Open mike 19/08/2024

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, August 19th, 2024 - 50 comments
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50 comments on “Open mike 19/08/2024 ”

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  1. SPC 1
    19 August 2024 at 6:59 am

    Just came across this (last year polling)

    Apparently more New Zealanders see themselves as right of centre (43%) than left of centre (28%).

    The same folk see the NZH as without any bias – but ZB and the Platform as right wing (everything else is left of centre … no surprise … but with the most left wing at 15% so).

    https://commonroomnz.com/david-farrar-media-bias-exposed/

    • PsyclingLeft.Always 1.1
      19 August 2024 at 7:35 am

      Well yes. David Farrar would angle it that way wouldn't he. And re the Common room, I was surprised to see who the presenters are. A mixed bag? A curates egg ? Although bit hard to see the good parts..

      https://commonroomnz.com/presenters/

      Tim Wilson an executive director at Maxim Institute ? Always thought he was just a dick. Seems he's got a lot in Common (right wing ) with most of the other presenters…

      • Muttonbird 1.1.1
        19 August 2024 at 8:43 am

        It's a right wing astroturf site attempting to pass itself off as an emerging media organisation.

        A real den of vipers.

        Ironic, given Farrar's protestations about balance in the media, very, very few contributors there (if any) could be regarded as having any left wing, socially conscious values at all.

        • PsyclingLeft.Always 1.1.1.1
          19 August 2024 at 8:46 am

          Aye . Common room…..as in, not so much .

        • Jimmy 1.1.1.2
          19 August 2024 at 10:59 am

          Don't forget that everything is seen as hard right wing by the 25-30 left leaning commenters on this site.

          There are many people who consider Luxon way too left leaning and many even think Seymour is a bit woke.

          • PsyclingLeft.Always 1.1.1.2.1
            19 August 2024 at 11:20 am

            everything is seen as hard right wing by the 25-30 left leaning commenters on this site.

            Everything? That seems kinda hyperbolic ? Have you employed a researcher ? Curia…. ? I ask as one of the 25-30..

            There are many people who consider Luxon way too left leaning and many even think Seymour is a bit woke.

            Oh riiight. And who they ? So we should be kinda ..OK with Lux and Seymour ? As it..could all be so much worse….

          • AB 1.1.1.2.2
            19 August 2024 at 11:32 am

            So you see the political spectrum as an entirely relative thing and solely in the eye of the beholder. So no objective or comparative historical analysis of the concept is possible and it's just a social construction.

            Very postmodern of you Jimmy – actually quite woke – are you a "cultural Marxist" (whatever the hell that is) and do you believe the same thing about gender?

    • Ad 1.2
      19 August 2024 at 8:43 am

      Pretty intuitive then that ZB is by a long shot the most popular radio station, and our most powerful MSM full stop.

      RNZ are tanking, just thankfully not as fast as TVNZ.

  2. PsyclingLeft.Always 2
    19 August 2024 at 7:57 am

    Fonterra Greenwashing ?..Nah surely not. Just couldnt be.

    Fonterra accused of 'greenwashing' to impress big foreign buyers keen on 'regenerative agriculture'

    In a soothing navy blue, the words "Regenerative Agriculture" unfurl across a bucolic scene of cows grazing. Tucked beneath is the presentation subheading, "Our natural advantage". Hovering in the top right corner is Fonterra's logo.

    Anyway…some Eperts who know what they see.

    "Utterly, utterly greenwashing," says Mike Joy, an academic well known for his freshwater advocacy. "We've kind of gone as far away from regenerative as possible."

    Adam Canning, from Australia's James Cook University, is an expert in regenerative agriculture and has worked closely with sugar cane growers. "It's total greenwashing," he says. "I think what they are trying to do is brand and control the narrative that they are already doing regenerative, and they are trying to call, for example, their rotational grazing regenerative – actually it's not."

    Joy says he is not surprised at Fonterra's move to highlight a pasture-based system as proof of an advantage in claiming the regenerative agriculture mantle. "There's certain voices within agriculture in New Zealand who have been saying all along that we are already regenerative and we don't need to change anything."

    There are farmers in New Zealand who have embraced regenerative agriculture long before Fonterra staked its claim, he says. "There are some really good people involved and the big guys come and take over and turn it into a farce."

    Such as Mark Anderson….An Actual Regenerative Farmer.

    "We were having consecutive, longer dry spells. Not just through summer, but extending into late autumn as well."

    "Cocksfoot, multiple different clovers, herbs like plantain, chicory, sheep's burnet," Mark Anderson says, launching into a list of some of the different plants he started sowing in his South Island dairy farm's pasture a decade ago when he started on the journey of regenerative agriculture. "Prairie grass, Yarrow," he continues. "Tall herbs, short herbs and perennial grasses. Sometimes we add some annuals in there."

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/525503/fonterra-accused-of-greenwashing-to-impress-big-foreign-buyers-keen-on-regenerative-agriculture

    Onya Mark. Regenerative Farmer. Fonterra ? Shame on you !

