The manner in which Corrin and Ingrid this morning are feeding fear of public transport and the bus stations in Auckland makes my head spin. You'd think they were the most dangerous places to be on the planet.
links are very easy to find, just throw bus stop bashing in the search engine and you will see how safe public transport is.
And i get it, it was just one person who was killed yesterday, and that leaves many people who got to use public transport safely. But for one person public transport was as unsafe as it gets.
Maybe we need a manifesto for the police, and the judiciary. But i guess this poor murderer will be excused out of a prison sentence into a home D debacle cause their life was hard, no one loved them, their family is shite and well…kindness. s/
Was it public transport which was the problem? Was the venue random? Had there been a disagreement somewhere which just happened to resolve itself in that particular place?
Should we spread the fear and say it could have been anywhere and have everyone everywhere live in trepidation?
Do people not go to Aramoana or mosques or Dilworth School 'just in case'?
It really is a social problem where lots of young people congregate. It is a massively subsidised public policy to enable young people to use public transport, congregate in public transport stations, and so it is a public policy problem for AT and NZTA and Police to address.
Agree not new, but certainly multiples larger as a problem now.
The Britomart of the late 1980s and early 1990s saw public transport use fall to its very lowest point.
For comparison: Britomart since 2003 and upgraded in 2021 as a fully turnstiled operation with tens of thousands of people thorugh it every day, and is well staffed and surveilled and as a result has near-zero crime.
More people get assaulted or worse in their own homes but we don't see the media getting excited about that. Perhaps the media are practicing for the full scale dumping on public transport that the NACTs have planned for us over the next few years.
Nzers who think nz and or nz public transportation is dangerous should travel the world more. They'll yearn for the "danger" of nz lol.
It's hilarious and cute that a country with one of the very lowest crime rates in the world thinks crimes out of control… Compared to where? Greenland? Iceland?
People act like nz transport is as scary as catching a train in NYC (which is still safe!)
Murder or manslaughter are serious crimes and the offender (being under 17) is likely to end up in a Corrections youth unit. Though I guess this might be determined by their age at sentencing. I take your point that PT must be safe and must also be seen to be safe, or else there is a disincentive to use it. However if you think locking this young bloke up in any sort of facility is going to make either of those goals more attainable, you're in Mark Mitchell's lala-land. But the kicker is that not locking him up is not going to make them more attainable either. The so-called corrections system cannot solve the problem whatever it does.
Instead of hand-waving away concerns and questions after the death of a public transport user, perhaps take time to consider if this is a problem or not. As Sabine shows above, this is not an isolated incident in terms of violence and safety.
Unlike many other transport systems, Auckland Transport train system allows non-passengers on to the platform. Harassment and intimidation is not unknown, and the failure to have onsite guards or staff members makes this an act without consequences or impediments. Some stations are distinctly uneasy places to be at night, particularly for women. AT focus seems to be on architecture and other aspects – not service delivery in this respect.
I suspect your "sense of perspective" may be skewed by the desire to pretend there is no improvements necessary, therefore no change of government is needed. Even though it's a long reach – some seem to be making it.
Most of AT's main train stations are indeed card-only access with turnstile barriers; the likes of Henderson, New Lynn, Newmarket, Britomart, Panmure, Manukau, Papakura, and others. Once CRL opens, those stations such as K'Road, Mt Eden, Aotea etc will also be card-access only. The smaller stations like the Onehunga line aren't likely to get them.
The North Shore Busway would need a significant redesign for its stations to be HOP-card only. Same with the busway under construction Panmure-Botany.
It might be possible in future to card-only whole bus-rail interchanges such as New Lynn and Manukau, but it's pretty unlikely. I would expect AT and Police to be reviewing the patrol and security measures as a result of this incident.
It hasn't been reported at all here, but the Las Vegas casino/hotels have also been hit with a massive ransonware attack with MGM losing US$8-9,000,000 per day and Caesars rumoured to have paid a US$15,000,000 ransom.
Since the "Scattered Spider" group behind the US attacks seems now to be part of a Russian organised crime gang it would be interesting tho know if a) there has been an uptick in such crime since the Russian invasion of the Ukraine and b) the origin of the AT attack.
If the AT attack is linked to Russian crime gangs then does it constitute an act of asymetric cyber-warfare linked to our support for Ukraine?
One of the strongest arguments against a nationwide NZTA-run public transport PT card is precisely that one malware attack doesn't take out an entire national system.
Thankfully in the tender hands of NZTA's IT team they have been two Parliamentary terms trying to make a nationwide card system and we are still another Parliamentary term away from implementation.
Still in a nation of just 5 million and just two cities with functioning PT systems plus bits of Christchurch and Dunedin, it can't be this hard? For this long?
Yes some have. But what card-only zones generate in reality is a safer zone inside the barrier-protected area, and a bit of a melee outside particularly after High Schools get out and groups of moronic males settle scores with each other.
Not even Barry Manilow on the loudspeakers 24-7 can bring those tempers down. We tried it in Henderson and it was partially successful.
AT and its Board will surely be held accountable for this kind of critical public safety risk since they are the asset owners and operators.
Other safety improvements like lighting, and no staff present also needed work. It would be good to see that given some attention at all stations, particularly the ones with less pedestrian traffic, and located in industrial or non-residential areas.
Have to say that the presence of staff and even security guards doesn't materially reduce the incidences of anti-social behaviour. The young people involved are perfectly well aware that neither the staff nor the security guards can touch them, and that the police will only attend for a major incident (so yes, for the stabbing, but no for the violent assaults, and certainly not for 'routine' harassment and/or theft (e.g. stand-over tactics to extort mobile phones and even flash shoes)
My perspective is that of someone who lives in a suburb adjacent to where these incidents occur, and with a teen who uses the PT system, and regularly reports on anti-social behaviour witnessed.
Of course, it's not only PT stations – I have several women friends who work in the Auckland CBD and who will no longer walk on their own down Queen St after dark, to get to PT or carparks. They quite simply don't feel safe to do so.
My son used PT to go to Auckland central for study, and witnessed similar incidents to your teenage son.
Like many, I was a regular user of PT when living overseas, and did appreciate the fact that when travelling late at night, there were always more than one staff member on hand until stations were closed for the night for the Underground – not sure if this is the case now.
You want to know something that are really not isolated incidents? The road deaths to date stands at 248 killed so far this year! Yet they are just normalised, and instead apparently people should be fearful on public transport.
According to current election promises we'll get rid of moves to safer speeds and ambitions to road to zero.
I fully agree, but I think it would be best to put most consideration into areas where the largest reduction in harm could be achieved. 248 deaths is a number that could be significantly reduced using tools we already know work.
Humans are hardwired to have a different (and heightened) fear of intentional attacks than accidents, because that fear helps keep us safe. It's not an easy thing to override when we are surrounded by messages of unsafety.
Yes, road deaths are important. They already have campaigns in place to resuce them. More needs to be done. We should also be making sure that we build safety into public transport systems, urgently where that is warranted.
Most (although not all) involve someone who is seriously breaching the current law (driving well above the current speed limit, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, etc.).
