(I found I had posted this where no-one would see it, but I was so amazed by it, I had to repost it…
It just shows the screening process for candidates/future MPs doesn't always go deep enough to weed out people who will happily exploit others, either as pimps or (in the past) as school bullies of the worst kind. No system is perfect but I do think the Nats have more than their fair share of this kind of person warming seats in the debating chamber.
"Sapphire Blue"… Is that the same shade as in the National Party logo?
Where do the community leaders National appoints as its MPs go after a career in politics?
He's an odious individual with delusions of grandeur and a thirst for power. Hardly surprising given he was a Slater/Lusk acolyte… apples never fall far from the tree…
So, is there some sort of tinfoil hat global conspiracy to reduce the world population, or is it just that there is no co-ordinated response to managing food supply for the world while we simultaneously seek ways to reduce our emissions?
I think it's that most people and systems are just not equipped to think in systems yet. But yeah, there will be leaders who are not so much thinking about how to starve people to death as how to weigh up the increasingly narrowing options. And there will be a smaller number who are thinking that if lots of people starve then we have more chance. This is why the Green Party ties social justice and ecological wisdom together. Anyone who thinks we can starve millions of people to get out of this mess is insane.
Linear thinking says we have to drop GHGs and increase biodiversity, therefore we need to get rid of the problems. Systems thinking says that all the things are connected and humans are a part of that, so instead of shutting down farms, convert them to regenerative systems (some food and resource production, some nature reserves).
This is what some of us have been banging on about all this time.
Here's what's happened in NZ. The Greens and other system thinkers promoted the idea of planting millions of trees. The system thinking bit is that you do all the things: plant natives, plant shelter, plant trees in regenag, provide jobs, boost local economies, increase biodiversity, reduce GHGs etc.
Capitalist thinkers went 'cool, let's plant lots of monocropped plantation timber so we can sell carbon credits and make money from forestry, never mind about the food production'. It's insane and the sooner we empower system thinkers and stop giving power to people who can't think in whole systems, the more chance we have of averting utter catastrophe.
The good news is that all over NZ there are people getting on with doing regenerative systems anyway. So the tech is being developed (including how to adapt to changing climate), and the models are in place and getting better all the time. When the mainstream is ready to jump we won't have to start from scratch. But we are running out of time.
Re the Netherlands, I still haven't found a good explanation of what is happening and why. But I suspect part of it is that it's a heavily developed land base and they've realised the writing is on the wall. We cannot survive without biodiversity, because humans are dependent upon functioning ecosystems. If you remove all the habitat for insects for instance, what pollinates the food we need to eat?
Basically, the Dutch government plans to potentially shut thousands of farms in order to reduce harmful nitrogen emissions by half by 2030, since the country is failing to meet safety and environmental standards. That means in some areas up to 95% of some farming activities – particularly dairy – will need to stop almost immediately.
A group called the "Farmer-Citizen Movement" (BBB in Dutch) and analogous to Groundswell was created to oppose this with direct action like the now familiar convoys, road blockades etc.
Because farming occupies a mythical and exceptionalist position in most societies nationalistic identity this opposition has been hijacked by far-right organisations like the radical Farmers Defense Force and online conspiracy theorists everywhere who see in this utterly mundane piece of Dutch domestic squabbling evidence of all the usual nonsense – the "great reset", a globalist secret agenda for the "great replacement" of stolid, upstanding, white Dutch burghers with mass immigration.
So that is it. Another environmental discussion derailed by online lunatics and grifters and their far right fellow travelers in politics.
George Monbiot sums it up & debunks grifter idiots like Russell Brand.
yeah, I understood that side of it already. What I don't get is what they are intending to do with the land, why they're not converting some of it to regenag (or maybe they are), whether they are using systems thinking or doing the plan in a daft way etc. I suspect there's a language barrier in these things being obvious to English speaking countries.
I agree we need to be thinking in systems, and that implies looking at the whole rather than the individual parts.
It is non controversial that climate change will affect food production world-wide. For example, China is facing massive droughts. So, in some parts of the world, it will likely require much more use of fertilizers, and release of higher emissions to maintain levels of food production, thus resulting in more pollution, and more emissions overall.
And if food prices increase due to reduced world supply, then there will be an increasing incentive for more rain forest in the likes of the Amazon to be cleared for farming. So, I think the way we are trying to solve the problem at the moment will cause lots of unintended consequences.
And, while it is good to find alternatives to chemical fertilizer use, a problem is that production rates are not as high with other methods. Otherwise, they would already be used in scale. Hence, it may mean more farming is required to keep food production constant with less productive fertilizers. So, the unintended effect could be that emissions go up overall. So, it isn't an easy problem to solve.
Again, the whole picture needs to be looked at. Instead of looking at the emissions and pollution from a given alternative fertilizer on its own, what needs to be considered is the overall effect on emissions, including the increased amount of farming that would be required using methods that yeild less.
So, it seems to me that it makes sense from the perspective of overall global emissions to focus food production in the areas of the world where that can be done most efficiently in terms of emissions, and fertilizer use. That may mean a world emission regime that penalises countries that produce food inefficiently compared to those that do it well.
