Another straw in the wind: had an email yesterday from our local medical practice saying that its branch clinic in a seaside settlement is soon to be closed. Cites lack of GPs and inadequate government support. (No online link as yet.)
The last 2 prescriptions I've had for my child have been 3 to 4 day battles getting it completed properly and sent through to the pharmacy, it'd be funny if it wasn't so fucking sad.
“You can actually now demonstrably show that for large sections of every economy in the world, it is now cost effective to solve climate change – and that’s a pretty radical new idea,” says Saul Griffith.
That’s the message the Australian inventor and physicist has brought to New Zealand in a landmark new report on how electrifying what we drive, what we cook on and how we heat our homes and water could save us nearly $100 billion over the next 15 years.
Griffith co-launched nonprofit Rewiring America in 2019, in an effort to reframe climate policy away from costs and towards opportunities. After the 2020 US election, his perspective was picked up and implemented into the country’s strongest ever climate law, which will mobilise trillions in private investment into decarbonisation.
So the yanks went Deep Green and nobody noticed? The Mothers sang about this syndrome back in 1966 (it can't happen here): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freak_Out!
Rewiring America spawned Rewiring Australia, which Griffith also co-founded, which in turn led to the 2023 creation of Rewiring Aotearoa, where Griffith serves as chief scientist.
It’s in this role that Griffith co-authored the new report, alongside Rewiring Aotearoa’s Josh Ellison and Michelle Pawson and Reserve Bank chief economist Paul Conway (acting in a personal capacity). The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s chief economist Geoff Simmons peer reviewed the report, also in his personal capacity.
The $100 billion figure is one of two headline figures – the other is that this savings translates to the average electrified household spending between $1500 and $4700 less on energy each year.
So the govt has a real opportunity to make progress. The notion that rightists are capable of being progressive will be dismissed by everyone, including them, because knee-jerk reversion to tradition is what kiwi males do by default. Nonetheless, the Nats can secure political advantage by out-flanking Labour on the left. Will the prospect tempt them?
I think subsidising just solar panels can be problematic due to the unpredictable power being fed back into the grid which can cause problems for generators. But, subsidising solar plus storage makes a lot of sense.
This is a far quicker solution than say building a new dam or any other major project, and doesn't require additional land or complicated resource consents. I don't know why governments haven't looked at this option seriously in the past.
The obstacle is probably in working out how the existing gentailers and their shareholders (including the government) can profit from community-based, distributed roof-top solar. The profits in distributed solar potentially move from one business sector (gentailers with big investments in large-scale generation capacity) to another sector (manufacturers and installers of roof-top systems and householders ). Can the gentailers quickly pivot to also monopolize profits and extract value in this new sector just as they do in their existing one? It's a brewing battle between rival sectors of capital, and indicates how much inertia and inefficiency is introduced by marketising essential services.
That (outflank Labour with solar) is exactly what National should do Dennis. Luckily Simeon Brown is an idiot so it won't happen.
As I said in a post the other day Labour should pick up the grid and rooftop solar issue (Rewiring Aotearoa) in its manifesto at the next election…..this would outflank National. It would be nice to think that Labour would acknowledge that the Greens have been supporting such a policy for many years.
They wouldn't be able to stop there though. Because of the privatisation of segments of the power industry, they are obliged to make a return to shareholders.
Nationalise the electricity sector is the only prudent way forward if one is serious about serving the citizenry.
Saul Griffith was interviewed by Kathryn Ryan on Radio NZ Nine to Noon at 9.05. he was brilliant….well worth a listen. (Sorry on my phone in Cooktown so can't do link)
Taser use on mentally ill people doubles: 'It just beggars belief'
New research shows more than half of people tasered by police are mentally ill, in distress or suicidal.
Footage showed officers tasering him in the upper back, causing him to fall to the ground in a seated position.
When asked if he understood what they were saying, he replied "I do speak English … my master Satan will win the planet."
As he got up and turned away from police to go back to the house, he was tasered again and fell to the ground on his back. He ignored further instructions to get on his stomach and was tasered a third time.
And, what he actually needed…someone please.
A third officer who knew the man arrived, talked to him "softly" and handcuffed the man, who neither spoke nor resisted.
Yellow Brick Road chief executive John Moore said the threshold for getting help was "high and getting higher".
"And that's why you see police coming out and why you see ED overuse because it's the most reliable pathway most people perceive for getting mental health support.
"So you get people who get pretty much to breaking point and then the service kicks in and then it gets them past that breaking point so then they're released. And that cycle just continues for a lot of people."
Had tasers existed in the 1970s, that would be my Dad on the receiving end during at least one very public manic episode that I can remember. Thankfully not, and the police still managed to take him away to the old Oakley asylum/institution without any physical harm.
The point being, mental health crises have been around forever, and we know that removing mental health services isn't going to suddenly make that all go away, but hey, who needs common sense and logic to prevail?
