Nope. My fault. I did a series of upgrades to the operating systems followed by a cleanup of the disk space. Then after telling the check systems that the site was being rebooted, rebooted at about 2am. But failed to check that the site actually came online.
It had a configuration problem in the apache2 and failed to start up.
A seldom bought up fact is that coal fired and nuclear power does not work in very hot temperatures due to needing cooling as part of their process. In short they are not good in a global warming scenario as when it gets too hot, (and you need power to run air conditioners), it also effects other parts of the network.
That is why solar and diversified power networks are needed in global warming scenarios.
“The heat in Victoria has already cut power to thousands of properties in the state’s central north. More than 2700 AusNet customers were hit with a power outage near Nagambie and an underground cable fault might not be fixed until 5pm. ”
As the heat racks up, Australia becomes more and more suited to become the world’s first hydrogen fuel energy superpower.
High concentrated solar heat can split oxygen and hydrogen at industrial scales through the process of thermolysis far more efficiently than electrolysis, the current most common method.
Thermolytic hydrogen production looks to be at a similar stage to photocatalytic hydrogen production; a bit closer to reality than fusion power but not much.
Sorry but Hydrogen is just not efficient as a source of renewable power. There’s power loss from generation to piping, storing and consuming hydrogen.
The cheapest and most efficient use of solar and wind sources of renewable power is to send the electricity directly to a battery or to point of consumption. The ever improving economics of battery storage will drive the cost down so much that it will become economic to store it overnight for large populations.
That’s an issue for legacy power generation designed for a cooler climate. Unless the power plants are badly engineered, extreme hot temperatures should only force reduced output, not shutdown.
New builds can and should be designed for a warmer climate and much hotter hottest days, with substantially gruntier cooling systems. The gruntier cooling systems should also improve their overall thermal efficiency in less-extreme conditions. Concentrated solar-thermal, geothermal and gas generation also have the cooling issue. Even photovoltaics benefit from kept cool, although it’s rarely if ever cost-effective to actively cool them (there’s a double-benefit from floating photovoltaic arrays on reservoirs, better output from being kept cooler and reduced evaporation).
There’s also the transmission grid – if the cables get hot, they expand lengthwise and sag. Sometimes close enough to something underneath to start fires. One engineering solution for that is using carbon fibre cable for the tension-bearing core, and aluminium for the conductors. Carbon fibre has a very small thermal expansion lengthwise (can be positive or negative depending on the grade) so the heat-sag problem mostly goes away. It just costs a bit more initially.
In 1998 it was the opposite of a wintry storm: it was an El Nino summer. There was a drought and February was hot, fuelling electricity demand from CBD air conditioning.
This had a crippling effect on central Auckland’s ageing power supply. The CBD was fed by four 110 kilo-volt underground main cables – one pair that were gas filled and dated from the 1940s and another pair of oil-filled cables from the 1970s – and a solo 22kV cable from Kingsland.
Hot, dry ground and heat changes in the cables caused movement and instability. Faults in the gas cables put more demand on the oil ones, which overheated and failed.
The first the public knew of the impending crisis was a message from the power supplier (then known as Mercury Energy but now called Vector) advising CBD customers to conserve electricity, otherwise “drastic measures” would be needed.
By that point, February 19, three of the main cables had failed. The first went out in January. The fourth failed on February 20, leaving the Kingsland thread as the power lifeline.
There were two causes. A hot summer shifted the ground causing an actual break in at least one cable causing a leakage. The other one was a bit more insidious. There was insufficient ground moisture to transfer extra heat away from the cables.
I’d just moved into my apartment towards the end of 1997, so had the fun of months of the power outages.
It is kind of freaky to realise that at the time there were only 7000 people living in and around the CBD in 1998. The last time I looked (after the 2013 census) there were more than 70,000. It has gone up since then.
I read recently that City of London has much of its own governance.
Something like 7000 people live there, but 450,000 people work there or are integrated with it. e&oe
There are two Coal power stations in the Latrobe Valley in Victoria’s east couldn’t keep up with demand by 10:30am thence the rolling blackouts aka “brown outs” yesterday and one of the main trunk powerlines in Victoria went tits up as well.
There were also localised power outages as well cause by local transmission lines not handling the increase demand of power or the extreme heat or a combination of the both.
Can find the link but it looks like they have already had to shut down generations in Adelaide due to extreme heat. So just when you need power to cool, you have to shut down your generations. So I guess people could be dead pretty quickly.
Sadly power has become a business rather than a social good, and therefore the discourses are not about the cheapest most effective ways for communities and individuals to get power but more about big business making the most profit of often the poorest people, while subtly delaying/stopping or trying to control other better, cheaper ways they could get power.
Free trade has become about stopping social good and profiting from the effects of climate change, through thousands of pages of ‘rules’ to ensure profit remains to the big multinationals.
“Profit over the planet: WTO’s lawsuit ruling could be a giant blow to the renewable energy movement
WTO tribunal ruled in a lawsuit initiated by the U.S. that India’s national solar energy program violates trade law”
With the same ruling above, even though India had virtually ZERO solar capacity at that time the logic of US solar being damaged at that time could not be true. However the WTO still ruled in US favour.
“The U.S. sued India in the WTO tribunal because India’s subsidized solar energy program required that particular parts be made in the country. Washington claims that, because of this program, its solar exports to India have fallen by 90 percent since 2011, when the program started. As the Sierra Club’s Ben Beachy noted, however, India had almost no solar capacity at this time.”
Free trade has become about stopping social good and profiting from the effects of climate change, through thousands of pages of ‘rules’ to ensure profit remains to the big multinationals.
It’s not about free-trade – it’s about forcing trade.
India didn’t want to trade so as to help develop their economy and so the US through the WTO forced it upon them. They did so so that the US economy could be developed at India’s expense.
If these people were truly after free-trade they’d be dropping all the rules and allowing nations to decide for themselves if they’re going to trade with another nation or not. That, after all, is what free-trade is.
“If these people were truly after free-trade they’d be dropping all the rules and allowing nations to decide for themselves if they’re going to trade with another nation or not. That, after all, is what free-trade is.”
/agreed
Do you think we might see some committed ‘free trade’ advocate (such as a Wayne or an Ollie Hartwich) come along and offer an explanation as to why free trade and FTAs are not actually free trade?
I imagine if they ever do, the explanation will be laced with spin and buzz words going forward.
And you’re absolutely correct re India. I still marvel at how the MFATs, Oz equivalent and others can’t understand why India is one of those ‘hard nuts to crack’ in obtaining an FTA.
Here’s a hint: Despite all the overt corruption, backhanders and promises, there is actually a concern among the Indian political elite for its citizens – whether from the Left, or from the Right. They don’t actually like being treated like shit in the minds of their foreign betters especially with the offshore diaspora.
Do you think we might see some committed ‘free trade’ advocate (such as a Wayne or an Ollie Hartwich) come along and offer an explanation as to why free trade and FTAs are not actually free trade?
I would expect them to come on and explain why these agreements are all about free-trade when, more often than not, they’re used to force trade.
3pm (1500hrs) and its now 2000Hrs.
Waiting waiting waiting. I’d have thought there’d have been a few regulars jumping in by now – seems not.
I guess they’re waiting for instructions
They really don’t like it when the truth is before them.
The fact that these agreements are forced trade rather than free-trade undermines their credibility but they actually can’t deny that these agreements are about forcing trade rather than free-trade.
One of the things I have learnt watching today’s ODI involving India is the meaning of the cartwheel in the Indian flag.
From Wikipedia (therefore it must be true), :
“Gandhi first proposed a flag to the Indian National Congress in 1921. The flag was designed by Pingali Venkayya. In the centre was a traditional spinning wheel, symbolising Gandhi’s goal of making Indians self-reliant by fabricating their own clothing…”
But wait, there’s more:
“Bhagwa or the Saffron denotes renunciation or disinterestedness. Our leaders must be indifferent to material gains and dedicate themselves to their work.”
I would love to include this in the cabinet manual.
You’ve got it @gsays.
Not something a few Wasps in Delhi half a mile from a Railway Museum sucking on a fag and worrying about their future will ever get.
Just as well I ‘spose there’s now a ‘Maori Policy Unit’ in MFAT’ with one or two decent folk leading the charge, even if they do worship at the lower Tory Street Temple
*
there’s NOW a ‘Maori Policy Unit’ ……etc.
Sorry, I had a Leftist’s curmudgeon moment brought on by memories of a Relda and a Marama.
A Kohia cum Martin almost.
Thermal generation relies on the Carnot cycle, and it becomes less efficient as the ambient temperature rises. So does the cooling efficiency, and in many jurisdictions power plants are also restricted from putting too much heat back into rivers/estuaries, as this can have a severe impact on ecosystems. There is just so much legacy coal around that can’t be retrofitted with better cooling that our warming climate will cause more outages of coal fired power generation.
I’m not sure how you came to that conclusion about cooling or temperature being the cause of the power cut. They point out it was an underground cable and the fault could be caused by quite a few things.
A real issue for cooling for me would be transformers dealing with high loads. They are everywhere and are air cooled, the coils immersed in oil. So obviously 50 deg air is less efficient in cooling than 30 deg air. The risk being the insulating coating on the wires fail, they short circuit and explode.
As for the power plants there is two versions. Those that recycle water in cooling towers and those using water from rivers like Huntly. So the water exits the plant as steam at 100 deg plus, condenses and falls back down the tower. In theory less water would be recycled as less water can reach the temp to condense. The actual turbines shouldn’t be effected by a large amount as they operate at temperatures much higher than the air temerature. If anything the may need higher water flows in any component cooling part of the operation.
So water supply is actually the issue. Plants that can’t condense enough water may not have consent to draw enough from waterways to compensate. Plants like Huntly should have no issues as they have the ability to add cooling towers.
The actual figures for the effect of air temperature are small.
Funny how there has been ZERO nuclear power plants built by private practise in the world, instead they use tax payer money for the folly. Even when private practise do make the nuclear power plants it is enough to drive them under, meanwhile the countries and companies that invested in solar early are booming.
“Fossil fuel company TransCanada is already suing the U.S. government, after the Obama administration rejected its proposed Keystone XL Pipeline on environmental grounds. Former NASA environmental scientist and now Columbia University professor James Hansen emphasized that, if the pipeline were built and the vast oil reserves in Alberta, Canada’s tar sands were used, it would mean “game over for the climate,” yet the corporation is demanding $15 billion in compensation from American taxpayers.”
Oh, lets look at what industries are causing climate change, and then getting the free trade deals to compensate them for their destruction of the planet so far! Crazy!
Just 100 companies responsible for 71% of global emissions, study says
A relatively small number of fossil fuel producers and their investors could hold the key to tackling climate change
And failed to see a reference to a rift valley less than 50 miles from Auckland which is thought by geologists to pose the risk of a large earthquake. Such a shake would affect the majority of the upper island as the fault runs through the Hauraki Gulf. It why the Firth of Thames is why it is – it is a submerged rift valley.
