This was one of the most difficult to explain UFO incidents ever. The lights were sighted by numerous witnesses and observed on several radar installations, and filmed by a news camera crew. The explanations that were put forward were never convincing in the slightest.
I am a UFO sceptic, in that I don't make the huge leap to assume that any unexplained sighting was aliens from outer space. But this event was fascinating.
Bruce Carey includes the Kaikoura Lights in one of his many folk songs. Great song. The plane involved is now a static display opposite Marlborough Airport.
Human ingenuity can't get us out of suffering from climate change – but preparing fast could seriously limit the damage, says the latest authoritative report on global heating.
“What is startling about this report is that we are already experiencing limits to what we can adapt to and there are very hard limits beyond which it won't be possible,” said Canterbury University political science professor Bronwyn Hayward, a core writer of the report’s summary….
….“Rather than just restoring from the disasters we’ve had, it's thinking about what’s to come,” said Hayward….
….Humanitarian group Oxfam described the report as a “catalogue of pain, loss and suffering”.
New Zealand and Australia are at “very high risk” of serious and unavoidable damages if the heat keeps rising, says the report’s Australasian chapter….
We cannot, simply cannot, continue to expect our economic well-being to be expressed in GDP growth percentages!
If we are to have a snowball’s hope in hell of surviving what’s coming, we need to begin by throwing out the old and tired capitalist notions of a profit-driven way out of this catastrophe.
Put simply, people cannot continue to engage the way they have been – the overseas holiday every year, the multiple (7?) houses, the Sherman tank SUVs deemed necessary to drive the kids to school.
These changes will be forced upon us soon enough and will impact the poor, but also the entitled rich, who will, perhaps naturally, be loth to give up their privileges!
Sustainability necessitates down-sizing everything – from one’s expectations and wants, to the size of houses we build, the vehicles we drive, the things we do in our leisure.
If we don’t begin to adapt quickly (and even if we do) it’s going to be a rocky couple of decades – and we humans may not emerge from the end of them.
The Greens are so right – the ’23 election must be about climate!
Joe 90 trolling his daily dump of anti russian rhetoric for us gee thanks joe !!
What should be obvious to anyone paying attention is that Ukraine is divided into two basic sectors the western part comprising of bandera revering nationalists and the eastern part comprising of russian speaking separatists .They are at war with each other and have been for years !!!!! The people of the donbass voted overwhelmingly to join with the russian federation so why on earth would Russia send at risk or bereaved children back to their oppressors ???
Given that actual war criminals of whom the list is very long walk freely especially in the US and Britain the ICC is a sick joke and these absurd charges brought upon Putin and his childrens commisioner just reinforces to me how easily these institutions can be manipulated .Reminds me of the OPCW !!
Even from the perspective of finding the safest place to put the children sending them to the western part of the country would make no sense whatever as no part of Ukraine is safe it being a war zone !!
Thanks in large part to American interventionalism Ukraine as a whole is now a basket case almost entirely dependent on US and euro funding to function on the most basic level .Its energy systems are in tatters its industry largely destroyed huge numbers of its men dead or wounded millions displaced ironic indeed that that the ICC decides to do this on the 20th anniversary of the destruction of Iraq .!!
What should be obvious to anyone paying attention obtaining their information from Russian propaganda sources is that Ukraine is divided into two basic sectors the western part comprising of bandera revering nationalists and the eastern part comprising of russian speaking separatists .They are at war with each other and have been for years !!!!! The people of the donbass voted overwhelmingly to join with the russian federation so why on earth would Russia send at risk or bereaved children back to their oppressors ???
FIFY
A lot of lies to unpack there. For example, in an actual free referendum on Ukrainian independence (1991), the Donbass region voted overwhelmingly (>80%) for independence from Russia. Only later Russian gunpoint referendums gave the results you point to. Try going to Russian-occupied Ukraine today, walk around with a Ukrainian flag and say you support Ukrainian independence – see how things work out for you.
Lots of video starting to show up of fresh Ukrainian mechanised formations concentrating. A counter-attack is in the offing and the decisive engagement of this war is at hand. Any significant defeat for the Russians means the end for Putin.
Best of luck and God speed to the AFU. May the Russians be routed completely and this tragic and unnecessary war brought to a speedy and victorious conclusion.
I don't know if the Ukrainians can mount a successful offensive, but if this war is to be brought to a decisive and just conclusion that is what is needed. A ceasefire on current positions would simply see round three of this war against Russian imperialism start up again in five years.
Their win over Kherson was pretty amazing. I'm optimistic that the Finland NATO accession and the Moldova accelerated EU membership would give Russia pause.
I often wonder what the pro-Russian fanbois here who want a Russian victory think the Poles plan to do with their brand new, 300,000+ army armed to the teeth with latest and best of everything.
I'll tell them. If the Ukraine loses and becomes a ravanchist state thirsting for revenge against Russia, the inevitable next round of these wars in 2028-30 will feature a formidable Polish army in an alliance with the Ukrainian military attacking Russia. That would be another bloodbath. Honestly, if you want the least amount of killing, you want to see Putin killed and this war end in a defeat for Russia as soon as possible.
Alternatively, what's happening now is Europe slowly sucking the economic life out of Russia over the next decade like a Tarantula with a sparrow. Putin seems even less likely to leave than Erdogan.
No NATO country including Poland is going to start a shooting war with Russia unless they are provoked by attack and trip NATO Article 5. All sides know there's no turning back from that.
round three of this war against Russian imperialism start up again in five years.
Read a piece recently about the lasting peace between long time foes France and Germany being achieved by denazification, food, societal and governance policies and restoration of the West German economy during a ten year occupation.
The author concluded anything less would invite rounds three, four, etc, from Russia.
