"The hard truth for those that believe in Rail is that it has never stopped being the Treasury view despite studies such as the Value of Rail in New Zealand study from EY in 2017. For all the talk of a balanced transport view there remains a underlying view in Treasury, MoT and NZTA Waka Kotahi that fundamentally outside of Wellington and Auckland Metro rail systems, and perhaps the Golden Triangle between Auckland Hamilton and Tauranga, New Zealand doesn’t need a rail network. Yet we trumpet the unrealistic view that Aviation and Air New Zealand can decarbonise in the relative near term whilst the most obvious decarbonisation of a transport network that already exists and is proven already to be able to be decarbonised – electrification and better use of the national rail network – is ignored. It is harmful to our international reputation and there is an argument from some that it should be broadcast to the World exactly what are our true emerging colours are as a nation in this regard – and it isn’t pretty."
We lost so much when Treasury defeated the MoWD in the eighties reforms….why cant we get anything done in NZ anymore?….because we have our infrastructure being designed by accountants…and dodgy ones at that.
I got to thinking about how the rails on the ferry line up with the rails on land at the terminal and decided they must use a hydraulic system to align the 2 sets. Wikipedia corrected me by saying weights are used for the purpose, but it was interesting to give it some thought.
There's no threat to metro rail or metro public transport services as they are. Auckland in particular is going through massive investment for a decade. Electrification is being extended to Pukekohe now and it's likely to push to Hamilton.
But rail freight? Its entirely fair to put the question over which lines we really need in a post-coal world. Don't need the Nightcaps-Invercargill line. Don't need the little branch lines out of Greymouth post-coal. Don't need Stratford-Taumaranui line. Don't need the Waitara-Hawea line. Do businesses really use the Gisborne-Wairoa-Napier line? No need to electrify them either.
But we need to keep the remaining lines from every dairy factory, most of which are new or refreshed. Also that little tourist line to Middlemarch seems to have gained some interest.
It really is amazing the left aren't more skeptical about rail as a cheap bulk export heavy-carbon exporter and importer. It's like they're lost in the world of steam.
Narrow gauge is a major handbrake on long distance rail freight and especially passenger services.
The selection of narrow gauge for New Zealand set the tone for the next 150 years of infrastructure development in NZ. Narrow gauge was seen as a no brainer by the engineers, who pointed out to the 1867 select committee we could leverage Australia for know-how (Queensland adopted narrow gauge in 1864) and it made a lot of projects a lot more feasible. The politicians noted it was much cheaper to build narrow gauge, since the tracks were cheaper than standard gauge and the tighter turning circle of narrow gauge meant the NIMT could cross the volcanic plateau using innovative engineering solutions (the Raurimu spiral was expensive but it was a lot cheaper than tunneling or use of extensive viaducts). None the less, the select committee didn't come to a decision, since the South Island had already built some lines using different gauges. It merely suggested we use narrow gauge in future.
So engineers wanted what would get them the most work, politicians wanted it on the cheap but also they didn't want to upset vested interests so they chickened out snd some vague suggestions were made and nobody considered the implications for a hundred years out.
Another issue is getting higher containers through tunnels built in the 19th century. The restriction is height rather than width of tunnels though height and width interact if a tunnel roof is curved.
Some lines cannot take 2.90m high containers, the modern "high-cube" standard. Most of the main lines can with the exception of Greymouth to Christchurch and North Auckland.
Rail tunnels north of Auckland have had their base lowered to enable the taller containers. Two years ago I met a surveyor who had been working on the project.
It's NZ's woeful loading gauge not the operating gauge of 3ft 6in.
You should see the monsters here in QLD or in WA where they have increased the Loading gauge and QLD has a Inter- Regional Rail incl Hi Speed Rail on 3ft 6in because they upgraded the loading gauge.
Some friends from the UK recently spent a couple of weeks driving around NZ. They commented on seeing airports (of all sizes) everywhere, but despite lots of rail lines, only saw one freight train the entire time, moving some logs. I tried my best to explain it, and was extremely embarrassed explaining the shift to trucking for freight. In the same way I've often found myself apologising to European tourists for the fact they need to rent a car to travel around NZ.
Along with the great journalists Gideon Levy (who spoke in Auckland six years ago) and Amira Hass, renowned scholars like Ilan Pappé and Avi Shlaim, and thousands of doctors, nurses, aid workers, and former conscripts in the Israeli military, one of the most brilliant Israeli dissenters is Miko Peled. He spoke in Melbourne the other day…
Is this the most anti science government ever, in Aotearoa at least?
Going back to the early Covid years, Chris Bishop et al were all for ignoring the science and not using masks, no transport restrictions, and no control over the points of entry.
Latterly we have Simeon Brown issuing edicts like some sort of low rent tsar to drive up fossil fuel car usage. Going against every climate scientist anywhere.
Water quality is totally being watered down to keep faith with the groundswell type farming lobby.
In the case of Luxon, Brown and some others, I'm wondering if their religious beliefs are playing a part here. Following the lead of the evangelicals in the USA, science is somehow anti god, and only the rich will get into the kingdom of heaven.
Seymour etc are easier to diagnose. The short term financial gain overrides any long term thinking.
Heaven only knows what will happen to their beloved farming lobby when Sainsburys decides not to buy our farm produce because of our appalling environmental record. But as long as the short term looks good, that's not David's problem.
Their God is Trump. They are creating their own Truth and going hard on it, knowing that if they can hold fast to their story, they will prevail; the people will drift on-side. Same as it ever was, only now it's global and very quick. Demiurge.
Those not enamoured must define and tell their story asap and without pause.
