Did anyone else hear yesterday's early around the 7am RNZ news when Lisa Owens was stating that a leakier has released a document linking NZ First to arranging funding for the party?
It seemed at the time to be a hot story she was sending, among the current investigation going on by the Electoral Commission and may have been a hoax?
So since then the story was not repeated again, – did anyone hear that?.
That would have been a promo for her Checkpoint show between 5 and 6pm cleangreen. They always pick a soundbite from the previous evening which is supposed to whet the cerebral appetite.
Yes maybe it was a promo as I had just awaken and turned RNZ on and she was going hard at it so I tuned out and never heard the end because it was off the wall for me at that early time.
Cheers for that, a promo from Lisa Owens is most probably was.
Document leak: Why the NZ First Foundation was set up
Key documents about a mysterious foundation loaning money to New Zealand First have been leaked to RNZ, detailing why the New Zealand First Foundation was set up, how it would operate and who knew about the idea from the outset.
"The precedent is clear. It is the National Party's National Foundation. In essence this proposal suggests a cloning of that model into the New Zealand First Foundation," the document says. "There can be little doubt that the model is legally sound and is operated in a manner that meets all legal and ethical obligations."
But Bridges is calling for a full enquiry so will that be extended to National's Foundation?
I think its Owen (singular @cleangreen, though I can't be certain given a lot of people's desire to pluralise S'John (going forward)
And if you heard it in the mouring, was more likely to be a Fergusson.
Can't be certain these days tho' eh bro? A Fergusson here and an Owen there.
What's a big of partisan populist fuckwittery 'tween and twixt frenz (even those that come with benefits).
I think the problem is with all those 'other people' – possibly all those "ONES" the gummint's official stakeholders are unwilling to consult with (in this space, going forward, AND in the fullness of time)
Could be wrong tho' eh bro'! Good things apparently take time these days eh?
So even as spatial awareness diminishes (and all that goes with that), AND as change becomes faster and faster, we're assured that the responses to it should get slower ans slower – might be better to just drop the big OD now and be done with it eh?
Yes that was the one for sure, and Lisa was banging it out like it was a 21st century miracle development but it appears to be cloned to most political parties now for reasons we are awaiting to find out.
Media are very hungry for any story now it seems..
The Ministry of Health continues to exhibit symptoms…the latest is insisting on telling cute little girls who once were overflowing with joy and confidence "fat".
But Carey said it was a bizarre measure. As a result of the test: "Short people think they are thinner than they are, and tall people think they are fatter.
"What worries me is families who may really want support don't get it because their child has been categorised as being a healthy weight and some families don't actually need the referral but they think they do," Carey said.
Wellington mum Kym Clough said her daughter Abby, now 7, was told by a Plunket nurse she was fat at the age of 4 and, three years on, the comment has stuck.
"She'll finish a two-hour tap class and say 'Mummy do you think I've lost weight?'
"As a parent it's awful knowing she is constantly thinking about her body image like that," Clough told the Herald.
The mum-of-two said she remembers coming home after the B4SC and crying thinking she was a bad mother.
"I was horrified because she eats healthy, we grow our own vegetables and are not the type of family who sit in front of the TV for ages.
"The next day I took my daughter to kindy and asked the kindy teachers if they thought she was fat, because I knew they would be honest, and they said absolutely not."
Clough said hearing the nurse tell her daughter she was fat came as a huge shock because she was always an active kid.
"Even from a young age we would go to the park and she wouldn't walk, she'd run and my brother would always say she's going to be a gymnast or a long-distance runner."
Well that was before, now after assistance from the Ministry of Health she might end up with an eating disorder instead. I hope she learns to love herself more than the opinions of healthcare professionals.
Is this going to be an intelligent investment in a world being ruined by technical developments and their consequences?
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) commissioned Deloitte Access Economics to develop the plan which sets out goals and actions for how the city will become a world recognised aerospace hub.
The port moving and the four lane highway are two different things. We have to keep on doing things. The economy has to keep grinding on, but keeping on dropping a cog, trying for an adequate sustainable level not 8-10% return on capital, and keeping climate change in mind all the time.
Like I think a railway north would be a good idea for transporting the goods. But what about extreme heat on the rail tracks I wonder. They could buckle and derail. I will have a look on google.
Practical methods: How we prevent tracks from getting too hot: We work closely with specialist weather forecasters and local weather stations to make necessary plans and take action so rails are less likely to buckle.
Our teams check track stability each winter as part of ongoing maintenance, and strengthen any weak parts before summer.
We paint certain parts of the rail white so they absorb less heat – and expand less. Typically, a rail painted white is 5°C to 10°C cooler than one left unpainted.
As most track is made up of long pieces of rail that are stretched and welded together, there is much less chance of buckling in very high temperatures because there is reduced compression.
When a track is made up from short rails bolted together, we leave small gaps between each one so that expansion doesn’t cause a problem.
We’re always improving how we measure and calculate rail temperatures. One way we’re doing this is by installing probes that alert us when track temperatures rise to give us chance to take action and stop a problem before it happens.
you dont' really have to explain trains to me.- I grew up in Germany, lived in France and have never owned a car. Not even in NZ have i owned a car.
Seriously, i grew up with them, they are my preferred method of transport and no one is gonna build a train up to Whangarai. You are lucky if you get a 4 lane highway that will then be destroyed by trucks like any other highway in NZ that is covered in Trucks.
In this country we can't even build a commuter train to hamilton/rotorua/wellington etc. Heck we can't even build a train to AKL Airport.
But they are gonna build a train to Whangarai. Yeah, right Tui.
All those rail projects are coming, despite any amount of denial or whinging about them. A 4-lane motorway north on the other hand is just a Nat/banker fantasy.
Subject; Article below entitled; “The Hidden Trucking Industry Subsidy” This US based article shows we ‘public’ give an exorbitant unfair amount of subsidy to the trucking industry. We now want the Transport Minister to please drive around regional NZ and just see the impacts of 50 to 60 tonne “B train ‘trucks and their destruction of our “soft roads” that do not even have an adequate under base to carry the 50+ tonne laden weight trucks, as they need a ‘steel mesh reinforced concrete base’ as US/Canadian and EU roads have installed under their truck routes.
