Because the German Nazis murdered millions of your people in World War Two, is not a blank cheque you can cash in, giving you a moral authority to murder other people and take over their land..
Yesterday at the Nakba day rally in Auckland's Aotea Square, much to the dismay of the bloodthirsty tankies, Palestinian and Ukrainian flags flew together.
Green MP Golriz Ghahraman addressed the assembled crowd and spoke of both Palestinian and Ukraine peoples' struggles against the brutal military powers of Russia and Israel.
Chants from the crowd,
"1234 We Don't Want Your Bloody War – 2468 Stop the Killing Stop the Hate"
"From Auckland to Palestine Killing Reporters is a Crime"
"In a separate statement, Sunac said its aggregated sales in March and April fell 65% from a year ago due to COVID-19 outbreaks in various cities, and its refinancing and asset disposal plans did not materialise after a series of rating downgrades earlier this year.
The firm confirmed it missed the Wednesday deadline for a $29.5 million interest payment on the October 2023 bond that was required to be repaid last month, and it does not expect it will pay three other coupons due last month totalling $75.3 million before the 30-day grace periods expire, or pay other senior notes when they become due."
I scarcely bother reading Luke Malpass in Stuff- he is a boringly predictable right wing Aussie and just another self important twot in the MSM – but this line from his (badly sub-edited) piece today is such a jaw droppingly ideological statement it is worth repeating to a wider audience:
It tells us a lot about the MSM neoliberal consensus. Stuff, the self-proclaimed champions of establishment liberal identity politics, has no problem employing as its political editor a shill for the neoliberal economic settlement that has entrenched economic inequality in this country. Centrism in a single opinion piece. It isn't a coincidence that Josie Pagani also gets an opinion piece in Stuff.
And yes, I know it is an OPINION piece. But the MSM can't have it both ways. It can't spend it's time in perfromative puzzlement about the public's loss of trust in their objectivity and also promote such frankly ideological nonsense from it's senior political journalist. Once you read that you'll automatically adopt a partisan position towards all Malpass's other utterances on everything.
If the Herald exists to promote the interests of the Auckland squatocracy then Stuff exists to promote the views of the radical centre. Both exist primarily to promote the axiom that extreme individualism is the number one principle and defend the economic interests of their particular end of the trough.
If the Herald exists to promote the interests of the Auckland squatocracy then Stuff exists to promote the views of the radical centre. Both exist primarily to promote the axiom that extreme individualism is the number one principle and defend the economic interests of their particular end of the trough.
So how do left-wing commentators and opinion writers like Simon Wilson fit into this characterization?
I see both left- and right-wing people complain about the impartiality and/or slant of The Herald and/or Stuff
Bryan Gould concurs. However I think he is too nice in assuming that the Herald even cares about self-respect. You need to already have self-respect in order to care about it – and if you never had it, your not about to acquire it any time soon.
It never ceases to amaze me that Stuff begs us to "support quality journalism" at the bottom of every article, then it subjects us to third rate biased editorializing like a journalism student destined for a D minus see me.
Just in case you’re wondering where progressive men telling women what they can speak about is going, that’s the statue of suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst in Manchester in the UK. Women were set to gather and speak, men in black stopped them.
Anybody labouring under the naive illusion that Trans Rights Activists are just seeking fairness for Transgender people and that gender ideology is not an anti women movement, this will shatter those illusions if you bother to pay attention.
The picture speaks a thousand words. Its disturbing. Shame on any men turning a blind eye to this.
Yes. Not the posing bit, but my observation of men who have stood by while women have been subjected to blatant misogyny, and the men who have chosen to position themselves against gender critical feminists and with the gender ideologists who are doing that misogyny. Left wing men. Do you want receipts, very happy to share them.
and it is now time for those that don't support these black clad wanna be ninjas to step up and fight for womens rights. Either they are women, or they are men in frocks, atm it seems that the Men in frock are upper hand.
but can you spot the male taking pictures of the women in attendance? I wonder what this male will do with those images?
Yes, but they think we are talking about Carmen and Georgina. They have no idea that these days there is no requirement for any hormones or surgery to declare yourself trans. You don't even have to shave off your beard. Also, when the media showers violent and sadistic killers of women with female pronouns – they have no idea that trans identified men have exactly the same pattern of criminality as other men.
Mainstream organisations such as NOW in the USA and the NCOWNZ here have decided to support the "trans cause" in terms of gender identity choice being recognised by others.
A British survey indicates that support for transgender rights is strongest from left wing (Labour) women and the young.
The women who support trans rights are being kind and haven't realized what gender ideology is about. Most of them haven't heard of autogynophilia.
We are socialized as girls to put others first and be kind and agreeable. It didn’t work with some of us and we see through this movement masquerading as human rights that so many progressives have fallen for.
After citing MFAT's immoral advice in support of the apartheid Israeli state, the soon to be departed Mayor, Andy Foster decided that Palestinians are persona non grata in Wellington.
The Stuff report concludes with the following, "The Embassy of Israel in Wellington could not be reached for comment but Zionist Federation of New Zealand President Rob Berg said having the flag displayed on a public building in the capital city would cause distress to Israeli people. “It doesn't help promote peace,” he said, though confirmed that the action in New Zealand in itself would be highly unlikely to have any actual impact in Palestine or Israel."
Who the fuck cares what the Israeli people or Mr. Berg think. How many live in New Zealand instead of Israel anyway? Once again, a self-appointed spokesperson seems to be pushing the bullshit line that all Jews are beholden to Zionism and Israel and that there is no place in the world that Palestinians are allowed to be recognised or able to live in peace – not even Wellington.
It is high time the Government adhered to its 'independent foreign policy' line instead of its unprincipled bending to the edicts of other states that do not even share this country's values.
This is what occupation looks like and this is what Israel does – it waits until people are at work then sends in busloads of settlers to steal their homes, and if they object then the Israeli army is called in and shoots the Palestinians.
Yeah Hebron is their post East Jerusalem enclave project (denying Arabs building consents in East Jerusalem and evictions attracting a similar crowd of opportunists).
There is annexation of land to the south. They have a far right wing MK led group attacking Palestinian market stalls in the streets (with IDF protection) – the urban equivalent of attacking village farmland.
'At least 10,806 deaths were reported in the United States, including 398 minors, as 119 mass shootings have taken place across the US since the beginning of this year, according to data from The Gun Violence Archive.
Of those killed in the mass shootings across the US, 937 were minors, while another 8,558 people were injured by gunfire ,which shows an increase in both the number of deaths and injuries from gun violence in the country compared with the same period last year.'
Have to admit I was wondering why this particular one got so much attention here, given the population is about 330 million (I think) and the seeming ease they have to buy guns she ain't exactly rocket science that a certain proportion of that many people are going to be nutters, and they are going to have so many shootings/mass shootings.
I'm assuming the only reason it even made the news here while all the others don't is because he apparently mentioned ChCh.
"…I'm assuming the only reason it even made the news here while all the others don't is because he apparently mentioned ChCh…."
Showing the Chch shooters video is an offense, which didn't stop TVNZ News showing the first several seconds of the Buffalo shooters Facebook livestream as the lead item of the 6pm news last night. An utterly morally bankrupt and completely disgraceful editorial decision.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, welcomed the victory, Ukraine’s third since its 2003 Eurovision debut, and said “we will do our best” to one day host the contest in the port city of Mariupol. He underlined “Ukrainian Mariupol. Free, peaceful, rebuilt!”
EU to accept gas for roubles good analysis from Alexander Mercouris in his daily update .Seems the sanctions against Russia have turned out to be a giant stone hefted by the US and the EU only to be dropped on their own feet .!!
Alexander Mercouris concocted a web of “tortuous deceit” to convince a client he was pursuing the bogus claim, including forging a Supreme Court judge’s signature, a tribunal heard.
He even alleged that Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, President of the Supreme Court, had him abducted and offered him a £50,000 bribe to abandon the case.
[…]
Mercouris, 51, later told his client he had managed to win her a £983,000 payout, prompting her to rack up debts in expectation of the windfall.
[…]
Next he told her he had applied for an interim £50,000 payment, then claimed his brother had stolen the whole £983,000.
I couldnt care less what you think of Mercouris joe I think he does a damn good job in his daily analysis which you're gonna find difficult if not impossible to find in MSM .Theres very few saints around joe and rather than ceaselessly digging up dirt and indulging in smears and slurs perhaps you could contribute something constructive concerning the topics on the table ?
Quite the holistic approach to making rapid changes in the fight to halt/reverse the effects of climate change for not a lot of money (relatively), with plenty of added value.
Urban remote working frees up office space, significantly reduces commuting with less cars on the road, reducing the burden of public transport for non office workers and school goers who have to travel.
Rather than rip up the ERA and ruin the green belt around our cities for housing, not to mention the resources needed to prepare, manufacture and make, government should pay to convert the redundant office space into decent sized, minimum 150m2 apartments, selling them to individuals not landlords, at an interest free fixed priced per block, based on a % of income, like a state house for life you actually own for beneficiaries, or just a step on the ladder at a good price. Idea wouldn't be to make the money back, but if you're going to have to spend more to get less, for fewer people, and wreck the countryside to do it, anything back is a bonus.
i worked in the new Headquaters of Nike in Holland many years ago. The whole complex was desigend to be transformed into apartments by simply removing 'non fixed' walls. Plus a few other environmental goodies that were in use two decades ago.
It makes perfect sense as most of these place are open plan, and could/ should be transformed but the question to me would be the sound insulation. NZ is not a place known to think about noise before building.
Not being an engineer or architect I wouldn't know, but I'm certain there would be a low cost solution somewhere to minimise or mitigate sound leakage.
Done nicely and made to be the opposite of the tower block cages I've known, there are a lot of wins possible. Get housing as an issue out of the headlines, signal the equitable way forward the government wants to move forward, all that 'we are one' good feelz stuff, and free up time for them to focus on the hard jobs. :tic:
Nike was given a list by the Dutch government of what it needs to do to get a building permit. One of the clauses was that he building needs to be transformable into residential units, that there can only be a limited number of carparks, and that double glazing, insulation are used extensively. Their heating system is interesting, as it is passive.
As for the blocks, in Europe, France, England, Germany – Plattenbau buildings were used in the 60 to make up for the shortfall of houses and the lack of decent housing. They did not last very long in many cases, some only lasted some 30 odd years before they were destroyed, but they did fulfil a need. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plattenbau
High density must go up, and fwiw, in NZ we seem to be stuck in the 60/70 as we are building only Plattenbau type buildings when going up, and sadly these buildings will not age well.
'Some relief for private rental home providers so they can help the 25,000 people out of emergency accommodation and into a house. Examples of this include changing the bright-line test back to two years and allowing private property providers to again claim interest as a mortgage tax deductible expense.'
And Kainga Ora is not protecting its good tenants from its bad tenants.
Mental health is one thing, letting someone terrorize their neighbourghs is another thing altogether. Kainga Ora is not fit for the job it is supposedly hired to do. Close it down, fire all the clowns there currently employed – include the Minister for that Portfolio for good measure and start from scratch.
Btw, mental health will not get better in NZ as we are not investing in it.
Kainga Ora is in an impossible situation and expected to perform the impossible….it has to protect tenants from themselves all the while not infringing on the tenants rights.
We have created the mental health crisis by misapplying reasonable principles…the theory of care in the community was sound provided it was sufficiently resourced (it never was) and there was provision for those for whom it was ineffective (there isnt).
How much resource can we provide and if the required resource is provided what do we forgo to provide it?
All we expect Kainga Ora to do is to protect ALL of its tenants and not just some.
If this would just be one case i would agree, but there are so many of these cases now that clearly there is an issue here in how KO properties are allocated and how KO staff is missing in action or simply lazy and not doing their job..
So again, take the 'domestic terrorist' out of the property and give that house to a family who will not terrorize the community but will be a good tenant. Send the domestic terrorist to one of the run down motels in which we house law abiding citizens for lack of decent housing.
You send the problematic tenant into the motels in which we currently house law abiding citizens and their children. We don't seem to have an issue warehousing decent people in motels for years on end without any help in sight.
Or are you really advocating that in NZ to get a state hosue you have to become a gang banger, drug peddler, pimp and abusive fuckwit?
And you might have missed it, but the same crew who runs Kainga Ora, runs WINZ, runs the Ministry of Health, the ministry of business and innovation and gasps runs the government with a full majority in an MMP environment. The Labour Party. The blames lies with them. So if you feel there are not enough resources being spread out by the government to cover both mental health and housing, maybe you write a letter to the dear leader who was gonna do something about child hood poverty (thanks to poor parents) to finally let loose the purse where they only let loose with meaningless words.
I advocate no such thing as you should well realise….obviously not all KO tenants meet your description but certainly a problematic proportion do….and motels are de facto KO housing in any case.
Importantly my opinion of the resourcing of both mental health and housing is preceded by copious evidence from those in the fields that establish the lack.
I note that there is no response to the question asked…..what is foregone to make such a provision?
Agree – wherever they get put, they will be a problem tenant.
If the landlord owns neighbouring properties, they have an obligation to those neighbouring tenants. If not, they don't. KO (and any other social provider e.g. council housing) would usually come under that as they usually own multiple houses in an area (though not always), while many (not all) private landlords don't.
"We have created the mental health crisis by misapplying reasonable principles…the theory of care in the community was sound provided it was sufficiently resourced (it never was) and there was provision for those for whom it was ineffective (there isnt).
How much resource can we provide and if the required resource is provided what do we forgo to provide it?"
Pat, there was 1.8 billion set aside for Mental Health programmes and what has happened to it. The Department is in crisis and is getting worse by the hour. Its a disgrace how the wrap around services are not being met.
I have a close family member languishing in a remand centre waiting for court appearances. This person is seriously unwell with mental health issues. This would never had happened if this person had received the wrap around care from a caseworker and been regularly watched. We are just one of thousands of wretched families desperate to get help for our sick loved ones. When I am calm enough there are going to be letters sent to the head of the District Health Board and to Andrew Little lodging a formal complaint who frankly, has been derelict in his duties towards administrating the 1.8 billion. This correspondence will not be answered of that I am sure but its going to be done nevertheless.
"Pat, there was 1.8 billion set aside for Mental Health programmes and what has happened to it. The Department is in crisis and is getting worse by the hour. Its a disgrace how the wrap around services are not being met."
Yes, but as I frequently point out money is not a resource….though it may allow you to purchase available resources….the resources are not available.
One of the reasons the resources are not available is we had determined that institutional care was undesireable….and certainly it was not the solution for many.