You may find this an interesting short read, considering the religious beliefs you mention.
The Hypatian Conundrum: the Estrangement of Science and the Church
The Church has had a historically tumultuous relationship with science, which has both shaped the course of science and the doctrines and theology of the Church. The church was undoubtedly a patron of the sciences, believing that the gift of reason was a divine providence and an instrument of theology, championing science, believing it would confirm Church doctrine. But when scientific findings did not match the Church’s doctrinal or even political stands, this relationship soured into inquisition and condemnation.
What do people think COCs Endgame is? Are they throwing everything on a bonfire to create a massive blaze to cover up a Bushfire that will be coming our way? I feel very disturbed by the frantic rush to pass all these repeals under urgency, ….canning Interisland Ferries upgrades, Judith Collins(FGS) achieving top job in the land in Friday dump whileWhinny was out of the country, nothing now for cyclists and walkers(children getting safely to school, the list goes on and on. Do they have early morning rituals to sacrificing all bottom feeder and other assorted nobodies to a lifetime of joblessness,no housing, food unaffordability etc. No handouts for the non believers they chant. What is the bottom line? What will be thrown at us as a fait accompli ? There must be a grand plan that will be abhorrent to all. But Given Luxor’s propensity to lie, duck shove, hide everything he can and his complete lack of moral fibre we won’t find out until it’s been done under urgency and under cover of darkness. I’m quite frightened by the lack of transparency and accountability he is able to be allowed.
It makes sense if you view it as a hostile takeover by corporate raiders– asset stripping and cutting "costs" for short term profit, pump up the share price, then dump it, i.e. socialise the losses.
When the Left takes over again in 18 months or 3 years there will be an almighty mess to clean up and the tools of State will be significantly weakened
I'm struggling to understand it too Ffloyd. The damage being done is immense.
Is it like Robert says they believe by going hard at maximum retrogressive change people will accept it all as fait accompli and not fight back?
Do they realise they will find a second term hard with all their spiteful turning back of the clock and putting the boot into so many sectors of the community already? So are they are going hard out to do, from our perspective, so much damage that when they are hopefully thrown out in 34 months it will be too hard to rebuild?
Is there an overarching plan to explain their spite and cruelty?
Or is their disparate "coalition" simply a coalescing of some horrible, corrupt, malignant aholes who are just gleeful about having the chance to hurt people other than them and their masters?
Damned if I know. But where we are saddens and depresses me. I want to fight back but don't know how. Someone said here the other day the answer was to organise. I asked what they would mean for those of who live rurally (and have few networks like urban areas and find it hard to afford to travel for potential protests etc). I didn't get a reply.
Thanks for the offer Stephen D but I've given up on the Labour Party.
But I have said to the nearest Greens branch to put me back on their local email list. I left the party several years back because they seemed too focused on gender critical issues rather the climate crisis and inequality. They ran a good campaign and I was bit disappointed they didn't do better given the level of disillusionment with Labour. They seem to have the ship sailing in the right direction now so I will observe and re-engage locally (as in the branch centre being 70km away) and may rejoin.
I have gotten to know another couple locally through shared community activity who I have learned are GP members and we have a shared perspective on where our country is currently at politically and socially. This will help.
This election I gave my electorate vote to the Green candidate as a show of solidarity and party voted TPM.
With the malignant muppets we have in the Beehive I feel like I have to get back to doing something in addition to my local community development involvement.
Luxon in his interview on Morning Report this morning in relation to dumping Get Wellington Moving said something to the effect "we are stuck with this huge cricket ground in the middle of the city" as though the best cricket ground in NZ had no value if it was hampering road development. He is a philistine.
And of course they are not dumping GWM….they are dumping only the light rail and handing the golden mile development to the Council to develop. All other things such as bus transport routes seem to be going ahead using the design work done under GWM.
And mayor Tory has said that when a sensible government gets elected light rail will be back on the agenda.
So this is largely a U-turn that Luxon and Bishop are lying about.
While not specifically on the same subject, I heard the same interview.
What struck me was Bishop's casual framing of cycle/bus ways as beautification.
Like all these spin doctor types, they choose their words very deliberately. As much as it can be painful, I will be listening to him in the future to see if it happens again.
To Ffloyd @ 4 : Couldn't agree more with your last sentence. The rushed law-passings heralded earlier are frightening enough, but more recent undebated introductions seem akin to dictatorship.
See in The Post today the PM's Te Reo lessons have been funded by the taxpayer. Well, well, do as I say, not as I do. Wonder if his religion makes any mention of hypocrisy in its teachings.
His actual words when criticising public servants who got work bonus for learning Te Reo
"I've got a number of MPs, for example, that have made a big effort to learn te reo … they've driven that learning themselves because they want to do it.
"In the real world outside of Wellington and outside the bubble of MPs, people who want to learn te reo or want to learn any other education actually pay for it themselves."
Chris Luxon took advantage of the clean car discount he repealed and the free te reo Māori lessons he wants to take away from public servants, next you'll be telling me an independent adjudicator has been enforcing some kind of fair pay for him and his MPs
What are the chances ? Will Peters pull the plug, will the Nact scavengers appetite for destruction eventually be a bridge or ferry too far? Very little of what is happening now appears to have any rationale associated with previous NZ1st keenness for a NZ owned ny NZers. I may be wrong but very little of the Luxon/Willis plans for the future would have any resonance with previous iterations of Winston, in fact some of them seem remarkably similar to events that triggered him walking away from precious National administrations. Is it all a cunning plan, that one day in the near future hopefully, he will do just that, bring it all down by walking away while claiming to be the Saviour?
