italic; write Thousands of low-income families are enduring cold damp homes because their landlords are not taking up a government subsidy to help insulate their properties.
The government hoped its two-year $18 million programme would lead to 20,000 more homes being made warm and dry. One year in, only 3700 homes have been insulated using the subsidy.
The ‘Warm Up New Zealand: Healthy Homes’ programme splits the cost of providing ceiling and underfloor insulation in rentals occupied by low-income New Zealanders between landlords and the government – typically they pay about $1500 each.
Andrew Caseley is the chief executive for the agency that runs Healthy Homes, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority. He said he suspected many landlords believed their rental properties were already insulation compliant and they might be in for a nasty surprise.
“Well, we’d certainly like them to take it up – we’d like to be able to give out those grants just as soon as we can,” Mr Caseley said.
“There are a lot of rental properties, so 20,000 is actually not a great proportion of the total, so you would think it is an achievable one – and we are doing everything we can to do that.”
Green MP Gareth Hughes said the programme was shaping up to be a massive failure and the government should be doing more to promote it.
“There are slumlords out there and it’s a tragedy, the conditions that some people live in … the government needs to be so much more proactive making sure all New Zealand homes are warm and safe.” ‘‘
New Zealand’s rich are just like the landlords of Kensington.
Greedy , selfish to the point of not caring about the lives of the poor who lives in tehir houses.
It’s ironic that the outgoing government brag and go on about insulating so many houses when being interviewed or while speaking in parliament, yet they do little to promote the incentive to landlords etc.
Meanwhile suffering continues, damp cold houses, exploited tenants and no housing WOF.
I think that’s fantastic, with 70,000 immigrants flooding our country annually, 5k over six years is peanuts. Especially when our next PM is going to cut back on immigrants, we can help more refugees, and I’m very supportive of doing just that.
65 million people in the world have been displaced, we can go on and on about looking after NZer’s first, but the outgoing government haven’t been doing that for near on a decade. Rather they’ve been putting immigrants first and bugger our citizens and bugger those who have lost everything from war.
Over the next six years with our new government, we will be able to do this, with the current government there is no way, they care more about money than people.
Self entitled landlord…??! People with mental health problems have been known to trash housing, invariably the slum landlord and the most deprived members of the community meet. THis is not eithers fault. Its simple a governing philosophy. The govts are for monied and govt has no place serving poor citizens. A civil society believes everyone has the right to basic housing, nutrition, health, security. Naffy Nat’s don’t believe in a civil society, its winner takes all, which antithetical to both democracy and capitalism, its much older type, authoritarians. Yes! The neolib is just an authoritarian under the clothes, just they select authority by how big the bank balance not what crown someone wears.
Govt need to fund housing for the poorest, else the private sector will very badly if at all.
+100
That caste indulged landlord, just like the Gnat in parliament need to be reminded of Pyaar, Daya, Nimrata, Sat and Santokh.
oops, I thought I was looking at TDB comments
Good on the Greens with both them and yourself being absolutely correct Cinny. ….
Doing the right thing and acting with humanity is good for our society in its own right ….
Historically all the waves of refugees New Zealand has offered new lives to and resettled have benefited NZ…..
From the WWII Polish orphens and Jewish concentration camp survivors … or the Dutch or other Euriopean nationalitys uprooted by WWII …. refugees are generally very grateful and work hard establishing their new lives. Their contributions have expanded our society and helped us grow well away from the backward insecure little Nation who saw a toffy english accent as a sign of superiority …. and stood up like obedient sheep to ” God save the queen” which was played in movie theaters before the film started.
On the other hand …..our immigrants laws at at present seem more like our new tax haven laws the Nacts brought in …….
Facilitating the corrupt and criminal …… caring only about the money …. and not discriminating the dirty from the clean.
Increased corruption and a sinking international reputation for NZ from this National Govt so far …..
Just heard that too. I heard through the grape vine that one of his staff left to go to canada to avoid media. I must ask the person who told me more, they are a relative of said staff member, and told me about it around Christmas time.
Where have all our trolls gone today? Are Pike River, Todd Barclay, and the fallout from Glenhill Tower too much for our neolib fans? Surely the Market will fix all these things. Come on out and play guys, we are missing your bullshit.
Really liked this post over at bootstheory, and agree except on one thing. I think it is a fundamentalist Christian view that family first are pushing, not a Christian view.
Stephanie was pretty clear that she was postulating an ideal from Family First, not having a crack at Christianity:
“They just want to push a narrow-minded vision of what our society should look like. And if you aren’t the white, middle-class, patriarchal hetero monogamous Christian family unit they hold up as the ideal, they are not going to be here for you.”
In welcoming talk of a port company sell down, Prime Minister Bill English said he was pleased to see Council looking seriously at what it could do to fund its share of the city’s infrastructure. Adding Watercare to the package would, I am sure, get the action response all Aucklanders are crying out for.
In last month’s Budget, Finance Minister Steven Joyce clearly signalled the watching brief Government is keeping on the potential for further investment in the infrastructure for our growing economy by way of, as he put it, “greater use of partnerships between central and local government, and between government and the private sector.”
Selling the port is one thing, but selling the water is totally another. It will only burden Aucklanders, especially the poor with high water bills which they will be unable to pay.
Transport issues can be simply solved by encouraging businesses to relocate to suburban areas. The concept of a CBD is outdated in this era of high speed internet, dating back to the Babylonian era when all business was conducted in the Town square.
Also if NZ is such a ‘rockstar’ economy why do we keep having to sell off our assets? Statistics tell us we have all these tourists, these amazing migrants, these overseas students all apparently essential to the Natz in WELLINGTON BUT where’s the money going from all this economic activity – because whoever is getting the profits, seems to expect Joe Public to pay for all the negatives…
Just thinking how nothing is working out for NZ. We have been running our country for over a century thinking we were approaching politics and the economy seriously. And, seriously, what have we accomplished – a farce.
So I think that we should run the country as a farce, and then we will meet the problems in a flexible way, and probably things will turn out in a seriously good way.
The method is called George Doing the Opposite approach, and here is a link to George as an individual using the method that the thinking, unhappy people of this country need to use.
One of the things is to have a another Government Department called the Department of Practical Implementation and Engineering (DOPIE) and we will pay Disney to use their icons of the little dwarfs going off to work for our logo and zeitgeist. This then will be a balance to the Ministry of Bulldust and Innovative Extenuation.
The DOPIE agency will have a relative small budget, and make small loan advances to well-presented business and tourist attraction ideas that will create NZ owned and operated business employing at least 3 people. Sort of like a grameen bank. Also regions can approach for assistance with local business already profitable and able to improve with better transport, innovation involving more workers etc.
If some are not successful, it doesn’t matter, the region will have been primed with some capital, people will have been working, and the multiplier will have been working. If big business can fail and that’s accepted as natural attrition, then small business that has a small failure rate, shouldn’t be sniffed at.
During Boris Johnson’s mayoralty, ten London fire stations were closed down; three of them within the vicinity of Grenfell Tower, something which would inevitably affect response time.
Bought to you by the ideology that bought us Cyclone Katrina, The Grenfell Tower and Pike river…
Government is not about the people stupid, it’s about protecting the interests of their donor stakeholders… not wasting money on citizens that can be easily replaced in the global market place…
Auckland volcanoes are basaltic. In a society with measuring instruments they will give quite a lot of warning before erupting. Their eruptions are pretty localized to less than 10 kilometers. The earthquakes associated with them are small. Basaltic volcanoes are almost a pleasure for emergency services dealing with evacuating people. Of course houses, buildings and businesses can’t move as easily.
To give you an idea. There is considerable evidence of Maori on the seashore across the narrow channel to Rangitoto during the last eruptions of Rangitoto about 600 years ago.
I suspect you are thinking about Andesitic (ie like White Island) or Rhyolitic volcanoes (like Ruapehu or Taupo). The latter in particular tend to go off with little warning and can cause problems worldwide. For instance the last eruption at Taupo caused problems all of the way down the Waikato to Hamilton. And then of course there is this eruption
The Oruanui eruption of the Taupo Volcano was the world’s largest known eruption in the past 70,000 years, with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 8. It occurred around 26,500 years ago and generated approximately 430 km³ of pyroclastic fall deposits, 320 km³ of pyroclastic density current (PDC) deposits (mostly ignimbrite) and 420 km³ of primary intracaldera material, equivalent to 530 km³ of magma.[4][5][6]
Modern Lake Taupo partly fills the caldera generated during this eruption.
