I hope whomever getting there subsidized tesla today is greatful to this medium income solo dad who has donated $4000 in ute tax for buying a low budget but most economical ute .
All I can suggest is take Minister Woods advice. Take a shorter shower, turn off the lights and heater to counter the governments inability to cut their own spending.
Don’t worry lad- National want single storey houses connected by single lane roads submerged in water all through the North Island. They’ll give you a dollar back on your tax and then ensure you can’t get insurance. Nothing like a party with vision, eh?
Only one Tesla model sells for under the eighty grand according the Automobile Association. This is a period of transition, moving from old to new technology has all sorts of challenges and contradictions along the way–but as the saying goes, “what planet are you on?” https://www.aa.co.nz/cars/buying-a-car/car-buying-guide/new-cars/new-car-prices/tesla/
I have had an EV for a year now, driving past gas stations–priceless.
58% of EV imports to NZ in the year to March 23 are Chinese brands. In a couple of years time I predict that this will be 80%. Elon is discounting now because he can’t compete with the Chinese.
More worrying is that EX imports rose 127% to $1.23 billion to the year March 23. NZ's current account is suffering at the moment, partly because of EV imports. We are living beyond our means.
I had a 2012 Honda Fit RS hybrid until it found the St Georges Bay River in a cyclone. I thought that was amazingly efficient at about 5.5l/100km (I usually found it to be about 6-6.5). Way better than my old ICE Caldina. Not to mention was amazingly snappy to drive in sport. Also had 40L tank compared to the 60L in the Caldina and lasted weeks longer doing my minimal around town driving.
After the insurance company wrote off the Fit because of wet carpets and possible electrics.
So I got a 2014 Honda Fit RS hybrid. That is rated at 3.9L/100km if you drove like an old man.
Drove myself, partner, and luggage to Bay of Islands – 246km starting with a full tank. Did some running around there probably another 100km. Drove back another 246km. Had quarter of a tank showing when I got home. Filled up with 25 litres. Roughly 4.1-4.2L.
I wasn’t exactly driving conservatively. Drove at speed limit on ECO except when passing. Then I’d flip into sport and pass fast. This included passing lanes going uphill at from 80km/hr to 160km/hour in a couple seconds testing the little 1500cc engine.
What's your reasoning for buying a new, or fresh import, 'budget' ute?
Would have thought going for a second hand item that will get you through a couple of years until electrics arrive, and they are certainly coming, would have been a better bet.
Although if you need the certainty / reliability of a new vehicle (not necessarily guaranteed) then it's a different story.
I miss my VE Commodore, it died about 18 months ago. Cost a bomb to keep the bloody thing on the road. In the end the steering, timing chain and transmission all needed replacing for over $7k and it didn't seem worth it any more.
Bought a 2016 Atenza (diesel turbo) a couple of months later. Damn thing was even worse. Took it for a drive to Wellington, the turbo shat itself and fscked up the engine, needing a $10k repair job (I just got rid of it).
China will cease production of all combustion vehicles by 2035.
Singapore will stop registration of all combustion vehicles in 7 years.
Australia as of last month is putting penalties on importing all combusion vehicles and bringing in much stricter emission controls.
Those three – plus Japan – are the places we get our used vehicles from.
So inside 7 years we are all going to feel your same pain as we renew vehicles.
we're going to have to wait for the big fleets like Police and rental companies before we get a proper used electric car and ute surge to help the proletariat.
If we wanted real subsidy we'd turn ourselves into a steel company.
If we wanted real subsidy we’d turn ourselves into a steel company.
That won’t make one iota of difference if we didn’t retain NZ ownership. And if we did, we would lose considerable negotiating power with the government to attract subsidies. Multinational companies simply chase the best deals & locations and have very little sympathy for the little local guys on the ground and little attachment to the land they occupy. It’s just business to them, nothing personal.
"Our" negotiating power is extremely narrow since the electricity generators are no longer able to be controlled by the state as they are now only bare-majority shareholders.
NZ has long had a Comprador Capitalist bourgeoisie, where generally the local ruling class subordinates to offshore imperialist powers and corporates, as evidenced in years gone by with the meat industry, and now with the ‘big 4’ Aussie banks.
The current account deficit also tells the story of brands that operate in NZ but export their profits to the parent company overseas. The oil industry are experts at transfer pricing and the tech companies at tax dodging.
If Labour and Greens get back in there is better chances of housing prices continuing to flatten, making asset classes other than housing more attractive …
… for those who have the money to invest.
Also for those who have saved, the rate of those withdrawing $20,000 or more from Kiwisaver over the last 6 months is now pretty high.
I am not giving advice on anything, just noticing.
Well, as some have noted a capital gains based economy for many (on property) has starved investment in other areas.
And since the union busting 1991 Employment Contracts Act, which reduced workers power substantially, some SME owners got into the Bach, boat and BMW groove rather than development and improvement–which I observe living on the coast in the Far North.
Reduced union levels make a mockery of claims that wage rises affect inflation substantially.
Those three – plus Japan – are the places we get our used vehicles from.
The Japanese have been late to the BEV market and Toyota is betting the farm on hydrogen powered ICE vehicles, which may turn out to be the betamax moment for the Japanese auto industry.
NZ is already the discounted dumping ground for unable to sell elsewhere right hand drive ICE vehicles, and that will slow electric vehicle adoption here big time.
“This forecast is actually a really big signal for Fonterra suppliers and every other dairy farmer in New Zealand to sit back and say is my business worth carrying on in this current situation or do I need to start making alternative investment decisions or system changes,” Davison said.
Plus near to $1bi for M.bovis eradication. Oh ye of short memory. “At last count some $660 million had been spent over four years tackling M.Bovis out of an allocated funding pool of just under $870 million. Around $200 million of the $660 million was compensation to farmers, Ardern said" in 2022.
Tasers were meant to be substitutes for lethal force (in the NZ cops pitch to obtain them anyway). In reality they are often used as punishment and compliance devices by more sadistic plods.
Police execution by firearm have included distressed people wielding a golf club (Steven Wallace) builders hammers, knives and the unarmed. A few shots to the torso (heart) as per police weapons training soon sorted them out.
Police culture in Australia, NZ, and USA is still largely bent, violent, racist and misogynist–which needs to change asap.
That's a tough argument to make when the MSM is splashing ramraid videos everywhere and 501s are changing the dynamic of the NZ underworld.
We ought to think carefully before disempowering cops — I'd prefer not to follow the dumb "defund the Police" movement that has ruined Portland, Oregon
Disagree with you completely, Tiger Mountain. The NZ Police have significantly tightened their act up since the 80s, when we had the Muldoon-militia Red Squad, corrupt drug squads in cahoots with dealers, and bad boy behaviour like the long-term sexual predation experienced by Louise Nicholas.
The establishment of the Independent Police Conduct Authority, and the outcome of the Louise Nichols investigation resulted in significant cultural change in the Police. A push for diversity and more women in recruiting have also had downstream effects.
The NZ Police are nothing like the self-'policing' and racist culture in Australia and the US. And England's (but not Scotland's) police can be lumped in there. I do have to say some Australian State governments, like Palaszczuk's, are having a go at improving Police culture.
There is a real cringe factor the way some NZers fawn over NZ Police, some how thinking subservience will protect them. Unless you grew up in Sunday school and have lived a very quiet life you might realise that indiscretions by the law are common, not down to ‘bad apples’.
–Rare is the day IPCA finds against a cop, or even criticises one.
–NZ Police got facial recognition technology under way without proper authority and when caught out attempted to deny it.
–They illegally photograph and cherrypick young Māori–stopped for driving a car while Māori.
–Police discriminated when targeting a group of young African men in Auckland
They have a difficult job (though paramedics, adequate mental health workers, tow truck drivers and civilian search and rescue could likely do some of their work anyway), the officers are drawn from the same society we all live in, but they should set a better example if they want wider support.
I did not mention defunding. How about just making cops more accountable for their actions and less knee jerk thuggish. What would inspire a fit young man to think a 95 year old needed a good old cardiac threatening tasering?
If mental health services were working better there might be less of the “the mad the sad and the bad” for Police to deal with in the first place.
Didn’t read the stuff article obviously. Their answer:
No, but RW trolls like frothing over something.
The pictures showing politicians holding birds before their release into the wild are done with trained handlers and not as part of a constant exploitation program done during daytime for nocturnal creatures.
Creatives are undervalued, underpaid and burned out:
CNZ and NZ On Air have combined for a second time on this body of work to produce A Profile of Creative Professionals 2023 and the reading – while important – isn't pretty.
The quick take: creatives still are nowhere near the average wage earners in Aotearoa.
The research underlines that New Zealand’s creative professionals’ median income is $37,000, compared to the median of $61,800 for salary and wage earners in this country. But that's even an inaccurate view – given that 44% of creative professionals supplement their income with 'other work'; the median income from creative pursuits alone is $19,500 a year.
Creative New Zealand CEO, Stephen Wainwright states “The research continues to paint a bleak picture of remuneration in some parts of the arts sector and the sustainability of creative careers. Income growth is very low, and it continues to be a struggle for the majority of creative professionals to plan financially and to secure important loans such as mortgages.