But not only is Auckland potentially liable to suffer an earthquake it is also liable to volcanic eruption. The hot springs at Miranda don’t just happen to be there for no apparent reason.
Indeed the whole of the upper North Island is formed from volcanic and earthquakes. If you were to do Geology 101 from AUC you would go on a field tip to Matheson Bay by Leigh, half way between Auckland and Whangarei, where the the evidence of Earth quakes, volcanoes, and other geological action is to be plainly seen.
The pay off in reliable power to Auckland for the whole city, including a massive upswing in EV’s and electric public transport would more than pay for itself.
Not only are they designed to run with typically cooler water the waste heat has environmental impacts which will only increase with recalibration and an already warmer cooling source.
“Every day, large reactors like the two at Diablo Canyon, California, individually dump about 1.25 billion gallons of water into the ocean at temperatures up to 20 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the natural environment. ”
I’ve got tickling in the back of my head that Huntly is (or was) occasionally constrained by its resource consent conditions. IIRC, when the Waikato river is already warm and low flow they’re not allowed to dump much extra heat into it, so that limits the power output.
President Trump agrees to open the US government up for 30 days. After that period if he doesn’t get his wall, he has threatened to either close the government again, or declare a National Emergency.
Even for a President who doesn’t read, the enormity of the second option can’t escape him.
Dunno about that. He knows he just got spanked over his dropping ratings so it’s unlikely he’ll try another shutdown, and his base thinks he just cravenly surrendered.
His way out is to get a bit of extra funding for more technology stuff like remote surveillance and entry port inspections, and call it a “smart wall”. He’s already setting the stage for that switcheroo, and most of his Wallnuts will go along with it.
But Trump’s description of what kind of wall he wants has evolved in a notable concession to his critics. Trump said Friday that natural barriers already provide ample protection in some parts of the border, and that resources for border control should also focus on ports of entry and technology developments beyond a physical barrier.
“The walls that we are building are not medieval walls. They are smart walls designed to meet the needs of front-line border agents and are operationally effective,” Trump said. “We do not need 2,000 miles of concrete wall from sea to shining sea, we never did, we never proposed that.”
Would trump’s wall actually have any effect other than to fulfill his election promises.
Fencing people out is vastly different to fencing them in imho
As a practical matter, a concrete wall from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean would:
make floods in the Rio Grande much worse by impeding floodwaters
forcibly take a lot of land from a lot of really ornery Texans
really fuck up the ecosystems in the Big Bend area of Texas and kill a lot of the wildlife that depends on access to the Rio Grande for water let alone north-south migration patterns (equivalent ecosystems in the California mountains are already fucked from the fencing that’s already built)
barely noticeably reduce illegal immigration since most arrive legally and overstay, are smuggled through an entry port concealed in a vehicle, or go over or under existing fencing
Start again with what he is proposing.
What’s interesting about Trump is he has is end game and a starting position. Over time has starting position has changed from your comment, to his present policy. He has listened to the experts, who want the steel barrier etc.
His end game hasn’t changed.
Stop ILLEGAL immigration.
So you like law breaking and keep coming up with excuses justifying law breaking. He wants things to be lawful.
Most illegal immigration. But the rest is acceptable to you. Trump wants to stop it therefore Andre must condone it.
So most convicted rapists?
So most MS13?
So most sex trade victims?
Where do they enter the US?
I’m amazed that you condone those things just on your hatred of Trump. You would rather rapists, Gang members, and sex trafficking be unimpeded than let a single Trump policy, sorry Obama policy, sorry Pelosi policy be funded.
He probably should have signed up to the UN pact on immigration then as one of it’s goals was to stop people immigrating illegally by correcting the conditions that make them want to leave.
Of course, that would reduce the power of the US and other developed nations in the world.
Those Hitler digs are clearly stupid.
The socialist MSM is the new Goebbels.
There’s no enormity in building a wall. Not a single American will have a single control placed on them. Not one. No media imprisoned like Venuzuela. No protesters shot or run over like Venuzuela. No corruption like Venuzuela. No high taxes that cause all the youth to flee like Venuzuela.
Nothing. Not one thing Nazi in anything Trump has done. Unlike Ocasio Cortez who is a racist and sexist as well. On record with her hate white men comments.
Aside from your irrational Godwinisms, I agree that the concept of walls is not inherently bad, humans have built them throughout history. Trump’s tantrum shutdown wasn’t really about he wall, it’s about Democrats taking control of Congress, and obstructing the Mueller investigation. Trump has had 2 years to fund his stupid fscken wall but he seemed to forget about it until now.
I think your wrong.
She has a great personality but clearly not that bright.
She refuses to by interviewed by media that may ask non patsy questions so she can’t actually get to that higher level. The day she has to face a real interview rather than patsy questions she will look stupid and scary.
The rich are going WTF she is just nuts. The second she gets any traction or power with her ideas large numbers of the rich will donate to the republicans. She will be like the gift that keeps on giving.
That’s right, they were very perdantic on that one. Unlike Venuzuela who have no paper to take records. Or no media to report on it. There in prison.
We have the same policy here in NZ it’s called CYFS. All you need is you and 2 dodgy mates to independently make false allegations and they will go around and take the children from the parent or parents. They keep paperwork as well but good luck trying to get hold of it. The children are placed with audited, better parents. Sadly often more likely to abuse the kids vs the parents.
Exactly. Everyone else identifies that child, who their parents are, where they were taken into custody (and by whom), whether the child was healthy, and what their destination will be.
The Nazis kept better records on the kids they intentionally murdered than dolt45’s crew do on kids they were supposed to try to keep alive.
“If we don’t get a fair deal from Congress, the government will either shutdown on February 15, again, or I will use the powers afforded to me under the laws and the Constitution of the United States to address this emergency,”
But just imagine what the next Democrat President in 2020 could do with those “emergency powers” tRump is just wanting to set a precedent for!
Action on Climate Change.
Immigration policy.
Voting rights.
Social Justice.
to name a few.
His advisers are cautioning him about taking this approach because it would set up a whole gateway for open slather executive action that potentially violates their constitution. Furthermore, if it should succeed through the myriad of legal objections, such an order would immediately face, it opens the way for any succeeding Democrat to do something to which Republicans are totally opposed. Of course, having essentially cast aside all the adults in the room, and never actually listening to any advice that may be given – unless it is from his mates on Fox news – who knows what he will do. He obviously hasn’t a clue as to what he is doing – so how is anyone else to know?
Macro …
26 January 2019 at 7:32 pm
But just imagine what the next Democrat President in 2020 could do with those “emergency powers”….
What, next Democratic President?
Early reviews of Fahrenheit 11/9 suggest that Moore uses the Flint water crisis to show how civil safeguards are being eroded by Republican freebooters, He claims that Rick Snyder, the Republican governor of Michigan, engineered a virtual coup d’etat by instituting “emergency management” that sidelined elected officials after Flint’s water supply was polluted by an unnecessary but profitable new pipeline.
Moore also suggests that Trump is the figurehead of an attempt to destroy democracy in the US: his speeches are compared to Adolf Hitler’s to argue that the same social passivity that allowed dictators to legally seize power in the 1930s is blunting opposition today.
You fail to understand the importance of the most recent election and the real “Blue Wave” that transformed the country. And yes it did transform the country. There is still more to be done, but the people are not resting on their laurels, they are now seriously working on 2020. Trumpkins who are now the only base for Trump support, are even now, walking away as they realise the reality of life under the Orange one is not what he said it would be. The Republicans don’t have the support, nor the gumption, to remove him, and they are fractionalised as a party, like they have never been before. There has been a huge reaction to the election of Trump. It has energized people, particularly women. There is growing movement for reform.
If Trump was successful to create expanded “Emergency Powers” for his wall, that would create a precedent for any follow on President to do a vast number of things of which current Republicans would never dream of doing. Remember it was the power of the Republicans in Congress that has held up any substantive progress on Climate Action on the world stage for decades. No US President could agree to working towards reducing GHG emissions on a world stage without their consent.
Saturday, 29 September 2001
The meek have inherited the Earth and are now too frightened to go outside their doors. They seek to deny change, change in how they live – change within themselves.
Do not be afraid – change is life, to be masters’ of the change is to be enlightened.
To seek enlightenment is to become unenlightened, seek instead to become masters of self.
This war which looms upon us is not a war against terror as George W. (Dubya) Bush would have us believe – it is a war against a change in the status quo, a war to try and preserve those in power, those who believe that they are the rulers of Earth.
This war will see the end of the American Empire, its final collapse coming in a time when America has no friends – when brother sets against brother.
The end of this war can only come from within America, as those who come to see the tyranny of what is and rise up to bring change. The catalyst has started, the ball is rolling – the end is in doubt. Those of us who sit on the side lines are those who will cry most – none will be unchanged.
Cost will be beyond measure, attainment beyond price.
This is the Final War – the war against capitalism.
1. you need to put in a /sarc tag else no one else will get it. It’s the general problem wit text.
2. You’re a RWNJ so we expect you to be lambasting Nazi Germany as socialist when it actually wasn’t.
On Twitter, Justin Paulson brought this fascinating article from the Journal of Economic Perspectives to my attention. It’s called “The Coining of ‘Privatization’ and Germany’s National Socialist Party.” Apparently, the first use of the word “privatization” (or “reprivatization”) in English occurred in the 1930s, in the context of explaining economic policy in the Third Reich. Indeed, the English word was formulated as a translation of the German word “Reprivatisierung,” which had itself been newly minted under the Third Reich.
Isn’t privatisation what we’ve been doing for the last thirty years?
So, for the last thirty years we’ve been following Nazi Germany’s economic policies.
Chris Trotter on how imperialism has set Britain apart from its European competitors and landed it in the mess it’s in – The Prime Minister, Theresa May, and her supposed alternative, Jeremy Corbyn, epitomise in equal measure the malady that is Brexit.
May has failed utterly to draw into the debate the broad range of parties and interests whose co-operation continues to be essential to the extremely difficult task of making Britain’s departure from the European Union, if not painless, then bearable. Tribal, mistrustful, high-handed and fatally unimaginative, the Conservative Party leader remains politically upright only because her job is now so hard and so thankless that nobody else wants it.
His latest on Bowalley Road is fairly brutal: http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-jacinda-problem-where-she-goes-we-go.html
although I can understand how many aren’t seeing the benefits of a change in government (yet). Let’s hope tho’ that we don’t keep getting a “Rome wasn’t built in a day” response from any criticism – it’s not going to wash for too much longer.
maybe, maybe not
We’ll see whether or not this is Her moment of advocacy for change, or whether it will be seen as just another media moment in time (going forward).
I’m hoping it is the former, although I understand she has a whole lot of shit to push uphill to get to where she’d hope we all want to be.
There are a growing number of the dis-possessed that can’t even afford a concern for the politics of kindness and they’ve given up even being interested in such a hope.
2019 is going to be an interesting year.