Tephra from the eruption covered much of the central North Island with ignimbrite up to 200 metres deep. Most of New Zealand was affected by ash fall, with even an 18 cm ash layer left on the Chatham Islands, 1,000 km away. Later erosion and sedimentation had long-lasting effects on the landscape, and caused the Waikato River to shift from the Hauraki Plains to its current course through the Waikato to the Tasman Sea.
It pays to know your volcanoes before getting too daft about them. The Auckland volcanoes that surround me are relatively safe. The ones I fear are in the central north island, and I fear that I live a bit too close to them. If I am lucky, we may get a few days warning that life will get somewhat dangerous.
Auckland Museum has a interactive exhibit about a volcano eruption – Rangitoto – in Auckland. The exhibit has the impact of the eruption simulated on Auckland’s waterfront and neighbouring suburbs.
I can’t remember how far they predicted the eruption would reach – was too busy watching Mark Sainsbury delivering the televised news segment, but I thought it was more than 10km – maybe 30.
Has anyone else been there recently that can remember?
Even if it is likely for there to be warnings about a volcano, the situation should be looked at with a worst case scenario… nowadays there are just too many situations where government seem asleep at the job in the case of a crisis.
Remember when all the power went off in Auckland. Seem to remember the civil defence was on the 13th floor of the council building, yep, lifts require electricity people. That wasn’t even a disaster and it cleared out Auckland.
There seems to be a lack of interest in actually looking at the practical reality in a disaster or even if there is a man made crisis like Electricity grid drops off.
We are pretty much doomed in Auckland because we can barely escape for the weekend out of Auckland these days in normal traffic conditions, not sure what’s gonna happen when a disaster strikes..
Many may have read this by Martyn Bradbury over at TDB but it’s good to see someone swinging wide with a baseball bat at our disastrous economy and gummint.
The National Party have nurtured and grown the speculative property bubble with open floodgate immigration and fake foreign student education because it creates a false illusion of middle class wealth that keeps them voting National.
Today – the Point England Enabling Bill is number 3 on the Order Paper.
If Green Party MPs ‘sit on the fence’ and abstain on this arguably classic environmental issues- I for one will be VERY outspoken – because, in my opinion, this is a SELLOUT.
Why on earth does Minister for Building and Construction Nick Smith, want to carve a quarter of the Point England Reserve, when, on HIS watch, there are 76 bare sections and apparently 70 empty, former Housing NZ houses already in Tamaki?
Penny Bright
2017 Independent candidate
Tamaki electorate.
(Exposing the $1.6 billion Tamaki ‘Regeneration’ – GENTRIFICATION $CAM.)
And Natz agenda is to use precedents like that to push through other developments on reserve land AND divide Maori and Pakeha AS WELL AS make Greens less trusted as environmental custodians.
Rapid spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in NZ poultry
…NZ has a long-term problem with Campylobacter infection from contaminated fresh chicken meat [1]. In addition, recently presented research on AMR has found that a tetracycline and fluoroquinolone resistant strain of Campylobacter, first detected in poultry in 2014, has spread rapidly across the North Island [2]. By 2015 this strain was causing about a third of human Campylobacter infection cases in Auckland….
Contaminated poultry is therefore responsible for about 300 of the 600 serious Campylobacter infection cases hospitalised each year [4]. About 30 of these infections will cause paralysis (Guillain-Barré syndrome [6]), and others will result in serious invasive illness and death. One example was Rod Donald, co-leader of the Green Party, who died in 2005 at the age of 49 years from myocarditis secondary to Campylobacter infection [7].
The economic cost to the country from Campylobacter-contaminated poultry runs to tens of millions of dollars [8]. This cost is largely paid for by sick consumers, employers and the taxpayer-funded health sector rather than by the poultry industry which is the source of the problem….
The Ministry of Health (MOH) should have an interest in encouraging MPI to regulate given the considerable disease burden resulting from contaminated chicken meat. Health services pick up much of the tab for these illnesses so one would expect the MOH to be highly supportive of moves to close off this source. In addition, they have a lead role in developing NZ’s Antimicrobial Resistance strategy….
Consumer action: Finally, consumers can also ‘vote with their feet’ (or wallet) and switch to safer and lower cost protein foods [16]. If they continue to purchase poultry, then changing to cooked and frozen product would greatly lower their risks of Campylobacter infection….
In summary – NZ has a serious long-term Campylobacter epidemic but now with the added hazard of rapidly emergent antimicrobial resistance. Fortunately a range of control options exist, many of which have been proven to work in the past in this country and internationally. Now all we need is the political will to act on this important and costly public health problem.
Today at 4.45pm I received an OIA reply from Minister for Building and Construction, Nick Smith, regarding evidence I have provided which proves that the Local Government and Environment Select Committee was given inaccurate advice regarding the Pt England Development Enabling Bill.
Nick Smith advised me to contact the Chair of the Local Government and Environment Select Committee – Andrew Bayly if I thought the Selecr Committee had been given inaccurate advice – which I have.
How can the House proceed with the
Pt England Development Enabling Bill if information about this Bill has been based upon inaccurate advice?
Penny Bright
2017 Independent candidate for
Tamaki electorate.
Exposing the $1.6 billion Tamaki ‘Regeneration’ – GENTRIFICATION $CAM.
This one is almost out of this world in terms of the dumb decision’s by NZ Railways management that been made in its history so far. But worst one I’ve seen so far is not in NZ, but in Oz with building of the inland railway from Melbourne port (Dryon yards) to Brisbane port well it stops short by 35km from the port. The private venture goes to port to port.
On board with the KiwiRail insanity, but I’m not sure if you have it quite right with the Inland Route:
The Kagaru to Acacia Ridge and Bromelton (K2ARB) section is one of 13 projects that complete Inland Rail. This section of the Inland Rail Programme consists of enhancements to, as well as commissioning of, dual gauge operations along the existing interstate track between K2ARB.
There is about 52km of existing track to be upgraded enabling double-stacking capability along the existing interstate route both south from Kagaru to Bromelton and north from Kagaru to Brisbane’s major intermodal terminal at Acacia Ridge.
It depends what newspaper or rail mag I seem to pickup of late. I’m starting to think may be some misinformation floating about ie between the ARTC and the Private venture? I do know there is some work has to carried out the Dryon yards in Melbourne and the bum fight in regards to Queensland’s narrow gauge (Cape gauge) in weather dual gauge or not and then you have the Wanger brothers trying to get inland railway to go via their airport. Anyway i’m hoping it doesn’t turn to like the NBN shit fight.
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As you're probably aware, the draft bill outlining the proposed legal cannabis regime to be put to a referendum late next year was published yesterday, and has already attracted a flurry of comment. It's notable that a good deal of the comment is about proposals that aren't actually new.A minimum ...
One of the big problems in New Zealand climate change policy is the government working at cross-purposes with itself. It wants to reduce fossil fuel use, but encourages oil and gas exploration. It wants to reduce transport emissions, but then builds enormous new roads. The problem could be avoided if ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzAccording to the United Nations, food shortages are a threat ...
Last year, the government announced it was ending offshore oil exploration by no longer issuing new permits. The idea was that the industry would then die off as permits expired. Except almost immediately the government revealed its bad faith, by saying they would extend permits and alter conditions to keep ...
The government introduced the Education and Training Bill to Parliament yesterday. Its a massive bill, which replaces both existing Education Acts, as well as various other bits of legislation (including some which are still proceeding through the House). I'll leave the serious analysis to teachers and people who actually know ...
Amelia SharmanThere’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to micro-credentials, those bits of bite-sized learning that can help workers stay on top of technological change. What’s a micro-credential? While definitions vary, micro-credentials can be understood as short courses that allow people to learn new skills or have an existing competency recognised. ...
All Smiles Now: Claire Szabo is taking up her presidential role after serving as the CEO of Habitat For Humanity. Which is absolutely perfect! After KiwiBuild was so comprehensively mismanaged by Phil Twyford, the party has not only elected a new president from a thoroughly respectable not-for-profit, but one who ...
While much of the NZ left has transitioned to postmodern and identity politics in relation to transgender ideology, there are some very good articles about that deploy Marxist methodology in relation to this subject. The one below is from the British marxist group Counterfire and appeared on their site here ...
by Daphna Whitmore At Golden Oaks, a luxurious country retreat in the Hudson Valley, pregnant women have the best care money can buy. From the organic food, personalised exercise programmes, private yoga instruction and daily massages Golden Oaks looks like a country lodge for the upper class. Set some time ...
