.
Just think of all the opportunities for development and growth going forward.
It’d be a ‘win win’ situation for all. We could even schedule a RoNS extension from Paengaroa and capture the cruise ship market calling in at Tearwronga
The tourist spend was $11.8 billion.
There were 3,733,707 visitors.
So each visitor spends $3160.
So if they are charged $100, if >1 in 31.6 visiters decides not to come to NZ then we loose income.
If you use tax gained from the activity at the immediate level you have GST but also Tax on wages, fuel, Buisiness profits, etc. Once you count flow on activity like the worker spending wages the Tax generated begins to add up. It should be similar to the result. The % of the economy the government takes in taxes. Our Tax to GDP rate is 32%.
So the government gets about. $1,011 a tourist.
Tax vs Levi. If >1 in 10 tourists doesn’t come to NZ the Government gets less taxes.
Other issue.
How much does the tourist have to spend. If they only have $3160 then they including the Levi will still spend $3160. So it won’t be $3160, plus all of the $100.
So the income figure, and tax figure would be affected by that change in figures.
It could end up generating more revenue if numbers are less affected, and spend is less affected by an additional $100 levy.
But nothing expands exponentially. The way we are is one of the pleasures of coming here. Are we too nice? We will gradually get sourer as numbers mount.
And the hospitality industry is dependent on tourists, and they are poorly paid.
Revenue isn’t everything, it can’t buy us pristine water for instance.
And some visitors don’t spend a lot, are quite poor, these are woofers. And they often are very genuinely interested in the country and people and put a lot of effort into helping horticulture etc.
Just taking averages is interesting but not really informative. Some nations spend more than others according to the stats.
A lot of Australians come here for short holidays; some are Kiwis and stay with family. Not much to feed the hopeful tourist businesses. Then the very wealthy, do they go off to a remote hacienda and fish fine trout or something.
Not much expenditure for the locals, except for the guide to the best spots.
Plus @DJW, each tourist shits on average 1kg per day, and the average length of stay is between 19 and 22 days.
So lets be fair and say the average excrement load per tourist is 20 kilograms.
So lets multiply that by the record breaking 3.7 million tourists per year.
That’s approximately 74,000,000 kilograms of shit per annum or 74,000 tonnes looking for prospects.
Admittedly some of it will be high quality shit but a lot of it will be pretty average but it seems to me there must be a business opportunity for some entrepreneurial ‘type’ such as yourself.
Money money money ……etc.
Oh, and by the way “Once you count flow on activity like the worker spending wages the Tax generated begins to add up.”
I could probably arrange for a few Dalits to come and assist with the enterprise if you’d like – strictly below minimum wage of course and they’ll spend all they earn.
Well as a former minimum/low wage worker for a good part of my early life I had to make hard choices. I left a Job that over time was paying OK to study, living on the bones of my arse as it took to September to get a allowance approved. I moved city ariving with $5 to my name to start a new job that led to my position today. I abandoned that job to study a subject I needed to learn but new little about. I worked 8 to 12 hour night shifts and studied during the day. I moved city again and luckily got a job I wanted, again with nothing. My pay effectively doubled but your making a mistake if you think I don’t know how hard it is.
Money, money, money!
As a stay at home dad that chooses to work part time so I can have a quality life with my kids while they are young, I got my priorities and balance spot on.
Yes I know @ DJ. Some of us have had similar experiences and so if everybody just pulled themselves up by their bootstraps like you and me, the world would be a much better place.
It’s so good to be able to just sit back in the knowledge we’re both the self-made man
Yep. The Trump and Bush Senior hard worker driven types with the silver spoon are rare. The rest like Bush junior not so much.
There is other rarities like Musc.
The hard parts of life help show the value of the free things all around you.
My brother who I had to take custody when I was 19 left school young to go on the independent youth benifit, on the day he qualified. Eventually he decided to do something with himself. He door knocked, offered his services for free to a business starting by sweeping the floor. Obviously that’s exploitation by the buisness but he learnt a skill that led to a job, a better job, his present job where he earns over 6 figures, flash vehicle, and boss to about 60 staff.