Consider that if we disperse those deemed needing assistance throughout the community and a proportion of those need 24/7 care/ oversight how many bodies, preferably trained, would be required ….bodies, skills unavailable to other needs.
Well, there are practical alternatives which we could put in place now – without the multi-year investment in increasing numbers of houses or mental health providers. Of course we should be doing both of those things – but they'll take a lot of time to make a dent in the issue.
However, they tend to be fairly controlling, and a bit one-size-fits all – and don't go down well with the touchy-feely part of the community.
* Institute all motels (and some apartment complexes) as controlled or restricted housing. Concierge (paid and resident) on site who is responsible for liaising with all associated providers over any issues (crime, mental health, welfare, etc) which arise. Would require a waiver to privacy – because the State (in the person of this individual, and the KO residential complex manager, needs to know).
* KO should just buy the motels – the transfer of wealth to the private sector over this is just ridiculous (I said at the time of first lockdown they should do this – and they should have got a bargain – since motel owners had no income stream)
* Restricted housing allows no visitors – residents can leave to visit family, etc. – but no random people allowed in (reduces gang issues, and other problem people). Only residents listed on the tenancy may be present within the complex. Evict non-residents. Trespass them if it's repeated. [NB: this is critical – a lot of the problem people aren't necessarily the residents themselves, but their associates]
* Collocate together suitable types of residents in housing complexes (i.e. not meth addicts or gang connections next to a family unit).
* Require parents to have children in school or pre-school, attend check ups etc. [NB: schools/pre-schools should be walking distance – concierge can organize walking school bus, etc.]
* Require people to take their medication (may need concierge to hold/administer this).
* Empower security (because the police are just as overwhelmed) to arrest/restrain lawbreakers (violence, intimidation, etc.).
* Establish a policy of transferring out the anti-social people. Even if it's to a different motel complex. The rest of the community needs to know and believe that action will be swift and effective (i.e. that it's safe to complain – you don't have to endure abuse)
* Partner with expert agencies (e.g. City Mission) to build accommodation for the 'problem' individuals (not defining what the problem is – but the expression is anti-social behaviour). They have the expertise to administer/run these. KO should give them the money and get out of their way.
*Admit that the community care model has failed a large sector of the mental health population. Since there is neither care nor community. Bite the bullet and re-establish the secure care that is evidently needed by this sector of society. [This is medum-long term – hard to do quickly]
Basically a paternal state. You have the opportunity to be in charge of your life, but if you demonstrably can't manage it, we'll do it for you.
Individuals/families who show they can manage their own lives, can then transition to independent living in existing KO properties.
Individuals/families who show they can't manage, can also be transitioned back to the managed environment.
Well – KO seem to be determined to add to the load.
The mental health of the multiple families, who are, let us not forget, innocent victims here – being terrorized by other KO 'clients', will certainly be deteriorating.
Triage – the appropriate method of dealing with an overwhelming resource crisis – in this case both limits on housing and on mental health capacity – seems to be a foreign concept to them.
Triage by KO. They already make decisions about housing allocation. Unfortunately, they're not following triage principles.
And, if you are a danger or a threat to your neighbours (as we have seen in *multiple* publicly reported instances – not to mention all the private ones which never make the papers) – you get to leave the nice KO house/neighbourhood, and be allocated a (much less desirable) motel unit.
KO have a *legal* responsibility as the landlord (of their other tenants) to ensure that problem tenants are not terrorizing their neighbours (recent Tenancy Tribunal case made this crystal clear)
KO housing managers can't be expected to be experts on mental health (and from a privacy perspective, I expect that they don't even have access to any information about the mental health of their clients).
They are, however, expected by both the public and their other clients, to manage disruptive, dangerous and terrorizing behaviour from their clients.
If they can't do this (and Poto Williams appears to be thoroughly ineffective in directing them in this area) – then NZ voters will be very tempted to vote for a party who claims that they can.
Just to be clear, you advocate that KO should evict problematic tenants and it is not their concern if they have no where else to go or if the cause of the behaviour is a mental health issue?
It would be nice if you’d actually read my comment.
Just to be clear. I'm advocating that problem tenants should be transferred to less desirable locations (typically motels).
KO apparently think it's fine for families with children to be in motel accommodation for years.
[I'd also advocate for motel unit style accommodation to be much more strictly monitored and regulated – especially for people with mental health and or addiction issues. But that's a different topic]
It's not the job of the landlord to decide whether the issue is mental health problems or something else.
You seem to be advocating that people who might have mental health issues should have a free rein to terrorize the neighbourhood with zero consequences.
"You seem to be advocating that people who might have mental health issues should have a free rein to terrorize the neighbourhood with zero consequences."
Not at all…indeed Im advocating that problem KO tenants be evicted, after one or two ignored warnings and engagement with relevant agencies…however I dont view moving to motels as anything other than transferring the problems location having said that motels are effectively KO housing.
The question then becomes, if the cause is a mental health issue what is done about the individual….we have barely any residential institutions and those we do have are already overwhelmed?
So its back to resourcing …if we are to resource the required what are we willing to forgo?….or are we not willing to forgo anything?
The problematic tenants without mental health issues similarly should be evicted after suitable opportunity to reform….however the problem there is what constitutes a mental health disability?
Wherever they get put, they will be a problem tenant. If the landlord owns neighbouring properties, they have an obligation to those neighbouring tenants. If not, they don't.
KO (and any other social housing provider e.g. council horsing) would usually come under that as they usually own multiple houses in an area (though not always), while many (not all) private landlords don't. KO evicting someone doesn't stop those people being problem tenants, just stops them being problem tenants of KO. There's nothing to stop a problem tenant getting a private property in the same area and continuing to terrorise the neighbours, but now with no recourse by KO or anyone else.
For people who think that's a theoretical problem, Christchurch has plenty of KO housing in Aranui where the tenants in the private housing in the same area are no better, or worse, but nobody has anywhere else to go.
Why is it our responsibility to house anti social people (unless they have children)??
IWhy all the "but where would they go if we boot them out?" Aside from if they have kids living with them (and maybe they shouldn't) in the words of Rhett Butler in Gone With the Wind, "frankly my dear I don't give a dam"
If they are mentally ill of course they may need hospitalitsation and should be able to be sectioned under the Act, if they are threatening others. Despite what most people think most people with severe mental illness are not threatening and dangerous. If they are psychotically ill, many are too paranoid to leave the house.
The Govt has to take responsiblity for the mess that is mental health. What they don't seem to get is that it all rises and falls on competent well trained staff who are well resourced and using evidenced based treatments. Re-structuring the health. system is the wrong priority. Somehow they seem to think if they fix the bureaucracy then jolly good show. Well done us. Same with having a Commission Enquiry into Mental Health, re-establishing the Mental Health Commission, yada yada yadh.
If not the state, then a private landlord, who as explained above may have no obligations to neighbours at all, in which case KO could evict someone only for the former tenant to move into a nearby house owned privately and be a worse issue as now nobody can do anything. Aranui is one suburb in Christchurch where this is entirely possible (I grew up there and it hasn't changed much) and there are plenty of state houses and also plenty of private houses with landlords who don't care how loud the tenants are.
If the state is not the housing provider of last resort in this manner, they will still be the provider of last resort as Corrections.
Christchurch nights can drop to -5, some parts of the South Island can drop below -10 – that can be lethal for someone unprepared for it, especially the homeless. Executing someone by hypothermia via eviction seems disproportionately severe, but maybe I'm just a bleeding heart liberal.
I read the article and wondered about whose job it is to deal with behaviour which might be illegal. (threatening, etc)
Is Kainga Ora to police illegal behaviour of its tenants? Harassing the neighbours? Fraud? Not having a vehicle WOF? Shop lifting?
What is described is terrible behaviour and awful for those being harassed. And certainly sounds like a job for the police. The problem is the behaviour not whose house they're living in.
The problem is that he police wont come in many cases, if they do show up its after the fact to take notes and appear as doing something, and then they leave without the criminal element so they might as well stay put have a cuppa and a donut and do nothing.
We currently do not a a good job in locking violent elements up, or sentencing them to anything meaning full, and even if we do that same person will be send 'home' on Home D to continue doing what they did before. Criming and terrorising their community and families.
A further problem is, even when the most serious of the cases are charged – they are then bailed back to the same address – to continue the criminal and intimidating behaviour, and terrorize those people who've been brave enough to complain.
The court system is so delayed – that it is likely to take *years* for the case to be heard. And, even then, if/when convicted – they're most likely to have a community sentence and be back in the same address.
In any case, behaviour should not have to be at a criminal level to be dealt with by the landlord. Fraud, failing to have a WOF and shop lifting, have minimal effect on the nearby residents. Harassment, burglary, drug dealing, intimidation and anti-social behaviour have a huge impact.
In terms of tenancy law, if the landlord owns neighbouring properties, they have an obligation to those neighbouring tenants to provide "quiet enjoyment", to use the legal term, which includes the quiet-ness (or otherwise) of the neighbouring tenants. KO (and any other social housing provider) would usually come under that as they usually own multiple houses in an area (though not always), while many (not all) private landlords don't.
If the landlord doesn't own neighbouring properties, that obligation doesn't apply with respect to neighbouring tenants as they don't have any.
There is also a tenant responsibility not to disturb neighbours, but landlords are not required to police that if the neighbours aren't also their tenants (as above). They can choose to (tenancy legislation provides for it), but can't be made to, and there is no recourse for neighbours unless they are also tenants of the same landlord.
All that said, problem tenants are problem tenants, so KO (or any other provider) evicting tenants just passes it onto other landlords who may or may not be equipped to deal with them.
This always strikes me as a wicked problem in that no solutions are particularly good from the government perspective because the bad tenants are the root cause of the problem so will be problematic for the state both as landlord and more widely in terms of societal wellbeing, but I wonder if KO maintaining units in more rural areas (e.g. city fringes) for particularly problematic tenants would be the best solution of a collection of bad solutions.
The real problem is poverty mental health meth and gangs. Almost every story mentions one of these issues. Mental Health has always been the poor cousin in Health. The pandemic shortages both in materials and staff, and labelling continues.
No real suggestions are out forward to meet these problems, which used to be handled by evictions in the past. These people lived in vehicles or on the street under Paula Bennett's rules regarding meth, which were not science based.
So any effort to change that has to provide temporary systems while builds are under way. This is then able to be called slums terrorism and other names. No one wants these people as neighbours, so cries of what are …" Police Landlords or Poto or Andrew doing.??? "
They are running to stand still in a world utterly pressured by covid's supply line problems monetary fall out and "over it" attitudes of "Big Daddy" fix it for us now!! Community means caring for all, not just the deserving. Painful as that is.
There does need to be a cut off point for bad behaviour, and the case discussed here seems to meet the criteria. However, if there is no easy answer, as the building of homes is slowed by the pandemic. To say people are not trying to improve this situation is a stretch. It is not a situation that is able to be fixed easily, or all those right wing experts would have it sorted by now.
Absolutely agree that there is a mix of issues at the heart of the issues in most cases, and KO or any other landlord can't do much about that.
Also, while social housing providers are often seen as the landlords of last resort, especially the state and council-funded ones, arguably the actual landlord of last resort is Corrections i.e. prison.
The sum of everything that everybody has said is that: the problem is unfixable if we allow it to occur on the scale we do. My only concrete suggestion is to eliminate all financial, food and housing insecurity as a right of citizenship, see what social pathologies remain afterwards, and have well-trained and resourced professionals trying to mop up the residue. Give it 50 years and we might be in better shape.
Excuse me if i am mistaken but don't landlords have the ability to evict tennants, even if it can't be done immediately? Or do tennants just get to choose when and if they leave a rental property
I have a problem too, although I don't think the solution is for them to just evict people (where would they go?).
Swordfish's parents situation was an obvious one where eviction should have happened early on. Whichever government agency should then have stepped up and sorted out the issues with the evicted tenant.
jImmy this is why my sympathy was limited for Wellingtonians, especailly workers in the capital cries of how bad it was for them having the protesters at Parliament! I realized it can't have been easy, but where were their squells of outrage about the poor people in Kainga Ora flats putting up with this shit, while the landlord i.e the govt did NOTHING………
BTW I have been wondering how Swordfish has been doing. Anyone know?
It will be a nice fluff story about a young women who is going to come out as Non binary for a bit of 'most marginalized and vulnerable minority' coinage; just before announcing her co-leadership with Marama Davidson for the Green Party just in time for the Election.
btw, the person who is going to do this soap is the same that was doing the CHCH movie.
A waste of tax payers money. If either one of them, Chloe or Marama have any functioning braincells left they will say 'NO, thank you', it would not be proper.
I do hope that there will be documentaries made of other Politians, also funded by the government in the lead up to the next election, just for fairness sake.
Not holding my breath though.
"A waste of tax payers money. If either one of them, Chloe or Marama have any functioning braincells left they will say 'NO, thank you', it would not be proper."
Agree. If any National or Act politician was in this scenario, I would be just as scathing.
Being Chlöe, 1 x 90 mins, Razor Films for Three, up to $199,999. A documentary exploring the political and personal life of New Zealand’s youngest MP Chlöe Swarbrick.
Questions, I assume, over how partisan the documentary will be (I don't know where you're reading the commentary from)
Like the one on the Chch shootings which morphed into a piece on Ardern – to similar controversy.
Should public money be going into documentaries on sitting MPs? Can this be construed as election advertising? (guess it depends when it's released). I know that MPs have to be careful about when in the electoral cycle, they release biographies. And bios (books, that is) aren’t publicly funded.
Takes a long time to make a film. The timing would have had it on track to be potentially released shortly before the 2023 election – but (see below) commitment is that it will be released after the election.
In that case, perhaps NZ on Air should do a similar $200k documentary on Chris Luxon now as "18 months out from election can hardly be electioneering".
That would get people on here triggered. But also a documentary on say Grant Robertson could be good too.
Think that most pollies would reject the possibility with horror – especially if it had any prospect of being neutral 'warts and all' coverage – let alone critical.
I remember, years ago, watching a doco about several minor candidates standing for an election – it might have been "Campaign" set in Wellington Central in the 1996 election (not certain at this late date – much water has passed under the bridge of my memory).
But one stand-out for me was that the professional politicans curated their image with great care – it was the amateurs who were open.
Oh come on Robert lets stick to the arguements. Do you think it is a good idea that NZ on Air is giving funding for a doco called Becoming Chole when she is a sitting MP. I mean I would have thought there would be discomfort on all political sides about this, even if the movie is shown after the election. Chloe likely has a long career in politics.