When Labour was running for election in 2017, it felt it needed to demonstrate "fiscal responsibility" and signed itself up to masochistic "budget responsibility rules". It was a fool's errand: the sorts of voters who demand fiscal responsibility are also the sorts of voters who believe that labour can never ...
Writing in Stuff, Joel MacManus looks at what we need to do to meet the Zero Carbon Act's targets. The core of it:1. Convert 85 per cent of vehicles on the road to electric. 2. Eliminate fossil fuels from all industrial heating up to 300 degrees Celsius. 3. Double our ...
Professors Janet Hoek and Richard Edwards, Emeritus Professor Phil Gendall, Jude Ball, Dr Judith McCool, Anaru Waa, Dr Becky FreemanRecent media reports have presented conflicting evidence on youth vaping in NZ. While some NZ school principals report concerns about increasing vaping on school grounds and confiscating vapes, ASH Year ...
Paramedics have reiterated their support for New Zealand First MP Darroch Ball's bill to impose mandatory prison sentences on those who assault our first responders and prison officers. There are more than 50 cases of abuse and assault against New Zealand paramedics each week. The figure has remained largely unchanged ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has revealed the Party’s stance on a proposed single public broadcaster. He said it had been the NZ First policy to support and strengthen public sector media. "For this reason, we welcome the initiative of Minister Faafoi to progress work in this area. Both ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First Introduction Good morning, and thank you for your attendance here today. Let us start by acknowledging the work of all the media outlets and reporters, particularly the regional reporters, who have been covering this week’s tragedy at Whakaari White Island. It ...
New Zealand First MP Darroch Ball’s bill introducing a six-month minimum sentence for assaults on first responders has passed its first reading in Parliament. Mr Ball said the new offence of "injuring a first responder or prison officer with intent" would target people who attacked paramedics, police, firefighters, and corrections ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters gave his final interview for 2019 on The Country to tell farmers they have never had it better under the current coalition Government. “Here you've got these record returns [for farmers]. These returns would be nothing like a record if the currency under the ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters said that New Zealand's Cook Islands High Commissioner, Tessa Temata, has died over the weekend. Ms Temata, 52, died in Palmerston North and had returned to New Zealand for medical treatment. She was the first New Zealand High Commissioner to the Cook Islands of Cook Island ...
A new defence report has mapped out how New Zealand's soldiers will navigate rising seas, and a year after the Defence Force announced its need to prepare for climate change. In the “Responding to the Climate Crisis” report, the Force restates its operational plan and sets goals to tackle climate ...
We're rebuilding New Zealand - our transport network, our hospitals, our schools and more... After nine years of neglect there's a lot to fix - but we're getting on with the job. ...
We're rebuilding New Zealand - our transport network, our hospitals, our schools and more... After nine years of neglect there's a lot to fix - but we're getting on with the job. ...
Mark Patterson, Spokesperson for Primary Industries New Zealand First spokesperson for Primary Industries, Mark Patterson, has called for awareness to be raised and more stringent biosecurity checks to be put in place for African Swine Fever (ASF), a widespread virus that is uncontrolled in most of Asia and a serious ...
Jenny Marcroft MP, Spokesperson for Human Rights A critical step has been taken to end gender based violence against women and girls in Parliament this evening. New Zealand First Spokesperson for Human Rights Jenny Marcroft MP has welcomed the passing of the first reading of the Crimes (Definition of Female ...
New Zealand First MP Shane Jones says it's time to recognise market forces haven't led to the expected reduction in Māori smoking rates and try a new approach. The Party had recently invoked the agree to disagree clause in their Coalition Agreement with the Labour Party, and will not support ...
Live from the Whanganui Opera House, on the final day of the 2019 Labour Party Conference, Jacinda Ardern announced the largest investment in school property in 25 years. ...
The Coalition Government will be banning foreign donations to political parties and candidates, ahead of next year’s general elections. Legislation will be introduced to Parliament and passed under urgency – emphasising the need for such restrictions to safeguard our democracy. The bill introduces a new requirement that party secretaries and ...
Associate Transport Minister Shane Jones opened Taipā's $19 million bridge recently, improving transport infrastructure in the Northland region. The two-lane bridge is 107m long with a 2.5m-wide shared walking and cycling path, and will reduce the congestion that the old one-lane bridge was notorious for. The project had also included ...
The Overseas Investment Office have rejected the application of Mercury Agriculture LP, which is 92 per cent controlled by Canadian interests, to purchase more than 2000 hectares of South Canterbury and Otago land. Mercury wanted to buy 2000ha at Rangitata, 1494ha near Ashburton, 816ha near Cromwell and 212ha near Temuka. ...
This weekend was Labour's 103rd Party Conference! We welcomed over 500 of our Labour whānau in red to Whanganui, where we reflected on the last two years in Government, and looked ahead to 2020 and beyond. We know the long-term challenges facing New Zealand won't be tackled overnight, but we're making ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced that the Provincial Growth Fund will invest $9.6 million to seal the final unsealed section of State Highway 43 from Stratford to Taumarunui. The Minister said sealing the 12-kilometre gravel section of the highway – also called the “Forgotten World Highway” - through ...
Former Finance Minister and former chair of the Tax Working Group, Sir Michael Cullen, has voiced his support for New Zealand First’s decision to oppose the planned increase in tobacco excise tax. In an interview with The Weekend Collective, he said that increasing the price was no longer effective in ...
Māori are natural storytellers. On the marae we use stories to tell our history, to teach the next generation life lessons and to let people know, in our most creative of ways, who we are and where we have come from. ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand First Leader New Zealand First has invoked the ‘Agree to Disagree’ provisions of the Coalition Agreement because it cannot support the announced 11.46 percent increase in the tobacco excise from 1 January 2020. “Studies show that the automatic tobacco excise increases are having less effect ...
Taupō-based company Geo40 has made a breakthrough in extracting near battery-grade lithium from geothermal fluid which its says could be a gamechanger. Its chief executive John Worth said the earth mineral was highly prized, with battery-grade lithium selling for US$10,000 (NZ$15,600) a tonne. Geo40 was founded in 2010 to find ...
Crown research institute AgResearch Ltd, as part of its Future Footprint plan, had intended to relocate top scientists and support staff — particularly those focused on sheep genetics and genomics — from Invermay to Lincoln. However, those plans seem to have been shelved at the request of the Coalition Government. ...
Ten engineering firms in Southland are receiving a total of $2.13 million in Provincial Growth Fund funding to lift productivity and create new jobs. Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced in Invercargill that the 10 engineering and manufacturing firms would receive funding to assist them with buying equipment that ...
The number of new residents to New Zealand is the lowest it has been in nearly two decades and it has earned the ire of the immigration industry. The industry alleges that 'Trump-style extreme vetting' is being put in place aimed at keeping a lid on immigration numbers. June Ranson, ...
The Royal New Zealand Air Force is one step closer to modernising its fleet after the United States State Department recently approved the sale of five new C-130J Hercules aircraft to New Zealand. Arms manufacturer Lockheed Martin, in Fort Worth, Texas, will provide the aircraft, but as a "foreign military ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development A $261,000 loan from the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) has helped a family-run business in Manawatū to scale up manufacturing capacity, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced at its opening today. Ashhurst-based skin-care business The Herb Farm is on track to ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development The Regional Freight Hub near Palmerston North has taken a step forward with the completion of the master plan, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones said. Shane Jones unveiled the high-level design of the new Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) backed rail-road hub ...
Hon Ron Mark, Minister of DefenceTērā te haeata takiri ana mai i runga o Pukaha!Ara tai uru, whai uru, whai uru!Ara whai ato, whai ato, whai ato!Ara rā tini, ara rā tini, ara ri!The rays of the morning sun strike a new dawn upon Pukaha ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic DevelopmentThe Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is investing $772,000 in opportunities for growth in Manawatū-Whanganui, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today.NZ Bio-Forestry Limited will receive a $380,000 boost for game-changing research which could unlock significant growth in the wood processing sector, ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced today the appointment of diplomat Sarah Lee as New Zealand’s High Commissioner to South Africa. She will be the first female Head of Mission to represent New Zealand in Africa. “New Zealand’s relationship with South ...
