Open mike 25/09/2024
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6:00 am, September 25th, 2024 - 43 comments
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- An Ailing Health Service
I had occasion yesterday to visit our health centre. My doctor had said that I needed a blood test. The first thing I noticed was that the phlebotomist was acting as her own receptionist. She was handing a number to prospective patients in the order in which they presented themselves. ...3 hours ago - Real Kiwis Say Welcome
One day there will come a timeWhen the person you are named after diesAnd all of a sudden, you're the only one leftSong: The Smith Street BandThis headline jumped out at me yesterday: Racism fallout at North Shore Hospital after patient request to avoid Asian staff.The article is sparse in ...9 hours ago - A better way of living
Nicola Willis and her boss have been peddling a fake short history of the previous government that runs as follows:They spent and spent, they had nothing to show for it and that is not how you grow the economy, because You can't tax yourself to prosperity.There is a sort of ...14 hours ago - The End of the Beginning of a Curate’s Egg: A Review and Analysis of The Rings of Power, Episode 8...
There’s a bad taste in my mouth. And it has nothing to do with dinner. The Rings of Power season two – undoubtedly a massive improvement on season one – has concluded on a mixed note. It’s not season one bitterness, in that parts of this episode were indeed excellent, ...18 hours ago - Join the Protest 23-October
This is a live page and will be updated with updates and resources.Facebook page: No to Privatisation by StealthSigns ...24 hours ago - If the Rain Comes
If the rain comes they run and hide their heads.They might as well be dead,If the rain comes, if the rain comes…Can you hear me that when it rains and shines,It's just a state of mind,Can you hear me, can you hear me?Song: Lennon-McCartneyIt’s been quite a week for Dunedin ...1 day ago - Up and down
2 days ago - Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head: Dunedin Flooding
I noted a few days ago that the Hospital protest happened to coincide with favourable weather. Well, it was a very happy coincidence, because the past twenty-four hours have been rather wet in this part of the world. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/weather-pictures-dunedin-flooded-as-state-of-local-emergency-declared/HNOB5YIEWFCUXNWXYIWGICZ6ZU/ In terms of sheer amount of rain, it’s one of those ...2 days ago - Is the New Zealand’s Retirement Strategy Sustainable?
Today’s mañana strategy will lead to a crisis for the oldest elderly.It is said that the only certainties are death and taxes, but a lack of each causes uncertainties. As longevity increases, the pressures on state spending increase. A reluctance to increase taxation means the pressures on the elderly increase.The ...2 days ago - Taking the piss
When cancer minister Casey Costello convinced Cabinet to give her mates at Philip Morris a $216 million tax cut, she did so in the face of departmental advice that there would be no benefits and that Philip Morris' "heated tobacco products" were more cancerous and toxic than cigarettes. But she ...2 days ago - National’s democratic suppression fails
Last week, National rammed its destructive offshore gas-drilling legislation through to select committee under urgency, and then gave submitters only four working days to have a say on it. The goal was clearly to stifle opposition, but it appears to have failed spectacularly: Despite being given only 3½ working ...2 days ago
- Deep-dive: What does an ageing population mean for Aotearoa?
Long story short: Treasury has warned again public debt will rise exponentially in the decades to come because of the rising costs of our ageing population, unless we change one or more of our New Zealand Superannuation promises, publicly-funded healthcare or tax settings. The current Government isn’t planning any changes, ...2 days ago - Extreme weather events coming for us all
Long stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer:“Why does everywhere seem to be flooding right now, Vox asks, as a new study predicts that 70% of ...2 days ago
- Weekly Roundup 4-October-2024
Welcome to the first week of October, which brings longer days and (we hope) lighter spirits. Despite the state of things, there are still abundant reasons to feel encouraged. On we roll! This roundup is brought to you by our largely volunteer crew. If you’d like to support our work ...2 days ago - One Heartbeat or Two?