  3. Michael Scott 3
    19 August 2024 at 8:22 am

    I found Tim Wilson's video " How to disagree agreeably " very useful.

  4. PsyclingLeft.Always 4
    19 August 2024 at 8:24 am

    Billionaire woose and far right supporter/financier Eion Musk take his X bat and ball from Brazil…

    X says it is closing operations in Brazil due to judge's content orders

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/525484/x-says-it-is-closing-operations-in-brazil-due-to-judge-s-content-orders

    Ol' Eion Musk was a fascist Jair Bolsonaro cheerleader ..also unsurprisingly, a major Trump one too. Has custom made pom poms.

  5. Reality 5
    19 August 2024 at 9:30 am

    Picking up The Post this morning brought quite a nostalgic moment to see Jacinda on the front page. How we miss her, particularly when compared with what we have now. She did not insult. She cared about people. Luxon cares about himself and his entitlements.

  6. Jenny 6
    19 August 2024 at 10:03 am

    Diplomacy is war by other means.

    What Hamas want in a ceasefire and hostage deal are the lifting of the Israeli hold up of aid shipments into the besieged territory.

    Hamas also want the displaced civilians to be able to return to the North during the ceasefire.

    What Israel want in a ceasefire and hostage deal, is to continue their siege of Gaza during the ceasefire, including control of the Philadelphi Corridor keeping the Rafah crossing from Egypt into Gaza closed.

    Israel also want to be able to prevent displaced people from returning to North during the ceasefire.

    For a ceasefire to be agreed to. One side has to back down on these two opposing demands.

    As their people are more likely to be killed from hunger, disease and lack of shelter, than Israeli bullets and even bombs and missiles, Hamas is unlikely to back down on their demand that the siege be lifted and the displaced be allowed to return to what remains of their homes.

    That is just the reality of their situation.

    https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/daily-death-rate-gaza-higher-any-other-major-21st-century-conflict-oxfam#:~:text=Israel's%20total%20blockade%20of%20the,diseases%2C%20diarrhoea%2C%20and%20cold.

    Israel’s total blockade of the Gaza Strip is restricting life-saving aid, including food, medical supplies, and water and sanitation facilities. “On top of the already horrific death toll, many more people could die from hunger, preventable diseases, diarrhoea, and cold……

    …..Over one million people – more than half the population – have been forced to seek shelter in Rafah on the Egyptian border. Oxfam staff in Rafah report massive overcrowding, with very little food and water, and essential medicines having run out. This crisis is further compounded by Israel's restrictions on the entry of aid, closing borders, imposing a siege, and denying unfettered access. Currently, only 10 percent of the weekly food aid needed is getting in.

    One of Oxfam’s partner organizations, Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees (PARC), described the situation for those living in tents as “worse than anything you could imagine”, with makeshift shelters letting in rain, being blown away in the wind and people resorting to desperate measures like selling precious food or water supplies to get a blanket.

    Oxfam is also warning of the massive threat to life, beyond direct casualties, from hunger and disease. The onset of cold and wet weather is making the situation even more critical, with a shortage of blankets, no fuel for heating devices and no hot water.

    • Jenny 6.1
      19 August 2024 at 10:30 am

      Diplomacy is war by other means.
      War is decided by power. Diplomacy is also decided by power.
      Israel and Hamas must realize: they cannot achieve through negotiation what they failed to achieve in war. In other words, Israel will not retrieve its captives without concessions, and Hamas will not see Gaza free of Israeli soldiers without making sacrifices.

      Marwan Bishara

      As the governing body in Gaza, preventing famine among their people must be Hamas most immediate pressing need.

      Hamas may have to 'sacrifice' return to the north for getting the Rafah Crossing reopened.

      https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/eu-says-over-2-000-trucks-carrying-gaza-aid-stuck-on-rafah-border/3246904#

      Israel may have to make concessions over their control of the Philodelphi Corridor and the Gaza Crossing in exchange for keeping civilians from returning to the north.

      • Bearded Git 6.1.1
        19 August 2024 at 10:49 am

        The Palestinians should concede nothing.

        Gaza is part of the Palestinian state. Its borders are inviolable and Palestinians are permitted to live anywhere within those borders just as Kiwis can live anywhere within NZ's borders.

        All Israeli military equipment and personnel must leave Gaza and the West Bank.

        This includes the departure of all Israelis living in the illegal settlements. These could be used to house Gazans whose houses have been destroyed as a result of Israeli war crimes.

        • Obtrectator 6.1.1.1
          19 August 2024 at 11:26 am

          These [illegal settlements] could be used to house Gazans whose houses have been destroyed as a result of Israeli war crimes.

          They won't be, though. In the unlikely event of a withdrawal by Israel, they'll be demolished in the same mindless and spiteful fashion that the ones in Gaza itself were in 2005.

