Clownish National MPs are letting the Opposition down
"King is the worst of a number of MPs who have shown a flippancy with facts. Spin is fine in politics, but facts are facts. Facts are important. You can't campaign in a different reality.
We trust our politicians to make big decisions. Most of the decisions they make will not be campaigned on, will arise through their terms in power, or will go unreported.
As a farmer, King should know climate change is the biggest issue facing New Zealand agriculture, says Glenn McConnell.
The ability, then, to know fact from fiction and to be able to understand science and reasoning is the most basic skill a politician must have. By sharing disinformation, King has exposed that he lacks this basic requirement. He must go.
He must go, also, because his stance shows an absolute disregard for New Zealand's future. Climate change is the biggest issue facing agriculture, and the biggest challenge facing the world. He does not understand the issue.
This blasé approach to what most people are calling a crisis is irresponsible. He, and the other politicians who are ignoring the climate crisis, are condemning future generations to food insecurity, environmental catastrophe and global economic instability. If you're an MP who hasn't caught up with this, then you are out of touch and must go."
I'm not even sure "spin is OK". Framing – sure. Spin is designed to prevent basic honesty and openness, to obfuscate and be frugal with the truth. It's one reason people lose faith in their representatives.
I think we can agree though that King is a complete muppet
Spin is too kind a word. The Opposition will be infamous for repeatedly straight out lying and by the time the truth is out there the damage has been done. Remember the $100,000 bottle of wine that wasn't?
Matt King only got elected because Peters and Prime split their vote – National had been declining in previous elections in Northland. We shouldn't need 'deals' like Epsom to get rid of King at the next election, but it would help if we moved to STV. . .
That scheme was going to add a paltry 20MW of capacity, and trash a pretty special bit of river in the conservation estate.
Meanwhile, there's 2500MW of windfarms consented, but not yet being built due to lack of demand. At first glance, I don't see any of those requiring the trashing of part of our conservation estate.
There's also 285MW of geothermal consented, but not yet being built due to lack of demand.
The obstacle to turning our electricity generation 100% renewable has more to do with the way fossil generators get to dump their hazardous waste on the rest of us for free. Not going ahead with trivially small hydro schemes that carry significant environmental costs has bugger-all to do with it.
It's a bad-faith, rhetorical trick to equate 'renewable' with 'green'. Hydro is one of the least desirable renewables because it trashes natural ecosystems. A very useful technology historically, but not the future.
Historical technology was (and is) often very clever and simple.Solutions were often very cheap.
It is absolutely possible to build even large spaces that can function perfectly well without any energy hungry mechanical ventilation system, but nobody today builds Victorian theaters (or knows how to). Instead we have monstrous modern complexes that are useless without power. pic.twitter.com/bS7lpznh4M
Its now a given , as the heating and cooling with fresh air are a single 'system'. Its like using microphones and speakers, you really cant do without them
There’s no middle ground or compromise with people with your thought process. If you look hard enough the pursuit of energy will trash something. Whether it’s the sea the wind farm, the river, the nuclear waste. There has to be middle here. The massive impact that the Manapouri Dam had on the landscape has recovered over time. The difference these days is our ability to be a lot thoughtful with the way these projects are instigated.
None of the South Island rivers that I'm aware of that have been dammed have recovered, and certainly not the Waiau.
The whole point of dams is that they give control of water flows to humans, who then manage then in highly destructive ways without much regard for the ecology of the river. Hydro dams being opened for lots of power generation produce tornado like effects in the river itself for the things that live in the river. I think the issues with the Waiau are related to low flow and the river having lost its 20,000 year old capacity to respond to changes in water coming out of two lakes. The Manapouri scheme would never be allowed today and let's not forget that the huge damage that would have come from raising the lake was prevented by environmentalists.
The river flows can be controlled. Any new Dam would would have strict controls. The Manapouri Dam wouldn’t have been built now as you say. But I can’t see why not. No body travelling around that area complains what a tragedy it is. When travellers drive past these lakes they don’t comment how ugly they are. They are part of a new beautiful landscape. The areas were wonderful landscapes before and are now. Just different. The North Island would be an underdeveloped wilderness without SI power. Unless you burn coal that is. Put up enough wind turbines and all the visual pollution people will come out of the woodwork. There must be compromise.
Thats rewriting history. Manapouri was an existing lake it wasnt created by people. The lake level is only controlled. Thats way it 'looks good' , but hey its not just about views for people who drive past
For the original project they did propose to RAISE the lake level, and rightly that created an almighty storm.
Compromise involves understanding where the limits are. I just wrote a whole post about this, you can read it if you like. There are no good reasons to keep damming rivers in NZ. We don't have to keep growing exponentially, and we will be forced to stop soon anyway because of climate change.
What we are talking about here is NZ's excessive usage of power. We could be conserving power and working within our limits. There's still compromise there, but small scale wind has a distinctly different impact than what happens to rivers when we dam them. It's not so much about visual pleasure, although that's an issue in some ways, it's about the impact on the river itself. Meaning the entity, perhaps what you think of as the beauty, as well as all the life that exists because of the river.
I'm guessing you're not familiar with Manapouri and the Waiau. It's not a Manapouri dam, it's a system across two lakes, a river, a mountain and a fiord. The mountain has two tailraces built under it to drop water from Manapouri to the sea. To control that they built two control dams at the outlets of Lakes Manapouri and Te Anau. The Waiau drains out of Manapouri, and because they want Manapouri to flow under the mountain instead, the Waiau river is kept abnormally low. This affects the whole river right to the sea.
Algae build up is an issue, and this will become more so as water temperatures increase with climate change.
Nice description of the project Weka, but don’t assume too much. I traveled up the river from TeAnau to Manapouri before the project was started around 1964.
Or Alas, poor China, burdened by imperial fantasies in Taiwan, Xinjiang, Xiazang (Tibet), Nei Mongolia (Inner Mongolia). The largest empire on earth today is the Chinese empire.
Sorry, I forgot. Only white people are racists, colonialists and imperialists.
Oh FGS. Sorry, I expect people to be able to voice reasonable opinions of their own that are backed by facts without having some PC person criticise because the comment touches on one of their particular sensitivities. It is where free speech is needed, with cool analysis and telling it like it is, without belabouring the point beyond reason.
News – QE2 has sunk to depths uncharted. Salvage by PC is unlikely because of the state of the wreck. A vicissitude of Titanic proportions; it reminds me of the German state making Hitler the Chancellor.
Why did not the Queen insist, in her precise, measuring way, that it seems unconstitutional to have Parliament in abeyance when there were concerns for the country that are of extreme importance to be thoroughly discussed before finality?
May I suggest if you are going to persist in commentating on the UK and brexit, you undertake a little research, so others don't have to keep posting how wrong you are most of the time.
It would have been impossible for the Queen to turn down the prime minister's request, our royal correspondent Jonny Dymond writes.
The Queen acts on the advice of her prime minister.
While many, many people may be upset that Parliament is not going to sit at such time, precedent is on the side of those making this decision.
The idea is these things are settled in the Palace of Westminster, not Buckingham Palace.
The Queen had very little wriggle room to make any kind of political decision.
May I suggest that you butt out from dropping in on other's comments with total derision and stop playing the superior pedant. What I have said will echo what many people think.
I myself consider this so important that the Queen, if boxed in by convention or even law, should have pushed it aside and done her duty to all the people of the UK. She put up with Thatcher and to let Johnson and Co. have their way was cowardice despite what advisors might say. She won't keep royalty high in people's allegiance by letting the country go further to the dogs. It is a time of face-off against the barons and merchants of coming doom, and perhaps she is too old for the job.
No need to get hurt, it's just a simple request for you to actually find out a miniscule amount of information about the subject you intend to post on, before you actually do it. Clearly this didn't work second time around either @4.2.2.1 🙄
Greywarshark, you do not seem to understand the role of the Queen in the UK.
Even if she wanted to, she could not have have 'pushed it aside…'. Likewise, she had to put up with Thatcher, Blair et al. The Queen is just a figurehead, bound by the constitution. She MUST defer to her Ministers, almost without exception.
What you are proposing is little short of a royalist revolution, and certainly against the laws of Great Britain, laws that have taken centuries of struggle to wrest the power from an unelected elite.
Whether you realize it or not, you are proposing that the clock of political freedom be turned back by around 400 years.
So now the power is with the elected elite. You people are so unthinking. Everything is changing in the world. The elected government lies to the people who vote according to the lie, and then find out too late, but a slight majority that has been received is enough apparently to start the dissolution of what remains of the marvellous democracy that you are wetting your pants about. So many lies. Tony Blair and WMD so war. Defending that should bring a red blush to your cheek.
The USA is the same – quoting its founding documents for authority of just about everything it does, just by twisting the words away from their intention at the time it was drawn up. It no longer stands as the rules for a fine nation, rather as a blind for the use of a magician practising legerdemain.
And the clock is being turned around as we watch, and going back to times we hoped would never return. All the checks and balances produced have been invalidated by complacency, wilful ignorance and assertion of entitlement. We can do this because we are right and they are wrong, and undeserving.
The ability for a UK government to move on any referendum should have been put in block capitals in the statutes or whatever to be 80 for 20 against. I think that would allow for a telling majority against those who would not budge. All these words in laws etc are just that. and they can be misread, badly administered different from the intent; they aren't unchanging. Humans created them, and if on close scrutiny, they are found to be confusing or misunderstood, they can be changed, and honest, principled people would change them.
In the UK, since it became a constitutional monarchy, the power has always been in the hands of the elected elite. Politicians can lie, make or break promises, get elected then unelected. Welcome to democracy.
Can't you just admit you didn't have a clue and move on?
" three days of Parliamentary sittings will be lost in the week after the party conferences. Let me just repeat that – three days 8, 9 and 10 of October."
A new PM having a new session of parliament with a Speech from the Throne …thats all . Remember hes only been PM for a month. ( 24th July)
Look what happened in Canada – that well known facist dictatorship-after the Harper minority government in 2008 prorogued parliament just after an election when the were facing losing a vote of no confidence and new government from the opposition parties.
Progressively, brexit is a nightmare pandering to little Britain. from an environmentalist POV its a god send as it puts the brakes on goods moving round using carbon emssions as they are too easy to tax and prevents people movement with the same benefit.
Ross Meurant is not a well-rounded figure. In his comment he presents his Right side, but look further on and there is no left; just a cardboard facsimile of someone who has learned a bit in life, just enough to sometimes sound like a thinking human. But of course there are many like him around; it is a mast year.
Matt King would kill our environnemnt as he can't even say climate change is real So this is our press release. CEAC supports Tribunal criticism of crown freshwater failures Press release from Citizens Environmental Advocacy centre. 29th August 2019. Recent Radio NZ press release covering the Waitangi Tribunal freshwater failures hearings (seen here in this link below) shows a lack of over years of Crown awareness of another “elephant in the room” regarding how other sources of pollution of our freshwater is now seriously been contaminated badly, and shows that the crown over the last 11 years has not used the RMA to protect our degrading water quality, so we wholeheartedly support the tightening of provisions in the RMA to protect our whole natural and built environment to protect everyone in our precious environment. https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/waitangi-tribunal-slams-crown-over-freshwater-failures/ar-AAGrxFe Regarding the “elephant in the room” being the not previously considered by the crown; – let us clarify; Recently on (Thursday, 22 August 2019) our centre (Citizens Environmental Advocacy Centre, ‘CEAC’ ) discussed this issue of ‘road pollution runoff’ as the “elephant in the room” in a press release – see in this link below; http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1908/S00089/drinking-water-quality-improved-by-using-rail.htm Quote; We at CEAC believe ‘this is the elephant in the room now’ as we already know from the ‘NZ Ministry of Transport’ documented studies from the 2002 report entitled “Emission Factors for Contaminants Released from Motor Vehicles in NZ” Fuels and Energy Management Group December 2002. https://www.transport.govt.nz/assets/Import/Documents/9fa2b3a10b/stormwater-emission-factors.pdf That report shows that tyre particulates have many toxic chemicals that are known to be harmful to humans. These are already found to be freely released in the tyre dust as we drive and are then washed off our roads into our drains, streams, rivers, lakes and aquifers, and finally into our drinking water, so we are part of the problem already now. EV vehicles will still emit the same tyre dust toxins as regular gasoline vehicles do. The new scientific German report https://www.sott.net/article/418585-Plastic-particles-falling-out-of-sky-with-snow-in-the-Arctic ‘Raining plastic’ – QUOTE “fragments of rubber tyres”. Un-Quote; So now we see the ‘Transmission Gully’ mega NZTA roading project has been found to be causing the “silt build-up now chocking the nearby coastal estuaries and causing very long term serious damage to the life of all aquatic species including kai moana which is the tāonga – life-blood of Māori Iwi/hapu. Bluntly; the RMA definitely failed us all here especially over the ‘loosely controlled’ activities of the road builder NZTA; We quote; Presiding officer Chief Judge Wilson Isaac; "The RMA has allowed a serious degradation of water quality to occur in many ancestral water bodies, which are now in a highly vulnerable state," he said. “RMA did not provide adequately for the tino rangatiratanga and the kaitiakitanga of iwi and hapū over their freshwater tāonga.” CEAC believes NZTA must be “heavily regulated” by having the Ministry of health, Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Transport along with the Government stepping in here and placing ‘new controls over the road builder going forwards’ now so NZTA actually comply with strict regulatory rules to protect all those living near their roads in future. From this time forward we expect to see serious care and consideration be written into the RMA to stop the widespread pollution and emissions of ‘air and water carrying pollution’ and ‘road- runoff‘ being washed of NZTA roads and carried through air pollution from tyre wear from tyre dust and exhaust emissions from over use activities of heavy truck freight particularly. We at CEAC have always advocated for widespread use of rail, as an environmentally friendly transport system and with national party policy of overuse of ‘freight trucks’ on our regional roads is now destroying our ‘natural/coastal and built’ residential environments alike and endangering our health and wellbeing. Secretary. CEAC.
