Herald headline:
Mike Hosking: KiwiBuild ‘suburb’ will look like a dump in a decade.
Bridges on RNZ: It’s just our scheme rebranded.
Conclusion: If National were doing exactly the same thing as is proposed Hosking it would have it forward thing, the way of the future, tackling a need head on and whatever other bullshit he’s capable of coming up with.
Bridges is lying because the National scheme would not have had affordable housing in there as it ‘sabotages house prices’ which is what his mentor John Key said of Hobsonville in 2007.
National’s scheme would have had rows and rows of $1.5M+ houses for the well-to-do only. This would please Mike no end.
Presumably Hobsonville is the primary model for the Unitec site. Hobsonville is very high density with a large number of apartments within 4 and 5 story buildings. Hobsonville is about half finished and there already serious problems with traffic, especially parking. A lot of the owners have two cars and the second car is parked on the street.
Hobsonville is a bit higher end than what the government is proposing for the Unitec site. Hobsonville has about 20% “affordable” homes. The idea for the Unitec site is 40% “affordable” homes, presumably mostly apartments. It will almost certainly have a higher density than Hobsonville.
Personally I think the density of 4000 homes on 29 hectares is way too high a density, especially taking account the provision of roads, parks and recreation, shops, etc. It works out to 62.5 square meters of land per dwelling (taking 25 hectares as the effective subdivided are, excluding roads etc). Obviously just about all multi-storey apartments and terrace houses.
I think that no more than 2,000 would be more realistic. Auckland does not need Hong Kong density levels, certainly not in the suburbs.
When people realise just how much density is involved, I would anticipate quite a lot of objection.
Wayne, Hobsonville is 26.9 kms from the CBD. Mt Albert Unitec land is about 9 kms from the CBD. Apples and Oranges.
29 hectares is big enough to have one or two high rises and many town houses, just as they do in Australia. The footprint would be quite small.
43 -29 hectares leaves another parcel of 14. Plenty of space still there Wayne.
But I note you and your friends in National are out in force. This must be galling.
Bus service is actually better in Hobsonville Point than it was, problem is that the buses go from west gate to the ferry and take longer than driving, or the 120 from Henderson (and train) to Constellation (and NEX) but also take longer than driving, so all the good Aucklanders just drive instead.
The ferry is reasonably well used, but way to limited in services,and AT is stalling on upping the number of services available, mostly because that will require a 2nd boat, but there is not demand for a whole other boat (but more than the 1 boat available). It is probable that better/more ferry services will bring more people to use the ferry – although they would just drive to the station and not take the bus, so will lead to parking issues at the wharf.
Most of the issue at Hobsonville Point is around the collusion of ideas between the people who brought because of the ideal of sustainable living and the people who just needed a house (or wanted to buy for the prestige). These second group don’t drop # of cars, and tend to not use their garages for parking cars, but tend to be like typical Aucklanders and store all their excess stuff there. So the issue with parking at Hobsonville is not really an issue with the design, but an issue with the typical home-owner in Auckland not able to change from their previous habits. It is also a product of the housing crisis, so a lot of people didn’t have a lot of options, so making decisions based on what the philosophy behind the development wasn’t an option. Also I found in my case that it was actually cheaper to buy at Hobsonville Point than try and buy elsewhere, as the prices were based on values when they got consent/started to sell so were relatively cheap compared to other houses on the market with the same function (# of bedrooms, etc)
Objection to property development is par for the course…not an excuse for inaction… the objectors only have one vote each like everyone else… unless some votes count more than others?
All those cars! Clogging up the roads and parked empty all over the place!
What a waste! Under Nats housing programme, so many cars would make great living places for whole families, parked away from “nicer” residential areas.
Fortunately, the UNITEC development will be well served by mass transit systems, so no need for cars.
Yes! Wayne might not know the Mt Albert train station is right there. That buses going all over Auckland drive past regularly. As someone pointed out above, that Wayne is comparing Hobsonville, perched on the very outside of Auckland with a central suburb is revealling.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/353359/mt-albert-kiwibuild-homes-private-sector-needs-help-twyford
Building “hopefully” start in a year but will take at least a decade to complete. That is extremely slow for a development of this size. averaging 300-400 pa when we need 10,000+
There is a risk that this announcement has been over sold, Phil in this interview corrected the 4,000 number to 3 – 4,000.
Good that this is happening and will help in a small way, but we need 30 of these to meet the requirements that the “experts” are telling us.
Umm, why are we compensating 28 farms for the culling of 28,000 animals? Why doesn’t their private insurance cover this? And what link is there between dairy intensification in the area and this disease?
Another massive bail out for South Canterbury at the taxpayers expense…they’ve done well over the last few years, haven’t they?
I’m no defender of industrial dairy farming but it would be absolutely gutting for the staff to see animals you had reared and farmed for years , be sent to be killed en masse.
Compensation is fair for those not at fault. Maybe make it dependent on NAIT compliance, just watch compliance levels improve.
Like to know why these dairy farmers don’t have insurance this day in age IRT banks and weather etc or were they expecting the taxpayer to cough up for their stuff ups as usual?
And they expect the taxpayer to cough up!!! yeah right
In Oz the Farmer is expected to have insurance to cover them over before the State and Federal pollies handout funds or cover them until there is a insurance payout which btw is very quick unlike in NZ.
But with the last government running the Border Protecting into the ground is just plan wrong especially at the Ports and Airports. They should be nailing everyone who comes through the Airports regardless of who they are and doubling their effort on problem countries at the ports. “Its just plain common sense” as old Winnie would say.
The MPI people should’ve put a full movement ban in that Province when it was first detected and not have waited for the new government to pull their finger out of their freckle unlike the last government who seem to have very hands off approach to everything they.
But seems to come down to there having been “no proper basis for the refusal” by the Attorney General
The Conclusion:
[255]
For the foregoing reasons the decision of the Tribunal is that it is satisfied on the balance of probabilities that an action of the Crown (represented by the Attorney General) was an interference with the privacy of Mr Dotcom and
[255.1]
A declaration is made under s 85(1)(a) of the Privacy Act 1993 that there was an interference with the privacy of Mr Dotcom by:
[255.1.1]
The transfer, without legal authority, to the Attorney General of the information privacy requests made by Mr Dotcom in July 2015. The Attorney General had no lawful authority, as purported transferee under the Privacy
Act 1993, s 39(b)(ii), to refuse the requests on the grounds that they were
vexatious and there was no proper basis for that refusal; in the alternative, if the transfers were lawful:
[255.1.2]
Refusing the information privacy requests on the grounds that they were vexatious when there was no proper basis for that decision.
[255.2]
An order is made under s 85(1)(d) and (e) of the Privacy Act 1993 that the agencies (including the Ministers of the Crown) to which the information privacy requests were sent by Mr Dotcom in the period 17 to 31 July 2015 must comply with those requests subject to the provisions of the Privacy Act 1993 and in particular (but not exclusively) Parts 4 and 5 of that Act. For the purposes of this order the date of receipt of the requests is to be taken to be the fifth working day which follows immediately after the day on which this decision is published to the parties.
[255.3]
Damages of $30,000are awarded against the Attorney General under
ss 85(1)(c) and 88(1)(b) of the Privacy Act 1993 for the loss of a benefit Mr
Dotcom might reasonably have been expected to obtain but for the interference.
[255.4]
Damages of $60,000 are awarded against the Attorney General under
ss 85(1)(c) and 88(1)(c) for loss of dignity and injury to feelings
Just an observation on the Dr Brian Edwards – erstwhile Labour candidate, and political pundit amongst other areas of prominence.
Nearly six months now and still no recognition/acceptance that we have a left of centre coalition government, lead by a young and dynamic woman from his own Labour Party. Meantime, there have been several columns on his http://brianedwardsmedia.co.nz blog discussing the National Party – the most recent of which appears to be his warming to the new HM Opposition leadership.
In a couple of his recent blogs he has called out the usage of Te Reo by Pakeha radio announcers – yet in his profile/intro on his site it reads quote …
Why You Should Choose Us:
Because no one else in New Zealand has the mana, experience … unquote.
He feels it quite natural to throw in the odd word that has more recently become accepted parlance… “mana” … well done Brian and Judy.