I'm very familiar with the situation in the 90s when the last of the institutions were closed down, the main reason being the cost, not the treatment of the inmates. Then the running down of the hospital attached mental health units, and now crisis teams. And even if one gets as far as seeing the crisis team, when there are literally no beds, well, they're back on the streets getting themselves tasered.
We have plenty of money for new prisons, but zilch for mental health beds and the staff they need. Priorities, much?
Once again, this really is on the voting public (and those who don't vote). Given how many people are personally affected by, or are caught up in the ripples of a loved one's illness, they know damn well what's happening. Yet no-one seems interested in changing the situation- literally out of mind, out of sight. I really do despair.
Kay, I have much admiration for you. You are not afraid to describe your personal circumstances and experiences and you are able to articulate the consequences so succinctly.
What a contrast to some of the bone headed cretins who fill the parliamentary chamber and pass judgements on matters of which they have no knowledge, expertise or even ability to understand.
This is tremendously exciting for leftists and rightists: you can kick them from one side to the other on a regular basis, but you can also do random goal-post shifting. This strategy makes the game more interesting and, to youngsters, more infotaining.
the organisation, which brought together polytechnics and industry training organisations in a single entity at the start of 2023, was financially viable and expected to make a deficit of about $16 million this year, following last year's $38m loss.
We see here the essential psychodynamic of normalcy: continual failure means financial viability. Put that principle in your pipe and smoke it. See if you get as high on it as the neolibs do! Such praxis teaches the young that politics is fun.
Big Tobacco is so far up our CoC govt's arse. Anyone interested can evaluate the evidence below – the first link includes summaries for NZ, Malaysia, and the UK.
As of 2023, Malaysia, New Zealand and the UK are the only countries that have announced plans to adopt a generational endgame policy. New Zealand also proposed introducing mandated denicotinisation and substantial retailer reduction.
Tobacco industry interference to prevent, delay or undermine the legislation has been observed in each of these countries, and is detailed below.
PLA, 100%, that is why they are cocky!! Big money backing them. Bernard Hickey has written a great explanation of the "Tax Cuts" and the "Debt" worth a read. Parker was totally correct, and Hipkins' knee jerk was insecurity imo.
I find it interesting that management cost is used as a reason for changing from a fuel tax at the pump to a RUC for all vehicles.
I would have thought that RUC would be a lot costlier to run, plus needing more fir enforcement.
Also can we trust the CoC to be fair and lower the price of petrol by the same amount they will raise with RUC? and not use the occasion to sneak a tax hike that the AA will probably pretend not to notice?
I heard the NZ Initiative representative on RNZ this morning explaining the reasoning. Low income people have older less efficient cars and so fuel tax was unfair. He failed to mention that the rich have oversized gas guzzling tanks and would benefit from a miles charge rather than fuel tax.
Its also been suggested that taxes can be used to change behavior to positive outcome, perhaps that doesn't apply when it may result in less profit for polluters
Funny that. But unsurprising. Oliver, apart from being NZ Initiative is also a Mont Pelerin Society member. But nice that he thinks of those less fortunate..(I'm joking..of course : )
"People from relatively underprivileged backgrounds, poorer backgrounds, they often drive cars that use a lot more fuel, because they are often driving older cars that are less fuel efficient. So in effect, you're asking them to pay more under the current system, whereas in the future, they might actually pay less."
A significant amount of fuel tax is for ACC, by charging RUC you deny ACC of funding for activities that have considerable risk. Off road motor bikes,lawnmowers,chainsaws,motor boats,microlights,farm quad bikes. Whoops silly me thats the realm of the landed gentry.
It's not something that I have ever heard discussed in NZ and that is the role of the private health insurance and hospital sector. Approximately 40% of the population has some form of private health insurance supporting (I'm guessing) a very profitable private health system.
In this scenario what market constraints does a public health system come up against? Too much high quality public health care is not good for everyone in this mixed model. What financial benefits flow to the private health sector when the public system is gradually but persistently underfunded?
As always – follow the money. I'd love to know more about the finances of the private health sector but information is not easy to find.
Good points, and as you say, always follow the money. I've always found it somewhat strange that the majority of specialists split their time between public and private, so it's wait forever to see one publicly, or a bit sooner privately. Same doctor.
No doubt it's a way to top up one's salary, which we know is low by global standards. But so long as the (increasingly rare) specialists won't work full time in the public sector, waiting lists will continue to get even longer, and it's the uninsured and uninsurable who will disproportionally suffer.
There are many young people who would make perfectly good doctors who can't get into medical schools. To undermine the pernicious effect of private health insurance, we could train a lot more doctors, make it fees-free, bond them to work in the public system for a period of time and support their pathway into specialties. Pay public-sector specialists more and punitively tax the sorts of absurdly sky high incomes that are made as a private sector specialist. If the specialist Colleges object, they will have to be politely instructed to do as they're told. No matter how much we value them, they have no right to form wealth-extracting cartels.
This year the government broke their promise to fund 50 new doctor positions. They made it 25. They also broke their promise to fund mental health doctors. They made it 0.