          • ianmac 6.1.1.1.1
            19 August 2024 at 12:04 pm

            Even if the war was over, where would the Palestinians live? Buildings have been destroyed on a huge scale and probably the means to rebuild also.

  7. Mike the Lefty 7
    19 August 2024 at 1:25 pm

    Interesting choice for position of Chief Human Rights Commissioner. Stephen Rainbow was, if my information is correct, a "progressive Green", ACT with token green face. I wonder how much influence Seymour had in this appointment.

    • Visubversa 7.1
      19 August 2024 at 1:52 pm

      He has certainly been in the National Party, I don't know how recently. More of a Blue/Green if you look at some of his published work.

    • Ad 7.2
      19 August 2024 at 1:56 pm

      OMG he's a hard core Nat. Currently senior advisor to Mayor Nick Smith in Nelson.

      Very political appointment and preparing for an HRC cleanout like all other Departments and otherwise 'independent' entities.

      Also very pro-Israel.

  8. Ad 8
    19 August 2024 at 1:53 pm

    If Ethiopia can ban combustion vehicles successfully, why can't we?

    https://edition.cnn.com/2024/08/17/climate/ethiopia-evs-gas-car-ban-climate/index.html

    • gsays 8.1
      19 August 2024 at 2:56 pm

      Probably taking us too close to China for the likes of 2-Tesla-Christopher.

    • Belladonna 8.2
      19 August 2024 at 3:52 pm

      Given that Ethiopia has only around 50 charging stations – it's more like banning imports of all cars.

      And, even if the charging station was resolved (unlikely) it's also facing fairly extreme issues with the electricity infrastructure as a whole (lots of power outages).

      https://restofworld.org/2024/ethiopia-gas-car-ban-ev-chargers/

      • Ad 8.2.1
        19 August 2024 at 7:50 pm

        Really you mean they are facing the energy transition with fewer resources and more political direction than everyone outside of the EU and China.

        • Belladonna 8.2.1.1
          20 August 2024 at 9:43 am

          Doesn't sound much like an energy transition – more like an energy contraction.
          And, given that currently at least half of the country has no electricity supply (primarily burning wood, etc. for cooking) – it seems like a very large aspiration to convert entirely to EVs.

          There is also major controversy with Egypt over the building of dams on the Nile – and the downstream consequences.

          https://climate-diplomacy.org/magazine/conflict/politics-grand-ethiopian-renaissance-dam

          On a smaller scale, we have the same issue in NZ – where conversion to EVs has not been matched by equivalent generation capacity – resulting in the increased use of coal and gas fired generation, and the power-price hikes we've seen this winter.

  9. Jimmy 9
    19 August 2024 at 3:57 pm

    Government needs to sort this sort of thing out urgently. What makes the daughter feel she is entitled to live in a tax payer provided property that I'm sure is needed for someone on the list that is more needy, and not even pay any rent for 10 months!

    Kāinga Ora tenant dies but daughter moves in, changes the locks | Stuff

    • Visubversa 9.1
      19 August 2024 at 4:26 pm

      KO has dealt with that before- probably lots of times. I was in the CAB at one stage and a family came in very distressed because they did not inherit their mother's tenancy of a State House. Their father had been a Public Servant on transfer decades before and qualified for a State House. After he died, the rest of the family stayed there – paying a quarter of their mother's pension as rent. The now adult kids never moved out, or became co-tenants – possibly because their income would have been assessed for the rent.

      Their mother died and KO gave them notice to leave. One of them – a sole parent may have qualified for a KO tenancy, but would have had to get in the queue with every body else.

  10. ianmac 10
    19 August 2024 at 4:58 pm

    By the way. The Herald did have a heading for Politics but now it hasn't. Wonder if they removed it so there will be nowhere to publish any criticism of their PM.

  11. ianmac 11
    19 August 2024 at 5:12 pm

    This morning on Morning Report, Simeon was asked where the money for Police road drink and drug testing was going to come from. Simeon said redirection but that 70 million would be withheld from the Police until they met the targets.

    Wow! But I have seen it reported nowhere else.

    • bwaghorn 11.1
      19 August 2024 at 7:00 pm

      He did go on about something along those lines on te news last night,

      It seems underfunded police can only access the money to do the job by doing the job with out the funding!!!!

    • Ad 11.2
      19 August 2024 at 7:48 pm

      The Police deserve a hard budget rule over them.

      Their corporate culture to all other crown entities is arrogant and toxic.

      Goid job.

    • Psycho Milt 11.3
      19 August 2024 at 9:05 pm

      So far, haven't seen a single journalist ask either Brown or the Police about the efficacy of the available drug testing. If the cops were having to transfer money from other areas so they could spend it on testing to establish whether someone driving a car used cannabis at some point in the last week, I can't be the only one who'd feel like my tax dollars were not being well spent, but no journalist asks whether this "roadside drug testing" actually identifies impairment or not.

    • Anne 11.4
      19 August 2024 at 9:13 pm

      Now I know what was going on last week.

