The only way to hit net zero by 2050 is to stop flying
Dreaming of electric planes and planting trees will not save our planet
…..the commitment to net zero aviation by 2050 is really a commitment to zero aviation. Rather than hope new technology will magically rescue us, we should stop planning to increase fossil-fuel flights and commit to halving them within 10 years with an eye toward phasing them out entirely by 2050.
You're happy to prevent anyone here being visited from overseas, any UN refugees to arrive, any workers or skilled specialists to come here at all, any tourists whatsoever to arrive here, and of course quite happy to prevent post-quarantine returnees and their children and grandchildren to arrive either.
My Mother and her best friend cross the Tasman Sea aboard the passenger liner the Wanganella to atttend the 1956 Australian Olympic Games. As she related it to me, the experience was one of the high-lights of her life.
In the 50's and even into the 60's flying wasn't a thing.
The Wanganella became a hostel ship for the construction workers and tunnelers for the Manapouri power station, The Wanganella was replaced by the legendary Oriana, which was destined to became the last passenger liner on the Tasman run. By1966 mass passenger air travel had made passenger liners uncompetitive.
In 1973 the Oriana was recommissioned as a holiday cruise liner and later a floating hotel and tourist attraction in Japan and then China. Damaged in a severe storm in the Chinese port of Dalien in 2004, the Oriana was scrapped in 2005.
The steam powered Wanganela and Oriana took 56 to 53 hours to cross the Tasman.
Fast forward again into the 21st Century:
A modern high speed gas turbine ferriy carrying over 800 passengers and cars and trucks can cross the Tasman in 24 hours. In Argentina such a service has been proved to be competitive with airlines.
"You're happy to prevent anyone…." Ad
Hi Ad, I am not happy to prevent anyone, doing anything. I just think that the airline industry instead of being propped up by government subsidies and loans should be left to die a natural death.
How about this; Instead of propping up a dying industry with a $1 billion credit line, the government invest in buying Tasmanian built ocean going ferries to cross the Tasman.
I am not forcing or preventing anyone from doing anything.
As a way to hasten the comercial airline industry into i’s inevitable retirement, I am asking people of good will to do as I, and many other people of good will concerned about the climate to forego flying as a personal choice.
So Jenny, you would be happy for our time sensitive exports to cease (as they are air dependent)? Time sensitive freight world wide is a huge part of the air industry.
And these ferries, nasty old fossil fuelled diesel powered? To fill the gap left by air, would they not contribute just as much in the way of emissions?
And air is a 'dying industry? No. It was hit by a once in a century pandemic and like many industries as a result of Covid, needed short term propping up.
Your whole thesis is just unrealistic. What happened in 1944 or 1956 or whenever was appropriate to those times. The world has moved on and continues to evolve. Uninventing inventions is not an option. Mitigation and further development is.
So Jenny, you would be happy for our time sensitive exports to cease (as they are air dependent)? Time sensitive freight world wide is a huge part of the air industry….
Air dependent time sensitive foods are the epitome of bad food miles.
Time sensitive air dependent exports, such as the live grayfish and oyster and Paua trade, out of season fresh berry trade, flown around the globe to supply high end restaurants in Tokyo, New York, London, Monaco, or to the kitchens and mansions and villas of the 1%. or to supply the busisness buffets of the big corporate board rooms.
Talk about conspicous consumption.
That this time sensitive luxury food trade 'is a huge part of the air industry' is why it's got to go.
The world (and the climate) is best rid of it.
Maybe if we took this food out of the mouths of the One Percenters New Zealanders might able to afford to buy it occasionally.
1% of people cause half of global aviation emissions – study
Researchers say Covid-19 hiatus is moment to tackle elite ‘super emitters’
…..“The benefits of aviation are more inequitably shared across the world than probably any other major emission source,” he said. “So there’s a clear risk that the special treatment enjoyed by airlines just protects the economic interests of the globally wealthy.”
Everything you thought about the carbon footprint of imported food is wrong, says top professor
Bananas from Dominican Republic and apples from New Zealand are among the most carbon-friendly foods
Phobe Weston Science Correspondent
Bananas imported from the Dominican Republic, apples from New Zealand and oranges from Brazil are among the most carbon-friendly foods UK consumers can buy, according to Professor David Reay, a climate scientist from the University of Edinburgh….
But food miles do matter if the product has been transported by air. For this reason, Professor Reay says consumers should avoid eating out-of-season soft fruit such as raspberries and blueberries.
A 100g box of blueberries grown locally or imported via ship will produce around 100g of carbon dioxide. If it’s flown in, that increases by ten times, pushing its carbon footprint up to more like 1kg.
“If you want to go into the high carbon footprint foods then once it’s been air freighted you’re in real trouble. That’s when the food miles absolutely soar in terms of emissions. We should have a blanket ban on air freight,” said Professor Reay.
Yeah I'm with you on this – the Busan Shimonoseki ferries leave flying for dead in price and comfort – a trans-Tasman run would be a good first step to the post mass air travel future.
Don't expect much support however – official policy is that NZ should be the last dinosaur hunters, not the first adopters of any rational change. It's expensive and stupid, but that reflects the quality of our political decision making.
Passenger traffic fell by two thirds in 2020, and full recovery isn't expected before 2023.
For air travel as for many parts of society, Covid19 is the structural adjustment for climate effects that public policy settings were too afraid to do.
What is noteworthy is the residual customer demand: unlike the airline collapses after 9/11, there are very few 2020/21 bankruptcies because airlines know the latent demand remains.
But your projections about the inevitable decline of aircraft flights are not and will never be in the interests of New Zealand.
But your projections about the inevitable decline of aircraft flights are not and will never be in the interests of New Zealand.
Only two things need to happen to allow the end of flights to benefit NZ.
Better preservation systems for currently perishable items. We have some history pioneering frozen meat. Better live shipping modules would allow live seafreight to most of Asia – a technology that, when developed, will access the vast demand for fresh mussels instead of the horrid flavourless cooked and frozen halfshell that satisfies the substantially non-seafood eating US. Mind, with NZ people eating commercially caught fish once per month or less, as compared to Japan's 3-5 times a week, the local market could absorb most of our production if it got the chance.
A move away from tourism as a major sector of the economy. This has become obligate during Covid to some degree in any case, but tourism is a stop gap for developing economies, not a long term industry that will provide a good standard of living. Government should be developing the industries that will.
