Open mike 28/08/2019

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, August 28th, 2019 - 58 comments
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58 comments on “Open mike 28/08/2019 ”

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  1. vto 1
    28 August 2019 at 8:00 am

    Jacinda Adern doesn't come across very well any longer I think… too earnest, too many mealy words and qualifications, too much hesitation.

    This combined with little real left-type action (e.g. letting the wealthy retain tax-free capital income) points to trouble with re-election imo.

    Time to toughen up, speak more clearly, straighten the shoulders, do bolder things

    • Rapunzel 1.1
      28 August 2019 at 8:15 am

      Maybe some people are better at putting on various masks than others, I prefer the honesty of the moment probably due to a number of frustrations I'm sure it will pass.

    • Sacha 1.2
      28 August 2019 at 8:16 am

      Winston First may struggle to be re-elected for the governing coalition ditching CGT, I guess.

      • weka 1.2.1
        28 August 2019 at 10:04 am

        My awakening horror is that as National track right, NZF will pick up soft right votes and get to control the formation of government again.

        If Labour are out at the next election, NZ will get the future it deserves.

        • OnceWasTim 1.2.1.1
          28 August 2019 at 10:23 am

          "If Labour are out at the next election, NZ will get the future it deserves."

          That's my fear in a way – that we may have to sink so low before an awakening, and by that time there'll be SFA left. (I'm a glass half full kinda guy).

        • ankerawshark 1.2.1.2
          28 August 2019 at 10:24 am

          My opinion is that Ardern's popularity has gone down because Ihumatao. Protesters have targeted her with their demand that she visit the site/march to her electorate office. Leading to some on the left no longer supporting her as the preferred PM.

          I accept I could totally be wrong about this.

          Jacinda is not the problem. If we lose the next election is will be a horror show.

          BTW VTO your barely worth replying to in terms of how Ardern sounds. She is a good 30 points above Simon and I strongly believe that popularity has gone down because of Ihumatao. Its a year out to the next election. Long time in politics.

          • weka 1.2.1.2.1
            28 August 2019 at 10:36 am

            Afaik her popularity hasn't gone down. There was a rise after the mosque shootings, which seems pretty normal to me, and now it's dropped back to what it was before. Also seem normal to me.

            According to the polls, and let's not forget the forces of manipulation at play from the right and the MSM.

          • James 1.2.1.2.2
            28 August 2019 at 10:40 am

            meh – most people don’t care about Ihumātao at all. They will however if the government puts their hand in the tax payers pocket (even for a loan). Then you will really see popularity drop like a stone.

            Still there are are plenty of other issues that it could be: kiwibuild, light rail not starting, complaints of sexual assault in the PMs office – the complete and dismal “year of delivery” backing off on CGT to name a few.

          • Chris T 1.2.1.2.3
            28 August 2019 at 11:19 am

            Personally think it hasn’t really come down.

            It has just returned to what it was before the massive jump from Ch Ch

            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_next_New_Zealand_general_election#Individual_polls

        • Dukeofurl 1.2.1.3
          28 August 2019 at 12:01 pm

          "If Labour are out at the next election, NZ will get the future it deserves."

          A plausible scenario next election is Greens bigger vote than NZ First who then decide to go with National.

          That means Labour and Greens out . Winston has always liked a 'simple coalition' rather than 3 legged stools

          • weka 1.2.1.3.1
            28 August 2019 at 12:49 pm

            this is my concern too. I had been hoping that Labour getting NZF votes and Greens getting Labour votes would work, but with National going right Peters may just end up following. Otoh, what can National offer him policy-wise if they've gone Trumpian right?

        • McFlock 1.2.1.4
          28 August 2019 at 2:25 pm

          Which is basically National's best hope for government. But the nats are really hoping for a further-right party to be their politically-relevant friend. But that's not looking likely at all.

          • weka 1.2.1.4.1
            28 August 2019 at 3:47 pm

            now I'm trying to imagine a scenario of the L/G govt and a Nat no mates and NZF opposition. I guess the Nat vote would have to collapse. Looking at the 2nd term election for Clark's government, the Nat vote went to NZF but between them they didn't have the numbers. I'm trying to remember what Labour were doing that was kept them there.

            • McFlock 1.2.1.4.1.1
              28 August 2019 at 4:05 pm

              Watched the Alliance rot from the top down and made JimA deputy PM. Although Labour had ruled out a coalition with NZ1 in 2002, they played UF over the Greens.

