Chris Trotter has written a brilliant piece about the challenges New Zealand faces as catastrophic climate rapidly approaches. He singles out the parliamentary Green Party and its leaders for failing to lead on this matter.
It is a challenge for us as well.
As Rachel a stewart writes, “Virtually everything we argue about and/or discuss relates to climate change/capitalism. Both are intertwined, unchecked and deadly. .”
We must keep the issue of catastrophic climate change front and foremost in all our discussions.
We must pressure for action today.
“Saving the planet and feeding all its people long ago ceased to be a practical proposition. The amount of cultivatable land will shrink – along with the quantity of water necessary to ensure adequate harvests. As the mean global temperature increase passes 2oC, millions of human-beings will begin to starve. What is the correct moral response to famine, disease and conflict on an unprecedented scale? When the boatloads of desperate climate-change refugees start appearing off New Zealand’s coast, what should a Green New Zealand government do?
This is a long way from green technological fixes and rehabilitating four-letter words.
So, too, is deciding what to do when the big container ships and the oil-tankers stop venturing this far south. When the sheer number of super-hurricanes renders voyages too far out into the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans uninsurable. How will a Green government keep the chronically-ill provided with their life-saving pharmaceuticals; and crucial machinery supplied with spare parts; when the flow of these vital imports ceases? How will it keep the lights on and the electric cars powered-up when the snow refuses to fall and the hydro lakes are empty?
Who in today’s Green caucus has the courage to tell New Zealanders that teaching young people the skills required to keep the post-industrial communities of the future functioning is now a matter of urgency. Because in 100 years’ time Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin will be only a fraction of their present size and most of the population will be living in the countryside – where the food is. Which of today’s Greens are working with Maori to preserve the indigenous medical and pharmacological knowledge built-up over the 600 years of non-European occupation of Aotearoa?
Who will dare to tell today’s captains of industry that in 50 years the Internet will be but a memory? That the genocidal global resource wars will kick off with the destruction of the undersea communication cables. That the revolutions, civil and religious wars that roll across the sweltering continents will leave the control hubs for satellite communication unmanned for a generation. That the rocket launching pads will become nesting places for such birds as still fly through Earth’s fetid air.
These are the challenges which Green parties should be preparing us for. The challenges arising out of the fundamental transformations anticipated and demanded in the latest IPCC report. Deluding voters into thinking that somehow the scientists will come up with a way of saving us all: a way which allows capitalism, consumerism and narcissistic individualism to continue unchecked and unmodified; is not something with which any responsible Green should be associated.”
Mike Joy, a courageous and independent scientist, has also warned of us of the need to act now or face catastrophic climate change.
“How many barrels of oil does it take to power the economy? Far from the punchline of a joke, the answer outlined by Dr Mike Joy, a senior researcher at Victoria University of Wellington’s Institute for Governance and Policy Studies, in a public lecture highlights some disturbing truths about our reliance on oil, the importance of energy to the economy, and how we might “transition to a de-carbonised world”.
Starting with the dire warning from more than 20,000 scientists worldwide that “if the world doesn’t act soon, there will be catastrophic biodiversity loss and untold amounts of human misery”, Joy went on to introduce the field of Biophysical Economics and one of its key concepts—Energy return on energy invested (EROI), or “how much energy do you have to put in to get that back?”.
The energy density of our alternatives is so much lower than fossil fuels, but if we want to keep under the 1.5oC threshold, we have to reduce our emissions by 6 percent per year from today,” said Joy.
“Basically we’re going to have to get used to having a whole lot less energy than what we had before, and that’s our only future. We have to figure out how we’re going to do that.”
has also warned of us of the need to act now or face catastrophic climate change.
But isn’t this the opposite of what Trotter is saying? Joy says there is still time to act while Trotter says it’s too late and we should give up and plan for the worst case scenario.
Yet so many governments aren’t ready to face it, let alone try. Capitalism’s all been ‘pay-later’ thinking — little children preferring a definite sweet now to possible sweets later. Feast rather than the long term. Not sure that’s wrong.
As we get to the sharp end of our feast and look out on our children and grandchildren, oblivious in their present comfort to the pre-agricultural deprivation awaiting them , we must do what we can to turn the freighter.
One of the issues with climate change is that it seems so insurmountable that it has become less of a priority against the daily capitalist grind of making money or survival.
Maybe it needs to be put into smaller segments by what each industry should or could be doing for example, insurance, what are they doing (apart from putting up premiums until they refuse to cover the risks), what is dairy farming doing, what are electrical companies doing, what are councils doing, what is transport doing (in Wellington changing to diesel buses for example, FAIL) etc etc
It has to be changed from two words into the practical legislation of prevention and now.
Trotter is a yawn. He has no idea what “Green” is. He can’t understand that greenies care about ecosystems and not just people. That they want to limit the damage to the environment generally and not just say “fuck it”. Watching him try and comment with relevance on the Green Party is akin to watching a chimpanzee studying an internal combustion engine.
He has an agenda here like always. He wishes to attack the Greens as best he can. If it is the survival of working people that is at stake, then why not attack Labour Party policy? He is a stale old school leftie with zero relevance.
Giving up meat is not preparing for the scenario that Trotter is speaking of. Many of the imported vegan protein sources that you eat would not be available. Are you learning what of these crops could be grown here and where, and how to grow them sustainably? Your ignorance of permaculture that you have shown so many times here would suggest not.
I also don’t believe that you gave up meat because of climate change. This is certainly something you like to hang it off along with animal welfare, but your rigidity on the subject shows that it is a personal thing. You have refused to even consider that animals may have a part in permaculture land systems. Grazing chickens in orchards is one example i have given. Mussel farms would be another animal based culture that could both improve the environment and provide good quality protein.
I’m not doing what Trotter suggests because i am a greenie. I am rather working to limit the damage to the environment by participating in a political party with the same aims.
I am though as part of generally being a greenie landscaping and developing my half acre urban property along permaculture principles and practice.
Trotter is a lot like you Ed because basically you are both full of shit.
Is there anything that Trotter actually wrote that you disagree with? If anything I’d rate his sentiments a tad on the alarmist end of the spectrum; but not unreasonable either. So exactly why do you think all this a ‘yawn’?
Or are you just offended because Trotter has strayed on the Green’s widdling patch?
I think i’ve explained above why i find him a yawn.
Going all doom and gloom would be an idiotic strategy for the Greens in the current context. The first step to progress is to get a general consensus to address the problem. Telling people that it is too late to address the problem will not help.
OK that makes more sense; I agree totally. Doom and gloom nihilism is literally a dead-end response. And Trotter is certainly not the only one to have flirted with it either.
But hell, faced with such an overwhelming prospect you can surely have some empathy for where it comes from.
Part of the yawn is that i don’t think Trotter is being genuine but rather taking an angle to attack the Greens. As i point to above, these criticism would be better addressed to Labour as Trotter shows only concern for people and not the environment too.
I’m not going to quibble how you interpret Trotter’s motives; you’re entitled to your reading of him.
Still he isn’t the enemy either, and not every ally is going to map 100% onto your own motives and values. But that doesn’t mean we cannot reach out and work with people where there is some common ground.
When done along sustainable principles yes. Mussels filter the water and remove nitrogen and phosphorus and so can help restore our estuaries and harbours.
Ed, I posted this the other day on TS in relation to Trotter’s latest attack on the Greens…..
Trotter hates the Greens and has never really tried to understand them. He wants rid of them.
He is an unreconstructed Old Lefty and writes very well, often brilliantly, about that sector of traditional left-wing union-dominated politics. Nothing wrong with any of that BTW-all power to the unions.
But why he attacks the Greens when Labour will probably never be able to form a government without the Greens I can’t fathom.
Meanwhile the Greens are polling 7% and doing fine.
They are particularly strong on transport-it will be good when Genter comes back from maternity leave.
Since I wrote the above the Greens have had another policy gain with the retention and refurbishment of 15 electric locos that should help to get freight out of trucks and on to rail. Not all Green policies are climate change related; many have major social gains.
Actual result was Greens 6.2% while NZ first 7.2% One was up on trend the other was down .
2014 election had Greens polling on say 12.2% while election result was 10.7% and similar in 2011.
7% is not doing fine , its saying they will get much the same as now, which is a ‘setback’
“For around 5,000 years we’ve had a problem as a species. We have lived in hierarchies for most of that time. A few people at the top have control over what the rest of us do.
“And, if we’re honest with ourselves, we know this has never really worked. Because if it had, why has there generally always been poor people at the bottom? Why has there commonly been some human lives that are worth more than others?
“We consider ourselves the most advanced life form on the planet; possibly the universe. Yet throughout our history, the majority of us have willingly accepted a minority telling us what to do. When has it benefited us? And why, in 2018, is society no more truly equal than it was thousands of years ago? Even with all our academic, scientific, and technological advances?
“Today, we may be led to believe that just because we own a car, rent a house, and buy the same shopping each week that we’re ‘more equal’ to Richard Branson than Egyptian slaves were to their Pharaoh. Looks can be deceptive. Because it’s all relative. Many of us may not be physical slaves – but only the Richard Bransons truly have freedom in 21st century society.”
“Original sin
“But moreover, why do we still put up with these damaging hierarchies?
“It’s called greed and power. The first is a human desire; forged over thousands of years by hierarchies. One that tells us having more stuff makes us better than our neighbour. The second is almost a drug, that corrupts many people who have it. Those at the top push both as being in reach of those at the bottom. Together, they’re what drive benefit cuts; make people homeless; allow fracking and destroy the NHS. But now, this greed and power from the ‘one percent’ has literally put every species and the planet at risk. And we continue to be complicit in it; consciously or not.
“This has to end.”
“To put it bluntly: we’re fucked. And the only way it will change is by all of us taking drastic action now. We can’t leave it to politicians and corporations to decide. Unless someone can name one point in history when leaving power in the hands of a few has been good for the many? As in every single lifeform on this planet? And when it actually lasted.”
Yes, I would agree with you.
Unless we get rid of capitalism, we are going to see a brutal transition to a simpler sustainable future or even our extinction as a species. It’s that stark.
Our actions have already caused mass rapid extinction that may prove irreversible.
This article came out in the Guardian yesterday.
“Humanity has wiped out 60% of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles since 1970, leading the world’s foremost experts to warn that the annihilation of wildlife is now an emergency that threatens civilisation.
The new estimate of the massacre of wildlife is made in a major report produced by WWF and involving 59 scientists from across the globe. It finds that the vast and growing consumption of food and resources by the global population is destroying the web of life, billions of years in the making, upon which human society ultimately depends for clean air, water and everything else.