Reducing speed limits, further, is unlikely to change the behaviour of any of these people who are already ignoring the law.
Nor does the court treatment of recidivist drunk drivers help. It's rare for any effective sanction to be applied – even after multiple appearances before the courts.
While prison doesn't help them. It does keep them off the road. As would compulsory loss of licence (and prevention from re-applying for 5 years). And compulsory sale of any vehicles owned, and forfeiture of any vehicles lent to them – if they are caught again. Driving is not a right, it's a privilege.
The recent case of a drunk driver – caught driving near a school, with their child in the car is a cautionary example.
Yesterday's incident at the Albany Bus Station also involved someone who seriously breached the current law, but that act has led to media spin that public transport should be feared.
One of the first roads to have it's speed limit reduced was SH6 between Blenheim & Nelson. That change has led to a significant reduction in serious crashes on that road.
It seems the speed limit reduction has changed the behaviour of a significant number of drivers that you claim were mostly responsible for the serious crashes.
In the end it was pretty weak mostly because morons in MoT watered it down and it had little Ministerial focus. Not a difficult issue for a future law and order government to get their teeth into.
The changes I've been interested in are the Accessible Streets regulatory changes. They would make changes for pedestrians, cyclists & other mobility devices. That paper seeks approval to put it out to consultation, which did occur in 2020. The first paper optimistically states in para 120
"I anticipate that changes would come into effect in mid-2020."
The resulting paper eventually went to Michael Woods' office where it languished for maybe 18 months until it apparently went back to the Ministry.
Since then, crickets! It doesn't even require legislation but progress is almost non existent.
Just got another email from the nats, this time accusing Labour of spreading "misinformation" about, among other things, their tax policy.
Interesting how they're bandying around the word "misinformation":
"Hi Chris,
Labour has no record to run on because they have not delivered what they said they would.
Now they’re desperate and their MPs and candidates have been caught out spreading misinformation.
Despite Chris Hipkins telling Kiwis he would put a stop to the flow of misinformation, Labour’s scare-campaign has continued with Michael Wood the latest Labour MP to repeat false claims about National.
With the polls opening in two weeks National is taking urgent action to correct the record.
Labour has misled the public on National’s positions on tertiary policy, tax policy, student loans policy, education policy, and winter energy payment policy, and much more.
Labour’s continued false statements show this is part of a carefully orchestrated scare-campaign because they are out of touch and out of ideas.
National is focused on the issues that matter to New Zealanders.
We have a plan to rebuild the economy to reduce the cost of living, which includes tax relief so you can keep more of what you earn.
Only a Party Vote for National can change the government and get the country back on track.
There are just 14 days till early voting opens. Help us fight back against Labour’s misinformation
You could email them back and let them know the claims are based on ACT Party policy proposals that might be part of a NACT coalition government agreement.
All they have to do is say they will make no concessions to ACT in these areas to dismiss any concerns.
For example Greens want a wealth tax and free dental, Labour have said no to one and have their own plan for free dental under age 30, stage by stage.
Wayne, neither black nor white, unequivocally (no shades of angry) wants to make Auckland part of the national election campaign debate.
Auckland is "the engine room of New Zealand" but its economic and financial capital is being stymied because it doesn't have the autonomy it needs
"Auckland Council perversely has the least say of any council over how our resources are spent. We are the country's only council that does not have a direct statutory role in setting the policy direction for transport spending."
It seems he wants the option of control over regional area congestion (and toll?) charging, to avoid the political parties playing politics with regional fuel tax funding (tap on and tap off creating a hole in the Auckland budget – as per National).
Imagine if Auckland Council and Labour had had a Minister for Auckland and a Minister for Transport and a sitting Councillor who cooperated meaningfully on key public policy issues like like rail and the control of the airport.
Oh wait… they did cooperate. On their own direct personal gain.
It was their common Trust shareholding in AIAL that prevented as a both of them from being of use at either Cabinet or at Council on this issue. One was silenced and had to abstain the relevant vote, the other was simply sacked.
Had the immense pleasure on Sat evening to attend a Music concert in the Kauaeranga. An awesome night with "Too Many Chiefs" – Wayne Mason, Rob Joass, Andrew London, Charlotte Yates. Thought of all standard readers when Andrew sang this, Sorry can't link directly to the song but it is from 26:11 through to 30 on the video.
Did NZLoyal and Liz Gunn turn out to be just a parody? Two party candidates? The group that was going to put the country on the straight and narrow couldn’t even fill in the paperwork?
The thing about the resistance to any governance regime that impacts on them, is that there are a lot of people with a common cause but no allegiance to any particular hierarchy.
This is why the organised efforts to divide the secular left in the USA/west were so successful.
The great thing is they will have their day with the voters, and the result will tell them and us all how our democracy functions every three years to balance sensible policy from nuttiness.
On the other hand NZFirst are their back door.
Imagining No. 3 NZFirst Casey Castello as ex Police Detective and Police Association and Hobson's Pledge player anywhere near the Police or Justice portfolio should remind us of what John Banks was like in those kind of ministerial portfolios.
I watched patches of Gunn's speech and could not get a grip on her meaning. A word salad just like Luxon. So they have just two on their List because of an Administrative error, but those two will swamp the ballot boxes with thousands and thousands of right thinking loyalists so they can totally change the way we are governed. Really Liz? Trying to decide if she really believes what she says.
If you're supportive of the MP's in parliament being more representative of the people then that should be welcome.
In my opinion proportional representation should be just that. There should be a 1% threshold and there should be only 100 MP's. Whatever percentage of the vote a party gets should directly translate to the number of MP's they get in parliament. I can't see how anybody could argue (in good faith) that this is not the fairest / most democratic way to elect MP's. It is much simpler and more representative. (the whole purpose of MMP is to have better representation)
Whoever says a low threshold such as this is not a good idea (for whatever reason) is a phony who pretends they want a more representative, diverse and democratic parliament, but in really don't think that a certain percentage of the population should be allowed to have their views represented. If we were to say there are roughly 4 million eligible voters, then a 5% threshold means large groups of people can be excluded from having their views represented. At the last election, over 9% of voters were denied representation in parliament because apparently their views are not acceptable. That's a large proportion of voters
If you want to be a free country and have elected representation that reflects the population as accurately as possible then you have to allow voices you disagree with to be heard and to hold as much sway as any other. This is one of the fundamental principles of having a free and democratic society.
Petrol is tipped to be at around $3.50 litre for 91 grade by Christmas.
First big test for the incoming NACT government will be whether they keep their (implied) promises to "do something about the cost of living".
They roasted Labour when Labour temporarily reduced the petrol tax and then similarly roasted Labour when Labour put it back up.
I'm picking that the NACTs won't reduce petrol tax. They only pretend to care about the cost of living, most of their supporters are rich enough not to have to worry about it too much, although it gets a bit annoying when your latest Ford Ranger update costs a few thousand more.
2 things Hipkins can hammer home tonight – (1) the number of days Luxon hasn't released his tax cut costings and (2) when will Luxon do the simple thing and release his tax cut costings
No one gives a fuck about where the money is coming from. They will vote for the guy promising them the money full stop.