The interests of NZ rarely influence policy making – or neoliberalism, asset thefts, the QMS, mass low-wage immigration, and the housing crisis would never have been allowed to develop. You need a better rational for subsidizing contemporary aviation than that.
I think to stop flying entirely would be impractical and extreme.
To cut flights by 50% and force the use of low carbon generating planes would be an aim that might be achievable (probably by heavily taxing aviation fuel and airports) if governments across the world could be brought on side, which will be a Herculean task.
Measures such as these would greatly increase the price of flights. But people love those Easyjet stag weekends in Prague.
…..To cut flights by 50% and force the use of low carbon generating planes would be an aim that might be achievable (probably by heavily taxing aviation fuel and airports)…
I agree.
If airlines were taxed at the rate of climate damage they cause, they would be forced to use low carbon generating planes. That is if they wanted to stay in business.
Alternatively surface travel would become competitive again….
P.S. We could probably achieve much the same effect by withdrawing government support every time the airline industry gets in to trouble and has to be bailed out by the taxpayer. This is not the first time.
From Wikipedia:
……in 2001 the New Zealand Government took up 80% ownership in return for injecting $885 million after the airline ran into financial difficulty….
In early 2002 Ralph Norris, formerly head of ASB Bank, one of New Zealand's main banks, was announced as the new CEO of Air New Zealand, and commenced the difficult task of pulling the airline back from near-death…..
Without tax payer subsidies Air NZ would collapse quicker than a house of cards, a carbon tax on aviation fuel would put Air NZ out of business even quicker. The same probably goes for most airlines, one of the reasons that around the globe, Air lines are spared carbon charges.
Carbon emissions commerical airline industry may be 5% now, but they are increasing rapidly, and this increase is making no sign of slowing down. (especially with all the tax-payers subsidies being thrown at it.)
Airlines' CO2 emissions rising up to 70% faster than predicted
Carbon dioxide emitted by commercial flights rose by 32% from 2013 to 2018, study shows
….The total increase over the past five years was equivalent to building about 50 coal-fired power plants, the ICCT calculated.
Carbon dioxide emissions from air travel are not the full story.
What's an 'aviation multiplier'?
The impact of planes on the climate is complicated and not perfectly understood. The CO2 emissions are straightforward enough, but plane engines also generate a host of other "outputs", including nitrous oxide, water vapour and soot……
…….Today, most experts favour an aviation "multiplier" of around two. In other words, they believe that the total impact of a plane is approximately twice as high as its CO2 emissions. The exact multiplier, however, will always depend on the individual plane, the local climate and the time of day.
Add the above two things together and you can begin to see the threat that the commercial airline industry poses to the climate, and especially any chance of reaching net zero by 2050.
With half our emissions from farming, let's focus efforts there rather than getting distracted by fights with the richest most influential NZers. If you are serious about climate action..
Jenny, Internet use (much of it on frivolous blogs and social media) tributes almost as much to global warming as all air travel combined (around 4% compared to 5% for air travel).
Or more fast rail (France has banned internal air travel on flights where a train could make the same journey in sub 2.5 hours) (sadly not an option here).
Or maybe China should actually become a member of the global community and take action. Almost all of the coal from NZ and Australia goes to China, who once again are trying to get a free ride by claiming they are still a developing economy and deserve special exemptions.
According to this rather interesting and well referenced article your criticism of China is unjustified.
"In December 2016, the Center for American Progress brought a group of energy experts to China to find out what is really happening. We visited multiple coal facilities—including a coal-to-liquids plant—and went nearly 200 meters down one of China’s largest coal mines to interview engineers, plant managers, and local government officials working at the front lines of coal in China.
We found that the nation’s coal sector is undergoing a massive transformation that extends from the mines to the power plants, from Ordos to Shanghai. China is indeed going green. The nation is on track to overdeliver on the emissions reduction commitments it put forward under the Paris climate agreement, and making coal cleaner is an integral part of the process."
The tables in this article on the technical makeup of each nation's (China and US) most efficient plants show that 90% of China's plants are ultra-supercritical while 1% America's is ultra-supercritical.
Comparing China with US and Europe shows conventional air pollution standards are highest in China. e.g. allowable Nitrogen Oxide emissions for new plants in China is 50mg/cuM while in Europe's it's 150mg/cuM.
China's top 100 most efficient coal-fired power units have a coal consumption rate (gce/kWh) of between 271.56 and 294.88 while Us's is between 335.10 and 397.13.
Comparing emissions and efficiency China out performs US.
"Or more fast rail (France has banned internal air travel on flights where a train could make the same journey in sub 2.5 hours) (sadly not an option here)."
Peter chch
High speed trains are sadly not an option here, for two main reasons.
1. The huge expense. (The cost of building a high speed rail network is probably only possible for powerful economies like Japan, or France, or England and China).
2. Our very hilly and torturous terrain.
As I have written above, mass air travel is only a recent innovation.
For more than a century of European settlement, to travel along this ribbon like mountainous archipelago seperated into two main islands, the coasts were our highways. And for even longer if you consider Maori transportation.
At this time in our history, unsustainable, evironmentally destructive, and profligately wasteful, would be my depiction of air travel.
Sooner or later it will have to be curtailed.
Better sooner than later.
What if the $1.5 billion in financial support made available to Air New Zealand to save their polluting industry was instead made available for a Trans-Tasman and coastal passenger ferry service to directly compete with the air lines, to end their monopoly, and to continue the job of grounding the airlines that the pandemic began…..
The aviation industry needs a big rethink when it comes to reducing flights and other means of transportation (train, cruise ships). I would diversify and offer all 3 on the same ticket.
Spending money and holidaying in ones country is good for the economy. Families may choose to live in the same country. Some creative spark could do low and high end ethnic restaurants and have Las Vegas style shows.
NZ is a bit bland and boring when it comes to an exciting evening out, dinner and a show package.
There is nothing on free to air TV to watch any more.
You should be pretty happy at the moment then, as Covid has effectively reduced flights considerably. There must be a lot less aviation pollution over the last year.
Only a matter of time before we get slammed, hard. On my travels I see no-one scanning, no masks, and no distancing. Going into small spaces with lots of public is a minefield.
I feel like we've got complacent and switched off which is probably a function of doing it right and getting back to normal.
The right wing has won with the travel bubble but I really am worried we're going to get a breach from Australia this winter and have to enter an extended lockdown.
New Zealand has “several ingredients” for a similiar large outbreak, University of Otago epidemiologist Amanda Kvalsvig said.
