Open Mike 29/01/2019

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, January 29th, 2019 - 161 comments
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161 comments on “Open Mike 29/01/2019 ”

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  1. Tony Veitch [not etc.] 1
    29 January 2019 at 7:25 am

    Oh, well done the Grey District Council – defying the facts of climate change science! sarc.

    It will take a major world-wide catastrophe to shake the mantle of complacency off the shoulders of too many people before any real action will be taken – and by then, I fear, it will be too late.

    • soddenleaf 1.1
      29 January 2019 at 9:46 am

      The problem is that they don’t believe they need to do anything as they’d be long gone by the time the council is sued for doing nothing. Which they’ve just increased the risk by incoherently misplacing physics advice. Any reasonable people, that’s the standard, knows Mars has a atmosphee, Venus too, due to the Sun, that all the basic gas molecules have been intensely studied, they all know you put more of them into a planet’s atmosphere they raise the temperature. Dig them up a burning will do that.

      so are the councilors now liable to be sued for incompetence, not engage basic science advice and winging it with their own thinking. Should we check they are doing the same when deliberating on the law, geology, biology, etc. Or is it the council ending someone to shout a lot at them so whomever they need to hear doesn’t do armchair physics like physic hasn’t been around for a hundred years.

    • patricia bremner 1.2
      29 January 2019 at 11:07 am

      Tony, I read that article as well. Amazing!! Funny if it wasn’t so serious.
      It is 31 deg there today, and people have been losing their sections to the sea.

      Jacinda has just attended Davos, a gathering of the rich and powerful who have talked of increasing risk costs from storms and encroaching sea levels caused by climate change.

      Scientists have written open letters to governments outlining how bad it could be. Recent research tells us the sea has stored 40% more carbon than previously thought. We are in an extinction phase and they want more proof King Canute!!

      They are like frightened children seeking some hand to hold. They are supposed to lead.

      Like you I think it may be too little too late. Being informed from government sites only needs a computer.

      • Pat 1.2.1
        29 January 2019 at 2:25 pm

        “Jacinda has just attended Davos, a gathering of the rich and powerful who have talked of increasing risk costs from storms and encroaching sea levels caused by climate change”

        Funny you should mention Davos….I watched the closing statement from that august body (ahem) and there were two words noticeable by their absence…and they wernt ‘Jacinda Adern’.

        https://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting/sessions/closing-remarks-the-road-ahead/

        • patricia bremner 1.2.1.1
          29 January 2019 at 5:15 pm

          And your point is?
          I was pointing out that our Prime Minister attended the Environmental session of Davos.
          That actuaries were indicating huge costs for businesses caused by climate change. Impacts on insurance Forestry and Property/land values, where super funds are heavily invested.
          If you are inferring I was trying to make Jacinda important, well I could have quoted several things she said, and flattering things said about her by others.
          But this is about climate Change, and as our Prime Minister said “”You want to be on the right side of history”‘ and that includes the West Coast Regional Council.

          • Pat 1.2.1.1.1
            29 January 2019 at 5:24 pm

            the point is where was the acknowledgement of the single most important issue of the time…namely climate change…they couldnt even bring themselves to say the words in their summary statement…which begs the question…why the hell did our PM waste her time attending?

    • Cinny 1.3
      29 January 2019 at 12:13 pm

      Trying to get my head around their thinking, must be down to money. What other reason could any person have to not want to improve/save their environment/air quality

      Once upon a time, near on every house down the coast had a coal range in the kitchen, a coal fire in the lounge and no insulation.

      Coal down those ways is a cheap or free way for their home heating, and it’s grey and wet down there most of the winter.

      Are there any Coasters here on the TS they could shed some light on the thinking over that way?

      The Grey District Council looks like an old boys club, a bunch of old white men and one token young lady. I don’t like to stereotype but…. go freaken figure.

      https://www.greydc.govt.nz/our-council/mayor-and-councillors/Pages/default.aspx

      Edit… one last thing… looks like it’s an election year for them. Fingers crossed that change will come,

    • Tony Veitch [not etc.] 1.4
      29 January 2019 at 2:43 pm

      Oops! I might have maligned the good people (?) of the Grey District Council – it was the West Coast Regional Council with the fact-denying blinkers on.

      Not sure what the difference is, but they remind me of a rhyme I heard many years ago about the natives of the Isle of Wight – from a recent arrival:

      “Island born and Island bred,
      Strong in the shoulder and thick in the head.”

  2. marty mars 2
    29 January 2019 at 7:30 am

    Good article on the ruthless and cynical PR pushed by dairy around dirty rivers

    In aggressively pushing the notion that water pollution is everyone’s problem, DairyNZ is following a well-worn play-book to minimise its own responsibility. That’s its job – last year it collected $66m in levies from farmers, part of which is expected to be used to lobby for farmers’ interests…

    …The campaign (The vision is clear) consistently equates urban and rural water pollution, but only 1 per cent of New Zealand’s waterways flow through urban areas (where 86 per cent of the population live) while 43 per cent flow through pastoral land (where 14 per cent of the population live).

    Including beaches does little to change that proportion. If anything, it would make the comparison worse, given coastal water quality tends to be better than freshwater quality. In Christchurch city, for example, one of four river sites is suitable for swimming, but 20 of 21 coastal sites are swimmable (the one that isn’t is an estuary polluted by the rivers).

    Numerous studies have demonstrated a link between poor lowland water quality and the boom in more input-heavy forms of agriculture in the 1990s and 2000s. A recent peer-reviewed assessment, based on analysis of 26 years of data, found that the greatest negative impact on water quality in New Zealand had been “high-producing pastures that require large amounts of fertilizer to support high densities of livestock”.

    Toxic algal blooms are increasingly common in rural waterways, partly in response to nutrient enrichment and water extraction for irrigation. New Zealand has the highest percentage of endangered freshwater fish species in the world, partly due to the expansion and intensification of agriculture.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/110103636/the-public-relations-war-over-freshwater-has-restarted

    The time for sorting our rivers is NOW.

  3. Andre 3
    29 January 2019 at 7:32 am

    The ‘they’re too stupid to collude’ defense. Chris Christie reckons the Chumps are so clueless they had no idea they were getting played, so they didn’t commit crimes.

    https://edition.cnn.com/2019/01/28/politics/chris-christie-donald-trump-no-collusion/index.html

  4. Dennis Frank 4
    29 January 2019 at 7:49 am

    Plenty of commentators here the past few years have been emphatic that the Greens are to the left of Labour, but Sue Bradford views this framing as a joke.

    “Former Green Party MP Sue Bradford said it was laughable that the Green Party is considered far left at all now saying that under James Shaw the party is more centrist than it had ever been.” https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/29-01-2019/could-the-idea-of-a-new-blue-green-party-really-fly/

    Plenty of commentators here the past few years have depicted National as an enemy of nature. I’ve spent most of my life with that view too. Otoh…

    “National is often slated by the left as being some kind of environmental destroyer, but it was under a National-led Government that Kahurangi National Park was created, it set up 11 marine reserves, protected the Ross Sea, set up an extensive national network of cycleways, set up Predator Free 2050 and banned shark finning.”

    RNZ’s Chris Bramwell: “So while the talk is of there being space for a centrist environmental party, there is not really that much of a gap that needs filling.” Seems reasonable? Perception and reality are two different things. MMP reality provides a gap, Winston has leverage on it but is due to retire, and NZF is likely to exit. The gap is where swing-voters operate, and they determine election results.

    • solkta 4.1
      29 January 2019 at 7:58 am

      And what did she say about the relative position of the Labour Party? Relative to Bradford all NZ parliamentary politics is right wing.

      set up Predator Free 2050

      Nearly pissed myself when i read this. All they did was say “predator free by 2050”. By this standard Shaw has already sorted CC.

      • Dennis Frank 4.1.1
        29 January 2019 at 8:41 am

        Yeah, good points. Re predator-free, some dismiss such stunts as virtue-signalling. A valid criticism, but dismissing it as such is unfair and politically naive. Establishing a goal does actually reframe both the strategic aims and political culture of the party. How much is the question, then. With National, not much!

        • greywarshark 4.1.1.1
          29 January 2019 at 9:18 am

          Establishing a goal, that isn’t utopian and also aiming at absolute purity instead of excellence, would helpfully frame the aims and personal and political culture of the party for informed, practical and achievable outcomes. FIFY

    • Ad 4.2
      29 January 2019 at 8:47 am

      The important thing politically is that the existing Greens get some runs on the board, and in the polls, so that they remain politically viable for the 2020 election, so that a further government with Labour is formed. The should worry less about futile little spats about ideological purity and more about performance.