Not to mention the outflow of trained doctors. One can tell National – ACT – NZ First have no interest in doing anything to sustain the public health system, and may be manouvering it to break it further.
i know a guy had an illness , surgeon recommended going private to get it done sooner , same surgeon did private surgery $15000 later it, it failed same surgeon had another go in the piblic system!!
The Government is considering a further attack on vulnerable people, this time by restricting funding for residential care.
It's positive that fines have considerably increased for non-disabled drivers parking in spaces for disabled people. This is an easy, no cost, good news story for the Government. However it does not detract from the Government's intention to cut social services funding wherever possible, to try to offset the massive debt caused by their unjustifiable tax cuts mainly for the benefit of landlords.
If residential care funding is halted, so too will be the options for adult disabled people to lead lives more independent from their families. Their parents/caregivers' chances to have respite after, in many/most cases, years of relentless concern and stress will be diminished, and the constant worry about their family members' future safety and security will continue.
The Government is looking at a freeze on residential care funding, and being stricter on who is eligible to reduce costs, a leaked policy document reveals.
The document, which was leaked on Tuesday, states that in order to meet the Government’s financial objectives there is likely to be no net increase in costs for individuals and residential care services, and no net increase in the number of people in residential care.
“To stay within the indicative and fixed budgets, Needs Assessment and Service Co-ordination (NASC) and Enabling Good Lives (EGL) sites will need to apply eligibility criteria strictly for new entrants,” it states.
Residential care refers to long-term care given to people who are elderly or have disabilities who stay in a residential setting rather than their own home or a family home.
NASC and EGL sites provide support for people with disabilities and those who require residential care.
The hold on growth to residential care, according to the document, would extend to group homes and live alone arrangements, high and complex forensic care, rest home care, hospital level care and residential rehabilitation.
It said other expenditure lines that may be affected include facility-based respite.
Parents of Vision Impaired NZ spokeswoman Rebekah Graham said the document makes it clear that disabled people and their families will have their allocations cut.
“The restrictions are so severe there is significant risk of harm to disabled people and their families, particularly for ageing parents who are finding care work increasingly difficult,” she said.
“It is clear from this document that the Government is looking to severely curtail disabled people’s lives, reduce allocated supports.”…..
Decision on Auckland’s fortnightly rubbish collection coming soon
Story by Torika Tokalau, Local Democracy Reporter NZ Herald
Auckland Council has proposed to move the weekly bin collection to fortnightly, like recycling bins, as part of their Waste Management and Minimisation Plan to reduce waste and carbon emissions.
On the news that Auckland is to go to a fortnight not weekly household rubbish collection. Weirdly the council say this move is being made to reduce waste.
To borrow an old saying related to computers.
'Garbage in Garbage Out'
Trying to plug the garbage coming out, without stopping the garbage coming in will not solve the problem.
Not until local and central government start cracking down on the single use plastics and packaging industry, will less garbage come into the system.
Auckland Council Plastic Flows Plastics diversion in Tāmaki Makaurau August 2023
There are approximately 190,000 tonnes of plastic estimated to be consumed in Auckland annually. Of this, consumer packaging makes up approximately 38,000 tonnes (20%), durables account for 32,000 tonnes 17%, while commercial and pre-consumer material makes up the largest share at 88,000 tonnes (47%). Finally soft plastics account for some 11,000 tonnes (6%) and agricultural plastics 1,200 tonnes (1%) The majority (77%) of material is landfilled while only 13% is estimated to be recovered.* 70% of recycled plastics are being processed onshore, while 30% of plastics recovered for recycling are shipped to export markets. Key export markets from Auckland include Malaysia and Taiwan. Based on the available data, an estimated 10% of the material in the system is unaccounted for and is either littered (44 tonnes), stockpiled, in flux, or otherwise lost to the system…..
*I added the block emphaisis to hi-light the fact that 77% of our single use plastic waste goes to landills.
The next sentence says that of the 13% of plastic that is recovered, 70% of that is shipped out of the country, for others to deal with. Malayasia and Taiwan are two countries mentioned where we ship our waste. Good news for Malayasia, bad news for us, Malayasia will no longer accept our rubbish.
Plastic waste imports to be banned in 2025
23 Feb 2023
THE country is restricting plastic waste imports and will ban scrap shipments of the material starting in 2025, as officials seek to halt a flood of refuse from rich countries that has impacted the health of its citizens and polluted its air and water.
Plugging up the outlet without turning off the tap will only see more illegal dumping.
Befor I get accused of trying to conflate packaging waste with general waste, (whatever that is)* the fact remains that the majority of all garbage is not reccycled. And the waste which is claimed to be 'recyclied' is shipped overseas, where who knows, (or cares), if it is recyclied or not. The mantra here is, 'outa sight, outa mind'.
I recently attended a flea market in Pukekohe where the council had a stall promoting recycling in which you could complete a form, of what to put in the recycling bin or not. It was astonishing to find out that many plastics don't go in the yellow (plastic) bins. But who looks for the little symbols, if they are there, but it doesn't really matter because the majority, 77% goes to landfill anyway, and the minority, claimed to be being recycled is shipped overseas, to be sorted, or not.