Hipkins repeating lines about tax cuts is like MSNBC endlessly cycling reports about Trump prosecutions: actual Labour+ government doesn't get discussed at all.
Nats could make up some of the projected shortfall in revenue from their 15% foreign buyer tax/hoax by raising it to 25% – like they raised GST to part-fund tax cuts.
Govt’s 2010 tax cuts costing $2 billion and counting [13 May 2012]
The Green Party has today revealed that the National Government has so far had to borrow an additional $2 billion dollars to fund their 2010 tax cut package for upper income earners.
…
“The National Government said that their signature 2010 income tax cut package would be ‘fiscally neutral’ — paid for increased revenues from raising GST. That hasn’t happened.”
…
“National’s poor economic decisions have led to record levels of government debt and borrowing.”
if all people worry about is "that nice man Mr Luxon getting me some more" then no they won't. If people want to gauge if Luxon is honest and fiscally competent they would expect him to be open and transparent.
Long stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, February 13 are:The coalition Government’s early 2024 ‘fiscal emergency’ freeze on funding, planning and building houses, schools, local roads and hospitals helped extend and deepen the economic and jobs recession through calendar ...
A new season of White Lotus is nearly upon us: more murder mystery, more sumptuous surroundings, more rich people behaving badly.Once more we get to identify with the experience of the pampered tourist or perhaps the poorly paid help; there's something in White Lotus for all New Zealanders.And unlike the ...
In 2016, Aotearoa shockingly plunged to fourth place in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. Nine years later, and we're back there again: New Zealand has seen a further slip in its global ranking in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). [...] In the latest CPI New Zealand's score ...
1. You’ve started ranking your politicians on how much they respect the rule of law2. You’ve stopped paying attention to those news publications3. You’ve developed a sudden interest in a particular period of history4. More and more people are sounding like your racist, conspiracist uncle.5. Someone just pulled a Nazi ...
Transforming New Zealand: Brian EastonBrian Easton will discuss the above topic at 2/57 Willis Street, Wellington at 5:30pm on Tuesday 26 February at 2/57 Willis Street, WellingtonThe sub-title to the above is "Why is the Left failing?" Brian Easton's analysis is based on his view that while the ...
Salvation Army’s State of the Nation 2025 report highlights falling living standards, the highest unemployment rates since the 1990s and half of all Pacific children going without food. There are reports of hundreds if not thousands of people are applying for the same jobs in the wake of last year’s ...
Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Correction: On the article The Condundrum of David Seymour, Luke Malpass conducted joint reviews with Bryce Wilkinson, the architect of the Regulatory Standards Bill - not Bryce Edwards. The article ...
Tomorrow the council’s Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee meet and agenda has a few interesting papers. Council’s Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport Every year the council provide a Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport which is part of the process for informing AT of the council’s priorities and ...
All around in my home townThey're trying to track me down, yeahThey say they want to bring me in guiltyFor the killing of a deputyFor the life of a deputySongwriter: Robert Nesta Marley.Support Nick’s Kōrero today with a 20% discount on a paid subscription to receive all my newsletters directly ...
Hi,I think all of us have probably experienced the power of music — that strange, transformative thing that gets under our skin and helps us experience this whole life thing with some kind of sanity.Listening and experiencing music has always been such a huge part of my life, and has ...
Business frustration over the stalled economy is growing, and only 34% of voters are confidentNicola Willis can deliver. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 12 are:Business frustration is growing about a ...
I have now lived long enough to see a cabinet minister go both barrels on their Prime Minister and not get sacked.It used to be that the PM would have a drawer full of resignations signed by ministers on the day of their appointment, ready for such an occasion. But ...
This session will feature Simon McCallum, Senior Lecturer in Engineering and Computer Science (VUW) and recent Labour Party candidate in the Southland Electorate talking about some of the issues around AI and how this should inform Labour Party policy. Simon is an excellent speaker with a comprehensive command of AI ...
The proposed Waimate garbage incinerator is dead: The company behind a highly-controversial proposal to build a waste-to-energy plant in the Waimate District no longer has the land. [...] However, SIRRL director Paul Taylor said the sales and purchase agreement to purchase land from Murphy Farms, near Glenavy, lapsed at ...
The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has been a vital tool in combatting international corruption. It forbids US companies and citizens from bribing foreign public officials anywhere in the world. And its actually enforced: some of the world's biggest companies - Siemens, Hewlett Packard, and Bristol Myers Squibb - have ...
December 2024 photo - with UK Tory Boris Johnson (Source: Facebook)Those PollsFor hours, political poll results have resounded across political hallways and commentary.According to the 1News Verizon poll, 50% of the country believe we are heading in the “wrong direction”, while 39% believe we are “on the right track”.The left ...
A Tai Rāwhiti mill that ran for 30 years before it was shut down in late 2023 is set to re-open in the coming months, which will eventually see nearly 300 new jobs in the region. A new report from Massey University shows that pensioners are struggling with rising costs. ...
As support continues to fall, Luxon also now faces his biggest internal ructions within the coalition since the election, with David Seymour reacting badly to being criticised by the PM. File photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Not since 1988 when Richard Prebble openly criticised David Lange have we seen such a challenge to a Prime Minister as that of David Seymour to Christopher Luxon last night. Prebble suggested Lange had mental health issues during a TV interview and was almost immediately fired. Seymour hasn’t gone quite ...
Three weeks in, and the 24/7 news cycle is not helping anyone feel calm and informed about the second Trump presidency. One day, the US is threatening 25% trade tariffs on its friends and neighbours. The reasons offered by the White House are absurd, such as stopping fentanyl coming in ...
This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Wherever you look, you'll hear headlines claiming we've passed 1.5 degrees of global warming. And while 2024 saw ...
Photo by Heather M. Edwards on UnsplashHere’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s politics and economy in the week to Feb 10 below. That’s ahead of live chats on the Substack App and The Kākā’s front page on Substack at 5pm with: on his column in The ...
Is there anyone in the world the National Party loves more than a campaign donor? Why yes, there is! They will always have the warmest hello and would you like to slip into something more comfortable for that great god of our age, the High Net Worth Individual.The words the ...
Waste and fraud certainly exist in foreign aid programs, but rightwing celebration of USAID’s dismantling shows profound ignorance of the value of soft power (as opposed to hard power) in projecting US influence and interests abroad by non-military/coercive means (think of “hearts and minds,” “hugs, not bullets,” “honey versus vinegar,” ...
Health New Zealand is proposing to cut almost half of its data and digital positions – more than 1000 of them. The PSA has called on the Privacy Commissioner to urgently investigate the cuts due to the potential for serious consequences for patients. NZNO is calling for an urgent increase ...
We may see a few more luxury cars on Queen Street, but a loosening of rules to entice rich foreigners to invest more here is unlikely to “turbocharge our economic growth”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Let us not dance daintily around the elephant in the room. Our politicians who serve us in the present are not honest, certainly not as honest as they should be, and while the right are taking out most of the trophies for warping narratives and literally redefining “facts”, the kiwi ...
A few weeks ago I took a look at public transport ridership in 2024. In today’s post I’m going to be looking a bit deeper at bus ridership. Buses make up the vast majority of ridership in Auckland with 70 million boardings last year out of a total of 89.4 ...
