There is something to be said for congestion charging, but only after you give people decent PT alternatives. National appears to think congestion charging is all about giving privileged SUV drivers a longer run up to hit a cyclist.
I would have put (sarc) if it had been. But I get your point, while congestion charging HAS worked in reducing traffic in central London it is all a matter of degree.
If it was up to me there would be much harsher congestion charges across all areas of all towns and cities while the revenue from this would be 100% channelled into dedicated cycle lanes (i.e. cycle lanes physically separated from vehicles not by a line on the road FFS.)
However, London has a comprehensive public transport system and it also has a higher density than any New Zealand city. You can walk to many different activities and services in London when you get off the bus or tube.
If we are going to consider "successful "overseas strategies we also need to include in those considerations the fact that most New Zealand planning took as given the fact that people would be travelling by car, New Zealand cultural expectations is for private vehicles and private stand alone dwellings, and our public transport system is not yet comprehensive and accessible enough to provide a reasonable alternative.
One of the key aspects of the case involves evidence of an estimated $1 Trillion scandal — yes, Trillion with a "T". In one of the largest "bait and switch" crimes of all time, telecoms have been collecting subsidies to pay for fiber to the home, and giving us 5G instead. The amount of illegal cross-subsidies has been estimated at $60 Billion per year for 15 or more years.
And this is just part of what the legal case will expose and prosecute.
Scott McCollough, the lead attorney, calls the case "a knife in the heart of the underlying economics that currently drive 5G."
Leading up to this case, this same court has ruled against the FCC twice in just the past 4 months. The D.C. Circuit Court is considered the second most important judicial body in the United States, after the Supreme Court.
IG report exposes FBI, Congressional, and media deceit in Russia probe…
" A new report from DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz confirms that the FBI relied on the Steele dossier – a DNC-funded work of fiction – during the Trump-Russia probe. The FBI used Steele's work to obtain surveillance warrants but concealed his errors and other critical information from the FISA court. Matt Taibbi joins Aaron Maté to discuss how Horowitz's investigation exposes not just the FBI's deceit, but also that of the prominent media and political figures who enabled it. "
There is abundant evidence of Russian interfeŕence favouring Trump in sources as careful as the Mueller report. Likely similar evidence exists in the report the Conservatives suppressed just prior to the UK election.
Putin wants epicly corrupt ineffectual western leaders incapable of contesting his geopolitical ambitions. In Trump & Boris he has them. As Bridges adopts their full playbook it becomes increasingly likely that Kremlin assets like Fancybear will be deployed in his favour too.
I’m waiting for hacky bear no.3 because there were 3 BEARS and I am a child having been sucked in by laughable propaganda bolstered by DNC or IC adjacent thinktanks/contractors
I'm not a Putin apologist. Certainly, the Chechen war was not my fault. At least, I don’t remember it that way. I’ll bring it up when I next catch up with the ‘tin man (our joke nickname for him) on World of Warcraft
…A democratic-socialist leader possessed of a sophisticated strategic sense would understand that election manifestos are best restricted to promoting policies that the electorate actually wants – not policies his (or her) comrades believe the electorate should want. Let the drift of events – economically and socially – propel the party in directions which the capitalists may not like, but which they no longer feel able to redirect. Most importantly, identify the one reform most likely to undermine the institutions upon which their opponents’ rely most heavily for protection. Implement it early, fast, and without compromise.,,,
Also:
…What I am suggesting, however, is that if you are a Labour leader who genuinely subscribes to the principles of democratic-socialism, then it would probably help a lot to keep your true ideological colours under wraps. Tactically, at least, it would make more sense for the powers-that-be to see you as a reasonable moderate – not a scary radical. Impress the electorate with your economic wisdom; demonstrate your deep understanding of, and sympathy for, the hopes and aspirations of your core working-class supporters. Speak with pride and passion about the contribution their party has made to the nation’s history. Whatever you do, don’t refuse to sing God Save The Queen. It would also probably help if you refrained from meeting with representativesof terrorist organisations – especially those hostile to the State of Israel!…
He sometimes gets it right, but this essay seems a squib. The only valid point was re promoting policies that the electorate actually wants – not policies his (or her) comrades believe the electorate should want.
I made that point too, think it was here earlier today (without knowing about his) – synchronicity. Notice that he doesn't mention Brexit. Analysing an election result without reference to the reason for the election is just dumb.
All that stuff around deducing general principles that apply to left parties elsewhere in the future can't be drawn from this election. His rationale would only be reasonable if it had been a normal election. The notion that anyone would read or even think about what Labour's policies are is laughable. Labour seems to have spent a lot of time ignoring the zeitgeist, muddying the waters, fussing over irrelevancies, etc. The leader is responsible for some of that, if he thought voters would be interested in his notion of "real change" as per Labour's campaign slogan.
Agreed Dennis; rather than a squib I would call Trotter’s article complete bollocks. A sad reflection on the man.
What I like about Corbyn is that after losing the election he, rightly, said that Labour had won the argument.
Johnson won by playing on peoples fatigue with Brexit and by lying. Yet 52% of people voted for pro Remain parties and if the UK had had MMP Corbyn would be PM.
Grumpy old man syndrome? "Professor Amanda Tinnock, of the University of Croydon’s Psychology department, explained that, just like a drug binge for a junkie, the General Election victory will probably make Daily Mail readers even angrier in the long run."
Wikipedia: "A survey in 2014 found the average age of its readers was 58". "The Mail has traditionally been a supporter of the Conservatives and has endorsed this party in all recent general elections." So, a paradox.
I've been wondering if Labour will see the writing on the wall & call for Britain to adopt proportional representation (via referendum).
Governments can't, won't leave their comfortable bolt-holes and citizens have to look to their own energies. In Australia, there are still fires:
Emergency Leaders for Climate Action – a coalition that's now grown to include 29 former emergency services bosses – is calling for a national summit to fill the "leadership vacuum" left by the Morrison government.
Former Fire and Rescue NSW commissioner Greg Mullins says the group is prepared to act if the federal government doesn't.
"I hope the prime minister will suddenly show some national leadership and say 'Yes, I get it and I can see it and we'll get people together to deal with the crisis'," he told AAP.
"But I don't see any suggestion that's going to happen. They really are missing in action."
“So we’ll go it alone. We’ll arrange a national summit that will look at building standards, fuel management practices, response capability and national coordination arrangements.
Diagnostic radiology specialist Stephen Frost said it was beyond belief doctors had to urge the Australian and UK governments to give treatment to a torture victim.
"The torture must stop now, and Mr Assange must be provided with immediate access to the health care which he so obviously needs before it is too late," Dr Frost said.
Australian doctor and former Democrats NSW state politician Arthur Chesterfield-Evans said it was "chilling" to see Mr Assange's medical care being obstructed.
I am using it as a prod for me to take more interest and haven't found out more. It sounds as if he is needing more intensive care. I think medics are afraid that he will break down and want him away from UK control and where he will be within cooee in Oz.
So you think it's a beat-up – big deal. Who do you expect gives a flying fig about what you think, especially when you demonstrably base your conclusions on unfounded suppositions.
Actually I base it on the fact that one of his lawyers said he was being investigated for "sex by surprise", another of his lawyers misrepresented the nature of red notices, on the fact that many of his supporters constantly minimise what he was accused of in 2010, and many other demonstrable lies from the assange camp over the years.
And your response itself indicates that you care about what I say, so hugs, I guess…
Oh, that's the other thing about the assange crowd that makes me think they're probably making up his imminent demise: they love to wank on about saying their critics support totalitarianism rather than just addressing the criticism. thanks for reminding me.
The quality and expertise of your impeccable links, coupled with the eloquent and heartfelt words that brought me to tears, have completely persuaded me about the accuracy and basic humanity of your noble cause.
I tend to agree with you generally on this McFlock (in the absence of actual evidence to the contrary, and the conspiracy needed to treat him worse than other prisoners). But it's also true that he went to prison after seven years restricted to one building. That's going to have taken its toll.
Britain is signatory to agreements limiting solitary confinement for health reasons. Security does not excuse them from these responsibilities, and the length of Assange's incarceration is likely to compound the effects.
Suggesting that Assange is a security risk is most probably an institutional convenience – surrendering himself to rendition and torture is not required of him no matter how politically convenient it may have been for Britain.
Show me how Assange's treatment differs significantly from that of other prisoners, or how the treatment of maximum security prisoners in England violates these agreements.
Otoh, I just read the wiki piece on the UN's non-medical assessment of Assange. Ignoring all the commentary of people who haven't spend time with him, it seems not unreasonable that Assange may be on the harsher end of normal treatment while in prison.
He seems to be classified as category A, the highest security level. Which would figure given the nature of the charges and the effort he used to avoid the other investigation.
But good luck getting specifics on his conditions out of the google results.
And the only difference the UN guy suggests in how Assange is being treated compared to other prisoners is that, shock horror, Assange got a prison sentence for going through the entire british legal system and then skipping bail for years, costing the UK millions of pounds in the process. Frankly, I would expect someone who did that to get more of a penalty than someone who missed a court date and was picked up a couple of weeks later.
that was an interesting read. I started off thinking, oh they’ve got about about his mistreatment and by the end it just seemed like another round of polemic.
I had thought the assessment was for his time in prison. I guess if it’s including the seven years in Ecuador, then the issue of coercion becomes relevant, which just takes us back to a really complex set of dynamics, events and circumstances that no-one can seem to agree on.
Re skipping bail, UN dude’s summation of that seemed to be ignoring the likelihood that Assange would attempt to evade the court if charges were brought against him. I would have thought that alone would warrant refusing bail.
UK. What's the chance the new rump of Tories, one termers, decide to break away from the Conservative party and form a new center right party? Keep Boris honest.
In October the readings for Whakaari were 1, then they went up to 2. What was the procedure then?