It's a thoughtful and detailed post from Cleangreen with research and study from the Gisborne group? for a long time as they have looked at rail and road and assessed their costs and benefits.
I thought it would be good to know what it's all about so have put it into paragraphs for readability and hope this is satisfactory. It would be unfortunate if the work in writing it was not matched by useful knowledge gained from it.
Matt King would kill our environnemnt as he can't even say climate change is real So this is our press release. CEAC supports Tribunal criticism of crown freshwater failures Press release from Citizens Environmental Advocacy centre. 29th August 2019.
Recent Radio NZ press release covering the Waitangi Tribunal freshwater failures hearings (seen here in this link below) shows a lack of over years of Crown awareness of another “elephant in the room” regarding how other sources of pollution of our freshwater is now seriously been contaminated badly, and shows that the crown over the last 11 years has not used the RMA to protect our degrading water quality, so we wholeheartedly support the tightening of provisions in the RMA to protect our whole natural and built environment to protect everyone in our precious environment. https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/waitangi-tribunal-slams-crown-over-freshwater-failures/ar-AAGrxFe
Regarding the “elephant in the room” being the not previously considered by the crown; – let us clarify; Recently on (Thursday, 22 August 2019) our centre (Citizens Environmental Advocacy Centre, ‘CEAC’ ) discussed this issue of ‘road pollution runoff’ as the “elephant in the room” in a press release – see in this link below; http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1908/S00089/drinking-water-quality-improved-by-using-rail.htm
Quote; We at CEAC believe ‘this is the elephant in the room now’ as we already know from the ‘NZ Ministry of Transport’ documented studies from the 2002 report entitled “Emission Factors for Contaminants Released from Motor Vehicles in NZ” Fuels and Energy Management Group December 2002. https://www.transport.govt.nz/assets/Import/Documents/9fa2b3a10b/stormwater-emission-factors.pdf
That report shows that tyre particulates have many toxic chemicals that are known to be harmful to humans. These are already found to be freely released in the tyre dust as we drive and are then washed off our roads into our drains, streams, rivers, lakes and aquifers, and finally into our drinking water, so we are part of the problem already now. EV vehicles will still emit the same tyre dust toxins as regular gasoline vehicles do.
The new scientific German report https://www.sott.net/article/418585-Plastic-particles-falling-out-of-sky-with-snow-in-the-Arctic ‘Raining plastic’ – QUOTE “fragments of rubber tyres”. Un-Quote; So now we see the ‘Transmission Gully’ mega NZTA roading project has been found to be causing the “silt build-up now chocking the nearby coastal estuaries and causing very long term serious damage to the life of all aquatic species including kai moana which is the tāonga – life-blood of Māori Iwi/hapu.
Bluntly; the RMA definitely failed us all here especially over the ‘loosely controlled’ activities of the road builder NZTA; We quote; Presiding officer Chief Judge Wilson Isaac; "The RMA has allowed a serious degradation of water quality to occur in many ancestral water bodies, which are now in a highly vulnerable state," he said. “RMA did not provide adequately for the tino rangatiratanga and the kaitiakitanga of iwi and hapū over their freshwater tāonga.”
CEAC believes NZTA must be “heavily regulated” by having the Ministry of health, Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Transport along with the Government stepping in here and placing ‘new controls over the road builder going forwards’ now so NZTA actually comply with strict regulatory rules to protect all those living near their roads in future.
From this time forward we expect to see serious care and consideration be written into the RMA to stop the widespread pollution and emissions of ‘air and water carrying pollution’ and ‘road- runoff‘ being washed of NZTA roads and carried through air pollution from tyre wear from tyre dust and exhaust emissions from over use activities of heavy truck freight particularly.
We at CEAC have always advocated for widespread use of rail, as an environmentally friendly transport system and with national party policy of overuse of ‘freight trucks’ on our regional roads is now destroying our ‘natural/coastal and built’ residential environments alike and endangering our health and wellbeing. Secretary. CEAC.
That "Gisborne group?" appears to consist of cleangreen and one or two of his family members. I've had more than just a cursory look online, and the only names I've ever seen associated with CEAC have been either cleangreen's IRL name or someone sharing the same surname. I believe the term for that is "astroturfing".
Apart from calling Matt King names and the link to the Waitangi Tribunal statement, the rest looks like just a repaste of the same stuff cleangreen pastes here over and over ad nauseum.
What the hell? Why are you kicking over Cleangreen and what the ginger group call themselves. Some of you are such a nasty negative lot. You don't seem interested in advancing and helping NZs, talking about ideas, exchanging info etc. and getting together with others to get us out of the hole we are in.
You just want to sit in negative judgment and do nothing useful, indeed actually destroy spirit. I find you despicable Andre in 6 111… You are ad nauseum big time.
In the real world dukeofurl you are swamping the blog with your negatives. Preventing discussion. I don't know what your other blog sites call it, have you nothing else to do except push your dislike of fellow citizens with sneers and supposed superior information which is usually not accompanied by sources.
Sometimes rail is efficient, othertimes woefully not.
Using a truck to, say, take stock from a farm near Oxford in Canterbury to the Freezing works in Christchurch is hugely more efficient and environmentally friendly compared to what used to happen there, where a truck took it to the Oxford railhead, then railed to ChCh, then shunted around back to Belfast. In almost all rural cases, rail is environmentally inferior to road.
Rail is great for point to point, and particularly for bulk freight. Less so for small consignments and seldom at all for non point to point.
Agreed, NZ is unfortunately too small for the kind of rail most people would like. Having said that I wouldn't mind seeing more rail used, where it makes sense to use it
I've been to Auckland and Wellington in the last few months and would have jumped a train in both cases in ohakune if there was a morning and evening daily service. (I did jump on the train at paraparaumu for the welly trip. )
That is more to do with the lack of money invested in extending the rail network, compared with mega billions spent on roads, rather than relative efficiency.
Planet of the Humans dares to say what no one will—that we are losing the battle to stop climate change because we are following environmental leaders who have taken us down the wrong road—selling out the green movement to wealthy interests and corporate America.
Um, lots of people have been saying this for a long time. It's hardly controversial. That situation (green tech BAU) is a consequence of right wing and neoliberal control. Criticising it is entirely within the purview of the left. I just wrote about it in the Saving our Rivers post. Although tbf, I also criticised the traditional left for its long held position of jobs before nature.
Sure but there's also one heckuva lot of people that see the climate change movement as an almost religious movement so Michael may well see himself cast in a new light, that of the betrayer of the faith
I however am doing my part by trading in my older SUV for a 2019 diesel ute and our older car for 2019 small hatchback and yes I'm feeling quite virtuous because they're much better for the environment especially compared to electric vehicles
By upgrading I'll be using less fossil fuels and diesel is better for the environment so yeah we all gotta play our part no matter how small that part is
Maybe something Greta Thunberg (or her father) might have liked to consider:
'The sailing team that's taking climate activist Greta Thunberg from England to the United States aboard a high-tech racing yacht says it will fly two crew across the Atlantic to bring the boat back, but that the carbon emissions from their flights will be compensated for.'
Numerous reasons but among them is the reliance of rare earth metals, not always having access to a charger, modern engines being far more efficient then ever before, not sure of how many mechanics are qualified to work on electric vehicles, petrol and diesel easier to source and finally the price
Yep. I'm ok with changing my behaviour around those things (we're all going to have to do that eventually so may as well get used to it), but I'm not sure the rural South Island is there yet for making it feasible. I wonder how the AA are handling this.
I read somewhere that EV have in their GPS system all charging locations ( regular updates)
You pop in your destination, it looks at the distance and likely speed etc , reads the existing charge in the batteries and will ROUTE you via the suitable charging spots to enable the journey to complete. This was for the UK where there are 1000s of chargers now- as many public chargers as petrol/diesel service stations ( each station would have multiple pumps though)
'The time it takes to charge an electric car can be as little as 30 minutes or more than 12 hours. This depends on the size of the battery and the speed of the charging point. A typical electric car(60kWh battery) takes just under 8 hours to charge from empty-to-full with a 7kW charging point.'
some of those might be pending. I tend to last about a decade with a car, so by the time I'm looking for the next one both the cars and the charging points will have changed significantly. If I had enough money I'd probably do it now and make it work.
yeah, nah. The climate movement isn't a monolith, but for instance in NZ, mainstream orgs that have been leading the way on climate action (Greenpeace, Green Party) are full of people who know the score about green BAU and greenwashing. Those orgs have been forced into taking a middle of the road approach, because of deniers and people dragging the chain.
…there's also one heckuva lot of people that see the climate change movement as an almost religious movement…
Most of them right-wingers who think AGW is a hoax. Those guys seem more inclined to cheer Moore on when it comes to this movie, because they don't understand the difference between environmentalism and greenwashing.
The Financial Times editorial board says a caretaker government under Jeremy Corbyn is preferable to the “affront to democracy” Boris Johnson is trying to pull off. https://t.co/X7BDMlVllopic.twitter.com/9ysD6s7Zvq
Chris Trotter just wrote a piece imagining if Jacinda Ardern died, apparently as a way of commemorating Big Norm's death anniversary and making the point that… I'm not sure what exactly, something about the gloss coming off?
It's at TDB if you want to read it. Weird. 'We really hope it doesn't happen, but let's now speculate if it does', it's all a bit Daily Mail.
I seldom take any notice of what Chris Trotter says. He just likes to drone on and on and make constant references to obscure and totally irrelevant classical myths. Just a silly old borish dinasaur really.
I see he writes now for the BFD (and before that for Whaleoils Incite). Clearly happy to associate with anyone who will give him oxygen, no matter how criminal, hypocritical or thuggish.
Novel way of getting around those damn campaign finance laws.
/
Federal Election Commission Vice Chairman Matthew Petersen announced his resignation today.
This means the agency that enforces and regulates the nation’s campaign finance laws will effectively shut down — something that hasn’t happened since 2008 — because it won’t have the legal minimum of four commissioners to make high-level decisions.
Petersen’s resignation, first reported by the Washington Examiner, will throw the FEC into turmoil for weeks — and perhaps months — as the nation enters the teeth of 2020 presidential and congressional elections.
When you lose the FT..
That doesnt say what you/Sheppard claim at all.
They just say "for ardent remainers and Liberal democrats, THEY may also require a Corbyn caretaker government."
There isnt going to be a 'Corbyn caretaker governmen't , but the next 2 weeks means they can try. Its not Australia where the Governor General can dismiss the PM ( as per their written constitution)
That Outrager- in- chief Blair used to regularly prorogue parliament for 12 weeks.
But how times change , anything about leaving the EU is now all sorts of incendiary words, even Boris adding 3 sitting days to the September break
The Speech from the Throne , after debate, can be voted down by a majority and thats when Johnsons government would fall. Thats the usual process to get rid of him.
Being given a lift home, we got covered in diesel fumes from an ancient 'temporary replacement' bus in front of us. I lamented the loss of the trolley buses on that route, and how the GWRC STILL haven't even bothered getting us the promised electric bus replacements.
I've never had a fellow Wellingtonian disagree with that assessment of things until now. What I got from this lady, I wonder if she watches Fox in her down time. "I don't believe in this Global warming nonsense…it's a natural occurring phenomena….giant con job….all about businesses making money….that thing in Tuvalu recently, that was a con…."etc etc
I didn't even bother responding, reacting or anything. She's an elderly lady (and no, I am not for one moment making generalisations!) and I really don't think it was possible to have a civil debate on the matter. It was was extremely upsetting though. Of course I know they exist but sometimes I rather not know who they are.
Did you wonder why the Greens get 6% and the national party gets 43%.
She seemed to be at the extreme end but a lot of voters are in the mild climate change category, because they are older ( grew up in a period when nuclear war seemed almost certain, but wasnt) or seen more adversity than millennials who are addicted to mobile devices.
Yes, but part of the reason for the cynicism is due to the ludicrous doomsday prophecies of the last 25 years, and the hypocrisy of many of those pushing an often self serving barrow.
Al Gore springs immediately to mind, but he is but one. It is down to these people that the reality of climate change is not more widely accepted.
People have bizarre and irrational viewpoints all the time. I wouldn't let it upset you. At the end of the day you've got to have a chuckle, because if you didn't laugh at the state of the world you'd probably throw yourself off a building. Whenever I find myself railing at the television, my kids remind me that the television isn't a person, the people on the television can't actually hear me, and I should probably calm down and go make a cup of tea. Kids are clever like that.
@Wens, very true! I'm almost over the shock of the encounter now. What can one do but laugh at some people. It's (almost) a shame she won't be around to experience the fruits of her denial, living as she does right on Lyall Bay. Although with that sort of extremism I'd imagine the more frequent inundations, coastal erosion, extreme storm surges etc, it would all be 'naturally occurring'
While the waves on Lyall Bay beach are great for surfing, they are anything but ideal for infrastructure. On September 16, 1916, the Evening Post reported on a southerly depression, which was responsible for exceptionally high tides. Seawater crossed Lyall Parade and reached well over the road. Marine debris was spread across the parade.