Oh, you know I did itIt's over and I feel fineNothing you could say is gonna change my mindWaited and I waited the longest nightNothing like the taste of sweet declineSongwriters: Chris Shiflett / David Eric Grohl / Nate Mendel / Taylor Hawkins.Hindsight is good, eh?The clarity when the pieces ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 16 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 10The Kākā’s weekly wrap-up of news about politics and the economy is due at midday, followed by webinar for paying subscribers in Substack’s ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 2, 2025 thru Sat, February 8, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
Today, I stumbled across a Twitter Meme: the ending of The Lord of the Rings as a Chess scenario: https://x.com/mellon_heads/status/1887983845917564991 It gets across the basic gist. Aragorn and Gandalf offering up ‘material’ at the Morannon allows Frodo and Samwise to catch Sauron unawares – fair enough. But there are a ...
Last week, Kieran McAnulty called out Chris Bishop and Nicola Willis for their claims that Kāinga Ora’s costs were too high.They had claimed Kāinga Ora’s cost were 12% higher than market i.e. private devlopersBut Kāinga Ora’s Chair had already explained why last year:"We're not building to sell, so we'll be ...
Stuff’s Political Editor Luke Malpass - A Fellow at New Zealand IniativeLast week I half-joked that Stuff / The Post’s Luke Malpass1 always sounded like he was auditioning for a job at the New Zealand Initiative.Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. For a limited time, subscriptions are 20% off. Thanks ...
At a funeral on Friday, there were A4-sized photos covering every wall of the Dil’s reception lounge. There must have been 200 of them, telling the story in the usual way of the video reel but also, by enlargement, making it more possible to linger and step in.Our friend Nicky ...
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 methane the ...
The Government’s idea is that the private sector and Community Housing Providers will fund, build and operate new affordable housing to address our housing crisis. Meanwhile, the Government does not know where almost half of the 1,700 children who left emergency housing actually went. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong ...
Oh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youOh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youSongwriters: Alexander Ebert / Jade Allyson CastrinosMorena,I’m on a tight time frame this morning. In about an hour and a half, I’ll need to pack up and hit the road ...
This is a post about the Mountain Tui substack, and small tweaks - further to the poll and request post the other day. Please don’t read if you aren’t interested in my personal matters. Thank you all.After oohing-and-aahing about how to structure the Substack model since November, including obtaining ...
This transcript of a recent conversation between the Prime Minister and his chief economic adviser has not been verified.We’ve announced we are the ‘Yes Government’. Do you like it?Yes, Prime Minister.Dreamed up by the PR team. It’s about being committed to growth. Not that the PR team know anything about ...
The other day, Australian Senator Nick McKim issued a warning in the Australian Parliement about the US’s descent into fascim.And of course it’s true, but I lament - that was true as soon as Trump won.What we see is now simply the reification of the intention, planning, and forces behind ...
Among the many other problems associated with Musk/DOGE sending a fleet of teenage and twenty-something cultists to remove, copy and appropriate federal records like social security, medicaid and other supposedly protected data is the fact that the youngsters doing the data-removal, copying and security protocol and filter code over-writing have ...
Jokerman dance to the nightingale tuneBird fly high by the light of the moonOh, oh, oh, JokermanSong by Bob Dylan.Morena folks, I hope this fine morning of the 7th of February finds you well. We're still close to Paihia, just a short drive out of town. Below is the view ...
It’s been an eventful week as always, so here’s a few things that we have found interesting. We also hope everyone had a happy and relaxing Waitangi Day! This week in Greater Auckland We’re still running on summer time, but provided two chewy posts: On Tuesday, a guest ...
Queuing on Queen St: the Government is set to announce another apparently splashy growth policy on Sunday of offering residence visas to wealthy migrants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, February 7:PM Christopher ...
The fact that Waitangi ended up being such a low-key affair may mark it out as one of the most significant Waitangi Days in recent years. A group of women draped in “Toitu Te Tiriti” banners who turned their backs on the politicians’ powhiri was about as rough as it ...
Hi,This week’s Flightless Bird episode was about “fake seizure guy” — a Melbourne man who fakes seizures in order to get members of the public to sit on him.The audio documentary (which I have included in this newsletter in case you don’t listen to Flightless Bird) built on reporting first ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk The 119th Congress comes with a price tag. The oil and gas industry gave about $24 million in campaign contributions to the members of the U.S. House and Senate expected to be sworn in January 3, 2025, according to a ...
Early morning, the shadows still long, but you can already feel the warmth building. Our motel was across the road from the historic homestead where Henry Williams' family lived. The evening before, we wandered around the gardens, reading the plaques and enjoying the close proximity to the history of the ...
Thanks folks for your feedback, votes and comments this week. I’ll be making the changes soon. Appreciate all your emails, comments and subscriptions too. I know your time is valuable - muchas gracias.A lot is happening both here and around the world - so I want to provide a snippets ...
Data released today by Statistics NZ shows that unemployment rose to 5.1%, with 33,000 more people out of work than last year said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney. “The latest data shows that employment fell in Aotearoa at its fastest rate since the GFC. Unemployment rose in 8 ...
The December labour market statistics have been released, showing yet another increase in unemployment. There are now 156,000 unemployed - 34,000 more than when National took office. And having thrown all these people out of work, National is doubling down on cruelty. Because being vicious will somehow magically create the ...
Boarded up homes in Kilbirnie, where work on a planned development was halted. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 5 are;Housing Minister Chris Bishop yesterday announcedKāinga Ora would be stripped of ...
This week Kiwirail and Auckland Transport were celebrating the completion of the summer rail works that had the network shut or for over a month and the start of electric trains to Pukekohe. First up, here’s parts of the press release about the shutdown works. Passengers boarding trains in Auckland ...
Through its austerity measures, the coalition government has engineered a rise in unemployment in order to reduce inflation while – simultaneously – cracking down harder and harder on the people thrown out of work by its own policies. To that end, Social Development Minister Louise Upston this week added two ...
This year, we've seen a radical, white supremacist government ignoring its Tiriti obligations, refusing to consult with Māori, and even trying to legislatively abrogate te Tiriti o Waitangi. When it was criticised by the Waitangi Tribunal, the government sabotaged that body, replacing its legal and historical experts with corporate shills, ...
Poor old democracy, it really is in a sorry state. It would be easy to put all the blame on the vandals and tyrants presently trashing the White House, but this has been years in the making. It begins with Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan and the spirit of Gordon ...
The new school lunches came in this week, and they were absolutely scrumptious.I had some, and even though Connor said his tasted like “stodge” and gave him a sore tummy, I myself loved it!Look at the photos - I knew Mr Seymour wouldn’t lie when he told us last year:"It ...
The tighter sanctions are modelled on ones used in Britain, which did push people off ‘the dole’, but didn’t increase the number of workers, and which evidence has repeatedly shown don’t work. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, ...
Catching you up on the morning’s global news and a quick look at the parallels -GLOBALTariffs are backSharemarkets in the US, UK and Europe have “plunged” in response to Trump’s tariffs. And while Mexico has won a one month reprieve, Canada and China will see their respective 25% and 10% ...
