Part of the game, you have to be given out. Similar to going down with a broken leg in football at the slightest touch. You use the rules to your best advantage.
Yeah, it's not like that at all. Shite analogy. Ever heard the expression 'it's just not cricket'. It's been said for a reason, and that reason is honesty and integrity by the players.
Koli walked for India and he didn't even hit it, he just thought he did, which is a perfect example of how the game should be played. For me, Kane let himself down here, but they won, so all good then.
Sorry the analogy is not up to your "Kohli and I would have walked" standards. Here's a few more examples, when batsmen are run out they usually know they're short. No need for the 3rd umpire then eh, most should be walking of their own admission, yet that's the exception. Then there's the no ball check when people get out. Why do batsmen wait on the field for the TV no ball check. Not in the spirit of the game for sure.
No, that's another dud example. After a run out, a batsman who knows they're short will typically keep going to the changing room. Unless it's a genuine 50/50, an umpire will often refer, just to be sure. A quite valid reason for the third umpire's involvement. Batsmen or women, will wait if the umpire decides to check a no ball, though this isn't a team review, and batters have been called back from the sheds before to resume an innings.
Definitely nothing like a footballer faking a broken leg to con a ref.
We're possibly watching different games… Hardly any international batsmen keep going to the changing room unless it's obvious and they're more than a metre short. Most wait on the pitch for the 3rd umpire replay to be shown that they're out, and most runouts are sent to the 3rd umpire because the onfield umpires are terrified of making the wrong decision. The game relies on the 3rd umpire so much now and that backs up the idea that players are not proactive in giving themselves out. Like I said when running in cricket you usually know when you're short of ground even if it's a close one.
Your first point "Hardly any international batsmen keep going to the changing room unless it's obvious " backs up what I wrote "a batsman who knows they're short will typically keep going to the changing room".
Your second point "most runouts are sent to the 3rd umpire because the onfield umpires are terrified of making the wrong decision" is almost exactly the same as my "Unless it's a genuine 50/50, an umpire will often refer, just to be sure", you just use impart a different reason for why.
Not really, the ball was not intentionally edged, didn't make the keeper and umpire ignore it, is commonplace for batsmen to not react to feint edges even when keepers do appeal, which in this case the keeper didn't.
Which gets to the hub of it, it is not the batsman's place to do the job of the other team’s wicketkeeper and bowler communicating with each other, nothing un cricket about that at all.
Further more, if a keeper takes a ground level catch, does the batsman then automatically walk, or wait to see the umpires decision if the ball hit the ground?
Look, he hit it, or ball hit bat, it doesn't matter. I believe he would have known and should have walked. As it was, he hit it and should have been out. The point is whether he knew.
Any player I've ever played with and against has known when they've got an edge, I always have. Never once have I ever been given out thinking I didn't hit it.
When there are complex situations in complex environments with complex politics and agendas at play, I always say, "Believe Taliban commanders even if their stories don't match."
Yeah, there were two of them. When they saw the helicopters they escaped without firing a shot. I gather one of them wasn't in the specific village (there are a cluster of small villages and they are referred to together as 'a village') but he was nearby and saw the action taking place.
It makes no difference to the basic claim of the book "Hit and Run" which I have read from cover to cover:
The NZ contingent – together with the American helicopters overhead – killed and injured villagers including a small child and failed to acknowledge their mistake. They see it as acceptable collateral damage I suppose.
In times of hostilities most people understand mistakes can be made. The problem is, when the perpetrators don't believe they have to admit to them. Imo they are wrong. At no time is it acceptable not to own one's mistakes and then make it worse by indulging in cover-ups which is what the NZDF (and the Americans involved if the truth were known) tried to do.
I must keep from breaking into the story by force
for if I do I will find myself with a war club in my hand
and the smoke of grief staggering toward the sun,
your nation dead beside you.
I keep walking away though it has been an eternity
and from each drop of blood
springs up sons and daughters, trees,
a mountain of sorrows, of songs.
I tell you this from the dusk of a small city in the north
not far from the birthplace of cars and industry.
Geese are returning to mate and crocuses have
broken through the frozen earth.
Soon they will come for me and I will make my stand
before the jury of destiny. Yes, I will answer in the clatter
of the new world, I have broken my addiction to war
and desire. Yes, I will reply, I have buried the dead
NZ history. What are we! Review on Radionz of Jock Phillips historian and gives me a feeling of having had the journey to understand NZ history, it's the journey that many of us have done, and are still traipsing along in his steps.
Jock Phillips: Making History
Photo: Victoria University of WellingtonNew Zealand.
Historian Jock Phillips has made his career bringing history to life and convincing New Zealanders that our past has real value. He is former editor of the Online Encyclopedia Te Ara, served as government Chief Historian, was the founding director of the Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies, and was the conceptual leader for the history exhibitions at Te Papa, as well as publishing 15 books.
Now he has turned his deep historical skills on himself in his memoir called "Making History". He tells Kathryn the awakening of New Zealanders to their history has been one of the great revolutions of our time.
Note how Victoria Uni has decided to name itself now it has been talked down from calling itself 'Wellington'.
Audio later. A good idea while writing on here to follow up on our history through Jock's writing. What are we trying to protect, maintain, advance, treasure, prioritise?
Jock said for the purpose of learning history is to help interpret the world around you. Also lots of other interesting things to hear in this interview.
Agree. Same day enrolment is also a big plus. Both these changes will help lift the vote of low income people and disenfranchised people which will help the socially conscious left.
National and its follows will be furious about this. I'm surprised they didn't try to block it.
Only if they put up, then inact on left wing policy. Otherwise low income people and disenfranchised people will vote for populist demagogues like boris or trump.
One hundred million people, including those in the large cities of Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad, will soon be living in zero groundwater cities, according to the Niti Aayog report. This number will likely continue increasing, as the United Nations recently estimated that India's population will surge by almost 300 million by 2050, and it will become the world's most populous country.