“We are sleepwalking towards the edge of a cliff” said Mike Barrett, executive director of science and conservation at WWF. “If there was a 60% decline in the human population, that would be equivalent to emptying North America, South America, Africa, Europe, China and Oceania. That is the scale of what we have done.”
“This is far more than just being about losing the wonders of nature, desperately sad though that is,” he said. “This is actually now jeopardising the future of people. Nature is not a ‘nice to have’ – it is our life-support system.”
And there’s more sobering, shocking news about human impacts on the planet.
It all puts the corporate media’s discussions about royal visits, All Blacks’ selections and Jono and Ben’s axing in context. Utter trivia, complete distractions.
The media is a major obstacle to humankind acting immediately to avert the oncoming catastrophe.
Unless we approach the challenge and mobilise as if it were WW3, then we can forget passing a habitable world to our grandchildren.
“Scientists in Canada have warned that massive glaciers in the Yukon territory are shrinking even faster than would be expected from a warming climate – and bringing dramatic changes to the region.
After a string of recent reports chronicling the demise of the ice fields, researchers hope that greater awareness will help the public better understand the rapid pace of climate change.
The rate of warming in the north is double that of the average global temperature increase, concluded the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in its annual Arctic Report Card, which called the warming “unprecedented”.
“The region is one of the hotspots for warming, which is something we’ve come to realize over the last 15 years,” said David Hik of Simon Fraser University. “The magnitude of the changes is dramatic.”
“But moreover, why do we still put up with these damaging hierarchies?
It is a paradox. Hierarchy arises from value. The core reason why humans do anything at all is because when we move from one condition to another, we expect the outcome to be ‘better’. And we can only measure this using values; we constantly stack up and compare, we order from best to worst, we are hardwired to create hierarchies of value.
Translating value into action demands performance. And all humans have different competency and we all perform at different levels. For instance I’m an experienced programmer and understand some of the science; but compared to the towering figures at the centre of the computing revolution, Kurt Goedel, Alan Turing and John von Neuman I’m way, way down the hierarchy of value. And of all the computer people who ever worked in the field, only a tiny fraction will make a real, novel and valuable contribution. The rest of us are mere artisans of varying degrees of skill. Something the Pareto distribution (and it’s close cousin Prices Law) describes.
Every field of human endeavour is organised in hierarchies of value; whether we formalise them or not. They are how we know what is ‘better’ and which direction to move in. Hierarchy in inherent and inevitable; it cannot be eradicated without also demolishing entire value structures. If you ‘end’ all values, precisely what will you do today? What is worth doing anymore? Or is the phrase ‘drastic action’ a code for ‘an orgy of destruction because I’m angry and too ignorant to think of anything better’?
The modern world is massively complex; and it creaks and totters in many vital organs. But the person who wrote this article has no fucking clue how to actually fix it. It amounts to thinking you can usefully improve a precision machine with a sledgehammer … and pretending there will be no consequences when it breaks.
I feel you’ve rather missed the point of the article.
Whether we like it or not, the sledgehammer is poised to strike. We’re not going to even approach the beginning of fixing climate change by tinkering at its edges.
Hence the movement’s title – Extinction Rebellion.
The old ways got us into this mess! Well, let’s be anarchists – tear it all down and see what comes out of it all.
Well, let’s be anarchists – tear it all down and see what comes out of it all.
I promise you, an even bigger mess. The original problems would only get worse, and our capacity to deal with them would eliminated. Not a smart strategy at all.
Look I’m not unsympathetic to the sentiment; I get it. The outlook is bleak and scary and the temptation to advocate for ‘something dramatic’ is real. But also profoundly irresponsible.
I agree that hierarchies of skill and value are unavoidable. People after all are not equally talented, hardworking, etc.
But I don’t believe it’s inevitable, or right, that we jump from that fact into accepting extreme hierarchies of power and reward, which are quite different things.
Yes. Although hierarchy is necessary and unavoidable; it is also prone to being captured and becoming corrupt. Hierarchy endows power which can easily be mis-directed into protecting itself and tilting the rewards unjustly.
A healthy hierarchy provides stability and direction of purpose; while at the same time is open to scrutiny, review and re-invention when the environment changes. In very general terms the right is good at operating the system according to the agreed rules and procedures; the left is good at calling it out when it becomes corrupt and needs refreshing.
No it doesn’t else Donald Trump would be living in a caravan park.
And of all the computer people who ever worked in the field, only a tiny fraction will make a real, novel and valuable contribution.
Actually, it’s probably far more likely that they’re just not properly recognised for the work that they’ve done. I recall the story of the guy who invented industrial diamonds. He spent hundred of hours working for no reward and when he accomplished it the company gave him a $10 gift voucher while stating that the discovery was theirs.
Nope. Capitalism is essentially the economic expression of the Rennaisance idea of the sovereign individual. It links the idea of the right of every individual to equality before the law and equality of opportunity, to the right to private property. It embeds the notion of human right to dignity and security with the capacity to own their body, their labour and the fruits of it.
The notion of private property is a very old one; but when it met the evolution of the modern credit money systems and legally protected in English common law … the result was the broad system we call capitalism. As an economic tool is has been incredibly successful on its own terms; as a social and environmental tool it has deep shortcomings. Capitalism as we have it right now has problems, but it’s not the problem.
You advocate throwing the tool away and hoping something better will come along; I’m arguing that we study the existing tool closely, regard what it does well, understand it’s limitations and why they arise … and carefully engineer a better version.
This is why competent economists like Steven Keen never talk about ‘the end of capitalism’. Instead he devotes time, talent and energy to understanding the system (his Minsky Model is a masterpiece), and works to train the next generation of economic leaders in more sophisticated implementations of what we already have.
Capitalism is essentially the economic expression of the Rennaisance idea of the sovereign individual. It links the idea of the right of every individual to equality before the law and equality of opportunity, to the right to private property. It embeds the notion of human right to dignity and security with the capacity to own their body, their labour and the fruits of it.
No it doesn’t. It embeds the right of the rich to own everything and thus to live the life of kings on the labour of everyone else.
As an economic tool is has been incredibly successful on its own terms; as a social and environmental tool it has deep shortcomings.
Yes, it’s made a few people very rich at everyone else’s expense.
You advocate throwing the tool away and hoping something better will come along;
No I’m not. I’m advocating dropping private ownership of houses, businesses and land. Land and houses will be state owned, city managed. Businesses will be self-owned and run as cooperatives by the people who work in them. There will be no shareholders.
Money to be created by the government and spent into the economy via productive works, 0% interest loans to businesses and a UBI. It won’t be created by private banks whenever they make a loan.
In other words, the system would be very similar to what we have now but without the bludging of shareholders and other forms of unearned income that is detrimental to society.
I’m advocating dropping private ownership of houses, businesses and land. Land and houses will be state owned, city managed. Businesses will be self-owned and run as cooperatives by the people who work in them. There will be no shareholders.
In other words you are saying that your version of communism would be less catastrophic than all the ones tried already. I’m not sure whether to admire your optimistic naivety, or call out the dangerous hubris.
it’s made a few people very rich at everyone else’s expense.
You come back to this point so often I have to conclude Orwell was right; you don’t care so much about the poor as you simply hate the rich. It’s not a promising starting point.
In other words you are saying that your version of communism would be less catastrophic than all the ones tried already.
Communism hasn’t been tried. All we’ve had is other forms of hierarchy which failed as hierarchies always do.
you don’t care so much about the poor as you simply hate the rich.
The present system fails. It has always failed and always will. Eliminating the capitalists will, as a matter of fact, ensure that everyone will get the value that they produce rather than having it syphoned off to bludging shareholders and other rentiers.
The poor will actually be better off as they’ll no longer be paying taxes to the rich.
I first read Gulag Archipelago in my 20’s; it remains one of four or five deeply influential books I’ve ever read.
It’s a chilling and cautionary narrative of one of the most horrible episodes of the 20th century. When I was in Russia about 20 years back I made a point of travelling to the only gulag left in Perm, and just last year a work project took me to Kolyma, the area in Eastern Siberia where the most brutal gulags were located.
And I’ve driven on the “Highway of Bones”. Here are some pics of the region from a random linky:
Yet the there is a deep lesson in Solzhenysen’s work; the entire evil edifice only functioned because the mass of people stopped speaking truth. Everyone knew about it, no-one could speak the truth of it. Yes we are all capable of being utter arseholes, and reading this book permanently convinced me of my own capacity for evil.
Most of us mistake merely being harmless with actively choosing good. Most of us never find ourselves in a situation where we can indulge in being evil with no immediate chance of being caught and sanctioned. Most of the time we don’t do bad things because it’s the easiest thing to do. But faced with the gulags, or concentration camps, or orders to commit genocide … how many of us have the courage to actively choose to be good over evil?
This is what the Archepelago explores. I can barely listen to it now in more than 30 minute segments.
One of the points that Marx raises is the capitalists working people to death. And we still see it happening today. Pike River Mine, logging deaths and more. That’s in NZ. In other countries we see actual murder to keep the capitalists in power.
Do you seriously think, when climate catastrophe strikes, as strike it will, all the norms of society will not be thrown into confusion?
We cannot, simply cannot ‘profit’ our way out of what is coming. We need to already be thinking outside the box, and that will probably mean a complete rethink of the institutions of government.
We simply cannot envisage what shit may happen as a result of catastrophic climate change. But what I do believe is – we can’t solve any of the looming problems by ‘capitalistic’ tinkering.
But frankly any and all suggestions that we have to tear down the global economy in order to deal with this are fucking idiotic. Lets do that, lets stop everything, shut down the economies of the world tomorrow and stop every skerrick of activity that might possibly cause climate change.
Have you any idea how murderous this would be? The resulting chaos, social disruption, violence and famine would put at direct risk the lives of billions; immediately.
And any possible chance to address the problem without a mass die-off would be lost … deliberately. Maybe this is what you want; it’s hard to tell.
RL, I can’t see into the future any more than you can – but, if the entire tropical band north and south of the equator becomes too hot for human life, do you seriously think there won’t be chaos?
Millions, perhaps as many as a billion, of people will be forced to migrate to more equatable climatic areas – at the same time as the grain-lands of Europe and North America will be coming under climate stress. Already some governments in Europe are digging in their toes about accepting more migrants. And the exodus hasn’t even started yet.
Seriously, the decades from 2020 to 2040 could be a clusterfuck of disruption. Hundreds of millions of people will probably die and the institutions of government will struggle to cope with the catastrophe.