Sea storms and surges are an annual event on Lyall Parade. But resident Suzi Wilson isn’t worried about tsunamis.
“Winter time is when the sea washes up on to the road. Logs end up all over the footpath.” She has developed a passion for collecting shells and debris washed up on the beach since moving to the parade five years ago. She displays her collection inside and outside of her home.
The first life-saving clubhouse was washed away in a storm only a few months after being built by Wellington City Council in 1910. "
The current 2018 building replaced a 1957 one and maybe a new building after 1910 one was destroyed and then replaced in 1957.
Maybe living by the seaside with large waves has made that lady more resiliant
There is a picture on page 4 of the 28 August Blenheim Sun family advised me of. It shows a Year 13 form photo in which a large lad in centre picture holds a baby.
Shades of the Trevor Mallard Effect. It is now allowable for young men to be pictured proudly and happily dandling babies. The opposite to 'toxic masculinity"!
Psycho Milt, the baby is that of his form teacher. He is not the father, just as Speaker Mallard is not the father of the children he dandled while in the Speaker's chair.
The only part that is right is the supply line from Darwin to ET did crash 7 times in the first 2 to 3mths from memory. As our Rifle Flight was on 24hr E ration packs for 21days straight and which almost sent us Trop’o or native and it was quicker to get boots, bog roll etc via the mailman than via the supply chain.
Ah the joys of INTERFET, the good, the bad and the ugly.
Interesting. Wondering about comparing Timor Leste with Hong Kong in the current unrest.
Its the same but different. Murderous gangs supported by the government …that could be a method the Beijing government could use as 'plausible denial' in the way China does and no one believes them ..the US has this problem too.
Polly Toynbee: "A civil war state of mind now threatens our democracy"
"Boris Johnson’s assault on parliament is unprecedented, but he can – and must – be stopped
"This country that self-identified so smugly as stable, tolerant and moderate, with a crown to symbolise traditions honed down the centuries, is revealed as fissile, fragile and ferociously divided. A constitution that relied on gentlemanly governments’ willingness to bow to parliament has evaporated, blown away now it’s led by a man who doesn’t give a damn for parliamentary sovereignty: taking back control is for him alone. He is ready to destroy anything that threatens his ambition."
<snip>
I asked Bob Kerslake, former head of the civil service, where their duty lies in this unprecedented situation.
We are reaching the point where the civil service must consider putting its stewardship of the country ahead of service to the government of the day,” he said. That is a devastating verdict."
Parliament has lost only 3 sitting days because of the prorogation ended the longest session of parliament since the 1600s.
After the Queens Speech , Mps can vote against it and if they have a majority Johnson has to resign.
Thats parliament doing what its always done.
Did the Remain diehards and the Guardian elite really think they and Bercow were going to twist all the rules to suit their agenda like they have been doing ?
Latest on Brexit and Boorish. David Townsend refers to Johnson 'smirking' which seems apt. (* David Townsend is an ex-UK Parliamentary Labour candidate, a former Labour ministerial speech writer and special adviser and contributor to The Guardian, The Independent and The Times.)
Johnson himself claims his action is to enable his government to present its policies on matters such as education, law and order and health spending in a Queen's Speech. Inevitably his pomposity and smirking appearance making the announcement means few will believe him. His decision is likely to be challenged in the courts by MPs and others.
Why?
With Prime Minister Johnson's October 31st deadline of leaving the EU with or without a "deal", the reassembly of Parliament on the 14th October leaves only a limited time for opposition MPs to produce legislation to stop a "no deal" exit. It is clear the Speaker of the Commons – who was not consulted by Johnson on this timetable – would assist MPs in their opposition to a "no deal".
When Parliament reassembles next week before being pro-rogued the options open to oppose are really limited. A no confidence motion in the government might succeed but only if sufficient Conservative MPs are prepared to bring down the Johnson government and probably be de-selected as Conservative candidates in an ensuing election. Or if selected again lose their seats.,,,
And what of the EU? Dismay at the staggering ineptitude of the oldest democracy in Europe is most commonly reflected in the European media. The third PM in the UK in three years and still no consensus. A Parliament that rejected three times the painstakingly negotiated deal with the EU by the last prime minister.
The EU is obliged to wait on events and ask the UK as it has over the last three years to be clear about what it wants and then discuss what it can reasonably expect, given the EU is a body of 27 nations with political and economic shared interests and not the local golf club.
Boris wants to leave under the Deal – with backstop removed.
Thats not a vile plot. EU wont budge until the it can see the remainers in parliament have been royally screwed.
EU always wants to thwart any referendum that goes against them ….happened many times Norway is good example- voted 2x against but they are stuck in EU web
In Denmark, two referendums were held before the treaty of Maastricht passed. The first one rejected the treaty.
Ireland had 2 referendums to finally get Treaty of Nice approved
France and Netherlands voted against 2005 European Constitution but the EU just changed the rules in a different way to thwart the anti votes
Again the Irish had to have a 2nd vote after they first rejected Treaty of Lisbon
Good to this RNZN/ MOD project is slowly getting some traction, since the two inservice OPV’s are no longer fit for purpose for Southern Ocean Patrols due to the changing environment in the Southern Ocean as a result of CC, which nearly seen one of the OPV’s capsized last year or the year before on a run down Sth.
The story goes that Ronnie was up on the bridge at time, where he went white as sheet, Ms Sage was down the back chatting with the DoC staff, the boffins (one of my cousins was on that trip for his PhD) and the film crew when the OPV got smacked with shit flying about/ rolling all over the place, and the other cousin who is in the Jack Tar’s as a cook was on duty having a shit of time the galley when the OPV got smacked.
The Civilians including Ms Sage weren’t told about what happened or how close to Davie Jones locker they were until they returned back to NZ, as it happened about 3/4 mark on the trip down Sth to the Auckland or Campbell Islands which ever is the furthest.
There is talk at various levels that this new SOPV with possibly one or two of the IPV’s maybe based in Dunedin/ Port Chamlers if the Odt is anything to go by. (Sorry don’t have the link for that one).
Land lubbers always think rough weather is 'almost capsize'.
Im guessing this is just another unfunded project on someones wish list. RNZN doesnt need it and the funding wishing well is depleted by gold plating on recent purchases such as Poseidon and new Hercs ( used RAF ones of the latest J model would be fine!)
What a farce! Greta Thunberg has sailed into New York to be greeted by her parents who FLEW there, no doubt accompanied by her PR team of God knows how many.
This makes a complete mockery of the message which I suspect in time will turn out to be a money making scam orchestrated by her father if various reports are to be believed.
Engineering wise the boat she sailed on uses considerably more construction material per person per kilometre than the aircraft her parents used. It may use wind but it still has a marine engine of some size.
Greta travelled by sailboat. The rest is immaterial. Everything can be challenged and criticised but Greta didn't fly, she spent 2 weeks aboard a sailboat; stop belly-aching and put your energy into something useful. Criticising the actions of a 16 year-old girl is kinda…silly.
The sailing team that's taking climate activist Greta Thunberg from England to the United States aboard a high-tech racing yacht says it will fly two crew across the Atlantic to bring the boat back
It's the action of her parents I'm criticising , she is almost certainly the product of a very sophisticated rort. Pretty much any other child and a competent school essay can be spun into this sort of media personality with the aid of the type of public relations professionals that her father has engaged. It's bullshit. That boat was organised months and months ago.
A bit of planning, lateral thinking, and community suggestions, and we can find alternatives to the things we now burn fossils on.
Yes, it was a symbolic act. Tokenistic, even. Lots of fodder for the people who hate change. But now people are arguing about alternatives to flying everywhere for conferences, so… not a bad thing, overall.
True, Robert. Because if she had flown, the simpletons on the Right would all have screamed, "Hypocrite!" – their empty, unthinking response. Because she has not flown, they cannot do that.
For more normal people, it is facile to insist that anyone who preaches that burning fossil fuels should be reduced should never ever in their lives ever again benefit from any atom of fossil fuel burnt.
In our modern world, that argument is a stupid distraction pushed by those who wish to avoid serious discussion of the real issue – why we do actually need to reduce our burning of fossil fuels. It is ad hominem – shooting the messenger, and ignoring the message.
But even on this site, we have a number of Righties who like to try such juvenile crap. Pushing 'Practice what you Preach' to such a silly level is just moronic. We all have to use fossil fuels in some way in modern society. This does not mean that one cannot campaign for a future change for us all.
And for any numpties still wanting a reason to scream, "Hypocrite!" at Greta, she is trying to warn us about Global warning overall, not exclusively the fossil fuel thing.
Are you going to scream, "Hypocrite!" at her for daring to breathe and thereby produce carbon dioxide?
That would be no less stupid than the previous 'Hypocrite' argument.
No one on the Right is a simpleton. They have all worked out the advantages of wilful ignorance, and of spending all their time carping, criticising and demoralising the people they have decided to discriminate against. It saves them from thinking hard and change would make a difference, perhaps lessen their present level of satisfaction, so their wants must take precedence. They will continue this behaviour on principle, even if what is planned by the progressives will advantage them – because that's what they do. Lemmings the lot.
I wonder how many leftish people still blog here? The path seems to be wide open to the gang who gather to bark and chew at those who come here and want to discuss what the left can do and celebrate what it has.
I think there is a sustained campaign by a low number of trolls operating under several pseudonyms each aimed at creating the situation you describe. Discouraging positivity is easy for them. But I am one of those conspiracy theorists..
If you mean sockpoppets, I’d like to think we do have a pretty good handle on those.
The problem as I see it is that too many people here bite and don’t let go. Sometimes, I don’t know which one is worse, the ‘troll’ or the one who gives them oxygen – it becomes a symbiotic act of creating noise and counter-noise and in the end you cannot tell who is or does what. In fact, it doesn’t really matter because what matters is the noise and it is all noise coming from both sides. You don’t want noise, don’t make noise (back).
Yes, Incognito – I do not envy you the efforts you put in to controlling this maelstrom.
We all ignore one thing, but get fired up and respond to another, often depending on how good we think our response is.
Maybe you are helping us all with some kind of therapeutic outlet?
I hope that the best political policies and ideas benefit from all this, but fear that the path will be a long and winding way. (Damn those silly old pop songs..)
Nah, I/we don’t control anything here, we (i.e. the Moderators) are just the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff so to speak. The real control (or better: influence) is with the people who comment here, who make the site what it is IMO.
My secret suspicion is that there is no destiny at the end of the path and that the path is it. In saying that, we can, of course, look back and see how far or how high we have come, or not for that matter. We can also follow footsteps in the sand or snow, hoping that we’ll reach a special place (of rescue or salvation perhaps) only to realise, after some time, that we are tracing or own footsteps. Life is a funny thing when you think about it …
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Hamilton City Council and Whanganui District Council have both joined a growing list of Local Authorities to pass a motion in support of Green Party Drug Reform Spokesperson Chlöe Swarbrick’s Members’ bill to minimise alcohol harm. ...
Today, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a major package of reforms to address the immediate skill shortages in New Zealand and speed up our economic growth. These include an early reopening to the world, a major milestone for international education, and a simplification of immigration settings to ensure New Zealand ...
Proposed immigration changes by the Government fail to guarantee pathways to residency to workers in the types of jobs deemed essential throughout the pandemic, by prioritising high income earners - instead of focusing on the wellbeing of workers and enabling migrants to put down roots. ...
Ehara taku toa i te toa takatahi, engari taku toa he toa takimano – my strength is not mine alone but the strength of many (working together to ensure safe, caring respectful responses). We are striving for change. We want all people in Aotearoa New Zealand thriving; their wellbeing enhanced ...
The Green Party is throwing its support behind the 10,000 allied health workers taking work-to-rule industrial action today because of unfair pay and working conditions. ...
Budget 2022 has taken capital investment in school property under this Government to $3.6 billion since 2018, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “A further $777m in capital investment means new schools and kura, more classrooms, and includes $219m in capital funding that will go directly to schools over the ...
60,000 more people to receive screening each year. Over $36 million across four years to shift the starting age for bowel screening from 60 years old to 50 years old for Māori and Pacific people. Associate Ministers of Health Peeni Henare and Aupito William Sio say Budget 2022 will ...
Budget 2022 will deliver 1900 new health workers and will support 2700 more students into training programmes through a $76 million investment to continue to grow the health workforce for our Māori and Pacific communities, Associate Ministers of Health Peeni Henare and Aupito William Sio announced today. “This Budget specifically ...
The Government has appointed a Startup Advisors’ Council to help identify and address the opportunities and challenges facing high growth start-up businesses, Research, Science, and Innovation Minister Megan Woods, and Economic and Regional Development Minister Stuart Nash have announced. “Startups are major contributors to the knowledge and innovation that we ...
Hundreds of New Zealand companies are set to benefit from the launch of two new grants aimed at fuelling firms that want to innovate, Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods says. “This $250 million investment over the next four years is a sign of my commitment to some of ...
New Zealand’s legal aid scheme will be significantly strengthened with further investment from Budget 2022, Minister of Justice Kris Faafoi announced today. “Budget 2022 will help around 93,000 more people be eligible for legal aid from January 2023, fulfilling our election promise to make improvements to our court system so ...