Likelihood of eruption over time by expert judgement
What readings were there between 2 December when it went to level 2 and 9 December when it erupted? When it got to level 2 it should have been read every day at least? When it erupted it immediately wen up to 3.
https://www.geonet.org.nz/news/60xDrUB7wRZPZXyBa8xYwE The time periods used for the expert judgements vary depending on the level of activity at the volcano – when activity increases, we do expert judgements more often and for a shorter time window to reflect the changing situation.
.
Humanity is closely linked to our biodiversity of the world’s we need to conserve and protect our world creatures. Scientists studys show we came from our biological world. Hence Tangata Whenua o Aotearoa Culture they are all our relatives and should be treated as such.
Flightless bird provides 'spark of hope' amid environmental crisis
Ten species with improved numbers in IUCN red list unveiled amid call for more biodiversity focus at COP25
The Guam rail, a flightless bird typically about 30cm long, usually dull brown in colour and adorned with black and white stripes, has become a rare success story in the recent history of conservation.
Previously extinct in the wild, the bird has been saved by captive breeding programmes and on Tuesday its status was updated on the IUCN red list of threatened species to critically endangered, along with nine others whose numbers have recently improved
Tuesday also showed 73 species declines despite conservation efforts, and the list now numbers 112,432 species around the world, of which more than 30,000 are on the brink of extinction.
The IUCN update came as governments from more than 190 nations met in Madrid for two weeks of talks aimed at pushing global action on greenhouse gas emissions. Progress at the talks has been slow, despite public pressure, and campaigners have been frustrated that key issues such as the biodiversity crisis have received little official attention.
“The tightly woven links between climate and biodiversity must be recognised at COP25 and there is good reason for this: the impact that a changing climate will have on the ability of ecosystems to support plant and animal life, and the challenges that biodiversity already face in a warming world are both vast,” said Gareth Redmond-King, the head of climate change at WWF UK.
Quick guide
The age of extinction
Show
Ecosystems are already under unprecedented pressure from human impacts, including habitat loss from encroachment by urbanisation and farming, pollution, hunting, overfishing and invasive species. But the accelerating climate crisis is pushing nature to breaking point around the world, wiping out vital ecosystems, putting unbearable pressure on species and leading some experts to declare a sixth mass extinction
The problem I have with the roadside drug tests is the crown has made many mistakes Teina Porter so bad mistakes????? can be made and people can be imprisoned who are innocent with out any thing wrong being proven.
Crown agents never admit liability hence pike river.
I say drug testing party pills to analyse is the content is needed some of our youth could be eating bad crap that could stuff them up.
Climate change Global warming is our reality.
That's is what we should be celebrating love happiness and harmony.
The weather has been a year of extreme hottest records most rain most things our Scientists have been telling us for the last 30 years is now reality.
It's excellent that Tangata Whenua O Aotearoa Culture is recognised as excellent morel values that needs to be respected. I have seen this change over the last few years Ka pai. This phenomenon will please our Tipuna.
Iwi gaining back authority across the country, one disaster at a time.
Remember
when, not very long ago, we could easily ignore Māori perspectives and practices? We can't any more.
It's becoming very difficult to exclude the use of tikanga Māori and te reo Māori at any event or in everyday life in Aotearoa. It's being used more every day, everywhere, by everyone, incrementally changing our Kiwi way of life
It's becoming very difficult to exclude the use of tikanga Māori and te reo Māori at any event or in everyday life in Aotearoa. It's being used more every day, everywhere, by everyone, incrementally changing our Kiwi way of life.
It's becoming our new normal whether we like it or not
A former colleague once said my use of tikanga in the workplace was "PC bull….". His anger was a reaction to fear that he felt because I challenged his worldview by insisting he consider my cultural beliefs.
That was 15 years ago. I'm sure he's changed his thinking now, as many of us have.
Western scientists have been telling the world we need to use indigenous knowledge to help resolve the man-made ecological and climate crisis threatening our planet. It's a neon sign of change because mātauranga Māori is being recognised as having equal status to science.
Whanau we can not keep over spending at Christmas then next minute the stuff ends up in the environment killing our wildlife. We should be putting the putea aside to build a Maunga for our Mokopuna to have a better future.
How to have a joyful Christmas without hurting the environment
For several years our friend Diana has had rules for Christmas giving.
We have humoured her and complied because they make a lot of sense in a world that is struggling to survive under a mountain of consumer goods.
Many families and individuals have enough stuff in their lives. It's tricky avoiding adding to this mountain with just more stuff, while still showing you care. I'm not saying don't buy gifts, or that we shouldn't enjoy the process of finding and giving the right present. I love giving and receiving gifts.
I simply want to re-examine the way I buy, what I buy, and why.
According to Diana's rules, gifts should be one of the following: second-hand, re-gifted (something you have received but no longer need or want), edible, home-made or experiential.
Finding second-hand gifts is surprisingly easy.
My final, and hottest tip to help make a perfect Christmas is to focus on family, friends and love. As a parent, I want to make the most of the holidays and give my children excellent memories. Remember, Christmas is not a competition.
That's is awesome the Tauranga council following through with giving the Whenua back to Omataua Tauranga Iwi Trust.
Ka pai to have Tangata Whenua O Aotearoa on the new Health Board in the North land District that will help improve the bad stats of Maori health.
2019 will be a year to remember in Aotearoa and over Te Moana. 
Awsome to Cut above teaching Maori and others cultures the Barbara trade there is good putea in cutting hair Mana Wahine ;
Future Proofed: KiwiRail needs to become an all-electrically-powered, broad-gauged, and comprehensively re-equipped state-owned enterprise with state-of-the-art locomotives and rolling-stock. An infrastructure project of massive proportions and prodigious expense is required. But, when it is completed, New Zealand will have a sustainable, twenty-first century transportation network, capable of carrying both passengers ...
Back in December, the government purchased Ihumatāo. Officially the purchase was for a housing project, but whether any houses actually get built (and who will own them) is subject to negotiation. And now, the Auditor-General has ruled the purchase unlawful: The deal struck by the government and Fletcher Building ...
Speculation about the National Party’s leadership has died down, after a fortnight of rumours and overt positioning by supposed challengers to Judith Collins. She lives on as leader for a bit longer, and Christopher Luxon and Simon Bridges have been put in their place. National now desperately needs to focus ...
The government is planning to reform the health system. But in the leadup, they've issued new guidance for DHB members, gagging them from criticising the government: A new code of conduct banning health board members from making “political comment” may have been timed to dull criticism of imminent changes ...
Susan St John & Terry Baucher The bright line test has been extended to ten years. Tax deductibility for the cost of a mortgage for landlords is to be removed. These steps are a start, but there is more to be done. In Susan and Terry, we have two advocates ...
As New Zealand and Australia celebrated its close ties with the opening of the Trans-Tasman Covid-19 bubble, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta today was looking a little further north. Shortly after those first flights had taken off, reminding us all of the world beyond our shores, Mahuta gave just her second ...
Recently I was told I needed to go to the Youtube channel of Dr Sam BaileyA and watch one of her videosB. So I did. This particular video is called The Truth About Virus Isolation, and yes it’s on Youtube, and no I’m not linking directly because I refuse to ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Peter Sinclair This edition of Yale Climate Connections’ “This Is Not Cool” video explores the “disinformation ecosystem” in and beyond the issue of global climate change. “How did we get here?” independent videographer Peter Sinclair asks rhetorically at the start of the ...
Once upon a time, the left fought for the universal right to freedom of speech. Today, many self-proclaimed progressives cheer on the censorship of their political opponents. But it’s not just right-wingers who suffer from cancel culture. The left itself is often the primary victim. Dan Kovalik is a labour lawyer, peace ...
For Our Own Good? Police officers knocking on New Zealanders’ doors on account of what they might think, or what they have said, is more likely to make the rest of us think we are living in Nazi Germany – not drawing lessons from it. The disharmony such heavy-handed state ...
by Don Franks Details of proposed new hate speech laws have been revealed in a December Cabinet paper obtained by Newsroom. The paper, seeking to “strengthen the protections against hate speech”, would extend existing provisions against incitement and hate speech. It would also move hate speech offences from the Human Rights Act to ...
Listing of articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Apr 11, 2021 through Sat, Apr 17, 2021 Not having had a chance to garner much attention by the time last week's review was published, the last article in that batch - First-Ever Observations From ...
Every year in April, the trees start changing colour, the clocks go back an hour, and the national greenhouse gas figures are released and promptly forgotten. They take fifteen months to prepare, so by the time they come out it’s very easy for commentators to point out that they are ...
While checking my spam folder (before yeeting the contents permanently) I noticed that I’d been sent a bunch of email ‘newsletters’ from the group “Voices for Freedom.” Out of interest I opened one, just in case the contents were worth a post or two – & indeed they were. The ...
Humans are hard-wired to classify, categorise and compare, or in other words, to taxonomize. We may be born tabula rasa but quickly are taught that the world is divided into types of things, subtypes of those and assorted other categories. The operative term is “taught” rather than “realise.” Taxonomies are ...
The Labour Government received plaudits this week for its historic announcement that it will ban the live export of animals by sea. It’s said to be a world first. The decision comes after years of pressure, which increased after last year’s tragedy when the ship Gulf Livestock 1 left New ...
As one does on a Friday evening, I yesterday made a point of heading along to the Dunedin Public Library’s event, Mystery in the Library. This was a panel of local crime-fiction writers, and a follow-up to a similar one in April 2019 (no prizes for guessing why ...
Now is about the time that the Government is getting its Budget Strategy togetherIn the week before the budget – the 2021 one is to be delivered on Thursday 20 May – there is a strange ritual in which all the commentariat and lobbyists (who are not necessarily distinct from ...
Climate Change Minister James Shaw has admitted that the government is not doing enough on climate change: Appearing on Breakfast alongside Greenpeace director and former Green Party leader Russel Norman, the current Greens co-leader was asked: “Are you as Government living up to promise of delivery implicit in those ...
We can all agree that a free press (and free media more generally) are important factors in a well-functioning democracy. But I am beginning to wonder if they provide us with an unalloyed benefit. I am an avid consumer of daily news – whether delivered by the press or by ...
