"Meridian and Contact say they are seriously considering building a plant which would convert about 12 per cent of the country’s total electricity generation into green hydrogen. The plant would be based in Southland as an alternative user of the energy the Tiwai aluminium smelter uses, should it close as scheduled at the end of 2024."
"Meridian and Contact’s first feasibility report suggests New Zealand is well placed to be a leading green hydrogen producer; its high proportion of renewable electricity meaning it could export as well as meeting domestic needs."
I suspect the devil is in the detail of how exactly hydrogen would be exported – is tank tech sufficiently secure yet? I wonder if export in liquid form would be feasible.
"On the export front, the Government already has agreements of co-operation with Japan and Singapore to research production and explore New Zealand’s export potential. A letter of intent was also signed some years ago between a New Zealand private consortium and several South Korean companies to explore hydrogen exporting, although MBIE says it has yet to progress. There is also the research alliance with Germany, which has already committed to moving to green hydrogen."
"According to the report, the investment in a green hydrogen economy could generate one-time benefits of $0.6 billion to $0.8 billion, and thousands of jobs, with ongoing benefits of $350 million to $450m per annum and hundreds of jobs. Some of those benefits might include attracting high tech talent and money from large sustainable investment funds, or chemical, fertiliser and other industries set up alongside the plant… Standards New Zealand has convened a hydrogen standards advisory group, and the Government will begin developing a hydrogen roadmap this year to examine the issue in more detail."
Probably depends on the business case, eh? Or, to be more precise, the various competing business cases involved. So cabinet will have a plethora of input (refined by relevant ministers before it gets tabled) to eventually consider…
renewable, climate-saving power generation as a capitalist lottery rather than say a strategic asset core to how we transition and get through the next century.
Well, it is how the cabinet is likely to decide. Jacinda being High Priestess of Neoliberalism – eventually to go down in history as St Jacinda the Neoliberal and featuring as such in the publications of next-century historians.
If Labour were to ditch muddle thro the middle and form a govt with the Greens with formal sustainability/resilience focus, your scenario would apply.
It's a contemporary variation on trickle-down theory. Instead of wealth trickling down from profit-driven enterprises, this time it will be salvational technology. God knows – but they may be right. Because we have spent 35 years eviscerating the State of both the will and the capacity to do much, this may be all we are left with.
I suspect the future road map will have a mix of EV's and hydrogen. Both have their distinct optimal use cases and it will be interesting to see how this plays out. EV's definitely have a head start, but there is reason to think hydrogen could play a very large role in some contexts.
The other aspect is using hydrogen for the direct (carbon free) conversion of iron ore to steel. One of my colleagues right now is an expert in this field and I'm impressed at what a big game changer this will be. Expect major plant startups using this technology within this decade.
"Meridian and Contact say they are seriously considering building a plant which would convert about 12 per cent of the country’s total electricity generation into green hydrogen……
…….New Zealand has convened a hydrogen standards advisory group, and the Government will begin developing a hydrogen roadmap this year to examine the issue in more detail."
Could the 'green hydrogen', proposed to be produced at Tiwai, be used to re-energise spent powdered iron fuel on an industrial scale?
Unburnt (un-oxidised) iron powder has a higher energy density than coal and even petrol.
For obvious reasons it can't burnt in Internal Combustion Engines, but it can be burnt in External Combustion Engines. That's right the good 'ol steam engine to you and me.
Once burnt the only remains from the combustion of Iron powder, (Fe), is FeO2. That's right, good 'ol rust to you and me. (also in the form of a powder).
To separate the O2 from the depleted iron, heated Hydrogen is passed over the powdered iron oxide to combine with the Oxygen to produce H2O which is vented as a vapour. The iron powder is ready to be burnt again. Repeatedy.
If the Hydrogen is produced from a renewable source, which would be the case at Tiwai, then the whole cycle is completely carbon free.
The energy from the hydrogen imbedded in the iron powder, can be stored for months and even years. Without the need for expensive pressure vessels, subject to leaks and explosions.
The only downside of iron powder as a fuel is its weight, (another reason why it will never be a suitable replacement fuel for cars trucks and aeroplanes).
In big surface vessels, ships and trains, where weight bearing is not such a big issue, iron powder is the perfect replacement for fossil fuels, especially the very dirty heavy bunker fuel oil used in ships.
Iron powder could also be burnt in base load power stations, (Huntly could stay open).
Iron powder could replace coal as a source of industrial heat, in bakeries and breweries and brick kilns, and for drying milk powder in dairy factories. And its non-toxic, did i mention that. (unlike oil and coal).
We could bring back the Kingston flyer as a test bed for this new technology.
(The Steampunks might have been on to something)
The following article from Popular Mechanics claims that iron fuel is the fuel of the future.
But is it?
What is the draw back?
it sounds too good to be true.
Where is the fly in the ointment?
Can anyone tell me?
Burning Iron for Fuel Sounds Crazy. It's Also the Future.
The most surprising renewable yet could power plenty of industries.
Caroline Delbert Popular Mechanics, NOV 9, 2020
A brewery in the Netherlands is making environmental history by using a cycle of renewable iron as fuel for its furnace.
Royal Swinkels Family Brewers is working with Eindhoven University of Technology and a technology think tank calledMetal Poweron the circular economy of iron burning. “The iron acts as a kind of clean battery for combustion processes, charging up via one of a number of means including electrolysis, and discharging in flames and heat,”New Atlas reports.
Here’s how it works: Iron is burned in furnaces, fulfilling a key industry requirement for high heat that isn’t covered by many other renewables. Then, the resulting oxidized rust waste is recycled back into newly re-burnable iron fuel using electrical energy that can be from clean sources…..
Will this be one of the issues that the hydrogen standards advisory group, and the Government will begin examining in more detail?
With me it happened in primers 1,2 & 3. Come primer 4, I no longer needed to do it. But I gather the education system has slid steadily down the hill since the 1950s, so there may indeed be a real need for the techies here to come to your rescue.
Dyslexia is a very real problem in Aotearoa/New Zealand,most folk in prison struggle with it an it excludes a large number of people pitisapating in DEBATE.thanks to Solkta advise,I've got my self a new dictionary.It may suit some for others not too ingauge,but I will keep trying even though it might take twenty minutes to write this.
Oh and too find the word can be difficuted,Phonics might help but that dictionary has disappeared.
I don't know much about dyslexia but can imagine the frustration. A trick that might or might not work is just to write the consonants – t's srprsng hw qckly txt wrttn ths wy cn b ndrstd! Hp ths hlps?
Too be fair,I've always tried to spell out the word as I found txt languque a slippery slop.. but trust me I've tried many options. I see it as exclustionary,back to the dictionary,,exclusionery ,not there,Damn
My daughter has a form of dyslexia. We realised that there was no way she was going to cope in the public school system, and so we decided that we would try an alternative education for her at around the age of 9. We had been reading to her every day as she was unable to read at that time even the most basic text. The new school saw that she had a problem with connections between left brain and right brain. They began a series of curative eurythmy for her. Astoundingly, within 3 months she was able to read the first Harry Potter, and is now an avid reader, and writer. She still has difficulty with correct spelling on some of the more tricky English words.
As you will be well aware "dyslexia" does not mean "unintelligent". There have been many advances in human knowledge and understanding and outstanding achievements made by persons with dyslexia. A cousin of mine was unable to complete school certificate because of his poor scores in English, yet he became a Professional Member of the NZ Royal Society. It was my task to proof read the papers he was about to send for publication in scientific journals to check the English.
Macro, the science behind the "Wobble board" is interesting. It is used in education to assist with the practice of using both right and left brain to assist learning. The brain, the new frontier.
@Macro
Thanks and yes. hope your daughter is going well,intelligents has very little too do as you say,but jokingly with my self I wonder sometimes,Ha.the thing is i can speak well enough and understand what most words mean,may get out of order but hey-ho,just the print and lack of coninuity,which make a narritive difficult.I have made boo-bo's here more than once,cheers for your input.
DF Why bother to reply with only a sarky patronising response. If you can't help, don't want to, it's no help to get negatives from the self-consciously smart.