BTW I agree with all Sabine says on this issue. $200,000 would have bought a hell of a lot of counselling sessions…………..
Director is Charlotte Evans – who has already made "OK Chlöe" – a short doco – which was fairly hagiographic. Guess that's always an issue with doco makers – if they are dealing with an 'attractive' subject (speaking here of political rather than personal attributes), it's hard to be balanced.
The government should simply not fund something like that, or the government should fund documentaries on all Politians – every single one of them, and then we can watch the trailers for these upcoming awesomely interesting movies during the election period.
And of course this will become the same public shitshow as it was with the CHCH movie which was incidentally being made by the same person who is gonna do the Chloe Swarbruck Fluff Piece.
Plunketts take on it. I am sure the NZ tax payers will be thrilled about this! And the beneficiaries who are struggling to put food on the table, will have some nice entertainment, after they have eaten bread and butter for tea.
It doesn't take much for you to start sounding like the Tax Payer's Onion, does it. As NZoA funding goes it isn't a huge amount – do you have a problem with state funding of culture in general?
I hate wasteful spending. I really do.But I am not against money being spent on culture. I am in agreement with Sabine, we either have movies made about all politicians or none (except of course those who have retired which will give us a historical perspective)
You will notice I often talk about the need to pay nurses and Dr's very, very very well. All so the care workers who are currently on strike. I have no idea where the tax payers union stand on paying nurses and drs more. But despite what you might think, I am not their mouth piece.
I am a Labour Party member who has freed myself from having to support their policies unless I agree with them. It wonderful being able to be an independent thinker
IMHO, we should not be making 'movies' about any sitting politician, but there is a bigger issue here. The opposition are running a campaign to paint the government as profligate spenders, linking that spending to inflation, and then trying to appeal to the 'squeezed middle'. The amounts are insignificant in the context of total government spending, but articles like this, featuring a photo of 2 cabinet ministers beside a $5,000 O (that will come back to bite them) just fuels the narrative.
NZs been doing this kind of thing for some time. Exhibit A being 'Were here to help', featuring sitting politician (and self styled perk buster) Rodney Hide, yes, partly funded by the tax payer.
I particularly enjoyed the part where Hide tells Henderson that he better not be lying because that would be curtains for Hides credibility to be pushing a tax frauds case. IRD staff told me the story is loosely 'based on a true story'.
Yeah there's an element of self promotion in that (Hide co-wrote the book) but the story isn't about Hide, it's about Dave Henderson, and Hide's brief role is played by an actor. So same but different. Either way, these movies/plays should be made after they have left politics, and they shouldn't be getting taxpayer support.
My point is that it should simply not be done. Not for her, nor for anyone else.
I would enjoy televised series that presents ALL of our dear suits and wanna be suits in parliament, i am sure there are some interesting characters and also interesting locations and with that their vey own needs. That would be a public service, and maybe actually inform the people about the people they actually voting for.
disclaimer: past voted Labour, Greens, last election was the first time that i did vote for neither of them and personally can't see myself voting for them ever again in the near future.
We have money to waste in this country, and we waste it on the people that least need it.
These 200.000 would have better been spend as a donation to Gumboot Friday for some mental health counceling services that the Goverment finds so hard to provide, and hey, i hear we have a mental health crisis.
Or to fund an emergency doctor or just an axtra bed in that Emergency Department where people wait 27 hour to be admitted to a bed while having a full blown mental health episode, but can't be cared for for lack of a bed.
Or pay full rent for 8 – 10 years for a law abiding family stuck in a run down motel in dead end town. Or a new grant for a charity that hands out food parcels to full time worker. Or maybe winter clothes for kids that have none. Or OR or
But obviously what NZ needs the most now is a fluff piece about Chloe Swarbruck, of all people.
Priorities, the woke liberals in NZ government departments have them.
But there is no reason why people should not to listen to that podcast, unless of course you might be afraid of being confronted with a point of view that would challenge yours, and that of course can’t be? Right?
Because Plunkett is a plonker, who rails against nuanced thought, decrying it, "woke", who bullies those callers who don't conform to his blunt, Actoidal world-view and who is relentlessly anti-Jacinda and the present (and future) Government.
Are you suggesting our youngest ever MP, elected off her own merits rather than the list, and advocating difficult progressive agendas like cannabis reform isn't inherently interesting? Or is it, to quote you:
…a young women who is going to come out as non-binary for a bit of 'most marginalized and vulnerable minority' coinage…
Who is this Swarbruck Fluff fella – any relation to Nadia?
Haven't watched "OK Chlöe", although imho Swarbrick is inspiring (sooo fluffable), along with Yousafzai, Nakate, Thunberg et al. – young sisters doing it themselves.
In the year since we lost our courageous and kind founding female co-leader, Jeanette Fitzsimons, I regularly wonder how the Greens must have been received in trying to raise the science of global warming 30-odd years ago. I think of how today's young people, born long after scientists began delivering sobering predictions on human's impact on our planet, are still patronised for daring to propose the accepted order of things is not quite all right. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/chloe-swarbrick-youth-protest-is-politics-in-its-purest-form/QPVZ4OB4JTJWZPAT3S2YE6UHAM/
Like many taxes, what economists think are good, and what the public will accept, are not always in alignment, so will be interesting to see the talking points on it if it does come to fruition.
Agree that if they are going to introduce it, it should be as an option for councils to consider rather than central government doing it on their behalf, but public opinion of congestion charges is low, so maybe the concern is councils wouldn't use them if they did get introduced as an option.
Any capital works that a congestion charge may eventually fund would be going on roads that are close to, if not 100% Government funded. So makes sense that the funds are Government controlled.
Councils may think they control arterial roads by in reality it’s a Government show through Waka Kotahi
ChrisT-From the discussions I heard on RNZ last week the congestion charge has widescale support across the political spectrum. It was rather refreshing.
Trucking companies in particular have seen the effects in other countries where roads flow much better when a CC is in place.
But with all due respect this doesn't mean I have to agree with it.
For a start how are they going to police it?
I get it in places like London where there are millions of people and worth doing. But we are a small population country and can see it costing more to oversee, than they get back in funding.
And I should have also said. In my personal opinion.
We have the whole Covid and places going broke thing going on.
I am no climate change dehier. I appreciate completely how important it is. But geezes the priorities seem to be screwed up at this particular time with the inflation crisis going on.
People are having trouble affording to feed their kids atm.
The timing for this is just dim. But way to lose the next election.
For reasons discussed before the congestion charge will hit those with the least resources – who are not loud voices in the political polling or surveying.
The intention is to persuade people out of private vehicles and into PT.
When a congestion charge is suggested a few assumptions are made:
1. That the public transport options for people into the congestion area are accessible, efficient, reliable and affordable.
2. That the congestion charge will be a persuasive tool for change and not a punitive or exclusive one.
For central city commuters this might be true. But as you travel further out of the central city, it becomes less so.
In fact, it is most likely that many Aucklanders live where they can afford to – not where it is convenient. Those with less financial resources will often live further out. The further out they live, the less likely assumption 1. will be true, and the more likely assumption 2. will also be untrue, and will go from punitive to exclusive in some cases.
For example: Many tertiary courses are not offered in Manukau Technical Institute and South Auckland students have to travel in to get into town. Public transport is expensive, inefficient, and often unreliable.
What economists and political pundits often forget, is that when options are limited financially many individuals create work arounds that don't require extra money, but may require extra time or effort. Financially precarious households, are dealing with the rising costs of many essentials, housing, utilities, transport and food. Consideration needs to be given to the impact of measures such as congestion charges to ensure that further shocks are not the result.
"Trucking companies in particular have seen the effects in other countries where roads flow much better when a CC is in place."
As mentioned before, my partner works for a forward thinking long established trucking company who are already carbon zero. One ongoing conversation with customers that they are having, is arranging specific evening times for delivery to avoid both traffic delays (which results in higher costs for freight), and also often makes the receipt of delivery faster.
Delivery times are more reliable. Offloading is often faster, and stocking is also because it can happen or be scheduled while the business is not trading.
Molly: Private vehicles are usually more expensive than PT. Fuel is only 40% of the cost of running a vehicle. The next time you calculate the cost of a journey multiply the cost of the petrol by 2 and a half times.
But of course PT has to be improved massively. Party Vote Green and this will happen.
That assumes that every trip for a household member is an individual one, with each person going in a car.
The PT network in Auckland for people who live in the outer regions often does not go where they want to go, has limited timetables, is not reliable and is unaffordable.
I support PT. When our neighbourhood finally got access, (after the community submitted en masse to a AT survey), I went out and purchased the household Hop Cards. We took a trip into town. The cost of travel for five household members was over $100. The cost of petrol – hybrid and parking was around $30. The time of travel via PT was 2.5-3hrs each way. The time for vehicle was 1 hr, without heavy traffic it can be done in 45 min.
This is not an affordable option for a family.
My children studying in Auckland have PT options that will cost approx $60/wk @, but in time will cost them around 4/5 hrs/day. And that is with a 12 min drive to the train station there and back.
The ones that have the least options for PT will be paying the most – again. Transport networks and planning need to be much better than they are.
I also think inequality continues to worsen because the decision makers have little regard for those with limited financial choices. The Auckland fuel tax made transport more expensive for those with limited PT choices. The congestion charge will do the same. Often those with limited PT choices will also have limited finances.
I party voted Green last election. I do not think I will be doing so again.
I am not convinced by their policy focus, and their proposed solutions.
Molly-you are not costing all of the the costs of running a car into your calculations exactly as I said above. With these costs added PT becomes competitive at least in terms of cost. You also do not factor in that PT enables you to relax and to surf the net rather than have the stress of driving.
NZ is a hugely car oriented country-we need to move away from this. PT needs massive investment.
As to the Greens policies, which policies do you prefer in the other parties? For instance the Greens are the only party putting forward a workable Wealth Tax, which is the only way that a fairer distribution of wealth will be achieved compared with the current chronic imbalance. I thought you were concerned with the lot of poor people in NZ society?
Bearded Git. I have calculated the extra costs of running a car into the costs. Parking at Aotea Centre at the time was $11. Actual petrol costs were less than $10. I rounded $21 up to $30 to not overstate difference. That accommodates your concerns. I didn't add the cost of the Hop cards as it was a one-off ;: $50.
Our planning has been abysmal, both spatial and transport. It is lower income households that bear the weight of that failure the most.
No acknowledgement of time costs on top of financials either.
These middle class solutions that can cost lower income households disproportionally more, is another small contribution to inequality.
There will be those who live in great PT areas that won't change behaviour because they, or their employers can carry the charge without effort.
I do care about those who are struggling.
I can see problems with proposed solutions.
Government announces a plan that includes: "including $569m for the Clean Car Upgrade, which will help lower and middle-income households scrap high-emitting vehicles in exchange for electric and hybrid alternatives.
The trial will initially support up to 2500 vehicles."
If they are dedicated to helping lower and middle-income households in this way, they would be looking to create a NZ-based battery recycling or reconditioning plant and subsidising that.
And all those Japanese right hand drive cars that dropped the price of second hand vehicles in NZ when they were internal combustion engines, will be replaced by very cheap EV vehicles too old to be used in Japan, but able to be refitted and purchased here cheaply.
The made a ceiling for uptake of 569b,the initial trial is for 2500 vehicles,so they can tweak vehicle type (removal) and replacement.They need a better understanding of the metrics for full carbon accounting purposes.
Reading between the lines if uptake or the outcome of the trial do not meet sufficient cost /benefit metrics,they can move funding to other areas.That is a logical progression where they can tweak the system,or get out at limited cost.
Implement an equity-oriented vehicle scrap-and-replace scheme to make cleaner vehicles and low-emissions alternatives affordable for low-income households.
• Trial of equity-oriented scrap-and-replace scheme established.
Government approval in 2022 Trial in 2023
MOT Waka Kotahi, MSD, vehicle and scrappage industries.
The removal of FF from industrial heat in the manufacturing area has been steadily announced since the last government (some under regional development) Steady replacement across a number of sectors and a national spread sustains the work,and local industry.
Lots of areas not covered,such as electricity generation,or public transport (excluding bus drivers) where with PT it may be use it or lose it.However PT traffic is down only in AK and WGN,where a systemic regime change post covid may be underway,such as relocation from CBD and work from home.
The concrete announcements for industry,give a base (and confidence) for manufacturers ie retaining jobs.
There are substantive details to come for transport, especially freight of which there may be budget provisions for accelerated depreciation for short haul electric,and biofuel for diesel (wood based) or specialised curtain sider freight cars for rail (where they fork on and off rail for long haul onto truck for local load and delivery)
Long read and little meat I agree,but more in the budget.
The points that maybe overlooked are there were necessities to involve multiple ministries each with their own agendas,which added complexity.
It also required bi partisan agreement as it bounded the opposition out to 2035.
Here the loaded pistol was left on the table for the nats to pickup.
National's climate spokesperson Scott Simpson said the party was committed to the targets but did not agree with everything in the plan…..
…..
He said big companies like Fonterra and breweries like DB were profitable enough to be paying their own way and should not be relying on taxpayers to remove coal-fired burners from their business.
"There's close to $750b that is effectively corporate welfare … a lot of this is going to be spent on is subsidising big corporates who frankly can already afford it and already should be making decisions to decarbonise their own businesses, to lower their own emissions without the support of taxpayers. Big business can and should be leading the charge."
The huge ships will produce less emissions,as of the 1st January all international shipping will have to reduce speed ( 1-3 knots on type) to reduce emissions as part of the cop26 agreement.
Both Japan and China will return to full production over the summer.Japan as more nukes come back on line,and China as covid constraints in Shanghai are reduced( Tesla restated late last week and has 4000 vehicles ready to ship.
Sorry btw. You are probably right. I am just a bit of a cynical person when it comes to this sort of stuff. Especially when you hear the kid stories, whether totally true or not. I actually think both sides do themselves no favours with their arguments.
As I have said before. I think electric cars and the concept is cool as. Even purely as a car nut I am and the instant acceleration.
But I also am concious our electrical capacity is a bit crap in some places and really don't want to be dodging uber length extension cords every time I walk to the bus to work in the morning Lol
No worries,by having a more sustainable uptake with EV,we will not have big blowouts in our BOP,and replacement of ff with ev will at some stage reflect on our fuel imports.
Everyone wanted EV and flying cars and all we got from big tech for most of the 20th century was 140 characters (and some with no edit button) and lightening fast methods to diss someone else.
The trial will also have hybrids for remote locations.