I sure as hell don’t know how we’re going to get through to the other side, but I repeat, I think we should be thinking outside the box already.
But perhaps I’m being too pessimistic? Perhaps capitalism will rise to the challenge, solve the climate change problem and make money at the same time!
Of course I understand everything you say above is a real possibility. I’m not neglecting or discounting that at all. But I do know that plunging the global economy into an immediate crisis is a certain route to an even worse outcome.
Every time we use climate change as the end to justify the means of ‘ending capitalism’ we achieve nothing except amplify and confirm the suspicions of most of the population. Most people are not communists or hard radical left. They don’t want a bar of it. Provoking them with useless talk makes an already monumentally difficult task harder.
There is no single silver bullet solution to this; it’s multi-dimensional and complex. No single person, or organisation, or nation on it’s own stands any chance of succeeding.
But 7 billion people can together do it. The trick is getting us together. Learn to be competent and persuasive; find something you can do, however small, and get good at it. Then people will come flocking to offer you bigger opportunities.
I don’t know the future either; but I do know there is only one strategy which optimises our chances of getting through this without too much devastation. Stop tilting at windmills, learn to use the already powerful tools around media, technology and money to make your case positively. The box of ideas and possible tech to get us through this mess is already huge, you don’t need to invent anything original or unique. Surround yourself with people who know what they are doing and ally yourself with them, even when at first brush you don’t agree with them.
The challenge could turn out even more monstrous than either of us imagine. But we’ve lost already unless we face it skillfully. I don’t intend to be mean here, but recycled neo-marxist tosh will not cut mustard.
I’m posting this for those involved in any manner with Canterbury re drought. Please pass this on. The methods as outlined here involve restoration of eroded outlets and installation of ‘dams’ that retain water to be infiltrated into the land. Plantings are also essential for the shade and infiltration aspects provided, including the build up of organic matter which increases a soils capacity for holding water, and decreasing evaporation.
Get cracking showing how it works on a model farm in the drought area. (You do have a decent hydrologist/ecologist/permie designer in your ranks??) Within a couple of years other farmers will be lined up to get their land rehydrated.
The drainage systems covering our country can be converted to retaining water (and draining excess) easily. Simple floodgate control at storm culverts will enable rehydration of the land.
It’s not a far stretch to show how with similar methods you can also turn riparian scrub into highly productive aquaculture/silviculture re: the late Charles Mitchell’s farm. I know his system, too.
Refill the aquifers, restore the landscape. Consultation available. Time wasters will be shredded by my Aspie ire.
Sounds like the opposite of where NZ is going and taking the water out of the aquifers and not being vigilant against ground water pollution, instead these farmers are tying to restore natural water systems, pre colonial times, against drought.
I watched this last night. It is a prime example of exactly the kind of competent and effective response we truly need to beat this bastard.
Quit the bickering and bitching; watch this and be impressed. Be inspired, and then look around at your own life, look for what is immediately in front of you and fix that first.
My partner has a wry joke that goes “If you’re going to learn cross-country skiing, start with a small country first”.
Then come back here, tell us your success story and help others.
Humankind spawned “this bastard” – the mystery is why we continue to nuture it in spite of known threats.
Maybe partly to do with the fact the many (some more than most) have done very well from ‘it’, at least in the short term.
“The current economic system being utilized and internalized relies on perpetual growth. It has long operated counter to the reality that we are confined to a finite planet with finite resources. Yet, this system continues to be practiced and promoted globally. As the environmental and social repercussions of disbelief in limits become increasingly clear, so does our need for a new economic system —one that is not wedded to growth. Neither growth in the number of consumers nor growth in the amount consumed.”
“So far the politicians and economists are so wedded to growth that they insist that economic growth is itself the main characteristic of sustainable development.” – a fine example of magical thinking; our leaders have so many constraints on their imaginations.
Yes I largely agree with this DK; but to most people the idea of de-growth is deeply unattractive. There are profound psychological reasons why; and it would make a great tangential discussion to explore them.
Look most people have a fair clue that the current setup is a bit fucked. And there are many, many people at least a little open to the idea of changing the way we organise our economies if we can present a competent, credible alternative plan.
No-one wants to go back to medieval living standards; they just won’t voluntarily go there. And there are tens of thousands of people out there right now working on ways to solve the problem. Not all of them will work, but some will. They need our help and encouragement. They need us to be good at this; they don’t need us sitting about renting sackcloth.
And don’t discount the possibility that an entire raft of new tech, some of it very close to coming online, like solid state lithium batteries, perovskite enhanced PV’s, a whole generation of graphene based materials and techniques, HVDC global grids and on to whole rafts of research I’ve never heard of … all have the potential to transform our resource intensity dramatically. We have to bet on this.
And I understand that at core, it is the human heart that will prove most stubborn to change. But at least it can and will change with zero carbon footprint 🙂
Has Jacinda Ardern spoken out about this yet? And if not, why not?
… The protests were launched to demand the right of return for millions of Palestinian refugees to their villages and towns in what is now Israel, and to call for an end to Israel’s blockade. They culminated on 14 May, on the day of the US embassy’s move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Nakba, when Palestinians commemorate the displacement and dispossession of hundreds of thousands in 1948-9 during the conflict following the creation of the state of Israel. On that day alone, Israeli forces killed 59 Palestinians, in a horrifying example of use of excessive force and live ammunition against protesters who did not pose an imminent threat to life.
The organizers of the “Great March of Return” have repeatedly stated that the protests are intended to be peaceful, and they have largely involved demonstrators protesting near the fence that separates the Gaza Strip from Israel. Despite this, the Israeli army reinforced its forces – deploying tanks, military vehicles and soldiers, including snipers, along the Gaza/Israel fence – and gave orders to shoot anyone within several hundred metres of the fence.
While some protesters have engaged in some forms of violence including by burning tyres, flying incendiary kites or throwing stones and Molotov cocktails in the direction of Israeli soldiers, social media videos, as well as eyewitness testimonies gathered by Amnesty International, Palestinian and Israeli human rights groups show that Israeli soldiers shot unarmed protesters, bystanders, journalists and medical staff approximately 150-400m from the fence, where they did not pose any threat. ….
Wierd scenes eh Morrissey in the wake of the shooting in the states of the jews in the synagog …maybe my hearings not the best …but i didnt hear a single news outlet explore the possibility thet the reason they got shot might have been something to do with the fact israel shoots palistinians with total impunity on a regular basis .Nope according to the worlds reporters its ANTI SEMITISM .
“As Facebook and Twitter are purging alternative media outlets, a neoconservative operative at a US government-funded think tank says more censorship is on its way. Max Blumenthal and Jeb Sprague discuss how scaremongering over Russia and China is being exploited to silence dissent on social media.”
This Russian fantasy nonsense, lazily recycling Hillary Clinton’s campaign crap, is just as rabid here. Two of the very worst are John Campbell and Bernard Hickey. And then there’s THIS ignoramus….
Very funny, Gabbieva. But seriously, now, listening to the likes of Campbell and Mulligan channel British and U.S. black propaganda is a hard listen, isn’t it.
The major problem with hydrogen is storing it effectively. The damn molecule is so small that most metals and materials are like tissue paper to it; it just migrates out of the vessel and is lost at a rate that is very hard to engineer around.
The good news is that graphene (apart from being a bloody wonder material in so many other respects) looks like it has some real potential to solve this key problem:
About time Phil woke up to save the electric rail system as he was previously “sidelined by false reports coming out of MBIE old “cherry picked” documents National had made up to show rail was not worth saving or ‘viable’ so twyford thought rail was dead. Thank christ he has come to his senses not a minute to soon.
Our letter to Minister of transport Phil twyford last week;
Protecting our environment & health.
In association with other Community Groups, NHTCF and all Government Agencies since 2001.
• Health and wellbeing.
• East Coast Transport Project.
TO;
Hon Phil Twyford – Minister of Transport.
Hon’ Jacinda Ardern PM.
Hon Winston Peters. Deputy PM.
Hon’ Shane Jones. Minister of Regional Development.
Hon’ Grant Robertson. Minister of Finance.
Hon’ Stuart Nash. MP For Napier Wairoa/ Matawai regions.
Hon’ Megan Woods. Minister of Energy.
URGENT PRESS RELEASE; – ACTION NEEDED HERE BY – Transport Minister Twyford.
26th October 2018.
Dear Ministers, Local civic authorities & rail stakeholders,
Here is an important study paper from October 11, 2018 by Cody Januszko, Carnegie Mellon University Department of Engineering and Public Policy Transporting freight by road accounts for around seven percent of the world’s total energy-related carbon dioxide emissions. Recognizing that heavy road freight is particularly hard to decarbonize, says the paper here.
But the report also claims roads are subsidised by us for truck freight so we need to level the playing field now in favour of “encouraging more rail freight services in all our exporting regions now and not delay the move back to rail freight any more.
QUOTE; “In the U.S., railroads own their own tracks, so they have to build their own infrastructure,” says Vaishnav, an assistant research professor in EPP. “Trucking uses public infrastructure, but does not bear the full cost of the damage heavy trucks do to roads and other infrastructure and indeed to the environment.”
Here attached above are the electronic copies of four of the studies on the benefits of rail we advocate, and Gisborne District Council has produced called “The socio-economic & environmental loss of rail for the Gisborne District” -2012 and we strongly endorse this study report.
We now want all Government agencies to have a copy so distribute anywhere as they need to be mentioned to Government and others as evidence for our cal to restore the Gisborne Napier- Wellington rail service again.
* 6-249607-Socio-economic_&_environmental_impacts_of_loss_of_rail_-on May_2012 (2) *BERL Report November/Dec 2012.
*”The value of rail in NZ produced 2016 by national and kept hidden and released by Labour Minister of transport Phil Twyford Feb 2018. (Plus press release promising regional rail.) (Twyford) then kiwi rail press cover of rail study.
*Bolland report produced for Ministry of Transport 2010 but kept hidden by National and never released. Shows rail saved NZ lots of money and without rail how much a year it costs us.
The electric wire catenary system is only ever going to be partial – it will never replace the need for a diesel fleet, because it is never going to stretch all the way from Whangarei to Bluff to Nightcaps to Whanganui – or indeed to Gisborne.
If Twyford gets a really good case from NZTA and Kiwirail to replace the entire fleet to a new carbon efficient system, that is good for the country. On all sorts of policy dimensions.
The rebuilt of the old electric trains only buys them a decade of future operation if they are lucky. That buys them a bit of time.