The Government has today confirmed key details of the nationwide rollout of cameras on commercial fishing vessels. Up to 300 inshore fishing vessels will be fitted with the technology by the end of 2024, providing independent, accurate information about fishing activity and better evidence for decision-making,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
It is my pleasure to be here at TRENZ 2022. This is an event that continues to facilitate connection, collaboration and engagement between our businesses and key overseas markets. The conversations that happen here will play a crucial role in shaping New Zealand’s tourism recovery. That’s why TRENZ remains such ...
Māori businesses will play a vital role to help lift whānau Māori aspirations and dreams for a better life, while reinforcing New Zealand’s economic security. A successful Progressive Procurement initiative to diversify government spend on goods and services and increase Māori business engagement with government procurement is getting a further ...
The continued Budget 22 investment into the Cadetship programmes will ensure Māori thrive in the labour market, Minister for Māori Development Willie Jackson announced today. The Government will invest $25 million into the Cadetships programme, delivered by Te Puni Kōkiri. As the whole world struggles with rising inflation, the Government’s ...
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta and Minister of Defence Peeni Henare today announced the extension of the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) deployment to Solomon Islands, as part of the Pacific-led Solomon Islands International Assistance Force (SIAF). “Aotearoa New Zealand and Solomon Islands have an enduring and long-standing partnership,” Nanaia Mahuta said. ...
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta and Minister of Defence Peeni Henare today announced the extension of the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) deployment to Solomon Islands, as part of the Pacific-led Solomon Islands International Assistance Force (SIAF). “Aotearoa New Zealand and Solomon Islands have an enduring and long-standing partnership,” Nanaia Mahuta said. ...
Director-General, esteemed fellow Ministers, and colleagues, tēnā koutou katoa. Greetings to all. Aotearoa New Zealand is alarmed at the catastrophic and complex health crisis evolving in Ukraine. We reiterate our call for an immediate end to Russian hostilities against Ukraine. Chair, this 75th Session of the World Health Assembly comes at ...
As part of a regular review by the Department of Internal Affairs, the fees for New Zealand passports will increase slightly due to the decrease in demand caused by COVID-19. Internal Affairs Minister Jan Tinetti says that the Government has made every effort to keep the increase to a minimum ...
The Government is providing additional support to the Buller District Council to assist the recovery from the February 2022 floods, Minister for Emergency Management Kiri Allan announced today. “The Buller District has experienced two significant floods in short succession, resulting in significant impacts for the community and for Council to ...
New Zealand is a step closer to a more resilient, competitive, and sustainable coastal shipping sector following the selection of preferred suppliers for new and enhanced coastal shipping services, Transport Minister Michael Wood has announced today. “Coastal shipping is a small but important part of the New Zealand freight system, ...
Tēnā koutou katoa It’s a pleasure to speak to you today on how we are tracking with the resource management reforms. It is timely, given that in last week’s Budget the Government announced significant funding to ensure an efficient transition to the future resource management system. There is broad consensus ...
Education Minister Chris Hipkins and Associate Education Minister Kelvin Davis have welcomed the release of a paper from independent advisory group, Taumata Aronui, outlining the group’s vision for Māori success in the tertiary education system. “Manu Kōkiri – Māori Success and Tertiary Education: Towards a Comprehensive Vision – is the ...
The best way to have economic security in New Zealand is by investing in wāhine and our rangatahi says Minister for Māori Development. Budget 2022, is allocating $28.5 million over the next two years to strengthen whānau resilience through developing leadership within key cohorts of whānau leaders, wāhine and rangatahi ...
Whānau Ora Commissioning Agencies will receive $166.5 million over four years to help whānau maintain and build their resilience as Aotearoa moves forward from COVID-19, Minister for Whānau Ora Peeni Henare announced today. “Whānau Ora Commissioning Agencies and partners will remain a key feature of the Government’s support for whānau ...
The development of sustainable, plant-based foods and meat alternatives is getting new government backing, with investment from a dedicated regional economic development fund. “The investment in Sustainable Foods Ltd is part of a wider government strategy to develop a low-emissions, highly-skilled economy that responds to global demands,” said Stuart Nash. ...
With New Zealand expecting to see Omicron cases rise during the winter, the Orange setting remains appropriate for managing this stage of the outbreak, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “While daily cases numbers have flattened nationally, they are again beginning to increase in the Northern region and hospitalisation ...
Justice Minister Kris Faafoi today announced appointments to the independent panel that will lead a review of New Zealand’s electoral law. “This panel, appointed by an independent panel of experts, aim to make election rules clearer and fairer, to build more trust in the system and better support people to ...
Honourable Dame Fran Wilde will lead the board overseeing the design and construction of Auckland’s largest, most transformational project of a generation – Auckland Light Rail, which will connect hundreds of thousands of people across the city, Minister of Transport Michael Wood announced today. “Auckland Light Rail is New Zealand’s ...
Boost to Māori Medium property that will improve and redevelop kura, purchase land and build new facilities Scholarships and mentoring to grow and expand the Māori teaching workforce Funding to continue to grow the Māori language The Government’s commitment to the growth and development of te reo Māori has ...
On the eve of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s trade mission to the United States, New Zealand has joined with partner governments from across the Indo-Pacific region to begin the next phase of discussions towards an Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF). The Framework, initially proposed by US President Biden in ...
As part of New Zealand’s ongoing response to the war in Ukraine, New Zealand is providing further support and personnel to assist Ukraine to defend itself against Russia’s unprovoked and illegal invasion, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “We have been clear throughout Russia’s assault on Ukraine, that such a ...
Budget 2022 is providing investment to crackdown on tobacco smuggling into New Zealand. “Customs has seen a significant increase in the smuggling of tobacco products into New Zealand over recent years,” Minister of Customs Meka Whaitiri says. This trend is also showing that tobacco smuggling operations are now often very ...
Prime Minister to lead trade mission to the United States this week to support export growth and the return of tourists post COVID-19. Business delegation to promote trade and tourism opportunities in New Zealand’s third largest export and visitor market Deliver Harvard University commencement address Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has congratulated Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Party on winning the Australian Federal election, and has acknowledged outgoing Prime Minister Scott Morrison. "I spoke to Anthony Albanese early this morning as he was preparing to address his supporters. It was a warm conversation and I’m ...
Tiwhatiwha te pō, tiwhatiwha te ao. Tiwhatiwha te pō, tiwhatiwha te ao. Matariki Tapuapua, He roimata ua, he roimata tangata. He roimata e wairurutu nei, e wairurutu nei. Te Māreikura mārohirohi o Ihoa o ngā Mano, takoto Te ringa mākohakoha o Rongo, takoto. Te mātauranga o Tūāhuriri o Ngai Tahu ...
Three core networks within the tourism sector are receiving new investment to gear up for the return of international tourists and business travellers, as the country fully reconnects to the world. “Our wider tourism sector is on the way to recovery. As visitor numbers scale up, our established tourism networks ...
The Minister of Customs has welcomed legislation being passed which will prevent millions of dollars in potential tax evasion on water-pipe tobacco products. The Customs and Excise (Tobacco Products) Amendment Act 2022 changes the way excise and excise-equivalent duty is calculated on these tobacco products. Water-pipe tobacco is also known ...
The Government is contributing $100,000 to a Mayoral Relief Fund to help the Levin community following this morning’s tornado, Minister for Emergency Management Kiri Allan says. “My thoughts are with everyone who has been impacted by severe weather events in Levin and across the country. “I know the tornado has ...
The Quintet of Attorneys General have issued the following statement of support for the Prosecutor General of Ukraine and investigations and prosecutions for crimes committed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine: “The Attorneys General of the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand join in ...
Morena tatou katoa. Kua tae mai i runga i te kaupapa o te rā. Thank you all for being here today. Yesterday my colleague, the Minister of Finance Grant Robertson, delivered the Wellbeing Budget 2022 – for a secure future for New Zealand. I’m the Minister of Health, and this was ...
Urgent Budget night legislation to stop major supermarkets blocking competitors from accessing land for new stores has been introduced today, Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Dr David Clark said. The Commerce (Grocery Sector Covenants) Amendment Bill amends the Commerce Act 1986, banning restrictive covenants on land, and exclusive covenants ...
It is a pleasure to speak to this Budget. The 5th we have had the privilege of delivering, and in no less extraordinary circumstances. Mr Speaker, the business and cycle of Government is, in some ways, no different to life itself. Navigating difficult times, while also making necessary progress. Dealing ...
Budget 2022 provides funding to implement the new resource management system, building on progress made since the reform was announced just over a year ago. The inadequate funding for the implementation of the Resource Management Act in 1992 almost guaranteed its failure. There was a lack of national direction about ...
The Government is substantially increasing the amount of funding for public media to ensure New Zealanders can continue to access quality local content and trusted news. “Our decision to create a new independent and future-focused public media entity is about achieving this objective, and we will support it with a ...
New Zealand’s 240,000 licensed firearm owners feel vindicated by the acknowledgement of National Party leader Chris Luxon that a firearm register won’t stop gang crime. After the spate of gang crime in Auckland on Tuesday, Mr Luxon said National would ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bronwyn Carlson, Professor, Indigenous Studies and Director of The Centre for Global Indigenous Futures, Macquarie University This article contains mentions of the Stolen Generations, and policies using outdated and potentially offensive terminology when referring to First Nations people. May 26 is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dietmar Müller, Professor of Geophysics, University of Sydney For hundreds of millions of years, Earth’s climate has warmed and cooled with natural fluctuations in the level of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere. Over the past century, humans have pushed CO₂ levels ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hal Pawson, Professor of Housing Research and Policy, and Associate Director, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW Sydney Plenty was said in the election campaign about the very real challenges faced by first home buyers and by homeowners already mortgaged to the hilt. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicole Messina, Team Leader in the Infectious Diseases Research Group, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute; Honorary Fellow at The University of Melbourne Department of Paediatrics., Murdoch Children’s Research Institute After virtually disappearing for two years, influenza is back and rapidly sweeping across Australia ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nerilie Abram, Chief Investigator for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes; Deputy Director for the Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science, Australian National University Nerilie Abram, Author provided The 2022 federal election will go down in history as ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Keating, Visiting Fellow, College of Business & Economics, Australian National University Shutterstock The new government has inherited an extraordinarily difficult budget situation. The budget deficit amounts to 3.5% of gross domestic product this financial year and it will be almost ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cain Polidano, Senior Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock Concerned that many people won’t have enough retirement savings even with compulsory superannuation, since 2003 the Australian government has had a scheme to encourage low and middle-income earners to voluntarily put ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Tregear, Principal Fellow and Professor of Music, The University of Melbourne Jeff Busby/Opera Australia Opera Australia has received outstanding reviews for its Melbourne season of Richard Wagner’s opera Lohengrin. The casting of German singer Jonas Kaufmann in the title ...
A former senior Labour Party figure says New Zealand has effectively gone to war without consulting the public by joining Nato's efforts to defeat Russia's military objectives in Ukraine. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Peter Dutton has declared there is more to him than his tough side, as he formally announces he will stand for the Liberal leadership. Dutton, set to be unopposed when the Liberals meet next week, ...
By Melisha Yafoi in Port Moresby The Papua New Guinean government can expect to be fined a hefty US$5 million (K17.6 million) each for six illegal shipments (K105 million total) of waste oil being transported to Singapore through Indonesian waters. A formal notice was issued by Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment ...
By Barbara Dreaver, TV1 News Pacific correspondent Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is to visit Kiribati on Friday for four hours as part of a Pacific tour to strengthen security ties in the region. It is the first top level bilateral meeting between the two countries since Kiribati switched allegiance ...
RNZ News Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has spoken to media to demonstrate to the US market that New Zealand is “open for business”, having arrived in the US yesterday. Her trip includes meeting members of Congress and the UN Secretary-General, attending a launch event for sustainable meat exports, delivering the ...
PNG Post-Courier Papua New Guinea police have warned the public to take precaution with criminals now operating in large numbers in some suburbs of the second city Lae after an attack on University of Technology students. Metropolitan police commander Chief Superintendent Chris Kunyanban issued the warning following the attack on ...
RNZ Pacific Australia’s newly sworn-in Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, says the new Labor government “will be a generous, respectful and reliable member of the Pacific family”. In a message addressing the region on Monday, Wong set the tone for Australia’s renewed priorities for its island neighbours. Wong said Australia recognised ...
By Sheryl Lal and Akansha Narayan in Nadi, Fiji Although Fiji was unaffected by the first wave of covid-19, its tourism sector — the lifeblood of the economy — has been devastated by border closure across the world due to the pandemic in the past two years. Thus, when the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Erik Eklund, Professor of History, Federation University Australia The recent federal election saw some close calls but few surprises in the regions, where wild electoral swings are rare. But we should look closer at two regional seats that straddle the NSW/Victorian ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benjamin Moffitt, Associate Professor, Australian Catholic University Many commentators tipped Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party (UAP) and Pauline Hanson’s One Nation to perform well this election by scooping up the “freedom” and anti-vax vote from voters angry about how the pandemic was ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matt McDonald, Associate Professor of International Relations, The University of Queensland Getty Before the 2019 federal election, many people expected Australia would vote for faster climate action. That, of course, didn’t happen. But just three years later, the climate election ...
The government is set to delay plans to improve the insulation of new homes in New Zealand, just days after including the measures in the much vaunted emissions reduction plan unveiled last week. The emissions reduction plan included a move to improve ...
The Reserve Bank has raised the official cash rate to 2% – but will that slay the inflationary beast roaming the countryside.? Point of Order doesn’t think so. Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr made the right belligerent noises as he fired the bullet today but he needed a fiscal -policy ...