      • soddenleaf 4.2.1
        29 January 2019 at 10:30 am

        Planting trees, not Green, a NZF policy. Given the relentless neolib agenda for the past thirty years, the Greens are firmly in the center. It’s the Nats who live in the Trumpian cockoo land off the edge on the right, and of course engage in socialism for the 1% who must never fail.

    • lprent 4.3
      29 January 2019 at 8:48 am

      Winston has leverage on it but is due to retire, and NZF is likely to exit.

      I don’t think that a party disintegration is likely to happen past a Winston Peters departure. I’ve attended two NZF conferences as media just to have a look at the people and structure.

      Firstly, I really can’t see Winston Peters wanting to retire unless he gets a medical issue.

      Secondly, the party structure and internals seems reasonably sound (and I have a skeptics eye about that). Sure they have a lot of nutbars and that shows up in the policy remits. But so does every other mainstream party.

      Thirdly, there seemed to be some political talent in the party and its MPs. The ones who have been or are ministers or their associates haven’t screwed up too much. Many of the ones coming through seem to have been constructive in select committees.

      NZ First is always going to have a problem because of the way that National operates against other parties (think of that auditing crap against NZF from 2007/8 for instance or 1997). But I suspect that NZF will survive as a party of old style liberal conservatives.

      • Dennis Frank 4.3.1
        29 January 2019 at 9:00 am

        Thanks for that insight. I hear you, and concede there’s more resilience there perhaps than has seemed to be the case. However, he will need to do some heavy lifting to get them back over the threshold, eh?

        The portion who returned to National aren’t likely to be recoverable in the short to medium term. Competition from the NewConservatives will subtract some too. It will probably hinge on how well Shane Jones does with regional development. If the regions see tangible benefits, NZF will become secure.

        • veutoviper 4.3.1.1
          29 January 2019 at 11:30 am

          I support everything lprent has said above re NZF.

          I have been watching them quite closely since Peters ‘return from the dead’ in 2011, or in fact earlier since he lost out in 2008.

          Peters worked really hard under the radar in the year before the 2011 general election, holding and attending meetings all over the country with diverse groups of people, not only Grey Power meetings. At the same time, the NZF Party was quietly renewing and reinventing itself.

          To anyone watching all of this, it was no surprise that Peters and NZF won 6.8 percent of the party vote and eight seats in Parliament. In the 2014 general election, NZF increased this to 11 seats and 8.66 percent, although this dropped slightly to 9 seats and 7.2 percent In the 2017 election,

          I haven’t attended any NZF meetings or conferences as lprent has done, but my observations (confirmed by people who have attended NZF functions) is that the membership of the Party and its governance Board etc now covers a wide range of ages and backgrounds. It is certainly no longer an old peoples’ party as some wrongly still perceive it to be.

          Their current team in Parliament appears united and stable (although IMO Jones is their weakest link). I am particularly impressed with the job Tracey Martin is doing in her portfolios, and Ron Mark seems to be doing well in Defence. Peters himself is excellent in the Foreign Affairs role, and so far has made a reasonable job of DPM. The rest of the team seem to be working well in carrying the NZF in the day to day work of Parliament.

          In terms of succession, Fletcher Tabuteau has been with NZF from its conception and appears to be the one selected for succession to the top role. As well as now being Deputy leader of the party, he is also Parliamentary Undersecretary to both Peters and Jones in respect of Foreign Affairs, Regional Economic Development, and Disarmament and Arms Control. At 45, he still has plenty of miles still to be used on his clock.

          I put very little weight on the fact that the NZF vote in polls since the election have dropped. This was inevitable whichever way Peters went in deciding between National and Labour. They always seem to drop in polls between elections, and then usually gain in the election itself (2008 being one of few exceptions to this trend).

          Sorry, Dennis, I think there is a little wishful thinking going on there. If the way National is going currently continues, it would not surprise me if there is a disillusioned National voter move to NZF rather than from it. Nat voters may still be choosing Nats in polls, but some of that support may not be as strong as it appears imo.

          But time will tell, and there is a lot of water to go under the bridge yet.

          • Dennis Frank 4.3.1.1.1
            29 January 2019 at 2:00 pm

            A shift from National to NZF is an intriguing possibility, but depends what provides the stimulus at the time. I can’t see why the 3% or so that are disgruntled sufficiently to currently not support NZF (due to them choosing the Labour option) are going to be motivated to switch back at the next election – unless Winston & Jacinda have a falling-out, and he signals pre-election that the National option is again viable…

            • veutoviper 4.3.1.1.1.1
              29 January 2019 at 3:06 pm

              I was actually suggesting (badl)y that with the current leadership and dramas etc, there may be some Nat voters who are softening in their loyalty. They may currently still be answering polls as saying they would still vote National if an election was held today but may be looking around at other options. I know and have heard of some traditional National voters now thinking along those lines.

          • patricia bremner 4.3.1.1.2
            29 January 2019 at 2:05 pm

            Thank Veutoviper, you have inside knowledge. So Crisp is not as Barclay painted him, and had total overarching responsibility. You know Crisp and value his expertise so I’d say you probably have it right. Cheers.

            • veutoviper 4.3.1.1.2.1
              29 January 2019 at 3:14 pm

              I am not sure that Crisp did have overall responsiblity, Patricia. He was only appointed permanent Head of the hew Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (which includes Kiwibuild) as from 17 December 2018, by which time Barclay was actually already on garden leave pending the investigation being completed. See my reply to Dennis Frank at 7.2.4.4.1. below. Will try to research this further but won’t be until later tonight probably as have other things to do for the next few hours.

              (Hope you have seen doctor and x-ray has been scheduled for soon. Keep smiling, things will get there, friend.)

      • Chris T 4.3.2
        29 January 2019 at 10:15 am

        Personally think that is wishful thinking.

        Winston goes the party goes.

        Which of the others could seriously lead it with any credibility?

        Certainly not Jones or Mark

        • gsays 4.3.2.1
          29 January 2019 at 11:17 am

          since you asked chris, tracey martin.

          has integrity, honesty and seems to be respected by colleagues and opponents.

          • OnceWasTim 4.3.2.1.1
            29 January 2019 at 11:38 am

            could even make a good NF1 leader when Winnie pops his clogs or has to start shitting into a colostomy bag – and that’ll be a while, if ever, although I imagine there are others lined up to take on the mantle even if they do come equipped with diamond shaped little blue pills bought from some shady internet site.

            But then I guess most of that is what is afflicting the senior ranks of the gNats, and probably why there are the likes of Finlayson that chose to retire rather than keep up the chirade

            • veutoviper 4.3.2.1.1.1
              29 January 2019 at 12:28 pm

              Flectcher Tabuteau is the current forerunner for that role, with Tracey Martin’s blessing is my understanding. Tracey was Deputy Leader for some time, but Tabuteau now holds that role as well as understudy to both Peters and Jones. See about halfway down my long comment at 4.3.1.1.above.

              • OnceWasTim …
                29 January 2019 at 2:48 pm

                /agree, and with lprent’s analysis – which is not to say that Tracey Martin wouldn’t be another viable candidate as leader. Pretty sure NZ1 won’t be dead anytime soon though, not that I’ve ever voted for them. If it ever got that desperate, it’s more of a possibility that a Winnie’s bro’ (a decent sort of chap) would be tempted back into politics

                ( Btw, I’ve taken to intermittent and brief visits to TS again throughout the day. Often trying to engage in a conversation can be a complete waste of precious time.
                Today 7.1.1.1.1.2 on OM, yesterday 8.1.3 and below on ‘The Power of Anger’
                The time stamps and ‘replies’ button on the right are quite useful at times.

                I put it all down to my cynicism and what my daughter says is sometimes my “passive/aggressive behaviour at times dad”. [Must be all that power of anger] )

          • Jilly Bee 4.3.2.1.2
            29 January 2019 at 4:38 pm

            A++++++ gsays. I follow Tracey Martin on Facebook (in fact I’m a friend), though I’m not a NZ1st voter or member of that party. She is one smart cookie, though I do get annoyed at some of the NZ1st policies and attitudes to progressive social policy and will watch for her reaction to some of her colleagues entrenched conservative ideas.

        • patricia bremner 4.3.2.2
          29 January 2019 at 11:21 am

          Tracey Martin is no mug

        • mary_a 4.3.2.3
          29 January 2019 at 5:51 pm

          @ Chris T (4.3.2) … seems NZF has more life and credibility in it now and I’d say post Winston as well, than Natz has at present!

          Tracey Martin is one experienced, hard working and credible politician. Can see her leading and taking NZF forward in the future.

