"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."
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."
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.
"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."
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I believe it is Draco. They can't keep up with the orders. There was a Country Calendar episode earlier this year, and the reports were very favourable.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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..
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.
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.
Lots of bush pockets everywhere out here. They have been nesting just in a little patch for a few years but have shifted this year not sure where to so only see them on occasion which is a shame.
Yeah. Just reminds me that I don’t get out of the city enough these days. Lack of good data for work and a lack of a pad between the right big toe and the foot bones causing a bone grate.
I am just hoping that rural data will improve by the time I want to stop working.
When I was out in ohura 7 years ago there was an Auckland guy who moved there for the high speed internet, you could buy most of the town for the price of your Auckland appartment.
No idea but the usually fast aonet wifi that bounces into the valley I live in died just after I wrote that last comment so I missed all the fun at the standard last night 🔥am now outstanding in my field trying to catch up.
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 🙂
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Yeah I always love the way that you routinely criticize others for traits that are so outstanding in yourself.
My descriptions of how I view your badly thought through ramblings and opinions are simply a accurate representation of my assessment of how much value I place on them.
There is no need to get defensive and uptight about it. Just value the considerable honesty and effort with which I make them.
After all I could have used that effort on something more productive. Like changing the minds of machines with finely crafted and much more precise code.
Yeah I always love the way that you routinely criticize others for traits that are so outstanding in yourself.
No, when I criticise someone, even caustically, I always justify what I write by providing evidence. I don't just call Heather Du Plessis-Allen or Duncan Garner, for example, ignorant and nasty, I provide evidence of it. You have simply asserted something about me, without justification. That's nothing more than abuse.
My descriptions of how I view your badly thought through ramblings and opinions are simply a accurate representation of my assessment of how much value I place on them.
Your "descriptions" of my "ramblings and opinions" are unsupported by any evidence. It's mere assertion.
Yep, Andre, that's the clincher. It's certainly as strong as any other "evidence" that the Russians are running the show in America. What a journalistic jewel that excellent HuffPost is!
Do you have any evidence that Putin was responsible for the death of the Notorious RBG? You know it's out there!
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,.
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.
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.
'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.
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).
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).
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.
Everything I've read/listened to so far indicates that you'rereading 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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….
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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…
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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
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?
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?)
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.
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.
"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.
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?
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.
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.
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
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 ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Genterwocky After a hard days marching, Sir Doocey calls in at the Village Tavern For a pint of ale and a pork pie. The grim villagers stare at him. “Do not be travelling on the forest road,” warns a crusty old beak. “And why is that, antique peasant?” Grins Sir ...
Political conferences after a party returns to power are usually a chance for some healthy, even unhealthy backslapping. Yet National Party president Sylvia Wood’s address to its mainland representatives on Saturday hardly contained the unalloyed delight that one might have expected following National’s escape from the wilderness of opposition. Yes, ...
Comment: Almost half the world is voting in national elections this year and artificial intelligence is the elephant in the room. There are genuine fears AI-generated or AI-edited deepfakes will potentially manipulate election outcomes not just in the US and UK, but critically in countries such as India. For that ...
Ahead of the reality franchise’s return to New Zealand, allow us to introduce the eight brides and grooms. Chuck on a veil and tie back your man bun, because it’s time to say “I do” to a new season of Married at First Sight NZ. The reality TV “social experiment” ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Norton, Professor in the Practice of Higher Education Policy, Australian National University Every year on June 1, student debt in Australia is indexed to inflation. In 2023, high inflation pushed the indexation rate to 7.1%, the highest since 1990. This ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Changes in the May 14 budget will cut the student debt of more than three million people, wiping more than $3 billion from what people owe. The government will cap the HELP indexation rate ...