And it may be that the climate bell tolls for us, and that we become inefficient for producing food due to climate change.
In the end, I think the world population does need to be lower. And, mass starvation might be an unavoidable consequence that leads to that. Not so good for the poor buggers on the receiving end though.
If we look at how the systems interconnect, we can see that while regenag produces less off the same amount of land. One of the reasons for that is because it allocates space for biodiversity. So immediately we have two things essential things happening: less GHGs, more biodiversity.
But the less food isn't a problem if we are selling it locally, because we waste less food that way. That's the increased efficiency.
Regenag also doesn't need to bring in a lot of inputs like fertiliser, so that solves at least four problems (emissions from transport, destruction of other ecosystems, degradation of soil from artificial fertiliser, peak phosphorus).
See how regenag itself is a metasystem that solves multiple problems because that is what it is designed to do. The system is inherently regenerative.
Your premise that we have to keep using art fert and chopping down the Amazon is not based in necessity, it's based in the system we currently use and that is a choice.
We don't have to starve people to get out of this mess.
The issue is not production. Distribution is the problem (my bold):
The world population doubled over the last 50 years to 7.5 billion people, while the share of the population suffering from food and nutrition insecurity fell from 15% in 2000 to around 11% today. While an unacceptably high 820 million people are still food insecure, it is not because food is not available. The root cause of hunger and malnutrition today is poverty – often exacerbated by conflict – that inhibits access to food.
that's true, and we waste a huge amount of food. But there is no doubt that the global food supply chain and production will be badly affected by climate change, directly via droughts, floods and increasing temperatures, and indirectly by war, displacement, and panic.
Absolutely, however we produce roughly 1.5x the amount needed to feed 7.5 billion people, if food was distributed by need rather than for profit. That means there's enough excess production to ride the oncoming stressors brought on by climate change if we choose to. It absolutely is not some global plan to reduce population sizes via starvation; other than the currently existing one; people being too poor to afford food; artificial scarcity; also known as capitalism.
I don't believe it's a global plan either (but I do think that there will be people that make the choice to let others starve. Think the UK Tory govt response to covid early on).
Also agree about the distribution and how capitalism already lets people starve and throws out a huge amount of food in the process. They're the same thing right? The system that does that and the system that doesn't know how to respond to climate/ecology are the same.
That excess production is useful in the short term, but we produce that much food off the back of fossil fuels and degenerative ag. We can't sustain that. We also ship food around the world in insane distances, again using FFs. Regenag and relocalising food production while scaling back but retaining the essential global supply would give us a pretty good chance. But again, the current system (and tbh, people's attachment to it).
There are many varied ways to solve poverty and hunger, but all of them involve systemic change.
The latest reports from the IPCC reiterate that:
Climate, ecosystems and society are interconnected. Effective and equitable conservation of approximately 30-50% of the Earth’s land, freshwater and ocean will help ensure a healthy planet. Urban areas offer a global scale opportunity for ambitious climate action that contributes to sustainable development.
Changes in the food sector, electricity, transport, industry, buildings and land-use can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, they can make it easier for people to lead low-carbon lifestyles, which will also improve health and wellbeing. A better understanding of the consequences of overconsumption can help people make more informed choices.
“Transformational changes are more likely to succeed where there is trust, where everyone works together to prioritise risk reduction, and where benefits and burdens are shared equitably,” Lee said. “We live in a diverse world in which everyone has different responsibilities and different opportunities to bring about change. Some can do a lot while others will need support to help them manage the change.”
I think that is a valid point. A problem is that increasing distribution will in itself increase emissions.
It may be that the world needs to consider establishing food hubs that provide food for the immediate areas. So, in that model, we may be supplying food for Asia, but not so much for Europe and Great Britain.
Excess produce shipped within a province or watershed or bioregion (bearing in mind they all have their own versions of the above)
Excess produce shipped between nearby regions
Excess produce shipped to nearby countries
Excess produce shipped within similar part of the globe
Excess produce shipped globally.
Within that also consider not centralising distribution where possible. No more shipping potatoes from Southland to Chch and back to Otago.
Also consider that if everyone in the right climate is growing kumara then the impact of Gabrielle is less. The system I am pointing to is more resilient than what we have now.
Those concentric circles are how we massive reduce food transport GHGs. There are details within that eg you run a truck out to neighbourhoods rather than everyone driving to the supermarket. Works rurally too, see the Longwood Loop system.
The main problem with what I am describing is the lack of imagination in how people can make a living doing that. And how to transition from our current growth/extraction/pollution economy to a regenerative one.
I can't see where they were grown, but there's a good chance they were grown in the North Island, shipped to a packing house, shipped to a wholesaler, shipped to Otago.
Whereas I've been harvesting cherry tomatoes from my garden all year with minimal work and inputs (fertiliser is mostly from food scraps and other local biomass) and they're still going. They don't produce the plastic waste either, which probably has to be transported overseas for recycling.