        • Bewildered 4.3.2.4
          29 January 2019 at 5:59 pm

          Yep pretty much, I believe to most people here it is more so they’ hope nzf survive Peters is way better in oppostion as a populist, he can say what he wants to his loon bag base Unfortunately for Peters he can’t revert to his go to strategy re blaming Jonny forgeiner and hark back to the good old days. Similarly he will loose the right wing vote of his base and also have conservatives breathing down his neck National should also step up and refuse to work with him if they have any brains ( which is debatable at times)

    • Jenny - How to get there? 4.4
      29 January 2019 at 9:15 pm

      “Former Green Party MP Sue Bradford said it was laughable that the Green Party is considered far left at all now saying that under James Shaw the party is more centrist than it had ever been.”

      “So while the talk is of there being space for a centrist environmental party, there is not really that much of a gap that needs filling.”

      Chris Bramwell – RNZ

      “…..Until National changes and really accepts sustainability, no green party worthy of the name can support them as a government. And anyone who tells you differently is either a fool, or trying to sell you something.”

      Idiot/Savant – No Right Turn, January 29, 2019

      I wonder where all this leaves poor old James Shaw diligently slogging away, deep in the parliamentary salt mines in Wellington forgotten to human memory, valiantly trying to stitch together a climate accord with the Nats?

      Does he know something we don’t?

      When James finally struggles back to the surface world, will he be holding up to the light for all to see, a jewel of inestimable value? or a polished piece of coprolite?

  6. Ad 6
    29 January 2019 at 8:23 am

    Still no North Island rain through to mid-February at least.

    http://metvuw.com/forecast/forecast.php?type=rain&region=swp&noofdays=10

    We are going to need a bunch more North Island irrigation if we are going to keep the bulk dairy production we have going here.

    [Hey, Ad, you’re still regularly misspelling your email address, which means your comments get held up and have to be manually released. Can you check it before posting, please? Ta, TRP]

    • Ad 6.1
      29 January 2019 at 8:34 am

      my apologies.

      my desktop seems not to have the automated settings.

      will seek to improve.

      • te reo putake 6.1.1
        29 January 2019 at 8:43 am

        No sweat, comrade! It’s not a big deal to release the comment, but it does mean the conversations get disjointed if a mod doesn’t spot it immediately.

        (Just to clarify for other readers, first time comments are automatically held until manually released. A misspelled email address or handle triggers this response.)

      • lprent 6.1.2
        29 January 2019 at 8:53 am

        It is more likely that you have a login with the same email as your commenting address. Since you’re not logging in to comment (no blue background), the comment will automatically get held up by the anti-identity theft settings.

        I had to put those settings in after having some identity thefts by people using emails for other people to write comments to try to trash their reputations.

        Either login (I can send you a new password) or get me to change the email so there isn’t a conflict.

    • Andre 6.2
      29 January 2019 at 8:35 am

      Simple. Dial back the dairy a bit. When it’s not so intensive, it won’t be as polluting either. But probably just as profitable because input costs are much lower.

      • WeTheBleeple 6.2.1
        29 January 2019 at 8:58 am

        They could remove their inputs of the majority of fertilisers, offsite feed, antibiotics, herbicides, pesticides, power…

        But they want turnkey systems. Ease of use. Single persons controlling large swathes of land. Monoculture extraordinaire. They dream of robots. They have no vision that is not handed to them by industry.

        Throw money at me I’ll breed them a microbe that uses carbon dioxide and methane to build meat and milk. Then I will charge like a wounded bull for the tech and spend all the money lobbying government and educating public on overstocking and the unnecessary importation of feedstock and fertilisers.

        Guano factories aka sea bird sanctuaries can be built. Nitrogen supplies can be from recycled farm/industry wastes and via plant fixation.

        High nitrogen feedstock comes rapidly and in large volumes from azolla (pteridophyte) and duckweed (angiosperm) cultures. Will also reduce vet bills via large quantities of nutraceuticals in these plants.

        Just, so many ways to help farmers. I get sick of wasting breath trying to help rich fuckwits who think they’re the ‘backbone’ but they’re actually the asshole of our society.

        • Robert Guyton 6.2.1.1
          29 January 2019 at 10:45 am

          We’re working on a seagull attractor for our garden. It will emit the smell of fish&chips.

        • RuralGuy 6.2.1.2
          29 January 2019 at 6:47 pm

          This blog always amuses me when snowflake idiots pretend they know how to farm.

          Fortunately Wethebleeple, there are plenty of farms for sale at the moment so there is absolutely nothing stopping you from buying a farm and showing us all how to do it. I look forward to your results.

          https://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/CategoryAttributeSearchResults.aspx?search=1&cid=5745&sidebar=1&rsqid=8e1f1641fb3a494c86677c030609a8b6&132=PROPERTY&selected135=&134=&157=Dairy&49=0&49=0&159=0&159=0&153=&178=0&178=0&sidebarSearch_keypresses=0&sidebarSearch_suggested=0

          • greywarshark 6.2.1.2.1
            29 January 2019 at 9:00 pm

            You RG could take the opportunity to learn something, get some perspective.
            But that is dangerous, you might be thrown out of your in-group; become an outside without the comfort blanket of the other farmers Who Know It All. Or perhaps you are one of those financial farmers who know how to turn a profit from animals while others do the nitty-gritty and feel pretty happy about that.

            • WeTheBleeple 6.2.1.2.1.1
              29 January 2019 at 11:10 pm

              To be fair I was being rude first.

              I only milked cows once as a favor helping a mate because screw that for a job. But I have got the hay in and fenced 5 wire, 9 wire, deer, post and rail, landscape work galore…. worked in many aspects of horticulture from research on the milk yields via grass types to picking packing and pruning kiwifruit. I’ve done floriculture, viticulture, aquaculture, nursery and greenhouse work. I’ve been in the forestry planting and low and high pruning. I’ve lived in the bush, cleared tracks and built structures in the bush, been a fisherman, a bouncer, an editor, and now a snowflake.

              Snowflakes have many facets.

          • WeTheBleeple 6.2.1.2.2
            29 January 2019 at 10:43 pm

            Plenty of farms for sale huh. I can mostly feed myself off 1/8th of an acre; but you folks with hundreds are struggling?

            Plant some trees and get some more shade it seems you’ve had too much of the sun.

            You’ll need snowflakes for cooling.

      • gsays 6.2.2
        29 January 2019 at 11:22 am

        “Simple. Dial back the dairy a bit. When it’s not so intensive, it won’t be as polluting either. But probably just as profitable because input costs are much lower.”

        with that dialling back it would lower the amount of trucks on the road, therefore lowering exhaust and tyre emissions and wear and tear on our roads.

      • Pat 6.2.3
        29 January 2019 at 2:30 pm

        That would be true if there hadnt been 20 years of land/development cost inflation that needed to be serviced….the unavoidable truth is someone is going to have to take a hit in order to make a less intensive model workable again…and my guess is it wont be the banks.

    • Ad 6.3
      29 January 2019 at 8:43 am

      Just in case we think The Man In The High Castle was a silly little piece of fascist imaginary, yes Hitler really did have plans for the rest of the world’s Jews.

      https://www.dw.com/en/book-shows-hitlers-holocaust-plans-for-canada-us/a-47251347

      Nothing like the annual concentration camp liberation commemorations to focus the mind on saving endangered peoples in this world. It was two days ago.

      https://www.dw.com/en/opinion-german-football-supporters-send-vital-message-on-holocaust-memorial-day/a-47256925

      If anyone gets a moment, there’s a really good little Jewish memorial inside the Auckland War Memorial Museum on the third floor. Worth taking a moment there.

      • Blazer 6.3.1
        29 January 2019 at 10:59 am

        These are just numbers…

        ‘Rummel, a professor of political science at the University of Hawaii, estimates that between 1937 and 1945, the Japanese military murdered from nearly 3 to over 10 million people, most likely 6 million Chinese, Koreans, Malaysians, Indonesians, Filipinos and Indochinese, among others, including Western prisoners of war’

    • Dennis Frank 6.4
      29 January 2019 at 8:52 am

      We’ve had several days overcast, plus drizzle the past two, here in Taranaki. For a gardener, welcome dampening of soil & relief from watering with hose. Young pumpkins & butternuts now sprouting on the vine. Decided I would need only a single courgette plant this summer and I was right – a month since I last watered that and still producing so many that I’ve taken some to a couple of local foodbanks (as well as supplying a couple of neighbours.

      Also, had to stop watering the scarlet runner beans a couple of weeks ago due to excess production (a large handful every day) also over-supplying neighbours & foodbanks as well as me. Goes to show how much being Green in a practical sense could produce community reslience if more folks acquired the skills…

    • DJ Ward 6.5
      29 January 2019 at 10:30 am

      What are you talking about. I’m at the coal face here. Living on an upper North Island Dairy farm. So far this has been one of the best years we have had in the last 10 years. It’s normal for low rain to no rain at this time of year and we are getting some on a regular basis. Tommorow I’m having to help with hay bail collection that we use for dry stock, yearlings etc. Twice as good as other years, so my body isn’t looking forward to it.