We recently bought an imported second hand hybrid, low ks uses half the fuel of previous similar vehicle (3.5l/100k combined)…..569 million would buy around 40,000 of these (even with the dealer margin).
Plug in hybrid? For those with distances to services (medical ,banks etc) of which can be a large part of NZ ,that may be need to they have more charging (and faster) and longer range.
There is also an uptake with both corporate leasing and GVT departments so we will also have a second hand market for ev in 5 years.
No..Aqua, no charging but as said half the fuel consumption even with a lot of open road running….strikes me as a much better possibility for reducing emissions if youve got half a billion to throw around…assuming theres stock available, though production was 2 million units over 10 years so there should be a significant number around.
Ram raids may increase however….apparently they are prime target for theft.
Actually thinking about it I should prbably think about investing in extension cord companies.
TBF. It is going to happen so if I owned a company and had staff I would be looking now at organising some sort of power unit/system/sockets so staff could charge during the day, rather than having to overnight.
Would be a good recruiting add on.
Do see people at first forgetting and driving off still plugged in while new at first, which will be quite funny.
Those "massive diesel guzzling ships" are the most energy efficient form of freight transport we have. In fact, the bigger, the better. NZ lamb exports to UK have a lower transport emission than trucking lamb across Europe.
"shockingly young child labour/slavery to mine that much cobalt for them". Yes. And coffee, oil and many other commodities. The pressure on Tesla, and other companies, to be more ethical in sourcing materials, continues.
"Yes. And coffee, oil and many other commodities. The pressure on Tesla, and other companies, to be more ethical in sourcing materials, continues."
Yeah. She is a bit of an issue.
TBF. I have read things about the companies trying to solve the issue. So they are genuinely trying.
Then you read the higher tower suicide nets being attached to high rises in Asia for Apple and stuff and realise. Far out. We really are living in a privileged country.
I know some on this blog are not fond of the Daily Blog, but this podcast every Monday nght is fantastic with a good mix of guests e.g Matt MacCarten, David Seymour. So spans across the spectrum of political persuasions.
tonight has Russell Norman and Jordan Williams and they will be discussing amongst other things the pre budget climate announcements.
Sorry Anker, I gave up on TDB a while ago now – it's burrowing down too many rabbit holes for my sanity now. The way they are going now I can imagine them all jumping up and down, hoopin and hollering on Election Night next year if the present Government gets defeated (which is NOT what I want, despite its shortcomings at times). As for coping with David Semour, Jordan Williams, Damien Grant et al – I am on medication to cope with some long term health issues, which I don't wish to exacerbate.
Yes. The degeneration of TDB is alarming evidence of how the notional 'left' can be wedged into fighting against itself. It must be highly amusing to the Nat/ACT boys, whose impeccable and well-maintained class consciousness means they mostly run a tight ship.
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Placards and mourners outside the Kilbirnie Mosque following the Christchurch terror attack: MSD has terminated the Kaiwhakaoranga service, which has been used by 415 families since the attacks. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The Government’s pledge to only cut ‘back office’ staff rather than ‘frontline’ services is on increasingly shaky ground, with ...
There’s been a few smaller public transport announcements over the last week or so that I thought I’d cover in a single post. Fareshare I’ve long called for Auckland Transport to offer a way to enable employer-subsidised public transport options. The need for this took on even more importance ...
Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National Minister Matt Doocey, reflects poorly on Genter and ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
New Zealand voted in favour of a resolution broadening Palestine’s participation at the United Nations General Assembly overnight, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The resolution enhances the rights of Palestine to participate in the work of the UN General Assembly while stopping short of admitting Palestine as a full ...
Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
“The Bill does not provide environmental protection, good quality decision making, certainty, public participation or speed. It should be withdrawn.” ...
RNZ News Television New Zealand has breached its collective agreement with the E tū union when deciding on discontinuing programmes, the Employment Relations Authority has ruled. It was announced in March that 68 staff members who work for news programmes Midday and Tonight, consumer justice programme Fair Go, current affairs ...
Asia Pacific Report Barangay New Zealand’s Rene Molina has interviewed the country’s first Filipino Green MP Francisco Hernandez who was sworn into Parliament yesterday as the party’s latest member. This is the first interview with Hernandez who replaces former Green Party co-leader James Shaw after his retirement from politics to ...
An Australian Strategic Policy Institute report says Pillar Two could raise the industry to state of the art capability - or "crush" it "under the weight of the globe's biggest player". ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marlene Longbottom, Associate Professor, Indigenous Education & Research Centre, James Cook University ShutterstockThis article contains information on deaths in custody and the violence experienced by First Nations people in encounters with the Australian carceral system. It also contains references to ...
“Instead of following along countries that are investing in death and better ways of killing people faster, we need to invest in life and in making Aotearoa a fair, just and equitable place where everyone has what they need for a dignified life.” ...
MARIAMENO KAPA-KINGI, TPM MP FOR TAI TOKERAU This Government will not waver in its mission to exterminate Māori. CHRISTOPHER LUXON Oh well look you know I don’t think that hard-working Kiwis want to hear language like that. It’s just really unhelpful rhetoric. My Government is genuinely committed to advancing outcomes ...
The body positivity movement started with women confronting the unrealistic expectations and unrepresentative portrayals of them in media and advertising. Men weren’t part of it … their bodies hadn’t been sexualised to the same extremes and they didn’t really need it. But now that’s changed. And in a warped sort ...
The New Zealand comedy legend takes us through her life in television, including the time she hugged Elton John and the unshakeable legacy of a girl named Lyn. In 1981, Ginette McDonald stood on the stage of Auckland’s St James Theatre and directly addressed Queen Elizabeth II. It was a ...
An essay by Lily Duval from the just-released anthology Otherhood: Essays on being childless, childfree and child adjacent.I was 22 when my friend Alice gave birth in the living room of our pokey Addington flat. She laboured in the blow-up pool for hours. Garish fish swam along the inflated ...
Ella Borrie on the best books about motherhood she’s come across so far. Over the past few years I’ve been drawn to books about motherhood. I’m fascinated by the joys and horrors of becoming a parent. The question of children also feels more pressing than it used to. It’s like ...
Out of gift ideas for mum? You can’t go wrong with a bottle of toilet cleaner and a new squeegee. Emily Writes is the writer and editor of Emily Writes Weekly. This week marks five years since I published a post on The Spinoff about Mother’s Day marketing titled ‘A ...
My husband is posted overseas for 12 months and I’m armed with an expensive, newfangled vibrator. Will I miss him? The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.A few days after my husband leaves, a new sex toy arrives at the front door. Nestled ...
Jaimie Baird’s new book Here Today Gone Tomorrow is a record of four decades of graffiti and street art in Wellington, told through more than 1,200 photographs. He spoke with Joel MacManus about what inspired the book. How did you first get interested in photographing street art? I remember ...
Editor Madeleine Chapman looks back at a busy week where food of all political leanings dominated. Sometimes you’re just going about your week thinking you’ve got a good handle on what might be coming as far as news topics and then someone (usually a politician) says something so ridiculous that ...
A banner notification alerts me to the fact that I’ve received an Instagram message from @felicity.loves. She always comments on my posts. I shouldn’t have opened the message, but clicked on the notification before rationalising this. OMG! Are you in Wellys? X I debate not replying, but Instagram will inform ...
In Melbourne’s hardscrabble western suburbs where AFL – Aussie rules football – is a state religion, Callum Donaldson has been quietly grafting away, four months into an odyssey that he hopes will take him to another promised land: the NRL. It was a solid 2023 for the softly spoken 20-year-old ...
In a week of cold rain and frost, the climate in courtroom four upstairs at the Invercargill courthouse was simmering with restrained indignation. At times it felt like the famous Mexican standoff scene from Reservoir Dogs, or, as someone watching the proceedings described it, there was so much throwing of ...
Pacific Media Watch Television New Zealand Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver has been made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to investigative journalism and Pacific communities in a ceremony at Government House, reports 1News. She has been the Pacific correspondent for 1News since 2002, breaking many ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Tuesday’s budget will respond to the deepening public agitation over Australia’s housing shortages by pouring new money into crisis accommodation for women and children, social housing and infrastructure. A specially-convened national cabinet late Friday ticked ...
By Kaneta Naimatu in Suva Journalists in the Pacific region play an important role as the “eyes and ears on the ground” when it comes to reporting the climate crisis, says the European Union’s Pacific Ambassador Barbara Plinkert. Speaking at The University of the South Pacific (USP) on World Press ...
Aldora Itunu is back in the Black Ferns squad after a three-year absence. The last of her 24 internationals was an underwhelming loss to France (7-29) in Castres to conclude the disastrous 2021 Northern Tour. The powerhouse prop won a Rugby World Cup in 2017 and thought she was done. ...
The fight to control major transport policy and projects in Auckland has burst into the open again, with councillors rejecting Mayor Wayne Brown’s latest attempt to steer things more under his influence. Councillors from the left and right broke ranks on the mayor’s bid to control Auckland Transport more directly ...
Exhausted by the general election campaign, horrified by the twilight zone of coalition negotiations, distracted by the silly season and waiting for the honeymoon to begin, Raw Politics has been in hibernation since October. From today, we’re back. Our weekly political video show and podcast returns for ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk Authorities in the small town of Boulouparis have commemorated Armistice Day on May 8 with a new memorial honouring New Zealand soldiers who were stationed in New Caledonia during World War II. The ceremony took place in the township on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Dehm, Senior lecturer, international migration and refugee law, University of Technology Sydney The High Court unanimously ruled today that the Australian government can keep asylum seekers in immigration detention indefinitely in cases where they do not “voluntarily” cooperate with their own ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Munro, Lecturer, Creative Industries and Digital Media, University of South Australia Twenty-four hours after the release of Macklemore’s pro-Palestine protest song Hind’s Hall on social media on May 7, the video had already notched up over 24 million views. In ...
Failing to anticipate the complexity of the consenting system is being cited as the the current builder's shortcomings, an Infrastructure Commission review says. ...
Failing to anticipate the complexity of the consenting system is being cited as the the current builder's shortcomings, an Infrastructure Commission review says. ...
350 Aotearoa is calling the Environment Select Committee’s decision to allow oral submissions from just 40% of individual, unique submitters who asked to speak to the committee ‘a disgraceful blight to democracy’. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Helal, Assistant Dean (Sustainability), The University of Melbourne Dubai skylineAleksandarPasaric/Pexels Since ancient times, people have built structures that reach for the skies – from the steep spires of medieval towers to the grand domes of ancient cathedrals and mosques. Today ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edward Musole, PhD Law Student, University of New England Girts Ragelis/ShutterstockRecent trends show Australians are increasingly buying wearables such as smartwatches and fitness trackers. These electronics track our body movements or vital signs to provide data throughout the day, with ...
Papua New Guinea experienced a significant earthquake on 24 March in East Sepik and there has also been recent flooding there and in surrounding provinces. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yousuf Mohammed, Dermatology researcher, The University of Queensland Maridav/Shutterstock You wake up, stagger to the bathroom and gaze into the mirror. No, you’re not imagining it. You’ve developed face wrinkles overnight. They’re sleep wrinkles. Sleep wrinkles are temporary. But as your ...
The Environment Select Committee has just announced that 60 percent of individuals who asked to speak at the hearings will not be heard. This equates to almost 700 people who made individual submissions and more than 1000 more who made a form submission. ...
The Royal New Zealand Ballet is performing Swan Lake around the country. What kind of dream does the ballet sell?Before going to see the Royal New Zealand Ballet perform Swan Lake, I had about as much familiarity with the plot of this ballet as could be expected from having ...
A new poem by Auckland poet Eamonn Tee. High Tide at Local Maxima It is only going to get worse. The streams will be narrow and fickle. The week will bend and buckle like a pot-bellied waist. You will make it to the weekend with one ...
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The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 James by Percival Everett (Mantle, $38) A retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from ...
By Kamna Kumar in Suva Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Henry Puna stressed the importance of media freedom and its link to the climate and environmental crisis at the 2024 World Press Freedom Day event organised by the University of the South Pacific’s journalism programme. Under the theme “A Planet for ...
Tara Ward previews a new local TV series offering alternative visions of motherhood. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. A woman is clambering up the side of her two-story house, clinging desperately to a drainpipe. Nearby, her child is perched on the ...
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The Free Speech Union welcomes the decision by the Department of Internal Affairs, and Minister Brooke Van Velden, to abandon proposals to further regulate online speech. ...
Its new building in Wellington will not be nearly big enough for all its records, and it has also run out of money to build its new storage facility in Levin. ...
BusinessNZ is congratulating the Minister of Climate Change for his work in achieving cross-party consensus for a way forward on climate adaptation. ...
Recent research reveals the repeal of smokefree measures is not only bad for our health, but also the economy. The Government has repealed various smokefree measures to ensure it keeps collecting $1.2 billion a year in tobacco taxes, in order to pay for tax cuts already being delivered to ...
The club’s surprisingly good season is built on the desire to prove a random A-League YouTuber wrong… and a few other factors.“There’s no way that Wellington Phoenix play finals this year. I can’t see it happening at all.” Those are the words of Lachlan Raeside, an Australian football content ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By César Albarrán-Torres, Senior Lecturer, Department of Media and Communication, Swinburne University of Technology Apple TV+ As one of billions of bilingual individuals in the world, it disappoints me when a film or TV show with characters of a non-English-speaking background is ...
The under-utilised course is a waste of space, and with a little political will, it could be turned into something better. For the duration of her stay in Wellington, my long-suffering cousin listened to me rant about golf courses. They’re bad for the environment: water intensive and pesticide heavy. They ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy Corderoy, Medical doctor and PhD candidate studying involuntary psychiatric treatment, School of Psychiatry, UNSW Sydney shop_py/Shutterstock Picture two people, both suffering from a serious mental illness requiring hospital admission. One was born in Australia, the other in Asia. Hopefully, ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Goss, Adjunct Associate Professor, Health Research Institute, University of Canberra Government spending on health has been growing so rapidly that a decade ago the then health minister Peter Dutton called it “unmanageable” and “unsustainable”. Health spending grew in real terms by ...
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Writer Rebecca K Reilly breaks down the national book awards. What are the Ockhams?The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are our annual national awards for books published for adults, and have existed in this form since 2016. There are four categories: Fiction, Poetry, General Non-fiction and Illustrated Non-fiction. There ...
Wellington City Council should keep its 34% ownership share in Wellington International Airport, argue Unions Wellington spokespeople Finn Cordwell and Ashok Jacob. Insanity, as the saying goes, is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Wellington City Council (WCC) is yet again proposing to dispose ...