I think the chances Winston will pull the plug down the track is quite high. He appears (only appears at this stage) to be extricating himself from the fruit-loops who catapulted him back into parliament. He must surely intend to retire at the end of this term and he will want to go out on a high note. Bringing down a deeply unpopular government (which it probably will be by then) or forcing an early election for the same reason would give him enormous satisfaction. He can then claim to have "saved" NZ from some catastrophe – imagined or real.
You seem to think I regard you as a fruit loop. I certainly do not!
I am referring to the likes of Liz Gann and her merry band who are living on a nebulous planet where reality doesn't exist, They are suffering from serious delusions and need to be pitied but it is hard to find sympathy for such stupidity.
Hence the word "fruit loops" – a colloquial expression for denoting individuals of unsound mind. And in case you take that the wrong way too, I am not referring to people who have mental diseases. There but for the grace of God go any of us, just as in physical diseases.
The great Gordon Campbell this morning satirizes the Peters-Seymour regime's war on the New Zealand people. He presents "a leaked document entitled In The Year 2025 that sets out the next phase of the coalition government’s plan to erase the last 30 years of New Zealand history."
Most of these points will be chuckled at by sensible and intelligent people, i.e. those who don't support this horrendous shower in Wellington. But there is one item in it which I believe should indeed be enforced. I have highlighted it in bold red italics:
Among the main points: the Public Health Coalition is to be disbanded, and replaced by the Radio Doctor, who will give brief talks on everything from colic to chilblains at 10am sharp on RNZ every Saturday morning. To restore media credibility, news bulletins will be voiced in future by holograms of Philip Sherry and Dougal Stevenson. Every Sunday night, state television will be required to broadcast a quality British drama. Each year, film festivals will be allowed to screen only one R18 movie, preferably from Sweden.
In the public service, women will be allowed to work only as receptionists or in typing pools, which will be re-instituted. Skateboarding will be banned, as will the riding of bicycles by anyone aged 18 or over. Graphic novels will be removed from libraries. If allowed to exist at all, libraries will be expected to enforce silence at all times during operating hours. Female librarians will be encouraged to wear spectacles, and put their hair in buns. Farmers will once again receive state-guaranteed minimum prices for their produce.
Morrissey. Oh no! Just as I feared. Dictatorship!!! Don’t mind a quality British Drama of an Evening though. I wonder if we will be allowed a small Sherry while we watch?…..Hmmm, probably not.
Reti is being asked to end affirmative action in doctor training. This reminds one of Paula Bennett ending the Training Incentive Allowance for those on the DPB.
At least Key did not try and sell off state houses …
Mining the conservation estate, pollution of the waterways and the deliberately inept action on the Paris Accord to the point of facilitating another generation of car and road dependence.
Former prime minister Sir Bill English will lead an independent review into Kāinga Ora, the Government's housing department.
Housing Minister Chris Bishop previously promised a review of Kāinga Ora's finances, saying in Opposition he did not have confidence in how the organisation was run.
He announced the independent review, which was promised in the Government's 100-day plan, during the weekly post-Cabinet press conference.
“Ministers have received further worrying advice about the financial situation of Kāinga Ora. We are not releasing that information at this time as it is commercially sensitive, but it confirms that an independent review is the right course of action at this time," Bishop said.
Rising debt and an operating deficit are the cited reasons.
The review is to be completed by the end of March.
What is wrong about having access to learning Maori while a government trainee (LOTO) hoping for a real job?
But subsidised learning of Maori should be not just be available for those in the public service, but also the wider public.
This can be done for the public via free online education. Just basic drama (common place settings) with English sub-titles and then replay with some language instruction (absorption form a preparation for more formal learning – class teaching style).
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Waitangi Day is a time to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and stand together for a just and fair Aotearoa. Across the motu, communities are gathering to reflect, kōrero, and take action for a future built on equity and tino rangatiratanga. From dawn ceremonies to whānau-friendly events, there are ...
Subscribe to Mountain Tūī ! Where you too can learn about exciting things from a flying bird! Tweet.Yes - I absolutely suck at marketing. It’s a fact.But first -My question to all readers is:How should I set up the Substack model?It’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask since November ...
Here’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s political economy on politics and in the week to Feb 3:PM Christopher Luxon began 2025’s first day of Parliament last Tuesday by carrying on where left off in 2024, letting National’s junior coalition partner set the political agenda and dragging ...
The PSA have released a survey of 4000 public service workers showing that budget cuts are taking a toll on the wellbeing of public servants and risking the delivery of essential services to New Zealanders. Economists predict that figures released this week will show continued increases in unemployment, potentially reaching ...
The Prime Minister’s speech 10 days or so ago kicked off a flurry of commentary. No one much anywhere near the mainstream (ie excluding Greens supporters) questioned the rhetoric. New Zealand has done woefully poorly on productivity for a long time and we really need better outcomes, and the sorts ...
President Trump on the day he announced tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China, unleashing a shock to supply chains globally that is expected to slow economic growth and increase inflation for most large economies. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 9 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 3Politics: New Zealand Government cabinet meeting usually held early afternoon with post-cabinet news conference possible at 4 pm, although they have not been ...
Trump being Trump, it won’t come as a shock to find that he regards a strong US currency (bolstered by high tariffs on everything made by foreigners) as a sign of America’s virility, and its ability to kick sand in the face of the world. Reality is a tad more ...
A listing of 24 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, January 26, 2025 thru Sat, February 1, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
What seems to be the common theme in the US, NZ, Argentina and places like Italy under their respective rightwing governments is what I think of as “the politics of cruelty.” Hate-mongering, callous indifference in social policy-making, corporate toadying, political bullying, intimidation and punching down on the most vulnerable with ...