I wonder what processes are being applied within Cabinet in their decision making ??When we get such crap outcomes. All good for a potential $4b project to now ballon into $15.7b and it is still being considered. Meanwhile in Dunedin the scope of the new hospital (MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE) is reduced due to cost overruns. How some supporters within Labour must be hanging their heads in shame that their party can make so poor a decision !!!!! But some will support no matter what – Any mirrors within their houses or can they not cope looking at themselves in the mirrow???
Cutting the capacity of the new Dunedin hospital IS underfunding under Labour- Some time in the future we will lament that the hospital was NOT built to original specifications – So tell that to those in Dunedin – Perhaps try to add to the discussion than your crap response- Even better have those labour supporters communicate to the MP's of their short sightedness. Your snide response sums up – That will promote improved decision making ??
And to Peter any project should have contingency items and cost overruns included in the scope – And a Good govt ?? should have in general funds additional $$ to cover such projects – Do other big projects stop short does a road that has cost overruns end short of its intended finish point ?? CRAP DECISION to not build to specs. and this perhaps sums it up and may answer your question"The deep dive revealed projects falling foul of basic skills gaps and rose-tinted expectations.
“The gaps in capability included business case development, defining project budgets, scheduling, and stakeholder management.”
Then there's the very human phenomenon of desiring the absolute maximum features for the budget available, and the expectation that the process will be have an optimistically smooth process. Happens with every human purchasing decision from a toothpick to a nuclear power plant.
No possibility of citations for it is so well hidden that NZ is known to be one of the least corrupt countries! Have been on major projects and seen how much stuff walks off the site to supply the locals ….
So there's a few things that have made costs go up fast in the last 10 years, in no particular order:
– New Zealand has very few design experts who can design new hospitals, underground railway systems, airports, or other major complex infrastructure. They don't happen often enough to have a permanent pool of expertise in country. So consultant designers are imported for the project, and that means they cost a lot.
– New Zealand has 100% employment of those who can work on complex infrastructure. Any specialist position is in hot demand, so they are regularly poached to larger more reliable and better paid projects elsewhere. So constructors are imported for the project, and that means they cost a lot.
– New Zealand has few mines, one aluminium smelter, one steel smelter, near-zero local bitumen, and just a couple of precast concrete pipe and beam manufacturers. So when there's a boom on as there has been since the Christchurch earthquakes, not everyone can get what they want at the price they thought they'd fixed several years back. So materials get hard to find and more expensive.
– China's trade war with the USA. We used to be able to get cheap materials and labour out of China, but it's much harder now. We've seen what China's done to Australian trade and yet we aren't diversifying our supply chain fast enough. So when China-US tensions rise, we struggle to fulfil our orders.
– COVID delays to programme on major infrastructure. You can't get replacement workers, teams stay shut at home, stuff doesn't get built but teams still get paid – which means costs of the project go up.
– Invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Simple materials scarcity in steel, natural gas to make steel, coal to make steel, international shipping redirected. Major supply constraints. Completely a sellers market for key construction commodities.
– Basic NZ isolation from shipping supply chain. We're a tiny, out-of-the-way place with one city of note, reliant on 3 shipping companies, and a stop-start major infrastructure pipeline. Shipping companies will get stuff to us at their convenience not ours, so the local teams wait, and get paid for waiting. So the price of the project goes up.
Believe it or not New Zealand's public sector in major infrastructure has few procurement disasters, is used to being disciplined with little money, and has taken on more massive infrastructure tasks in the last decade than at any time since the early 1980s. We've improved much of NZ's core infrastructure in Christchurch, Auckland, and Hamilton out of sight to what it was 15 years ago.
We are also more adept at using the right procurement model for high risk jobs, which is why we use commercial alliances for the $300m+ jobs.
Just don't expect a fixed price contract for anything over $5m.
STILL no reason for the hospital to have its capabilities fall short of original design and original announcement from the govt – just EXCUSES and we the public will suffer due to shortsighted decision to save a few $$
It's more poor communications from MoH and the commissioning team, than Dunedin having something stolen from their scope. Dunedin has the best institutions, including health institutions, per capital in the entire country. It's going to stay at 130,000 population for as far as the eye can see.
Queenstown-Lakes is on track for 60,000 residents by 2030 plus 100,000 visitors per day. Queenstown-Lakes is a boomtown with health services that are keeping up by no measure – unless you go private.
So the best place for another hospital after the Dunedin one needs to be in Queenstown.
You think the state has a magical Big Rock Candy Mountain stockpile of bridges, bridge designers, roading materials, house materials, electrical substations, transmitters, qualified workers, and fibre optic cable just hanging about on trees? And somethingsomethingcapitalismbad?
If you need a job I've got one for you. Otherwise just dry up.
Q & AS last Sunday had an informative discussion about large project costs which covered many issues.
With Lake Onslow becoming the latest major infrastructure project to see massive cost increases, Q+A asks the Infrastructure Commission's Ross Copland why this keeps happening.
@Ad. An excellent real world insight as to why NZ has geographic and structural issues that will always put us at a disadvantage. We should be more honest about these and confront better ways to manage them.
In my case I found that as an automation engineer it was rare to find continuity of work in a given industry so that I could become really good at it. I was expected to bounce around from infrastructure, to dairy, to wood processing and then food and beverage. I could say it was never boring, but then looking back my productivity was crap.
By contrast I did a sub-sub-contract in 2003 for a large US based sawmilling OEM in Australia commissioning a massive new mill in NSW. The automation team consisted of about 8 engineers. These guys were not just specialised into that industry, but onto specific machines. A couple did the primary breakdown line, another the five saw edgers, another few on the shape sawing line (absolutely amazing machine) and then someone else on the sorter/bin machines at the back-end. They were all incredibly good at what they were doing – but they never crossed over outside of their narrow specialty. Of course this was only possible because they worked within one of the world's larger OEM suppliers and had the continuity of work to support it. It was a great experience working with such highly competent and efficient people.