    • patricia bremner 6.6
      29 January 2019 at 11:34 am

      Yes Ad, hasn’t taken long for things to get brittle with heat and wind. Perhaps farmers need to consider animals and crops which need less water and palms for feed. Land use needs to become Land improved. Rotation is proven.

    • greywarshark 6.7
      29 January 2019 at 11:47 am

      WtB
      Ad is referring to irrigation. Would this be a good time for farmers to put in some of those seepage ponds that have been referred to. Getting out on the tractor
      early in the morning before the sun gets hot, and be off before say 11.30 when the Fire Service suggests that its dangerous to work in because of fire from sparks.?

      And think Peter Andrews:

      • Kevin 6.7.1
        29 January 2019 at 12:44 pm

        Superb doco gw.

        Often think about this one when the Canterbury and Hawkes Bay farmers start whining about irrigation schemes. What are they doing to help themselves?

      • patricia bremner 6.7.2
        29 January 2019 at 12:50 pm

        Yes a marvelous story. It was big news in Aus, it really stirred discussion.

      • WeTheBleeple 6.7.3
        29 January 2019 at 1:38 pm

        Absolutely. This system and Yeomans Keyline irrigation hold the most promise for dairy. Real conversions would go for contoured swales, tree crops and dairy.

        We really need to get trees back on our farms, it is a bloody travesty they’re mostly gone. Heat stress will lower production considerably, as will cold/wind.

        • WeTheBleeple 6.7.3.1
          29 January 2019 at 10:55 pm

          As for this ‘drought’. I found mushrooms in two spots this morning as I carried a bucket of water down the back to help some new plantings I was worried about. Mushrooms, ha ha, water situation seems fine for now.

          If you want to irrigate gardens but need to conserve water, drip is a good way to go. Turn on the tap and it’s working, nice. A friend installed them for new homes with central controllers and timers and sensors… could get really efficient (or wasteful) with a set-up like that.

          Drip and mulch rules, so the water doesn’t evaporate after application and the soil is cooler for your plants. Overhead irrigation is extremely wasteful in hot weather.

          The trick is to put the water in the ground, not the air.

          Oh when will they learn.

    • Dennis Frank 7.1
      29 January 2019 at 9:20 am

      Well, I’m halfway thro & doesn’t seem any worse yet. Thanks for the link, though, because he’s clarifying the problem sufficiently in general terms to give us insight into what went wrong.

      So sounds like his role was project manager. That function is executive: it executes. It makes things happen. Actions produce outputs. You can imagine bureaucrats aghast at someone with a `know-how, can-do’ attitude being given the authority to get results. Obviously they had to stop him!

      So classic leftist bureaucratic stonewalling of a rightist infiltrator, seems to me. The method they used was to manufacture personal complaints about his style of leadership. Clearly telling people what to do was unacceptable to them. It would have seemed autocratic. The idea that a leader issues instructions to subordinates in order to make an operation a success would have freaked them out. Not how the public service is meant to operate. Twyford got kneecapped accordingly. Will he learn from the experience? I doubt it. He’s Labour.

      • Dennis Frank 7.1.1
        29 January 2019 at 9:31 am

        Okay, I’ve listened to almost all and now I get where you’re coming from. I’ll give readers the context:

        “The ousted boss of KiwiBuild says he has been put through an awful few months by the head of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development Andrew Crisp. Stephen Barclay faces allegations about his management style but says he was given no chance to properly challenge them. He won’t detail the exact nature of the allegations but rules out bullying or any financial or sexual misconduct. Mr Barclay is also mystified that KiwiBuild is now missing its targets – saying they were on track when he was at the helm.”

        He’s explained it as an interpersonal problem between him & Crisp. Seems to have been created as a result of the govt shifting the goalposts after he signed his contract. He signed up to operate the scheme more independently, then they gave Crisp either authority over him or enough leverage to interfere. So he ought to win his grievance case unless there’s stuff we aren’t being told. Twyford’s fault.

        • Gosman 7.1.1.1
          29 January 2019 at 9:46 am

          Twyford looks like he has not got a handle on one of the key planks of his ministerial portfolio. Also, according to Barclay, they were on track to meet the 1000 house target for this tear UNTIL his unit was absorbed in to the new ministry. That needs investigating further.

          • Dennis Frank 7.1.1.1.1
            29 January 2019 at 9:58 am

            Yes, I was addressing that point while you posted that. I agree. Twyford is out of his depth. Has Labour got someone who can finesse the mandarin syndrome that seems to take over the minds of top public servants? If not, Ardern needs to do a cabinet reshuffle & give the job to Winston so he can do the necessary arse-kicking. We’re talking about the flagship coalition policy being derailed by typical Labour ineptitude. That’s unacceptable.

            • Gosman 7.1.1.1.1.1
              29 January 2019 at 10:14 am

              I agree that there needs to be some radical changes if this policy is to be rescued from failure. Appointing Peters would be a laugh in my opinion (not that I think he would do a bad job just that it would be a laugh). Obviously I think the policy is doomed given my ideological leanings but it does have a potential to deliver some wins for the government if done better and a potential for a colossal mess if done badly (which it looks like it is being done).

            • OnceWasTim 7.1.1.1.1.2
              29 January 2019 at 10:42 am

              “Has Labour got someone who can finesse the mandarin syndrome that seems to take over the minds of top public servants?”
              So far, it seems not @ Dennis although there appears to be some small changes in culture happening. It was always going to be that the biggest hurdle this coalition faced would be the senior and upper middle ranks in our PS.
              I notice (for example) we’re starting to see some serious effort put into cracking down on exploitative employers – yet another case on RNZ/Stuff today. What prevented that happening four or five years ago when many/most of the same people were involved? Indeed one now feigns a concern when he was the very same person that was assuring us all that they had sufficient Labour Inspectors just before the election. (And now they wonder why no one wants to report exploitative arseholes).
              Oh, and they even had the benefits then of having a private force in the form of T&C, as well as a few nudge nudge wink winks and Chinese whispers at play – not to mention a demographic spreadsheet or two.
              Keeps them in an over-paid job though I guess

          • Gabby 7.1.1.1.2
            29 January 2019 at 10:50 am

            Who’s the genius who decided that any possible good could come from getting MBIE involved? Let alone putting them in charge.

            • OnceWasTim 7.1.1.1.2.1
              29 January 2019 at 11:05 am

              Exactery @ Gabby. And especially after I L-G has been forced to go through some ‘learnings going forward’ when it comes to having to deal with them.

              You know, it buggers my mind at times trying to understand a coalition with the best of intentions hasn’t yet come to learn where many of the roadblocks are. It has a stellar record of failure in everything from worker exploitation and immigration fuckups (which might as well have been decided on the basis of rolling a set of dice or an auction system), to shitty steel and building related failures, to radio spectrum interference.

              Btw – have you ever had to try and deal with any of them directly?

      • Anne 7.1.2
        29 January 2019 at 10:18 am

        It sounds to me like Twyford was knee-capped. I presume he was the one who appointed Barclay to the position. I know him well enough to believe he’s not the sort to be taking it lying down. He’s an astute politician and he will be staying out of it for a very good reason. We just don’t know what it is – yet. There will come a time when he will probably speak out, and maybe we’ll get the real deal about what went down.

        The Public Service knows how to close ranks and rid themselves of perceived out-siders. They’ve had 150 plus years of practice. It would not surprise me if Twyford was coerced – or possibly even bullied – to change the goal posts. If so, it would have been motivated by self interest and a reluctance to concede power and authority.

        There is also the possibility of political interference behind the scenes. If my past experiences of the P.S. are any indication, then the “bureaucrats” are more likely to be National supporters (not Labour) and they know how to undermine cabinet ministers and their perceived toadies. I’ve seen it first hand – albeit a long time ago.

        • Dennis Frank 7.1.2.1
          29 January 2019 at 10:30 am

          Interesting view, thanks Anne. Nothing there I’d disagree with, so I’ll just add that the intent seems to be to defeat the coalition agenda. Your theory fits that fact better than mine – but it wouldn’t surprise me if the mandarins actually vote Labour and just feel that defending their traditional privilege is more important than serving the public. The mandarin syndrome is a privileged-class thing that goes back all the way to the rise of empires, and their need for admin.

          • Anne 7.1.2.1.1
            29 January 2019 at 10:59 am

            The mandarin syndrome is a privileged-class thing that goes back all the way to the rise of empires, and their need for admin…

            OMG yes!. They can become so blinded to reality, they actually end up by destroying their own positions. I saw it happen in one sector of the PS in the early 1990s.