      Was driving along Lake Rd, Devonport when I spotted a line of cars ahead. It transpired the police were doing large scale drink/drug testing. There were three of them [plus extra cops standing around I don't know what for] and they worked in unison… letting a few cars through without stopping them. It came to my turn and I was stopped. I wanted to suggest that I could think of far better things he could be doing than stopping old ladies to see if they were drunk in charge of a vehicle. I would have if I had known what was going on.

      So, the cops are spending up large on testing in the middle of the day in the middle of the week. Something has to give. The real crims will have a field day knowing they're local boys in blue will be too busy knocking up young mums and pensioners on their way to do their SM shopping. 😉

      • Nic the NZer 11.4.1
        19 August 2024 at 9:47 pm

        Being scheduled in the middle of the day this was likely a training exercise, rather than an attempt to catch any drunk or drugged drivers.

        • Anne 11.4.1.1
          19 August 2024 at 10:46 pm

          Never thought of that. You be right. My cop looked very young. Getting them primed and ready for the testing blitz.

          • tWig 11.4.1.1.1
            20 August 2024 at 11:16 am

            More spent on drunk driving means less spent on meth, a dangerous, addictive drug that destroys communities. Wrong emphasis on relative harm caused to society. And the expensive, but legal habit of addictive nicotine, a drug that is very hard to break the habit for a proportion of people.

  12. Jenny 12
    20 August 2024 at 6:35 am

    Bearded Git @1.1

    19 August 2024 at 10:49 am

    The Palestinians should concede nothing…..

    It is all very well to say that from the safety and comfort of your living room in New Zealand, but what if your children were being butchered in front of your eyes you would 'concede' everything.

    As Marwan Bishara says it is a matter of power. Who has it, who doesn't.

    This is not a war, it is a one sided slaughter.

    The Israelis are doing everything in their power to wipe out the Palestinians, the Palestinians are doing everything in their power to prevent it.

    The US Qatar and Egypt have proposed a three stage plan. Stage 1 is a temporary ceasefire, with the possibility of extending it into a permanent ceasefire, that is stage 2. Stage 3 is the rebuilding of Gaza.

    Hamas, with whatever power they have, want a ceasefire and partial prisoner echange, with the possibility of extending it to stage 2 a full prisoner exchange and permanent ceasefire. The Israelis are doing everything within their power to prevent any ceasefire. The Israelis have said, any ceasefire must be temporary, Even with a full handover of all the hostages the Israelis say that they will continure the war until Hamas is eliminated.

    The outcome will be decided as Marwan Bishara says, by who has the most power..

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    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In his last post, Zeke discussed incredible warmth of 2023 and 2024 and its implications for future warming. A few readers looked at it and freaked out: This is terrifying and This update really put me in a ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago
  • Government directs Te Puni Kōkiri to conduct Māori Language Week in English

    The coalition government has issued a directive to Te Puni Kōkiri, the Ministry of Māori Development, instructing them that – in the interests of clear communication – they are to conduct this year’s Māori Language Week primarily or exclusively in English. The directive is in line with the Government’s policy ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    3 days ago
  • Government celebrates fact that New Zealand’s healthcare is so good people are queuing up for it a...

    At yesterday’s post-cabinet press conference, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, flanked by his Health Minister Shane Reti and someone we can’t independently verify was a real sign language interpreter, announced that he had some positive news for the country. “Alright team, I’m just going to hand over to uh, Dr. Shane, ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    3 days ago
  • Heartwarming: Thoughtful driver uses indicator to tell you what they’ve just done

    It’s 4:10pm in the morning, and you’re in the middle lane heading north on the great southern motorway of our nation’s capital, Auckland. There are no cars directly in front of you, but quite a few in the lane to your left. Suddenly, without warning, a black ute enters your ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    3 days ago
  • NPC teams will now be allowed to actually use the Ranfurly Shield in play

    Following decades of controversy, the governing body of New Zealand rugby, New Zealand Rugby, has ruled that the team currently holding the Ranfurly Shield may once again use it in play during the National Provincial Championship (NPC). The ruling restores the utility of a prize that for many years was ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    3 days ago
  • Climbing out of the hamster wheel

    I arrived home with a head full of fresh ideas about mindfulness and curbing impulsive aspects in my character.On the second night home I grabbed a piece of ginger and began swiftly slicing it on our industrial strength mandolin, the one I have learned through painful experience to treat with ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • More Notes From Stinky Town

    Good morning, folks. Another wee note from a chilly Rotorua morning that looks much clearer than yesterday. As I write, the pink glow in the east is slowly growing, and soon, the palest of blue skies should become a bit more royal.A couple of people mentioned yesterday that I should ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Make it make sense: why axe valuable local projects?