Mark Mitchell went to extraordinary lengths to get to be the candidate for Rodney in the first place and now he is up for anything in his attempt to be seen to be relevant.
He has a thirsting MSM at his mercy.
Responding to reports that an alleged Russian air strike using an incendiary weapon burned to death 37 civilians – mainly women and children – hiding in an air-raid shelter in the Syrian town of Arbin on Friday, Amnesty International’s Senior Crisis Advisor Rawya Rageh said:
“We have previously documented how the use of incendiary weapons is burning alive civilians who are literally left with nowhere to hide. This attack would appear to be the latest horrific example in that pattern.
“In areas besieged by the Syrian government such as Daraya and elsewhere, civilians told us what particularly struck fear into their hearts during the final period of the siege before they were forced out was the use of incendiary weapons.
“Many told us they stopped going down to shelters for fear of being burned alive. Those fears seem especially poignant today in light of this latest horrifying loss of life.”
According to Russian state media, Russia’s Ministry of Defence denied responsibility for the attack.
Saydnaya Prison is where the Syrian state quietly slaughters its own people.
Every week, often twice per week, between 20 and 50 people are taken from their cells to be hanged, in the middle of the night. As many as 13,000 people have been killed in Saydnaya since 2011, in utmost secrecy. Many other people at Saydnaya have been killed after being repeatedly tortured and systematically deprived of food, water, medicine and medical care. The bodies of those who are killed at Saydnaya are taken away by the truckload and buried in mass graves. It is inconceivable that these large-scale and systematic practices have not been authorized at the highest levels of the Syrian government.
The AM Show when one has a guest one must treat them with respect well that’s the
Maori cultured way of doing things .
Hopefully the Warriors get there stolen gear back Kia kaha people .
ECO MAORI Backs the ban on new oil drilling especially if it endangers the survival of our dolphins .
I do not play games Duncan if you study more Maori culture you will understand my moves plus there is a big push back on everything I support so I have to be tactful with everything . I play the flute well.
That show last nite has opened my eyes to another phenomenon that is happening in Aotearoa at the minute its another of shonkys take from the poor and give to the wealthy but this has been out of the public view the reality of this phenomenon I will reveal this in time .
I make sure my recycling an rubbish bins are full takes two weeks and then put them out to lower the work load of our workers in this industry if the councils can save half of the cost by having rubbish picked up 2 weekly I say that’s is innovation all services should innovate to save money and our environment think about the amount of fuel that will not be burned because of this wonderful Idea .
P.S Ladies get the big picture decades before men Duncan.
Ka kite ano
The sandflys are swarming today in Tauranga but like sand flys I could just swat them away but today I chose to ignore them like the little bugs they are. They are just a little challenge that’s part of my lifes fate Kia kaha Ka kite ano
The Police (if that is who you mean by sandflies) were doing drug raids throughout the BoP today.
BTW – quick question. I live in Mount Maunganui and often drive past the fruit and Veg stalls lining Maunganui road. I saw a big sign once that said “ECO MAORI” and I thought about you. I might drop by and buy some stuff from you and say hello one day if that is you selling stuff (unless that’d be strange for ya…then I won’t)
A Thorn In Their Side: As Chair of the Auckland Regional Council, Mike Lee made sure Auckland’s municipal resources remained in Aucklanders’ hands. Not surprisingly the neoliberal powers-that-be (in both their centre-left and centre-right incarnations) hated this last truly effective standard-bearer for democratic-socialist values and policies.MIKE LEE is the closest ...
Previously (9 February) I wrote about how business consultants Ernst & Young were used to do a hatchet job on the former senior management team at Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB). While this hatchet job was planned in 2019 its gestation was much longer. Its underlying causes involved differences in ...
Flying beneath the radar of guilt Fight or Flight: How Advertising for Air Travel Triggers Moral Disengagement(open access) by Stubenvoll & Neureiter not only takes an interesting approach to decomposing the effects of airline travel advertisements but also helps us to understand the general psychological landscape of our often conflicted ...
Lis Ku, De Montfort University Since the onset of the pandemic, everyone from newspaper columnists to Twitter users has advanced the now idea that extroverts and introverts are handling the crisis differently. Many claim that introverts adapt to social distancing and isolation better than extroverts, with some even suggesting that ...
A friend of mine pointed me in the direction of this blog post by New Zealand’s “Plan B” group. While initially this group opposed the government’s use of lockdowns to manage covid19 outbreaks in this country, they seem to have since moved on to opposing the rollout of vaccines against ...
Twenty years after it invaded, the US is finally leaving Afghanistan. What's surprising is that it took them so long - its been clear for over a decade that their presence there was pointless and just pissing people off. But imperial pride leads to exactly this sort of stupidity. Their ...
The government has announced that it will ban the export of livestock by sea. Huzzah! A vile, cruel and unconscionable trade will be ended! But there's a catch: the ban won't kick in until 2023, giving farmers two ful years to continue to profit from extreme animal cruelty. But why ...
Today is unexpectedly a Member's Day - the Business Committee granted it early in the year, to make up for time list to government business. First up is a two-hour debate on the budget policy statement, with questions to Ministers, replacing the general debate. Then its the second reading of ...
. . Two stories which appeared almost side-by-side on RNZ’s website. Parent, Miranda Cross, was quoted as saying; “I think the expectations are that we can at least send our kids to school where they will receive an education.” An American parent would probably demand; “I think the expectations are ...
Time for reviewing something a bit different. Move over Tolkien adaptations, hello Japanese splatter movie. Specifically, a certain 2009 movie called Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl. I watched this one a few days ago with some acquaintances, never having seen it before, and not being familiar with the manga ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters, PhD An above-average Atlantic hurricane season is likely in 2021, the Colorado State University (CSU) hurricane forecasting team says in its latest seasonal forecast issued April 8. Led by Dr. Phil Klotzbach, with coauthors Dr. Michael Bell and Jhordanne Jones, the CSU ...
How seriously does the Māori Party take issues of corruption and the untoward influence of big money in politics? Not very, based on how it’s handling a political finance scandal in which three large donations were kept hidden from the public. The party is currently making excuses, and largely failing ...
The annual inventory report [PDF] of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing a significant increase in emissions: (Note that this is UNFCCC accounting, not the weird fudged figures the Climate Change Commission is using). Emissions increased by almost 2 million tons in 2019, from 80.6 MT ...
The melody from the classic movie Wizard of Oz echoes as Jacinta Ruru explains what inspired her to attend university, and her ambition to help create a more just society in Aotearoa. Jacinta, who affiliates to Raukawa and Ngāti Ranginui, specialises in the research areas of indigenous peoples and the law. ...
Stuff reports that National is refusing to back the Climate Change Commission's recommendations, which is apparently a Bad Thing: The National Party says it can’t support the Climate Change Commission’s draft plan to cut New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions unless changes are made. If National maintains this position when ...
Driven, accountable, unafraid to test limits and connected to the communities she serves are traits that come to mind when thinking about Dr Anne-Marie Jackson. (Ngāti Whātua, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu o Whangaroa, Ngāti Wai) She specialises in Māori physical education and health research disciplines while incorporating tikanga Māori and Te ...
This is my first post for a while. I have been a bit overwhelmed by other work in the last several weeks, with teaching and other commitments, and the blog has sadly suffered. But I’m still here. This morning, while sitting in a car in the permanent traffic jam through ...
Predatory Morality: Is geopolitical consultant, Paul Buchanan, right? Does the rest of the world truly monitor New Zealand’s miniscule contribution to the international arms trade so closely? Are foreign chancelleries truly so insensitive to their own governments’ complicity in the world’s horrors that they expect all other sovereign states to ...
Anna Källén, Stockholm University and Daniel Strand, Uppsala University A middle-aged white man raises his sword to the skies and roars to the gods. The results of his genetic ancestry test have just arrived in his suburban mailbox. His eyes fill with tears as he learns that he is “0.012% ...
March 2021 The housing crisis right now in New Zealand is one of our biggest contributors to income and wealth inequality. “With the explosive increase in sales and prices, those with houses have their income and/or wealth rapidly increasing, and those who are not on the property ladder are falling ...