“It’s not surprising seeing the stats to understand why 68% of creative professionals believe their income is not fair and over half report experiencing burnout in the last year.”
As Wainwright suggests, there has been little shock in the announcement – artists underpaid? who knew?? – but there's a growing frustration that the gap isn't just not closing, it's widening. Only a quarter of creative professionals are living comfortably on their present income.
The Big Idea fielded some strong reactions to Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage's (MCH) recent report touting that arts and creative is now a $12.9 billion sector in Aotearoa. There's been plenty to suggest that's not the reality for those on the ground.
Henri De Toulouse-Lautrec, Rembrandt, El Greco, Modigliani, Vermeer, Gauguin, and Van Gough all died in poverty.
If your genius means you are called to be an artist, poet, sculptor or writer don't expect your art to generate great wealth. At least not while you are still around to enjoy it.
Creative work isn't just fine art, If you think it isn’t worth paying for I trust you don’t consume writing, television, film, games, performance, music or any other things produced by creatives then:
People who create the art you consume deserve a living for their efforts. It is an antiquated attitude to romanticise the 'starving artist' trope:
Romanticizing the idea of impoverished artists struggling to create art at the expense of financial security reinforces the notion that artists should create “for the sake of art” alone, with no expectation of compensation, and normalizes the idea that an inability to support one’s self is an inherent part of life as an artist.
That tells anyone they are marginal occupations best left to the semi-retired or rich.
Unemployment is still so low at 3.4% that there's plenty of opportunity to get out of low paid occupations and get into something more financially rewarding.
Creatives will continue to be undervalued if the elitist attitudes you express are continually promulgated.
In times of crisis, arts, culture and creative experiences play an essential role. Whether through a music gig, a performing arts festival, a visual art exhibit or a well-thumbed book—these bring joy, comfort, and relief in troubled times.
Taking part in creative activities and events boosts individual and collective wellbeing, brings communities together, and keeps our social bonds in tune.
But the full potential of arts, culture and creativity to create positive social change has been held back by cycles of crisis in Aotearoa New Zealand’s creative sector.
Over 3000 research studies inform a World Health Organisation report published in 2020 that clearly links the arts to individual and community health. Some of that research makes it clear that the arts are cheaper and more effective interventions in mental health than medical therapies. Research shows the arts helped many people cope with lockdowns. It seems ludicrous then, as we recover from Covid, in the barren wasteland of cones and $2 shops in the CBD, we have a mayor who threatens the existence of the arts as a publicly-funded good.
Research demonstrates that the arts are lifelines for many of our young people in this city. They provide the reason to get out of bed, to mix and meet with others. To cut community youth arts programmes will feel like further abandonment for those who have used the arts as gateways to return to meaningful purposeful lives. The proposed cuts in this context are both cruel and short-sighted.
Right. So your moan is you don’t think they pay you enough. Join the long line behind nurses, teachers, bus drivers, barristas etc … all providing a service people want.
Failing that, if you’re non union, suggest you have a word with your employer directly and try convince them why you think you are worth more.
Luxon has become the gift that keeps on giving. I really thought the Nats were serious about winning the election this year.
But his stupid comments around free prescriptions, flip-flop on housing intensification, $1.4 billion dollar accounting error from his alt budget, mythical tax cuts for the wealthy, etc etc… offers nothing for ordinary Kiwis.
Luxo is spending too much time talking to farmers and cadaverous Rotarians, calls them the "real people", while disrespecting Māori and complaining about Te Reo. No wonder he is losing in the polls.
I think you are right about Luxon talking only to the people he is comfortable with…that is the impression I get.
The flip flop on housing densification loses him many votes among the young who are yet to buy a house ….but he doesn't talk to them….he has 7 houses after all.
Yeah he's too focused on the landlord class. Problem is he says the quiet stuff out loud. John Key was much more subtle and deceptive by crapping on about the underclass to get elected (then doing approximately zilch for them)
Yes, John Key was sly & subtle, which is how he earned his nickname of ‘smiling assassin’. Luxon is as subtle & shambolic as a blundering bouncer on steroids, politically speaking.
Policy has always been a National Party weakness. They seem to do better with feel-good fluff pieces and minimal difficult questions, and to take pot shots at government errors while promising pie in the sky solutions.
But if the candidates are basically unlikeable the PR stuff is pushing shit uphill
He seems desperate, flailing around for something, anything that might get traction. Would have been far better to state a bunch of principles and ambitions – NZ needs a leader with vision, not some guy randomly making up policy on the hoof
No tacking for Luxon; rowing in circles and catching crabs.
I do like those Big Hairy News snippets. From 10 min onwards is a discussion with Horizon pollster of how NZers saw Luxon in Nov 2022, and of vote pattern shifts from 2020 election. At the start, this poll shows NZ First still a critical player.
He must be doing something right. According to tonights One News poll he is going to be PM after the election with a National -ACT coalition.
In this post-Budget poll National is up by 3%, ACT is steady, Labour is down by 1% and The Green Party have dropped by 4%. Meanwhile Hipkins has dropped in the PM stakes and Luxon is up.
The problem for Luxon is that most ACT supporters would prefer Seymour as PM, that keeps him lower than Hipkins
That was once a problem for Clark before becoming PM (the numbers preferring Peters as Leader of the Oppositon – problem solved when Peters went with National in 1996).
PS Polls are showing L-G-TPM 62-58, then NACT 62-58. It's a race not yet run.
You are probably correct about the PM numbers. It is only the ACT party, out of all the minor parties in Parliament, who has a leader who can even be considered as a possibility for PM.
Can you imagine anyone who thinks that Davidson, Shaw, Ngarewa-Packer or Waititi could possibly be PM?
I agree that the numbers are far too close to call.
Luxon certainly doesn't have the popular appeal of a Key or an Ardern – but, then neither did Helen Clark before being elected (IIRC – I can't find the preferred PM results that far back)
However, that's a known issue for National (he's never been Mr Popularity).
What must be concerning for Labour is that Hipkins isn't exactly resonating with the electorate either.
Of course, that only matters for people who vote for a party based on whether or not they like the leader. Perhaps we'll see an election that is more about policy and less about personality.
He might need heavy protective gear to make it that far – the entitled ones resent leaders that have no sinecures to grant. I can smell the barbecue already.
Given the extent of the offending, the planning and strategising, and the number of women assaulted, it's hard to see why they should be let out again unless they can demonstrate remorse, substantial change in attitude, and reparation. Not that NZ law allows for that.
They used a WhatsApp group to share their rape/sexual assault videos and images. Only three were on trial but dollars to donuts there were more than three group members and if there's any justice to be had, those group members will be scared to fucking death waiting for the knock on the door.
Signs for National's "Get NZ Back On Track" tour have popped up around the district over the last couple of days, seems they might be starting in Queenstown.
Have we got an guerrilla songwriters around who can come up with some images of modern trains to plaster across them… Leave the National logo in the top left, and "Get NZ Back On Track" in bottom right, but the rest a train. Much better billboard.
My local (new) barber just left Queenstown, to get that place on track they need to ban AirBNB. Normal workers cannot live anywhere nearby and end up sleeping in cars
I venture a solid health and safety case could be made against employers who leave workers living in vehicles for any length of time. Fatigue is a risk.
They're Sweeney Todding themselves and don't even realise it. Come and work in Queenstown where you will have splendid views of spectacular empty mansions from the bridge you're sleeping under. Spend your minimum wage on overpriced groceries.
There's a clear choice this election – a choice between the 'Coalition of Chaos' or a National-led government that will fix the economy to lower the cost-of-living, restore law and order, improve our schools and healthcare, and Get New Zealand Back on Track.
National has a plan to fix our economy by stopping wasteful spending, providing tax relief
The unaware irony of them. A choice, between the 'Coalition of Chaos' OR a National-led government ? !….like a Nact govt wouldnt literally be the Coalition of Chaos for the majority of NZ : (
And stopping wasteful spending? Geez yea, about that…
Getting back on track is appropriate for National because the (railway) tracks will one of the first thing that the ACT Party will demand is sold off if their junior coalition partners National win the election this year.
But as for Queenstown?
Preaching to the converted I'd say.
Incidentally, I noticed in downtown Masterton today, the National candidate Mike Butterick opened up a campaign office just a few doors down from Labour's Keiran McAnulty's existing office.
"Get NZ Back on Track" has a nice ring to it, hopefully some Government whether National or Labour will start governing for the people and not themselves and their cronies.
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The Parliament Protests and the Posie Parker Rally have exposed the extent to which the Police frontline is under-resourced and under-funded.Thomas Cranmer writes – Soaring levels of crime and high profile protests at Parliament and the Posie Parker rally have made policing a political hot topic ...
Buzz from the Beehive It was tempting – for a moment – to suggest Rachel Brooking become an Associate Minister of Finance to keep Grant Robertson on the straight and narrow. The temptation was triggered by Brooking’s speech (as Associate Minister for the Environment) to the WasteMINZ conference in Hamilton, ...