There is a good case to replace the entire rail engine system, rip out the electric system completely, and have a major national mode that needs neither electricity generation nor petroleum as its main energy base. Nothing like a good strong innovation case for a further massive step-change in rail.
The rebuilt of the old electric trains only buys them a decade of future operation if they are lucky.
The EF class is around 32 years old, but it can be considered mid-life with a decent electrical overhaul. The fantastic old DFB’s and DX’s date back to the 60’s and 70’s and mechanically are still trucking along fine.
Ah yes there is a tiny little bit of unreconstructed railfan in me 🙂
I am interested in any information on the use of regenerative braking on central north island electric locos gooogle seems not to be my friend today (ie i havent found the right question yet) any links anyone on this subject.
“The locomotives are supplied electricity from 25 kV AC overhead lines. These lines draw electricity from New Zealand’s national grid at four locations along the electrified section: Bunnythorpe, Tangiwai, Taumarunui, and Hamilton. The locomotives are fitted with regenerative braking as well as regular air brakes, so the traction motors can be turned into generators when the locomotive is coasting downhill and feed electricity back into the overhead lines and the national grid.”
“Key global locomotive manufacturers such as GE, EMD, and Vossloh have embraced the notion of the hybrid diesel locomotive while Siemens, Alstom, Bombardier, Mitsubishi, and Kawasaki have committed to the electrical systems approach with their offerings. All of these manufacturers have commercialized vehicles and systems which are now finding their way onto the global stage”.
thanks cleangreen, i had found the wikipedia claim that they “feed electricity back into the overhead lines and the national grid.” and so I have always believed, but so far I cannot find any confirmation of this claim or technical details which concerns me given that power is supplied as 25Kv 50hz. of course as they are being given an electrical upgrade in 2018 achieving this is very do-able but I would like to be confident that is is and will be done.
I can confirm that this happens at least in some locations. Reinjected power is at 55 kV. I wouldn’t say the quantity of electricity reinjected was huge, but no doubt every little helps.
My understanding the power generated during braking is dumped as heat by large resisters on the locos.
Thats apart from the brakes themselves for lower speeds.
Proposals for NEW electric locos said they could be equipped for regeneration.
and objectives,
a solution that will return maximum return to investors/shareholders may well be different to one that provides best cost benefit to users/public
so the question becomes who do they take their advice from.
Since rail is a publicly owned system the investment framework for it is through the NLTP. That’s where it gets reconciled however imperfectly. Next NLTP version will be smoother.
>It’s always the benefit horizons that bedevil rail investment compared to road.
Are you saying that rail doesn’t typically tend to stand up over a standard length CBA (20-30 yrs) but pays off over a longer term (Say 50 yrs), and that this holds in this particular case too?
Interesting that the NZTA was assuming top ‘principal position as transport advisor to Government on transport” but “NZTA is only a road controlling authority” (RTA).
Ministry of transport (MoT) is the “key principal advisor to Government” for all forms of transport” – not NZTA!!!!!!
So Labour/NZF need to amend this anomaly and fund equally Ministry of Transport (MoT) as they do NZTA in future.
About the Ministry of Transport
Last updated on: 14/08/2018
The Ministry of Transport is the government’s principal transport adviser. The majority of our work is in providing policy advice and support to Ministers.
Through our advice we aim to:
improve the overall performance of the transport system
improve the performance of transport Crown entities
achieve better value for money for the government from its investment in the transport system.
We help the government give effect to its policy by supporting the development of legislation, regulations and rules. We also manage and account for funds invested in transport.
The Ministry represents New Zealand’s interests internationally, particularly in aviation and maritime.
We work with Crown entities
We assist the government in its relationship with the transport Crown entities to ensure they are effectively governed, and are accountable for their performance and monitoring arrangements for transport sector Crown entities.
Visit the Transport Sector Functions page for more information
We work with local government authorities
Local government authorities own, maintain and develop New Zealand’s local road network and perform important regulatory functions. Regional councils (and unitary authorities) are required to develop regional land transport strategies that guide the decision-making of local councils. In the Auckland region, the Auckland Transport carries out these functions. Some local authorities own seaports and airports, or share ownership with the Crown.
> So Labour/NZF need to amend this anomaly and fund equally Ministry of Transport (MoT) as they do NZTA in future.
Sorry but you have no idea. NZTA needs billions of dollars per year to fund the country’s land transport network. MOT is just a few bureaucrats – bums on seats.
Significant increases in commercial truck loadings across the Saskatchewan road network have resulted in accelerated damage to the provincial highway system. This accelerated damage has decreased the expected performance life of many of these roads and also increased maintenance and rehabilitation requirements and costs.
Unquote;
Antoine; – It is because truck freight who are responsible wholly for totally wrecking our roads and causing the road maintenance to accelerate to such high levels now we need to change road freight companies the full cost of their damages now.
You need to learn the real truth here.
Here is an important study paper from October 11, 2018 by Cody Januszko, at the Carnegie Mellon University Department of Engineering and Public Policy Transporting freight by road accounts for around seven percent of the world’s total energy-related carbon dioxide emissions. Recognizing that heavy road freight is particularly hard to decarbonize, says the paper here.
But the report also claims roads are subsidised by us for truck freight so we need to level the playing field now in favour of “encouraging more rail freight services in all our exporting regions now and not delay the move back to rail freight any more.
QUOTE; “In the U.S., railroads own their own tracks, so they have to build their own infrastructure,” says Vaishnav, an assistant research professor in EPP. “Trucking uses public infrastructure, but does not bear the full cost of the damage heavy trucks do to roads and other infrastructure and indeed to the environment.”
Clearly NZTA must not be used to make rail studies up as they are principally geared to funding truck freight activities for private companies some which are foreign owned. Stop subsidising the trucks.
yes Hydrogen is a detour off the highway to reducing carbon.
The easiest/cheapest way to ‘make’ the hydrogen is from natural gas- they hide that fact with waffle as ‘only a backup method’ or CO2 sequestration – is if they would pay for that.
It wouldn’t hurt to be looking seriously at highspeed rail.
The energy equation is not much different to conventional, but the speed allows it to compete favourably with carbon heavy domestic air services.
TransTasman traffic could probably run on something similar to the Busan Shimonoseki ferries, again with substantial carbon savings.
These things might take years to scope out – better to begin that sooner than later.
Hydrogen is a bit like fusion – a wonderful tech with no working prototypes. If we were determined to embrace the new, maglev at least has working prototypes.
This is interesting. The UK has had enough of Facebook etc not paying taxes and has gone it alone with a digital services tax, albeit not very tough.
Interesting thing here is that it breaks all the normal tax rules because it is based on turnover not profit and the tax authorities will make other assumptions as to company structure rather than rely on what it is being told by Facebook etc.
Sorry I wasn’t thinking about GST which is actually a tax added to turnover not part of it. But you can see the point of the digital services post I hope?
I think the map we use has a lot to do with some euro western feelings of superiority – like they’re better than everyone else or they are the sum total of what’s gone before – you know, the white superiority stuff.
“As most of us know, the world map we grew up with isn’t exactly the most accurate vision of the world. Currently, the Mercator projection—which was created by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569—is the standard map projection. Though we’ve known for quite some time that this projection significantly distorts the size of landmasses, for nearly 450 years nothing better has become the standard.
More than just a cartography error, many critics have said that the Mercator projection is a visual representation of Eurocentricity and historic colonialism, as Africa and South America appear much smaller than they actually are.”
Who actually uses Mercator these days? My atlas doesn’t; nor does Google Maps (which is my main go-to for maps nowadays); nor, I would think, do most maps in NZ classrooms.
“Parker described it as a “momentous” day for New Zealand and world trade, and said the CPTPP had become even more vital now the World Trade Organisation was in such a parlous state.
The CPTPP represented 13 per cent of the worlds GDP, and its member countries had a combined annual gdp of just under $15 trillion New Zealand dollars.”
Yes. Through every single party’s votes in the New Zealand Parliament except the Greens. For the formation and passage of legislation, that is the very definition of democracy.
So yes, by an overwhelming democratic majority, it has that support.
“I still haven’t seen majority support for it from the people.”
Thats because a minority of a minority party – Greens- are opposed and cant sleep at night over the possibility of an investor sueing the government. They are sleepless I tell you.
only 27.4 per cent support TPP on the basis it would be good for New Zealand’s economic well-being, although that is up 4.5 points from September when just 22.9 per cent supported it.
Almost the same number, 25.8 per cent oppose it on the basis of the investor-state dispute settlement provisions, down 5.5 points from the same questions asked in September.
But 45.9 per cent formed no view on it, the same as September.
Thats means 73% have no view or support it . They are sleeping well at night.
Likely the revised investor -state dispute provisions – which mean local operating companies that have overseas owners have to go through local courts- means only a rump oppose it totally now.
Every time President Donald Trump mentions the $110 billion arms deal he negotiated with Saudi Arabia last year, he quickly follows up, saying “It’s 500,000 jobs.”
But if he means new U.S. defense jobs, an internal document seen by Reuters from Lockheed Martin forecasts fewer than 1,000 positions would be created by the defense contractor, which could potentially deliver around $28 billion of goods in the deal.
Lockheed instead predicts the deal could create nearly 10,000 new jobs in Saudi Arabia, while keeping up to 18,000 existing U.S. workers busy if the whole package comes together – an outcome experts say is unlikely.
A person familiar with Raytheon’s planning said if the Saudi order were executed it could help to sustain about 10,000 U.S. jobs, but the number of new jobs created would be a small percentage of that figure.
So, it’s really just another deal to boost the profits for the bludging shareholders of the military-industrial complex.
Kathryn Ryan, who’s incapable of recognizing bullshit
when it’s rubbed in her face, needs to talk to more children. Nine to Noon, RNZ National, Wednesday 31 October 2018, 11:32 a.m.
During a discussion with Young Adult fiction author Melanie Rodriga, the host affected her most serious voice and intoned….
KATHRYN RYAN:[talking very slowly, enunciating her words very carefully to show how serious she is] Children’s BS detectors are so acute, aren’t they. More so than adults….
Melanie Rodriga, who seemed to be a bright person, was too polite to acknowledge the clanging, jangling irony of that statement.
So that first link – you cut and paste from here onto your blog and then post back here to direct people to your blog where a copy of the conversation from here is. Did enjoy seeing some old and long gone quality commenters there ta.
Thanks, Marty. That blog of mine I started many years ago, but only put two items on it and forgot about it until late last year. I’m paranoid about sites closing down and everything getting lost, as happened with the old Planet Rugby chat site, and the willful destruction of Google Groups. I have been trying to harvest everything I’ve done online since 2003.
