The Napier-Wairoa rail was one of the NZF regional growth fund promises from 2017 (IIRC). In the most recent election, they've promised to investigate the route through to Gisborne (although, I don't think that will happen – it's simply not economic).
NZF have been traditionally supportive of rail as a regional support initiative.
I wouldn't be surprised if re-opening the Wairoa rail line was still on the cards.
NACT1st turning into a right "Dog's Breakfast" pushing things through as quickly as possible without much thought. Cancel the ferries without a Long Term Strategic Plan is not Super Smart IMHO.
Absolutely. Mountain Tui and Mickey Savage have done detailed Posts on same , the involvement of Taxpayers union, Atlas Network et al, many here have also commented to it.
And as you say..
Luxon, seymour, jones, bishop, Willis and co are the managers tasked with execution and will be rewarded based on that.
The Public Service Association said the cuts include principal and senior scientists, geologists, geophysicists, geochemists, technicians and support staff.
GNS scientists work included monitoring and researching geohazards such as earthquakes, landslides, volcanoes and tsunamis, as well as research on the sustainable management of the environment and effective adaptation to climate change.
Of course! " sustainable management of the environment and effective adaptation to climate change" is not any part of NACT1's program !
Meanwhile, the scientific community have written an open letter to the government expressing concern for how the cuts would affect GNS's ability to provide crucial science.
The letter has been signed by 85 scientists from seven countries.
"It's extremely embarrassing that respected scientists from around the world can see the huge value GNS scientists provide to our country, but the Government can't," Leo said.
Gathering real data about "sustainable management of the environment and effective adaptation to climate change" might imply some onus on governments to plan for such things. If there is no plan, and the cards simply lie where they fall, there will be interesting opportunities for the private sector to profit from whatever eventuates on the climate front.
Are you bankrupted by losing your home in a flood and insurance won't pay out? No worries, come to our exclusive trailer park, shop at the on-premises company store and enjoy our vibrant 'community'.
Luxton's Press Secretary Resign's – I wonder why, he wouldn't be fricken easy to work with IMHO ??? Probably throw a few wobbly's and throw his toys around.
If far right-wing sop Hamish Rutherford couldn't cope in Luxon's office then you know how extreme this mob's policies are. When Rutherford was a reporter you could more often than not guess the pieces he wrote just going by the headline.
A fubar mess in the middle east led by the rouge state of Israel. War crimes are now normal from this Crazy State, and governments in the West shrug.
So we all get to sit, and watch Israel kill more civilians, blast the last vestiges of the Lebanon economy to dust – all the while our own government does nothing.
I do wonder what would happen if people started to remove Israeli products from the shelves, would the government act then?
I do wonder what would happen if people started to remove Israeli products from the shelves,
I gather that there has been an informal consumer boycott on buying Israeli consumer goods for some time, by pro-Palestine activists. Of course, we don't actually import much, so it's had little effect.
According to this, the largest value trade is in gas turbines – not something the average consumer can purchase (or not, as the case may be)
The gutless EU in particular could do much more to get something happening, US Imperialism will not turn the money and arms tap off in the short/medium term, so it is up to the worlds people to stick it to the Zionists via BDS–Boycott, Divest and Sanction. Hit the Israelis where it hurts–economically and culturally as we did with Apartheid South Africa.
There is a massive international solidarity movement around the world in support of Palestine, but it may tragically be too late given the IDF butchers starvation policy, which is backed up by various Mid East Authoritarian rulers such as the Egyptians that will not open the border for substantial aid.
NZ activists are targeting Israeli humus in supermarkets for example with stickers, which is a start, don’t buy Sodastream, there are alternatives now. BDS has a lot of info on how those of us at this distance can help. https://bdsmovement.net
I stopped buying Sodastream CO2 gas refills a couple of years back because Sodastream is based in Israel.
After purchasing a commercial type gas cylinder I could buy 9kg of gas for $65 instead of paying a pre-rise price of $35 for a 400gm Sodastream refill.
That changed a bit when Marsden Refinery closed and left Todd Group as the only supplier of NZ produced CO2. The 9kg refill went up to $120. The cylinder and an adapter are not a cheap outlay. However even at the new price the 20 odd refills I made from the more expensive CO2 have covered the cost of the outlay and left me ahead.
Israel will not notice one individuals effort, but at least I have stopped supporting what amounts to a terrorist state that is constantly transgressing established borders to terrorise citizens of other states.
“ Of course we have no need for seismologists, what do they do anyway, just look into holes to see when earthquakes happened hundreds of years ago, what I’m saying to you is we need more go-getters, team people, dynamic people, people to take us forward going forward, not backwards like Labour looking in holes , Im saying to you they must have been employed under Labour making those holes financial ones that’s where the 150 billion went, in holes. Labour spending wasteful amounts on looking in holes. What’s a seismologist anyway.. oh a what?, earthquake scientist ! …No need for them not dynamically forward looking team members going forward that’s what I’m saying to you. What I’m say to you, we’ve had our earthquakes they are in the past, we won’t have any more under National, we are going to ban them, they cost too much I’m saying to you the scientists probably wear patches with names on them, under National, they,re gone and I’ll personally be looking in their wardrobes for anything with insignias on them, that’s dynamism leadership for you, whatever that is I’m saying to you, now don’t start me on volcanologists, they just fly round in spaceships with funny ears right ? They’re gone too, no need for them I’m saying to you.”