Morning all, this is just a quick note from me this morning: I’m off for a scan shortly. I’m sure you know the drill, especially if you’re a mum: a squeeze of surprisingly cold gel straight on your front, which the radiologist then uses the ultrasound machine to try and ...3 days ago - The Hoon around the week to October 4
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate news, including another extreme climate event in the United States; on the escalating conflict between Israel, Iran ...3 days ago
- Govt to underwrite new private house-building
With housing construction stalled, the Government has come up with a plan to underwrite new developments. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, October 4:The Government is set to ...3 days ago - “We Have The Money For Health”
Yesterday, there was an excellent interview on 1News Breakfast with Former Health NZ Chair Rob Campbell. He was being interviewed in response to the government signalling to privatising our hospitals.Campbell confirmed what this publication and its readers have long talked about. One: We have the money for Health. Two: The ...3 days ago
- The new winning face of the Government
Yesterday’s NZME “Mood of the Boardroom” survey should be a wake-up call for the Government. This annual survey polls a wide range of private and public sector business leaders. Respondents to the survey rated their confidence in the New Zealand economy at 3.23 out of five, the highest score for optimism ...3 days ago
- The Farcical Casey Costello Saga
Do you want to hear a joke?One day a government Minister fought very hard to help out mates with tax cuts She scored them - a massive NZ $106 billion multinational tobacco company with shares trading at $192 each - $216 million worth of tax cuts on their star product ...3 days ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #40 2024
Open access notables Sloth metabolism may make survival untenable under climate change scenarios, Cliffe et al., PeerJ: Sloths are limited by the rate at which they can acquire energy and are unable to regulate core body temperature (Tb) to the extent seen in most mammals. Therefore, the metabolic impacts of climate change ...3 days ago - cancer 🙁
I have been outside this week, replacing spouting. Although this involves ladders and sharp tools, I am pleased to say there have been no cuts, no falls, no disasters. I mention this because from some of the comments some of you have made, I'm getting the feeling I may have ...3 days ago - Breakfast with Nicola and Barbara
At six o'clock I'm goin' downCoffee's hot, and the toast is brownHey street sweeper, clear my waySweethearts breakfast is the best in townSongwriter: Donald Hugh WalkerIt’s that time of year again when NZME presumably thanks the country’s business leaders for all the advertising they’ve done during the year. They do ...3 days ago - Ableism in Medicine: Why We Need Disabled Doctors
It’s very exciting to be getting a new medical school. It would be more exciting if the hospitals needed to train them weren’t on the verge of losing their licenses due to understaffing issues, and if the cost of such a school wasn’t coming at the expense of the health ...3 days ago - The unsung heroes of India’s extreme weather disasters
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sanket Jain Noushadbi Mujawar has created a community health model that helps people in India build resilience amid the rising climate disasters. (Photo credit: Sanket Jain) Community health care worker Noushadbi Mujawar safely evacuated everyone from Rajapur, an isolated ...3 days ago
- Throwback Thursday: a Low Traffic Neighbourhood by any other name…
This time three years ago – as described in this Thursday throwback post by Jolisa – Auckland was deep into experiencing another prolonged shift in perspective around how a city can look and feel. . A lot has changed since then; and a lot hasn’t. As a recent guest ...3 days ago
- Gordon Campbell on the perils of Israel’s war fever
Israel seems on the brink of achieving the war with Iran that Benjamin Netanyahu has been trying all year to provoke. Until now, Iran had not taken the bait. It had not replied in kind to Israel’s genocide in Gaza, its bombing of Iran’s consulate in Damascus, and its assassinations ...4 days ago
- A Glitch in the Matrix: A Review and Analysis of The Rings of Power, Episode 7 (Season 2)
This is the tardiest review I have yet done for The Rings of Power – but, alas, real-life gets in the way sometimes. It has been a busy few days, and it became a matter of finding the time to sit down and express my thoughts. Also, it took a ...4 days ago - Welcome to the end of neoliberalism: privatisation
4 days ago - A private matter
Boy oh boy, are you as excited as I am for a fresh wave of privatisation? You only need to reflect for a moment on how much better off privatisation has made us these past few decades to see that more of that would be a very good thing.The paragraph ...4 days ago - National wants to loot the health system
Hot on the heels of their cancellation of Dunedin hospital (meaning a cut to health services in half the south Island), National has revealed the next part of their agenda: the outright privatisation of the health system: The health agency is suggesting the Government to consider allowing private companies ...4 days ago
- Public Health Funding For Private Profit
I've had enough of scheming and messing around with jerksMy car is parked outside, I'm afraid it doesn't workI'm looking for a partner, someone who gets things fixedAsk yourself this question, do you want to be rich?I've got the brains, you've got the looksLet's make lots of moneyYou've got the ...4 days ago - How will Auckland Council address the cycling budget shortfall?