Often I’ll link straight to The Standard or wherever I first posted, but since so much of my stuff is now on the blog, it’s often more convenient.
The poor wee devotees of liberalism will struggle with this one. It shows up just how far down the rabbit hole the fubar ideology has gone. Plus funny as.
+1 Adam – some of the best videos there are on foreign policy. Probably explains why our defence force now is expected to defend foreign and domestic corporations rather defend NZ people and sovereignty. Thanks neoliberalism.
meanwhile Pence turns up in Pittsburgh with a ‘fake rabbi’ to offer prayers – In the name of Jesus – I kid you not!
“As he began his prayer, it became immediately clear that the rabbi, Loren Jacobs of Congregation Shema Yisrael in suburban Detroit, would not be considered a Jew by any of the four major denominations of Judaism. In his prayer, he mentioned the “saving power” of the Lord and concluded, “In the name of Jesus, amen.”
Clintons are all now confirmed as stool pigeons for the Global elite of course. They are still funded by George Soros the convicted criminal and attend “the Bilderberg Group” secret meetings.
Kia ora The Am Show Its good that thousands of new houses built are on the market in Auckland .
Is it a coincidence that there was a housing crisis in America Britain Canada NZ Banks love houses a safe bet they can most time’s claw there money back if thing go wrong Banks caused it with there lending policy’s I see one made a cool 2 billion .
Becoming a Republic do we need more political fighting for the head of states job do we want to have politics like they have in America at the minute I think not.
Maori and Pacific people won’t go for that we have other reason to if it aint broke don’t fix it one will end up with a big mess.
There you go all shonkys m8 are making billions banks retailers a lot of business profits at least % 30 higher after 9 years of national then bill decided to kick our youth.
Ka kite ano
I believe there is a God and Heaven we are living in Heaven now its just people don’t treat Te Papatuanuku / Mother Earth like a Heavenly thing and respect her and her creatures .
Men are chasing money and destroying our planet in 3 small life times we will only have % 10 of the wild creatures left this is why Eco Maori pushes for more wahine to become world leaders as MAN IS TURNING OUR HEAVEN INTO HELL we need wahine to kick there ASSES out and back to reality.
If one keeps shitting in one own back yard you end up in the SHIT not much logic needed to work that out.
The Maori view is that we are related to all the creatures and what do you know hundreds of years later scientist prove that thought to be fact the matrix genealogy .
The Maori view on our connection with Papatuanuku and her creatures is a common view of most indigenous cultures around Papatuanuku .
The neo liberals capitalist are running this heaven into hell all for there greed of prophet over everything else in the world change COMPANY Constitutional needed to have clauses in them to put our earth and decedents well being before profit .
Its a crying shame what man is doing to the world at the minute.
Humanity has wiped out 60% of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles since 1970, leading the world’s foremost experts to warn that the annihilation of wildlife is now an emergency that threatens civilisation.
The new estimate of the massacre of wildlife is made in a major report produced by WWF and involving 59 scientists from across the globe. It finds that the vast and growing consumption of food and resources by the global population is destroying the web of life, billions of years in the making, upon which human society ultimately depends for clean air, water and everything else. Ana to kai ka kite ano link below
Some music for my other post its cool that some are getting the big picture we need all the common people to stand up and fight with there votes if we all vote the pollies will BUCKLE and start making laws that benefit all creatures.
Man does not own the Earth we are just caretakers for the next generations wake up
History shows that, when presented with unpalatable evidence of the undesirable effects of our decisions, we either bury our collective heads in the sand, or order the problems we face in terms of their tractability. Where they are judged to be intractable, as in this instance, they are relegated for later attention. We cannot continue to delude ourselves that the transition to near-zero fossil fuel use is possible without global mandation.
The overriding message located between the lines of the IPCC report is that we must lead our lives within the planet’s means. In all conscience, we are currently locked into a process that will inevitably result in passing on a dying planet to our children and their successors. Should this not be at the absolute top of the international debating agenda? Ka kite ano
The go oil party are big cheats taking minority people right to Democracy right to vote with corrupt laws. The federally-recognized Spirit Lake Tribe filed a complaint Tuesday against North Dakota Secretary of State Alvin Jaeger that reads: “Jaeger’s implementation of the residential address requirement has imposed severe—sometimes insurmountable—burdens on the right to vote for many voters on reservations.”
Every time the secretary of state’s Alvin Jaeger is asked a question that indicates deceit on his and his office behalf he showed Eco Maori he was lying the eyes are A direct view into ones true intentions the mouth can lie but the eyes reveal those LIES .
Kia kaha wahine and fight for the right of our childrens future. link is below ka kite ano
Just five countries hold 70% of the world’s remaining untouched wilderness areas and urgent international action is needed to protect them, according to new research.The UQ and WCS study, published in the journal Nature, identifies Australia, the US, Brazil, Russia and Canada as the five countries that hold the vast majority of the world’s remaining wilderness. Link is below Ka kite ano.
Kia ora Newshub The banks have been shutting down banks in rural places leaving people with banking services .I see shonky have his bull line in the herald to he made the problem and is throwing up a smokescreen he should go play golf with trump.
There you go those Saudi sisters have lost there lives it doesn’t look good for the Saudis they will never become a major place for all people to visit if they carry on treating wahine and the lower class people like dirt .
That’s cool the goverment has a new housing development plan’s for Porirua . I say the Law commission or whom ever is advocating law changes should worry more about the common poor person not getting a fair go from New Zealand laws 6 times the system has underarm bowled Eco Maori cheated me
Carbon based fuel is going to be a thing of the past the faster the better the fuel company’s should invest in green energy that’s the future or else you are pushing up hill.
No comment on the police pay I seen two following me at the supermarket with uniform I gave them a ki ora they could not even look at me I blasted the Rock radio music and drove off respectfully on Tuesday.
Ka kite ano
Ki ora James & Storm from The Crowd Goes Wild
The coach has confidences in his players who are playing Japan test team the Japan team have there Kiwi connection coaching staff .
That was a good game of T20 cricket for the Kiwis and Pakistan.
Hope the white ferns have a good run at there T20 cricket matches kia kaha ladys.
The wife loves her horrors not me comedy science and doco’s .
Josh rafting with the Aussies nice tat one should know that if they are encouraging you to sit some ware its a set up.
Money makes the soccer ball go around Qutar wining the football world cup.
Ka kite ano .
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The ownership of newspapers and televison channels is in turmoil, and they want to redisorganise public broadcasting. *Three years ago, I expressed concern in a column about the future of the (traditional) media. Nothing has happened since to reduce the concern. It was based on an earlier column which ...
Australia's High Court has ruled that the "palace letters" between the queen and then-Governor-General John Kerr are public records rather than private papers: Historian Jenny Hocking has won her High Court bid to access the letters exchanged between then governor-general Sir John Kerr and the Queen around the time of ...
SATURDAY MAY 30Six60: Live at Western Springs 2020 (TVNZ 1, 8.45pm). Remember live concerts? The day will come again, friends, when we will be able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in an uncomfortable sweaty venue with people we don’t know. It will happen. Sometimes the sound of concerts drifts over to the ...
New Zealand and its prime minister Jacinda Ardern have received international attention and praise, rightly so, for decisive leadership, clear communication and scientific management of the coronavirus pandemic. Observers point out that the nation has been through multiple crises under Ardern’s leadership – such as the Christchurch terrorist attack and ...
…a lot of things unrelated to the pandemic were happening. Relatively little attention was given to some major events on the global stage, so I thought I would do a quick recap of some of the high (or low) -lights, starting with something familiar. The common theme throughout is human ...
Labour's talk of gutting the RMA to push through "shovel ready" projects to boost employment after the pandemic predictably has every half-arsed pipe-dream crawling out of the woodwork demanding special treatment. Today, it's the West Coast inbreds, who are demanding a host of laws be rescinded so they can dig ...
"I can't breathe, Mama. I'm dying." - Last words of George Floyd.LOOK HARD at this image. Think about what it depicts. Ask yourself how one human-being could behave so brutally when so many eye-witnesses – and very soon millions of people online around the world – were there to watch ...
Since the government announced its pandemic wage subsidy, there have been regular stories about companies taking it and then sacking or refusing to pay their workers - essentially committing fraud. But how often does this happen? The Minister just doesn't want to know: Government ministers are not receiving up to ...
"You call that a conservative?Nah, this is a conservative!" New Zealanders are in the market for a quiet and reassuring small-c conservative political centrist. The critical question, however, is which politician is currently playing that role? Who has mastered the art of relaxed, informal and intimate political communication? Who ...
I’VE OFTEN WONDERED if South African immigrants passing through towns like Kerikeri and Kaikohe ever wonder how we do it. In their homeland, through the bitter years of Apartheid, keeping the races segregated required pass laws, Alsatian dogs, tear gas, rubber bullets and, all-too-often, live rounds. Not here. Not in ...
Below is the list of gender-critical material which appeared on Redline from July 31, 2019 to September 30, 2019. Sports categories must be by sex, not gender identity Queer theory glossary Woke misogyny and homophobia: a gay critique of trans ideology Another unfortunate experiment? New Zealand’s transgender health policy and ...
Smart Energy Europe: A Plan to provide 100% of ALL ENERGY using Renewable Energy to EuropeIntroductionAll Energy renewable energy systems are often commented on here at Skeptical Science. Many comments suggest that it will be difficult, expensive or impossible to use renewable energy to power the world. To ...
The government released its Action for Healthy Waterways package today, ostensibly with the goal of cleaning up our rivers and making them swimmable within a generation. Doing that, of course, requires confronting the cow in the room: the dairy industry which causes most of the pollution. But while they've imposed ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzI would like to know if New Zealand’s carbon emissions ...
Simon Lamb, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington and Timothy Stern, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonBack in the 1970s, scientists came up with a revolutionary idea about how Earth’s deep interior works. They proposed it is slowly churning like a lava lamp, with buoyant ...
Remember KiwiBuild? Previously the government's flagship policy, it was supposed to build thousands of new homes every year for kiwi families. But instead of flooding the market, we've got a pathetic dribble: The Government's former flagship housing policy is so far behind schedule it will take more than 400 years ...
Don Franks Now Covid-19 restrictions allow gatherings of a hundred, an urgent hui needs calling. A special conference of the Council of Trade Unions. Today, workers face the greatest attack on employment, pay and conditions since the depression, we need a strong united union voice. As it stands now, organised ...