We were pleasantly surprised to catch up on the latest announcement from Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta – jointly issued with Defence Minister Peeni Henare – about the extension of the New Zealand Defence Force deployment to Solomon Islands. This is being done as part of the Pacific-led Solomon Islands ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Griffin, Associate Professor, Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, The University of Queensland Shutterstock We’ve all become familiar with virus mutations over the course of the pandemic, and can all probably list off the COVID variants including Alpha, Delta and Omicron. ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has spoken with US TV host and comedian Stephen Colbert about the school shooting in Texas, as part of her trip to the United States. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tess Parker, Research Fellow, Monash University From February to May 2022, many places in Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia have seen record-breaking daily and monthly rainfall. Repeated periods of persistent and intense rain have caused devastating and widespread floods. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra New treasurer Jim Chalmers has been in multiple briefings since Sunday, and the message he sends in this podcast is that he is not going to try to gild the economic lily with the Australian ...
The Monetary Policy Committee today increased the Official Cash Rate (OCR) to 2.0 percent. The Committee agreed it remains appropriate to continue to tighten monetary conditions at pace to maintain price stability and support maximum sustainable employment. ...
A $30 million investment by the Government to improve coastal shipping services is great news for jobs, the economy and the environment, said the Council of Trade Unions. “A viable coastal shipping service has huge advantages for New Zealand, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Imogene Smith, Casual academic, provisional psychologist and Doctor of Psychology (Clinical) candidate, Deakin University Shutterstock For many dads, having a child is unplanned. What happens next can vary. One man said: We broke up and she called me soon ...
Coastal shipping has received a $30 million boost from the government, aimed at improving local supply chains and helping move freight off the roads. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carolyn Hill, Teaching Fellow, Environmental Planning, University of Waikato Getty Images A minor culture war has broken out over Auckland’s urban identity since Auckland Council responded to the government’s new housing rules: on one side, defenders of “special character” areas ...
New Zealand’s biggest company by capitalisation on the NZX, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare which sells its products in 120 countries, has supplied $880 million of hospital hardware over the past two years. That’s the equivalent of about 10 years’ hardware sales before COVID-19. This remarkable performance deserves the plaudits of ...
The Socialist Equality Group in New Zealand and the World Socialist Web Site will hold an online public meeting on Saturday, June 4, at 5:00 p.m. to launch the new book Pike River: The Crime and Cover-up , published by Mehring Books. ...
The Minister of Justice, Hon Kris Faafoi, announced on Tuesday morning the panel and terms of reference for the Independent Electoral Law Review. The voting age is at the top of the list of electoral laws the review will be considering. Make It ...
Ted Johnston, Coleader of New Conservative states “There are important changes needed to the Electoral laws, but we must beware Labour and National passing self-serving laws to further perpetuate their duopoly.” Our elections are just passing of the ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards. Political Roundup: Grant Robertson’s “sweet moderation” Grant Robertson is a big fan of British socialist folk-punk singer Billy Bragg. The finance minister even wrote an opinion column last year that started and ended with lyrics from Bragg’s iconic song “Between the Wars”, with its key line ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Aaron J. Snoswell, Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Computational Law & AI Accountability, Queensland University of Technology Shutterstock The first serious accident involving a self-driving car in Australia occurred in March this year. A pedestrian suffered life-threatening injuries when hit by a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Denis Muller, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Advancing Journalism, The University of Melbourne Wes Mountain/The Conversation, CC BY-ND The nightly television news coverage of the 2022 federal election was among the most juvenile and uninformative in 50 years. Given that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Holden, Clinical Associate Professor, University of Sydney Shutterstock It’s a common scenario: you decide to go out for dinner and fancy something different. So, you look to online reviews to help you make your dining choice. If you ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Hornsey, Professor, University of Queensland Business School, The University of Queensland Former Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s shock loss to an independent running on a climate action platform wasn’t a fluke event. “Teal” independents have ousted five of Frydenberg’s colleagues, all harvesting votes ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Holloway, Senior Research DECRA Fellow, Institute for Learning Sciences and Teacher Education, Australian Catholic University During the 2022 federal election campaign, schools barely rated a mention. While the Labor government’s cabinet will not be finalised until next week, we expect ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elaine Nash, PhD Candidate, University of South Australia Shutterstock There are many reasons to employ people living with intellectual disability. Most obvious is that it’s the right thing to do – it helps promote social justice, diversity, corporate social responsibility, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Debra Dudek, Associate professor, School of Arts and Humanities, Edith Cowan University Madman Australian writer and director Renée Webster’s new film How to Please a Woman turns much of what we think we know about sexual desire – especially for ...
Ardern's first event was a sit down with major American tourism media, as part of the drive to show the US market NZ is "open for business", and she will later meet meet with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane Kelsey, Professor of Law, University of Auckland The uncertainty over whether Jacinda Ardern might land a White House meeting and photo opportunity with US President Joe Biden was perhaps fitting, given the lack of clarity about one of their main topics ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The QUAD summit in Tokyo has praised Australia raising its ambition on climate change, after Anthony Albanese told fellow leaders his government would do more to assist Pacific countries address it. Albanese stressed Australia’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan includes “Word from The Hill”, where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation politics team. In this podcast Michelle and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benjamin Clark, Deputy Engagement Editor, The Conversation Politics can be slow-moving, until all of a sudden it isn’t. As political scientist Simon Jackman says in today’s episode of Below the Line, “politics is very non-linear. You get these steady, secular ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By D. Bondy Valdovinos Kaye, Lecturer, Queensland University of Technology On Sunday, popular American singer songwriter Halsey shared a video on TikTok with tinny music in the background, the on-screen text reading: Basically I have a song that I love that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Crowley, Adjunct Associate Professor, Public and Environmental Policy, University of Tasmania During Saturday’s election, 31.5% of the voters deserted the major parties, with a swag of female teal independents tipping Liberal MPs out of their heartland urban seats. By contrast, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rita Matulionyte, Senior Lecturer in Law, Macquarie University Shutterstock Mastercard’s “smile to pay” system, announced last week, is supposed to save time for customers at checkouts. It is being trialled in Brazil, with future pilots planned for the Middle East ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Stand by for something “reckless and dangerous”. That’s what former prime minister Scott Morrison said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese would be if he asked the Fair Work Commission ...
Just in case the affected voters and constituencies haven’t bothered to check how much funding they are being given in Budget 2022 (or how much they have lost in some cases), ministers have been letting them know in post-Budget press statements. At least, they have been letting them know when ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has called the way a New Zealand mother of two died in custody awaiting deportation from Australia was a disgrace and further evidence that the system is not just broken but responsible ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christian Moro, Associate Professor of Science & Medicine, Bond University Shutterstock You showered this morning, are wearing fresh clothes and having an otherwise normal day, when suddenly you notice that stench. Why do our armpits smell, and why more ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lucinda McKnight, Senior Lecturer in Pedagogy and Curriculum, Deakin University Pixabay The war in Ukraine is being described as the first social media war, even as “the TikTok war”. Memes, tweets, videos and blog posts communicate both vital information and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Stewart, John Bray Professor of Law, University of Adelaide Industrial relations issues were front and centre when federal Labor last won office from opposition in 2007. The backlash against John Howard’s “Work Choices” reforms cost both his government and his own ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Soutphommasane, Acting Director, Sydney Policy Lab & Professor of Practice (Sociology and Political Theory), University of Sydney The message from Saturday’s election result was clear: Australians want a political reset. And not just about issues such as government integrity and climate ...
The Education and Workforce Committee is calling for submissions on the Employment Relations (Extended Time for Personal Grievance for Sexual Harassment) Amendment Bill. This bill would extend the period of time available to raise a personal grievance ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kelly Menzel, Assistant Professor – First Nations Health, Bond University GettyImages Workplaces can be hostile, overwhelming and unwelcoming places for many First Nations Peoples. My research has explored how this is the case in many organisations, including universities. White organisations ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Breadon, Program Director, Health and Aged Care, Grattan Institute CDC/Unsplash Anthony Albanese campaigned on better pandemic management. Giving the vaccination program a shot in the arm will be his first test. Not long ago, every shipment of vaccines was ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Kingham, Professor, University of Canterbury Shutterstock/Tanya NZ The Dutch have long been recognised as leaders in cycling. Denmark is not far behind, with more bikes than cars in its capital Copenhagen. This is the result of many years of ...
Remaining in the orange traffic light setting is not a constraint or handbrake to accelerating business recovery, rebuilding, and planning for growth, says Auckland Business Chamber CEO Michael Barnett. “Businesses can do everything under Orange, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Breadon, Program Director, Health and Aged Care, Grattan Institute CDC/Unsplash Anthony Albanese campaigned on better pandemic management. Giving the vaccination program a shot in the arm will be his first test. Not long ago, every shipment of vaccines was ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Purdie, Senior Research Fellow, University of Otago Getty Images If your next car is not electric, then it must be much smaller than your last one. Scientists have warned that the world needs to halve emissions every decade to ...
Not many New Zealanders may have noticed what is happening in China or India – but their economies appear to be tracking in opposite directions. Those movements could have a powerful impact in turn on NZ’s economic fortunes. Point of Order is indebted to two remarkable pieces of journalism for ...
Northland District Commander Superintendent Tony Hill: Police agree with the findings of an IPCA report, which concluded a Police officer was justified in using force against a man during an arrest in Northland. On 27 May 2021, Police were witness ...
Clownish National MPs are letting the Opposition down
"King is the worst of a number of MPs who have shown a flippancy with facts. Spin is fine in politics, but facts are facts. Facts are important. You can't campaign in a different reality.
We trust our politicians to make big decisions. Most of the decisions they make will not be campaigned on, will arise through their terms in power, or will go unreported.
As a farmer, King should know climate change is the biggest issue facing New Zealand agriculture, says Glenn McConnell.
The ability, then, to know fact from fiction and to be able to understand science and reasoning is the most basic skill a politician must have. By sharing disinformation, King has exposed that he lacks this basic requirement. He must go.
He must go, also, because his stance shows an absolute disregard for New Zealand's future. Climate change is the biggest issue facing agriculture, and the biggest challenge facing the world. He does not understand the issue.
This blasé approach to what most people are calling a crisis is irresponsible. He, and the other politicians who are ignoring the climate crisis, are condemning future generations to food insecurity, environmental catastrophe and global economic instability. If you're an MP who hasn't caught up with this, then you are out of touch and must go."
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/115330531/loony-national-mps-are-letting-the-opposition-down
I'm not even sure "spin is OK". Framing – sure. Spin is designed to prevent basic honesty and openness, to obfuscate and be frugal with the truth. It's one reason people lose faith in their representatives.
I think we can agree though that King is a complete muppet
Spin is too kind a word. The Opposition will be infamous for repeatedly straight out lying and by the time the truth is out there the damage has been done. Remember the $100,000 bottle of wine that wasn't?
Not the slightest apology from hack John Armstrong over that fiasco either.
Matt King only got elected because Peters and Prime split their vote – National had been declining in previous elections in Northland. We shouldn't need 'deals' like Epsom to get rid of King at the next election, but it would help if we moved to STV. . .
Labour dumps renewable hydro energy plan while spouting wanting energy to be more renewable.
Why does this not surprise me?
Ardern's "nuclear issue" and the Greens "WW2" seems to bit more sales pitch than substance
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/115349596/mt-cook-of-rivers-will-not-be-tamed-as-govt-rejects-waitaha-hydropower-scheme
That scheme was going to add a paltry 20MW of capacity, and trash a pretty special bit of river in the conservation estate.
Meanwhile, there's 2500MW of windfarms consented, but not yet being built due to lack of demand. At first glance, I don't see any of those requiring the trashing of part of our conservation estate.
There's also 285MW of geothermal consented, but not yet being built due to lack of demand.
The obstacle to turning our electricity generation 100% renewable has more to do with the way fossil generators get to dump their hazardous waste on the rest of us for free. Not going ahead with trivially small hydro schemes that carry significant environmental costs has bugger-all to do with it.
"Why does this not surprise me?"
Because, ChrisT, your views are predetermined and on top of that, you don't read for meaning or integrate new ideas into your prejudice.
Does that help answer your question?
It's a bad-faith, rhetorical trick to equate 'renewable' with 'green'. Hydro is one of the least desirable renewables because it trashes natural ecosystems. A very useful technology historically, but not the future.
Damn!
yep.
Historical technology was (and is) often very clever and simple.Solutions were often very cheap.
Unfortunately the examples you give were from an era ( 1910 ?)where public buildings were barely heated and certainly not air conditioning.
[All though this was a special case
https://www.rehva.eu/rehva-journal/chapter/reintroduction-of-natural-ventilation-to-a-historic-opera-house%5D but more was done other than ‘just’ restore the old methods and the complaints were because the ‘old vents and windows were blocked off’
Its now a given , as the heating and cooling with fresh air are a single 'system'. Its like using microphones and speakers, you really cant do without them
Don't say that thing about mics at the opera 🙂
There’s no middle ground or compromise with people with your thought process. If you look hard enough the pursuit of energy will trash something. Whether it’s the sea the wind farm, the river, the nuclear waste. There has to be middle here. The massive impact that the Manapouri Dam had on the landscape has recovered over time. The difference these days is our ability to be a lot thoughtful with the way these projects are instigated.
None of the South Island rivers that I'm aware of that have been dammed have recovered, and certainly not the Waiau.
