I certainly recall….(having had lower echelon connectivity with Southern Polytechnic’s) The VERY Lucrative remuneration of same CEO’s. Also Ms Penny Simmonds…..Nat mp in waiting role. I’d say Mr Phil….Ker would be very similar politically..
Otago Polytechnic chief executive Phil Ker had an increase.
His pay was $330,000 to $339,999, compared with $320,000 to $329,999 the previous year.
In Invercargill, Southern Institute of Technology chief executive Penny Simmonds received $270,000 to $279,999, up from $250,000 to $259,999 the previous year.
We have to decide what our tertiary institutions are for. This government has signalled it wants polytechnics to provide a skilled workforce for building housing, infrastructure and health. They should not be a vessel for harvesting foreign cash with dodgy courses, a means to ship in cheap labour. They should train Kiwis old, new, and pending to do the jobs NZ needs them to do.
The chiefs of some of these "personal fiefdoms' will have been hooked on Steven Joyce's corrupt backdoor to residency model. Now they are throwing their toys out of the cot.
Simmonds was selected as the National Party candidate for Invercargill in May 2020 following Sarah Dowie's decision to retire. Dowie had originally been selected to run again in September 2019. Simmonds had been rumoured as a potential candidate for about fifteen years prior.
Hi Muttonbird…and fkn Aye ! Keerist it was past time that Labour sorted this and other shit out. Good on them for pulling the comfy blanket remuneration away from some of these CEO's. I , as maybe you, see the Apprenticeships (Labour restarting ) and all other things in process to get young NZ a Future.
The (now departed) CEO of the new organization, Te Pūkenga was getting $688,235 – one of the highest public sector salaries in the country – and he appointed 6 deputies – on salaries higher than the incumbent polytechnic CEOs (all of whom were retained on the books).
The total wages bill is now over $11 million (figures from 2021 – when they weren't fully operational – so expect it to be higher now) for 139 FTE staff.
When my wife was studying at the local polytech less than 50% of her class were even turning up to class. Half the courses were for jobs that weren't there – e.g. travel agents. Lucrative cash generators but of little practical use given the low volume of jobs in that particular area and even lower vacancies due to hardly any turnover.
I would however like to see a return to the community college concept as well with all the delight educating and training in artistic and practical skills that community colleges used to provide. Second chance learning. Needs to be back to fully utilise secondary schools as well which should be a broader community asset.
“I would however like to see a return to the community college concept as well with all the delight educating and training in artistic and practical skills that community colleges used to provide. Second chance learning. Needs to be back to fully utilise secondary schools as well which should be a broader community asset.”
Absolutely. That… disappeared under Mr …Ker's "Leadership" and of course the sir Key Nat govt.
No need to ask whether I fought against….
Hence my pissed off at his and Penny's comments now.
I can only speak from my experience watching the heartbreaking destruction of Unitec under the incompetent leadership of Rick Eade. If that was any guide then polytech CEO leadership has been long afflicted by an over supply of mediocre talent that has gigantic egos and an even bigger sense of hubris.
Unitec Council Chair, Dr Lee Mathias said: “I want to thank Rick for his tremendous contribution to Unitec’s transformation, which includes significant progress towards the redevelopment of our Mt Albert campus, the introduction of new industry partnerships and a strong foundation to deliver more flexible, work-integrated teaching models that our future students and employers will demand. In his time at Unitec, Rick has also raised the profile of contemporary applied learning in New Zealand.”
"Has the bully boy been intimidated by an articulate and forceful minister?"
Of course he has. Bully boys (and bully girls for that matter) are not usually very bright. Their one source of power is to harass and intimidate those they perceive to be vulnerable. In the case of bully boys, women who have an ethnic background (ie. darker skin) are generally easy targets. He's going to have to call on his 'mates' inside the Police Force to keep him abreast of any meaty stories – don't have to be true – that he can hit Hipkins with in due course.
So it turns out organic AI is already working quite smoothly and efficiently in service of the state as we speak…just watch the host of this show mechanically outline what she has been told to say and think about Unions and Workers….then for the next eighteen minutes, no matter what is said or explained to her, come back again and again and again to her original programming….unluckily for her she is sitting next to Eddie Dempsey from the RMT….watch and enjoy.
It’s a bit like reading The Guardian on Western foreign interventions or real progressive change..trained human bots spewing propaganda endlessly in service of power.
Eddie Dempsey nicely brings the media position in the UK on workers striking into sharp focus at about 12 minutes in….if you don't want to watch all 18 minutes.
"You took the money though and didn't give it back"
"Its a bit of a cheek saying the trade unions are being greedy asking for a pay rise when the profits of the footsie top 350 companies have gone up 73% since 2019. When are we going to ask are they being greedy"
"Companies taking huge profits out to tax havens" while workers wages continue to decline in real terms.
Meanwhile Starmer has sacked a frontbench MP who joined the picket line:
The Guardian understands Tarry was told he was sacked as shadow minister for buses and local transport for saying that it was “not acceptable to offer below inflation pay rises” because it would be a real-terms pay cut for workers.
Of course The Guardian are in no position to take the moral high ground on this (or anything I can think of), no can or should forget that it was The Guardian who actively led the charge to undermine and destroy Jeremy Corbyn, that has now given the UK that piece of shit Centrist Liberal, Starmer…and it goes without saying that Corbyn would have been on the picket lines with his progressive MP's had he still been leader of the Labour Party.
Sure, however I think the Forde report outlines the factionalism inside the party was more responsible than a newspaper.
Both UK Labour and the NZ Labour party have a crisis of ideology:
Mr Corbyn also said the Forde report showed Labour needed to "decide what it is for".
"Are we a democratic socialist party, run by members and affiliated unions, that aims for a fundamental transfer of wealth and power from the few to the many?" he asked. "Or are we something else?"
Corbyn should have purged all the Centrist out…but he was and is too much of a inclusionist to ever do that, I guess he didn't realize that Centrists are as fundamentalist about their ideology as any communist ever was about theirs….still it was probably his biggest mistake IMO.
Funny the BBC reporting on it, as they, at the time, were some of the most openly biased against him……
Agreed Adrian…the Guardian's reporting of the anti-semitic issue was scandalous. This and its less than friendly reporting on Corbyn's Brexit position condemned Labour to lose the last election, which is presumably the outcome the Guardian wanted-Boris instead of Jeremy.
"Labour need Dempsey as leader not Smarmy Starmer"…Yes they do, either him or Mick Lynch…then we would instantly get to see The Guardian and all other so called 'Liberal' press show their real colours, and do the job they are their for..undermining real progressive change (that and selling Western Imperialist wars and interventions as the moral high ground to the Liberal class)…
How The Guardian Betrayed Not Only Corbyn But The Last Vestiges Of British Democracy
The Guardian was despicable in its Corbyn takedown, especially that awful Jonathan Freedland. After every anti-Corbyn article, I went looking for the anti-semitism he was supposed to have engaged in, and could never find anything more than puerile conjecture and upsetting the Israeli govt.