Remind you of anyone? Looks like an arse , is an arse, talks the stuff that comes out of an arse.
Thank God, I feel better now I’ve got that off my chest.
In reacting to the head of ANZ saying the time had come for a CGT, I heard the Prime Conflict of Interest, the Minister of Entitlement say something about an bankers wanting to take money away from us.
Ironic much, when one has just made a few $100,000 tax free capital gains from selling one of the spare properties from the portfolio.
To Tiger Mountain, the Egyptians do allow aid in, the IDF blocks most of it. Egypt does not want to be compliant with the Israelis genocide and emptying Palestine so they can sieze all the land. Egypt is not wealthy it could not possibly feed an house an entire nation.
To Tiger Mountain, the Egyptians do allow aid in, the IDF blocks most of it. Egypt does not want to be compliant with the Israelis genocide…..
Egypt does not want to appear compliant with the Israeli genocide,
But it is. And has been, for a long time.
The PA leader Mahmoud Abbass asked the Egyption leader Al Sisi if he could lead an international delegation into Gaza through Egypt to break the Israeli blockade. Al Sisi replied, Yes, but only if the Israelis approve it.
The military regime Abdel Al Sisi, and the military regime of Hosni Mubarak before him are longstanding backers of Israel's illegal siege of Gaza.
Egypt told PA’s Abbas he could visit Gaza if Israel approves; Jerusalem refused
10 September 2024, 9:52 am
…..Citing a diplomat from an unnamed Middle Eastern country, the report says the PA asked Israel and Egypt to help facilitate Abbas’s promised visit to Gaza. Cairo didn’t object but said Jerusalem had to okay it. Israel refused the request…..
Palestinian leader Abbas tells Turkish parliament he will go to Gaza
The president of the Palestinian Authority tells Turkish legislators he will stand by the Palestinian people even at the cost of his life.
“I have decided to head to the Gaza Strip along with all the brothers from the Palestinian leadership,” Abbas said.
“I will work with all my power so that all of us are standing with our people to stop this barbaric aggression even if that would cost us our life. Our life is not more valuable than that of the smallest child in Gaza.”
The Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour in a speech before the UN Security Council told the UNSC that the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, was going to lead a delegation to Gaza to stand by the Palestinian people. Abbas is calling for all leaders to go with them to Gaza
"Who is stopping you from doing this?" Riyad Mansour
[The following AI generated transcript has been lightly edited to aid comprehension]
@8:19 minutes
…..President Abbas has declared his intention, and the intention of the Palestinian leadership, to head to Gaza. He has called for leaders from around the globe to join him. And to support this initiative. I have communicated the position of the leadership to the Secretary General about this initiative. And to you, Mr President. I assume that you shared it with the colleagues and members of the Security Council.
…..let us all go to the Gaza Strip and try to impose the ceasefire…..
……by all those who have spines to come and say we are coming to demand a ceasefire, and to demand it now in the Gaza Strip. And to show empathy, support, and solidarity with those who have been suffering immensely for more than 10 and a half months…..
A plan to disenfranchise Americans – called the Save Act – that the GOP tried to include in a government funding package has not succeeded.
It would have required proof of citizenship to vote, it would have created a roadblock for women (where the name on electoral roll is not the name on their birth certificate).
Some people never seem to learn from experience. No matter how often they had seen the lion devour the lamb, they continued to cling to the hope that the nature of the beast might change. If only the lion could get to know the lamb better, they argued, or talk matters over.
As our conversation in the spring wound down, I decided to ask Romney a question I’d somehow neglected to bring up in our dozens of interviews before: What—if anything—gave him hope about the future?
[…]
When I put it to Romney in his office, he told me about a book he’d recently read, The Age of Acrimony. The book chronicled America from 1865 to 1915, a period in which the country was exploding with political energy, much of it destructive. Torch-carrying mobs held massive rallies that turned into riots. Political assassinations were widespread. Many people were predicting a second civil war. Then, in relatively short order, “the air went out of the balloon,” Romney told me. Presidential-election turnout rates plunged from 80 percent in 1896 (when many people were bribed for their vote) to less than 50 percent two decades later. Romney invited the author, a historian at the Smithsonian, to his office. He wanted to know what had changed. How had a nation addicted to partisan tribalism and political violence managed to break the cycle? The author told him that members of the generation that had come of age during this “age of acrimony” simply decided they didn’t want to live that way anymore.