George Henderson New Zealand schools have introduced a climate change resource that suggests children “eat less meat and dairy”, even though teachers will not know how much meat or dairy any child in their care has eaten. Opinion pieces in the papers have called for the reduction of meat and ...
Questioning the number of district health boards in New Zealand has got to the extent that “too many DHBs” has become a perceived truth requiring no further elaboration. It is rarely challenged by policy advisers, academics, and journalists. But when one drills down further it becomes clear that the number ...
The emergence of a new National party leader, seemingly out of nowhere, has – not surprisingly – raised a number of questions as to who Todd Mulller actually is and what makes him tick. He has been an MP for some time but seems to have hidden his light under ...
Costa Rica has become the first country in Central America to recognise same-sex marriage: The first same-sex weddings have taken place in Costa Rica, the first Central American country to equalise its marriage legislation. A lesbian couple became the first to tie the knot in a ceremony that took ...
There's a new twist in the Winston Peters secret donation story. It appears that a significant chunk of NZ First's secret laundered donations goes straight into the pockets of the people administering the scheme: Tens of thousands in donor's funds given to the New Zealand First Foundation were spent paying ...
Is Todd Muller the Ned Flanders of the National Party? This is how he’s been characterised by political commentator Gordon Campbell, who suggests the change in leadership is, in Simpsons terms, akin to swapping the scary and cruel Monty Burns for Homer Simpson’s compassionate but conservative neighbour. There’s almost a ...
We all know that many so-called journalists and political commentators in New Zealand work directly or indirectly for political parties or for certain political factions. This was obviously the case when pundit for hire Matthew Hooton launched a campaign against then National Party leader, Simon Bridges, over their numerous polling ...
Let's Roll! The easy victory over a Bridges-led National Party which the Left had every cause to anticipate just a few days ago is no longer in the offing. Our enemy’s position has changed. His numbers are swelling. A rapid thrust to the left, followed by an audacious outflanking manoeuvre ...
New National Party leader Todd Muller has been interviewed about his policies, and has promised to restart offshore fossil fuel exploration if elected: The Bay of Plenty MP rolled former leader Simon Bridges last week, but says the party has not changed its stance on previous promises. "That is ...
Anyone who keeps an eye on evidence around cannabis and public health will be familiar with the Christchurch Health and Development Study. It's one of two local longitudinal studies frequently cited with respect to cannabis and youth development. But in a new article in the New Zealand Medical Journal, it is ...
In the age of covid we are Jacinda’s team of five million, except for some. There has rarely been a more blatant case of discrimination against beneficiaries than Grant Robertson’s announcement yesterday that people who have lost their jobs because of the coronavirus will receive weekly payments of $490 per week for 12 weeks and $250 per week for part time ...
It was 75 years ago this month that Germany surrendered and the Allies celebrated VE (Victory in Europe) Day. Millions of people around the world had been killed and many more injured or captured. It was an end to war not just for Europeans, but their allies too, in countries across Africa. But its impact is ...
Well, we are out of lockdown, essentially. I did end up getting the wage subsidy while we were on levels 3 and 4 but I would have been fine if we didn’t. The first day of level 2, the Thursday, the office opened again for the people who weren’t able ...
Hon Shane Jones, NZ First List MP based in Northland New Zealand First MP Hon Shane Jones has today announced his candidacy for the electorate of Northland. Speaking at a New Zealand First meeting in Kerikeri, Northland, Mr Jones said it was a privilege to be selected by the Party ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters today announced two diplomatic appointments: New Zealand’s High Commissioner to India and Consul-General to Hong Kong. “As New Zealand recovers from COVID-19, our diplomatic and trade networks are more important than ever. That is ...
We started the week by announcing free apprenticeships to support Kiwis into work and to help get New Zealand moving again - and we ended the week by extending the wage subsidy to 40,000 more businesses, helping to protect businesses and workers alike. ...
We’re confident in the ability of Kiwi businesses to succeed in the face of COVID-19, and our Government is committed to doing our bit to enable that success. Kiwi businesses have always been innovative and resilient, and the COVID-19 pandemic has proven this yet again. Many businesses are finding new, creative ...
New Zealand First is pleased to release the names of its first tranche of candidates for the 2020 election. The includes all sitting New Zealand First Members of Parliament except Clayton Mitchell MP who earlier today announced he will not be seeking re-election. In alphabetical order they are: MP ...
Clayton Mitchell MP, New Zealand First List MP based in Tauranga New Zealand First MP Clayton Mitchell has decided not to seek re-election in this year’s General Election. “After serious consideration and discussion with my family, I have decided to pursue other passions in my life and spend a lot ...
Defence Minister Ron Mark has announced that new Lockheed Martin Super Hercules aircraft would replace the outdated and costly 1960s Hercules fleet. The $1.521b project will include a flight simulator for staff training and other supporting infrastructure. "This fleet will ensure the Defence Force can continue to support New Zealand's ...
The Green Party is urging the New Zealand Police to rule out the use of Armed Response Teams, following their recent trial in communities around Aotearoa. ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has described Labour's original COVID-19 commercial rent dispute proposal as "poorly targeted". Justice Minister Andrew Little hasannounced a temporary law changeto force commercial landlords and renters to consider COVID-19 in disputes over rent issues, almost two months after the Government first floated the idea. But ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First acknowledges that some small businesses have been struggling to meet fixed costs due to the loss of revenue by COVID-19. We also know some businesses are at greater risk of insolvency when they cannot come to a reasonable ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First is disappointed that the removal of the spousal deductions has had to be delayed by the Ministry fo Social Development, due to COVID19 workload pressures. “New Zealand First has always stood for fairness when it comes to superannuation ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First On the steps of Parliament today the Leader of New Zealand First, Rt Hon Winston Peters received a petition from registered nurse Anna Maria Coervers, requesting an amendment to the Protection for First Responders Bill which will ensure the legislation also include registered ...
It's been a busy seven days as we start to rebuild New Zealand together. From delivering extra support for small businesses, to investing in our artists and arts organisations, to cutting red tape on home DIY projects, we're rolling out our plan to get the economy and New Zealand moving ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says alert level 2 restrictions have to be discussed during today's Cabinet meeting. Thousands gathered across the country, including at Parliament, yesterday forBlack Lives Matter marcheswhere social distancing and mass gathering rules were flouted. Mr Peters said the breaching of Alert Level 2 rules at ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of State Owned Enterprises KiwiRail’s Northland rail upgrade steps up another gear today and will help Northland recover from the impacts of COVID-19, State Owned Enterprises Minister Winston Peters says. The Government is investing $204.5 million through the Provincial Growth Fund to ...
“Today and every day we stand in solidarity with George Floyd’s family, friends and community who feel pain and fear about his untimely death at the hands of Minneapolis police”, said Green Party Co-leader and Māori Development spokesperson Marama Davidson. ...
Fletcher Tabuteau, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Hon Eugenie Sage, Minister of Conservation The West Coast forests of Mount Te Kinga at Kotuku Whakaoho/Lake Brunner are the latest predator free project to receive Government funding, announced Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage and Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher ...
The Green Party says major freshwater reforms announced today provide the strongest ever protections of our waterways, to help ensure the next generation can swim in the rivers of Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party has begun the process for a Select Committee inquiry into student accommodation, which has been exposed during COVID-19 as an under-regulated sector that straddles students with unfair debt. ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hon Megan Woods, Minister of Research, Science and Innovation Hon Dr David Clark, Minister of Health Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters, Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods, and Health Minister David Clark today announced a COVID-19 vaccine strategy, ...
Budget 2020 is about rebuilding together, supporting jobs, getting business moving and the books back into the black. It’s an integral part of our COVID-19 economic response, and our plan to grow our economy and get New Zealand moving again.Here’s a quick look at the five top things you ...
The Green Party is pleased to reveal its candidate list for the upcoming election. With a mix of familiar faces and fresh new talent, this exceptional group of candidates are ready to lead the Greens back into Government. ...
The Coalition Government has approved $206 million in essential upgrades at Ōhakea Air Base. Defence Minister Ron Mark said the money would be spent on improving old infrastructure. He said safety issues would be addressed, as well as upgrades to taxiways, accommodation and fresh, storm and waste water systems. "This ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First “I am not persisting with this case just for myself, but for all people who have had their privacy breached. Privacy of information is a cornerstone of our country’s democracy. Without it our society truly faces a bleak future. We now ...
Hon Ron Mark, Minister for VeteransMinister for Veterans Ron Mark has announced the launch of a national conversation that aims to find out whether New Zealanders think there should be a formal agreement between service people, the Government, and the people of New Zealand.“This year marks the 75th anniversary ...
Hon Tracey Martin, Minister for ChildrenA major increase in funding and availability of support will improve the incomes and reduce the pressure on 14,000 caregivers looking after more than 22,000 children.Children’s Minister Tracey Martin says that caregivers – all those looking after someone else’s children both in and ...
This summer presents a great opportunity for New Zealanders to get out into nature with bookings on Great Walks for 2020/21 set to open next week, says Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage. Bookings for the Great Walks will open between 9 and 11 June, excluding Milford and Routeburn tracks which ...
Extra 40,000 businesses to be eligible for wage subsidy extension Small business cashflow support application period extended The Government is today announcing further support for businesses that continue to be affected by the global COVID-19 pandemic, as the broader economy becomes one of the most open in the world following ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed five Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 Super Hercules transport aircraft will be purchased to replace the existing fleet, Defence Minister Ron Mark announced today. “Last year, Cabinet selected these aircraft as the preferred option to replace the current Hercules fleet. Procurement of the Super Hercules has been ...
The Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage is celebrating World Environment Day with an announcement of a major step towards Wairarapa Moana being recognised as an internationally significant wetland. “Wairarapa Moana is an ecosystem of 10,000 hectares of wetland and open water that provides a home for indigenous fish, birds and ...
New public housing that will save tenants money in energy bills, and provide warmer, healthier and more comfortable homes, is setting the standard for the Government’s future public housing programme, Housing Minister Megan Woods said. Dr Woods opened the new Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities complex, which has a ...
A new-look Police graduation ceremony to take account of COVID19 health rules has marked the completion of training for 57 new constables. Police Minister Stuart Nash attended this afternoon's ceremony, where officers of Recruit Wing 337 were formally sworn in at the Royal New Zealand Police College without the normal support of ...
Mobile traders and truck shops must adhere to responsible lending requirements Interest rate cap on high-cost loans Lenders prohibited from offering further credit to an applicant who has taken two high-cost loans in the past 90 days The Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Kris Faafoi, has signalled an end ...