Samoans went to the polls on Friday, and delivered a stinging blow to Prime Minister Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi one-party state. Pre-election Malielegaoi's Human Rights Protection Party had controlled 44 of 49 seats in Parliament, while using restrictive standing orders to prevent there from even being a recognised opposition in ...
Prof Nick Wilson, Dr Jennifer Summers, Prof Michael BakerIn this blog we briefly consider a new Report from a European think tank that aims to identify an optimal COVID-19 response strategy. It considers mortality data, GDP impacts, and mobility data and suggests that COVID-19 elimination appears to be superior ...
Something I missed on Friday: the Māori Party has been referred to police over failure to disclose donations over $30,000. Looking at the updated return of large donations, this is about $320,000 donated to them by three donors - John Tamihere, the National Urban Māori Authority, and Aotearoa Te Kahu ...
Stormy Seas: Will Jacinda Ardern's Labour Government stand behind the revolutionary proposals contained in He Puapua – the 20-year plan devised by a government appointed working group to realise the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Aotearoa/New Zealand?“GETTING AHEAD of the story” is one of the most ...
We have not been fans of the Climate Change Commission’s draft report. New Zealand has an Emissions Trading Scheme with a binding cap, and a declining path for net emissions in the covered sector. Measures taken within the covered sector cannot reduce net emissions. NZU not purchased by one sector get ...
For several decades under Labour and National-led governments New Zealand has claimed to have an independent (and sometimes autonomous) foreign policy. This foreign policy independence is said to be gained by having a “principled but pragmatic” approach to international relations: principled when possible, pragmatic when necessary. More recently NZ foreign ...
This video produced in Seattle looks at the gender identity curriculum used in schools in the US. A thin veneer of pseudoscience is being used to indoctrinate children with an ideology based on scientific and medical inaccuracies. ...
For once, I have written my submission on a bill with enough time to spare to both enocurage any of you who wants to make a submission to do so as well, and to give you time to spot the typos in mine.Louisa Wall's Harmful Digital Communications (Unauthorised Posting of Intimate ...
A friend found a concerning FB post (see below – this is a public post & so I have not redacted the name) & – as you do – immediately queried it with Southern Cross Life & Health Insurance as well as sending the screenshot to me¹. We both read ...
Judith Collins’ National Party leadership is under more scrutiny, with increased talk in the media of her being replaced by brand new MP Christopher Luxon. For many commentators it’s just a question of “when” rather than “if” Collins is replaced. While others ponder whether Luxon really has what it takes ...
‘Tis the season for unearthing the rarest gems in Tolkien adaptation – which, considering that the fandom has been dominated by Peter Jackson for nigh on two decades, is a positively heart-warming development. It is why I have devoted so much blog space to the obscure and weirdly wonderful ...
Whatever the damage, especially to the British economy, Brexit has done us a service by illustrating the complexity of trade.Brexit is the only example we have of two closely integrated sophisticated economies severing trading ties. The European Union and Britain still do not have tariffs or import quotas between them ...
The Palmerston North City Council has voted for Māori wards: Palmerston North Māori will be guaranteed one or two seats on the city council from 2022, and this time, there is nothing opponents can do about it. The council decided by an 11-5 vote at its monthly meeting this ...
Kids are striking for the climate today, demanding a decent, liveable future. Meanwhile, the National Party, the reliable servant of the farm lobby and other polluting businesses, is calling for action to be delayed: National has written to Climate Change Minister James Shaw calling for him to extend the ...
Today tens of thousands of schoolkids have walked out of school to strike for a future free from climate change. And tens of thousands of older New Zealanders have joined them. Their demands are clear: eliminate fossil fuels, implement 100% renewable energy with a just transition, and support our Pacific ...
The Gods That Failed.We studied the dialecticRead the whole of ‘Capital’So we could follow youSo we could follow youHow we shoutedHow we scrawledPainted slogans on city wallsOn prison wallsProof we had followed youBut, we still didn’t find what we’re looking forAnd we still haven’t found what we’re looking forWhen they ...
Conventional Wisdom? The Republican Right is convinced that to “go woke” is to “go broke”. It simply does not believe sufficient Americans feel strongly enough about social justice to make any kind of boycott remotely effective. Clearly, the Boards of Directors of more and more American corporations disagree. RECENT MOVES by ...
On November 25, 2020 Skeptical Science Inc. became a registered nonprofit organization and on March 17, 2021 our application to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service for 501(c)(3) status was approved. In this blog post, we’ll explain why we went down this path and what will come next. Since its ...
Blowing Hot And Cold: Mike Hosking’s bosses should, perhaps, ask themselves what message Newstalk-ZB (and NZME) is sending to the people of New Zealand if Mike Hosking, their self-appointed “People’s Prosecutor”, is accorded bragging rights for “cancelling” the democratically-elected Prime Minister of New Zealand. Especially when said Prime Minister’s only ...
Ali Boyle, University of CambridgeIf you ask people to list the most intelligent animals, they’ll name a few usual suspects. Chimpanzees, dolphins and elephants are often mentioned, as are crows, dogs and occasionally pigs. Horses don’t usually get a look in. So it might come as a surprise that ...
Selwyn Manning and I dedicated this week’s video podcast to the potential emergence of rival blocs within the transitional process involved in the move from a unipolar to a multipolar international system currently underway. However one characterises the phenomenon–autocracies versus democracies, East versus West, colonial versus post-colonial–the global order is ...
With the rediscovery of the lost Soviet Lord of the Rings, the time has come for the important things in life. Specifically, compiling the Tom Bombadil scenes from the three known screen adaptations that feature him: This is a collection of scenes from:– Sagan om Ringen (1971: ...
Back in February the Climate Change Commission recommended a ban on new coal-fired boilers, and a phase out of existing ones by 2037. And today, the government has said they will implement that policy, and backed it up with funding to help transition some of our large pollution sources: ...
A ballot for three members bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Income Tax (Adjustment of Taxable Income Ranges) Amendment Bill (Simon Bridges) Regulatory Standards Bill (David Seymour) Human Rights (Disability Assist Dogs Non-Discrimination) Amendment Bill (Ricardo Menéndez March) The first two ...
Back in 2014, the police raided and searched journalist Nicky Hager's home over his book Dirty Politics, seizing his journalistic work in an effort to identify his sources to please their political masters in the National party. The raid - and much of the police's related investigative work - was ...
By Professor Tony Blakely, Dr Tim Wilson, Luke Thorburn and Professor Nathan Grills, University of MelbourneA new web tool, COVID-19 Pandemic Trade-offs, allows people to weigh the costs and benefits of different policy responses as Australia rolls out vaccines and considers opening borders.See here for an associated explanatory ...
This evening I was engaging in polite conversation (well, I was polite, anyway) on an RNZ Facebook post about – you guessed it! – the covid19 vaccination program. One of those present offered up a link to a blog post by Joseph Mercola to support a claim he was making ...
by Jordan Levi (Contributed) I don’t remember when I first came across the concept of gender identity, but it was definitely before Caitlyn Jenner (formerly Bruce Jenner) came out as transgender because I’m sure that would’ve confused me way more if it was my first acquaintance with the phenomenon. The ...
The fact that the much vaunted “most advanced, richest Nation on the planet, ever”, that being America, ran into a brick wall in its responses to the problems across the world of late is because, at its heart, of the economic system that we’ve all been largely forced to ...
The EPA has commenced the 2021 “denewing” of new organisms. Their New Organisms team explain what this means, and ask you to put forward your proposals. The places we inhabit are shared with thousands of different kinds of organisms. They’re in the trees, flying in the sky, in our yoghurt, ...
As we roll out the COVID-19 vaccine across NZ there will inevitably be people who experience adverse events after getting their jab. Here are some super important things to keep in mind about adverse events following immunisation. Terminology – words matter Any event that is undesirable and follows administration of ...
Nature Climate Change celebrates 10 years of obfuscation The Nature Publishing Group is distinguished not only by what we're told (most of us must take somebody's word for it) are exceptionally high quality research publications but also by what some might term an outlier, extremist policy on locked-down content. In many ...
How can we stop the Ministry of Health censoring and sanitising vital mental health statistics to make themselves (and Ministers) look good? Legislate for annual reporting: Green Party mental health spokeswoman Chlöe Swarbrick says the Ministry of Health should be legally required to produce a wide range of mental ...