Most people I know who grow food at home (which is a lot of people I know), produce excess and could easily scale up to produce more if required, so it's not like everyone has to grow their own.
Re the excess produce theme, permaculture, one of the knowledge bases of regenag, has three ethics: earth care, people care, fair share. The latter is also known as return the surplus. Inherent in this is that good permaculture design inherently produces a surplus, and this can be shared.
This is in contrast to conventional ag which looks at squeezing the most it can out of any landbase, and then wastes huge amounts of produce and resources.
The Netherlands is slightly smaller than Canterbury and carries twice the dairy herd and >seventy times the number of pigs.They're drowning themselves and their neighbours in run off, refuse to clean up their act by reducing stock levels and when someone threatens to step in and do it for them, they have a cry.
I'm guessing there's not a lot of nature around. Once you socialise people out of nature, it's hard to get them to understand its importance. We are incredibly fortunate in NZ, although our nature literacy is in decline.
I have been to the Netherlands recently. We stayed in a house boat next to a farm area. Probably a 20 minute train ride from Amsterdam. We also went by train around some of the country.
What surprised me is that there is a lot of rural land over there, compared to cities. However, their population is over three times that of NZ for a much smaller land area. Hence why housing is a major issue for them over there.
They are a major food exporter. That is an interesting article, well worth reading. The fact that they are able to get that much production from such a small area is truly impressive.
It feeds into my argument that most productive food growing areas should be maximised and unproductive growing areas minimised in order to have the best net effect on emissions.
Another of our warriors has fallen fighting the fascist beast in Ukraine. May he rest in peace – If there is some sort of afterlife for soldiers, I hope Charles Upham is on hand to buy him a beer in the hall of the fallen.
Compared to Afghanistan, where 10 died over 20 years, we are losing fighters at six times the rate.
"We" you ask – count me as one of their supporters of these braver, younger, skilled people who have the courage to defend others against tyranny. Glory to the heroes!
It was interesting that we are finally seeing some organised opposition to Evangelical white supremacism of which Julian Batchelor's odious little Christo-Fascist roadshow is but the latest example.
What I found fascinating is the opposition isn't coming from an enfeebled liberal middle class, which would rather spend it's time debating on twitter whether or not it is OK to punch a far right protester doing a Sieg Heil salute (plot spoiler: yes it is OK, always. In fact, it is OK to give them a second bop on the nose as well if they look inclined to carry on the dispute), but from Maori who actually got off their couches and went along to a drafty hall to give Mr. Batchelor's miserable, aged deitritis of Rob's mob a cold drenching of 21st century reality.
Accusations she was associated with neo-Nazis were “preposterous”, and she had no time for the men in black who disrupted her Melbourne rally on Saturday.
“Men have tried to silence me since I started talking and the latest silencing weapon is to accuse me of being a Nazi to distract me,” said Ms Keen, also known as Posie Parker.
“Once you accuse someone of being a Nazi that’s it – you forever have to address the question. It’s not true. Nazis are predominantly sad, pathetic men who aren’t going very far in their lives.
And so they should. This failure has no excuses. Plenty of money, lots of lessons from the last failed one and tons of time to prepare. This is shaping up to be a complete failure to deliver a critical administrative function.
What should happen is first some highly paid people need to take responsibility for where the buck stops – stats NZ head Mark Sowden should be fired, Deborah Russell ought to resign and the resulting enormous scandal should make sure the next census with it’s nonsensical obsession with identity questions (was it actually intentionally designed to put people off?) is done with more common sense and less bureaucratic capture. You can just imagine the meetings.
“We must be inclusive and tick the all the right boxes, so remember to ask about all the self identification stuff because that is what inclusion actually is, oh and make sure it is a hard online form that about 25% of the population has no access to or won’t or can’t be bothered filling out because the ability to be counted isn’t really inclusion is it”.
Rather than going with a middle class solution that involves completing a reasonably difficult online process and that requires a reasonable degree of technological literacy and effort, maybe next time they could use the money they wasted on Wellington bureaucrats dreaming up this cockamamie online census on funding community groups like Kapa Haka or scouts or Grey Power – people who know their communities in other words – to actually distribute and collect a paper census pack.
You know, like how we used to back when the census was actually a success.
I agree that the process was fucked and we should just do what works. Do you know what the rationale was for changing to online?
Not sure about no excuses, whatever other poor decisions were made there's also the pandemic. Most systems I engage with now have staffing issues or residual failures from previous staffing issues.
At the end of the day there can be no excuses for a failure of this type.
These head bureaucrats are paid top dollar, Sowden will be on at least 400-500K. If you get paid that much and you fuck up the one thing you had five years to prepare to do then you resign/get sacked. Period.
And the relevant minister(s) should resign or be demoted as well, if there was any accountability. You don't sit in the beehive polishing your arse on a seat collecting a ministerial salary just so the only thing you bother having any oversight of is the lunch menu. The buck stop with the minister also. That failure demands a hefty price be paid is exactly the risk factor that is used to justify the huge salaries these people are paid in the first place. If you can screw up in high office and not be held accountable, then you should get paid commensurate to that level of skill, responsibility and competency – which in my book is about the minimum wage.