Complicating the issue are the devastating effects of climate change. Monsoon rains have been more erratic and droughts more common, threatening farmer's harvests. This could cripple livelihoods across the predominantly agricultural country, where 80% of water is used to irrigate thirsty crops such as sugar cane and rice.
"Unless we adapt our water storage to suit the change in rain intensity, we're going to suffer really badly," said Sharma. "All parts of India — rural, urban, everybody."
Actually Marty, Chennai has been in a water crisis for years. My daughter's husband is from there and his parents and sister are there also. They have been living with Climate change for some time now. They rely on water tanks for water and what is trucked in. Farmers have been making a killing in suppling water to the city – indeed this is their main source of income now because they can earn more from selling the water rather than using it for farming. It really is no joke just how desperate they are for water. And then, when it does come, it can come in the form of a flood the like of which we can only imagine, and the majority of it just races away to the ocean.
They need to switch out those staples for things that aren't water hungry. Potatoes, cassava, sweet potato – all require much less water. I got massive kumara yields out front with very little watering through the drought.
The thing with sugar though, it gives one hell of a yield. There are sustainable sugar farmers appearing in the regions in India – I learn from them (painstakingly, it is in Indian) but without water… green credentials won't amount to a hill of beans (or sugar).
Oh, and beans, well, pigeon peas to be precise if you want low water for high protein.
Do we have pigeon peas in NZ – Robert? I love the idea of some nitrogen fixing shrubs with a decent yield to them. They could easily replace lupins in some sandy landscapes…
how about they just stop companies from draining the groundwater for bottling and coca cola.
And i honestly believe that we might just not be so fast as to tell the Indians what they can and can not grow in India, considering that the country is very large, with quite different climates, and people who have been vegans long before it became fashionable for a bunch of hipsters to fret about food..
This is not about a low water crisis, this is about a no water crisis, as in no ground water, all damns depleted, and i am not sure switching a country with a billion plus people over to kumara is gonna fix it.
The study of agricultural systems is my bread and butter.
Sugar needs 1500 – 2500 mm rain per year.
Cassava can produce heavily with 400 mm.
Kumara in high production can take 100 mm a month but will do well on half that. 4-5 months to maturation and the greens are edible too so production can kick off very early and last all season. THE highest yielding (nutrition) crop in this regard.
Average rainfall in India 300 – 650 but widely varied and unreliable to bank on. The monsoon seasons are becoming broken, more severe or piss weak, timing becoming more varied.
When the water's gone the food supply will follow. They could import or desalinate but the expense will leave not a drop for agriculture.
Agriculture then, has to take a long hard look at itself, as weather patterns will cease to be predictable. And the water required to grow sugar for the west… not really tenable at present. The future?
India has been producing for the western world on a large scale, and getting rorted in the process. Sabine makes a great point about Coca Cola (but is she too fast to say so lol), and the myriad other corporations over there gouging profits and trashing ecosystems.
The tragedy is we forget a drought as soon as it's passed. Again, the weather patterns will no longer be predictable, but they will get considerably worse. The writing has been on the wall and many of their politicians have done little but fill their coffers.
They really do need some changes, famine follows drought.
Seems the whole damn state is behind the eight ball.
The demand for water in Tamil Nadu is increasing at a fast rate both due to increasing population and also due to larger per capita needs triggered by economic growth. The per capita availability of water resources however, is just 900 cubic meters when compared to the national average of 2,200 cubic meters. Agriculture is the largest consumer of water in the State using 75 per cent of the State’s water resources
"The current level of utilisation expressed as net ground water draft of 13.558 MCM is about 60 per cent of the available recharge, while 8875 MCM (40 per cent) is the balance available for use. Over the last five years, the percentage of safe blocks has declined from 35.6 per cent to 25.2 per cent while the semi-critical blocks have gone up by a similar percentage. Over-exploitation has already occurred in more than a third of the blocks (35.8 per cent) while eight blocks (2 per cent) have turned saline. "
You are concerned about the matter Sabine and McFlock and then chastise WtB for making suggestions. If India has run out of water they have to do things differently so it's not helpful to deride WtB's suggestions. NZ might hate change but when times force change we and India have to do so. So don't go shooting people in the foot when they don't want to just sit in a sob circle and say 'Isn't it terrible, and what will they do. And it just goes to show', or something like 'is an interesting question, but people are really hurting.'
You can't solve a problem if you make an incorrect assumption about the cause.
Chennai is using its groundwater at almost twice the replenishment rate. If that sustainability gap is due substantially to inapproriate crop selection, fair call. But if the bulk of it is due to water-intensive industries, a much better option would be to regulate those industries. If it's due simply to having to supply water to 4million people (and increasing), they need more water plants and storage. Maybe it's a mix of those things, and more.
There are lots of stories about inappropriate "aid" and "advice" being given to people in need because the donors didn't look past their assumptions.
Many farmers are not actually producing anything because they can get more money by selling their water directly. Food is mainly brought in from outside the region.
Exactly. It is pretty basic – doesn't need as much ego imo in some of the comments – this is a GROUNDWATER issue not a cropping issue. One is immediate the other is long term but obviously both on the same spectrum.
I've actually experienced a few weeks of no water in the pipes. There was a factory fire upstream on the banks of the Waihou river a silo of milk powder got in the river and everything died.
Milk tankers of water turned up and we in line with buckets and billy cans.
We had the only hot bath in the village, having borrowed a contraption to heat about 50 litres at a pop off our farming cuzzies.
When you're the only hot bath in town, you become very popular.
Round here, don't be coming up with smart ideas. Commiserate! Those poor smelly bastards with no bath…
This is an interesting read. Too many details to summarise.
An answer to 'What crops grow in Tamilnadu?' from Jan 2017. They were in deep shit then (The area Chennai is part of).
"In a desperate attempt to draw the government’s attention to their plight, farmers in the city of Tiruchi stood with dead rats in their mouths in front of the collector’s office last week, demanding loan wavers and relief measures."
"farmers in the city of Tiruchi stood with dead rats in their mouths"
Whoaaaa! Could this happen in New Zealand? Could our farmers, if driven to desperation by the banks (hello, Mr Key) stomach that sort of protest action?