Yes They Can - So Why Don't They? In matters relating to child poverty, homelessness, mental health, climate change and, of course, Covid-19, the answers are right in front of the Government's collective nose - often in the form of reports it has specifically commissioned. Why can’t Jacinda and her ...
Richard Edwards, Janet Hoek, Anaru Waa, George Thomson, Nick Wilson (author details*) We congratulate the NZ Government on its proposed Action Plan for the Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 goal. Here we examine the evidence for three key ideas outlined in the plan: permitting tobacco products to be sold in only ...
Punished, But Not Prevented: Though bitterly contested by those firmly convinced that the Christchurch Mosque Shootings represent something more than the crime of a Lone Wolf terrorist, the Royal Commission’s finding that no state agency could have prevented Brenton Tarrant from carrying out his deadly intent – except by chance ...
The Government has announced it intends making sex self-identification possible this year, as a priority. That would mean anyone could change the sex documented on their birth certificate by a simple declaration that they “identify” as the opposite sex. Speak Up For Women have launched a campaign encouraging New Zealanders ...
The travel bubble with Australia has not brought room for others to come into the MIQ system from overseas. Instead, spaces are being decommissioned. Why? The system is leaky. The government cannot afford to let riskier people into those spaces, because the system can’t handle them. My column in Insights ...
A Second Term Labour-led Government in New Zealand,a new Biden-led Administration in the US, a continuance of the Johnson Government in the UK: different approaches to major issues, same global problems – and discontent rising. Some warranted, some unwarranted, but as each emerges from the Covid pandemic, what ...
I will update this post as new information comes to handWhat has happened? Recently the vaccine safety watch dogs in Europe noted reports of unusual types of blood clots in people vaccinated with the AstraZeneca (AZ) COVID-19 vaccine. This prompted investigations across many countries to ascertain what, why, and ...
Alex Ford, University of Portsmouth and Gary Hutchison, Edinburgh Napier UniversityWithin just a few generations, human sperm counts may decline to levels below those considered adequate for fertility. That’s the alarming claim made in epidemiologist Shanna Swan’s new book, “Countdown”, which assembles a raft of evidence to show that ...
Just like last year, this year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) will happen virtually instead of in person in Vienna. Contrary to last year, the organizers decided early on to hold their conference online and planned for it accordingly (quite a difference to last year's scramble where they switched ...
Time for a strange rant. A very strange rant. But bear with me, because this is serious business. A True Story, by Lucian of Samosata is not Science-Fiction. What on earth am I talking about? Well, it was one of those Wikipedia rabbit holes. I was reading ...
By Kate Evans for UndarkOne of New Zealand’s most spectacular fossil sites originated 23.2 million years ago. It was formed in a valley dotted with small volcanoes, when rising magma deep below the Earth’s surface came into contact with groundwater. Lava and water don’t mix — they explode. The ...
A Thorn In Their Side: As Chair of the Auckland Regional Council, Mike Lee made sure Auckland’s municipal resources remained in Aucklanders’ hands. Not surprisingly the neoliberal powers-that-be (in both their centre-left and centre-right incarnations) hated this last truly effective standard-bearer for democratic-socialist values and policies.MIKE LEE is the closest ...
It’s always something of a shock to come across a page run by a health-focused business that contains substantial misinformation. This one left me gobsmacked, given the sheer number of statements that are demonstrably untrue. And while a fair bit of the content is prefaced by the statement that it’s ...
Previously (9 February) I wrote about how business consultants Ernst & Young were used to do a hatchet job on the former senior management team at Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB). While this hatchet job was planned in 2019 its gestation was much longer. Its underlying causes involved differences in ...
Flying beneath the radar of guilt Fight or Flight: How Advertising for Air Travel Triggers Moral Disengagement(open access) by Stubenvoll & Neureiter not only takes an interesting approach to decomposing the effects of airline travel advertisements but also helps us to understand the general psychological landscape of our often conflicted ...
Yesterday I got told to “do some research” &, by extension, to think critically. The biologist in me cringed a little when I read it (and not because of the advice about doing research). Biology teachers I know suggested that perhaps everyone should take the NCEA standard that ...
Lis Ku, De Montfort University Since the onset of the pandemic, everyone from newspaper columnists to Twitter users has advanced the now idea that extroverts and introverts are handling the crisis differently. Many claim that introverts adapt to social distancing and isolation better than extroverts, with some even suggesting that ...
A friend of mine pointed me in the direction of this blog post by New Zealand’s “Plan B” group. While initially this group opposed the government’s use of lockdowns to manage covid19 outbreaks in this country, they seem to have since moved on to opposing the rollout of vaccines against ...
Twenty years after it invaded, the US is finally leaving Afghanistan. What's surprising is that it took them so long - its been clear for over a decade that their presence there was pointless and just pissing people off. But imperial pride leads to exactly this sort of stupidity. Their ...
The government has announced that it will ban the export of livestock by sea. Huzzah! A vile, cruel and unconscionable trade will be ended! But there's a catch: the ban won't kick in until 2023, giving farmers two ful years to continue to profit from extreme animal cruelty. But why ...
Today is unexpectedly a Member's Day - the Business Committee granted it early in the year, to make up for time list to government business. First up is a two-hour debate on the budget policy statement, with questions to Ministers, replacing the general debate. Then its the second reading of ...
. . Two stories which appeared almost side-by-side on RNZ’s website. Parent, Miranda Cross, was quoted as saying; “I think the expectations are that we can at least send our kids to school where they will receive an education.” An American parent would probably demand; “I think the expectations are ...
Time for reviewing something a bit different. Move over Tolkien adaptations, hello Japanese splatter movie. Specifically, a certain 2009 movie called Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl. I watched this one a few days ago with some acquaintances, never having seen it before, and not being familiar with the manga ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters, PhD An above-average Atlantic hurricane season is likely in 2021, the Colorado State University (CSU) hurricane forecasting team says in its latest seasonal forecast issued April 8. Led by Dr. Phil Klotzbach, with coauthors Dr. Michael Bell and Jhordanne Jones, the CSU ...
How seriously does the Māori Party take issues of corruption and the untoward influence of big money in politics? Not very, based on how it’s handling a political finance scandal in which three large donations were kept hidden from the public. The party is currently making excuses, and largely failing ...
The annual inventory report [PDF] of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing a significant increase in emissions: (Note that this is UNFCCC accounting, not the weird fudged figures the Climate Change Commission is using). Emissions increased by almost 2 million tons in 2019, from 80.6 MT ...
The melody from the classic movie Wizard of Oz echoes as Jacinta Ruru explains what inspired her to attend university, and her ambition to help create a more just society in Aotearoa. Jacinta, who affiliates to Raukawa and Ngāti Ranginui, specialises in the research areas of indigenous peoples and the law. ...
Stuff reports that National is refusing to back the Climate Change Commission's recommendations, which is apparently a Bad Thing: The National Party says it can’t support the Climate Change Commission’s draft plan to cut New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions unless changes are made. If National maintains this position when ...
Driven, accountable, unafraid to test limits and connected to the communities she serves are traits that come to mind when thinking about Dr Anne-Marie Jackson. (Ngāti Whātua, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu o Whangaroa, Ngāti Wai) She specialises in Māori physical education and health research disciplines while incorporating tikanga Māori and Te ...
This is my first post for a while. I have been a bit overwhelmed by other work in the last several weeks, with teaching and other commitments, and the blog has sadly suffered. But I’m still here. This morning, while sitting in a car in the permanent traffic jam through ...
Predatory Morality: Is geopolitical consultant, Paul Buchanan, right? Does the rest of the world truly monitor New Zealand’s miniscule contribution to the international arms trade so closely? Are foreign chancelleries truly so insensitive to their own governments’ complicity in the world’s horrors that they expect all other sovereign states to ...
Anna Källén, Stockholm University and Daniel Strand, Uppsala University A middle-aged white man raises his sword to the skies and roars to the gods. The results of his genetic ancestry test have just arrived in his suburban mailbox. His eyes fill with tears as he learns that he is “0.012% ...
March 2021 The housing crisis right now in New Zealand is one of our biggest contributors to income and wealth inequality. “With the explosive increase in sales and prices, those with houses have their income and/or wealth rapidly increasing, and those who are not on the property ladder are falling ...
Samoans went to the polls on Friday, and delivered a stinging blow to Prime Minister Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi one-party state. Pre-election Malielegaoi's Human Rights Protection Party had controlled 44 of 49 seats in Parliament, while using restrictive standing orders to prevent there from even being a recognised opposition in ...
Prof Nick Wilson, Dr Jennifer Summers, Prof Michael BakerIn this blog we briefly consider a new Report from a European think tank that aims to identify an optimal COVID-19 response strategy. It considers mortality data, GDP impacts, and mobility data and suggests that COVID-19 elimination appears to be superior ...
Something I missed on Friday: the Māori Party has been referred to police over failure to disclose donations over $30,000. Looking at the updated return of large donations, this is about $320,000 donated to them by three donors - John Tamihere, the National Urban Māori Authority, and Aotearoa Te Kahu ...
Stormy Seas: Will Jacinda Ardern's Labour Government stand behind the revolutionary proposals contained in He Puapua – the 20-year plan devised by a government appointed working group to realise the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Aotearoa/New Zealand?“GETTING AHEAD of the story” is one of the most ...
We have not been fans of the Climate Change Commission’s draft report. New Zealand has an Emissions Trading Scheme with a binding cap, and a declining path for net emissions in the covered sector. Measures taken within the covered sector cannot reduce net emissions. NZU not purchased by one sector get ...
For several decades under Labour and National-led governments New Zealand has claimed to have an independent (and sometimes autonomous) foreign policy. This foreign policy independence is said to be gained by having a “principled but pragmatic” approach to international relations: principled when possible, pragmatic when necessary. More recently NZ foreign ...
