Open mike 17/10/2020

Written By: - Date published: 12:01 am, October 17th, 2020 - 166 comments
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For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

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166 comments on “Open mike 17/10/2020 ”

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  1. lprent 1
    17 October 2020 at 1:50 am

    Remember to read the Election Day rules post.

    Ignorance is just a reason to pick up a ban.

  2. PsyclingLeft.Always 2
    17 October 2020 at 7:19 am

    "Japan's government has decided to release radioactive water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea, with a formal announcement expected to be made within this month, Kyodo news agency and other media reported."

    "Early this year, a panel of experts advising Japan's government on the disposal of radioactive water from the destroyed Fukushima plant, recommended releasing it into the ocean."

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/428540/japan-to-release-fukushima-contaminated-water-into-sea-reports

    A "panel of experts" ? Were they fans of Godzilla? or What?

    Meanwhile…

    "Japan’s government has pledged that the soil will moved to the interim storage facility and then, by 2045, to a permanent site outside of Fukushima prefecture as part of a deal with local residents who do not want their communities turned into a nuclear dumping ground.

    But the government’s blueprint for the soil is unravelling: so far, not a single location has agreed to accommodate the toxic waste."

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/11/fukushima-toxic-soil-disaster-radioactive

    So, no one in Japan wants the contaminated soil (quite rightly ), but their Ocean..(Ours too) will take the contaminated water? Not good

  3. Robert Guyton 3
    17 October 2020 at 7:20 am

    Tip-toeing through a minefield!

    Looking forward to a very enjoyable evening with friends and family, watching the good news roll in!

    • Treetop 3.1
      17 October 2020 at 7:53 am

      The morning after either you wake up happy or disappointed. At least a coffee will cheer a disappointed person up if that is their fuel.

      • lprent 3.1.1
        17 October 2020 at 8:13 am

        It certainly is for me. Especially staying up well after midnight to look at the comparison behaviours of DateTime structures in php (not one of my daily languages).

        I'm sipping coffee while watching robots trying to login or to request login names using ?author=1 style queries. We're getting a lot of attempts on the site at present. Jetpack reports:-

        Brute force attack protection
        91,653 Blocked malicious login attempts

        I only turned that on a few months ago. And it isn't the first line of defence on that.

        Edit: That was odd – this was a reply to Treetop at 3.1. Oh well.. I am the sysop – I can trash and add the comment again.

  4. lprent 4
    17 October 2020 at 7:30 am

    Coffee in hand, I have removed the overnight moderation on this post. Yawn…

  5. PsyclingLeft.Always 5
    17 October 2020 at 7:45 am

    "Evidence of a changing climate is stacking up in the South.Kiwifruit can now be grown in Invercargill and Dunedin suffers from drought, a new report from the Ministry for the Environment says."

    Andrew Noone..

    "Otago Regional Council chairman Andrew Noone said the report was sobering."

    https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/report-climate-change-effects-hitting-nz

    Eventually the elephant in the room…leaves no other room

    • WeTheBleeple 5.1
      17 October 2020 at 8:08 am

      Yes. I'm quite happily working on subtropical species right now due to climate change. Not happy about climate change, but happy I'm full steam ahead making adjustments that will help.

      Definitely time for growers to stop using clones and FI hybrids and to actually breed their own localised veggies with an ever watchful eye out for drought and heat tolerant genotypes.

      • Robert Guyton 5.1.1
        17 October 2020 at 8:53 am

        The tecomanthe I planted in my tunnelhouse didn't make it through the winter, but the cutting I took from it and grew inside over the cold season, is looking strong. I'll plant it out in the tunnelhouse tomorrow, in celebration.

        • ianmac 5.1.1.1
          17 October 2020 at 9:17 am

          A tecomanthe is a vine I take it. Is it scented or fruited?

          • greywarshark 5.1.1.1.1
            17 October 2020 at 12:43 pm

            Vine from one site – the Kermadec Islands. Nice flower trumpet like I think. All I know.

            • William 5.1.1.1.1.1
              17 October 2020 at 3:41 pm

              Only one plant from one site (Three Kings Islands) has ever been found. Flowers as you describe, seeds form in long pods up to about 200mm long, initially green but turn brown before they split open. My plant here in Wellington currently has one pod forming, previous years it has produced viable seed.

              • Robert Guyton …
                17 October 2020 at 4:17 pm

                I had high hopes for mine, but got complacent. The new vine will be pampered and hopefully produce seed some day. Well done you!

                • Beatie …
                  17 October 2020 at 5:30 pm

                  I have one growing vigorously over my shed, here on the West Coast. Planted over 15 years ago in a frost free site, it flowers but doesn't seed

                  • William …
                    17 October 2020 at 6:14 pm

                    Setting seed seems to be less reliable than flowering here, some years there's no seed. I'm unsure what pollinates them. I recall reading of one on Banks Peninsula producing viable seed.

    • weka 5.2
      17 October 2020 at 9:19 am

      I had rellies growing kiwifruit in Invercargill in the 70s. Bugger of a thing to get to ripen there though, lol. Microclimates make a big difference.

    • Adrian 5.3
      17 October 2020 at 10:03 am

      Well thats news to us in Marlborough where the grapes have had a bit of a hammering from the COLD this spring.

      • James Thrace 5.3.1
        17 October 2020 at 2:49 pm

        I hope the grapes aren't going to take a hammering from that bastard pest, harlequin ladybug. They managed to infest Wellington summer last, and have heard from people in Marlborough that the harlequin has managed to establish itself over there. Another bloody pest bug that NZ doesn't need, and one that could utterly annihilate the wine industry in Marlborough.

        Harlequins are the ultimate in mimicry. As they look so similar to real ladybirds, people don't kill them like they should. Terrible things to kill as well as the skunky smell they leave behind no matter what, is absolutely foul.