Quote; Freight trucks cause 99% of wear-and-tear on US roads, but only pay for 35% of the maintenance. This $60B subsidy causes extra congestion and pollution, and taxpayers pay the bill. SO; This is a question for NZTA “why is it fair that the NZ taxpayer gives trucking industry a subsidy and not our own publicly owned rail”? We must now request ‘public’ money for roading must also be given to restoring our public owned regional rail. Since this document came out we know that the public is massively funding road repairs for private trucking companies so now we need to level the playing field for rail as it is a public owned entity owned by us taxpayers so we now desperately need at least an equal 50% contribution of the ‘public road funding’ be given to rail to restore the regional rail services around NZ. Here are the plain facts;
hidden-trucking-industry-subsidy/ The Hidden Trucking Industry Subsidy Freight trucks cause 99% of wear-and-tear on US roads, but only pay for 35% of the maintenance. This $60B subsidy causes extra congestion and pollution, and taxpayers pay the bill….. more to come so read all.
There used to be a train to the Far North – the North Auckland Line went to Whangarei. The grading for most of the tracks still remain.
The Okaihau branch which went from Opua on the North Auckland line, was intended to reach Kaitaia but was never completed. Some of the graded tracks are part of the northern cycleway.
I think there will be a train and a 4 lane highway to Whangarei, they will need them when the port moves their. It might take another ten or fifteen years.
I am posting in relation to the Julian Assange matter, which drew a lot of attention here on TS yesterday, but this is not entirely Julian Assange specific, so I post it today on Open Mike.
The treatment of both remand and convicted prisoners by prison authorities, including assessing and intervention in an attempt to ensure that both the physical and mental well being of the prisoner is adequate, can often be seen as equating to, or consistent with the general attitude and culture of the both the state, and society in any ne jurisdiction.
So for example, compare our prisons with prisons in say, Thailand or South America, and equate it to attitude, demographic and both culture and what is believed to be acceptable.
If we were to take a look at the Jeffery Epstein incarceration and death in custody, we might detect that many in New York probably privately believe that it was the best outcome and acceptable given the allegations. Of course, rightly or wrongly, New Zealand takes a lot of markers and cues from the United States of America in relation to justice, law and order principles, even though we are more closely aligned to England, Australia and even Canada.
So, in relation to what happened to Epstein, why have many throughout the United States, or at least throughout New York not expressed seriously concerns, and why are they not insisting on finding out just what occurred?
Well, perhaps they should be, not so much out of a concern as to what Epstein went through personally once incarcerated, but in relation to what they or others they care about might also undergo if they were ever to find themselves on remand, and subject to less publicly visible hostility of one sort or another.
I have no doubt that the Jeffery Epstein attitude held by many also applies to people considered to be traitors or whistle blowers leaking national security material.
The litmus test in relation to the above "traitor" assessment might relate to the general determination of motivation and the overall detrimental impact or damage caused by such disclosures. Also, the extent (if any) of any subversion attempt if subversion was believed to be an objective.
Many believe Julian Assange to be a traitor, but many also consider him simply to be a former political commentator or journalist who is being politically targeted, and perhaps quite cruelly.
Who will win out in relation to this (suspected) game of cat and mouse is anybody's guess.
Whichever way it pans out, it seems very unlikely that Julian Assange will emerge from it gaining or winning much of anything at all.
Mainstream media have utilised him and dropped him, and they have latterly had their fun with him as well. He certainly brings in advertising revenue for them by way of the various news article presented and associated with him.
Despite cries of little or no transparency and of prisoner maltreatment, most people just leave the system, or the law of the prison jungle to "do what it wilt" on many occasions. This is how society usually behaves, especially when their focus is regularly redirected (and occasionally misdirected) here, there and elsewhere. There is so much going on.
Prison managers and all staff have duty of care to the prisoners they manage and house.
Both psychiatric and psychological evaluations should be regularly made on high (personal and health) risk prisoners such as Assange, and the evaluations should be both free of any personal bias by the assessors, and free from any undue influence further up the ladder.
This of course is an idealised, would be, should be, could be deliberation by me. In reality, who really can determine how it works from one day to the next, or from one situation to another?
Locally, and more especially on Howard League, it is clear that so many support an overhaul of one kind or another. This is healthy. Never stop taking an interest in these matters, and never stop asking questions when they need to be asked.
Perhaps this would be an opportune time to continue to vocalise as a lobby group whilst also lending support to those MP's and both those local body representatives and candidates who have a track record of approaching the matter realistically and supporting change if or where it is needed.
I can think of two MP's already, (focused less on the driving licence aspect and more on the generic). Both are Labour Crown Ministers, and are well respected.
Another ran for Auckland mayoralty recently and appears to have had a lot of support in relation to attempting to realistically address many social reform issues, and where prison reform is actually one of them.
Why not seize the opportunity to push for positive change this time if you believe that change must take place in New Zealand?
The Tohu (symbol) is shaped by our natural landscape which stretches from the top of the Southern Alps to the depths of our moana. Taking the form of the letter 'C' but expressed in a way that is unique to us. It nods to our legacy while moving us forward.
…
Ultimately, it was decided that no name better represented the club's commitment to living its values – crusading for social improvement and inclusiveness, and crusading with heart for our community and for each other – than 'Crusaders' did.
Yep, it's some sort of Māori social improvement agency, not a ruddy sporting entertainment corporation rooted in posh school classics.
1. (verb) (-a,-ina,-ngia,-tia) to instruct, advise, save the life of, spare, guide, direct, instruct, appoint.
2. (verb) (-a,-ina,-ngia,-tia) to point out, show, indicate, point at, gesticulate.
3. (verb) (-a,-ina,-ngia,-tia) to preserve, conserve.
4. (verb) (-a) to perform a ritual.