Oh dear, Luxon is not happy about a CGT tax. and his happy clappy finance minister agrees with him. I wonder if the gullible amongst us who hang on to his//hers every word will be able to figure out the real reason why:
National party oppose any tax which will hurt their greedy mates. This the core of the evil theological position our PM is a sucker to. As for the happy clappy fool of finance minister, needs lessons in Greek and Armamic that one – with a good dose of non-Euclidean geometry added.
He said the new Manawatu road is being tolled because of the addition of cycle lanes, which were not budgeted – trying to tell us that motorists will have to pay tolls all because of those commie greenie cyclists
He really has a pathological hatred of cycles, it seems. Perhaps he should see a professional about that. Scary that we should have such an unbalanced character as this with so much power.
What he didn't say was that the cost overruns were mostly because the new road was initially going to be a single lane each way, but later was changed to double lanes for a lot of the way, obviously will cost more. Double lanes for cars – that is.
Also didn't say anything about the fact that all the costings were done long before Covid was even a rumour. Anything being built at the time was subject to huge increases in costs that had not been anticipated.
Anything. Not just roads.
But no, its the cyclists fault.
Divide and rule, that is what National do, and have always done.
Perhaps he should install a donation box at each end of the new road so that cyclists can thoughtfully make a contribution and pay their fair share.
I hoped to provide a link to the article but can longer find it.
A new season of White Lotus is nearly upon us: more murder mystery, more sumptuous surroundings, more rich people behaving badly.Once more we get to identify with the experience of the pampered tourist or perhaps the poorly paid help; there's something in White Lotus for all New Zealanders.And unlike the ...
In 2016, Aotearoa shockingly plunged to fourth place in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. Nine years later, and we're back there again: New Zealand has seen a further slip in its global ranking in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). [...] In the latest CPI New Zealand's score ...
1. You’ve started ranking your politicians on how much they respect the rule of law2. You’ve stopped paying attention to those news publications3. You’ve developed a sudden interest in a particular period of history4. More and more people are sounding like your racist, conspiracist uncle.5. Someone just pulled a Nazi ...
Transforming New Zealand: Brian EastonBrian Easton will discuss the above topic at 2/57 Willis Street, Wellington at 5:30pm on Tuesday 26 February at 2/57 Willis Street, WellingtonThe sub-title to the above is "Why is the Left failing?" Brian Easton's analysis is based on his view that while the ...
Salvation Army’s State of the Nation 2025 report highlights falling living standards, the highest unemployment rates since the 1990s and half of all Pacific children going without food. There are reports of hundreds if not thousands of people are applying for the same jobs in the wake of last year’s ...
Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Correction: On the article The Condundrum of David Seymour, Luke Malpass conducted joint reviews with Bryce Wilkinson, the architect of the Regulatory Standards Bill - not Bryce Edwards. The article ...
Tomorrow the council’s Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee meet and agenda has a few interesting papers. Council’s Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport Every year the council provide a Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport which is part of the process for informing AT of the council’s priorities and ...
All around in my home townThey're trying to track me down, yeahThey say they want to bring me in guiltyFor the killing of a deputyFor the life of a deputySongwriter: Robert Nesta Marley.Support Nick’s Kōrero today with a 20% discount on a paid subscription to receive all my newsletters directly ...
Hi,I think all of us have probably experienced the power of music — that strange, transformative thing that gets under our skin and helps us experience this whole life thing with some kind of sanity.Listening and experiencing music has always been such a huge part of my life, and has ...
Business frustration over the stalled economy is growing, and only 34% of voters are confidentNicola Willis can deliver. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 12 are:Business frustration is growing about a ...
I have now lived long enough to see a cabinet minister go both barrels on their Prime Minister and not get sacked.It used to be that the PM would have a drawer full of resignations signed by ministers on the day of their appointment, ready for such an occasion. But ...
This session will feature Simon McCallum, Senior Lecturer in Engineering and Computer Science (VUW) and recent Labour Party candidate in the Southland Electorate talking about some of the issues around AI and how this should inform Labour Party policy. Simon is an excellent speaker with a comprehensive command of AI ...
The proposed Waimate garbage incinerator is dead: The company behind a highly-controversial proposal to build a waste-to-energy plant in the Waimate District no longer has the land. [...] However, SIRRL director Paul Taylor said the sales and purchase agreement to purchase land from Murphy Farms, near Glenavy, lapsed at ...
The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has been a vital tool in combatting international corruption. It forbids US companies and citizens from bribing foreign public officials anywhere in the world. And its actually enforced: some of the world's biggest companies - Siemens, Hewlett Packard, and Bristol Myers Squibb - have ...
December 2024 photo - with UK Tory Boris Johnson (Source: Facebook)Those PollsFor hours, political poll results have resounded across political hallways and commentary.According to the 1News Verizon poll, 50% of the country believe we are heading in the “wrong direction”, while 39% believe we are “on the right track”.The left ...
A Tai Rāwhiti mill that ran for 30 years before it was shut down in late 2023 is set to re-open in the coming months, which will eventually see nearly 300 new jobs in the region. A new report from Massey University shows that pensioners are struggling with rising costs. ...