    • Draco T Bastard 5.4
      17 October 2020 at 12:21 pm

      Oh well, I suppose us coffee drinker will be happy as now the farmers will be able to grow coffee in the Southern Alps foothills. Probably go well with the grapes that are already grown there.

      • weka 5.4.1
        17 October 2020 at 3:15 pm

        dunno about that, fresh snow in Otago last night.

        Had to look it up. Altitude, and sub tropical climate with defined wet and dry seasons.

        Quite a lot of rain too, which probably rules out lots of the east side of the SI.

      • Macro 5.4.2
        17 October 2020 at 3:38 pm

        Actually coffee is now being grown roasted and ground right here in NZ – but in Northland not the Southern Alps.

        https://www.ikaruscoffee.co.nz/

      • Robert Guyton 5.4.3
        17 October 2020 at 4:15 pm

        I have a coffee plant growing in my lounge – not quite warm enough outside just yet!

        • Macro 5.4.3.1
          17 October 2020 at 4:22 pm

          My daughter is growing Coffee plants in Perth. But the Mulberry tree is my favourite. Sooo Yummy.

          • Robert Guyton 5.4.3.1.1
            17 October 2020 at 5:51 pm

            Mulberries are superb!

            • Macro 5.4.3.1.1.1
              17 October 2020 at 6:27 pm

              You should see their passionfruit vine! A couple of years back I built a metal support frame for it, and just as well I did, the thing is like a triffid and produces heaps of passionfruit. And the olives (6 of them) just dripping with big fat olives. The 28 parrots keep an eye on them – but there are still heaps for them and their friends. They also have a curry plant, and heaps more. All on a 400+ sqm section.

  6. lprent 6
    17 October 2020 at 8:34 am

    OMG not this again.

    Thought electioneering was over? Wrong. As the humans take their last chance to go to the ballot box, the birds are just starting their campaign, it's looking like a fierce one.

    If you thought today would be a day free from pleas for your vote and campaign promises you'd be wrong.

    Human politicians are legally silenced on voting day, but another election is kicking off and candidates are keen to get their messages across.

    It's not the United States elections, it's Bird of the Year. Voting opens on November 2 and the hopefuls are already out and about on social media, delivering messages, memes and smackdowns.

    The annual competition is Forest & Bird’s biggest event of the year. Communications advisor Laura Keown said last year at least 50,000 people engaged with it on the website.

    There really is only one choice lets concentrate on native birds of prey. One who traditional diet includes other birds. Ruru time (my favourite).. Or the NZ falcon, swamp harrier (kahu), and barn owl ? Oh the latter is apparently a aussie that is now breeding here.

    • Tony Veitch (not etc.) 6.1
      17 October 2020 at 8:46 am

      ConcertFM (or RNZConcert) is running an election for the post popular classical music – voting closes Sunday 18th.

      Lol – last year an Auckland school block voted their school song – which just happened to be from Verdi's Aida.

      • lprent 6.1.1
        17 October 2020 at 8:52 am

        I’d vote for “paint it black” by the rolling stones. But I guess that classical music means dead and decomposing rather than composers who are still alive. Even if Mick Jagger does look like a bit like a mobile corpse these days.

        • Morrissey 6.1.1.1
          17 October 2020 at 9:17 am

          But I guess that classical music means dead and decomposing…

          ?????!!??

          Hell, Lin, that comment makes you sound like Chris Faafoi, or those rogue executives at RNZ who want to destroy Concert FM. sad

          • lprent 6.1.1.1.1
            17 October 2020 at 10:06 am

            I never listen to the concert programme. I have heard all of the classical repitore before I was 20.

            My sole interest in the concert programmes is that my 81yo father listens to it. He doesn’t have a Spotify account.

            One day I will show him how to pipe Bluetooth Spotify through his hearing aids, then he can curate his own classical music. The same way I do. I have several hundred tracks of that genre on a Playlist. They’re stored on my phone and on my computers as cached files. I also have access to a lot of volunteer curated Playlists.

            Broadcast music is very obsolete.

        • woodart 6.1.1.2
          17 October 2020 at 9:27 am

          very good choice lprent. I would probably pick

          sympathy for the devil , also by the greatest rock and roll band ever. good point about the qualifications to be considered classical. if it was a car, 35 yrs. if its that the composer is dead, theres plenty of dead rock composers..

        • Macro 6.1.1.3
          17 October 2020 at 11:13 am

          Nah! This is it.

          • woodart 6.1.1.3.1
            17 October 2020 at 4:20 pm

            hard to disagree with his bobness, noble prize winner.

            • Macro 6.1.1.3.1.1
              17 October 2020 at 7:15 pm

              That song was revolutionary in so many ways

              Critics have described the track as revolutionary in its combination of different musical elements, the youthful, cynical sound of Dylan's voice, and the directness of the question "How does it feel?" "Like a Rolling Stone" completed the transformation of Dylan's image from folk singer to rock star, and is considered one of the most influential compositions in postwar popular music. According to review aggregator Acclaimed Music, "Like a Rolling Stone" is the statistically most acclaimed song of all time.

              https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Like_a_Rolling_Stone

      • Gabby 6.1.2
        17 October 2020 at 11:19 am

        Slave Chorus from Aida?

    • bwaghorn 6.2
      17 October 2020 at 9:09 am

      The karerearea all the way

      Watching the ones at work is always a pleasure. Have yet to witness a kill but watching them pass their catch to their mate and young mid air is always good,the occasional strafing from them is a bonus.

    • weka 6.3
      17 October 2020 at 9:17 am

      if we're allowed extinct birds, Haast Eagle every time.

      Swamp harrier, is that what most people call a hawk? (also an Aussie migrant I think).

      • lprent 6.3.1
        17 October 2020 at 10:19 am

        That would be my preferred choice also.

      • Robert Guyton 6.3.2
        17 October 2020 at 12:02 pm

        Extinct is okay? You can't go past a fully-fledged Archaeopteryx!

        • lprent 6.3.2.1
          17 October 2020 at 12:23 pm

          Yeah, but can you prove that they ever existed in our lands.