      • Gabby 7.1.3
        29 January 2019 at 10:54 am

        Does Crispy strike you as a leftist frankie? Where’s he been working and what’s he been doing?

        • Dennis Frank 7.1.3.1
          29 January 2019 at 11:06 am

          No idea re his political alignment, Gabby, but it looks like he was given authority over the project manager: “State Services Commissioner Peter Hughes says Crisp’s career includes 13 years in senior and executive leadership roles. He says he also has a deep understanding of the New Zealand housing system.”

          “Crisp is currently the acting CEO at the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, on secondment from his substantive role as CEO of Land Information New Zealand. Previously he was the deputy CEO of Building, Resources and Markets at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.”
          https://www.interest.co.nz/property/97196/andrew-crisp-appointed-ceo-new-ministry-housing-and-urban-development-responsible

          “Crisp holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Administration from Victoria University of Wellington and is a Chartered Accountant.” Glorified bean counter.

          • Gabby 7.1.3.1.1
            29 January 2019 at 11:10 am

            Sounds like he’s a professional roadblock frankie. Nothing happens until the title on his parking space is just so.

      • patricia bremner 7.1.4
        29 January 2019 at 11:57 am

        Dennis your bias is showing. Making sweeping generalisations is not your usual style.
        They wanted Crisp and stonewalled, accused Steven Barclay of aggressive leadership and he was hamstrung. Public Service was manned by National for the 9 years prior to this, and had limited budgets. They probably spent all their energy on endless staffing reviews as National was aiming for less Government.
        Suddenly, there is a plan, money for it and a leader. The undermanned service coped , were on track with the building but complained They brought the complaints up and from that day forward progress halted, to the point where Steven Barclay resigned and the Minister was left saying an internal employment issue was the problem. What is with your “They are Labour so they won’t learn”

        • Dennis Frank 7.1.4.1
          29 January 2019 at 2:10 pm

          I’ve been equally critical of both establishment parties since I realised I had to become neither left nor right in ’71. My conscience refused to allow me to fake it and pretend Labour were somehow the lesser of two evils. That’s my bias.

    • Dennis Frank 7.2
      29 January 2019 at 9:53 am

      One final comment: in respect of his view that they had 600 houses contracted when he bailed out, it smells to me very much like a smoking gun. He seems genuinely mystified that Twyford’s told the public they won’t meet the target, and said that conflicts with the fact that the operation was on track to deliver the target of 1000 in the first year. So I must now endorse your view – the fiasco is indeed getting worse.

      How the hell can they have 600 signed up, and then Twyford tells the media & public that they will only deliver 300? Can we please get someone in the media to demand an explanation?! If it’s just logistics, and builders don’t want to build houses fast enough to deliver in the required time-frame, say so! Okay, he did imply that, but he’s creating the impression that he feels no need to keep the public fully informed. Labour voters deserve more respect and accountability from the minister.

      • Anne 7.2.1
        29 January 2019 at 10:44 am

        If it’s just logistics, and builders don’t want to build houses fast enough to deliver in the required time-frame, say so! Okay, he did imply that, but he’s creating the impression that he feels no need to keep the public fully informed.

        Hang on Dennis, he may well have reiterated the reason but it could have been edited out of the report that made it into the public arena. Nowadays most news items consist only of sound bites and the substance of an interview never sees the light of day. It happens all the time.

        • Dennis Frank 7.2.1.1
          29 January 2019 at 10:50 am

          True – I saw that happen regularly when I was making news & current affairs stories for TVNZ. But the onus is then on the media manager of the party to rectify the impression in the public mind by issuing a follow-up…

      • alwyn 7.2.2
        29 January 2019 at 11:50 am

        I may be unduly cynical but I wouldn’t be surprised if this is an attempt by Twyford to shift all the blame onto Barclay and to set himself up as being the hero who improves things.
        Barclay says he already had 600 houses scheduled before July 1. Twyford announces instead that there will only be 300. Who would I believe? Barclay over Twyford any day.
        Imagine if they manage, and it will be a real stretch, to get to 500 or so. Twyford will claim that he took over, got rid of Barclay and then heroically improved the scheme from only producing 300 houses and got up to 500. Hip, hip hooray for Phil. He will of course ignore the fact that 500 is really an epic fail. The MSM will of course tell us what a great man Twyford is.
        Still, he will say that it was only his intervention that got the number up from the phantom 300 that he will credit Barclay with. Twyford will be lying of course but he, along with the rest of the CoL, have never found this something they are uncomfortable with.

        • bwaghorn 7.2.2.1
          29 January 2019 at 6:30 pm

          Or could it be that Barclay was a bully boy who through his toys out of the coat when pulled up for it and is know pulling numbers out of his arse to discredit his former boss.

      • patricia bremner 7.2.3
        29 January 2019 at 12:10 pm

        It appears building stopped while the case of employment complaints was reviewed. Then Barclay resigned and left. Any shortfall is under Crisp’s watch? Barclay said they were up to date and on track when he left. He is suing HNZ for constructive dismissal. Twyford is at arms length as it is an employment matter.It will get sorted in court when the truth may then come out.

      • veutoviper 7.2.4
        29 January 2019 at 1:08 pm

        Well you lot on this 7 thread (with one or two exceptions eg Patricia) are all now off my 2019 Hanukkah card list*. You only have 10 months to redeem yourselves.

        (*Or Seasons Greetings or Happy Holidays list. I don’t do Christmas cards).

        First, what a one dimensional pile-on on all public servants. As one for over 40 years, I really take offense (well a little). Not all of us are like that!!!!!

        Two, I would not be so fast to make decisions on this situation from a role definition, power, and employment perspective.

        The real situation is far from clear and certainly not as clearcut as Barclay is claiming.

        Sacha and I had a late night conversation on this last night on OM 28 Jan (at 11 down). Won’t try to link but still easy to find.

        As I commented at 11.1.1.1, I worked with/for Andrew Crisp some years ago and have utter respect for his integrity, management style etc and do not believe that he would have lost any of that over the years. He also has experience in sorting out messy CE employment situations such as this and is scrupulous in doing so. The fact that he has come out and said certain things about the Barclay situation strongly reinforces to me that Crisp has his ducks in a row.

        Barclay is interesting though. Sure, he seems to have had a strong private sector background mostly in the building area, but also some other very different roles more recently.

        Barclay was chief executive of the 2013 America’s Cup defence in San Francisco. Sacha found and posted a link on the OM thread at 11 to an article about Barclay copping bitter criticism from both city politicians and media amid accusations the event had not delivered sufficiently for San Francisco, leading him to launch a parting broadside after the event had ended.

        http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1901/S00241/housing-ministry-head-hints-he-acted-against-barclay.htm

        So Barclay has form for badmouthing after leaving a role.

        Between his San Fran role and moving to the Kiwibuild role, Barclay was (drumroll):

        “Chief People and Transformation Officer at the Ministry of Health”.

        Yes, I will not be upset if you say “What the Hell !!!!!!???” or similar. That one really is a mind-blower even to me.

        So, lets wait and see what happens on that perspective. I won’t even dare speculate on how many houses will be built …

        • patricia bremner 7.2.4.1
          29 January 2019 at 1:56 pm

          Yes Fletcher is from Rotorua, and well known to a past pupil who worked with him at Waiariki Polytech. Said he was amazing. The past pupil was amazing so….

        • Anne 7.2.4.2
          29 January 2019 at 2:06 pm

          @vv
          I have always made it clear that my viewpoint regards the Public Service is based on my personal experiences and relates to only two agencies – more like one and a half. Your experiences were obviously different to mine.

          Yes, there are very good public servants with plenty of integrity. There is also the other kind which I had the misfortune to come up against. To deny the second category doesn’t (or didn’t) exist is not facing up to reality. Perhaps the second kind is (was) more prevalent outside of Wellington.

          Sure, my experiences date back 25 years so there may well have been a lot of improvement since.

          I can also claim from the same experiences that personal political attitudes – lined up against Labour suppporters – was rife in my day. And there is plenty of recorded evidence to back up that claim.

          • veutoviper 7.2.4.2.1
            29 January 2019 at 2:42 pm

            Anne, I certainly don’t deny the existence of public servants such as the ones you have experienced, as I also have. And I fully support you in what you have discussed here many times and have done so many times in comments. Not all my experiences were good by any means, and I left of my own accord in the end due to those types of experiences.

            Nevertheless, I will stand up and speak against some of the one dimensional, one size fits all approach of some here who take every opportunity to denigrate public servants – who cover a massive range of people, roles, political views, approaches to neutrality etc – and occupations.

            As you may not have noted, my comments were also half tongue in cheek. After it was too late to edit, I realised that I had left you out of the exceptions, so my apologies for that. I know you have had experience of differing sorts as I have had.

