Open mike 27/06/2023

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, June 27th, 2023 - 35 comments
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35 comments on “Open mike 27/06/2023 ”

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  1. Tony Veitch 1
    27 June 2023 at 6:13 am

    I don't know who rugbyintel is, but he/she is doing a great job of highlighting the Natz party hypocrisy!

    "Parody of a parody LOTO's last days."

    https://twitter.com/rugbyintel/status/1672822657308590080

  2. Dennis Frank 2
    27 June 2023 at 6:36 am

    Traditional collusion between National & Labour boosts global warming:

    The Prime Minister travelled in one of the New Zealand Defence Force's two Boeing 757s, first to Cairns in Queensland, then Manila in the Philippines and finally to Beijing, due to the 30-year-old aircraft's range. Another followed the main plane in case the first broke down.

    A spokesman for the Prime Minister said the secondary plane did not travel all the way to China, and it is an Air Force operational decision as to whether a spare plane is used, based factors such as on the importance of the mission and the distance travelled.

    https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/06/26/decrepit-act-lampoons-use-of-back-up-plane-for-pms-china-trip/

    Today, Seymour said the use of the back up plane demonstrated how "embarrassingly ancient" and "decrepit" they were.

    Not all that bright, the ACT leader failed to spot the perfect opportunity to prove the trad collusion between Labour & National – in their failing to keep the service up to date.

    • SPC 2.1
      27 June 2023 at 8:05 am

      The same David Seymour was leader of a support partner of a National government that deferred purchase of new Hercules.

    • Tiger Mountain 2.2
      27 June 2023 at 8:43 am

      Why not just hire a current gen Air NZ plane each time for such trips?

      Taxpayers have funded Air NZ for decades with little return–regional services run down, surviving services price gouged, anti union management, surely they could be directed to maintain one dedicated VIP fitted out airplane?

      Some face to face meetings are absolutely required, even many lefties would surely support Prime Ministerial transport that is capable of making it to the destination!

      • SPC 2.2.1
        27 June 2023 at 9:52 am

        It would not be cheaper than using the 2 aging Hercules (just operating cost and inspection post use).

        • alwyn 2.2.1.1
          27 June 2023 at 10:36 am

          The weren't 2 aging Hercules. They were 2 ancient Boeing 757s. There is a difference.

          It appears that RNZAF has spent about $30 million in the last year on maintenance for the 757s. That sort of money would pay for an awful lot of charters of an Air NZ plane wouldn't it?

          https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/132418130/backup-air-force-plane-sent-to-manila-for-pms-visit-to-china

          • SPC 2.2.1.1.1
            27 June 2023 at 10:56 am

            Using RNZAF aircraft is cheaper than a commercial charter and has other benefits such as security, and the ability to travel point-to-point to reduce time away from home and additional costs such as hotels which would be required if there were stopovers, they added.

            Are the planes just for the use of the PM, I doubt it.

            Our Boeing aircraft provide strategic airlift to carry personnel and equipment globally in support of operations and deployments. The aircraft are also used regularly for the carriage of VIPs as well as ministerial and trade missions around the world. They are crewed by two pilots and up to six cabin crew.

            • SPC 2.2.1.1.1.1
              27 June 2023 at 11:06 am

              Acting Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni says it's not her Government's fault Chris Hipkins had to take a backup plane for his trade delegation to China.

              "I have to say… the $4 billion investment we've put in [to the Air Force] was on the back of nine years of a Government who barely invested anything," she told AM host Ryan Bridge. "I think it might've been a couple of hundred million that they put into the Air Force, at that time."

              https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/06/carmel-sepuloni-blames-former-national-government-for-chris-hipkins-having-to-take-backup-plane-to-china.html

              • tsmithfield …
                27 June 2023 at 11:46 am

                It all seems a bit wiffy to me. For a start, I understand we took a Kapa Haka group along. What on earth would we do that for?

                And, if it includes a business delegation, then they should have paid there own way through normal means.

                So, it looks to me that the planes were required because we seem to have taken a much larger group along that was really necessary.

                I don't know what the Chinese think of all this. It must be hilarious to them that the visiting leader of another country has to send a back up plane in case the main one breaks down.

                I don't know how they would work it if it broke down in mid air. Lol.

                • SPC …
                  27 June 2023 at 12:23 pm

                  None of them have crashed AFAIK. They just find the nearest airport.

                  • tsmithfield …
                    27 June 2023 at 1:23 pm

                    I understand that. But, it isn't a great look or good for National security to have the leader of our country flying around in a dodgy plane.

                    I don't think I would ride in a plane if I knew they were following it with a second one in case of issues.

                • newsense …
                  27 June 2023 at 10:37 pm

                  Everyone knows that tourists hate Maori! Nobody ever came to Rotorua without complaining about the incessant hakas, powhiri, diving for coins and singing of Po karekare Ana. For 200 years it’s been going on! No idea where the demand is coming from…

                  Instead they’re to be encouraged to see the cheese rolling festival in Invercargill with a one kg block of Colby! And the tea making ceremony of Edith Wiggins, the local dental assistant and school librarian.