Yea yea, understand mate. Fully! Fully!
But you know what? as me dear ole mum said on her death bed just before she popped her clogs …. she said “son, I know its been a hard life with that useless git of a father of yours and all, and I couldn’t have done it without ya. I’m proud of ya son”
And I said “yea mum, I know ya struggled but I didn’t get where I am today with all that bleeding heart liberal stuff”
And I thought, if I an do it, ANYBODY can!
And just before she departed this glorious world, she said “son, just remember, ya don’t owe noone nuttin”.
I ‘ve remembered that to this very day. It’s what drives me in every thing I do
I just love it when sarcasm goes right over the recipient’s head!
Well done, OwT.
One way to look at it is they helped to capture 74,000 tonnes of carbon rich matter. Doing a good deed for climate change. Sequestered.
All all up to our poo production strategy to save the world.
And if anybody still thinks Orwell’s 1984 is fiction, that things are more extreme in the US and similar conditions can’t happen here… where have these dreamers been since 1984? Chris Hedges nails it.
‘Neoliberalism argues that the essence of freedom is free enterprise, while never addressing workers’ surrender of basic freedoms. Neoliberalism holds out the promise, which has not been true since before the Industrial Revolution, that workers can become self-employed if they are hardworking and innovative. We all have the ability to achieve economic independence or become industry leaders if we draw on our inner resources, according to the neoliberal mantra, one popularized by mass culture. […] This is a con.’
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-private-governments-that-subjugate-u-s-workers/
Well you can start your own Buisiness if you like can’t you. I’m self imployed. I was a worker on a wage. I was a worker on a salary. But I’ve always had the choice to be self employed, or start a Buisiness. Starting a Buisiness however takes commitment, hard work, and the willingness to risk ones own money and pay taxes on profits.
What does the worker risk?
Men get paid more for the risky jobs they do vs females low risk jobs, shows worker risk gets rewarded.
People who start Buisiness.
The very same people who create those modern day slavery workers jobs.
Imagine what the workers would do if nobody created jobs.
You are the master of your own destiny in a free society.
Change job it it’s not making you happy.
No guarantees, but with a good social system to help the unfortunate, or lazy.
If you wish to start a Buisiness there is free classes, and grants. There’s nothing stopping you, other than your own glass ceiling.
To a certain extent that’s right. But it takes a careful man or woman to keep a business going. Got to get paid and be carefully regular checking and working out payments with the strugglers and others. You actually have to have some spare money or assets to get started. Lots of businesses go down because they are under capitalised, and can’t get that extra loan to tide them over. You are in a business that needs your skills. So good luck with that.
If you have a family your children might never see you and you slave away all hours, and have to live on tick while you work at getting the money in. And if the business doesn’t work out, it can sap all your energy. You have a change of lifestyle, have to give up your house and buy a caravan and start all over in another direction.
“Good on you for cutting him off, Wallace!”
Wallace Chapman, Hero. Or is he?
The Panel, RNZ National, Tuesday 15 January 2019
Wallace Chapman, David Cormack, Janet Wilson, Caitlin Cherry
First item for the day: a discussion about the wisdom or otherwise of police car chase policies. The “expert” for this topic was one John Lambert, an Australian road safety expert. However, this came to an abrupt end when Lambert claimed that Maori were more likely to break the law than Pakeha. This elicited gasps from David Cormack and host Wallace Chapman, who said: “We can’t accept that” and quickly got rid of him. He then condemned “that bizarre and woeful comment.”
Five minutes later…..
WALLACE CHAPMAN: A lot of responses about the gentleman from Australia. A lot of people hated the way I cut him off, but then a lot of people said “Good on you for cutting him off.”
DAVID CORMACK: Good ON you for cutting him off, Wallace!