The thing that really grind my gears about The Guardian is that, even after being exposed time and again as being nothing more than Free Market Imperialist Trojan horse that more than any other news source really undermines any serious progressive movement…yet so many 'Lefties' still take it seriously and trust it as a news source….put it this way…there hasn't been a Western intervention the Guardian hasn't supported since Iraq…enough said!!
Interim Cass report indicated changes would be coming for the UK's primary gender clinic, the Tavistock.
Yesterday it was announced the treatment of minors would be transferred to two regional centres, where a comprehensive set of professional support services would be utilised.
. The regional centres should be experienced providers of tertiary paediatric care to ensure a focus on child health and development, with strong links to mental health services. They should have established academic and education functions to ensure that ongoing research and training is embedded within the service delivery model. The centres should have an appropriate multi-professional workforce to enable them to manage the holistic needs of this population, as well as the ability to provide essential related services or be able to access such services through provider collaborations. These should include, but not be limited to: mental health services; services for children and young people with autism and other neurodiverse presentations; and for the subgroup for whom medical treatment may be considered appropriate, access to endocrinology services and fertility services. There should also be expertise in safeguarding, support of looked-after children and children who have experienced trauma. Staff should maintain a broad clinical perspective by working across related services within the tertiary centre and between tertiary and secondary centres in order to embed the care of children and young people with gender-related distress within a broader child and adolescent health context.
For those that have been following these reviews, this appears to be another significant move away from the "affirming healthcare" model we have for minors here in NZ.
Following that announcement, the Telegraph has published a personal account from a detransitioner. Link below to non-paywalled copy:
Detransition followed the deradicalisation. As the politics fell away, so did the desire to transition. I began to address with a therapist and gynaecologist – a good one this time – everything that had led me to the point of wanting surgical sterilisation. I was diagnosed with PMDD (an obscure and little known hormonal intolerance) and several learning disorders, including autism – a co-morbidity common to a disproportionate number of girls turning up in gender clinics.
It's great news for evidence-based care and a potential return to sanity for gender-confused youth in England and Wales. Finally, a proper review of the outcome for youth on puberty blockers and hormones and some decent clinical trials to be done on these off-label drugs. The sloppiness of care for young people for whom notes were not properly kept and outcomes not measured is astounding.
The big question I have is, will this be reported in New Zealand media?
Will the Ministry of Health finally admit that puberty blockers are not "safe and reversible"?
When will the government call for a similar review of gender-affirming care, in line with the concerning findings of the Cass Review?
A couple of thoughts. First, these anti-vax types are clearly capable of a terrorist outrage. This guy is being held for doing something very serious – otherwise he'd be out on bail. Look at the recent bomb threats to schools, apparently robocalls from an overseas location making bomb threats in relation to mask mandates. I don't know about you, but I would have thought an offshore account making bomb threats to schools would pretty much complete the bingo card to make sure you end up on the Five Eyes Kanban board "Work in Progress" column. These people are idiots, but they are dangerous idiots.
Secondly, recent events have shown how monumentally stupid Geoffrey Palmer's reforms repeal of the sedition laws were. In some respects a high water mark of globalist, neoliberal anti-statist law making it has really, really hobbled an effective state response to the anti-vax movement and the rise of seditious behaviour. The repeal of the sedition laws were informed by an ideology that saw the state as a sunset institution that was no longer deserved to be protected by archiac laws.
Well, we definitely need some sort of sedition law if only to protect those arrested from being charged with more serious offenses under anti-terror laws.
To be fair to Geoffrey Palmer, in the 1980s I don't think he could have envisaged the current state of play around the world today and the rise of despotic presidents together with their collective millions of loopy and braindead followers – some of which live in NZ.
In some respects a high water mark of globalist, neoliberal anti-statist law making it has really, really hobbled an effective state response to the anti-vax movement and the rise of seditious behaviour.
The best description yet from the fallout of neoliberalism. Roger and Ruth should be hanging their heads in shame.
Domino effect persists in UK,as housing restrictions on new builds are in effect,due to lack of grid capacity for electricity supply,due to demand from energy hungry data centres,Heat pumps and EV charging.
Australian electricity consumers can expect Nightmare bills as wholesale markets rocket.The grid upgrades and carbon taxes will further increase electricity costs going forward,add to inflation hence increased consumer costs,and transfer of jobs to lower cost manufacturing economies such as NZ.
Well they could just burn some more coal for all their much needed gadgets and stuff.
And if they wanted to appear as Green and considerate for the planet, they could like us not mine themselves but import coal from countries that are far away from us and where we don't care ab9out the pollution cause it is there and not here near by.
Well it appears that they will have to import more coal, or start mining again themselves.
Fwiw, our Hydro Dams are looking good thanks to the relentless rain that we had. That gives me a big happy. Points still stands, we are importing cheap Indonesian coal to generate electricty.
blablabla, we should not laugh at people whilst we are sharing the same boat.
We the People / He Tangata must make a decision to cut on electricity consumption, one way or another. Energy Wars, Water Wars all that stuff is happening already, its creeping into our 'save western first highly advanced' world, and should no longer delude ourselfs that us doing as they do is lesser or better. It is not.
I make funny noises about E – Cars not because I don't like driving. I grew up in Germany and driving on a good road with no speed limit and a car/bike is awesome fun. So is riding a bike. Or walking. Or taking the train.
I make these noises because we already don't generate the Energy we want to consume, we supplement with fossil fuels because of that 'want' and we He Tangata need to bend our mind around that we need to Want less.
E-cars, Heat Pumps, electronic storage/gadgets use energy. That energy needs t o come from somewhere and we should finally get honest and candid about where it is going to come from. Cause those E-cars don't drive without the E.
More an ESG thing which causes a transfer of demand (unquantified) like high immigration makes us have the highest cost housing,rents,a substantive infrastructure quagmire etc.
the UK is the use transformation ,from making things to data centres,and electrification of bus fleets etc.
Here we are producing and consuming the same amount of electricity,it is only the generation type mix that is changed ( gas replaced 50% by wind) consumption has transformed from industry and primary production (decrease) to residential and commercial use (the latter being blingy signs at the mall)
You also need to remember that a huge amount of FF is used in transporting FF,40% of shipping for example.The 2 largest population country's,are mostly dependent of FF for energy,and more importantly for food, food transport and transformation.