I am not really concerned. Put me in the basket of those blasee at the knowledge that the train is derailed and we are now buckled in for the right. And then when we reach the end of our life we die. So don't consider me concerned.
I posted this link to more as an information about things to come here. We have been in a bit of drought lately. Having two days of drizzle per month since December last year does not look good, and rain patterns are pretty sketchy elsewhere too. Our water quality is fucked up generally, without waders i would not wade in, our selling of water for it to be bottled and sold elsewhere, our irrigation madness so that we can grow cows in the plains somewhere and so forth is what we need to rethink, not the planting of kumara in india – which is something they already do. I would assume that the Indians in India know what to grow in their areas with their soils and such. I would even assume them to save their seeds, compost, grow soil and do all that schnick schnack that makes us feel so super duper good about ourselfs.
and yes, i chastised (what a lovely word innit – to censure, castigate 🙂 ) WTB who looks at this problem that is of such a magnitude that it is hard to bend ones mind around – no water not just for one mega city in India but several; No Water for several 10s of millions of people – with the suggestion that maybe if they switch over to low water vegetables something would happen and the reservoirs and aquifiers would replenish and magic!!
So yeah, i am with McFlock there, it ain't the vegetable farmers that depleted the Water all by themselves and it might even be an arrogant assumption as to what people there do or not do, as non of us really would know. As for the farmers now selling the water at an inflated price to towners should tell us something about town planning and water rights and even be a lesson for us here in NZ where we too are selling the farm to the highest bidder with out any consideration about tomorrow or our young ones. And we are selling our water extra cheap and we don't think about the fact that once pumped and loaded it is gone pretty much forever. So yeah, its ok lets plant more kumaras, i love the purple ones baked until caramalised and crisp.
3/4 of the regions water goes to Ag. The crops they grow are for the most part water demanding. My advice is not simply 'grow kumara' so stop being misleading that that's all it was.
Their industry has fed the western machine and increasing western ways of their own society. We've done them no favors.
You talk about our drought and yet have at me for knowing a thing or two about what might be done. Half the rain requires crops that only need… guess how much?
"So yeah, i am with McFlock there, it ain't the vegetable farmers that depleted the Water all by themselves and it might even be an arrogant assumption as to what people there do or not do, as non of us really would know"
Well actually, I was right. So go suck a…. kumara.
it actually does not matter what you know, how much you know, or not. You are an arrogant little pisser like all of us are without any consequences in the larger realm of things. Firstly. Secondly, you are an angry little pisser, when some don't agree with you or immediatly bows to your snakr and wisdom and might even find you a little small minded and single focused or blinded by thy own grandness (take your pick) and you have shown that on more then one occasion, so really, go eat a snickers or some kale chips, cause you seem petty and angry when hungry.
Thirdly, yes your idea of switching to low water foods and the likes is recommendable and i am sure that the Indians will be more then happy to entertain your idea should they get to listen to you, cause clearly the Indians would not know how to grow low water use vegetables to save their million people mega cities from running out of water.
Fourth, as has been pointed out below by McFlock we are talking about Cities. You know those places with few farms but lots of peoples and businesses and cars an such. but i am sure if all these people living in the cities without water will suck a kumara then all will be well and you get to feel all grand and super duper about yourself and your kumara.
A bit tropical for pigeon peas, for the moment, I expect, but someone somewhere in NZ will be growing them in anticipation (no one is Southland…yet).
WTB's thinking is sound and the search for suitable crops is paramount. Some will already be here: it'll just be a case of adjusting the management to new conditions, as well as eco-sensitivity (go organic, or something better).
India, WTB? Your view on its place in the destruction of the natural environment; just an off-shoot of the Occidental war against nature?
Agricultural land use is often a big factor, yes. But there are other issues at play in a city of 4 million. Industrial water use, grey water (non) use, leaking reticulation systems, failure to plan infrastructure for increasing populations, and so on are all worthy of examination.
Good points. Especially where they can reuse, and minimise current waste.
Infrastructure, dare I poke my head up and think about it?
These mental exercises could help our Aussie neighbors, and drought prone regions here too.
Earthworks, swales, ground storage. Passive solar desalination. I'd make them with clay sealed depressions, and glass tops. Get a glass factory and some clay quarried and go large. Top quality drinking water once you add a bit of the salts back. And salt…
Briefly touched on it (thoughts on Indian Ag) above.
So many amazing innovators and farmers, some impressive permaculture and initiatives that spring up – and these get talked about a lot. The people are absolutely into the sustainable farming alternatives where presented. Whole villages turn up for the earthworks, there is hope there.
But the government reticence to change BAU, is BAU.
I agree that there's "fertile ground" there, for innovation, but I'm thinking that despite the "foreignness" the "Indians" seem to be just a chapter in our own story; Agriculture is King, rather than a completely different line, such as the Amazonians might represent. Peter Procter spent half his time in India working with biodynamic farmers (One cow, one planet) and the other here in NZ. I do think the continent is an example of ruination through agriculture culture.
Some of the locals blame excessive industry, farmers, soda bottlers, government and corporate collusion, various ticket clipping agencies…
Sounds mighty familiar.
"The major crops sown in Tamilnadu are rice, jowar, ragi, bajra, maize, and pulses. Few other crops that are highly cultivated in the regions of Tamilnadu are cotton, sugarcane, tea, coffee, and coconut. Tamilnadu has also gained a commendable status is the horticultural sector in its agricultural department. The horticultural products of Tamilnadu include cash crops and oil seed crops. Bananas and mangoes are cash crops while groundnuts, sesame, and sunflower are oil seed crops. Paddy is the most leading crop in Tamilnadu and is found in 3 kinds namely Kuruvai, Thaladi, and Samba that varies from season to season."
They've commended themselves for their efforts. Yet now people are wondering if it's worth even trying to grow food there, only two years on. These systems crash hard.
Time to ditch the Ag advisers and bring in the permies.
The idea began in 2000, when Mr Statham senior left the wool industry for wine grapes and, in place of investors for the vineyard, his son came up with the idea of a strata title model of organic farming.