As support continues to fall, Luxon also now faces his biggest internal ructions within the coalition since the election, with David Seymour reacting badly to being criticised by the PM. File photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Not since 1988 when Richard Prebble openly criticised David Lange have we seen such a challenge to a Prime Minister as that of David Seymour to Christopher Luxon last night. Prebble suggested Lange had mental health issues during a TV interview and was almost immediately fired. Seymour hasn’t gone quite ...
Three weeks in, and the 24/7 news cycle is not helping anyone feel calm and informed about the second Trump presidency. One day, the US is threatening 25% trade tariffs on its friends and neighbours. The reasons offered by the White House are absurd, such as stopping fentanyl coming in ...
This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Wherever you look, you'll hear headlines claiming we've passed 1.5 degrees of global warming. And while 2024 saw ...
Photo by Heather M. Edwards on UnsplashHere’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s politics and economy in the week to Feb 10 below. That’s ahead of live chats on the Substack App and The Kākā’s front page on Substack at 5pm with: on his column in The ...
Is there anyone in the world the National Party loves more than a campaign donor? Why yes, there is! They will always have the warmest hello and would you like to slip into something more comfortable for that great god of our age, the High Net Worth Individual.The words the ...
Waste and fraud certainly exist in foreign aid programs, but rightwing celebration of USAID’s dismantling shows profound ignorance of the value of soft power (as opposed to hard power) in projecting US influence and interests abroad by non-military/coercive means (think of “hearts and minds,” “hugs, not bullets,” “honey versus vinegar,” ...
Health New Zealand is proposing to cut almost half of its data and digital positions – more than 1000 of them. The PSA has called on the Privacy Commissioner to urgently investigate the cuts due to the potential for serious consequences for patients. NZNO is calling for an urgent increase ...
We may see a few more luxury cars on Queen Street, but a loosening of rules to entice rich foreigners to invest more here is unlikely to “turbocharge our economic growth”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Let us not dance daintily around the elephant in the room. Our politicians who serve us in the present are not honest, certainly not as honest as they should be, and while the right are taking out most of the trophies for warping narratives and literally redefining “facts”, the kiwi ...
A few weeks ago I took a look at public transport ridership in 2024. In today’s post I’m going to be looking a bit deeper at bus ridership. Buses make up the vast majority of ridership in Auckland with 70 million boardings last year out of a total of 89.4 ...
Oh, you know I did itIt's over and I feel fineNothing you could say is gonna change my mindWaited and I waited the longest nightNothing like the taste of sweet declineSongwriters: Chris Shiflett / David Eric Grohl / Nate Mendel / Taylor Hawkins.Hindsight is good, eh?The clarity when the pieces ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 16 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 10The Kākā’s weekly wrap-up of news about politics and the economy is due at midday, followed by webinar for paying subscribers in Substack’s ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 2, 2025 thru Sat, February 8, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
Today, I stumbled across a Twitter Meme: the ending of The Lord of the Rings as a Chess scenario: https://x.com/mellon_heads/status/1887983845917564991 It gets across the basic gist. Aragorn and Gandalf offering up ‘material’ at the Morannon allows Frodo and Samwise to catch Sauron unawares – fair enough. But there are a ...
Last week, Kieran McAnulty called out Chris Bishop and Nicola Willis for their claims that Kāinga Ora’s costs were too high.They had claimed Kāinga Ora’s cost were 12% higher than market i.e. private devlopersBut Kāinga Ora’s Chair had already explained why last year:"We're not building to sell, so we'll be ...
Stuff’s Political Editor Luke Malpass - A Fellow at New Zealand IniativeLast week I half-joked that Stuff / The Post’s Luke Malpass1 always sounded like he was auditioning for a job at the New Zealand Initiative.Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. For a limited time, subscriptions are 20% off. Thanks ...
At a funeral on Friday, there were A4-sized photos covering every wall of the Dil’s reception lounge. There must have been 200 of them, telling the story in the usual way of the video reel but also, by enlargement, making it more possible to linger and step in.Our friend Nicky ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is methane the ...
The Government’s idea is that the private sector and Community Housing Providers will fund, build and operate new affordable housing to address our housing crisis. Meanwhile, the Government does not know where almost half of the 1,700 children who left emergency housing actually went. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong ...
Oh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youOh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youSongwriters: Alexander Ebert / Jade Allyson CastrinosMorena,I’m on a tight time frame this morning. In about an hour and a half, I’ll need to pack up and hit the road ...
This is a post about the Mountain Tui substack, and small tweaks - further to the poll and request post the other day. Please don’t read if you aren’t interested in my personal matters. Thank you all.After oohing-and-aahing about how to structure the Substack model since November, including obtaining ...
This transcript of a recent conversation between the Prime Minister and his chief economic adviser has not been verified.We’ve announced we are the ‘Yes Government’. Do you like it?Yes, Prime Minister.Dreamed up by the PR team. It’s about being committed to growth. Not that the PR team know anything about ...