              Lots of parties in parliament in those days.

    • OnceWasTim 1.3
      28 August 2019 at 8:16 am

      Might be spending too much time with her 'officials' ?

      "Ultimately" it will all sort itself out in the wash "going forward"

    • Sanctuary 1.4
      28 August 2019 at 8:37 am

      Thanks for your observations, I am sure they'll be noted with the gravity they deserve.

      • vto 1.4.1
        28 August 2019 at 9:07 am

        ha ha, I'm sure 2c goes a long way in Wellington…. can you even buy a lolly for 2c there?

        • aom 1.4.1.1
          28 August 2019 at 10:26 am

          Fancy admitting your observations are only worth 2c VTO. Mind you, that might be infinitely more than Sanctuary thinks they are worth.

        • OnceWasTim 1.4.1.2
          28 August 2019 at 10:28 am

          If I were the PM and quite a few of her Ministers, I'd be putting a few of her senior officials on the Drip Dry setting. It bypasses the Spin cycle and saves time and heartache having to iron out all the bloody wrinkles afterwards.

          They'd be some of those officials that thought it quite OK for example to use the likes of Thompson and Clark. As far as I know, not too many of them have yet been held to account in any sort of meaningful way

          • Rosemary McDonald 1.4.1.2.1
            28 August 2019 at 10:57 am

            If I were the PM and quite a few of her Ministers, I'd be putting a few of her senior officials on the Drip Dry setting. It bypasses the Spin cycle and saves time and heartache having to iron out all the bloody wrinkles afterwards.

            Brilliant!

            I heard the other day that a person with whom I had small contact with in the course of their work as a National appointee to a disability work stream is now working in the Office of the Prime Minister. Strange, as I had the impression that this person was 'on to it' disability wise. Strange, because my constant moan at the moment when doing my usual government document search on matters disability is"… who the bloody hell is advising these Ministers???'

            From my recent post on Pubic Address…https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-reviewing-funded-family-care-and-repealing/?p=382656#post382656

            Another update on this from the Misery of Health’s website.

            They have released this Cabinet Paper dated September 2018.

            Also this 51 page tome dated around about when the announcement was made in July.

            There’s over eighty pages of discussion, and since both Peter and I struggle to read volumes on screen I began to print them out.

            Big mistake. Will I ever bloody learn? Not quite as many solid blacked out redactions as the Previous Incumbents’ effort that so riled readers here on Public Address back in 2013…but not far off.

            Simply not acceptable.

            Not.Fucking. Okay.

            Open and transparent government my arse.

            • Dukeofurl 1.4.1.2.1.1
              28 August 2019 at 12:04 pm

              Heard of the Ombudsman and their OIA guidelines. Check it out and if you dont like the deletions APPEAL.

              Clearly its a major interest for you but dont just let it slip.

              • OnceWasTim …
                28 August 2019 at 12:39 pm

                By the way, I think we probably reached 'peak spin' 3 or 4 years ago.

                I'm waiting for "Kaizen principles" to be reinvented and trotted out under a new label.

                For the first time in my life of voting 'to the left' (Labour mostly with a tinge of Green), 2020 is going to be a bloody hard decision. (Did I tell you about the latest little Pinot Gris I've discovered darling? It goes wonderfully with the NZ salmon – which you can get 25% cheaper in Okkerland))

            • OnceWasTim 1.4.1.2.1.2
              28 August 2019 at 12:20 pm

              Yep, well to continue the analogy (from someone who has jumped in and out of the PS most of my life), there's also no need for the toxic fabric softeners either. And they just might find there'd be organisational culture improvements, the peons would feel safer and less bullied, staff turnover might get better (especially in places like the Munstry for Everything, but elsewhere),the number of Employment Court cases would reduce, and the idea of actual 'public service' (i.e. ekshully serving the public) might return.

              Meanwhile ……………

              It's possible they might even be able to catch up with things like Visa processing, or cases of worker exploitation, or processing Warrants and Certificates of Fitness, or closing down shoddy education, or even bloody radio interference (if that's even still on the agenda), or proper monitoring or oversight in a number of areas.

              The downside of course is that Astoria's business might take a huge dive but that'd be quite easy to fix

            • Sacha 1.4.1.2.1.3
              28 August 2019 at 1:38 pm

              who the bloody hell is advising these Ministers?