These included a low proportion of the population being vaccinated, extremely transmissible variants circulating, the travel bubble with Australia offering more opportunity for the population mixing, and the looming winter season
“And we don’t have good ventilation in indoor spaces in New Zealand,” Kvalsvig said.
Just headlined on RNZ…paraphrasing…there could be many more cases associated with the cluster in Melbourne of, so far, 9 cases. One infectious person attended an Aussie Rules game where 23,000 were present.
Our Eds are so stretched with high load and admissions. Covid would be such an unwelcome bastard, it is best to be overly cautious than to be gullible.
What I like about that story is his strong sense of community connection and social responsibility. A decades long Labour activist, parish councillor, school governor, with a sense of mischief. Good man.
"Should’ve eschewed any notion of an Oz travel bubble".
I really don't want to see any bubble until everybody in New Zealand who wants to be vaccinated has the chance to do so. We continue to get talk about Group 3 going ahead from May, but it almost the end of the month and there still doesn't seem to be any plan to get on with it. The waffle from the DHB only talks about doing it over the next few months.
I tried talking to my DHB yesterday. The best I could get out of them was that they couldn't give any indication of a date as they didn't know when they would get vaccines. I was quite tempted to ask whether it would make any difference if I was Maori or Pasifika. The Medical Centre I go to don't know anything more either.
Until I have had a least the chance of being vaccinated I don't want to see any people coming in without going through quarantine. Selfish? Perhaps but I don't think I am unusual, or unreasonable.
Would you ban me from entering any shops then? I don't have a smart phone and I really don't see why I should waste a lot of money buying one. Do you suggest these should be supplied free?
Alternatively why didn't they use a service like the one proposed by Sam Morgan. That would have been a great deal more effective from what I read about it. The user wouldn't have to do anything from what was said.
Yes. Almost everywhere has the Covid 19 QR codes up but anywhere to sign in has become very rare, except in the biggest stores. The handwash bottles are also vanishing from most stores.
I’ll keep saying it: in places where there’s been no community transmission for a long time, it’s not reasonable to expect people to keep up with behaviours that are onerous when perception Bis that risk is very low. We need new strategies.
Seems like lots of people assume this is going to be over soon. Maybe it will but it might not, so we need long term strategies now
We might have a bubble case come in. In an infinite time period, that's guaranteed.
But the vulnerable period isn't infinite. My DHB has announced group three vaccinations starting this week, for example. We have a vulnerability period measured in months.
So this bubble case comes in, gets detected in a couple of weeks as their NZ family and some hospo staff get sick and diagnosed (assuming the bubble case is a carrier with no strong symptoms of their own). Maybe a couple of dozen cases, maybe a localised lockdown. Everyone shits a brick, masks and scanning spike up again, we quickly know the extent of the community outbreak and it's crunched again.
Compared with the rest of the world, we still have it light.
Here's a withering takedown of Boris Johnson by Ash Sarkar. It is alleged that Johnson missed five emergency COBRA meetings at the start of the pandemic in 2020, in order to work on a biography of Shakespeare.
The link should start at 26:00 mins. Ash's rant from about 27:00 mins notes, among other things, that we don't need another biography of Shakespeare, especially one by a "dilettante posho who knows some florid words, but has no critical thinking skills whatsoever".
Congrats to NZ's collaborative applied research team that has delivered the COVID-19 genome sequencing programme here. Only possible because of our relatively low number of cases – long may that continue.
Real-time genomics to track COVID-19 post-elimination border incursions in Aotearoa New Zealand There have been thirteen known COVID-19 community outbreaks in Aotearoa New Zealand since the virus was first eliminated in May 2020, two of which led to stay-at-home orders being issued by health officials. These outbreaks originated at the border; via isolating returnees, airline workers, and cargo vessels. With a public health system informed by real-time viral genomic sequencing which typically had complete genomes within 12 hours after a community-based positive COVID-19 test, every outbreak was well-contained with a total of 225 community cases, resulting in three deaths. Real-time genomics were essential for establishing links between cases when epidemiological data could not, and for identifying when concurrent outbreaks had different origins. By reconstructing the viral transmission history from genomic sequences, here we recount all thirteen community outbreaks and demonstrate how genomics played a vital role in containing them.
Having a trans Tasman and Cook Island bubble is a different ball game to just managing NZ. Bloomberg did well, in saying this he has uncertainty to contend with due to the Melbourne outbreak which is unpredictable.
They might have fares on the market, but are they getting any punters?
You’d be rather brave handing over cash today to an airline for travel in 8-12 months time. There’s a good chance that airline won’t exist then.
Most international airlines are surviving on government subsidies to keep airfreight going. Those subsidies will wind down as freight only operators expand. Going to be very interesting times in the airline industry around the end if the year. Also from that point it will get very hard, and expensive to bring airframes out of storage, there’s a lot of A380s and 777s that will never fly again, some with silver ferns on their tails
Air New Zealand lost $454 million last year, Qantas 2 billion. The Qantas link is very revealing of the scale of the industry's problem. Both airlines had about half of their domestic revenue which just wan't enough to pay the way. The Australian government provided over 1 billion in subsidies for domestic leisure airfares to try and prop up their domestic airlines and tourism industry, people don't really want to fly right now.
In Australia, they'll probably end up with a much smaller, nationalised Qantas and maybe some regionals, with Virgin going tits up, again.
Here, I'd say Air New Zealand will be in virtually 100% government ownership and much smaller.
Having borders opening early next year is predicted on vaccine rollout and covid proceeding to plan and nothing popping out, we'll see. Early next year is also about when the shit will hit the fan in the airlines too, so we might be seeing a bit of wishful thinking with this announcement. Air Canada is also in a bad way, burning CAD$13-15 million / day, and surviving on government subsidies, no way I'd be giving them my cash to maybe fly in a years time.
The flights are timed to coincide with the tail end of New Zealand’s planned vaccination roll-out and align with Treasury’s assumption of a significant re-opening of the border from January.
Treasury assumes bau,as a survival strategy following a vaccination plan completion.
Coronavirus follows the law of chance and success as a survival strategy,Rna evolutionary arms race being the nuclear issue of our time.
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Macklemore isn’t someone I’d usually think about. Sure I liked his big hit from a few years back, everybody did it was catchy and cool with some memorable lines. But if I was going to think of artists who might speak out on political matters or world events, he wouldn’t ...