          • Robert Guyton 6.3.2.1.1
            17 October 2020 at 4:20 pm

            Yes. If you listen to the mellifluous calls of the tui, many of which were learned by its ancestors listening to now extinct birds like the huia, you'll hear some raucous croaking sounds every now and then; that's the echo of the cry of Archaeopterix, a common sound in our early fern and horsetail forests 🙂

    • millsy 6.4
      17 October 2020 at 11:58 am

      BOTY will always be the Tui for me.

      It sounds like magic. A native forest full of NZ birds is nature's stereo system.

      • greywarshark 6.4.1
        17 October 2020 at 12:28 pm

        I seem to remember reading that some of the seamen-workers in the early ship landings asked to be allowed to sleep on board as the birds were so dominant that there wasn't enough quiet time for a tired man to get uninterrupted zzzz.

      • Macro 6.4.2
        17 October 2020 at 2:07 pm

        My choice is the Bellbird – korimako who wakes me up with his song outside my bedroom window

      • Tony Veitch (not etc.) 6.4.3
        17 October 2020 at 2:20 pm

        The dawn chorus on Tirirtiri Matanga (spelling?) was almost deafening! A wonder to listen to and behold.

  7. Stephen D 7
    17 October 2020 at 8:37 am

    If you’re in the Whangaparaoa Electorate, Wade Hotel, Silverdale from 7.00 pm.

  8. Andre 8
    17 October 2020 at 8:44 am

    It's just struck me that I've read lots of stories about Drumpf 2016 to Biden 2020 voters, but I haven't seen anything about Hillary 2016 to Drumpf 2020 voters. Nothing.

    I guess that indicates if there actually is one, they're somewhere like MarmotRump, Montana, and their only communication with the outside world is via smoke signals.

    • Treetop 8.1
      17 October 2020 at 9:14 am

      A bit of water to go under the bridge until 3 November. Once the NZ election is over I will tune in more to the US election. The ratings for the US build up will hopefully widen. If so what is going to come out of the mouth of Trump is anyone's guess.

    • ianmac 8.2
      17 October 2020 at 9:29 am

      This morning Kim questioned her journalist guest who was saying that Trump refuses to condemn the White Supremesist or other extreme groups. Listeners pointed out the number of times Trump had been recorded condemning them. After justifying himself the interview ended abruptly I thought.

      • lprent 8.2.1
        17 October 2020 at 10:17 am

        I suspect that the issue is that Trump seldom condeems them immediately. He says something ambiguous. Then after a small shitstorm arises and he gets the headline he wants. He makes a suitably ambiguous statement condeeming everyone – including those quering him. More headlines.

        Nice way of getting headlines whilst never taking a stand. It is a pretty common way to do PR. The Kardashians also do it pretty well.

        I just ignore it as being a way that no talent dithering idiots seek fame and exposure.

      • Treetop 8.2.2
        17 October 2020 at 10:20 am

        I heard the interview. Interesting when it came to how Trump would leave were he to be defeated. Maybe Kim could bring the journalist back a week after the US election.

  9. Morrissey 9
    17 October 2020 at 9:30 am

    New York Times opinionista raves about those dastardly Russian masterminds; Kim Hill does not raise the slightest objection

    RNZ National, Saturday 17 October 2020, 8:10 a.m.

    This certainly sounded promising….

    8:10 The week in US politics: Nicholas Fandos

    …Facebook and Twitter have restricted access to a controversial New York Post story critical of Joe Biden, raising questions about how social media platforms should tackle misinformation. And President Trump is back up and dancing, but how are the final weeks of the campaign going for him? Nicholas Fandos, a reporter based in the Washington bureau for The New York Times, joins us to discuss. https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday

    However, towards the end of the interview, Fandos repeated the key propaganda point of the most ridiculous misinformation campaign of the last four years. Kim Hill let him chunter on, without raising the slightest demur. I sent her the following email….

    Nicholas Fandos lectures about conspiracy theories—then indulges in the "Russian" one

    Dear Kim,

    Nicholas Fandos spoke compellingly about the Republicans' suppression of the vote, and of Trump's racism, and his predilection for conspiracy theories—and then he suddenly started talking about "Russian manipulation."

    The Clinton campaign's absurd allegations about those sinister Russian masterminds is a conspiracy as weird and as free of evidence as anything cooked up by the sad souls at Q-Anon.

    Shame on you for failing to challenge him.

    Yours sincerely,

    Morrissey Breen Northcote Point

    • lprent 9.1
      17 October 2020 at 10:11 am

      Possibly she has her own opinion that doesn’t match your lunatic ideas.

      I know I do. I also respect her abilities to distinguish crap and fact far more than I respect yours. By several orders of magnitude. She appears to not live in a small and ever reducing bubble of information.

      • Morrissey 9.1.1
        17 October 2020 at 11:37 am

        Kim Hill is a true believer in the cranky notion that Russia is running Trump as an asset. She has given a free, uninterrupted, and uncritical platform to the most cynical political operatives and traducers (Alex Gibney, Jonathan Freedland, Simon Schama, A.A. Gill) and—perhaps her most foolish lapse—to the discredited conspiracy theorist Luke Harding. Yet you claim, in spite of all of that, to "respect her abilities to distinguish crap and fact."

        Your ad hominem attacks on me—"lunatic ideas… ever reducing bubble of information"—are as rigorous as her analyses of American politics.

      • xanthe 9.1.2
        17 October 2020 at 6:53 pm

        I am surprised you are so gullible on this matter Lprent

        • lprent 9.1.2.1
          17 October 2020 at 7:18 pm

          I’m not. I just have a extremely good memory and a scientists / historian / programmers ability to look at patterns. I am also blessed with an extreme reading speed so I seldom get caught in teeny bubbles of self-referential fabrications like some of you bozos.