This video produced in Seattle looks at the gender identity curriculum used in schools in the US. A thin veneer of pseudoscience is being used to indoctrinate children with an ideology based on scientific and medical inaccuracies. ...
For once, I have written my submission on a bill with enough time to spare to both enocurage any of you who wants to make a submission to do so as well, and to give you time to spot the typos in mine.Louisa Wall's Harmful Digital Communications (Unauthorised Posting of Intimate ...
A friend found a concerning FB post (see below – this is a public post & so I have not redacted the name) & – as you do – immediately queried it with Southern Cross Life & Health Insurance as well as sending the screenshot to me¹. We both read ...
Judith Collins’ National Party leadership is under more scrutiny, with increased talk in the media of her being replaced by brand new MP Christopher Luxon. For many commentators it’s just a question of “when” rather than “if” Collins is replaced. While others ponder whether Luxon really has what it takes ...
I tēnei tau i Waitangi, I whakahua ake te Tira o Te Mātāwaka o te Pātī Kākāriki i tā rātau aronga matua, ki te waihanga I tētahi Manatū Hauora Māori, mā Māori te kawe, mā Māori ngā whakahaere. Ko tā te tira; Kua rongohia ngā karanga a ngā Tangata Whenua, ...
During Waitangi this year the Green Party’s Te Mātāwaka caucus announced their priority for an independent Māori Health Authority. We have heard the call from Tangata Whenua wanting any authority to be independent, and properly resourced. ...
The Greens welcome $6.6 million from the Government’s $455 million programme to increase access to mental health and addiction services for our Pasifika communities in Auckland and Wellington. ...
The Green Party is putting a Member’s Bill into the ballot today which will be a significant step towards overhauling the Social Security Act by embedding a tikanga Māori framework into the welfare system. ...
The Green Party have reaffirmed their strong commitment to the union movement in Aotearoa New Zealand by renewing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with E Tū. ...
Soon, more kids in Aotearoa will have access to the in-school mental health support that has boosted the resilience of tamariki and whānau in Canterbury. ...
The Green Party supports the open letter released today by a cross-sector coalition calling for the Government to treat all drug use as a health issue, to repeal and replace the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975. ...
Small businesses are not only the heart of our economy – they’re also the heart of our communities. They provide important goods and services, as well as great employment opportunities. They know and love their locals. And after a tough year, they need our support! ...
Green Party spokesperson for Pacific Peoples Teanau Tuiono MP, supports the demand from Pasifika communities fighting for climate action as their homelands are more at risk in the Pacific region. ...
The Green Party supports the six demands for climate action put forward by School Strike for Climate NZ, who are striking across the country today. ...
The Ministry of Justice Māori victimisation report, released today, reinforces what we already know about the impact of systemic racism in Aotearoa and that urgent action is needed. ...
Ricardo Menéndez March’s Members Bill to ensure that disabled New Zealanders do not face discrimination for having a disability assist dog was today pulled from the biscuit tin to be debated in Parliament. ...
More than one million people will be better off from today, thanks to our Government’s changes to the minimum wage, main benefits and superannuation. ...
On Wednesday morning, Minister of Health Andrew Little and Associate Minister of Health (Māori) Peeni Henare are announcing major health reforms. You can watch the announcement live here from 8am Wednesday. ...
New research into the probability of an Alpine Fault rupture reinforces the importance of taking action to plan and prepare for earthquakes, Acting Minister for Emergency Management Kris Faafoi says. Research published by Dr Jamie Howarth of Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington today, shows there is a ...
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta and Defence Minister Peeni Henare today announced that New Zealand is deploying a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 Orion maritime patrol aircraft in support of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions on North Korea. The Resolutions, adopted unanimously by the UNSC between 2006 and 2017, ...
The Transmission Gully Interim Review has found serious flaws at the planning stage of the project, undermining the successful completion of the four-lane motor north of Wellington Infrastructure Minister Grant Robertson and Transport Minister Michael Wood said. Grant Robertson said the review found the public-private partnership (PPP) established under the ...
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today that Australian Foreign Minister Hon Marise Payne will visit Aotearoa New Zealand for the first face-to-face Foreign Ministers’ Consulations since the COVID-19 pandemic began. “Australia is New Zealand’s closest and most important international partner. I’m very pleased to be able to welcome Hon Marise ...
Hundreds more families who were separated by the border closure will be reunited under new border exceptions announced today, Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi said. “The Government closed the border to everyone but New Zealand citizens and residents, in order to keep COVID-19 out, keep our economy open and keep New ...
Hon Nanaia Mahuta, Foreign Minister 8.30am, 19 April 2021 [CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY] Speech to the NZCC Korihi Pō, Korihi Ao E rongo e turia no Matahau Nō Tū te winiwini, Nō Tū te wanawana Tū Hikitia rā, Tū Hapainga mai Ki te Whai Ao, Ki te Ao Mārama Tihei Mauri ...
The Government is supporting a new project with all-wool New Zealand carpet company, Bremworth, which has its sights on developing more sustainable all-wool carpets and rugs, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced. The Ministry for Primary Industries is contributing $1.9 million towards Bremworth’s $4.9 million sustainability project through its Sustainable Food ...
New Zealand is providing further support to Timor-Leste following severe flooding and the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. “Our thoughts are with the people of Timor-Leste who have been impacted by the severe flooding and landslides at a time when the country is ...
A ceremony has been held today in Gisborne where the unclaimed medals of 28 (Māori) Battalion C Company soldiers were presented to their families. After the Second World War, returning service personnel needed to apply for their medals and then they would be posted out to them. While most medals ...
New Zealand has today added its voice to the international condemnation of the malicious compromise and exploitation of the SolarWinds Orion platform. The Minister Responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau, Andrew Little, says that New Zealand's international partners have analysed the compromise of the SolarWinds Orion platform and attributed ...
An expert consenting panel has approved the Queenstown Arterials Project, which will significantly improve transport links and reduce congestion for locals and visitors in the tourism hotspot. Environment Minister David Parker welcomed the approval for the project that will construct, operate and maintain a new urban road around Queenstown’s town ...
Economic and Regional Development Minister Stuart Nash says a landmark deal has been agreed with Amazon for The Lord of the Rings TV series, currently being filmed in New Zealand. Mr Nash says the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) secures multi-year economic and tourism benefits to New Zealand, outside the screen ...
The Government welcomes the findings from a rapid review into the health system response to lead contamination in Waikouaiti’s drinking water supply. Sample results from the town’s drinking-water supply showed intermittent spikes in lead levels above the maximum acceptable value. The source of the contamination is still under investigation by ...
Transport Minister Michael Wood today marked the start of construction on the New Zealand Upgrade Programme’s Papakura to Drury South project on Auckland’s Southern Motorway, which will create hundreds of jobs and support Auckland’s economic recovery. The SH1 Papakura to Drury South project will give more transport choices by providing ...
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā karanga maha o te wa, tēnā koutou, tēna koutou, tēna tātou katoa. Ki ngā mana whenua, ko Ngāi Tahu, ko Waitaha, ko Kāti Māmoe anō nei aku mihi ki a koutou. Nōku te hōnore kia haere mai ki te ...
Transport Minister Michael Wood today marked the completion of upgrades to State Highway 20B which will give Aucklanders quick electric bus trips to and from the airport. The State Highway 20B Early Improvements project has added new lanes in each direction between Pukaki Creek Bridge and SH20 for buses and ...
The Government is putting in place a review of the work being done on animal welfare and safety in the greyhound racing industry, Grant Robertson announced today. “While Greyhound Racing NZ has reported some progress in implementing the recommendations of the Hansen Report, recent incidents show the industry still has ...
The infringement fee for using a mobile phone while driving will increase from $80 to $150 from 30 April 2021 to encourage safer driving, Transport Minister Michael Wood announced today. Michael Wood said too many people are still picking up the phone while driving. “Police issued over 40,000 infringement notices ...
Pacific people in New Zealand will be better supported with new mental health and addiction services rolling out across the Auckland and Wellington regions, says Aupito William Sio. “One size does not fit all when it comes to supporting the mental wellbeing of our Pacific peoples. We need a by ...
New measures are being proposed to accelerate progress towards becoming a smokefree nation by 2025, Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced. “Smoking or exposure to second-hand smoke kills around 12 people a day in New Zealand. Recent data tells us New Zealand’s smoking rates continue to decrease, but ...
More children will be able to access mental wellbeing support with the Government expansion of Mana Ake services to five new District Health Board areas, Health Minister Andrew Little says. The Health Minister made the announcement while visiting Homai School in Counties Manukau alongside Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Associate ...
The Government’s COVID-19 response has meant a record number of people moved off a Benefit and into employment in the March Quarter, with 32,880 moving into work in the first three months of 2021. “More people moved into work last quarter than any time since the Ministry of Social Development ...
A stocktake undertaken by France and New Zealand shows significant global progress under the Christchurch Call towards its goal to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. The findings of the report released today reinforce the importance of a multi-stakeholder approach, with countries, companies and civil society working together to ...
Racing Minister Grant Robertson has announced he is appointing Elizabeth Dawson (Liz) as the Chair of the interim TAB NZ Board. Liz Dawson is an existing Board Director of the interim TAB NZ Board and Chair of the TAB NZ Board Selection Panel and will continue in her role as ...
The Government has announced that the export of livestock by sea will cease following a transition period of up to two years, said Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. “At the heart of our decision is upholding New Zealand’s reputation for high standards of animal welfare. We must stay ahead of the ...
WORKSHOP ON LETHAL AUTONOMOUS WEAPONS SYSTEMS Wednesday 14 April 2021 MINISTER FOR DISARMAMENT AND ARMS CONTROL OPENING REMARKS Good morning, I am so pleased to be able to join you for part of this workshop, which I’m confident will help us along the path to developing New Zealand’s national policy on ...
For the first time, all 18 prisons in New Zealand will be invited to participate in an inter-prison kapa haka competition, Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis announced today. The 2021 Hōkai Rangi Whakataetae Kapa Haka will see groups prepare and perform kapa haka for experienced judges who visit each prison and ...