If you are confused, check with the sunCarry a compass to help you alongYour feet are going to be on the groundYour head is there to move you aroundSo, stand in the place where you liveSongwriters: Bill Berry / Michael Mills / Michael Stipe / Peter Buck.Hot in the CityYesterday, ...
Shane Jones announced today he would be contracting out his thinking to a smarter younger person.Reclining on his chaise longue with a mouth full of oysters and Kina he told reporters:Clearly I have become a has-been, a palimpsest, an epigone, a bloviating fossil. I find myself saying such things as: ...
Warning: This post contains references to sexual assaultOn Saturday, I spent far too long editing a video on Tim Jago, the ACT Party President and criminal, who has given up his fight for name suppression after 2 years. He voluntarily gave up just in time for what will be a ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is global warming ...
Our low-investment, low-wage, migration-led and housing-market-driven political economy has delivered poorer productivity growth than the rest of the OECD, and our performance since Covid has been particularly poor. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty this ...
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.As far as major government announcements go, a Three Ministers Event is Big. It can signify a major policy development or something has gone Very Well, or an absolute Clusterf**k. When Three Ministers assemble ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill which would restore decision-making power to local communities regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. The ‘Fluoridation (Referendum) Legislation Bill’ seeks to repeal the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 that granted centralised authority to the Direct General of Health ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Government’s move to increase speed limits substantially on dozens of stretches of rural and often undivided highways will result in more serious harm. ...
In her first announcement as Economic Growth Minister, Nicola Willis chose to loosen restrictions for digital nomads from other countries, rather than focus on everyday Kiwis. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Government’s growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. “Just over a year ago this Government was elected by ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. “The Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,” says Mr ...
The Government is relaxing visitor visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting New Zealand, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Tourism Minister Louise Upston say. “The change is part of the Government’s plan to unlock New Zealand’s potential by shifting the country onto ...
The opening of Kāinga Ora’s development of 134 homes in Epuni, Lower Hutt will provide much-needed social housing for Hutt families, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I’ve been a strong advocate for social housing on Kāinga Ora’s Epuni site ever since the old earthquake-prone housing was demolished in 2015. I ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay will travel to Australia today for meetings with Australian Trade Minister, Senator Don Farrell, and the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF). Mr McClay recently hosted Minister Farrell in Rotorua for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministers’ meeting, where ANZLF presented on ...
A new monthly podiatry clinic has been launched today in Wairoa and will bring a much-needed service closer to home for the Wairoa community, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.“Health New Zealand has been successful in securing a podiatrist until the end of June this year to meet the needs of ...
The Judicial Conduct Commissioner has recommended a Judicial Conduct Panel be established to inquire into and report on the alleged conduct of acting District Court Judge Ema Aitken in an incident last November, Attorney-General Judith Collins said today. “I referred the matter of Judge Aitken’s alleged conduct during an incident ...
Students who need extra help with maths are set to benefit from a targeted acceleration programme that will give them more confidence in the classroom, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Last year, significant numbers of students did not meet the foundational literacy and numeracy level required to gain NCEA. To ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced three new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ...
Ki te kahore he whakakitenga, ka ngaro te Iwi – without a vision, the people will perish. The Government has achieved its target to reduce the number of households in emergency housing motels by 75 per cent five years early, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The number of households ...
The opening of Palmerston North’s biggest social housing development will have a significant impact for whānau in need of safe, warm, dry housing, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The minister visited the development today at North Street where a total of 50 two, three, and four-bedroom homes plus a ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced the new membership of the Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control (PACDAC), who will serve for a three-year term. “The Committee brings together wide-ranging expertise relevant to disarmament. We have made six new appointments to the Committee and reappointed two existing members ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora, good morning, talofa, malo e lelei, bula vinaka, da jia hao, namaste, sat sri akal, assalamu alaikum. It’s so great to be here and I’m ready and pumped for 2025. Can I start by acknowledging: Simon Bridges – CEO of the Auckland ...
The Government has unveiled a bold new initiative to position New Zealand as a premier destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) that will create higher paying jobs and grow the economy. “Invest New Zealand will streamline the investment process and provide tailored support to foreign investors, to increase capital investment ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced the largest reset of the New Zealand science system in more than 30 years with reforms which will boost the economy and benefit the sector. “The reforms will maximise the value of the $1.2 billion in government funding that goes into ...
Turbocharging New Zealand’s economic growth is the key to brighter days ahead for all Kiwis, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. In the Prime Minister’s State of the Nation Speech in Auckland today, Christopher Luxon laid out the path to the prosperity that will affect all aspects of New Zealanders’ lives. ...
The latest set of accounts show the Government has successfully checked the runaway growth of public spending, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. “In the previous government’s final five months in office, public spending was almost 10 per cent higher than for the same period the previous year. “That is completely ...
The Government’s welfare reforms are delivering results with the number of people moving off benefits into work increasing year-on-year for six straight months. “There are positive signs that our welfare reset and the return consequences for job seekers who don't fulfil their obligations to prepare for or find a job ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bronwyn Orr, Veterinarian, Southern Cross University Mitchell Orr/Unsplash Late last year, rumours swirled online that HomeSafeID, a private Australian pet microchip registry, had stopped operating. On Feburary 5 2025, a notice appeared on the HomeSafeID website, ostensibly from the site’s ...
The government is taking far too long to allocate the 1500 social homes it announced nine months ago and the hold up is stalling desperately-needed homes, says a community housing provider. ...