If net migration keeps pounding along at a rate of over 100,000 per year the implications for the economy, residential land prices, interest rates and Government borrowing will be profound. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Stronger-than-forecast net migration and population growth looks set to make Labour’s last Budget before ...
Chris Hipkins is blazing his way through New Zealand’s foreign policy. The New Zealand Prime Minister’s fast-but-furious visit to Papua New Guinea this week – which saw Hipkins spend just 23 hours in Port Moresby, the PNG capital – was the PM’s fourth such rapid international trip since he took ...
It sometimes occurs to me. When I’m thinking what to write about. That I spend an awful lot of time reading about idiotic things that idiots have said.The radio, the news, social media. You look at the content coming out and it makes you remember not to swim at a ...
Thirty-six years ago, almost to the day, after he launched Fiji’s first military coup in 1987, the now-elected Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, yesterday awarded the Prime Minister of India Fiji’s highest honour. That 1987 coup was targeted against a Labour government which contained Indian Ministers and led to fears ...
It has been a while since I last did a write up of my D&D shenanigans. Part of it has been motivation, part of it has been that the more interesting stuff has been in the form of one-shots, rather than long campaigns. I actually DMed a three session ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). The Last of Us tells the story of a fungal zombie apocalypse... triggered by climate change. So could this kind of ...
‘No one cares’: 25-year-old with extensive family cancer history can’t access genetic testing That’s the headline on a Stuff report which alerted the public to the experiences of a woman who was pregnant with her first baby when she found out she was likely to be at higher risk of ...
A short list of some of the fastest things in the world:Cat versus snakeUsain BoltPeople who claim to support climate action, coming up with their objection to any goddam specific action whatsoeverYesterday was a good day — a very good day — in the short history of decarbonising ourselves.We were told ...
A few decades ago I wrote an essay about the impact of state terror on Argentine society. One of my points was that terrorism was used by the military dictatorship known as the “Proceso” not because it was particularly effective … Continue reading → ...
Buzz from the BeehivePoint of Order looked again on the government’s official website for statements from Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods about two energy-related bills that were rushed into law last week. We can’t say she has been silent, because she had lots to say in parliament ...
The Justice Committee has reported back on the declaration of inconsistency on the voting age. Sadly, the recommendations won't surprise anybody: the Labour-majority committee recommended that Parliament immediately lower the voting age for local government, and that it "investigate" lowering it for general elections (while remembering to fix a bunch ...
A conversation between a minister and advisor.Brian Easton writes – Come in, Sit down. Thank you Minister. We have to deal with the current crisis. You know what a crisis is? No, actually I don’t, Minister. I looked it up in a dictionary. None of its ...
“Our sympathy for the poor and disadvantaged is this big.”At need, New Zealanders will use their vote as a shield. From preference, they will use it as a tool. But, increasingly, they are refusing to use it as a weapon. Labour grasps the need to “be kind”. Until National does ...
Goodness gracious: The National Party has come out against corporate welfare! Or at least it is dead against the government’s $140 million subsidy deal with New Zealand Steel. The deal will enable the installation of a new electric arc furnace, will reduce the company’s reliance on coal, and will mark ...
As predicted in 1967 by Manabe and Wetherald, the stratosphere has been cooling. A new paper by Ben Santer and colleagues has appeared in PNAS where they extend their previous work on the detection and attribution of anthropogenic climate change to include the upper stratosphere, using observations from the ...
After the PM donned NZ Steel-branded hi-vis and announced funding towards a new electric arc furnace, National has accused the Government of paying ‘corporate welfare’ to NZ Steel’s ASX-listed Australian owner, BlueScope Steel. But has Luxon just fallen (again) into a trap set by Labour? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The ...
Last week the government released their latest budget. By in large it seems to have been fairly well received and one thing that strikes me about it is there was not one large headline grabbing initiative but lots of little ones that added up. It’s a shame the government can’t ...
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. So Brexiteers who have been banging on about European over-regulation for years will be delighted at the Damascene call from France’s President Macron for a “European regulatory pause” – particularly it seems for green regulation. Sounding like someone else, he ...
The sheer arrogance of the assumptions that went flying out, the insolence of the ignorance of it all, it’s sometimes breathtaking, at other times so sadly, infuriatinglypredictable. Like the sun coming up, one can almost set your watch to it. But not only was the reaction from ...
The National Party has released another confused and rushed policy that will only further worsen the inequality that is driven by unaffordable housing. ...
Welcome to sunny and calm Wellington, which I know those of you who are visiting would of course expect to be the case. It’s been a busy week since we put forward the 2023 Budget. Labour MPs have been out across the motu giving the good oil on the Budget. ...
Kia orana, Talofa lava, Mālo e lelei, Taloha ni, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Noa’ia e mauri, Ni sa bula vinaka, Kia ora, Tena Koutou Katoa. Labour Party President Jill Day, Prime Minister Hipkins, Party faithful, delegates and comrades, whānau and friends, it’s a privilege to be here today. I begin my ...
One of my kaumātua up North stood before the Waitangi Tribunal and said: ‘He aha kē ahau, te tangata kore hara i mua i te Atua, e tu nei kia whakawaatia e koe, te tangata tāhae, te tangata hara, te tangata kore tikanga?Ko koe kē te tika, kia tū ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take responsibility for reducing inflation by taxing wealth instead of leaving RBNZ to continue hiking the Official Cash Rate. ...
The Green Party has released its list of candidates for the 2023 election. With a mix of familiar faces, fresh new talent, and strong tangata whenua voices, this exceptional group of candidates are ready to set the direction of the next Government. ...
Thank you for your invitation to be here, after yesterday's budget, and for the opportunity to talk with you. In the economic and social turmoil following the arrival of COVID 19 in New Zealand many concerns emerged. How would we keep our economy going and maintain our exports which are ...
At the heart of Budget 2023 is a cost of living package, designed to ease the pressure on New Zealanders in the face of global inflation and the challenges of rebuilding from extreme weather events. It provides practical cost of living relief across some of the core expenses facing Kiwis ...
A long standing Green Party policy has been extended yet again in this year’s Budget. This will deliver warmer homes for thousands of people, lower power bills, and cut climate pollution. ...
The Green Party is fully on board with free bus and train travel for under 12s and half price travel for under 25s - next stop, free travel for all under 18s, students, and apprentices. ...
The Green Party welcomes today’s release of the report of the Ministerial Inquiry into slash and sediment, and are clear that the forestry industry must foot more of the bill. ...
When Chris Hipkins appeared on the BBC’sSunday with Laura Kuenssberg, he described himself as a “technical republican”. At least it was clearer than when he stumbled over what a woman is. In theblue corner, the other “Chris” said, “New Zealand will become a republic, eventually.” Of course, they both supported ...
May is significant in the New Zealand parliamentary calendar, given the Minister of Finance delivers the Budget - a whopping $128 billion last year, over a third of our GDP. This year Grant Robertson is riding a unicycle on a tightrope. The sugar rush is over but will he still ...
‘Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive’ It’s now revealed that Meka Whaitiri consulted with the Speaker before her resignation announcement and sought guidance on the process. So the Speaker knew before Meka sent the letter to him of her intent to defect to ...
Trade and Export Growth Minister Damien O’Connor joined ministerial representatives at a meeting in Detroit, USA today to announce substantial conclusion of negotiations of a new regional supply chains agreement among 14 Indo-Pacific countries. The Supply Chains agreement is one of four pillars being negotiated within the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework ...
Our most spoken Pacific language is taking centre stage this week with Vaiaso o le Gagana Samoa – Samoa Language Week kicking off around the country. “Understanding and using the Samoan language across our nation is vital to its survival,” Barbara Edmonds said. “The Samoan population in New Zealand are ...
Over 90 per cent of New Zealanders are expected to receive this year’s nationwide test of the Emergency Mobile Alert system tonight between 6-7pm. “Emergency Mobile Alert is a tool that can alert people when their life, health, or property, is in danger,” Kieran McAnulty said. “The annual nationwide test ...
ENGLISH: Whakatōhea and the Crown sign Deed of Settlement A Deed of Settlement has been signed between Whakatōhea and the Crown, 183 years to the day since Whakatōhea rangatira signed the Treaty of Waitangi, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little has announced. Whakatōhea is an iwi based in ...
Elizabeth Longworth has been appointed as the Chair of the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO, Associate Minister of Education Jo Luxton announced today. UNESCO is the United Nations agency responsible for promoting cooperative action among member states in the areas of education, science, culture, social science (including peace and ...
Tourism and hospitality employer accreditation scheme to recognise quality employers Better education and career opportunities in tourism Cultural competency to create more diverse and inclusive workplaces Innovation and technology acceleration to drive satisfying, skilled jobs Strengthening our tourism workers and supporting them into good career pathways, pay and working conditions ...
Tourism and hospitality employer accreditation scheme to recognise quality employers Better education and career opportunities in tourism Cultural competency to create more diverse and inclusive workplaces Innovation and technology acceleration to drive satisfying, skilled jobs Strengthening our tourism workers and supporting them into good career pathways, pay and working conditions ...