Another week goes by in the Luxon government’s efforts to roll back the past 70 years of social progress. The school lunches programme is to be downgraded by $107 million, and women need bother their heads no longer about pay equity, let alone expect ACC to provide adequate sexual violence ...
Brrr, the first cold snap of the year. Hope you’re rugged up nice and warm. Here are some stories that caught our eye this week… This Week on Greater Auckland On Monday, we had a post from a new contributor, Connor Sharp, who dug into the public feedback ...
Almost all of the Wellington City Council’s recommended zoning changes to allow many more apartments and townhouses in its inner-suburbs have been approved.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guest on geopolitics, ...
Open access notablesA Global Increase in Nearshore Tropical Cyclone Intensification, Balaguru et al., Earth's Future:Tropical Cyclones (TCs) inflict substantial coastal damages, making it pertinent to understand changing storm characteristics in the important nearshore region. Past work examined several aspects of TCs relevant for impacts in coastal regions. However, ...
Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result? As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and always answered “yes”, with very few ...
Thus far May has followed on from a quiet April in the blogging department, but in fairness, it has been another case of doing what I am supposed to be doing, namely writing original fiction. Plus reading. So don’t worry – I have been productive. But in order to reassure ...
Buzz from the Beehive A new government agency will open for business on July 1 – the Social Investment Agency. As a new standalone central agency effective from 1 July, it will lead the development of social investment across Government, helping ministers understand who they need to invest in, what ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “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 ...
Alwyn Poole writes – After being elected to Parliament in 2008 the maiden speech of Hipkins was substantially around education policy. He was Labour’s spokesperson for education 2011 – 2017. He was Minister for Education from 2017 until February 2023. This is approximately 88% of the time Labour ...
Eric Crampton writes – A fashion industry group is lobbying for protections. They make the usual arguments and a newer one. None of it makes sense. An industry group says it pumped $7.8 billion into the economy last year – that’s 1.9 percent of New Zealand’s GDP. ...
In December 2006, Fiji's military leader Voreqe Bainimarama overthrew the elected government in a coup. He ruled Fiji for the next 16 years, first as dictator, then as "elected" Prime Minister. But now, he's finally been sent to jail where he belongs. Sadly, this isn't for his real crime of ...
Don't like National's corrupt Muldoonist "fast-track" law? Aotearoa's environmental NGO's - Greenpeace, Forest & Bird, WWF, Coromandel Watchdog, Coal Action Network Aotearoa, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining, and others - have announced a joint march against it in Auckland in June: When: 13:00, 8 June, 2024 Where: Aotea Square, Auckland You ...
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 ...
Today’s justification from the Minister for Children for scrapping protections for our tamariki was either a case of ignorance or deliberate deception. ...
The Green Party says the Government’s misguided policy on gangs will fail, following the announcement of the establishment of a national gang unit and district gang disruption units to target gang activities. ...
“With Police pay negotiations still unresolved after six months in Government, Mark Mitchell has today rolled the Commissioner out for a rebrand of their approach to gang crime,” Labour police spokesperson Ginny Andersen said. ...
The Government bringing back 50 charter schools will not increase achievement and is a distraction from the core mission of the education system, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Te Pāti Māori is showing extreme concern over the Environment Select Committees adoption of a lucky dip draw to determine hearings for the Fast Track Approvals bill. Of the 27,000 submissions, 2,900 requested to present. All organisations will be heard; however, the remaining 2,350 submitters will be subject to a ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
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 ...
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and President Emmanuel Macron of France today announced a new non-governmental organisation, the Christchurch Call Foundation, to coordinate the Christchurch Call’s work to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. This change gives effect to the outcomes of the November 2023 Call Leaders’ Summit, ...
Distinguished public servant and former diplomat Sir Maarten Wevers will lead the independent review into the disability support services administered by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. The review was announced by Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston a fortnight ago to examine what could be done to strengthen the ...
Today’s announcement by Police Commissioner Andrew Coster of a National Gang Unit and district Gang Disruption Units will help deliver on the coalition Government’s pledge to restore law and order and crack down on criminal gangs, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. “The National Gang Unit and Gang Disruption Units will ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today expressed regret at North Korea’s aggressive rhetoric towards New Zealand and its international partners. “New Zealand proudly stands with the international community in upholding the rules-based order through its monitoring and surveillance deployments, which it has been regularly doing alongside partners since 2018,” Mr ...
Air Vice-Marshal Tony Davies MNZM is the new Chief of Defence Force, Defence Minister Judith Collins announced today. The Chief of Defence Force commands the Navy, Army and Air Force and is the principal military advisor to the Defence Minister and other Ministers with relevant portfolio responsibilities in the defence ...
Legislation to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act has been introduced to Parliament. The Bill’s introduction reaffirms the Coalition Government’s commitment to the safety of children in care, says Minister for Children, Karen Chhour. “While section 7AA was introduced with good intentions, it creates a conflict for Oranga ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins will this week travel to the UK and Italy to meet with her defence counterparts, and to attend Battles of Cassino commemorations. “I am humbled to be able to represent the New Zealand Government in Italy at the commemorations for the 80th anniversary of what was ...
The upcoming Budget will include funding for up to 50 charter schools to help lift declining educational performance, Associate Education Minister David Seymour announced today. $153 million in new funding will be provided over four years to establish and operate up to 15 new charter schools and convert 35 state ...
“The results of the public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has now been received, with results indicating over 13,000 submissions were made from members of the public,” Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “We heard feedback about the extended lockdowns in ...
Foreign Minister, Defence Minister, other Members of Parliament Acting Chief of Defence Force, Secretary of Defence Distinguished Guests Defence and Diplomatic Colleagues Ladies and Gentlemen, Good afternoon, tēna koutou, apinun tru It’s a pleasure to be back in Port Moresby today, and to speak here at the Kumul Leadership ...
Health, infrastructure, renewable energy, and stability are among the themes of the current visit to Papua New Guinea by a New Zealand political delegation, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Papua New Guinea carries serious weight in the Pacific, and New Zealand deeply values our relationship with it,” Mr Peters ...
The coalition Government is launching Roads of Regional Significance to sit alongside Roads of National Significance as part of its plan to deliver priority roading projects across the country, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The Roads of National Significance (RoNS) built by the previous National Government are some of New Zealand’s ...
A high-level New Zealand political delegation in Honiara today congratulated the new Government of Solomon Islands, led by Jeremiah Manele, on taking office. “We are privileged to meet the new Prime Minister and members of his Cabinet during his government’s first ten days in office,” Deputy Prime Minister and ...