The Government has introduced the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Bill, designed to boost New Zealand's ability to respond to a wider range of terrorist activities. The Bill strengthens New Zealand’s counter-terrorism legislation and ensures that the right legislative tools are available to intervene early and prevent harm. “This is the Government’s first ...
Coal boiler replacements at a further ten schools, saving an estimated 7,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide over the next ten years Fossil fuel boiler replacements at Southern Institute of Technology and Taranaki DHB, saving nearly 14,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide over the next ten years Projects to achieve a total ...
Attorney-General David Parker today announced the appointment of Cassie Nicholson as Chief Parliamentary Counsel for a term of five years. The Chief Parliamentary Counsel is the principal advisor and Chief Executive of the Parliamentary Counsel Office (PCO). She is responsible for ensuring PCO, which drafts most of New Zealand’s legislation, provides ...
Every part of Government will need to take urgent action to bring down emissions, the Minister for Climate Change, James Shaw said today in response to the recent rise in New Zealand’s greenhouse emissions. The latest annual inventory of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions shows that both gross and net ...
Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister David Clark says Aotearoa New Zealand has become the first country in the world to introduce a law that requires the financial sector to disclose the impacts of climate change on their business and explain how they will manage climate-related risks and opportunities. The Financial ...
Exceptional employment practices in the primary industries have been celebrated at the Good Employer Awards, held this evening at Parliament. “Tonight’s awards provided the opportunity to celebrate and thank those employers in the food and fibres sector who have gone beyond business-as-usual in creating productive, safe, supportive, and healthy work ...
Applications are now invited from all councils for a slice of government funding aimed at improving tourism infrastructure, especially in areas under pressure given the size of their rating bases. Tourism Minister Stuart Nash has already signalled that five South Island regions will be given priority to reflect that jobs ...
Tēnā koutou e ngā maata waka Tenā koutou te hau kāinga ngā iwi o Te Whanganui ā TaraTēnā koutou i runga i te kaupapa o te Rā. No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tatou katoa. It is a pleasure to be here tonight. Thank you Graeme (Peters, ENA Chief ...
The Construction Skills Action Plan has delivered early on its overall target of supporting an additional 4,000 people into construction-related education and employment, says Minister for Building and Construction Poto Williams. Since the Plan was launched in 2018, more than 9,300 people have taken up education or employment opportunities in ...
An innovative new Youth Justice residence designed in partnership with Māori will provide prevention, healing, and rehabilitation services for both young people and their whānau, Children’s Minister Kelvin Davis announced today. Whakatakapokai is located in South Auckland and will provide care and support for up to 15 rangatahi remanded or ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today expressed New Zealand’s sorrow at the death of His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. “Our thoughts are with Her Majesty The Queen at this profoundly sad time. On behalf of the New Zealand people and the Government, I would like to express ...
We, the Home Affairs, Interior, Security and Immigration Ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States of America (the ‘Five Countries’) met via video conference on 7/8 April 2021, just over a year after the outbreak of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Guided by our shared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Terri Seddon, Professor of Education, La Trobe University Federal Education Minister Alan Tudge has launched a six-month review into teacher education. The aim is to return Australian students to the top of international rankings in reading, maths and science by 2030. In ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Staff, PhD Candidate, Australian National University “Suffragette white” is proving to be a popular fashion choice for women who want to make a statement. Most recently, former Australia Post CEO Christine Holgate donned a white jacket in her appearance before a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Natasha Yates, Assistant Professor, General Practice, Bond University Although the country’s vaccine rollout is not progressing entirely as planned, thousands of Australians continue to receive their COVID vaccines every week. As a general practitioner administering the AstraZeneca vaccine, I find it strange ...
In meeting virtually with President Joe Biden and 39 other world leaders, PM Jacinda Ardern should press home the need to confront the current global economic model based on limitless growth. ‘It has failed us,’ says Wise Response chair, Prof. Liz ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gail Iles, Senior Lecturer in Physics, RMIT University Yesterday at 9pm Australian Eastern standard time, the Ingenuity helicopter — which landed on Mars with the Perseverance rover in February — took off from the Martian surface. More importantly, it hovered for about ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ann Kayis-Kumar, Associate Professor, UNSW When Debbie (not her real name) lost her main client and was left without a reliable income, the sole trader sold her home and adjoining investment unit to pay off her debts and ensure she had the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gail Iles, Senior Lecturer in Physics, RMIT University Yesterday at 9pm Australian Eastern standard time, the Ingenuity helicopter — which landed on Mars with the Perseverance rover in February — took off from the Martian surface. More importantly, it hovered for about ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Frédérik Saltré, Research Fellow in Ecology for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Flinders University CC BY-NDClimate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Of all the weak targets ever adopted by Australian governments, one of the weakest has to have been an unemployment rate “comfortably below six per cent” in last year’s budget. ...
The Transmission Gully interim review has found serious flaws at the planning stage of the 27km highway, “undermining” the successful completion of the four-lane motorway north of Wellington, according to Infrastructure Minister Grant Robertson and Transport Minister Michael Wood. Grant Robertson said the review found the public-private partnership (PPP) established ...
With less than 1% of Auckland Transport’s senior leaders of Pacific descent, Justin Latif asks what the council-controlled organisation is doing to turn that around.“It’s just a battle to be heard.”Kim* is of Pacific descent, has held a variety of roles across local government, and is very familiar with the ...
The Council of Trade Unions has today formally written to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hon. Nanaia Mahuta and the Minister for Trade, Hon. Damien O’Connor calling on them to take action to halt ratifying the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership ...
Two important omissions in the ministry's process for the sale and purchase of the land at Ihumātao means the deal is "unlawful" until it is validated by Parliament. ...
Last month, David Seymour MP and Nicola Willis MP wrote separately to our Office about the Government’s purchase of land at Te Puke Tāpapatanga a Hape (commonly referred to as Ihumātao). They had concerns about: $29.9 million of the appropriation ...
Kate Winslet descends on television once again to deliver a career-best performance in a cop drama that doesn’t quite deserve it, writes Sam Brooks.Let’s be up front about this: Kate Winslet is one of the greatest actors of her generation, and the reason you’re interested in Mare of Easttown at ...
Analysis by Bryce Edwards Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Speculation about the National Party’s leadership has died down, after a fortnight of rumours and overt positioning by supposed challengers to Judith Collins. She lives on as leader for a bit longer, and Christopher Luxon and Simon Bridges have been put ...
Responding To The Auditor-General’s Finding That The Government's $30 Million Ihumātao Deal Was Unlawful, New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union Spokesman Louis Houlbrooke Says:“Today we learn that the Government didn’t just capitulate to illegal occupiers ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta has had a busy two days. Hard on the heels of echoing the title of a book edited by academic writer Manying Ip to headline an important policy speech, she was announcing the visit here this week of Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne for ministerial ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amanda Porter, Senior Fellow (Indigenous Programs), The University of Melbourne Cultural warning: This article contains names and images of deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This article also contains links to graphic footage of police violence. This month marks 30 years ...
"Hamilton City Council cannot justify contributing $10 million to an inland lagoon resort while it’s increasing rates by 8.9 percent," says New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke. “If the proposal makes good business ...
It’s embroidery, but not as you know it. Lema Shamamba’s intricate stitchwork features machine guns, severed limbs, people crying – and the logos of the global tech giants she holds responsible.CW: Violence, sexual assaultLema Shamamba fled the Democratic Republic of the Congo when armed militia started killing people in her ...
Covid-19 exacerbated existing levels of material and emotional hardship for people on low core benefit rates, a new study has found. Dr Louise Humpage, a sociologist at the University of Auckland who conducted the study in collaboration with Child ...
With consummate timing, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta has stirred up another controversy days ahead of the first visit of her Australian counterpart, Marise Payne. New Zealand, she says, doesn’t want to use Five Eyes as the first point of contact on a range of issues that existed outside of its ...
Australia Week: The first day of the travel bubble was big news, so Tara Ward stayed home and watched it happen on the television. To mark the opening of the trans-Tasman bubble, The Spinoff is casting an eye across the ditch all week – read our Australia Week content here.The trans-Tasman ...
This year will be the 50th anniversary of the Melbourne Cup of greyhound racing. The Silver Collar is described by the Auckland Greyhound Racing Club as a ‘gruelling’ and ‘stamina-sapping affair,’ raced over an ‘extreme’ 779 meters, which is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jamie Howarth, Senior lecturer, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington The Alpine Fault marks the boundary between the Pacific and Australian plates in the South Island of New Zealand.Author provided The chances of New Zealand’s Alpine Fault rupturing in ...
Last week in Wellington, a man was convicted of rape for removing his condom during sex without consent. For Frankie Bennett, who was subjected to a similar assault, it’s validating – but now we must stop using euphemisms to describe sex crimes. In 2018 I was “stealthed”; a man I was ...
Tuesday, 20 April 2021: Greenpeace has today launched a new petition calling on the New Zealand Government to ban seabed mining from the waters of Aotearoa. The petition calls on Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to give New Zealand another world ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage. Click here to subscribe to Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup and New Zealand Politics Daily. Today’s contentNZ-China relations: Mahuta Speech Tim Watkin (Pundit): Taniwha New Zealand shows its foreign policy ...
Kiwi Seafarers working internationally have been forgotten by the New Zealand government, their request for support keeps being ignored and their status as essential workers continues to be overlooked. Many Kiwi Seafarers are stuck outside of New Zealand ...