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Because the German Nazis murdered millions of your people in World War Two, is not a blank cheque you can cash in, giving you a moral authority to murder other people and take over their land..
Yesterday at the Nakba day rally in Auckland's Aotea Square, much to the dismay of the bloodthirsty tankies, Palestinian and Ukrainian flags flew together.
Green MP Golriz Ghahraman addressed the assembled crowd and spoke of both Palestinian and Ukraine peoples' struggles against the brutal military powers of Russia and Israel.
Chants from the crowd,
"1234 We Don't Want Your Bloody War – 2468 Stop the Killing Stop the Hate"
"From Auckland to Palestine Killing Reporters is a Crime"
Chinas property market continues to unwind…
"In a separate statement, Sunac said its aggregated sales in March and April fell 65% from a year ago due to COVID-19 outbreaks in various cities, and its refinancing and asset disposal plans did not materialise after a series of rating downgrades earlier this year.
The firm confirmed it missed the Wednesday deadline for a $29.5 million interest payment on the October 2023 bond that was required to be repaid last month, and it does not expect it will pay three other coupons due last month totalling $75.3 million before the 30-day grace periods expire, or pay other senior notes when they become due."
https://morns.ca/2022/05/15/chinese-developer-sunac-misses-bond-repayment-expects-to-miss-more/
Best of luck today Mr Shaw.
Your ERP is either going to be viewed as Rogernomics 2 or Nuclear Free 2.
More think big,at a time of high cost,high inflation and wealth destruction.
15B$ for electricity replacement alone,
https://twitter.com/business/status/1525819815755141120?cxt=HHwWgMCy1bnC5qwqAAAA
I scarcely bother reading Luke Malpass in Stuff- he is a boringly predictable right wing Aussie and just another self important twot in the MSM – but this line from his (badly sub-edited) piece today is such a jaw droppingly ideological statement it is worth repeating to a wider audience:
"…Rogernomics, named after then finance-minister Roger Douglas, was the overall policy suite that liberated the country’s economy from the dead hand of the state, with the goal of putting consumer choices at the centre of economic life, removing distortions, targeting state support and making New Zealand competition though comparative advantage…"
It tells us a lot about the MSM neoliberal consensus. Stuff, the self-proclaimed champions of establishment liberal identity politics, has no problem employing as its political editor a shill for the neoliberal economic settlement that has entrenched economic inequality in this country. Centrism in a single opinion piece. It isn't a coincidence that Josie Pagani also gets an opinion piece in Stuff.
And yes, I know it is an OPINION piece. But the MSM can't have it both ways. It can't spend it's time in perfromative puzzlement about the public's loss of trust in their objectivity and also promote such frankly ideological nonsense from it's senior political journalist. Once you read that you'll automatically adopt a partisan position towards all Malpass's other utterances on everything.
If the Herald exists to promote the interests of the Auckland squatocracy then Stuff exists to promote the views of the radical centre. Both exist primarily to promote the axiom that extreme individualism is the number one principle and defend the economic interests of their particular end of the trough.
So how do left-wing commentators and opinion writers like Simon Wilson fit into this characterization?
I see both left- and right-wing people complain about the impartiality and/or slant of The Herald and/or Stuff
Simon Wilson is the fig leaf of impartiality at the Herald.
Bryan Gould concurs. However I think he is too nice in assuming that the Herald even cares about self-respect. You need to already have self-respect in order to care about it – and if you never had it, your not about to acquire it any time soon.
Just so AB well put.
It never ceases to amaze me that Stuff begs us to "support quality journalism" at the bottom of every article, then it subjects us to third rate biased editorializing like a journalism student destined for a D minus see me.
again 100%
I wonder how NZ would have coped if we hadn't adopted the collective responsibility model during the pandemic.
Well, really I don't have to wonder, I only have to look at the UK and USA!
That wasn’t the mission and goals, stated or unstated, of Roger Douglas & gang?
The whole piece by Malpass was lazy and weak, an F for effort.
Just in case you’re wondering where progressive men telling women what they can speak about is going, that’s the statue of suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst in Manchester in the UK. Women were set to gather and speak, men in black stopped them.
https://twitter.com/bindelj/status/1525884203774132225
https://twitter.com/swwalesresister/status/1525845202438594562
https://twitter.com/duncanm/status/1525846979867205632
https://twitter.com/cauldronbourn/status/1525895517783343108
Reminder that trans people aren’t the problem, it’s gender ideologists and the left who now actively support men harassing women.
And anyone else they disagree with,
https://twitter.com/gspellchecker/status/1525923990929293313
the right side of history crowd.
Anybody labouring under the naive illusion that Trans Rights Activists are just seeking fairness for Transgender people and that gender ideology is not an anti women movement, this will shatter those illusions if you bother to pay attention.
The picture speaks a thousand words. Its disturbing. Shame on any men turning a blind eye to this.
Is posing the left as now supporting men actively harrassing women evidence based?
Yes. Not the posing bit, but my observation of men who have stood by while women have been subjected to blatant misogyny, and the men who have chosen to position themselves against gender critical feminists and with the gender ideologists who are doing that misogyny. Left wing men. Do you want receipts, very happy to share them.
The polls would indicate more left wing women than left wing men have chosen to position themselves against gender critical feminists.
So do the positions of most mainstream women's groups.
and it is now time for those that don't support these black clad wanna be ninjas to step up and fight for womens rights. Either they are women, or they are men in frocks, atm it seems that the Men in frock are upper hand.
but can you spot the male taking pictures of the women in attendance? I wonder what this male will do with those images?
https://twitter.com/Sorelle_Arduino/status/1525812479536017410/photo/1
https://twitter.com/Sorelle_Arduino/status/1525812479536017410/photo/2
Some people appear determined to get themselves on a watchlist.
Hard for the police to ID them even if they wanted to (which I’m doubtful of)
The British Police are too busy detaining women for stickering about women's rights, and telling men like Harry Miller (Fair Cop) that he should watch how he thinks. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-59727118
A great woman and a pound shop ninja. Photos indeed say more then words sometimes.
In case you have forgotten, support for transgender rights is higher among women than men.
It is not until a majority of women …
Yes, but they think we are talking about Carmen and Georgina. They have no idea that these days there is no requirement for any hormones or surgery to declare yourself trans. You don't even have to shave off your beard. Also, when the media showers violent and sadistic killers of women with female pronouns – they have no idea that trans identified men have exactly the same pattern of criminality as other men.
Please provide some evidence for that statement.
Mainstream organisations such as NOW in the USA and the NCOWNZ here have decided to support the "trans cause" in terms of gender identity choice being recognised by others.
A British survey indicates that support for transgender rights is strongest from left wing (Labour) women and the young.
https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2020/07/16/where-does-british-public-stand-transgender-rights
The detail of the poll above is useful for their government decision-making process.
It's not at that level with Pew (USA) yet.
There is the same greater level of support from Democrat registered, women and youth.
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/02/11/deep-partisan-divide-on-whether-greater-acceptance-of-transgender-people-is-good-for-society/
Their is not many who don't support Transgender rights here,the point is we are supporting Women rights not having them pushed back a hundred years.
What transgender rights?
Because I'd probably be one of those women for the most part.
It's where demands/ideology are impacting on women and children that discussions need to take place.
The women who support trans rights are being kind and haven't realized what gender ideology is about. Most of them haven't heard of autogynophilia.
We are socialized as girls to put others first and be kind and agreeable. It didn’t work with some of us and we see through this movement masquerading as human rights that so many progressives have fallen for.
Here is the unequivocal evidence that NZ is Zionist Israeli occupied territory
After citing MFAT's immoral advice in support of the apartheid Israeli state, the soon to be departed Mayor, Andy Foster decided that Palestinians are persona non grata in Wellington.
The Stuff report concludes with the following, "The Embassy of Israel in Wellington could not be reached for comment but Zionist Federation of New Zealand President Rob Berg said having the flag displayed on a public building in the capital city would cause distress to Israeli people. “It doesn't help promote peace,” he said, though confirmed that the action in New Zealand in itself would be highly unlikely to have any actual impact in Palestine or Israel."
Who the fuck cares what the Israeli people or Mr. Berg think. How many live in New Zealand instead of Israel anyway? Once again, a self-appointed spokesperson seems to be pushing the bullshit line that all Jews are beholden to Zionism and Israel and that there is no place in the world that Palestinians are allowed to be recognised or able to live in peace – not even Wellington.
It is high time the Government adhered to its 'independent foreign policy' line instead of its unprincipled bending to the edicts of other states that do not even share this country's values.
This is what occupation looks like and this is what Israel does – it waits until people are at work then sends in busloads of settlers to steal their homes, and if they object then the Israeli army is called in and shoots the Palestinians.
https://twitter.com/Issaamro/status/1525100173327728641
Colonisation in progress. I guess it is colonisation that the western nation don't have an issue with.
Yeah Hebron is their post East Jerusalem enclave project (denying Arabs building consents in East Jerusalem and evictions attracting a similar crowd of opportunists).
There is annexation of land to the south. They have a far right wing MK led group attacking Palestinian market stalls in the streets (with IDF protection) – the urban equivalent of attacking village farmland.
Just another day in the…U.S.A=Buffalo mass shootings.
10 dead in mass shooting at a Buffalo supermarket; suspect arraigned (cnbc.com)
+
'At least 10,806 deaths were reported in the United States, including 398 minors, as 119 mass shootings have taken place across the US since the beginning of this year, according to data from The Gun Violence Archive.
Of those killed in the mass shootings across the US, 937 were minors, while another 8,558 people were injured by gunfire ,which shows an increase in both the number of deaths and injuries from gun violence in the country compared with the same period last year.'
List of mass shootings in the United States in 2022 – Wikipedia
119 Mass Shootings Reported in US since Beginning of 2022 – World news – Tasnim News Agency
Have to admit I was wondering why this particular one got so much attention here, given the population is about 330 million (I think) and the seeming ease they have to buy guns she ain't exactly rocket science that a certain proportion of that many people are going to be nutters, and they are going to have so many shootings/mass shootings.
I'm assuming the only reason it even made the news here while all the others don't is because he apparently mentioned ChCh.
"…I'm assuming the only reason it even made the news here while all the others don't is because he apparently mentioned ChCh…."
Showing the Chch shooters video is an offense, which didn't stop TVNZ News showing the first several seconds of the Buffalo shooters Facebook livestream as the lead item of the 6pm news last night. An utterly morally bankrupt and completely disgraceful editorial decision.
The livestream has been banned in NZ.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/467212/video-of-white-supremacist-s-mass-shooting-in-new-york-banned-in-new-zealand
As smithers would say…'nice win to Ukraine'
Ukraine wins 2022 Eurovision song contest as UK finishes second in Turin | Eurovision 2022 | The Guardian
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, welcomed the victory, Ukraine’s third since its 2003 Eurovision debut, and said “we will do our best” to one day host the contest in the port city of Mariupol. He underlined “Ukrainian Mariupol. Free, peaceful, rebuilt!”
Let's face it, the Ukraine could have put up a dog barking at a washing machine and they'd have won on the public vote.
haha your absolutely right sanc ! at first i thought the song title was ' stepania ' !!
Poots don’t care..
https://twitter.com/DarthPutinKGB/status/1525746141249273857
EU to accept gas for roubles good analysis from Alexander Mercouris in his daily update .Seems the sanctions against Russia have turned out to be a giant stone hefted by the US and the EU only to be dropped on their own feet .!!
Did you do any research into the rectitude and credibility of this nitwit, described by his own lawyer as not fully in control of his faculties?
/
Alexander Mercouris concocted a web of “tortuous deceit” to convince a client he was pursuing the bogus claim, including forging a Supreme Court judge’s signature, a tribunal heard.
He even alleged that Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, President of the Supreme Court, had him abducted and offered him a £50,000 bribe to abandon the case.
[…]
Mercouris, 51, later told his client he had managed to win her a £983,000 payout, prompting her to rack up debts in expectation of the windfall.
[…]
Next he told her he had applied for an interim £50,000 payment, then claimed his brother had stolen the whole £983,000.
https://archive.ph/4TA6p (torygraph)
https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/disciplinary_finding/76984.html
btw, winners host so Mariupal 2023, here we come!
I couldnt care less what you think of Mercouris joe I think he does a damn good job in his daily analysis which you're gonna find difficult if not impossible to find in MSM .Theres very few saints around joe and rather than ceaselessly digging up dirt and indulging in smears and slurs perhaps you could contribute something constructive concerning the topics on the table ?
Good news!
https://twitter.com/mdmitri91/status/1525984602573180929
Mariupol a few days ago peace at last !!
Interesting article The office spaces transforming into luxury apartments
Quite the holistic approach to making rapid changes in the fight to halt/reverse the effects of climate change for not a lot of money (relatively), with plenty of added value.
Urban remote working frees up office space, significantly reduces commuting with less cars on the road, reducing the burden of public transport for non office workers and school goers who have to travel.
Rather than rip up the ERA and ruin the green belt around our cities for housing, not to mention the resources needed to prepare, manufacture and make, government should pay to convert the redundant office space into decent sized, minimum 150m2 apartments, selling them to individuals not landlords, at an interest free fixed priced per block, based on a % of income, like a state house for life you actually own for beneficiaries, or just a step on the ladder at a good price. Idea wouldn't be to make the money back, but if you're going to have to spend more to get less, for fewer people, and wreck the countryside to do it, anything back is a bonus.
i worked in the new Headquaters of Nike in Holland many years ago. The whole complex was desigend to be transformed into apartments by simply removing 'non fixed' walls. Plus a few other environmental goodies that were in use two decades ago.
It makes perfect sense as most of these place are open plan, and could/ should be transformed but the question to me would be the sound insulation. NZ is not a place known to think about noise before building.
https://mcdonoughpartners.com/projects/nike-european-headquarters/
Not being an engineer or architect I wouldn't know, but I'm certain there would be a low cost solution somewhere to minimise or mitigate sound leakage.
Done nicely and made to be the opposite of the tower block cages I've known, there are a lot of wins possible. Get housing as an issue out of the headlines, signal the equitable way forward the government wants to move forward, all that 'we are one' good feelz stuff, and free up time for them to focus on the hard jobs. :tic:
Nike was given a list by the Dutch government of what it needs to do to get a building permit. One of the clauses was that he building needs to be transformable into residential units, that there can only be a limited number of carparks, and that double glazing, insulation are used extensively. Their heating system is interesting, as it is passive.