The other day, Australian Senator Nick McKim issued a warning in the Australian Parliement about the US’s descent into fascim.And of course it’s true, but I lament - that was true as soon as Trump won.What we see is now simply the reification of the intention, planning, and forces behind ...
Among the many other problems associated with Musk/DOGE sending a fleet of teenage and twenty-something cultists to remove, copy and appropriate federal records like social security, medicaid and other supposedly protected data is the fact that the youngsters doing the data-removal, copying and security protocol and filter code over-writing have ...
Jokerman dance to the nightingale tuneBird fly high by the light of the moonOh, oh, oh, JokermanSong by Bob Dylan.Morena folks, I hope this fine morning of the 7th of February finds you well. We're still close to Paihia, just a short drive out of town. Below is the view ...
It’s been an eventful week as always, so here’s a few things that we have found interesting. We also hope everyone had a happy and relaxing Waitangi Day! This week in Greater Auckland We’re still running on summer time, but provided two chewy posts: On Tuesday, a guest ...
Queuing on Queen St: the Government is set to announce another apparently splashy growth policy on Sunday of offering residence visas to wealthy migrants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, February 7:PM Christopher ...
The fact that Waitangi ended up being such a low-key affair may mark it out as one of the most significant Waitangi Days in recent years. A group of women draped in “Toitu Te Tiriti” banners who turned their backs on the politicians’ powhiri was about as rough as it ...
Hi,This week’s Flightless Bird episode was about “fake seizure guy” — a Melbourne man who fakes seizures in order to get members of the public to sit on him.The audio documentary (which I have included in this newsletter in case you don’t listen to Flightless Bird) built on reporting first ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk The 119th Congress comes with a price tag. The oil and gas industry gave about $24 million in campaign contributions to the members of the U.S. House and Senate expected to be sworn in January 3, 2025, according to a ...
Early morning, the shadows still long, but you can already feel the warmth building. Our motel was across the road from the historic homestead where Henry Williams' family lived. The evening before, we wandered around the gardens, reading the plaques and enjoying the close proximity to the history of the ...
Thanks folks for your feedback, votes and comments this week. I’ll be making the changes soon. Appreciate all your emails, comments and subscriptions too. I know your time is valuable - muchas gracias.A lot is happening both here and around the world - so I want to provide a snippets ...
Data released today by Statistics NZ shows that unemployment rose to 5.1%, with 33,000 more people out of work than last year said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney. “The latest data shows that employment fell in Aotearoa at its fastest rate since the GFC. Unemployment rose in 8 ...
The December labour market statistics have been released, showing yet another increase in unemployment. There are now 156,000 unemployed - 34,000 more than when National took office. And having thrown all these people out of work, National is doubling down on cruelty. Because being vicious will somehow magically create the ...
Boarded up homes in Kilbirnie, where work on a planned development was halted. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 5 are;Housing Minister Chris Bishop yesterday announcedKāinga Ora would be stripped of ...
This week Kiwirail and Auckland Transport were celebrating the completion of the summer rail works that had the network shut or for over a month and the start of electric trains to Pukekohe. First up, here’s parts of the press release about the shutdown works. Passengers boarding trains in Auckland ...
Through its austerity measures, the coalition government has engineered a rise in unemployment in order to reduce inflation while – simultaneously – cracking down harder and harder on the people thrown out of work by its own policies. To that end, Social Development Minister Louise Upston this week added two ...
This year, we've seen a radical, white supremacist government ignoring its Tiriti obligations, refusing to consult with Māori, and even trying to legislatively abrogate te Tiriti o Waitangi. When it was criticised by the Waitangi Tribunal, the government sabotaged that body, replacing its legal and historical experts with corporate shills, ...
Poor old democracy, it really is in a sorry state. It would be easy to put all the blame on the vandals and tyrants presently trashing the White House, but this has been years in the making. It begins with Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan and the spirit of Gordon ...
The new school lunches came in this week, and they were absolutely scrumptious.I had some, and even though Connor said his tasted like “stodge” and gave him a sore tummy, I myself loved it!Look at the photos - I knew Mr Seymour wouldn’t lie when he told us last year:"It ...
The tighter sanctions are modelled on ones used in Britain, which did push people off ‘the dole’, but didn’t increase the number of workers, and which evidence has repeatedly shown don’t work. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, ...
Catching you up on the morning’s global news and a quick look at the parallels -GLOBALTariffs are backSharemarkets in the US, UK and Europe have “plunged” in response to Trump’s tariffs. And while Mexico has won a one month reprieve, Canada and China will see their respective 25% and 10% ...
This post by Nicolas Reid was originally published on Linked in. It is republished here with permission. Gondolas are often in the news, with manufacturers of ropeway systems proposing them as a modern option for mass transit systems in New Zealand. However, like every next big thing in transport, it’s hard ...