Australia with a substantive renewable (solar,wind .hydro) has problems with actually getting it into the grid when needed,and which to reorient the systems (with go round availability ) is close to 22B.
They also have problems with their pumped hydro,due to there being too much water (overfill dams)
The countries it affects FIRST are the developing countries….always going to be the case as a bidding war begins….then we move to national interest as the countries with the resources hold on to them (or dispense them for political gain)…anyone spring to mind?
A quick look around the globe reveals that the 'first world' are somewhat energy (and minerally) challenged.
High prices also see demand destruction (the US saw gasoline volumes decrease 3%).Europe diesel is well down in consumption.
Australia is not renewing its fuel subsidy,here we kept it decrease inflationary pressures ( and interest rates down) If we removed the subsidy on fuel and RT would we see an uptake on PT? Auckland PT use is the worst in years (excluding lockdown).
Youre still thinking local…..we import (currently, the time will come when that option disappears) virtually everything we need to maintain our economy….many western economies are similarly placed, with the addition of the fact they are net food importers.
Households are working more towards living within their means,with larger repayments in their mortgage debt (front loading) and increased household savings 17 billion in the last year,2.1 billion in the last month.
High prices see householders move to a war footing fast,and not so much revenge vacationing as Europe and the US.
a lot of the inflation is in Shelter (rent and housing building cost) and utilities such as rates (which are out of control) which does add to rent costs.
One of the Fed analysts said the problem was not so much employment (an indicator) but mor about high shelter costs with new build costs increasing 17% y on y (familiar) and increased interest rates will see both a decrease in housing prices and costs.
There has been also a move out of corporate residential housing purchases in the US,and the decrease in finacialization ( speculators) has seen a decrease in commodity prices as they return to value stocks.
"Last week, the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose to the highest level in more than eight months. It’s a warning sign foreshadowing what’s to come. Jobless claims for the week ending July 15 increased to 251,000, representing the most significant spike since the pandemic time period of November 13 last year, when 265,000 Americans applied for benefits. The Department of Labor also pointed out that employers advertised fewer jobs in May, another signal of a declining job market, which the Fed is hoping for."
True,not good for land agents here (they will have more articles in herald etc)
GDP figures (and inflation) coming out of Europe now,with strong gdp in Italy,Spain,France. Germany just broke even at .1% Attribution is west,south Europe is from Tourism.
West / spain /portugal/ France ( mostly med though)
Italy lost a good PM ,he had reduced reliance on Russian gas,with increased supply from Algeria (and deal coming with israel) The big fail with the italian economy was the Euro which constrained growth,they are whist indebted the housing market (like spain has been stable) Germany had a large increase in housing cost (value)
Greece is also insulated from Russian gas,as it gets supplied from Azerbaijan.
Powerdown is an intentional strategy. This looks more like decades of ignoring the limits of growth merging with the covid/brexit/climate crisis. Be good if we looked at a sustainable and resilient response rather than chasing green BAU.
The EU has started the single largest intentional energy use reduction we've seen since the 1979 oil crisis. Doesn't have to fit anyone's specific definition. Certainly won't run as any prophet foretold.
This is nothing like Business As Usual for nearly 500 million people and for all EU governments as well as the UK, and it is as permanent as the eye can see. COVID and the Ukraine War is the acceleration of change that's been waiting to happen.
9 of the top 10 countries leading an energy transition are already in Europe or the EEA:
When Florida Power & Light faced a spate of bad publicity and political blowback, a small but ambitious news website called the Capitolist sprang to the public utility’s defense.
[…]
While portraying itself as a feisty independent outlet, the Capitolist — which aims its content directly at Tallahassee decision makers — was bankrolled and controlled by executives of the power company through a small group of trusted intermediaries from an Alabama consulting firm, according to an investigation by the Miami Herald, based on a massive leak of documents. The internal communications, contracts and financial records show how a team of elite communications experts consulting for FPL plucked the Capitolist from obscurity and used it as part of an elaborate, off-the-books political strategy to advocate for rate hikes, agitate for legislative favors, slam political opponents and eliminate anything — even home solar panels — that the publicly traded utility worried might undermine its near monopoly on selling power in the Sunshine State.
The arguments are complex in the US,as the generation mix changes are dependent on tax breaks (accelerated depreciation) and subsidy replacing what is effectively low carbon generation.
In the inflation bill introduced the US has recognized the importance of E=mc2,and brought in taxbreaks for existing infrastructure,and subsidy for the grid upgrades necessary for intermittent power such as wind ad solar ( need to modulate frequency)
"TOKYO — People in a southwestern Japanese city have come under attack from monkeys that are trying to snatch babies, biting and clawing at flesh, and sneaking into nursery schools.
The attacks — on 58 people since July 8 — are getting so bad Yamaguchi city hall hired a special unit to hunt the animals with tranquilizer guns."
As the cost of living soars, people are struggling to make ends meet with one in six New Zealanders saying they’ve experienced homelessness.
And 4% of New Zealanders also said they had to sleep rough in the past year.
A survey from Orange Sky – a not-for-profit organisation that provides free mobile laundry and shower services to people experiencing homelessness – and market research company YouGov also found that 14% of the population say they have been unable to pay living costs such as rent and bills in the past year.
And of the more than 1000 people surveyed, 54% said they were nervous about their financial security and 23% admitted they were scared about losing their homes due to financial struggles.
The Greens are trying to pressure the Government to extend eligibility for the Cost of Living payment to those on benefits and pensions:
The eligibility criteria for the Government's cost of living payment is too narrow, says the Green Party, which wants New Zealanders who receive a benefit or the pension to also get the $350 support.
Green MP Ricardo Menéndez March says the urgent need to provide lower-income Kiwis with more support is highlighted by figures released last week showing an increase in the number of New Zealanders receiving weekly payments from the Ministry of Development (MSD) to cover the costs of essential items.
"What it shows is that people are further behind in meeting those basic essentials and that they need additional top-ups just to be above the bread line," he says.
But extending the cost of living payment to those receiving a benefit is also just a "short-term intervention", the MP says, and more "permanent solutions" are needed.
…
"Unless we increase benefits, those figures regarding the amount that people need for hardship grants and the debt that people are getting into won't be decreasing any time soon," the Green MP said.
He said it "makes no sense" for MSD to spend money and resources delivering temporary supports and hardship grants "when they could simply be increasing benefits to livable levels and not be pushing people constantly to their call centre just to get some extra top-ups just to make ends meet".
I would like to apologize for my angry rants on this site for the last year or two, especially the long ones.
I've been allowing my mental health and cynicism to get the better of me and attacking fellow progressives because I just see everything getting worse for poorer people, I also really care about the left and want it to be successful and sometimes that passion can sometimes turn into near hatred of things I support.