Now, the 140-hectare multiple-occupancy farm at Canowindra, New South Wales, is home to 22 people on a dozen plots united by an organic covenant and a commitment to developing their own agribusinesses.
Rivers Road Organic Farms was set up as a "hybrid" between farming community lifestyle blocks and a standard strata title scheme, sharing skills and resources — without a formal business structure.
That's a great idea. Mate of mine does the books for a number of wealthy individuals near Christchurch. They own lifestyle blocks of one kind or another, but find the effort of doing anything with them excessive. The market is structurally rejecting the kind of young folk who could make something of them.
The idea is, if you can't manage the land you have, you are actually land poor. You spend all your time battling uphill and have no life. A slave to, rather than steward of, your lot.
But with a small plot you can get really high production.
And all kinds of in between.
With a reasonable sized plot and a few helping hands – Eden is there for the making*
"Time to ditch the Ag advisers and bring in the permies."
Convert those Ag advisors to permaculture, or something better, and we'll be on the way; It's a Big Ask, but it's a Big Challenge, so let's pull on our Big Pants.
“India can’t afford to ignore its water crisis. Neither can South Asia or the world. Water scarcity is a clear and present danger, not a distant threat, and global warming heightens this threat. This month, international researchers from the U.S. and South and Central Asia released new research on major river basins at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington. Their findings reveal that snowmelt accounts for nearly three-quarters of the water in two of India’s key basins — the Brahmaputra and Indus — and nearly half of the water in the Ganga, the country’s largest river basin.”
Miuse/allocation obviously an issue but it appears that it will be exacerbated by reducing future availability…..those dismissing societal collapse within 30 years may wish to consider how organised society functions without sufficient water
In a corner stone report released, by the ‘Government’s Principal transport advisory agency’ the Ministry of Transport entitled ‘Emission Factors for Contaminants Released by Motor Vehicles in New Zealand’ it clearly shows graphs and tables confirming our worst fears that surfaces of rough surface roads will increase the tyre to road ‘friction’ that will greatly increase the tyre wear and tyre dust ‘emissions’ from all tyres if the roads are made from a chip seal or worse from metal or gravel road surface.
The tables and literature shows that as the weight of the freight carried on trucks increases the tyre dust emissions increases dramatically.
We have located documents that show that scientists have now found traces of tyre dust being carried on sea tidal currents to the polar ice and are now speeding up the melting of the ice caps, due to the black tyre dust attracting the suns heat. Ministry of Transport. – ‘Emission Factors for Contaminant s Released by Motor Vehicles in New Zealand’ is a serious wake up call to our regional Governments who are now beginning to write changes and intent to their future planning to reduce the climate emissions after signing the ‘Climate change emergency declaration.’ Our HB Regional Council are also signing onto this climate change emergency declaration;
Rail is the answer as “steel wheels on a steel track” has no friction or tyre dust emissions and therefore is the ‘environmental gold standard’ for our future economic growth of our regions increased business development to avoid any increase harm to our environment or climate.
Buzz from the Beehive Transport Minister Simeon Brown dutifully issued advice to all road users to keep safe on our roads during the Easter weekend. He encouraged them to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. ...
Oliver Hartwich writes – New Zealanders recently learned about a new feature film. It will be about former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – and taxpayers will subsidise it to the tune of NZ$800,000. Ardern had nothing personally to do with either the film or the subsidy. But her government’s ...
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Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
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Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
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This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
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Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
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Another great job by the Black Caps at the cricket world cup international stage for NZ
Cricket was the winner (again)
Black Caps were the the winners on the day (again)
Win Win the NZ way!
Impressive eh
Pretty much guaranteeing finals place, while simultaneously taking out the Saffers.
Shame he didn't walk when he bottom edged Tahir. It could well have changed the outcome of the match.
A bit of a fraud to laud winning “the NZ way” when the skipper cheated.
Probably thought it was a creak in the handle of his bat.
I think anyone who has ever batted before knows when you nick one, and sure as eggs, he would have done here.
https://twitter.com/PaulAdams39/status/1141423388453494784/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1141423388453494784&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nzherald.co.nz%2Fsport%2Fnews%2Farticle.cfm%3Fc_id%3D4%26objectid%3D12242107
Fair enough, he got away with it, but lets keep all the win the NZ way for the fantasy leagues.
Rub of the green, dude.
https://twitter.com/CzanB/status/1141430308442501121
Like I wrote, he got away with one.
Part of the game, you have to be given out. Similar to going down with a broken leg in football at the slightest touch. You use the rules to your best advantage.
Yeah, it's not like that at all. Shite analogy. Ever heard the expression 'it's just not cricket'. It's been said for a reason, and that reason is honesty and integrity by the players.
Koli walked for India and he didn't even hit it, he just thought he did, which is a perfect example of how the game should be played. For me, Kane let himself down here, but they won, so all good then.
There was no appeal and I don't think it's entirely true that you know you've nicked one.
What is true is that neither bowler nor keeper appealed so they was both sure it wasn't out.
Not sure Williamson could do much else in that situation.
The bowler Tahir appealed. "Only Tahir appealed against the bottom edge by Williamson who was given not out"
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/cricket/cricket-world-cup/113631599/why-didnt-black-caps-hero-kane-williamson-walk
I'm sure he knew he hit it, as he watched it onto the bat, but even though he didn't admit it, it would have been given out if reviewed.
I would have walked.
I'm sure he will take your concern on board.
I'm sure you can suck a hard one
Sorry the analogy is not up to your "Kohli and I would have walked" standards. Here's a few more examples, when batsmen are run out they usually know they're short. No need for the 3rd umpire then eh, most should be walking of their own admission, yet that's the exception. Then there's the no ball check when people get out. Why do batsmen wait on the field for the TV no ball check. Not in the spirit of the game for sure.
No, that's another dud example. After a run out, a batsman who knows they're short will typically keep going to the changing room. Unless it's a genuine 50/50, an umpire will often refer, just to be sure. A quite valid reason for the third umpire's involvement. Batsmen or women, will wait if the umpire decides to check a no ball, though this isn't a team review, and batters have been called back from the sheds before to resume an innings.