              And is anyone listening to them? – organisational culture sets the filtering out of 'distractions'.

            • New view 1.4.1.2.1.4
              28 August 2019 at 7:45 pm

              The problem is dumping Ministers looks like the Government doesn’t know what it’s doing. !!!?? If National had a leader! The Coalition would be in shitters ditch.

    • Anne 1.5
      28 August 2019 at 10:39 am

      Time to toughen up, speak more clearly, straighten the shoulders, do bolder things.

      There's an element of truth to vto's comment.

      Jacinda's tough, but it's time she showed it more. Yesterday in response to Paula Bennett she retaliated with a barb which went straight to the heart of the matter under discussion and created a minor uproar. She reminded Paula B that:

      " I would never weaponise people's personal information" It was a direct reference to Bennett's release of the financial details of the two solo mums back in 2010.

      “The quote by JA is around 5 mins in.)

      It was a perfect response and there should be more of this kind of rhetoric coming from Jacinda Ardern. It is an essential part of the political fabric to treat 'like with like' and can't be avoided if Labour wants to remain in power.

      I too, find her responses to interviewers to be less than clear on occasion both in delivery and content. It's as if she's trying to appease everyone and it often comes across as piecemeal and hard to decipher. Relatively brief down to earth responses will always have a bigger impact on voters than slightly rambling dissertations.

    • New view 1.6
      28 August 2019 at 7:35 pm

      VTO. 1 Wow nothing to add from me except support for your comment.

  2. Sacha 2
    28 August 2019 at 8:14 am

    Great animation of nations ranked by military spending year by year, 1914-2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cw2Wm8T6tio

  3. esoteric pineapples 3
    28 August 2019 at 9:35 am

    I was interested to discover through doing an interview with farming land use consultant, that the furore in the region I live in over people buying hill country farms and converting them to forestry has nothing to do with the government's One Billion Trees Programme. Instead he says the conversions are being driven by good commercial returns on forestry when the trees are harvested, along with additional cash flow from carbon credits. The 50 Shades of Green sheep & beef farmer lead movement seems to have conveniently conflated the two together, and it is being reported as such in the media

    • Dukeofurl 3.1
      28 August 2019 at 11:53 am

      Often the 'hill country' is marginal for stock and prone to erosion. Usually the deal will involve keeping the flatter parts in production and only taking out the steeper parts.

  4. greywarshark 4
    28 August 2019 at 12:52 pm

    What is the matter with the civil service – they are failing to do a good job for the citizens. The Home Office in the UK has been reprimanded over a misleading advertisement and their first response is to disagree. We get the Departments spending taxpayers money to fight what appear to be reasonable judicial decisions.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-49488324

    Brexit: Home Office advert banned for 'misleading' EU citizens

    And some Brits are finding us too dear. Oh dear now someone else has noticed we aren't 100% anything maybe the gummint and smart-business will get their a into g.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/on-the-inside/397602/what-makes-britain-great-fewer-brits-up-sticks-to-head-our-way

  5. William Joyce 5
    28 August 2019 at 2:48 pm

    So we are set for a "bonfire" of regulations?

    It is tiresome to have so many business people parroting (on the likes of Q+A, The Nation etc) things they heard at the latest business breakfast.

    "We need to get rid of red tape"
    "We need to reduce government regulation"

    If you cannot do business in NZ it is most likely not the fault of government.

    The World Bank's latest 2019 Doing Business report has ranked NZ, for the third year running, as THE NUMBER ONE EASIEST ECONOMY IN THE WORLD in which to do business.
    – better than Singapore, Denmark and Hong Kong (2, 3 & 4 respectively)
    – better than the US (#8), UK (#9), Australia (#18)

    https://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/doingBusiness/media/Annual-Reports/English/DB2019-report_web-version.pdf

    So why the need for a regulation bonfire? To cynically exploit an unexamined bias against government in order to gather votes? Yet another dog whistle?

    If your business is not doing as well as you would like then you had better look at other factors than regulation:
    1. External environmental factors (the advice given in almost any year one of a business degree – know your operating environment) i.e the world economy, weak or absent demand for the widgets you produce, trade protectionism in foreign markets etc etc
    2. Internal environment factors – management failure, poor or short-sighted planning, unrealistic expectations, lack of innovation & research to keep up with customer demands etc.