Sustained high growth in primary industry exports looks set to continue over the next two years with strong prices predicted for farmers, fishers, growers and rural communities. Minister of Agriculture and Minister of State for Trade and Export Growth Damien O’Connor today released the latest Situation and Outlook report for ...
Auckland’s growing screen sector is the catalyst for a new partnership between the Ministry of Social Development and Auckland’s economic development agency Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED). The launch today at FilmFX in Henderson, is to celebrate the partnership which looks to capitalise on the social and economic development opportunities ...
A minute’s silence will be observed at 2.11pm on Monday 16 December in honour of the victims of the Whakaari White Island eruption, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has confirmed. “Wherever you are in New Zealand, or around the world, this is a moment we can stand alongside those who have ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced New Zealand will contribute NZ$1 million of funding towards the joint United Nations Fund for Children (UNICEF) and World Health Organisation (WHO) Pacific Regional Action Plan for Measles. “Prevention through vaccination is the most effective way of avoiding illness and a costly health emergency. ...
New Zealand is today remembering one of our true sporting heroes, triple Olympic gold medal winner Sir Peter Snell. “He was a legend, here and around the world,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. “Our thoughts are with Sir Peter’s wife Miki and their family.” “Sir Peter is recognised as New ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has congratulated United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson on his election victory. “New Zealand and the United Kingdom are close friends and despite our distance we are strongly connected by our history and people,” Jacinda Ardern said. “I look forward to continuing to work with Prime ...
The Government has released its long term vision for a sustainable 21st Century rail network that gets our cities moving, connects our regions and gets more freight off the roads. Deputy Prime Minister and State Owned Enterprises Minister Winston Peters said the Government is committed to rebuilding New Zealand’s ...
I want to start by acknowledging the families who have experienced such grief and such loss since the extraordinary tragedy on Monday. Today was all about reuniting them with their loved ones. We've just come from the airport where many of them were gathered and in amongst what you can ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters today announced further support for Samoa’s longer term needs as it continues to respond to a devastating measles epidemic. “Samoa’s health system has experienced massive strain in the wake of the measles epidemic. The volume of patients needing care during this outbreak, and the number of ...
Discounted electric bikes will be offered up to public sector staff across the country as part of the Government’s work to reduce transport emissions and support healthier transport options. Associate Minister of Transport Julie Anne Genter officially launched the new initiative at Wellington Hospital today. “The Government has negotiated bulk-purchase ...
The Australian and New Zealand Governments today launch an historic joint bid to bring the FIFA Women’s World Cup to the Southern Hemisphere for the first time. Australian Minister for Youth and Sport, Richard Colbeck and New Zealand Minister for Sport and Recreation Grant Robertson will announce the bold campaign, ...
The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) has approved a $15 million loan to help re-establish a gold mining operation at Blackwater Gold Mine, near Reefton, Rural Communities Minister and local MP Damien O’Connor announced at an event on the West Coast today. “This is great news for the Coast that could ...
Papakāinga model inspires whānau well-being A housing project by Kohupātiki whānau in Hastings is an outstanding example of a Māori-led housing initiative that can reduce financial pressure and reconnect whānau to their whakapapa says the Minister for Māori Development Hon Nanaia Mahuta. Minister Mahuta officially opened the Aroha Te Rangi ...
Restoration efforts for a significant wetland in the Hawke’s Bay are getting more support announced Associate Minister for the Environment Eugenie Sage. “Wetlands are vital to healthy landscapes and ecosystems. They function as nature’s ‘kidneys’, filtering and protecting water quality, acting as nature’s sponges after rain and are home to ...
Nelson has today seen the launch of Housing First Nelson Tasman. Today’s launch marks the expansion of the Government’s homelessness programme, Housing First, to the top of the South Island. “Housing First is a proven programme that puts people who are experiencing homelessness and multiple, high and complex needs into ...
New Government funding announced today will help communities make a difference in tackling environmental issues Associate Minister for the Environment Eugenie Sage announced in Hawkes Bay today. The Ministry for the Environment’s Community Environment Fund is dedicating $243,101 to growing the capacity and capability of the Environment Hubs Aotearoa’s (EHA) ...
The days of vulnerable consumers falling victim to loan sharks, truck shops and other predatory lenders are numbered, following the Credit Contracts Legislation Amendment Bill passing its third reading tonight. “Too many Kiwis are being given loans that are unaffordable and unsuitable, trapping them in debt and leaving their families ...
A Bill that prevents terrorism and supports the de-radicalisation of New Zealanders returning from overseas has passed its third reading, Justice Minister Andrew Little says. The Terrorism Suppression (Control Orders) Bill is a carefully targeted response to manage the risk posed by a small number of New Zealanders who have ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio will travel to Samoa on Friday, where New Zealand medical teams are helping Samoa respond to an outbreak of measles. “New Zealand has been working closely with the Government of Samoa and offering our assistance from the ...
The Government has changed the law to improve student safety and welfare in university halls of residence and other student accommodation. The Education (Pastoral Care) Amendment Bill passed its third reading this afternoon and details of an interim Code of Practice setting out the Government’s expectations of tertiary providers have also been released. ...
A new tool to help councils fund and finance infrastructure could mean some housing developments happen a decade earlier than currently planned, Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford said today. “This new tool, developed by the Government in partnership with industry and high-growth councils, will allow councils to access private debt ...
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor has welcomed the release of a bold new vision for the country’s vital food and fibre sector. “I’m delighted that New Zealand’s major farmer and grower organisations are today supporting the Primary Sector Council’s vision – Fit for a Better World,” he said. “The international consumers ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has congratulated the Government of Papua New Guinea and the Autonomous Bougainville Government for completing a well-conducted referendum on the future political status of Bougainville. “New Zealand supported the referendum process by providing technical advice through the New Zealand Electoral Commission and leading a Regional Police ...
In light of Cabinet’s position that freight operations on prime land in downtown Auckland are no longer viable, the Government will now embark on a short work programme to enable decision-making in the first half of next year, Associate Transport Minister Shane Jones says. Minister Jones is today releasing the ...
Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter has received the report back from a surgical mesh restorative justice process undertaken by Victoria University. The process heard stories, either in person or online submission, from more than 600 people affected by surgical mesh. “The report made for heart-breaking and confronting reading,” says ...
The Water Services Regulator Bill – Taumata Arowai , introduced to Parliament today, is a milestone for drinking water safety in New Zealand and will help improve environmental outcomes for urban waterways, rivers and lakes. “This is a breakthrough for New Zealanders in terms of providing safe drinking water throughout ...
Kia ora koutouE ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā matā wakaTēnā koutou katoaHaere ngā, moe maiKoutou ma ngā Rangatira Ko Anaru ahauKo au te Minita mo ngā TureHe Honore tino nui kei roto I ahau No reira tena koutou katoa Today, we are releasing two reports that are the ...
The Government is looking to turn around the long-term challenges of criminal justice by taking a new approach to break the cycle of offending to ensure there are fewer victims of crime. Justice Minister Andrew Little released two reports today, Turuki! Turuki! from Te Uepū Hāpai I te Ora, and ...
New Zealand firms expanding beyond the start-up phase are set for more support after today’s passage of the Venture Capital Fund Bill, Associate Finance Minister David Parker said. The Bill, which establishes a $300 million Venture Capital Fund, puts in place a key initiative of the Wellbeing Budget’s economic package. ...
E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā iwi, e ngā rau rangatira mā. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Señora Presidenta, Excellencies, Delegates. International action A common thread that runs through the Paris Agreement is the commitment we have made to each other to do what we can to ...
The Government is lifting capital investment to the highest level in more than 20 years as it takes the next step to future-proof New Zealand. Finance Minister Grant Robertson has announced $12 billion of new investment, with $8 billion for specific capital projects and $4 billion to be added to ...
The Government is forecast to run $12 billion worth of surpluses across the four years to 2023/24 as the economy continues to grow. The surpluses will help fund day-to-day capital requirements each year. These include fixing leaky hospitals, building new classrooms to cover population growth and take pressure off class ...
Budget 2020 will continue the Coalition Government’s focus on tackling the long-term challenges facing New Zealand while also investing to future-proof the economy. When the Government took office in 2017 it was left with crumbling infrastructure, severe underinvestment in public services, degraded rivers and lakes, a housing crisis and rising ...
The Minister responsible for the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 (te Takutai Moana Act 2011), Andrew Little has welcomed the launch of an online geospatial tool that provides data-rich, dynamic coastline maps that will significantly boost research and evidence-gathering under the Act. Te Kete Kōrero a Te ...