Tbh, I was actually trying to help. Seemed like everyone ignored the problem yesterday, so I figured replying would draw attention to the request, thus raising the probability of a tech solution…
What? Are you lobbying for the style police position at TS yet again?? Last time resulted in a collective slap-down, I seem to recall, but full marks for dogged perseverance anyway!
Technically, it would be ignorant – since I had to google word blindness to discover that it is an established cultural term that I'd not previously encountered. Rude is intentional behaviour, where the intent is to offend the other person.
When aghast at the tendency of postmodernism to accelerate the evolution of language, conservatives seek solace in a cuppaT & lie-down. This method may not work for progressives – however a switch of focus from trivia to essentials usually does.
If, instead, you actually get off on picking nits, I'll try to generate a few more for you…
[Sure, if you want to make up shit to suit yourself then accept the consequences without trying to put blame on others. If you don’t like to be called rude then don’t be rude and start acting all victimized because we don’t understand that you operate at a higher dimension than we do or we didn’t receive the same education as you did or because we are dyslexic, for example. Just to avoid any post-modern confusion, stop your post-modern BS and maybe apologize to make up for your unintentional rudeness; it won’t kill you – Incognito]
I actually didn't blame anyone for anything – so why pretend that I did??
[actually, you did shift it to others and even the education system but you seem to ignore this, how convenient for you. Your comment @ 2.1.4.1.1.1 was a sly put down and avoiding taking responsibility too. I told you to stop your post-modern BS and will add to this your tendency to gaslight. In case it is not clear to you, your comments are being moderated and digging in is not smart. Maybe you keep quiet and take heed of the notes, yes – Incognito]
Since when has a "sly put down" been unacceptable? I see them here from others all the time. The about page doesn't forbid them, right? Gaslight is not a term I'm familiar with. I think you're just trying to bully me by operating a double standard. I'm puzzled as to why you are…
[You ask:
Since when has a “sly put down” been unacceptable?
Since it is used as deflecting blame and responsibility for your own commenting behaviour, which you still haven’t accepted, I note, and you’re still digging in.
Google “gaslighting” and you will enrich your post-modern vocabulary.
Not smart at all to argue back to a Moderator and accusing them of bullying you.
In any case, not all context is the same, which might come as a surprise to you; different comments and commenters are treated differently depending on a wide range of reasons.
Since you seem to think that perception and interpretation are everything, so for your information, from the Policy:
What we’re not prepared to accept are pointless personal attacks, or tone or language that has the effect of excluding others. [my italics]
…
We don’t really want to ban anyone. If you’re borderline we’ll probably warn you first.
…
Generally wasting a moderators time is just not a good idea. We’re there to deal with isolated problems. People persistently sucking up our voluntary time won’t like the results.
…
Arguing with moderation is a trait requiring darwinian winnowing that usually results in a rapid education about who runs the site …
…
Finally, the moderators may put you into moderation for what they consider is bad behaviour, while they get around to having a look at your patterns of behaviour.
Please don’t try to argue your way out of Moderation, as it won’t work and you simply end up wasting more Moderator time. I have given you two warnings for something quite minor, but you opted to escalate it and this is your last warning. Take heed and STFU or take a ban – Incognito]
Am happy to bring this up with Lynn again. Do you mean you want a spell check in the comment box? What do you need? Mis-spelled words are underlined, do you want to be able to click on them for the correct spelling?
Yes, it's a long standing issue on TS, and as Sacha says I think it's browser/OS dependent. Seem to remember we had a discussion about this a while back, I'll see if I can find it.
It's not browser or OS dependent. If it was it would occur on all other website comment boxes and it doesn't.
Besides spellcheck is commonly the default. That the word is underlined shows that the browser recognises the incorrect spelling but for some reason doesn't initiate the next correct option. i.e. the list of possible words.
I'm using Firefox and occasionally Chrome on Ubuntu.
Yup, Lprent can do a lot on this site but he cannot control people’s devices and browsers and settings unless he hacks them, which he tends to not do 😉
Brigid
I'm on Firefox but probably behind with updates. Do you notice that the spellchecker frequently underlines an s and seems to want me to put z. I think my English speller has a US bias or something. It is quite 'aggressive' about this.
Yes. Insisting on 'z' rather than 's' is common. That's because the spell checker default is set to American spelling. You can choose 'add to dictionary' to teach the damned thing that we aren't all American. Hopefully it wont be underlined next time you use it.
Yes the words are underlined but right click just shows paste,and I can not see how I could use that,so yes is their a spell check but not on my lap top. I have most things including replys etc. regards Al
If you're on a laptop, a temporary work-around might be to use a word processor (e.g. libreoffice on linux) to draft things up and then paste them into the comment box.
I tend to do that with longer pieces or important emails.
I'm on gmail and find it useful sometimes to draft using the Compose window which has a useful set of gadgets to manage the text. Then I just copy it and paste it in TS. And my Compose window is set for frequent saves so it's virtually idiot proof.
Dr. Stella Immanuel, a Texas doctor who spoke at the press conference insisted that cysts were caused by people having sex with demons and witches.
Dr. Simone Gold, a doctor and lawyer in Los Angeles, founded the group and previously appeared on Fox News when Donald Trump was president. Gold also has connections to the Tea Party Patriots Foundation. Gold was also at the Washington riot on January 6, when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building in an attempt to stop the certification of 2020's election results that made Joe Biden president. Gold even made a speech a day earlier calling the covid-19 vaccine an “experimental, biological agent deceptively named a vaccine,” according to the Washington Post.
‘Ridiculous’: Vaccine myths cripple U.S. uptake as delta surges
By Josh Wingrove, Kristen V. Brown and Daniael Zuidijk
BLOOMBERG, Jul 22, 2021
…..Unvaccinated Americans cite a litany of myths to explain their hesitance to get shots, confounding local health officials battling yet another surge of coronavirus cases fueled by the more transmissible delta variant……
“Everything from Bill Gates putting a microchip in it — I’ve heard everything. It’s ridiculous,” said Tom Keller, chief executive officer of Ozarks Health Care in southern Missouri, a region with low vaccination rates that’s an epicenter of the U.S. delta outbreak.
“People are listening to social media instead of listening to their docs,” he said. “Somebody who has a million followers all of the sudden becomes the expert on not getting the vaccine.”
Just as the Biden administration appeared on the verge of snuffing out COVID-19 in the U.S., a shadow pandemic of disinformation threatens to prolong the crisis. Promulgated virus-like itself through social media platforms, a miasma of uncertainties, anecdotes and outright lies has seized the imaginations of Americans hesitant to be vaccinated, slowing the U.S. campaign to inoculate its population.
…..A political divide has also emerged, with Republicans far more likely to be unvaccinated than Democrats, polls show. Conservative media and some Republican officeholders have in some cases amplified disinformation, or have tacitly supported vaccine hesitancy by refusing to get shots themselves — or admit they have.
This doctor's account on the ground in Alabama makes pretty sad reading (I found the days old article linked via a Guardian story today):
Dr. Brytney Cobia said Monday that all but one of her COVID patients in Alabama did not receive the vaccine. The vaccinated patient, she said, just needed a little oxygen and is expected to fully recover. Some of the others are dying… “One of the last things they do before they’re intubated is beg me for the vaccine. I hold their hand and tell them that I’m sorry, but it’s too late.”…
“I hug their family members and I tell them the best way to honor their loved one is to go get vaccinated and encourage everyone they know to do the same.”
“They cry. And they tell me they didn’t know. They thought it was a hoax. They thought it was political. They thought because they had a certain blood type or a certain skin color they wouldn’t get as sick. They thought it was ‘just the flu’. But they were wrong. And they wish they could go back. But they can’t. So they thank me and they go get the vaccine. And I go back to my office, write their death note, and say a small prayer that this loss will save more lives.”…
“All these kids are about to go back to school. No mask mandates are in place at all, 70% of Alabama is unvaccinated. Of course, no kids are vaccinated for the most part because they can’t be,” Cobia said. “So it feels like impending doom, basically.”…
‘Why haven’t you gotten the vaccine?’ And I’ll just ask it point blank, in the least judgmental way possible,” she said. “And most of them, they’re very honest, they give me answers. ‘I talked to this person, I saw this thing on Facebook, I got this email, I saw this on the news,’ you know, these are all the reasons that I didn’t get vaccinated.