This is a very timely post from Bike Auckland, re-published here with kind permission. See also yesterday’s post by Patrick on the abundantly clear case for funding cycling as the powerful “stealth mode” for easy access to and around our city. The short version The central Government’s transport ...4 days ago
- Four ways climate change likely made Hurricane Helene worse
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters Hurricane Helene at sunset on Sep. 26, 2024, as the storm was closing in on the Florida coast as a Cat 4 with 130 mph winds. (Image credit: NOAA/RAMMB-CIRA Satellite Library) After a spectacular burst of rapid intensification, Hurricane ...4 days ago
- It’s about the economy, stupid
Neoliberalism will defend itself. It must, because it has amassed power and wealth in those who are most invested in it.Take John Key, for instance, who has taken the unusual and controversial move of quietly endorsing Donald Trump as a former NZ PM, claiming that not only is Trump likely ...4 days ago - Luxon escapes having to pay $70,000 in ‘brightline’ capital gains taxes
The timing was fortuitous for Luxon, saving him over $70,000. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, October 2:PM Christopher Luxon was able to escape having to pay ‘brightline’ ...5 days ago - A Podcast Direct From Hell
Hi,I will explain the horrifying painting of New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon shortly.But first, I got a text from my friend Aaron over the weekend:In short, Aaron had loaded about a year’s worth of our text history into Google’s AI (privacy, what privacy?) — and instructed the AI to ...5 days ago - Where is National’s care and concern for the South Island? Probably off having dinner with the CCP...
National has a representation issue. Not in terms of gender, or race, or disability, or socio-economic background (though they do also have a lack of all of those), but with its representation for the South Island. Is it any surprise we’re the ones getting shafted when there’s only a single ...5 days ago - Government Moves To Privatise Health
Often when folks ask me what we can do about this government’s short sighted and often dubious policies1, I frequently veer to a similar answer:Share information, stay aware, act locally where you can, stay positive, and wait.Wait - for what?Well tonight it became clear.On 1News tonight, it was revealed Health ...5 days ago - Luxon just became a poster boy for taxing the rich
Whenever our politicians are caught with their hand in the till, they loudly proclaim that their theft from the public was "within the rules". The problem is that they are the ones writing the rules, and there's a certain suspicion that they write them to suit themselves. And so their ...5 days ago
- At the end of the day we’ll always have John Key
He dumped us years ago, but the media still pines for him, stalks his Insta, has a little flutter of the heart whenever he saunters back into the room.So naturally Stuff wanted to hear everything John Key had to say about the US election. And although the tape goes for ...5 days ago - Tuesday 1 October 2024
The Commerce Commission has announced they are blocking Foodstuff’s North and South Island merger, on the basis that it would substantially lessen competition and make it harder for other retailers to grow. The cancellation of plans to build a Dunedin hospital is continuing to cause controversy, with Otago mayors revealing ...5 days ago - VIDEO: Health Commissioner Lester Levy: “It’s not up to me to fix everything”
Related links:Auckland University of Technology Professor Lester Levy is also the Part Time Health NZ Commissioner charging taxpayers $320,000 a yearPM says no doctor for Dargaville Hospital cardiac arrest 'challenging' - Dr Payinda noted a "nervous, worried, concerned nurse" was left alone to manage the cardiac arrest and "rely on ...5 days ago
- Climate Change: Fossil fuels versus free trade
One of the arguments against National's gas fantasy is that it breaches our environmental commitments under various free trade agreements, including the NZ-EU FTA, which requires us to meet our Paris commitments and not weaken our environmental protections. And it turns out that MFAT agrees: Legal advice from the ...5 days ago
- ‘I don’t know what the point of the questioning is.’