The whole point of dams is that they give control of water flows to humans, who then manage then in highly destructive ways without much regard for the ecology of the river. Hydro dams being opened for lots of power generation produce tornado like effects in the river itself for the things that live in the river. I think the issues with the Waiau are related to low flow and the river having lost its 20,000 year old capacity to respond to changes in water coming out of two lakes. The Manapouri scheme would never be allowed today and let's not forget that the huge damage that would have come from raising the lake was prevented by environmentalists.
The river flows can be controlled. Any new Dam would would have strict controls. The Manapouri Dam wouldn’t have been built now as you say. But I can’t see why not. No body travelling around that area complains what a tragedy it is. When travellers drive past these lakes they don’t comment how ugly they are. They are part of a new beautiful landscape. The areas were wonderful landscapes before and are now. Just different. The North Island would be an underdeveloped wilderness without SI power. Unless you burn coal that is. Put up enough wind turbines and all the visual pollution people will come out of the woodwork. There must be compromise.
Thats rewriting history. Manapouri was an existing lake it wasnt created by people. The lake level is only controlled. Thats way it 'looks good' , but hey its not just about views for people who drive past
For the original project they did propose to RAISE the lake level, and rightly that created an almighty storm.
I lament the Waiau every time I see it.
Very picturesque https://resources.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/i/j/x/d/9/image.related.StuffLandscapeSixteenByNine.710×400.1ijx2e.png/1492472129311.jpg
Compromise involves understanding where the limits are. I just wrote a whole post about this, you can read it if you like. There are no good reasons to keep damming rivers in NZ. We don't have to keep growing exponentially, and we will be forced to stop soon anyway because of climate change.
What we are talking about here is NZ's excessive usage of power. We could be conserving power and working within our limits. There's still compromise there, but small scale wind has a distinctly different impact than what happens to rivers when we dam them. It's not so much about visual pleasure, although that's an issue in some ways, it's about the impact on the river itself. Meaning the entity, perhaps what you think of as the beauty, as well as all the life that exists because of the river.
I'm guessing you're not familiar with Manapouri and the Waiau. It's not a Manapouri dam, it's a system across two lakes, a river, a mountain and a fiord. The mountain has two tailraces built under it to drop water from Manapouri to the sea. To control that they built two control dams at the outlets of Lakes Manapouri and Te Anau. The Waiau drains out of Manapouri, and because they want Manapouri to flow under the mountain instead, the Waiau river is kept abnormally low. This affects the whole river right to the sea.
Algae build up is an issue, and this will become more so as water temperatures increase with climate change.
https://www.niwa.co.nz/sites/niwa.co.nz/files/styles/large/public/Kilroy%2C%20Lower%20Waiau%20River_with%20didymo.JPG?itok=uqd0LsJO
Nice description of the project Weka, but don’t assume too much. I traveled up the river from TeAnau to Manapouri before the project was started around 1964.
Down river 😉 I'd love to have seen these lakes and rivers before they were dammed.
I remember the Clutha before the Clyde Dam went in especially the Cromwell Gorge.
All those apricots were lost too maybe the best in the country
I know! I remember those.
There's a post up about this https://thestandard.org.nz/why-we-save-rivers
Too simplistic by far Chris T.
See the comments, including mine, on the dedicated post for this issue.
Solar, wind, tidal and wave motion as energy sources.
Alas, poor England .. burdened by imperial fantasies after the fall of Singapore .. or should that be Hong Kong ?
Or Alas, poor China, burdened by imperial fantasies in Taiwan, Xinjiang, Xiazang (Tibet), Nei Mongolia (Inner Mongolia). The largest empire on earth today is the Chinese empire.
Sorry, I forgot. Only white people are racists, colonialists and imperialists.
Oh FGS. Sorry, I expect people to be able to voice reasonable opinions of their own that are backed by facts without having some PC person criticise because the comment touches on one of their particular sensitivities. It is where free speech is needed, with cool analysis and telling it like it is, without belabouring the point beyond reason.
News – QE2 has sunk to depths uncharted. Salvage by PC is unlikely because of the state of the wreck. A vicissitude of Titanic proportions; it reminds me of the German state making Hitler the Chancellor.
Why did not the Queen insist, in her precise, measuring way, that it seems unconstitutional to have Parliament in abeyance when there were concerns for the country that are of extreme importance to be thoroughly discussed before finality?
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO1908/S00151/uk-pm-to-suspend-parliament-queens-speech.htm
Clever and apt title starts: Untied Kingdom.
May I suggest if you are going to persist in commentating on the UK and brexit, you undertake a little research, so others don't have to keep posting how wrong you are most of the time.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-49495575
May I suggest that you butt out from dropping in on other's comments with total derision and stop playing the superior pedant. What I have said will echo what many people think.
I myself consider this so important that the Queen, if boxed in by convention or even law, should have pushed it aside and done her duty to all the people of the UK. She put up with Thatcher and to let Johnson and Co. have their way was cowardice despite what advisors might say. She won't keep royalty high in people's allegiance by letting the country go further to the dogs. It is a time of face-off against the barons and merchants of coming doom, and perhaps she is too old for the job.
No need to get hurt, it's just a simple request for you to actually find out a miniscule amount of information about the subject you intend to post on, before you actually do it. Clearly this didn't work second time around either @4.2.2.1 🙄
Greywarshark, you do not seem to understand the role of the Queen in the UK.
Even if she wanted to, she could not have have 'pushed it aside…'. Likewise, she had to put up with Thatcher, Blair et al. The Queen is just a figurehead, bound by the constitution. She MUST defer to her Ministers, almost without exception.
What you are proposing is little short of a royalist revolution, and certainly against the laws of Great Britain, laws that have taken centuries of struggle to wrest the power from an unelected elite.
Whether you realize it or not, you are proposing that the clock of political freedom be turned back by around 400 years.
So now the power is with the elected elite. You people are so unthinking. Everything is changing in the world. The elected government lies to the people who vote according to the lie, and then find out too late, but a slight majority that has been received is enough apparently to start the dissolution of what remains of the marvellous democracy that you are wetting your pants about. So many lies. Tony Blair and WMD so war. Defending that should bring a red blush to your cheek.
The USA is the same – quoting its founding documents for authority of just about everything it does, just by twisting the words away from their intention at the time it was drawn up. It no longer stands as the rules for a fine nation, rather as a blind for the use of a magician practising legerdemain.
And the clock is being turned around as we watch, and going back to times we hoped would never return. All the checks and balances produced have been invalidated by complacency, wilful ignorance and assertion of entitlement. We can do this because we are right and they are wrong, and undeserving.
The ability for a UK government to move on any referendum should have been put in block capitals in the statutes or whatever to be 80 for 20 against. I think that would allow for a telling majority against those who would not budge. All these words in laws etc are just that. and they can be misread, badly administered different from the intent; they aren't unchanging. Humans created them, and if on close scrutiny, they are found to be confusing or misunderstood, they can be changed, and honest, principled people would change them.
'Defending Tony Blair and WMD war'? Hmm, comprehension: E – fail.
In the UK, since it became a constitutional monarchy, the power has always been in the hands of the elected elite. Politicians can lie, make or break promises, get elected then unelected. Welcome to democracy.
Can't you just admit you didn't have a clue and move on?
The real effect of what Johnson has done is this:
" three days of Parliamentary sittings will be lost in the week after the party conferences. Let me just repeat that – three days 8, 9 and 10 of October."
A new PM having a new session of parliament with a Speech from the Throne …thats all . Remember hes only been PM for a month. ( 24th July)
”what I have said will resonate…” trumpian, and completely plays to the point the Al1en was making.
Because the Queen does what the PM asks for …thats what their system is about.
Maybe the Speaker should go back to his 'strictly neutral' role before the Queen disregards the 'advice' of the PM.
Two things you forget.
1) MPs would in recess for 3 weeks anyway as Sept is 'party conference time'
2) This 'session of parliament' begun back in 2017 , prorogation ends it for a new one in October.
get over your nonsense
"reminds me of the German state making Hitler the Chancellor."
You have the imagination and forethought of a goldfish Dukeofurl.
Look what happened in Canada – that well known facist dictatorship-after the Harper minority government in 2008 prorogued parliament just after an election when the were facing losing a vote of no confidence and new government from the opposition parties.
The prorogation was for 2 months not 2 weeks.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008%E2%80%9309_Canadian_parliamentary_dispute
Much hot air at the time , but life went on.
Some people seem to substitute muddy waters overseas as an excuse to paddle furiously in them. I suppose it gives meaning to an empty life.
Dont forget its the height of European newspapers 'silly season', but only this time only the cricket is being taken seriously
yet you’ve rolled in with nothing but fake news.
Progressively, brexit is a nightmare pandering to little Britain. from an environmentalist POV its a god send as it puts the brakes on goods moving round using carbon emssions as they are too easy to tax and prevents people movement with the same benefit.
Ross Meurant is not a well-rounded figure. In his comment he presents his Right side, but look further on and there is no left; just a cardboard facsimile of someone who has learned a bit in life, just enough to sometimes sound like a thinking human. But of course there are many like him around; it is a mast year.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/08/28/guest-blog-ross-meurant-half-way-mark/
Matt King would kill our environnemnt as he can't even say climate change is real So this is our press release. CEAC supports Tribunal criticism of crown freshwater failures Press release from Citizens Environmental Advocacy centre. 29th August 2019. Recent Radio NZ press release covering the Waitangi Tribunal freshwater failures hearings (seen here in this link below) shows a lack of over years of Crown awareness of another “elephant in the room” regarding how other sources of pollution of our freshwater is now seriously been contaminated badly, and shows that the crown over the last 11 years has not used the RMA to protect our degrading water quality, so we wholeheartedly support the tightening of provisions in the RMA to protect our whole natural and built environment to protect everyone in our precious environment. https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/waitangi-tribunal-slams-crown-over-freshwater-failures/ar-AAGrxFe Regarding the “elephant in the room” being the not previously considered by the crown; – let us clarify; Recently on (Thursday, 22 August 2019) our centre (Citizens Environmental Advocacy Centre, ‘CEAC’ ) discussed this issue of ‘road pollution runoff’ as the “elephant in the room” in a press release – see in this link below; http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1908/S00089/drinking-water-quality-improved-by-using-rail.htm Quote; We at CEAC believe ‘this is the elephant in the room now’ as we already know from the ‘NZ Ministry of Transport’ documented studies from the 2002 report entitled “Emission Factors for Contaminants Released from Motor Vehicles in NZ” Fuels and Energy Management Group December 2002. https://www.transport.govt.nz/assets/Import/Documents/9fa2b3a10b/stormwater-emission-factors.pdf That report shows that tyre particulates have many toxic chemicals that are known to be harmful to humans. These are already found to be freely released in the tyre dust as we drive and are then washed off our roads into our drains, streams, rivers, lakes and aquifers, and finally into our drinking water, so we are part of the problem already now. EV vehicles will still emit the same tyre dust toxins as regular gasoline vehicles do. The new scientific German report https://www.sott.net/article/418585-Plastic-particles-falling-out-of-sky-with-snow-in-the-Arctic ‘Raining plastic’ – QUOTE “fragments of rubber tyres”. Un-Quote; So now we see the ‘Transmission Gully’ mega NZTA roading project has been found to be causing the “silt build-up now chocking the nearby coastal estuaries and causing very long term serious damage to the life of all aquatic species including kai moana which is the tāonga – life-blood of Māori Iwi/hapu. Bluntly; the RMA definitely failed us all here especially over the ‘loosely controlled’ activities of the road builder NZTA; We quote; Presiding officer Chief Judge Wilson Isaac; "The RMA has allowed a serious degradation of water quality to occur in many ancestral water bodies, which are now in a highly vulnerable state," he said. “RMA did not provide adequately for the tino rangatiratanga and the kaitiakitanga of iwi and hapū over their freshwater tāonga.” CEAC believes NZTA must be “heavily regulated” by having the Ministry of health, Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Transport along with the Government stepping in here and placing ‘new controls over the road builder going forwards’ now so NZTA actually comply with strict regulatory rules to protect all those living near their roads in future. From this time forward we expect to see serious care and consideration be written into the RMA to stop the widespread pollution and emissions of ‘air and water carrying pollution’ and ‘road- runoff‘ being washed of NZTA roads and carried through air pollution from tyre wear from tyre dust and exhaust emissions from over use activities of heavy truck freight particularly. We at CEAC have always advocated for widespread use of rail, as an environmentally friendly transport system and with national party policy of overuse of ‘freight trucks’ on our regional roads is now destroying our ‘natural/coastal and built’ residential environments alike and endangering our health and wellbeing. Secretary. CEAC.
Um, yeah. Can you give us the gist ?
It's a thoughtful and detailed post from Cleangreen with research and study from the Gisborne group? for a long time as they have looked at rail and road and assessed their costs and benefits.
I thought it would be good to know what it's all about so have put it into paragraphs for readability and hope this is satisfactory. It would be unfortunate if the work in writing it was not matched by useful knowledge gained from it.
Matt King would kill our environnemnt as he can't even say climate change is real So this is our press release. CEAC supports Tribunal criticism of crown freshwater failures Press release from Citizens Environmental Advocacy centre. 29th August 2019.