The shortage of professionally and technically competent people is not going to get better anytime soon. Globally the boomer generation is retiring, while universities seem to be determined to undermine the quality and attractiveness of their STEM courses at every turn. The entire science and engineering enterprise needs to take a long hard look at whether conventional approaches are serving us well – personally I think there is a good deal of room for improvement.
For instance the bog standard NZS 39xx contracting model always struck me as based more on a legalistic conflict model rather than good project management principles. A quick search pulled this up:
It is common practice in the Australian construction industry to use conventional contracting models where the client or government entity internally manages or outsources the design, development and project management using a cascade of separate contracts (Love et al., 2010). This often leads to each project participant focusing only on performing the responsibilities to which they are allocated and working separately rather than integrating the project team to work cooperatively (Jefferies et al., 2006). Thereby they offer little in the way of collaboration or active risk management, which are required to deliver best for project outcomes.
Is this new contracting model likely to gain traction – or is it more hopeful than real?
But otherwise everything you say with spades on. Even Australia is not immune to many of these influences.
There's some clients that are in such a hurry at the moment like Auckland Airport that they have to go Cost Plus or worse Measure and Value. That domestic terminal is a disgrace.
Some traditional contracting here and Victoria and NZSW particularly in the big vertical builds is theocratic: the client is the arm, the contractor is the hammer, the subbie is the chisel, and you just keep smashing down as hard as you can until you get the shape you want. It's like contractor capitalism, monarchic rule, patristic families, and theocratic rule were structurally identical.
But what's building up at the moment on the East Coast of New Zealand is one of the largest alliances we will see. I understand it will be run by Crown Infrastructure Partners and will roll transport, broadband, electricity and housing into a single delivery alliance. Not as big as Christchurch's SCIRT but certainly the biggest thig that will ever happen to the East Cost in focus and in the $5-$6b range.
Alliances are good at encompassing risk and quick-changing priorities, should big roadblocks occur in one option. They are thankfully different to the PPP format that did Transmission Gully.
I have had two young people I know well in the last two years go through the mechatronics courses in Canterbury and Auckland Schools of Engineering: both can't wait to get out of New Zealand due to exactly what you describe.
I cannot tell whether to laugh or cry at your third para – it so resonates with my experience across the EPC space. The bigger engineering companies truly operate like dynasties – benign for the most part, but rarely inspired.
I commissioned a major project here in Aus back in 2018 where Bechtel was the prime EPC. Getting onto the job it soon became apparent to me that far too many arse-polishers, none of whom would ever get to site, had created an insanely over-complex system that was a nightmare to work with. If you keep doing big projects eventually your luck runs out – and while nothing terrible happened I was very happy to take my money and finish my last rotation.
Without giving away too much detail – last year I was highly amused to then be dragged into advising to a much smaller, more agile company who had been called in to completely rework that entire system into something sane and maintainable. Which we did very nicely thank you – and at a fraction of the original cost.
Your comment around contracting alliances is encouraging – it feels very much like the right direction and maybe between this post cyclone and SCIRT experience something good will come of it.
cost overuns cannot be avoided. with commodity prices fluid, looking into the future is impossible. heathcare is also one of the fastest changing and most expensive things to build. go into an operating room and guess how much everything costs. by the time you walk out, some of the tech will be out of date, and the price will have increased on others.
I always enjoy the Rod Oram series and this one on "Farming: The next steps" shows just how new directions can solve the problems of the sustainability of farming. Specially re regenerative cropping. Stop moaning farmers and consider your options.
yea..its a DNA thing. Also….their fathers father (and farther back) did the same. So…like dinosaurs, they are not likely to change, until "something" happens. Hope its not an asteroid.
Meanwhile Our Earth heats…and Rivers,Streams,Waterways and WETLANDS die !
A strange silence has gripped Whangamarino. It is a deathly silence.
large populations of Whangamarino's birds have fallen sick with avian botulism, dying a gruesome death after losing the ability to walk and use their wings.
Appalled by the outbreak, Fish & Game New Zealand launched a stinging attack on Waikato Regional Council, accusing the local authority of permitting dairy intensification and failing in its statutory obligation to protect freshwater environments.
farmers aren't genetically programmed to not change. In my own family there were huge changes in farming practices from my grandfather's generation to my uncle's.
It's true that some farmers are just stuck in their thinking and way of farming. But many farmers want to change and are prevented from that because of the banks and farm advisors. Industry orgs are a huge problem too.
In every area of NZ there are farmers trying to do the right things. They deserve our support instead of this constant negativity and prejudice.
Rod Oram found another supportive moaning prophet.
The reason farmers went wholesale into dairy conversions by hundreds of thousands of hectares with few constraints is because of the original Fonterra legislation which required Fonterra to take all milk produced.
Fonterra and its DIRA legislation are mostly to blame for 25 years of accelerated dairy impact, not the farmers themselves. They just reacted to the market set by the legislation.
The dairy industry is our one export mainstay that survived COVID, keeping up our governments' tax intake that then get to redistribute. And did so better than any other industry by a country mile. I'm sure happy to slam them too but Rod Oram should start his first sentence with:
Never underestimate the ability of water fowl to pollute the area they live in – especially when numbers rise due to a very good breeding year – before they are culled by duck shooters in May.
Stagnant, or slow-flowing, water is a breeding ground for algae that use duck poo as fertiliser, and it’s the type of water that ducks tend to be found in. Excessive quantities of duck poo can cause algal overgrowth which starves the water of oxygen, killing off natural food sources for water birds. And it’s algae that is responsible for harbouring the bacteria that cause Avian Botulism.
It is certainly something to be investigated as a contributory factor given the reports of large numbers of dead ducks and reported lack of water through flow.
All very well to “bless” dairy farmers but the effects are often more nuanced.