Anyway, I'm not going to comment on here or other sites for awhile and I’m going try to avoid politics in general for awhile while I work on my mental health, hopefully I can learn to love politics and be hopeful and engage in discourse in a healthy and kind way in future.
All the best to everyone on this blog and solidarity with you all.
A horrific video posted online on Thursday appears to show a Ukrainian prisoner of war being castrated by his Russian captors.
[…]
The victim in the video wears Ukrainian-style camouflage fatigues and is shown gagged, his hands tied behind his back. He lies helpless on the floor as the man in a Russian uniform, which features a “Z” patch, uses a box cutter to cut off his clothes and then appears to castrate him while shouting degrading insults in Russian. At least two other men who appear to be Russian soldiers can be seen in the video.
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The pungent smell of gasoline in your car can be an alarming and potentially dangerous problem. Not only is the odor unpleasant, but it can also indicate a serious issue with your vehicle’s fuel system. In this article, we will explore the various reasons why your car may smell like ...
Tree sap can be a sticky, unsightly mess on your car’s exterior. It can be difficult to remove, but with the right techniques and products, you can restore your car to its former glory. Understanding Tree Sap Tree sap is a thick, viscous liquid produced by trees to seal wounds ...
The amount of paint needed to paint a car depends on a number of factors, including the size of the car, the number of coats you plan to apply, and the type of paint you are using. In general, you will need between 1 and 2 gallons of paint for ...
Jump-starting a car is a common task that can be performed even in adverse weather conditions like rain. However, safety precautions and proper techniques are crucial to avoid potential hazards. This comprehensive guide will provide detailed instructions on how to safely jump a car in the rain, ensuring both your ...
Graham Adams writes about the $55m media fund — When Patrick Gower was asked by Mike Hosking last week what he would say to the many Newstalk ZB callers who allege the Labour government bribed media with $55 million of taxpayers’ money via the Public Interest Journalism Fund — and ...
Note: this blog post has been put together over the course of the week I followed the happenings at the conference virtually. Should recordings of the Great Debates and possibly Union Symposia mentioned below, be released sometime after the conference ends, I'll include links to the ones I participated in. ...
The following was my submission made on the “Fast Track Approvals Bill”. This potential law will give three Ministers unchecked powers, un-paralled since the days of Robert Muldoon’s “Think Big” projects.The submission is written a bit tongue-in-cheek. But it’s irreverent because the FTAB is in itself not worthy of respect. ...
One Could Reduce Child Poverty At No Fiscal CostFollowing the Richardson/Shipley 1990 ‘redesign of the welfare state’ – which eliminated the universal Family Benefit and doubled the rate of child poverty – various income supplements for families have been added, the best known being ‘Working for Families’, introduced in 2005. ...
Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
1. What was The Curse of Jim Bolger?a. Winston Peters b. Soon after shaking his hand, world leaders would mysteriously lose office or shuffle off this mortal coilc. Could never shake off the Mother of All Budgetsd. Dandruff2. True or false? The Chairman of a Kiwi export business has asked the ...
Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. ...
Chris Trotter writes – MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling – or non-handling – of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealand’s two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. The data is from February this ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications:Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor in Honiara Solomon Islands’ incumbent prime minister Manasseh Sogavare has been re-elected in the East Choiseul constituency. It is the opening move in the political chess match to form the country’s next government. Returning officer Christopher Makoni made the declaration late last night after ...
Headline: The moment of friction. – 36th Parallel Assessments In strategic studies “friction” is a term that it is used to describe the moment when military action encounters adversary resistance. “Friction” is one of four (along with an unofficial fifth) “F’s” in military strategy, which includes force (kinetic mass), ...
The Fast-track Bill, if passed, would allow three Ministers, unchallenged and unchecked, to approve the immediate extraction and exhaustion of one-off resources. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne iamharin/Shutterstock For many people, the term “bulk billed” refers to a GP visit they don’t have to pay ...
Emmas Hislop, Sidnam and Wehipeihana discuss what’s in a name. Emma Sidnam: Hello Emmas! Thank you so much for agreeing to do this with me. My first question for you is related to what’s been on my mind for a while. It’s very important. You see we’ve recently had some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Sievers, Research Fellow, Global Wetlands Project, Australia Rivers Institute, Griffith University Chris Brown Humans love the coast. But we love it to death, so much so we’ve destroyed valuable coastal habitat – in the case of some types of habitat, ...
Josh Thomson on the 80s milk ad jingle he can’t stop singing, the beauty of The Simpsons, why Jersey Shore is as good as Shakespeare and more. For someone who spends a lot of time on our screens, popping up in everything from 7 Days to Taskmaster, Educators to Good ...
In apparent defiance of the Biden administration, the Netanyahu government has now initiated missile strikes against Iran. Last Saturday night (Sunday morning in New Zealand) Iran launched more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles against Israeli military targets. With the assistance of US, UK and possibly French forces, ...
Māori representation brings a perspective that encompasses not only the interests of Māori communities but also a broader, holistic approach to environmental stewardship and community well-being, principles deeply embedded in Te Ao Māori (the Māori ...
This week in Auckland, a group of young people took over the microphone at a ministerial press conference, to explain why they oppose the Fast-Track Approvals Bill. One young woman said, ‘We’re here because we love Aotearoa New Zealand. We want to raise our children in an environment that’s thriving, ...
The summer was wonderful. Evie was wonderful, too; finally a teenager, finally worthy of long, hot days. She shaved her legs for the first time and bought cut-off shorts from the op-shop that made them look long. She got a Warehouse singlet so tight on her new shape that her ...
When Thomas James was on his solo camp as part of Outward Bound, the keen outdoorsman didn’t find it too challenging, as others often do. In what might just be the perfect illustration of his character, he saw it as a great opportunity to solve a few problems. “I thought, ...
From the unstable and drippy to the hi-tech and pretty, here’s our ranking of all the tunnels you can drive through in this country. The first tunnel seems to have been built in 2200BC in Babylonia, kicking off a global phenomenon for digging holes in order to get places more ...
Lucinda Bennett on the art of being greedy but resourceful. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. When I picture the market, it is always this time of year. Crisp air, dripping nose, counting coins with cold fingers. Sunlight pale, filtered through specks of dew still ...
Zoë Colling’s favourite piece in the ‘That’s So Last Century’ collection is a lubrication chart for a sewing machine from the ’60s. It’s about the size of a postcard, and carefully maintained. “I like it that this piece of ephemera highlights that manual and technical side of the skill involved ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)Hot off the press, this debut ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
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Well theres a Silver lining ! : )
I certainly recall….(having had lower echelon connectivity with Southern Polytechnic’s) The VERY Lucrative remuneration of same CEO’s. Also Ms Penny Simmonds…..Nat mp in waiting role. I’d say Mr Phil….Ker would be very similar politically..