It occurs to me that if we don’t get a fairer system the grievances and hate against governmental and elite leaders will build up. There eventually could be a revenge group that pays back to the families of the comfortable privateers. Best to really take things seriously about giving the lower classes some let-up on their downward trend in everything before the obsessed get beyond hope for bread tomorrow; let them eat cake sometimes now please, sitting on their own chairs in their own lockable home, not the romantic outdoors.
I don’t think Singaporeans are going to be satisfied with NZ Defence Forces standing back and pleading laissez faire. I think there are many Singaporean Chinese in this country. They didn’t lift themselves out of poverty by dropping regulations and adopting a she’ll-be-right approach. It wasn’t us gov’ plea or we can’t be questioned, ‘Do you know who we are’ can work to deal with us ordinary NZ citizens but they will be displeased.
That could be put – what less do you expect the NZDF to do? And I could say yeah good idea if they didn’t host such practises; but then how can they withdraw without breaking the working alliance that is thrust upon us by the constant desire to have something that someone else has got. Which is millenials old.
So I don’t know what can NZDF do; be better hosts? Try to make it clear in Singapore news media with adverts that we are very sad that one of their young role models and youth stars has been killed here, and stress that we were not involved?
And I could say yeah good idea if they didn’t host such practises; but then how can they withdraw without breaking the working alliance that is thrust upon us
They may have hosted the exercise but they weren’t part of it.
This means that no investigation by them will result in any meaningful resolution.
The only ones who can investigate the incident is Singapore.
Which is what’s happening with the NZDF assistance.
There is, quite literally, nothing else that the NZDF can do.
So I don’t know what can NZDF do; be better hosts? Try to make it clear in Singapore news media with adverts that we are very sad that one of their young role models and youth stars has been killed here, and stress that we were not involved?
He was a Singaporean defence force personnel operating under their jurisdiction. There is, quote literally, nothing that the NZDF can do except extend NZs condolences which I’m pretty sure that they’ve already done on our behalf.
There is nothing that you can fault our defence forces with as they didn’t have anything to do with it.
There is nothing that you can fault our defence forces with as they didn’t have anything to do with it.
I already indicated that DTB. So don’t go on about it.
As far as I am aware the NZDF provides the venue but not direct control of the exercise. Certainly not the NZDF staff (as your link points out) except probably for exercise bounds.
Just like the exercises that the SAF does in a number of friendly countries where they have some room to do operational training in larger areas than their islands. The SAF does these exercises shipping their own gear into the host country and mainly doing their own exercises. As far as I am aware the use of many of those exercise areas are paid for in millions or billions of dollars deals. I suspect that if they aren’t explicitly doing a multilateral exercise, that any operational training cooperating with host forces would be an afterthought.
The Singapore land area is only about 3/4 that of the Auckland urban area. It severely limits the kind of exercise that they can do inside their own country. For instance at brigade or regimental level, anything to do with jet aircraft, most armour or artillery, hell even the bush warfare areas would be limited. Gods knows what else they’d need to do. In Australia they use thousands of square kilometres at Shoalwater Bay.
But what you don’t seem to grasp is that the SAF are finicky about training injuries or deaths. In Singapore even training deaths caused by dehydration or lightning are prominent in the news media. Everything that I’ve seen over this last year (I spent 5 months of 2018 in Singapore) indicates that they are the best people to do any such inquiry. They have more actual experience than the NZDF.
That is because they cycle so many more people through training. Conscripts through their two years and reserves through their annual training. That is a *lot* of training. It is a far far large force than NZDF. Active personnel are about 70k at any one time. And there are over a million reserves.
With military training, like that of civilian training, there simply isn’t any way to remove all risk. The trick is to make sure that you learn from accidents to make damn sure that they don’t reoccur. I can’t see how getting the NZDF to do it would add much, if anything.
Singapore Armed Forces use Waiouru for live fire artillery training and as your link notes, it’s Singapore’s show so there’s no reason for the NZDF to be involved in any inquiry.
We can express sorrow in a media release that would show up in Singapore. It affects our 100% Pure happy place promotion somewhat. We don’t want any more preventable deaths in this country piling up in statistics!
Seems to me there might be places around NZ where this could be useful in the future, but I also wonder whether we’ll take our traditional short term approach to doing things and go for ‘light rail’ options using a completely different gauge.
The Labour party needs a name change.
Here are a few starters.
New Zealand Pacific
New Zealand Global
Our New Zealand.
True New Zealand.
New Zealand Heart.
Another tailings dam collapse. Hundreds missing. Surrounding farmland destroyed via being covered in toxic sludge.
Shares in Vale drop 10%. The same Vale responsible for the last dam failing in Minas Gerais, the 19 deaths then, and Brasil’s worst ecological disaster.
Bolsonaro to the rescue, concerned for miners welfare.
What I am aware of in the free market is that every disaster is a profit centre if a Corporate can work it right. So one conglomerate screws up – then another supplies a remedy. The governments pay and pay and pay, and the people say what was in that brown paper email?
While we are at it a 21 century name
for New Zealand is way over due.
We are not a Dutch province.
Tasman did not discover New Zealand.
Realistically we should be Rarotonga Hou.
There is a vacuum with NZ demand & supply lobbying, so it tends to go to rorting instead.
To different degrees, some things are natural monopolies, like govt. itself is for example. The strength of that natural monopolistic part of the societal economy, is that despite all the leverage put over it to the contrary, it is a product of dynamic NZ demand & supply.
That is a general guide then, to the direction in enabling NZ lobbying systems for even the bigger natural monopolistic areas of activity to take the place of rorting.
Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Kris Faafoi on Saturday announced he’ll be asking the public for ideas on how to toughen the law.
Wonder if he’ll like the answers because the first thing that needs to be done is for all natural monopolies that provide essential services (Power, telecommunications, water, hospitals (and health in general)) to be brought in to state ownership as a government service. Some of which (i.e, health) would not carry charges.
In The Reactionary Mind, Robin traces conservatism back to its roots in the reaction against the French Revolution. He argues that the right was inspired, and is still united, by its hostility to emancipating the lower orders. Some conservatives endorse the free market; others oppose it. Some criticize the state; others celebrate it. Underlying these differences is the impulse to defend power and privilege against movements demanding freedom and equality — while simultaneously making populist appeals to the masses. Despite their opposition to these movements, conservatives favor a dynamic conception of politics and society — one that involves self-transformation, violence, and war. They are also highly adaptive to new challenges and circumstances. This partiality to violence and capacity for reinvention have been critical to their success.
I was watching the Philip DeFranco channel playing interviews from LAUSD Teachers and why the went on strike. They were offered better pay but turned it down as what they want is lower class sizes, and full-time nurses and counselors.
Another thing that was mentioned was about a lot of the funding trickery going on with some of the charter schools there. The schools have a headcount at a certain time near the start of the school year that helps set their funding. Right after this time a lot of the charter schools then dump a lot of the lower performing students forcing them back to public schools. Meanwhile, they keep the funding level for the higher number of students while the public schools forced to accept them are left with a funding level for a lower number of students. The charter schools have effectively found a loophole to swipe funding from the public schools while being left with the best of the cherrypicked students. They can also turn down those with physical handicaps putting even more pressure on the public schools who must supply extra funding from their budget for those students.
Some of this seems to resonate with what was happening here under the last National government with charter schools being better funded than public schools and being able to cherrypick students and having no accountability.
Dolan Twins Funeral Controversy & Why The LAUSD Teacher Strike Will Ripple Through The US…
I get so brassed off with commenters who present on this blog using coded language of acronyms. It’s lazy, and irrational when it is about specialist subjects and people ought to know better. How on earth are commenters supposed to know what LAUSD is. I presume on looking it up on google that its’s this; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Unified_School_District
I agree. I keep getting stuck on what IIRC means, and occasionally FWIW.
Besides, those acronyms often often have a different meaning assigned to them through time.
For example, at one time SDLC meant Synchronous Data Link Control until some sage came along with a project management process and it became Systems Development Life Cycle.
Is it possible COVFEFE has some deep meaning in the mind of an orange turd?
The first two are ones people generally know about. They are useful for being short. I can understand them being good for phone texters. That Covfefefe is a doozy. I had some fun finding out about it.
Just watching link to a piece on early languages in the UK. Thet have just mentioned the burghs that would contain a group of traders and businesspeople who had a fairly autonomous sytem, reporting to a noble who reported to a king.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X5zX3yVoiQ
I think we have to revitalise our local areas as the governments appear to have been captured by right wing economists with romantic, sensual dreams supplied by Ayn Rand.
I think we could end up in a Mafia-like community with government providing protection whichever way we lean. So think about semi-autonomous regions, they might choose to be supportive of each other, in exchange for more choice of what to do with their collected taxes. I have been suggesting that say 5% of GST collected in particular areas be returned there to provide and update infrastructure. May be the tax reform group might have looked at that.
Well, the yanks just beat the brits 19-7 in Hamilton – even though the latter played really tight attacking rugby. Amazing how good the USA sevens team has become the last couple of years, after being non-contenders for so long. Obviously we must blame Trump. Anyone sussed out how he did it yet?
Metric tests to a person’s competency to THC levels & a related license to smoke pot perhaps, along with the availability of cheap devices for enthusiasts to purchase & use for application of such an approach.
Individual freedom comes with personable responsibility & self-control after all.
Perhaps such regulations would be a way to help people with high dependencies get to grips with their self-management and organisation better, in essence raising the lowest common denominator to a growing societal problem area in general & to help put a lid on it at a relatively harmless level.
After reading that article it reinforced my opposition to legalisation.
Commodifying by legalising a herb creates all sorts of issues.
Decriminilising is a far better way to go.
Take profit out of the issue, depower gangs, enable folk with pot issues to seek help, keep corporates away from marijuana.
Regulation should continue to include bans for THC levels in a person’s blood for:
– Private car
– Bus driving
– Taxi driving
– Truck driving
– In fact random testing for using any machinery at all
– In fact random testing for any level of THC in the workplace no matter where you are
And of course harder enforcement at school:
– Random testing at school, to ensure the legal age is enforced and young people actually study
And a tax step that’s far higher for using it as cigarette, damaging the lungs, compared to less tax for a pill or liquid form.
If they felt like it they could hypothecate (dedicate) the income from both tobacco and marijuana sales to minimizing their harm.
Now that the “rights” argument is getting closer, let’s talk about actual responsibilities in society.
It would need a good stepped metric testing license system. People are different.
As long as that was sound, the rest of associated approaches and outcomes would gravitate around it effectively to the shape of the market and how it functions.
Yuk. Next thing they will be limiting how many farts is appropriate per day and decide it should be none and then whole classes at school will go into detention when nobody will own up. No one wants to now, it will be worse when it is punishable. /sarc
Lets hope our Prime Minister has the good sense not to be sucked into Nato’s latest attempt to make out seventeen years of pointless killing in Afghanistan is justified and in some way moral. Lets also hope she passes on the, sure to arrive, requests to support regime change in Venezuela too. Trudeau has made it clear he is Trumps bitch. Lets try and keep some self respect.