All your life is Time magazineI read it tooWhat does it mean?PressureI'm sure you'll have some cosmic rationaleBut here you are with your faithAnd your Peter Pan adviceYou have no scars on your faceAnd you cannot handle pressureSongwriter: Billy Joel.Christopher Luxon is under pressure from all sides. The reviews are ...
After seeing yet-more-months of political debate and policy decisions to ‘go for growth’ by pulling the same old cheap migration and cheap tourism levers without nearly-enough infrastructure, or any attempt to address the same old lack of globally conventional tax incentives for investment, I thought it would be worth issuing ...
The plans for the buildings that will replace the downtown carpark have been publicly notified giving us the first detailed glance at what is proposed for one of the biggest and best development sites in the city centre. The council agreed to sell the site to Precinct Properties for $122 ...
With the Reserve Bank expected today to return the Official Cash Rate to where it was in mid-2022 comes a measure of how much of a psychological impact the rate has. Federated Farmers has published its latest six-monthly farm confidence survey, which shows that profit expectations have fallen and risen ...
Kiwis Disallowed From Waiting Lists Based on Arbitrary MeasuresWellington hospital are now rejecting patients from specialist waiting lists due to BMI (body mass index).This article from Rachel Thomas for The Post says it all (emphasis mine):A group of Porirua GPs are sounding alarm bells after patients with body mass indexes ...
The Prime Minister says he's really comfortable with us not knowing the reoffending rate for his boot camp programme.They asked him for it at yesterday’s press conference, and he said, nah, not telling, have to respect people's privacy.Okay I'll bite. Let's say they release this information to us:The rate of ...
Warning 1: There is a Nazi theme at the end of this article related to the disabled community. Warning 2: This article could be boring!One day, last year, I excitedly opened up a Substack post that was about how to fight back, and the answer at the end was disappointing ...
This may be rhetorical but here goes: did any of you invest in the $Libra memecoin endorsed and backed by Argentine president and darling of the global Right Javier Milei (who admitted to being paid a fee for his promotion of the token)? You know, the one that soared above ...
Last week various of the great and good of New Zealand economics and public policy trooped off to Hamilton (of all places) for the annual Waikato Economics Forum, one of the successful marketing drives of university’s Vice-Chancellor. My interest was in the speeches delivered by the Minister of Finance and ...
The Prime Minister says the Government would be open to sending peacekeepers to Ukraine if a ceasefire was reached. The government has announced a $30 million spend on tourism infrastructure and biodiversity projects, including $11m spent to improve popular visitor sites and further $19m towards biodiversity efforts. A New Zealand-born ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler “But what about when the sun doesn't shine?!” Ah yes, the energy debate’s equivalent of “The Earth is flat!” Every time someone mentions solar or wind power, some self-proclaimed energy expert emerges from the woodwork to drop this supposedly devastating truth bomb: ...
This post by Nicolas Reid was originally published on Linked in. It is republished here with permission.In this article I look into data on how well the rail network serve New Zealanders, and how many people might be able to travel by train… if we ran more than a ...
Hi,Before we get into Hayden Donnell’s new column about how yes, Donald Trump is definitely the Antichrist, I wanted to touch on something feral that happened in New Zealand last week.Members of Destiny Church pushed and punched their way into an Auckland library, apparently angry it was part of Pride ...
Despite delays, logjams and overcrowding in our emergency departments, funding constraints are limiting the numbers of nurses and doctors being trained. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, February 18 are:A NZ Herald investigation ...
Now that the US has ripped up the Atlantic alliance, Europe is more vulnerable now than at any time since the mid-1930s. Apparently, Europe and Ukraine itself will not have a seat at the table in the talks between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin that will ...
Olivia and Noah and Hana are going to the library!It is fun to go to the library. It has books and songs and mat time and people who smile at you and say, Hello Olivia, what have you been doing this morning?The library is more fun than the mall. At ...
New World Orders: The challenge facing Christopher Luxon and Chris Hipkins is how to keep their small and vulnerable nation safe and stable in a world whose economic and political climate the forty-seventh American president is changing so profoundly.IT IS, SURELY, the ultimate Millennial revenge fantasy. Calling senior Baby-Boomer and Gen-X ...
“This might surprise you, Laurie, but I reckon Trump’s putting on a bloody impressive performance.”“GOODNESS ME, HANNAH, just look at all those Valentine’s Day cards!”“Occupational hazard, Laurie, the more beer I serve, the more my customers declare their undying love!”“Crikey! I had no idea business was so good.” Laurie squinted ...
In 2005, Labour repealed the long-standing principle of birthright citizenship in Aotearoa. Why? As with everything else Labour does, it all came down to austerity: "foreign mothers" were supposedly "coming to this country to give birth", and this was "put[ting] pressure on hospitals". Then-Immigration Minister George Hawkins explicitly gave this ...
And I just hope that you can forgive usBut everything must goAnd if you need an explanation, nationThen everything must goSongwriters: James Dean Bradfield / Sean Anthony Moore / Nicholas Allen Jones.Today, I’d like to talk about a couple of things that happened over the weekend:Brian Tamaki’s Library Invasion and ...
New reporting highlights how Brooke van Velden refuses to meet with the CTU but is happy to meet with fringe Australian-based unions. Van Velden is pursuing reckless changes to undermine the personal grievance system against the advice of her own officials. Engineering New Zealand are saying that hundreds of engineers ...
The NZCTU strongly supports the Employment Relations (Employee Remuneration Disclosure) Amendment Bill. This Bill represents a positive step towards addressing serious issues around unlawful disparities in pay by protecting workers’ rights to discuss their pay and conditions. This Bill also provides welcome support for helping tackle the prevalent gender and ...
Years of hard work finally paid off last week as the country’s biggest and most important transport project, the City Rail Link reached a major milestone with the first test train making its way slowly though the tunnels for the first time. This is a fantastic achievement and it is ...
Engineers are pleading for the Government to free up funds to restart stalled projects. File Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Monday, February 17 are:Engineering New Zealand CEO Richard Templer said yesterday hundreds of ...