The Chief Victims Advisor to Government Dr Kim McGregor, QSO, has been reappointed in her role for a further two years. Dr McGregor has held the role since it was established in November 2015. She provides independent advice to government on how to improve the criminal justice system for victims. ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Civil Defence Minister Peeni Henare have today announced the deployment of a network of DART (Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami) buoys. “New Zealand and the Pacific region are particularly vulnerable to natural disasters. It is vital we have adequate warning systems in place,” ...
DART Buoys Announcement Aotea Wharf, 9.30am 11 December 2019 Acknowledgements Acknowledgements to Minister for Civil Defence Hon Peeni Henare also here today. White Island It is with regret that this event shadows the tragic natural disaster two days ago. The volcanic eruptions on White Island have claimed 5 lives, ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has welcomed the first reading of the Racing Industry Bill in parliament today. This is the second of two Bills that have been introduced this year to revitalise New Zealand’s racing industry. “Our domestic racing industry has been in serious decline. The Government is committed to ...
Minister for Disability Issues, Carmel Sepuloni, is pleased to announce that $291,321 is to be awarded to national and local community initiatives to maintain and promote the use of New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL). “New Zealand is one of the few countries in the world where Sign Language is an ...
Minister for Veterans Ron Mark has announced today the Coalition Government’s initial response to work completed by the independent statutory body, the Veterans’ Advisory Board. “When Professor Ron Paterson completed his review of the Veterans’ Support Act in 2018, he made a number of recommendations, including one which I referred ...
The Provincial Growth Fund giving $13 million to a gold mining project under DOC land on the West Coast is a disgraceful waste of public money says Coromandel Watchdog, a group fighting gold mining in Hauraki. ...
CEAC reviewed the NZTA National Land Transport Programme “2021–24 NLTP development” plan to see the support for rail funding was there, and NZTA is now seen as ‘anti-rail’ in their NLTP plans, contrary to Government policy to use rail - heads must roll. ...
Kiwi startup founder Jenene Crossan has spent two years enduring jetlag and heinous London Airbnb prices as she builds her latest business.Jenene Crossan, co-founder and CEO of beauty booking service Flossie, has spent most of the past two years sitting in airport lounges and living out of suitcases in a bid ...
From New Zealand’s biggest band selling out Western Springs to a landmark moment for Pasifika women onstage, these are the live events that shaped New Zealand this decade.An anchor in the middle of the deep blue sea: Daffodils, 2014 Todd Emerson and Colleen Davis in Daffodils, on stage at the Traverse ...
Is there something to be learned from TVNZ’s Wild West-meets-WWE-meets-19th-century-New Zealand web series? After all, writes Sharon Mazer, colonisation, like professional wrestling, is a fixed match.The premise underlying TVNZ’s new web series Colonial Combat is anachronistic and preposterous, even by WWE standards. It’s also fascinating.Transported from American popular culture to ...
For a lot of people, there’s not much joy to be found at Christmas. Emily Writes spoke to Dr Sarah Bell-Booth and Gwendoline Smith about how to deal with the hard stuff in the face of all that relentless holiday cheer.Despite my anxiety, I generally enjoy Christmas now that I ...
This contained incorrect information regarding the remuneration of Alexandra Allan. The item has now been deleted and Scoop unreservedly apologises to Ms Allan for the distress caused due to this publication. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne At the December 12 UK election, the Conservatives won 365 of the 650 House of Commons seats (up 48 since the 2017 election), Labour 202 (down 60), the Scottish National ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Tormey, Professor of Politics, University of Bristol So for all the talk of narrowing polls, tactical voting, and possible shocks leading to a hung parliament, Boris Johnson achieved a crushing victory over Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party in the UK’s ...
Sir Peter Snell has died, aged 80, at his home in Dallas, Texas. James McOnie remembers arguably New Zealand’s greatest ever athlete.Sir Peter Snell was so great that small towns still engage in custody battles over the legendary runner.His birthplace Opunake (where he spent his first 11 years) claims him, ...
Māori Injustice Issues Will Have More Visibility Thanks to New Panel Advising Ombudsman A prominent Māori leader, Lady Tureiti Moxon believes Māori injustice issues will be seen much more now thanks to Pūhara Mana Tangata, a first-time Māori panel appointed ...
“It was right there in the waiting room that Jack first told me he was finding it hard to separate his fingers”: a parent’s nightmare, by Dunedin writer Emma Neale. ...
We started picking a top 10 ourselves and puttered out at about #3, sick of the sound of our own voice. Bugger it, we thought, and sent for assistance. It’s been like Christmas ever since, an inbox flowing over with gorgeous, sincere little gifts. Here’s the nonfiction selection, in no ...
The leadership shown by tangata whenua at every national disaster and tragedy should be recognised and honoured by all of us, writes Catherine Delahunty.I do appreciate having a prime minister who is capable of expressing decent, human emotions when tragedies descend on us. It’s a sadly low bar that she ...
From the pockmarked rugby paddock of Apiti, to the smooth, iridescent-blue turf of Albany, Black Sticks defender Steph Dickins' hockey journey has come a long way. ...
If you want to shock and amaze your friends and family this Christmas, look no further than the deep recesses of $1 reserve Trade Me. Folks, I’m going to let you in on a huge Christmas secret here: you can get all your presents for $1 if you know where to ...
To celebrate the 50th birthday of the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre in New Plymouth, Walters Prize-winning artist Ruth Buchanan has rehung their collection, bringing previously unseen works and skeletons out of the closet. Her new exhibition The scene in which I find myself/Or, where does my body belong examines ...
It is hard to remember a year in which New Zealand was so repeatedly in global headlines, writes Kamahl Santamaria, a Kiwi journalist based in Doha.Time zones are a strange thing. You go to sleep, and then for eight hours or so, you miss out on everything happening on the ...
Napoleon demanded that his generals be lucky. Conservative PM Boris Johnson, as he surveys a thumping victory in the British general election, would meet that criterion.His luck bears a resemblance to that of Margaret Thatcher. Like her, he has made a decisive break with orthodox establishment thinking. That presents ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Scott Morrison has rejected or sidelined a number of recommendations from the long-awaited Thodey review of the public service that might have constrained his and his government’s power. Not surprisingly, a proposal to ensure changes ...
Analysis - The "do nothing" government announces a big spend-up on infrastructure, moving the Port of Auckland, and Winston Peters throws his weight behind NZME's bid to buy Stuff. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra [embedded content]For their last video for the year, University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor Deep Saini and Michelle Grattan look backwards to the big issues which have shaped political discourse. They discuss the surprise election results, and ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has acknowledged Ngāti Awa for their role as tangata whenua (people of the land) in leading and caring for affected whānau (family members), following the Whakaari / White Island eruption and recovery operation earlier today. ...
The Environment Committee has opened for public submissions on the Urban Development Bill. The bill follows on from the Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities bill, which disestablished Housing New Zealand and set up a Crown entity in the same name. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By William Loader, Emeritus Professor of New Testament at Murdoch University, Murdoch University This article is part of our Gender and Christianity series. To understand contemporary Christian ideas about gender, and specifically masculinity, we need to go all the way back to the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Gissing, General Manager, Risk Frontiers, Adjunct Fellow, Macquarie University Calls are growing for a national bushfire plan, including from former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, who says they are an issue of national security and the federal government must provide hands-on leadership. ...
Pro-democracy lobby group Democracy Action welcome New Zealand First’s commitment to hold firm rejecting the Te Tai Tonga MP Rino Tirikatene’s bill to entrench the Māori seats. The Bill, which would require any changes to the seats to require the ...
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in reality television and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s.Sometimes you are just doing a podcast as usual and then Colin Mathura-Jeffree gives you a call and throws your world off its axis. In a very special edition of Colin’s Cranny: Live, ...
We get a handle on the artists and artworks that shaped this decade in Aotearoa.As 2019 draws to a close, the four nominees for this year’s Turner Prize subverted the competition – they asked to receive the award as a collective. Meanwhile, at Art Basel Miami Beach, a banana taped ...
The second and final report of Te Uepū Hāpai i te Ora, the Safe and Effective Justice Advisory Group, contains nothing we didn’t know 30 years ago. Yet generations of politicians have ignored the same advice, writes Laura O’Connell Rapira.Between the 1950s and 1990s, New Zealand experienced seismic social, economic ...