Lake Waikare suffers regularly from algal blooms, and the trophic state of Lake Waikare has worsened since 1993, with increased N and P and suspended sediment loads and decreased clarity. Chlorophyll A concentrations have remained stable, and this has been attributed to light limitation of algae due to the high suspended sediment concentrations. The high density of koi carp are also contributing to the status of the lake.
I've changed your formatting. Please put quotes from offsite in quotation marks or use the " tag when making the comment, thanks. This is so it’s easy to see what are you words and what are someone else’s.
Lake Waikare is one of the most polluted lakes in the country, and a 2012 study put it at one of the most polluted lakes in the world.
Low-lake levels, surrounding farming practices and infestation of koi carp has led to its degraded state, and it often changes colour throughout the year.
“This is an example of the same thing happening all over New Zealand for a long, long time because there’s no enforcement from regional councils on district councils.”
Joy said wastewater with high levels of nitrogen and phosphorous drive algae blooms and algae flows, which can cause the lake to turn different colours.
Even treated wastewater was not healthy for lake water quality, he said.
Lake Waikare is in an almost constant state of warning for toxic algae blooms, or cyanobacteria, which threatens the health of humans and animals exposed to the water.
Do those giving praise to dairy farmers via a deity…ever pause to consider that fonterra is our number one polluter…and that seven of the other top ten polluters are meat processing companies…?..(stuff published list about 2 wks ago..)
Does that matter..?..d'yareckon..?.
Seeing as we are groping around for ways to lower our very high emissions..?
Seems a bit counterintuitive..eh..?..channeling a deity for that..?
If Labour get turfed this election, current Minister of Revenue Deborah Russel could if she downed 2 shots of vodka and a red cape with a strong following wind and some integration of her Medici political theory and Australian tax law practise, actually work with Genter to turn into an effective anti-bank pro wealth-tax hit squad.
1. an insurance scheme for the lending of money to business by banks/financial institutions.
Business loans are expensive (because of risk), and so people are limited to loans against their property or issuing shares (which have had poor take up). This causes business problems because of the swings between property speculation binges and high OCR/bank interest rates.
2. interest free loans to farmers to ensure improved farm environment standards without higher operating cost.
3. other …
Background
2023 changes to the Business Finance Guarantee Scheme
I just love these background "Downstream" broadcasts by Aaron Bastani.
Here, Roger Hallam – of Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil fame – talks of climate change not as a technocratic problem, but as a consequence of the pathology of global capitalism and it's elites.
And when the OT 'care' fails (as it so often does) – I devoutly hope that the blame will be sheeted home to the biased OT staff and the taxpayer funded rort that is the ongoing appeal process. No reason for Moana's 'mother' to stop appealing – since she wasn't paying one cent for the ongoing legal costs. No reason for OT to stop supporting these appeals, since none of the money was coming out of their funding.
Sadly, not one of them will step up and take ownership of their decision and the consequences of it.
Given that there has never been any question at all of Moana returning to her mother (which speaks volumes about the quality of parenting her biological mother is able to provide) – why should she have any rights at all to appeal Moana's placement (given that it was demonstrably safe, and secure)?
End result. A little girl is re-traumatized by the system which is supposed to have her welfare at heart.
In the believe it, or not, category an organisation of independent school providers is suing the government for discrimination.
Apparently they claim that the governments requirement for pay parity for teachers in their schools with those in kindergartens means the government is discriminating against older teachers – because the schools would rather fire them than pay them more money.
The move seems timed with recent release of National Party policy to increase funding to ECE's.
PS a certain family makes a lot of money from the schools and funds right wing radio.
Kim Hill had a long investigation this morning on Morning Report. She had CEO Simon Laub in a tangle. She was in classic mode. Touched on private profit making centres, like the Wrights.
What do highly educated upper-middle-class people know about the life of blue-collar workers? Farah Stockman, a graduate of Harvard, journalist, and member of TheNew York Times editorial board, believes that the answer to that question for most upper-middle-class people, including herself, is not much.
She discovered the experiential chasm that separates the lives of working-class people from the elite who write the laws, run the economy, and produce the culture. Working-class people, she recognized, work and live under constant supervision: watched and controlled by factory bosses, police, social workers and school officials who monitor their children. In the case of Link-Belt, their livelihoods were destroyed by a distant private equity firm that eventually moved the factory to Mexico.
Most of the time they [the workers] felt devalued by the company. The people with college degrees who ran things didn’t think they [workers] had much knowledge and that a monkey could do what they do. They [workers] felt like they were disposable.
A lot of liberal people who care about the working class say we should just pay our taxes and send them money in the mail—a universal basic income. Not a single steel worker I interviewed wanted to live off the government. They didn’t trust the government to help them. That’s part of why the Democratic Party is losing the support of working-class people.
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
Open access notablesImproving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society:To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
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One of the best videos I have seen on the Kaikoura lights phenomena from back in the day.
This was one of the most difficult to explain UFO incidents ever. The lights were sighted by numerous witnesses and observed on several radar installations, and filmed by a news camera crew. The explanations that were put forward were never convincing in the slightest.
I am a UFO sceptic, in that I don't make the huge leap to assume that any unexplained sighting was aliens from outer space. But this event was fascinating.
Bruce Carey includes the Kaikoura Lights in one of his many folk songs. Great song. The plane involved is now a static display opposite Marlborough Airport.
2023 New Zealand's first ever climate change election?
"….the 2023 election would be a climate election." The Green Party Co-leader and Climate Change Minister, James Shaw
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/486276/greens-lay-down-climate-change-election-challenge-to-other-parties
Not before time!
We cannot, simply cannot, continue to expect our economic well-being to be expressed in GDP growth percentages!
If we are to have a snowball’s hope in hell of surviving what’s coming, we need to begin by throwing out the old and tired capitalist notions of a profit-driven way out of this catastrophe.
Put simply, people cannot continue to engage the way they have been – the overseas holiday every year, the multiple (7?) houses, the Sherman tank SUVs deemed necessary to drive the kids to school.