Asia Pacific Report The prosecutor’s office at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has appealed for an end to what it calls intimidation of its staff, saying such threats could constitute an offence against the “administration of justice” by the world’s permanent war crimes court. The Hague-based office of ICC Prosecutor ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk A women’s union in New Caledonia has staged a sit-in protest this week to support senior Kanak indigenous journalist Thérèse Waia, who works for public broadcaster Nouvelle-Calédonie la Première, after a smear attack by critics. The peaceful demonstration was held on ...
New Zealand Food Safety is monitoring overseas recalls of Indian packaged spice products manufactured by MDH and Everest due to concerns over a cancer-causing pesticide. ...
By Stephen Wright and Stefan Armbruster of BenarNews Fiji’s ranking in a global press freedom index has jumped into the top tier of countries with free or mostly free media after its government last year repealed a draconian law that threatened journalists with prison for doing their jobs. Fiji’s improvement ...
We might be in Invercargill but all anyone can talk about is Gore. Specifically, Salford Street. That’s where three-year-old Lachlan Jones lived, south of the centre of town, between the A&P Showgrounds and the Mataura River. Roughly 1.2 km away from the single level home he lived in with his ...
MONDAY I lined up the latest round of civil servants from city hall against the wall, and signalled for the firing squad to drop their rifles. I stepped up onto a wooden crate to look at the office workers in the eye. But that didn’t feel right, so I found ...
Keen hiker and second-year MSc student Liam Hewson wears two hats when he’s in the great outdoors. “The scientist in me appreciates nature and goes, ‘Oh, there’s that thing and there’s another thing,’ but then the tramper and the outdoorsy person in me thinks, ‘Cool bush.’” Born and bred in ...
After a long and illustrious career as a goal kicker, Dan Carter’s favourite way to unwind is… kicking goals. Why can’t he get enough of it? And what it’s like to watch him do it for an hour straight? A semicircle of people wielding cameras and phones has formed in ...
Dame Susan Devoy takes us through her life in television, including late night ER debriefs, her proudest CTI moment and the show she watches in secret. Quite aside from her four world champion squash titles, Dame Susan Devoy will likely go down in history as one of the best Celebrity ...
Hera Lindsay Bird reveals the best places in Ōtepoti to score more for your apocalypse-prep book hoard.Sometimes I get the feeling I’ve been killed in a car crash, and this second half of my life is just the brain unspooling itself, like one of those episodes of a hospital ...
ThreeNow’s new murder mystery series takes us on a dark, damp journey into the Australian wilderness.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. High Country is ThreeNow’s new Australian eight-part crime drama, set in a remote part of the Victorian highlands. It tells ...
Introducing a new way to read The Spinoff every weekend. After nearly 10 years of being an online magazine, we’re finally embracing the weekend liftout. Despite our best efforts to convince you otherwise, writers and editors at The Spinoff don’t work weekend. It is through the sheer power of technology ...
Tip one: let yourself be nurtured by this big old man. Tip two: don’t ask him to adopt you. So, you’ve arrived at your first session with a new therapist. He tells you to make yourself comfortable and you opt for the tweed armchair, hoping it makes you look like ...
I didn’t know books could open you back up; that there were books that stayed with you, where reading was like a chemical event. I knew nothing.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.Not too long ago, I was listening to the American ...
Former Olympic swimmer James Magnussen has already started training for the Enhanced games, though says he won’t start taking performance enhancing substances until about nine months out from the competition. The Australian world champion was the first athlete to be announced by Enhanced, but he says the organisation has had ...
Everyone thinks he’s dead. Every day they expect his body to be washed up along the coast. Most likely up Karitane way, the way the tide’s running. But nobody’ll be too surprised if his body’s never found. Even in death he wouldn’t have wished for such attention. He would have ...
Council members voted 21 to 4 in favour of Ahluwalia returning to the Laucala campus following a much-awaited meeting in Vanuatu this week. It comes as USP and its two unions — the Association of the University of the South Pacific Staff (AUSPS) and the Administration and Support Staff Union ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicola Henry, Professor & Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Social and Global Studies Centre, RMIT University Shutterstock Following an emergency meeting of the National Cabinet this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a raft of measures to tackle the problem ...