            However, when I see people denigrating/condemning someone who I have high regard for such as Andrew Crisp on the basis of very little information about them and the situation, I am not going to stay quiet. I am trying to keep an open mind about the whole situation until more is known, and my intent was primarily to suggest that others do the same and not rush to opinions, condemnations etc.

            • Anne 7.2.4.2.1.1
              29 January 2019 at 3:36 pm

              All good vv.

              I’ve done it too. Made mistakes or haven’t explained something clearly but too late to edit. Tend to leave it and hope for the best.

              I’ve also stood up for individuals who are being unfairly criticised. Take Phil Tywford. Some ignorant MSM twat tried to claim recently that he had no managerial skills. That is laughable. Anyone who knows Phil well can tell you about his brilliant managerial and organisational skills honed during previous occupations linked to the UN.

        • patricia bremner 7.2.4.3
          29 January 2019 at 2:09 pm

          Thanks that is well said.

        • Dennis Frank 7.2.4.4
          29 January 2019 at 2:14 pm

          Fair enough, if he is indeed conscientious. And after learning he was indeed given authority over Barclay after the latter signed his contract, it looks like the blame ought to be allocated to either Twyford or SSC or both, eh?

          • veutoviper 7.2.4.4.1
            29 January 2019 at 2:55 pm

            Perhaps we leave ‘blame’ out of it until we know a lot more, Dennis.

            I don’t know what process was used in appointing Barclay and who was involved in the process*. Presumably Twyford as Minister would not have been involved in any way … hopefully.

            Perhaps some form of trial period such as the 90 day provisions should be applied to such high level contracts – rather than the types of employment they were applied to!!!!!!!!!! LOL.

            * Actually I now remember seeing something to the effect that Barclay’s appointment was made by the head of MBIE. That was about midnight last night when I had been awake for 20 hours. Don’t have time for the next few hours to recheck but will see what I can find/refind re the appointment process.

            ** Crisp actually only formally became overall permanent head of the MInistry of Housing and Urban Development on 17 December 2018 – ie weeks after Barclay had been sent on garden leave while the investigation was undertaken. So the reporting structure (ie who Barclay formally reported to prior to that) is unclear. Crisp was seconded to the overall organisation earlier than Dec but I am unclear as to his secondment role and employment relationship to Barclay in that role. More research to do.

        • Gabby 7.2.4.5
          29 January 2019 at 3:31 pm

          I guess that’s where a culture of secrecy and needtoknowism gets you veuty.

        • Gabby 7.2.4.6
          29 January 2019 at 5:42 pm

          Sticking someone on paid leave for months seems a strategy of which urgency is not a key feature wouldn’t you agree veuty.

    • Gabby 7.3
      29 January 2019 at 10:40 am

      Crispy wanted to get the big granite sign right before wasting any time on those housey things.

      • patricia bremner 7.3.1
        29 January 2019 at 12:03 pm

        Thanks Gabby.timely reminder of the previous priorities, like heated seats in the limos.

        • veutoviper 7.3.1.1
          29 January 2019 at 1:20 pm

          Crisp had nothing to do with the ridiculous spends on signs etc when MBIE was set up. He only moved to Housing recently, and this and Kiwibuild are now a separate Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, which Andrew Crisp became Chief Executive of only on 17 Dec 2018. See my 7.2.4. LOL.

          • patricia bremner 7.3.1.1.1
            29 January 2019 at 2:01 pm

            Thank Veutoviper, you have inside knowledge. So Crisp is not as Barclay painted him, and had total overarching responsibility. You know Crisp and value his expertise so I’d say you probably have it right. Cheers.

  8. Ms Fargo 8
    29 January 2019 at 8:59 am

    Anyone else shake their heads at Jessie Mulligan’s outburst on Dowie/JLR on the Project last night?

  9. Ad 9
    29 January 2019 at 9:08 am

    “Climate Change, Not Border Security, Is The Real National Emergency”

    Sure Greenwald isn’t saying anything new here, but it’s a good contrast.
    And has a lovely cache of links.

    https://theintercept.com/2019/01/28/border-wall-national-emergency-climate-change/

    • Andre 9.1
      29 January 2019 at 10:41 am

      It’s a Kate Aronoff piece, for anyone else that didn’t click the link because they’ve come to the opinion that Greenwald’s become irrelevant and boring and doesn’t have anything new to say.

      • Siobhan 9.1.1
        29 January 2019 at 3:17 pm

        Greenwald is failing to entertain you? Habet, Hoc habet! Shall we send him to the lions?
        Then again, maybe he’s fighting the same ‘boring’ fights because the same boring powers that be are doing the same boring stuff??

        • Andre 9.1.1.1
          29 January 2019 at 3:32 pm

          Y’know, I kinda feel sorry for Greenwald.

          When Snowden’s stuff dropped in his lap he had a period when he was relevant, had things to say that people hadn’t heard before. He had the thrill of genuinely opening people’s eyes to shit that had been going on in the shadows.

          But that was a while ago now. And the way The Intercept negligently mishandled the information Reality Winner gave them means any future whistleblower with any sense will likely use a different conduit to get their info out in the open.

          So now Greenwald seems to be reduced to just writing day-late-and-dollar-short polemics against the mainstream media and Dems, ranting about shortcomings that other parts of the msm have already pointed out.

  10. marty mars 10
    29 January 2019 at 10:28 am

    A great article. Not sure if anyone’s been following this story – pure gold 😀

    Truth is the issues discussed in this article can be extrapolated to many things imo from the environment to peace.

    Until men do their share – not just nappy-changing but feeding, bathing, cooking, caring for children when they’re sick, organising birthday parties and play dates – they’ll never be proper co-parents. Patting yourself on the back for doing 10 per cent isn’t enough, closer to 50 per cent needs to be the target.
    It boils down to this: are you prepared to grow up, almost overnight?
    Because that’s ultimately what the job requires.
    Russell Brand, it appears, clearly isn’t. He should focus on the mystical connotations of that.

    https://i.stuff.co.nz/life-style/parenting/110223275/stop-talking-twaddle-and-get-stuck-in–russell-brand-under-fire-for-parenting

    • DJ Ward 10.1
      29 January 2019 at 10:42 am

      Maybe women should try actually letting men be parents. For the 1 in 5 who fit into the stay at home dad catagory I can say my partner who works hard is no different to how the “men” behave. What is it now in NZ? 45% are raised with no father.

      The organising play dates thing is a resultant of underlining bigotry. There is no way in my daughters case that a random call by a strange man to one of her freinds mothers for a play date, or stay over is going to work.

      My partner pretty much refuses to change shitty nappies. I’m the person who had to clean up the shit artwork, when my son decided to use poo for decoration.

  11. Ad 11
    29 January 2019 at 11:25 am

    Best of luck Minister Twyford for Cabinet this morning.

    • DJ Ward 11.1
      29 January 2019 at 12:23 pm

      For a second I thought he was declaring himself interim leader.

    • patricia bremner 11.2
      29 January 2019 at 12:33 pm

      Ad, Twyford has moved mountains, Crisp needs looking at.

      • Ad 11.2.1
        29 January 2019 at 12:37 pm

        Crisp meaning?

        • veutoviper 11.2.1.1
          29 January 2019 at 1:29 pm

          Andrew Crisp does not need ‘looking at’, patricia. Or rather if you want to “look at” him, see my comment at 7.2.4 above and also at 7.1.1.1. on OM 28 Jan last night.

          Both threads also cover Barclay’s previous history – it seems he has at least once before badmouthed former employers when they question whether or not he achieved the expected performance.

        • veutoviper 11.2.1.2
          29 January 2019 at 1:46 pm

          Oops, that was meant for Patricia. Sorry Ad.

  12. Janet 12
    29 January 2019 at 12:51 pm

    On TVNZ 1 news online …..
    “ arrest warrant has been issued for a 26-year-old man who was part of the group of unruly British travellers after he failed to appear in court today on three charges.
    The man, who has name suppression, was on bail and failed to appear at the Auckland District Court for a bail hearing this morning.”

    “It is not clear if the 26-year-old was with the group who had flown back to the UK.”

    Why is it not clear, if immigration is doing their job right?
    He has either gone through the airport or not, hasn,t he?

  13. ianmac 13
    29 January 2019 at 1:15 pm

    From the ODT:
    “Sarah Dowie’s short-lived political career looks all but over.

    The Invercargill MP from 2014 is almost certain not to be a National Party candidate in the 2020 election – assuming she does not resign beforehand….

    …Several members of Dowie’s electorate committee had resigned in recent months.

    It is understood several members of Dowie’s staff have also resigned.

    She is advertising for staff to work in her Wellington office.

    Dowie was not answering her mobile phone yesterday or responding to a text message requesting comment.”