New Zealand voted in favour of a resolution broadening Palestine’s participation at the United Nations General Assembly overnight, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The resolution enhances the rights of Palestine to participate in the work of the UN General Assembly while stopping short of admitting Palestine as a full ...
Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
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 people have spoken, in their hundreds. Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton has been overwhelmingly voted the favourite New Zealand book of 2023 as nominated by ReadingRoom readers. The vote can informally be regarded as the People’s Choice award – ahead of tonight’s Ockham book awards, where Catton’s novel is competing ...
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What happens when cash is king – and then your bank leaves. A businessman in a town that hasn’t had a bank for three years says the Reserve Bank’s plans to put more cash in the hands of its people and introduce digital cash could save hours of time. John ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matt Garrow, Editorial Web Developer The government has handed down its budget for 2024–25. It’s delivered a $9.3 billion surplus for the financial year just about to finish but is forecasting a $28.3 billion deficit for next year. Here’s the key points: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Jim Chalmers has produced a benign third budget aimed at soothing hard-pressed voters agitated about their high cost of living and punishing interest rates. At the same time he has walked a tightrope, trying ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Wes Mountain/The Conversation, CC BY-ND A $300 energy rebate for all households from July 1 and a 10% increase in Commonwealth Rent Assistance are key measures in a budget targeting cost-of-living relief that put ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra Treasurer Jim Chalmers promised an “inflation-fighting and future-making budget” and he has delivered by introducing measures aimed at directly bringing down inflation. Combined, his A$300-per-household energy rebate and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra Treasurer Jim Chalmers promised an “inflation-fighting and future-making budget” and he has delivered by introducing measures aimed at directly bringing down inflation. Combined, his A$300-per-household energy rebate and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Bartos, Professor of Economics, University of Canberra Treasurer Jim Chalmers has been bitten by the giveaway bug. This budget contains not only the well-foreshadowed tax cuts for all taxpayers, but a range of new spending measures in health, education, infrastructure, aged ...
By Stephen Wright and Stefan Armbruster of BenarNews French authorities have imposed a curfew on New Caledonia’s capital Nouméa and banned public gatherings after supporters of the Pacific territory’s independence movement blocked roads, set fire to buildings and clashed with security forces. Tensions in New Caledonia have been inflamed by ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Greste, Professor of Journalism and Communications, Macquarie University Governments and their agencies wield awesome power. At times, it is quite literally the power over life and death. That is why in any functioning democracy, we have robust checks and balances designed ...
As the world commemorates the 71st Everest Day, it's not just a celebration of human achievement but also a reflection of the enduring bond between New Zealand and Nepal. This day marks the historic feat of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa ...
Individuals in Wellington, led by City Councillor Nīkau Wi Neera, are working to use the ‘hecklers veto’ to shut down Inflection Point , a gender-critical event to be held at a Te Papa venue this weekend featuring speakers such as Bob McCoskrie ...
The transgender community, whānau & allies will rally outside Tākina/Wellington Convention Centre against anti-trans confederation “Inflection Point NZ,” who are hosting a conference to encourage parliamentarians to restrict trans people’s ...
A strategic asset for Auckland that has been fought over for years as either sacrosanct or a sacred cow looks certain to be sold and the proceeds of around $1.3 billion put in a new investment fund. A year after bitter political struggle ended in a compromise in which Auckland ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – the Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. The number of voices raising concerns about the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill is rapidly growing. This is especially apparent now that Parliament’s select committee is listening to submissions from the public to evaluate the ...
RNZ Pacific New Caledonians lined up in long queues outside shopping centres to buy supplies in the capital Nouméa today amid political unrest in the French territory Demonstrations, marches and clashes with security forces erupted yesterday and French High Commissioner Louis Le Franc told the public broadcaster he had called ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samuel Chalmers, Senior Lecturer in Human Movement, University of South Australia The tragic death of Manly rugby league player Keith Titmuss in 2020 due to exertional heat stroke is a reminder of the life-threatening nature of the condition. Titmuss died after ...
Internet Governance Project founder Milton Mueller asked “is the Christchurch Call accomplishing anything?” Increasingly it seems the only thing it hopes to achieve is killing off free expression. ...
New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has cancelled his visit to New Caledonia due to pro-independence unrest throughout the French Pacific territory. Peters and a delegation of other ministers was due to visit the capital Nouméa later this week. Nouméa’s La Tontouta International Airport is expected to remain closed ...
Audition by Pip Adam and Lioness by Emily Perkins are both shortlisted for the fiction award at the 2024 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. Here the authors discuss awards, writing, Selling Sunset, review culture, Zoolander and more.Pip Adam: Whenever I think about writers and our ambitions, I can’t help ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Broomhall, Director, Gender and Women’s History Research Centre, Australian Catholic University Andrea Mantegna, Minerva (Athena) expelling Vices from the Garden of Virtue, from the Studiolo of Isabella d’Este, Palazzo Ducale, Mantua (c. 1499–1502).Louvre Museum/Wikimedia Commons Wartime has often presented opportunities ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olli Hellmann, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waikato Getty Images The stories Aotearoa New Zealand tells itself about the history of Te Tiriti o Waitangi/the Treaty of Waitangi have evolved considerably over time. For many decades, starting with the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Carter, Associate Professor, RMIT University Aurora visible from Cope Cope, Victoria on May 11 2024.cafuego/Flickr, CC BY-SA On Saturday evening before Mother’s Day, Australians witnessed a rare celestial spectacle: a breathtaking display of aurora australis, also known as the southern ...
Tara Ward watches as TVNZ’s long-running current affairs show bows out with humility and grace.We have just 12 days left to view the final episode of Sunday on TVNZ+. In just over a week, there will be no more evidence of the award-winning current affairs show on the digital ...
To celebrate New Zealand Music Month, Sophie Ricketts wears a different band T-shirt every day. Here she picks her top 20. I love music. I love listening to it, I love seeing it live, and I love buying a T-shirt from the band or artist I’ve enjoyed. Every year, during ...
Research from AA Insurance reveals more and more people are taking pride in their garage. Meet three New Zealanders using their space in creative ways.If you think of a garage, you might picture a dark room with a parked car. There might be some tools on the wall, or ...