Greater access to primary care, including 193 more front line clinical staff More hauora services and increased mental health support Boost for maternity and early years programmes Funding for cancers, HIV and longer term conditions Greater access to primary care, improved maternity care and mental health support are ...
Greater access to primary care, including 193 more front line clinical staff More hauora services and increased mental health support Boost for maternity and early years programmes Funding for cancers, HIV and longer term conditions Greater access to primary care, improved maternity care and mental health support are ...
The Government continues progress on the survivor-led independent redress system for historic abuse in care, with the announcement of the design and advisory group members today. “The main recommendation of the Royal Commission of Inquiry’s Abuse in Care interim redress report was for a survivor-led independent redress system, and the ...
Health Minister Ayesha Verrall has opened two new state-of-the-art mental health facilities at the Christchurch Hillmorton Hospital campus, as the Government ramps up its efforts to build a modern fit for purpose mental health system. The buildings, costing $81.8 million, are one of 16 capital projects the Government has funded ...
The Government is continuing to invest in our regional economies by announcing another $24 million worth of investment into ten diverse projects, Regional Development Minister Kiri Allan says. “Our regions are the backbone of our economy and today’s announcement continues to build on the Government’s investment to boost regional economic ...
An $8 million boost to New Zealand Māori Tourism will help operators insulate themselves for the future. Spread over the next four years, the investment acknowledges the on-going challenges faced by the industry and the significant contribution Māori make to tourism in Aotearoa. It builds on the $15 million invested ...
Defence Minister Andrew Little has marked the arrival of the first 18 Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles for the New Zealand Army, alongside personnel at Trentham Military Camp today. “The arrival of the Bushmaster fleet represents a significant uplift in capability and protection for defence force personnel, and a milestone in ...
Aotearoa New Zealand is providing NZ$3.5 million to help meet urgent humanitarian needs in Sudan, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. The severe fighting between the Sudan Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces has had devastating impacts for civilians. At least 705 people have been killed and 5,287 injured. ...
Repairing a Hawke’s Bay organic composting facility devastated by Cyclone Gabrielle is among the latest waste reduction projects getting Government backing, Associate Environment Minister Rachel Brooking announced today. “Helping communities get back on their feet after the devastating weather that hit the northern parts of the country this year is ...
About 6,100 more GP, community nurses and kaiāwhina will be eligible for pay rises of 8% on average to reduce pay disparities with nurses in hospitals, Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. The top up comes from a $200 million fund established to remove pay disparities between nurses ...
New Jobs and Skills Hub to begin construction in Hawke’s Bay The Hub will support the building of $1.1billion worth of homes in the region and support Cyclone Gabrielle rebuild and recovery. Over 2,200 people have been supported into industry specific employment, apprenticeships and training, by these Hubs across NZ ...
Tēnā koutou e nga maata waka. Kia koutou te mana whenua tēnā koutou Ngā mate huhua o te waa, haere, haere, haere atu ra. Hoki mai kia tātou te kanohi ora e tau nei, Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa. Tēnā koutou i runga i te kaupapa o te ...
The Government has launched a new tool to help small business owner-operators manage and improve their mental wellbeing, Small Business Minister Ginny Andersen announced today. The Brave in Business e-Learning series is another tool the Government has delivered to support small businesses with their mental health and wellbeing. “A pandemic, ...
Minister for Racing Kieran McAnulty has announced the approval of a 25-year partnership between TAB NZ and UK betting company Entain that delivers at least $900 million in guaranteed funding for the racing industry over the next five years. Entain, a UK based group that operates multiple sports betting providers ...
The Government has delivered the first of three significant water security projects in Northland, boosting regional business and climate resilience, with the opening of Matawii reservoir today, Regional Development Minister Kiri Allan announced. A $68 million Government investment supported the construction of the reservoir, along with two other water storage ...
Trade and Export Growth Minister Damien O’Connor will travel to Detroit tomorrow to represent New Zealand at the annual APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade meeting from 24 – 29 May. Whilst in Detroit, Damien O’Connor will also host a meeting of Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) Ministers ...
I want to start by thanking Ngāi Tahu and the Murihiku Regeneration Collective for hosting us here today. Back at the Science and Innovation Wananga in 2021, I said that a just transition in New Zealand must ensure Iwi are at the table. This is just as true now as ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta today announced the appointment of diplomat Dr James Waite as Aotearoa New Zealand’s next Ambassador to Mongolia. He is currently the Deputy Head of Mission at the New Zealand Embassy in Beijing, a role he will continue to hold. “New Zealand and Mongolia share a warm and ...
Biggest-ever investment in property with more money for new sites and modernisation Roll-out of learning support coordination in kaupapa Māori and Māori Medium Schooling Boost in funding for iwi and schools to work together on Local Histories content Substantial support for Māori Education has continued in Budget 2023, including ...
Applications for the next round of Creatives in Schools will open on Friday 16 June 2023, Minister of Education Jan Tinetti and Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Carmel Sepuloni announced today during a visit at Te Wharekura o Mauao in Tauranga. “The Creatives in Schools programme funds schools and ...
Tena koutou katoa and thank you all for being here and welcoming me to your annual conference. I want to acknowledge being here in Tainui’s rohe, and the mana of Kingi Tuheitia. I hate waste. So much so that when we built our home in Dunedin, I banned the use ...
Southland’s Just Transition is getting a further boost to help future-proof the region and build its economic resilience, Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods announced today. “This Government is committed to supporting Southland’s just transition and reducing the region’s reliance on the New Zealand Aluminium Smelter at Tiwai Point,” Megan ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has concluded a series of successful international meetings with Pacific region leaders in Papua New Guinea. Prime Minister Hipkins secured constructive bilateral discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, PNG Prime Minister James Marape, Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown and United States Secretary of ...
On Friday 19th May, Minister Tinetti facilitated a meeting between NZEI and PPTA with the Ministry of Education to discuss options for finding a way forward in the current stalled collective bargaining. The meeting was constructive, and the parties shared a willingness to work towards a solution. The following was ...
Eighty-nine households will soon benefit from secure, renewable, and more affordable energy as five community-level energy projects are about to get underway, Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods announced today. Five solar projects – in Whangārei, Tauranga, Palmerston North and Christchurch – are the first to receive funding from the ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has confirmed New Zealand will provide NZ$15 million in emergency budget support for Cook Islands in its ongoing recovery from the impacts of COVID-19. New Zealand’s support was confirmed during a meeting with the Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown in Papua New Guinea today. “New ...
The Government’s continued recognition of and support for the important place Kapa Haka has in Aotearoa was evident today at a celebration at Te Wharekura o Kirikiriroa Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Willow-Jean Prime said. “Our investment of $34 million over two years ensures that this kaupapa is ...
The Government is partnering with New Zealand Steel to deliver New Zealand’s largest emissions reduction project to date, with half of the coal being used at Glenbrook steel to be replaced with electricity to recycle scrap steel. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins made the announcement alongside Energy and Resources Minister Megan ...
The Government has welcomed the Stage One Waitangi Tribunal Wai 2750 – Housing and Housing Services Kaupapa Inquiry report into homelessness released today. Minister of Housing Hon Megan Woods and Associate Minister of Housing (Māori) Hon Willie Jackson as Co-Leads for the government, with Associate Minister of Housing (homelessness) Hon ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has confirmed his upcoming visit to Papua New Guinea. The Prime Minister travels to Port Moresby on Sunday May 21, and will meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, PNG Prime Minister James Marape and Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown. He has also been invited ...
A Bill requiring facts about the fairness and efficiency of New Zealand’s tax system to be reported and published annually has been tabled in Parliament today. Revenue Minister David Parker said the Taxation Principles Reporting Bill would ensure that tax information is reported against a set of fundamental tax principles. ...
NZ joins global effort to ensure multinationals pay a minimum rate of tax Tax on ACC, MSD lump sum payments changed to reduce amounts owing for some KiwiSaver topups for child carers taking paid parental leave Implementing changes to trustee tax and tax relief for flood-hit businesses Several measures ...
Successful ‘circuit breaker’ pilot targeting repeat child offenders to be expanded to Hamilton, Christchurch and Auckland City Funding to maintain Police to population ratio achieved after 1800 extra Police officers added Creation of NZ’s first comprehensive digital Firearms Registry Modernising frontline police processes to free up time for officers Budget ...
His cafe Tom’s is one of the small gems of Ōtautahi’s breakfast scene. Now owner-operator Tom Worthington has a second cafe – just a few doors down from the first. He talks to Charlotte Muru-Lanning about opening Estelle, and the overwhelming importance of a good bun. This is an excerpt ...
As New Zealand Music months comes to an end, we look back at some of the most memorable collaborations between (or involving) local artists. Aotearoa has a long and proud tradition of mucking in, lending a hand and sharing the bloody load. Given that the theme for NZ Music Month ...
Auckland Council's proposed budget cuts might look okay on paper, but when the weeds start taking over and the council fails to meet its own emissions targets, we’ll be left with an even bigger – and costlier – mess to clean up. Carl Morgan explains why the council and volunteers need to ...