Definitely nothing like a footballer faking a broken leg to con a ref.
We're possibly watching different games… Hardly any international batsmen keep going to the changing room unless it's obvious and they're more than a metre short. Most wait on the pitch for the 3rd umpire replay to be shown that they're out, and most runouts are sent to the 3rd umpire because the onfield umpires are terrified of making the wrong decision. The game relies on the 3rd umpire so much now and that backs up the idea that players are not proactive in giving themselves out. Like I said when running in cricket you usually know when you're short of ground even if it's a close one.
Your first point "Hardly any international batsmen keep going to the changing room unless it's obvious " backs up what I wrote "a batsman who knows they're short will typically keep going to the changing room".
Your second point "most runouts are sent to the 3rd umpire because the onfield umpires are terrified of making the wrong decision" is almost exactly the same as my "Unless it's a genuine 50/50, an umpire will often refer, just to be sure", you just use impart a different reason for why.
A bit of a fraud to laud winning “the NZ way” when the skipper cheated.
So how did New Zealand "win" the Rugby World Cup in 2011? Was there a cheating skipper involved in that shambles, or did our eyes deceive us?
Not really, the ball was not intentionally edged, didn't make the keeper and umpire ignore it, is commonplace for batsmen to not react to feint edges even when keepers do appeal, which in this case the keeper didn't.
Which gets to the hub of it, it is not the batsman's place to do the job of the other team’s wicketkeeper and bowler communicating with each other, nothing un cricket about that at all.
Further more, if a keeper takes a ground level catch, does the batsman then automatically walk, or wait to see the umpires decision if the ball hit the ground?
Look, he hit it, or ball hit bat, it doesn't matter. I believe he would have known and should have walked. As it was, he hit it and should have been out. The point is whether he knew.
Any player I've ever played with and against has known when they've got an edge, I always have. Never once have I ever been given out thinking I didn't hit it.
Fresh timeline of NZ women singers who cracked the Top 10 of the NZ singles & album charts from 1975-2005 is a window on our broader social history.
https://www.audioculture.co.nz/scenes/new-zealand-women-in-the-nz-top-10
Who would of thought. The villagers where full of shit..https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/113621206/insurgent-leaders-admit-they-were-in-afghanistan-village-raided-during-nz-sass-operation-burnham
When there are complex situations in complex environments with complex politics and agendas at play, I always say, "Believe Taliban commanders even if their stories don't match."
Absolutely, what would Taliban Commanders have to gain from sowing discord. They sound like real swell folk.
The basic claim that at least 6 unarmed civilians were killed still stands. Try reading the whole article Buster.
Given Buster12's apparent inability to construct even a basic English sentence, I think you're asking way too much there.
Yeah, there were two of them. When they saw the helicopters they escaped without firing a shot. I gather one of them wasn't in the specific village (there are a cluster of small villages and they are referred to together as 'a village') but he was nearby and saw the action taking place.
It makes no difference to the basic claim of the book "Hit and Run" which I have read from cover to cover:
The NZ contingent – together with the American helicopters overhead – killed and injured villagers including a small child and failed to acknowledge their mistake. They see it as acceptable collateral damage I suppose.
In times of hostilities most people understand mistakes can be made. The problem is, when the perpetrators don't believe they have to admit to them. Imo they are wrong. At no time is it acceptable not to own one's mistakes and then make it worse by indulging in cover-ups which is what the NZDF (and the Americans involved if the truth were known) tried to do.
I find that highly believable Bluster.
????
Someone contact the insane asylum. There's a sub-moron loose.
Joy Harjo – 1st Native American Poet Laureate:
I must keep from breaking into the story by force
for if I do I will find myself with a war club in my hand
and the smoke of grief staggering toward the sun,
your nation dead beside you.
I keep walking away though it has been an eternity
and from each drop of blood
springs up sons and daughters, trees,
a mountain of sorrows, of songs.
I tell you this from the dusk of a small city in the north
not far from the birthplace of cars and industry.
Geese are returning to mate and crocuses have
broken through the frozen earth.
Soon they will come for me and I will make my stand
before the jury of destiny. Yes, I will answer in the clatter
of the new world, I have broken my addiction to war
and desire. Yes, I will reply, I have buried the dead
and made songs of the blood, the marrow.
NZ history. What are we! Review on Radionz of Jock Phillips historian and gives me a feeling of having had the journey to understand NZ history, it's the journey that many of us have done, and are still traipsing along in his steps.
Jock Phillips: Making History
Photo: Victoria University of WellingtonNew Zealand.
Historian Jock Phillips has made his career bringing history to life and convincing New Zealanders that our past has real value. He is former editor of the Online Encyclopedia Te Ara, served as government Chief Historian, was the founding director of the Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies, and was the conceptual leader for the history exhibitions at Te Papa, as well as publishing 15 books.
Now he has turned his deep historical skills on himself in his memoir called "Making History". He tells Kathryn the awakening of New Zealanders to their history has been one of the great revolutions of our time.
Note how Victoria Uni has decided to name itself now it has been talked down from calling itself 'Wellington'.
Audio later. A good idea while writing on here to follow up on our history through Jock's writing. What are we trying to protect, maintain, advance, treasure, prioritise?
Jock said for the purpose of learning history is to help interpret the world around you. Also lots of other interesting things to hear in this interview.
Audio – Jock Phillips https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018700527/jock-phillips-making-history
Phillips was, and remains, something of a twit.
Stand by for Borisovian Britain, something like medieval Rus.
Good move by Minister Little to enable polling booths for voting in malls and supermarkets.
Hopefully greater access gets us to 80%+ voting turnout.
Good for our democracy.
Agree. Same day enrolment is also a big plus. Both these changes will help lift the vote of low income people and disenfranchised people which will help the socially conscious left.
National and its follows will be furious about this. I'm surprised they didn't try to block it.
Only if they put up, then inact on left wing policy. Otherwise low income people and disenfranchised people will vote for populist demagogues like boris or trump.