“Good on you for cutting him off, Wallace.” So why, Wallace, did you let that scumbag Lee Child get away with the most disgusting bilge?
https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2018/03/wallace-chapmans-simpering-interview.html
We note you said nothing to challenge Marilyn Garson….
https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2018/04/wallace-chapman-is-repeatedly-failing.html
or these fools….
https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2018/03/sue-moroneys-dismal-delusional-anti.html
But now you’ve grown a backbone. That’s encouraging.
You will never be 100% happy with any reporter, journalist or media commentator other than the handful of ones you idolize. I’m sure the file you have on Wallace is better ranked than the one on Mora, so be thankful there’s been a change on The Panel 🙂
I “idolize” some reporters, do I?
I expect them to do their job, which is to understand their subject to an expert level, report the facts, and to rigorously hold politicians and propagandists to account. Some reporters—Glenn Greenwald, Jon Stephenson, Nicky Hager, Robert Fisk, Jeremy Scahill—do exactly those things. Some, on the other hand—Jim Mora, Rachel Maddow, and as I showed in those three references, Wallace Chapman—fail to do those things.
Yes, I’m thankful there’s been a change on The Panel. Today we saw a new Wallace Chapman. Time will tell whether he keeps challenging people like he did John Lambert this afternoon, or whether he will be as supine and indolent as he was when he let Lee Child vomit his disgusting views.
https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2018/03/wallace-chapmans-simpering-interview.html
Norman, and Tucker.
I’m sure at least one of those two.
Having said all that, one has to admit that THIS is a great reporter….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkkWx2d36Us
Gang members break into a property you own, say they own it (they don’t), and move in.
Police are brought in and those squatting in the property are trespassed, but tough shit for you the property owner because nothing else happens and you run out of money paying for the mortgage, and legal bills.
I’m all for tenant rights but the scale needs balance if only to stop incidents like this, rare though it is. WHY AREN’T THEY ARRESTED FOR TRESPASS AGAIN? Useless cops.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12188893
This could happen to anyone of us and needs sorting asap.
Did you notice that the gang used to own the property. They don’t now as they got bankrupted? Or had it taken off them when they got had on drug dealing.
But they had built it themselves. If we had legalised marijuana back then they could have been encouraged to drop the meth and go legit on quality, tested grass.
If only.
If Aunty had bollocks she’d be uncle. What you say about that eh ?
If green was legal they’d still be pushing meth as it’s addictive, green has less repeat business. If if if if…..laws been broken, end of story.
Yes I know, a little dream. My quote – ‘If wishes were horses, beggars would
ride.’ If only, about the saddest most evocative words there are in the language.
Gathering support for new ideas, working teams for new projects?
http://betterworktogether.co/
Pikies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGDO-9hfaiI
Racially vilifying these folk is okay because…..
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jan/15/acceptable-racism-gypsies-travellers-prejudice
After I read this story I new google shonky + tara Iti golf club and sure enough he is linked in this mess he goal was to serve his rich amercian m8 he would have bulldozed through all the laws we have to protect OUR indangered animals to get this golf club built and worse still the named the club after the Bird that they are causing the EXTINCTION of both links below. We have a obligation to protect these TARONGA birds of Aotearoa FROM the greedy wealthy men
New Zealand’s rarest bird on the brink of extinction: ‘This is a crisis year’
A disastrous breeding season has plunged one of the world’s rarest birds even deeper into crisis.
The critically endangered fairy tern/tara iti, the country’s rarest native bird species with fewer than 40 individuals, has had only three chicks hatch this season.
New Zealand Fairy Tern Charitable Trust convenor Heather Rogan says one chick has gone missing, which could make this the worst breeding season in at least 27 years.
The Department of Conservation maintained on Monday that all three chicks were alive and well. If that’s the case and they all fledge, this would still be the worst season since 1996-7, the last time three chicks fledged.
The luxury Tara Iti Golf Club has been built nearby and exclusive housing developments are planned in the old Mangawhai Forest, bought by Te Uri o Hau in its Treaty settlement. As part of the developments, a public reserve is to be created.