Poets Ruby Solly (Kāi Tahu, Waitaha, Kāti Māmoe) and Arihia Latham (Kāi Tahu, Waitaha, Kāti Māmoe) talk about their new collections of poetry, and the many resonances between them. ‘Hineahuone’ from Birdspeak by Arihia LathamMy legs are swamp mairesodden weightship sockets wide like the pae maungaon ...
Teenage memories so often populate one place. For Sharon Lam, it was the original bus exchange on the corner of Colombo and Lichfield Street.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Original illustrations by MK Templer. Once upon a time, before earthquakes and ...
Asia Pacific Report Free Papua Organisation (OPM) leader Jeffrey Bomanak has appealed for Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape to become a “neutral intermediary” to negotiate between the Indonesian government and the West Papuan rebels holding a New Zealand pilot hostage for his release. He has called in a ...
The annual awards for news journalism see Newsroom win three titles and the NZ Herald win website of the year for the fourth time in a row Newsroom has won another three national media awards at the annual Voyager dinner in Auckland – including best crime and justice reporting for ...
By Rayssa Almeida, RNZ News reporter New Zealand’s Māori Party co-leader says the opposition National Party should go back to school if it thinks including te reo Māori on road signs is confusing. In a transport meeting yesterday in Bay of Plenty, National’s spokesperson Simeon Brown said introducing the language ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author-poet and advocate for West Papuan independence has condemned a reported threat against the life of a New Zealand hostage pilot, Philip Mehrtens, held by Papuan liberation fighters and appealed to them to “keep Philip safe”. Jim Aubrey, a human rights activist who has campaigned ...
Hapu of Te Whakatohea opposed to the New Zealand government's Treaty of Waitangi settlement deal for their Raupatu - invasion and land confiscation - claims and the cutting off of their historic Treaty of Waitangi claims in the Waitangi Tribunal ...
Labour kept up its attacks on the Opposition's proposed tax cuts but fumbled its own number-crunching at a party congress, Marc Daalder reportsAnalysis: Going on the attack is a new strategy for a Labour Party with fresh leadership. Jacinda Ardern promised "relentless positivity" after her election victory in 2020 and ...
Welcome to sunny and calm Wellington, which I know those of you who are visiting would of course expect to be the case. It’s been a busy week since we put forward the 2023 Budget. Labour MPs have been out across the motu giving the good oil on ...
Introduction Kia orana, Talofa lava, Mālo e lelei, Taloha ni, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Noa’ia e mauri, Ni sa bula vinaka, Kia ora, Tena Koutou Katoa. Labour Party President Jill Day, Prime Minister Hipkins, Party faithful, delegates and comrades, whānau ...
One of my kaumātua up North stood before the Waitangi Tribunal and said: ‘He aha kē ahau, te tangata kore hara i mua i te Atua, e tu nei kia whakawaatia e koe, te tangata tāhae, te tangata hara, te tangata kore tikanga? Ko koe kē te tika, ...
Cathy Fan started baking to heal herself. Now, her designer cheesecakes and cookies are in demand all over Auckland – and beyond. On a recent Wednesday, Cathy Fan caused a bit of a scene. The part-time baker was setting up her stall at Britomart’s regular food truck lunch event when ...
Cathy Fan started baking to heal herself. Now, her designer cheesecakes and cookies are in demand all over Auckland – and beyond. On a recent Wednesday, Cathy Fan caused a bit of a scene. The part-time baker was setting up her stall at Britomart’s regular food truck lunch event when ...
Beyond that bland bag of supermarket bhuja, an exciting new snacking world awaits. In 2002 when we moved to Auckland, my mum’s favourite shop was the lonely old Moshim’s Indian store near Pakuranga Plaza out east. It was the only place that sold the spices and ingredients she needed to ...
He helped get them fit enough to be world champions, now Craig Twentyman is relishing the next phase for rugby's Black Ferns The Black Ferns World Cup win last year was as much a rugby miracle as it was a fitness miracle. Meet Craig Twentyman - the Kiwi strength and ...
The kitchen has become associated with routine and ritual, of domestic practices and gendered activities, but it is also the site of a gradual shift toward the ‘democratisation’ of domesticityOpinion: Looking back over the past few years, the pandemic called into question many things about the way we live. ...
Every weekday, The Detail makes sense of the big news stories. This week, we looked at why we've never nailed down a free trade agreement with India, the looming threat of another "twindemic" of winter illness, what "greedflation" is and whether it can be blamed for the soaring cost of living, the ...
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown is rubbing shoulders this weekend with mayors from cities like New Orleans, Santiago and Mombasa at the World Climate Industry Expo in Busan Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has touched down in Busan, South Korea on an independently-funded trip to participate in the World Climate Industry Expo. ...
Today we start the Pinnacle Series. A weekly showcase of future leaders and inspirational young New Zealanders from the Hyundai Pinnacle Programme who are forging ahead in their chosen fields. First up, Kirsten Fisher-Marsters has her sights set on championing the next generation of promising young athletes. July 23, 2021, is ...
SXMPRA and Lilbubblegum aren’t household names yet – but their streaming numbers prove they’re already in the big leagues. Kalem Tarrant is feeling a little dusty. He’s sitting outside a Symonds Street burger joint at a Monday lunchtime with Luke Winther, whose dark sunglasses indicate he’s feeling the same way. ...
The first AI-generated political attack ads arrived this week. Duncan Greive assesses the disturbing contents.The first political scandal of the generative AI era in New Zealand politics could not have fit our country’s bumpkin brand better. 1News’ Justin Hu had the terrific scoop earlier this week, heading to the ...
This is The Detail's Long Read - one in-depth story read by us every weekend. This week, it's Talofa and Ni Hao by Ollie Neas, published in North & South's February issue. You can read the full article, with accompanying photos, here. In Samoa, there are mixed feelings about Chinese influence and the nation’s ...
A scorched Earth, and an Ivan Rogers photo essay The sand, the colour of a sun tan, caused a cancer called thirst. Curable by water – if you could lay hands and mouths on the wet stuff over which the human race was to enter a ferocious war in ...
Cheaper Childcare: 20 hours free ECE expanded to include two-year-olds Helping with Health Costs : $5 prescription co-payment scrapped Targeting Transport: Free public transport for under-13s, half priced for under-25s Reducing Power Bills: 100,000 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Changlong Wang, Research fellow, Monash University Shutterstock The race to net zero is accelerating. Just last week, United States President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese unveiled a climate pact to boost cooperation. The move signifies Australia is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter McNeil, Distinguished Professor of Design History, UTS, University of Technology Sydney Top Dog factory for men’s hats, Surry Hills, 1941State Library of New South Wales Sydney has awoken to the smouldering ruins of its largest city fire in 55 years. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dennis B. Desmond, Lecturer, Cyberintelligence and Cybercrime Investigations, University of the Sunshine Coast Dennis Desmond, Author provided This week the Five Eyes alliance – an intelligence alliance between Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and the United States – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison Lullfitz, Research Associate, The University of Western Australia Alison Lullfitz, Author provided Noongar Country of southwestern Australia is home to the world’s largest parasitic plant, a mighty mistletoe that blooms every December. That’s why it’s commonly known as WA’s ...
Analysis - The Reserve Bank's surprisingly benign response to the Budget robs National of a strong attack line and the NZ Steel deal is hailed as a win for the climate, but opposition parties say its "corporate welfare". ...
I’m gradually becoming more and more convinced this year’s Barbie film from Greta Gerwig is going to be the best movie of 2023. Or the worst, but in a way that it is still great. For now, you should absolutely watch this new trailer which also serves as a promo ...
As the general election approaches, secondary school students are being challenged to the ‘run the ruler’ over New Zealand’s democracy. An essay competition launched today calls on secondary school students to identify the important elements of a ...
By Rachael Nath, RNZ Pacific journalist In a significant step toward preserving and commemorating Fiji’s rich history, efforts are underway to establish the country’s first living museum. This unique institution will focus on capturing the era of the British colonial government’s indentured system in Fiji, shedding light on the arrival ...
Guy Montgomery, Maria Williams, Guy Williams and more shows from the second half of the festival, reviewed.Abby Howells: La SoupcoOh the joy of seeing someone as weird as you just be happily weird in public. Off the top: I loved La Soupco. Having known little about Howells beyond ...
Guy Montgomery, Maria Williams, Guy Williams and more shows from the second half of the festival, reviewed.Abby Howells: La SoupcoOh the joy of seeing someone as weird as you just be happily weird in public. Off the top: I loved La Soupco. Having known little about Howells beyond ...
Auckland’s Sky Tower will soon have a new bar – situated on the 50th floor. That’s just below the observation deck and the Orbit restaurant. A press release revealed the new Skybar, which will be the country’s “highest bar”, will be launching on June 23, in partnership with champagne producers Moët ...
Auckland’s Sky Tower will soon have a new bar – situated on the 50th floor. That’s just below the observation deck and the Orbit restaurant. A press release revealed the new Skybar will be launching on June 23, in partnership with champagne producers Moët and Chandon. “We’ve been looking for the ...