"(I couldn't find data on what makes up general waste)
Instead of Idiocracy style trying to plug the outlet, we need a complete rethink
where the council had a stall promoting recycling in which you could complete a form, of what to put in the recycling bin or not. It was astonishing to find out that many plastics don't go in the yellow (plastic) bins. But who looks for the little symbols
Uhhuh. Used to be 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 and others…..but when China and other countries said no more (even though the majority of plastic nonrecycleable rubbish comes from China ?!)….it got massively cut back. Now just 1,2 and 5.
We should be targetting it incoming at the border…with a Tariff on those who import it… to deal with it. I think that would help a lot.
Ah I could say much more ( as I say I was very involved , incl at the Recycling Industrially), anyway..we do what we can.
I have been very involved with "recycling" for many years. I use that style, as sadly, a large part of it is Greenwashing, if not outright lies ! By Companies, Government and Councils.
Good old Coke one of the worst polluters… just greenwash, deny and carry on.
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 ...
A Tai Rāwhiti mill that ran for 30 years before it was shut down in late 2023 is set to re-open in the coming months, which will eventually see nearly 300 new jobs in the region. A new report from Massey University shows that pensioners are struggling with rising costs. ...
As support continues to fall, Luxon also now faces his biggest internal ructions within the coalition since the election, with David Seymour reacting badly to being criticised by the PM. File photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Not since 1988 when Richard Prebble openly criticised David Lange have we seen such a challenge to a Prime Minister as that of David Seymour to Christopher Luxon last night. Prebble suggested Lange had mental health issues during a TV interview and was almost immediately fired. Seymour hasn’t gone quite ...
Three weeks in, and the 24/7 news cycle is not helping anyone feel calm and informed about the second Trump presidency. One day, the US is threatening 25% trade tariffs on its friends and neighbours. The reasons offered by the White House are absurd, such as stopping fentanyl coming in ...
This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Wherever you look, you'll hear headlines claiming we've passed 1.5 degrees of global warming. And while 2024 saw ...
Photo by Heather M. Edwards on UnsplashHere’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s politics and economy in the week to Feb 10 below. That’s ahead of live chats on the Substack App and The Kākā’s front page on Substack at 5pm with: on his column in The ...
Is there anyone in the world the National Party loves more than a campaign donor? Why yes, there is! They will always have the warmest hello and would you like to slip into something more comfortable for that great god of our age, the High Net Worth Individual.The words the ...
Waste and fraud certainly exist in foreign aid programs, but rightwing celebration of USAID’s dismantling shows profound ignorance of the value of soft power (as opposed to hard power) in projecting US influence and interests abroad by non-military/coercive means (think of “hearts and minds,” “hugs, not bullets,” “honey versus vinegar,” ...
Health New Zealand is proposing to cut almost half of its data and digital positions – more than 1000 of them. The PSA has called on the Privacy Commissioner to urgently investigate the cuts due to the potential for serious consequences for patients. NZNO is calling for an urgent increase ...
We may see a few more luxury cars on Queen Street, but a loosening of rules to entice rich foreigners to invest more here is unlikely to “turbocharge our economic growth”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Let us not dance daintily around the elephant in the room. Our politicians who serve us in the present are not honest, certainly not as honest as they should be, and while the right are taking out most of the trophies for warping narratives and literally redefining “facts”, the kiwi ...
A few weeks ago I took a look at public transport ridership in 2024. In today’s post I’m going to be looking a bit deeper at bus ridership. Buses make up the vast majority of ridership in Auckland with 70 million boardings last year out of a total of 89.4 ...
Oh, you know I did itIt's over and I feel fineNothing you could say is gonna change my mindWaited and I waited the longest nightNothing like the taste of sweet declineSongwriters: Chris Shiflett / David Eric Grohl / Nate Mendel / Taylor Hawkins.Hindsight is good, eh?The clarity when the pieces ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 16 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 10The Kākā’s weekly wrap-up of news about politics and the economy is due at midday, followed by webinar for paying subscribers in Substack’s ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 2, 2025 thru Sat, February 8, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
Today, I stumbled across a Twitter Meme: the ending of The Lord of the Rings as a Chess scenario: https://x.com/mellon_heads/status/1887983845917564991 It gets across the basic gist. Aragorn and Gandalf offering up ‘material’ at the Morannon allows Frodo and Samwise to catch Sauron unawares – fair enough. But there are a ...
Last week, Kieran McAnulty called out Chris Bishop and Nicola Willis for their claims that Kāinga Ora’s costs were too high.They had claimed Kāinga Ora’s cost were 12% higher than market i.e. private devlopersBut Kāinga Ora’s Chair had already explained why last year:"We're not building to sell, so we'll be ...