Kia ora The AM Show The 7,s Rugby in Hamilton was awesome the stands were packed out and OUR 7,s Black Ferns Wahine Rugby team first game on home soil was a great success. Mana Wahine its looks like it will be a yearly event for OUR Black Firns Mana Wahine. The All Blacks 7 team is still in the hunt for the 7 trophy to ka pai. simon we needed the greens party in Government after shonky shorted the system for his wealthy m8 nar you don’t want a capital gains tax that would make life better for the many people and ECO MAORI knows national run government’s for the 00.1%
I put deflated the alt right neo mark his blue m8s were not happy with that move they played up heaps after that kick from ECO Maori. I will observe a bit more before I put my nose in the Auckland Council election. I still say all the anity capital gains principles of NZ Have the teachers union by the noses. Jason I feel sorry for you people in Australia with those scorching temperatures over them. Jason it only takes 1 degree changes for life or death no wonder you and duncan are m8s both human caused climate change deniers. That last comment of yours on social media shaming fools who are disrespectful totally agree with that view social media gives people a conscious. Phil Goff needs to use social media to direct the traffic away from traffic jam’s like Korea does he needs to send someone there and see what they do with DATA & social media to keep one of the highest density and Internet connected population in Papatuanukue running a few tweeks in Auckland would save the country millions of $$$$$ and lower our carbon footprint. I say all road works on high traffic roads should be carried out at night there priorities should be safety first and traffic flowing freely even try Japanese traffic slow down models I see some more heads have been moved out of NZTA may be time for change they could have had links to oil barons.?????.
That is cool having Rob Hewitt on The show education people about Wai water & safety swimming in Tangaroa. Tangaroa was looking after him when he spent 4 days lost in Tangaroa Ka pai.
24 degrees here at the minute.
A true green party is a left humane party one can spout being green and in the same breath party shout lock em up cut social security I see someone who jumped on my coat Tails for a lift cheat. Ka kite ano P.S The controversial water view tunnel in Auckland made life better for people who fly Alot just like national look after the 00.1%, before the 99.9 %
Ki ora Newshub Global warming is hear and now one has to plan for the heat and work smart to avoid heat stress and Fires
Good Wai quality is a must it makes Eco think we have hope when 80 % of people think good water quality is needed to avoid desaster with our water and environment. Road Rage not good is it. 3 topic,s linked climate change traffic jams and obesity it would be nice with the obesity subject that the real culprit is branded for that problem SUGAR.
ECO MAORI knows how strong Tawhirirmate in around Aketio I think that is Cape turnagain Alex been in some big seas there.
Its is awesome that Black panther has picked up a few prizes at the SAG awards . Ka kite ano
Seymour describes sushi as too woke for school meals. There are no fish sushi meals recommended by the School Lunches programme. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Government will swap out hot meals for packaged sandwiches to save $107 million on school lunches for poor kids. MSD has pulled ...
I don't mind stealin' bread from the mouths of decadenceBut I can't feed on the powerless when my cup's already overfilled, yeahBut it's on the table, the fire's cookin'And they're farmin' babies, while slaves are workin'The blood is on the table and the mouths are chokin'But I'm goin' hungry, yeahSome ...
The Ardern Government’s chickens came home to roost yesterday with the news that the country is short of natural gas. In 2018, Labour banned offshore petroleum exploration, and industry executives say that the attendant loss of confidence by the industry impacted overall investment in onshore gas fields. Energy Resources Minister ...
Hi,If you’ve been digging through the newly launched Webworm store (orders are being dispatched worldwide as I type!) you’ll have noticed the best model we had was Calvin.This is Calvin.Calvin.Calvin is 7, and is the son of my producer over on Flightless Bird, Rob — aka “Wobby Wob”. Rob also ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Climate change is everywhere. And when something's everywhere it can feel like it's nowhere. So how do we get our heads ...
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
“Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes – I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes – Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes – The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline “Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
Cleo Paskal writes – WASHINGTON, D.C.: ‘Many of us have received phone calls from [the opposing camp] telling them if they join the camp they will be given projects for their wards and $300,000 [around US$35,000] each’, says former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani. The elections in Solomon Islands aren’t ...
With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
Placards and mourners outside the Kilbirnie Mosque following the Christchurch terror attack: MSD has terminated the Kaiwhakaoranga service, which has been used by 415 families since the attacks. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The Government’s pledge to only cut ‘back office’ staff rather than ‘frontline’ services is on increasingly shaky ground, with ...
There’s been a few smaller public transport announcements over the last week or so that I thought I’d cover in a single post. Fareshare I’ve long called for Auckland Transport to offer a way to enable employer-subsidised public transport options. The need for this took on even more importance ...
Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National Minister Matt Doocey, reflects poorly on Genter and ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Photo by Jari Hytönen on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leah Williams Veazey, ARC DECRA Research Fellow, University of Sydney DavideAngelini/Shutterstock In the 2007 film The Bucket List Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman play two main characters who respond to their terminal cancer diagnoses by rejecting experimental treatment. Instead, they go ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mohan Singh, Professor of Agri-Food Biotechnology, School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences at the University of Melbourne., The University of Melbourne Tanja Esser/Shutterstock Australia’s vital agriculture sector will be hit hard by steadily rising global temperatures. Our climate is already ...
The Acumen Edelman Trust barometer reported that New Zealand’s political trust score now sits below the global average, a topic explored in a recent discussion paper by Maxim Institute. ...
Greenpeace Aotearoa executive director Russel Norman says, "The Fast-Track Bill is the most damaging piece of environmental legislation any Government has introduced in living memory. People are angry, and it’s time to march." ...
The school lunches programme has been retained – and will be extended to some preschoolers. So how is it going to cost $107 million less? To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. The minister with many hats David Seymour wears a number of hats, but this week ...
“Show us the bird,” I found myself muttering at times while reading Hard by the Cloud House by Peter Walker, a deeply thoughtful, often hilarious, at times rambling – but somehow delightfully so – search for the story of a big bird. But not just any bird: the bird. This ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jack Marley, Environment + Energy Editor, UK edition DPVUE .images/Shutterstock Your home was probably designed for a climate that no longer exists. As long as humanity continues to burn fossil fuel, padding the heat-trapping blanket of gases in Earth’s atmosphere, the ...
A senior lawyer has filed a complaint about tikanga becoming a required law school module. Law lecturer Carwyn Jones explains what he’s getting wrong. “…the first law of Aotearoa, a law that served the needs of tangata whenua for a thousand years before the arrival of tauiwi.”– Ani Mikaere ...
In 2019, an Auckland woman woke up from surgery to find that she had undergone a treatment she didn’t consent to. She tells Alex Casey about her experience. From her very first period at the age of 14, Laura experienced “debilitating” levels of pain that forced her to withdraw from ...
Comment: Concerns about the state of the economy are creeping up to the top of firms’ list of challenges. That’s evident in both surveys and the tone of our recent client discussions. Skimming the past few weeks of eco-news, it’s not hard to see why. – Retail card spending fell ...
Opinion: Could former co-leader James Shaw still make a difference to working with National? The post How the Greens could be contenders appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Opinion: What if we got rid of our existing drug laws and replaced them with a new law that legalised and carefully regulated all psychoactive substances, from cannabis to MDMA, methamphetamine and LSD to magic mushrooms? And which also included legal drugs such as alcohol and nicotine. “Wow,” you might ...
In the gloom following director-general Al Morrison’s job cuts in 2013, the Department of Conservation restructured its operations arm. Eleven conservancy districts were whittled into six new “conservation delivery” regions, under which the Rēkohu/Wharekauri/Chatham Islands area, comprising 40 scattered islands more than 800km east of Christchurch, was tethered to the ...
One of th e country’s top litigation lawyers says New Zealand is seeing a lift in court action between companies. Chapman Tripp partner Justin Graham, who oversees a team of around 80 litigation specialists, says the courts are now so log-jammed that it’s taking over two years to get cases ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government is talking up the crucial role of gas as a transition fuel “through to 2050 and beyond”. In a gas strategy to be released on Thursday, the government envisages the fuel’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Next week the government will again next try to get its legislation through to deal with non-citizens who won’t cooperate with efforts to deport them. The bill, which the opposition and crossbench refused to rush ...
A long-term project that will set out an alternative vision for Aotearoa that looks beyond the narrow confines of the policy straight jacket adopted by successive governments. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bree Hurst, Associate Professor, Faculty of Business and Law, QUT, Queensland University of Technology TK Kurikawa/Shutterstock A much-awaited report into Coles and Woolworths has found what many customers have long believed – Australia’s big supermarkets engage in price gouging. What started ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Ghezelbash, Associate Professor and Deputy Director, Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW Law & Justice, UNSW Sydney The Albanese government wanted to avoid an inquiry into its migration amendment bill. The report, handed down yesterday by a senate committee that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joo-Cheong Tham, Professor, Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne Lobbying is at the heart of government. Who has access to and influence over key government officials shapes the decisions governments make – and how they make them. The ability to influence ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Myfany Turpin, Associate Professor, Ethnomusicology, Linguistics and Ethnobiology, University of Sydney The act representing Australia at this year’s Eurovision contest has sadly not qualified for the grand final. Yet for Zaachariaha Fielding and Michael Ross, the duo that makes up Electric Fields, ...
In announcing changes to the school lunches programme, David Seymour said kids would no longer be served ‘woke’ foods. To clear up any confusion, The Spinoff has compiled a guide to the wokeness levels of some common food items. Apple = NOT WOKE Avocado = WOKE Avocado, smashed = EVEN ...
The Minister Responsible for GCSB and the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security have been notified of this review, and have been provided a finalised Terms of Reference. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Minglu Chen, Senior Lecturer, Government and International Relations, University of Sydney Robert Way/Shutterstock As the past few years have illustrated so clearly, the Australia-China relationship is complicated. As such, it is crucial for Australians to develop a more nuanced understanding of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mariana Campbell, Research Lecturer, Conservation, Charles Darwin University Marilyn Connell Australian freshwater turtles are facing an alarming trend. Almost half of these species are listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. The Mary River turtle (Elusor macrurus) is one of Australia’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Debbie Passey, Digital Health Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne Algorithms have become integral to our lives. From social media apps to Netflix, algorithms learn your preferences and prioritise the content you are shown. Google Maps and artificial intelligence are nothing without ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Josephine Barbaro, Associate Professor, Principal Research Fellow, Psychologist, La Trobe University Unsplash We’ve come a long way in terms of understanding that everyone thinks, interacts and experiences the world differently. In the past, autistic people, people with attention deficit hyperactive disorder ...
PNG Post-Courier Papua New Guinea’s deputy opposition leader James Nomane has accused the government of “reckless economic management” that has forced devaluation to manage loan repayments in foreign currency and placate the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Prime Minister James Marape “must stop lying to the people of Papua New Guinea”, ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Bookseller Confessional, in which we get to know Aotearoa’s booksellers. This week: Jane Arthur, author of Brown Bird, and former bookseller at Good Books.The book I wish I’d writtenI have been working on not comparing myself to others. On accepting that what I can ...