It’s one of New Zealand’s great sustaining myths: the spirit of ANZAC, our mates across the ditch, the spirit of Earl’s Court, Antipodeans united against the world. It is also a myth; it is not reality. That much was clear from a series of speakers, including a former Australian Prime ...
Many people have been unsatisfied for years that things have not improved for them, some as individuals, many more however because their families are clearly putting in more work, for less money – and certainly far less purchase on society. This general discontent has grown exponentially since the GFC. ...
A listing of 34 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 9, 2025 thru Sat, February 15, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report shows worsening food poverty and housing shortages mean more than 400,000 people now need welfare support, the highest level since the 1990s. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and ...
You're just too too obscure for meOh you don't really get through to meAnd there's no need for you to talk that wayIs there any less pessimistic things to say?Songwriters: Graeme DownesToday, I thought we’d take a look at some of the most cringe-inducing moments from last week, but don’t ...
Please note: I’ve delayed my “What can we do?” article for this video.The video above shows Destiny Church members assaulting staff and librarians as they pushed through to a room of terrified parents and young children.It was posted to social media last night.But if you read Sinead Boucher’s Stuff, you ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is sea level rise exaggerated? Sea levels are rising at an accelerating rate, not stagnating or decreasing. Warming global temperatures cause land ice ...
Here is a scenario, but first a historical parallel. Hitler and the Nazis could well have accomplished everything that they wanted to do within German borders, including exterminating Jews, so long as they confined their ambitious to Germany itself. After all, the world pretty much sat and watched as the ...
I’ve spent the last couple of days in Hamilton covering Waikato University’s annual NZ Economics Forum, where (arguably) three of the most influential people in our political economy right now laid out their thinking in major speeches about the size and role of Government, their views on for spending, tax ...
Simeon Brown’s Ideology BentSimeon Brown once told Kiwis he tries to represent his deep sense of faith by interacting “with integrity”.“It’s important that there’s Christians in Parliament…and from my perspective, it’s great to be a Christian in Parliament and to bring that perspective to [laws, conversations and policies].”And with ...
Severe geological and financial earthquakes are inevitable. We just don’t know how soon and how they will play out. Are we putting the right effort into preparing for them?Every decade or so the international economy has a major financial crisis. We cannot predict exactly when or exactly how it will ...
Questions1. How did Old Mate Grabaseat describe his soon-to-be-Deputy-PM’s letter to police advocating for Philip Polkinghorne?a.Ill-advisedb.A perfect letterc.A letter that will live in infamyd.He had me at hello2. What did Seymour say in response?a.What’s ill-advised is commenting when you don’t know all the facts and ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff has called on OJI Fibre Solutions to work with the government, unions, and the community before closing the Kinleith Paper Mill. “OJI has today announced 230 job losses in what will be a devastating blow for the community. OJI needs to work with ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is sounding the alarm about the latest attack on workers from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden, who is ignoring her own officials to pursue reckless changes that would completely undermine the personal grievance system. “Brooke van Velden’s changes will ...
Hi,When I started writing Webworm in 2020, I wrote a lot about the conspiracy theories that were suddenly invading our Twitter timelines and Facebook feeds. Four years ago a reader, John, left this feedback under one of my essays:It’s a never ending labyrinth of lunacy which, as you have pointed ...
And if you said this life ain't good enoughI would give my world to lift you upI could change my life to better suit your moodBecause you're so smoothAnd it's just like the ocean under the moonOh, it's the same as the emotion that I get from youYou got the ...
Aotearoa remains the minority’s birthright, New Zealand the majority’s possession. WAITANGI DAY commentary see-saws manically between the warmly positive and the coldly negative. Many New Zealanders consider this a good thing. They point to the unexamined patriotism of July Fourth and Bastille Day celebrations, and applaud the fact that the ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: and on the week in geopolitics, including the latest from Donald Trump’s administration over Gaza and Ukraine; on the ...
Up until now, the prevailing coalition view of public servants was that there were simply too many of them. But yesterday the new Public Service Commissioner, handpicked by the Luxon Government, said it was not so much numbers but what they did and the value they produced that mattered. Sir ...
In a moment we explore the question: What is Andrew Bayly wanting to tell ACC, and will it involve enjoying a small wine tasting and then telling someone to fuck off? But first, for context, a broader one: What do we look for in a government?Imagine for a moment, you ...
As expected, Donald Trump just threw Ukraine under the bus, demanding that it accept Russia's illegal theft of land, while ruling out any future membership of NATO. Its a colossal betrayal, which effectively legitimises Russia's invasion, while laying the groundwork for the next one. But Trump is apparently fine with ...
A ballot for a single member's bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Employment Relations (Collective Agreements in Triangular Relationships) Amendment Bill (Adrian Rurawhe) The bill would extend union rights to employees in triangular relationships, where they are (nominally) employed by one party, but ...
This is a guest post by George Weeks, reviewing a book called ‘How to Fly a Horse’ by Kevin AshtonBook review: ‘How to Fly a Horse’ by Kevin Ashton (2015) – and what it means for Auckland. The title of this article might unnerve any Greater Auckland ...
This story was originally published by Capital & Main and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Within just a week, the sheer devastation of the Los Angeles wildfires has pushed to the fore fundamental questions about the impact of the climate crisis that have been ...
In this world, it's just usYou know it's not the same as it wasSongwriters: Harry Edward Styles / Thomas Edward Percy Hull / Tyler Sam JohnsonYesterday, I received a lovely message from Caty, a reader of Nick’s Kōrero, that got me thinking. So I thought I’d share it with you, ...
In past times a person was considered “unserious” or “not a serious” person if they failed to grasp, behave and speak according to the solemnity of the context in which they were located. For example a serious person does not audibly pass gas at Church, or yell “gun” at a ...
Long stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, February 13 are:The coalition Government’s early 2024 ‘fiscal emergency’ freeze on funding, planning and building houses, schools, local roads and hospitals helped extend and deepen the economic and jobs recession through calendar ...
For obvious reasons, people feel uneasy when the right to be a citizen is sold off to wealthy foreigners. Even selling the right to residency seems a bit dubious, when so many migrants who are not millionaires get turned away or are made to jump through innumerable hoops – simply ...