    <sigh>

    • Ad 5.1
      28 August 2019 at 5:53 pm

      In the regulations that matter most to business customers, however, businesses find massive barriers to entry against them, and plenty of government weakness to perpetuate it. There are near-cartels operating in whole industries including:

      – Supermarkets

      – Media

      – Oil and petrol supply

      – Electricity generation

      – Primary and secondary education

      – Telecommunications

      – Insurance

      – Banking

      – All construction materials

      – Sea ports

      – Alcoholic drinks

      All of those need massive competition interventions by the government because we know they are screwing us for either service or cost or both. Few are natural monopolies such as public water. So far this government has started on petrol, but we won't see any results to that this term. That's it.

      National should concentrate on promising to smash some cartels up. Voters I am sure would take notice.

    • KJT 5.2
      28 August 2019 at 7:58 pm

      Biggest barrier to small business is National, impoverishing our customers.

      Their sneaky charges, support for businesses who underpay migrant staff, and cuts to business services don’t help either.

  6. greywarshark 6
    28 August 2019 at 5:02 pm

    The upper-class authoritarian rule of the Conservatives under Boorish. Can't have a very restrained mural about the EU on a wall of a booring building.

    https://katv.com/news/entertainment/banksys-brexit-mural-disappears-from-wall-in-seaside-port

  7. Ad 7
    28 August 2019 at 5:44 pm

    I am sure there will be avid kayakers who will support this decision of Minister Parker to stop the power station on the West Coast Waitaha River.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12262859

    But to me it's a much bigger call than Minister Smith declining the gondola concession into Fiordland National Park a few years ago.

    Forest and Bird of course love it. Even though I'm a member, I disagree with them on this one. Their statement:

    http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK1908/S00698/waitaha-river-saved-from-hydro-scheme.htm

    With the sale of Westland Milk, Westpower are one of the last New Zealand owned west coast corporates keeping lots of people there on good salaries. No amount of serving coffee to tourists at $18 an hour will compare to this kind of business.

    Here's the Minister's statement in full:

    http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1908/S00281/waitaha-river-hydro-application-declined.htm

    I probably don't have to describe how the monolith 51% owned generator and retailer Genesis is sucking blood out of us, and the government essentially assisting them by crunching any attempt at major competition doesn't help us consumers:

    http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1908/S00781/update-genesis-underlying-profit-up-on-improved-retail.htm

    Also hard to see anyone wanting to invest in the ability to make us 100% energy renewable using any kind of water resource after this.

    Bit of a bugger for the West Coast all round.

    • Andre 7.1
      28 August 2019 at 6:22 pm

      Yup. As a kayaker who once upon a time might have had the skills to paddle that gorge (but would never have had the cojones for it), I do indeed support Minister Parker's decision.

      In terms of adding to renewables capacity, there's hundreds of megawatts of wind farms already consented, but not being built due to lack of demand. Against that background, a decision to decline a 20MW scheme that would trash a pretty special bit of river seems just simply the right thing to do.

      • Ad 7.1.1
        28 August 2019 at 6:29 pm

        'Consented' is therefore of no consequence to whether the West Coast or electricity renewals will benefit then.

        WestPower had the money and will to do it.

        Nothing was going to be "trashed". Fully backed by DoC.

      • greywarshark 7.1.2
        28 August 2019 at 6:59 pm

        The people with enough money to enjoy NZ and like to do it in style should be considered as top priority? It may be good to have water conserved in a dam or lake, and make electricity too. Kayakers might have to suck it up and go elsewhere. This is not the 20th century, and we run the risk of losing a lot more than a thrilling set of rapids.

        We are building a dam here in Tasman. I hope it is being built for practical purposes of having water available in droughts, which is the stated reason. If it is to change land use to irrigated dairying it will result in some very angry people who have lost a clean lovely river.

        The west coast if it stuck to the basics of water conservation, not exporting it, and electricity at lower prices to the local area would not be disadvantaged.

  8. greywarshark 8
    28 August 2019 at 6:45 pm

    Business, we have learned how to start them. But how to keep them going and profitable seems our problem.

    When we decided to make exporting a push for NZ to make more money and opened up our borders and chucked out the tariffs, it put a lot of people out of jobs within a short time. The attitude was that new jobs would grow which would take us into the future at a more modern level. We would be seeing more high tech, value added jobs. But the 'hospo' jobs that have arisen have been built on low wages, and the 'modern' has disappeared. So ordinary workers have had their opportunities to make their way in life diminished by the behaviour of government.