Analysis - A poll showing the opposition is more popular than the government raises questions, politicians go through their 'trial by pay rise' and a Green MP loses her cool in the debating chamber. ...
The entire stretch of Tokomaru Bay on the East Coast will be subject to a joint customary marine title for two hapū, and extending up to four miles out to sea. A High Court judge has found the two groups, who during the case settled a dispute over boundaries for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Hall, Lecturer, Media & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University A longstanding feud between TikTok and Universal Music Group seems to have finally reached an end, with both parties signing a deal that will see Universal-backed music returned to the social media ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Siobhan O’Dean, Postdoctoral Research Associate, The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney After several highly publicised alleged murders of women in Australia, the Albanese government this week pledged more than A$925 million over five years ...
Political parties have now fully disclosed the donations they received last year - with National getting more than double the cash of any other party. ...
A Pacific regionalism expert has called out New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS military pact. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard de Grijs, Professor of Astrophysics, Macquarie University Bruno Scramgnon/Pexels All systems are “go” for tonight’s launch of China’s next step in a carefully planned lunar exploration program. Placed on top of a powerful Long March 5 rocket, the Chang’e 6 ...
National returned a massive donation the day after a Newsroom story linked the donors to a property being investigated for operating unlawfully as a migrant workers’ hostel. The party’s 2023 donation filings, released on Friday, show it returned a $200,000 donation from Buen Holdings on August 23. That was the ...
Pacific Media Watch New Zealand has slumped to an unprecedented 19th place in the annual Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index survey released today on World Press Freedom Day — May 3. This was a drop of six places from 13th last year when it slipped out of its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joshua Black, Political Historian and Administrator Officer, Australian Historical Association, Australian National University Australia has had its fair share of public record-keeping controversies in recent years. Some have been mere farce, as in the case of two formerly government-owned filing cabinets (containing ...
Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), a United Nations-affiliated organization dedicated to fostering peace through civilian-led initiatives, has issued a statement in response to the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. ...
A poem by Tessa Keenan, from AUP New Poets 10. Mātou These days we are a photograph; one of a farm strewn with cows that used to be bright harakeke or swamp. The kids point at it and say the sun sits behind a smudge (left by someone at Christmas); ...
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 Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (Faber & Faber, $25)The masterful Irish writer ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. Key facts Marriages and civil unions In ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lennon Y.C. Chang, Associate Professor of Cyber Risk and Policy, Deakin University Taiwan stands out as a beacon of democracy, innovation and resilience in an increasingly autocratic region. But this is under growing threat. In recent years, China has used a variety ...
In this excerpt from her new memoir, Dame Susan Devoy remembers her turn as star contestant on the 2022 season of Celebrity Treasure Island. The most anxious time of every day was pre-elimination, when you knew this could be your final day on the show. I felt such contradictory emotions, ...
A week that began in triumph ended in an all-too-familiar disaster for the Green Party. Duncan Greive asks if there’s something in the mission that breaks its best and brightest. A long, strange week for the Green party began with a fantastic poll result. On one level this is hardly ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Vanuatu’s former prime minister and opposition MP Ishmael Kalsakau has stepped down — just two days after he confirmed he was the rightful opposition leader. Kalsakau, MP for Port Vila, confirmed to ABC’s Pacific Beat, and the Vanuatu Daily Post on Thursday that he ...
What’s to blame for the coalition’s choppy start? Six months in, and the mojo meter is in the doldrums. A new poll would put National out of power and sees its leader, Chris Luxon, sliding in popularity. How much is it about policy, how much coalition management and a perception ...
The striking report goes far beyond the proposed repeal of the Oranga Tamariki Act’s Treaty of Waitangi provision, and its impact should be felt far beyond the unique circumstances of the claim it addresses. Earlier this week, the Waitangi Tribunal released an interim report on the government’s proposed repeal of ...