As for the blocks, in Europe, France, England, Germany – Plattenbau buildings were used in the 60 to make up for the shortfall of houses and the lack of decent housing. They did not last very long in many cases, some only lasted some 30 odd years before they were destroyed, but they did fulfil a need. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plattenbau
High density must go up, and fwiw, in NZ we seem to be stuck in the 60/70 as we are building only Plattenbau type buildings when going up, and sadly these buildings will not age well.
'always be sincere…even if you don't really …mean it'!
budget expectations=Stuff NZ.
'
Sharon Cullwick, executive officer, NZ Property Investors Federation:
'Some relief for private rental home providers so they can help the 25,000 people out of emergency accommodation and into a house. Examples of this include changing the bright-line test back to two years and allowing private property providers to again claim interest as a mortgage tax deductible expense.'
There are a few bad landlords in NZ, but Kiaga Ora seem to be one of the worse!
Terrified Rotorua family sleeping in lounge, children receiving therapy after death threats from Kāinga Ora neighbour – NZ Herald
Mental health issues have overwhelmed our systems ability to cope.
And Kainga Ora is not protecting its good tenants from its bad tenants.
Mental health is one thing, letting someone terrorize their neighbourghs is another thing altogether. Kainga Ora is not fit for the job it is supposedly hired to do. Close it down, fire all the clowns there currently employed – include the Minister for that Portfolio for good measure and start from scratch.
Btw, mental health will not get better in NZ as we are not investing in it.
Kainga Ora is in an impossible situation and expected to perform the impossible….it has to protect tenants from themselves all the while not infringing on the tenants rights.
We have created the mental health crisis by misapplying reasonable principles…the theory of care in the community was sound provided it was sufficiently resourced (it never was) and there was provision for those for whom it was ineffective (there isnt).
How much resource can we provide and if the required resource is provided what do we forgo to provide it?
All we expect Kainga Ora to do is to protect ALL of its tenants and not just some.
If this would just be one case i would agree, but there are so many of these cases now that clearly there is an issue here in how KO properties are allocated and how KO staff is missing in action or simply lazy and not doing their job..
So again, take the 'domestic terrorist' out of the property and give that house to a family who will not terrorize the community but will be a good tenant. Send the domestic terrorist to one of the run down motels in which we house law abiding citizens for lack of decent housing.
And do what with the problematic tenant(s)?….and the public and political backlash of mistreating the unwell and now homeless.
And as an aside when did a state housing provider become a mental health facility (without expertise or resource)?
You send the problematic tenant into the motels in which we currently house law abiding citizens and their children. We don't seem to have an issue warehousing decent people in motels for years on end without any help in sight.
Or are you really advocating that in NZ to get a state hosue you have to become a gang banger, drug peddler, pimp and abusive fuckwit?
And you might have missed it, but the same crew who runs Kainga Ora, runs WINZ, runs the Ministry of Health, the ministry of business and innovation and gasps runs the government with a full majority in an MMP environment. The Labour Party. The blames lies with them. So if you feel there are not enough resources being spread out by the government to cover both mental health and housing, maybe you write a letter to the dear leader who was gonna do something about child hood poverty (thanks to poor parents) to finally let loose the purse where they only let loose with meaningless words.
I advocate no such thing as you should well realise….obviously not all KO tenants meet your description but certainly a problematic proportion do….and motels are de facto KO housing in any case.
Importantly my opinion of the resourcing of both mental health and housing is preceded by copious evidence from those in the fields that establish the lack.
I note that there is no response to the question asked…..what is foregone to make such a provision?
Agree – wherever they get put, they will be a problem tenant.
If the landlord owns neighbouring properties, they have an obligation to those neighbouring tenants. If not, they don't. KO (and any other social provider e.g. council housing) would usually come under that as they usually own multiple houses in an area (though not always), while many (not all) private landlords don't.
"We have created the mental health crisis by misapplying reasonable principles…the theory of care in the community was sound provided it was sufficiently resourced (it never was) and there was provision for those for whom it was ineffective (there isnt).
How much resource can we provide and if the required resource is provided what do we forgo to provide it?"
Pat, there was 1.8 billion set aside for Mental Health programmes and what has happened to it. The Department is in crisis and is getting worse by the hour. Its a disgrace how the wrap around services are not being met.
I have a close family member languishing in a remand centre waiting for court appearances. This person is seriously unwell with mental health issues. This would never had happened if this person had received the wrap around care from a caseworker and been regularly watched. We are just one of thousands of wretched families desperate to get help for our sick loved ones. When I am calm enough there are going to be letters sent to the head of the District Health Board and to Andrew Little lodging a formal complaint who frankly, has been derelict in his duties towards administrating the 1.8 billion. This correspondence will not be answered of that I am sure but its going to be done nevertheless.
"Pat, there was 1.8 billion set aside for Mental Health programmes and what has happened to it. The Department is in crisis and is getting worse by the hour. Its a disgrace how the wrap around services are not being met."
Yes, but as I frequently point out money is not a resource….though it may allow you to purchase available resources….the resources are not available.
One of the reasons the resources are not available is we had determined that institutional care was undesireable….and certainly it was not the solution for many.
Consider that if we disperse those deemed needing assistance throughout the community and a proportion of those need 24/7 care/ oversight how many bodies, preferably trained, would be required ….bodies, skills unavailable to other needs.
The numbers are staggering
Well, there are practical alternatives which we could put in place now – without the multi-year investment in increasing numbers of houses or mental health providers. Of course we should be doing both of those things – but they'll take a lot of time to make a dent in the issue.
However, they tend to be fairly controlling, and a bit one-size-fits all – and don't go down well with the touchy-feely part of the community.
* Institute all motels (and some apartment complexes) as controlled or restricted housing. Concierge (paid and resident) on site who is responsible for liaising with all associated providers over any issues (crime, mental health, welfare, etc) which arise. Would require a waiver to privacy – because the State (in the person of this individual, and the KO residential complex manager, needs to know).
* KO should just buy the motels – the transfer of wealth to the private sector over this is just ridiculous (I said at the time of first lockdown they should do this – and they should have got a bargain – since motel owners had no income stream)
* Restricted housing allows no visitors – residents can leave to visit family, etc. – but no random people allowed in (reduces gang issues, and other problem people). Only residents listed on the tenancy may be present within the complex. Evict non-residents. Trespass them if it's repeated. [NB: this is critical – a lot of the problem people aren't necessarily the residents themselves, but their associates]
* Collocate together suitable types of residents in housing complexes (i.e. not meth addicts or gang connections next to a family unit).
* Require parents to have children in school or pre-school, attend check ups etc. [NB: schools/pre-schools should be walking distance – concierge can organize walking school bus, etc.]
* Require people to take their medication (may need concierge to hold/administer this).
* Empower security (because the police are just as overwhelmed) to arrest/restrain lawbreakers (violence, intimidation, etc.).
* Establish a policy of transferring out the anti-social people. Even if it's to a different motel complex. The rest of the community needs to know and believe that action will be swift and effective (i.e. that it's safe to complain – you don't have to endure abuse)
* Partner with expert agencies (e.g. City Mission) to build accommodation for the 'problem' individuals (not defining what the problem is – but the expression is anti-social behaviour). They have the expertise to administer/run these. KO should give them the money and get out of their way.
*Admit that the community care model has failed a large sector of the mental health population. Since there is neither care nor community. Bite the bullet and re-establish the secure care that is evidently needed by this sector of society. [This is medum-long term – hard to do quickly]
Basically a paternal state. You have the opportunity to be in charge of your life, but if you demonstrably can't manage it, we'll do it for you.
Individuals/families who show they can manage their own lives, can then transition to independent living in existing KO properties.
Individuals/families who show they can't manage, can also be transitioned back to the managed environment.
Well – KO seem to be determined to add to the load.
The mental health of the multiple families, who are, let us not forget, innocent victims here – being terrorized by other KO 'clients', will certainly be deteriorating.
Triage – the appropriate method of dealing with an overwhelming resource crisis – in this case both limits on housing and on mental health capacity – seems to be a foreign concept to them.
Triage to where?…and by whom?
Triage by KO. They already make decisions about housing allocation. Unfortunately, they're not following triage principles.
And, if you are a danger or a threat to your neighbours (as we have seen in *multiple* publicly reported instances – not to mention all the private ones which never make the papers) – you get to leave the nice KO house/neighbourhood, and be allocated a (much less desirable) motel unit.
KO have a *legal* responsibility as the landlord (of their other tenants) to ensure that problem tenants are not terrorizing their neighbours (recent Tenancy Tribunal case made this crystal clear)
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/kainga-ora-residents-tenancy-tribunal-complaint-after-neighbour-hell-for-three-years/JHLXUDIR4RO72KZKNQRUNNA7ME/?c_id=1&objectid=12515078&ref=rss
KO housing managers can't be expected to be experts on mental health (and from a privacy perspective, I expect that they don't even have access to any information about the mental health of their clients).
They are, however, expected by both the public and their other clients, to manage disruptive, dangerous and terrorizing behaviour from their clients.
If they can't do this (and Poto Williams appears to be thoroughly ineffective in directing them in this area) – then NZ voters will be very tempted to vote for a party who claims that they can.
Just to be clear, you advocate that KO should evict problematic tenants and it is not their concern if they have no where else to go or if the cause of the behaviour is a mental health issue?
It would be nice if you’d actually read my comment.
Just to be clear. I'm advocating that problem tenants should be transferred to less desirable locations (typically motels).
KO apparently think it's fine for families with children to be in motel accommodation for years.
[I'd also advocate for motel unit style accommodation to be much more strictly monitored and regulated – especially for people with mental health and or addiction issues. But that's a different topic]
It's not the job of the landlord to decide whether the issue is mental health problems or something else.
You seem to be advocating that people who might have mental health issues should have a free rein to terrorize the neighbourhood with zero consequences.
"You seem to be advocating that people who might have mental health issues should have a free rein to terrorize the neighbourhood with zero consequences."
Not at all…indeed Im advocating that problem KO tenants be evicted, after one or two ignored warnings and engagement with relevant agencies…however I dont view moving to motels as anything other than transferring the problems location having said that motels are effectively KO housing.
The question then becomes, if the cause is a mental health issue what is done about the individual….we have barely any residential institutions and those we do have are already overwhelmed?
So its back to resourcing …if we are to resource the required what are we willing to forgo?….or are we not willing to forgo anything?
The problematic tenants without mental health issues similarly should be evicted after suitable opportunity to reform….however the problem there is what constitutes a mental health disability?
Wherever they get put, they will be a problem tenant. If the landlord owns neighbouring properties, they have an obligation to those neighbouring tenants. If not, they don't.
KO (and any other social housing provider e.g. council horsing) would usually come under that as they usually own multiple houses in an area (though not always), while many (not all) private landlords don't. KO evicting someone doesn't stop those people being problem tenants, just stops them being problem tenants of KO. There's nothing to stop a problem tenant getting a private property in the same area and continuing to terrorise the neighbours, but now with no recourse by KO or anyone else.
For people who think that's a theoretical problem, Christchurch has plenty of KO housing in Aranui where the tenants in the private housing in the same area are no better, or worse, but nobody has anywhere else to go.
Why is it our responsibility to house anti social people (unless they have children)??
IWhy all the "but where would they go if we boot them out?" Aside from if they have kids living with them (and maybe they shouldn't) in the words of Rhett Butler in Gone With the Wind, "frankly my dear I don't give a dam"
If they are mentally ill of course they may need hospitalitsation and should be able to be sectioned under the Act, if they are threatening others. Despite what most people think most people with severe mental illness are not threatening and dangerous. If they are psychotically ill, many are too paranoid to leave the house.
The Govt has to take responsiblity for the mess that is mental health. What they don't seem to get is that it all rises and falls on competent well trained staff who are well resourced and using evidenced based treatments. Re-structuring the health. system is the wrong priority. Somehow they seem to think if they fix the bureaucracy then jolly good show. Well done us. Same with having a Commission Enquiry into Mental Health, re-establishing the Mental Health Commission, yada yada yadh.
If not the state, then a private landlord, who as explained above may have no obligations to neighbours at all, in which case KO could evict someone only for the former tenant to move into a nearby house owned privately and be a worse issue as now nobody can do anything. Aranui is one suburb in Christchurch where this is entirely possible (I grew up there and it hasn't changed much) and there are plenty of state houses and also plenty of private houses with landlords who don't care how loud the tenants are.
If the state is not the housing provider of last resort in this manner, they will still be the provider of last resort as Corrections.
Christchurch nights can drop to -5, some parts of the South Island can drop below -10 – that can be lethal for someone unprepared for it, especially the homeless. Executing someone by hypothermia via eviction seems disproportionately severe, but maybe I'm just a bleeding heart liberal.
I read the article and wondered about whose job it is to deal with behaviour which might be illegal. (threatening, etc)
Is Kainga Ora to police illegal behaviour of its tenants? Harassing the neighbours? Fraud? Not having a vehicle WOF? Shop lifting?
What is described is terrible behaviour and awful for those being harassed. And certainly sounds like a job for the police. The problem is the behaviour not whose house they're living in.
Think its fairly well established that prisons are pretty much our only mental health institutions now.
The problem is that he police wont come in many cases, if they do show up its after the fact to take notes and appear as doing something, and then they leave without the criminal element so they might as well stay put have a cuppa and a donut and do nothing.
We currently do not a a good job in locking violent elements up, or sentencing them to anything meaning full, and even if we do that same person will be send 'home' on Home D to continue doing what they did before. Criming and terrorising their community and families.
A further problem is, even when the most serious of the cases are charged – they are then bailed back to the same address – to continue the criminal and intimidating behaviour, and terrorize those people who've been brave enough to complain.
The court system is so delayed – that it is likely to take *years* for the case to be heard. And, even then, if/when convicted – they're most likely to have a community sentence and be back in the same address.
In any case, behaviour should not have to be at a criminal level to be dealt with by the landlord. Fraud, failing to have a WOF and shop lifting, have minimal effect on the nearby residents. Harassment, burglary, drug dealing, intimidation and anti-social behaviour have a huge impact.
In terms of tenancy law, if the landlord owns neighbouring properties, they have an obligation to those neighbouring tenants to provide "quiet enjoyment", to use the legal term, which includes the quiet-ness (or otherwise) of the neighbouring tenants. KO (and any other social housing provider) would usually come under that as they usually own multiple houses in an area (though not always), while many (not all) private landlords don't.
If the landlord doesn't own neighbouring properties, that obligation doesn't apply with respect to neighbouring tenants as they don't have any.