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. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
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 ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
Alex Casey unearths Simon Court’s full sales pitch for how menstrual cups could end poverty. On Friday last week, Act MP Simon Court was accused of “mansplaining” during a parliamentary committee hearing about benefit sanctions. After submitter Rachel Dibble shared her concerns about period poverty and the impact that sanctions ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato It’s an unfortunate fact that bad people sometimes want guns. And while laws are designed to prevent guns falling into the wrong hands, the determined criminal can be highly resourceful. There are three main ...
Asia Pacific Report Two independent Jewish Voices groups in Aotearoa New Zealand have written an open letter to the government condemning the Zionist “colonisation” project leading to genocide and criticising the role of the NZ Jewish Council for its “unelected” and “uncritical support” for Israel. The groups, Alternative Jewish Voices ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Newspoll, conducted February 10–14 from a sample of 1,244, gave the Coalition a 51–49 lead, unchanged from the previous Newspoll, ...
We round up everything coming to streaming services this week, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, ThreeNow, Neon and TVNZ+. If you enjoy whip-smart satire: The White Lotus (Neon, February 17) HBO’s award-winning The White Lotus is back for what critics are calling “an absolutely exquisite third ...
NZPF called for a slowdown of the curriculum change, asking for one subject at a time, so that teachers and principals could be fully trained and feel confident and competent to implement the changes, New Zealand Principals’ Federation (NZPF) President ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By T.J. Thomson, Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication & Digital Media, RMIT University Indonesia’s TVOne launched an AI news presenter in 2023.T.J. Thomson Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has taken off at lightning speed in the past couple of years, creating disruption in ...
Many of the young vapers interviewed by a team of public health researchers said they felt unable to resist the pro-vaping environment that surrounded them. New Zealand’s smokefree law was hailed around the world for creating a smokefree generation that would have lifelong protection from smoking’s harms. The smokefree ...
Analysis: While most Wellingtonians enjoyed a rare but unbeatable sunny day on Saturday, some New Zealand diplomats will have been briefly shocked by a screenshot making the rounds on social media showing US President Donald Trump calling us a “third world country”.The image, it appears, was a fake – certainly a ...
ActionStation Director, Kassie Hartendorp says that the Treaty Principles Bill has galvanised the biggest movement in support of Te Tiriti in modern history. ...
While it is in the interests of Wellington ratepayers to sell off this subsidy for the rich, it is unfortunate that it has come to this point. The council should have never spent a penny on this programme, and the $3.4 million spent is a flagrant abuse ...
A search for the person behind a social media account ridiculing Māori.Last week, while scrolling Facebook, I came across a post shared to the New Zealand Centre for Political Research group. The post began, “From Matua Kahurangi on X”, before pasting his critique of iwi leadership – particularly Ngāpuhi ...
On the heels of The White Lotus season three, Tara Ward travels to Koh Samui, Thailand, to live her best life as a five-star wannabe. I’ve never been one for luxury travel. Despite religiously watching TV shows like Luxury Escapes: World’s Best Holidays and harbouring grand dreams of one day ...
The Treaty Principles Bill submission hearings continue at Parliament today with a range of submitters expected including councils, iwi, community organisations and individuals. ...
It’s become of one of Christchurch’s most famous landmarks online, but why? Alex Casey steps through the portal of the brutalist Timezone. Ask anyone what Christchurch’s most iconic building is and you might expect to hear some of the dusty old classics like the Cathedral, or the Town Hall, or ...
New Zealand’s alignment with the White House is further underscored by its refusal to oppose Trump’s sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC). ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus Professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University The dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) is a serious blow to the soft power of the United States and disastrous for many poor countries ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Janet Hoek, Professor in Public Health, University of Otago Shutterstock/Aliaksandr Barouski New Zealand’s smokefree law was hailed around the world for creating a smokefree generation that would have lifelong protection from smoking’s harms. The smokefree generation would have ended sales of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By George Disney, Research Fellow, Social Epidemiology, The University of Melbourne Edwin Tan/Getty Images When the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) was established in 2013, one of its driving aims was to make disability services and support systems fairer. However, our new ...
The resignation of the director general of health is the latest departure in what Labour is calling a ‘purge’ of health leadership. Another day, another health resignation It’s a dangerous time to be a top health executive. On Friday, Dr Diana Sarfati announced her resignation as director general of health ...
Labour and the Greens say the government should focus spending on tourism infrastructure like tracks, toilets and protection of nature instead of more advertising. ...
Hundreds of people called the former prime minister vile and dehumanising things online. Internet safety agencies did nothing - then called in the lawyers. ...
Hundreds of people called the former prime minister vile and dehumanising things online. Internet safety agencies did nothing - then called in the lawyers. ...
After a morning spent calf marking, Flock Hill Station manager Richard Hill headed up Bridge Hill – about 100km from Christchurch on the way to the West Coast – to check on a fire near the station’s boundary.It was December 5 last year, and the Craigieburn area had experienced three ...