Fuel company Z Energy has cut its earnings forecast for the year by 10 percent because of tougher competition and falling margins, and is forecasting a big cut in dividends. ...
Liquidators of the hacked cryptocurrency exchange Cryptopia have travelled to the United States, to retrieve customers' information and certain crypto-assets. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kath Albury, Professor of Media and Communication, Faculty of Health, Arts and Design, Swinburne University of Technology Popular commentary on dating apps often associates their use with “risky” sex, harassment and poor mental health. But anyone who has used a dating app ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Louise Grimmer, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, Tasmanian School of Business and Economics, University of Tasmania Australian shoppers are set to spend $52.7 billion this Christmas. In the words of the retail industry, we are “stampeding” to empty our wallets, both online and ...
NZ Herald and many other media outlets ran a story on a man whose farts could repel mosquitos, despite the story coming from a satire news site and not being verified in any way, writes Dan Satherly for Newshub.“Man’s farts so deadly he kills mosquitoes in a 6m radius” is ...
Timing right to borrow our way to a stronger economy in 2020 The Government’s announcement of its intent to invest significantly in the county’s infrastructure could turbo charge an economic recovery that was already showing positive signs for ...
A poem by writer, journalist, and former Manus Island refugee Behrouz Boochani.Forgive me my loveTranslated by Moones Mansoubi, Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, 2018 Forgive me my bird as I am not able to embrace you.But here,in this corner,I know some migrating birds that I smile to at dawn.I embrace them ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Powles, Senior Lecturer in Security Studies, Massey University The Autonomous Region of Bougainville, a chain of islands that lie 959 kilometres northwest of Papua New Guinea’s capital, Port Moresby, has voted unequivocally for independence. The referendum saw 85% voter turnout during ...
Fisheries New Zealand starts consultation today on proposed changes to catch settings for rock lobster and scallops for the new fishing year beginning 1 April 2020. ...
All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. This was the declaration of the pigs who control the government in George Orwell’s novel, Animal Farm– a tart comment on the hypocrisy of governments that proclaim the absolute equality of their citizens but gives power and privileges ...
SPCA has been working flat out to desex more than 80 animals a day over the last year, which is the most desexing SPCA has done since recording the figures. ...
“The fact so many families are struggling to pay the rent and put food on the table must be addressed urgently if we’re to provide the foundations for a good life for the next generation of New Zealanders,” says Scott Figenshow, Chief Executive ...
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 Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo (Hamish Hamilton, $40)Winner of the 2019 Booker Prize.2The Body: ...
This holiday season Te Tari Taiwhenua, Department of Internal Affairs wants to offer parents and caregivers some advice on how to help keep your family safe online. ...
A report released by the Chief Victims advisor Kim McGregor advising there needs to be an Independent Victims body is being welcomed by Victim Rights lobby group Sensible Sentencing Trust. National spokesperson Jess McVicar says the trust have ...
For the third time in five years, the United Kingdom has gone to the polls today. From the summer islands of New Zealand, join The Spinoff as we follow the results rolling in.9.30am: So, with polls about 90 minutes away from closing, the top line is this – we’ve got ...
Winston Peters will back an NZME proposal to buy Stuff with a 'Kiwishare' guarantee the merged news company will keep regional news and separate websites for at least two years. ...
The Executive Director of Dapaanz (Addiction Practitioners’ Association Aotearoa New Zealand), Sue Paton says the announcement that Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment court would become permanent immediately, following successful pilots in Auckland ...
Online marketplace Sidekicker is taking advantage of people who have little choice but to juggle multiple low-paying jobs to make ends meet, writes artist and freelancer Ben Markley.After graduating early this year with one of the least vocational degrees, I didn’t expect the largest array of job prospects. Nevertheless, I ...
National is vowing to bring back and expand health sector targets dropped by the current Government and mulling whether to scrap elected District Health Boards. ...
More than 10,000 people have signed a petition launched a week ago, calling for better support and funding for community midwives. The 10k figure was reached after the first four days. Chief executive of the College of Midwives, Alison Eddy, said last ...
Information obtained by animal rights organisation SAFE has revealed rodeo organisers are refusing to halt calf-roping events in rodeo, despite the Government’s animal welfare advisors’ recommendation that they do so. ...
Subject; Deputy PM said quote; “New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has challenged his Cabinet colleagues for the delay over a Northport decision, criticising it as "paralysis by analysis". https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/405385/paralysis-by-analysis-winston-peters-assessment-of-the-delay-over-northport ...
If the Productivity Commission's report on local government funding, released yesterday, had been relied on by NASA as the basis for getting astronauts to the moon, its greatest achievement by now would have been launching a $2 skyrocket 40 feet into the air ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benjamin Mayne, Molecular biologist and bioinformatician, CSIRO Humans have a “natural” lifespan of around 38 years, according to a new method we have developed for estimating the lifespans of different species by analysing their DNA. Extrapolating from genetic studies of species with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Evans, Professor of Governance and Director of Democracy 2025 – bridging the trust divide at Old Parliament House, University of Canberra A new, ongoing survey on how young Australians understand and imagine their democracy is already challenging long-held stereotypes. The survey ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Francesco Paolucci, Associate Professor; Head of Health Policy Program, Sir Walter Murdoch School of Public Policy and International Affairs, University of Newcastle Private health insurance has come under intense scrutiny in recent months, as it becomes clear health insurers are failing to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Zaphir, Researcher for the University of Queensland Critical Thinking Project; and Online Teacher at Education Queensland’s IMPACT Centre, The University of Queensland This is the second of two essays exploring key theories – cognitive load theory and constructivism – underlying teaching ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW On Monday the Australian government will release the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO). This will – as required by the Charter of Budget Honesty – provide an update on the key assumptions made in this ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ari Mattes, Lecturer in Communications and Media, University of Notre Dame Australia It seems like every time we switch on the idiot box we are confronted with news footage of another disaster. Bushfires in Australia. A hurricane in North America. A tsunami ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Andrew Little indicates justice system changes after reports, Auckland buses back on the road, and National release health proposals. Two significant reports for the justice sector were released yesterday. The first was Turuki! Turuki! Transforming our Criminal Justice System from the Chester Borrows-led Safe and ...
Open Mike 20/06/2017 
If you like any article please help promote it (and the blog). Link to it on facebook and other social media, write about it anywhere or re-blog it. We’re very happy to have other people re-blog our material, all we ask is that you mention the original source and put ...20 hours ago
by The Council of Disobedient Women John Fenaughty is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Auckland. In a recent column Fenaughty suggested that school teachers should use students’ “correct names and pronouns (e.g., he, him, they, them, she, her, etc.)” ...21 hours ago
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‘Official London Grenfell fire toll at 79, say police.’
It will go up.
We are not being told the truth according to locals and residents.
[stop spamming Ed. If you don’t know what I mean by that then ask. Count this as a warning – weka]
Local Residents accuse media blackout over 42 bodies found in one room in Grenfell Tower
Lily Allen claims Grenfell Tower death count is closer to 150 people
Please see my moderation comment above.
The brighter future………
Landlords neglect govt insulation offer.
italic; write Thousands of low-income families are enduring cold damp homes because their landlords are not taking up a government subsidy to help insulate their properties.
The government hoped its two-year $18 million programme would lead to 20,000 more homes being made warm and dry. One year in, only 3700 homes have been insulated using the subsidy.
The ‘Warm Up New Zealand: Healthy Homes’ programme splits the cost of providing ceiling and underfloor insulation in rentals occupied by low-income New Zealanders between landlords and the government – typically they pay about $1500 each.
Andrew Caseley is the chief executive for the agency that runs Healthy Homes, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority. He said he suspected many landlords believed their rental properties were already insulation compliant and they might be in for a nasty surprise.
“Well, we’d certainly like them to take it up – we’d like to be able to give out those grants just as soon as we can,” Mr Caseley said.
“There are a lot of rental properties, so 20,000 is actually not a great proportion of the total, so you would think it is an achievable one – and we are doing everything we can to do that.”
Green MP Gareth Hughes said the programme was shaping up to be a massive failure and the government should be doing more to promote it.
“There are slumlords out there and it’s a tragedy, the conditions that some people live in … the government needs to be so much more proactive making sure all New Zealand homes are warm and safe.” ‘‘
New Zealand’s rich are just like the landlords of Kensington.
Greedy , selfish to the point of not caring about the lives of the poor who lives in tehir houses.