“It just seems one thing after the other has been piling pressure on,” says Rogan.
It appears, however, that DOC has dropped the ball. A 10-year fairy tern recovery plan was produced in 2005 but the recovery group was disbanded before the term was finished.
“If all the things that were in there had been followed, we might be a bit better off,” says Rogan.
(Iftikar didn’t know why the group was disbanded.)
SLOW PROGRESS
Progress also seems slow. DOC called a meeting of interested groups in March last year to discuss some of the strategies and priorities for saving the fairy tern. A recovery group was one of the top priorities, yet it’s still not established.
Looking back five years, the Fairy Tern Trust, set up in ka kite ano links below. P.S I can see the money mens spin doctors are using the media one story I found stated the Tara iti had a good season what lies the alt right throw at us.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/109953299/new-zealands-rarest-bird-on-the-brink-of-extinction-this-is-a-crisis-year
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/105059172/sir-john-key-lobbied-government-for-overseas-buyers-ban-exemption
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-fZwprjBkw
The moon
Giant leaf for mankind? China germinates first seed on moon
A small cotton shoot is growing onboard Chang’e 4 lunar lander, scientists confirm
A small green shoot is growing on the moon after a cotton seed germinated onboard a Chinese lunar lander, scientists said.
The sprout has emerged from a lattice-like structure inside a canister after the Chang’e 4 lander touched down earlier this month, according to a series of photos released by the Advanced Technology Research Institute at Chongqing University.
“This is the first time humans have done biological growth experiments on the lunar surface,” said Xie Gengxin, who led the design of the experiment, on Tuesday.
Plants have been grown previously on the International Space Station, but this is the first time a seed has sprouted on the moon. The ability to grow plants in space is seen as crucial for long-term space missions and establishing human outposts elsewhere in the solar system, such as Mars.
Harvesting food in space, ideally using locally extracted water, would mean astronauts could survive for far longer without returning to Earth for supplies.
The Chang’e 4 probe – named after the Chinese moon goddess – made the world’s first soft landing on the far side of the moon on 3 January,
Chang’e 4 is also equipped with instruments developed by scientists from Sweden, Germany and China to study the lunar environment, cosmic radiation and the interaction between solar wind and the moon’s surface.
Sign up for Lab Notes – the Guardian’s weekly science update
Read more
The lander released a rover, nicknamed Yutu 2 (Jade Rabbit), that will perform experiments in the Von Kármán crater.
The agency said four more lunar missions are planned, confirming the launch of Chang’e 5 by the end of the year, which will be the first probe to return samples of the moon to Earth since the 1970s. ka kite ano links below
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/15/china-germinates-first-seed-on-moon-cotton-shoot-change-4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COyECWFkeas
One simple — but really hard — solution to stop climate change
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One simple — but really hard — solution to stop climate change
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One simple — but really hard — solution to stop climate change
US carbon emissions on the rise again 06:24
(CNN)There may actually be a way to keep the worst of climate change at bay, but it’s going to take a herculean effort, according to a new study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications.
Climate change is well underway already, the time to act and limit its human causes is now, many studies have shown. This latest report maps out what it may take to get there.
Antarctica ice melt has accelerated by 280% in the last 4 decades
It posits that if the world was to phase out its “carbon-intensive infrastructure” at the end of its design lifetime starting from the end of 2018, there’s a 64% chance that the planet’s peak temperature can remain below the goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels. Above that, scientists predict the planet will see even more extreme weather events such as wildfires, droughts, floods, massive animal die offs and food shortages for millions. The planet is already two-thirds of the way there, with global temperatures having warmed about 1 degree Celsius.
To keep the global median temperature within this optimal 1.5 degree-Celsius limit, according to this study, change would have to happen across all sectors, not just in the energy sector. Power plants would need to be replaced, but so would gas and diesel-fueled cars, aircraft, ships and and industrial plants. Even cows would have to go — essentially, anything that contributes to global warming.