The media is rife with headlines about people killing animals for kicks. Please don’t.In memory of an Auckland swan, a Bay of Plenty octopus and a Taranaki striped marlin.Imagine this. It’s 7.15am. You’re paddling around on a serene lake with your sweetheart. It seems likely that she’ll give ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra US President Donald Trump has agreed to “consider” exempting Australia from the 25% tariff he has imposed on imports of steel and aluminium to the US. Trump gave the undertaking during a wide-ranging 40-minute ...
Pacific Media Watch Israeli police have confiscated hundreds of books with Palestinian titles or flags without understanding their contents in a draconian raid on a Palestinian educational bookshop in occupied East Jerusalem, say eyewitnesses. More details have emerged on the Israeli police raid on a popular bookstore in occupied East ...
By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist China and the Cook Islands’ relationship “should not be disrupted or restrained by any third party”, says Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun, as opposition leaders in Rarotonga express a loss of confidence in Prime Minister Mark Brown. In response to questions from the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris Ogden, Associate Professor in Global Studies, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Donald Trump is moving rapidly to change the contours of contemporary international affairs, with the old US-dominated world order breaking down into a multipolar one with many centres of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ronnie Das, Associate Professor in Data Analytics, The University of Western Australia In the recent Border-Gavaskar series against India, Steve Smith agonisingly missed out reaching 10,000 Test runs in front of his home crowd at the Sydney Cricket Ground, falling short by ...
In a brand new documentary series for The Spinoff, comedians and best friends Brynley Stent and Kura Forrester embark on a cross-country quest to find love. Bryn & Ku’s Singles Club is a brand new documentary series for The Spinoff following award-winning comedians and friends Brynley Stent and ...
🚐 Bryn and Ku pack their bags and swap the bleak dating scene of Tāmaki Makaurau for some meet and mingle events in Ōtautahi that will take them out of their comfort zone. ❣️ Bryn & Ku’s Singles Club follows comedians Brynley Stent and Kura Forrester as they head out ...
"The relationship between China and the Cook Islands does not target any third party," the Chinese Foreign Ministry says, as opposition leaders in Rarotonga plan protest. ...
From tradwives to ‘petite blonde’ preferences, this season feels like a throwback for all the wrong reasons, writes Alex Casey. First of all: I know. Complaining about bad stuff on Married at First Sight Australia is like complaining that water is wet. But I’ve been bobbing around in these waters ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a public servant who’s ‘trying to get better’ explains her approach to spending and saving. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Female. Age: 24. Ethnicity: Pākehā and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zena Assaad, Senior Lecturer, School of Engineering, Australian National University Ziv Lavi/Shutterstock Last week, Google quietly abandoned a long-standing commitment to not use artificial intelligence (AI) technology in weapons or surveillance. In an update to its AI principles, which were first ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brenainn Simpson, PhD Candidate, The University of Queensland Florian Nimsdorf / Shutterstock About 400 kilometres northwest of Sydney, just south of Dubbo, lies a large and interesting body of rock formed around 215 million years ago by erupting volcanoes. Known as ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mareike Riedel, Senior lecturer in law, Macquarie University The dramatic rise in antisemitic incidents has dominated headlines in Australia in recent months, with calls for urgent action to address what many are calling a crisis. The Executive Council of Australian Jewry ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane McAdam, Scientia Professor and ARC Laureate Fellow, Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW Sydney For a long time, it seemed refugee law had little relevance to people fleeing the impacts of climate change and disasters. Nearly 30 years ago, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maggie Kirkman, Senior Research Fellow, Global and Women’s Health, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University Krakenimages.com/Shutterstock You’ve heard of the gender pay gap. What about the gap in medical care? Cardiovascular diseases – which can lead to heart ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Iain White, Professor of Environmental Planning, University of Waikato Getty Images Urban planning has a long history of promoting visionary ideas that advocate for particular futures. The most recent is the concept of the 15-minute city, which has gained traction globally. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew King, Associate Professor in Climate Science, ARC Centre of Excellence for 21st Century Weather, The University of Melbourne Earth is crossing the threshold of 1.5°C of global warming, according to two major global studies which together suggest the planet’s climate has ...
As support for the coalition dips, the PM and his soon-to-be-deputy have engaged in a public war of words. Stewart Sowman-Lund has the details in today’s edition of The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Support slips If there was ever a political honeymoon, or ...
Failure by successive governments has left the South Island’s freshwater in a near disastrous state, the High Court has been told, in a case that could force the Crown to jointly manage water bodies with Ngāi Tahu.Individual Ngāi Tahu leaders, and the collective group Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, are ...
Nearing the end of his career, the world’s greatest unicycle racer chases the sport’s most elusive record. There’s something different about world-class athletes. Even if you know nothing about their sport, you can see it. It’s the way they move – precise, powerful. It’s how they carry themselves – focused, ...
Migrants with money are the focus of new visa settings that the government hopes will boost the economy. Alice Neville explains.What’s all this then? On Sunday, as part of the government’s big plan to kickstart economic growth, changes were announced to the Active Investor Plus visa category, with the ...
Comment: Saturday February 1 was the grim fourth anniversary of the military coup in Myanmar. The date seems to have gone unnoticed back here in New Zealand. Even before war in Ukraine and then Gaza, Myanmar got little attention. Yet it is the most destructive conflict in our region. The ...
We’re on the brink of a ‘tidal wave’ of misinformation.No one knows the size of it, but there’s a warning that leaving it to the government to sort out won’t work.In the year of local government elections, expect computer-generated content where the sources and authenticity are murky; more complaints about ...