This is a re-post from The Climate BrinkBoth 2023 and 2024 were exceptionally warm years, at just below and above 1.5C relative to preindustrial in the WMO composite of surface temperature records, respectively. While we are still working to assess the full set of drivers of this warmth, it is clear that ...
Hi,I woke up feeling nervous this morning, realising that this weekend Flightless Bird is going to do it’s first ever live show. We’re heading to a sold out (!) show in Seattle to test the format out in front of an audience. If it works, we’ll do more. I want ...
From the United-For-Now States of America comes the thrilling news that a New Zealander may be at the very heart of the current coup. Punching above our weight on the world stage once more! Wait, you may be asking, what New Zealander? I speak of Peter Thiel, made street legal ...
Even Stevens: Over the 33 years between 1990 and 2023 (and allowing for the aberrant 2020 result) the average level of support enjoyed by the Left and Right blocs, at roughly 44.5 percent each, turns out to be, as near as dammit, identical.WORLDWIDE, THE PARTIES of the Left are presented ...
Back in 2023, a "prominent political figure" went on trial for historic sex offences. But we weren't allowed to know who they were or what political party they were "prominent" in, because it might affect the way we voted. At the time, I said that this was untenable; it was ...
I'm going, I'm goingWhere the water tastes like wineI'm going where the water tastes like wineWe can jump in the waterStay drunk all the timeI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayAll this fussing and fighting, man, you know I sure ...
Waitangi Day is a time to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and stand together for a just and fair Aotearoa. Across the motu, communities are gathering to reflect, kōrero, and take action for a future built on equity and tino rangatiratanga. From dawn ceremonies to whānau-friendly events, there are ...
Subscribe to Mountain Tūī ! Where you too can learn about exciting things from a flying bird! Tweet.Yes - I absolutely suck at marketing. It’s a fact.But first -My question to all readers is:How should I set up the Substack model?It’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask since November ...
Here’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s political economy on politics and in the week to Feb 3:PM Christopher Luxon began 2025’s first day of Parliament last Tuesday by carrying on where left off in 2024, letting National’s junior coalition partner set the political agenda and dragging ...
Half of Pacific children sometimes going without food is just one of many heartbreaking lowlights in the Salvation Army’s annual State of the Nation report. ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report is a bleak indictment on the failure of Government to take steps to end poverty, with those on benefits, including their children, hit hardest. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill which would restore decision-making power to local communities regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. The ‘Fluoridation (Referendum) Legislation Bill’ seeks to repeal the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 that granted centralised authority to the Direct General of Health ...
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It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Government’s move to increase speed limits substantially on dozens of stretches of rural and often undivided highways will result in more serious harm. ...
In her first announcement as Economic Growth Minister, Nicola Willis chose to loosen restrictions for digital nomads from other countries, rather than focus on everyday Kiwis. ...
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From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
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Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
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Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
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Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. “The Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,” says Mr ...
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"Disconnected from reality"? Isnt that NACT1 summed?
The lunacy of fast track, roads we need, and the literal urgency behind all that NACT1 are pushing..belies any sense, or rationality.
Further to the Future is Rail and links I have earlier given…
here is a positive action.
Napier-Wairoa rail ain't coming back and the Ruapehu mills are gone, so they're getting rid of almost all rail staff at Napier.
The Napier-Wairoa rail was one of the NZF regional growth fund promises from 2017 (IIRC). In the most recent election, they've promised to investigate the route through to Gisborne (although, I don't think that will happen – it's simply not economic).
NZF have been traditionally supportive of rail as a regional support initiative.
I wouldn't be surprised if re-opening the Wairoa rail line was still on the cards.
Money lost when they cut TREC.
Looks as though Peters and NZ First (yes, I know the two are synonymous) still want rail on ferries.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/interislander-winston-peters-wants-rail-on-ferries-national-isnt-so-sure/JUISSIRWSZEYNJONAEMD4SLJ3Q/
I guess it seems difficult to see Peters as the White Knight for rail services in NZ….
The RNZ story and the Treasury and MoT advice within is a public service nightmare of massive proportions. It's on previous and current governments.
NACT1st turning into a right "Dog's Breakfast" pushing things through as quickly as possible without much thought. Cancel the ferries without a Long Term Strategic Plan is not Super Smart IMHO.
Theres definitely a strategic plan IMHO.
Luxon, seymour, jones, bishop, Willis and co are the managers tasked with execution and will be rewarded based on that.
Youve already seen those who arent team players being moved aside. Coster, Lee, Simmonds, various others like NZH board etc
Absolutely. Mountain Tui and Mickey Savage have done detailed Posts on same , the involvement of Taxpayers union, Atlas Network et al, many here have also commented to it.
And as you say..
Directorships, Board memberships, etc etc coming .
Still doesnt belie their lack of sense and rationality for us the rest of NZ…..
Yup no surprise to see shonky era ministers with well paid roles in the plunder as they have proven themselves.
Can you shed a little light on that? They will be rewarded by who or what? Do you have details?
Science? We dont need no frickin' science !
Of course! " sustainable management of the environment and effective adaptation to climate change" is not any part of NACT1's program !