    There seems to be the same attitude to the micro businesses that people are forced to start up to have an income, and then compete with each other and profits can be absent. Competition can include foreign sharks coming from Britain to take us down! There can be barriers to income with councils working on roads and cutting off the customer access to a tiny family business. Police may shut off a road and access to shops there while they scour the area for evidence after a crime in poor areas. Sub-contractors don't get paid after working on a job because of a rort.

    There need to be a group of trouble shooters who can act as movers and shakers as part of a Small Business Agency. Tiny businesses can call to them for help, when the machine of state pushes their ability to make a living aside.

  9. Eco maori 9
    29 August 2019 at 6:30 pm

    Kia Ora Newshub.

    I agree Aotearoa is in a great position to weather the financial storm being created by America.

    The capitalists are lureing our Rangatahi to vaping our government is going to bring them back to heal with new legislation to stop the advertising targeting youth.

    That's a good move putting food in lower decial school some tamariki have no food in their whare what A crying shame.

    boris is just a fool who likes to win at all cost watch his party flop out.

    I don't think a NZ Mp using a cryptic phone while in China is offensive to China. They know that its not about trust. Its about making sure that one coms is safe they would use those pH all the time.

    Good on you Greata sailing to America to champion human cause climate change We are doing our bit to lower our carbon footprint to Ka pai.

    Ka kite Ano

  10. Eco maori 10
    29 August 2019 at 6:54 pm

    Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.

    Condolences to Pita Pione whanau I'm sure he will be missed by his whanau

    I, , whanau make sure you pepi and tamariki have been vaxcernated don't risk them getting measles do all you can to avoid them catching the virus.

    Our Government putting lunches in lower decial school will be great for tangata whenua Rangatahi quite a lot of our tamariki are in lower decial school.

    New trade training in Manukau and other places in Auckland will help Maori and Pacific youth get a great skill set and qualification to lift them up there ladders of life. This move back to training our youth with trade training is well over due I tryed to get my son into a good trade but there were to many Awa to cross to get them in a course in those days.

    That's great Tainui is mahi with the Cook Islands people that's the way many hands make light mahi.

    Ka kite Ano

  11. Eco maori 11
    30 August 2019 at 8:38 am

    Kia Ora The Am Show.

    Science is advancing fast its not going to be long before we have technology that advances learning to just PAY and down load the knowledge hence the wealth will have a huge advantage over the rest of us. Hence we need simple smart solutions to this un democratic phenomenon as everyone has to be held accountable for their Actions.

    This measles outbreak is happening all Around the Western Papatuanuku cause right leaders get power they slash social security payments to the people slashed health spending and give hundreds of billions of dollars to subsidys to the carbon barons..

    Food in school for the poor tamariki is a perfect opportunity to teach tamariki how to eat healthy foods. Eating and food is a very serious subject in A GREAT country France they feed there tamariki at school and teach them to eat healthy foods after all we are what we eat.

    Ed music fits in with the common people across the Papatuanuku I like his music Aotearoa was one place were his music started to hit the charts first kia kaha Ed.

    When we have had a government that shorts the housing market so it takes one person's wage to pay rent add organisation beening aloud to hire people on temporary no hours guarantee employment contract they don't know if they will get 2 hours or 50 hours for the week they can't guarantee putting food on the table . The price of good food has gone from being one of the cheapest in the OECD to the dearest in 9 year. Thanks steven once Head of the retailers accocation. The Trolls have a cheek trying to justify their putting down free food for tamariki. Eco Maori wrote the above words before the Wahine from Kids Can came on the show.

    Fungi Truffles Mushrooms ect are a super food that is under underutilised in Europe its quite the trend to forage for mushrooms Peter I say you using our great food produce is awesome I enjoy watching your shows. That is going to be the new way to do thing use the local food or food with a low carbon footprint like ours I sit here watching sheep with 3 lambs at foot enjoying Te Ra sitting in a green grass paddock

    I agree the money organising are fleece people the whole Papatuanuku over why charge heaps for a computing transactions to change currency and all the other services that are just computer transfer????????.

    Tris great subject I don't agree that New Zealand did not support the Great White Shark being protected by the international community sad but this subject was under the rada there was little reported in the media on the subjects.

    Ka kite Ano

  12. Eco maori 12
    30 August 2019 at 6:30 pm

    Kia Ora Newshub

    I think it's great that our government is investing in growing seaweed for food production it is a super food that we need to grow commercialy to feed the people in the future.