Comment: The next four years are going to bring a terrible information environment, with absurd claims bubbling up from fever swamps overseas The post Paranoia and politics appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Swirly World Sails South, by Andrew Fagan (2012)I feel Andrew is totally under-rated as an author. Alongside his latest book, Swirly World: Lost at Sea, his earlier sailing book is among my favourites. It tells of his trip around New Zealand – via the Auckland Islands. When he set out, ...
"The hard truth for those that believe in Rail is that it has never stopped being the Treasury view despite studies such as the Value of Rail in New Zealand study from EY in 2017. For all the talk of a balanced transport view there remains a underlying view in Treasury, MoT and NZTA Waka Kotahi that fundamentally outside of Wellington and Auckland Metro rail systems, and perhaps the Golden Triangle between Auckland Hamilton and Tauranga, New Zealand doesn’t need a rail network. Yet we trumpet the unrealistic view that Aviation and Air New Zealand can decarbonise in the relative near term whilst the most obvious decarbonisation of a transport network that already exists and is proven already to be able to be decarbonised – electrification and better use of the national rail network – is ignored. It is harmful to our international reputation and there is an argument from some that it should be broadcast to the World exactly what are our true emerging colours are as a nation in this regard – and it isn’t pretty."
https://www.greaterauckland.org.nz/2023/12/18/guest-post-huge-existential-threat-for-new-zealands-rail-network-yet-again/
We lost so much when Treasury defeated the MoWD in the eighties reforms….why cant we get anything done in NZ anymore?….because we have our infrastructure being designed by accountants…and dodgy ones at that.
I got to thinking about how the rails on the ferry line up with the rails on land at the terminal and decided they must use a hydraulic system to align the 2 sets. Wikipedia corrected me by saying weights are used for the purpose, but it was interesting to give it some thought.
There's no threat to metro rail or metro public transport services as they are. Auckland in particular is going through massive investment for a decade. Electrification is being extended to Pukekohe now and it's likely to push to Hamilton.
But rail freight? Its entirely fair to put the question over which lines we really need in a post-coal world. Don't need the Nightcaps-Invercargill line. Don't need the little branch lines out of Greymouth post-coal. Don't need Stratford-Taumaranui line. Don't need the Waitara-Hawea line. Do businesses really use the Gisborne-Wairoa-Napier line? No need to electrify them either.
But we need to keep the remaining lines from every dairy factory, most of which are new or refreshed. Also that little tourist line to Middlemarch seems to have gained some interest.
It really is amazing the left aren't more skeptical about rail as a cheap bulk export heavy-carbon exporter and importer. It's like they're lost in the world of steam.
Some of us still have our anoraks from trainspotting the wonderful steam contraptions of the mid-sixties in the UK.
Narrow gauge is a major handbrake on long distance rail freight and especially passenger services.
The selection of narrow gauge for New Zealand set the tone for the next 150 years of infrastructure development in NZ. Narrow gauge was seen as a no brainer by the engineers, who pointed out to the 1867 select committee we could leverage Australia for know-how (Queensland adopted narrow gauge in 1864) and it made a lot of projects a lot more feasible. The politicians noted it was much cheaper to build narrow gauge, since the tracks were cheaper than standard gauge and the tighter turning circle of narrow gauge meant the NIMT could cross the volcanic plateau using innovative engineering solutions (the Raurimu spiral was expensive but it was a lot cheaper than tunneling or use of extensive viaducts). None the less, the select committee didn't come to a decision, since the South Island had already built some lines using different gauges. It merely suggested we use narrow gauge in future.
So engineers wanted what would get them the most work, politicians wanted it on the cheap but also they didn't want to upset vested interests so they chickened out snd some vague suggestions were made and nobody considered the implications for a hundred years out.
Sound familiar?
I think you mean the car happened.
It wasnt narrow gauge per se . It was the intial light line loadings or weight of trains per axle those lines could carry
The line loadings per axle could be and were upgraded over time Its a bit of myth that that narrow gauge limited rail traffic in NZ .
As you can see anytime , standard international containers are regularly now carried on the main lines
The maximum weight of a locomotive and its ability to haul a normal train arent a big problem
https://www.newshub.co.nz/nznews/rail-network-needs-to-be-able-to-carry-39-more-weight-2008091920
Rail tunnels north of Auckland have had their base lowered to enable the taller containers. Two years ago I met a surveyor who had been working on the project.
Yes. Japan was almost all narrow gauge until the Shinkansen introduced standard gauge.
Example of the myth about narrow gauge meaning 'lessor development' of your rail systems
It's NZ's woeful loading gauge not the operating gauge of 3ft 6in.
You should see the monsters here in QLD or in WA where they have increased the Loading gauge and QLD has a Inter- Regional Rail incl Hi Speed Rail on 3ft 6in because they upgraded the loading gauge.
Some friends from the UK recently spent a couple of weeks driving around NZ. They commented on seeing airports (of all sizes) everywhere, but despite lots of rail lines, only saw one freight train the entire time, moving some logs. I tried my best to explain it, and was extremely embarrassed explaining the shift to trucking for freight. In the same way I've often found myself apologising to European tourists for the fact they need to rent a car to travel around NZ.
Population density.
Netherlands is about same area of Hawkes Bay, plus Taranaki Plus Manawatu, and has 18 mill people not 1 mill.
England alone is same size as South island but has 56 mill people as opposed to 1.25 mill.
Even Wales with 3 mill people is same size as Waikato region alone with is dense by NZ standards but 525,000 people.
It appears the thrust of the article has been overlooked…..much like rail.