There is also a tenant responsibility not to disturb neighbours, but landlords are not required to police that if the neighbours aren't also their tenants (as above). They can choose to (tenancy legislation provides for it), but can't be made to, and there is no recourse for neighbours unless they are also tenants of the same landlord.
All that said, problem tenants are problem tenants, so KO (or any other provider) evicting tenants just passes it onto other landlords who may or may not be equipped to deal with them.
This always strikes me as a wicked problem in that no solutions are particularly good from the government perspective because the bad tenants are the root cause of the problem so will be problematic for the state both as landlord and more widely in terms of societal wellbeing, but I wonder if KO maintaining units in more rural areas (e.g. city fringes) for particularly problematic tenants would be the best solution of a collection of bad solutions.
The real problem is poverty mental health meth and gangs. Almost every story mentions one of these issues. Mental Health has always been the poor cousin in Health. The pandemic shortages both in materials and staff, and labelling continues.
No real suggestions are out forward to meet these problems, which used to be handled by evictions in the past. These people lived in vehicles or on the street under Paula Bennett's rules regarding meth, which were not science based.
So any effort to change that has to provide temporary systems while builds are under way. This is then able to be called slums terrorism and other names. No one wants these people as neighbours, so cries of what are …" Police Landlords or Poto or Andrew doing.??? "
They are running to stand still in a world utterly pressured by covid's supply line problems monetary fall out and "over it" attitudes of "Big Daddy" fix it for us now!! Community means caring for all, not just the deserving. Painful as that is.
There does need to be a cut off point for bad behaviour, and the case discussed here seems to meet the criteria. However, if there is no easy answer, as the building of homes is slowed by the pandemic. To say people are not trying to improve this situation is a stretch. It is not a situation that is able to be fixed easily, or all those right wing experts would have it sorted by now.
So concrete suggestions are welcome.
Absolutely agree that there is a mix of issues at the heart of the issues in most cases, and KO or any other landlord can't do much about that.
Also, while social housing providers are often seen as the landlords of last resort, especially the state and council-funded ones, arguably the actual landlord of last resort is Corrections i.e. prison.
The sum of everything that everybody has said is that: the problem is unfixable if we allow it to occur on the scale we do. My only concrete suggestion is to eliminate all financial, food and housing insecurity as a right of citizenship, see what social pathologies remain afterwards, and have well-trained and resourced professionals trying to mop up the residue. Give it 50 years and we might be in better shape.
"… the problem is unfixable if we allow it to occur on the scale we do. "
Somebody gets it…..and the likely timeframe to see it remedied, if ever.
Meanwhile no one has answered the original question….where do the resources come from?
Excuse me if i am mistaken but don't landlords have the ability to evict tennants, even if it can't be done immediately? Or do tennants just get to choose when and if they leave a rental property
They do, when they have good reason.However KO has an internal policy of not evicting. Where would the problematic tenants go?
If the issue is noise then getting council involved is another option
Yes understood Weka. It is this internal policy of not evicting I have a problem with
I have a problem too, although I don't think the solution is for them to just evict people (where would they go?).
Swordfish's parents situation was an obvious one where eviction should have happened early on. Whichever government agency should then have stepped up and sorted out the issues with the evicted tenant.
jImmy this is why my sympathy was limited for Wellingtonians, especailly workers in the capital cries of how bad it was for them having the protesters at Parliament! I realized it can't have been easy, but where were their squells of outrage about the poor people in Kainga Ora flats putting up with this shit, while the landlord i.e the govt did NOTHING………
BTW I have been wondering how Swordfish has been doing. Anyone know?
Good point!
Yes I have been thinking of Swordfish lately.
Observing the changing narrative of a slippery ScoMo rather than merely reporting it …
Anyone know what the Chloe Swarbick allegedly "$200,000 taxpayer funding of a politically partisan puff piece," is all about?
Where did you see / hear about it?
I noticed the "story"several times on Twitter from amongst others Farrar and Plunkett. They seemed to be pretty emphatic.
There is a documentary about her made with NZ on Air funding that has got aging misogynists like Sean Plunkett all in a tizz.
Sean Plunket of ‘ungrateful hua’ infamy; say no more.
It will be a nice fluff story about a young women who is going to come out as Non binary for a bit of 'most marginalized and vulnerable minority' coinage; just before announcing her co-leadership with Marama Davidson for the Green Party just in time for the Election.
btw, the person who is going to do this soap is the same that was doing the CHCH movie.
A waste of tax payers money. If either one of them, Chloe or Marama have any functioning braincells left they will say 'NO, thank you', it would not be proper.
I do hope that there will be documentaries made of other Politians, also funded by the government in the lead up to the next election, just for fairness sake.
Not holding my breath though.
"A waste of tax payers money. If either one of them, Chloe or Marama have any functioning braincells left they will say 'NO, thank you', it would not be proper."
Agree. If any National or Act politician was in this scenario, I would be just as scathing.
yep, and everyone here would demand that they do that.
Waste of money. end of.
" come out as non binary for a bit of most marginalized and vulnerable minority coinage". Lol Sabine! Love your work!
NZ on Air funding decision
https://www.nzonair.govt.nz/news/december-2021-funding-decisions/
Questions, I assume, over how partisan the documentary will be (I don't know where you're reading the commentary from)
Like the one on the Chch shootings which morphed into a piece on Ardern – to similar controversy.
Should public money be going into documentaries on sitting MPs? Can this be construed as election advertising? (guess it depends when it's released). I know that MPs have to be careful about when in the electoral cycle, they release biographies. And bios (books, that is) aren’t publicly funded.
Thanks all. 18 months out from an election can hardly be electioneering I think.
Takes a long time to make a film. The timing would have had it on track to be potentially released shortly before the 2023 election – but (see below) commitment is that it will be released after the election.
Which addresses the electioneering issue.
In that case, perhaps NZ on Air should do a similar $200k documentary on Chris Luxon now as "18 months out from election can hardly be electioneering".
That would get people on here triggered. But also a documentary on say Grant Robertson could be good too.
But Chloe is interesting Jimmy.
Is she?
I dunno, a doco on Luxons personal life could be quite enlightening.
Think that most pollies would reject the possibility with horror – especially if it had any prospect of being neutral 'warts and all' coverage – let alone critical.
I remember, years ago, watching a doco about several minor candidates standing for an election – it might have been "Campaign" set in Wellington Central in the 1996 election (not certain at this late date – much water has passed under the bridge of my memory).
But one stand-out for me was that the professional politicans curated their image with great care – it was the amateurs who were open.
A Luxon doco, interesting?
More disturbing than anything, I imagine; footage from his “hands-in-the-air, brothers and sisters”, church meetings, anyone?
I said enlightening for a reason
I see what you mean, and you were correct.
If someone submitted a compelling proposal they likely would fund it. NZoA is just following it's process.
Nope, we have to question why these people are getting $200,000 to make a film about a current female politician. How on earth can this be justified.?
She is an interesting woman who has already achieved a lot. Unlike most of us.
I think it could be an interesting docu and I would probaby have a watch, but only once she is no longer a sitting politician.
Your absence from the audience will be noted with deep regret, Anker.
Oh come on Robert lets stick to the arguements. Do you think it is a good idea that NZ on Air is giving funding for a doco called Becoming Chole when she is a sitting MP. I mean I would have thought there would be discomfort on all political sides about this, even if the movie is shown after the election. Chloe likely has a long career in politics.
BTW I agree with all Sabine says on this issue. $200,000 would have bought a hell of a lot of counselling sessions…………..
Just found that it's set to release after the next election – so addresses the electoral cycle question.
https://www.deganz.co.nz/funded-full-length-documentary-to-follow-mp-chloe-swarbrick/
Director is Charlotte Evans – who has already made "OK Chlöe" – a short doco – which was fairly hagiographic. Guess that's always an issue with doco makers – if they are dealing with an 'attractive' subject (speaking here of political rather than personal attributes), it's hard to be balanced.
The government should simply not fund something like that, or the government should fund documentaries on all Politians – every single one of them, and then we can watch the trailers for these upcoming awesomely interesting movies during the election period.
And of course this will become the same public shitshow as it was with the CHCH movie which was incidentally being made by the same person who is gonna do the Chloe Swarbruck Fluff Piece.
https://theplatform.kiwi/opinions/political-puff-pieces-funded-by-your-tax-dollar
Plunketts take on it. I am sure the NZ tax payers will be thrilled about this! And the beneficiaries who are struggling to put food on the table, will have some nice entertainment, after they have eaten bread and butter for tea.
It doesn't take much for you to start sounding like the Tax Payer's Onion, does it. As NZoA funding goes it isn't a huge amount – do you have a problem with state funding of culture in general?
Tax payers Onion? Union maybe.
I hate wasteful spending. I really do.But I am not against money being spent on culture. I am in agreement with Sabine, we either have movies made about all politicians or none (except of course those who have retired which will give us a historical perspective)
You will notice I often talk about the need to pay nurses and Dr's very, very very well. All so the care workers who are currently on strike. I have no idea where the tax payers union stand on paying nurses and drs more. But despite what you might think, I am not their mouth piece.
I am a Labour Party member who has freed myself from having to support their policies unless I agree with them. It wonderful being able to be an independent thinker
IMHO, we should not be making 'movies' about any sitting politician, but there is a bigger issue here. The opposition are running a campaign to paint the government as profligate spenders, linking that spending to inflation, and then trying to appeal to the 'squeezed middle'. The amounts are insignificant in the context of total government spending, but articles like this, featuring a photo of 2 cabinet ministers beside a $5,000 O (that will come back to bite them) just fuels the narrative.
NZs been doing this kind of thing for some time. Exhibit A being 'Were here to help', featuring sitting politician (and self styled perk buster) Rodney Hide, yes, partly funded by the tax payer.
I particularly enjoyed the part where Hide tells Henderson that he better not be lying because that would be curtains for Hides credibility to be pushing a tax frauds case. IRD staff told me the story is loosely 'based on a true story'.
Yeah there's an element of self promotion in that (Hide co-wrote the book) but the story isn't about Hide, it's about Dave Henderson, and Hide's brief role is played by an actor. So same but different. Either way, these movies/plays should be made after they have left politics, and they shouldn't be getting taxpayer support.
My point is that it should simply not be done. Not for her, nor for anyone else.
I would enjoy televised series that presents ALL of our dear suits and wanna be suits in parliament, i am sure there are some interesting characters and also interesting locations and with that their vey own needs. That would be a public service, and maybe actually inform the people about the people they actually voting for.
disclaimer: past voted Labour, Greens, last election was the first time that i did vote for neither of them and personally can't see myself voting for them ever again in the near future.
We have money to waste in this country, and we waste it on the people that least need it.
These 200.000 would have better been spend as a donation to Gumboot Friday for some mental health counceling services that the Goverment finds so hard to provide, and hey, i hear we have a mental health crisis.
Or to fund an emergency doctor or just an axtra bed in that Emergency Department where people wait 27 hour to be admitted to a bed while having a full blown mental health episode, but can't be cared for for lack of a bed.
Or pay full rent for 8 – 10 years for a law abiding family stuck in a run down motel in dead end town. Or a new grant for a charity that hands out food parcels to full time worker. Or maybe winter clothes for kids that have none. Or OR or
But obviously what NZ needs the most now is a fluff piece about Chloe Swarbruck, of all people.
Priorities, the woke liberals in NZ government departments have them.
NZ on Air is independent and autonomic. It does not fund mental health counselling, public health, or social housing.
NZ on Air funds:
https://www.govt.nz/organisations/nz-on-air/
I’m glad to have cleared up your confusion.
You listen to The Platform?
Why, in God's name?
why not.
Or maybe ask Norman Russel why he appears on it?
But there is no reason why people should not to listen to that podcast, unless of course you might be afraid of being confronted with a point of view that would challenge yours, and that of course can’t be? Right?
Why not?
Because Plunkett is a plonker, who rails against nuanced thought, decrying it, "woke", who bullies those callers who don't conform to his blunt, Actoidal world-view and who is relentlessly anti-Jacinda and the present (and future) Government.
That's why.
Who needs to listen to that whining pish?
You think Norman Russel is pish? Did the dude loose his Green card? Lol.
Or are yo upset that these guys set something up that did not need some tax payers funds like the Chloe Swarbruck 'pish'?
hahahahah, funny this.
Your Russel Norman comment is disingenuous.
I'm not upset. I've listened to hours of Plunkett.
His work is pish.
🙂
Norman Russel "could" be pish? …..whoever he is : ).
Cant say I've ever listened too much Plunkett…but the small amount I have seen and read….would indeed rate a high pish factor….
Well Robert if you read the article about the Chole film you will find Plunkett actually gives praise to Jacinda for her stance on the Chch film
Are you suggesting our youngest ever MP, elected off her own merits rather than the list, and advocating difficult progressive agendas like cannabis reform isn't inherently interesting? Or is it, to quote you:
Who is this Swarbruck Fluff fella – any relation to Nadia?
Haven't watched "OK Chlöe", although imho Swarbrick is inspiring (sooo fluffable), along with Yousafzai, Nakate, Thunberg et al. – young sisters doing it themselves.
So who is thinking the stupid congestion charge is going to be announced today for Auckland and Welly?
Call me Mr Dimmest person on earth, but still find it weird the govt controls it and not Councils.
Like many taxes, what economists think are good, and what the public will accept, are not always in alignment, so will be interesting to see the talking points on it if it does come to fruition.
Agree that if they are going to introduce it, it should be as an option for councils to consider rather than central government doing it on their behalf, but public opinion of congestion charges is low, so maybe the concern is councils wouldn't use them if they did get introduced as an option.
Yeah I just find it odd.
I am assuming the tax is going to central govt and not the actual city councils as well?
It is just silly.
Any capital works that a congestion charge may eventually fund would be going on roads that are close to, if not 100% Government funded. So makes sense that the funds are Government controlled.
Councils may think they control arterial roads by in reality it’s a Government show through Waka Kotahi
ChrisT-From the discussions I heard on RNZ last week the congestion charge has widescale support across the political spectrum. It was rather refreshing.
Trucking companies in particular have seen the effects in other countries where roads flow much better when a CC is in place.
I heard that as well.
But with all due respect this doesn't mean I have to agree with it.
For a start how are they going to police it?
I get it in places like London where there are millions of people and worth doing. But we are a small population country and can see it costing more to oversee, than they get back in funding.
And I should have also said. In my personal opinion.
We have the whole Covid and places going broke thing going on.