94% of firms say wage subsidy had positive impact on cashflow 62% of firms say support helped to manage non-wage costs like rent A survey of business that have received the Government’s wage subsidy show it has played a significant role in saving jobs, and freed up cash flow to ...
New legislation introduced to Parliament today will support growth and assist businesses on the road to economic recovery, said Revenue Minister Stuart Nash. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2020-21, Feasibility Expenditure, and Remedial Matters) Bill proposes that businesses can get tax deductions for ‘feasibility expenditure’ on new investments,” said Mr ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Grant Robertson has welcomed the first release of funds from the $265 million Sport Recovery Package announced as part of Budget 2020. Sport NZ has announced that $4.6 million in funding will go to the Wellington Phoenix, NZ Warriors, Super Rugby teams and the ANZ Premiership ...
An iconic New Zealand tourism attraction and the country’s 31 Regional Tourism Organisations are the first recipients of support from the $400 million Tourism Sector Recovery Plan, to help position the sector for recovery from COVID-19, Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis announced today. The plan includes a Strategic Tourism Assets Protection ...
The Government will legislate to ensure businesses that suffered as a result of the COVID-19 response will get help to resolve disputes over commercial rent issues, Justice Minister Andrew Little announced today. A temporary amendment to the Property Law Act will insert a clause in commercial leases requiring a fair ...
The Minister for Small Business says new data from Xero highlights the urgency of prompt payment practices to small and medium enterprises as we move into economic recovery. Last month Government ministers wrote to significant private enterprises and the banking industry to request they join efforts by government agencies to ...
Young people in Waikato will be the first to have free access to period products in schools in another step to support children and young people in poverty,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. During term 3, the Ministry of Education will begin providing free period products to schools following the ...
The Minister of Police Stuart Nash has issued the following statement in response to charges filed against three Police officers this morning in the New Plymouth District Court. “Any incident involving a loss of life in Police custody is taken very seriously. The charges today reflect the gravity of the ...
$196 million for Crown Research Institutes $150 million for R&D loan scheme $33 million for Māori research and development opportunities $12 million for the Nationally Significant Collections and Databases $10 million to help maintain in-house capability at Callaghan Innovation New Zealand’s entrepreneurs, innovators and crown researchers will benefit from a ...
Further temporary changes to NCEA and University Entrance (UE) will support senior secondary school students whose teaching and learning have been disrupted by COVID-19. “The wellbeing of students and teachers is a priority. As we are all aware, COVID-19 has created massive disruption to the school system, and the Government ...
Minister for Racing Winston Peters today announced that the terms for the directors of the Racing Industry Transition Agency (RITA) have been extended to 30 June 2021. Due to the COVID-19 crisis the transition period has been extended to ensure that the Racing Industry Bill can complete its progress through ...
The deadline for landlords to include detailed information in their tenancy agreements about how their property meets the Healthy Homes Standards, so tenants can see the home they are renting is compliant, has been extended from 1 July 2020 to 1 December 2020. The Healthy Homes Standards became law on 1 July 2019. The Standards are ...
Justice Minister Andrew Little today announced details of further appointments to the Criminal Cases Review Commission. “I am pleased to announce Paula Rose QSO OStJ as Deputy Chief Commissioner for a term of five years commencing on 15 June 2020,” said Andrew Little. “I am also pleased to announce the ...
The Targeted Training and Apprenticeships Fund (TTAF) will pay costs of learners of all ages to undertake vocational education and training The fund will target support for areas of study and training that will give learners better employment prospects as New Zealand recovers from COVID-19 Apprentices working in all industries ...
The Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) will finally start to cut New Zealand’s greenhouse gas pollution as it was originally intended to, because of changes announced today by the Minister for Climate Change, James Shaw. The changes include a limit on the total emissions allowed within the ETS, rules to ensure ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio says the Queen’s Birthday 2020 Honours List provides an abundance of examples that Pacific people’s leadership capability is unquestionable in Aotearoa. “The work and the individuals we acknowledge this year highlights the kind of visionary examples and dedicated community leadership that we need ...
The Government is backing a new $27 million project aimed at boosting sustainable horticulture production and New Zealand’s COVID-19 recovery efforts, says Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. “Our horticulture sector has long been one of New Zealand’s export star performers, contributing around $6 billion a year to our economy. During and ...
Applications have opened for 2021 Ngā Karahipi Uru Rākau – Forestry Scholarships, which will support more Māori and women to pursue careers in forestry science, says Forestry Minister Shane Jones. “I’m delighted Te Uru Rākau is offering Ngā Karahipi Uru Rākau – Forestry Scholarships for the third year running. These ...
The Queen’s Birthday 2020 Honours List once again highlights the dedication by many to looking after our native plants and wildlife, including incredible work to restore the populations of critically endangered birds says Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage. Anne Richardson of Hororata has been made an Officer of the New ...
The Government will invest $10 million from the One Billion Trees Fund for large-scale planting to provide jobs in communities and improve the environment, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor and Forestry Minister Shane Jones have announced. New, more flexible funding criteria for applications will help up to 10 catchment groups plant ...
Organisations that support women are invited to apply to a new $1,000,000 fund as part of the Government’s COVID-19 response. “We know women, and organisations that support women, have been affected by COVID-19. This new money will ensure funding for groups that support women and women’s rights,” said Minister for ...
Healthier waterways are front and centre in a new project involving more than 300 King Country sheep, beef and dairy farmers. The Government is investing $844,000 in King Country River Care, a group that helps farmers to lift freshwater quality and farming practice, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced today. “Yesterday ...
A major funding package for libraries will allow them to play a far greater role in supporting their communities and people seeking jobs as part of the economic recovery from COVID-19. “Budget 2020 contains over $60 million of funding to protect library services and to protect jobs,” says Internal Affairs ...
A jobseekers programme for the creative sector and four new funds have been set up by the Government to help our arts and music industry recover from the blow of COVID-19. Thousands of jobs will be supported through today’s $175 million package in a crucial economic boost to support the ...
Minister for Veterans Ron Mark has welcomed the First Reading of a Bill that will make legislative changes to further improve the veterans’ support system. The Veterans’ Support Amendment Bill No 2, which will amend the Veterans’ Support Act 2014, passed First Reading today. The bill addresses a number of ...
Views sought on Order in Council to help fast track the reinstatement of the Christ Church Cathedral The Associate Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration, Hon Poto Williams, will be seeking public written comment, following Cabinet approving the drafting of an Order in Council aimed at fast-tracking the reinstatement of the ...
The law setting out New Zealanders’ basic civil and human rights is today one step towards being strengthened following the first reading of a Bill that requires Parliament to take action if a court says a statute undermines those rights. At present, a senior court can issue a ‘declaration of ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters today reiterated the deep concern of the New Zealand Government following confirmation by China’s National People’s Congress of national security legislation relating to Hong Kong. “New Zealand shares the international community’s significant and long-standing stake in Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability,” Mr Peters said. “New Zealand ...
Thousands of artists and creatives at hundreds of cultural and heritage organisations have been given much-needed support to recover from the impact of COVID-19, Prime Minister and Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Jacinda Ardern announced today. “The cultural sector was amongst the worst hit by the global pandemic,” Jacinda ...
Key New Zealand assets will be better protected from being sold to overseas owners in a way contrary to the national interest, with the passage of the Overseas Investment (Urgent Measures) Bill. The Bill, which passed its third reading in Parliament today, also cuts unnecessary red tape to help attract ...
Setting higher health standards at swimming spots Requiring urban waterways to be cleaned up and new protections for urban streams Putting controls on higher-risk farm practices such as winter grazing and feed lots Setting stricter controls on nitrogen pollution and new bottom lines on other measures of waterway health Ensuring ...
The Government is on the verge of reaching its target of state sector boards and committees made up of at least 50 percent women, says Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter and Minister for Ethnic Communities Jenny Salesa. For the first time, the Government stocktake measures the number of Māori, ...
ANALYSIS:By Denis Muller of theUniversity of Melbourne When a newspaper with the authority of The New York Times chooses to publish a party-political essay calculated to further inflame the violence wracking cities across America, serious questions arise. On June 3 the Times published in its opinion section an ...
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For official government advice, see here.The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is made possible thanks to donations from Spinoff Members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Noble, Education Policy Fellow, Mitchell Institute, Victoria University Three quarters of a million Australian children are likely to be experiencing employment stress in the family as a result of COVID-19. This is on top of around 615,000 children whose families were ...
Spice up the classic banana muffin with a subtle touch of star anise.These muffins came about one rainy Saturday when the cupboards were bare and there was nothing much left in the fruit bowl aside from some very sad-looking bananas. Fortunately we know sad bananas result in the best kind ...
For years, Work and Income has been telling New Zealanders they couldn’t get the benefit until their redundancy payments ran out. Turns out, it was wrong.What’s all this then?Work and Income has long told New Zealanders receiving redundancy payments that they weren’t eligible for the benefit until their redundancy money ...
New Zealand writer Anna Rankin reports from Los Angeles. Last Friday afternoon, I went downtown to a protest outside the enormous Los Angeles Police Department headquarters on 1st Street. The LAPD had set up cordons, placing orange cones across streets to block traffic. Arms crossed, they stood with a wide ...
Until the sudden closure of Bauer Media in April, Simon Farrell-Green was the editor of HOME, New Zealand’s oldest architecture magazine. Here he explains what comes next.Being the editor of a major architecture magazine was the best job I ever had. I got it in 2016, after a career spent ...
A global success story or an overly generous, unsustainable scheme that is doing lasting damage to our fish stocks? Ethan Neville looks at the ongoing debate over New Zealand’s fishing quota management system. The management of our fisheries is a touchy topic – and why wouldn’t it be? New Zealanders ...
By RNZ News Thousands of people were protesting across Australia today to oppose the deaths of Indigenous people in police custody. It comes as Black Lives Matter protests are held around the world after the death of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer in the US ...
Wrapping everyone in a blanket of love, whakapapa and mauri for Matariki is the brave, exuberant and generous fabric art of Maungarongo Te Kawa, writes Amanda Thompson.E te AtuaNau enei rau harakeke he taongaTukuna ki a matouKia tika o matou mahiKo Papatuanuku e takoto neiTuturu WhakamauaKia tina, tinaHui eTaiki e.‘Karakia ...
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For official government advice, see here.The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is made possible thanks to donations from Spinoff Members. ...