Along with the great journalists Gideon Levy (who spoke in Auckland six years ago) and Amira Hass, renowned scholars like Ilan Pappé and Avi Shlaim, and thousands of doctors, nurses, aid workers, and former conscripts in the Israeli military, one of the most brilliant Israeli dissenters is Miko Peled. He spoke in Melbourne the other day…
Is this the most anti science government ever, in Aotearoa at least?
Going back to the early Covid years, Chris Bishop et al were all for ignoring the science and not using masks, no transport restrictions, and no control over the points of entry.
Latterly we have Simeon Brown issuing edicts like some sort of low rent tsar to drive up fossil fuel car usage. Going against every climate scientist anywhere.
Water quality is totally being watered down to keep faith with the groundswell type farming lobby.
In the case of Luxon, Brown and some others, I'm wondering if their religious beliefs are playing a part here. Following the lead of the evangelicals in the USA, science is somehow anti god, and only the rich will get into the kingdom of heaven.
Seymour etc are easier to diagnose. The short term financial gain overrides any long term thinking.
Heaven only knows what will happen to their beloved farming lobby when Sainsburys decides not to buy our farm produce because of our appalling environmental record. But as long as the short term looks good, that's not David's problem.
Their God is Trump. They are creating their own Truth and going hard on it, knowing that if they can hold fast to their story, they will prevail; the people will drift on-side. Same as it ever was, only now it's global and very quick. Demiurge.
Those not enamoured must define and tell their story asap and without pause.
You may find this an interesting short read, considering the religious beliefs you mention.
The Hypatian Conundrum: the Estrangement of Science and the Church
https://williamtemplefoundation.org.uk/the-hypatian-conundrum-the-estrangement-of-science-and-the-church/
Thanks, aj.
Feeling stink for Hypatia 🙁
Same
Indeed. Came to the sort of end the cookers were wishing on Jacinda – very uncomfortable thought.
What do people think COCs Endgame is? Are they throwing everything on a bonfire to create a massive blaze to cover up a Bushfire that will be coming our way? I feel very disturbed by the frantic rush to pass all these repeals under urgency, ….canning Interisland Ferries upgrades, Judith Collins(FGS) achieving top job in the land in Friday dump whileWhinny was out of the country, nothing now for cyclists and walkers(children getting safely to school, the list goes on and on. Do they have early morning rituals to sacrificing all bottom feeder and other assorted nobodies to a lifetime of joblessness,no housing, food unaffordability etc. No handouts for the non believers they chant. What is the bottom line? What will be thrown at us as a fait accompli ? There must be a grand plan that will be abhorrent to all. But Given Luxor’s propensity to lie, duck shove, hide everything he can and his complete lack of moral fibre we won’t find out until it’s been done under urgency and under cover of darkness. I’m quite frightened by the lack of transparency and accountability he is able to be allowed.
It makes sense if you view it as a hostile takeover by corporate raiders– asset stripping and cutting "costs" for short term profit, pump up the share price, then dump it, i.e. socialise the losses.
When the Left takes over again in 18 months or 3 years there will be an almighty mess to clean up and the tools of State will be significantly weakened
Thus making NZ ripe for plunder
I'm struggling to understand it too Ffloyd. The damage being done is immense.
Is it like Robert says they believe by going hard at maximum retrogressive change people will accept it all as fait accompli and not fight back?
Do they realise they will find a second term hard with all their spiteful turning back of the clock and putting the boot into so many sectors of the community already? So are they are going hard out to do, from our perspective, so much damage that when they are hopefully thrown out in 34 months it will be too hard to rebuild?
Is there an overarching plan to explain their spite and cruelty?
Or is their disparate "coalition" simply a coalescing of some horrible, corrupt, malignant aholes who are just gleeful about having the chance to hurt people other than them and their masters?
Damned if I know. But where we are saddens and depresses me. I want to fight back but don't know how. Someone said here the other day the answer was to organise. I asked what they would mean for those of who live rurally (and have few networks like urban areas and find it hard to afford to travel for potential protests etc). I didn't get a reply.
What electorate are you in GA?
I should be able to find Labour Party contact for you.
Thanks for the offer Stephen D but I've given up on the Labour Party.
But I have said to the nearest Greens branch to put me back on their local email list. I left the party several years back because they seemed too focused on gender critical issues rather the climate crisis and inequality. They ran a good campaign and I was bit disappointed they didn't do better given the level of disillusionment with Labour. They seem to have the ship sailing in the right direction now so I will observe and re-engage locally (as in the branch centre being 70km away) and may rejoin.
I have gotten to know another couple locally through shared community activity who I have learned are GP members and we have a shared perspective on where our country is currently at politically and socially. This will help.
This election I gave my electorate vote to the Green candidate as a show of solidarity and party voted TPM.
With the malignant muppets we have in the Beehive I feel like I have to get back to doing something in addition to my local community development involvement.
Thanks again.
Luxon in his interview on Morning Report this morning in relation to dumping Get Wellington Moving said something to the effect "we are stuck with this huge cricket ground in the middle of the city" as though the best cricket ground in NZ had no value if it was hampering road development. He is a philistine.
And of course they are not dumping GWM….they are dumping only the light rail and handing the golden mile development to the Council to develop. All other things such as bus transport routes seem to be going ahead using the design work done under GWM.
And mayor Tory has said that when a sensible government gets elected light rail will be back on the agenda.
So this is largely a U-turn that Luxon and Bishop are lying about.
While not specifically on the same subject, I heard the same interview.
What struck me was Bishop's casual framing of cycle/bus ways as beautification.
Like all these spin doctor types, they choose their words very deliberately. As much as it can be painful, I will be listening to him in the future to see if it happens again.