The people who are not counted by taking it online are the ones we most need to know about. It's their lives that might show that we have systemic economic failure that cannot be reduced to individual pathology.
my local electricty retailer has regular trustee elections. for yrs, it was mailed out and was easy to vote and send back. two yrs ago they went to online voting. its complicated , and I and others have stopped bothering to wade through the stupid code needed. . I emailed them and pointed out it was probably designed by a computer expert, and was very complicated for older less experienced computer users. no reply. the firm engaged has banked the $$$ ,and dont care.in a couple of yrs, electra will suddenly report that trustee election returns have shrunk…..
If I was reviewing the Census response rate I would probably start challenging the belief that online brings it up. Even if its easier online I think there is something about it which results in less responses online to on paper.
A couple of things that may have altered compliance to the census.
A further loss of faith in institutions since Covid. An unintended consequence of the state's response.
Also, speaking from an elderly biddy's point of view, two forms sent out, both mentioning computer/internet. This caused her to dismiss and close off from the whole process.
We did go through the questionnaire ( ignoring the 'gendered soul' malarky) and posted it off. Didn't help matters when someone with a foreign accent knocked on her door chasing the process up.
Sanctuary has it right, get local groups to service their communities. Not a lot of money for consultants, high level officials and their swathes of mandarins though.
The form was so poorly designed. It was bad, bad, bad, let alone the two letter thing. There was no explanation of rights (to privacy of your information) or obligation ($2k fine) up front. The benefits of filling in the census for your community and your interest group was not explained. There should have been a max of 10 simple sentences in double spaced 14pt font on page 1.
The first thing on the form should have been: if you don't understand or can't fill it in online, we will help you, ring this 0800 number.
EMERGING DYNAMICS [page 68]
SOCIETAL: DISILLUSIONED, INFORMED, AND DIVIDED
Key Takeaways
Slowing economic growth and gains in human development, coupled with rapid societal changes, have left large segments of the global population feeling insecure, uncertain about the future, and distrustful of institutions and governments they view as corrupt or ineffective.
Many people are gravitating toward familiar and like-minded groups for community and security, including ethnic, religious, and cultural identities as well as groupings around interests and causes. These groups are more prominent and in conflict, creating a cacophony of competing visions, goals, and beliefs.
The combination of newly prominent transnational identities, the resurgence of established allegiances, and a siloed information environment is creating and exposing fault lines within states, undermining civic nationalism, and increasing volatility.
Populations in every region are becoming better equipped with the tools, capacity, and incentive to agitate for social and political change and to demand resources, services, and recognition from their governments.
Don't worry someone will always propose a final 'Final Solution' ……
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
[You have been recently warned for climate denial and lying about it and you’ve been banned from weka’s posts about climate. You’ve been warned about trolling. Yet, you seem disrespect those warnings. Obviously, it is time for a short educational ban to see if this leads to improvement. If not, expect the bans to rapidly escalate in length. Take a week off – Incognito]
Is anyone taking Luxon's announcements on education seriously? Is it just a way of avoiding having to talk about the IPCC report, or a stealth plan to breathe life into charter schools by discrediting pubic education, or the business sector demanding that publicly-funded education be a free gift to them that provides the sort of people they want? Or does he want to scapegoat teachers for not fixing all the social ills created by market economies? And when he cites successful education systems, why does Finland never get mentioned? His vacuity is exhausting.
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TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from 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 public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
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:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
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. ...
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 ...
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. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Pacific Media Watch Earthwise hosts Lois and Martin Griffiths. Earthwise presenters Lois and Martin Griffiths on Plains FM 96.9 community radio talk to Dr David Robie, a New Zealand author, independent journalist and media educator with a passion for the Asia-Pacific region. David talks about the struggle to raise awareness ...
Pacific Media Watch Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who was held for 12 hours at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, says Israeli forces rounded up Palestinian journalists at the facility and made them kneel on the ground for hours, while naked and blindfolded. “The occupation forces handcuffed and blindfolded us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute chinasong, Shutterstock Electricity customers in four Australian states can breathe a sigh of relief. After two years in a row of 20% price increases, power prices have finally stabilised. In many places they’re ...
Chumbawamba have reportedly issued the deputy PM a cease-and-desist notice after he used their song 'Tubthumping' before his state of the nation speech. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
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(I found I had posted this where no-one would see it, but I was so amazed by it, I had to repost it…
It just shows the screening process for candidates/future MPs doesn't always go deep enough to weed out people who will happily exploit others, either as pimps or (in the past) as school bullies of the worst kind. No system is perfect but I do think the Nats have more than their fair share of this kind of person warming seats in the debating chamber.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/ex-national-mp-jami-lee-ross-running-escort-agency-accused-of-not-providing-women-safe-working-environment/QFVMVSI2WJAVFJWWJMNE35GOIY/?dicbo=v2-2QusuUY&ref=nzmenewstalkZB
He's an odious individual with delusions of grandeur and a thirst for power. Hardly surprising given he was a Slater/Lusk acolyte… apples never fall far from the tree…
So was Mark Mitchell a Slater/Lusk acolyte and I believe there are a few others still there.