“And the one question that I always ask them is, did you make an appointment with your primary care doctor and ask them for their opinion on whether or not you should receive the vaccine? And so far, nobody has answered yes to that question.”
Maybe they could go all 'old school' trade unionism on him, and threaten to go on strike, until he gets his jab, or the organisers agree to ban him.
Tokyo Olympics: 'Foolish, selfish' US swimmer slammed for refusing Covid-19 vaccine
Phil Lutton 17:40, Jul 22 2021
American swimmer Michael Andrew has been vocal about his refusal to have a vaccine before the Tokyo Games. Now, as the reality of the Covid-19 situation at the Olympics starts to hit, former US swimmers are calling him out for putting the health of the powerhouse Team USA squad in peril……
“He sounded proud as he spoke, proud of his selfish, foolish ways. Proud to be a hindrance to his teammates, a worry to all. Proud to be doing whatever the heck he wants, no matter how it affects anyone else,…..”
Prominent USA Today columnist Christien Brennan.
“That Michael would make a decision that puts even a bit of risk on his teammates for his own perceived well-being frustrates me,”
Fellow US Swim Team member, backstroke gold medallist, Maya DiRado
Reading about US swimmer Michael Andrew's 'vocal' and 'proud sounding' refusal to be vaccinated, reminded me of an incident I had occasion to be involved in at a large unionised South Auckland workplace back in the good old days before the anti union Employment Contracts Act.
The workers had one of the best shop floor delegates that I ever met. Indefatigueable and fearless in confronting the boss on her workmates behalf. Naturally she was well loved and respected..
One day, (outside of work hours), she was involved in a bad car accident that left her with hand injuries and unable to work.
As a sign of respect and in recognition of her advocacy on their behalf, the workers took a vote to each garner their wages by $20 a week for one month to help their delegate's recovery. In those days all decisions on any collective action was decided by a vote of 60 to 40. I can't remember the winning percentage, but the vote was carried by the needed margin.
After a week I was contacted by the stand-in acting job delegate, who informed me there was a problem. Two women had point blank refused to give the delegate their $20, and it was creating some dissention among the rest. "Really? I was surpirsed. "Who are they?". She told me their names. I recognised one name. she was a new immigrant who I knew had been helped in the past by the injured delegate.
I told the acting delegate I would sort it out.
At lunch time both women were sitting together at a table in a corner of the canteen. They both recognised me as I approached. The woman I didn't know had a deeply lined face and a pinched expression and just glared at me. The other woman who I knew looked glad to see me. I sat down. "Do you you remember", I began, "when you first came to this country and this was your first job in New Zealand?"
"Do you remember that it created a fuss when everyone found out the employer had hired you on less than the agreed rate.?"
She nodded. "Then you would remember that time in the carpark where the delegate made you all wait outside while she went in to see the boss on your behalf." She nodded again. "Then you will remember when she came back and said the employer has agreed to pay you the full rate".
"What you mightn't know" i continued, "Is that the manager initially refused to increase your rate, saying he had no legal obligation to do so, as your qualifications weren't recognised in this country. The delegate told the boss, "I don't care where she comes from she is doing the same work as the rest of us, therefore she gets the going rate". The employer then told the delegate if she insisted that you be paid the same rate as the rest, he would have to let you go. The delelgate then threatened to call a strike, unless he relented.
"That was more than three years ago, I have my New Zealand registration now."
"Yes but for a long time you worked on the full rate, even without your New Zealand qualification. If it hadn't been for your delegate, you could have been working here for a lot less, or even not working here at all."
"I also know that with the extra money you made, you and your husband were able to scrape up enough between you to put a deposit on a house". (It was much easier in those days).
"So how about it? Will you agree to pay the levy?"
She said she would.
As I got up to leave, I remember the shocked blank look on the face of her friend, even the deep lines on her face had seemed to plump out.
Some would call that exerting undue influence, or even coercion.
I would call it democracy.
But what would I know. I am just an ignorant old working person from South Auckland.
P.S.
A week later I checked in with the acting delegate. "Is that worker paying the levy?" "Yes" she replied. "What about the other one?" "Yes, she is paying it too."
I accept that mpledger but it is not an insurmountable problem. I doubt anyone is suggesting lots of little vaccination clinics but rather one or two well placed pharmacies/GP clinics per region who have the skills, capacity and the desire to be involved in the project.
An example is my region – the North Shore. We have one large clinic in Birkenhead which covers an area stretching from Devonport in the south to Rodney in the North. It also stretches west into suburbs nominally considered to be part of West Auckland. That is a huge area and they are doing a tremendous job. I went there for my first jab and witnessed it for myself.
The main problem is that some elderly and vulnerable folk do not have the capacity (for whatever reason) to get to this clinic. Setting aside retirement villages and rest homes, there are significant numbers in this category who have not had their first jab yet. A local pharmacy or GP clinic with the skills required – plus easy access – in the south of the region and another in the north would see a lot more category 3 people coming forward for vaccination.
GPs also handle other vaccinations already and have trained nurses and appropriate storage. They are more trusted by some people than strangers in a big vax centre. Yet some DHBs seem unable to walk and chew gum at the same time. No wonder they are for the chop.
Hmmm… I know 2 ladies at age 88 and 93 and both have no phone or computer which seem to be the pre requisite to get anything going. Both still live in their own home and it should be their GP that should contact them so that they have certainty.
I am pretty certain that these 2 ladies are not he only ones who will forever be kept on the waiting list.
Dec.11/20 How New Zealand's film industry boomed during the pandemic
…Thanks to its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, the country is enjoying an unprecedented boom in film production, with directors seeking safe conditions, and that most elusive thing this year – a normal life.
International blockbusters including James Cameron's Avatar sequels, Amazon's Lord of the Rings series and Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog – starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Kirsten Dunst – all managed complex film shoots in New Zealand this year.
The country's home-grown movies have also received a boost at the box office by Kiwis supporting their industry, leading one local filmmaker to joke that they're now living in "the Hollywood of the Pacific".
…According to the New Zealand Ministry of Culture and Heritage, the industry supports about 21,000 local jobs and contributes $NZ 2.7 billion (£1.4bn) to its GDP every year. The government has also announced a NZ$50 million (£26million) production grant that Annabelle Sheehan hopes “will lead to a surge in New Zealand led stories.”
She also reports “about a doubling” of international inquiries for filming in the country in 2021.
I read a lot of Anne Perry and see that she has shifted from Scotland to the West Coast USA and I think that movie/s are under discussion. What about making some here. She is a very sensitive writer about people, and gets cliff-hanging plots, with strong characters. A lot are set in London, with one character being in the River Police, and another more to do with society foibles. But there is a WW1 series that are good. Just an idea.
This sounds like an Israeli intelligence coup. And after reading I see it as similar to arms dealers selling arms to both sides of a conflict, and if they know all about the two countries' weaknesses (through covert intelligence) then they know how to inflame them, and reap the benefit of selling them arms to fight it out. Perhaps we should go back to primitive bare knuckling, men or women, perhaps we should be gender free, or turn our trans men into national heroes.
why has our minister not led the conservation and gone bush ? One reason could be he has been placed in this position because the govt doesn’t want debate and he is incapable to (promoted to fail, I know a bit Machiavellian ) Sure there are some who have taken over the role in this matter (posts on TS) but it is the govt to take control, if they cannot enter into coheriant conversation it says alot and not very complementary . https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/447500/silence-over-hate-speech-laws-has-allowed-misinformation-in-minorities-say
Water , honey and a little red food colouring all in a happily and well enjoyed (now) empty bottle of wine and a dish . The bottle upended and framed on a wooden stand with a platform for the birds to stand on. There are a few tui's around, have not sighted a kereru since the initial lock down, last April. Then the number of native birds seen was very uplifting. But city life appears to have sent them back to a more peaceful area.