Sour grapes from natfans…IMO.
Be sure that these were topics of intense discussion for lower echelon Staff !
We have to decide what our tertiary institutions are for. This government has signalled it wants polytechnics to provide a skilled workforce for building housing, infrastructure and health. They should not be a vessel for harvesting foreign cash with dodgy courses, a means to ship in cheap labour. They should train Kiwis old, new, and pending to do the jobs NZ needs them to do.
The chiefs of some of these "personal fiefdoms' will have been hooked on Steven Joyce's corrupt backdoor to residency model. Now they are throwing their toys out of the cot.
Penny Simmons, National Party MP, ex-chief executive of the Southern Institute of Technology?
There was never much doubt of Penny’s political …ambition
Whatever happened to Sarah?
I see Hamish is big in Queenstown real estate nowadays.
Todd fled to London, afaik.
“Hamish Walker is out of the House and into the housing market.
The disgraced former Clutha-Southland MP has announced he is joining Harcourts as a real estate salesman in Queenstown.
Walker said he had qualified and worked in real estate before entering Parliament, and was now returning to his roots.
In July, the then-National MP announced he would not seek re-election after being found to have leaked private Covid-19 patient information to several media outlets.
Walker said this week he was looking forward to helping connect people to property and spending more time at home.”
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/123310399/former-mp-hamish-walker-launches-real-estate-career-in-queenstown
looking forward to helping connect people to property
Ric…VERY Rich People…to Very Expensive Property : )
Ah the Gravy Train…….there is a better quality of Gravy with..the RIGHT Connections : )
Hi Muttonbird…and fkn Aye ! Keerist it was past time that Labour sorted this and other shit out. Good on them for pulling the comfy blanket remuneration away from some of these CEO's. I , as maybe you, see the Apprenticeships (Labour restarting ) and all other things in process to get young NZ a Future.
Doesn't seem to be much blanket pulling going on.
The (now departed) CEO of the new organization, Te Pūkenga was getting $688,235 – one of the highest public sector salaries in the country – and he appointed 6 deputies – on salaries higher than the incumbent polytechnic CEOs (all of whom were retained on the books).
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/122774439/nzs-new-mega-polytech-to-pay-six-deputy-chief-executives-250k-to-400k-each
The total wages bill is now over $11 million (figures from 2021 – when they weren't fully operational – so expect it to be higher now) for 139 FTE staff.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/126785490/staff-wage-bill-for-tertiary-education-provider-te-pkenga-is-11m-boss-tells-mps
Hipkins wanted the organization to be:
In July, Hipkins said he expected NZIST would be “nimble” and not “another layer of management”.
Not seeing much sign that he's got what he wanted.
lol…..Mkay….. Belladonna. Happy now? : )
When my wife was studying at the local polytech less than 50% of her class were even turning up to class. Half the courses were for jobs that weren't there – e.g. travel agents. Lucrative cash generators but of little practical use given the low volume of jobs in that particular area and even lower vacancies due to hardly any turnover.
I would however like to see a return to the community college concept as well with all the delight educating and training in artistic and practical skills that community colleges used to provide. Second chance learning. Needs to be back to fully utilise secondary schools as well which should be a broader community asset.
“I would however like to see a return to the community college concept as well with all the delight educating and training in artistic and practical skills that community colleges used to provide. Second chance learning. Needs to be back to fully utilise secondary schools as well which should be a broader community asset.”
Absolutely. That… disappeared under Mr …Ker's "Leadership" and of course the sir Key Nat govt.
No need to ask whether I fought against….
Hence my pissed off at his and Penny's comments now.
There is a recurring theme here…..we appear incapable of reforming anything at all.
Sadly…some truth in that. BUT…we have to fight to try and make a difference. As ever.
For sure those at the "top" are fighting hard to maintain their Status…Quo.
"For sure those at the "top" are fighting hard to maintain their Status…Quo."
As ever was….ultimately futilely….the real problem is what form the change takes.
I can only speak from my experience watching the heartbreaking destruction of Unitec under the incompetent leadership of Rick Eade. If that was any guide then polytech CEO leadership has been long afflicted by an over supply of mediocre talent that has gigantic egos and an even bigger sense of hubris.
So..I assume that glowing brown nose….also steamed like a freshly laid cow turd on a winters morn : ) ?
Liam Sloan resigned from NMIT to become the CEO at ARA in Christchurch. Not really to be counted as a dis-allusioned CEO surely?
Just an observation:
Mercenary Mitchell has been very quiet during QT in the house lately.
Is it because he finds he can't puff and sneer quite so readily about Chris Hipkins as Police Minister as he thought he could against Poto?
Has the bully boy been intimidated by an articulate and forceful minister?
Poto is a nice woman. They are quite often the target du jour of the mercen..bull… Ah nat mp type.
They come unstuck against the likes of Jacinda. Who can eviscerate quite..nicely. As in their guts (?) are spilled…all nicely of course.
Chris would easily have the measure of these type of shitheads…also : )
"Has the bully boy been intimidated by an articulate and forceful minister?"
Of course he has. Bully boys (and bully girls for that matter) are not usually very bright. Their one source of power is to harass and intimidate those they perceive to be vulnerable. In the case of bully boys, women who have an ethnic background (ie. darker skin) are generally easy targets. He's going to have to call on his 'mates' inside the Police Force to keep him abreast of any meaty stories – don't have to be true – that he can hit Hipkins with in due course.
In his electorate he is known as being lazy. Without an easy mark, he can’t cut it.
So it turns out organic AI is already working quite smoothly and efficiently in service of the state as we speak…just watch the host of this show mechanically outline what she has been told to say and think about Unions and Workers….then for the next eighteen minutes, no matter what is said or explained to her, come back again and again and again to her original programming….unluckily for her she is sitting next to Eddie Dempsey from the RMT….watch and enjoy.
It’s a bit like reading The Guardian on Western foreign interventions or real progressive change..trained human bots spewing propaganda endlessly in service of power.
Eddie Dempsey nicely brings the media position in the UK on workers striking into sharp focus at about 12 minutes in….if you don't want to watch all 18 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fZe6Pq4hn4&t=1s
Ms Widdecomb didn't disappoint.
https://twitter.com/sturdyAlex/status/1132895182247084037
Brilliant-thanks for that Adrian.
"You took the money though and didn't give it back"
"Its a bit of a cheek saying the trade unions are being greedy asking for a pay rise when the profits of the footsie top 350 companies have gone up 73% since 2019. When are we going to ask are they being greedy"
"Companies taking huge profits out to tax havens" while workers wages continue to decline in real terms.