                  I don’t think the Chinese g a f compared to the other things that are going on about Chippy’s transport arrangements.

            • Sanctuary 2.2.1.1.1.2
              27 June 2023 at 1:17 pm

              With the purchase of the C-130J to replace our C-130H we need the strategic airlift provided by the 757s.

              Something like a pair of extended range 737s (maybe leased C-40As if the Americans have a couple spare?) would be OK, as they share the same airframe as the P-8s.

            • alwyn 2.2.1.1.1.3
              27 June 2023 at 1:26 pm

              I did like this claim for the benefits of a 757.

              " the ability to travel point-to-point to reduce time".

              The went first to Cairns. The the went to Manila. Then they went on to China. The last time I went that way it really was a direct flight, albiet to Hong Kong rather than Beijing. Of course that was in a standard Air New Zealand service and they certainly don't need a couple of stops along the way to refuel.

              Hardly the sort of range you would expect for "the carriage of VIPs as well as ministerial and trade missions around the world" is it?"

              There were in fact only 29 people along for the supposed trade delegation. There must have been an awful lot there to provide him with a Maori welcome to China.

  3. Dennis Frank 3
    27 June 2023 at 6:43 am

    A wee bit of tech wizardry showing students how to become innovators…

    The students from Rotorua Primary School, who call themselves Eco Warriors, used berries, fruit leaves and grass from their ngahere (forest) to create a sustainable alternative to traditional solar cell materials.

    The experiment was part of a partnership with the Dodd-Walls Centre and researchers from Victoria University. Scientists flew up to teach the students how to grind up the berries into juice and then to wedge the juice between two bits of glass that are treated so they're conductive.

    The berry juice then absorbs sunlight and gives off electrons, which then give off electricity. The students used the turutu berry, a bright blue blueberry that grows just down the road in Whakarewarewa.

    https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/06/27/rotorua-students-turn-berries-into-solar-cells-in-experiment/

  4. SPC 4
    27 June 2023 at 11:02 am

    Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday made a statement to the nation about Saturday's aborted armed mutiny in which he thanked Wagner mercenary fighters and commanders who had stood down to avoid bloodshed.

    Putin said he would honour his promise to allow Wagner fighters to relocate to Belarus if they wanted, or to sign a contract with the Defence Ministry or simply return to their families.

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2023/06/russia-crisis-kremlin-releases-first-video-statement-by-vladimir-putin-since-wagner-mutiny.html

    Thus the end of Wagner's Ukraine force – set up in 2014.

    What remains of Wagner will either be in Belarus and or in Africa. Nothing about the future of the African operations (and who is in command).

    • Dennis Frank 4.1
      27 June 2023 at 11:36 am

      Time will tell…

      Prigozhin, who did not disclose his whereabouts, said he ordered the rebellion after Russia's military killed 30 Wagner fighters in a missile strike on one of the militia's camps, and he said he accepted a deal to avoid prosecution and move to Belarus because it would allow Wagner to continue its operations there.

      https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/europe/300914636/defiant-yevgeny-prigozhin-breaks-silence-says-wagner-mercenaries-to-operate-from-belarus

      No explanation of why 200 victims became 30 – which suggests a single missile only. A test of loyalty though, for Wagnerians. Serious rebels have already expressed their disgust with P's agreement. However chances are the Putin lure will fail.

      Speaking in an 11-minute audio address posted on Telegram on Monday, Prigozhin said Wagner fighters were strongly opposed to signing contracts with the Russian Defence Ministry – as they had been ordered to do by July 1 – because it would have effectively dismantled the group. Wagner had decided to hand back its equipment to the Defence Ministry when the missile strike occurred, he claimed. Prigozhin expressed regret about Russian aircrews killed by Wagner during Saturday's rebellion, "but these assets were dropping bombs and delivering missile strikes," he said.

      Naughty assets.

      Russian news outlet Verstka reported that a Wagner base for 8000 soldiers was being constructed in Belarus, in the Mogilev region southeast of Minsk. "Russia dashed to the abyss at full speed and with the same speed stepped back from it," the columnist, Mikhail Rostovsky, wrote under the headline: "Prigozhin Leaves, Problems Remain: Deep Political Consequences of a Failed Coup." Russia's Federal Security Service, or FSB, carried out raids Saturday at the addresses of current and former Wagner mercenaries, Russian media outlet Important Stories reported.

      The state-controlled Tass news agency reported Monday that Wagner's recruiting offices in Novosibirsk and Tyumen had reopened, after they closed during the mutiny, and that the group's office in St. Petersburg was open and working. Wagner is seen by many in Russia as a more prestigious, elite and effective force than regular Russian military units.

      • SPC 4.1.1
        27 June 2023 at 12:29 pm

        It does seem that the Wagner is being positioned to be like the early Russian forces in the Donbass, a deniable front – one operating from inside Belarus.

        One capable of strikes against Kiev's political (some see this as a war crime) and military leadership and threaten Kharkov.