"The Cyberspace Administration of China — a powerful internet watchdog with Chinese Community Party links that trace all the way up to President Xi Jinping — banned Didi from app stores days after its initial public offering. The CAC, which has accused Didi of illegally collecting and using personal information, also joined several other government agencies, including ministries in charge of public and state security, in visiting the Beijing-based company to review its cybersecurity."
"The watchdog, whose influence has ballooned since Xi set the agency up in 2014, is also setting its sights on curtailing overseas listings. It recently proposed thatany company with data on more than one million users must seek the agency's approval before listing its shares overseas."
"Things are looking pretty dire for Chinese tech right now, especially firms that have been considering overseas listings as a way to raise money. The chill created by tensions, both within China's borders and with its greatest rival, could bring overseas investment in Chinese tech to a grinding halt. Investors are already rattled. China's unprecedented tech crackdown has wiped$1 trillion off the value of overseas-listed Chinese tech stocks since February — one of the worst sell-offs in history, Goldman Sachs analysts said in a research report last week."
"Goldman estimated that China's digital economy accounts for 40% of the country's GDP, and that the tech sector represented some 40% of the MSCI China Index, which is widely followed by global equity investors as a major benchmark."
"US investors now hold about $1 trillion in Chinese stocks. That includes about $590 billion worth of exposure in Hong Kong, $330 billion in the United States, and $135 billion in mainland China, according to a recent estimate by Goldman Sachs."
Looks like the reef fish just got shifted into flight mode, eh? Another crisis of capitalism may ensue – aversion to melt-down likely to be motivating central bankers all round the world, crisis meetings for contingency planning…
A new word has popped up in news stories about the MIQ booking nightmare – script. It's the key to Ietting a highly contested space in managed isolation.
Jon Brewer was offered this kind of high-tech help to get out of Singapore where he has been living with his wife.
But he says it is cheating and he refuses to break the terms and conditions of the MIQ booking system.
He's taking his fight to the Ombudsman and if that doesn't work he'll hire a lawyer.
"I want them to compel MBIE (Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment) to solve the problem. I went to them (the Ombudsman) because I complained to MBIE through their process that I was unable to interact with the site in a way that would allow me to get a booking the way that they have required me to use the site.
This public service announcement is a succinct 1 minute video push by every previous President (except Trump), and including 96-year old Jimmy Carter, urging all to get vaccinated.
Once we get to the hard-to-reach and moronic who don't want the vaccine, it would be time for all of our previous Prime Ministers still around to do the same on video, and they are: Palmer, Bolger, Shipley, Clark, Key, and English.
We need cross-Party leadership to assist in this nationwide effort.
Fortunately we in NZ have mostly avoided making the vaccine a political identity issue the way the Donnie One-Term cultists have. Who aren't likely to be influenced by Shrub's endorsement in any case. So I have doubts any of our former PMs would be influential among those that would need to be influenced.
The political 'leaders' we would need to get on board here in NZ include the likes of Billy Te Kookiha, Sue Kedgley etc. Good luck with that.
Good that someone's pointed this out. McClay's despicably disingenuous response reeked of the same desperation that runs throughout the national party at the moment.
What's important, though, is that the government keeps in the front of its mind what Coffey referred to, which is that all of this emergency and transitional housing malarkey is a temporary fix. This is easy to say but hard to execute. It's easy to see emergency and transitional housing getting a permanent spot within our wider social welfare system. Just look at what food banks have become. They were talked about as a temporary measure back around the time of the 1991 benefit cuts. Now the bloody Ministry of Social Development even funds them. An extremely sad state of affairs things have come to this, but it's nothing new because it's something that affects only the poor so nobody really gives a fuck, which is the only reason this has been allowed to happen, of course. The same thing will happen to emergency and transitional housing unless there are a clear and deliberate efforts to avoid it.
Can booze be used as anti-freeze? Did you ever hear that story about film star David Niven out skiing who noticed numbness in his vitals and found brandy helped?
Yes, ethanol is a very effective antifreeze. In water it lowers the freezing point progressively with increasing concentration all the way to about 93% by weight where it freezes at about -115C. Which is why it is about major ingredient in windscreen washer fluid in cold climates.
David Niven may have thought the brandy helped, but what it actually did was open up the capillaries near his skin which gives the sensation of warmth, but actually increases heat flow away from his vitals.
The rivers of rain we are getting are obviously an effect of climate change.
Should this be a concern for those Wellingtonians who live on the sides of steep hills. And from memory there are a lot of them. Perhaps planning has already taken this hillside/slippage/mud slide thing into consideration.
DHB board chair Sharon Shea first saw it on Thursday night, was offended and found it wrong, she said in a statement.
“Since last night, I have been informed it was designed by a Māori artist, and had input from Māori marketing specialists and it had gone through an approval process, including consultation with some local iwi,” she said.
I notice that many males ride on bikes in a way similar to how they would drive. Then there are ones in the twilight and dark all dressed in black, no brightness to show up, and they possibly won't have a light either. They don't indicate and they go through red lights relying on being nippy and thinking that cars can see them. They don't realise if they are in front of headlights that they are invisible.
Drivers have to wait at busy inter-sections longer because in the middle of the only space for half a minute is a cyclist, slower, vulnerable and defenceless. Then when they choose to ride on the footpath they can woosh by and then the pedestrian gets stressed out. It's mostly males, used to getting what they want, who have started the footpath stunt for adults, okay for children though they can be fast. Because it is males who are most vociferous, they are catered to without spending on a needed division on the footpath so both wheels and feet have their own space. Happy people intermingling on coloured mock-ups for council publicity mock reality about safety and ease for walkers.
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Two-thirds of the country think that “New Zealand’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful”. They also believe that “New Zealand needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful”. These are just two of a handful of stunning new survey results released ...
In today’s digital world, screenshots have become an indispensable tool for communication and documentation. Whether you need to capture an important email, preserve a website page, or share an error message, screenshots allow you to quickly and easily preserve digital information. If you’re an Asus laptop user, there are several ...
A factory reset restores your Gateway laptop to its original factory settings, erasing all data, apps, and personalizations. This can be necessary to resolve software issues, remove viruses, or prepare your laptop for sale or transfer. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to factory reset your Gateway laptop: Method 1: ...
“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
The allure of sport transcends age, culture, and geographical boundaries. It captivates hearts, ignites passions, and provides unparalleled entertainment. Behind the spectacle, however, lies a fascinating world of financial investment and expenditure. Among the vast array of competitive pursuits, one question looms large: which sport carries the hefty title of ...
Introduction Pickleball, a rapidly growing paddle sport, has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions around the world. Its blend of tennis, badminton, and table tennis elements has made it a favorite among players of all ages and skill levels. As the sport’s popularity continues to surge, the question on ...
Abstract: Soccer, the global phenomenon captivating millions worldwide, has a rich history that spans centuries. Its origins trace back to ancient civilizations, but the modern version we know and love emerged through a complex interplay of cultural influences and innovations. This article delves into the fascinating journey of soccer’s evolution, ...
Tinting car windows offers numerous benefits, including enhanced privacy, reduced glare, UV protection, and a more stylish look for your vehicle. However, the cost of window tinting can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article provides a comprehensive guide to help you understand how much you can expect to ...
The pungent smell of gasoline in your car can be an alarming and potentially dangerous problem. Not only is the odor unpleasant, but it can also indicate a serious issue with your vehicle’s fuel system. In this article, we will explore the various reasons why your car may smell like ...
Tree sap can be a sticky, unsightly mess on your car’s exterior. It can be difficult to remove, but with the right techniques and products, you can restore your car to its former glory. Understanding Tree Sap Tree sap is a thick, viscous liquid produced by trees to seal wounds ...
The amount of paint needed to paint a car depends on a number of factors, including the size of the car, the number of coats you plan to apply, and the type of paint you are using. In general, you will need between 1 and 2 gallons of paint for ...
Jump-starting a car is a common task that can be performed even in adverse weather conditions like rain. However, safety precautions and proper techniques are crucial to avoid potential hazards. This comprehensive guide will provide detailed instructions on how to safely jump a car in the rain, ensuring both your ...