Kia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, October 1:PM Christopher Luxon has made $460,000 in tax-free income this year from capital gains on the sale of two of his rental properties, almost as much ...5 days ago - In the Waiting Line
Do you believeIn what you seeMotionless wheelNothing is realWasting my timeIn the waiting lineDo you believe inWhat you seeSongwriters: Henry Binns, Sam Hardaker, Sophie Alexandra Jessica BarkerOctober already. This year feels like it’s going quickly, provided you don’t count it out in WTF moments from the coalition. Before we know ...5 days ago - Land of The Bullies
Kāinga Ora When Chris Bishop asked Bill English to help him do an “independent review” of Kāinga Ora last year, who here could guess that English’s report said exactly what Bishop already indicated?A reminder of how it went down:For the modest payday of $500,000, Bill English was paid from the ...5 days ago - Stealth mode: the surprisingly powerful city centre access hack
Patrick Reynolds is deputy chair of the City Centre Advisory Panel and a candidate in this months Entrust election It might surprise you to learn that in Auckland, our harbour city, wrapped around the shores of the beautiful Waitemata, bikes bring as many people to the city centre in the ...6 days ago
- How many people did the Beryl blackout kill?
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler link You should probably learn the term compound climate event. It refers to the occurrence of multiple weather- or climate-related hazards happening simultaneously or in close succession, leading to amplified impacts. One of the most feared compound events is ...6 days ago
- The Right Are Furious That Abuse Doesn’t Work
We must have sympathy for the right.After all, it’s difficult being a conservative these days. Progressive politics are proceeding at a rapid pace. World leaders preaching kindness and compassion are lavished with praise and acclamations. You can’t hit your kids anymore, you can’t hit your dog, you can’t hit your ...6 days ago - The Dunedin hospital crisis may be about more than just a hospital
The news that the University of Waikato med school proposal has passed its cost-benefit analysis just two days after the Dunedin Hospital funding crisis announcement may not be linked, but one certainly impacts the other. POLITIK understands that ACT opposes the Waikato proposal and NZ First is lukewarm, but somehow, ...6 days ago
- Gordon Campbell on the Dunedin hospital fiasco
The word “blow-out” is such a politically loaded term. It carries a strong whiff of extravagance and incompetence. In fact, and with public health budgets in particular, going “over budget” is a sign that reality has finally caught up with what – from the outset – was always a budget ...6 days ago
- 2024 Reading Summary: September (+ Writing Update)
Completed reads for September: Old English Genesis A & B (poetry), by Anonymous Old English Exodus (poetry), by Anonymous The Life of St Guthlac of Crowland (poetry), by Anonymous The Death of St Guthlac (poetry), by Anonymous Maxims I [The Exeter Book Maxims] (poetry), by Anonymous Maxims II [The ...6 days ago - Hayden Donnell raises my ‘grim’ Hamish to ‘furious’ Hamish
Delightful piece from Hayden Donnell at The Spinoff (how did I miss it?) — Huge opportunity: Could you be the guy standing behind the PM looking furious? OK, so I thought ‘grim’, right? But Hayden has brought receipts, as the saying goes… and his view is ‘absolutely ropeable’. Lol. “Usually ...6 days ago - The problem, and the solution
Reader Pete Hodgson was in touch after Saturday’s edition to offer his speech notes from the Dunedin rally. They are excellent, they deserve the widest audience. My name is Pete Hodgson, and I chaired or served on the governance group of the new hospital for 6 years until last Xmas. ...6 days ago - Climate Change: The end of coal in the UK
It's official: coal has been eliminated from the UK's electricity system: Britain’s only remaining coal power plant at Ratcliffe-on-Soar in Nottinghamshire will generate electricity for the last time on Monday after powering the UK for 57 years. The power plant will come to the end of its life in ...6 days ago
- The Bewildering World of Chris Luxon – Broken Promises, An Angry Country, and a Govt on Life S...
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.National Party leader (current), Christopher Luxon, speaking at a public meeting in Gore, in January last year:“Now lets be clear, Dunedin Hospital, started under a National Government, mucked around under a Labour Government for ...6 days ago - A tipping point?
The National Party has been promising Dunedin - and the lower South Island - a new hospital since 2008. Despite those promises, the Key government did nothing during its nine years in office, and it was left to Labour to actually start the process in 2017. National promptly criticised them ...6 days ago
- Wake Me Up When September Ends
A bit disoriented this morning. I’ll blame Daylight Savings; I slept late. To be fair, it was probably the new mattress. After going to Rotorua the other week, we realised just how terrible ours was.“Scalloped” is a term that will be familiar to guitarists. It describes how some guitars have ...6 days ago - Rays of Sunshine – Bravo, Bravo !