    But all will be well because Simon and Paula see no hypocrisy in firing Jamie for infidelity while supporting Sarah for the same thing. (Paula should regret ever raising the matter in the first place.)

    • Janet 13.1
      29 January 2019 at 1:46 pm

      Ross was a “serial” infidel! He was also a bit of a traitor to his leader wasn’t he?

  14. Robert Guyton 14
    29 January 2019 at 1:52 pm

    Kennedy Graham backs the TavaGreens.
    I/S isn’t impressed.
    “The problem isn’t that the Greens won’t work with National – they have done so in the past and have signalled their willingness to do so again. The problem is that National won’t work with the Greens. On environmental fundamentals – climate change, rivers, mining – National is utterly opposed to sustainability and Green policy.”
    http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2019/01/getting-problem-backwards.html

    • Bewildred 14.1
      29 January 2019 at 6:18 pm

      As I siad yesterday Robert If Tava builds credible team around him they the pure greens will be existential threat to the watermelons, no matter what hate is thrown at them personally, This to will just work in their favour It’s no point prattling on anout national, blue:green etc if this goes ahead they will be judged on thier policies alone and left right neutrality, what the hard left greens think will be irrelevant

      • Psycho Milt 14.1.1
        29 January 2019 at 6:36 pm

        A “credible” team crewing a sock puppet? Surely, operating a sock puppet strongly militates against credibility?

      • Robert Guyton 14.1.2
        29 January 2019 at 6:46 pm

        Bewildered (love the variable spellings you employ), I liken the formation of a political party to the building of crystals in a super-saturated solution – the crystal you get reflects the purity and form of the seed crystal. If Vernon is the genuine seed, his party will be stunning. That’s why I have no concerns.

      • Sacha 14.1.3
        29 January 2019 at 6:47 pm

        ‘Pure’?
        ahahaha

      • Incognito 14.1.4
        29 January 2019 at 10:24 pm

        Hmmm, “hard left greens”, you say. Are those the undercooked Brussels sprouts that your kid leaves on their plate because they hate them? If so, maybe you could change your preparation and presentation to make them more palatable and turn them into yummy firm greens that will be left no more? What’d you say?

  15. Tamati Tautuhi 15
    29 January 2019 at 2:23 pm

    New Blue – Green Party is purely an angle to get into Government, they will have no say when the Natzi’s are elected in a Coalition with the New Greens & the New Conservative Party.

    • Bewildered 15.1
      29 January 2019 at 6:22 pm

      I doubt that very much, National will manage relationship to ensure 9 +years, they also know rwnj also care about the environment but want Governent based on responsibility not on virtue signalling and dying in a ditch on idealogy

  17. Morrissey 17
    29 January 2019 at 3:28 pm

    Attacked by dogs, shot by rubber bullet, and teargassed:
    Trump, Pompeo, Bolton, Abrams are all bloodyminded supporters of this.

    https://twitter.com/hashtag/Israeli?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

    WATCH : A new #Israeli crime, by attacking directly a paramedic with a Gas bomb 💣, while helping wounded #Palestinians participating in the peaceful #GreatReturnMarch eastern Of #Gaza city. #ICC4Israel #GazaMassacre #SaveGaza #BDS pic.twitter.com/cgIw7j6lJu

    — Dr. Basem Naim (@basemn63) January 26, 2019

    http://normanfinkelstein.com/2019/01/25/great-return-march-news/

    9.) Israel has three regimes. First, there is the “liberal democracy” which is the privilege of its Jewish citizens, but there are many threats to this. The second regime is aimed at the Palestinians—the “Israeli Arabs” who comprise 20 per cent of the population, and who have formal civil rights; they are deeply discriminated against in every way. The third regime is very different from any “liberal” posturing—this is Israel’s dark heart, the regime in the Occupied Territories. This is one of the most brutal tyrannies on Earth today, no less than that.

    10.) Israel cannot be defined as anything other than an apartheid regime. It is apartheid. No one with an open heart could not be shocked and moved by the situation in the Occupied Territories. Israel claimed for years that the Occupation was “temporary. We cannot find a partner.” The Occupation is part of Israel, therefore we cannot define Israel as a democracy. Either ALL the inhabitants of Israel enjoy civil rights, or they do not. Either you are a democracy, or there are other names to call you.

    —-Israeli journalist GIDEON LEVY, speaking in Auckland, Dec. 3, 2017

    https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/search?q=%22Unbelievable+brutality%22

  18. OnceWasTim 18
    29 January 2019 at 3:43 pm

    Idiot/Savant gets it right again on two counts:
    http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2019/01/getting-problem-backwards.html
    Growth at ANY cost is not sustainable

    and
    http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2019/01/climate-change-local-government-in.html
    I guess we’ll have to wait and see after the next local body elections whether or not they should just be left to the whims of human-assisted Mother Nature’s fury or not.

    • Muttonbird 19.1
      29 January 2019 at 4:33 pm

      Jesus. Too visible one minute, not visible enough the next. Can’t win with the RWNJs.

      • Hum 19.1.1
        29 January 2019 at 4:45 pm

        If you don’t drink the kool aid around here like all the other zombies you must be a RWNJ. Lesson learnt. Sorry

      • McFlock 19.1.2
        29 January 2019 at 5:12 pm

        lol the dipshit managed to call her a figurehead and say she was apparently finding that, with leadership, “the job is a little difficult”. Still pushing the “pretty woman out of her depth” meme – I guess she’s next on the probing round after Twyford. Full circle so soon, they must be so disappointed after the promising start they had with Curran.

    • Anne 19.2
      29 January 2019 at 8:36 pm

      That is a nasty attempt by a Nat lackey to undermine Jacinda Ardern.

      1)Every PM since time immemorial has gone on holiday at Xmas and doesn’t return until the end of January. John Key used to disappear off to Hawaii and we saw or heard nothing from him until the end of the month.
      2) She fronted at the first weekly post cabinet press conference of the year this afternoon.
      3) Suggesting she is weak and has no ideas flies in the face of all the evidence to the contrary.

      Just a pathetic and dirty attempt to undermine her. What a creep.

  20. greywarshark 20
    29 January 2019 at 6:42 pm

    I was looking at Michael King’s book of photographs of Maori from early days to modern. He explains what they felt about being pictured and what was happening in their lives..

    In the later years, there is the famous photo of Dame Whina Cooper, in her 80s, setting off with her grandchild on the long march in 1975, Then Bastion Point occupation – In 1977–78 a 506-day protest against a proposed Crown sale was held there. (Land was to be sold for high-value housing. The sections would have nice sea views I suppose.)

    ‘In 1978, largely in response to the protest at Bastion Point, the Government made a settlement with some of Ngati Whatua. The Crown returned only some of the land taken under the Public Works Act – the land which had not been used for the purpose for which it had been taken. The tribe was to pay $200,000 for its return.’ This was settled by the Waitangi Tribunal in 1987.
    https://www.waitangitribunal.govt.nz/publications-and-resources/school-resources/orakei/resolving-the-grievances-of-the-past/

    In 1981 there was defiance against the Goverment over the Springbok Tour, protests and some violence and injuries. There were however only two games cancelled.

    In 1984 Ernie Abbott was blown up at the Trades Hall by a bomb in a suitcase.

    Later the USS Buchanan was forbidden a berth as a protest against the USA’s use of nuclear power coming in to our ports. The Rainbow Warrior was blown up by French security agents with a loss of life as a result of protest against nuclear testing.

    1985 Roger Douglas began the economic changes of Lange’s government.
    http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/opinion/columnists/john-minto/692334/Douglass-reforms-were-an-economic-disaster-for-the-country
    The scale of the disaster is apparent from an OECD (Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development) report, Growing Unequal, which was released last week….The report’s title refers to the dramatic growth in inequality in OECD countries and New Zealand in particular from 1985 to 2005.
    The gap between rich and poor widened rapidly.

    Roger Douglas told us there was no alternative to his reforms and there would be no gain without pain. What he neglected to say was that the gains would be for the wealthy and the pain for the poor. And so it was.

    We have finally reached the top of the OECD but for the wrong reasons. We are second to none for growth in income inequality from 1985 to 2005 and we are also close to the top for the sharpest increase in poverty over the same 20-year period.

    This was a bit like our Brexit. We had no idea of what was to come, innocent bunnies that we were.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Douglas
    David Caygill, who was also Minister of Trade and Industry, and Richard Prebble, who was also Minister of Transport.[36] Douglas and his associate ministers became known as the “Treasury Troika” or the “Troika”.[37]

    The 1984 budget was a radical departure from Labour’s established approach to economic management. Douglas answered criticism that the government’s intentions had not been made clear to the electorate by saying that he had spelled out his whole programme to the Policy Council, which, he said, had understood and endorsed his intentions. He maintained that the detail was not made available to the public because it did not have the capacity to absorb it in the short time available.[45]

    The budget owed almost nothing to Labour’s manifesto. Its content closely matched the Treasury view set out in Economic Management.[46] Douglas’s identification with Treasury was complete by 1985. Treasury initiatives adopted by the government that were not signalled before the 1984 election included the introduction of a comprehensive tax on consumption (GST), the floating of the dollar (which Douglas opposed until 1984) and the corporatisation of the government’s trading activities, announced at the end of 1985….