Graham Adams writes about the $55m media fund — When Patrick Gower was asked by Mike Hosking last week what he would say to the many Newstalk ZB callers who allege the Labour government bribed media with $55 million of taxpayers’ money via the Public Interest Journalism Fund — and ...
Note: this blog post has been put together over the course of the week I followed the happenings at the conference virtually. Should recordings of the Great Debates and possibly Union Symposia mentioned below, be released sometime after the conference ends, I'll include links to the ones I participated in. ...
The following was my submission made on the “Fast Track Approvals Bill”. This potential law will give three Ministers unchecked powers, un-paralled since the days of Robert Muldoon’s “Think Big” projects.The submission is written a bit tongue-in-cheek. But it’s irreverent because the FTAB is in itself not worthy of respect. ...
One Could Reduce Child Poverty At No Fiscal CostFollowing the Richardson/Shipley 1990 ‘redesign of the welfare state’ – which eliminated the universal Family Benefit and doubled the rate of child poverty – various income supplements for families have been added, the best known being ‘Working for Families’, introduced in 2005. ...
Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
1. What was The Curse of Jim Bolger?a. Winston Peters b. Soon after shaking his hand, world leaders would mysteriously lose office or shuffle off this mortal coilc. Could never shake off the Mother of All Budgetsd. Dandruff2. True or false? The Chairman of a Kiwi export business has asked the ...
Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. ...
Chris Trotter writes – MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling – or non-handling – of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealand’s two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. The data is from February this ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications:Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
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"Meridian and Contact say they are seriously considering building a plant which would convert about 12 per cent of the country’s total electricity generation into green hydrogen. The plant would be based in Southland as an alternative user of the energy the Tiwai aluminium smelter uses, should it close as scheduled at the end of 2024."
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/125828691/the-hydrogen-problem-how-much-electricity-will-make-it-worthwhile
"Meridian and Contact’s first feasibility report suggests New Zealand is well placed to be a leading green hydrogen producer; its high proportion of renewable electricity meaning it could export as well as meeting domestic needs."
I suspect the devil is in the detail of how exactly hydrogen would be exported – is tank tech sufficiently secure yet? I wonder if export in liquid form would be feasible.
"On the export front, the Government already has agreements of co-operation with Japan and Singapore to research production and explore New Zealand’s export potential. A letter of intent was also signed some years ago between a New Zealand private consortium and several South Korean companies to explore hydrogen exporting, although MBIE says it has yet to progress. There is also the research alliance with Germany, which has already committed to moving to green hydrogen."
"According to the report, the investment in a green hydrogen economy could generate one-time benefits of $0.6 billion to $0.8 billion, and thousands of jobs, with ongoing benefits of $350 million to $450m per annum and hundreds of jobs. Some of those benefits might include attracting high tech talent and money from large sustainable investment funds, or chemical, fertiliser and other industries set up alongside the plant… Standards New Zealand has convened a hydrogen standards advisory group, and the Government will begin developing a hydrogen roadmap this year to examine the issue in more detail."
oh, so the Tiwai power isn't going to EVs now?
Probably depends on the business case, eh? Or, to be more precise, the various competing business cases involved. So cabinet will have a plethora of input (refined by relevant ministers before it gets tabled) to eventually consider…
renewable, climate-saving power generation as a capitalist lottery rather than say a strategic asset core to how we transition and get through the next century.
Well, it is how the cabinet is likely to decide. Jacinda being High Priestess of Neoliberalism – eventually to go down in history as St Jacinda the Neoliberal and featuring as such in the publications of next-century historians.
If Labour were to ditch muddle thro the middle and form a govt with the Greens with formal sustainability/resilience focus, your scenario would apply.
It's a contemporary variation on trickle-down theory. Instead of wealth trickling down from profit-driven enterprises, this time it will be salvational technology. God knows – but they may be right. Because we have spent 35 years eviscerating the State of both the will and the capacity to do much, this may be all we are left with.
I suspect the future road map will have a mix of EV's and hydrogen. Both have their distinct optimal use cases and it will be interesting to see how this plays out. EV's definitely have a head start, but there is reason to think hydrogen could play a very large role in some contexts.
The other aspect is using hydrogen for the direct (carbon free) conversion of iron ore to steel. One of my colleagues right now is an expert in this field and I'm impressed at what a big game changer this will be. Expect major plant startups using this technology within this decade.
Could the 'green hydrogen', proposed to be produced at Tiwai, be used to re-energise spent powdered iron fuel on an industrial scale?
Unburnt (un-oxidised) iron powder has a higher energy density than coal and even petrol.
For obvious reasons it can't burnt in Internal Combustion Engines, but it can be burnt in External Combustion Engines. That's right the good 'ol steam engine to you and me.
Once burnt the only remains from the combustion of Iron powder, (Fe), is FeO2. That's right, good 'ol rust to you and me. (also in the form of a powder).
To separate the O2 from the depleted iron, heated Hydrogen is passed over the powdered iron oxide to combine with the Oxygen to produce H2O which is vented as a vapour. The iron powder is ready to be burnt again. Repeatedy.
If the Hydrogen is produced from a renewable source, which would be the case at Tiwai, then the whole cycle is completely carbon free.
The energy from the hydrogen imbedded in the iron powder, can be stored for months and even years. Without the need for expensive pressure vessels, subject to leaks and explosions.
The only downside of iron powder as a fuel is its weight, (another reason why it will never be a suitable replacement fuel for cars trucks and aeroplanes).
In big surface vessels, ships and trains, where weight bearing is not such a big issue, iron powder is the perfect replacement for fossil fuels, especially the very dirty heavy bunker fuel oil used in ships.
Iron powder could also be burnt in base load power stations, (Huntly could stay open).
Iron powder could replace coal as a source of industrial heat, in bakeries and breweries and brick kilns, and for drying milk powder in dairy factories. And its non-toxic, did i mention that. (unlike oil and coal).
We could bring back the Kingston flyer as a test bed for this new technology.
(The Steampunks might have been on to something)
The following article from Popular Mechanics claims that iron fuel is the fuel of the future.
But is it?
What is the draw back?
it sounds too good to be true.
Where is the fly in the ointment?
Can anyone tell me?
Will this be one of the issues that the hydrogen standards advisory group, and the Government will begin examining in more detail?
You forgot the linky-tinky again.
Here it is, for everybody’s convenience: https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/green-tech/a34597615/burning-iron-powder-fuel-renewable/
My apologies. It was late, I was tired. Thanks for looking it up.
so a perpetual motion machine…..the energy required to convert and reinstate the iron is greater than the energy produced
We must have more energy than we know what to do with.
Spell check,anyone ! or are we not done with the hand wringing yet.?
With me it happened in primers 1,2 & 3. Come primer 4, I no longer needed to do it. But I gather the education system has slid steadily down the hill since the 1950s, so there may indeed be a real need for the techies here to come to your rescue.
@ Dennis
Dyslexia is a very real problem in Aotearoa/New Zealand,most folk in prison struggle with it an it excludes a large number of people pitisapating in DEBATE.thanks to Solkta advise,I've got my self a new dictionary.It may suit some for others not too ingauge,but I will keep trying even though it might take twenty minutes to write this.
Oh and too find the word can be difficuted,Phonics might help but that dictionary has disappeared.
Okay, thanks for that explanation. I hope the techies get onto your case.
I don't know much about dyslexia but can imagine the frustration. A trick that might or might not work is just to write the consonants – t's srprsng hw qckly txt wrttn ths wy cn b ndrstd! Hp ths hlps?
Thanks u.
Too be fair,I've always tried to spell out the word as I found txt languque a slippery slop.. but trust me I've tried many options. I see it as exclustionary,back to the dictionary,,exclusionery ,not there,Damn
My daughter has a form of dyslexia. We realised that there was no way she was going to cope in the public school system, and so we decided that we would try an alternative education for her at around the age of 9. We had been reading to her every day as she was unable to read at that time even the most basic text. The new school saw that she had a problem with connections between left brain and right brain. They began a series of curative eurythmy for her. Astoundingly, within 3 months she was able to read the first Harry Potter, and is now an avid reader, and writer. She still has difficulty with correct spelling on some of the more tricky English words.