A small number of people have developed blood clots after receiving two types of the Covid-19 vaccine. Mirjam Guesgen explains what’s going on and how different countries are responding.What’s this I hear about blood clots and Covid-19 vaccines?Some people who received the AstraZeneca and Janssen vaccines are developing severe, in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris Reid, DECRA Research Fellow, Macquarie University Army ants (Eciton burchellii) are known for their vast foraging raids. Hundreds of thousands of ants flow like a river from their nest site, scouring the jungle as they prey on anything unable to escape ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa Kewley, Director, ARC Centre for Excellence in All-Sky Astrophysics in 3D, Australian National University It will take until at least 2080 before women make up just one-third of Australia’s professional astronomers, unless there is a significant boost to how we nurture ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Kenny, Professor, Australian Studies Institute, Australian National University Forget last week’s healthy 5.6% unemployment rate. It might be “comfortably below” the Coalition’s 6% threshold for commencing “fiscal repair” (another term for unpopular spending cuts), but the government is under unforeseen political ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nathan Bartlett, Associate Professor, School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, University of Newcastle Last week, the chief executive of Pfizer said anyone who receives its COVID-19 vaccine will probably need to have a third dose within 6-12 months after being fully immunised, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Doctor of Botany, The University of Melbourne Native deciduous trees are rare in Australia, which means many of the red, yellow and brown leaves we associate with autumn come from introduced species, such as maples, oaks and elms. One native ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ilan Noy, Chair in the Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington What have we lost because of the pandemic? According to our calculations, a lot — and many of the worst hit countries and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Phillips, Associate Professor, Centre for Social Research and Methods, Director, Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), Australian National University The good news from new research conducted by the Australian National University for Social Ventures Australia and the Brotherhood of St Laurence ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Webb, Dean, Graduate Research, University of Canberra In this series we pay tribute to the art we wish could visit — and hope to see once travel restrictions are lifted. She’s called Maman, and she emerged into the world in 1999, ...
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for April 20, bringing you the latest news updated throughout the day. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz8.00am: Concerns euthanasia patients may take unapproved drugs, suffer prolonged deathAn investigation into how prepared New Zealand is to introduce euthanasia, following last year’s referendum, has uncovered concerns ...
The global movement to take leading academics out of lecture theatres and into pubs to present their latest research is returning to Auckland. Tonight, 20 University of Auckland lecturers will host talks in 10 local bars. The topics range from the search for alien life to the risks of vaping ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Mahuta moves away from Five Eyes in major speech, new research shows raised risk of Alpine fault quake, and trans-Tasman bubble opens on emotional day.Foreign minister Nanaia Mahuta has sought to continue a ‘best of both worlds’ approach to the ...
Business & Investing: The opening of the Tasman for tourists pushes Auckland Airport shares up, with Air NZ also benefiting; Plus Tilt Renewables wins bigger Mercury-PowAR deal ...
Graeme Lay on the problem of downsizing for the elderly Books, books, books: novels. short stories, poetry, anthologies, biographies, histories ... For many elderly people books are a treasured part of their households. Shelves and shelves of them; they're an integral part of our past. We remember when we bought ...
New Zealand is focusing purely on its own adaptations challenges - 'Impacts in My Backyard' - rather than the brutal climate impacts already being felt elsewhere. It's a gaping hole in our strategy, writes Dr Luke Harrington. We Kiwis are more concerned than ever about the significant and growing challenges of a ...
If history is any indication, we would expect the Covid pandemic to increase suicide rates. Dr Dennis Wesselbaum explains how that could be the case. New Zealand is the ninth happiest country in the world as reported in the 2021 World Happiness Report. Yet at the same time, New Zealand has the ...
From Wellington to Glasgow and home again, netball coach Gail Parata is helming the national champion Pulse side, and can call on her old room-mate for help. Dame Noeline Taurua and Gail Parata have a long relationship, once built on deception. Now among the best netball coaches in the world, the ...
Pilots and cabin crew can spend 20 days a month in isolation in order to link New Zealand to the rest of the world - but the hardest part is not feeling welcome when they come home. Matthew Scott reports. Touchdown in Hong Kong. In different times, pilots and ...
New research shows that the risk of the big one hitting the South Island’s spine is far higher than previously thought, write Ursula Cochran and lead researcher Jamie Howarth.Calculating the chance of an earthquake on a particular fault currently relies on the long geological earthquake record, which is both notoriously ...
A new TVNZ drama tells the story of a fictitious gang trying to go straight. Despite being funded as part of a major initiative to get Māori stories to screen, Vegas reinforces some centuries-old stereotypes, writes Leonie Hayden. Episode one of the new drama Vegas aired last night on TVNZ. ...
Australia Week: Nothing tests our mateship with Australia like the disputed delicacies both countries claim as their own. In the interest of diplomatic relations, Alice Neville sets the record straight.To mark the opening of the trans-Tasman bubble, The Spinoff is casting an eye across the ditch all week – read ...
An old-style Marxist's withering takedown on contemporary leftists - even likening today's left liberals with neoliberals - has lessons for our economic and political debate, writes Oliver Hartwich ...
A carefully worded speech on NZ-China relations from Nanaia Mahuta nevertheless carried some telling notes about how the Government plans to navigate the Great Power divide, Sam Sachdeva writes Nanaia Mahuta may lack the bombast of Winston Peters, but her greater willingness to stick to the MFAT-approved script makes it ...
Trans-Tasman quarantine-free flights are back on - as New Zealand's vaccination rollout's been described as shambolic, and Australia's as a failure. On the week that our travel bubble opens up with Australia, both sides of the Tasman have been criticised for falling behind in their vaccine roll outs. New ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra As Scott Morrison gradually pivots his climate policy towards embracing a target of net zero emissions by 2050, he is seeking to distinguish the government from “inner city” types and political opponents who’ve been marching ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Peter Dutton has begun his tenure as defence minister by delivering a very public slap to his most senior military adviser, chief of the Australian Defence Force Angus Campbell. Dutton’s overriding of Campbell’s initial command ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Blakely, Professor of Epidemiology, Population Interventions Unit, Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne Coinciding with the Trans-Tasman travel bubble starting today, over the past week there have been murmurings Australia could ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By George Wilson, Honorary Professor, Australian National University The US Congress is considering a proposed law to ban the import and sale of kangaroo parts. Backed by a campaign called Kangaroos Are Not Shoes, the bill is aimed at stopping Nike, Adidas and ...
By Praneeta Prakash in Suva Fiji Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says a breach in protocol in relation to the 53-year-old woman now testing positive of covid-19 should not have happened. The woman who was working as a maid in a border quarantine facility developed symptoms last Thursday, but continued working ...
The Pacific Newsroom Vanuatu’s capital island of Efate has gone into covid-19 lockdown for three days after a body was found on a beach near Port Vila. The body, which tested positive for covid, was that of a Filipino crewman from the British-flagged liquified petroleum gas carrier Inge Kosan, a ...
While the trans-Tasman bubble today is “a significant day” for New Zealanders, any moves to open the borders to other countries will need to be be based on hard evidence, the prime minister says. After months of discussions, the trans-Tasman bubble is officially open. The prime ministers of New Zealand ...
Asia Pacific Report newsdesk The local West Papua action group in Dunedin has met Taieri MP Ingrid Leary and raised human rights and militarisation issues that members believe the New Zealand government should be pursuing with Indonesia. Leary has a strong track record on Pacific human rights issues having worked ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katharine Kemp, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, UNSW, and Academic Lead, UNSW Grand Challenge on Trust, UNSW The Federal Court has found Google misled some users about personal location data collected through Android devices for two years, from January 2017 to December ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jeannie Marie Paterson, Professor of Law, The University of Melbourne The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has had a significant win against Google. The Federal Court found Google misled some Android users about how to disable personal location tracking. Will this decision ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin – Covid-19: British Isles and Neo-European CountriesCanada has overtaken the United States. Chart by Keith Rankin. Canada has overtaken the United States in the last week, with over 200 daily cases per million people, with the worst growth zones being Ontario, British Columbia and Saskatchewan. ...
New Zealand's foreign affairs minister is urging the country to diversify its trade arrangements and not put all its eggs all one basket with China. ...
National's bright idea for transport. Put the cities behind a paywall.
Keeps the poors out.
There is something to be said for congestion charging, but only after you give people decent PT alternatives. National appears to think congestion charging is all about giving privileged SUV drivers a longer run up to hit a cyclist.
congestion charging has worked really well in London
Is that so or is it being ironic?
I would have put (sarc) if it had been. But I get your point, while congestion charging HAS worked in reducing traffic in central London it is all a matter of degree.
If it was up to me there would be much harsher congestion charges across all areas of all towns and cities while the revenue from this would be 100% channelled into dedicated cycle lanes (i.e. cycle lanes physically separated from vehicles not by a line on the road FFS.)
However, London has a comprehensive public transport system and it also has a higher density than any New Zealand city. You can walk to many different activities and services in London when you get off the bus or tube.
If we are going to consider "successful "overseas strategies we also need to include in those considerations the fact that most New Zealand planning took as given the fact that people would be travelling by car, New Zealand cultural expectations is for private vehicles and private stand alone dwellings, and our public transport system is not yet comprehensive and accessible enough to provide a reasonable alternative.
Agree 100% Molly
National seem to be a bit desperate at the moment with policy suggestions like this. And Cyclists to be fined for not using bike lanes?
You can smell Simon's desperation.
And does it smell like teen spirit?
(I think, "nope").
The unending COP process is not a 'staggering failure of leadership' it is a staggering failure of the consensus model.
Trying for consensus is not how change happens.
New Zealand's ineffectual Zero Carbon bill which also tried for consensus is a case in point.
While bureaucrats dicker attempting for consensus before the agree to act….
Real leaders lead from the front by taking bold action and setting an example.
Real leaders set the pace and by so doing challenge others to follow their lead.
Winston Churchill was such a leader.
Greta Thunberg is another.
The failure of establishment leaders leaves figures like Greta Thunberg filling the vacuum
We need a climate change Churchill or Thunberg in this country.
Will that person (or persons) come from our political classes or be another outsider?
https://takebackyourpower.net/irregulators-vs-fcc-interview/
The federal case, IRREGULATORS vs FCC, will be heard in the D.C. Circuit Court on January 17, 2020. BOOM!