We need to get rid of neoliberalism.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/333390/landlords-neglect-govt-insulation-offer
It’s ironic that the outgoing government brag and go on about insulating so many houses when being interviewed or while speaking in parliament, yet they do little to promote the incentive to landlords etc.
Meanwhile suffering continues, damp cold houses, exploited tenants and no housing WOF.
Neoliberalism sucks.
Greens want to increase our refugee quota, bringing it up to 5,000 within six years.
I think that’s fantastic, with 70,000 immigrants flooding our country annually, 5k over six years is peanuts. Especially when our next PM is going to cut back on immigrants, we can help more refugees, and I’m very supportive of doing just that.
I’d rather help refugees than let in.. for example… self entitled, caste indulged landlord like we saw on The Nation in the weekend. And I’m sure anyone who has been involved with refugees would agree with me.
65 million people in the world have been displaced, we can go on and on about looking after NZer’s first, but the outgoing government haven’t been doing that for near on a decade. Rather they’ve been putting immigrants first and bugger our citizens and bugger those who have lost everything from war.
Over the next six years with our new government, we will be able to do this, with the current government there is no way, they care more about money than people.
We can,t house our own . Send them to the region’s they say . No jobs and no doctors in the region’s
I’m hearing you, but things will change over six years.
Self entitled landlord…??! People with mental health problems have been known to trash housing, invariably the slum landlord and the most deprived members of the community meet. THis is not eithers fault. Its simple a governing philosophy. The govts are for monied and govt has no place serving poor citizens. A civil society believes everyone has the right to basic housing, nutrition, health, security. Naffy Nat’s don’t believe in a civil society, its winner takes all, which antithetical to both democracy and capitalism, its much older type, authoritarians. Yes! The neolib is just an authoritarian under the clothes, just they select authority by how big the bank balance not what crown someone wears.
Govt need to fund housing for the poorest, else the private sector will very badly if at all.
+100
That caste indulged landlord, just like the Gnat in parliament need to be reminded of Pyaar, Daya, Nimrata, Sat and Santokh.
oops, I thought I was looking at TDB comments
Good on the Greens with both them and yourself being absolutely correct Cinny. ….
Doing the right thing and acting with humanity is good for our society in its own right ….
Historically all the waves of refugees New Zealand has offered new lives to and resettled have benefited NZ…..
From the WWII Polish orphens and Jewish concentration camp survivors … or the Dutch or other Euriopean nationalitys uprooted by WWII …. refugees are generally very grateful and work hard establishing their new lives. Their contributions have expanded our society and helped us grow well away from the backward insecure little Nation who saw a toffy english accent as a sign of superiority …. and stood up like obedient sheep to ” God save the queen” which was played in movie theaters before the film started.
On the other hand …..our immigrants laws at at present seem more like our new tax haven laws the Nacts brought in …….
Facilitating the corrupt and criminal …… caring only about the money …. and not discriminating the dirty from the clean.
Increased corruption and a sinking international reputation for NZ from this National Govt so far …..
http://www.noted.co.nz/money/property/taking-us-to-the-cleaners/
https://www.nbr.co.nz/article/police-43m-settlement-citizen-yan-193297
“Shanghai Pengxin, under various guises, gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to the National Party;” … http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2016/04/22/national-party-4-sale/
Rather have refugees than Asian Landlords ?
There’s plenty of greedy, venal non Asian landlords to mate.
Holy shit the leaders fund for national was used to pay off Todd Barclays secutary in the tapeing fiasco . English knew according to news hub
Just heard that too. I heard through the grape vine that one of his staff left to go to canada to avoid media. I must ask the person who told me more, they are a relative of said staff member, and told me about it around Christmas time.
Dynamite.
This corrupt clique being exposed…
Found a link to the story
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2017/06/19/34853/barclay-payout-raises-questions-over-leaders-fund
And Todd Barclays file of denial
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2017/06/19/34827/barclay-a-file-of-denial
…taping fiasco…
When this news first broke I figured Barclay had recorded Dickson’s conversations with him.
In fact, he put a dictaphone in her office and recorded conversations with constituents. Then he denied and lied about it and made threats.
Bill English lied about knowing.
Curiously, no search warrant was sought. “Lack of evidence” is easy when you don’t look for any.
Where have all our trolls gone today? Are Pike River, Todd Barclay, and the fallout from Glenhill Tower too much for our neolib fans? Surely the Market will fix all these things. Come on out and play guys, we are missing your bullshit.
Lmfao 😀 You crack me up G.
Maybe Q2 will shine a bit more light on the outgoing governments neglect and brain fades.
ANDREW LITTLE to the Prime Minister: Does he believe that the moral standards he sets as Prime Minister are high enough?
Or Q6… Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Prime Minister: Before making a statement, does he check the facts; if not, why not?
Power actually causes measurable brain damage. Another argument for term limits.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/07/power-causes-brain-damage/528711/
Really liked this post over at bootstheory, and agree except on one thing. I think it is a fundamentalist Christian view that family first are pushing, not a Christian view.
https://bootstheory.wordpress.com/2017/06/20/the-truth-behind-the-lobbyists-who-want-the-right-to-hit-kids/
May all child beaters fester in hell. Hitting kids is never acceptable.
Stephanie was pretty clear that she was postulating an ideal from Family First, not having a crack at Christianity:
“They just want to push a narrow-minded vision of what our society should look like. And if you aren’t the white, middle-class, patriarchal hetero monogamous Christian family unit they hold up as the ideal, they are not going to be here for you.”
I suggest you all watch “Handmaid’s Tale”, which is currently on Spark’s Lightbox service, or the grey area of The Pirate Bay.
It offers a very chilling depiction of what life would be like if Family Fist had their way.
Still trying to sell shit:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11879290
Wonder if Goff will reply?
Selling the port is one thing, but selling the water is totally another. It will only burden Aucklanders, especially the poor with high water bills which they will be unable to pay.
Transport issues can be simply solved by encouraging businesses to relocate to suburban areas. The concept of a CBD is outdated in this era of high speed internet, dating back to the Babylonian era when all business was conducted in the Town square.
When Goff was campaigning he very clearly pointed out the economic lunacy of selling Watercare.
Hopefully Phil Goff will reply “Fuck off”.
Also if NZ is such a ‘rockstar’ economy why do we keep having to sell off our assets? Statistics tell us we have all these tourists, these amazing migrants, these overseas students all apparently essential to the Natz in WELLINGTON BUT where’s the money going from all this economic activity – because whoever is getting the profits, seems to expect Joe Public to pay for all the negatives…
Immigration is a question of workers’ solidarity:
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/02/23/workers-rights-internationalism-and-open-borders/
Just thinking how nothing is working out for NZ. We have been running our country for over a century thinking we were approaching politics and the economy seriously. And, seriously, what have we accomplished – a farce.
So I think that we should run the country as a farce, and then we will meet the problems in a flexible way, and probably things will turn out in a seriously good way.
The method is called George Doing the Opposite approach, and here is a link to George as an individual using the method that the thinking, unhappy people of this country need to use.
One of the things is to have a another Government Department called the Department of Practical Implementation and Engineering (DOPIE) and we will pay Disney to use their icons of the little dwarfs going off to work for our logo and zeitgeist. This then will be a balance to the Ministry of Bulldust and Innovative Extenuation.
The DOPIE agency will have a relative small budget, and make small loan advances to well-presented business and tourist attraction ideas that will create NZ owned and operated business employing at least 3 people. Sort of like a grameen bank. Also regions can approach for assistance with local business already profitable and able to improve with better transport, innovation involving more workers etc.
If some are not successful, it doesn’t matter, the region will have been primed with some capital, people will have been working, and the multiplier will have been working. If big business can fail and that’s accepted as natural attrition, then small business that has a small failure rate, shouldn’t be sniffed at.
Hmmm, I’d like to second that motion.
During Boris Johnson’s mayoralty, ten London fire stations were closed down; three of them within the vicinity of Grenfell Tower, something which would inevitably affect response time.