As you will be well aware "dyslexia" does not mean "unintelligent". There have been many advances in human knowledge and understanding and outstanding achievements made by persons with dyslexia. A cousin of mine was unable to complete school certificate because of his poor scores in English, yet he became a Professional Member of the NZ Royal Society. It was my task to proof read the papers he was about to send for publication in scientific journals to check the English.
Macro, the science behind the "Wobble board" is interesting. It is used in education to assist with the practice of using both right and left brain to assist learning. The brain, the new frontier.
@Macro
Thanks and yes. hope your daughter is going well,intelligents has very little too do as you say,but jokingly with my self I wonder sometimes,Ha.the thing is i can speak well enough and understand what most words mean,may get out of order but hey-ho,just the print and lack of coninuity,which make a narritive difficult.I have made boo-bo's here more than once,cheers for your input.
Thank you. So long as I can understand the other person I really do not care about how they spell. I'd rather hear what they say.
@Sacha
Yes true that,online is a different kettle of fish.
I don't see how just writing consonants would help with sdxl.
DF Why bother to reply with only a sarky patronising response. If you can't help, don't want to, it's no help to get negatives from the self-consciously smart.
Tbh, I was actually trying to help. Seemed like everyone ignored the problem yesterday, so I figured replying would draw attention to the request, thus raising the probability of a tech solution…
Well just say so, Most of your reply was circumlocution. Is that spelt right? And amazingly I dd fnd mslf ndstndg.
What? Are you lobbying for the style police position at TS yet again?? Last time resulted in a collective slap-down, I seem to recall, but full marks for dogged perseverance anyway!
DF BS
Hmmm, I guess "bureaucrats" wasn't on the spelling list then.
Some people suffer word blindness Dennis. Your comment is rude.
Technically, it would be ignorant – since I had to google word blindness to discover that it is an established cultural term that I'd not previously encountered. Rude is intentional behaviour, where the intent is to offend the other person.
I see that have joined others in redefining the meaning of words to suit your narrative.
When aghast at the tendency of postmodernism to accelerate the evolution of language, conservatives seek solace in a cuppaT & lie-down. This method may not work for progressives – however a switch of focus from trivia to essentials usually does.
If, instead, you actually get off on picking nits, I'll try to generate a few more for you…
[Sure, if you want to make up shit to suit yourself then accept the consequences without trying to put blame on others. If you don’t like to be called rude then don’t be rude and start acting all victimized because we don’t understand that you operate at a higher dimension than we do or we didn’t receive the same education as you did or because we are dyslexic, for example. Just to avoid any post-modern confusion, stop your post-modern BS and maybe apologize to make up for your unintentional rudeness; it won’t kill you – Incognito]
See my Moderation note @ 1:40 pm.
I actually didn't blame anyone for anything – so why pretend that I did??
[actually, you did shift it to others and even the education system but you seem to ignore this, how convenient for you. Your comment @ 2.1.4.1.1.1 was a sly put down and avoiding taking responsibility too. I told you to stop your post-modern BS and will add to this your tendency to gaslight. In case it is not clear to you, your comments are being moderated and digging in is not smart. Maybe you keep quiet and take heed of the notes, yes – Incognito]
See my Moderation note @ 2:58 pm.
Since when has a "sly put down" been unacceptable? I see them here from others all the time. The about page doesn't forbid them, right? Gaslight is not a term I'm familiar with. I think you're just trying to bully me by operating a double standard. I'm puzzled as to why you are…
[You ask:
Since it is used as deflecting blame and responsibility for your own commenting behaviour, which you still haven’t accepted, I note, and you’re still digging in.
Google “gaslighting” and you will enrich your post-modern vocabulary.
Not smart at all to argue back to a Moderator and accusing them of bullying you.
In any case, not all context is the same, which might come as a surprise to you; different comments and commenters are treated differently depending on a wide range of reasons.
Since you seem to think that perception and interpretation are everything, so for your information, from the Policy:
Please don’t try to argue your way out of Moderation, as it won’t work and you simply end up wasting more Moderator time. I have given you two warnings for something quite minor, but you opted to escalate it and this is your last warning. Take heed and STFU or take a ban – Incognito]
See my Moderation note @ 3:36 pm.
Am happy to bring this up with Lynn again. Do you mean you want a spell check in the comment box? What do you need? Mis-spelled words are underlined, do you want to be able to click on them for the correct spelling?
What devices are you using?
I think they may mean this.
When a word is misspelt in the comment box, right clicking on it doesn't give the list of various possible correct spellings but a 'paste' option.
Might depend on browser settings as well.
yep, that it does to me.
solution, post the comment, hit edit and then the red underlined words are ok to be spell checked.
desktop/chrome
Yes, it's a long standing issue on TS, and as Sacha says I think it's browser/OS dependent. Seem to remember we had a discussion about this a while back, I'll see if I can find it.
It's not browser or OS dependent. If it was it would occur on all other website comment boxes and it doesn't.
Besides spellcheck is commonly the default. That the word is underlined shows that the browser recognises the incorrect spelling but for some reason doesn't initiate the next correct option. i.e. the list of possible words.
I'm using Firefox and occasionally Chrome on Ubuntu.
On my iPhone I have the ability to click on an underlined in red word and be offered options. Mobile version.
I mean that the way @lprent has implemented it here may behave differently on browsers. Or not. It was a maybe..
Yup, Lprent can do a lot on this site but he cannot control people’s devices and browsers and settings unless he hacks them, which he tends to not do 😉
There are always limits to what components like these can do.
Some devices are smarter than others.
Brigid
I'm on Firefox but probably behind with updates. Do you notice that the spellchecker frequently underlines an s and seems to want me to put z. I think my English speller has a US bias or something. It is quite 'aggressive' about this.
Yes. Insisting on 'z' rather than 's' is common. That's because the spell checker default is set to American spelling. You can choose 'add to dictionary' to teach the damned thing that we aren't all American. Hopefully it wont be underlined next time you use it.
Hello Weka,
Yes the words are underlined but right click just shows paste,and I can not see how I could use that,so yes is their a spell check but not on my lap top. I have most things including replys etc. regards Al
Oh Weka i think it is Ubuntu 1804.5 LTS
If you're on a laptop, a temporary work-around might be to use a word processor (e.g. libreoffice on linux) to draft things up and then paste them into the comment box.
I tend to do that with longer pieces or important emails.
Ta, I'll see if that works and me working it.
I'm on gmail and find it useful sometimes to draft using the Compose window which has a useful set of gadgets to manage the text. Then I just copy it and paste it in TS. And my Compose window is set for frequent saves so it's virtually idiot proof.
@ Grey,
Cheers. Idiot proof for me,it will need to be.
left for deadshark.
This works on a phone too, on an iPhone Notes will allow predictive text and correction as well as post-typing spell check.
Hello Weka,
Ubuntu 18.04.5 LTS
I don't know whether to laugh or cry
https://gizmodo.com/pro-trump-group-files-motion-against-fda-to-stop-covid-1847325556
Why not do both at the same time?
Where do such doctors do their training in the USA? They need to get certification somewhere as sane persons capable of helping their fellow citizens?
On a more serious note:
This doctor's account on the ground in Alabama makes pretty sad reading (I found the days old article linked via a Guardian story today):
https://www.al.com/news/2021/07/im-sorry-but-its-too-late-alabama-doctor-on-treating-unvaccinated-dying-covid-patients.html
'
How should his team mates deal with this guy?
Maybe they could go all 'old school' trade unionism on him, and threaten to go on strike, until he gets his jab, or the organisers agree to ban him.
How should we deal with vaccine hesitancy?
Reflections on democracy;
(debate carried over from Freedom Day)
Democracy has been described as the dictatorship of the majority over the minority.
I have had the honour and privilege to have had my political views about democracy shaped by my experience in the grass roots trade union movement…..
https://thestandard.org.nz/freedom-day/#comment-1804430
Reading about US swimmer Michael Andrew's 'vocal' and 'proud sounding' refusal to be vaccinated, reminded me of an incident I had occasion to be involved in at a large unionised South Auckland workplace back in the good old days before the anti union Employment Contracts Act.