Cartoon: Guy BodySam Sharpe Studio brought “Wrecking Ball Luxon” to the marchPlease consider supporting my work and subscribing. Thanks, Tui.Oliver Mould provided an exciting statistic yesterday.He wrote in the comments:Source: Why Civil Resistance Works The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent ConflictAnd I paused…It was exciting to read that. Thanks, OM. A ...6 days ago - Monday 30 September 2024
35,000 people march against the Government’s “downgrades” to Dunedin Hospital. NZEI and PPTA are continuing their campaign against charter schools, after the legislation passed its final reading in Parliament last week. Analysis released by the NZCTU shows that Pasifika women were working for free from last Friday, and that it ...6 days ago
- Is this our least worldly Minister of Transport?
Over the weekend, the Minister of Transport Simeon Brown proudly announced his new speed-setting rule, a decision that will undoubtedly lead to greater harm on our roads. It’s a tragically predictable decision by a Minister who seems to be on only nodding acquaintance with both evidence and international norms. Fueled ...6 days ago
- One in four march against Govt in Dunedin
Kia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Monday, September 30:Over 35,000 people marched in Dunedin on Saturday to protest against the Government’s plans to downgrade the new hospital being built there.In the scoop of the ...7 days ago - 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #39
A listing of 30 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, September 22, 2024 thru Sat, September 28, 2024. Story of the week Given the headlines dominance of hot oceans lofting water into the atmosphere where it then obeys the Clausius-Clapeyron relationship thereby ...7 days ago
- Seymour vs Tame
But what a fool believes, he seesNo wise man has the power to reason awayWhat seems to beIs always better than nothingThan nothing at allSongwriters: Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonaldWe begin.“Welcome to Q&A, I’m Jack Tame. Today, for a government that says it’s fixated on waste, what’s the point in a ...1 week ago - Kiwi Power !
35,000 strong march in Dunedin to protest Government hospital cuts - showing us how it’s done. Thank you Dunedin!IN PICTURES Photo Credits : RNZ, ODT, Debunking Conspiracies Aotearoa, BHN, NZH, Stuff Related Reading:Bye Bye Health Verrall to Levy: "Health NZ NDAs are North Korean - Get rid of it."Lester Levy ...1 week ago - Stranded in paradise
Oh, you should have seen Reefton in 1888. It glowed. It was illuminated by the future.In August of that year — and I am confident I have my facts right because I am quoting directly from the town's own website — Reefton became the first place in New Zealand and ...1 week ago - Dunedin Protests Against Hospital Cuts
Dunedin is not a happy city at the moment. We are used to being ignored in the nationwide New Zealand media – wrong end of the country and all – but the Government’s recent announcement on the Dunedin Hospital rebuild has got people motivated. How motivated? Well, I couldn’t make ...1 week ago - The One Who Saw Too Much: accepted
A nice bit of news. I can report that I have had a short story success – my 3,600 word gothic horror piece, The One Who Saw Too Much, has been accepted ... 1 week ago - Broken Stone
And another pitch shattersAnother little bit gets lostTell me what else really mattersOh, such a costLike pebbles on a beachKicked around, displaced by feetOh, like broken stonesThey're all trying to get homeSong by Paul WellerDoes it feel as though your country has been hijacked? That terrible people have taken the ...1 week ago - I’m Glad The Right Wing Coalition Won
Dame Jacinda Adern would not accept “acceptable death rates” during Covid. But in the UK the Tory government said “Let them die”.Additions belowYesterday, when I saw the news that a Timaru factory with hundreds of jobs on the line was going to close, I couldn't help but think:"I'm so glad ...1 week ago - We will never give you up, let you down, or Rickroll you
1. What did the National party promise Dunedin last election?a. We will build the hospital you needb. We will never give you up, let you down, or Rickroll you c. We will bring back John Keyd. Pandas2. What is the National party promising Dunedin now?a. A sawn-off half-pint watery version of ...1 week ago - The 48 Hours Leading Up To An Execution
Note: This is obviously a very heavy topic — it took me three days to manage to write it — so please read with care. In saying that, in amongst the awfulness I think this piece also contains some hope, and plenty of humanity. Thanks to those of you who ...1 week ago - Remembering our friend John Mason
We are extremely sad to say that our esteemed Skeptical Science colleague— and good friend to many of us— John Mason passed away on Friday September 20, 2024. Only last week, we blew a horn of appreciation for John's remarkable gift for telling stories about science. Our expectation was that ...1 week ago
- How has the New Zealand economy been doing?