Labour need Dempsey as leader not Smarmy Starmer.
Meanwhile Starmer has sacked a frontbench MP who joined the picket line:
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jul/27/sam-tarry-sacked-labour-frontbench-rail-strike-picket-line-keir-starmer
Funny AND True
Of course The Guardian are in no position to take the moral high ground on this (or anything I can think of), no can or should forget that it was The Guardian who actively led the charge to undermine and destroy Jeremy Corbyn, that has now given the UK that piece of shit Centrist Liberal, Starmer…and it goes without saying that Corbyn would have been on the picket lines with his progressive MP's had he still been leader of the Labour Party.
Sure, however I think the Forde report outlines the factionalism inside the party was more responsible than a newspaper.
Both UK Labour and the NZ Labour party have a crisis of ideology:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-62226042
Corbyn should have purged all the Centrist out…but he was and is too much of a inclusionist to ever do that, I guess he didn't realize that Centrists are as fundamentalist about their ideology as any communist ever was about theirs….still it was probably his biggest mistake IMO.
Funny the BBC reporting on it, as they, at the time, were some of the most openly biased against him……
Agreed Adrian…the Guardian's reporting of the anti-semitic issue was scandalous. This and its less than friendly reporting on Corbyn's Brexit position condemned Labour to lose the last election, which is presumably the outcome the Guardian wanted-Boris instead of Jeremy.
"Labour need Dempsey as leader not Smarmy Starmer"…Yes they do, either him or Mick Lynch…then we would instantly get to see The Guardian and all other so called 'Liberal' press show their real colours, and do the job they are their for..undermining real progressive change (that and selling Western Imperialist wars and interventions as the moral high ground to the Liberal class)…
How The Guardian Betrayed Not Only Corbyn But The Last Vestiges Of British Democracy
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL2008/S00085/how-the-guardian-betrayed-not-only-corbyn-but-the-last-vestiges-of-british-democracy.htm
The Guardian was despicable in its Corbyn takedown, especially that awful Jonathan Freedland. After every anti-Corbyn article, I went looking for the anti-semitism he was supposed to have engaged in, and could never find anything more than puerile conjecture and upsetting the Israeli govt.
Ken Loach says it better than anyone else:
https://youtu.be/PVP6PlX_UUA
The thing that really grind my gears about The Guardian is that, even after being exposed time and again as being nothing more than Free Market Imperialist Trojan horse that more than any other news source really undermines any serious progressive movement…yet so many 'Lefties' still take it seriously and trust it as a news source….put it this way…there hasn't been a Western intervention the Guardian hasn't supported since Iraq…enough said!!
Interim Cass report indicated changes would be coming for the UK's primary gender clinic, the Tavistock.
Yesterday it was announced the treatment of minors would be transferred to two regional centres, where a comprehensive set of professional support services would be utilised.
https://cass.independent-review.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Cass-Review-Letter-to-NHSE_19-July-2022.pdf
For those that have been following these reviews, this appears to be another significant move away from the "affirming healthcare" model we have for minors here in NZ.
Following that announcement, the Telegraph has published a personal account from a detransitioner. Link below to non-paywalled copy:
https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Fnews%2F2022%2F07%2F28%2Fhad-gone-gender-transition-would-have-committed-suicide%2F
It's great news for evidence-based care and a potential return to sanity for gender-confused youth in England and Wales. Finally, a proper review of the outcome for youth on puberty blockers and hormones and some decent clinical trials to be done on these off-label drugs. The sloppiness of care for young people for whom notes were not properly kept and outcomes not measured is astounding.
The big question I have is, will this be reported in New Zealand media?
Will the Ministry of Health finally admit that puberty blockers are not "safe and reversible"?
When will the government call for a similar review of gender-affirming care, in line with the concerning findings of the Cass Review?
Especially after this week, when the FDA put out a warning that puberty blockers may cause serious side effects, it seems irresponsible for the Ministry to still be pushing these drugs are "safe" and "irreversible" when these drugs have not undergone clinical trials to prove such an assertion (https://publications.aap.org/aapnews/news/20636/Risk-of-pseudotumor-cerebri-added-to-labeling-for?autologincheck=redirected).
Or is political virtue signalling more important than evidence-based care of vulnerable youth?
post up now, would love to hear your further thoughts if you have time.
https://thestandard.org.nz/why-is-the-uks-only-youth-gender-identity-clinic-closing-and-what-does-this-mean-for-new-zealand/
I guess he's FO what happens when you FA.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/taupo-man-graham-philip-charged-with-sabotage-believed-to-be-first-in-new-zealand-history/ZHOBLOZT5JG5HI4UGXGUQUUHJ4/
A couple of thoughts. First, these anti-vax types are clearly capable of a terrorist outrage. This guy is being held for doing something very serious – otherwise he'd be out on bail. Look at the recent bomb threats to schools, apparently robocalls from an overseas location making bomb threats in relation to mask mandates. I don't know about you, but I would have thought an offshore account making bomb threats to schools would pretty much complete the bingo card to make sure you end up on the Five Eyes Kanban board "Work in Progress" column. These people are idiots, but they are dangerous idiots.
Secondly, recent events have shown how monumentally stupid Geoffrey Palmer's
reformsrepeal of the sedition laws were. In some respects a high water mark of globalist, neoliberal anti-statist law making it has really, really hobbled an effective state response to the anti-vax movement and the rise of seditious behaviour. The repeal of the sedition laws were informed by an ideology that saw the state as a sunset institution that was no longer deserved to be protected by archiac laws.Well, we definitely need some sort of sedition law if only to protect those arrested from being charged with more serious offenses under anti-terror laws.
To be fair to Geoffrey Palmer, in the 1980s I don't think he could have envisaged the current state of play around the world today and the rise of despotic presidents together with their collective millions of loopy and braindead followers – some of which live in NZ.
The best description yet from the fallout of neoliberalism. Roger and Ruth should be hanging their heads in shame.
Mr Kemara has thoughts.
https://twitter.com/Te_Taipo/status/1552763988085092352
I was eating a magnum in parliament and wanted to throw away the wrapper. At that moment Christopher Luxon rounded the corner.
Me (holding up magnum wrapper): Where's ya bin?
Christopher: I've been in Te Puke. Thanks for asking.
Me: No no. Where's ya wheelie bin?
Christopher: Oh. I've really been in Hawaii, but I tell people Te Puke.
That is like the old joke about New Zealanders:
Kiwi person #1: "What's a Hindu?"
Kiwi person #2: "It lays iggs."
Luxon is a better handyman than his mentor then: Key couldn't hammer a nail, but Luxon can round a corner.