This post by Nicolas Reid was originally published on Linked in. It is republished here with permission. Gondolas are often in the news, with manufacturers of ropeway systems proposing them as a modern option for mass transit systems in New Zealand. However, like every next big thing in transport, it’s hard ...
This is a re-post from The Climate BrinkBoth 2023 and 2024 were exceptionally warm years, at just below and above 1.5C relative to preindustrial in the WMO composite of surface temperature records, respectively. While we are still working to assess the full set of drivers of this warmth, it is clear that ...
Hi,I woke up feeling nervous this morning, realising that this weekend Flightless Bird is going to do it’s first ever live show. We’re heading to a sold out (!) show in Seattle to test the format out in front of an audience. If it works, we’ll do more. I want ...
From the United-For-Now States of America comes the thrilling news that a New Zealander may be at the very heart of the current coup. Punching above our weight on the world stage once more! Wait, you may be asking, what New Zealander? I speak of Peter Thiel, made street legal ...
Even Stevens: Over the 33 years between 1990 and 2023 (and allowing for the aberrant 2020 result) the average level of support enjoyed by the Left and Right blocs, at roughly 44.5 percent each, turns out to be, as near as dammit, identical.WORLDWIDE, THE PARTIES of the Left are presented ...
Back in 2023, a "prominent political figure" went on trial for historic sex offences. But we weren't allowed to know who they were or what political party they were "prominent" in, because it might affect the way we voted. At the time, I said that this was untenable; it was ...
I'm going, I'm goingWhere the water tastes like wineI'm going where the water tastes like wineWe can jump in the waterStay drunk all the timeI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayAll this fussing and fighting, man, you know I sure ...
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 ...
Half of Pacific children sometimes going without food is just one of many heartbreaking lowlights in the Salvation Army’s annual State of the Nation report. ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report is a bleak indictment on the failure of Government to take steps to end poverty, with those on benefits, including their children, hit hardest. ...
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 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Sheedy, Professor – Risk governance, culture, remuneration, Macquarie University This week the corporate regulator is taking on executives and directors of Star Entertainment in the Federal Court, in a landmark case for Australian corporate governance. ASIC will allege that despite multiple ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cameron Allen, Senior Research Fellow, Monash University Shutterstock It’s hard to remember a time the United States seemed as tense and divided as it does today. That should serve as a stark reminder of just how important it is to monitor ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kaitlin Barham, Wildlife ecology researcher, The University of Queensland Australia Zoo Crocodiles are hardy creatures, capable of adjusting their behaviour to cope with the heat of the tropics. But there’s a limit to their endurance. Our new research shows the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Damien O’Meara, Lecturer, School of Media and Communication, RMIT University Stan Stan’s new series Invisible Boys follows four young gay men as they understand and explore their identities while living in Geraldton, a regional town in Western Australia. Charlie Roth ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Pandanus Petter, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Politics and International Relations, Australian National University The upcoming federal election will see the incumbent Labor prime minister, Anthony Albanese, face off against Liberal opposition leader, Peter Dutton. We’ll likely see a strong focus on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Barnes, Lecturer in Physics, Western Sydney University An artist’s impression of a high-energy particle travelling through the KM3NeT neutrino telescope.KM3NeT Three and a half kilometres beneath the Mediterranean Sea, around 80km off the coast of Sicily, lies half of a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Jensen, Associate professor, Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis, University of Canberra, University of Canberra Kemarrravv13/Shutterstock Hate speech on X was consistently 50% higher for at least eight months after tech billionaire Elon Musk bought the social media platform, new ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Graham, Senior Lecturer in Economics, University of Sydney Ufuk Zivana/Shutterstock Prime Minister Christopher Luxon wants New Zealand to “go for growth”. But his plan, focused on reforming foreign investment, planning and competition laws, as well as boosting the ...
‘An economic own-goal’ or a triumph of democracy? Stewart Sowman-Lund explains in today’s edition of The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. No McDonald’s for Wānaka Wānaka ...
The PSA filed proceedings with the Employment Relations Authority on Wednesday, seeking an urgent hearing to try to immediately stop any dismissals. ...
The lead witness in Ngāi Tahu’s freshwater claim says the case raises an “existentialist question” for his people.“My greatest fear is that we will have our connection with our land and waterways extinguished,” Te Maire Tau (Ngāi Tahu/Ngāi Tūāhuriri) said in the Christchurch High Court, before Justice Melanie Harland. The university history ...
New Zealand employers are well-used to the constant evolution of employment and workplace health and safety law – but we think the scope of changes in this area may still surprise in 2025. In our view, the number of changes under active consideration and the potential practical impact of those ...
As New Zealand woke to Waitangi Day, 1600 athletes and their support crew began to descend on the sleepy west coast town of Greymouth, ready to take on the iconic multisport race, the Coast to Coast.Among the cars laden with kayaks, bikes and enough race food to feed a small ...
I collect sailing books, especially solo sailing adventures. I sail a lot and when in meetings, I think about sailing rather than focus on the dry PowerPoint presentations of earnest landlubbers. Just quietly, I also offer dead sailors drinks and occasionally good books over the side when I am at ...
Over the past few weeks, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has had public tiffs with the leaders of both the Cook Islands and Kiribati.The issues: first Peters put foreign aid to Kiribati under review after President Taneti Maamau cancelled a meeting with him. Then this week, Peters accused the PM of ...
Proposed changes to the Fisheries Act 1996 could see on-board cameras, introduced to protect endangered marine and seabird species, shut off from public view. Lyric Waiwiri-Smith explains.Minister for oceans and fisheries Shane Jones was in his element on Wellington’s waterfront on Wednesday morning. While waves crashed onto the rocks ...
The prime minister has had a bad week, and it’s barely Thursday. This week’s Luxon low points, ranked.8. Bad poll, part oneA Taxpayers’ Union-Curia Poll released on Monday showed that Labour, the Greens, and Te Pāti Māori could form a government. Christopher Luxon is down 3.8 points at ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 13 February appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Appiah Takyi, Senior Lecturer, Department of Planning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Street vending is a major economic activity in most of Ghana’s urban areas. The vendors bring everyday goods to residents and commuters at affordable prices in ...
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – The United States shares the pathologies of all dying empires with their mixture of buffoonery, rampant corruption, military fiascos, economic collapse and savage state repression.ANALYSIS: By Chris Hedges The billionaires, Christian fascists, grifters, psychopaths, imbeciles, narcissists and deviants who ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government has secured bipartisan support for a major new regime covering political donations and spending, after making significant concessions. The government agreed to increase the proposed threshold above which donations must be disclosed ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra With the election only months away, the Labor government finds itself suddenly battling with the Trump administration for an exemption from new US tariffs on steel and aluminium. The opposition has supported the effort, but ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julee McDonagh, Senior Research Fellow of Frailty Research, University of Wollongong PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock Ageing is a normal part of the life course. It doesn’t matter how many green smoothies you drink, or how many “anti-ageing” skin care products you ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bronwyn Carlson, Professor, Critical Indigenous Studies and Director of The Centre for Global Indigenous Futures, Macquarie University The Conversation, CC BY-SAAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people. Colonial commemorations ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Hazel, Associate Professor, School of Animal and Veterinary Science, University of Adelaide Masarik/Shutterstock In some overseas countries, pets can travel with their owners in a plane’s cabin, in a carrier under a seat. In Australia, pets must travel in the ...