Under this scenario, infrastructure such as power plants wouldn’t have to be scrapped and replaced with a non-carbon emitting technology — at least, not immediately. The researchers are talking about a “design lifetime.” In the case of power plants, the average lifetime based on historic data, is about 40 years. The average lifetime of a car on the road now is more than 11 years, according to Consumer Reports, but could last for about 200,000 miles, or 15 years, US estimates show. Once they wear out, stop working or die, they’d be replaced with technology or products that do not contribute to climate change Ka kite ano link below
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/01/15/health/climate-change-phase-out-infrastructure-study/index.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRLJscAlk1M
The sandflys must be in the kaka every time Eco Maori goes outside they play with there sirens ana to kai ka kite ano
Some Eco Maori Music for the minute
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT_nvWreIhg
I see the alt right reporters are using cunning sly tact ticks to scare people off the ideas that a fare tax system in Needed .I SAY that it’s is need a tax on people who can afford it .The way s honky has setup the tax system a the minute the people who are broke are paying a higher tax % than a person making millions in proffets in the share market and that ain’t correct. The the more money the government gives the wealthy they take that money out of the system under there mattresses. The more money the government’s give the poor the money keeps flowing through the systems and is good for a capitalist based system. The wealthy people let there greed replace any logically humane way of thinking with bigotry. Ka kite ano. P.S we need to make this country fare that will fix some of the problems we have now links below
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/366876/two-options-proposed-for-taxing-capital-gain
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/business/359921/cap-gains-would-cut-house-prices-increase-ownership-study
Goods need to be made to last a life time not 2 to 5 years
frustrating: you buy a new appliance then just after the warranty runs out, it gives up the ghost.
You can’t repair it and can’t find anyone else to at a decent price, so it joins the global mountain of junk.
You’re forced to buy a replacement, which fuels climate change from the greenhouse gases released in the manufacturing process.
No captionPhoto: 123RF
But help is at hand, because people in Europe and parts of the USA will soon get a right to repair – of sorts.
Libby Peake is senior policy adviser at Green Alliance, a UK charity and environmental think tank, she tells Summer Times it’s a problem all over the world.
“The right to repair movement really stems from consumer frustrations with products that break long before they should and can’t be repaired because it’s either too expensive, or it’s too much of a hassle. Increasingly, it’s because products aren’t designed to be repaired,”
She says consumer goods such as washing machines are often designed with sealed drums that prevent consumers and repairers from accessing parts that would be easily and cheaply replaced, such as ball bearings. Faced with the choice of an expensive repair, consumers often choose to simply buy a new machine – “and it’s no wonder”, she says.
The movement started in the United States, where lawmakers in Massachusetts passed legislation that forced car manufacturers to provide information to consumers which would allow them to make repairs to vehicles themselves.
Increasingly, it’s moved into consumer electronics. Eighteen states across the US have now passed legislation for the right to repair and now the European Union is gearing up to do the same. Already, the EU is looking at improving product standards for things such as fridges, washing machines, dishwashers and televisions.
No captionLibby Peake. Photo: Supplied
Ms Peake says the movement would be hugely beneficial to the environment.
“There are massively environmental consequences to the growing mountain of electronic waste that’s being created. It’s the fastest growing waste stream – not just the products, but the manufacturing itself which includes mining, water, and electricity use. It’s an energy intensive process.”
Previously the EU had focused on the eco-design directive which dictates standards on energy use, for instance LED lightbulbs and electricity or water use. Now it’s moving onto resource efficiency, product lifetime and the ease of repair.
Peake says several manufacturers have protested the proposed changes and argue only professional repairs should be conducted on their products. But the legislation has support from higher-end manufacturers who believe that if everyone were forced to meet minimum standards, it would make the industry more competitive and drive the least efficient products off the market.