Here’s a few short interesting developments or discussions I’ve seen recently. Loosely bundled together in a theme of “values.” Irregular labour Is the private sector the best provider and facilitator of “gig work”? That’s challenged in a New Yorker profile of Wingham Rowan, an English social entrepreneur. For many years ...
In 1997 the Law Commission reviewed the OIA. In the process, they identified a problem: decisions to transfer a request could not be investigated by the Ombudsman under the Act. They also identified a workaround: transfer decisions by agencies subject to the Ombudsmen Act could be investigated under that Act, ...
Today is a Member's Day, though with no particularly controversial bills up, it is likely to be a pretty boring one. First up is Maureen Pugh's Adverse Weather-affected Timber Recovery on Conservation Lands Bill, an attempt to sidestep the Forests (West Coast Accord) Act 2000 and allow the effective mining ...
The area of mental health has been a key strength for Jacinda Ardern and her Labour Government over the last few years. They campaigned strongly in 2017 on fixing up the dysfunctional system, and initially they made some vital strides forward in reforming the sector. An in-depth inquiry was instigated ...
By Jamie Stewart, Federated Mountain ClubsFederated Mountain Clubs (FMC), founded in 1931, represents 96 clubs, 22,000 members and 300,000 people that regularly recreate in the New Zealand backcountry. This article first appeared in the June 2020 issue of Backcountry magazine and is reproduced with permission. (Read the original article). ...
Stuff had an appalling story on Sunday about the Ministry of Health's attempts to hide unflattering mental health statistics and sanitise a regular report. The report came out last week, and showed a massive increase in the use of "seclusion", a practice which has been condemned by the UN Committee ...
Another unpleasant surprise at Tiwai Point: in addition to the declared stockpiles of toxic waste, they may have tens of thousands of tons secretly buried in the early 1990's to avoid the RMA: Investigators are looking into claims highly toxic waste has been buried in unmapped sites at Tiwai ...
This morning the government is deciding on the start-date for a trans-Tasman travel bubble. Note the way that that's phrased: the existence of such a bubble is taken as a given, and the only question is how to implement it. Obviously, we're going to have to re-open the borders eventually, ...
Qualified To Give - And Take - Advice: Most Labour MPs are self-conscious members of the meritocracy, meaning they have succeeded where the vast majority of their fellow citizens have failed. The primary political obligation, understood by all members of the First Labour Government, was to listen to the people. ...
The Green Party is putting a Member’s Bill into the ballot today which will be a significant step towards overhauling the Social Security Act by embedding a tikanga Māori framework into the welfare system. ...
The Green Party have reaffirmed their strong commitment to the union movement in Aotearoa New Zealand by renewing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with E Tū. ...
Soon, more kids in Aotearoa will have access to the in-school mental health support that has boosted the resilience of tamariki and whānau in Canterbury. ...
The Green Party supports the open letter released today by a cross-sector coalition calling for the Government to treat all drug use as a health issue, to repeal and replace the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975. ...
Small businesses are not only the heart of our economy – they’re also the heart of our communities. They provide important goods and services, as well as great employment opportunities. They know and love their locals. And after a tough year, they need our support! ...
Green Party spokesperson for Pacific Peoples Teanau Tuiono MP, supports the demand from Pasifika communities fighting for climate action as their homelands are more at risk in the Pacific region. ...
The Green Party supports the six demands for climate action put forward by School Strike for Climate NZ, who are striking across the country today. ...
The Ministry of Justice Māori victimisation report, released today, reinforces what we already know about the impact of systemic racism in Aotearoa and that urgent action is needed. ...
Ricardo Menéndez March’s Members Bill to ensure that disabled New Zealanders do not face discrimination for having a disability assist dog was today pulled from the biscuit tin to be debated in Parliament. ...
More than one million people will be better off from today, thanks to our Government’s changes to the minimum wage, main benefits and superannuation. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to do more for New Zealanders who continue to miss out, as main benefits are set to rise by less than $8 a week tomorrow, Thursday 1 April (at the start of the financial year). ...
Sunday 28th March 70 Rongomaiwahine descendants welcomed members of the Green Party’s Māori Caucus, Te Mātāwaka, Dr Elizabeth Kerekere and Teanau Tuiono, to discuss concerns about RocketLab’s operations on the Mahia Peninsula. ...
Pacific people in New Zealand will be better supported with new mental health and addiction services rolling out across the Auckland and Wellington regions, says Aupito William Sio. “One size does not fit all when it comes to supporting the mental wellbeing of our Pacific peoples. We need a by ...
New measures are being proposed to accelerate progress towards becoming a smokefree nation by 2025, Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced. “Smoking or exposure to second-hand smoke kills around 12 people a day in New Zealand. Recent data tells us New Zealand’s smoking rates continue to decrease, but ...
More children will be able to access mental wellbeing support with the Government expansion of Mana Ake services to five new District Health Board areas, Health Minister Andrew Little says. The Health Minister made the announcement while visiting Homai School in Counties Manukau alongside Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Associate ...
The Government’s COVID-19 response has meant a record number of people moved off a Benefit and into employment in the March Quarter, with 32,880 moving into work in the first three months of 2021. “More people moved into work last quarter than any time since the Ministry of Social Development ...
A stocktake undertaken by France and New Zealand shows significant global progress under the Christchurch Call towards its goal to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. The findings of the report released today reinforce the importance of a multi-stakeholder approach, with countries, companies and civil society working together to ...
Racing Minister Grant Robertson has announced he is appointing Elizabeth Dawson (Liz) as the Chair of the interim TAB NZ Board. Liz Dawson is an existing Board Director of the interim TAB NZ Board and Chair of the TAB NZ Board Selection Panel and will continue in her role as ...
The Government has announced that the export of livestock by sea will cease following a transition period of up to two years, said Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. “At the heart of our decision is upholding New Zealand’s reputation for high standards of animal welfare. We must stay ahead of the ...
WORKSHOP ON LETHAL AUTONOMOUS WEAPONS SYSTEMS Wednesday 14 April 2021 MINISTER FOR DISARMAMENT AND ARMS CONTROL OPENING REMARKS Good morning, I am so pleased to be able to join you for part of this workshop, which I’m confident will help us along the path to developing New Zealand’s national policy on ...
For the first time, all 18 prisons in New Zealand will be invited to participate in an inter-prison kapa haka competition, Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis announced today. The 2021 Hōkai Rangi Whakataetae Kapa Haka will see groups prepare and perform kapa haka for experienced judges who visit each prison and ...
The Government has introduced the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Bill, designed to boost New Zealand's ability to respond to a wider range of terrorist activities. The Bill strengthens New Zealand’s counter-terrorism legislation and ensures that the right legislative tools are available to intervene early and prevent harm. “This is the Government’s first ...
Coal boiler replacements at a further ten schools, saving an estimated 7,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide over the next ten years Fossil fuel boiler replacements at Southern Institute of Technology and Taranaki DHB, saving nearly 14,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide over the next ten years Projects to achieve a total ...
Attorney-General David Parker today announced the appointment of Cassie Nicholson as Chief Parliamentary Counsel for a term of five years. The Chief Parliamentary Counsel is the principal advisor and Chief Executive of the Parliamentary Counsel Office (PCO). She is responsible for ensuring PCO, which drafts most of New Zealand’s legislation, provides ...
Every part of Government will need to take urgent action to bring down emissions, the Minister for Climate Change, James Shaw said today in response to the recent rise in New Zealand’s greenhouse emissions. The latest annual inventory of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions shows that both gross and net ...
Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister David Clark says Aotearoa New Zealand has become the first country in the world to introduce a law that requires the financial sector to disclose the impacts of climate change on their business and explain how they will manage climate-related risks and opportunities. The Financial ...
Exceptional employment practices in the primary industries have been celebrated at the Good Employer Awards, held this evening at Parliament. “Tonight’s awards provided the opportunity to celebrate and thank those employers in the food and fibres sector who have gone beyond business-as-usual in creating productive, safe, supportive, and healthy work ...
Applications are now invited from all councils for a slice of government funding aimed at improving tourism infrastructure, especially in areas under pressure given the size of their rating bases. Tourism Minister Stuart Nash has already signalled that five South Island regions will be given priority to reflect that jobs ...