Paul Embery, London organiser of the Fire Brigades Union, warned in 2014 that people would die:
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2017/06/17/firefighter-organiser-2014-warning-re-closures-of-london-fire-stations/
And, of course, the Grenfell residents had pointed out last November that it would take people dying before anything was done about the safety of the Tower: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2017/06/17/grenfell-fire-tenants-predicted-the-disaster/
Interesting comments by an ex-firefighter about how fire deaths are under-recorded:
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2017/06/17/ex-firefighter-on-the-grenfell-tragedy/
To most people you would think loss of life would be the main concern with a volcanic eruption, but not in NZ…
How a city eruption would hit Auckland’s economy
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11879120
Bought to you by the ideology that bought us Cyclone Katrina, The Grenfell Tower and Pike river…
Government is not about the people stupid, it’s about protecting the interests of their donor stakeholders… not wasting money on citizens that can be easily replaced in the global market place…
http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/book/export/html/198
Auckland volcanoes are basaltic. In a society with measuring instruments they will give quite a lot of warning before erupting. Their eruptions are pretty localized to less than 10 kilometers. The earthquakes associated with them are small. Basaltic volcanoes are almost a pleasure for emergency services dealing with evacuating people. Of course houses, buildings and businesses can’t move as easily.
To give you an idea. There is considerable evidence of Maori on the seashore across the narrow channel to Rangitoto during the last eruptions of Rangitoto about 600 years ago.
I suspect you are thinking about Andesitic (ie like White Island) or Rhyolitic volcanoes (like Ruapehu or Taupo). The latter in particular tend to go off with little warning and can cause problems worldwide. For instance the last eruption at Taupo caused problems all of the way down the Waikato to Hamilton. And then of course there is this eruption
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taupo_Volcano#The_Oruanui_eruption
It pays to know your volcanoes before getting too daft about them. The Auckland volcanoes that surround me are relatively safe. The ones I fear are in the central north island, and I fear that I live a bit too close to them. If I am lucky, we may get a few days warning that life will get somewhat dangerous.
Yes … ask a geologist about the “Okataina Complex”.
https://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/Learning/Science-Topics/Volcanoes/New-Zealand-Volcanoes/Volcano-Geology-and-Hazards/Okataina-Volcanic-Centre-Geology
I’ve heard one speaker describe it as by far the most underestimated geo-hazard in NZ. As if we didn’t already have plenty.
Auckland Museum has a interactive exhibit about a volcano eruption – Rangitoto – in Auckland. The exhibit has the impact of the eruption simulated on Auckland’s waterfront and neighbouring suburbs.
I can’t remember how far they predicted the eruption would reach – was too busy watching Mark Sainsbury delivering the televised news segment, but I thought it was more than 10km – maybe 30.
Has anyone else been there recently that can remember?
Even if it is likely for there to be warnings about a volcano, the situation should be looked at with a worst case scenario… nowadays there are just too many situations where government seem asleep at the job in the case of a crisis.
Remember when all the power went off in Auckland. Seem to remember the civil defence was on the 13th floor of the council building, yep, lifts require electricity people. That wasn’t even a disaster and it cleared out Auckland.
There seems to be a lack of interest in actually looking at the practical reality in a disaster or even if there is a man made crisis like Electricity grid drops off.
We are pretty much doomed in Auckland because we can barely escape for the weekend out of Auckland these days in normal traffic conditions, not sure what’s gonna happen when a disaster strikes..
Many may have read this by Martyn Bradbury over at TDB but it’s good to see someone swinging wide with a baseball bat at our disastrous economy and gummint.
This is IT explicitly and well said on 19/6/2017.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2017/06/19/so-it-seems-our-rock-star-economy-was-completely-dependent-on-an-imported-audience/
For clmate change buffs and everyone else too – compact information pack from Skeptical Science.
https://skepticalscience.com/news.php?n=3786
Today – the Point England Enabling Bill is number 3 on the Order Paper.
If Green Party MPs ‘sit on the fence’ and abstain on this arguably classic environmental issues- I for one will be VERY outspoken – because, in my opinion, this is a SELLOUT.
Why on earth does Minister for Building and Construction Nick Smith, want to carve a quarter of the Point England Reserve, when, on HIS watch, there are 76 bare sections and apparently 70 empty, former Housing NZ houses already in Tamaki?
Penny Bright
2017 Independent candidate
Tamaki electorate.
(Exposing the $1.6 billion Tamaki ‘Regeneration’ – GENTRIFICATION $CAM.)
Good points Penny Bright. Get a grip Greens, you are being USED by the Natz to help push their agenda.
And Natz agenda is to use precedents like that to push through other developments on reserve land AND divide Maori and Pakeha AS WELL AS make Greens less trusted as environmental custodians.
From a 2015 report on campylobacter and chicken.
Fresh chicken is the likely source of 50% of the 600 serious campylobacter cases yearly.
https://blogs.otago.ac.nz/pubhealthexpert/2015/12/19/nzs-long-running-campylobacter-epidemic-from-poultry-now-with-antibiotic-resistance/
Rapid spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in NZ poultry
…NZ has a long-term problem with Campylobacter infection from contaminated fresh chicken meat [1]. In addition, recently presented research on AMR has found that a tetracycline and fluoroquinolone resistant strain of Campylobacter, first detected in poultry in 2014, has spread rapidly across the North Island [2]. By 2015 this strain was causing about a third of human Campylobacter infection cases in Auckland….
Contaminated poultry is therefore responsible for about 300 of the 600 serious Campylobacter infection cases hospitalised each year [4]. About 30 of these infections will cause paralysis (Guillain-Barré syndrome [6]), and others will result in serious invasive illness and death. One example was Rod Donald, co-leader of the Green Party, who died in 2005 at the age of 49 years from myocarditis secondary to Campylobacter infection [7].
The economic cost to the country from Campylobacter-contaminated poultry runs to tens of millions of dollars [8]. This cost is largely paid for by sick consumers, employers and the taxpayer-funded health sector rather than by the poultry industry which is the source of the problem….
The Ministry of Health (MOH) should have an interest in encouraging MPI to regulate given the considerable disease burden resulting from contaminated chicken meat. Health services pick up much of the tab for these illnesses so one would expect the MOH to be highly supportive of moves to close off this source. In addition, they have a lead role in developing NZ’s Antimicrobial Resistance strategy….
Consumer action: Finally, consumers can also ‘vote with their feet’ (or wallet) and switch to safer and lower cost protein foods [16]. If they continue to purchase poultry, then changing to cooked and frozen product would greatly lower their risks of Campylobacter infection….
In summary – NZ has a serious long-term Campylobacter epidemic but now with the added hazard of rapidly emergent antimicrobial resistance. Fortunately a range of control options exist, many of which have been proven to work in the past in this country and internationally. Now all we need is the political will to act on this important and costly public health problem.
Buy it frozen, and cook the hell out of it. Otherwise you are at risk. Stuff any official reassurances.
Yes I think I’ll change my MO with chicken.
Today at 4.45pm I received an OIA reply from Minister for Building and Construction, Nick Smith, regarding evidence I have provided which proves that the Local Government and Environment Select Committee was given inaccurate advice regarding the Pt England Development Enabling Bill.
Nick Smith advised me to contact the Chair of the Local Government and Environment Select Committee – Andrew Bayly if I thought the Selecr Committee had been given inaccurate advice – which I have.
How can the House proceed with the
Pt England Development Enabling Bill if information about this Bill has been based upon inaccurate advice?
Penny Bright
2017 Independent candidate for
Tamaki electorate.
Exposing the $1.6 billion Tamaki ‘Regeneration’ – GENTRIFICATION $CAM.
Get a load of this, if you think the business case study for third main in Auckland was a load bollocks. Get a load of this one WTF!
http://politik.co.nz/en/content/economy/1121/Decision-making-in-a-rush-Kiwirail-Treasury.htm
This one is almost out of this world in terms of the dumb decision’s by NZ Railways management that been made in its history so far. But worst one I’ve seen so far is not in NZ, but in Oz with building of the inland railway from Melbourne port (Dryon yards) to Brisbane port well it stops short by 35km from the port. The private venture goes to port to port.
On board with the KiwiRail insanity, but I’m not sure if you have it quite right with the Inland Route:
https://inlandrail.artc.com.au/k2arb
If you check out the map the rest of the rail route from the Acacia Ridge terminal to the Port appears to already exist. Is there more to this?
It depends what newspaper or rail mag I seem to pickup of late. I’m starting to think may be some misinformation floating about ie between the ARTC and the Private venture? I do know there is some work has to carried out the Dryon yards in Melbourne and the bum fight in regards to Queensland’s narrow gauge (Cape gauge) in weather dual gauge or not and then you have the Wanger brothers trying to get inland railway to go via their airport. Anyway i’m hoping it doesn’t turn to like the NBN shit fight.