Government spending cuts have forced Scion, the dedicated Crown research institute charged with growing forestry exports, to propose shedding a significant number of scientists. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yasir Arafat, Senior Research Associate, Edith Cowan University asharkyu, Shutterstock As electric vehicle (EV) demand accelerates, so does the need for lithium batteries. But these batteries contain valuable critical minerals, as well as toxic materials, so they should not be treated ...
NZDF personnel will support the New Zealand National Commemorative Service at the Cassino War Cemetery and a New Zealand Service of Remembrance at the Cassino Railway Station, next week. ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a masseuse tells us how much she earns and where she spends it. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Female Age: 33 Ethnicity: NZ EuropeanRole: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Liam Byrne, Honorary Fellow, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne For many reasons, the 2024 US presidential election will be like no other. Republican nominee Donald Trump’s campaign is unprecedented. Never before has a former president who ...
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Don't Fly!
You know it makes sense.
You're happy to prevent anyone here being visited from overseas, any UN refugees to arrive, any workers or skilled specialists to come here at all, any tourists whatsoever to arrive here, and of course quite happy to prevent post-quarantine returnees and their children and grandchildren to arrive either.
No, of course not.
Fast forward ten years:
My Mother and her best friend cross the Tasman Sea aboard the passenger liner the Wanganella to atttend the 1956 Australian Olympic Games. As she related it to me, the experience was one of the high-lights of her life.
In the 50's and even into the 60's flying wasn't a thing.
The Wanganella became a hostel ship for the construction workers and tunnelers for the Manapouri power station, The Wanganella was replaced by the legendary Oriana, which was destined to became the last passenger liner on the Tasman run. By1966 mass passenger air travel had made passenger liners uncompetitive.
In 1973 the Oriana was recommissioned as a holiday cruise liner and later a floating hotel and tourist attraction in Japan and then China. Damaged in a severe storm in the Chinese port of Dalien in 2004, the Oriana was scrapped in 2005.
The steam powered Wanganela and Oriana took 56 to 53 hours to cross the Tasman.
Fast forward again into the 21st Century:
A modern high speed gas turbine ferriy carrying over 800 passengers and cars and trucks can cross the Tasman in 24 hours. In Argentina such a service has been proved to be competitive with airlines.
"You're happy to prevent anyone…."
Ad
Hi Ad, I am not happy to prevent anyone, doing anything. I just think that the airline industry instead of being propped up by government subsidies and loans should be left to die a natural death.
How about this; Instead of propping up a dying industry with a $1 billion credit line, the government invest in buying Tasmanian built ocean going ferries to cross the Tasman.
I am not forcing or preventing anyone from doing anything.
As a way to hasten the comercial airline industry into i’s inevitable retirement, I am asking people of good will to do as I, and many other people of good will concerned about the climate to forego flying as a personal choice.
https://www.ft.com/content/e00819ba-4814-11ea-aee2-9ddbdc86190d?
My mother and uncle were two of those Polish children who disembarked the General Randall on 1 November 1944.
So Jenny, you would be happy for our time sensitive exports to cease (as they are air dependent)? Time sensitive freight world wide is a huge part of the air industry.
And these ferries, nasty old fossil fuelled diesel powered? To fill the gap left by air, would they not contribute just as much in the way of emissions?
And air is a 'dying industry? No. It was hit by a once in a century pandemic and like many industries as a result of Covid, needed short term propping up.
Your whole thesis is just unrealistic. What happened in 1944 or 1956 or whenever was appropriate to those times. The world has moved on and continues to evolve. Uninventing inventions is not an option. Mitigation and further development is.
Air dependent time sensitive foods are the epitome of bad food miles.
Time sensitive air dependent exports, such as the live grayfish and oyster and Paua trade, out of season fresh berry trade, flown around the globe to supply high end restaurants in Tokyo, New York, London, Monaco, or to the kitchens and mansions and villas of the 1%. or to supply the busisness buffets of the big corporate board rooms.
Talk about conspicous consumption.
That this time sensitive luxury food trade 'is a huge part of the air industry' is why it's got to go.
The world (and the climate) is best rid of it.
Maybe if we took this food out of the mouths of the One Percenters New Zealanders might able to afford to buy it occasionally.
Do you eat Covid-19 vaccines for breakfast? How many in one session?
Qué?
It is very simple. You went from “[t]me sensitive [air] freight” to “[a]ir dependent time sensitive foods” and then went on a rant.
My question was a logical extension of your rant.
Capisce?
Yeah I'm with you on this – the Busan Shimonoseki ferries leave flying for dead in price and comfort – a trans-Tasman run would be a good first step to the post mass air travel future.
Don't expect much support however – official policy is that NZ should be the last dinosaur hunters, not the first adopters of any rational change. It's expensive and stupid, but that reflects the quality of our political decision making.
Passenger traffic fell by two thirds in 2020, and full recovery isn't expected before 2023.
For air travel as for many parts of society, Covid19 is the structural adjustment for climate effects that public policy settings were too afraid to do.
What is noteworthy is the residual customer demand: unlike the airline collapses after 9/11, there are very few 2020/21 bankruptcies because airlines know the latent demand remains.
But your projections about the inevitable decline of aircraft flights are not and will never be in the interests of New Zealand.
But your projections about the inevitable decline of aircraft flights are not and will never be in the interests of New Zealand.
Only two things need to happen to allow the end of flights to benefit NZ.
The interests of NZ rarely influence policy making – or neoliberalism, asset thefts, the QMS, mass low-wage immigration, and the housing crisis would never have been allowed to develop. You need a better rational for subsidizing contemporary aviation than that.
I think to stop flying entirely would be impractical and extreme.
To cut flights by 50% and force the use of low carbon generating planes would be an aim that might be achievable (probably by heavily taxing aviation fuel and airports) if governments across the world could be brought on side, which will be a Herculean task.
Measures such as these would greatly increase the price of flights. But people love those Easyjet stag weekends in Prague.
I agree.
If airlines were taxed at the rate of climate damage they cause, they would be forced to use low carbon generating planes. That is if they wanted to stay in business.
Alternatively surface travel would become competitive again….
P.S. We could probably achieve much the same effect by withdrawing government support every time the airline industry gets in to trouble and has to be bailed out by the taxpayer. This is not the first time.
From Wikipedia:
History of Air New Zealand – Wikipedia
Without tax payer subsidies Air NZ would collapse quicker than a house of cards, a carbon tax on aviation fuel would put Air NZ out of business even quicker. The same probably goes for most airlines, one of the reasons that around the globe, Air lines are spared carbon charges.