    Last week, Matt looked at how the government wants to pour a huge chunk of civic infrastructure funding for a generation  into one mega-road up North, at huge cost and huge opportunity cost. A smaller but no less important feature of the National Land Transport Plan devised by Minister of Transport ...
    Greater AucklandBy Jolisa
    4 days ago
  • Driving blind at higher speeds

    An open letter by experts about plans to raise speed limits warns the “tragic consequence will be more New Zealanders losing their lives or suffering severe injury, along with a substantial burden on the nation's healthcare and rehabilitation services”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • 2024’s unusually persistent warmth

    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink My inaugural post on The Climate Brink 18 months ago looked at the year 2024, and found that it was likely to be the warmest year on record on the back of a (than forecast) El Nino event. I suggested “there is a real chance ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago
  • National plan for 2000 more Kiwis a year in prison

    Open for allYesterday, Luxon congratulated his government on a job well done with emergency housing numbers, but advocates have been saying it‘s likely many are on the streets and sleeping in cars.Q&A featured some of the folks this weekend - homeless and in cars. Yes.The government’s also confirmed they stopped ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • I Found a Note in a Tree

    Hi,On most days I try to go on a walk through nature to clear my head from the horrors of life. Because as much as I like people, I also think it’s incredibly important to get very far away from them. To be reminded that there are also birds, lizards, ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Politicians need to lift their game

    Declining trust in New Zealand politicians should be a warning to them to lift their game. Results from the New Zealand Election Study for the 2023 election show that the level of trust in politicians has once again declined. Perhaps it is not surprising that the results, shared as part ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Police say they won’t respond to bomb threats anymore as ‘it’s never anything’

    Police Commissioner Andrew Coster says that New Zealand’s police force will no longer respond to bomb threats, in an attempt to cut costs and redirect police resources to less boring activities. Coster said that threat response and bomb disposal was a “fairly obvious” area for downsizing, as bomb threats are ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    4 days ago
  • A dysfunctional watchdog

    The reality of any right depends on how well it is enforced. But as The Post points out this morning, our right to official information isn't being enforced very well at all: More than a quarter of complaints about access to official information languish for more than a year, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Climate Change: The threat of a good example

    Since taking office, the climate-denier National government has gutted agricultural emissions pricing, ended the clean car discount, repealed water quality standards which would have reduced agricultural emissions, gutted the clean car standard, killed the GIDI scheme, and reversed efforts to reduce pollution subsidies in the ETS - basically every significant ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Vegas Baby

    Good morning, lovely people. Don’t worry. This isn’t really a newsletter, just a quick note. I’m sitting in our lounge, looking out over a gloomy sky. Although being Rotorua, the view is periodically interrupted by steam bursting from pipes and dispersing—like an Eastern European industrial hellscape during the Cold War.Drinking ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Why Entrust Needs New Leadership

    I am part of a new team running in the Entrust election in October. Entrust is a community electricity trust representing a significant part of Auckland, set up to serve the community. It is governed by five trustees are elected every three years in an election the trust itself oversees. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • London Bridge is falling down

    In the UK, London is the latest of council groups to signal potential bankruptcy.That’s after Birmingham, Britain’s second largest city, went bankrupt in June, resulting in reduced sanitation services, libraries cut, and dimmed streetlights.Some in the city described things as “Dickens” like.Please, Sir, Can I have some more?For families with ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Govt may kick elderly out of hospitals

    The Government is considering how to shunt elderly people out of hospitals, and also how to cut their access to other support. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Monday, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Getting the nephs off the couch

    The so-called “Prince of the Provinces”, Shane Jones, went home last Friday. Perhaps not quite literally home, more like 20 kilometres down the road from his house on the outskirts of Kerikeri. With its airport, its rapidly growing (mostly retired) population, and a commercial centre with all the big retail ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • De moralibus orcorum: Sargon of Akkad, Rings of Power, Evil, and George R.R. Martin

    I have noted before that The Rings of Power has attracted its unfortunate share of culture war obsessives. Essentially, for a certain type of individual, railing on about the Wokery of Modern Media is a means of making themselves a online livelihood. Clicks and views and advertising revenue, and all ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #37

    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, September 8, 2024 thru Sat, September 14, 2024. Story of the week From time to time we like to make our Story of the Week all about us— and ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago
  • Salvation For Us All

    Yesterday, I ruminated about the effects of being a political follower.And, within politics, David Seymour was smart enough on Friday to divert attention from “race blind” policies [what about gender blind I thought - thinking of maternity wards] and cutting school lunches by throwing meat to the media. Teachers were ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A warm embrace

    Far, far away from here lives our King. Some of his subjects can be quite the forelock tuggers, but plenty of us are not like that, and why don't I wheel out my favourite old story once more about Kiwi soldiers in the North African desert?Field Marshal Montgomery takes offence ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Literal clowns are running the place, we must put a timeout on this stupidity… right Aotearoa?

    These people are inept on every level. They’re inept to the detriment of our internal politics, cohesion and increasingly our international reputation. And they are reveling in the fact they are getting away with it. We cannot even have “respectful debate” with a government that clearly rejects the very ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    6 days ago
  • Fact brief – Does manmade CO2 have any detectable fingerprint?