To Ffloyd @ 4 : Couldn't agree more with your last sentence. The rushed law-passings heralded earlier are frightening enough, but more recent undebated introductions seem akin to dictatorship.
See in The Post today the PM's Te Reo lessons have been funded by the taxpayer. Well, well, do as I say, not as I do. Wonder if his religion makes any mention of hypocrisy in its teachings.
@ Reality (5) … God no doubt told the man of seven houses to dip his grubby paw into the public coffers to pay for his Te Reo lessons
His actual words when criticising public servants who got work bonus for learning Te Reo
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/301028534/mori-language-edicts-strains-nz-government
In the real world, people who can't afford to pay for it, make use of the various free te reo courses available.
Luxon's an entitled arse.
It's jolly ironic that I took Te Reo courses at night school at a local High School before the Nats removed funding for it.
I gained a hell of a lot from it beyond the improvement in vocabulary.
lol
@HaydenDonnell
Chris Luxon took advantage of the clean car discount he repealed and the free te reo Māori lessons he wants to take away from public servants, next you'll be telling me an independent adjudicator has been enforcing some kind of fair pay for him and his MPs
10:39 AM · Dec 18, 2023
Another ladder-tugger, in the same mould as Pullya Benefit.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/301028448/nz-politics-live-pm-christopher-luxon-using-taxpayer-funds-to-learn-te-reo
Teslas now te reo, luxons hypocrisy knows no bounds!!
What are the chances ? Will Peters pull the plug, will the Nact scavengers appetite for destruction eventually be a bridge or ferry too far? Very little of what is happening now appears to have any rationale associated with previous NZ1st keenness for a NZ owned ny NZers. I may be wrong but very little of the Luxon/Willis plans for the future would have any resonance with previous iterations of Winston, in fact some of them seem remarkably similar to events that triggered him walking away from precious National administrations. Is it all a cunning plan, that one day in the near future hopefully, he will do just that, bring it all down by walking away while claiming to be the Saviour?
I think the chances Winston will pull the plug down the track is quite high. He appears (only appears at this stage) to be extricating himself from the fruit-loops who catapulted him back into parliament. He must surely intend to retire at the end of this term and he will want to go out on a high note. Bringing down a deeply unpopular government (which it probably will be by then) or forcing an early election for the same reason would give him enormous satisfaction. He can then claim to have "saved" NZ from some catastrophe – imagined or real.
Rest assured, Anne, the fruit loops aren't going anywhere.
You seem to think I regard you as a fruit loop. I certainly do not!
I am referring to the likes of Liz Gann and her merry band who are living on a nebulous planet where reality doesn't exist, They are suffering from serious delusions and need to be pitied but it is hard to find sympathy for such stupidity.
Hence the word "fruit loops" – a colloquial expression for denoting individuals of unsound mind. And in case you take that the wrong way too, I am not referring to people who have mental diseases. There but for the grace of God go any of us, just as in physical diseases.
All good, I don't feel slighted.
Libraries are supposed to be quiet.
The great Gordon Campbell this morning satirizes the Peters-Seymour regime's war on the New Zealand people. He presents "a leaked document entitled In The Year 2025 that sets out the next phase of the coalition government’s plan to erase the last 30 years of New Zealand history."
Most of these points will be chuckled at by sensible and intelligent people, i.e. those who don't support this horrendous shower in Wellington. But there is one item in it which I believe should indeed be enforced. I have highlighted it in bold red italics:
continues…
http://werewolf.co.nz/2023/12/gordon-campbell-on-the-governments-politics-of-nostalgia/
Librarians are among the most liberal of all New Zealanders (it's the books, you see!)
Sure, pick a fight with the gangs, but steer very clear of the Keepers of the Books!!
Morrissey. Oh no! Just as I feared. Dictatorship!!! Don’t mind a quality British Drama of an Evening though. I wonder if we will be allowed a small Sherry while we watch?…..Hmmm, probably not.
Just read a quote. ‘If you’ve just read a big story in the media….Look for what they are trying to distract you from.’
In every National government this happens.
Reti is being asked to end affirmative action in doctor training. This reminds one of Paula Bennett ending the Training Incentive Allowance for those on the DPB.
At least Key did not try and sell off state houses …
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/301028581/shane-reti-to-review-affirmative-action-scheme-he-graduated-from-in-the-80s
Mining the conservation estate, pollution of the waterways and the deliberately inept action on the Paris Accord to the point of facilitating another generation of car and road dependence.
Of course they did sell off a few while Key was PM.
https://fyi.org.nz/request/20087/response/77519/attach/3/Response%20letter%20to%20JB%20OIA.pdf
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300050892/national-party-admits-it-sold-too-many-state-houses
First Kiwi Rail now Kainga Ora.
Rising debt and an operating deficit are the cited reasons.
The review is to be completed by the end of March.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/301028448/nz-politics-live-former-pm-sir-bill-english-to-review-kinga-ora
What is wrong about having access to learning Maori while a government trainee (LOTO) hoping for a real job?
But subsidised learning of Maori should be not just be available for those in the public service, but also the wider public.
This can be done for the public via free online education. Just basic drama (common place settings) with English sub-titles and then replay with some language instruction (absorption form a preparation for more formal learning – class teaching style).
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/labour-leader-chris-hipkins-taxpayers-union-among-pms-critics-over-publicly-funded-te-reo-lessons/MRBXZ7B7PFATZBNDUWZGSLX3AQ/
https://www.wananga.com/news/learn_te_reo
No climate change say the Tory idiots.
Tell that to the people of far north Queensland, go on I dare ya.
I bet there's a fair few in Northern Queensland that still 'we've always had floods' 🙁