About that Kamala Harris introduction everyone's piling in on.
https://twitter.com/Johanna_Ann/status/1552471527500775424
own goal from the GC people this week. So fucking stupid.
Domino effect persists in UK,as housing restrictions on new builds are in effect,due to lack of grid capacity for electricity supply,due to demand from energy hungry data centres,Heat pumps and EV charging.
https://twitter.com/GeorgeNHammond/status/1552552547474456578
Australian electricity consumers can expect Nightmare bills as wholesale markets rocket.The grid upgrades and carbon taxes will further increase electricity costs going forward,add to inflation hence increased consumer costs,and transfer of jobs to lower cost manufacturing economies such as NZ.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-29/aemo-reports-record-wholesale-power-price-customer-nightmare/101279554
Well they could just burn some more coal for all their much needed gadgets and stuff.
And if they wanted to appear as Green and considerate for the planet, they could like us not mine themselves but import coal from countries that are far away from us and where we don't care ab9out the pollution cause it is there and not here near by.
Actually Asia and Europe are using coal in record amounts as global gas prices skyrocket.(as does OZ)
Here we only import coal for the Rankine units at huntly.Industrial use is all local production and being replace by heat pump boilers.
Well it appears that they will have to import more coal, or start mining again themselves.
Fwiw, our Hydro Dams are looking good thanks to the relentless rain that we had. That gives me a big happy. Points still stands, we are importing cheap Indonesian coal to generate electricty.
this is from last year: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/nz-importing-record-amount-of-coal-to-power-homes-and-businesses/3ZLXNQYGRXIOAEWAA5XWF344JM/#:~:text=%22Coal%20imported%20during%202020%20was,tonnes%20consumed%20for%20electricity%20generation.%22
The government: https://www.mbie.govt.nz/building-and-energy/energy-and-natural-resources/energy-statistics-and-modelling/energy-statistics/coal-statistics/
more statistics:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1084011/new-zealand-coal-import-volume/
blablabla, we should not laugh at people whilst we are sharing the same boat.
We the People / He Tangata must make a decision to cut on electricity consumption, one way or another. Energy Wars, Water Wars all that stuff is happening already, its creeping into our 'save western first highly advanced' world, and should no longer delude ourselfs that us doing as they do is lesser or better. It is not.
I make funny noises about E – Cars not because I don't like driving. I grew up in Germany and driving on a good road with no speed limit and a car/bike is awesome fun. So is riding a bike. Or walking. Or taking the train.
I make these noises because we already don't generate the Energy we want to consume, we supplement with fossil fuels because of that 'want' and we He Tangata need to bend our mind around that we need to Want less.
E-cars, Heat Pumps, electronic storage/gadgets use energy. That energy needs t o come from somewhere and we should finally get honest and candid about where it is going to come from. Cause those E-cars don't drive without the E.
Is this the 'power down' thing?
More an ESG thing which causes a transfer of demand (unquantified) like high immigration makes us have the highest cost housing,rents,a substantive infrastructure quagmire etc.
I'd go more with energy decline rather than governance and social license….remembering that all the demanded infrastructure requires yet more energy.
the UK is the use transformation ,from making things to data centres,and electrification of bus fleets etc.
Here we are producing and consuming the same amount of electricity,it is only the generation type mix that is changed ( gas replaced 50% by wind) consumption has transformed from industry and primary production (decrease) to residential and commercial use (the latter being blingy signs at the mall)
Globally….remember the bulk of our energy is sourced from fossil…which will not be replaced by electricity anytime soon….and likely never.
You also need to remember that a huge amount of FF is used in transporting FF,40% of shipping for example.The 2 largest population country's,are mostly dependent of FF for energy,and more importantly for food, food transport and transformation.
Australia with a substantive renewable (solar,wind .hydro) has problems with actually getting it into the grid when needed,and which to reorient the systems (with go round availability ) is close to 22B.
They also have problems with their pumped hydro,due to there being too much water (overfill dams)
Not just transporting FF, but also extracting, refining and transporting minerals (materials)…without which none of the infrastructure can occur.
The reducing availability of energy is going to force some very difficult decisions.
The countries it affects most are developing.
Sri Lanka,Bangladesh,Pakistan,India,Laos,Myanmar.
https://twitter.com/SStapczynski/status/1552587708446707712?cxt=HHwWgMDUye-S84srAAAA
The countries it affects FIRST are the developing countries….always going to be the case as a bidding war begins….then we move to national interest as the countries with the resources hold on to them (or dispense them for political gain)…anyone spring to mind?
A quick look around the globe reveals that the 'first world' are somewhat energy (and minerally) challenged.
High prices also see demand destruction (the US saw gasoline volumes decrease 3%).Europe diesel is well down in consumption.
Australia is not renewing its fuel subsidy,here we kept it decrease inflationary pressures ( and interest rates down) If we removed the subsidy on fuel and RT would we see an uptake on PT? Auckland PT use is the worst in years (excluding lockdown).
https://at.govt.nz/about-us/reports-publications/at-metro-patronage-report/
Youre still thinking local…..we import (currently, the time will come when that option disappears) virtually everything we need to maintain our economy….many western economies are similarly placed, with the addition of the fact they are net food importers.
I was thinking more in terms of peak money,as we are a debtor nation and how we can pay down our commitments,b4 we totally munt our economy.
Thats a problem facing everyone…the old adage of not needing to outrun the bear may apply.
Households are working more towards living within their means,with larger repayments in their mortgage debt (front loading) and increased household savings 17 billion in the last year,2.1 billion in the last month.
High prices see householders move to a war footing fast,and not so much revenge vacationing as Europe and the US.
https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/statistics/series/registered-banks/banks-liabilities-deposits-by-sector
Yep, had seen that…is worth remembering thats aggregate data…those who can are, many are unable.
Wage increases have also added over a billion to employees over the last yr
https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/employment-indicators-june-2022/
https://www.stats.govt.nz/topics/labour-market
Youth employment going up .
15–19 years – up 16.9 percent (19,180 jobs)
a lot of the inflation is in Shelter (rent and housing building cost) and utilities such as rates (which are out of control) which does add to rent costs.
Yep and until that employment rate/ remuneration falls the RBNZ will keep hiking (unless the FED reverses first)
One of the Fed analysts said the problem was not so much employment (an indicator) but mor about high shelter costs with new build costs increasing 17% y on y (familiar) and increased interest rates will see both a decrease in housing prices and costs.
There has been also a move out of corporate residential housing purchases in the US,and the decrease in finacialization ( speculators) has seen a decrease in commodity prices as they return to value stocks.
https://twitter.com/charliebilello/status/1552130138804047873
Scroll down for NZ.