The Construction Skills Action Plan has delivered early on its overall target of supporting an additional 4,000 people into construction-related education and employment, says Minister for Building and Construction Poto Williams. Since the Plan was launched in 2018, more than 9,300 people have taken up education or employment opportunities in ...
An innovative new Youth Justice residence designed in partnership with Māori will provide prevention, healing, and rehabilitation services for both young people and their whānau, Children’s Minister Kelvin Davis announced today. Whakatakapokai is located in South Auckland and will provide care and support for up to 15 rangatahi remanded or ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today expressed New Zealand’s sorrow at the death of His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. “Our thoughts are with Her Majesty The Queen at this profoundly sad time. On behalf of the New Zealand people and the Government, I would like to express ...
We, the Home Affairs, Interior, Security and Immigration Ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States of America (the ‘Five Countries’) met via video conference on 7/8 April 2021, just over a year after the outbreak of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Guided by our shared ...
Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Carmel Sepuloni has today announced the opening of the first round of Ngā Puninga Toi ā-Ahurea me ngā Kaupapa Cultural Installations and Events. “Creating jobs and helping the arts sector rebuild and recover continues to be a key part of the Government’s COVID-19 response,” Carmel ...
Interim legislation that is already proving to keep people safer from drugs will be made permanent, Health Minister Andrew Little says. Research by Victoria University, on behalf of the Ministry of Health, shows that the Government’s decision in December to make it legal for drug-checking services to operate at festivals ...
Public consultation launched on ways to improve behaviour and reduce damage Tighter rules proposed for either camping vehicles or camping locations Increased penalties proposed, such as $1,000 fines or vehicle confiscation Rental companies may be required to collect fines from campers who hire vehicles Public feedback is sought on proposals ...
The Government is continuing to support Air New Zealand while aviation markets stabilise and the world moves towards more normal border operations. The Crown loan facility made available to Air New Zealand in March 2020 has been extended to a debt facility of up to $1.5 billion (an additional $600 ...
Christchurch’s Richmond suburb will soon have a new community hub, following the gifting of a red-zoned property by Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) to the Richmond Community Gardens Trust. The Minister for Land Information, Damien O’Connor said that LINZ, on behalf of the Crown, will gift a Vogel Street house ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio says the reopening of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples’ (MPP) Languages Funding in 2021 will make sure there is a future for Pacific languages. “Language is the key to the wellbeing for Pacific people. It affirms our identity as Pasifika and ...
It is a pleasure to be here tonight. Thank you Cameron for the introduction and thank you for ERANZ for also hosting this event. Last week in fact, we had one of the largest gatherings in our sector, Downstream 2021. I have heard from my officials that the discussion on ...
Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods has today announced the 16 projects that will together get $3.9 million through the 2021 round of Te Pūnaha Hihiko: Vision Mātauranga Capability Fund, further strengthening the Government’s commitment to Māori knowledge in science and innovation. “We received 78 proposals - the highest ...
The Government is delivering on a key election commitment to tackle climate change, by banning new low and medium temperature coal-fired boilers and partnering with the private sector to help it transition away from fossil fuels. This is the first major announcement to follow the release of the Climate Commission’s ...
Six projects, collectively valued at over $70 million are delivering new schools, classrooms and refurbished buildings across Central Otago and are helping to ease the pressure of growing rolls in the area, says Education Minister Chris Hipkins. The National Education Growth Plan is making sure that sufficient capacity in the ...
Two more schools are now complete as part of the Christchurch Schools Rebuild Programme, with work about to get under way on another, says Education Minister Chris Hipkins. Te Ara Koropiko – West Spreydon School will welcome students to their new buildings for the start of Term 2. The newly ...
The Government is acting to ensure decisions on responding to the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic are informed by the best available scientific evidence and strategic public health advice. “New Zealand has worked towards an elimination strategy which has been successful in keeping our people safe and our economy ...
Six Māori scholars have been awarded Ngārimu VC and the 28th (Māori) Battalion Memorial scholarships for 2021, Associate Education Minister and Ngārimu Board Chair, Kelvin Davis announced today. The prestigious Manakura Award was also presented for the first time since 2018. “These awards are a tribute to the heroes of the 28th ...
New Zealand’s aerospace industry is getting a boost through the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), to grow the capability of the sector and potentially lead to joint space missions, Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods has announced. 12 New Zealand organisations have been chosen to work with world-leading experts at ...
The Government is backing more initiatives to boost New Zealand’s food and fibre sector workforce, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced today. “The Government and the food and fibres sector have been working hard to fill critical workforce needs. We've committed to getting 10,000 more Kiwis into the sector over the ...
Minister for Social Development and Employment Carmel Sepuloni has welcomed the first reading of the Social Security (Subsequent Child Policy Removal) Amendment Bill in the House this evening. “Tonight’s first reading is another step on the way to removing excessive sanctions and obligations for people receiving a Main Benefit,” says ...
The Government has taken a significant step towards delivering on its commitment to improve the legislation around mental health as recommended by He Ara Oranga – the report of the Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction, Health Minister Andrew Little says. The Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Amendment ...
Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta has welcomed the Local Government (Rating of Whenua Māori) Amendment Bill passing its third reading today. “After nearly 100 years of a system that was not fit for Māori and did not reflect the partnership we have come to expect between Māori and the Crown, ...
New Zealand’s successful management of COVID means quarantine-free travel between New Zealand and Australia will start on Monday 19 April, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed the conditions for starting to open up quarantine free travel with Australia have ...
Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little welcomed ngā uri o Ngāti Hinerangi to Parliament today to witness the third reading of their Treaty settlement legislation, the Ngāti Hinerangi Claims Settlement Bill. “I want to acknowledge ngā uri o Ngāti Hinerangi and the Crown negotiations teams for working tirelessly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tom Barratt, Lecturer, Centre for Work + Wellbeing, Edith Cowan University Menulog, Australia’s second-largest food ordering and delivery platform, has declared it will break with the standard “gig platform” business model and engage some of its couriers as employees, not independent contractors. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nareen Young, Industry Professor, Jumbunna Institute of Education and Research, University of Technology Sydney The spotlight is once again on bullying and unfair treatment at work. Former Australia Post CEO, Christine Holgate, this week said she had been “bullied out of my ...
The Government’s discussion document on ‘Proposals For A Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 Action Plan’ alarmingly reveals there’s little intention to elevate vaping as a much safer and cheaper alternative to smoking, says a leading tobacco harm reduction ...
Our Beehive bulletin Enhancing the wellbeing of people banged up in our prisons was the subject of one Beehive announcement yesterday. Enhancing the wellbeing of farm animals was the subject of another. And enhancing the wellbeing of all of us by protecting us from terrorists was the subject of a ...
Te Aka Matua o te Ture | Law Commission is proposing changes to succession law, which addresses who inherits a person’s property when they die. In an issues paper and a consultation website released today, the Commission has identified some ...
From Flatmates to Popstars to Celebrity Treasure Island, New Zealand reality television was at its best when nobody really knew what they were doing. José Barbosa looks back wistfully and wonders: can we ever get that magic back?I don’t know about you, but I remember the late 90s and early ...
Our beginner’s guides are quick and simple explainers on everyday money topics hitting headlines right now. This week, we take a look at the new $20 minimum wage.What is the minimum wage and where did it come from?The minimum wage is the lowest amount of money employers can legally pay ...
Internet safety company Safe Surfer has commended Kiwibank for being the first bank to introduce a feature that lets customers block payments to gambling sites. Safe Surfer CEO and co-founder Rory Birkbeck says Kiwibank’s move to let ...
The 2021 Our Land report has raised serious warnings about our most productive food-growing land being turned over to housing. Alex Braae explains.What’s all this then?The environment ministry and Stats NZ have produced a new report called Our Land, which outlines exactly what New Zealand’s land is being used for, ...
The Ministry for the Environment’s latest environmental report presents a damning indictment of the way food is produced in New Zealand. “The Ministry for the Environment has told the country in plain terms the way we farm is eroding the foundations of ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage. Click here to subscribe to Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup and New Zealand Politics Daily. Today’s contentLive animal export ban Stuff: Editorial – The tide goes out on animal exports Luke Malpass ...