The workers had one of the best shop floor delegates that I ever met. Indefatigueable and fearless in confronting the boss on her workmates behalf. Naturally she was well loved and respected..
One day, (outside of work hours), she was involved in a bad car accident that left her with hand injuries and unable to work.
As a sign of respect and in recognition of her advocacy on their behalf, the workers took a vote to each garner their wages by $20 a week for one month to help their delegate's recovery. In those days all decisions on any collective action was decided by a vote of 60 to 40. I can't remember the winning percentage, but the vote was carried by the needed margin.
After a week I was contacted by the stand-in acting job delegate, who informed me there was a problem. Two women had point blank refused to give the delegate their $20, and it was creating some dissention among the rest. "Really? I was surpirsed. "Who are they?". She told me their names. I recognised one name. she was a new immigrant who I knew had been helped in the past by the injured delegate.
I told the acting delegate I would sort it out.
At lunch time both women were sitting together at a table in a corner of the canteen. They both recognised me as I approached. The woman I didn't know had a deeply lined face and a pinched expression and just glared at me. The other woman who I knew looked glad to see me. I sat down. "Do you you remember", I began, "when you first came to this country and this was your first job in New Zealand?"
"Do you remember that it created a fuss when everyone found out the employer had hired you on less than the agreed rate.?"
She nodded. "Then you would remember that time in the carpark where the delegate made you all wait outside while she went in to see the boss on your behalf." She nodded again. "Then you will remember when she came back and said the employer has agreed to pay you the full rate".
"What you mightn't know" i continued, "Is that the manager initially refused to increase your rate, saying he had no legal obligation to do so, as your qualifications weren't recognised in this country. The delegate told the boss, "I don't care where she comes from she is doing the same work as the rest of us, therefore she gets the going rate". The employer then told the delegate if she insisted that you be paid the same rate as the rest, he would have to let you go. The delelgate then threatened to call a strike, unless he relented.
"That was more than three years ago, I have my New Zealand registration now."
"Yes but for a long time you worked on the full rate, even without your New Zealand qualification. If it hadn't been for your delegate, you could have been working here for a lot less, or even not working here at all."
"I also know that with the extra money you made, you and your husband were able to scrape up enough between you to put a deposit on a house". (It was much easier in those days).
"So how about it? Will you agree to pay the levy?"
She said she would.
As I got up to leave, I remember the shocked blank look on the face of her friend, even the deep lines on her face had seemed to plump out.
Some would call that exerting undue influence, or even coercion.
I would call it democracy.
But what would I know. I am just an ignorant old working person from South Auckland.
P.S.
A week later I checked in with the acting delegate. "Is that worker paying the levy?" "Yes" she replied. "What about the other one?" "Yes, she is paying it too."
Perhaps his teammates can force his personal medical choices on him… Although not all of us want to relive some kind of facist society.
If he feels so strongly about it, he can always quit. It's a free world afterall.
Maybe he could trade his celebrity/notoriety for a job in the Donald Trump re-election team.
The Qanon movement need a hard done by martyr, maybe he could apply for the position.
Ostracise him, isolate him and leave him on his tod to deal with the consequences of his bone-headed dogma.
Thread.
https://twitter.com/ggreeneva/status/1418217446121512960
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1418217446121512960.html
Just another Right Wing Superspreader-individualistic-covid-19-atrocious-expelia-docious
Don’t shove your infection down our throat.
(And into our lungs).
Idiot!
Link for that quote?
see comment at 3 they were replying to
It's from the gizmodo piece linked in Jenny's comment directly above it.
Snap
Ta
I think some DHBs don't like their little fiefdoms being penetrated by GPs and pharmacies. Sheesh!
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018805111/pharmacies-underutilised-in-covid-19-vaccine-rollout
It takes a lot more administrative effort to run lots of little vaccination clinics then one big clinic.
I accept that mpledger but it is not an insurmountable problem. I doubt anyone is suggesting lots of little vaccination clinics but rather one or two well placed pharmacies/GP clinics per region who have the skills, capacity and the desire to be involved in the project.
An example is my region – the North Shore. We have one large clinic in Birkenhead which covers an area stretching from Devonport in the south to Rodney in the North. It also stretches west into suburbs nominally considered to be part of West Auckland. That is a huge area and they are doing a tremendous job. I went there for my first jab and witnessed it for myself.
The main problem is that some elderly and vulnerable folk do not have the capacity (for whatever reason) to get to this clinic. Setting aside retirement villages and rest homes, there are significant numbers in this category who have not had their first jab yet. A local pharmacy or GP clinic with the skills required – plus easy access – in the south of the region and another in the north would see a lot more category 3 people coming forward for vaccination.
GPs also handle other vaccinations already and have trained nurses and appropriate storage. They are more trusted by some people than strangers in a big vax centre. Yet some DHBs seem unable to walk and chew gum at the same time. No wonder they are for the chop.
"Labtests NZ" collection centres too, but only two on the shore.
Hmmm… I know 2 ladies at age 88 and 93 and both have no phone or computer which seem to be the pre requisite to get anything going. Both still live in their own home and it should be their GP that should contact them so that they have certainty.
I am pretty certain that these 2 ladies are not he only ones who will forever be kept on the waiting list.
But hopefully not if their GPs make sure they get vaccinated
edit
Good things happened in the NZ film business during Covid19, now we have proved to the world that we are up to it.
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-55272486
Dec.11/20 How New Zealand's film industry boomed during the pandemic
…Thanks to its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, the country is enjoying an unprecedented boom in film production, with directors seeking safe conditions, and that most elusive thing this year – a normal life.
International blockbusters including James Cameron's Avatar sequels, Amazon's Lord of the Rings series and Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog – starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Kirsten Dunst – all managed complex film shoots in New Zealand this year.
The country's home-grown movies have also received a boost at the box office by Kiwis supporting their industry, leading one local filmmaker to joke that they're now living in "the Hollywood of the Pacific".
…According to the New Zealand Ministry of Culture and Heritage, the industry supports about 21,000 local jobs and contributes $NZ 2.7 billion (£1.4bn) to its GDP every year. The government has also announced a NZ$50 million (£26million) production grant that Annabelle Sheehan hopes “will lead to a surge in New Zealand led stories.”
She also reports “about a doubling” of international inquiries for filming in the country in 2021.
I read a lot of Anne Perry and see that she has shifted from Scotland to the West Coast USA and I think that movie/s are under discussion. What about making some here. She is a very sensitive writer about people, and gets cliff-hanging plots, with strong characters. A lot are set in London, with one character being in the River Police, and another more to do with society foibles. But there is a WW1 series that are good. Just an idea.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2021/07/22/the-pegasus-proclivity-on-recent-revelations-of-israeli-international-espionage/
This sounds like an Israeli intelligence coup. And after reading I see it as similar to arms dealers selling arms to both sides of a conflict, and if they know all about the two countries' weaknesses (through covert intelligence) then they know how to inflame them, and reap the benefit of selling them arms to fight it out. Perhaps we should go back to primitive bare knuckling, men or women, perhaps we should be gender free, or turn our trans men into national heroes.
why has our minister not led the conservation and gone bush ? One reason could be he has been placed in this position because the govt doesn’t want debate and he is incapable to (promoted to fail, I know a bit Machiavellian ) Sure there are some who have taken over the role in this matter (posts on TS) but it is the govt to take control, if they cannot enter into coheriant conversation it says alot and not very complementary .
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/447500/silence-over-hate-speech-laws-has-allowed-misinformation-in-minorities-say
"led the conservation and gone bush" lol
think you mean conversation….
Must have been my subconscious taking over as I was about to attach a liquid bird feeder to a tree out in the backyard 😉
I read that they are great once the birds take confidence that they are safe to feed from.
What would be the liquid you,d be feeding them Herodotus just out of interest ?