Planned product obsolescence used to make sense for manufacturers to force new purchases of defunct electronics, but consumers are increasingly in favour of long-lasting products and Speake says their frustrations will begin to hit manufacturer bottom lines as consumers seek out more robust products. Ka kite ano
Peake says, now that jumps in technological advances have decreased, manufacturers could design things like phones and televisions with disassembly in mind, so the parts can be re-used or recycled. In terms of the losses they would incur by selling more robust phones for example, she says manufacturers may need to pivot to charging for things like software upgrades or repair services.
“People are increasingly sick of ‘take, make, dispose’ economy we’ve got. They want something that’s much more circular and doesn’t damage the planet so much – and ultimately – doesn’t damage their wallets.
Here is a link to vote for Steven Adams to become the first Kiwi to get into the NBA AllStars Kia kaha kite ano he need Aotearoa tau toko. Link below.
https://vote.nba.com/#/confirm
Kia ora Newshub
History is in the making in Britain
Cryto currency is getting hacked Alot costing them billions they must have some power full computers to achieve that.
A fire at sea in Australia one has to be careful as on Tangaroa a fire at sea is a nightmare never seen one tho.
It must be a bad feeling knowing that you have a short time to live I could not fathom it.
Falling in love can turn Papatuanukue upside down.
A ride a horse in fast food outlet in Australia that’s a cool photo there are no shops were I rode my horses.
Tom its good to see one of the Football Ferns best players come back to play for them under a new coach. Ka kite ano
Time to listen to the people who’s only interest is saving OUR Papatuanuku and not the amount of interest there share’s are making while they are poisioning our Earth
WE HAVE TO MAKE THE COMPANYS AND CONSUMERS PAY MORE so there is a good price payed for plastic waste reclycling that will provide jobs and $$ for poor people .
1 billion is a drop in the bucket . NZ need to invest that amount alone let alone the hole planet investing 1 billion and trying to grab positive head lines in the media
Industry alliance sets out $1bn to tackle oceans’ plastic waste
Greenpeace sceptical about corporate polluters as alliance launched to reduce waste
Forbes, global plastics project leader at Greenpeace, said: “This is a desperate attempt from corporate polluters to maintain the status quo on plastics. In 2018 people all over the world spoke up and rejected the single-use plastics that companies like Procter & Gamble churn out on a daily basis, urging the industry to invest in refill and reuse systems and innovation. Instead of answering that call, P&G preferred to double down on a failed approach with fossil fuel giants Exxon, Dow and Total [which] fuel destructive climate change.”
He added: “Make no mistake, plastics are a lifeline for the dying fossil fuel industry, and this announcement goes to show how far companies will go to preserve it.”
Rob Kaplan, chief executive of Circulate Capital, which invests in recycling and other projects to reduce plastic waste, said businesses would provide the answer to plastic waste, but it would take many billions in investment. “There is no silver bullet to the plastic problem. Different parties are trying to push their own agenda, but there does not seem to be an alternative at present,” Ka kite ano links below
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jan/16/industry-alliance-sets-out-1bn-to-tackle-oceans-plastic-waste
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT4Qbp89nIQ
I hope this Goverment is going to back renewable Energy as fast as the Papatuanuku needs to . So we can guarantee a bright clean happy future for ALL Eco Maoris Wero to this Goverment.
Low-carbon electricity from wind and solar farms will be cheaper than gas and effectively subsidy-free by 2020, says the Committee on Climate Change (CCC).
In a new report, the government’s official climate change advisor says that low-carbon supplies will be the most cost-effective way to fill the looming generation gap in the 2020s, as the UK’s ageing coal and nuclear plants retire. A more flexible grid will be a crucial complement to this shift.