*This story first appeared on RNZ and is republished with permission. The man convicted of the Christchurch mosque shootings has held off from initiating a judicial review of his prison conditions, and designation as a terrorist entity. He was due to represent himself in a fresh legal challenge at ...
Commodities are leading the global economic recovery. International demand for grains, dairy and forestry products is extremely strong – driven primarily by increased demand from China, ANZ Bank economists say in their latest NZ Agri Focus. Dairy markets shot up in March, driven by strong buying from China, among challenging ...
Yesterday Jacinda Ardern angrily declared that an MIQ worker had lied. That should not be a sufficiently sophisticated technique to get around our border defences, argues Duncan Greive.It emerged yesterday that “case B” in the small yet still concerning cluster of Covid-19 cases related to the Grand Millennium Hotel in ...
The Spinoff, in conjunction with Daylight Creative and Copyright Licensing New Zealand, is proud to announce a new monthly slot for great one-off comics by a rotating cast of New Zealand comic creators. Below, Toby Morris introduces the series and our first artist, Indira Neville.I’m a huge believer in comics. ...
The absolute last thing the National Party should be considering right now is another change in leadership – its third in less than a year were it to happen in the next few months. National has far more pressing tasks at hand. To have any prospect of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Freeland, Professorial Fellow, Bond University / Emeritus Professor of International Law, Western Sydney University, Western Sydney University Space is getting crowded. More than 100 million tiny pieces of debris are spinning in Earth orbit, along with tens of thousands of bigger ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison Whittaker, Research Fellow, University of Technology Sydney Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and/or images of deceased people. Five Aboriginal people have died in custody in the last month in Australia. It’s been 30 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Archa Fox, Associate Professor and ARC Future Fellow, University of Western Australia The world’s first mRNA vaccines — the COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna — have made it in record time from the laboratory, through successful clinical trials, regulatory approval and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Will Steffen, Emeritus Professor, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University In May 2011, almost precisely a decade ago, the government-appointed Climate Commission released its inaugural report. Titled The Critical Decade, the report’s final section warned that to keep global ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tom Hubble, Associate Professor, University of Sydney Last month’s flood in the Hawkesbury-Nepean River region of western Sydney peaked at a staggering 12.9 metres, with water engulfing road signs and reaching the tops of many houses. There hasn’t been a major flood ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Ziguras, Professor of Global Studies, RMIT University Victorian universities recently re-proposed a previously conceived plan to get international students back under a similar model used to fly in tennis players for the Australian Open. Under the proposal, universities would help pay ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gary Mortimer, Professor of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, Queensland University of Technology When Marilyn Monroe was asked, “What do you wear to bed?”, she famously replied, “Just a few drops of No. 5″. Monroe was perhaps the most famous fan of the ...
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for April 14, bringing you the latest news throughout the day. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 8.00am: Hipkins won’t put all MIQ workers ‘under suspicion’ despite Case B ‘lying’ to employer There are no plans to increase monitoring of border workers after a security ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Calls made for return of Epidemic Response Committee, Māori wards coming in around the country, and police admit to illegal intelligence gathering tactics.Serious flaws in the government’s Covid response have been exposed on a day of sustained pressure at parliament. Hundreds ...
The Labour and Green government had a chance to introduce harsher penalties for people who assault our first responders, but voted it down and have shown once again just how out of touch and soft on crime they really are, says Darroch Ball co-leader ...
ACT Leader David Seymour has welcomed the Government’s decision to trial Datamine’s ëlarm with border workers. “ We’ve been urging the Government to adopt ëlarm for 314 days now ,” says Mr Seymour. “It shouldn’t have taken ten months for ...
The Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand (FIANZ) is not surprised by the recent developments regarding the terrorist seeking a judicial review. The terrorist is following the same pattern as previous convicted terrorists in Europe and Canada. ...
Three incidents in quick succession show fish aren’t being properly protected, Forest & Bird argues. David Williams reports. Some images are seared into your memory. For Napier City Council’s Cameron Burton, his confronting moment happened on February 5 while responding to a hydrochloric acid spill into the stormwater system and ...
Business & Investing: With the Official Cash Rate left at 0.25 percent, market watchers look to the RBNZ's May update, Plus: 2 Degrees goes with Ericsson over Huawei for 5G ...
The speed of the UK's vaccine roll-out contrasts starkly with the slow and hesitant roll-outs in New Zealand and Australia. Do our high-trust strategies signal a long wait until we're open for business? With the arrival of effective vaccines against Covid-19 we can ask a Churchillian question. Do the vaccines signal the ...
Delayed, anaemic government reporting on mental health has seen key missing information end up in strange and inaccessible places. Jess McAllen has some simple answers to what are becoming unnecessarily complex problems. Accessing services is hard enough, we don’t need finding information about them to be a scavenger hunt. In 2016, sitting in ...
We conclude our week-long look at Charlotte Grimshaw's sensational memoir with a review by Philip Matthews At Home with CK Stead has become something of a journalistic genre, and why not? Who wouldn’t want to encounter the writer in his natural habitat, where, it is usually assumed, an enviable balance ...
One of the world's fastest female rally drivers, Emma Gilmour is biding her time to race in the radical new Extreme E series by competing in the NZ Rally Championship. As a kid, Emma Gilmour would hold on tight in the back seat of the family car while her mechanic ...
Things went from bad to worse for a survivor of domestic violence who tried to get a court-ordered sharing of marital assets. She lost, was then charged with the crime of perjury, sentenced to home detention, and later bankrupted. Bonnie Sumner and Melanie Reid report. A woman alleging abuse by her ...
While we're overdosing on the death of the Duke, we're being starved of news of a possible changing of the guard in our backyard, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell Samoa may have its first female Prime Minister, but do not let that distract you from the news that Prince Philip designed his ...
A sobering series of stumbles yesterday showed the country’s Covid-19 response, lauded around the world for its performance, is showing cracks as it enters its second year. Political editor Justin Giovannetti writes from parliament.The opposition was left demanding more oversight of the country’s Covid-19 response through the re-establishment of the ...
The 1994 chainsaw attack on the pine tree atop Auckland’s Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill wasn’t a simple act of vandalism, as many assumed at the time – it was an act of protest informed by centuries of history.“It is people who have interests, rights and dignity; not trees.” This ...
New Zealand is set to become the first country in the world to introduce a comprehensive ban on live animal exports by sea. There are good reasons behind the decision, writes Mirjam Guesgen.It’s hot and sticky. Temperatures reach those of summer highs and humidity levels hang in the 80s. Animals ...
Facebook protests that the new algorithm that curates your newsfeed is just a mirror reflecting yourself back at you. If that's the case, says one digital expert, it's a funhouse mirror. On the surface, a change in algorithm by Facebook to fill your newsfeed with friends and family news, and push ...
The National Party is six months into its rebuild following a disastrous election result and once again leaking and leadership rumours are making headlines. ...
The Government has come under fire for being slow to reform hate crime legislation, even after it was recommended by the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the March 15 terror attack. ...
Economists have played down property investors' warnings of rent hikes – because tenants are already so stretched that the market won't sustain any further rises. So now a publicly-funded research project is investigating just what is affordable. The Parliamentary letters secretary for Associate Housing Minister Poto Williams will be kept busy ...
Labour's signature policies are atrophying as the Government focuses on the Covid-19 pandemic and recovery. Peter Dunne asks if managing the virus will be enough to get Labour re-elected in two years ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Scott Morrison has defended his intemperate language in parliament against Christine Holgate last year, saying he had to protect taxpayers’ money and Labor was calling for her resignation. Pressed to respond to the former Australia ...
A View from Afar: Midday Thursday (NZST, Wednesday 7pm US EDST) – Join this LIVE recording of this week’s podcast where Selwyn Manning and Paul Buchanan will debate: Why regional powers including Russia, Israel, Iran are willing to provoke flash-points that risk triggering a wider war. In recent weeks, Israel ...
Bills get killed a lot at Parliament. But when a bill comes back for a second go - zombie style - the coup de grâce is trickier. Today's Order Paper at Parliament includes a debate that looked like that. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna M. Kotarba-Morley, Lecturer, Archaeology, Flinders University An almost 3,400-year-old industrial, royal metropolis, “the Dazzling Aten”, has been found on the west bank of the Nile near the modern day city of Luxor. Announced last week by the famed Egyptian archaeologist Dr ...