The final decision on the Wellington District Plan makes it official: High-density housing is legal across most of Wellington. Housing minister Chris Bishop has announced his decision on the Wellington District Plan, approving a series of amendments to radically upzone most of Wellington, allowing tens of thousands of new townhouses ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. “Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to ...
RNZ News As Israel presses ahead with strikes in Rafah and seizing the Rafah crossing from Egypt, aid agencies are sounding the alarm of a “catastrophic humanitarian situation”. Rafah was “significant” because it was the only part in Gaza that had not been terribly damaged by the conflict, United Nations ...
With funding set to be scrapped for the Hamilton-Auckland commuter train, Te Huia enthusiast Georgie Dansey argues for it to be thrown a lifeline. It’s 5.45am and the chain of my crappy old bike falls off slugging up the one hill in Hamilton. I contemplate yeeting the bike into the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Cooke, Honorary Fellow, School of the Environment, The University of Queensland We feel ecological grief when we lose places, species or ecosystems we value and love. These losses are a growing threat to mental health and wellbeing globally. We all see ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shauna Brail, Associate Professor, Institute for Management & Innovation, University of Toronto A shift to hybrid and remote work continues to affect worker presence in Toronto’s downtown.(Shutterstock) Downtown Toronto, the core of Canada’s largest city, continues to reel from the lingering ...
Responding to an Auditor-General's report slamming failures in the administration of the 2023 General Election, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said: ...
Productivity apps now make up a big chunk of the software market. But do they work? And why do they all have AI integrations?Despite being firmly on the record as a physical planner fan, I sometimes dream of something better than my pretty diary and its scrawled, ugly, interior ...
The Taxpayers’ Union says the Beehive need to lead by example, following reports of more than $50,000 spent upgrading video conferencing equipment and furniture in the Prime Minister’s office. Taxpayers’ Union Campaign Manager, Connor Molloy, ...
An objective list of the 50 most powerful people in New Zealand, as judged by the Spinoff Editorial Board. It’s power list season, baby, and we want in on the action. Sure, there’s the rich list and the powerful “c-suite” list and the young people with power (hmmm) but here, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thalia Anthony, Professor of Law, University of Technology Sydney ShutterstockThis article contains information on deaths in custody and the names of deceased people, and describes ongoing colonial violence towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. First Nations people in Australia ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Simpson, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Macquarie University Netflix Baby Reindeer’s phenomenal success has much to do with its writer and lead, Richard Gadd, who plays Donny in a tender semi-autobiographical account of sexual abuse, harassment and stalking. Gadd’s story has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Collins, Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Newcastle KarolinaGrabowska/Pexels If you didn’t have food allergies as a child, is it possible to develop them as an adult? The short answer is yes. But the reasons why are much ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Moon, Professor of History, Auckland University of Technology Ans Westra, self-portrait, c. 1963. National Library ref AWM-0705-F They try but invariably fail – those writers who believe they are capable of encapsulating in prose or verse the essence of ...
Stewart Sowman-Lund looks at the growing concern around the world in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. What’s all this? When Covid-19 arrived on our shores in early 2020, some argued we were too slow, or crucially, ill-prepared for a pandemic. So ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Franco Montalto, Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering and Director, Sustainable Water Resource Engineering Laboratory, Drexel University Water runs into a storm drain in a Los Angeles alley on Aug. 19, 2023, during Tropical Storm Hilary.Citizen of the Planet/Universal Images ...
The inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones has turned up a new witness who says he saw two teenagers and a small child in a high vis vest in the area where the boy’s body was found the day he died. Lachie’s body was discovered face up ...
Welcome back.
Heh, I had visions of Lprents kitten playfully chewing through an important cable…
Nope. My fault. I did a series of upgrades to the operating systems followed by a cleanup of the disk space. Then after telling the check systems that the site was being rebooted, rebooted at about 2am. But failed to check that the site actually came online.
It had a configuration problem in the apache2 and failed to start up.
Mort was innocent (this time)
A seldom bought up fact is that coal fired and nuclear power does not work in very hot temperatures due to needing cooling as part of their process. In short they are not good in a global warming scenario as when it gets too hot, (and you need power to run air conditioners), it also effects other parts of the network.
That is why solar and diversified power networks are needed in global warming scenarios.
“The heat in Victoria has already cut power to thousands of properties in the state’s central north. More than 2700 AusNet customers were hit with a power outage near Nagambie and an underground cable fault might not be fixed until 5pm. ”
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12195786
Good point savenz. I’m copying this to How to get there tomorrow unless someone else does so.
As the heat racks up, Australia becomes more and more suited to become the world’s first hydrogen fuel energy superpower.
High concentrated solar heat can split oxygen and hydrogen at industrial scales through the process of thermolysis far more efficiently than electrolysis, the current most common method.
Bring it on.
Thermolytic hydrogen production looks to be at a similar stage to photocatalytic hydrogen production; a bit closer to reality than fusion power but not much.
Sorry but Hydrogen is just not efficient as a source of renewable power. There’s power loss from generation to piping, storing and consuming hydrogen.
The cheapest and most efficient use of solar and wind sources of renewable power is to send the electricity directly to a battery or to point of consumption. The ever improving economics of battery storage will drive the cost down so much that it will become economic to store it overnight for large populations.
That’s an issue for legacy power generation designed for a cooler climate. Unless the power plants are badly engineered, extreme hot temperatures should only force reduced output, not shutdown.
New builds can and should be designed for a warmer climate and much hotter hottest days, with substantially gruntier cooling systems. The gruntier cooling systems should also improve their overall thermal efficiency in less-extreme conditions. Concentrated solar-thermal, geothermal and gas generation also have the cooling issue. Even photovoltaics benefit from kept cool, although it’s rarely if ever cost-effective to actively cool them (there’s a double-benefit from floating photovoltaic arrays on reservoirs, better output from being kept cooler and reduced evaporation).
There’s also the transmission grid – if the cables get hot, they expand lengthwise and sag. Sometimes close enough to something underneath to start fires. One engineering solution for that is using carbon fibre cable for the tension-bearing core, and aluminium for the conductors. Carbon fibre has a very small thermal expansion lengthwise (can be positive or negative depending on the grade) so the heat-sag problem mostly goes away. It just costs a bit more initially.
That’s helpful information Andre. More good infor like this will be welcome.
It seems it was an underground grid failure that caused the outage. No other information on what went wrong.
I suspect that the power stations themselves weren’t badly affected if at all.
Probably the same problem as we had in Auckland
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12033654
There were two causes. A hot summer shifted the ground causing an actual break in at least one cable causing a leakage. The other one was a bit more insidious. There was insufficient ground moisture to transfer extra heat away from the cables.
I’d just moved into my apartment towards the end of 1997, so had the fun of months of the power outages.
It is kind of freaky to realise that at the time there were only 7000 people living in and around the CBD in 1998. The last time I looked (after the 2013 census) there were more than 70,000. It has gone up since then.
I read recently that City of London has much of its own governance.
Something like 7000 people live there, but 450,000 people work there or are integrated with it. e&oe
There are two Coal power stations in the Latrobe Valley in Victoria’s east couldn’t keep up with demand by 10:30am thence the rolling blackouts aka “brown outs” yesterday and one of the main trunk powerlines in Victoria went tits up as well.
There were also localised power outages as well cause by local transmission lines not handling the increase demand of power or the extreme heat or a combination of the both.
Just found this on Railpage Australia, worth the reading the rants and has some useful links as well.
https://www.railpage.com.au/f-p2132792.htm#2132792
Can find the link but it looks like they have already had to shut down generations in Adelaide due to extreme heat. So just when you need power to cool, you have to shut down your generations. So I guess people could be dead pretty quickly.
Sadly power has become a business rather than a social good, and therefore the discourses are not about the cheapest most effective ways for communities and individuals to get power but more about big business making the most profit of often the poorest people, while subtly delaying/stopping or trying to control other better, cheaper ways they could get power.
Free trade has become about stopping social good and profiting from the effects of climate change, through thousands of pages of ‘rules’ to ensure profit remains to the big multinationals.
“Profit over the planet: WTO’s lawsuit ruling could be a giant blow to the renewable energy movement
WTO tribunal ruled in a lawsuit initiated by the U.S. that India’s national solar energy program violates trade law”
https://www.salon.com/2016/02/24/profit_over_the_planet_wtos_lawsuit_ruling_could_be_a_giant_blow_to_the_renewable_energy_movement/
With the same ruling above, even though India had virtually ZERO solar capacity at that time the logic of US solar being damaged at that time could not be true. However the WTO still ruled in US favour.
“The U.S. sued India in the WTO tribunal because India’s subsidized solar energy program required that particular parts be made in the country. Washington claims that, because of this program, its solar exports to India have fallen by 90 percent since 2011, when the program started. As the Sierra Club’s Ben Beachy noted, however, India had almost no solar capacity at this time.”
It’s not about free-trade – it’s about forcing trade.
India didn’t want to trade so as to help develop their economy and so the US through the WTO forced it upon them. They did so so that the US economy could be developed at India’s expense.
If these people were truly after free-trade they’d be dropping all the rules and allowing nations to decide for themselves if they’re going to trade with another nation or not. That, after all, is what free-trade is.
“If these people were truly after free-trade they’d be dropping all the rules and allowing nations to decide for themselves if they’re going to trade with another nation or not. That, after all, is what free-trade is.”
/agreed
Do you think we might see some committed ‘free trade’ advocate (such as a Wayne or an Ollie Hartwich) come along and offer an explanation as to why free trade and FTAs are not actually free trade?
I imagine if they ever do, the explanation will be laced with spin and buzz words going forward.
And you’re absolutely correct re India. I still marvel at how the MFATs, Oz equivalent and others can’t understand why India is one of those ‘hard nuts to crack’ in obtaining an FTA.
Here’s a hint: Despite all the overt corruption, backhanders and promises, there is actually a concern among the Indian political elite for its citizens – whether from the Left, or from the Right. They don’t actually like being treated like shit in the minds of their foreign betters especially with the offshore diaspora.
I would expect them to come on and explain why these agreements are all about free-trade when, more often than not, they’re used to force trade.
/yep
Don’t hold your breath if you’re expecting anything meaningful
3pm (1500hrs) and its now 2000Hrs.
Waiting waiting waiting. I’d have thought there’d have been a few regulars jumping in by now – seems not.
I guess they’re waiting for instructions
They really don’t like it when the truth is before them.
The fact that these agreements are forced trade rather than free-trade undermines their credibility but they actually can’t deny that these agreements are about forcing trade rather than free-trade.
The results speak for themselves.
One of the things I have learnt watching today’s ODI involving India is the meaning of the cartwheel in the Indian flag.