The troubled Gore council looks to call in a legal-political-media troubleshooter to restore order, Vaneesa Bellew reports Lawyer and former political journalist Linda Clark is expected to head an independent review tasked with restoring confidence in Gore District Council. Councillors at an extraordinary council meeting on Tuesday will consider several recommendations ...
By Todagia Kelola in Port Moresby Papua New Guinea’s Governor-General, Sir Bob Dadae, has formally dismissed former cabinet minister Brian Kramer as a Member of Parliament representing the people of Madang. On Wednesday, the Governor-General, who was out on duty travel when the Leadership Tribunal made its recommendation of dismissal ...
There’s remarkable variety and depth to be found in a spoonful of fermented bean paste. Oh, miso paste! Salty, sweet, mellow, earthy, fruity, deeply umami and wonderfully aromatic. A tub of miso paste is a flavour essential, always stashed in my fridge, ready to be dug into with a spoon ...
There’s remarkable variety and depth to be found in a spoonful of fermented bean paste. Oh, miso paste! Salty, sweet, mellow, earthy, fruity, deeply umami and wonderfully aromatic. A tub of miso paste is a flavour essential, always stashed in my fridge, ready to be dug into with a spoon ...
A new poem by Wellington poet Danny Bultitude. Schoolboy Reunion Saw him at Wellington Train Station after I Saw him on the Police Ten-7 Facebook page Last summer, obsidian, he worked in this gym Underpaid, mistreated, he set the place aflame Never realised that was how you spelt his name ...
A new poem by Wellington poet Danny Bultitude. Schoolboy Reunion Saw him at Wellington Train Station after I Saw him on the Police Ten-7 Facebook page Last summer, obsidian, he worked in this gym Underpaid, mistreated, he set the place aflame Never realised that was how you spelt his name ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 The Axeman’s Carnival by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $35)The winner of ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 The Axeman’s Carnival by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $35)The winner of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Blackwell, Research Fellow (Indigenous Diplomacy), Australian National University Today marks the sixth anniversary of the Uluru Statement From the Heart, and National Sorry Day. The statement is a powerful document that speaks of the opportunity for true and meaningful change ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Blackwell, Research Fellow (Indigenous Diplomacy), Australian National University Today marks the sixth anniversary of the Uluru Statement From the Heart, and National Sorry Day. The statement is a powerful document that speaks of the opportunity for true and meaningful change ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arjun Burlakoti, Senior Lecturer in Anatomy and Neuroanatomy, University of South Australia ShutterstockHow does your brain know how to move your body? – Ivy, age 8, Victoria Hi Ivy, thanks for asking such an interesting question! To answer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arjun Burlakoti, Senior Lecturer in Anatomy and Neuroanatomy, University of South Australia ShutterstockHow does your brain know how to move your body? – Ivy, age 8, Victoria Hi Ivy, thanks for asking such an interesting question! To answer ...
Platonic is the week’s biggest new release, a rom-com series starring Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne that critics say is “one of the strongest new shows of the year,” (Collider), and, “strikes a nice balance between lighthearted and serious storylines” (Decider). “It’s fun simply to spend time in the company ...
Platonic is the week’s biggest new release, a rom-com series starring Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne that critics say is “one of the strongest new shows of the year,” (Collider), and, “strikes a nice balance between lighthearted and serious storylines” (Decider). “It’s fun simply to spend time in the company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ivan Maksymov, Principal Research Fellow, Charles Sturt University Shutterstock Can a computer learn from the past and anticipate what will happen next, like a human? You might not be surprised to hear that some cutting-edge AI models could achieve this ...
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The government insists it just saved the TAB by handing over operations to an overseas gambling company. But the deal is shortsighted and potentially dangerous, writes Terry Leisman. So what just happened?Racing minister Kieran McAnulty has just approved a 25-year deal transferring our own TAB NZ betting operations to ...
Today, The Opportunities Party (TOP) announces its 2023 climate policy ‘Climate Opportunities’. The policy suite includes three ‘system-level’ policies for emissions reduction and several areas of focus for climate adaptation. The policy ...
A group calling for action to stop sexual violence against women and children has welcomed the lifting of name suppression for the predatory Christchurch-based brothers, Daniel Jaz (40) and Roberto Jaz (38). However, it says a spotlight also needs to ...
This is a story from a little earlier in the week that I missed, but given The Spinoff’s ongoing reporting on the wider goings on at Stadium Southland in Invercargill I thought it was worth flagging for you all. The Southland Tribune has reported that long-serving Stadium Southland board member, ...
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Aotearoa has been penny-wise and pound-foolish with its investments in maintaining and building public infrastructure and services. This week Bernard Hickey talks with wellbeing economist Katherine Trebeck about how the machinery of government, politicians and voters can think and plan differently to avoid that same pound-foolishness again. Listen below or ...
It could hardly be closer with 20 weeks to go. Last night’s 1News/Kantar poll delivered a result that, were it to be translated into the ballot box, would see National and Act able to form a government. But not by much. We’re getting used to it. While psephologists rightly warn ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union extends its congratulations to its Co-founder and Executive Director, Jordan Williams, who was elected Chair and President of World Taxpayers Associations (WTA) at this week's WTA General Meeting in Prague, Czech ...
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I hope whomever getting there subsidized tesla today is greatful to this medium income solo dad who has donated $4000 in ute tax for buying a low budget but most economical ute .
This country is becoming seriously screwed up.
All I can suggest is take Minister Woods advice. Take a shorter shower, turn off the lights and heater to counter the governments inability to cut their own spending.
Don’t worry lad- National want single storey houses connected by single lane roads submerged in water all through the North Island. They’ll give you a dollar back on your tax and then ensure you can’t get insurance. Nothing like a party with vision, eh?
The rebate ceiling is $80,000.
https://www.nzta.govt.nz/vehicles/clean-car-programme/clean-car-discount/clean-car-discount-1-july-2023-changes/
Only one Tesla model sells for under the eighty grand according the Automobile Association. This is a period of transition, moving from old to new technology has all sorts of challenges and contradictions along the way–but as the saying goes, “what planet are you on?”
https://www.aa.co.nz/cars/buying-a-car/car-buying-guide/new-cars/new-car-prices/tesla/
I have had an EV for a year now, driving past gas stations–priceless.
Tiger-Thank you for some common sense on this issue.
Teslas made up 24% of the popular EV's sold in NZ in April, and most of these would not have qualified for a clean car discount.
https://www.canstar.co.nz/nz-car-insurance/top-selling-electric-cars-in-nz/
58% of EV imports to NZ in the year to March 23 are Chinese brands. In a couple of years time I predict that this will be 80%. Elon is discounting now because he can’t compete with the Chinese.
More worrying is that EX imports rose 127% to $1.23 billion to the year March 23. NZ's current account is suffering at the moment, partly because of EV imports. We are living beyond our means.
https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202305/02/WS645097c5a310b6054fad0baf.html
Yup, I got a modern hybrid a couple of years ago and the difference in fuel efficiency is ridiculous. Our next vehicle purchase will be a pure BEV.
I had a 2012 Honda Fit RS hybrid until it found the St Georges Bay River in a cyclone. I thought that was amazingly efficient at about 5.5l/100km (I usually found it to be about 6-6.5). Way better than my old ICE Caldina. Not to mention was amazingly snappy to drive in sport. Also had 40L tank compared to the 60L in the Caldina and lasted weeks longer doing my minimal around town driving.
After the insurance company wrote off the Fit because of wet carpets and possible electrics.
So I got a 2014 Honda Fit RS hybrid. That is rated at 3.9L/100km if you drove like an old man.
Drove myself, partner, and luggage to Bay of Islands – 246km starting with a full tank. Did some running around there probably another 100km. Drove back another 246km. Had quarter of a tank showing when I got home. Filled up with 25 litres. Roughly 4.1-4.2L.
I wasn’t exactly driving conservatively. Drove at speed limit on ECO except when passing. Then I’d flip into sport and pass fast. This included passing lanes going uphill at from 80km/hr to 160km/hour in a couple seconds testing the little 1500cc engine.
Fair point, if you want to divert from the fact that it ain't all jafas buying remuera tractors,getting caught by this tax,
Elon is grateful and says ‘thank you’.
You'd have to be pretty thick or a shit stirrer if you think I think musk benifits,
So which one are ya?
Neither
The maker of your new ute likely purchased carbon credits from Musk.
https://www.green.earth/news/teslas-carbon-credit-sales-soared-to-1.78-billion-in-2022
What's your reasoning for buying a new, or fresh import, 'budget' ute?
Would have thought going for a second hand item that will get you through a couple of years until electrics arrive, and they are certainly coming, would have been a better bet.
Although if you need the certainty / reliability of a new vehicle (not necessarily guaranteed) then it's a different story.
1 piece of mind , it's the first time I've ever bought new, and that warrantee feels good.
1a I might keep this till they plant me as I don't do many KS a year now
2 been searching the 2nd hand market for awhile to get anything ghat is under 100 000 Kms is not that different from going new.