A raft of proposed legislation changes to the media and screen industry have been announced this morning – we read through it all all so you don’t have to. What’s all this then? This morning the Ministry for Culture and Heritage released its draft proposed changes to media and screen ...
David Seymour's recent off-road parliamentary excursion led to a reprimand from the Speaker, who also said the rules didn't apply to this instance. What are the rules? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee Morgenbesser, Associate Professor, School of Government and International Relations, Griffith University, Griffith University Many Americans have watched in horror as Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, has been permitted to tear through various offices of the United States government in recent ...
By Patrick Decloitre,RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk French Minister for Overseas Manuel Valls has announced he will travel to New Caledonia later this month to pursue talks on the French territory’s political future. These discussions on February 22 follow preliminary talks held last week in Paris in “bilateral” mode ...
A Queenstown mayor talking a lot of sense on housing and sticking it to Luxon. Maybe there is a god.
https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/queenstown/queenstown-mayor-slams-nats-shallow-housing-policy
Watching chippie on 1 news now on youth crime, brilliant compared to lock im up boot camp nact.
The manner in which Corrin and Ingrid this morning are feeding fear of public transport and the bus stations in Auckland makes my head spin. You'd think they were the most dangerous places to be on the planet.
No sense of perspective at all.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018907529/stabbing-witness-questions-safety-of-public-transport
And again at about 7:25am
They have been the most dangerous place yesterday for someone, who is now dead.
A few weeks ago a young girl was viciously beaten bloody by a mob of youngsters while waiting for the bus.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2023/08/thirteen-year-old-girl-drenched-in-blood-after-being-bashed-at-rotorua-bus-stop.html
several times there were children bashing other children at bus stops in CHCH.
and bus drivers get it too.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/300829897/bus-driver-who-was-hit-over-100-times-by-a-passenger-calls-for-more-protection
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/130468954/mum-fears-there-will-be-a-death-after-two-girls-bashed-by-group-at-bus-stop
links are very easy to find, just throw bus stop bashing in the search engine and you will see how safe public transport is.
And i get it, it was just one person who was killed yesterday, and that leaves many people who got to use public transport safely. But for one person public transport was as unsafe as it gets.
Maybe we need a manifesto for the police, and the judiciary. But i guess this poor murderer will be excused out of a prison sentence into a home D debacle cause their life was hard, no one loved them, their family is shite and well…kindness. s/
Was it public transport which was the problem? Was the venue random? Had there been a disagreement somewhere which just happened to resolve itself in that particular place?
Should we spread the fear and say it could have been anywhere and have everyone everywhere live in trepidation?
Do people not go to Aramoana or mosques or Dilworth School 'just in case'?
It really is a social problem where lots of young people congregate. It is a massively subsidised public policy to enable young people to use public transport, congregate in public transport stations, and so it is a public policy problem for AT and NZTA and Police to address.
Yes the problem is real.
Also not really a new problem. The old Britomart bus station of 70's wasn't the nicest of places either.
Agree not new, but certainly multiples larger as a problem now.
The Britomart of the late 1980s and early 1990s saw public transport use fall to its very lowest point.
For comparison: Britomart since 2003 and upgraded in 2021 as a fully turnstiled operation with tens of thousands of people thorugh it every day, and is well staffed and surveilled and as a result has near-zero crime.
Not the safest place at night in the 1960's either. I caught the last bus home to Mission Bay on many a Friday night.
More people get assaulted or worse in their own homes but we don't see the media getting excited about that. Perhaps the media are practicing for the full scale dumping on public transport that the NACTs have planned for us over the next few years.
Nzers who think nz and or nz public transportation is dangerous should travel the world more. They'll yearn for the "danger" of nz lol.
It's hilarious and cute that a country with one of the very lowest crime rates in the world thinks crimes out of control… Compared to where? Greenland? Iceland?
People act like nz transport is as scary as catching a train in NYC (which is still safe!)
Murder or manslaughter are serious crimes and the offender (being under 17) is likely to end up in a Corrections youth unit. Though I guess this might be determined by their age at sentencing. I take your point that PT must be safe and must also be seen to be safe, or else there is a disincentive to use it. However if you think locking this young bloke up in any sort of facility is going to make either of those goals more attainable, you're in Mark Mitchell's lala-land. But the kicker is that not locking him up is not going to make them more attainable either. The so-called corrections system cannot solve the problem whatever it does.
Oz.
https://www.respectvictoria.vic.gov.au/news/respect-victoria-launches-campaign-commuters-call-out-sexual-harassment-public-transport
worldwide study (as per young people/women)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8564253/
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12469-021-00265-1
Instead of hand-waving away concerns and questions after the death of a public transport user, perhaps take time to consider if this is a problem or not. As Sabine shows above, this is not an isolated incident in terms of violence and safety.
Unlike many other transport systems, Auckland Transport train system allows non-passengers on to the platform. Harassment and intimidation is not unknown, and the failure to have onsite guards or staff members makes this an act without consequences or impediments. Some stations are distinctly uneasy places to be at night, particularly for women. AT focus seems to be on architecture and other aspects – not service delivery in this respect.
I suspect your "sense of perspective" may be skewed by the desire to pretend there is no improvements necessary, therefore no change of government is needed. Even though it's a long reach – some seem to be making it.
Most of AT's main train stations are indeed card-only access with turnstile barriers; the likes of Henderson, New Lynn, Newmarket, Britomart, Panmure, Manukau, Papakura, and others. Once CRL opens, those stations such as K'Road, Mt Eden, Aotea etc will also be card-access only. The smaller stations like the Onehunga line aren't likely to get them.
The North Shore Busway would need a significant redesign for its stations to be HOP-card only. Same with the busway under construction Panmure-Botany.
It might be possible in future to card-only whole bus-rail interchanges such as New Lynn and Manukau, but it's pretty unlikely. I would expect AT and Police to be reviewing the patrol and security measures as a result of this incident.
Interesting that AT's card system only just came back up afdter being down for five days due to a ransomware attack
It hasn't been reported at all here, but the Las Vegas casino/hotels have also been hit with a massive ransonware attack with MGM losing US$8-9,000,000 per day and Caesars rumoured to have paid a US$15,000,000 ransom.
https://www.vox.com/technology/2023/9/15/23875113/mgm-hack-casino-vishing-cybersecurity-ransomware
Since the "Scattered Spider" group behind the US attacks seems now to be part of a Russian organised crime gang it would be interesting tho know if a) there has been an uptick in such crime since the Russian invasion of the Ukraine and b) the origin of the AT attack.
If the AT attack is linked to Russian crime gangs then does it constitute an act of asymetric cyber-warfare linked to our support for Ukraine?
https://blog.bushidotoken.net/2023/08/tracking-adversaries-scattered-spider.html
One of the strongest arguments against a nationwide NZTA-run public transport PT card is precisely that one malware attack doesn't take out an entire national system.