These changes will be forced upon us soon enough and will impact the poor, but also the entitled rich, who will, perhaps naturally, be loth to give up their privileges!
Sustainability necessitates down-sizing everything – from one’s expectations and wants, to the size of houses we build, the vehicles we drive, the things we do in our leisure.
If we don’t begin to adapt quickly (and even if we do) it’s going to be a rocky couple of decades – and we humans may not emerge from the end of them.
The Greens are so right – the ’23 election must be about climate!
Children as prizes of war. Nice.
/
https://twitter.com/HeidiReports/status/1637526898963087361
Joe 90 trolling his daily dump of anti russian rhetoric for us gee thanks joe !!
What should be obvious to anyone paying attention is that Ukraine is divided into two basic sectors the western part comprising of bandera revering nationalists and the eastern part comprising of russian speaking separatists .They are at war with each other and have been for years !!!!! The people of the donbass voted overwhelmingly to join with the russian federation so why on earth would Russia send at risk or bereaved children back to their oppressors ???
Given that actual war criminals of whom the list is very long walk freely especially in the US and Britain the ICC is a sick joke and these absurd charges brought upon Putin and his childrens commisioner just reinforces to me how easily these institutions can be manipulated .Reminds me of the OPCW !!
Even from the perspective of finding the safest place to put the children sending them to the western part of the country would make no sense whatever as no part of Ukraine is safe it being a war zone !!
Thanks in large part to American interventionalism Ukraine as a whole is now a basket case almost entirely dependent on US and euro funding to function on the most basic level .Its energy systems are in tatters its industry largely destroyed huge numbers of its men dead or wounded millions displaced ironic indeed that that the ICC decides to do this on the 20th anniversary of the destruction of Iraq .!!
please stop having a go at other commenters. You can make political comment against whatever Joe posts without attacking him.
What should be obvious to anyone
paying attentionobtaining their information from Russian propaganda sources is that Ukraine is divided into two basic sectors the western part comprising of bandera revering nationalists and the eastern part comprising of russian speaking separatists .They are at war with each other and have been for years !!!!! The people of the donbass voted overwhelmingly to join with the russian federation so why on earth would Russia send at risk or bereaved children back to their oppressors ???FIFY
A lot of lies to unpack there. For example, in an actual free referendum on Ukrainian independence (1991), the Donbass region voted overwhelmingly (>80%) for independence from Russia. Only later Russian gunpoint referendums gave the results you point to. Try going to Russian-occupied Ukraine today, walk around with a Ukrainian flag and say you support Ukrainian independence – see how things work out for you.
..so why wouldn’t Russia send at risk or bereaved children back to their families?
Lots of video starting to show up of fresh Ukrainian mechanised formations concentrating. A counter-attack is in the offing and the decisive engagement of this war is at hand. Any significant defeat for the Russians means the end for Putin.
Best of luck and God speed to the AFU. May the Russians be routed completely and this tragic and unnecessary war brought to a speedy and victorious conclusion.
Great optimism. I struggle with being optimistic about Ukraine.
Good to see Finland getting the nod from Turkey for NATO accession.
Also great to see European Parliament pushing for Moldova to to get into the EU.
https://emerging-europe.com/news/eu-again-heaps-praise-on-moldova-but-is-it-any-closer-to-membership/
I don't know if the Ukrainians can mount a successful offensive, but if this war is to be brought to a decisive and just conclusion that is what is needed. A ceasefire on current positions would simply see round three of this war against Russian imperialism start up again in five years.
Their win over Kherson was pretty amazing. I'm optimistic that the Finland NATO accession and the Moldova accelerated EU membership would give Russia pause.
I often wonder what the pro-Russian fanbois here who want a Russian victory think the Poles plan to do with their brand new, 300,000+ army armed to the teeth with latest and best of everything.
I'll tell them. If the Ukraine loses and becomes a ravanchist state thirsting for revenge against Russia, the inevitable next round of these wars in 2028-30 will feature a formidable Polish army in an alliance with the Ukrainian military attacking Russia. That would be another bloodbath. Honestly, if you want the least amount of killing, you want to see Putin killed and this war end in a defeat for Russia as soon as possible.
nailed it sanctuary
Alternatively, what's happening now is Europe slowly sucking the economic life out of Russia over the next decade like a Tarantula with a sparrow. Putin seems even less likely to leave than Erdogan.
No NATO country including Poland is going to start a shooting war with Russia unless they are provoked by attack and trip NATO Article 5. All sides know there's no turning back from that.
Read a piece recently about the lasting peace between long time foes France and Germany being achieved by denazification, food, societal and governance policies and restoration of the West German economy during a ten year occupation.
The author concluded anything less would invite rounds three, four, etc, from Russia.
I wonder what processes are being applied within Cabinet in their decision making ??When we get such crap outcomes. All good for a potential $4b project to now ballon into $15.7b and it is still being considered. Meanwhile in Dunedin the scope of the new hospital (MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE) is reduced due to cost overruns. How some supporters within Labour must be hanging their heads in shame that their party can make so poor a decision !!!!! But some will support no matter what – Any mirrors within their houses or can they not cope looking at themselves in the mirrow???
https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/12/21/major-cuts-to-new-dunedin-hospital-design-as-budget-blows-out/
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/486111/lake-onslow-pumped-hydro-scheme-cost-estimate-rises-almost-300-percent-to-15-point-7b
Rather Labour with their rebuild of Dunedin hospital, than National with their underfunding of health during their disastrous 9 years!
Cutting the capacity of the new Dunedin hospital IS underfunding under Labour- Some time in the future we will lament that the hospital was NOT built to original specifications – So tell that to those in Dunedin – Perhaps try to add to the discussion than your crap response- Even better have those labour supporters communicate to the MP's of their short sightedness. Your snide response sums up – That will promote improved decision making ??