Stagnation and ContractionIn this column I use the less familiar measure of GDP per capita instead of the GDP measure favoured by the commentariat. I became familiar with it when I began doing international comparisons because of the population differences between countries, while I depended upon the measure while working ...1 week ago
- Release: The question remains… will schools get their classrooms?
Education Minister Erica Stanford still can’t confirm when the Government will deliver the $2 billion worth school upgrades she cut earlier this year. ...2 days ago - Release: Govt failing NZ’s manufacturing sector
Labour acknowledges the hundreds of workers today losing their jobs as the Winstone Pulp mill closes and what it will mean for their families and community. ...3 days ago
- Tell National what their $216m tobacco tax cut could have funded instead
In Budget '24, the National Government put aside $216 million to pay for a tax cut which mainly benefitted one company: global tobacco giant Philip Morris. Instead of giving hundreds of millions to big tobacco, National could have spent the money sensibly, on New Zealand. ...3 days ago
- Release: Govt has made up a cost crisis to justify cuts
Te Whatu Ora’s financials from the last year show the Government has manufactured a financial crisis to justify making cuts that are already affecting patient care. ...3 days ago
- Speech: Why Kiwi businesses are the best in the world
The New Zealand business community is unique. It has always punched well above its weight on the world stage. ...3 days ago
- Te Pāti Māori Statement on Israel & Iran
Over 41,000 Palestinian’s have been murdered by Israel in the last 12 months. At the same time, Israel have launched attacks against at least four other countries in the Middle East including Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Iran. “You cannot play the aggressor and the victim at the same time,” said ...4 days ago
- Release: Costello makes a fool of the PM
Associate health minister Casey Costello has made a fool of the Prime Minister, because the product she’s been fighting to get a tax cut for and he’s been backing her on is now illegal – and he doesn’t seem to know it. ...4 days ago
- Work to do on climate adaptation
The Finance and Expenditure Committee’s inquiry into climate adaptation is something that must be built on for an enduring framework to manage climate risk. ...5 days ago - End of free RAT tests means more exposure to virus
The end of free Rapid Antigen Tests today is another sign the Government is giving up on the challenge of protecting the community from Covid-19. ...6 days ago
- Release: Government breaks promise on ferry plan
Time has run out for Nicola Willis who has failed to keep her promise to deliver a solution to replace the Interislander ferries by today. ...6 days ago
- Release: Labour supports marches for better health
Labour supports Buller and Dunedin communities who are marching today and calling on the Government to act urgently to fix the health crisis. ...6 days ago
- Raising speed limits will cost our communities
The Government’s move to disregard all evidence and increase speed limits will result in serious harm. ...1 week ago
- Greens stand in solidarity with Buller community
The Green Party stands in solidarity with the Buller community in its silent protest for better healthcare. ...1 week ago
- Release: Proposed job losses devastating for Timaru
News that the Smithfield meatworks could close is devastating for the hundreds of people who work there, Timaru and the wider region. ...1 week ago
- Release: Question mark over financial sustainability of Polytechs
The Government is taking tertiary education down a worrying path with new reporting finding that fourteen of the country’s sixteen polytechnics couldn’t survive on their own,” Labour’s tertiary education spokesperson Dr Deborah Russell says. ...1 week ago
- TPM issues warning to Govt: Back down or prepare for the wrath of the million Māori
Today the government announced a $30m cut to Te Ahu o Te Reo Māori- a programme that develops te reo Māori among our kaiako. “This announcement is just the latest in an onslaught of attacks on te iwi Māori,” said Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader Rawiri Waititi. ...1 week ago
- Govt set to break promise on Dunedin Hospital
The Green Party is calling on the Government to honour its promise to Dunedin and build its new hospital to full capacity. ...1 week ago
- Release: Dunedin Hospital d-listed by Government
The non-announcement in Dunedin today had Ministers leaving broken promises and a likely severely diluted hospital build in their wake. ...1 week ago
- Release: Labour welcomes UAE trade deal
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) signed today with the United Arab Emirates (UAE). ...1 week ago
- Release: Hundreds more jobs cuts on housing frontline
The Government has shown its true intentions for the public service and economy – it’s not to get more public servants back to the office, it’s more job losses. ...1 week ago