The world has been experiencing a productivity slowdown, from which New Zealand has not been exempt. COVID-19 temporarily boosted labour productivity, but more recently, productivity has retreated. The overall trend since 2007 has been one of slow productivity ...
What’s more wasteful than spending $315k on syrup and machine maintenance? Trying to drum up a controversy about it.Cast your mind back to the pre-pandemic idylls of 2019. A “rat” was a disgusting rodent and not a self-administered plague test; the sixth Labour government was in power; and the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Professor of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Monash University, Monash University Ken stocker/Shutterstock In the wake of numerous killings of women allegedly by men’s violence in 2024, thousands of Australians have joined rallies across the country to demand action ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Henry Cutler, Professor and Director, Macquarie University Centre for the Health Economy, Macquarie University Oleg Ivanov IL/Shutterstock Waiting times for public hospital elective surgery have been in the news ahead of this year’s federal budget. That’s the type of non-emergency surgery ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Konstantine Panegyres, McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow, Historical and Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne Amna Artist/Shutterstock One of the earliest descriptions of someone with cancer comes from the fourth century BC. Satyrus, tyrant of the city of Heracleia on the Black Sea, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Rose, Professor of Sustainable Future Transport, University of Sydney LanaElcova/Shutterstock Electric vehicles are often seen as the panacea to cutting emissions – and air pollution – from transport. Is this view correct? Yes – but only once uptake accelerates. Despite the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giselle Natassia Woodley, Researcher and Phd Candidate, Edith Cowan University There is widespread agreement Australia needs to do better when it comes to gender-based violence. Anger and frustration at the numbers of women being killed saw national rallies over the weekend and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Graham, Lecturer in Economics, University of Sydney Mark and Anna Photography/Shutterstock As home ownership moves further out of reach for many Australians, “rentvesting” is being touted as a lifesaver. Rentvesting is the practice of renting one property to live ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sukhmani Khorana, Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture, UNSW Sydney Netflix The new season of Heartbreak High is garnering mixed reviews. Critics are writing about the racy story lines, comparing it to other coming-of-age series about teenage relationships and ...
Bob Carr intends to launch legal action against Winston Peters and Julie Anne Genter is facing a second allegation of bullying. Both sucked the air out of an announcement on education, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in ...
In 1995, Sally Clark went out on her own in a bold and unorthodox attempt to join an illustrious group of equestrian riders conquering the world. In the days of glovebox road maps, brick cell phones, and the hit song How Bizarre, Clark refused to follow Sir Mark Todd, Blyth ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Beaglehole, Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago niphon/Getty Images The number of people accessing medication for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Aotearoa New Zealand increased significantly between 2006 and 2022. But the disorder is still under-diagnosed and ...
Remember to read the Election Day rules post.
Ignorance is just a reason to pick up a ban.
"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
Will it end up in Africa? Maybe one of the islands China is truculently claiming.
Tip-toeing through a minefield!
Looking forward to a very enjoyable evening with friends and family, watching the good news roll in!
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.
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:-
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.
I'm not human until I have my wake up coffee.
I hesitate to ask what you are before the coffee. Probably something lovecraftian that charles stross would write about?
I am a mangled skeleton not sure of the species.
Aren’t we all. Just have some flesh hiding it.
Coffee in hand, I have removed the overnight moderation on this post. Yawn…
"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
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.
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.
A tecomanthe is a vine I take it. Is it scented or fruited?
Vine from one site – the Kermadec Islands. Nice flower trumpet like I think. All I know.
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.
I had high hopes for mine, but got complacent. The new vine will be pampered and hopefully produce seed some day. Well done you!
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
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.
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.
Well thats news to us in Marlborough where the grapes have had a bit of a hammering from the COLD this spring.
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.
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.
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.
But would probably apply quite nicely to the West Coast.