It can’t be much of a surprise that a relatively inexperienced Act MP, handed the workplace relations portfolio, doesn’t want to entertain the country’s biggest union in her office.But it still astonishes the head of that union, the CTU’s president, Richard Wagstaff.After all, he’s met regularly with ministers of all ...
Late 21st century Christchurch will be unrecognisable when compared with Christchurch today.Flooding will prompt retreat from all eastern and many northern suburbs. These areas, together with land near the Heathcote and Avon Rivers, are in a fifty-year flood zone. Fifty-year floods can happen more than once every fifty years; there ...
Is humanising a mountain the path to real transformation, or does it signal the need for a cultural paradigm shift in the operating system? Recently, a family member shared their delight at the news of Taranaki Maunga becoming a legal person.Of course, I was pleased for the eight Taranaki ...
Why New Zealanders donate money and who they give it to – and how tools like Givealittle are changing the giving landscape.Is New Zealand really a generous country? It’s difficult to quantify. Giving to registered charities can be counted through tax returns, but giving to overseas causes, giving money ...
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/526542/junior-doctors-warn-losing-admin-staff-will-hurt-patients-after-call-for-voluntary-redundancies
National laying waste to public health
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/350396306/college-surgeons-warn-health-nz-redundancies-will-slow-down-surgeries
Another straw in the wind: had an email yesterday from our local medical practice saying that its branch clinic in a seaside settlement is soon to be closed. Cites lack of GPs and inadequate government support. (No online link as yet.)
The last 2 prescriptions I've had for my child have been 3 to 4 day battles getting it completed properly and sent through to the pharmacy, it'd be funny if it wasn't so fucking sad.
Like every other disaster they have overseen so far, they blame Labour.
Like a child saying "He made me do it…..
That excuse is starting to wear a bit thin with a lot of people.
This expert from Oz seems to make an excellent case for roof-top solar as national energy strategy: https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/08/28/an-engineers-plan-to-rewire-nz-and-save-money-doing-it/
So the yanks went Deep Green and nobody noticed? The Mothers sang about this syndrome back in 1966 (it can't happen here): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freak_Out!
So the govt has a real opportunity to make progress. The notion that rightists are capable of being progressive will be dismissed by everyone, including them, because knee-jerk reversion to tradition is what kiwi males do by default. Nonetheless, the Nats can secure political advantage by out-flanking Labour on the left. Will the prospect tempt them?
I have argued for subsidised solar here before.
I think subsidising just solar panels can be problematic due to the unpredictable power being fed back into the grid which can cause problems for generators. But, subsidising solar plus storage makes a lot of sense.
This is a far quicker solution than say building a new dam or any other major project, and doesn't require additional land or complicated resource consents. I don't know why governments haven't looked at this option seriously in the past.
The obstacle is probably in working out how the existing gentailers and their shareholders (including the government) can profit from community-based, distributed roof-top solar. The profits in distributed solar potentially move from one business sector (gentailers with big investments in large-scale generation capacity) to another sector (manufacturers and installers of roof-top systems and householders ). Can the gentailers quickly pivot to also monopolize profits and extract value in this new sector just as they do in their existing one? It's a brewing battle between rival sectors of capital, and indicates how much inertia and inefficiency is introduced by marketising essential services.
SolarZero has been doing distributed solar for years.
It's not a thing.
Is that one of them straw men in your final paragraph?
That (outflank Labour with solar) is exactly what National should do Dennis. Luckily Simeon Brown is an idiot so it won't happen.
As I said in a post the other day Labour should pick up the grid and rooftop solar issue (Rewiring Aotearoa) in its manifesto at the next election…..this would outflank National. It would be nice to think that Labour would acknowledge that the Greens have been supporting such a policy for many years.
I fully tautoko that idea.
They wouldn't be able to stop there though. Because of the privatisation of segments of the power industry, they are obliged to make a return to shareholders.
Nationalise the electricity sector is the only prudent way forward if one is serious about serving the citizenry.
Saul Griffith was interviewed by Kathryn Ryan on Radio NZ Nine to Noon at 9.05. he was brilliant….well worth a listen. (Sorry on my phone in Cooktown so can't do link)
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018953071/electrification-could-save-nz-95-billion-by-2040-report
Thanks Incog.
The new Electric Shock treatment : (
And, what he actually needed…someone please.
As the Link tells..this will get worse. Please help those who cant help themselves.
Had tasers existed in the 1970s, that would be my Dad on the receiving end during at least one very public manic episode that I can remember. Thankfully not, and the police still managed to take him away to the old Oakley asylum/institution without any physical harm.
The point being, mental health crises have been around forever, and we know that removing mental health services isn't going to suddenly make that all go away, but hey, who needs common sense and logic to prevail?
I'm very familiar with the situation in the 90s when the last of the institutions were closed down, the main reason being the cost, not the treatment of the inmates. Then the running down of the hospital attached mental health units, and now crisis teams. And even if one gets as far as seeing the crisis team, when there are literally no beds, well, they're back on the streets getting themselves tasered.