Water , honey and a little red food colouring all in a happily and well enjoyed (now) empty bottle of wine and a dish . The bottle upended and framed on a wooden stand with a platform for the birds to stand on. There are a few tui's around, have not sighted a kereru since the initial lock down, last April. Then the number of native birds seen was very uplifting. But city life appears to have sent them back to a more peaceful area.
https://www.selwyncomed.school.nz/courses/1627-make-your-own-birdfeeder/
Capitalists vs Controllers saga happening in China: "Beijing's sweeping tech crackdown has rocked firms from Alibaba and Ant Group to Meituan and Pinduoduo. And its efforts to control the sector spread even further this month." https://edition.cnn.com/2021/07/22/investing/china-us-ipos-intl-hnk/index.html
"The Cyberspace Administration of China — a powerful internet watchdog with Chinese Community Party links that trace all the way up to President Xi Jinping — banned Didi from app stores days after its initial public offering. The CAC, which has accused Didi of illegally collecting and using personal information, also joined several other government agencies, including ministries in charge of public and state security, in visiting the Beijing-based company to review its cybersecurity."
"The watchdog, whose influence has ballooned since Xi set the agency up in 2014, is also setting its sights on curtailing overseas listings. It recently proposed that any company with data on more than one million users must seek the agency's approval before listing its shares overseas."
"Things are looking pretty dire for Chinese tech right now, especially firms that have been considering overseas listings as a way to raise money. The chill created by tensions, both within China's borders and with its greatest rival, could bring overseas investment in Chinese tech to a grinding halt. Investors are already rattled. China's unprecedented tech crackdown has wiped $1 trillion off the value of overseas-listed Chinese tech stocks since February — one of the worst sell-offs in history, Goldman Sachs analysts said in a research report last week."
"Goldman estimated that China's digital economy accounts for 40% of the country's GDP, and that the tech sector represented some 40% of the MSCI China Index, which is widely followed by global equity investors as a major benchmark."
"US investors now hold about $1 trillion in Chinese stocks. That includes about $590 billion worth of exposure in Hong Kong, $330 billion in the United States, and $135 billion in mainland China, according to a recent estimate by Goldman Sachs."
Looks like the reef fish just got shifted into flight mode, eh? Another crisis of capitalism may ensue – aversion to melt-down likely to be motivating central bankers all round the world, crisis meetings for contingency planning…
https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/the-detail/story/2018804920/the-miq-nightmare
Today's Acronyms of note: MIQ and MoBIE
A new word has popped up in news stories about the MIQ booking nightmare – script. It's the key to Ietting a highly contested space in managed isolation.
Jon Brewer was offered this kind of high-tech help to get out of Singapore where he has been living with his wife.
But he says it is cheating and he refuses to break the terms and conditions of the MIQ booking system.
He's taking his fight to the Ombudsman and if that doesn't work he'll hire a lawyer.
"I want them to compel MBIE (Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment) to solve the problem. I went to them (the Ombudsman) because I complained to MBIE through their process that I was unable to interact with the site in a way that would allow me to get a booking the way that they have required me to use the site.
This public service announcement is a succinct 1 minute video push by every previous President (except Trump), and including 96-year old Jimmy Carter, urging all to get vaccinated.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCza6UGmRTk
Once we get to the hard-to-reach and moronic who don't want the vaccine, it would be time for all of our previous Prime Ministers still around to do the same on video, and they are: Palmer, Bolger, Shipley, Clark, Key, and English.
We need cross-Party leadership to assist in this nationwide effort.
Fortunately we in NZ have mostly avoided making the vaccine a political identity issue the way the Donnie One-Term cultists have. Who aren't likely to be influenced by Shrub's endorsement in any case. So I have doubts any of our former PMs would be influential among those that would need to be influenced.
The political 'leaders' we would need to get on board here in NZ include the likes of Billy Te Kookiha, Sue Kedgley etc. Good luck with that.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/125834890/labour-list-mp-tamati-coffey-hits-back-at-81m-rotorua-motel-purchase-critics
Good that someone's pointed this out. McClay's despicably disingenuous response reeked of the same desperation that runs throughout the national party at the moment.
What's important, though, is that the government keeps in the front of its mind what Coffey referred to, which is that all of this emergency and transitional housing malarkey is a temporary fix. This is easy to say but hard to execute. It's easy to see emergency and transitional housing getting a permanent spot within our wider social welfare system. Just look at what food banks have become. They were talked about as a temporary measure back around the time of the 1991 benefit cuts. Now the bloody Ministry of Social Development even funds them. An extremely sad state of affairs things have come to this, but it's nothing new because it's something that affects only the poor so nobody really gives a fuck, which is the only reason this has been allowed to happen, of course. The same thing will happen to emergency and transitional housing unless there are a clear and deliberate efforts to avoid it.
+100 Chris
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/whoseatingnewzealand/447490/booze-tops-new-zealand-exports-to-antarctica
Can booze be used as anti-freeze? Did you ever hear that story about film star David Niven out skiing who noticed numbness in his vitals and found brandy helped?
Yes, ethanol is a very effective antifreeze. In water it lowers the freezing point progressively with increasing concentration all the way to about 93% by weight where it freezes at about -115C. Which is why it is about major ingredient in windscreen washer fluid in cold climates.
David Niven may have thought the brandy helped, but what it actually did was open up the capillaries near his skin which gives the sensation of warmth, but actually increases heat flow away from his vitals.
Helps you feel better about freezing to death, I guess. And who doesn't like a St Bernard? 🙂
Have enough of it, and you won't be freezing to death.
I seem to remember that Niven applied it externally, dunkin' donut style.
McMurdo Station is dry.
The rivers of rain we are getting are obviously an effect of climate change.
Should this be a concern for those Wellingtonians who live on the sides of steep hills. And from memory there are a lot of them. Perhaps planning has already taken this hillside/slippage/mud slide thing into consideration.
Any geologists out there?
Race relations commissioner Meng Foon told Newshub the booklet is "racist to the core".
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2021/07/absolutely-culturally-ignorant-bay-of-plenty-dhb-covid-19-vaccine-booklet-withdrawn-from-circulation.html
Hold my beer.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/125840147/covid19-mori-artist-created-offensive-pamphlet-design-with-moko-on-cartoon-virus
DHB board chair Sharon Shea first saw it on Thursday night, was offended and found it wrong, she said in a statement.
“Since last night, I have been informed it was designed by a Māori artist, and had input from Māori marketing specialists and it had gone through an approval process, including consultation with some local iwi,” she said.
Ah. Thanks for that factual piece of info with links Robbie Wgtn.
Also on sensitive topics – women's prison study.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/re_covering/story/2018804704/03-guyon-espiner-auckland-women-s-prison
I guess that is what you call and own goal! What a waste of money. So Maori are being racist and offending themselves?
to be fair, in the article it seems that no one asked the people involved in the design what they thought.
maybe that will be in another article?
My god where reaching peak offence stipidity at any moment, people's heads are actually going to start popping soon.
bw How will we tell what the signs are?
Bulging eyes and head jerking?
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/447445/how-ordinary-kiwi-cyclists-started-being-seen-as-elitist
I notice that many males ride on bikes in a way similar to how they would drive. Then there are ones in the twilight and dark all dressed in black, no brightness to show up, and they possibly won't have a light either. They don't indicate and they go through red lights relying on being nippy and thinking that cars can see them. They don't realise if they are in front of headlights that they are invisible.
Drivers have to wait at busy inter-sections longer because in the middle of the only space for half a minute is a cyclist, slower, vulnerable and defenceless. Then when they choose to ride on the footpath they can woosh by and then the pedestrian gets stressed out. It's mostly males, used to getting what they want, who have started the footpath stunt for adults, okay for children though they can be fast. Because it is males who are most vociferous, they are catered to without spending on a needed division on the footpath so both wheels and feet have their own space. Happy people intermingling on coloured mock-ups for council publicity mock reality about safety and ease for walkers.
I've not noticed this. Where is it happening? Ninja cyclists will very quickly become ex ninja ex cyclists.
Remember when when we thought the internet would help the world become a smarter, more informed place. Unfortunately, we got morons by the gross.
https://twitter.com/vanbadham/status/1418795177217568769
What's even scarier is that people like that are allowed to vote. !!