But you knew that already 🙂
water, who really needs it, right?
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/06/19/india/chennai-water-crisis-intl-hnk/index.html
+1 yep – I saw this yesterday
Actually Marty, Chennai has been in a water crisis for years. My daughter's husband is from there and his parents and sister are there also. They have been living with Climate change for some time now. They rely on water tanks for water and what is trucked in. Farmers have been making a killing in suppling water to the city – indeed this is their main source of income now because they can earn more from selling the water rather than using it for farming. It really is no joke just how desperate they are for water. And then, when it does come, it can come in the form of a flood the like of which we can only imagine, and the majority of it just races away to the ocean.
They need to switch out those staples for things that aren't water hungry. Potatoes, cassava, sweet potato – all require much less water. I got massive kumara yields out front with very little watering through the drought.
The thing with sugar though, it gives one hell of a yield. There are sustainable sugar farmers appearing in the regions in India – I learn from them (painstakingly, it is in Indian) but without water… green credentials won't amount to a hill of beans (or sugar).
Oh, and beans, well, pigeon peas to be precise if you want low water for high protein.
Do we have pigeon peas in NZ – Robert? I love the idea of some nitrogen fixing shrubs with a decent yield to them. They could easily replace lupins in some sandy landscapes…
how about they just stop companies from draining the groundwater for bottling and coca cola.
And i honestly believe that we might just not be so fast as to tell the Indians what they can and can not grow in India, considering that the country is very large, with quite different climates, and people who have been vegans long before it became fashionable for a bunch of hipsters to fret about food..
This is not about a low water crisis, this is about a no water crisis, as in no ground water, all damns depleted, and i am not sure switching a country with a billion plus people over to kumara is gonna fix it.
pretty much.
Whether it's more to do with population density, climate change, or urban planning is an interesting question, but people are really hurting.
The study of agricultural systems is my bread and butter.
Sugar needs 1500 – 2500 mm rain per year.
Cassava can produce heavily with 400 mm.
Kumara in high production can take 100 mm a month but will do well on half that. 4-5 months to maturation and the greens are edible too so production can kick off very early and last all season. THE highest yielding (nutrition) crop in this regard.
Average rainfall in India 300 – 650 but widely varied and unreliable to bank on. The monsoon seasons are becoming broken, more severe or piss weak, timing becoming more varied.
I'll comment if I want WTF would you know.
Ever hear the saying that to a man with a hammer, every problem looks like a nail?
Ever hear the saying: McFlock off?
When the water's gone the food supply will follow. They could import or desalinate but the expense will leave not a drop for agriculture.
Agriculture then, has to take a long hard look at itself, as weather patterns will cease to be predictable. And the water required to grow sugar for the west… not really tenable at present. The future?
India has been producing for the western world on a large scale, and getting rorted in the process. Sabine makes a great point about Coca Cola (but is she too fast to say so lol), and the myriad other corporations over there gouging profits and trashing ecosystems.
The tragedy is we forget a drought as soon as it's passed. Again, the weather patterns will no longer be predictable, but they will get considerably worse. The writing has been on the wall and many of their politicians have done little but fill their coffers.
They really do need some changes, famine follows drought.
Yes dear. Kumara will save them. They don't need to do anything else. 🙄
Geez I try but you're a whinging twat. I mentioned a bunch of crops and you've contributed McFlock all, again.
OK, how much of Chennai's groundwater take is due to agriculture?
How about you go away and learn, then come back and tell us all about it.
Contribute or fuck off.
You can start here
https://chennaimetrowater.tn.gov.in/watersupplysystem.html
That link doesn't actually answer the question, does it.
edit: this overview suggests that over half the water use is residential, with another chunk being industrial (probably includes your cane fields). And another lot “unknown”. But agriculture won’t fix it.
Seems the whole damn state is behind the eight ball.
The demand for water in Tamil Nadu is increasing at a fast rate both due to increasing population and also due to larger per capita needs triggered by economic growth. The per capita availability of water resources however, is just 900 cubic meters when compared to the national average of 2,200 cubic meters. Agriculture is the largest consumer of water in the State using 75 per cent of the State’s water resources
http://tnenvis.nic.in/Database/TN-ENVIS_791.aspx
McFlock – it was a damn good link to start with. Gives a clear picture of the history and methods of water capture employed.
I didn't say 'here's your answer' did I…
But joe90 found it. Thanks.
Interesting. Things are bad and getting worse.
"The current level of utilisation expressed as net ground water draft of 13.558 MCM is about 60 per cent of the available recharge, while 8875 MCM (40 per cent) is the balance available for use. Over the last five years, the percentage of safe blocks has declined from 35.6 per cent to 25.2 per cent while the semi-critical blocks have gone up by a similar percentage. Over-exploitation has already occurred in more than a third of the blocks (35.8 per cent) while eight blocks (2 per cent) have turned saline. "
You are concerned about the matter Sabine and McFlock and then chastise WtB for making suggestions. If India has run out of water they have to do things differently so it's not helpful to deride WtB's suggestions. NZ might hate change but when times force change we and India have to do so. So don't go shooting people in the foot when they don't want to just sit in a sob circle and say 'Isn't it terrible, and what will they do. And it just goes to show', or something like 'is an interesting question, but people are really hurting.'
You can't solve a problem if you make an incorrect assumption about the cause.
Chennai is using its groundwater at almost twice the replenishment rate. If that sustainability gap is due substantially to inapproriate crop selection, fair call. But if the bulk of it is due to water-intensive industries, a much better option would be to regulate those industries. If it's due simply to having to supply water to 4million people (and increasing), they need more water plants and storage. Maybe it's a mix of those things, and more.
There are lots of stories about inappropriate "aid" and "advice" being given to people in need because the donors didn't look past their assumptions.
Many farmers are not actually producing anything because they can get more money by selling their water directly. Food is mainly brought in from outside the region.
Exactly. It is pretty basic – doesn't need as much ego imo in some of the comments – this is a GROUNDWATER issue not a cropping issue. One is immediate the other is long term but obviously both on the same spectrum.