We have plenty of money for new prisons, but zilch for mental health beds and the staff they need. Priorities, much?
Once again, this really is on the voting public (and those who don't vote). Given how many people are personally affected by, or are caught up in the ripples of a loved one's illness, they know damn well what's happening. Yet no-one seems interested in changing the situation- literally out of mind, out of sight. I really do despair.
Kay, I have much admiration for you. You are not afraid to describe your personal circumstances and experiences and you are able to articulate the consequences so succinctly.
What a contrast to some of the bone headed cretins who fill the parliamentary chamber and pass judgements on matters of which they have no knowledge, expertise or even ability to understand.
What a weird world we live in.
Well, thats it summed. Anyway, take care. My best for you, and all.
Whereas democracy combined with education has kept most people anchored in the 19th century, neo-colonialism may not be a total failure after all. It has combined with neoliberalism to make educational institutions into a political football: https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/08/28/te-pukenga-staff-pissed-off-tired-by-constant-change/
This is tremendously exciting for leftists and rightists: you can kick them from one side to the other on a regular basis, but you can also do random goal-post shifting. This strategy makes the game more interesting and, to youngsters, more infotaining.
We see here the essential psychodynamic of normalcy: continual failure means financial viability. Put that principle in your pipe and smoke it. See if you get as high on it as the neolibs do! Such praxis teaches the young that politics is fun.
Have to remember that many individual polytechs were also struggling financially,
Stand together or die apart.
Big Tobacco is so far up our CoC govt's arse. Anyone interested can evaluate the evidence below – the first link includes summaries for NZ, Malaysia, and the UK.
Mind the gap: Associate Health Minister’s actions conflict with Ministry advice, align with tobacco industry lobbying [18 July 2024]
Revealed: Politically charged tobacco policy document that NZ First Minister Casey Costello tried to hide [26 Aug 2024]
Vapes ‘cheap as chips’ as fire sales ignite – again [27 Aug 2024]
Why the PM was quizzed on the harms of nicotine [28 Aug 2024]
As expected [29 Aug 2024]
New Plymouth donors thankful National Party candidate won’t be prosecuted for donor fraud [30 Aug 2024]
The collusion between Big Tobacco and Fossil Fuel has been ongoing for years. Aided by Thinktanks and associated dirty money.
NACT1 heavily involved teeth, boots, and all….
$2.9 Billion Tax Cuts for Landlords and Baldrick 7 Pads Luxon.
I find it interesting that management cost is used as a reason for changing from a fuel tax at the pump to a RUC for all vehicles.
I would have thought that RUC would be a lot costlier to run, plus needing more fir enforcement.
Also can we trust the CoC to be fair and lower the price of petrol by the same amount they will raise with RUC? and not use the occasion to sneak a tax hike that the AA will probably pretend not to notice?
Probably not.
I heard the NZ Initiative representative on RNZ this morning explaining the reasoning. Low income people have older less efficient cars and so fuel tax was unfair. He failed to mention that the rich have oversized gas guzzling tanks and would benefit from a miles charge rather than fuel tax.
Its also been suggested that taxes can be used to change behavior to positive outcome, perhaps that doesn't apply when it may result in less profit for polluters
I heard it too.
Weakest defence I've heard in a long time.
And also why would someone from NZ Initiative (aka the Business Roundtable) give a monkey's about low income people?
Funny that. But unsurprising. Oliver, apart from being NZ Initiative is also a Mont Pelerin Society member. But nice that he thinks of those less fortunate..(I'm joking..of course : )
A significant amount of fuel tax is for ACC, by charging RUC you deny ACC of funding for activities that have considerable risk. Off road motor bikes,lawnmowers,chainsaws,motor boats,microlights,farm quad bikes. Whoops silly me thats the realm of the landed gentry.
And…yep !
It's not something that I have ever heard discussed in NZ and that is the role of the private health insurance and hospital sector. Approximately 40% of the population has some form of private health insurance supporting (I'm guessing) a very profitable private health system.
In this scenario what market constraints does a public health system come up against? Too much high quality public health care is not good for everyone in this mixed model. What financial benefits flow to the private health sector when the public system is gradually but persistently underfunded?
As always – follow the money. I'd love to know more about the finances of the private health sector but information is not easy to find.
Good points, and as you say, always follow the money. I've always found it somewhat strange that the majority of specialists split their time between public and private, so it's wait forever to see one publicly, or a bit sooner privately. Same doctor.
No doubt it's a way to top up one's salary, which we know is low by global standards. But so long as the (increasingly rare) specialists won't work full time in the public sector, waiting lists will continue to get even longer, and it's the uninsured and uninsurable who will disproportionally suffer.
There are many young people who would make perfectly good doctors who can't get into medical schools. To undermine the pernicious effect of private health insurance, we could train a lot more doctors, make it fees-free, bond them to work in the public system for a period of time and support their pathway into specialties. Pay public-sector specialists more and punitively tax the sorts of absurdly sky high incomes that are made as a private sector specialist. If the specialist Colleges object, they will have to be politely instructed to do as they're told. No matter how much we value them, they have no right to form wealth-extracting cartels.