          It means that I am seldom gullible about anything. The Russian institutional patterns of behaviour are just as distinctive as those of the other major and minor players. The US for instance. When I see them repeating certain things, that have shown up in their history then there are usually only two or three usual explanations. I just eliminate and act on the basis of the most likely ones.

          Have you ever asked yourself why Estonia now has such a paranoid computer network for instance. And what the implication are for that for other countries. I sure as hell did. It shows up in the bordering states. The same way that I was looking at the attacks on the Iranian uranium processing.

          Fingerprints on the net are quite distinctive. You may not be able to definitively prove who was involved. But you can be sure who was most likely to be doing the deed – and act accordingly.

          Basically, I consider that most of you illiterates are just kind of retarded in your delusions. You tend to believe people who have no competence in networks blathering on about networks. I really don’t care what people say – I’m interested in what I can see,.

          • xanthe 9.1.2.1.1
            19 October 2020 at 7:45 am

            yeah sure with your superior powers etc etc bla bla. you actually know absolutely nothing about my skill set!

            do the russions, USA, UK, etc etc etc regularly indulge in unethical online behaviour , absolutely !

            is there any actual evidence of anything other than BAU that actually materially altered the US 2016 election. absolutely not.

            Thank you for your time.

            • Andre 9.1.2.1.1.1
              19 October 2020 at 7:49 am

              you actually know absolutely nothing about my skill set!

              To be honest, my conclusion from your commentary here is that it's the empty set.

    • Subliminal 9.2
      17 October 2020 at 12:40 pm

      For a good historical overview of Russiagate and the uses to which it will now be put in online censorship along with the clowns entrusted with the desion making the following is enlightening from Craig Murray. And nobody can accuse him of promoting Putin whom he has no love for. This isnt a binary conversation. Its possible to recognise the idiocy of Russiagate and the uses that conservative ideologues will put it to without becoming a Putin or Trump cheerleader.

      https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2020/08/the-russian-interference-report-without-laughing/

      • Morrissey 9.2.1
        17 October 2020 at 2:58 pm

        Well said, my friend. Be aware, however, that this is a site on which several of the moderators have poured ridicule on Craig Murray, Glenn Greenwald, and even Noam Chomsky. You have by daring to question one of this forum’s articles of faith, i.e. the Russiagate narrative, now opened yourself up for retribution which is intended to be nasty but which is in fact (unintentionally) amusing. As you can see in the comments above yours, my temerity in criticizing Dame Hill has engendered from one person a spray about "badly thought through ramblings"—sans evidence—followed by self praise of his own "considerable honesty and effort". After that, another person suggests that my critique of La Hill makes me a flat earther.

        Thankfully our friend Gabby has then posted one of her gnomic contributions, which injects a little levity to the situation. smiley

  10. greywarshark 10
    17 October 2020 at 9:57 am

    'Professor Judith Butler is an activist, philosopher, and critical theorist who has spent decades writing about gender.'

    This mix of disciplines would be perfect i think for producing the arguments and furore over sex and gender being taken to extremes that we are receiving.

    On this morning with Kim.

    10:05 Feminist philosopher Judith Butler: why gender still causes trouble

    Professor Judith Butler is an activist, philosopher, and critical theorist who has spent decades writing about gender.

    She's authored several books, but is best known for her widely influential 1990 work Gender Trouble, in which she argues that gender is a kind of performance.

    Recently she's spoken up against a vocal minority of feminists who reject the assertion that trans women are women.

    Her latest book is The Force of Nonviolence.

    • Sacha 10.1
      17 October 2020 at 11:05 am

      A very intelligent discussion well-grounded in decades of critical theory – (35 mins) https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/2018768768/feminist-philosopher-judith-butler-why-gender-still-causes

    • weka 10.2
      17 October 2020 at 12:14 pm

      one of the stupider aspects of the sex/gender wars is the weaponising of semantics. It's understandable and not stupid as a war tactic, but I expect those not engaged to grasp what is going on and they often don't.

      If one uses the term woman to refer to biological sex, then obviously trans women are male not female. If one uses the term woman to refer to social gender, then I can see why trans women want to be part of the class that is women (and also why women have some issues with that). GCFs insist on the first usage exclusively, TAs the later.

      The main problem here is the suppression of debate, and us not having moved past the semantic weapons to a better understanding so we can try and figure out some solutions.

      Didn't hear the whole interview, but the bits I did hear made me think that Butler is adept at not answering questions (she neatly avoided talking the issues for detrans women for instance). I also thought that Hill asking Butler what GCFs think and feel is akin to asking politicised anti-abortionists what feminists think and feel about abortion. Just not a useful question unless Hill was going to dig in deeper (which she didn't).

      Would have to listen to the whole thing, but Hill seemed a bit out of her depth (although she may also have been feeling the need to be careful in how she did the interview because of the risk of backlash).

      • Sacha 10.2.1
        17 October 2020 at 12:16 pm

        If one uses the term woman to refer to biological sex

        .. then there are other consequences, which Butler described concisely. Really worth listening to the whole thing.

        • weka 10.2.1.1
          17 October 2020 at 12:40 pm

          I will if I get the time, but have to say her evasiveness wasn't attracting me to listening to the whole thing.

          (I agree there are other consequences, and my preference is we get to have a public conversation about all the issues. The war is ugly and harming lots of different people).

          • Draco T Bastard 10.2.1.1.1
            17 October 2020 at 4:34 pm

            Probably not evasiveness but trying to answer a question that didn't really apply.

            • weka 10.2.1.1.1.1
              17 October 2020 at 5:25 pm

              Butler will know full well about the detrans issues, she chose not to address them even when asked direction. The question was clear and relevant, Hill didn't follow up and Butler easily deflected.