@ anne..
Given mitchell's previous career as a mercenary soldier .
I prefer to use his full title .
Mark (the mercenary) mitchell..
Lest we forget..and all that…
There are major world issues food production and we need to be ramping up food production not cutting back to help avoid a world famine.
Putting my tinfoil hat on, is there a secret agenda to solve climate change by starving a lot of people to death thus reducing the world population?
For instance, the Netherlands appears to be shutting down 3000 farms. And a lot of our productive land is being turned into forests. All at a time when there are major issues with food production worldwide.
So, is there some sort of tinfoil hat global conspiracy to reduce the world population, or is it just that there is no co-ordinated response to managing food supply for the world while we simultaneously seek ways to reduce our emissions?
I think it's that most people and systems are just not equipped to think in systems yet. But yeah, there will be leaders who are not so much thinking about how to starve people to death as how to weigh up the increasingly narrowing options. And there will be a smaller number who are thinking that if lots of people starve then we have more chance. This is why the Green Party ties social justice and ecological wisdom together. Anyone who thinks we can starve millions of people to get out of this mess is insane.
Linear thinking says we have to drop GHGs and increase biodiversity, therefore we need to get rid of the problems. Systems thinking says that all the things are connected and humans are a part of that, so instead of shutting down farms, convert them to regenerative systems (some food and resource production, some nature reserves).
This is what some of us have been banging on about all this time.
Here's what's happened in NZ. The Greens and other system thinkers promoted the idea of planting millions of trees. The system thinking bit is that you do all the things: plant natives, plant shelter, plant trees in regenag, provide jobs, boost local economies, increase biodiversity, reduce GHGs etc.
Capitalist thinkers went 'cool, let's plant lots of monocropped plantation timber so we can sell carbon credits and make money from forestry, never mind about the food production'. It's insane and the sooner we empower system thinkers and stop giving power to people who can't think in whole systems, the more chance we have of averting utter catastrophe.
The good news is that all over NZ there are people getting on with doing regenerative systems anyway. So the tech is being developed (including how to adapt to changing climate), and the models are in place and getting better all the time. When the mainstream is ready to jump we won't have to start from scratch. But we are running out of time.
Re the Netherlands, I still haven't found a good explanation of what is happening and why. But I suspect part of it is that it's a heavily developed land base and they've realised the writing is on the wall. We cannot survive without biodiversity, because humans are dependent upon functioning ecosystems. If you remove all the habitat for insects for instance, what pollinates the food we need to eat?
Basically, the Dutch government plans to potentially shut thousands of farms in order to reduce harmful nitrogen emissions by half by 2030, since the country is failing to meet safety and environmental standards. That means in some areas up to 95% of some farming activities – particularly dairy – will need to stop almost immediately.
A group called the "Farmer-Citizen Movement" (BBB in Dutch) and analogous to Groundswell was created to oppose this with direct action like the now familiar convoys, road blockades etc.
Because farming occupies a mythical and exceptionalist position in most societies nationalistic identity this opposition has been hijacked by far-right organisations like the radical Farmers Defense Force and online conspiracy theorists everywhere who see in this utterly mundane piece of Dutch domestic squabbling evidence of all the usual nonsense – the "great reset", a globalist secret agenda for the "great replacement" of stolid, upstanding, white Dutch burghers with mass immigration.
So that is it. Another environmental discussion derailed by online lunatics and grifters and their far right fellow travelers in politics.
George Monbiot sums it up & debunks grifter idiots like Russell Brand.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khAs-mpZ0nU
yeah, I understood that side of it already. What I don't get is what they are intending to do with the land, why they're not converting some of it to regenag (or maybe they are), whether they are using systems thinking or doing the plan in a daft way etc. I suspect there's a language barrier in these things being obvious to English speaking countries.
One of the problem I see is what to do with the crops you could grow if ypu switched from mammal farming to cropping.
Take the ohakune area I'm in , it grows fantastic spuds and carrots , the richest people here are the people who grow spuds etc.
So why isn't everyone doing it. ?
Only a small area is grown each year and huge piles of seconds, that appear perfectly edable ar feed to cattle, (carrots) .
Starvation isn't a population problem it's a can't get it to the people problem .
Bit muddled sorry but 2 birds could be knocked of with one stone if the global supply chain worked
Hi Weka,
I agree we need to be thinking in systems, and that implies looking at the whole rather than the individual parts.
It is non controversial that climate change will affect food production world-wide. For example, China is facing massive droughts. So, in some parts of the world, it will likely require much more use of fertilizers, and release of higher emissions to maintain levels of food production, thus resulting in more pollution, and more emissions overall.
And if food prices increase due to reduced world supply, then there will be an increasing incentive for more rain forest in the likes of the Amazon to be cleared for farming. So, I think the way we are trying to solve the problem at the moment will cause lots of unintended consequences.