NACT1 taking us into a new Dark age….: (
Gathering real data about "sustainable management of the environment and effective adaptation to climate change" might imply some onus on governments to plan for such things. If there is no plan, and the cards simply lie where they fall, there will be interesting opportunities for the private sector to profit from whatever eventuates on the climate front.
Are you bankrupted by losing your home in a flood and insurance won't pay out? No worries, come to our exclusive trailer park, shop at the on-premises company store and enjoy our vibrant 'community'.
As the definitive user(loser?) pays… come to pass.
And re your second paragraph….maybe satirical, or, welcome to a possible Future NZ.
The deluded mugs that voted for change, will find out that survival of the fittest, did not include them.
I feel much empathy and sadness for the rest of us.
Luxton's Press Secretary Resign's – I wonder why, he wouldn't be fricken easy to work with IMHO ??? Probably throw a few wobbly's and throw his toys around.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/528968/christopher-luxon-s-chief-press-secretary-resigns
It’s no secret that Nicola Willis is also in (urgent) need of a Senior Press Secretary.
They’re entitled, but Willux could consider setting an example by sharing a secretary
If far right-wing sop Hamish Rutherford couldn't cope in Luxon's office then you know how extreme this mob's policies are. When Rutherford was a reporter you could more often than not guess the pieces he wrote just going by the headline.
A fubar mess in the middle east led by the rouge state of Israel. War crimes are now normal from this Crazy State, and governments in the West shrug.
So we all get to sit, and watch Israel kill more civilians, blast the last vestiges of the Lebanon economy to dust – all the while our own government does nothing.
I do wonder what would happen if people started to remove Israeli products from the shelves, would the government act then?
I gather that there has been an informal consumer boycott on buying Israeli consumer goods for some time, by pro-Palestine activists. Of course, we don't actually import much, so it's had little effect.
According to this, the largest value trade is in gas turbines – not something the average consumer can purchase (or not, as the case may be)
https://oec.world/en/profile/bilateral-country/isr/partner/nzl
The gutless EU in particular could do much more to get something happening, US Imperialism will not turn the money and arms tap off in the short/medium term, so it is up to the worlds people to stick it to the Zionists via BDS–Boycott, Divest and Sanction. Hit the Israelis where it hurts–economically and culturally as we did with Apartheid South Africa.
There is a massive international solidarity movement around the world in support of Palestine, but it may tragically be too late given the IDF butchers starvation policy, which is backed up by various Mid East Authoritarian rulers such as the Egyptians that will not open the border for substantial aid.
NZ activists are targeting Israeli humus in supermarkets for example with stickers, which is a start, don’t buy Sodastream, there are alternatives now. BDS has a lot of info on how those of us at this distance can help.
https://bdsmovement.net
Thanks for that link TM.
https://bdsmovement.net/get-involved/join-a-bds-campaign?country=New+Zealand
Good to know I can actually do (boycott) something, no matter how small.
http://www.bdsnz.org.nz
https://kiaoragaza.wordpress.com/
I stopped buying Sodastream CO2 gas refills a couple of years back because Sodastream is based in Israel.
After purchasing a commercial type gas cylinder I could buy 9kg of gas for $65 instead of paying a pre-rise price of $35 for a 400gm Sodastream refill.
That changed a bit when Marsden Refinery closed and left Todd Group as the only supplier of NZ produced CO2. The 9kg refill went up to $120. The cylinder and an adapter are not a cheap outlay. However even at the new price the 20 odd refills I made from the more expensive CO2 have covered the cost of the outlay and left me ahead.
Israel will not notice one individuals effort, but at least I have stopped supporting what amounts to a terrorist state that is constantly transgressing established borders to terrorise citizens of other states.
Hear, Hear.
Looks as though there are plenty of alternatives to SodaStream in the market.
https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/the-best-soda-maker-for-the-sparkliest-water-and-the-bubbliest-cocktails-article
“ Of course we have no need for seismologists, what do they do anyway, just look into holes to see when earthquakes happened hundreds of years ago, what I’m saying to you is we need more go-getters, team people, dynamic people, people to take us forward going forward, not backwards like Labour looking in holes , Im saying to you they must have been employed under Labour making those holes financial ones that’s where the 150 billion went, in holes. Labour spending wasteful amounts on looking in holes. What’s a seismologist anyway.. oh a what?, earthquake scientist ! …No need for them not dynamically forward looking team members going forward that’s what I’m saying to you. What I’m say to you, we’ve had our earthquakes they are in the past, we won’t have any more under National, we are going to ban them, they cost too much I’m saying to you the scientists probably wear patches with names on them, under National, they,re gone and I’ll personally be looking in their wardrobes for anything with insignias on them, that’s dynamism leadership for you, whatever that is I’m saying to you, now don’t start me on volcanologists, they just fly round in spaceships with funny ears right ? They’re gone too, no need for them I’m saying to you.”
Remind you of anyone? Looks like an arse , is an arse, talks the stuff that comes out of an arse.