              • Draco T Bastard …
                17 October 2020 at 7:27 pm

                Everything I've read/listened to so far indicates that you're reading her wrong:

                We depend on gender as a historical category, and that means we do not yet know all the ways it may come to signify, and we are open to new understandings of its social meanings. It would be a disaster for feminism to return either to a strictly biological understanding of gender or to reduce social conduct to a body part or to impose fearful fantasies, their own anxieties, on trans women… Their abiding and very real sense of gender ought to be recognised socially and publicly as a relatively simple matter of according another human dignity. The trans-exclusionary radical feminist position attacks the dignity of trans people.

                And she most definitely got her reading of what J.K. Rolling said wrong.

                • weka …
                  17 October 2020 at 7:36 pm

                  which GCF critiques of Butler have you been reading?

                  • Draco T Bastard …
                    17 October 2020 at 9:55 pm

                    What's that got to do with the price of fish?

                    • weka …
                      18 October 2020 at 12:37 pm

                      there is a massive culture war going on, and it's impacting society in ways that most of society aren't even aware of yet, including in legislation. If you want to understand Butler, it pays to read the critiques, and in the war understanding the GCF position is imperative.

                      Left wing GCFs aren't anti-trans, they want trans people to be ok too. They're not going to give up women's rights, and until progressive get to grips with the conflict of rights here and set ourselves to find good resolutions for all, there is going to be a lot of blood shed.

        • Nic the NZer 10.2.1.2
          18 October 2020 at 12:35 pm

          For our erudition, how does gender studies define gender without reference to biological gender? All the explanations of LGBT categories I have seen define then with reference to biological males or females, but this would not allow these categories to exist without the foundational biological categories.

      • Morrissey 10.2.2
        17 October 2020 at 8:13 pm

        Hill seemed a bit out of her depth…

        As she was in her credulous encounter with that Russiagate conspiracy theorist a couple of hours earlier.

      • Nic the NZer 10.2.3
        18 October 2020 at 12:21 pm

        Rest assured the weaponisation of language is intentional, and it won't be stopping any time soon.

  11. mpledger 11
    17 October 2020 at 10:37 am

    I see the horticulteralists are talking about labour shortages and no NZers wanting to do the work. The problem is that if a person isn't single then they have to maintain their current home and the place they move to when they do the vinyard work. The money may be above minimum but it's not enough to keep two homes going especially when one of the places to try and live is Queenstown.

    • Pat 11.1
      17 October 2020 at 10:49 am

      The claims about recompense are disingenuous…the fact that some can achieve perhaps $30 p/h it misrepresents the reality..some exceptional individuals can run a 4 min mile but we know the overwhelming majority will never come close to that level…and then theres the issue that the hours are not guaranteed and the potential productivity of the crops to be harvested vary by time and location.

      If the business is not viable providing pay and conditions at a level that attracts local labour then quite simply the business model is not viable and it needs to be recognised…either automate, pay at a level that attracts local labour or find another activity.

      • woodart 11.1.1
        17 October 2020 at 11:04 am

        woner how many of these horticulturalists will change over to growing marijuarna if it legalised?

      • Stuart Munro 11.1.2
        17 October 2020 at 11:09 am

        either automate

        Automation isn't the only alternative there, and it leads to a presumption of commoditized production. What humans are better at than machines is producing high quality products, that a mass market approach tends to compromise. When that comes to things like fruit that might mean individual bagging and manual thinning for market size preferences. The quality focus also tends to reduce waste that can hide in larger production streams.

        They really want their exploitable labour. How much they really need that labour force will become apparent if the immigration rules get enforced for a change, and growers are obliged to hire or pick themselves. I have a feeling the real driver of the grower 'need' was a desire to alter the dynamics of the market massively in their favour. By no means all of those desirable (to employer) outcomes were in the public interest.

        • Sacha 11.1.2.1
          17 October 2020 at 11:20 am

          Simpler investment in machinery mentioned a few weeks ago when this was in the news: wheeled hydraulic lifting platforms that can take the workers to the fruit without trips up and down ladders. Reduces the need for workers to have rugby thighs.

          • Robert Guyton 11.1.2.1.1
            17 October 2020 at 12:04 pm

            Says Ned Ludd smiley

          • Stuart Munro 11.1.2.1.2
            17 October 2020 at 1:41 pm

            Yes – NZ employers aren't noted for their enthusiasm for investing in machinery.

            As long as they can sweet-talk invertebrate administrations they'll rely on, and increase the use of migrant labour.

            • Sacha 11.1.2.1.2.1
              17 October 2020 at 1:51 pm

              As a 'covid' compromise, this time the public may be expected to subsidise their 'shovel ready' capital investment instead. Bless the free market.

      • Draco T Bastard 11.1.3
        17 October 2020 at 1:35 pm

        If the business is not viable providing pay and conditions at a level that attracts local labour then quite simply the business model is not viable and it needs to be recognised…either automate, pay at a level that attracts local labour or find another activity.

        Exactly.

        The whole point of the free-market is to have non-viable businesses shut down and so we should be seeing these businesses shutting down. Instead, they go crying to government and get to import cheap labour in complete contradiction to their professed backing of the free-market.

    • UncookedSelachimorpha 11.2
      17 October 2020 at 11:46 am

      I see the horticulteralists are not talking about labour wages shortages and no NZers wanting to do the work.

      FIFY

      • lprent 11.2.1
        17 October 2020 at 12:29 pm

        The article I saw this morning did mention wages. Paying above minimum wages, with a prospect of earning more. However they glossed over the problems involved in moving between jobs High accommodation costs in moving. Lack of support for dependents. And of course the perennial disincentive of idiotic standdown periods when there was no work.

        Basically the business model is wrong.

        • Draco T Bastard 11.2.1.1
          17 October 2020 at 1:37 pm

          If they paid enough to support all of that then they'd go broke and everybody knows it.

          • Brigid 11.2.1.1.1
            17 October 2020 at 2:42 pm

            " they'd go broke"

            Not necessarily. Just a reduction in their own income. A scenario they're obviously not prepared to consider. They've got use to an income far greater than their parents was when they employed young care-free NZers 40 years ago.

            Although I guess with the increased income they've increased their debt….