This year the government broke their promise to fund 50 new doctor positions. They made it 25. They also broke their promise to fund mental health doctors. They made it 0.
Not to mention the outflow of trained doctors. One can tell National – ACT – NZ First have no interest in doing anything to sustain the public health system, and may be manouvering it to break it further.
i know a guy had an illness , surgeon recommended going private to get it done sooner , same surgeon did private surgery $15000 later it, it failed same surgeon had another go in the piblic system!!
The Government is considering a further attack on vulnerable people, this time by restricting funding for residential care.
It's positive that fines have considerably increased for non-disabled drivers parking in spaces for disabled people. This is an easy, no cost, good news story for the Government. However it does not detract from the Government's intention to cut social services funding wherever possible, to try to offset the massive debt caused by their unjustifiable tax cuts mainly for the benefit of landlords.
If residential care funding is halted, so too will be the options for adult disabled people to lead lives more independent from their families. Their parents/caregivers' chances to have respite after, in many/most cases, years of relentless concern and stress will be diminished, and the constant worry about their family members' future safety and security will continue.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/350395111/government-considering-freeze-residential-care-funding-policy-document-reveals#
"Ripu Bhatia
August 29, 2024
The Government is looking at a freeze on residential care funding, and being stricter on who is eligible to reduce costs, a leaked policy document reveals.
The document, which was leaked on Tuesday, states that in order to meet the Government’s financial objectives there is likely to be no net increase in costs for individuals and residential care services, and no net increase in the number of people in residential care.
“To stay within the indicative and fixed budgets, Needs Assessment and Service Co-ordination (NASC) and Enabling Good Lives (EGL) sites will need to apply eligibility criteria strictly for new entrants,” it states.
Residential care refers to long-term care given to people who are elderly or have disabilities who stay in a residential setting rather than their own home or a family home.
NASC and EGL sites provide support for people with disabilities and those who require residential care.
The hold on growth to residential care, according to the document, would extend to group homes and live alone arrangements, high and complex forensic care, rest home care, hospital level care and residential rehabilitation.
It said other expenditure lines that may be affected include facility-based respite.
Parents of Vision Impaired NZ spokeswoman Rebekah Graham said the document makes it clear that disabled people and their families will have their allocations cut.
“The restrictions are so severe there is significant risk of harm to disabled people and their families, particularly for ageing parents who are finding care work increasingly difficult,” she said.
“It is clear from this document that the Government is looking to severely curtail disabled people’s lives, reduce allocated supports.”…..
On the news that Auckland is to go to a fortnight not weekly household rubbish collection. Weirdly the council say this move is being made to reduce waste.
To borrow an old saying related to computers.
'Garbage in Garbage Out'
Trying to plug the garbage coming out, without stopping the garbage coming in will not solve the problem.
Not until local and central government start cracking down on the single use plastics and packaging industry, will less garbage come into the system.
*I added the block emphaisis to hi-light the fact that 77% of our single use plastic waste goes to landills.
The next sentence says that of the 13% of plastic that is recovered, 70% of that is shipped out of the country, for others to deal with. Malayasia and Taiwan are two countries mentioned where we ship our waste. Good news for Malayasia, bad news for us, Malayasia will no longer accept our rubbish.
Plugging up the outlet without turning off the tap will only see more illegal dumping.
Befor I get accused of trying to conflate packaging waste with general waste, (whatever that is)* the fact remains that the majority of all garbage is not reccycled. And the waste which is claimed to be 'recyclied' is shipped overseas, where who knows, (or cares), if it is recyclied or not. The mantra here is, 'outa sight, outa mind'.
I recently attended a flea market in Pukekohe where the council had a stall promoting recycling in which you could complete a form, of what to put in the recycling bin or not. It was astonishing to find out that many plastics don't go in the yellow (plastic) bins. But who looks for the little symbols, if they are there, but it doesn't really matter because the majority, 77% goes to landfill anyway, and the minority, claimed to be being recycled is shipped overseas, to be sorted, or not.
"(I couldn't find data on what makes up general waste)
Instead of Idiocracy style trying to plug the outlet, we need a complete rethink
Uhhuh. Used to be 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 and others…..but when China and other countries said no more (even though the majority of plastic non recycleable rubbish comes from China ?!)….it got massively cut back. Now just 1,2 and 5.
We should be targetting it incoming at the border…with a Tariff on those who import it… to deal with it. I think that would help a lot.
Ah I could say much more ( as I say I was very involved , incl at the Recycling Industrially), anyway..we do what we can.
Oh I like the Idiocracy ….great movie !
I have been very involved with "recycling" for many years. I use that style, as sadly, a large part of it is Greenwashing, if not outright lies ! By Companies, Government and Councils.
Good old Coke one of the worst polluters… just greenwash, deny and carry on.
Plastic soup indeed…
Planet..plastic
Greenpeace an organisation I respect…help our Planet.