Thankfully in the tender hands of NZTA's IT team they have been two Parliamentary terms trying to make a nationwide card system and we are still another Parliamentary term away from implementation.
Still in a nation of just 5 million and just two cities with functioning PT systems plus bits of Christchurch and Dunedin, it can't be this hard? For this long?
South Auckland stations may have been upgraded – ? – do you know?
But was not unusual to have young teens on bikes harassing passengers on the platform.
Yes some have. But what card-only zones generate in reality is a safer zone inside the barrier-protected area, and a bit of a melee outside particularly after High Schools get out and groups of moronic males settle scores with each other.
Not even Barry Manilow on the loudspeakers 24-7 can bring those tempers down. We tried it in Henderson and it was partially successful.
AT and its Board will surely be held accountable for this kind of critical public safety risk since they are the asset owners and operators.
Good to know, thanks Ad.
Other safety improvements like lighting, and no staff present also needed work. It would be good to see that given some attention at all stations, particularly the ones with less pedestrian traffic, and located in industrial or non-residential areas.
Have to say that the presence of staff and even security guards doesn't materially reduce the incidences of anti-social behaviour. The young people involved are perfectly well aware that neither the staff nor the security guards can touch them, and that the police will only attend for a major incident (so yes, for the stabbing, but no for the violent assaults, and certainly not for 'routine' harassment and/or theft (e.g. stand-over tactics to extort mobile phones and even flash shoes)
My perspective is that of someone who lives in a suburb adjacent to where these incidents occur, and with a teen who uses the PT system, and regularly reports on anti-social behaviour witnessed.
Of course, it's not only PT stations – I have several women friends who work in the Auckland CBD and who will no longer walk on their own down Queen St after dark, to get to PT or carparks. They quite simply don't feel safe to do so.
My son used PT to go to Auckland central for study, and witnessed similar incidents to your teenage son.
Like many, I was a regular user of PT when living overseas, and did appreciate the fact that when travelling late at night, there were always more than one staff member on hand until stations were closed for the night for the Underground – not sure if this is the case now.
You want to know something that are really not isolated incidents? The road deaths to date stands at 248 killed so far this year! Yet they are just normalised, and instead apparently people should be fearful on public transport.
According to current election promises we'll get rid of moves to safer speeds and ambitions to road to zero.
Let's focus on where the real danger lies.
William, there are more than one instance where public safety can be improved.
It is responsible to CONSIDER where improvements may be warranted.
I fully agree, but I think it would be best to put most consideration into areas where the largest reduction in harm could be achieved. 248 deaths is a number that could be significantly reduced using tools we already know work.
Maybe RNZ are monitoring TS & will pick up on it!
a couple of points.
Humans are hardwired to have a different (and heightened) fear of intentional attacks than accidents, because that fear helps keep us safe. It's not an easy thing to override when we are surrounded by messages of unsafety.
Yes, road deaths are important. They already have campaigns in place to resuce them. More needs to be done. We should also be making sure that we build safety into public transport systems, urgently where that is warranted.
Most (although not all) involve someone who is seriously breaching the current law (driving well above the current speed limit, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, etc.).
Reducing speed limits, further, is unlikely to change the behaviour of any of these people who are already ignoring the law.
Nor does the court treatment of recidivist drunk drivers help. It's rare for any effective sanction to be applied – even after multiple appearances before the courts.
While prison doesn't help them. It does keep them off the road. As would compulsory loss of licence (and prevention from re-applying for 5 years). And compulsory sale of any vehicles owned, and forfeiture of any vehicles lent to them – if they are caught again. Driving is not a right, it's a privilege.
The recent case of a drunk driver – caught driving near a school, with their child in the car is a cautionary example.
https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/crime/man-caught-speeding-driving-drunk-with-child-in-car-after-school-pick-up-in-motueka/
Yesterday's incident at the Albany Bus Station also involved someone who seriously breached the current law, but that act has led to media spin that public transport should be feared.
One of the first roads to have it's speed limit reduced was SH6 between Blenheim & Nelson. That change has led to a significant reduction in serious crashes on that road.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/127315811/zero-deaths-following-speed-lowering-on-blenheim-to-nelson-highway
It seems the speed limit reduction has changed the behaviour of a significant number of drivers that you claim were mostly responsible for the serious crashes.
Labour had a free run only weeks ago to put stronger rules around enforcement of risk-taking and rule-breaking drivers.
This was in the Land Transport (Road Safety) Amendment Bill, passed in the last week the House was sitting.
https://disclosure.legislation.govt.nz/bill/government/2023/251/
In the end it was pretty weak mostly because morons in MoT watered it down and it had little Ministerial focus. Not a difficult issue for a future law and order government to get their teeth into.
That's depressingly familiar.
The changes I've been interested in are the Accessible Streets regulatory changes. They would make changes for pedestrians, cyclists & other mobility devices. That paper seeks approval to put it out to consultation, which did occur in 2020. The first paper optimistically states in para 120
"I anticipate that changes would come into effect in mid-2020."
The resulting paper eventually went to Michael Woods' office where it languished for maybe 18 months until it apparently went back to the Ministry.
Since then, crickets! It doesn't even require legislation but progress is almost non existent.
I always thought that PT was the next-best thing to Tinder.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/i-used-to-call-him-hot-train-guy-amanda-and-andrew-mcconchies-meet-cute/3BMCLDGUAID5G27K4NRCFJC4IM/
Just got another email from the nats, this time accusing Labour of spreading "misinformation" about, among other things, their tax policy.
Interesting how they're bandying around the word "misinformation":
"Hi Chris,
Labour has no record to run on because they have not delivered what they said they would.
Now they’re desperate and their MPs and candidates have been caught out spreading misinformation.
Despite Chris Hipkins telling Kiwis he would put a stop to the flow of misinformation, Labour’s scare-campaign has continued with Michael Wood the latest Labour MP to repeat false claims about National.
With the polls opening in two weeks National is taking urgent action to correct the record.
We have launched a Get Back on Facts website to fight back against Labour’s misinformation.
> Get Back on Facts <
Labour has misled the public on National’s positions on tertiary policy, tax policy, student loans policy, education policy, and winter energy payment policy, and much more.
Labour’s continued false statements show this is part of a carefully orchestrated scare-campaign because they are out of touch and out of ideas.
National is focused on the issues that matter to New Zealanders.
We have a plan to rebuild the economy to reduce the cost of living, which includes tax relief so you can keep more of what you earn.
Only a Party Vote for National can change the government and get the country back on track.
There are just 14 days till early voting opens. Help us fight back against Labour’s misinformation
DONATE
Thank you,
National Party HQ"
You could email them back and let them know the claims are based on ACT Party policy proposals that might be part of a NACT coalition government agreement.
All they have to do is say they will make no concessions to ACT in these areas to dismiss any concerns.
For example Greens want a wealth tax and free dental, Labour have said no to one and have their own plan for free dental under age 30, stage by stage.
That's what Hipkins needs to ask Luxon tonight in front of everyone.
National are hypocrites.