    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 John Mason. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Does manmade CO2 have any ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago
  • Judge Not.

    Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Matthew 7:1-2FOUR HUNDRED AND FORTY men and women professing the Christian faith would appear to have imperilled their immortal souls. ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago
  • Managed Democracy: Letting The People Decide, But Only When They Can Be Relied Upon To Give the Righ...

    Uh-uh! Not So Fast, Citizens! The power to initiate systemic change remains where it has always been in New Zealand’s representative democracy – in Parliament. To order a binding referendum, the House of Representatives must first to be persuaded that, on the question proposed, sharing its decision-making power with the people ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago
  • Looking For Labour’s Vital Signs.

    Flatlining: With no evidence of a genuine policy disruptor at work in Labour’s ranks, New Zealand’s wealthiest citizens can sleep easy.PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN has walked a picket-line. Presidential candidate Kamala Harris has threatened “price-gauging” grocery retailers with price control. The Democratic Party’s 2024 platform situates it well to the left of Sir ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago
  • Forty Years Of Remembering To Forget.

    The Beginning of the End: Rogernomics became the short-hand descriptor for all the radical changes that swept away New Zealand’s social-democratic economy and society between 1984 and 1990. In the bitterest of ironies, those changes were introduced by the very same party which had entrenched New Zealand social-democracy 50 years earlier. ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago
  • Kōrero Mai – Speak to Me.

    Good morning all you lovely people. 🙂I woke up this morning, and it felt a bit like the last day of school. You might recall from earlier in the week that I’m heading home to Rotorua to see an old friend who doesn’t have much time. A sad journey, but ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Winning ways

    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on anything you may have missed. Street architecture adjustment, KolkataShare Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago
  • 48 seconds on a plan that would reverberate for a million years

    Despite fears that Trump presidency would be disastrous for progress on climate change, the topic barely rated a mention in the Presidential debate. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago
  • Using blunt instruments and magical thinking to ignore evidence of harm

    The abrupt cancellations and suspensions of Government spending also caused private sector hiring, spending, and investment to freeze up for the first six months of the year. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāThis week we learned:The new National/ACT/NZ First Coalition Government ignored advice from Treasury that it didn’t have to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago
  • Is This A Dagger Which I See Before Me: A Review and Analysis of The Rings of Power Episode 5 (Seaso...

    Another week of The Rings of Power, season two, and another confirmation that things are definitely coming together for the show. The fifth Episode of season one represented the nadir of the series. Now? Amid the firmer footing of 2024, Episode Five represents further a further step towards excellent Tolkien ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    7 days ago
  • In Open Seas; A Book

    The background to In Open Seas: How the New Zealand Labour Government Went Wrong:2017-2023Not in Narrow Seas: The Economic History of Aotearoa New Zealand, published in 2020, proved more successful than either I or the publisher (VUP, now Te Herenga Waka University Press) expected. I had expected that it would ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Sept 13

    The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts and talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate science on rising temperatures and the climate implications of the US Presidential elections; and special guests Janet ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Do or do not. There is no try

    1. Upon receiving evidence that school lunches were doing a marvellous job of improving outcomes for students, David Seymour did what?a. Declared we need much more of this sort of good news and poured extra resources and funding into them b. Emailed Atlas network to ask what to do next c. Cut ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • Dangerous ground

    The Waitangi Tribunal has reported back on National's proposed changes to gut the Marine and Coastal Area Act and steal the foreshore and seabed for its greedy fishing-industry donors, and declared it to be another huge violation of ti Tiriti: The Waitangi Tribunal has found government changes to the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Climate Change: National wants to cheat on Paris

    In 2016, the then-National government signed the Paris Agreement, committing Aotearoa to a 30 (later 50) percent reduction in emissions by 2030. When questioned about how they intended to meet that target with their complete absence of effective climate policy, they made a lot of noise about how it was ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Treasury warned Govt lower debt limits meant less ‘productivity-enhancing investment’

    Treasury’s advice to Cabinet was that the new Government could actually prudently carry net core Crown debt of up to 50% of GDP. But Luxon and Willis instead chose to portray the Government’s finances as in such a mess they had no choice but to carve 6.5% to 7.5% off ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Is the Media Complicit?