And, while it is good to find alternatives to chemical fertilizer use, a problem is that production rates are not as high with other methods. Otherwise, they would already be used in scale. Hence, it may mean more farming is required to keep food production constant with less productive fertilizers. So, the unintended effect could be that emissions go up overall. So, it isn't an easy problem to solve.
Again, the whole picture needs to be looked at. Instead of looking at the emissions and pollution from a given alternative fertilizer on its own, what needs to be considered is the overall effect on emissions, including the increased amount of farming that would be required using methods that yeild less.
So, it seems to me that it makes sense from the perspective of overall global emissions to focus food production in the areas of the world where that can be done most efficiently in terms of emissions, and fertilizer use. That may mean a world emission regime that penalises countries that produce food inefficiently compared to those that do it well.
And it may be that the climate bell tolls for us, and that we become inefficient for producing food due to climate change.
In the end, I think the world population does need to be lower. And, mass starvation might be an unavoidable consequence that leads to that. Not so good for the poor buggers on the receiving end though.
If we look at how the systems interconnect, we can see that while regenag produces less off the same amount of land. One of the reasons for that is because it allocates space for biodiversity. So immediately we have two things essential things happening: less GHGs, more biodiversity.
But the less food isn't a problem if we are selling it locally, because we waste less food that way. That's the increased efficiency.
Regenag also doesn't need to bring in a lot of inputs like fertiliser, so that solves at least four problems (emissions from transport, destruction of other ecosystems, degradation of soil from artificial fertiliser, peak phosphorus).
See how regenag itself is a metasystem that solves multiple problems because that is what it is designed to do. The system is inherently regenerative.
Your premise that we have to keep using art fert and chopping down the Amazon is not based in necessity, it's based in the system we currently use and that is a choice.
We don't have to starve people to get out of this mess.
The issue is not production. Distribution is the problem (my bold):
https://www.oecd.org/agriculture/understanding-the-global-food-system/how-we-feed-the-world-today/
that's true, and we waste a huge amount of food. But there is no doubt that the global food supply chain and production will be badly affected by climate change, directly via droughts, floods and increasing temperatures, and indirectly by war, displacement, and panic.
Absolutely, however we produce roughly 1.5x the amount needed to feed 7.5 billion people, if food was distributed by need rather than for profit. That means there's enough excess production to ride the oncoming stressors brought on by climate change if we choose to. It absolutely is not some global plan to reduce population sizes via starvation; other than the currently existing one; people being too poor to afford food; artificial scarcity; also known as capitalism.
I don't believe it's a global plan either (but I do think that there will be people that make the choice to let others starve. Think the UK Tory govt response to covid early on).
Also agree about the distribution and how capitalism already lets people starve and throws out a huge amount of food in the process. They're the same thing right? The system that does that and the system that doesn't know how to respond to climate/ecology are the same.
That excess production is useful in the short term, but we produce that much food off the back of fossil fuels and degenerative ag. We can't sustain that. We also ship food around the world in insane distances, again using FFs. Regenag and relocalising food production while scaling back but retaining the essential global supply would give us a pretty good chance. But again, the current system (and tbh, people's attachment to it).
100%.
There are many varied ways to solve poverty and hunger, but all of them involve systemic change.
The latest reports from the IPCC reiterate that:
https://www.ipcc.ch/2023/03/20/press-release-ar6-synthesis-report/
wow, that's a really good quote and framing.
I think that is a valid point. A problem is that increasing distribution will in itself increase emissions.
It may be that the world needs to consider establishing food hubs that provide food for the immediate areas. So, in that model, we may be supplying food for Asia, but not so much for Europe and Great Britain.
think of concentric circles from where you live.
Home garden
Neighbours' gardens
Community garden
Urban farms
Regenag surrounding cities
Regenag out in the plains
Excess produce shipped within a province or watershed or bioregion (bearing in mind they all have their own versions of the above)
Excess produce shipped between nearby regions
Excess produce shipped to nearby countries
Excess produce shipped within similar part of the globe
Excess produce shipped globally.
Within that also consider not centralising distribution where possible. No more shipping potatoes from Southland to Chch and back to Otago.
Also consider that if everyone in the right climate is growing kumara then the impact of Gabrielle is less. The system I am pointing to is more resilient than what we have now.
Those concentric circles are how we massive reduce food transport GHGs. There are details within that eg you run a truck out to neighbourhoods rather than everyone driving to the supermarket. Works rurally too, see the Longwood Loop system.
The main problem with what I am describing is the lack of imagination in how people can make a living doing that. And how to transition from our current growth/extraction/pollution economy to a regenerative one.
as a practical example, look at this pack of cherry tomatoes at New World.
https://www.newworld.co.nz/shop/product/5039973_ea_000nw?name=cherry-tomatoes
I can't see where they were grown, but there's a good chance they were grown in the North Island, shipped to a packing house, shipped to a wholesaler, shipped to Otago.