From Wikipedia (therefore it must be true), :
“Gandhi first proposed a flag to the Indian National Congress in 1921. The flag was designed by Pingali Venkayya. In the centre was a traditional spinning wheel, symbolising Gandhi’s goal of making Indians self-reliant by fabricating their own clothing…”
But wait, there’s more:
“Bhagwa or the Saffron denotes renunciation or disinterestedness. Our leaders must be indifferent to material gains and dedicate themselves to their work.”
I would love to include this in the cabinet manual.
You’ve got it @gsays.
Not something a few Wasps in Delhi half a mile from a Railway Museum sucking on a fag and worrying about their future will ever get.
Just as well I ‘spose there’s now a ‘Maori Policy Unit’ in MFAT’ with one or two decent folk leading the charge, even if they do worship at the lower Tory Street Temple
*
there’s NOW a ‘Maori Policy Unit’ ……etc.
Sorry, I had a Leftist’s curmudgeon moment brought on by memories of a Relda and a Marama.
A Kohia cum Martin almost.
While I am at it, the stream of the match I am watching is from espn, locals there are able to get a new BIG suv with 72 months to pay, 0% interest.
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/worldwide-auto-sales-decline-010059853.html
You would be dead right there. Excuse the horrible pun.
But the fact is that in Australia more people die from heat waves than from bush fires.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-18/heatwaves-australias-deadliest-hazard-why-you-need-plan/9338918
Thermal generation relies on the Carnot cycle, and it becomes less efficient as the ambient temperature rises. So does the cooling efficiency, and in many jurisdictions power plants are also restricted from putting too much heat back into rivers/estuaries, as this can have a severe impact on ecosystems. There is just so much legacy coal around that can’t be retrofitted with better cooling that our warming climate will cause more outages of coal fired power generation.
I’m not sure how you came to that conclusion about cooling or temperature being the cause of the power cut. They point out it was an underground cable and the fault could be caused by quite a few things.
A real issue for cooling for me would be transformers dealing with high loads. They are everywhere and are air cooled, the coils immersed in oil. So obviously 50 deg air is less efficient in cooling than 30 deg air. The risk being the insulating coating on the wires fail, they short circuit and explode.
As for the power plants there is two versions. Those that recycle water in cooling towers and those using water from rivers like Huntly. So the water exits the plant as steam at 100 deg plus, condenses and falls back down the tower. In theory less water would be recycled as less water can reach the temp to condense. The actual turbines shouldn’t be effected by a large amount as they operate at temperatures much higher than the air temerature. If anything the may need higher water flows in any component cooling part of the operation.
So water supply is actually the issue. Plants that can’t condense enough water may not have consent to draw enough from waterways to compensate. Plants like Huntly should have no issues as they have the ability to add cooling towers.
The actual figures for the effect of air temperature are small.
https://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/handle/10161/6895
Tbf
One nuclear power plant in a non earthquake area up north would solve a lot of problems.
Try and put one up here and you will get problems like you wouldn’t believe.
Funny how there has been ZERO nuclear power plants built by private practise in the world, instead they use tax payer money for the folly. Even when private practise do make the nuclear power plants it is enough to drive them under, meanwhile the countries and companies that invested in solar early are booming.
From the above link
“Fossil fuel company TransCanada is already suing the U.S. government, after the Obama administration rejected its proposed Keystone XL Pipeline on environmental grounds. Former NASA environmental scientist and now Columbia University professor James Hansen emphasized that, if the pipeline were built and the vast oil reserves in Alberta, Canada’s tar sands were used, it would mean “game over for the climate,” yet the corporation is demanding $15 billion in compensation from American taxpayers.”
Oh, lets look at what industries are causing climate change, and then getting the free trade deals to compensate them for their destruction of the planet so far! Crazy!
Just 100 companies responsible for 71% of global emissions, study says
A relatively small number of fossil fuel producers and their investors could hold the key to tackling climate change
https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/jul/10/100-fossil-fuel-companies-investors-responsible-71-global-emissions-cdp-study-climate-change
🙄
Never heard of the Firth of Thames as a rift valley?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/79903971/waikatos-earthquake-waiting-game
Then there is the Auckland Volcanic field
http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/9219092/Auckland-the-most-unprepared-for-disaster
I never realised in the entirety of the North Island there is only Auckland
I never realised you failed Comprehension 101.
I think I can comprehend they were talking about volcanoes in Auckland
And failed to see a reference to a rift valley less than 50 miles from Auckland which is thought by geologists to pose the risk of a large earthquake. Such a shake would affect the majority of the upper island as the fault runs through the Hauraki Gulf. It why the Firth of Thames is why it is – it is a submerged rift valley.
But not only is Auckland potentially liable to suffer an earthquake it is also liable to volcanic eruption. The hot springs at Miranda don’t just happen to be there for no apparent reason.
Indeed the whole of the upper North Island is formed from volcanic and earthquakes. If you were to do Geology 101 from AUC you would go on a field tip to Matheson Bay by Leigh, half way between Auckland and Whangarei, where the the evidence of Earth quakes, volcanoes, and other geological action is to be plainly seen.
Northland is probably the only place in the entirety of the North Island with an acceptably low level of seismic activity.
But good luck finding a site in Northland with the attributes and infrastructure necessary to building a nuclear reactor.
https://screenshots.firefox.com/DfnKaH8UGzHvCd7y/quakesearch.geonet.org.nz
I was thinking it might provide a few jobs and revive a few towns and force a govt to finally put a decent road in.
Hence my “solve a lot of problems.”
Apologies though.
I wasn’t exactly mr clear
I think you’ll need a little more than a decent road.
For starters, a deep water port.
All good
Add that
The pay off in reliable power to Auckland for the whole city, including a massive upswing in EV’s and electric public transport would more than pay for itself.
Not only are they designed to run with typically cooler water the waste heat has environmental impacts which will only increase with recalibration and an already warmer cooling source.
“Every day, large reactors like the two at Diablo Canyon, California, individually dump about 1.25 billion gallons of water into the ocean at temperatures up to 20 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the natural environment. ”
https://progressive.org/dispatches/nuclear-power-causes-global-warming/
http://www.analys.se/engelska/publications/nuclear-power-high-sea-water-temperatures/
https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/legacy/assets/documents/nuclear_power/fact-sheet-water-use.pdf
I’ve got tickling in the back of my head that Huntly is (or was) occasionally constrained by its resource consent conditions. IIRC, when the Waikato river is already warm and low flow they’re not allowed to dump much extra heat into it, so that limits the power output.
Imagine if that energy was able to be diverted to tunnel houses.
The tomatoes would be going gangbusters!
This is definitely an issue due to high intake temperatures or restricted outflow temperatures e.g.
https://nuclear-news.net/2018/08/24/hot-weather-continues-to-cause-lower-nuclear-power-production-in-france/
https://reneweconomy.com.au/nuclear-power-takes-a-hit-as-european-heatwave-rolls-on-87477/
https://www.climatecentral.org/blogs/heat-and-drought-pose-risks-for-nuclear-power-plants
and also system vulnerabilities in transmission networks that trip the network and take large coal and nuclear plants off line e.g.
https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/power-stations-fail-as-victorians-brace-for-hottest-day-since-black-saturday/news-story/b404770015b841f39e348b19e5eec3a7
The US Reichstag moment comes closer.
President Trump agrees to open the US government up for 30 days. After that period if he doesn’t get his wall, he has threatened to either close the government again, or declare a National Emergency.
Even for a President who doesn’t read, the enormity of the second option can’t escape him.
I found a tongue in cheek piece on what advantages the Wall might enable.
https://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/97746/greg-ninness-details-wide-ranging-economic-opportunities-offered-us-president-donald
Greg Ninness details the wide ranging economic opportunities offered by US President Donald Trump’s proposed Mexican border wall
Also on the Wall and USA-Mexico long hostile relationship.
https://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/97607/journey-aztlan-chris-trotter-why-democrats-should-let-trump-build-his-wall
Journey To Aztlan: Chris Trotter on why the Democrats should let Trump build his wall
Dunno about that. He knows he just got spanked over his dropping ratings so it’s unlikely he’ll try another shutdown, and his base thinks he just cravenly surrendered.
His way out is to get a bit of extra funding for more technology stuff like remote surveillance and entry port inspections, and call it a “smart wall”. He’s already setting the stage for that switcheroo, and most of his Wallnuts will go along with it.
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/25/government-shutdown-over-border-wall-1127564
Would trump’s wall actually have any effect other than to fulfill his election promises.
Fencing people out is vastly different to fencing them in imho
As a practical matter, a concrete wall from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean would:
make floods in the Rio Grande much worse by impeding floodwaters
forcibly take a lot of land from a lot of really ornery Texans
really fuck up the ecosystems in the Big Bend area of Texas and kill a lot of the wildlife that depends on access to the Rio Grande for water let alone north-south migration patterns (equivalent ecosystems in the California mountains are already fucked from the fencing that’s already built)
barely noticeably reduce illegal immigration since most arrive legally and overstay, are smuggled through an entry port concealed in a vehicle, or go over or under existing fencing
He is not proposing what you stated.
Start again with what he is proposing.
What’s interesting about Trump is he has is end game and a starting position. Over time has starting position has changed from your comment, to his present policy. He has listened to the experts, who want the steel barrier etc.
His end game hasn’t changed.
Stop ILLEGAL immigration.
So you like law breaking and keep coming up with excuses justifying law breaking. He wants things to be lawful.
Most illegal immigration. But the rest is acceptable to you. Trump wants to stop it therefore Andre must condone it.
So most convicted rapists?
So most MS13?
So most sex trade victims?
Where do they enter the US?
I’m amazed that you condone those things just on your hatred of Trump. You would rather rapists, Gang members, and sex trafficking be unimpeded than let a single Trump policy, sorry Obama policy, sorry Pelosi policy be funded.
He probably should have signed up to the UN pact on immigration then as one of it’s goals was to stop people immigrating illegally by correcting the conditions that make them want to leave.
Of course, that would reduce the power of the US and other developed nations in the world.
What the Tantrump has actually achieved for national security.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/01/trump-shut-down-the-government-to-protect-national-security-he-hurt-it-instead/
It will make some steel and construction company owners wealthier.
Reckon as soon as they got the contract they’d find some way to be based in Mexico, use Mexican labour and tariff-free Chinese steel?
Whatever President Pence allows.
They’re probably already based in the one or other of the tax havens.
That’s how mexico will pay for it.
The North American Venuzuela is one step closer.
https://goo.gl/images/MgTRJ2
Those Hitler digs are clearly stupid.
The socialist MSM is the new Goebbels.
There’s no enormity in building a wall. Not a single American will have a single control placed on them. Not one. No media imprisoned like Venuzuela. No protesters shot or run over like Venuzuela. No corruption like Venuzuela. No high taxes that cause all the youth to flee like Venuzuela.
Nothing. Not one thing Nazi in anything Trump has done. Unlike Ocasio Cortez who is a racist and sexist as well. On record with her hate white men comments.