I am no climate change dehier. I appreciate completely how important it is. But geezes the priorities seem to be screwed up at this particular time with the inflation crisis going on.
People are having trouble affording to feed their kids atm.
The timing for this is just dim. But way to lose the next election.
There's broad support among economists as well, but polls don't seem to show much support of the public for the concept.
For reasons discussed before the congestion charge will hit those with the least resources – who are not loud voices in the political polling or surveying.
The intention is to persuade people out of private vehicles and into PT.
When a congestion charge is suggested a few assumptions are made:
1. That the public transport options for people into the congestion area are accessible, efficient, reliable and affordable.
2. That the congestion charge will be a persuasive tool for change and not a punitive or exclusive one.
For central city commuters this might be true. But as you travel further out of the central city, it becomes less so.
In fact, it is most likely that many Aucklanders live where they can afford to – not where it is convenient. Those with less financial resources will often live further out. The further out they live, the less likely assumption 1. will be true, and the more likely assumption 2. will also be untrue, and will go from punitive to exclusive in some cases.
For example: Many tertiary courses are not offered in Manukau Technical Institute and South Auckland students have to travel in to get into town. Public transport is expensive, inefficient, and often unreliable.
What economists and political pundits often forget, is that when options are limited financially many individuals create work arounds that don't require extra money, but may require extra time or effort. Financially precarious households, are dealing with the rising costs of many essentials, housing, utilities, transport and food. Consideration needs to be given to the impact of measures such as congestion charges to ensure that further shocks are not the result.
"Trucking companies in particular have seen the effects in other countries where roads flow much better when a CC is in place."
As mentioned before, my partner works for a forward thinking long established trucking company who are already carbon zero. One ongoing conversation with customers that they are having, is arranging specific evening times for delivery to avoid both traffic delays (which results in higher costs for freight), and also often makes the receipt of delivery faster.
Delivery times are more reliable. Offloading is often faster, and stocking is also because it can happen or be scheduled while the business is not trading.
The Auckland fuel tax impacted on lower income households as well, for the same reasons given above.
Those making the decisions, are those who most likely have some form of paid or subsidised transport option available to them through employment.
Molly: Private vehicles are usually more expensive than PT. Fuel is only 40% of the cost of running a vehicle. The next time you calculate the cost of a journey multiply the cost of the petrol by 2 and a half times.
But of course PT has to be improved massively. Party Vote Green and this will happen.
That assumes that every trip for a household member is an individual one, with each person going in a car.
The PT network in Auckland for people who live in the outer regions often does not go where they want to go, has limited timetables, is not reliable and is unaffordable.
I support PT. When our neighbourhood finally got access, (after the community submitted en masse to a AT survey), I went out and purchased the household Hop Cards. We took a trip into town. The cost of travel for five household members was over $100. The cost of petrol – hybrid and parking was around $30. The time of travel via PT was 2.5-3hrs each way. The time for vehicle was 1 hr, without heavy traffic it can be done in 45 min.
This is not an affordable option for a family.
My children studying in Auckland have PT options that will cost approx $60/wk @, but in time will cost them around 4/5 hrs/day. And that is with a 12 min drive to the train station there and back.
The ones that have the least options for PT will be paying the most – again. Transport networks and planning need to be much better than they are.
I also think inequality continues to worsen because the decision makers have little regard for those with limited financial choices. The Auckland fuel tax made transport more expensive for those with limited PT choices. The congestion charge will do the same. Often those with limited PT choices will also have limited finances.
I party voted Green last election. I do not think I will be doing so again.
I am not convinced by their policy focus, and their proposed solutions.
Molly-you are not costing all of the the costs of running a car into your calculations exactly as I said above. With these costs added PT becomes competitive at least in terms of cost. You also do not factor in that PT enables you to relax and to surf the net rather than have the stress of driving.
NZ is a hugely car oriented country-we need to move away from this. PT needs massive investment.
As to the Greens policies, which policies do you prefer in the other parties? For instance the Greens are the only party putting forward a workable Wealth Tax, which is the only way that a fairer distribution of wealth will be achieved compared with the current chronic imbalance. I thought you were concerned with the lot of poor people in NZ society?
Bearded Git. I have calculated the extra costs of running a car into the costs. Parking at Aotea Centre at the time was $11. Actual petrol costs were less than $10. I rounded $21 up to $30 to not overstate difference. That accommodates your concerns. I didn't add the cost of the Hop cards as it was a one-off ;: $50.
Our planning has been abysmal, both spatial and transport. It is lower income households that bear the weight of that failure the most.
No acknowledgement of time costs on top of financials either.
These middle class solutions that can cost lower income households disproportionally more, is another small contribution to inequality.
There will be those who live in great PT areas that won't change behaviour because they, or their employers can carry the charge without effort.
I do care about those who are struggling.
I can see problems with proposed solutions.
Government announces a plan that includes: "including $569m for the Clean Car Upgrade, which will help lower and middle-income households scrap high-emitting vehicles in exchange for electric and hybrid alternatives.
The trial will initially support up to 2500 vehicles."
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/climate-change-plan-high-emitting-vehicles-to-be-banned-electric-vehicle-scheme-under-45-billion-plan/7Y63XNCUS4PZ3OOF5NDJUN5HMU/
If they are dedicated to helping lower and middle-income households in this way, they would be looking to create a NZ-based battery recycling or reconditioning plant and subsidising that.
And all those Japanese right hand drive cars that dropped the price of second hand vehicles in NZ when they were internal combustion engines, will be replaced by very cheap EV vehicles too old to be used in Japan, but able to be refitted and purchased here cheaply.
569 million to remove 2500 high emitting vehicles?….thats $227,000 per vehicle.
Surely that cannot be correct?
The made a ceiling for uptake of 569b,the initial trial is for 2500 vehicles,so they can tweak vehicle type (removal) and replacement.They need a better understanding of the metrics for full carbon accounting purposes.
Reading between the lines if uptake or the outcome of the trial do not meet sufficient cost /benefit metrics,they can move funding to other areas.That is a logical progression where they can tweak the system,or get out at limited cost.
Do you have a link to the trials detail and costings….im struggling to find anything
snap!
All I have come across so far is this…
Implement an equity-oriented vehicle scrap-and-replace scheme to make cleaner vehicles and low-emissions alternatives affordable for low-income households.
• Trial of equity-oriented scrap-and-replace scheme established.
Government approval in 2022 Trial in 2023
MOT Waka Kotahi, MSD, vehicle and scrappage industries.
This is a pre budget announcement,some of the details etc are still budget sensitive as i understand ( excluding some fully funded announcements)
As far as I can see the entire document is full of aspirations, trials and to be decided's.
And they delayed it by months….for this?
The removal of FF from industrial heat in the manufacturing area has been steadily announced since the last government (some under regional development) Steady replacement across a number of sectors and a national spread sustains the work,and local industry.
Lots of areas not covered,such as electricity generation,or public transport (excluding bus drivers) where with PT it may be use it or lose it.However PT traffic is down only in AK and WGN,where a systemic regime change post covid may be underway,such as relocation from CBD and work from home.
They also needed the IMF signoff on friday last
Have a look at the actions and timelines…its a joke(a bad one and on us)
The concrete actions can be counted on the fingers of one hand and they are largely pre announced.
The concrete announcements for industry,give a base (and confidence) for manufacturers ie retaining jobs.
There are substantive details to come for transport, especially freight of which there may be budget provisions for accelerated depreciation for short haul electric,and biofuel for diesel (wood based) or specialised curtain sider freight cars for rail (where they fork on and off rail for long haul onto truck for local load and delivery)
Long read and little meat I agree,but more in the budget.
"Long read and little meat I agree,but more in the budget."
You hope….but this was supposed to be our first plan….not a plan to make a plan…the words develop. consider and investigate litter the whole document.
Well literally blah ,blah blah.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300589895/ministry-for-the-environment-posts-blah-blah-blah-in-outline-of-emissions-tool
Oh the irony
be a vacancy at PR in the MOE I suspect.
The points that maybe overlooked are there were necessities to involve multiple ministries each with their own agendas,which added complexity.
It also required bi partisan agreement as it bounded the opposition out to 2035.
Here the loaded pistol was left on the table for the nats to pickup.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/467218/emissions-reduction-plan-political-parties-weigh-in
By being broad based across a number of sectors,it does allow involvement (part of the narrative) to be all inclusive.
The big sells will be in the electricity sector,and housing.
"The made a ceiling for uptake of 569b,the initial trial is for 2500 vehicles,so they can tweak vehicle type (removal) and replacement."
Did they happen to mention how much emissions are caused by huge ships bringing 2,500 EVs over from the country they haven't said can supply them?
The huge ships will produce less emissions,as of the 1st January all international shipping will have to reduce speed ( 1-3 knots on type) to reduce emissions as part of the cop26 agreement.
Both Japan and China will return to full production over the summer.Japan as more nukes come back on line,and China as covid constraints in Shanghai are reduced( Tesla restated late last week and has 4000 vehicles ready to ship.
Apologies, but do you have a link to the 4000 vehicles ready to be shipped over on the massive diesel guzzling ships?
As I doubt there would be enough shockingly young child labour/slavery to mine that much cobalt for them.
Tesla stated they have resumed production in the china gigafactory ( 1.8 miles long by .5 miles wide).
i did not say they were coming here only that EV is available from manufacturers,including nissan
Cool
Sorry btw. You are probably right. I am just a bit of a cynical person when it comes to this sort of stuff. Especially when you hear the kid stories, whether totally true or not. I actually think both sides do themselves no favours with their arguments.
As I have said before. I think electric cars and the concept is cool as. Even purely as a car nut I am and the instant acceleration.
But I also am concious our electrical capacity is a bit crap in some places and really don't want to be dodging uber length extension cords every time I walk to the bus to work in the morning Lol
No worries,by having a more sustainable uptake with EV,we will not have big blowouts in our BOP,and replacement of ff with ev will at some stage reflect on our fuel imports.
Everyone wanted EV and flying cars and all we got from big tech for most of the 20th century was 140 characters (and some with no edit button) and lightening fast methods to diss someone else.
The trial will also have hybrids for remote locations.
We recently bought an imported second hand hybrid, low ks uses half the fuel of previous similar vehicle (3.5l/100k combined)…..569 million would buy around 40,000 of these (even with the dealer margin).
Plug in hybrid? For those with distances to services (medical ,banks etc) of which can be a large part of NZ ,that may be need to they have more charging (and faster) and longer range.
There is also an uptake with both corporate leasing and GVT departments so we will also have a second hand market for ev in 5 years.
No..Aqua, no charging but as said half the fuel consumption even with a lot of open road running….strikes me as a much better possibility for reducing emissions if youve got half a billion to throw around…assuming theres stock available, though production was 2 million units over 10 years so there should be a significant number around.
Ram raids may increase however….apparently they are prime target for theft.
More bangs for the buck with a large order across a mix of product,just as well we had a trade delegation in Japan very recently.
Actually thinking about it I should prbably think about investing in extension cord companies.
TBF. It is going to happen so if I owned a company and had staff I would be looking now at organising some sort of power unit/system/sockets so staff could charge during the day, rather than having to overnight.
Would be a good recruiting add on.
Do see people at first forgetting and driving off still plugged in while new at first, which will be quite funny.
Those "massive diesel guzzling ships" are the most energy efficient form of freight transport we have. In fact, the bigger, the better. NZ lamb exports to UK have a lower transport emission than trucking lamb across Europe.
"shockingly young child labour/slavery to mine that much cobalt for them". Yes. And coffee, oil and many other commodities. The pressure on Tesla, and other companies, to be more ethical in sourcing materials, continues.
We will, of course, ignore the effect of the constant wars and sanctions for oil, https://www.unicef.org/globalinsight/media/2531/file/ UNICEF-Global-Insight-Sanctions-and-Children-2022.pdf. never mind the health issues with young children from hydrocarbons environmental effects. The Environmental Pollution Consequences of Nigerian Oil Boom: The Socio-Economic Calamity of Oil Spillage in the Delta Region on JSTOR
"Yes. And coffee, oil and many other commodities. The pressure on Tesla, and other companies, to be more ethical in sourcing materials, continues."
Yeah. She is a bit of an issue.
TBF. I have read things about the companies trying to solve the issue. So they are genuinely trying.
Then you read the higher tower suicide nets being attached to high rises in Asia for Apple and stuff and realise. Far out. We really are living in a privileged country.
Don’t be fooled by Apple’s PR: Workers strike against sweatshop conditions | Economic Policy Institute (epi.org)
Making parts for one of the most profitable coporations in the world.
Foxconn also told China that if they legislated for "Free" Unions they would shift their manufacturing elsewhere.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2022/05/16/7-30pm-live-tonight-the-working-group-weekly-political-podcast-with-russel-norman-jordan-williams-damien-grant/
I know some on this blog are not fond of the Daily Blog, but this podcast every Monday nght is fantastic with a good mix of guests e.g Matt MacCarten, David Seymour. So spans across the spectrum of political persuasions.
tonight has Russell Norman and Jordan Williams and they will be discussing amongst other things the pre budget climate announcements.
Damien Grant. NO thanks!!
Sorry Anker, I gave up on TDB a while ago now – it's burrowing down too many rabbit holes for my sanity now. The way they are going now I can imagine them all jumping up and down, hoopin and hollering on Election Night next year if the present Government gets defeated (which is NOT what I want, despite its shortcomings at times). As for coping with David Semour, Jordan Williams, Damien Grant et al – I am on medication to cope with some long term health issues, which I don't wish to exacerbate.
Please keep well Jilly Bee Sending good wishes.
Yes. The degeneration of TDB is alarming evidence of how the notional 'left' can be wedged into fighting against itself. It must be highly amusing to the Nat/ACT boys, whose impeccable and well-maintained class consciousness means they mostly run a tight ship.
Interesting thoughts AB. Who or what ideas constitutes the left now?
no problem Jilly Bee. take care
Sad to see Rusty sharing a spot with Williams.
https://bootstheory.nz/tag/jordan-williams/
https://twitter.com/helenkellyUnion/status/775688779923329025
https://twitter.com/jordnz/status/501113656784863232
thanks for the heads up about Jordan Joe 90.
Shocking, shocking mysogyny. Its been a bad day for it.
Brian Gaynor, will be missed. His articles were always thoughtfully constructed and thought provoking.
Obituary
Yeah, I enjoyed his articles.
Sad news.
He was actually also a very funny fellow personality wise, as well as brainy as.
Big loss.
When Bob Jones can't stand his insights…you know he was good.
exactly.