IG report exposes FBI, Congressional, and media deceit in Russia probe…
" A new report from DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz confirms that the FBI relied on the Steele dossier – a DNC-funded work of fiction – during the Trump-Russia probe. The FBI used Steele's work to obtain surveillance warrants but concealed his errors and other critical information from the FISA court. Matt Taibbi joins Aaron Maté to discuss how Horowitz's investigation exposes not just the FBI's deceit, but also that of the prominent media and political figures who enabled it. "
Matt Taibbi and Aaron Maté know who funded it all, too. Do you? They are funding plenty here, too.
Can we please get rid of them now, well in advance of the next election?
There is abundant evidence of Russian interfeŕence favouring Trump in sources as careful as the Mueller report. Likely similar evidence exists in the report the Conservatives suppressed just prior to the UK election.
Putin wants epicly corrupt ineffectual western leaders incapable of contesting his geopolitical ambitions. In Trump & Boris he has them. As Bridges adopts their full playbook it becomes increasingly likely that Kremlin assets like Fancybear will be deployed in his favour too.
Who is Fancybear?
A Russian agent?
Do people really think there are KGB stalking the country
Vlad: "Come in, Fancybear, Stuart Munro has made nother comment on Internet. Better we call Putin."
If you don't know who Fancybear are you are not informed enough to discuss Russia.
The same might be said of those mistaking Putin the genocidal espiocrat for a conventional western politician.
The source is Crowdstrike. lol
I’m waiting for hacky bear no.3 because there were 3 BEARS and I am a child having been sucked in by laughable propaganda bolstered by DNC or IC adjacent thinktanks/contractors
It's you who have been sucked in.
Have you anything to offer besides your unsubstantiated prejudices?
Because creeping totalitarianism of the kind Putin spreads is something most on the Left don't want. Apart from Putin's menkurts of course.
"There is abundant evidence of Russian interfeŕence favouring Trump"
Actually, no, there's not.
That's right, Brigid. And those funding Russiagate are the same lot funding some interesting political frameworks in NZ.
The interesting thing about Putin's dupes is how ferociously they defend their ignorance.
Read the Mueller report- lots and lots of evidence. Confessions even.
I read it as he typed it from my underground lair near Moscow
You think you're so funny – being the apologist for the man who killed half of all living Chechens.
But Putin's useful idiots are as dangerous to western democracies as global warming.
I'm not a Putin apologist. Certainly, the Chechen war was not my fault. At least, I don’t remember it that way. I’ll bring it up when I next catch up with the ‘tin man (our joke nickname for him) on World of Warcraft
i'm not a Putin apologist
While you run his disinformatsia on Russiagate yes you are.
Если бы не мистер Стюарт Монро, остров Стюарт был бы в наших руках!
This seems sound thinking from Chris Trotter musing on how left wing parties get elected in a capitalist state.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/12/17/the-trick-of-winning-power-under-capitalism/
…A democratic-socialist leader possessed of a sophisticated strategic sense would understand that election manifestos are best restricted to promoting policies that the electorate actually wants – not policies his (or her) comrades believe the electorate should want. Let the drift of events – economically and socially – propel the party in directions which the capitalists may not like, but which they no longer feel able to redirect. Most importantly, identify the one reform most likely to undermine the institutions upon which their opponents’ rely most heavily for protection. Implement it early, fast, and without compromise.,,,
Also:
…What I am suggesting, however, is that if you are a Labour leader who genuinely subscribes to the principles of democratic-socialism, then it would probably help a lot to keep your true ideological colours under wraps. Tactically, at least, it would make more sense for the powers-that-be to see you as a reasonable moderate – not a scary radical. Impress the electorate with your economic wisdom; demonstrate your deep understanding of, and sympathy for, the hopes and aspirations of your core working-class supporters. Speak with pride and passion about the contribution their party has made to the nation’s history. Whatever you do, don’t refuse to sing God Save The Queen. It would also probably help if you refrained from meeting with representatives of terrorist organisations – especially those hostile to the State of Israel!…
He sometimes gets it right, but this essay seems a squib. The only valid point was re promoting policies that the electorate actually wants – not policies his (or her) comrades believe the electorate should want.
I made that point too, think it was here earlier today (without knowing about his) – synchronicity. Notice that he doesn't mention Brexit. Analysing an election result without reference to the reason for the election is just dumb.
All that stuff around deducing general principles that apply to left parties elsewhere in the future can't be drawn from this election. His rationale would only be reasonable if it had been a normal election. The notion that anyone would read or even think about what Labour's policies are is laughable. Labour seems to have spent a lot of time ignoring the zeitgeist, muddying the waters, fussing over irrelevancies, etc. The leader is responsible for some of that, if he thought voters would be interested in his notion of "real change" as per Labour's campaign slogan.
Agreed Dennis; rather than a squib I would call Trotter’s article complete bollocks. A sad reflection on the man.
What I like about Corbyn is that after losing the election he, rightly, said that Labour had won the argument.
Johnson won by playing on peoples fatigue with Brexit and by lying. Yet 52% of people voted for pro Remain parties and if the UK had had MMP Corbyn would be PM.
I love this-so true:
https://newsthump.com/2019/12/16/daily-mail-readers-already-feeling-angry-again/?utm_source=NewsThump%20Daily%20Briefing&utm_campaign=098bf29e50-RSS_EMAIL_DAILYBRIEFING2&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5c4292041a-098bf29e50-436042263&mc_cid=098bf29e50&mc_eid=7b7cba5e21&fbclid=IwAR1iQMKrvpNrnXSX-N1HhD4DDqZSsoDtCt2SB-0JcQDj89POal-asNfdLe4
Wikipedia: "A survey in 2014 found the average age of its readers was 58". "The Mail has traditionally been a supporter of the Conservatives and has endorsed this party in all recent general elections." So, a paradox.
I've been wondering if Labour will see the writing on the wall & call for Britain to adopt proportional representation (via referendum).
OMG this story needs more coverage for the good of all women athletes. Video outlines system designed by men that destroys female bodies.
Side note: Nike has crap shoes that are too narrow anyway.
https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000006788354/nike-running-mary-cain.html
Smears are business as usual from liberals
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t2sYacK8sw&feature=em-uploademail&ab_channel=SecularTalk
somethig about marmalade?
meow
Some like it hot!
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/ex-fire-chiefs-vow-to-go-it-alone-if-pm-refuses-to-attend-proposed-bushfire-summit
Governments can't, won't leave their comfortable bolt-holes and citizens have to look to their own energies. In Australia, there are still fires:
Emergency Leaders for Climate Action – a coalition that's now grown to include 29 former emergency services bosses – is calling for a national summit to fill the "leadership vacuum" left by the Morrison government.
Former Fire and Rescue NSW commissioner Greg Mullins says the group is prepared to act if the federal government doesn't.
"I hope the prime minister will suddenly show some national leadership and say 'Yes, I get it and I can see it and we'll get people together to deal with the crisis'," he told AAP.
"But I don't see any suggestion that's going to happen. They really are missing in action."
“So we’ll go it alone. We’ll arrange a national summit that will look at building standards, fuel management practices, response capability and national coordination arrangements.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/more-properties-expected-to-be-lost-to-nsw-mega-blaze-amid-soaring-temperatures
.
Assange needs to be cared about and for:
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/the-torture-must-stop-doctors-urge-australia-to-bring-julian-assange-back-home
Diagnostic radiology specialist Stephen Frost said it was beyond belief doctors had to urge the Australian and UK governments to give treatment to a torture victim.
"The torture must stop now, and Mr Assange must be provided with immediate access to the health care which he so obviously needs before it is too late," Dr Frost said.
Australian doctor and former Democrats NSW state politician Arthur Chesterfield-Evans said it was "chilling" to see Mr Assange's medical care being obstructed.
Belmarsh has a medical wing. How is his medical care being obstructed? The article doesn't say.
I am using it as a prod for me to take more interest and haven't found out more. It sounds as if he is needing more intensive care. I think medics are afraid that he will break down and want him away from UK control and where he will be within cooee in Oz.
I think it's a beat-up, and that he's being treated the same as any other prisoner with his security rating.
None of the medics have examined him. Nobody has described what medical care he is being denied. I believe it's just another lie from his supporters.
So you think it's a beat-up – big deal. Who do you expect gives a flying fig about what you think, especially when you demonstrably base your conclusions on unfounded suppositions.
Actually I base it on the fact that one of his lawyers said he was being investigated for "sex by surprise", another of his lawyers misrepresented the nature of red notices, on the fact that many of his supporters constantly minimise what he was accused of in 2010, and many other demonstrable lies from the assange camp over the years.
And your response itself indicates that you care about what I say, so hugs, I guess…
Nice one. I am sure you would have made excuses for the State destruction, torture and murder of dissidents in the GDR too
Oh, that's the other thing about the assange crowd that makes me think they're probably making up his imminent demise: they love to wank on about saying their critics support totalitarianism rather than just addressing the criticism. thanks for reminding me.
Ooooh – feels like an unwanted indecent groping from an inhuman monster!
The quality and expertise of your impeccable links, coupled with the eloquent and heartfelt words that brought me to tears, have completely persuaded me about the accuracy and basic humanity of your noble cause.
/sarc
I expect it is a response to his excessive time in solitary, the effects of which are reasonably well documented.
No more than any other high security prisoner. And he went to the medical wing when he needed treatment. So what medical care is he being denied?
I tend to agree with you generally on this McFlock (in the absence of actual evidence to the contrary, and the conspiracy needed to treat him worse than other prisoners). But it's also true that he went to prison after seven years restricted to one building. That's going to have taken its toll.
And in prison he gets the medical care required for that self-inflicted injury, whatever it might be.
Probably not going to be adequate, but I agree it's likely to be in line with other prisoners of his security grade.
Britain is signatory to agreements limiting solitary confinement for health reasons. Security does not excuse them from these responsibilities, and the length of Assange's incarceration is likely to compound the effects.
Suggesting that Assange is a security risk is most probably an institutional convenience – surrendering himself to rendition and torture is not required of him no matter how politically convenient it may have been for Britain.