However, the CCC also rows back from the stretching 2030 power decarbonisation target it once advocated, citing delays to the deployment of nuclear and carbon capture and storage (CCS). The report is a prelude to the CCC’s fifth carbon budget advice. On 26 November this advice will recommend a UK emissions cap for the five years from 2028 to 2032. S&P Global reports the cost of solar with battery backup dropped precipitously in 2018. In a few cases in the sunny Southwest region of the United States, several tenders for solar plus storage came in at under $30 per megawatt-hour last year. Stand alone prices for installed battery storage — based on a 20 megawatt-hour system with 4 hours of storage — dropped 40% from the previous year to $357 per kilowatt-hour and are expected to keep falling. Bloomberg New Energy Finance projects a further 52% reduction by 2030.Such tumbling prices have led Wood Mackenzie to forecast that as the market for solar plus storage matures, it could put more than 6,400 MW of new natural gas-fired peaking capacity in the US at risk by 2027. “I can beat a gas peaker anywhere in the country today with a solar-plus-storage power plant,” says Tom Buttgenbach, CEO of developer 8minutenergy Renewables. “Who in their right mind today would build a new gas peaker? We are a factor of two cheaper.”
Progress in battery storage was uneven around the world last year. South Korea has put significant incentives in place, which have led to a boom in that country. So much so, in fact, that Korean battery manufacturers have dedicated much of their production to meeting that demand at the expense of automakers hungry for EV batteries and residential storage products.
“When you see projects now being planned at over 1 GWh in scale, when only 18 months ago a 300 MWh installation was something to behold, you know you have entered a new era,” says Simon Moores, managing director of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.. “It has been quite interesting to watch the battery makers’ dilemma of where to send the lithium ion cells. Of course they have contracts to honor with automotive producers, but the order inquiries from [energy storage] producers have been incredible.”
Some CleanTechnica readers have been wondering why Kia and Hyundai have such low production targets for their newest EV offerings. The clamor for battery cells to meet the energy storage demand may be part of the reason for those low numbers.
“Even though progress was uneven, there was a much greater consensus in 2018 over the importance of energy storage, even in the near term, in major markets,” says Logan Goldie-Scot, head of energy storage at Bloomberg NEF. “In 2017, there were still a lot of people talking about how energy storage was not necessarily a competitive solution and was going to be limited. I hear those conversations much less now. Energy storage is now becoming Ka kite ano links below P.S I say The NZ Goverment should be investing in solar and wind on the industrial and roof top solar make the power companys pay a net metering price that is the same as they charge us for the power.
https://cleantechnica.com/2019/01/13/solar-storage-half-the-cost-of-gas-peaker-plants-8minuteenergy/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZhhlqVOd6g
The sandflys have found away to block my post fools on my computer this is my HUAWEI phone Ka kite ano
A post from my phone gets them to stop there bullstuff you see people I post a post putting down the alt right and there sirens went off = alt right climate change denieing red necks the sandflys are ka kite ano
S&P Global reports the cost of solar with battery backup dropped precipitously in 2018. In a few cases in the sunny Southwest region of the United States, several tenders for solar plus storage came in at under $30 per megawatt-hour last year. Stand alone prices for installed battery storage — based on a 20 megawatt-hour system with 4 hours of storage — dropped 40% from the previous year to $357 per kilowatt-hour and are expected to keep falling. Bloomberg New Energy Finance projects a further 52% reduction by 2030.
Such tumbling prices have led Wood Mackenzie to forecast that as the market for solar plus storage matures, it could put more than 6,400 MW of new natural gas-fired peaking capacity in the US at risk by 2027. “I can beat a gas peaker anywhere in the country today with a solar-plus-storage power plant,” says Tom Buttgenbach, CEO of developer 8minutenergy Renewables. “Who in their right mind today would build a new gas peaker? We are a factor of two cheaper.”
Progress in battery storage was uneven around the world last year. South Korea has put significant incentives in place, which have led to a boom in that country. So much so, in fact, that Korean battery manufacturers have dedicated much of their production to meeting that demand at the expense of automakers hungry for EV batteries and residential storage products.
“When you see projects now being planned at over 1 GWh in scale, when only 18 months ago a 300 MWh installation was something to behold, you know you have entered a new era,” says Simon Moores, managing director of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.. “It has been quite interesting to watch the battery makers’ dilemma of where to send the lithium ion cells. Of course they have contracts to honor with automotive producers, but the order inquiries from [energy storage] producers have been incredible.”