3 definitely an element of because I can.
4 my one was burning oil needed a warrantee a reg and had other spends coming and is a discontinued make, holden.
If in 5 years there's an electric that can do 500kms in my bracket I'll be in .
I miss my VE Commodore, it died about 18 months ago. Cost a bomb to keep the bloody thing on the road. In the end the steering, timing chain and transmission all needed replacing for over $7k and it didn't seem worth it any more.
Bought a 2016 Atenza (diesel turbo) a couple of months later. Damn thing was even worse. Took it for a drive to Wellington, the turbo shat itself and fscked up the engine, needing a $10k repair job (I just got rid of it).
ICE needs to die
China will cease production of all combustion vehicles by 2035.
Singapore will stop registration of all combustion vehicles in 7 years.
Australia as of last month is putting penalties on importing all combusion vehicles and bringing in much stricter emission controls.
Those three – plus Japan – are the places we get our used vehicles from.
So inside 7 years we are all going to feel your same pain as we renew vehicles.
we're going to have to wait for the big fleets like Police and rental companies before we get a proper used electric car and ute surge to help the proletariat.
If we wanted real subsidy we'd turn ourselves into a steel company.
That won’t make one iota of difference if we didn’t retain NZ ownership. And if we did, we would lose considerable negotiating power with the government to attract subsidies. Multinational companies simply chase the best deals & locations and have very little sympathy for the little local guys on the ground and little attachment to the land they occupy. It’s just business to them, nothing personal.
New Zealand does not own Blue Scope.
Nor does New Zealand own NZ Aluminium Smelter.
"Our" negotiating power is extremely narrow since the electricity generators are no longer able to be controlled by the state as they are now only bare-majority shareholders.
One of New Zealand's structural economic problems, going back since forever, has been a chronically weak capital formation.
It's has a long and complex history – and our failure to address this lies at the root of so many of the problems NZ now faces.
NZ has long had a Comprador Capitalist bourgeoisie, where generally the local ruling class subordinates to offshore imperialist powers and corporates, as evidenced in years gone by with the meat industry, and now with the ‘big 4’ Aussie banks.
The current account deficit also tells the story of brands that operate in NZ but export their profits to the parent company overseas. The oil industry are experts at transfer pricing and the tech companies at tax dodging.
If Labour and Greens get back in there is better chances of housing prices continuing to flatten, making asset classes other than housing more attractive …
… for those who have the money to invest.
Also for those who have saved, the rate of those withdrawing $20,000 or more from Kiwisaver over the last 6 months is now pretty high.
I am not giving advice on anything, just noticing.
Well, as some have noted a capital gains based economy for many (on property) has starved investment in other areas.
And since the union busting 1991 Employment Contracts Act, which reduced workers power substantially, some SME owners got into the Bach, boat and BMW groove rather than development and improvement–which I observe living on the coast in the Far North.
Reduced union levels make a mockery of claims that wage rises affect inflation substantially.
+100
Though our savings rate was still bad before that.
Bloody fed up with utes everywhere. Get a proper car.
I'm pretty sure my path and yours never cross out here in the boonies
Those three – plus Japan – are the places we get our used vehicles from.
The Japanese have been late to the BEV market and Toyota is betting the farm on hydrogen powered ICE vehicles, which may turn out to be the betamax moment for the Japanese auto industry.
NZ is already the discounted dumping ground for unable to sell elsewhere right hand drive ICE vehicles, and that will slow electric vehicle adoption here big time.
Great news: a better-functioning New Zealand market for farmers' milk.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/132117381/fonterra-cuts-this-seasons-milk-price-announces-lower-price-for-next-season
“This forecast is actually a really big signal for Fonterra suppliers and every other dairy farmer in New Zealand to sit back and say is my business worth carrying on in this current situation or do I need to start making alternative investment decisions or system changes,” Davison said.
Without factoring in the 24 billion in corporate welfare we’ll be paying for them in climate bills.
Plus near to $1bi for M.bovis eradication. Oh ye of short memory. “At last count some $660 million had been spent over four years tackling M.Bovis out of an allocated funding pool of just under $870 million. Around $200 million of the $660 million was compensation to farmers, Ardern said" in 2022.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/300580701/government-announces-strengthened-biosecurity-funding-and-mbovis-milestone
This went from bad to worse. Why oh why did a cop thinking tasering a 95 year old was a good idea?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYe5G5Qhh6A
Indeed.
Tasers were meant to be substitutes for lethal force (in the NZ cops pitch to obtain them anyway). In reality they are often used as punishment and compliance devices by more sadistic plods.
Police execution by firearm have included distressed people wielding a golf club (Steven Wallace) builders hammers, knives and the unarmed. A few shots to the torso (heart) as per police weapons training soon sorted them out.
Police culture in Australia, NZ, and USA is still largely bent, violent, racist and misogynist–which needs to change asap.
"Police culture… needs to change asap"
That's a tough argument to make when the MSM is splashing ramraid videos everywhere and 501s are changing the dynamic of the NZ underworld.
We ought to think carefully before disempowering cops — I'd prefer not to follow the dumb "defund the Police" movement that has ruined Portland, Oregon
Disagree with you completely, Tiger Mountain. The NZ Police have significantly tightened their act up since the 80s, when we had the Muldoon-militia Red Squad, corrupt drug squads in cahoots with dealers, and bad boy behaviour like the long-term sexual predation experienced by Louise Nicholas.
The establishment of the Independent Police Conduct Authority, and the outcome of the Louise Nichols investigation resulted in significant cultural change in the Police. A push for diversity and more women in recruiting have also had downstream effects.
The NZ Police are nothing like the self-'policing' and racist culture in Australia and the US. And England's (but not Scotland's) police can be lumped in there. I do have to say some Australian State governments, like Palaszczuk's, are having a go at improving Police culture.
UK confidence in Police sinks to 53% in two years
Queensland Police racism disclosed
The most recent surveys show NZers' satisfaction with Police was at 77%.
Independent survey of public satisfaction with NZ Police
Righto…Police commission own survey…
There is a real cringe factor the way some NZers fawn over NZ Police, some how thinking subservience will protect them. Unless you grew up in Sunday school and have lived a very quiet life you might realise that indiscretions by the law are common, not down to ‘bad apples’.
–Rare is the day IPCA finds against a cop, or even criticises one.
–NZ Police got facial recognition technology under way without proper authority and when caught out attempted to deny it.
–They illegally photograph and cherrypick young Māori–stopped for driving a car while Māori.
–Police discriminated when targeting a group of young African men in Auckland
They have a difficult job (though paramedics, adequate mental health workers, tow truck drivers and civilian search and rescue could likely do some of their work anyway), the officers are drawn from the same society we all live in, but they should set a better example if they want wider support.
I did not mention defunding. How about just making cops more accountable for their actions and less knee jerk thuggish. What would inspire a fit young man to think a 95 year old needed a good old cardiac threatening tasering?
If mental health services were working better there might be less of the “the mad the sad and the bad” for Police to deal with in the first place.
A lot of handwringing and hypocrisy over woke criticism of a kiwi being handled at Miami Zoo, especially from DOC.. E.g.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/300887468/you-can-hold-a-kiwi-in-nz-too-do-we-have-a-double-standard
https://twitter.com/DavisAndrew88/status/1661455904787791872
Have you been reading "The Croaking Wokes" by John Wind'emup?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kraken_Wakes
LOL. John Wyndham actually wrote some pretty good books back in the day. That is one I have read. Also, the Day of the Triffids amongst others.
That user name.
/
https://maori.english-dictionary.help/maori-to-english-meaning-tikaokao-nui
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/88_(number)#In_neo-Nazism
The 88 is a dead giveaway, a hard right provocateur acting in bad faith
I seem to remember him being very reluctant to explain the 88. It may have been on The Malevolent Gnome's site.
Didn’t read the stuff article obviously. Their answer:
No, but RW trolls like frothing over something.
The pictures showing politicians holding birds before their release into the wild are done with trained handlers and not as part of a constant exploitation program done during daytime for nocturnal creatures.
Creatives are undervalued, underpaid and burned out:
https://thebigidea.nz/stories/lowdown-creatives-income-research-paints-grim-picture
Henri De Toulouse-Lautrec, Rembrandt, El Greco, Modigliani, Vermeer, Gauguin, and Van Gough all died in poverty.
If your genius means you are called to be an artist, poet, sculptor or writer don't expect your art to generate great wealth. At least not while you are still around to enjoy it.
Thanks for proving my point.
Creative work isn't just fine art, If you think it isn’t worth paying for I trust you don’t consume writing, television, film, games, performance, music or any other things produced by creatives then:
People who create the art you consume deserve a living for their efforts. It is an antiquated attitude to romanticise the 'starving artist' trope:
https://copyrightalliance.org/stop-romanticizing-starving-artist/
That tells anyone they are marginal occupations best left to the semi-retired or rich.
Unemployment is still so low at 3.4% that there's plenty of opportunity to get out of low paid occupations and get into something more financially rewarding.
Many people in this economy are doing it.