What used all the groundwater?
I've actually experienced a few weeks of no water in the pipes. There was a factory fire upstream on the banks of the Waihou river a silo of milk powder got in the river and everything died.
Milk tankers of water turned up and we in line with buckets and billy cans.
We had the only hot bath in the village, having borrowed a contraption to heat about 50 litres at a pop off our farming cuzzies.
When you're the only hot bath in town, you become very popular.
Round here, don't be coming up with smart ideas. Commiserate! Those poor smelly bastards with no bath…
This is an interesting read. Too many details to summarise.
An answer to 'What crops grow in Tamilnadu?' from Jan 2017. They were in deep shit then (The area Chennai is part of).
"In a desperate attempt to draw the government’s attention to their plight, farmers in the city of Tiruchi stood with dead rats in their mouths in front of the collector’s office last week, demanding loan wavers and relief measures."
https://www.quora.com/Which-are-the-crops-cultivated-in-Tamil-Nadu-How-many-crops-do-TN-farmers-cultivate-in-a-year-What-is-the-plight-of-2016-crops
"farmers in the city of Tiruchi stood with dead rats in their mouths"
Whoaaaa! Could this happen in New Zealand? Could our farmers, if driven to desperation by the banks (hello, Mr Key) stomach that sort of protest action?
I am not really concerned. Put me in the basket of those blasee at the knowledge that the train is derailed and we are now buckled in for the right. And then when we reach the end of our life we die. So don't consider me concerned.
I posted this link to more as an information about things to come here. We have been in a bit of drought lately. Having two days of drizzle per month since December last year does not look good, and rain patterns are pretty sketchy elsewhere too. Our water quality is fucked up generally, without waders i would not wade in, our selling of water for it to be bottled and sold elsewhere, our irrigation madness so that we can grow cows in the plains somewhere and so forth is what we need to rethink, not the planting of kumara in india – which is something they already do. I would assume that the Indians in India know what to grow in their areas with their soils and such. I would even assume them to save their seeds, compost, grow soil and do all that schnick schnack that makes us feel so super duper good about ourselfs.
and yes, i chastised (what a lovely word innit – to censure, castigate 🙂 ) WTB who looks at this problem that is of such a magnitude that it is hard to bend ones mind around – no water not just for one mega city in India but several; No Water for several 10s of millions of people – with the suggestion that maybe if they switch over to low water vegetables something would happen and the reservoirs and aquifiers would replenish and magic!!
So yeah, i am with McFlock there, it ain't the vegetable farmers that depleted the Water all by themselves and it might even be an arrogant assumption as to what people there do or not do, as non of us really would know. As for the farmers now selling the water at an inflated price to towners should tell us something about town planning and water rights and even be a lesson for us here in NZ where we too are selling the farm to the highest bidder with out any consideration about tomorrow or our young ones. And we are selling our water extra cheap and we don't think about the fact that once pumped and loaded it is gone pretty much forever. So yeah, its ok lets plant more kumaras, i love the purple ones baked until caramalised and crisp.
Does the Kumara might be from India. https://www.ndtv.com/food/sweet-potato-is-native-to-india-not-america-says-new-research-top-4-health-benefits-of-the-tuber-1856317
3/4 of the regions water goes to Ag. The crops they grow are for the most part water demanding. My advice is not simply 'grow kumara' so stop being misleading that that's all it was.
Their industry has fed the western machine and increasing western ways of their own society. We've done them no favors.
You talk about our drought and yet have at me for knowing a thing or two about what might be done. Half the rain requires crops that only need… guess how much?
"So yeah, i am with McFlock there, it ain't the vegetable farmers that depleted the Water all by themselves and it might even be an arrogant assumption as to what people there do or not do, as non of us really would know"
Well actually, I was right. So go suck a…. kumara.
3/4 of the state's water goes to agriculture.
the state is bigger than Chennai itself.
The state is depleting its water resources, but still has reserves. Chennai has run out. Most of Chennai's water use was residential a few years ago.
wow.
suck the kumara
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Presumably because both a corpse and kumara (“sweet potato”) are buried.
Verb[edit]
suck the kumara
Synonyms[edit]
it actually does not matter what you know, how much you know, or not. You are an arrogant little pisser like all of us are without any consequences in the larger realm of things. Firstly. Secondly, you are an angry little pisser, when some don't agree with you or immediatly bows to your snakr and wisdom and might even find you a little small minded and single focused or blinded by thy own grandness (take your pick) and you have shown that on more then one occasion, so really, go eat a snickers or some kale chips, cause you seem petty and angry when hungry.
Thirdly, yes your idea of switching to low water foods and the likes is recommendable and i am sure that the Indians will be more then happy to entertain your idea should they get to listen to you, cause clearly the Indians would not know how to grow low water use vegetables to save their million people mega cities from running out of water.
Fourth, as has been pointed out below by McFlock we are talking about Cities. You know those places with few farms but lots of peoples and businesses and cars an such. but i am sure if all these people living in the cities without water will suck a kumara then all will be well and you get to feel all grand and super duper about yourself and your kumara.
bye now.
They grew temperate crops in an arid region. Ecocide. The big global trading system that cares not for nature but bends her to their will.
That's where the majority of the water goes/went.
For someone who doesn't care you come across as a hysterical twat looking for any old shit to be outraged about.
And what’s with the narrow focused obsession with kumara and Chennai, get with the big picture or STFU.
Yes the situation sucks. Wringing your hands wont help.
+ 1 yep pretty basic stuff I would have thought but there you go.
A bit tropical for pigeon peas, for the moment, I expect, but someone somewhere in NZ will be growing them in anticipation (no one is Southland…yet).
WTB's thinking is sound and the search for suitable crops is paramount. Some will already be here: it'll just be a case of adjusting the management to new conditions, as well as eco-sensitivity (go organic, or something better).
India, WTB? Your view on its place in the destruction of the natural environment; just an off-shoot of the Occidental war against nature?