    This is a long read. Open to all.SYNOPSIS: Traditional media is at a cross roads. There is a need for those in the media landscape, as it stands, to earn enough to stay afloat, but also come across as balanced and neutral to keep its audiences.In America, NYT’s liberal leaning ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Black Friday

    It's Black Friday, the end of the weekYou take my hand and hold it gently up against your cheekIt's all in my head, it's all in my mindI see the darkness where you see the lightSong by Tom OdellFriday the 13th, don’t be afraid.No, really, don’t. Everything has felt a ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 13-September-2024

    Ooh, Friday the thirteenth. Spooky! Is that why certain zombie ideas have been stalking the landscape this week, like the Mayor’s brainwave for a motorway bridge from Kauri Point to Point Chev? Read on and find out. This roundup, like all our coverage, is brought to you by the Greater ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago

  • Tourism on the table for Pacific Ministers’ meet-up

    Tourism and Hospitality Minister Matt Doocey will meet with Trade and Tourism Minister of Australia Don Farrell and Fiji Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica in Rotorua this weekend for a trilateral tourism discussion. “Like in New Zealand, tourism plays a significant role in Australia and Fiji’s economy, contributing massively to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 hours ago
  • Young people report on family and sexual violence

    The Te Puna Aonui Expert Advisory Group for Children and Young People has presented its report today on improving family and sexual violence outcomes for young people, to the Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence, Karen Chhour.  The presentation at the Auckland event was an opportunity for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 hours ago
  • $18 million being invested in the victims of crime

    The Government is putting more than $18 million towards improving the experience of the criminal justice system for victims, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Minister for Children Karen Chhour say. “No one should experience crime, but for those who through no fault of their own become victims, they need to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago
  • Landmark phonics check in te reo Māori

    For the first time, schools can use a purpose-built tool to check how a child is progressing in reading through te reo Māori. “Around 45 schools are trialling a New Zealand first te reo Māori phonics check, known as Hihira Weteoro. It will help kaiako (teachers) focus on what ākonga ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago
  • New sea walls safeguard Ōpōtiki’s transformation

    Two new breakwater walls at Pākihikura (Ōpōtiki) Harbour will provide boats with safe harbour access to support the continued growth of aquaculture in Bay of Plenty, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones say. The Ministers and leaders from Tē Tāwharau o Te Whakatōhea and other ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    8 hours ago
  • Kitmap to improve access to science infrastructure

    Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced an online platform to optimise the use of New Zealand’s science and technology research infrastructure and to link the public and private sector. “This country is home to world-class science, technology, and engineering expertise. Kitmap is set to empower Kiwi innovators, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    8 hours ago
  • Driving the uptake of low emission heavy vehicles

    The Government has launched the Low Emissions Heavy Vehicle Fund (LEHVF) to promote innovation and offset the cost of hundreds of heavy vehicles powered by clean technologies, Energy Minister Simeon Brown and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts say. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    8 hours ago
  • Speech on replacing the Resource Management Act

    Replacing the RMA Hon Chris Bishop: Good morning, it is great to be with you. Can I first acknowledge the Resource Management Law Association for hosting us here today. Can I also acknowledge my Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Simon Court, who is on stage with me. He has assisted me in establishing the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago
  • Replacement for the Resource Management Act takes shape

    Two new laws will be developed to replace the Resource Management Act (RMA), with the enjoyment of property rights as their guiding principle, RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Parliamentary Under-Secretary Simon Court say. “The RMA was passed with good intentions in 1991 but has proved a failure in practice. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • Tough laws pass to make gang life uncomfortable

    Legislation passed through Parliament today will provide police and the courts with additional tools to crack down on gangs that peddle misery and intimidation throughout New Zealand, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “From November 21, gang insignia will be banned in all public places, courts will be able to issue non-consorting orders, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • New levy rates set to ensure continued funding of FENZ

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the rates for the redesigned levy that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) from July 2026.  “Earlier this year FENZ consulted publicly on a 5.2 percent increase to the levy. I was not convinced that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Police allocate Officers to Beat and Gang Units

    The Coalition Government welcomes Police’s announcement today to deploy more police on the beat and staff to Gang Disruption Units.  An additional 70 officers will be allocated to Community Beat Teams across towns and regional centres.  This builds on the deployment of beat officers in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch CBDs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Consultation begins on significant updates to the biosecurity system

    Proposals to strengthen the country’s vital biosecurity system, including higher fines for passengers bringing in undeclared high-risk goods, greater flexibility around importing requirements, and fairer cost sharing for biosecurity responses have been released today for public consultation. Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says “The future is about resilience and the 30-year-old ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Wānaka community to benefit from new overnight health service

    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says an Overnight Acute Care Service opening in October will provide people in Wānaka and the surrounding area with the assurance of quality overnight care closer to home.  “When I was in Wānaka earlier this year, I announced funding for an overnight health service – ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Preventing potholes with data-driven technology

    The Government is rolling out data collection vans across the country to better understand the condition of our road network to prevent potholes from forming in the first place, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.  “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is a key priority for the Government and increasing ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • GDP data shows effect of high interest rates

    Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data for the quarter to June 2024 reinforces how an extended period of high interest rates has meant tough times for families, businesses, and communities, but recent indications show the economy is starting to bounce back, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ data released today ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • NZ to host first Fiji, Australia trilateral trade Ministers’ meeting in Rotorua

    Trade Minister Todd McClay will host Fijian Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica and Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell for trilateral trade talks in Rotorua this weekend. “Fiji is one of the largest economies in the Pacific and is a respected partner for Australia and New Zealand,” Mr McClay says. Australia and New Zealand ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • NZ hosts Annual CER Trade Ministers’ meeting in Rotorua