It might have the same name, but Popstars is nothing like the original show. And that’s a problem, writes Sam Brooks.The first episode of Popstars, way back in 1999, got through the auditions stage in one segment, literally 10 minutes of television. The rebooted version of Popstars, which aims to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kylie Quinn, Vice-Chancellor’s Research Fellow, School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University This week, US health authorities recommended pausing the rollout of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine while investigations into exceptionally rare blood clots take place. Six women suffered ...
The Māori Party is demanding the police minister stop racism within the force, after the police watchdog found a wāhine Māori had her photo unlawfully taken. ...
The programmes were the same. But the ads weren’t. Toby Manhire watches them all.The 1999 reality TV phenomenon Popstars was defrosted from its cryogenic slumber on Monday night. Not only had this epoch-defining show straddled millennia, it now straddled channels, appearing on both TVNZ 1 and TVNZ 2 at the ...
Māori Party co-leaders are directing all questions about donations to the party executive, but say they have sought assurances everything is above board. ...
Amnesty International is calling on the New Zealand Government to oppose the Government of Japan’s decision to release more than one million tonnes of radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean. We join a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sujeet Kumar, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, Jawaharlal Nehru University India is witnessing a sharp spike in COVID-19 cases after months of declining numbers had given the country hope it had made it through the worst ...
A new white paper commissioned by UP Education and Yoobee Colleges looks at how Aotearoa can better support and sustain its creative industries. 2020 may have been a year of unprecedented challenges, but for Aotearoa’s creative industries, it was also one in which incredible pressure produced outstanding results. With our government’s ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the border security guard who had not been tested since last November lied to his employer First Security about the tests he was supposed to have had. ...
The Harmful Digital Communications (Unauthorised Posting of Intimate Visual Recording) Amendment Bill is still open for public submissions, and the Justice Committee is interested in hearing from everyone, especially young people. Alongside making a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tuffley, Senior Lecturer in Applied Ethics & CyberSecurity, Griffith University Some weeks ago, a nine-year-old macaque monkey called Pager successfully played a game of Pong with its mind. While it may sound like science fiction, the demonstration by Elon Musk’s neurotechnology ...
The Government’s decision to ban exports of livestock for breeding is morally and practically unjustified, according to the Animal Genetics Trade Association, as it will financially devastate many farmers and require the premature slaughter ...
For many years, New Zealand’s parliament has been in the unusual position of renting much of its office space. The speaker says it’s now time to stop being renters and build. Justin Giovannetti looks at the plan.While most legislative precincts around the world are owned by the public and serve ...
Metlink understands that members of the Tramways Union at NZ Bus have voted in favour of industrial action during a stop work meeting today. Metlink will now await notice from NZ Bus when this action might occur. Typically, unions are required to give ...
A Russian version of Fellowship of the Ring is taking YouTube by storm. How does it compare to our homegrown version?During the last months of the Soviet Union, Leningrad TV attempted something Peter Jackson wouldn’t have the guts to do for another decade: make a live-action Lord of the Rings. ...
The New Zealand government has just announced they will ban the live export trade. As a global animal welfare organisation that has worked on the issue of live export locally in New Zealand, World Animal Protection has prepared the below statement. ...
An investigation is underway into Case B in the recent Covid cluster, who may be fined up to $1000 for misrepresenting their testing history Police were called in to investigate wrong information given by an MIQ worker about receiving regular testing, raising questions about the timeliness of the introduction of ...
The New Zealand Law Society | Te Kāhui Ture o Aotearoa has told a parliamentary select committee it supports a bill giving effect to the Government’s Christchurch Call commitment (a commitment by several governments and technology companies to ...
Local Government Minister Nanaia’s intentions were plainly proclaimed soon after the Ardern Government began its second term. She was determined to remove legislative machinery that enabled public polls to be conducted when councils attempted to create Māori wards. The headline on an RNZ report summed up her commitment: Mahuta vows to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cameron Stewart, Professor at Sydney Law School, University of Sydney Last week, the federal government changed its recommendation for COVID-19 vaccines. The Pfizer vaccine is now the “preferred” jab for adults under 50. Amid the political fallout and worries about what it ...
Herald headline:
Mike Hosking: KiwiBuild ‘suburb’ will look like a dump in a decade.
Bridges on RNZ: It’s just our scheme rebranded.
Conclusion: If National were doing exactly the same thing as is proposed Hosking it would have it forward thing, the way of the future, tackling a need head on and whatever other bullshit he’s capable of coming up with.
The government needs to grow a pair and deal with media bias or continue to suffer death by a thousand spun lies.
how? declare war on the media, abuse them, whinge about bias, or do a muldoon?
Do you have a better option?
It’s never a good look to have the government of the day complaining about the media.
It’s Better to push back with facts rather than complaints. Look at Trump for example going on and on about CNN et al for an extreme example
And the push back can’t be snarky, grumpy, or whatever because then the story becomes the tone rather than the content
Exactly.
Starting a shit fight with the media is always problematic
A charter on balance for all news media and break up the oligopolies.
Who’s talking about snarking?
Bridges is lying because the National scheme would not have had affordable housing in there as it ‘sabotages house prices’ which is what his mentor John Key said of Hobsonville in 2007.
National’s scheme would have had rows and rows of $1.5M+ houses for the well-to-do only. This would please Mike no end.
Presumably Hobsonville is the primary model for the Unitec site. Hobsonville is very high density with a large number of apartments within 4 and 5 story buildings. Hobsonville is about half finished and there already serious problems with traffic, especially parking. A lot of the owners have two cars and the second car is parked on the street.
Hobsonville is a bit higher end than what the government is proposing for the Unitec site. Hobsonville has about 20% “affordable” homes. The idea for the Unitec site is 40% “affordable” homes, presumably mostly apartments. It will almost certainly have a higher density than Hobsonville.
Personally I think the density of 4000 homes on 29 hectares is way too high a density, especially taking account the provision of roads, parks and recreation, shops, etc. It works out to 62.5 square meters of land per dwelling (taking 25 hectares as the effective subdivided are, excluding roads etc). Obviously just about all multi-storey apartments and terrace houses.
I think that no more than 2,000 would be more realistic. Auckland does not need Hong Kong density levels, certainly not in the suburbs.
When people realise just how much density is involved, I would anticipate quite a lot of objection.
Wayne, Hobsonville is 26.9 kms from the CBD. Mt Albert Unitec land is about 9 kms from the CBD. Apples and Oranges.
29 hectares is big enough to have one or two high rises and many town houses, just as they do in Australia. The footprint would be quite small.
43 -29 hectares leaves another parcel of 14. Plenty of space still there Wayne.
But I note you and your friends in National are out in force. This must be galling.
And no public transport, except for a very sparse bus service.
Bus service is actually better in Hobsonville Point than it was, problem is that the buses go from west gate to the ferry and take longer than driving, or the 120 from Henderson (and train) to Constellation (and NEX) but also take longer than driving, so all the good Aucklanders just drive instead.
The ferry is reasonably well used, but way to limited in services,and AT is stalling on upping the number of services available, mostly because that will require a 2nd boat, but there is not demand for a whole other boat (but more than the 1 boat available). It is probable that better/more ferry services will bring more people to use the ferry – although they would just drive to the station and not take the bus, so will lead to parking issues at the wharf.
Most of the issue at Hobsonville Point is around the collusion of ideas between the people who brought because of the ideal of sustainable living and the people who just needed a house (or wanted to buy for the prestige). These second group don’t drop # of cars, and tend to not use their garages for parking cars, but tend to be like typical Aucklanders and store all their excess stuff there. So the issue with parking at Hobsonville is not really an issue with the design, but an issue with the typical home-owner in Auckland not able to change from their previous habits. It is also a product of the housing crisis, so a lot of people didn’t have a lot of options, so making decisions based on what the philosophy behind the development wasn’t an option. Also I found in my case that it was actually cheaper to buy at Hobsonville Point than try and buy elsewhere, as the prices were based on values when they got consent/started to sell so were relatively cheap compared to other houses on the market with the same function (# of bedrooms, etc)
Magically we’re back to Hosking: We don’t need public transport, everyone should drive their own car everywhere. Preferably a flash car.