Thank God, I feel better now I’ve got that off my chest.
Hoots Adrian. Somehow captures Luxon chatter
FIFY
Oh! and don't forget.. "We are working immensely hard …"
But at what? is the question.
Well done.
In reacting to the head of ANZ saying the time had come for a CGT, I heard the Prime Conflict of Interest, the Minister of Entitlement say something about an bankers wanting to take money away from us.
Ironic much, when one has just made a few $100,000 tax free capital gains from selling one of the spare properties from the portfolio.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/home-property/350425447/christopher-luxon-sells-onehunga-auckland-investment-property
To Tiger Mountain, the Egyptians do allow aid in, the IDF blocks most of it. Egypt does not want to be compliant with the Israelis genocide and emptying Palestine so they can sieze all the land. Egypt is not wealthy it could not possibly feed an house an entire nation.
Egypt does not want to appear compliant with the Israeli genocide,
But it is. And has been, for a long time.
The PA leader Mahmoud Abbass asked the Egyption leader Al Sisi if he could lead an international delegation into Gaza through Egypt to break the Israeli blockade. Al Sisi replied, Yes, but only if the Israelis approve it.
The military regime Abdel Al Sisi, and the military regime of Hosni Mubarak before him are longstanding backers of Israel's illegal siege of Gaza.
The Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour in a speech before the UN Security Council told the UNSC that the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, was going to lead a delegation to Gaza to stand by the Palestinian people. Abbas is calling for all leaders to go with them to Gaza
"Who is stopping you from doing this?" Riyad Mansour
When your troops run from the mushroom clouds, you better do what the crazy government wants.
A plan to disenfranchise Americans – called the Save Act – that the GOP tried to include in a government funding package has not succeeded.
It would have required proof of citizenship to vote, it would have created a roadblock for women (where the name on electoral roll is not the name on their birth certificate).
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4889074-hakeem-jeffries-election-rules-government-funding/
Emma Goldman
The fact they even put the Save Act on the table is shit. But the far right have won in the West. So we get use to it, or we stand up and push back.
Mitt Romney hopes the kids are alright.
.
As our conversation in the spring wound down, I decided to ask Romney a question I’d somehow neglected to bring up in our dozens of interviews before: What—if anything—gave him hope about the future?
[…]
When I put it to Romney in his office, he told me about a book he’d recently read, The Age of Acrimony. The book chronicled America from 1865 to 1915, a period in which the country was exploding with political energy, much of it destructive. Torch-carrying mobs held massive rallies that turned into riots. Political assassinations were widespread. Many people were predicting a second civil war. Then, in relatively short order, “the air went out of the balloon,” Romney told me. Presidential-election turnout rates plunged from 80 percent in 1896 (when many people were bribed for their vote) to less than 50 percent two decades later. Romney invited the author, a historian at the Smithsonian, to his office. He wanted to know what had changed. How had a nation addicted to partisan tribalism and political violence managed to break the cycle? The author told him that members of the generation that had come of age during this “age of acrimony” simply decided they didn’t want to live that way anymore.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/09/mitt-romney-trump/679994/?gift=otEsSHbRYKNfFYMngVFweJRyM6zVmiDMVs-lJxkjpjs&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social
Oh dear, Luxon is not happy about a CGT tax. and his happy clappy finance minister agrees with him. I wonder if the gullible amongst us who hang on to his//hers every word will be able to figure out the real reason why:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/529018/luxon-takes-crack-at-anz-boss-antonia-watson-over-capital-gains-tax-support
Mammonites Rule, Christian's Fooled.
National party oppose any tax which will hurt their greedy mates. This the core of the evil theological position our PM is a sucker to. As for the happy clappy fool of finance minister, needs lessons in Greek and Armamic that one – with a good dose of non-Euclidean geometry added.
Daddy Luxbucks knows …
“As an alpha male, I understand what she’s doing…”
Gideon Brown telling another lie.
He said the new Manawatu road is being tolled because of the addition of cycle lanes, which were not budgeted – trying to tell us that motorists will have to pay tolls all because of those commie greenie cyclists
He really has a pathological hatred of cycles, it seems. Perhaps he should see a professional about that. Scary that we should have such an unbalanced character as this with so much power.
What he didn't say was that the cost overruns were mostly because the new road was initially going to be a single lane each way, but later was changed to double lanes for a lot of the way, obviously will cost more. Double lanes for cars – that is.
Also didn't say anything about the fact that all the costings were done long before Covid was even a rumour. Anything being built at the time was subject to huge increases in costs that had not been anticipated.
Anything. Not just roads.
But no, its the cyclists fault.
Divide and rule, that is what National do, and have always done.
Perhaps he should install a donation box at each end of the new road so that cyclists can thoughtfully make a contribution and pay their fair share.
I hoped to provide a link to the article but can longer find it.
found the link:
http://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/528916/manawatu-highway-s-200m-cost-blow-out-shows-need-for-toll-minister