And to Peter any project should have contingency items and cost overruns included in the scope – And a Good govt ?? should have in general funds additional $$ to cover such projects – Do other big projects stop short does a road that has cost overruns end short of its intended finish point ?? CRAP DECISION to not build to specs. and this perhaps sums it up and may answer your question"The deep dive revealed projects falling foul of basic skills gaps and rose-tinted expectations.
“The gaps in capability included business case development, defining project budgets, scheduling, and stakeholder management.”
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/mental-health-building-projects-delayed-amid-soaring-costs/3WVHD2PLDFF23AL5ABW5WJURVU/
How many years was the Dunedin hospital rebuild talked about under the Natz?
Labour may not be able to afford the provide all the beds planned for, but what they're delivering is light years ahead of the useless National Party!
How’s that for a 'crap response?'
Why do cost overruns happen? How can cost overruns be avoided?
All them Consultants and Bureaucrats gotta be engaged and paid BEFORE a shovel can be put in the ground //
Then there is the health and safety gravy train
… and the backhanders
… and the vested interests
It is a wonder that projects do not cost far more!
Then there's the very human phenomenon of desiring the absolute maximum features for the budget available, and the expectation that the process will be have an optimistically smooth process. Happens with every human purchasing decision from a toothpick to a nuclear power plant.
Citation or link needed!
“Then there is the health and safety gravy train” cue Simeon Brown’s latest tweet!
No possibility of citations for it is so well hidden that NZ is known to be one of the least corrupt countries! Have been on major projects and seen how much stuff walks off the site to supply the locals ….
Bullshit.
So there's a few things that have made costs go up fast in the last 10 years, in no particular order:
– New Zealand has very few design experts who can design new hospitals, underground railway systems, airports, or other major complex infrastructure. They don't happen often enough to have a permanent pool of expertise in country. So consultant designers are imported for the project, and that means they cost a lot.
– New Zealand has 100% employment of those who can work on complex infrastructure. Any specialist position is in hot demand, so they are regularly poached to larger more reliable and better paid projects elsewhere. So constructors are imported for the project, and that means they cost a lot.
– New Zealand has few mines, one aluminium smelter, one steel smelter, near-zero local bitumen, and just a couple of precast concrete pipe and beam manufacturers. So when there's a boom on as there has been since the Christchurch earthquakes, not everyone can get what they want at the price they thought they'd fixed several years back. So materials get hard to find and more expensive.
– China's trade war with the USA. We used to be able to get cheap materials and labour out of China, but it's much harder now. We've seen what China's done to Australian trade and yet we aren't diversifying our supply chain fast enough. So when China-US tensions rise, we struggle to fulfil our orders.
– COVID delays to programme on major infrastructure. You can't get replacement workers, teams stay shut at home, stuff doesn't get built but teams still get paid – which means costs of the project go up.
– Invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Simple materials scarcity in steel, natural gas to make steel, coal to make steel, international shipping redirected. Major supply constraints. Completely a sellers market for key construction commodities.
– Basic NZ isolation from shipping supply chain. We're a tiny, out-of-the-way place with one city of note, reliant on 3 shipping companies, and a stop-start major infrastructure pipeline. Shipping companies will get stuff to us at their convenience not ours, so the local teams wait, and get paid for waiting. So the price of the project goes up.
Believe it or not New Zealand's public sector in major infrastructure has few procurement disasters, is used to being disciplined with little money, and has taken on more massive infrastructure tasks in the last decade than at any time since the early 1980s. We've improved much of NZ's core infrastructure in Christchurch, Auckland, and Hamilton out of sight to what it was 15 years ago.
We are also more adept at using the right procurement model for high risk jobs, which is why we use commercial alliances for the $300m+ jobs.
Just don't expect a fixed price contract for anything over $5m.
Those days are gone.
STILL no reason for the hospital to have its capabilities fall short of original design and original announcement from the govt – just EXCUSES and we the public will suffer due to shortsighted decision to save a few $$
https://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/article/undoctored/new-dunedin-hospital-receives-additional-110-million-funding
It's more poor communications from MoH and the commissioning team, than Dunedin having something stolen from their scope. Dunedin has the best institutions, including health institutions, per capital in the entire country. It's going to stay at 130,000 population for as far as the eye can see.
Queenstown-Lakes is on track for 60,000 residents by 2030 plus 100,000 visitors per day. Queenstown-Lakes is a boomtown with health services that are keeping up by no measure – unless you go private.
So the best place for another hospital after the Dunedin one needs to be in Queenstown.
You missed the most important one: Capitalism 101, Never waste a good crisis to not put your prices up.
You think the state has a magical Big Rock Candy Mountain stockpile of bridges, bridge designers, roading materials, house materials, electrical substations, transmitters, qualified workers, and fibre optic cable just hanging about on trees? And somethingsomethingcapitalismbad?
If you need a job I've got one for you. Otherwise just dry up.
Q & AS last Sunday had an informative discussion about large project costs which covered many issues.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/q-and-a/clips/why-do-infrastructure-budgets-always-blow-out
Yes Ross Copland makes good points there.
@Ad. An excellent real world insight as to why NZ has geographic and structural issues that will always put us at a disadvantage. We should be more honest about these and confront better ways to manage them.
In my case I found that as an automation engineer it was rare to find continuity of work in a given industry so that I could become really good at it. I was expected to bounce around from infrastructure, to dairy, to wood processing and then food and beverage. I could say it was never boring, but then looking back my productivity was crap.
By contrast I did a sub-sub-contract in 2003 for a large US based sawmilling OEM in Australia commissioning a massive new mill in NSW. The automation team consisted of about 8 engineers. These guys were not just specialised into that industry, but onto specific machines. A couple did the primary breakdown line, another the five saw edgers, another few on the shape sawing line (absolutely amazing machine) and then someone else on the sorter/bin machines at the back-end. They were all incredibly good at what they were doing – but they never crossed over outside of their narrow specialty. Of course this was only possible because they worked within one of the world's larger OEM suppliers and had the continuity of work to support it. It was a great experience working with such highly competent and efficient people.