After all Nazis are socialists. It’s in the name.
“After all Nazis are socialists. It’s in the name.”
Don’t be intellectually lazy. You’ve clearly got the smarts to be better than that. Get educated and get real man.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Socialist_Program
Aside from your irrational Godwinisms, I agree that the concept of walls is not inherently bad, humans have built them throughout history. Trump’s
tantrumshutdown wasn’t really about he wall, it’s about Democrats taking control of Congress, and obstructing the Mueller investigation. Trump has had 2 years to fund his stupid fscken wall but he seemed to forget about it until now.The RWNJ’s are dead scared of Ocasio Cortez and co.
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-young-lefts-anti-capitalist-manifesto/
I think your wrong.
She has a great personality but clearly not that bright.
She refuses to by interviewed by media that may ask non patsy questions so she can’t actually get to that higher level. The day she has to face a real interview rather than patsy questions she will look stupid and scary.
The rich are going WTF she is just nuts. The second she gets any traction or power with her ideas large numbers of the rich will donate to the republicans. She will be like the gift that keeps on giving.
Talking about not that bright…
https://twitter.com/markmobility/status/1088197844257902593
/exactly.
In fact, we actually need maximum incomes. Not just high interest rates but actually saying that amounts over X amount will be taxed at 100%.
We need to stop fucking around and realise that the economy really is a Zero Sum Game.
She won’t go anywhere a fox wanker if she has any sense warty.
As she’s socialist she’s so obviously far brighter than you.
No, the rich are panicking as they realise that their end is nigh.
But, you’re a good RWNJ and you’re here to defend their unearned wealth.
When the Nazis kidnapped children from their parents and adopted them out to ‘better’ people, at least they kept proper paperwork.
That’s right, they were very perdantic on that one. Unlike Venuzuela who have no paper to take records. Or no media to report on it. There in prison.
We have the same policy here in NZ it’s called CYFS. All you need is you and 2 dodgy mates to independently make false allegations and they will go around and take the children from the parent or parents. They keep paperwork as well but good luck trying to get hold of it. The children are placed with audited, better parents. Sadly often more likely to abuse the kids vs the parents.
Exactly. Everyone else identifies that child, who their parents are, where they were taken into custody (and by whom), whether the child was healthy, and what their destination will be.
The Nazis kept better records on the kids they intentionally murdered than dolt45’s crew do on kids they were supposed to try to keep alive.
After all Nazis are socialists. It’s in the name.
The fact that right-wingers bring this level of analysis to historical, social and political questions explains a great deal about their comments.
They’re a perfect example of the Dunning-Kruger effect. They’re too ignorant to understand that they have NFI WTF they’re talking about.
I was taking the piss and the comment deserved it.
Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock….
Trump Threatens to Use Emergency Power to Build Wall If Congress Does Not Approve It by February 15
But just imagine what the next Democrat President in 2020 could do with those “emergency powers” tRump is just wanting to set a precedent for!
Action on Climate Change.
Immigration policy.
Voting rights.
Social Justice.
to name a few.
His advisers are cautioning him about taking this approach because it would set up a whole gateway for open slather executive action that potentially violates their constitution. Furthermore, if it should succeed through the myriad of legal objections, such an order would immediately face, it opens the way for any succeeding Democrat to do something to which Republicans are totally opposed. Of course, having essentially cast aside all the adults in the room, and never actually listening to any advice that may be given – unless it is from his mates on Fox news – who knows what he will do. He obviously hasn’t a clue as to what he is doing – so how is anyone else to know?
What, next Democratic President?
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/sep/07/michael-moore-fahrenheit-119-trump
Ladies and Gentlemen the last President of the United States.
You fail to understand the importance of the most recent election and the real “Blue Wave” that transformed the country. And yes it did transform the country. There is still more to be done, but the people are not resting on their laurels, they are now seriously working on 2020. Trumpkins who are now the only base for Trump support, are even now, walking away as they realise the reality of life under the Orange one is not what he said it would be. The Republicans don’t have the support, nor the gumption, to remove him, and they are fractionalised as a party, like they have never been before. There has been a huge reaction to the election of Trump. It has energized people, particularly women. There is growing movement for reform.
If Trump was successful to create expanded “Emergency Powers” for his wall, that would create a precedent for any follow on President to do a vast number of things of which current Republicans would never dream of doing. Remember it was the power of the Republicans in Congress that has held up any substantive progress on Climate Action on the world stage for decades. No US President could agree to working towards reducing GHG emissions on a world stage without their consent.
The problem, of course, is that what’s happening is the problem.
How can anyone address the problem if no one recognises it? If their whole being is about maintaining the status quo?
Here’s an excerpt from my Book of Shadows 29/11/2001:
This is the Final War – the war against capitalism.
Your piss has blood in it! Better get a health check.
yeah, not helping.
By the way I was talking to DJW at 335111.
1. you need to put in a /sarc tag else no one else will get it. It’s the general problem wit text.
2. You’re a RWNJ so we expect you to be lambasting Nazi Germany as socialist when it actually wasn’t.
Nope. They were all capitalists:
Isn’t privatisation what we’ve been doing for the last thirty years?
So, for the last thirty years we’ve been following Nazi Germany’s economic policies.
I believe he’ll do that. He is unable to negotiate
Chris Trotter gives the UK an Eagle’s-eye view and perceives the cracks.
https://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/97655/chris-trotter-how-imperialism-has-set-britain-apart-its-european-competitors-and
Chris Trotter on how imperialism has set Britain apart from its European competitors and landed it in the mess it’s in –
The Prime Minister, Theresa May, and her supposed alternative, Jeremy Corbyn, epitomise in equal measure the malady that is Brexit.
May has failed utterly to draw into the debate the broad range of parties and interests whose co-operation continues to be essential to the extremely difficult task of making Britain’s departure from the European Union, if not painless, then bearable. Tribal, mistrustful, high-handed and fatally unimaginative, the Conservative Party leader remains politically upright only because her job is now so hard and so thankless that nobody else wants it.
His latest on Bowalley Road is fairly brutal:
http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-jacinda-problem-where-she-goes-we-go.html
although I can understand how many aren’t seeing the benefits of a change in government (yet). Let’s hope tho’ that we don’t keep getting a “Rome wasn’t built in a day” response from any criticism – it’s not going to wash for too much longer.
Davos attendance was a poor decision
maybe, maybe not
We’ll see whether or not this is Her moment of advocacy for change, or whether it will be seen as just another media moment in time (going forward).
I’m hoping it is the former, although I understand she has a whole lot of shit to push uphill to get to where she’d hope we all want to be.
There are a growing number of the dis-possessed that can’t even afford a concern for the politics of kindness and they’ve given up even being interested in such a hope.
2019 is going to be an interesting year.
It occurs to me that if we don’t get a fairer system the grievances and hate against governmental and elite leaders will build up. There eventually could be a revenge group that pays back to the families of the comfortable privateers. Best to really take things seriously about giving the lower classes some let-up on their downward trend in everything before the obsessed get beyond hope for bread tomorrow; let them eat cake sometimes now please, sitting on their own chairs in their own lockable home, not the romantic outdoors.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/380978/defence-force-won-t-investigate-death-of-singaporean-aloysius-pang
I don’t think Singaporeans are going to be satisfied with NZ Defence Forces standing back and pleading laissez faire. I think there are many Singaporean Chinese in this country. They didn’t lift themselves out of poverty by dropping regulations and adopting a she’ll-be-right approach. It wasn’t us gov’ plea or we can’t be questioned, ‘Do you know who we are’ can work to deal with us ordinary NZ citizens but they will be displeased.
So, what more do you expect the NZDF to do?
That could be put – what less do you expect the NZDF to do? And I could say yeah good idea if they didn’t host such practises; but then how can they withdraw without breaking the working alliance that is thrust upon us by the constant desire to have something that someone else has got. Which is millenials old.
So I don’t know what can NZDF do; be better hosts? Try to make it clear in Singapore news media with adverts that we are very sad that one of their young role models and youth stars has been killed here, and stress that we were not involved?
They may have hosted the exercise but they weren’t part of it.
This means that no investigation by them will result in any meaningful resolution.
The only ones who can investigate the incident is Singapore.
Which is what’s happening with the NZDF assistance.
There is, quite literally, nothing else that the NZDF can do.
He was a Singaporean defence force personnel operating under their jurisdiction. There is, quote literally, nothing that the NZDF can do except extend NZs condolences which I’m pretty sure that they’ve already done on our behalf.
There is nothing that you can fault our defence forces with as they didn’t have anything to do with it.
There is nothing that you can fault our defence forces with as they didn’t have anything to do with it.
I already indicated that DTB. So don’t go on about it.
Huh?
As far as I am aware the NZDF provides the venue but not direct control of the exercise. Certainly not the NZDF staff (as your link points out) except probably for exercise bounds.
Just like the exercises that the SAF does in a number of friendly countries where they have some room to do operational training in larger areas than their islands. The SAF does these exercises shipping their own gear into the host country and mainly doing their own exercises. As far as I am aware the use of many of those exercise areas are paid for in millions or billions of dollars deals. I suspect that if they aren’t explicitly doing a multilateral exercise, that any operational training cooperating with host forces would be an afterthought.
The Singapore land area is only about 3/4 that of the Auckland urban area. It severely limits the kind of exercise that they can do inside their own country. For instance at brigade or regimental level, anything to do with jet aircraft, most armour or artillery, hell even the bush warfare areas would be limited. Gods knows what else they’d need to do. In Australia they use thousands of square kilometres at Shoalwater Bay.
But what you don’t seem to grasp is that the SAF are finicky about training injuries or deaths. In Singapore even training deaths caused by dehydration or lightning are prominent in the news media. Everything that I’ve seen over this last year (I spent 5 months of 2018 in Singapore) indicates that they are the best people to do any such inquiry. They have more actual experience than the NZDF.
That is because they cycle so many more people through training. Conscripts through their two years and reserves through their annual training. That is a *lot* of training. It is a far far large force than NZDF. Active personnel are about 70k at any one time. And there are over a million reserves.
With military training, like that of civilian training, there simply isn’t any way to remove all risk. The trick is to make sure that you learn from accidents to make damn sure that they don’t reoccur. I can’t see how getting the NZDF to do it would add much, if anything.
Singapore Armed Forces use Waiouru for live fire artillery training and as your link notes, it’s Singapore’s show so there’s no reason for the NZDF to be involved in any inquiry.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waiouru_Military_Camp#Singapore_connection
We can express sorrow in a media release that would show up in Singapore. It affects our 100% Pure happy place promotion somewhat. We don’t want any more preventable deaths in this country piling up in statistics!
Something @ Cleangreen and possibly others might be interested in:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/jan/25/manchester-tram-train-network
Seems to me there might be places around NZ where this could be useful in the future, but I also wonder whether we’ll take our traditional short term approach to doing things and go for ‘light rail’ options using a completely different gauge.
The Labour party needs a name change.
Here are a few starters.