You arent going to get to net zero if you concentrate on the sector that contributes 5% of emissions.
GHGs associated with flying are way more than what happens on the flight.
Carbon emissions commerical airline industry may be 5% now, but they are increasing rapidly, and this increase is making no sign of slowing down. (especially with all the tax-payers subsidies being thrown at it.)
Carbon dioxide emissions from air travel are not the full story.
Add the above two things together and you can begin to see the threat that the commercial airline industry poses to the climate, and especially any chance of reaching net zero by 2050.
With half our emissions from farming, let's focus efforts there rather than getting distracted by fights with the richest most influential NZers. If you are serious about climate action..
Jenny, Internet use (much of it on frivolous blogs and social media) tributes almost as much to global warming as all air travel combined (around 4% compared to 5% for air travel).
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200305-why-your-internet-habits-are-not-as-clean-as-you-think
Be far more effective to have crypto currency banned. Bitcoin related emissions alone contribute more emissions annually than all of NZ emissions.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2021/03/09/business/dealbook/bitcoin-climate-change.amp.html%3f0p19G=0232
Or more fast rail (France has banned internal air travel on flights where a train could make the same journey in sub 2.5 hours) (sadly not an option here).
Or maybe China should actually become a member of the global community and take action. Almost all of the coal from NZ and Australia goes to China, who once again are trying to get a free ride by claiming they are still a developing economy and deserve special exemptions.
According to this rather interesting and well referenced article your criticism of China is unjustified.
"In December 2016, the Center for American Progress brought a group of energy experts to China to find out what is really happening. We visited multiple coal facilities—including a coal-to-liquids plant—and went nearly 200 meters down one of China’s largest coal mines to interview engineers, plant managers, and local government officials working at the front lines of coal in China.
We found that the nation’s coal sector is undergoing a massive transformation that extends from the mines to the power plants, from Ordos to Shanghai. China is indeed going green. The nation is on track to overdeliver on the emissions reduction commitments it put forward under the Paris climate agreement, and making coal cleaner is an integral part of the process."
The tables in this article on the technical makeup of each nation's (China and US) most efficient plants show that 90% of China's plants are ultra-supercritical while 1% America's is ultra-supercritical.
Comparing China with US and Europe shows conventional air pollution standards are highest in China. e.g. allowable Nitrogen Oxide emissions for new plants in China is 50mg/cuM while in Europe's it's 150mg/cuM.
China's top 100 most efficient coal-fired power units have a coal consumption rate (gce/kWh) of between 271.56 and 294.88 while Us's is between 335.10 and 397.13.
Comparing emissions and efficiency China out performs US.
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/reports/2017/05/15/432141/everything-think-know-coal-china-wrong/
The French government are passing legislation to restrict air travel.
The New Zealand government are spending tens of $millions to subsidise air travel.
https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/france-domestic-flight-ban-emissions-scli-intl/index.htm
"Or more fast rail (France has banned internal air travel on flights where a train could make the same journey in sub 2.5 hours) (sadly not an option here)."
Peter chch
High speed trains are sadly not an option here, for two main reasons.
1. The huge expense. (The cost of building a high speed rail network is probably only possible for powerful economies like Japan, or France, or England and China).
2. Our very hilly and torturous terrain.
As I have written above, mass air travel is only a recent innovation.
For more than a century of European settlement, to travel along this ribbon like mountainous archipelago seperated into two main islands, the coasts were our highways. And for even longer if you consider Maori transportation.
At this time in our history, unsustainable, evironmentally destructive, and profligately wasteful, would be my depiction of air travel.
Sooner or later it will have to be curtailed.
Better sooner than later.
What if the $1.5 billion in financial support made available to Air New Zealand to save their polluting industry was instead made available for a Trans-Tasman and coastal passenger ferry service to directly compete with the air lines, to end their monopoly, and to continue the job of grounding the airlines that the pandemic began…..
…..and climate change will finish:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/19/climate-change-spells-turbulent-times-ahead-for-air-travel
There is zero point comparing New Zealand to France.
Ad, I am not intending to. Just illustrating that some creative and bold strategies are needed. And sometimes they are not painful either.
The aviation industry needs a big rethink when it comes to reducing flights and other means of transportation (train, cruise ships). I would diversify and offer all 3 on the same ticket.
Spending money and holidaying in ones country is good for the economy. Families may choose to live in the same country. Some creative spark could do low and high end ethnic restaurants and have Las Vegas style shows.
NZ is a bit bland and boring when it comes to an exciting evening out, dinner and a show package.
There is nothing on free to air TV to watch any more.
You should be pretty happy at the moment then, as Covid has effectively reduced flights considerably. There must be a lot less aviation pollution over the last year.
Only a matter of time before we get slammed, hard. On my travels I see no-one scanning, no masks, and no distancing. Going into small spaces with lots of public is a minefield.
I feel like we've got complacent and switched off which is probably a function of doing it right and getting back to normal.
The right wing has won with the travel bubble but I really am worried we're going to get a breach from Australia this winter and have to enter an extended lockdown.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/125240020/covid19-new-zealand-highly-vulnerable-to-a-large-outbreak–experts
It would be a shame to have all our good work undone at this stage.
Just headlined on RNZ…paraphrasing…there could be many more cases associated with the cluster in Melbourne of, so far, 9 cases. One infectious person attended an Aussie Rules game where 23,000 were present.
Watch this space.
Yeah, one Covid carrier wipes his nose then touches 12 door handles and 4 taps…carnage.
Lordy! Wash your face masks, get your house in order (literally) and stock up on cat food and loo rolls.
And step up the vaccine rollout!
Yep, we know from 2021 worldwide that toilet paper is the single answer to Covid 🤣
.
Yep … and relatively few high-risk over-80s vaccinated … (what’s more, less than 20% of the very highest-risk 90+ with serious medical conditions).
Should’ve eschewed any notion of an Oz travel bubble until much wider vaccination coverage. Indian variant is a bastard that you don’t toy with.
Our Eds are so stretched with high load and admissions. Covid would be such an unwelcome bastard, it is best to be overly cautious than to be gullible.
Heard on the news, poor old William Shakespeare died at 81 (unrelated to getting vaccinated).
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-57234741
What I like about that story is his strong sense of community connection and social responsibility. A decades long Labour activist, parish councillor, school governor, with a sense of mischief. Good man.
"Should’ve eschewed any notion of an Oz travel bubble".