    Trade Minister Todd McClay will meet with Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministers’ meeting in Rotorua this weekend.  “CER is our most comprehensive agreement covering trade, labour mobility, harmonisation of standards and political cooperation. It underpins an important trading relationship worth $32 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Government proposing changes to jury trials

    The Government is seeking the public’s feedback on two major changes to jury trials in order to improve court timeliness, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “The first proposal would increase the offence threshold at which a defendant can decide to have their case heard by a jury. “The second is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Business key to regional economic dialogue

    Local businesses and industries need to be front and centre in conversations about how regions plan to grow their economies, Regional Development Shane Jones says. The nationwide series of summits aims to facilitate conversations about regional economic growth and opportunities to drive productivity, prosperity and resilience through the Coalition Government’s Regional ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • More funding for Growing Up in New Zealand study

    The Government is investing $16.8 million over the next four years to extend the Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) Longitudinal Study. GUiNZ is New Zealand’s largest longitudinal study of child health and wellbeing and has followed the lives of more than 6000 children born in 2009 and 2010, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Tough targets for charter schools will raise achievement

    Associate Education Minister David Seymour says that Charter Schools will face a combination of minimum performance thresholds and stretch targets for achievement, attendance and financial sustainability. “Charter schools will be given greater freedom to respond to diverse student needs in innovative ways, but they will be held to a much ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • NZ votes for Middle East resolution at UN

    New Zealand has voted for a United Nations resolution on Israel’s presence in occupied Palestinian Territory with some caveats, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “New Zealand’s yes vote is fundamentally a signal of our strong support for international law and the need for a two-state solution,” Mr Peters says.    “The Israel-Palestine ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Honouring the legacy of New Zealand’s suffragists

    Suffrage Day is an opportunity to reaffirm New Zealand’s commitment to ensuring we continue to be a world leader in gender equality, Minister for Women Nicola Grigg says. “On 19 September, 131 years ago, New Zealand became the first nation in the world where women gained the right to vote. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Foreign Minister to travel to New York, French Polynesia

    Foreign Minister Winston Peters is travelling to New York next week to attend the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, followed by a visit to French Polynesia. “In the context of the myriad regional and global crises, our engagements in New York will demonstrate New Zealand’s strong support for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Thanking social workers on their national day

    “Today, on Aotearoa New Zealand Social Workers’ Day, I would like to recognise the tremendous effort social workers make not just today, but every day,” Children’s Minister and Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence Karen Chhour says. “I thank all those working on the front line for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Minister of State for Trade heads to Laos for ASEAN meetings

    Minister of State for Trade Nicola Grigg will travel to Laos this week to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Ministers’ Meetings in Vientiane.   “The Government is committed to strengthening our relationship with ASEAN,” Ms Grigg says. “With next year marking 50 years since New Zealand became ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Members appointed to retail crime MAG

    The Government has appointed four members to the Ministerial Advisory Group for victims of retail crime, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee say. “I am delighted to appoint Michael Hill’s national retail manager Michael Bell to the group, as well as Waikato community advocate and business ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Speech to the New Zealand Nurses Organisation AGM and Conference 2024

    It’s my pleasure to be here to join the opening of the NZNO AGM and Conference for 2024.  First, I’d like to thank NZNO Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku, NZNO President, Anne Daniels, and Chief Execuitve Paul Gaulter for inviting me to speak today.  Thank you also to all the NZNO members ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Improvements for New Zealand authors

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says changes to the Public Lending Right [PLR] scheme will help benefit both the National Library and authors who have books available in New Zealand libraries. “I am amending the regulations so that eligible authors will no longer have to reapply every year ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Minister commends Police for gang operation

    Police Minister Mark Mitchell congratulates Police for the outstanding result of their most recent operation, targeting the Comancheros. “That Police have been able to round up the majority of the Comancheros leadership, and many of their patched members and prospects, shows not only the capability of Police, but also shows ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • New appointments to the EPA board

    Environment Minister Penny Simmonds has announced a major refresh of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) board with four new appointments and one reappointment.   The new board members are Barry O’Neil, Jennifer Scoular, Alison Stewart and Nancy Tuaine, who have been appointed for a three-year term ending in August 2027.  “I would ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Enabling rural recovery works in Hawke’s Bay

    Cabinet has approved an Order in Council to enable severe weather recovery works to continue in the Hawke’s Bay, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds and Minister for Emergency Management and Recovery Mark Mitchell say. “Cyclone Gabrielle and the other severe weather events in early 2023 caused significant loss and damage to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • FamilyBoost childcare payment registrations open

    From today, low-to-middle-income families with young children can register for the new FamilyBoost payment, to help them meet early childhood education (ECE) costs. The scheme was introduced as part of the Government’s tax relief plan to help Kiwis who are doing it tough. “FamilyBoost is one of the ways we ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Prioritising victims with tougher sentences

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