            • Draco T Bastard 11.2.1.1.1.1
              17 October 2020 at 2:58 pm

              I'm pretty sure that if they paid all the costs of short term jobs then they'd go broke. IMO, that applies to all of NZ businesses.

              They want a free labour market but can't actually afford to pay for it.

              In reality, a free-market costs more as everyone needs to be able to cover the cost of not being employed and the costs of moving unexpectedly for work.

            • Pat 11.2.1.1.1.2
              17 October 2020 at 6:53 pm

              "Not necessarily. Just a reduction in their own income."

              and

              "Although I guess with the increased income they've increased their debt…."

              Pretty much, the debt growth model has a lot to answer for

    • weka 11.3
      17 October 2020 at 5:27 pm

      the piece I saw was basically MSM running PR for an industry intent on getting government policy change to suit itself and to avoid decent pay and work conditions. I'm planning on doing a post this week, there's so much bullshit on this atm.

    • Beatie 11.4
      17 October 2020 at 5:50 pm

      I worked in Motueka for a few seasons in the 70s. Pay was basic, but the job included free accommodation and being paid when it was too wet to work. No worries about being stood down for the dole either, as jobs were plentiful. At the time Motueka was a bit scruffy and run down . Now it reeks of money.

  12. greywarshark 12
    17 October 2020 at 10:45 am

    Another way that bureaucrats are holding us back from doing practical things while enabling other things that are in vogue.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/428533/warning-squabbling-may-delay-action-over-coastal-erosion
    Keith Newman, who lives in Haumoana on the coast, is one who has seen the effects of erosion first hand….
    He is the chairman of Walking on Water, an trust set up to help find solutions for erosion.

    Newman said he was pleased that after years councils had banded together to do something.
    But there was still debate on how to pay for it and Newman warned that too much bureaucracy could delay much-needed action.

    • Sacha 12.1
      17 October 2020 at 11:03 am

      Managed retreat of dwellings from climate change impacts like rising seas is a far bigger thing than one settlement or council can decide on. It's why the proposed replacement for the RMA includes a dedicated nationwide law on it.

      • greywarshark 12.1.1
        17 October 2020 at 12:07 pm

        Yes it's a big job to tackle. Individual councils need to think about it too and not just wait to be told. In Nelson our council was thinking of building expensive buildings on the river bank across a previous swamp area with the seafront a short distance away and just some metres above sea level.

        • Sacha 12.1.1.1
          17 October 2020 at 12:09 pm

          They are waiting for a national lead on it, otherwise what they do can set precedent in their area. Huge expensive decision.

      • weka 12.1.2
        17 October 2020 at 5:30 pm

        how are they intending to decide who will get assistance when? At some point there needs to be a cutoff right? (esp for new builds, personally I think that should be now).

    • joe90 12.2
      17 October 2020 at 11:41 am

      Perhaps the bureaucrats know a boondoggle when they see one.

      • weka 12.2.1
        17 October 2020 at 12:17 pm

        two years ago. Wonder what the state of those properties is now.

      • WeTheBleeple 12.2.2
        17 October 2020 at 12:29 pm

        Can learn a bit watching that. Triple walls seem the way to go, with the first two walls close together and crenellated in a pattern of overlap to take maximum wave impact simultaneously dissipating it and allowing rapid drainage. And in between the front and back a place for any water thrown up and over to collect and drain.

        They've made some interlocking concrete blocks down south somewhere's which is smart so you can create massive structures from smaller efforts, adding to and subtracting from them as desired.

        A combo of this kitset kiwi ingenuity with some designs run through models to maximise wave dissipation could really help some places.

        Sea level models will also show us where to hold em, and where to fold em. Some places a small wall might save a lot of land. In others…

        • weka 12.2.2.1
          17 October 2020 at 12:43 pm

          there's also a case for finding best use of buildings in such a zone rather than just trashing them. Those houses on the North Island town that the council want not lived in any more because of rainfall flooding but the locals want to stay, they should be allowed to stay so long as they know the risks.

          The wave house people should be funded out of there if they don't want to be there, but there needs to be a cut off point. Building or buying on the coast now should have a caveat.

        • joe90 12.2.2.2
          17 October 2020 at 12:58 pm

          Tetrapods are the only thing that'll cut it. But costly.

          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrapod_(structure)

          • weka 12.2.2.2.1
            17 October 2020 at 6:49 pm

            only useful if they can be made without cement (or cement can be made without GHG emissions).

          • aj 12.2.2.2.2
            17 October 2020 at 6:57 pm

            Costly solution, who pays for it, and still won't prevent a determined coastline change. Removal of material under any protection barrier cannot be stopped, only slowed.

  13. WeTheBleeple 13
    17 October 2020 at 10:46 am

    Here is a lengthy, but brilliant, article concerning NZ's move toward regenerative agriculture. The political will behind it, and the hurdles we face in implementing it correctly.

    The article makes a great point about levies on synthetic ferts being detrimental if alternative systems or support are not in place for farmers.

    We can do this. We are positioned to become the worlds best food producer and get the best prices. But we need to do it right.

    https://thespinoff.co.nz/business/14-10-2020/organics-regenerative-agriculture-and-the-political-will-to-grow-the-movement/?

  14. PaddyOT 14
    17 October 2020 at 12:20 pm

    One of Trump's 'miracle' drugs fails the claim in the WHO Solidarity clinical trials.
    "The drug having no life-saving effect at all. It is a similar message ( of failure ) for preventing people needing ventilation or speeding up people's recovery."

    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-54566730

    Did Trump really have Covid19 or was it an NPD's #sadfishing stunt ?

  15. joe90 15
    17 October 2020 at 1:15 pm

    Thread about Zuckerberg's FB gaming their system to starve investigative journalism outlets of traffic and burying them under the very RW crank sites who cry about being censored.

    https://twitter.com/ClaraJeffery/status/1317191129964556288

    https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1317191129964556288.html

  16. Scud 16
    17 October 2020 at 1:20 pm

    There are 4 more articles on Jacinda and the election in the Weekend Australian, I haven’t read them as yet as I usually read the sports and Business Sections on Saturday.