Whereas I've been harvesting cherry tomatoes from my garden all year with minimal work and inputs (fertiliser is mostly from food scraps and other local biomass) and they're still going. They don't produce the plastic waste either, which probably has to be transported overseas for recycling.
Most people I know who grow food at home (which is a lot of people I know), produce excess and could easily scale up to produce more if required, so it's not like everyone has to grow their own.
Victory gardens of WW2 in the UK.
yes! Another outcome from such a system: a feeling of pride and engagement and empowerment in the face of climate change.
Re the excess produce theme, permaculture, one of the knowledge bases of regenag, has three ethics: earth care, people care, fair share. The latter is also known as return the surplus. Inherent in this is that good permaculture design inherently produces a surplus, and this can be shared.
This is in contrast to conventional ag which looks at squeezing the most it can out of any landbase, and then wastes huge amounts of produce and resources.
The Netherlands is slightly smaller than Canterbury and carries twice the dairy herd and >seventy times the number of pigs.They're drowning themselves and their neighbours in run off, refuse to clean up their act by reducing stock levels and when someone threatens to step in and do it for them, they have a cry.
I'm guessing there's not a lot of nature around. Once you socialise people out of nature, it's hard to get them to understand its importance. We are incredibly fortunate in NZ, although our nature literacy is in decline.
I have been to the Netherlands recently. We stayed in a house boat next to a farm area. Probably a 20 minute train ride from Amsterdam. We also went by train around some of the country.
What surprised me is that there is a lot of rural land over there, compared to cities. However, their population is over three times that of NZ for a much smaller land area. Hence why housing is a major issue for them over there.
They are a major food exporter. That is an interesting article, well worth reading. The fact that they are able to get that much production from such a small area is truly impressive.
It feeds into my argument that most productive food growing areas should be maximised and unproductive growing areas minimised in order to have the best net effect on emissions.
@ smithfield..
The netherlands is doing what we need to do…must do..to stop being a major planet-polluter
Another of our warriors has fallen fighting the fascist beast in Ukraine. May he rest in peace – If there is some sort of afterlife for soldiers, I hope Charles Upham is on hand to buy him a beer in the hall of the fallen.
Compared to Afghanistan, where 10 died over 20 years, we are losing fighters at six times the rate.
Who is this 'we' you speak of?
"We" you ask – count me as one of their supporters of these braver, younger, skilled people who have the courage to defend others against tyranny. Glory to the heroes!
He certainly has my respect and admiration.
Because Ukraine is getting such slow and limited support from the West, a very high price is falling onto a small number of principled people.
It was interesting that we are finally seeing some organised opposition to Evangelical white supremacism of which Julian Batchelor's odious little Christo-Fascist roadshow is but the latest example.
What I found fascinating is the opposition isn't coming from an enfeebled liberal middle class, which would rather spend it's time debating on twitter whether or not it is OK to punch a far right protester doing a Sieg Heil salute (plot spoiler: yes it is OK, always. In fact, it is OK to give them a second bop on the nose as well if they look inclined to carry on the dispute), but from Maori who actually got off their couches and went along to a drafty hall to give Mr. Batchelor's miserable, aged deitritis of Rob's mob a cold drenching of 21st century reality.
Balanced article on the front page of the Australian, after Hobart's #LetWomenSpeak event yesterday:
‘I’m no Nazi; just public enemy No. 1’, says transgender law critic Kellie-Jay Keen
https://www.census.govt.nz/
Two full weeks after Census Day this is a poor response rate.
Five years ago, the response rate was only 83.3% and it looks we’re currently more than 10% below this.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/485439/census-officials-confident-they-ll-get-almost-everyone-this-time-including-harry-styles
What could this mean for the General Election on 14 October?
National using it a stick to beat Labour with?
And so they should. This failure has no excuses. Plenty of money, lots of lessons from the last failed one and tons of time to prepare. This is shaping up to be a complete failure to deliver a critical administrative function.
What should happen is first some highly paid people need to take responsibility for where the buck stops – stats NZ head Mark Sowden should be fired, Deborah Russell ought to resign and the resulting enormous scandal should make sure the next census with it’s nonsensical obsession with identity questions (was it actually intentionally designed to put people off?) is done with more common sense and less bureaucratic capture. You can just imagine the meetings.
“We must be inclusive and tick the all the right boxes, so remember to ask about all the self identification stuff because that is what inclusion actually is, oh and make sure it is a hard online form that about 25% of the population has no access to or won’t or can’t be bothered filling out because the ability to be counted isn’t really inclusion is it”.
Rather than going with a middle class solution that involves completing a reasonably difficult online process and that requires a reasonable degree of technological literacy and effort, maybe next time they could use the money they wasted on Wellington bureaucrats dreaming up this cockamamie online census on funding community groups like Kapa Haka or scouts or Grey Power – people who know their communities in other words – to actually distribute and collect a paper census pack.
You know, like how we used to back when the census was actually a success.
I agree that the process was fucked and we should just do what works. Do you know what the rationale was for changing to online?