New Zealand Pacific
New Zealand Global
Our New Zealand.
True New Zealand.
New Zealand Heart.
I wish they would hurry up and do something positive party?
True National.
Another tailings dam collapse. Hundreds missing. Surrounding farmland destroyed via being covered in toxic sludge.
Shares in Vale drop 10%. The same Vale responsible for the last dam failing in Minas Gerais, the 19 deaths then, and Brasil’s worst ecological disaster.
Bolsonaro to the rescue, concerned for miners welfare.
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/hundreds-missing-after-brazilian-dam-collapse/news-story/3cd78c609dd8e01ae5c1e3089bac3c24
What I am aware of in the free market is that every disaster is a profit centre if a Corporate can work it right. So one conglomerate screws up – then another supplies a remedy. The governments pay and pay and pay, and the people say what was in that brown paper email?
While we are at it a 21 century name
for New Zealand is way over due.
We are not a Dutch province.
Tasman did not discover New Zealand.
Realistically we should be Rarotonga Hou.
Mate, NZ has a name, try Aotearoa.
Holy heck.
During the government shutdown 200+ US government websites had their SSL certificates expire. Bad, very bad.
https://www.sovereignman.com/trends/the-mother-of-all-government-data-breaches-is-happening-right-now-24461/
Sort of bizarre.
We gotta have a wall to protect the security of our country!!!!!
What do you mean the shut down has comprimised our digital security!!
Ooooooopps.
Even his ex CoS Gen Kelly has been telling him that the shutdown was doing more harm to their security than any f**king wall would save.
https://www.axios.com/government-shutdown-kelly-department-homeland-security-e6e456bc-6d8d-4180-b4d6-7490942bb995.html
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/01/powerful-firms-in-the-government-s-sights.html
There is a vacuum with NZ demand & supply lobbying, so it tends to go to rorting instead.
To different degrees, some things are natural monopolies, like govt. itself is for example. The strength of that natural monopolistic part of the societal economy, is that despite all the leverage put over it to the contrary, it is a product of dynamic NZ demand & supply.
That is a general guide then, to the direction in enabling NZ lobbying systems for even the bigger natural monopolistic areas of activity to take the place of rorting.
NZ1st!
Quoting article:
Wonder if he’ll like the answers because the first thing that needs to be done is for all natural monopolies that provide essential services (Power, telecommunications, water, hospitals (and health in general)) to be brought in to state ownership as a government service. Some of which (i.e, health) would not carry charges.
The Reactionary Mind: Conservatism from Edmund Burke to Donald Trump
My bold.
This one just got on to my Must Read list.
I was watching the Philip DeFranco channel playing interviews from LAUSD Teachers and why the went on strike. They were offered better pay but turned it down as what they want is lower class sizes, and full-time nurses and counselors.
Another thing that was mentioned was about a lot of the funding trickery going on with some of the charter schools there. The schools have a headcount at a certain time near the start of the school year that helps set their funding. Right after this time a lot of the charter schools then dump a lot of the lower performing students forcing them back to public schools. Meanwhile, they keep the funding level for the higher number of students while the public schools forced to accept them are left with a funding level for a lower number of students. The charter schools have effectively found a loophole to swipe funding from the public schools while being left with the best of the cherrypicked students. They can also turn down those with physical handicaps putting even more pressure on the public schools who must supply extra funding from their budget for those students.
Some of this seems to resonate with what was happening here under the last National government with charter schools being better funded than public schools and being able to cherrypick students and having no accountability.
Dolan Twins Funeral Controversy & Why The LAUSD Teacher Strike Will Ripple Through The US…
I get so brassed off with commenters who present on this blog using coded language of acronyms. It’s lazy, and irrational when it is about specialist subjects and people ought to know better. How on earth are commenters supposed to know what LAUSD is. I presume on looking it up on google that its’s this;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Unified_School_District
I agree. I keep getting stuck on what IIRC means, and occasionally FWIW.
Besides, those acronyms often often have a different meaning assigned to them through time.
For example, at one time SDLC meant Synchronous Data Link Control until some sage came along with a project management process and it became Systems Development Life Cycle.
Is it possible COVFEFE has some deep meaning in the mind of an orange turd?
The first two are ones people generally know about. They are useful for being short. I can understand them being good for phone texters. That Covfefefe is a doozy. I had some fun finding out about it.
Just watching link to a piece on early languages in the UK. Thet have just mentioned the burghs that would contain a group of traders and businesspeople who had a fairly autonomous sytem, reporting to a noble who reported to a king.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X5zX3yVoiQ
I think we have to revitalise our local areas as the governments appear to have been captured by right wing economists with romantic, sensual dreams supplied by Ayn Rand.
I think we could end up in a Mafia-like community with government providing protection whichever way we lean. So think about semi-autonomous regions, they might choose to be supportive of each other, in exchange for more choice of what to do with their collected taxes. I have been suggesting that say 5% of GST collected in particular areas be returned there to provide and update infrastructure. May be the tax reform group might have looked at that.
Something to brighten up Labour? Eddie Izzard is a Labour Party official and wantsto stand for Parliament.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/04/world/europe/uk-eddie-izzard-labour-jeremy-corbyn.html
On Brexit –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFQyHH3TrR4
Coming to Auckland nZ 1 March
http://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/articles/events/2019/03/eddie-izzard-wunderbar-world-tour/
(April Berlin July San Fransisco so he gets around.)
Is there truth in this satirical piece on why the EEC and Britain et al from Yes Minister?
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvYuoWyk8iUV
Well, the yanks just beat the brits 19-7 in Hamilton – even though the latter played really tight attacking rugby. Amazing how good the USA sevens team has become the last couple of years, after being non-contenders for so long. Obviously we must blame Trump. Anyone sussed out how he did it yet?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12195856
Metric tests to a person’s competency to THC levels & a related license to smoke pot perhaps, along with the availability of cheap devices for enthusiasts to purchase & use for application of such an approach.
Individual freedom comes with personable responsibility & self-control after all.
Perhaps such regulations would be a way to help people with high dependencies get to grips with their self-management and organisation better, in essence raising the lowest common denominator to a growing societal problem area in general & to help put a lid on it at a relatively harmless level.
NZ1st!
After reading that article it reinforced my opposition to legalisation.
Commodifying by legalising a herb creates all sorts of issues.
Decriminilising is a far better way to go.
Take profit out of the issue, depower gangs, enable folk with pot issues to seek help, keep corporates away from marijuana.
Regulation should continue to include bans for THC levels in a person’s blood for:
– Private car
– Bus driving
– Taxi driving
– Truck driving
– In fact random testing for using any machinery at all
– In fact random testing for any level of THC in the workplace no matter where you are
And of course harder enforcement at school:
– Random testing at school, to ensure the legal age is enforced and young people actually study
And a tax step that’s far higher for using it as cigarette, damaging the lungs, compared to less tax for a pill or liquid form.
If they felt like it they could hypothecate (dedicate) the income from both tobacco and marijuana sales to minimizing their harm.
Now that the “rights” argument is getting closer, let’s talk about actual responsibilities in society.
It would need a good stepped metric testing license system. People are different.
As long as that was sound, the rest of associated approaches and outcomes would gravitate around it effectively to the shape of the market and how it functions.
You’re advocating for people, including minors to hand over their DNA…randomly…
Consistently, you expose a weak minded authoritarian streak in your comments, Ad…
Keep pondering until you come up with a more nuanced process that doesn’t begin with presumed guilt…something that doesn’t resemble a sledge hammer…
So called leftist thinking at its most confused…
Have some freedom of choice…now subject yourself to random testing…
Yuk. Next thing they will be limiting how many farts is appropriate per day and decide it should be none and then whole classes at school will go into detention when nobody will own up. No one wants to now, it will be worse when it is punishable. /sarc
Lets hope our Prime Minister has the good sense not to be sucked into Nato’s latest attempt to make out seventeen years of pointless killing in Afghanistan is justified and in some way moral. Lets also hope she passes on the, sure to arrive, requests to support regime change in Venezuela too. Trudeau has made it clear he is Trumps bitch. Lets try and keep some self respect.
Not as good as it could have been but it highlights some of the issues.
https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/specialseries/2019/01/growing-pains-ecological-cost-insatiable-economy-190121045037084.html
Kia ora The AM Show The 7,s Rugby in Hamilton was awesome the stands were packed out and OUR 7,s Black Ferns Wahine Rugby team first game on home soil was a great success. Mana Wahine its looks like it will be a yearly event for OUR Black Firns Mana Wahine. The All Blacks 7 team is still in the hunt for the 7 trophy to ka pai. simon we needed the greens party in Government after shonky shorted the system for his wealthy m8 nar you don’t want a capital gains tax that would make life better for the many people and ECO MAORI knows national run government’s for the 00.1%
I put deflated the alt right neo mark his blue m8s were not happy with that move they played up heaps after that kick from ECO Maori. I will observe a bit more before I put my nose in the Auckland Council election. I still say all the anity capital gains principles of NZ Have the teachers union by the noses. Jason I feel sorry for you people in Australia with those scorching temperatures over them. Jason it only takes 1 degree changes for life or death no wonder you and duncan are m8s both human caused climate change deniers. That last comment of yours on social media shaming fools who are disrespectful totally agree with that view social media gives people a conscious. Phil Goff needs to use social media to direct the traffic away from traffic jam’s like Korea does he needs to send someone there and see what they do with DATA & social media to keep one of the highest density and Internet connected population in Papatuanukue running a few tweeks in Auckland would save the country millions of $$$$$ and lower our carbon footprint. I say all road works on high traffic roads should be carried out at night there priorities should be safety first and traffic flowing freely even try Japanese traffic slow down models I see some more heads have been moved out of NZTA may be time for change they could have had links to oil barons.?????.
That is cool having Rob Hewitt on The show education people about Wai water & safety swimming in Tangaroa. Tangaroa was looking after him when he spent 4 days lost in Tangaroa Ka pai.
24 degrees here at the minute.
A true green party is a left humane party one can spout being green and in the same breath party shout lock em up cut social security I see someone who jumped on my coat Tails for a lift cheat. Ka kite ano P.S The controversial water view tunnel in Auckland made life better for people who fly Alot just like national look after the 00.1%, before the 99.9 %
Got to remember to edit my work there you go the Australian krypton busting laws are crap the kumara never tells how sweet it is
Ki ora Newshub Global warming is hear and now one has to plan for the heat and work smart to avoid heat stress and Fires
Good Wai quality is a must it makes Eco think we have hope when 80 % of people think good water quality is needed to avoid desaster with our water and environment. Road Rage not good is it. 3 topic,s linked climate change traffic jams and obesity it would be nice with the obesity subject that the real culprit is branded for that problem SUGAR.
ECO MAORI knows how strong Tawhirirmate in around Aketio I think that is Cape turnagain Alex been in some big seas there.
Its is awesome that Black panther has picked up a few prizes at the SAG awards . Ka kite ano
I posted this 20 minutes ago????????????