"Last week, the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose to the highest level in more than eight months. It’s a warning sign foreshadowing what’s to come. Jobless claims for the week ending July 15 increased to 251,000, representing the most significant spike since the pandemic time period of November 13 last year, when 265,000 Americans applied for benefits. The Department of Labor also pointed out that employers advertised fewer jobs in May, another signal of a declining job market, which the Fed is hoping for."
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2022/07/22/why-the-fed-needs-to-crush-the-economy-and-job-market-to-save-it/?sh=15b86afe43b9
(Unable to scroll twitter as I dont have account.)
Central Banks have one blunt tool to curb inflation (when credibility lost)….and it induces unemployment.
Glass half full with employment data,as the open available vacancies fell to 11.3 million ( update next week)
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.nr0.htm
Fast food position in California is no good to redundant mortgage broker from New York…x 1000s
True,not good for land agents here (they will have more articles in herald etc)
GDP figures (and inflation) coming out of Europe now,with strong gdp in Italy,Spain,France. Germany just broke even at .1% Attribution is west,south Europe is from Tourism.
If Italy keeps that up they may return their economy to the size it was pre GFC.
and attribution is west means?
West / spain /portugal/ France ( mostly med though)
Italy lost a good PM ,he had reduced reliance on Russian gas,with increased supply from Algeria (and deal coming with israel) The big fail with the italian economy was the Euro which constrained growth,they are whist indebted the housing market (like spain has been stable) Germany had a large increase in housing cost (value)
Greece is also insulated from Russian gas,as it gets supplied from Azerbaijan.
Powerdown is an intentional strategy. This looks more like decades of ignoring the limits of growth merging with the covid/brexit/climate crisis. Be good if we looked at a sustainable and resilient response rather than chasing green BAU.
The EU has started the single largest intentional energy use reduction we've seen since the 1979 oil crisis. Doesn't have to fit anyone's specific definition. Certainly won't run as any prophet foretold.
This is nothing like Business As Usual for nearly 500 million people and for all EU governments as well as the UK, and it is as permanent as the eye can see. COVID and the Ukraine War is the acceleration of change that's been waiting to happen.
9 of the top 10 countries leading an energy transition are already in Europe or the EEA:
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/04/these-countries-are-leading-the-transition-to-sustainable-energy/#:~:text=Sweden%2C%20Norway%20and%20Denmark%20have,Energy%20Transition%20Index%20(ETI).
Yeah but only Norway,Iceland,and NZ are non nuke.Norway also has one of the highest consumption rates in the world ,
Right now real time production is 14.68 gw, local consumption is 11.24 rest exported.
And a heck of a lot of Norway's internal green energy consumption is funded by their North Sea oil exports.
https://www.spglobal.com/en/research-insights/articles/norway-s-new-oil-bonanza-holds-lessons-for-britain
They also lost over 200 billion in investment value in their wealth fund,due to investment in meme stock.
But are UK and Australian owners following suit and trying to limit alternative generation?
https://twitter.com/hcrystal/status/1552265815105339392
https://www.yahoo.com/news/leaked-us-power-companies-secretly-110017016.html
When Florida Power & Light faced a spate of bad publicity and political blowback, a small but ambitious news website called the Capitolist sprang to the public utility’s defense.
[…]
While portraying itself as a feisty independent outlet, the Capitolist — which aims its content directly at Tallahassee decision makers — was bankrolled and controlled by executives of the power company through a small group of trusted intermediaries from an Alabama consulting firm, according to an investigation by the Miami Herald, based on a massive leak of documents. The internal communications, contracts and financial records show how a team of elite communications experts consulting for FPL plucked the Capitolist from obscurity and used it as part of an elaborate, off-the-books political strategy to advocate for rate hikes, agitate for legislative favors, slam political opponents and eliminate anything — even home solar panels — that the publicly traded utility worried might undermine its near monopoly on selling power in the Sunshine State.
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article263757423.html
The arguments are complex in the US,as the generation mix changes are dependent on tax breaks (accelerated depreciation) and subsidy replacing what is effectively low carbon generation.
https://twitter.com/lenhe_j/status/1552646381155692550?cxt=HHwWjMClqYnqjYwrAAAA
In the inflation bill introduced the US has recognized the importance of E=mc2,and brought in taxbreaks for existing infrastructure,and subsidy for the grid upgrades necessary for intermittent power such as wind ad solar ( need to modulate frequency)
"TOKYO — People in a southwestern Japanese city have come under attack from monkeys that are trying to snatch babies, biting and clawing at flesh, and sneaking into nursery schools.
The attacks — on 58 people since July 8 — are getting so bad Yamaguchi city hall hired a special unit to hunt the animals with tranquilizer guns."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/japanese-city-alarmed-by-biting-clawing-attacking-monkeys/2022/07/27/a9e9ddec-0d8c-11ed-88e8-c58dc3dbaee2_story.html
Shocking survey findings:
https://www.renews.co.nz/1-in-6-nzers-have-experienced-homelessness-new-study-finds/
The Greens are trying to pressure the Government to extend eligibility for the Cost of Living payment to those on benefits and pensions:
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2022/07/greens-want-cost-of-living-payment-extended-to-kiwis-on-benefit-more-permanent-solutions-to-address-inequality.html
Enacting the recommendations of WEAG report when?
What's the word on the street on Tuiono?
Does he have enough backing to put his name in the ring by Thursday?
Be serious.
I would like to apologize for my angry rants on this site for the last year or two, especially the long ones.
I've been allowing my mental health and cynicism to get the better of me and attacking fellow progressives because I just see everything getting worse for poorer people, I also really care about the left and want it to be successful and sometimes that passion can sometimes turn into near hatred of things I support.
Anyway, I'm not going to comment on here or other sites for awhile and I’m going try to avoid politics in general for awhile while I work on my mental health, hopefully I can learn to love politics and be hopeful and engage in discourse in a healthy and kind way in future.
All the best to everyone on this blog and solidarity with you all.
I will miss your posts Corey
Best wishes from a glass half-empty fellow traveller – go well.
Now imagine the crimes they’re not recording and posting.
https://twitter.com/vokiratas/status/1552759641104334848
A horrific video posted online on Thursday appears to show a Ukrainian prisoner of war being castrated by his Russian captors.
[…]
The victim in the video wears Ukrainian-style camouflage fatigues and is shown gagged, his hands tied behind his back. He lies helpless on the floor as the man in a Russian uniform, which features a “Z” patch, uses a box cutter to cut off his clothes and then appears to castrate him while shouting degrading insults in Russian. At least two other men who appear to be Russian soldiers can be seen in the video.
https://news.yahoo.com/horrifying-footage-appears-to-show-russian-captors-castrating-a-ukrainian-prisoner-of-war-221414554.html