A new season of White Lotus is nearly upon us: more murder mystery, more sumptuous surroundings, more rich people behaving badly.Once more we get to identify with the experience of the pampered tourist or perhaps the poorly paid help; there's something in White Lotus for all New Zealanders.And unlike the ...
In 2016, Aotearoa shockingly plunged to fourth place in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. Nine years later, and we're back there again: New Zealand has seen a further slip in its global ranking in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). [...] In the latest CPI New Zealand's score ...
1. You’ve started ranking your politicians on how much they respect the rule of law2. You’ve stopped paying attention to those news publications3. You’ve developed a sudden interest in a particular period of history4. More and more people are sounding like your racist, conspiracist uncle.5. Someone just pulled a Nazi ...
Transforming New Zealand: Brian EastonBrian Easton will discuss the above topic at 2/57 Willis Street, Wellington at 5:30pm on Tuesday 26 February at 2/57 Willis Street, WellingtonThe sub-title to the above is "Why is the Left failing?" Brian Easton's analysis is based on his view that while the ...
Salvation Army’s State of the Nation 2025 report highlights falling living standards, the highest unemployment rates since the 1990s and half of all Pacific children going without food. There are reports of hundreds if not thousands of people are applying for the same jobs in the wake of last year’s ...
Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Correction: On the article The Condundrum of David Seymour, Luke Malpass conducted joint reviews with Bryce Wilkinson, the architect of the Regulatory Standards Bill - not Bryce Edwards. The article ...
Tomorrow the council’s Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee meet and agenda has a few interesting papers. Council’s Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport Every year the council provide a Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport which is part of the process for informing AT of the council’s priorities and ...
All around in my home townThey're trying to track me down, yeahThey say they want to bring me in guiltyFor the killing of a deputyFor the life of a deputySongwriter: Robert Nesta Marley.Support Nick’s Kōrero today with a 20% discount on a paid subscription to receive all my newsletters directly ...
Hi,I think all of us have probably experienced the power of music — that strange, transformative thing that gets under our skin and helps us experience this whole life thing with some kind of sanity.Listening and experiencing music has always been such a huge part of my life, and has ...
Business frustration over the stalled economy is growing, and only 34% of voters are confidentNicola Willis can deliver. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 12 are:Business frustration is growing about a ...
I have now lived long enough to see a cabinet minister go both barrels on their Prime Minister and not get sacked.It used to be that the PM would have a drawer full of resignations signed by ministers on the day of their appointment, ready for such an occasion. But ...
This session will feature Simon McCallum, Senior Lecturer in Engineering and Computer Science (VUW) and recent Labour Party candidate in the Southland Electorate talking about some of the issues around AI and how this should inform Labour Party policy. Simon is an excellent speaker with a comprehensive command of AI ...
The proposed Waimate garbage incinerator is dead: The company behind a highly-controversial proposal to build a waste-to-energy plant in the Waimate District no longer has the land. [...] However, SIRRL director Paul Taylor said the sales and purchase agreement to purchase land from Murphy Farms, near Glenavy, lapsed at ...
The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has been a vital tool in combatting international corruption. It forbids US companies and citizens from bribing foreign public officials anywhere in the world. And its actually enforced: some of the world's biggest companies - Siemens, Hewlett Packard, and Bristol Myers Squibb - have ...
December 2024 photo - with UK Tory Boris Johnson (Source: Facebook)Those PollsFor hours, political poll results have resounded across political hallways and commentary.According to the 1News Verizon poll, 50% of the country believe we are heading in the “wrong direction”, while 39% believe we are “on the right track”.The left ...
“The ACT Party can’t be bothered putting an MP on one of the Justice subcommittees hearing submissions on their own Treaty Principles Bill,” Labour Justice Spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
The Government’s newly announced funding for biodiversity and tourism of $30-million over three years is a small fraction of what is required for conservation in this country. ...
The Government's sudden cancellation of the tertiary education funding increase is a reckless move that risks widespread job losses and service reductions across New Zealand's universities. ...
National’s cuts to disability support funding and freezing of new residential placements has resulted in significant mental health decline for intellectually disabled people. ...
The hundreds of jobs lost needlessly as a result of the Kinleith Mill paper production closure will have a devastating impact on the Tokoroa community - something that could have easily been avoided. ...
Today Te Pāti Māori MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, released her members bill that will see the return of tamariki and mokopuna Māori from state care back to te iwi Māori. This bill will establish an independent authority that asserts and protects the rights promised in He Whakaputanga ...
The Whangarei District Council being forced to fluoridate their local water supply is facing a despotic Soviet-era disgrace. This is not a matter of being pro-fluoride or anti-fluoride. It is a matter of what New Zealanders see and value as democracy in our country. Individual democratically elected Councillors are not ...
Nicola Willis’ latest supermarket announcement is painfully weak with no new ideas, no real plan, and no relief for Kiwis struggling with rising grocery costs. ...
Half of Pacific children sometimes going without food is just one of many heartbreaking lowlights in the Salvation Army’s annual State of the Nation report. ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report is a bleak indictment on the failure of Government to take steps to end poverty, with those on benefits, including their children, hit hardest. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill which would restore decision-making power to local communities regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. The ‘Fluoridation (Referendum) Legislation Bill’ seeks to repeal the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 that granted centralised authority to the Direct General of Health ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yanyan Hong, PhD Candidate in Communication and Media Studies, University of Adelaide IMDB On the surface, Ne Zha 2: The Sea’s Fury (2025), the sequel to the 2019 Chinese blockbuster Nezha: Birth of the Demon Child, is a high-octane, action-packed and ...