    Anyway I assume it will be normal service once the polls are closed? As I missed the closing of the tote last night for today’s race meeting with Weka’s post on CC.

    Anyway Folks have a lovely day in NZ today and don’t drink too much tonight when the counting starts. Also make sure everyone gets out and vote.

    See you sometime tomorrow.

    • lprent 16.1
      17 October 2020 at 2:51 pm

      yes – at 1900 the blocks lift, and I would guess that we get some posts popping up.

    • Draco T Bastard 16.2
      17 October 2020 at 3:05 pm

      Anyway Folks have a lovely day in NZ today and don’t drink too much tonight when the counting starts.

      Am doing and it really is a beautiful day here in Auckland.

      And I get to break my first kegged beer:

      • joe90 16.2.1
        17 October 2020 at 6:41 pm

        Do report back.

        • Draco T Bastard 16.2.1.1
          17 October 2020 at 6:48 pm

          Despite a minor technicality (the CO2 charger being broken resulting in excess pressure) its come out quite good.

      • greywarshark 16.2.2
        17 October 2020 at 6:45 pm

        Like your 'distressed' paintwork on the verandah, plus the look-alike ornamental paw prints. After tonight who can guess what the decoration will look like?

  17. PaddyOT 17
    17 October 2020 at 2:41 pm

    Weekly Economic Update – 16 October 2020 – cheery pickings ?

    Household spending remains strong.
    Total income support numbers fell this week . "The weekly proportion of cancelled Jobseeker grants where the recipient had obtained work has been trending up since June."

    Food prices fell in September.

    The IMF revises upwards for a better than expected GDP outturn in developed countries.

    Rent prices continued to rise.
    Property investors have been driving increase in house sales. "an average of 32 days to sell, is the lowest September result for 3 years."

    ( A risk-free rate of return method (RFRM) of taxation or a brightline tax NOW without any time frames on 2nd and consecutive houses anyone?)

    https://www.treasury.govt.nz/publications/weu/weekly-economic-update-16-october-2020-html

  18. Koff 18
    17 October 2020 at 2:51 pm

    It's Monty Python in Oz as 230 kiwi 'holidaymakers' (Scomo speak for family reunions with the Oz based kiwi diaspora) fly into Sydney without having to go through quarantine for the first time. It's only one way as Aussies can't leave Oz anyway and NZ will make anyone quarantine and pay for it anyway. Then 17 of the kiwi 'holidaymakers' jump on the next plane to Melbourne, just recovering from 9 weeks lockdown and are seized and told they are not welcome in Victoria as they haven't been quarantined after arrival from virus free NZ. No-one is taking responsibility for the stuff up. The only other place the 'holidaymakers' are allowed to go is the NT, a lovely place to visit at this time of the year in the 35 to 40C build up and crocs on every beach. Meanwhile, NSWers can't even get into Queensland. Not sure if Australia actually exists at the moment.

    • greywarshark 18.1
      17 October 2020 at 4:54 pm

      The official in charge of tourism sounds peeved that Australians can't come from their bug… infested country to our clean (at present) one. I think he would rather stop Kiwis coming into his space and bringing our tourist dollars, if they can't do the same. I wonder what the Oz businesses think of that less than business-like approach?

      Apparently Australians can register to be allowed across the SA border. But not being able to come here, requires retaliation – simple equation for an Australian. I could understand some time in isolation just to be sure – three days for those from a Covid-free NZ and not having been in a hot-spot is another query. Also Kiwis should not move around much; originally it was suggested just NSW and Northern Territory. But Kiwis are more at risk than Australians I think.

      https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018768713/new-zealanders-can-fly-to-australia-but-it-comes-with-a-warning
      To enter South Australia from another state, you simply need to register your intention to travel. But the South Australian Tourism Commission marketing manager Brent Hill said Kiwis shouldn't take that as a greenlight to head to the likes of the Barossa Valley in their droves.

      "As much as we definitely want to see Kiwis here, we love having them here, they're great tourists, they get around and see a a lot of our state and we think we've got a lot to offer New Zealanders.

      "I think from our perspective it's reasonably convoluted and complicated at the moment in terms of how they can travel around, I guess our advice would be when it is free to move and travel both ways that is probably the optimum time to come."

      Hill said he understood people wanting to make urgent trips to see friends and family, but he has a message for state hoppers.
      "If people are intending to do things like travelling into New South Wales and then getting in cars and coming through, you don't want to get caught up and find yourself unwittingly having to do quarantine or something of that nature, and I think it's just easier, it shouldn't be too far away that we have an open bubble on both ends.

  19. RedBaronCV 19
    17 October 2020 at 4:41 pm

    I'm thinking of getting rid of my email account because I get rubbish and the odd plumbers bill – which could be sent to my phone number I suspect. Any thoughts ?? Has anyone done this?

  20. greywarshark 20
    17 October 2020 at 6:26 pm

    This is a NZ Rail initiative to celebrate.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/428570/interislander-brings-back-bands-on-board-for-summer
    Bands will be able to cross the Cook Strait for free this summer, provided they perform during the crossing…

    It's only possible to do on the Kaitaki ferry sailings however, as no other ferry has the stage area to host musicians.

    Since 2006, 4694 sailings have had an artist perform, with genres spanning across folk, jazz, blues and reggae

  21. greywarshark 21
    17 October 2020 at 6:41 pm

    From Radionz 4.23pm today.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/428576/election-2020-advance-votes-total-just-under-2-million

    Great statistics.

    Advance votes have increased about 60 percent compared to the previous election, with just under 2 million votes cast before election day this year.

    The Electoral Commission has reported the statistics this afternoon, recording 1,976,996 total advance votes including 233,575 cast on Friday, the final day before the election.