Some CleanTechnica readers have been wondering why Kia and Hyundai have such low production targets for their newest EV offerings. The clamor for battery cells to meet the energy storage demand may be part of the reason for those low numbers.
“Even though progress was uneven, there was a much greater consensus in 2018 over the importance of energy storage, even in the near term, in major markets,” says Logan Goldie-Scot, head of energy storage at Bloomberg NEF. “In 2017, there were still a lot of people talking about how energy storage was not necessarily a competitive solution and was going to be limited. I hear those conversations much less now. Energy storage is now becoming
I deleted this post above because my first one went up 15 minutes later its part of my first one ka kite ano
Ikea Investment in New Plastic Recycling Technology at Port of Amsterdam
Plastic Recycling Amsterdam, a collaboration between Umincorp and Milieu Service Nederland, is constructing a new plastics recycling plant is to be built at the Port of Amsterdam.
Plastic Recycling Amsterdam (PRA), a collaboration between Umincorp and Milieu Service Nederland, is constructing a new plastics recycling plant is to be built at the Port of Amsterdam.
The organisation explained that the new facility, which can be expanded on a modular basis, will initially process 17,000 tonnes of plastics annually and prepare them to be reused.
The development is part of its move expand its circular plastics hub. Once operational it will first wash incoming plastic waste, shred it and then route through a magnetic bath. Using Magnetic Density Separation (MDS) technology, the plastics can be separated with a purity of 99% because different plastics have different weights.
The technology was originally developed at Delft University of Technology. The sorted plastics can then be processed into high-quality new packaging materials.
According to PRA the technology also represents a breakthrough in sustainable plastics recycling. Compared with traditional plastics, 90% of CO2 and 75% of costs in the supply chain are saved by using this circular process.
“With its existing large-scale collection of plastics and the growth of the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area in the years ahead, the Port of Amsterdam is the ideal location for
establishing PRA,” commented Jaap Vandehoek, CEO of Umincorp.
Last week, Ingka, Ikea’s parent company, announced last week that it will invest in Umincorp.
“We are determined to make the difference in plastics recycling with our unique MDS technology and the recent investment by Ingka Group,” said Vandehoek
Roon van Maanen, Director Circular & Renewable Industry at Port of Amsterdam added: “PRA transforms recyclable plastics into raw materials for new plastics, while non-recyclable plastics are converted into transport fuel by Integrated Green Energy Solutions Amsterdam, which is also established in our Port. Ka kite ano limks below
https://waste-management-world.com/a/ikea-investment-in-new-plastic-recycling-technology-at-port-of-amsterdam
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFZS3Vh4lfI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VT9Yrv1ZOs
There you go whano I went to the courthouse to sort my false fines I get a paper take it to the bank expecting it to be filed. Because ECO MAORI trust no system I check it out today and what do you know the sandflys have been in the bank after me and flashed there shiny badge and bin the papers I filed to pay there false fine I will load the payment by Internet banking. The only system these redneck sandflys want to share with Maori is there jail system everything else they keep the best for them selves and let Maori have what falls of the side of their overflowing plates and encourage US to fight over it Ka kite ano
Kia ora Newshub like the professor said the information is on the Internet.
Australia is behaving badly the way they are treating the People who imagrated their and locking them on Manu Island treating them worsted animals.
Its up to the Auckland Council to make sure that there suburbs are clean and healthy without rubbish making the place smell. Was that a advert advertiseing that ladys miss fortunes WTF that’s not on hope that PBS gets sued but one has to have heaps of money to get justice in NZ. Newshub we need to move away from plastic waste wrapping product ASAP.
That’s cool that the kuia got some of her belongings back Ana to kai the offenders got name and shame on the net.
That a natural phenomenon A ice disk in Main America
I seen the story of that boy down a borehole hope they find him safely and unhurt. Even though China.s plants ended up freezing on the far side of the Marama it still gives a sign that plants can grow on the moon. Ka kite ano