I suspect not enough dry. Looks like coffee needs 3 months of dry at a specific time in its growth cycle.
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/
I'm looking forward to eating bananas grown on Mt Kaukau.
You could grow your own bananas – we had some in Coatesville; and we got our plant from some people who were growing them in the Waitakeres.
Maybe someone else could at my place. But everything I touch, dies. Which is kinda handy for pest control, not much use for anything else.
Yes, but is it the nice coffee that doesn't need sugar?
No coffee needs sugar.
Well, I suppose if you like you coffee so bitter it makes lemon taste sweet…
I believe it is Draco. They can't keep up with the orders. There was a Country Calendar episode earlier this year, and the reports were very favourable.
I have a coffee plant growing in my lounge – not quite warm enough outside just yet!
My daughter is growing Coffee plants in Perth. But the Mulberry tree is my favourite. Sooo Yummy.
Mulberries are superb!
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.
OMG not this again.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This year as every year I'm voting for the Large-Breasted-Mattress-Thrasher.
Ah I guess that is what you get with a one track mind. 😉
There are many tracks in the world Iprent, I just sometimes take the well-worn one.
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..
Well then, both classic and topical
Nah! This is it.
hard to disagree with his bobness, noble prize winner.
That song was revolutionary in so many ways
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Like_a_Rolling_Stone
Slave Chorus from Aida?
Lol. Actually the Grand March.
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.
Some residents Anakiwa in the Sounds complained that the falcons made very annoying calls.
Townies really should stay in town they dont deserve the country.
really? Sounds an odd thing to complain about.
Here it is, fairly annoying if it was happening alot, but people wouldn't normally be this close.
https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/conservation/native-animals/birds/bird-song/nz-falcon-song-12.mp3
that's cool. Do you have native bush nearby?
Lots of bush pockets everywhere out here. They have been nesting just in a little patch for a few years but have shifted this year not sure where to so only see them on occasion which is a shame.
Yeah. Just reminds me that I don’t get out of the city enough these days. Lack of good data for work and a lack of a pad between the right big toe and the foot bones causing a bone grate.
I am just hoping that rural data will improve by the time I want to stop working.
When I was out in ohura 7 years ago there was an Auckland guy who moved there for the high speed internet, you could buy most of the town for the price of your Auckland appartment.
Wow. How did they get fast internet there?
https://i.stuff.co.nz/life-style/life/69911692/ohura-portrait-of-a-small-town-off-the-beaten-track
No idea but the usually fast aonet wifi that bounces into the valley I live in died just after I wrote that last comment so I missed all the fun at the standard last night 🔥am now outstanding in my field trying to catch up.
I could attract young karearea down with a dead mouse thrown into the air; one afternoon, one caught it.
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).
That would be my preferred choice also.
Extinct is okay? You can't go past a fully-fledged Archaeopteryx!
Yeah, but can you prove that they ever existed in our lands.
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 🙂
BOTY will always be the Tui for me.
It sounds like magic. A native forest full of NZ birds is nature's stereo system.
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.
My choice is the Bellbird – korimako who wakes me up with his song outside my bedroom window
Oh yes 100% Bell bird.. beautiful and haunting.
The dawn chorus on Tirirtiri Matanga (spelling?) was almost deafening! A wonder to listen to and behold.
If you’re in the Whangaparaoa Electorate, Wade Hotel, Silverdale from 7.00 pm.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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….
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
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.
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.
Yeah I always love the way that you routinely criticize others for traits that are so outstanding in yourself.
My descriptions of how I view your badly thought through ramblings and opinions are simply a accurate representation of my assessment of how much value I place on them.
There is no need to get defensive and uptight about it. Just value the considerable honesty and effort with which I make them.
After all I could have used that effort on something more productive. Like changing the minds of machines with finely crafted and much more precise code.
Yeah I always love the way that you routinely criticize others for traits that are so outstanding in yourself.