Wellington travellers say their buses are so hot they’re often forced to get off early and walk. Shanti Mathias explores the impact of non-functioning air conditioning on public transport. When Bella, a young professional living in Wellington, thinks about taking the bus, her first thought is “Ugh”. The bus might ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Annette Kroen, Research Fellow Planning and Transport, RMIT University The cleanup is underway in northern Queensland following the latest flooding catastrophe to hit the state. More than 7,000 insurance claims have already been lodged, most of them for inundated homes and other ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Subha Parida, Lecturer in Property, University of South Australia Carl Oberg/Shutterstock Houses and fire do not mix. The firestorm which hit Los Angeles in January destroyed nearly 2,000 buildings and forced 130,000 people to evacuate. The 2019–20 Australian megafires destroyed ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Bowman, Professor of Pyrogeography and Fire Science, University of Tasmania Tasmania has been burning for more than two weeks, with no end in sight. Almost 100,000 hectares of bushland in the northwest has burned to date. This includes the Tarkine rainforest ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Martin Loosemore, Professor of Construction Management, University of Technology Sydney This week, the Productivity Commission released its much-awaited report into productivity growth in Australia’s housing construction sector. It wasn’t a glowing appraisal. The commission found physical productivity – the total number ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Pascale Lubbe, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Molecular Ecology, University of Otago Royal spoonbills are among several new species that have crossed the Tasman and naturalised in New Zealand. JJ Harrison/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA When people arrived on the shores of Aotearoa ...
Stats NZ’s head is stepping down over the agency’s failure to safeguard census data, and more officials may soon be in the firing line, writes Catherine McGregor in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. An ‘absolutely unacceptable’ failure Stats NZ chief ...
Health NZ is under greater government scrutiny, with the new health minister setting up a unit he says will "drive greater accountability and performance". ...
Manurewa Marae acknowledges should have done better at handling completed census forms, following an inquiry into steps government agencies took to protect data. ...
Police failed to protect people from protesters at a high-profile rally and made unlawful arrests at another, the Independent Police Conduct Authority says. ...
Comment: Crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are making it easier for people to invest in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum without having to handle digital wallets or private keys. These allow investors to buy and sell cryptocurrency through their regular brokerage accounts.This has opened the door for billions of dollars ...
Two long-awaited reports into alleged personal data misuse, centred on census collection and Covid-19 vaccination efforts at Manurewa Marae, were released yesterday. Here’s what you need to know.“Very sobering reading” was how public service commissioner Sir Brian Roche described his organisation’s long-awaited report into the alleged misuse of census ...
Backbench MPs reached new levels of patsy questions in an extraordinarily dull question time on Tuesday. Echo Chamber is The Spinoff’s dispatch from the press gallery, recapping sessions in the House. Columns are written by politics reporter Lyric Waiwiri-Smith and Wellington editor Joel MacManus. “MPs ask questions to explore key issues ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Wednesday 19 February appeared first on Newsroom. ...
The New Zealand Government says the Cook Islands must share more information about the deals it has signed with China, following the release of an ‘action plan’ in the face of protests in the Pacific nation’s capital.The Cook Islands government has also revealed plans to spend $3 million on a ...
Comment: The recent attack by Destiny Church front groups on a Drag science show at Te Atatū library crossed a line. This wasn’t the first time that Brian Tamaki, the multimillionaire self-appointed ‘apostle’, has ordered acts of aggression against the queer community. Last year, Drag Story Time events were targeted, ...
Martina Salmon is well versed in the fast-paced action on a netball court, but even she was caught by surprise with the speed at which her career changed tack last year.Staying in the fast lane is only part of her drive this season.Fresh off a nine-day camp in Sydney with ...
Last night I may as well have been in Taihape. Or, closer to home, for me at least, somewhere in the Wairarapa. Or Tūrangi, even – which is near where we used to spend the summer when I was a child. For there was that same gorgeous small town feeling ...
Having Auckland’s food scraps dumped onto your rural backyard sounds scandalous, but in the North Island town of Reporoa there’s no fuss about the thousands of tonnes carted here every week.From the same site as one truck drops the waste, another truck picks up fertiliser to spread on local sheep ...
Negotiating rights over freshwater in Treaty settlement negotiations could have extended negotiations a decade, a Ngāi Tahu leader says.Tribal leaders, and its umbrella body, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, have taken the Attorney-General to court in a bid to have the Crown recognise its rangatiratanga (chiefly authority) over wai māori ...
Analysis: Poor safeguarding of New Zealanders’ data could be a widespread practice within the public service and certainly within the health system, according to the findings of an independent inquiry into allegations of misused census and Covid-19 vaccination information.The Public Service Commission’s review, led by consultant Pania Gray and former ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer Stone, Principal Research Fellow, School of Population and Global Health, The University of Western Australia Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock Having dense breasts is a clear risk factor for breast cancer. It can also make cancers hard to spot on mammograms. Yet you ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The National Anti-Corruption Commission will finally investigate whether six people referred to it by the royal commission into Robodebt engaged in corrupt conduct. This follows an independent reconsideration by former High Court judge Geoffrey ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Blaxland, Professor, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University Last week in Europe, the United States sent some very strong messages it is prepared to upend the established global order. US Vice President JD Vance warned a stunned Munich ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Reserve Bank has delivered the expected modest rate cut of a quarter of a percentage point, and we’re set for the predictable frenzy of speculation about an April election. The cut is unlikely to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra The Reserve Bank cut official interest rates on Tuesday, the first decrease in four years, saying inflationary pressures are easing “a little more quickly than expected”. However, the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Reserve Bank has delivered the expected modest rate cut of a quarter of a percentage point, and we’re set for the predictable frenzy of speculation about an April election. The cut is unlikely to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Allan Fels, Professor Allan Fels, Professor of Law, Economics and Business at the University of Melbourne and Monash University., The University of Melbourne Australia is creeping towards adding a divestiture power to its Competition and Consumer Act. Under such a law, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arjen Vaartjes, PhD Student, Quantum Physics, UNSW Sydney Dmitriy Rybin / Shutterstock What makes something quantum? This question has kept a small but dedicated fraction of the world’s population – most of them quantum physicists – up at night for decades. ...
Did anyone else hear yesterday's early around the 7am RNZ news when Lisa Owens was stating that a leakier has released a document linking NZ First to arranging funding for the party?
It seemed at the time to be a hot story she was sending, among the current investigation going on by the Electoral Commission and may have been a hoax?