    I think that study about genitics on gay people is fulse of course its genitics not just the environment effects. I have seen people from baby's displaying a gay behavior the people who commissioned this study are religious or people who are against our gay community.

    No comment on the USA space commanded

    Its great that Aotearoa fashion community is celebrating diversity having elderly models large models this is a great move to getting people to except equallity for all as just showing the perfect person actually discrimination against the others whom are a different culture colour.

    Ka kite Ano

  13. Eco maori 13
    30 August 2019 at 6:50 pm

    Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.

    Tahu Potiki is a well respected person in the Maori community he got a big send off.

    Ka pai to Te Maori King for going to Rarotonga to meet their leaders

    Its excellent that our government is putting money into Para kore to boost the zero waste program for marae.

    Cool seeing other native cultures included in the physicalogical society a lot of western institutions ignore Te tangata whenua knowledge

    I agree with Dr Kopu the stats don't lie there is case of instructional raceism in New Zealand even the Eco Maori phenomenon points directly at the problem.

    Ka kite Ano

  14. Eco maori 14
    31 August 2019 at 3:33 pm

    Some Eco Maori Music For The Minute.

    https://youtu.be/5Yj4j_lZMBo

  15. Eco maori 15
    31 August 2019 at 6:24 pm

    Kia Ora Newshub.

    That is what is needed everyone getting vaxcernated against the infection of measles through pop up clinics in Auckland.

    Drug companies hide the negative effects of the drugs they make all in the name of profits.

    I back the workers of sky city striking for a better wage and fair conditions.

    There is great interest in Tangata Whenua O Aotearoa Arterfacts Art and culture awesome.

    Checking twice for bikes is a great way to teach people to think about their fellow people on the road riding bikes Ka pai.

    Its about time Brazil is making moves to stop the fire in the Amazon that farmers was just talking with his wallet no though process going on there fool.

    Ka kite Ano

  16. Eco maori 16
    31 August 2019 at 6:51 pm

    Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.

    Ka pai Jared your mahi teaching tangata whenua about living a sustainable life with a low carbon footprint is excellent I talk to everyone about zero waste and lower carbon energy. I will be copying you and planting a food forest my cus has one. With that life style one is busy most times.

    A lot of doctors discrimination against tangata whenua I know how the Wahine felt. I have seen it with my own eyes I make sure I deal with them professionally mite be a bit loud but that's because Te atua gave me a strong voice.

    People need to respect Ngāti Toa haka Ka mate and ask if they want to use it commercially. Its tatau tatau give and take but a lot of people just want to take take take.

    Ka kite Ano

  18. Eco maori 18
    1 September 2019 at 11:48 am

    Eco Maori tau toko this brave young Wahine I say all the tamariki of the Papatuanuku should join her in protecting there future environment from the lying cheating carbon barrons love of money over LIFE ON EARTH.

    Teen climate activist Greta Thunberg was joined by swelling and excited crowds of American teenagers at a protest outside the UN headquarters in New York on Friday, in a further blossoming of the youth environment movement given extra thrust by the Swede’s transatlantic boat crossing.

    Advertisement

    Some US children said they were at their first ever climate demonstration; others said they had been passionate about the environment for a while but had been galvanized to act by Thunberg’s rising profile.

    On Friday afternoon, Thunberg and two young activists were spontaneously invited inside the UN for a meeting with a senior leader, described as “very supportive”.

    Greta Thunberg 'wants a concrete plan, not just nice words' to fight climate crisis

    Read more

    Just two days after Thunberg disembarkedfrom a yacht in New York, following two weeks on rough seas crossing from the UK, young protesters dominated the crowd of up to 1,000 outside the United Nations skyscraper in Manhattan.

    They came together to demand politicians and older generations take urgent and comprehensive action to reverse the climate crisis.

    Carrying hand-drawn placards with messages such as “United behind the science” and “Act now or we will”, children and young people of all ages surged into a park in front of the flags of the world outside the UN on Friday morning.

    Thunberg sat cheerfully but pensively in the middle of the rally, which had a rather more earnest than festive atmosphere. Young speakers gave spontaneous speeches or led chants of “System change, not climate change” and “Don’t just watch us, join us.

    Ka kite Ano link below.

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/30/greta-thunberg-un-climate-protest-new-york