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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The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
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. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
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. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
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. ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
I was initially resistant to the idea often suggested to me that the Government should deliver an arts strategy. The whole point of the arts and creativity is that people should do whatever the hell they want, unbound by the dictates of politicians in Wellington. Peter Jackson, Kiri Te Kanawa, Eleanor ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
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)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, 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 ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...
You can’t have missed the Gallipoli story as the movies, documentaries, essays and books capture what it was like for New Zealand troops in their eight-month campaign on the Peninsula. But this Anzac Day the Auckland War Memorial Museum has published a book that sheds light on a little-known aspect of the ...
The Prime Minister has committed to resuming direct flights to Thailand. But it’s not a promise he will be able to deliver on anytime soon. The post Prime Minister jumps the gun in Thailand appeared first on Newsroom. ...
It’s not that long ago Eliza McCartney was seriously wondering if the Paris Olympics would be her pole vaulting swansong. After years of being hounded by injury after injury, the Rio Olympics bronze medallist was still confident she would compete at her second Olympics in Paris in July, unless something ...
FICTION 1 Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) There’s commercial fiction, like this book, and then there’s quality fiction, quality writers, quality literature; the forthcoming Auckland Writers Festival is full of quality, and ReadingRoom has two tickets to give away to the following events: Paul Lynch (Dublin ...
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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?
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