If only that was the worst thing about them
Sorta like "Make NZ Great Again" – oh my that sunnds familiar
'
It's high noon.
Wayne, neither black nor white, unequivocally (no shades of angry) wants to make Auckland part of the national election campaign debate.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/09/19/wayne-brown-seeks-cross-party-agreement-on-auckland-deal/
A day earlier
https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/09/17/govts-must-give-auckland-more-power-to-fix-its-own-issues-wayne-brown/
It seems he wants the option of control over regional area congestion (and toll?) charging, to avoid the political parties playing politics with regional fuel tax funding (tap on and tap off creating a hole in the Auckland budget – as per National).
Imagine if Auckland Council and Labour had had a Minister for Auckland and a Minister for Transport and a sitting Councillor who cooperated meaningfully on key public policy issues like like rail and the control of the airport.
Oh wait… they did cooperate. On their own direct personal gain.
Not really, if they had he would still be a Minister (more money in that than anything to do with their petty cash holdings).
Not even ACT claimed there was any pecuniary activity, just complacency in meeting a ministerial standard.
It was their common Trust shareholding in AIAL that prevented as a both of them from being of use at either Cabinet or at Council on this issue. One was silenced and had to abstain the relevant vote, the other was simply sacked.
Had the immense pleasure on Sat evening to attend a Music concert in the Kauaeranga. An awesome night with "Too Many Chiefs" – Wayne Mason, Rob Joass, Andrew London, Charlotte Yates. Thought of all standard readers when Andrew sang this, Sorry can't link directly to the song but it is from 26:11 through to 30 on the video.
Enjoy.
Country's Buggered.
No offence
Did NZLoyal and Liz Gunn turn out to be just a parody? Two party candidates? The group that was going to put the country on the straight and narrow couldn’t even fill in the paperwork?
Well..they were on "Unchartered" Waters. That might have been a play on Uncharted ? Or something else..entirely !
I did try to watch some of The Vid…but my Sanity warning alarm was into the danger zone : )
Truly.. Liz speaks for the cookers.
The thing about the resistance to any governance regime that impacts on them, is that there are a lot of people with a common cause but no allegiance to any particular hierarchy.
This is why the organised efforts to divide the secular left in the
USA/west were so successful.A triumph of waffle!
The great thing is they will have their day with the voters, and the result will tell them and us all how our democracy functions every three years to balance sensible policy from nuttiness.
On the other hand NZFirst are their back door.
Imagining No. 3 NZFirst Casey Castello as ex Police Detective and Police Association and Hobson's Pledge player anywhere near the Police or Justice portfolio should remind us of what John Banks was like in those kind of ministerial portfolios.
The Platform giving a start to Wright approved people.
Maori supportive of Hobson's Pledge.
I watched patches of Gunn's speech and could not get a grip on her meaning. A word salad just like Luxon. So they have just two on their List because of an Administrative error, but those two will swamp the ballot boxes with thousands and thousands of right thinking loyalists so they can totally change the way we are governed. Really Liz? Trying to decide if she really believes what she says.
Maybe they should campaign for the end of the 5% threshold – so parties with over 1% of the vote can get one or two MP's off the list?
If you're supportive of the MP's in parliament being more representative of the people then that should be welcome.
In my opinion proportional representation should be just that. There should be a 1% threshold and there should be only 100 MP's. Whatever percentage of the vote a party gets should directly translate to the number of MP's they get in parliament. I can't see how anybody could argue (in good faith) that this is not the fairest / most democratic way to elect MP's. It is much simpler and more representative. (the whole purpose of MMP is to have better representation)
Whoever says a low threshold such as this is not a good idea (for whatever reason) is a phony who pretends they want a more representative, diverse and democratic parliament, but in really don't think that a certain percentage of the population should be allowed to have their views represented. If we were to say there are roughly 4 million eligible voters, then a 5% threshold means large groups of people can be excluded from having their views represented. At the last election, over 9% of voters were denied representation in parliament because apparently their views are not acceptable. That's a large proportion of voters
If you want to be a free country and have elected representation that reflects the population as accurately as possible then you have to allow voices you disagree with to be heard and to hold as much sway as any other. This is one of the fundamental principles of having a free and democratic society.
Petrol is tipped to be at around $3.50 litre for 91 grade by Christmas.
First big test for the incoming NACT government will be whether they keep their (implied) promises to "do something about the cost of living".
They roasted Labour when Labour temporarily reduced the petrol tax and then similarly roasted Labour when Labour put it back up.
I'm picking that the NACTs won't reduce petrol tax. They only pretend to care about the cost of living, most of their supporters are rich enough not to have to worry about it too much, although it gets a bit annoying when your latest Ford Ranger update costs a few thousand more.
It's not actually a fait accompli that they'll get in, you know. Just a reminder 🙂
2 things Hipkins can hammer home tonight – (1) the number of days Luxon hasn't released his tax cut costings and (2) when will Luxon do the simple thing and release his tax cut costings
No one gives a fuck about where the money is coming from. They will vote for the guy promising them the money full stop.
Hipkins repeating lines about tax cuts is like MSNBC endlessly cycling reports about Trump prosecutions: actual Labour+ government doesn't get discussed at all.
This Kiwi gives a fuck about where the money is supposedly coming from – Nat's know I can't grab their ghost money.
The Canadian state of Ontario (popn 15.5 million) recently raised its “non-resident speculation tax” from 20% to 25%.
Nats could make up some of the projected shortfall in revenue from their 15% foreign buyer tax/hoax by raising it to 25% – like they raised GST to part-fund tax cuts.
In other news, frauds and scams are on the rise…
if all people worry about is "that nice man Mr Luxon getting me some more" then no they won't. If people want to gauge if Luxon is honest and fiscally competent they would expect him to be open and transparent.
I see there's a leader's 'debate' on TVOne tonight. It's followed by a BBC game show called 'Would I Lie to You?"
It's followed by a BBC game show called 'Would I Lie to You?"
In which the contestants are (usually) quick-witted and entertaining, the questions are sharp and the answers revealing.
We'll be lucky if the debate is half as good.
Chippy will be clear and earnest and rational.. I wish him well. Luxon lied about his debating experience, which is a troubling start.
Luxon will try for a camera friendly 'gottcha', he has been practicing with a coach.
The questions asked will matter. The way they are asked will matter. Lighting will matter.
Sound quality will be crucial. Being likeable will matter. TV1 make up will matter. Audience make up will matter.
Then most important will be the answers.
Luxon is trying to be perceived as the under dog … yep Tui (and repeating mantras does not work in a debate.)
Chippy should ask him how many jobs will go? Will GST rise to pay for any tax cut shortfall? (remembering they were not truthful last time)
The moderator is not Jack Tame, alas. It is Jessica M-M, who lets waffle and weasel words go without challenge. Ideal for Luxon then.
The exchanges will go something like …
JMM: "Mr Luxon, you've committed to billions of tax cuts, where will the money come from?"
Lux: "Look, let me be clear, what I'm saying to you is perfectly clear, rock solid, I've been very clear. "
JMM: "Thank you".
Hipkins: "WTF? He hasn't said anything!"
JMM: "And the next question is on transport …"