    That compares to just 1,240,740 advance votes cast in 2017, which accounted for about 47 percent of the 2,630,173 total votes….

    However, people this year for the first time have the option to enrol and vote on voting day, so total enrolment numbers could still increase. About 92 percent of eligible voters have already enrolled….

    Early voting has notably increased on the Māori roll, with 77,600 Māori having cast their vote by 14 October, a 98 percent increase on the same period in 2017.

    Advance votes do not include special votes – for example prisoners, overseas voters, people voting on the unpublished roll, or those unable to vote at a voting place – which totalled more than 440,000 votes in the previous election.

  22. millsy 22
    17 October 2020 at 6:42 pm

    I havent been this nervous in ages. 7pm cannot come soon enough.

  23. Gabby 23
    17 October 2020 at 6:44 pm

    That's such a good idea that it is hard to think who at kiwirail could have come up with it.

    • greywarshark 23.1
      17 October 2020 at 6:49 pm

      I was surprised to see that since 2006 they have been encouraging musicians to some extent. So good on them, and let's hear more innovative business-building ideas.

  24. greywarshark 24
    17 October 2020 at 11:03 pm

    Can someone tell me who the bearded guy for the Green Party was next to Sue Bradford on Radionz after 10 pm?

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  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Luxon gets caught out

    NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • A worrying sign

    Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Are we fine with 47.9% home-ownership by 2048?

    Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloitte report for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Let's Win This

    You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Waimahara: The Singing Spirit of Water

    There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    4 days ago
  • A major milestone: Global climate pollution may have just peaked

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’s Oliver LewisScoop: Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announced the Board of Te Whatu Ora- Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • HealthNZ and Luxon at cross purposes over budget blowout

    Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 2500-3000 more healthcare staff expected to be fired, as Shane Reti blames Labour for a budget defic...

    Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Might Kamala Harris be about to get a 'stardust' moment like Jacinda Ardern?

    As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    5 days ago
  • Solutions Interview: Steven Hail on MMT & ecological economics

    TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
    The KakaBy Steven Hail
    5 days ago
  • Reported back

    The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Vandrad the Viking, Christopher Coombes, and Literary Archaeology

    Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Biden Withdrawal

    History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    5 days ago
  • Joe Biden's withdrawal puts the spotlight back on Kamala and the USA's complicated relatio...

    This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Why we have to challenge our national fiscal assumptions

    A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Existential Crisis and Damaged Brains

    What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • A speed limit is not a target, and yet…

    This is a guest post from longtime supporter Mr Plod, whose previous contributions include a proposal that Hamilton become New Zealand’s capital city, and that we should switch which side of the road we drive on. A recent Newsroom article, “Back to school for the Govt’s new speed limit policy“, ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #29

    A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago
  • I'd like to share what I did this weekend

    This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • For the children – Why mere sentiment can be a misleading force in our lives, and lead to unex...

    National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Order image, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A friend in uncertain times

    Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • The Chaotic World of Male Diet Influencers

    Hi,We’ll get to the horrific world of male diet influencers (AKA Beefy Boys) shortly, but first you will be glad to know that since I sent out the Webworm explaining why the assassination attempt on Donald Trump was not a false flag operation, I’ve heard from a load of people ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • It's Starting To Look A Lot Like… Y2K

    Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 20

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Pharmac Director, Climate Change Commissioner, Health NZ Directors – The latest to quit this m...

    Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Flooding Housing Policy

    The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • A Voyage Among the Vandals: Accepted (Again!)

    As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā's Chorus for Friday, July 19

    An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 19-July-2024

    Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: A market-led plan for failure

    TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Tobacco First

    Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Trump’s Adopted Son.

    Waiting In The Wings: For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSA announced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Joint statement from the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand

    Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue.  We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago
  • AG reminds institutions of legal obligations

    Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • More young people learning about digital safety

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views.  “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • Speech to the Conference for General Practice 2024

    Tēnā tātou katoa,  Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago
  • Employers and payroll providers ready for tax changes

    New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts.  “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Experimental vineyard futureproofs wine industry

    An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Funding confirmed for regions affected by North Island Weather Events

    The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Indonesian Foreign Minister to visit

    Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.   “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Strengthening partnership with Ngāti Maniapoto

    He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Transport Minister thanks outgoing CAA Chair

    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Test for Customary Marine Title being restored

    The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says.  “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Opposition united in bad faith over ECE sector review

    Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet.  “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Kiwis having their say on first regulatory review

    After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks.  “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government upgrading Lower North Island commuter rail

    The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government moves to ensure flood protection for Wairoa

    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • PM speech to Parliament – Royal Commission of Inquiry’s Report into Abuse in Care

    Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.  At the heart of this report are the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges torture at Lake Alice

    For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges courageous abuse survivors

    The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Half a million people use tax calculator

    With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis.  “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Paid Parental Leave improvements pass first reading

    Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Rebuilding the economy through better regulation

    Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • ‘Open banking’ and ‘open electricity’ on the way

    New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Charity lotteries to be permitted to operate online

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Accelerating Northland Expressway

    The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Sir Don to travel to Viet Nam as special envoy

    Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.    “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Grant Illingworth KC appointed as transitional Commissioner to Royal Commission

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024.  “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ to advance relationships with ASEAN partners

    Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane.    “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says.   “This will be our third visit to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Backing mental health services on the West Coast

    Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ support for sustainable Pacific fisheries

    New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Students’ needs at centre of new charter school adjustments

    Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Commissioner replaces Health NZ Board

    In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today.  “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister to speak at Australian Space Forum

    Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum.  While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation.  “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Climate Change Minister to attend climate action meeting in China

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan.  “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Oceans and Fisheries Minister to Solomons

    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Government launches Military Style Academy Pilot

    The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Nine priority bridge replacements to get underway

    The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Update on global IT outage

    Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New Zealand, Japan renew Pacific partnership

    New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says.    “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • New infrastructure energises BOP forestry towns

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