Not sure about no excuses, whatever other poor decisions were made there's also the pandemic. Most systems I engage with now have staffing issues or residual failures from previous staffing issues.
At the end of the day there can be no excuses for a failure of this type.
These head bureaucrats are paid top dollar, Sowden will be on at least 400-500K. If you get paid that much and you fuck up the one thing you had five years to prepare to do then you resign/get sacked. Period.
And the relevant minister(s) should resign or be demoted as well, if there was any accountability. You don't sit in the beehive polishing your arse on a seat collecting a ministerial salary just so the only thing you bother having any oversight of is the lunch menu. The buck stop with the minister also. That failure demands a hefty price be paid is exactly the risk factor that is used to justify the huge salaries these people are paid in the first place. If you can screw up in high office and not be held accountable, then you should get paid commensurate to that level of skill, responsibility and competency – which in my book is about the minimum wage.
I couldn't believe they persisted with trying to use a clearly failed online model for the census.
Talk about a bureaucratic bubble of technocratic assumptions.
The people who are not counted by taking it online are the ones we most need to know about. It's their lives that might show that we have systemic economic failure that cannot be reduced to individual pathology.
my local electricty retailer has regular trustee elections. for yrs, it was mailed out and was easy to vote and send back. two yrs ago they went to online voting. its complicated , and I and others have stopped bothering to wade through the stupid code needed. . I emailed them and pointed out it was probably designed by a computer expert, and was very complicated for older less experienced computer users. no reply. the firm engaged has banked the $$$ ,and dont care.in a couple of yrs, electra will suddenly report that trustee election returns have shrunk…..
If I was reviewing the Census response rate I would probably start challenging the belief that online brings it up. Even if its easier online I think there is something about it which results in less responses online to on paper.
A couple of things that may have altered compliance to the census.
A further loss of faith in institutions since Covid. An unintended consequence of the state's response.
Also, speaking from an elderly biddy's point of view, two forms sent out, both mentioning computer/internet. This caused her to dismiss and close off from the whole process.
We did go through the questionnaire ( ignoring the 'gendered soul' malarky) and posted it off. Didn't help matters when someone with a foreign accent knocked on her door chasing the process up.
Sanctuary has it right, get local groups to service their communities. Not a lot of money for consultants, high level officials and their swathes of mandarins though.
The form was so poorly designed. It was bad, bad, bad, let alone the two letter thing. There was no explanation of rights (to privacy of your information) or obligation ($2k fine) up front. The benefits of filling in the census for your community and your interest group was not explained. There should have been a max of 10 simple sentences in double spaced 14pt font on page 1.
The first thing on the form should have been: if you don't understand or can't fill it in online, we will help you, ring this 0800 number.
Where I work all the paranoid refused to co-operate, 25% of the population being paranoid would be about right.
The thing that struck me most about the Census was the morbid facination with whether I still have the same bits I was born with.
That’s a projection.
It only asks birth sex and gender ID.
That is done to identify the extent of cisgender to other.
A lot more people climbed down the big state is after us after covid, bet that's a good few % of the non complient
The poor response is a symptom – from govts to individuals, we reap what we sow. "Fight Fight!"
Around here many who answered the silly questions just gave spoof answers that will provide little information.
A lot of "Don't knows" for sex on birth certificate and at least one saying the sex was 9 months BEFORE my birth.
Lots of fun comparing answers.
The 10 year old in me (South Park), can't help but think there is a lot of fun to be had with "spoof answers" and gender fluidity
Don't worry someone will always propose a final 'Final Solution' ……
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
[You have been recently warned for climate denial and lying about it and you’ve been banned from weka’s posts about climate. You’ve been warned about trolling. Yet, you seem disrespect those warnings. Obviously, it is time for a short educational ban to see if this leads to improvement. If not, expect the bans to rapidly escalate in length. Take a week off – Incognito]
Sounds like Chippie to Nash.
Mod note
Is anyone taking Luxon's announcements on education seriously? Is it just a way of avoiding having to talk about the IPCC report, or a stealth plan to breathe life into charter schools by discrediting pubic education, or the business sector demanding that publicly-funded education be a free gift to them that provides the sort of people they want? Or does he want to scapegoat teachers for not fixing all the social ills created by market economies? And when he cites successful education systems, why does Finland never get mentioned? His vacuity is exhausting.
Well in the spirit of TLDR I regard Luxon and all things related to him as Too Stupid Don't Bother
@ab..
That would be a good tagline for luxon..
'luxon: his vacuity is exhausting'..
It sort of captures the man…
Mr Miyagi say: Luxon, Luxoff.
Meh 2 years 5 months and sixteen days without a drink …but dam I would love a few beers right now.
good on you. keep it up. time to change yr username to something up-to-date.
Ex-barfly would work..
And isn't it a truism that the only people amused/entertained by the ramblings of the intoxicated…are others equally intoxicated…
Drunks are so effing boring..
As funny as a fart in an elevator ..
I switched to 0% alcohol beers a few months ago, and found several that taste as good if not better than the selected beers I used to drink.
So, alcohol free not really from conviction but preference.