The shortage of professionally and technically competent people is not going to get better anytime soon. Globally the boomer generation is retiring, while universities seem to be determined to undermine the quality and attractiveness of their STEM courses at every turn. The entire science and engineering enterprise needs to take a long hard look at whether conventional approaches are serving us well – personally I think there is a good deal of room for improvement.
For instance the bog standard NZS 39xx contracting model always struck me as based more on a legalistic conflict model rather than good project management principles. A quick search pulled this up:
Is this new contracting model likely to gain traction – or is it more hopeful than real?
But otherwise everything you say with spades on. Even Australia is not immune to many of these influences.
You did well to get out.
There's some clients that are in such a hurry at the moment like Auckland Airport that they have to go Cost Plus or worse Measure and Value. That domestic terminal is a disgrace.
Some traditional contracting here and Victoria and NZSW particularly in the big vertical builds is theocratic: the client is the arm, the contractor is the hammer, the subbie is the chisel, and you just keep smashing down as hard as you can until you get the shape you want. It's like contractor capitalism, monarchic rule, patristic families, and theocratic rule were structurally identical.
But what's building up at the moment on the East Coast of New Zealand is one of the largest alliances we will see. I understand it will be run by Crown Infrastructure Partners and will roll transport, broadband, electricity and housing into a single delivery alliance. Not as big as Christchurch's SCIRT but certainly the biggest thig that will ever happen to the East Cost in focus and in the $5-$6b range.
Alliances are good at encompassing risk and quick-changing priorities, should big roadblocks occur in one option. They are thankfully different to the PPP format that did Transmission Gully.
I have had two young people I know well in the last two years go through the mechatronics courses in Canterbury and Auckland Schools of Engineering: both can't wait to get out of New Zealand due to exactly what you describe.
I cannot tell whether to laugh or cry at your third para – it so resonates with my experience across the EPC space. The bigger engineering companies truly operate like dynasties – benign for the most part, but rarely inspired.
I commissioned a major project here in Aus back in 2018 where Bechtel was the prime EPC. Getting onto the job it soon became apparent to me that far too many arse-polishers, none of whom would ever get to site, had created an insanely over-complex system that was a nightmare to work with. If you keep doing big projects eventually your luck runs out – and while nothing terrible happened I was very happy to take my money and finish my last rotation.
Without giving away too much detail – last year I was highly amused to then be dragged into advising to a much smaller, more agile company who had been called in to completely rework that entire system into something sane and maintainable. Which we did very nicely thank you – and at a fraction of the original cost.
Your comment around contracting alliances is encouraging – it feels very much like the right direction and maybe between this post cyclone and SCIRT experience something good will come of it.
cost overuns cannot be avoided. with commodity prices fluid, looking into the future is impossible. heathcare is also one of the fastest changing and most expensive things to build. go into an operating room and guess how much everything costs. by the time you walk out, some of the tech will be out of date, and the price will have increased on others.
I always enjoy the Rod Oram series and this one on "Farming: The next steps" shows just how new directions can solve the problems of the sustainability of farming. Specially re regenerative cropping. Stop moaning farmers and consider your options.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/farming-the-next-steps?utm_source=Newsroom&utm_campaign=d2862a8bdd-Daily_Briefing+20.03.2023&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_71de5c4b35-d2862a8bdd-95522477
yea..its a DNA thing. Also….their fathers father (and farther back) did the same. So…like dinosaurs, they are not likely to change, until "something" happens. Hope its not an asteroid.
Meanwhile Our Earth heats…and Rivers,Streams,Waterways and WETLANDS die !
farmers aren't genetically programmed to not change. In my own family there were huge changes in farming practices from my grandfather's generation to my uncle's.
It's true that some farmers are just stuck in their thinking and way of farming. But many farmers want to change and are prevented from that because of the banks and farm advisors. Industry orgs are a huge problem too.
In every area of NZ there are farmers trying to do the right things. They deserve our support instead of this constant negativity and prejudice.
And go for it !
Rod Oram found another supportive moaning prophet.
The reason farmers went wholesale into dairy conversions by hundreds of thousands of hectares with few constraints is because of the original Fonterra legislation which required Fonterra to take all milk produced.
Fonterra and its DIRA legislation are mostly to blame for 25 years of accelerated dairy impact, not the farmers themselves. They just reacted to the market set by the legislation.
The dairy industry is our one export mainstay that survived COVID, keeping up our governments' tax intake that then get to redistribute. And did so better than any other industry by a country mile. I'm sure happy to slam them too but Rod Oram should start his first sentence with:
Thank God for the dairy farmers.
god bless the dairy farmers.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/131519960/thousands-of-birds-die-at-important-wetland-from-deadly-disease-caused-by-pollution
Never underestimate the ability of water fowl to pollute the area they live in – especially when numbers rise due to a very good breeding year – before they are culled by duck shooters in May.
Stagnant, or slow-flowing, water is a breeding ground for algae that use duck poo as fertiliser, and it’s the type of water that ducks tend to be found in. Excessive quantities of duck poo can cause algal overgrowth which starves the water of oxygen, killing off natural food sources for water birds. And it’s algae that is responsible for harbouring the bacteria that cause Avian Botulism.
Are you suggesting that water fowl are a significant factor in the collapse of the Whangamarino ecosystem?
It is certainly something to be investigated as a contributory factor given the reports of large numbers of dead ducks and reported lack of water through flow.
All very well to “bless” dairy farmers but the effects are often more nuanced.
ok, so that's you making shit up again.
There are also large numbers of Coi Carp there which have a hand in increase of algal blooms.
https://www.tekauwhatavillage.co.nz/555-2/
I've changed your formatting. Please put quotes from offsite in quotation marks or use the " tag when making the comment, thanks. This is so it’s easy to see what are you words and what are someone else’s.
