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.
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.
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Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
Karl du Fresne writes – There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
David Farrar writes – The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time.A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced ...
You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
2024, 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?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated. While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
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. ...
Changes to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...
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 ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research. “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
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 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)Hot off the press, this debut ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
Yes, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...
“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Tenbensel, Associate Professor, Health Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Since coming into power, the coalition government has adopted a simple but shrewd see-how-fast-we-can-move political strategy. However, in the health sector this need for speed entails ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Darya Sannikova/Pexels Whether you’re watching TV, attending a footy game, or eating a meal at your local pub, gambling is hard to escape. Although the rise of gambling is not unique to Australia, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol T Kulik, Research Professor, University of South Australia IR Stone/Shutterstock In Australia, it’s not the done thing to know – let alone ask – what our colleagues are paid. Yet, it’s easy to see how pay transparency can make pay ...
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is sounding a warning to migrants, that running foul of the law may see them leaving the country prematurely. ...
The government’s plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Beneficiary numbers are up – and so are ...
Raglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best? I am a die-hard Raglan Roast fan. It’s consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, ...
Residents of University of Auckland halls are being urged to withhold their accommodation fees from May 1, in a bid to force the university to take student concerns over rent hikes seriously.The University of Auckland is facing a strike from students over the cost of on-campus accommodation. The Students ...
New Zealand and the Philippines have signed a new maritime security agreement and stated their concerns over activity in the South China Sea, as Chinese vessels continue to flout international law. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos committed to signing a Mutual Logistics Supporting Arrangement by ...
The thousands of government “back-office” job cuts are causing widespread pain in the capital city. In today’s episode of The Detail, we speak to three journalists and a think tank researcher, looking at the larger picture around the cuts and what effect it will have on Wellington, a city that’s ...
Opinion: The famed American architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham once said, “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood!” Burnham wouldn’t have been referring to the transport plans in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past five years; projects so big they hadn’t the credibility to ...
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Opinion: With maths understanding at 42 percent for Year 8 students, there’s no doubt something has to be done. But how? The post Financial literacy should be on all of us appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Hineaupounamu ‘Missy’ Nuku has been scaling mountains in Canada for her college basketball team, the Lakeland Rustlers. Alberta is currently home for the 20-year-old point guard, who is in her first year of a scholarship at Lakeland College, where she is studying for a business degree. She has certainly made ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra When ASIO boss Mike Burgess delivered his annual threat assessment earlier this year, he stressed the rising danger posed by espionage and foreign interference. “In 2024, threats to our way of life have surpassed ...
The Tribunal had called on Minister for Children Karen Chhour to provide evidence at an urgent inquiry into the repeal of Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By T.J. Thomson, Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication & Digital Media, RMIT University Midjourney image by T.J. Thomson As more than half of Australian office workers report using generative artificial intelligence (AI) for work, we’re starting to see this technology affect every ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa Nicole Sharwood, Injury epidemiologist | Expert Witness, UNSW Sydney Sergey Novikov/Shutterstock Injuries are the leading cause of disability and death among Australian children and adolescents. At least a quarter of all emergency department presentations during childhood are injury-related. Injuries can ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Di Winkler, Adjunct Associate Professor, Living with Disability Research Centre, La Trobe University Shutterstock/Ground PictureMany Australians with disability feel on the edge of a precipice right now. Recommendations from the disability royal commission and the NDIS review were released late ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Salman Shooshtarian, Senior Lecturer, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University Salman Shooshtarian Asbestos has been found in mulch used for playgrounds, schools, parks and gardens across Sydney and Melbourne. Local communities naturally fear for the health of their ...
Family First says that the latest abortion statistics make grim and upsetting reading, with a 25% increase in abortions since the decriminalisation of abortion in March 2020. According to an Official Information Act request received by Right to Life ...
Ipsos New Zealand's inaugural participation in a global study on populism reveals a pervasive sense of societal and economic decline among New Zealanders. MORE DETAILS AND FULL REPORT HERE Ipsos New Zealand's inaugural participation in a global study ...
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?
Good idea. Made my day. Especially as Nats hate trains lol.
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