No, when I criticise someone, even caustically, I always justify what I write by providing evidence. I don't just call Heather Du Plessis-Allen or Duncan Garner, for example, ignorant and nasty, I provide evidence of it. You have simply asserted something about me, without justification. That's nothing more than abuse.
My descriptions of how I view your badly thought through ramblings and opinions are simply a accurate representation of my assessment of how much value I place on them.
Your "descriptions" of my "ramblings and opinions" are unsupported by any evidence. It's mere assertion.
And she refuses to accept that the world is flat! I shall dash off a letter forthwith.
There is a fair bit of daylight between running prump as an asset and meddling to prompt an outcome that will damage yankistan.
Just putting this out because I enjoy that droning mozzie whine so much …
https://twitter.com/sam_vinograd/status/1317144577359446016
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/kayleigh-mcenany-everyone-is-against-us-tweet_n_5f89eb3dc5b62dbe71c290dc
Yep, Andre, that's the clincher. It's certainly as strong as any other "evidence" that the Russians are running the show in America. What a journalistic jewel that excellent HuffPost is!
Do you have any evidence that Putin was responsible for the death of the Notorious RBG? You know it's out there!
Oooh look! Russia and FBI and HuffPo. A triple treat for your reading pleasure!
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/fbi-probe-hunter-biden-email-new-york-post_n_5f8a032ec5b62dbe71c2b067
Thanks mate! Enjoyable as ever.
Quacks like a duck..
https://twitter.com/iyad_elbaghdadi/status/1317097366000979968
https://twitter.com/iyad_elbaghdadi/status/665353435827470336
I am surprised you are so gullible on this matter Lprent
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,.
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.
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.
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/
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.
'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.
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
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).
.. then there are other consequences, which Butler described concisely. Really worth listening to the whole thing.
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).
Probably not evasiveness but trying to answer a question that didn't really apply.
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.
Everything I've read/listened to so far indicates that you're reading her wrong:
And she most definitely got her reading of what J.K. Rolling said wrong.
which GCF critiques of Butler have you been reading?
What's that got to do with the price of fish?
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.
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.
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.
Rest assured the weaponisation of language is intentional, and it won't be stopping any time soon.
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.
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.
woner how many of these horticulturalists will change over to growing marijuarna if it legalised?
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.
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.
Says Ned Ludd
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.
As a 'covid' compromise, this time the public may be expected to subsidise their 'shovel ready' capital investment instead. Bless the free market.
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.
I see the horticulteralists are not talking about
labourwages shortages and no NZers wanting to do the work.FIFY
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.
If they paid enough to support all of that then they'd go broke and everybody knows it.
" 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….
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.
"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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
They are waiting for a national lead on it, otherwise what they do can set precedent in their area. Huge expensive decision.
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).
No short answer to that. Decision process will take some time to get in place.
Perhaps the bureaucrats know a boondoggle when they see one.
two years ago. Wonder what the state of those properties is now.
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…
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.
Tetrapods are the only thing that'll cut it. But costly.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrapod_(structure)
only useful if they can be made without cement (or cement can be made without GHG emissions).
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.
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/?
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 ?
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
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.
yes – at 1900 the blocks lift, and I would guess that we get some posts popping up.
Am doing and it really is a beautiful day here in Auckland.
And I get to break my first kegged beer:
Do report back.
Despite a minor technicality (the CO2 charger being broken resulting in excess pressure) its come out quite good.
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?
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
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.
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.
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?
Lose your phone and ….?
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
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.
I havent been this nervous in ages. 7pm cannot come soon enough.
That's such a good idea that it is hard to think who at kiwirail could have come up with it.
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.
Can someone tell me who the bearded guy for the Green Party was next to Sue Bradford on Radionz after 10 pm?
David Cormack.
I did wonder why #ptcruiser was trending.
https://twitter.com/ReardonReports/status/1317241836038217728