Recent Radio NZ press release covering the Waitangi Tribunal freshwater failures hearings (seen here in this link below) shows a lack of over years of Crown awareness of another “elephant in the room” regarding how other sources of pollution of our freshwater is now seriously been contaminated badly, and shows that the crown over the last 11 years has not used the RMA to protect our degrading water quality, so we wholeheartedly support the tightening of provisions in the RMA to protect our whole natural and built environment to protect everyone in our precious environment. https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/waitangi-tribunal-slams-crown-over-freshwater-failures/ar-AAGrxFe
Regarding the “elephant in the room” being the not previously considered by the crown; – let us clarify; Recently on (Thursday, 22 August 2019) our centre (Citizens Environmental Advocacy Centre, ‘CEAC’ ) discussed this issue of ‘road pollution runoff’ as the “elephant in the room” in a press release – see in this link below; http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1908/S00089/drinking-water-quality-improved-by-using-rail.htm
Quote; We at CEAC believe ‘this is the elephant in the room now’ as we already know from the ‘NZ Ministry of Transport’ documented studies from the 2002 report entitled “Emission Factors for Contaminants Released from Motor Vehicles in NZ” Fuels and Energy Management Group December 2002. https://www.transport.govt.nz/assets/Import/Documents/9fa2b3a10b/stormwater-emission-factors.pdf
That report shows that tyre particulates have many toxic chemicals that are known to be harmful to humans. These are already found to be freely released in the tyre dust as we drive and are then washed off our roads into our drains, streams, rivers, lakes and aquifers, and finally into our drinking water, so we are part of the problem already now. EV vehicles will still emit the same tyre dust toxins as regular gasoline vehicles do.
The new scientific German report https://www.sott.net/article/418585-Plastic-particles-falling-out-of-sky-with-snow-in-the-Arctic ‘Raining plastic’ – QUOTE “fragments of rubber tyres”. Un-Quote; So now we see the ‘Transmission Gully’ mega NZTA roading project has been found to be causing the “silt build-up now chocking the nearby coastal estuaries and causing very long term serious damage to the life of all aquatic species including kai moana which is the tāonga – life-blood of Māori Iwi/hapu.
Bluntly; the RMA definitely failed us all here especially over the ‘loosely controlled’ activities of the road builder NZTA; We quote; Presiding officer Chief Judge Wilson Isaac; "The RMA has allowed a serious degradation of water quality to occur in many ancestral water bodies, which are now in a highly vulnerable state," he said. “RMA did not provide adequately for the tino rangatiratanga and the kaitiakitanga of iwi and hapū over their freshwater tāonga.”
CEAC believes NZTA must be “heavily regulated” by having the Ministry of health, Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Transport along with the Government stepping in here and placing ‘new controls over the road builder going forwards’ now so NZTA actually comply with strict regulatory rules to protect all those living near their roads in future.
From this time forward we expect to see serious care and consideration be written into the RMA to stop the widespread pollution and emissions of ‘air and water carrying pollution’ and ‘road- runoff‘ being washed of NZTA roads and carried through air pollution from tyre wear from tyre dust and exhaust emissions from over use activities of heavy truck freight particularly.
We at CEAC have always advocated for widespread use of rail, as an environmentally friendly transport system and with national party policy of overuse of ‘freight trucks’ on our regional roads is now destroying our ‘natural/coastal and built’ residential environments alike and endangering our health and wellbeing. Secretary. CEAC.
That "Gisborne group?" appears to consist of cleangreen and one or two of his family members. I've had more than just a cursory look online, and the only names I've ever seen associated with CEAC have been either cleangreen's IRL name or someone sharing the same surname. I believe the term for that is "astroturfing".
Apart from calling Matt King names and the link to the Waitangi Tribunal statement, the rest looks like just a repaste of the same stuff cleangreen pastes here over and over ad nauseum.
What the hell? Why are you kicking over Cleangreen and what the ginger group call themselves. Some of you are such a nasty negative lot. You don't seem interested in advancing and helping NZs, talking about ideas, exchanging info etc. and getting together with others to get us out of the hole we are in.
You just want to sit in negative judgment and do nothing useful, indeed actually destroy spirit. I find you despicable Andre in 6 111… You are ad nauseum big time.
Exchanging ideas…is that what you call your endless snippets of nothing.
In the real world its called concern trolling …perhaps someone should show you how on Twitter and Facebook . They would love your work
In the real world dukeofurl you are swamping the blog with your negatives. Preventing discussion. I don't know what your other blog sites call it, have you nothing else to do except push your dislike of fellow citizens with sneers and supposed superior information which is usually not accompanied by sources.
It's not so much the length, it's more the lack of paragraphs. White space is your friend.
Matt King bad, rail good.
Sometimes rail is efficient, othertimes woefully not.
Using a truck to, say, take stock from a farm near Oxford in Canterbury to the Freezing works in Christchurch is hugely more efficient and environmentally friendly compared to what used to happen there, where a truck took it to the Oxford railhead, then railed to ChCh, then shunted around back to Belfast. In almost all rural cases, rail is environmentally inferior to road.
Rail is great for point to point, and particularly for bulk freight. Less so for small consignments and seldom at all for non point to point.
Agreed, NZ is unfortunately too small for the kind of rail most people would like. Having said that I wouldn't mind seeing more rail used, where it makes sense to use it
I've been to Auckland and Wellington in the last few months and would have jumped a train in both cases in ohakune if there was a morning and evening daily service. (I did jump on the train at paraparaumu for the welly trip. )
Yep that makes sense
That is more to do with the lack of money invested in extending the rail network, compared with mega billions spent on roads, rather than relative efficiency.
Partly at least. At least this government has given rail a chance.
we don't celebrate the invention of the paragraph – anywhere near enough….
I Celebrate The Upper Case Daily Filly.
So Michael Moores latest production: Planet of the Humans could see him excommunicated, crucified and vilified by the left.
Interesting to see how well it does
http://planetofthehumans.com/
Um, lots of people have been saying this for a long time. It's hardly controversial. That situation (green tech BAU) is a consequence of right wing and neoliberal control. Criticising it is entirely within the purview of the left. I just wrote about it in the Saving our Rivers post. Although tbf, I also criticised the traditional left for its long held position of jobs before nature.
Sure but there's also one heckuva lot of people that see the climate change movement as an almost religious movement so Michael may well see himself cast in a new light, that of the betrayer of the faith
I however am doing my part by trading in my older SUV for a 2019 diesel ute and our older car for 2019 small hatchback and yes I'm feeling quite virtuous because they're much better for the environment especially compared to electric vehicles
Feeling virtuous by having a car – what a flop.
By upgrading I'll be using less fossil fuels and diesel is better for the environment so yeah we all gotta play our part no matter how small that part is
Maybe something Greta Thunberg (or her father) might have liked to consider:
https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/sailing-team-fly-crew-us-bring-thunberg-boat-65021301
'The sailing team that's taking climate activist Greta Thunberg from England to the United States aboard a high-tech racing yacht says it will fly two crew across the Atlantic to bring the boat back, but that the carbon emissions from their flights will be compensated for.'
why didn't you buy an EV?
Numerous reasons but among them is the reliance of rare earth metals, not always having access to a charger, modern engines being far more efficient then ever before, not sure of how many mechanics are qualified to work on electric vehicles, petrol and diesel easier to source and finally the price
the charger one is an issue for me too, but none of the EVs are affordable to me so I don't have to make the decision yet.
The range and how long it takes to charge are issues as well
Yep. I'm ok with changing my behaviour around those things (we're all going to have to do that eventually so may as well get used to it), but I'm not sure the rural South Island is there yet for making it feasible. I wonder how the AA are handling this.
I read somewhere that EV have in their GPS system all charging locations ( regular updates)
You pop in your destination, it looks at the distance and likely speed etc , reads the existing charge in the batteries and will ROUTE you via the suitable charging spots to enable the journey to complete. This was for the UK where there are 1000s of chargers now- as many public chargers as petrol/diesel service stations ( each station would have multiple pumps though)
betting that doesn't work in NZ with Japanese imports which are programmed for Japan.
It would be ok as a town car but you wouldn't want to trust it taking to the more rural areas of NZ
https://pod-point.com/guides/driver/how-long-to-charge-an-electric-car
'The time it takes to charge an electric car can be as little as 30 minutes or more than 12 hours. This depends on the size of the battery and the speed of the charging point. A typical electric car(60kWh battery) takes just under 8 hours to charge from empty-to-full with a 7kW charging point.'
Map of charging points. Green are public, orange are fast charge.
https://driveelectric.org.nz/chargers-map/
Thats a lot more than I thought but price is still a major factor, maybe when I look to replace this car I'll look at an ev
some of those might be pending. I tend to last about a decade with a car, so by the time I'm looking for the next one both the cars and the charging points will have changed significantly. If I had enough money I'd probably do it now and make it work.
wow really missed the point – must be a tory thing…
yeah, nah. The climate movement isn't a monolith, but for instance in NZ, mainstream orgs that have been leading the way on climate action (Greenpeace, Green Party) are full of people who know the score about green BAU and greenwashing. Those orgs have been forced into taking a middle of the road approach, because of deniers and people dragging the chain.
Lots of the movement is outside of the US too.
…there's also one heckuva lot of people that see the climate change movement as an almost religious movement…
Most of them right-wingers who think AGW is a hoax. Those guys seem more inclined to cheer Moore on when it comes to this movie, because they don't understand the difference between environmentalism and greenwashing.
So why puckers?
When you lose the FT..
It reminds me of the febrile atmosphere in Sydney during the Dismissal.
Qui bono ?
https://www.theguardian.com › australia-news › oct › prince-charles-knew-…
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/aug/28/cross-party-rebel-alliance-gears-up-for-brexit-clash-with-johnson
Chris Trotter just wrote a piece imagining if Jacinda Ardern died, apparently as a way of commemorating Big Norm's death anniversary and making the point that… I'm not sure what exactly, something about the gloss coming off?
It's at TDB if you want to read it. Weird. 'We really hope it doesn't happen, but let's now speculate if it does', it's all a bit Daily Mail.
He never really got over Women leading the labour party- somehow its not 'industrial' as in freezing works and coal mines and cloth caps
I seldom take any notice of what Chris Trotter says. He just likes to drone on and on and make constant references to obscure and totally irrelevant classical myths. Just a silly old borish dinasaur really.
I see he writes now for the BFD (and before that for Whaleoils Incite). Clearly happy to associate with anyone who will give him oxygen, no matter how criminal, hypocritical or thuggish.
Novel way of getting around those damn campaign finance laws.
/
Federal Election Commission Vice Chairman Matthew Petersen announced his resignation today.
This means the agency that enforces and regulates the nation’s campaign finance laws will effectively shut down — something that hasn’t happened since 2008 — because it won’t have the legal minimum of four commissioners to make high-level decisions.
Petersen’s resignation, first reported by the Washington Examiner, will throw the FEC into turmoil for weeks — and perhaps months — as the nation enters the teeth of 2020 presidential and congressional elections.
For now, the FEC can’t conduct meetings.
It can’t slap political scofflaws with fines.
It can’t make rules.
It can’t conduct audits and approve them.
It can’t vote on the outcome of investigations.
https://publicintegrity.org/federal-politics/federal-election-commission-fec-to-effectively-shut-down/
When you lose the FT..
That doesnt say what you/Sheppard claim at all.
They just say "for ardent remainers and Liberal democrats, THEY may also require a Corbyn caretaker government."
There isnt going to be a 'Corbyn caretaker governmen't , but the next 2 weeks means they can try. Its not Australia where the Governor General can dismiss the PM ( as per their written constitution)
Just checked the full FT editorial and I was wrong about the snippet.
Then again the FT has been pro remain and anti any sort of Brexit, so it figures
That Outrager- in- chief Blair used to regularly prorogue parliament for 12 weeks.
But how times change , anything about leaving the EU is now all sorts of incendiary words, even Boris adding 3 sitting days to the September break
The Speech from the Throne , after debate, can be voted down by a majority and thats when Johnsons government would fall. Thats the usual process to get rid of him.
I met a real live climate change denier 🙁
Being given a lift home, we got covered in diesel fumes from an ancient 'temporary replacement' bus in front of us. I lamented the loss of the trolley buses on that route, and how the GWRC STILL haven't even bothered getting us the promised electric bus replacements.
I've never had a fellow Wellingtonian disagree with that assessment of things until now. What I got from this lady, I wonder if she watches Fox in her down time. "I don't believe in this Global warming nonsense…it's a natural occurring phenomena….giant con job….all about businesses making money….that thing in Tuvalu recently, that was a con…."etc etc
I didn't even bother responding, reacting or anything. She's an elderly lady (and no, I am not for one moment making generalisations!) and I really don't think it was possible to have a civil debate on the matter. It was was extremely upsetting though. Of course I know they exist but sometimes I rather not know who they are.
Did you wonder why the Greens get 6% and the national party gets 43%.
She seemed to be at the extreme end but a lot of voters are in the mild climate change category, because they are older ( grew up in a period when nuclear war seemed almost certain, but wasnt) or seen more adversity than millennials who are addicted to mobile devices.
Yes, but part of the reason for the cynicism is due to the ludicrous doomsday prophecies of the last 25 years, and the hypocrisy of many of those pushing an often self serving barrow.
Al Gore springs immediately to mind, but he is but one. It is down to these people that the reality of climate change is not more widely accepted.
People have bizarre and irrational viewpoints all the time. I wouldn't let it upset you. At the end of the day you've got to have a chuckle, because if you didn't laugh at the state of the world you'd probably throw yourself off a building. Whenever I find myself railing at the television, my kids remind me that the television isn't a person, the people on the television can't actually hear me, and I should probably calm down and go make a cup of tea. Kids are clever like that.