        • tsmithfield 4.1.1.1
          27 June 2023 at 2:39 pm

          They have got nothing like enough forces for that. The whole Russian army failed at that endeavour at the start of the war, and the Ukrainians have fortified the borders a lot since then.

          The nature of the land up there makes it too difficult. Dense forests etc, meaning convoys have to travel along the road and become sitting ducks for arillery.

          I suspect they might be used as an additional security force to keep Lukishenko in power.

          If Putin is going to allow them to exist in any form, then that really is a sign of weakness from Putin. That group could decide to attack again in the future, or team up with other anti-Putin Russian forces such as those that invaded Russia around Belgorod recently.

  5. SPC 5
    27 June 2023 at 11:12 am

    As to tertiary education funding, one wonders if a University of Aotearoa New Zealand is required

    Auckland, Hamilton, Massey, Wellington, Canterbury, Lincoln, Otago campuses.

    Ye believes the current funding model for universities requires them to be "incredibly competitive with each other".

    "Right now, I would like to see just more collaboration across the universities because, you know, if we have cuts in one place and universities are trying to cut the same place or trying to move into the same places, then we're not going to be able to have the diversity of courses, offerings that we need for our country and for our students and future students."

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/06/government-to-throw-lifeline-to-struggling-universities-fears-nz-will-be-a-poorer-place-if-courses-staff-aren-t-saved.html

    • Ed1 5.1
      27 June 2023 at 12:50 pm

      I agree – every time I see one University advertising elswhere in New Zealand than where it is based II cringe at the waste. Time to go back to one University of New Zealand with different campuses – with shared examinations for most undergrad courses, and specialist colleges as appropriate for post-grad "Centres of Excellence"

    • Ad 5.2
      27 June 2023 at 2:58 pm

      Hmmm another amalgamation. Let's see how they've gone so far with health and polytechs.

      Also what you're proposing is what we used to have before 1961, and pretty much all we researched was grass and sheep.

      Thankfully the government package announced today will being an increase in student subsidy up by 9%. At least they recognise there's a problem to deal with.

    • Corey 5.3
      27 June 2023 at 10:32 pm

      Absolutely not, hell no.

      The government merger of polytechnics has been an unmitigated disaster.

      The Nationwide health merger has been a disaster.

      These mergers have been absolute clusterfucks and have made delivery of their services worse than ever.

      How would it benefit students in anyway, shape or form? Today a student can ring up or visit their local campus admin if they need help with an issue and be sorted within five minutes

      With a merger, students from Canterbury, Auckland and Otago would have to call up bloody Wellington, wait on hold for 3-5 hours (average hold times for every govt department these days, despite bigger budgets and more staff than ever before) and not have the issue resolved.

      No, no, no more mergers or amalgamations, thanks.

      Worry about fixing polytechs and health NZ.

      • Incognito 5.3.1
        27 June 2023 at 11:20 pm

        With a merger, students from Canterbury, Auckland and Otago would have to call up bloody Wellington, wait on hold for 3-5 hours (average hold times for every govt department these days, despite bigger budgets and more staff than ever before) and not have the issue resolved.

        Such nonsense; you’re talking utter rubbish.

        Did you ever go to uni? It sure doesn’t sound like it.

      • SPC 5.3.2
        27 June 2023 at 11:37 pm

        The government merger of polytechnics has been an unmitigated disaster.

        The universities problems are not caused by a merger and those of the other tertiary institutions are caused by the merger? Socratic method?

        The Nationwide health merger has been a disaster.

        Health systems around the world are under stress, because the workforce is and there is a global shortage. Are there problems caused by"merger"?

        Stop reading other peoples talking points and think.

  6. SPC 6
    27 June 2023 at 1:30 pm

    One might have to be a dingo to discern all the nuance in the latest work by Juice Media.

  7. Ad 7
    27 June 2023 at 2:55 pm

    In my local newspaper a group of sustainability sorts have calculated that if Queenstown were isolated through an Alpine Fault event, its food consumption would require about 21 planes an hour.

    Like a Berlin Airlift for the 1%.

    (The 75th anniversary of that event was 3 days ago)

  8. observer 8
    27 June 2023 at 4:15 pm

    The big news of the day …

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2023/06/huge-91m-wide-asteroid-to-fly-close-to-earth.html

    Opposition blames government for letting it happen, demands action, "why is PM overseas?".

  9. Hunter Thompson II 9
    27 June 2023 at 6:00 pm

    The NZ Herald last Saturday ran a long story about people who lost large sums when a tiny homes building company went bust. It seems to be an extreme case, so not all has been heard about it, I suspect.

    No legislation can stop people from making bad bargains. However, there might be better consumer protection if the government passed a law for an escrow system. That would require:

    * instalment payments for house construction contracts to be kept by a government department as stakeholder

    * the stakeholder to pay the cost of materials for the house directly to the materials supplier and those materials to be the property of the buyer

    A builder is really only selling skill and labour.

    Any commercial lawyers like to comment?