Yet more reinforcement of my point.
Creatives will continue to be undervalued if the elitist attitudes you express are continually promulgated.
https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/news/2023/02/we-need-to-break-the-cycle-of-crisis-in-aotearoas-arts-and-culture
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/ideasroom/we-deserve-better-than-aucklands-art-vandal
A bit presumptuous to assume creatives “deserve a living” if you are creating content no one wants to consume.
I write copious amounts of poetry and build the odd sand castle. I certainly don’t expect to be paid, little own earn a living, from it.
As my links say, professional creatives (people making things that are paid for and consumed) are undervalued by those who consume their art.
You are once again arguing against something I never claimed.
If you were employed to write poetry then you would deserve a living for it. It's not complicated.
If you’re not earning a living, bit of a stretch to say professional me thinks.
Who’s employed to write poetry???
If someone is paying you for a skill that you possess due to your training and qualifications, that is definitionally a profession.
If you actually want to learn more: https://www.creativenz.govt.nz/-/media/Project/Creative-NZ/CreativeNZ/PublicationsFiles/2023-Profile-of-Creative-Professionals/Profile-of-Creative-Professionals—Easy-Read—PDF.pdf
Right. So your moan is you don’t think they pay you enough. Join the long line behind nurses, teachers, bus drivers, barristas etc … all providing a service people want.
Failing that, if you’re non union, suggest you have a word with your employer directly and try convince them why you think you are worth more.
It's almost as if the problem is systemic and structural; a consequence of political choices.
I do agree with you though, everyone should join their union.
Luxon has become the gift that keeps on giving. I really thought the Nats were serious about winning the election this year.
But his stupid comments around free prescriptions, flip-flop on housing intensification, $1.4 billion dollar accounting error from his alt budget, mythical tax cuts for the wealthy, etc etc… offers nothing for ordinary Kiwis.
Luxo is spending too much time talking to farmers and cadaverous Rotarians, calls them the "real people", while disrespecting Māori and complaining about Te Reo. No wonder he is losing in the polls.
I predict he will resign on election night.
I think you are right about Luxon talking only to the people he is comfortable with…that is the impression I get.
The flip flop on housing densification loses him many votes among the young who are yet to buy a house ….but he doesn't talk to them….he has 7 houses after all.
Yeah he's too focused on the landlord class. Problem is he says the quiet stuff out loud. John Key was much more subtle and deceptive by crapping on about the underclass to get elected (then doing approximately zilch for them)
Yes, John Key was sly & subtle, which is how he earned his nickname of ‘smiling assassin’. Luxon is as subtle & shambolic as a blundering bouncer on steroids, politically speaking.
Policy has always been a National Party weakness. They seem to do better with feel-good fluff pieces and minimal difficult questions, and to take pot shots at government errors while promising pie in the sky solutions.
But if the candidates are basically unlikeable the PR stuff is pushing shit uphill
Key tacked centrally. Luxon is tacking right.
Perhaps liberals in the party are done with him and he is clinging on to his leadership with the votes of the religious conservatives in his caucus.
He seems desperate, flailing around for something, anything that might get traction. Would have been far better to state a bunch of principles and ambitions – NZ needs a leader with vision, not some guy randomly making up policy on the hoof
No tacking for Luxon; rowing in circles and catching crabs.
I do like those Big Hairy News snippets. From 10 min onwards is a discussion with Horizon pollster of how NZers saw Luxon in Nov 2022, and of vote pattern shifts from 2020 election. At the start, this poll shows NZ First still a critical player.
BHN interview Graeme Colman of Horizon Research on voter poll
He must be doing something right. According to tonights One News poll he is going to be PM after the election with a National -ACT coalition.
In this post-Budget poll National is up by 3%, ACT is steady, Labour is down by 1% and The Green Party have dropped by 4%. Meanwhile Hipkins has dropped in the PM stakes and Luxon is up.
What do you base your opinion on?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/132140611/national-given-budget-boost-in-latest-political-poll
The problem for Luxon is that most ACT supporters would prefer Seymour as PM, that keeps him lower than Hipkins
That was once a problem for Clark before becoming PM (the numbers preferring Peters as Leader of the Oppositon – problem solved when Peters went with National in 1996).
PS Polls are showing L-G-TPM 62-58, then NACT 62-58. It's a race not yet run.
You are probably correct about the PM numbers. It is only the ACT party, out of all the minor parties in Parliament, who has a leader who can even be considered as a possibility for PM.
Can you imagine anyone who thinks that Davidson, Shaw, Ngarewa-Packer or Waititi could possibly be PM?
I agree that the numbers are far too close to call.
Luxon certainly doesn't have the popular appeal of a Key or an Ardern – but, then neither did Helen Clark before being elected (IIRC – I can't find the preferred PM results that far back)
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/leader-factor-is-what-counts/ONEDFGGKXUDINMWXNSPGVCPAJM/
However, that's a known issue for National (he's never been Mr Popularity).
What must be concerning for Labour is that Hipkins isn't exactly resonating with the electorate either.
Of course, that only matters for people who vote for a party based on whether or not they like the leader. Perhaps we'll see an election that is more about policy and less about personality.
He might need heavy protective gear to make it that far – the entitled ones resent leaders that have no sinecures to grant. I can smell the barbecue already.
A whole 8 years to bring these predators to justice.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2023/05/mama-hooch-danny-and-roberto-jaz-named-as-men-who-drugged-sexually-assaulted-women-in-christchurch.html?fbclid=IwAR03DbkBYQyO_dzv3VXZ-fAeGFk9VhGMrgB7gu7IMYa4DXGK_GqwW8–Gw0
do you know when sentencing is?
Given the extent of the offending, the planning and strategising, and the number of women assaulted, it's hard to see why they should be let out again unless they can demonstrate remorse, substantial change in attitude, and reparation. Not that NZ law allows for that.
sentencing is in August
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/132052656/extreme-hardship-if-mama-hooch-sexual-predators-are-named-judge-told
They used a WhatsApp group to share their rape/sexual assault videos and images. Only three were on trial but dollars to donuts there were more than three group members and if there's any justice to be had, those group members will be scared to fucking death waiting for the knock on the door.
Signs for National's "Get NZ Back On Track" tour have popped up around the district over the last couple of days, seems they might be starting in Queenstown.
Have we got an guerrilla songwriters around who can come up with some images of modern trains to plaster across them… Leave the National logo in the top left, and "Get NZ Back On Track" in bottom right, but the rest a train. Much better billboard.
Heh..!
My local (new) barber just left Queenstown, to get that place on track they need to ban AirBNB. Normal workers cannot live anywhere nearby and end up sleeping in cars
A squalid town ruled by a grasping elite
But its private property and the owners can do as they please, I know that must be very aggravating for you, but that is reality.
I wonder how much Q'town property is actually owned by New Zealanders – what I find aggravating is global capital bleeding Aotearoa dry.
I don’t know about ownership per se, although this data can be accessed, but data on property transfers is easily accessible:
https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/property-transfer-statistics-march-2023-quarter/
I venture a solid health and safety case could be made against employers who leave workers living in vehicles for any length of time. Fatigue is a risk.
They're Sweeney Todding themselves and don't even realise it. Come and work in Queenstown where you will have splendid views of spectacular empty mansions from the bridge you're sleeping under. Spend your minimum wage on overpriced groceries.
The unaware irony of them. A choice, between the 'Coalition of Chaos' OR a National-led government ? !….like a Nact govt wouldnt literally be the Coalition of Chaos for the majority of NZ : (
And stopping wasteful spending? Geez yea, about that…
And of course…tax relief. For those who dont even need any. Just extra gravy…as always.
Anway Graeme…hope all good with you? Best of .
Getting back on track is appropriate for National because the (railway) tracks will one of the first thing that the ACT Party will demand is sold off if their junior coalition partners National win the election this year.
But as for Queenstown?
Preaching to the converted I'd say.
Incidentally, I noticed in downtown Masterton today, the National candidate Mike Butterick opened up a campaign office just a few doors down from Labour's Keiran McAnulty's existing office.
Too close for comfort?
Shades of “Make Merica Great again”
"Get NZ Back on Track" has a nice ring to it, hopefully some Government whether National or Labour will start governing for the people and not themselves and their cronies.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/490626/cancer-diagnostics-company-posts-loss-after-investment
It’s very tough competing out there even when you have a sound high-value product and some help from the NZ government.
Will Luxon reverse this too? I think he might.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/490627/pay-boost-for-thousands-of-gp-and-community-nurses
Hopefully from this morning's disaster De Santis has realised he can't trust Elon Musk.
Biden's comms are on their game.
@JoeBiden
This link works:
https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1661496322980028423
Trump's media team is on their game too… petty but enjoyable
https://twitter.com/EudaimoniaEsq/status/1661543467401502721?s=20
From Trump’s instagram account: a fake Twitter spaces video (including fake DeSantis audio) w/ DeSantis, Elon, George Soros, Hitler, the FBI, Dick Cheney, The Devil, and others.
Da or DeSantis – The Police investigate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7v2GDbEmjGE