Not so sure about this; it is becoming more common to hack smart TVs and other devices that control your life, including the camera …
Even Apple’s Siri conversations can be overheard and recorded …
Some people think that IoT is something to look forward to but to others it is more like a dystopian near—future.
@Wens, very true! I'm almost over the shock of the encounter now. What can one do but laugh at some people. It's (almost) a shame she won't be around to experience the fruits of her denial, living as she does right on Lyall Bay. Although with that sort of extremism I'd imagine the more frequent inundations, coastal erosion, extreme storm surges etc, it would all be 'naturally occurring'
Lyall Bay ?
While the waves on Lyall Bay beach are great for surfing, they are anything but ideal for infrastructure. On September 16, 1916, the Evening Post reported on a southerly depression, which was responsible for exceptionally high tides. Seawater crossed Lyall Parade and reached well over the road. Marine debris was spread across the parade.
Sea storms and surges are an annual event on Lyall Parade. But resident Suzi Wilson isn’t worried about tsunamis.
“Winter time is when the sea washes up on to the road. Logs end up all over the footpath.” She has developed a passion for collecting shells and debris washed up on the beach since moving to the parade five years ago. She displays her collection inside and outside of her home.
The first life-saving clubhouse was washed away in a storm only a few months after being built by Wellington City Council in 1910. "
The current 2018 building replaced a 1957 one and maybe a new building after 1910 one was destroyed and then replaced in 1957.
Maybe living by the seaside with large waves has made that lady more resiliant
http://www.massey.ac.nz/~wwjourn/surfing-stormy-history/
There is a picture on page 4 of the 28 August Blenheim Sun family advised me of. It shows a Year 13 form photo in which a large lad in centre picture holds a baby.
Shades of the Trevor Mallard Effect. It is now allowable for young men to be pictured proudly and happily dandling babies. The opposite to 'toxic masculinity"!
If there's something to be proud of about making a baby while you're still in school, I'm not sure what it would be.
Psycho Milt, the baby is that of his form teacher. He is not the father, just as Speaker Mallard is not the father of the children he dandled while in the Speaker's chair.
Turn the page to page four!
https://farmersweekly.co.nz/section/other-sectors/view/farmers-efforts-to-be-rewarded
Thankyou thankyou thankyou.
Good words from Shaw and co .
Well well, someone is telling porky pies now and I don’t trust either side on who is telling the truth or who is talking a load of bollocks.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-29/declassified-us-intelligence-documents-sheds-light-timor-leste/11459284
The only part that is right is the supply line from Darwin to ET did crash 7 times in the first 2 to 3mths from memory. As our Rifle Flight was on 24hr E ration packs for 21days straight and which almost sent us Trop’o or native and it was quicker to get boots, bog roll etc via the mailman than via the supply chain.
Ah the joys of INTERFET, the good, the bad and the ugly.
Interesting. Wondering about comparing Timor Leste with Hong Kong in the current unrest.
Its the same but different. Murderous gangs supported by the government …that could be a method the Beijing government could use as 'plausible denial' in the way China does and no one believes them ..the US has this problem too.
Re. "My memories of .."
What's new ?
Polly Toynbee: "A civil war state of mind now threatens our democracy"
"Boris Johnson’s assault on parliament is unprecedented, but he can – and must – be stopped
"This country that self-identified so smugly as stable, tolerant and moderate, with a crown to symbolise traditions honed down the centuries, is revealed as fissile, fragile and ferociously divided. A constitution that relied on gentlemanly governments’ willingness to bow to parliament has evaporated, blown away now it’s led by a man who doesn’t give a damn for parliamentary sovereignty: taking back control is for him alone. He is ready to destroy anything that threatens his ambition."
<snip>
I asked Bob Kerslake, former head of the civil service, where their duty lies in this unprecedented situation.
We are reaching the point where the civil service must consider putting its stewardship of the country ahead of service to the government of the day,” he said. That is a devastating verdict."
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/aug/28/proroguation-parliament-boris-johnson-brexit
Hehehe.
Parliament has lost only 3 sitting days because of the prorogation ended the longest session of parliament since the 1600s.
After the Queens Speech , Mps can vote against it and if they have a majority Johnson has to resign.
Thats parliament doing what its always done.
Did the Remain diehards and the Guardian elite really think they and Bercow were going to twist all the rules to suit their agenda like they have been doing ?
HeHeHe's clearly limiting the ability of Parliament to thwart his vile plot Dooky. Three days or thirty isn't the point.
Latest on Brexit and Boorish. David Townsend refers to Johnson 'smirking' which seems apt. (* David Townsend is an ex-UK Parliamentary Labour candidate, a former Labour ministerial speech writer and special adviser and contributor to The Guardian, The Independent and The Times.)
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/on-the-inside/397747/brexit-boris-johnson-goes-for-the-nuclear-option
Johnson himself claims his action is to enable his government to present its policies on matters such as education, law and order and health spending in a Queen's Speech. Inevitably his pomposity and smirking appearance making the announcement means few will believe him. His decision is likely to be challenged in the courts by MPs and others.
Why?
With Prime Minister Johnson's October 31st deadline of leaving the EU with or without a "deal", the reassembly of Parliament on the 14th October leaves only a limited time for opposition MPs to produce legislation to stop a "no deal" exit. It is clear the Speaker of the Commons – who was not consulted by Johnson on this timetable – would assist MPs in their opposition to a "no deal".
When Parliament reassembles next week before being pro-rogued the options open to oppose are really limited. A no confidence motion in the government might succeed but only if sufficient Conservative MPs are prepared to bring down the Johnson government and probably be de-selected as Conservative candidates in an ensuing election. Or if selected again lose their seats.,,,
And what of the EU? Dismay at the staggering ineptitude of the oldest democracy in Europe is most commonly reflected in the European media. The third PM in the UK in three years and still no consensus. A Parliament that rejected three times the painstakingly negotiated deal with the EU by the last prime minister.
The EU is obliged to wait on events and ask the UK as it has over the last three years to be clear about what it wants and then discuss what it can reasonably expect, given the EU is a body of 27 nations with political and economic shared interests and not the local golf club.
Do try to keep up….
Boris wants to leave under the Deal – with backstop removed.
Thats not a vile plot. EU wont budge until the it can see the remainers in parliament have been royally screwed.
EU always wants to thwart any referendum that goes against them ….happened many times Norway is good example- voted 2x against but they are stuck in EU web
In Denmark, two referendums were held before the treaty of Maastricht passed. The first one rejected the treaty.
Ireland had 2 referendums to finally get Treaty of Nice approved
France and Netherlands voted against 2005 European Constitution but the EU just changed the rules in a different way to thwart the anti votes
Again the Irish had to have a 2nd vote after they first rejected Treaty of Lisbon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Referendums_related_to_the_European_Union
Good to this RNZN/ MOD project is slowly getting some traction, since the two inservice OPV’s are no longer fit for purpose for Southern Ocean Patrols due to the changing environment in the Southern Ocean as a result of CC, which nearly seen one of the OPV’s capsized last year or the year before on a run down Sth.
The story goes that Ronnie was up on the bridge at time, where he went white as sheet, Ms Sage was down the back chatting with the DoC staff, the boffins (one of my cousins was on that trip for his PhD) and the film crew when the OPV got smacked with shit flying about/ rolling all over the place, and the other cousin who is in the Jack Tar’s as a cook was on duty having a shit of time the galley when the OPV got smacked.
The Civilians including Ms Sage weren’t told about what happened or how close to Davie Jones locker they were until they returned back to NZ, as it happened about 3/4 mark on the trip down Sth to the Auckland or Campbell Islands which ever is the furthest.
There is talk at various levels that this new SOPV with possibly one or two of the IPV’s maybe based in Dunedin/ Port Chamlers if the Odt is anything to go by. (Sorry don’t have the link for that one).
https://www.gets.govt.nz/MD/ExternalTenderDetails.htm?id=21465150
Land lubbers always think rough weather is 'almost capsize'.
Im guessing this is just another unfunded project on someones wish list. RNZN doesnt need it and the funding wishing well is depleted by gold plating on recent purchases such as Poseidon and new Hercs ( used RAF ones of the latest J model would be fine!)
What a farce! Greta Thunberg has sailed into New York to be greeted by her parents who FLEW there, no doubt accompanied by her PR team of God knows how many.
This makes a complete mockery of the message which I suspect in time will turn out to be a money making scam orchestrated by her father if various reports are to be believed.
Engineering wise the boat she sailed on uses considerably more construction material per person per kilometre than the aircraft her parents used. It may use wind but it still has a marine engine of some size.
Greta travelled by sailboat. The rest is immaterial. Everything can be challenged and criticised but Greta didn't fly, she spent 2 weeks aboard a sailboat; stop belly-aching and put your energy into something useful. Criticising the actions of a 16 year-old girl is kinda…silly.
https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/sailing-team-fly-crew-us-bring-thunberg-boat-65021301
It's the action of her parents I'm criticising , she is almost certainly the product of a very sophisticated rort. Pretty much any other child and a competent school essay can be spun into this sort of media personality with the aid of the type of public relations professionals that her father has engaged. It's bullshit. That boat was organised months and months ago.
Yeah its not good, heres a young woman with depression and mental health issues being pushed into the spotlight big time
I mean its not like young people thrust into the spotlight at an early age ever end up regretting it (yeah sarcasm)
Her parents should be taking a long, hard look at themselves over this
🙄 thanks for your concern
She's not too far wrong, though.
A bit of planning, lateral thinking, and community suggestions, and we can find alternatives to the things we now burn fossils on.
Yes, it was a symbolic act. Tokenistic, even. Lots of fodder for the people who hate change. But now people are arguing about alternatives to flying everywhere for conferences, so… not a bad thing, overall.
https://twitter.com/neilukip/status/1153983337729613824
True, Robert. Because if she had flown, the simpletons on the Right would all have screamed, "Hypocrite!" – their empty, unthinking response. Because she has not flown, they cannot do that.
For more normal people, it is facile to insist that anyone who preaches that burning fossil fuels should be reduced should never ever in their lives ever again benefit from any atom of fossil fuel burnt.
In our modern world, that argument is a stupid distraction pushed by those who wish to avoid serious discussion of the real issue – why we do actually need to reduce our burning of fossil fuels. It is ad hominem – shooting the messenger, and ignoring the message.
But even on this site, we have a number of Righties who like to try such juvenile crap. Pushing 'Practice what you Preach' to such a silly level is just moronic. We all have to use fossil fuels in some way in modern society. This does not mean that one cannot campaign for a future change for us all.
And for any numpties still wanting a reason to scream, "Hypocrite!" at Greta, she is trying to warn us about Global warning overall, not exclusively the fossil fuel thing.
Are you going to scream, "Hypocrite!" at her for daring to breathe and thereby produce carbon dioxide?
That would be no less stupid than the previous 'Hypocrite' argument.
No one on the Right is a simpleton. They have all worked out the advantages of wilful ignorance, and of spending all their time carping, criticising and demoralising the people they have decided to discriminate against. It saves them from thinking hard and change would make a difference, perhaps lessen their present level of satisfaction, so their wants must take precedence. They will continue this behaviour on principle, even if what is planned by the progressives will advantage them – because that's what they do. Lemmings the lot.
Yes, the cunning ratbags use simpleton arguments.. I sort of meant that.
Oh. The perennial, " you used a plastic bag once, so you are hypocritical talking about AGW" argument.
To go with the "exploited girl". Argument.
The first argument is simply ridiculous, the second just shows the misogyny and ignorance of the person making it.
It is almost always climate change deniers and misogynists that come up with either. The two lots of attitudes seem to often occur in the same person.
16 year old, Young women, can and, do think for themselves.
I wonder how many leftish people still blog here? The path seems to be wide open to the gang who gather to bark and chew at those who come here and want to discuss what the left can do and celebrate what it has.
I think there is a sustained campaign by a low number of trolls operating under several pseudonyms each aimed at creating the situation you describe. Discouraging positivity is easy for them. But I am one of those conspiracy theorists..
If you mean sockpoppets, I’d like to think we do have a pretty good handle on those.
The problem as I see it is that too many people here bite and don’t let go. Sometimes, I don’t know which one is worse, the ‘troll’ or the one who gives them oxygen – it becomes a symbiotic act of creating noise and counter-noise and in the end you cannot tell who is or does what. In fact, it doesn’t really matter because what matters is the noise and it is all noise coming from both sides. You don’t want noise, don’t make noise (back).
Yes, Incognito – I do not envy you the efforts you put in to controlling this maelstrom.
We all ignore one thing, but get fired up and respond to another, often depending on how good we think our response is.
Maybe you are helping us all with some kind of therapeutic outlet?
I hope that the best political policies and ideas benefit from all this, but fear that the path will be a long and winding way. (Damn those silly old pop songs..)
Nah, I/we don’t control anything here, we (i.e. the Moderators) are just the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff so to speak. The real control (or better: influence) is with the people who comment here, who make the site what it is IMO.
My secret suspicion is that there is no destiny at the end of the path and that the path is it. In saying that, we can, of course, look back and see how far or how high we have come, or not for that matter. We can also follow footsteps in the sand or snow, hoping that we’ll reach a special place (of rescue or salvation perhaps) only to realise, after some time, that we are tracing or own footsteps. Life is a funny thing when you think about it …