So since then the story was not repeated again, – did anyone hear that?.
If Lisa made an error will she be fired?
Lisa Owens is not usually on at 7am Clean. Could not find any record of such a leak on Thursday's program
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/20191128
That would have been a promo for her Checkpoint show between 5 and 6pm cleangreen. They always pick a soundbite from the previous evening which is supposed to whet the cerebral appetite.
Thanks Anne & Ianmac,
Yes maybe it was a promo as I had just awaken and turned RNZ on and she was going hard at it so I tuned out and never heard the end because it was off the wall for me at that early time.
Cheers for that, a promo from Lisa Owens is most probably was.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/404385/document-leak-why-the-nz-first-foundation-was-set-up
This is the article you are referring to? It appears to be an Espiner joint, nor does it seem to be a hoax.
Very interesting arkie and cleangreen.
This bit stood out:
But Bridges is calling for a full enquiry so will that be extended to National's Foundation?
hahahahahahah
I think its Owen (singular @cleangreen, though I can't be certain given a lot of people's desire to pluralise S'John (going forward)
And if you heard it in the mouring, was more likely to be a Fergusson.
Can't be certain these days tho' eh bro? A Fergusson here and an Owen there.
What's a big of partisan populist fuckwittery 'tween and twixt frenz (even those that come with benefits).
I think the problem is with all those 'other people' – possibly all those "ONES" the gummint's official stakeholders are unwilling to consult with (in this space, going forward, AND in the fullness of time)
Could be wrong tho' eh bro'! Good things apparently take time these days eh?
So even as spatial awareness diminishes (and all that goes with that), AND as change becomes faster and faster, we're assured that the responses to it should get slower ans slower – might be better to just drop the big OD now and be done with it eh?
OncewasTim
Yes that was the one for sure, and Lisa was banging it out like it was a 21st century miracle development but it appears to be cloned to most political parties now for reasons we are awaiting to find out.
Media are very hungry for any story now it seems..
The Ministry of Health continues to exhibit symptoms…the latest is insisting on telling cute little girls who once were overflowing with joy and confidence "fat".
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=12289228
But Carey said it was a bizarre measure. As a result of the test: "Short people think they are thinner than they are, and tall people think they are fatter.
Well that was before, now after assistance from the Ministry of Health she might end up with an eating disorder instead. I hope she learns to love herself more than the opinions of healthcare professionals.
Is this going to be an intelligent investment in a world being ruined by technical developments and their consequences?
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) commissioned Deloitte Access Economics to develop the plan which sets out goals and actions for how the city will become a world recognised aerospace hub.
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK1911/S00585/christchurch-plan-to-be-nzs-aerospace-testbed-by-2025.htm
no worse then moving the port to whangarai and then building a 4 lane road to truck the goods back to AKL and beyond.
But then i am not an economist.
The port moving and the four lane highway are two different things. We have to keep on doing things. The economy has to keep grinding on, but keeping on dropping a cog, trying for an adequate sustainable level not 8-10% return on capital, and keeping climate change in mind all the time.
Like I think a railway north would be a good idea for transporting the goods. But what about extreme heat on the rail tracks I wonder. They could buckle and derail. I will have a look on google.
Google – People in a speed train affected. https://mashable.com/article/train-tracks-climate-change-warping/ Germany
France http://www.rfi.fr/en/environment/20190726-french-railroad-tracks-can-t-keep-extreme-heat
USA https://www.climatecentral.org/news/climate-change-warp-railroad-tracks-sun-kinks-17470
India has let its vital railway system run down. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-28156439
Smart tech fixes all!! https://www.smartrailworld.com/5-fascinating-future-rail-trends-and-when-we-can-expect-to-see-them
Practical methods: How we prevent tracks from getting too hot: We work closely with specialist weather forecasters and local weather stations to make necessary plans and take action so rails are less likely to buckle.
you dont' really have to explain trains to me.- I grew up in Germany, lived in France and have never owned a car. Not even in NZ have i owned a car.
Seriously, i grew up with them, they are my preferred method of transport and no one is gonna build a train up to Whangarai. You are lucky if you get a 4 lane highway that will then be destroyed by trucks like any other highway in NZ that is covered in Trucks.
In this country we can't even build a commuter train to hamilton/rotorua/wellington etc. Heck we can't even build a train to AKL Airport.
But they are gonna build a train to Whangarai. Yeah, right Tui.
You will come in handy if there is a fire by you. You have the biggest supply of wet blankets in NZ.
All those rail projects are coming, despite any amount of denial or whinging about them. A 4-lane motorway north on the other hand is just a Nat/banker fantasy.
A 4-lane motorway north on the other hand is just a Nat/banker fantasy.
Yep. Here's hoping.
Sasha try reading this logic
Subject; Article below entitled; “The Hidden Trucking Industry Subsidy” This US based article shows we ‘public’ give an exorbitant unfair amount of subsidy to the trucking industry. We now want the Transport Minister to please drive around regional NZ and just see the impacts of 50 to 60 tonne “B train ‘trucks and their destruction of our “soft roads” that do not even have an adequate under base to carry the 50+ tonne laden weight trucks, as they need a ‘steel mesh reinforced concrete base’ as US/Canadian and EU roads have installed under their truck routes.
https://truecostblog.com/2009/06/02/the-hidden-trucking-industry-subsidy/
Quote; Freight trucks cause 99% of wear-and-tear on US roads, but only pay for 35% of the maintenance. This $60B subsidy causes extra congestion and pollution, and taxpayers pay the bill. SO; This is a question for NZTA “why is it fair that the NZ taxpayer gives trucking industry a subsidy and not our own publicly owned rail”? We must now request ‘public’ money for roading must also be given to restoring our public owned regional rail. Since this document came out we know that the public is massively funding road repairs for private trucking companies so now we need to level the playing field for rail as it is a public owned entity owned by us taxpayers so we now desperately need at least an equal 50% contribution of the ‘public road funding’ be given to rail to restore the regional rail services around NZ. Here are the plain facts;
https://truecostblog.com/2009/06/02/the-
hidden-trucking-industry-subsidy/ The Hidden Trucking Industry Subsidy Freight trucks cause 99% of wear-and-tear on US roads, but only pay for 35% of the maintenance. This $60B subsidy causes extra congestion and pollution, and taxpayers pay the bill….. more to come so read all.