The algal blooms are long term and caused by a range of other factors and then there is the sewage. The Lake drains into the wetlands.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/125527768/councils-three-years-of-discharge-into-one-of-nations-most-polluted-lakes
Yeah! The birds dun it to themselves! Shitting in their own nests! Stupid birds!
Flying cows, but you can't even eat them.
Bit like humans?
Do those giving praise to dairy farmers via a deity…ever pause to consider that fonterra is our number one polluter…and that seven of the other top ten polluters are meat processing companies…?..(stuff published list about 2 wks ago..)
Does that matter..?..d'yareckon..?.
Seeing as we are groping around for ways to lower our very high emissions..?
Seems a bit counterintuitive..eh..?..channeling a deity for that..?
Probably coincidence…
As the old saying goes:
Unless you are your own farmer – and grow everything you eat ….
… and use deities a bit sparingly … say once a day – or once a week?
Lordie I just love Elizabeth Warren.
It would be so good if we had any politician in NZ who would hold our own banks to account like she does.
https://www.politico.com/video/2023/03/19/elizabeth-warrens-media-blitz-on-svb-in-60-seconds-860987
If Labour get turfed this election, current Minister of Revenue Deborah Russel could if she downed 2 shots of vodka and a red cape with a strong following wind and some integration of her Medici political theory and Australian tax law practise, actually work with Genter to turn into an effective anti-bank pro wealth-tax hit squad.
Granted that's a few caveats.
Windfall profits tax funding an insurance scheme for loans to business (permanent and larger scale than the pandemic era scheme).
Spell your idea out more.
A windfall profits tax on banks to fund
1. an insurance scheme for the lending of money to business by banks/financial institutions.
Business loans are expensive (because of risk), and so people are limited to loans against their property or issuing shares (which have had poor take up). This causes business problems because of the swings between property speculation binges and high OCR/bank interest rates.
2. interest free loans to farmers to ensure improved farm environment standards without higher operating cost.
3. other …
Background
2023 changes to the Business Finance Guarantee Scheme
https://www.wk.co.nz/blog/new-zealand-government-announces-small-business-cashflow-scheme-and-business-finance-guarantee-scheme-bfgs/
https://www.wk.co.nz/blog/big-changes-to-the-new-zealand-business-finance-guarantee-scheme/
Original foundation in 2020 as part of the COVID response
https://www2.deloitte.com/nz/en/pages/tax/articles/business-finance-guarantee-scheme-launched.html
https://www.bdo.nz/en-nz/covid-19/business-finance-guarantee-scheme
The use of windfall profits to fund the scheme takes it out of the category of something to be afforded out of budget revenues.
And it is related to financing business development (investment to improve productivity) and farm environment upgrade.
I just love these background "Downstream" broadcasts by Aaron Bastani.
Here, Roger Hallam – of Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil fame – talks of climate change not as a technocratic problem, but as a consequence of the pathology of global capitalism and it's elites.
Jon Stewart does an excellent segment on the SVB collapse and its causes.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/131476321/hardest-decision-of-our-lives-foster-parents-return-moana-to-state-care
The usless racist mother wins.
Just had the link to post Bwagon.
This will be devastating for Moana and for the Smiths as well.
OT should be ashamed of themselves. As you said the useless racist mother wins
Can you imagine if a white child abuser want there children removed from a loving Maori family,because culture!!??
And when the OT 'care' fails (as it so often does) – I devoutly hope that the blame will be sheeted home to the biased OT staff and the taxpayer funded rort that is the ongoing appeal process. No reason for Moana's 'mother' to stop appealing – since she wasn't paying one cent for the ongoing legal costs. No reason for OT to stop supporting these appeals, since none of the money was coming out of their funding.
Sadly, not one of them will step up and take ownership of their decision and the consequences of it.
Given that there has never been any question at all of Moana returning to her mother (which speaks volumes about the quality of parenting her biological mother is able to provide) – why should she have any rights at all to appeal Moana's placement (given that it was demonstrably safe, and secure)?
End result. A little girl is re-traumatized by the system which is supposed to have her welfare at heart.
Yes..it is hard for all..but she will be living with her brother..
Surely that has to count..?..for both of them..?
She would be fully bonded to her foster parents , the scarring caused by ripping her away will not be healed by be with her brother
I agree re bonding etc..
I just see the brother as being a factor that a lot of weight was put upon to reach that conclusion…
But hard for everyone…
It won't be asking for bail that worries him. It’ll be the DNA sample.
https://twitter.com/realTuckFrumper/status/1637469490282917889
In the believe it, or not, category an organisation of independent school providers is suing the government for discrimination.
Apparently they claim that the governments requirement for pay parity for teachers in their schools with those in kindergartens means the government is discriminating against older teachers – because the schools would rather fire them than pay them more money.
The move seems timed with recent release of National Party policy to increase funding to ECE's.
PS a certain family makes a lot of money from the schools and funds right wing radio.
Kim Hill had a long investigation this morning on Morning Report. She had CEO Simon Laub in a tangle. She was in classic mode. Touched on private profit making centres, like the Wrights.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/audio/player?audio_id=2018882478
A very good point that is obscured by gender and race debates: Solidarity
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/3/17/2158617/-Struggling-to-build-solidarity-across-lines-of-race-class-and-gender
Simon O'Connor must be a bit slutted that Ginny Anderson got Minister of Police.
But she's a fluent Te Reo speaker and neck deep in Treaty settlements and meth issues, plus 9 years with Police itself. Good choice PM Hipkins.
Why would a Nat MP be "slutted" at a Labour appointment?
Greg might be pissed off tho
A cool moment in the protest at Orewa last weekend
https://twitter.com/aotearoalib/status/1637205984635682816?s=61&t=4nyjBVbo16PbRZPJZdlgag