    The juxtaposition of the preceding years on the 1985 economic reforms had never occurred to me. I think the wealthy whites were taking fright at the idea of Maori getting control of government, and that they had to act swiftly while they still had a chance. Our finances were already in flux, internationally also. So seize the day.

  21. CHCOff 21
    29 January 2019 at 7:43 pm

    Please keep the respect of the human rights of your citizens at the forefront in the sorting out of your political problems.

    Good luck & success

    New Zealand

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/29/venezuela-crisis-new-zealand-guaido-interim-president

  22. lenore 22
    29 January 2019 at 8:28 pm

    Interesting about the horticulture industry crying out for workers. – what a load of crock. My 18 year old has been trying to get fruit picking or other similar work and applied for lots of jobs but heard nothing or they don’t want them because they want migrants or people back packing or a particular gender. Accommodation is expensive or difficult to get if you don’t have a car. Here is a physically fit young person who is keen to work and is now giving up and looking at retail work. What the industry means is they want to be able to exploit migrant labour because my kid knows their rights.

  23. Eco maori 23
    30 January 2019 at 3:42 pm

    Here is a story that say Australia can be run on renewable energy that use less water is better for the environment and more cost effective that carbon based energy
    Our electricity system of the future could be powered by sun, wind and waves However, the big four banks and the big three energy companies are not having a bar of it. Indeed the majority of Australia’s energy companies are working towards a very different future for the country’s energy system, a future powered by clean, renewable energy.

    There are now at least nine studies conducted during the decade that have analysed how Australia can move from an electricity system based on polluting coal and gas to one powered by the sun, wind and waves.

    The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) – the body tasked with making sure we have energy when we need it – found there were “no fundamental limits to 100% renewables”, and that the current standards of the system’s security and reliability would be maintained.

    These studies show different pathways towards 100% renewable energy, but what they all agree on is that it can be achievedhe Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) – the body tasked with making sure we have energy when we need it – found there were “no fundamental limits to 100% renewables”, and that the current standards of the system’s security and reliability would not be lost.
    1. Big on wind and solar
    In future, the bulk of our electricity will come from the most affordable technologies – wind and solar photovoltaic (PV). In areas with the best renewable resources, big wind and solar projects connected to transmission lines will generate electricity to power Australia’s industry, transport, cities and exports.

    Modelling by the University of New South Wales suggests that wind generation could supply up to 70% of Australia’s electricity needs, while modelling by CSIRO and Energy Networks Australia found that wind and solar could provide nearly all generation in future. UNSW’s analysis, backed up by AEMO’s Integrated System Plan, also found that many of the best solar and wind sites in Australia were in remote locations – renewable energy zones, needing new transmission investments to harvest these amazing resources e supply gaps will then be filled with a range of on-demand renewables and storage, such as concentrating solar thermal with storage, pumped hydro, batteries (grid and domestic), sustainable bioenergy and more.

    A study by Andrew Blakers at Australian National University found that pumped hydro could provide enough backup for a grid entirely powered by wind and solar power.

    Hold on … hydropower in the dry continent of Australia? Yes, they have identified 22,000 potential sites, mainly off-river reservoirs in hilly terrain or abandoned mine sites, and just 0.1% of those could meet all of Australia’s storage needs in a 100% renewable grid.

    This means we will move from a power system paradigm of baseload (big thermal generators) and peaking plants (quick-start gas) to one where our bulk energy is supplied by variable renewables and dispatchable renewables, and storage will fill the gaps.

    3. Small, so everyone can benefit
    According to CSIRO and Energy Networks Australia, between 30% and 45% of the country’s future energy generation will be local and customer-owned – in homes, businesses and communities. This means solar panels on every sunny roof, and batteries in households and commercial buildings. In apartment blocks, there will be microgrids powered by solar and batteries. Renters will join community solar projects and landlords will be required to make properties more energy efficient. When you go to the shopping centre and plug in your electric car, it will be shaded by solar panels
    Ka kite ano links below
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jan/28/what-would-australia-look-like-powered-by-100-renewable-energyhttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1kUE0BZtTRc

  24. Eco maori 24
    30 January 2019 at 4:50 pm

    Links to the above post just trying to get use to a tablet my other computer crashed some how ?????????????????????????

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1kUE0BZtTRc

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jan/28/what-would-australia-look-like-powered-by-100-renewable-energy Ka kite ano

  25. Eco Maori 25
    30 January 2019 at 6:37 pm

    Kia ora Newshub Jenna Phil was baited with that question and I don’t think it was respectful doing that to him. It’s not as hot today as it was yesterday all tho ECO has put up and repair some more shade but records are being broken all around Papatuanukue. simon that’s just a spinning ap
    There some fools who have broken into the blue penguin whare and stole them Its a stunt leave our wild life be.
    That’s cool the seal population at Kaikorua has started booming after the Rua moko quake their and the authorities have built car parks so people can watch them from a safe distance Ka pai. I have just read that a court has ruled that the authoritie that allocated the water in the Murray Darling basin the Wai water was supposed to be allocated and managed with the environment first but the allocation was giving business needs over the environment that is why there are millions of fish dying in the Murray Darling river. It gets hot in Alexander Alex Alot of times they have the countrys highest temperature.
    One day I will go fishing with Matt Watson that’s a cool way to tag fish instead of killing it yes Times Are Changing. That person killed his wife in front of there child was alcohol a factor????? Ka kite ano

  26. Eco Maori 26
    30 January 2019 at 8:03 pm

    The big picture is its is cool that the voices are finally getting out through the media that people with more money than they could spend in a life time is outrageous when we have people dieing of starvation around the world . The billionaire have to be pressured into paying more money back to the society that they got the wealth from and Eco Maori can see that happening now. The new currency the hitts on the net and + AND – hitts will give all peoples a conscience and then equality will BOOM.

    After the panel Bregman tweeted a link to a opinion piece he wrote for the Guardian in 2017, saying “most wealth is not created at the top, but merely devoured there
    Historian berates billionaires at Davos over tax avoidance
    Rutger Bregman tells panel that the real issue is the rich not paying their fair share
    A discussion panel at the Davos World Economic Forum has become a sensation after a Dutch historian took billionaires to task for not paying taxes.
    In a video shared tens of thousands of times, Rutger Bregman, author of the book Utopia for Realists, bemoans the failure of attendees at the recent gathering in Switzerland to address the key issue in the battle for greater equality: the failure of rich people to pay their fair share of taxes.
    Noting that 1,500 people had travelled to Davos by private jet to hear David Attenborough talk about climate change, he said he was bewildered that no one was talking about raising taxes on the rich.
    Taxes, taxes, taxes. All the rest is bullshit in my opinion.
    Rutger Bregman
    “I hear people talking the language of participation, justice, equality and transparency but almost no one raises the real issue of tax avoidance, right? And of the rich just not paying their fair share,” Bregman tells the Time magazine panel on inequality.
    “It feels like I’m at a firefighters conference and no one’s allowed to speak about water.”
    Industry had to “stop talking about philanthropy and start talking about taxes”, he said, and cited the high tax regime of 1950s America as an example to disprove arguments by businesspeople at Davos such as Michael Dell that economies with high personal taxation could not succeed. “That’s it,” he says. “Taxes, taxes, taxes. All the rest is bullshit in my opinion.”
    Davos 2019: the yawning gap between rhetoric and reality
    Larry Elliott

    Read more

    A member of the audience, former Yahoo chief financial officer Ken Goldman, challenged his comments and said it was a “one-sided panel”. He argued the fiscal settings across the global economy had been successful and had created record employment.
    But another panel member, Winnie Byanyima, an Oxfam executive director, took up the fight and said high employment was not a good thing in itself because many people found themselves in exploitative work. She cited the example of poultry workers in the US who had to wear nappies (diapers) because they were not allowed toilet breaks.
    “That’s not a dignified job,” she said. “those are the jobs we’ve been told about, that globalisation is bringing jobs. The quality of the jobs matter. In many countries workers no longer have a voice. Ka kite ano links below P.S its hard finding good vides on this subject $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ distorting our reality once again

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jan/30/historian-berates-billionaires-at-davos-over-tax-avoidance

  27. Eco Maori 27
    30 January 2019 at 8:26 pm

    Some Eco Maori Music for the minute