Show me how Assange's treatment differs significantly from that of other prisoners, or how the treatment of maximum security prisoners in England violates these agreements.
Otoh, I just read the wiki piece on the UN's non-medical assessment of Assange. Ignoring all the commentary of people who haven't spend time with him, it seems not unreasonable that Assange may be on the harsher end of normal treatment while in prison.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Assange#Imprisonment_in_the_United_Kingdom
He seems to be classified as category A, the highest security level. Which would figure given the nature of the charges and the effort he used to avoid the other investigation.
But good luck getting specifics on his conditions out of the google results.
I thought the value of the visit from the UN was that it was a first person account from someone who’d been in the actual room with Assange.
Except he also makes clear Assange's observed condition was the result of his decision to abscond from bail.
And the only difference the UN guy suggests in how Assange is being treated compared to other prisoners is that, shock horror, Assange got a prison sentence for going through the entire british legal system and then skipping bail for years, costing the UK millions of pounds in the process. Frankly, I would expect someone who did that to get more of a penalty than someone who missed a court date and was picked up a couple of weeks later.
that was an interesting read. I started off thinking, oh they’ve got about about his mistreatment and by the end it just seemed like another round of polemic.
I had thought the assessment was for his time in prison. I guess if it’s including the seven years in Ecuador, then the issue of coercion becomes relevant, which just takes us back to a really complex set of dynamics, events and circumstances that no-one can seem to agree on.
Re skipping bail, UN dude’s summation of that seemed to be ignoring the likelihood that Assange would attempt to evade the court if charges were brought against him. I would have thought that alone would warrant refusing bail.
The stuff about the judges was weird though.
UK. What's the chance the new rump of Tories, one termers, decide to break away from the Conservative party and form a new center right party? Keep Boris honest.
About zero imo
Surely though it starts with the fear they will. Leveraging their unreelectablity against Downing Street.
An interesting take from Peter Harcher:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/118255194/rightwing-populists-look-poised-to-keep-winning
Over-ambitious blokes and their self-entitled fragile puffed up egos. Could be some truth to it.
Trump, Johnson, Putin, Bolsenaro, ScoMo, Netanyahu, Duterte, Xi, Modi ………. they've got a lot in common
Interesting news from the corporate world today. SFO has filed criminal charges against CBL Insurance and the FMA have issued civil proceedings.
https://sfo.govt.nz/sfo-files-charges-in-relation-to-cbl-insurance
https://www.fma.govt.nz/news-and-resources/media-releases/civil-proceedings-against-cbl/
[edit – comment replying to got deleted]
In October the readings for Whakaari were 1, then they went up to 2. What was the procedure then?
Likelihood of eruption over time by expert judgement
What readings were there between 2 December when it went to level 2 and 9 December when it erupted? When it got to level 2 it should have been read every day at least? When it erupted it immediately wen up to 3.
https://www.geonet.org.nz/news/60xDrUB7wRZPZXyBa8xYwE
The time periods used for the expert judgements vary depending on the level of activity at the volcano – when activity increases, we do expert judgements more often and for a shorter time window to reflect the changing situation.
.
Informative from Stuff 31/10/2019 BROOK SABIN
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/117046859/rising-so2-gas-output-volcanic-tremor-at-white-island-could-suggest-eruptive-activity-more-likely
The level of the White Island crater lake – shown here in a picture from earlier this year – has been rising since early-August. '
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/405711/whakaari-white-island-fishing-and-tour-operators-struggling-with-rahui
(Anyone who knows anything about Maori custom, and shopkeepers in Whakatane should, will know that a Rahui is placed on areas that have had tragic events happen there. It’s no use beefing about it. It’s how long for.)
Kia Ora Breakfast
My dogs named Tai.
Mana Wahine.
I have developed some good skills to sort out the players.?????????.
Ka kite Ano
Humanity is closely linked to our biodiversity of the world’s we need to conserve and protect our world creatures. Scientists studys show we came from our biological world. Hence Tangata Whenua o Aotearoa Culture they are all our relatives and should be treated as such.
The age of extinction
Flightless bird provides 'spark of hope' amid environmental crisis
Ten species with improved numbers in IUCN red list unveiled amid call for more biodiversity focus at COP25
The Guam rail, a flightless bird typically about 30cm long, usually dull brown in colour and adorned with black and white stripes, has become a rare success story in the recent history of conservation.
Previously extinct in the wild, the bird has been saved by captive breeding programmes and on Tuesday its status was updated on the IUCN red list of threatened species to critically endangered, along with nine others whose numbers have recently improved
Tuesday also showed 73 species declines despite conservation efforts, and the list now numbers 112,432 species around the world, of which more than 30,000 are on the brink of extinction.
The IUCN update came as governments from more than 190 nations met in Madrid for two weeks of talks aimed at pushing global action on greenhouse gas emissions. Progress at the talks has been slow, despite public pressure, and campaigners have been frustrated that key issues such as the biodiversity crisis have received little official attention.
“The tightly woven links between climate and biodiversity must be recognised at COP25 and there is good reason for this: the impact that a changing climate will have on the ability of ecosystems to support plant and animal life, and the challenges that biodiversity already face in a warming world are both vast,” said Gareth Redmond-King, the head of climate change at WWF UK.
Quick guide
The age of extinction
Show
Ecosystems are already under unprecedented pressure from human impacts, including habitat loss from encroachment by urbanisation and farming, pollution, hunting, overfishing and invasive species. But the accelerating climate crisis is pushing nature to breaking point around the world, wiping out vital ecosystems, putting unbearable pressure on species and leading some experts to declare a sixth mass extinction
Ka kite Ano link below.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/10/previously-extinct-guam-rail-saved-in-rare-conservation-success-aoe
Kia Ora Newshub.
That's good charges drop on Rua kenana.
Mike some people don't get it with discrimination.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
I have a sore face with Te Rua kenana Bill passing through Parliament today and apologies given to restore his Mana Wairua his mokopuna will be happy.
Australia is treating tangata whenua o Aotearoa very badly who move to their whenua they treat Tangata Whenua O Australia very badly.????.
I think it's a under arm bowl having all the alcohol and gambling outfits group closed to Maori and Pacific comunitys.
Ka pai to Ngapuhi opening a toi art centre. Te Tairawhiti has a Mana Toi centre in Turangi.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora Breakfast.
The problem I have with the roadside drug tests is the crown has made many mistakes Teina Porter so bad mistakes????? can be made and people can be imprisoned who are innocent with out any thing wrong being proven.
Crown agents never admit liability hence pike river.
I say drug testing party pills to analyse is the content is needed some of our youth could be eating bad crap that could stuff them up.
Climate change Global warming is our reality.
That's is what we should be celebrating love happiness and harmony.
The weather has been a year of extreme hottest records most rain most things our Scientists have been telling us for the last 30 years is now reality.
Ka kite Ano
It's excellent that Tangata Whenua O Aotearoa Culture is recognised as excellent morel values that needs to be respected. I have seen this change over the last few years Ka pai. This phenomenon will please our Tipuna.
Iwi gaining back authority across the country, one disaster at a time.
Remember
when, not very long ago, we could easily ignore Māori perspectives and practices? We can't any more.
It's becoming very difficult to exclude the use of tikanga Māori and te reo Māori at any event or in everyday life in Aotearoa. It's being used more every day, everywhere, by everyone, incrementally changing our Kiwi way of life
It's becoming very difficult to exclude the use of tikanga Māori and te reo Māori at any event or in everyday life in Aotearoa. It's being used more every day, everywhere, by everyone, incrementally changing our Kiwi way of life.
It's becoming our new normal whether we like it or not
A former colleague once said my use of tikanga in the workplace was "PC bull….". His anger was a reaction to fear that he felt because I challenged his worldview by insisting he consider my cultural beliefs.
That was 15 years ago. I'm sure he's changed his thinking now, as many of us have.
Western scientists have been telling the world we need to use indigenous knowledge to help resolve the man-made ecological and climate crisis threatening our planet. It's a neon sign of change because mātauranga Māori is being recognised as having equal status to science.
Ka kite Ano link below.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/opinion/118266516/iwi-gaining-back-authority-across-the-country-one-disaster-at-a-time
Whanau we can not keep over spending at Christmas then next minute the stuff ends up in the environment killing our wildlife. We should be putting the putea aside to build a Maunga for our Mokopuna to have a better future.
How to have a joyful Christmas without hurting the environment
For several years our friend Diana has had rules for Christmas giving.
We have humoured her and complied because they make a lot of sense in a world that is struggling to survive under a mountain of consumer goods.
Many families and individuals have enough stuff in their lives. It's tricky avoiding adding to this mountain with just more stuff, while still showing you care. I'm not saying don't buy gifts, or that we shouldn't enjoy the process of finding and giving the right present. I love giving and receiving gifts.
I simply want to re-examine the way I buy, what I buy, and why.
According to Diana's rules, gifts should be one of the following: second-hand, re-gifted (something you have received but no longer need or want), edible, home-made or experiential.
Finding second-hand gifts is surprisingly easy.
My final, and hottest tip to help make a perfect Christmas is to focus on family, friends and love. As a parent, I want to make the most of the holidays and give my children excellent memories. Remember, Christmas is not a competition.
Ka kite Ano link below.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/environment/118222817/how-to-have-a-joyful-christmas-without-hurting-the-environment
Kia Ora Newshub.
That's the way the people have to let the pollies know that Global Warming is now our reality.
The conditions of the chicken on that chicken farm is crap.
We never liked those bouncy nets for Te pepi.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
That's is awesome the Tauranga council following through with giving the Whenua back to Omataua Tauranga Iwi Trust.
Ka pai to have Tangata Whenua O Aotearoa on the new Health Board in the North land District that will help improve the bad stats of Maori health.
2019 will be a year to remember in Aotearoa and over Te Moana. 
Awsome to Cut above teaching Maori and others cultures the Barbara trade there is good putea in cutting hair Mana Wahine ;
Ka kite Ano