I really don't want to see any bubble until everybody in New Zealand who wants to be vaccinated has the chance to do so. We continue to get talk about Group 3 going ahead from May, but it almost the end of the month and there still doesn't seem to be any plan to get on with it. The waffle from the DHB only talks about doing it over the next few months.
I tried talking to my DHB yesterday. The best I could get out of them was that they couldn't give any indication of a date as they didn't know when they would get vaccines. I was quite tempted to ask whether it would make any difference if I was Maori or Pasifika. The Medical Centre I go to don't know anything more either.
Until I have had a least the chance of being vaccinated I don't want to see any people coming in without going through quarantine. Selfish? Perhaps but I don't think I am unusual, or unreasonable.
My attitude is while theres none I'm pretty chilled about scanning etc, as soon as there a case I'm back on it hard, .
In saying that I would have no problem with every shop having a bluetooth tracker picking up my ph as I go in.
FWIW, I scan in around 80% of the time.
Unpopular as it us, my reckons have the responsibility fall on business owners to have scanning as a right of entry.
Would you ban me from entering any shops then? I don't have a smart phone and I really don't see why I should waste a lot of money buying one. Do you suggest these should be supplied free?
Alternatively why didn't they use a service like the one proposed by Sam Morgan. That would have been a great deal more effective from what I read about it. The user wouldn't have to do anything from what was said.
You don't need a cell phone to write down your name, number and address.
Yeah, it's interesting how few places have a sign in sheet (or sign about where to find it)
Yes. Almost everywhere has the Covid 19 QR codes up but anywhere to sign in has become very rare, except in the biggest stores. The handwash bottles are also vanishing from most stores.
I follow daily mail Australia to get the heads up and the restrictions which Australian states put in place for Australian citizens.
I would not exclude a case in NZ appearing due to the Melbourne outbreak.
I’ll keep saying it: in places where there’s been no community transmission for a long time, it’s not reasonable to expect people to keep up with behaviours that are onerous when perception Bis that risk is very low. We need new strategies.
Seems like lots of people assume this is going to be over soon. Maybe it will but it might not, so we need long term strategies now
what do you mean by "slammed, hard"?
We might have a bubble case come in. In an infinite time period, that's guaranteed.
But the vulnerable period isn't infinite. My DHB has announced group three vaccinations starting this week, for example. We have a vulnerability period measured in months.
So this bubble case comes in, gets detected in a couple of weeks as their NZ family and some hospo staff get sick and diagnosed (assuming the bubble case is a carrier with no strong symptoms of their own). Maybe a couple of dozen cases, maybe a localised lockdown. Everyone shits a brick, masks and scanning spike up again, we quickly know the extent of the community outbreak and it's crunched again.
Compared with the rest of the world, we still have it light.
Everyone shits a brick
Is that why people need to stock up on so much toilet paper?
Either that or because they knew they'd be panic-buying baked beans a day ot two later…
Here's a withering takedown of Boris Johnson by Ash Sarkar. It is alleged that Johnson missed five emergency COBRA meetings at the start of the pandemic in 2020, in order to work on a biography of Shakespeare.
The link should start at 26:00 mins. Ash's rant from about 27:00 mins notes, among other things, that we don't need another biography of Shakespeare, especially one by a "dilettante posho who knows some florid words, but has no critical thinking skills whatsoever".
New Zealand reclaims the top spot in Bloomberg's Covid-19 resilience ranking.
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/covid-resilience-ranking/
Congrats to NZ's collaborative applied research team that has delivered the COVID-19 genome sequencing programme here. Only possible because of our relatively low number of cases – long may that continue.
Having a trans Tasman and Cook Island bubble is a different ball game to just managing NZ. Bloomberg did well, in saying this he has uncertainty to contend with due to the Melbourne outbreak which is unpredictable.
Bloomfield not
Bloomberg.So are we going to get a tourist reset or not?Or are the overseas owned airlines going to set the policy for us?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/125238153/major-airlines-selling-fares-to-nz-shows-growing-confidence-borders-will-open-early-2022-airline-groups-says
They might have fares on the market, but are they getting any punters?
You’d be rather brave handing over cash today to an airline for travel in 8-12 months time. There’s a good chance that airline won’t exist then.
Most international airlines are surviving on government subsidies to keep airfreight going. Those subsidies will wind down as freight only operators expand. Going to be very interesting times in the airline industry around the end if the year. Also from that point it will get very hard, and expensive to bring airframes out of storage, there’s a lot of A380s and 777s that will never fly again, some with silver ferns on their tails
How will that affect airlines doing domestic, Pacific and trans Tasman flights?
Air New Zealand lost $454 million last year, Qantas 2 billion. The Qantas link is very revealing of the scale of the industry's problem. Both airlines had about half of their domestic revenue which just wan't enough to pay the way. The Australian government provided over 1 billion in subsidies for domestic leisure airfares to try and prop up their domestic airlines and tourism industry, people don't really want to fly right now.
In Australia, they'll probably end up with a much smaller, nationalised Qantas and maybe some regionals, with Virgin going tits up, again.
Here, I'd say Air New Zealand will be in virtually 100% government ownership and much smaller.
Having borders opening early next year is predicted on vaccine rollout and covid proceeding to plan and nothing popping out, we'll see. Early next year is also about when the shit will hit the fan in the airlines too, so we might be seeing a bit of wishful thinking with this announcement. Air Canada is also in a bad way, burning CAD$13-15 million / day, and surviving on government subsidies, no way I'd be giving them my cash to maybe fly in a years time.
The flights are timed to coincide with the tail end of New Zealand’s planned vaccination roll-out and align with Treasury’s assumption of a significant re-opening of the border from January.
Treasury assumes bau,as a survival strategy following a vaccination plan completion.
Coronavirus follows the law of chance and success as a survival strategy,Rna evolutionary arms race being the nuclear issue of our time.
https://twitter.com/GabrielScally/status/1395697659953008643
or for real world data a decrease in efficacy.
https://twitter.com/yaneerbaryam/status/1396438472118849540
Reply to RedBaronCV @5
Can the government afford another level 4 lockdown or will they throw the towel in?
The workers insurance for loss of job due to Covid would be useless.
See Collins thinks cancer patients from the Waikato could go to Australia for treatment, on RNZ news.
Non isolated tourists increase the risk of an outbreak. Covid mutations are getting meaner and vaccinations would need to be effective.
Answer to your questions is only if the government throws the towel in.
Why would tourists want to come to a NZ with Covid?