Agricultural land use is often a big factor, yes. But there are other issues at play in a city of 4 million. Industrial water use, grey water (non) use, leaking reticulation systems, failure to plan infrastructure for increasing populations, and so on are all worthy of examination.
Good points. Especially where they can reuse, and minimise current waste.
Infrastructure, dare I poke my head up and think about it?
These mental exercises could help our Aussie neighbors, and drought prone regions here too.
Earthworks, swales, ground storage. Passive solar desalination. I'd make them with clay sealed depressions, and glass tops. Get a glass factory and some clay quarried and go large. Top quality drinking water once you add a bit of the salts back. And salt…
Is that too salty?
Briefly touched on it (thoughts on Indian Ag) above.
So many amazing innovators and farmers, some impressive permaculture and initiatives that spring up – and these get talked about a lot. The people are absolutely into the sustainable farming alternatives where presented. Whole villages turn up for the earthworks, there is hope there.
But the government reticence to change BAU, is BAU.
I agree that there's "fertile ground" there, for innovation, but I'm thinking that despite the "foreignness" the "Indians" seem to be just a chapter in our own story; Agriculture is King, rather than a completely different line, such as the Amazonians might represent. Peter Procter spent half his time in India working with biodynamic farmers (One cow, one planet) and the other here in NZ. I do think the continent is an example of ruination through agriculture culture.
Yep. But you can't go saying things like that.
Some of the locals blame excessive industry, farmers, soda bottlers, government and corporate collusion, various ticket clipping agencies…
Sounds mighty familiar.
"The major crops sown in Tamilnadu are rice, jowar, ragi, bajra, maize, and pulses. Few other crops that are highly cultivated in the regions of Tamilnadu are cotton, sugarcane, tea, coffee, and coconut. Tamilnadu has also gained a commendable status is the horticultural sector in its agricultural department. The horticultural products of Tamilnadu include cash crops and oil seed crops. Bananas and mangoes are cash crops while groundnuts, sesame, and sunflower are oil seed crops. Paddy is the most leading crop in Tamilnadu and is found in 3 kinds namely Kuruvai, Thaladi, and Samba that varies from season to season."
They've commended themselves for their efforts. Yet now people are wondering if it's worth even trying to grow food there, only two years on. These systems crash hard.
Time to ditch the Ag advisers and bring in the permies.
You'll like this WTB:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2019-06-18/organic-farmer-village-helps-shoulder-the-burden-together/11215732
That's a great idea. Mate of mine does the books for a number of wealthy individuals near Christchurch. They own lifestyle blocks of one kind or another, but find the effort of doing anything with them excessive. The market is structurally rejecting the kind of young folk who could make something of them.
Have you heard the saying 'Land Poor' Stuart?
The idea is, if you can't manage the land you have, you are actually land poor. You spend all your time battling uphill and have no life. A slave to, rather than steward of, your lot.
But with a small plot you can get really high production.
And all kinds of in between.
With a reasonable sized plot and a few helping hands – Eden is there for the making*
*For a limited time only.
Nice find. That's a good model where they've not become enmeshed in each others business but share skills, company and gear. Smart.
"Time to ditch the Ag advisers and bring in the permies."
Convert those Ag advisors to permaculture, or something better, and we'll be on the way; It's a Big Ask, but it's a Big Challenge, so let's pull on our Big Pants.
That's a bloody good point. Will the Nuns of NPK convert.
Brothers and Sisters, we need a miracle!
A decade or two and they'll be lucky if they can grow anything.
https://twitter.com/NASAEarth/status/1139699078873452544
Bangladesh may have it harder – a 50cm sealevel rise is estimated to cost them 11% of their land – Greenland will do more than that.
Meanwhile, back in Noddy Town
North Island coastal property values are surging by as much as 66 percent, new research by OneRoof shows…
“India can’t afford to ignore its water crisis. Neither can South Asia or the world. Water scarcity is a clear and present danger, not a distant threat, and global warming heightens this threat. This month, international researchers from the U.S. and South and Central Asia released new research on major river basins at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington. Their findings reveal that snowmelt accounts for nearly three-quarters of the water in two of India’s key basins — the Brahmaputra and Indus — and nearly half of the water in the Ganga, the country’s largest river basin.”
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/water-woes/article25814399.ece
Miuse/allocation obviously an issue but it appears that it will be exacerbated by reducing future availability…..those dismissing societal collapse within 30 years may wish to consider how organised society functions without sufficient water
In a Ministry of Transport official documented study released shows that tyre wear from a truck is at least 100 times more than an average car.
https://transport.govt.nz/assets/Import/Documents/9fa2b3a10b/stormwater-emission-factors.pdf •
In a corner stone report released, by the ‘Government’s Principal transport advisory agency’ the Ministry of Transport entitled ‘Emission Factors for Contaminants Released by Motor Vehicles in New Zealand’ it clearly shows graphs and tables confirming our worst fears that surfaces of rough surface roads will increase the tyre to road ‘friction’ that will greatly increase the tyre wear and tyre dust ‘emissions’ from all tyres if the roads are made from a chip seal or worse from metal or gravel road surface.
The tables and literature shows that as the weight of the freight carried on trucks increases the tyre dust emissions increases dramatically.
We have located documents that show that scientists have now found traces of tyre dust being carried on sea tidal currents to the polar ice and are now speeding up the melting of the ice caps, due to the black tyre dust attracting the suns heat. Ministry of Transport. – ‘Emission Factors for Contaminant s Released by Motor Vehicles in New Zealand’ is a serious wake up call to our regional Governments who are now beginning to write changes and intent to their future planning to reduce the climate emissions after signing the ‘Climate change emergency declaration.’ Our HB Regional Council are also signing onto this climate change emergency declaration;
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK1906/S00449/hawkes-bay-support-for-climate-emergency-declaration.htm
Rail is the answer as “steel wheels on a steel track” has no friction or tyre dust emissions and therefore is the ‘environmental gold standard’ for our future economic growth of our regions increased business development to avoid any increase harm to our environment or climate.
Keep up the good work man. And onya HB Council.
Trains!