Objection to property development is par for the course…not an excuse for inaction… the objectors only have one vote each like everyone else… unless some votes count more than others?
All those cars! Clogging up the roads and parked empty all over the place!
What a waste! Under Nats housing programme, so many cars would make great living places for whole families, parked away from “nicer” residential areas.
Fortunately, the UNITEC development will be well served by mass transit systems, so no need for cars.
Yes! Wayne might not know the Mt Albert train station is right there. That buses going all over Auckland drive past regularly. As someone pointed out above, that Wayne is comparing Hobsonville, perched on the very outside of Auckland with a central suburb is revealling.
And there’s the cycle and walkway nearby – goes right into the city – free to all.
Yet you didnt speak out about this when Hobsonville and then Unitec were being planned Wayne.
How woukd you solve the problem Wayne given National have only been prepared to deal with this by altering the supply side not the demand side.
Oh, the horror!
It is called the “guest house” in some suburbs
Yes, a sobering thought.
Has Wayne never seen a Wellington suburb?
Wayne Kerr.
But simple Simon no bridges said it was their project.
Wayne you can’t have it both ways.
We all just need to learn Mandarin and adjust.
Snort laughed!
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/353359/mt-albert-kiwibuild-homes-private-sector-needs-help-twyford
Building “hopefully” start in a year but will take at least a decade to complete. That is extremely slow for a development of this size. averaging 300-400 pa when we need 10,000+
There is a risk that this announcement has been over sold, Phil in this interview corrected the 4,000 number to 3 – 4,000.
Good that this is happening and will help in a small way, but we need 30 of these to meet the requirements that the “experts” are telling us.
Brian Easton asking the right questions again…..all we need is the right answers.
https://www.pundit.co.nz/content/are-we-boiling-frogs
Interesting comment after the article too
yes…but a mixed bag….and broad.
Agree but both are food for thought.
Agreed Pete. I made a comment on Jude’s remarks at Underarm.
The fact they are down playing this widely tells us our current Government got it right.
A whole bunch of people need to stfu.
That ExReal Estate sales guy who brought the bowling green, Elon Musk’s Dad, Aussie cricketers in general, and anyone called Mike Hosking.
Lol so true. Have a coffee tho, life gets better 🙂
Lol
*sips warm drink*
Thar she blows!
Another 500 Billion was added to US Debt in the last six weeks alone.
Today a new oil futures contract denominated in Chinese yuan and convertible into gold will be open to the market.
I think together these signal the final death throws of the USD.
Well done the workers in Spain!! 2 day strike shuts down the gig economy thug, Amazon.
https://libcom.org/news/two-day-strike-biggest-amazon-warehouse-spain-24032018
Macron’s France, this is what it looks like.
https://libcom.org/news/brutal-fascist-attack-student-occupation-university-montpellier-24032018
Remember they passed this law.
http://www.france24.com/en/20171018-french-parliament-tough-anti-terror-bill-controversial-macron
Umm, why are we compensating 28 farms for the culling of 28,000 animals? Why doesn’t their private insurance cover this? And what link is there between dairy intensification in the area and this disease?
Another massive bail out for South Canterbury at the taxpayers expense…they’ve done well over the last few years, haven’t they?
You got anymore links for this Muttonbird? This piece from the granny is light weight, as always.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12015937
Why are they talking of re-building a disease-free herd, if this happens why not take the opportunity to diversify at the very least.
Here’s a radical suggestion – try a new, a completely new approach to farming altogether.
I’m no defender of industrial dairy farming but it would be absolutely gutting for the staff to see animals you had reared and farmed for years , be sent to be killed en masse.
Compensation is fair for those not at fault. Maybe make it dependent on NAIT compliance, just watch compliance levels improve.
Like to know why these dairy farmers don’t have insurance this day in age IRT banks and weather etc or were they expecting the taxpayer to cough up for their stuff ups as usual?
Don’t think most cockies insure their stock it’s expensive.
And they expect the taxpayer to cough up!!! yeah right
In Oz the Farmer is expected to have insurance to cover them over before the State and Federal pollies handout funds or cover them until there is a insurance payout which btw is very quick unlike in NZ.
Compensate them but sheet the bill home to the person responsible for bringing in the bug.
But with the last government running the Border Protecting into the ground is just plan wrong especially at the Ports and Airports. They should be nailing everyone who comes through the Airports regardless of who they are and doubling their effort on problem countries at the ports. “Its just plain common sense” as old Winnie would say.
The MPI people should’ve put a full movement ban in that Province when it was first detected and not have waited for the new government to pull their finger out of their freckle unlike the last government who seem to have very hands off approach to everything they.
Absolutely agree
Kim Dotcom seems to be celebrating.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/353417/crown-to-pay-90-000-for-kim-dotcom-privacy-breach
The judgement itself.
https://www.justice.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Decisions/2018-nzhrrt-7-dotcom-v-crown-law-others.pdf
I have not yet read it, so cannot comment. KDC is very active on Twitter at the moment, including claiming his extradition case should be dropped.
https://twitter.com/KimDotcom?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Thanks.
The judgement document is very long.
But seems to come down to there having been “no proper basis for the refusal” by the Attorney General
The Conclusion:
Just an observation on the Dr Brian Edwards – erstwhile Labour candidate, and political pundit amongst other areas of prominence.
Nearly six months now and still no recognition/acceptance that we have a left of centre coalition government, lead by a young and dynamic woman from his own Labour Party. Meantime, there have been several columns on his http://brianedwardsmedia.co.nz blog discussing the National Party – the most recent of which appears to be his warming to the new HM Opposition leadership.
He is friends with Michelle Boag now… And sees the new leaders as prospects for his TV image grooming business.
Brian Edwards is all about Brian Edwards. He’s a great fit for the Nats
In a couple of his recent blogs he has called out the usage of Te Reo by Pakeha radio announcers – yet in his profile/intro on his site it reads quote …
Why You Should Choose Us:
Because no one else in New Zealand has the mana, experience … unquote.
He feels it quite natural to throw in the odd word that has more recently become accepted parlance… “mana” … well done Brian and Judy.
Mark Mitchell went to extraordinary lengths to get to be the candidate for Rodney in the first place and now he is up for anything in his attempt to be seen to be relevant.
He has a thirsting MSM at his mercy.
Nightmares that keep me awake at night.
Amnesty International Report
Amnesty International Report
These atrocities are happening to real people right now in real time as we here are sleeping.
Sednaya
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sednaya_Prison
The AM Show when one has a guest one must treat them with respect well that’s the
Maori cultured way of doing things .
Hopefully the Warriors get there stolen gear back Kia kaha people .
ECO MAORI Backs the ban on new oil drilling especially if it endangers the survival of our dolphins .
I do not play games Duncan if you study more Maori culture you will understand my moves plus there is a big push back on everything I support so I have to be tactful with everything . I play the flute well.
That show last nite has opened my eyes to another phenomenon that is happening in Aotearoa at the minute its another of shonkys take from the poor and give to the wealthy but this has been out of the public view the reality of this phenomenon I will reveal this in time .
I make sure my recycling an rubbish bins are full takes two weeks and then put them out to lower the work load of our workers in this industry if the councils can save half of the cost by having rubbish picked up 2 weekly I say that’s is innovation all services should innovate to save money and our environment think about the amount of fuel that will not be burned because of this wonderful Idea .
P.S Ladies get the big picture decades before men Duncan.
Ka kite ano
The AM Show some of your work m8 will know who that great Ngati porou leader that I have mentioned is.Ka kite ano
The sandflys are swarming today in Tauranga but like sand flys I could just swat them away but today I chose to ignore them like the little bugs they are. They are just a little challenge that’s part of my lifes fate Kia kaha Ka kite ano
The Police (if that is who you mean by sandflies) were doing drug raids throughout the BoP today.
BTW – quick question. I live in Mount Maunganui and often drive past the fruit and Veg stalls lining Maunganui road. I saw a big sign once that said “ECO MAORI” and I thought about you. I might drop by and buy some stuff from you and say hello one day if that is you selling stuff (unless that’d be strange for ya…then I won’t)