Well aware, thank you. The more rail replacing freight the better.
There used to be a train to the Far North – the North Auckland Line went to Whangarei. The grading for most of the tracks still remain.
The Okaihau branch which went from Opua on the North Auckland line, was intended to reach Kaitaia but was never completed. Some of the graded tracks are part of the northern cycleway.
I think there will be a train and a 4 lane highway to Whangarei, they will need them when the port moves their. It might take another ten or fifteen years.
I am posting in relation to the Julian Assange matter, which drew a lot of attention here on TS yesterday, but this is not entirely Julian Assange specific, so I post it today on Open Mike.
The treatment of both remand and convicted prisoners by prison authorities, including assessing and intervention in an attempt to ensure that both the physical and mental well being of the prisoner is adequate, can often be seen as equating to, or consistent with the general attitude and culture of the both the state, and society in any ne jurisdiction.
So for example, compare our prisons with prisons in say, Thailand or South America, and equate it to attitude, demographic and both culture and what is believed to be acceptable.
If we were to take a look at the Jeffery Epstein incarceration and death in custody, we might detect that many in New York probably privately believe that it was the best outcome and acceptable given the allegations. Of course, rightly or wrongly, New Zealand takes a lot of markers and cues from the United States of America in relation to justice, law and order principles, even though we are more closely aligned to England, Australia and even Canada.
So, in relation to what happened to Epstein, why have many throughout the United States, or at least throughout New York not expressed seriously concerns, and why are they not insisting on finding out just what occurred?
Well, perhaps they should be, not so much out of a concern as to what Epstein went through personally once incarcerated, but in relation to what they or others they care about might also undergo if they were ever to find themselves on remand, and subject to less publicly visible hostility of one sort or another.
I have no doubt that the Jeffery Epstein attitude held by many also applies to people considered to be traitors or whistle blowers leaking national security material.
The litmus test in relation to the above "traitor" assessment might relate to the general determination of motivation and the overall detrimental impact or damage caused by such disclosures. Also, the extent (if any) of any subversion attempt if subversion was believed to be an objective.
Many believe Julian Assange to be a traitor, but many also consider him simply to be a former political commentator or journalist who is being politically targeted, and perhaps quite cruelly.
Who will win out in relation to this (suspected) game of cat and mouse is anybody's guess.
Whichever way it pans out, it seems very unlikely that Julian Assange will emerge from it gaining or winning much of anything at all.
Mainstream media have utilised him and dropped him, and they have latterly had their fun with him as well. He certainly brings in advertising revenue for them by way of the various news article presented and associated with him.
Despite cries of little or no transparency and of prisoner maltreatment, most people just leave the system, or the law of the prison jungle to "do what it wilt" on many occasions. This is how society usually behaves, especially when their focus is regularly redirected (and occasionally misdirected) here, there and elsewhere. There is so much going on.
Prison managers and all staff have duty of care to the prisoners they manage and house.
Both psychiatric and psychological evaluations should be regularly made on high (personal and health) risk prisoners such as Assange, and the evaluations should be both free of any personal bias by the assessors, and free from any undue influence further up the ladder.
This of course is an idealised, would be, should be, could be deliberation by me. In reality, who really can determine how it works from one day to the next, or from one situation to another?
Locally, and more especially on Howard League, it is clear that so many support an overhaul of one kind or another. This is healthy. Never stop taking an interest in these matters, and never stop asking questions when they need to be asked.
Perhaps this would be an opportune time to continue to vocalise as a lobby group whilst also lending support to those MP's and both those local body representatives and candidates who have a track record of approaching the matter realistically and supporting change if or where it is needed.
I can think of two MP's already, (focused less on the driving licence aspect and more on the generic). Both are Labour Crown Ministers, and are well respected.
Another ran for Auckland mayoralty recently and appears to have had a lot of support in relation to attempting to realistically address many social reform issues, and where prison reform is actually one of them.
Why not seize the opportunity to push for positive change this time if you believe that change must take place in New Zealand?
The marketers have been all over this one. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=12289584
Yep, it's some sort of Māori social improvement agency, not a ruddy sporting entertainment corporation rooted in posh school classics.
I think they scraped all that up after one of their horsies trotted by with a chap in a suit of armour on its back.
1. (verb) (-a,-ina,-ngia,-tia) to instruct, advise, save the life of, spare, guide, direct, instruct, appoint.
2. (verb) (-a,-ina,-ngia,-tia) to point out, show, indicate, point at, gesticulate.
3. (verb) (-a,-ina,-ngia,-tia) to preserve, conserve.
4. (verb) (-a) to perform a ritual.
https://maoridictionary.co.nz/search?&keywords=tohu
They looked for a Maori word/expression/symbol to connect to the Crusaders brand and localise/modernise it. And no connotation of violence …
https://youtu.be/qQfetkoGrpU
Kia Ora 1 News.
Condolences to the family of the people who we losted on London Bridge.
That's the great phenomenon about Aotearoa there is only one predator to worry about humans?????.
Its good to see Tuhoe history told in art Ka pai.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
Ka pai to Monga Taranaki getting its real name back.
I remember that lol.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora 1 News.
Its great to see a Wahine get given Mana.
I see that working with mother natures creatures is a great way for humanity to live a learn.
Ka kite Ano
https://youtu.be/g_D5vzqBVWo
Kia Ora 1 News.
We need to become carbon neutral.
Ka kite Ano.
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
I agree with Ngai Te
Rangi in Tauranga Aotearoa it should be tangata whenua welcoming visitors in Maori not other cultured people.
That's the way Opotiki tangata our mokopuna coming into this World are very important so champion for your maternity unit to stay open in Opotiki.
That's awesome Maori and Pacific tangata mahi together to get better health treatment and other things to help our mokopuna.
Ka kite Ano