- Release: Govt not addressing health workforce crisis
The National Government is hiding the gaps in the health workforce from New Zealanders, by not producing a full workforce plan nearly a year into their tenure. ...1 week ago
- Release: Government cuts fair pay for bus drivers
The Government has cut funding for bus drivers to get paid fairly for the work they do, Labour transport spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...1 week ago
- Crown Minerals Bill Advances Colonisation
Today, the Crown Mineral Amendment Bill was read for the first time, reversing the ban on oil exploration off the coast of Taranaki. It was no accident that this proposed law change was read directly after the Government started to unravel the ability of iwi and hapū Māori to have ...2 weeks ago
- Landlord govt finds new way to undermine public housing
Proposed cuts to Kāinga Ora reflect a failure to fully commit to fixing the housing crisis. ...2 weeks ago
- Crown should prove their rights to Foreshore & Seabed – Te Pāti Māori
Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Justice, Tākuta Ferris, has hit out at the Government, demanding the Crown prove its rights to the foreshore, following the Marine and Coastal Area Amendment Bill, passing its first reading. "Māori rights to the foreshore pre-exist the Declaration of Independence, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and ...2 weeks ago
- NZ must urgently help whanau in Lebanon
The Government must immediately help evacuate New Zealanders and Lebanese whanau caught up in the current conflict unfolding across south Lebanon. ...2 weeks ago
- Green Government will revoke oil and gas permits
The Green Party vows to reinstate the oil and gas ban and revoke permits when it returns to government following the coalition’s introduction of legislation to reopen offshore oil and gas exploration this afternoon. ...2 weeks ago
- Government introduces controversial MACA legislation
The Government’s introduction of its interventions in the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act threatens to throw relations between Māori and Crown into deeper disharmony. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Gun lobby bill removes regulation at ranges
Gun lobbyist Nicole McKee and her conflict of interest has struck again, this time removing safety regulations from shooting clubs and ranges in New Zealand. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Govt forgetting the 6000 jobs they’ve cut
The real problem in the public sector is ongoing job losses and cuts to the front line. ...2 weeks ago
- Government undermines public service with WFH crackdown
The Green Party says the Government’s retrograde move to tighten up on Work from Home arrangements is the latest in a series of blows to the Public Service. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Ministers oblivious to cuts’ effect on families
The National Government is oblivious to the impact cuts to services will have on New Zealanders who are doing the hard yards caring for mentally ill family members. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Public service set up to fail under National
Nicola Willis has set up the public service to fail to pay for reckless tax cuts for landlords and the tobacco industry. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Coalition cooking up costly RMA replacement
National continues to dismantle environmental protections in the interests of rushing through unsustainable development that will ultimately cost communities. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: National red-faced as benefit numbers skyrocket
The economy has stagnated and the National Government is having to face the consequences of its atrocious lawmaking, as beneficiary numbers skyrocket past even Treasury’s predictions. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: National allocating police officers not hired yet
There are 104 fewer police officers now than there were when National came into Government. ...2 weeks ago
- Economic decline further cause for tax transformation
Today’s GDP figures combined with the injustice of our tax system will mean more pain for our lowest-income households while those at the top remain relatively unscathed. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: No growth under National, just cuts
The National Government’s decisions have hindered, not helped the economy. ...2 weeks ago
- Govt must act to avoid the worst of NIWA’s climate projections
New climate projections from NIWA underscore how urgently climate action is needed. ...3 weeks ago
- Release: More job losses as Government fails on manufacturing
The Government is failing the manufacturing sector with no plan for its future. ...3 weeks ago
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- Fast-track to drive transport projects forward
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- Fast-track projects released
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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