One press statement from the Beehive yesterday sounded more like advertising – or a barker’s pitch – than a Government announcement. Another advised of two diplomatic appointment, one of them – has the woman who landed the post done something wrong? – to protest-troubled and politically volatile Hong Kong. And ...
It’s not often that someone graduates from university one year and becomes a senior economist commentating on national media the next. George Driver investigates the meteoric rise of the high-flying Brad Olsen.Google “senior economist Brad Olsen” and you’ll find him quoted in no fewer than 167 articles in the past ...
As public sentiment turned against Uber Eats, a new local operation emerged promising a more ethical alternative to help New Zealand’s struggling hospitality industry. But now Eat Local NZ has suspended trading after falling out with its Australian partner Mr Yum. So what happened?A dispute between local hospitality platform Eat ...
By Budi Sutrisno in Jakarta As the death of George Floyd, an African-American man who died while being arrested in the United States, sparks a global outcry, Indonesian rights advocates and young people have stepped forward to remind fellow citizens that racism has long been an issue at home as ...
Edward Cullen became a vampire to survive the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. Now a new Twilight novel looms and Laura Surynt, a New Zealander living in the UK, wants to live forever too. As I lay in bed this morning watching Instagram stories, Tayi Tibble told my reluctant little Capricorn ...
Over the lockdown period, thousands of people joined a Facebook group dedicated to remembering the nightlife of inner-city Auckland. Its creator Simon Grigg explains why it touched a chord in lockdown.Within a few days of The Lost Nightlife of Inner-city Auckland Facebook page accidentally going live on May 12, we ...
Throughout Anglo colonial states there is a constant habit of defining people who aren’t white as a problem, writes Aaron Smale in this personal essay. It was a balmy summer evening in the capital and cops were standing over a young brown man. I was walking down Courtenay Place on ...
"The countdown clock ticks 2, then 1, then the prime minister raises her drink": dystopia, by Ōtautahi writer Laura Borrowdale. You stand in the centre of the room, and around you, the guests seem to swirl and blend into one. There’s a mouth, gaping and red, filled with laughter. A ...
Martin Luther King Jr said in 1963: “America has given the Black people a bad cheque, a cheque which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds’." Six generations of egregious police violence later, the sentiment out of which those bad cheques were born could be shifting. In the wake of egregious police violence, ...
WATCH: In a candid interview on Sky Sport, Dame Susan Devoy talks on her concern for rising sports stars, the state of NZ squash, and the spectre of racism. Dame Susan Devoy is proudly still “a little terrier who fights for the underdog”. “I have been doing it all my life and ...
Of the huge funding boost coming for early childhood education, Playcentre has been left with just the crumbs, writes Kate Barber. Amidst all the celebration of the $430m funding boost for early childhood education (ECE) announced in this year’s budget, little attention was paid to the plight of Playcentre. The ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vikrant Minhas, PhD candidate, University of Adelaide Although bacteria are single-celled and microscopically small, they still need energy to survive, just like us. One of the most efficient ways of acquiring energy for bacteria is through sweet, soluble carbohydrates: sugars. In fact, ...
PACIFIC PANDEMIC DIARY:By David Robie Three cartoonists had especially poignant takes on the tragic and toxic political aftermath of martyr George Floyd’s brutal killing under the knee of a white American policeman in Minneapolis last week. The Boston Globe’s Christopher Weyant featured a split frame contrasting a red-capped “Make ...
Are central bankers jealous that epidemiologists are the rock stars of the current crisis?There is talk that both the British and New Zealand central banks might institute negative interest rates as part of the policy response to the Covid shock. While Sweden’s central bank ended its five year experiment ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Monika Sarder, Senior Strategic Analyst, Monash University Algorithmic decision-making has enormous potential to do good. From identifying priority areas for first response after an earthquake hits, to identifying those at risk of COVID-19 within minutes, their application has proven hugely beneficial. But ...
LISTEN: This week's Extra Time podcast discusses racism in sport and the role of athletes and organisations in making a stand for good. Former Silver Fern and Black Fern Louisa Wall believes today's sports stars must have a social conscience and stand up against discrimination and divisiveness. Sport and politics, once ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Thomas, Associate professor, Flinders University We have seen ten days of protests in the United States over the death of George Floyd. While thousands of people have gathered to express their outrage peacefully, some demonstrations have been marred by vandalism and ...
40 percent of millennials have one, and an increasing number of GenXers and Baby Boomers do too. Two Cents' Worth delves into the world of side hustles. ...
Auckland writer Caroline Barron has a terrific book out today called Ripiro Beach: A Memoir of Life After Near Death. Here, she writes about the memoirs that have been a balm, a lesson, or both. Throughout my life, I’ve sought solace between the covers of books, particularly memoirs. There, I’ve learnt ...
An exclusive interview with Steve McSteverson about his traumatic and tragic ordeal this week.Many New Zealanders are struggling with the news that a children’s book not commissioned or authorised by Jacinda Ardern was advertised in a newsletter for children’s books. This horrific attack on New Zealanders whose ears are permanently ...
Air New Zealand staff are dismayed and angered at the company’s announcement to cut a further $150 million from their wage bill. On Friday, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Greg Foran, made the announcement to employees, who are still ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dr. Bodean Hedwards, Lecturer, Monash University This week the leaders of India and Australia reaffirmed their mutual interest in closer diplomatic and economic ties. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison during their long-delayed Thursday “virtual summit”: ...
The Herald reported this morning that MediaWorks was on the verge of selling its TV assets to US TV giant Discovery – but an internal email and senior source suggest the story may have been premature.A senior MediaWorks source has emphatically denied a report in the NZ Herald that a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gery Karantzas, Associate professor in Social Psychology / Relationship Science, Deakin University Life in lockdown has been tough on many relationships. But negotiating the transition back to “normal” as restrictions continue to lift could also be a challenge for couples. So what ...
A slight bounce in the economy is brightening the outlook as the country heads into the winter months, Radio NZ reports. Retail spending is up and NZ shares rose on Thursday for a third day running. Key indicators have led some economists to point to a faster recovery than expected. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Geoff Hanmer, Adjunct Professor of Architecture, University of Adelaide HomeBuilder is a good idea gone bad. It is possibly the most complex and least equitable program the government could have devised to deliver construction jobs. It gives $25,000 to people who already ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Keller, Professor of Cognitive Science, Western Sydney University The coronavirus pandemic has silenced the world’s concert halls and opera theatres. Organisations specialising in live performance face an existential crisis under current restrictions on social gatherings, with up to 75% of people ...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson, wearing his Sport and Recreation ministerial hat, can show he can be a big spender and draw voters’ attention to his largess each time he dispenses money from the funds under his control – or the control of an agency within his ministerial bailiwick. Yesterday he ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Pi-Shen Seet, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Edith Cowan University Scott Morrison wants to overhaul the skills workforce to ensure a better post-COVID-19 recovery. But there may not be enough people with the necessary skills to do so. And travel restrictions, which ...
As we transition out of a Covid-focused world and prepare for what comes next, New Zealand’s ICT industry is gearing towards growth.From app development helping track the Covid-19 virus to website engineering keeping businesses in touch and online, ICT knowledge has been crucial to keeping New Zealand working over the ...
Analysis: As New Zealand eases restrictions, it no longer has international precedent to look towards and must decide on its own how to reopen the economy while reducing the risk of a second wave of infections, Marc Daalder reports While most of the country eagerly awaits a likely move to ...
Ten days is too long. That from insurance claimant advocate, Ali Jones. EQC has today made contact with homeowners via email after accidentally releasing confidential details of 8000 insurance claims on May 26. Jones says although she has not received ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo (Penguin Classics, $24)Winner of the 2019 Booker Prize. The other day, ...
Simon Day discovers how the voluntary carbon market allows both individuals and companies to offset their emissions at the same time as investing in native forest regeneration.When Celia Wade-Brown sold her first batch of carbon credits earned from the native forest on her Wairarapa farm, she had two customers: Z ...
Simon Day discovers how the voluntary carbon market allows both individuals and companies to offset their emissions at the same time as investing in native forest regeneration.When Celia Wade-Brown sold her first batch of carbon credits earned from the native forest on her Wairarapa farm, she had two customers: Z ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin. The conversation around the 2020 covid19 pandemic has been widely framed as ‘health versus the economy’. It has been quite political, with people leaning to the left emphasising ‘health’, and people leaning to the right emphasising ‘the economy’. A couple of weeks ago ...
Sam Brooks pays tribute to Alex Rider, and the new TV series that (finally) captures the spirit of the books.“What if James Bond was a teenager?”The concept for Anthony Horowitz’s Alex Rider series is so simple but so brilliant. There’s a reason why the franchise has managed to sustain 12 ...
Analysis - The PM resists pressure to move immediately to level 1, Winston Peters' tactics play into the hands of the Opposition and the government at last works out a commercial rent solution, writes Peter Wilson. ...
Source: Council on Hemispheric Affairs – Analysis-Reportage By COHAFrom Washington DC Federal charges against the four protectors of the Venezuelan Embassy, who defended the building in Washington DC against violent opposition crowds for several weeks between April 10 and May 16 of 2019, were completely dropped in a case that ...
Source: Council on Hemispheric Affairs – Analysis-Reportage By COHA Editorial TeamFrom Washington DC The Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA) joins the Black Alliance for Peace[1] and other pro-democracy organizations throughout the world in calling for the United Nations to address the systemic violations of human rights by the police and ...
Being shot by police had a profound, transformational effect on Rob Mokaraka’s life in more ways than you’d expect. A new documentary, airing on Māori TV at 7.30pm on Sunday, explores the work he’s done to heal his own mind and to ensure nobody has to go through the same ...
Human rights watchdog TAPOL has condemned the demand by Indonesian prosecutors seeking 17 and five years imprisonment for West Papuan activists Buchtar Tabuni and Irwanus Uropmabin. On June 2, the Jayapura District Prosecutor’s Office issued 33 pages containing charges against the defendant Irwanus Uropmabin. In the document, the Public Prosecutor ...
The arrival of Dan Carter is far from the first time the ever-struggling Auckland team has hoped to turn around its fortunes with a star signing, writes Jamie Wall.New Zealand rugby Twitter is a generally desolate place, especially lately given that there’s been nothing to talk about ever since the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Senior Lecturer in New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity US President Donald Trump delivered an address this week in which he threatened military action on the nation. Then he walked to the nearby St John’s Episcopal Church ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vincent Ho, Senior Lecturer and clinical academic gastroenterologist, Western Sydney University Why do we burp? We sometimes also burp before meals, why does this happen? — Ahaana, age 7 That is a really interesting question, Ahaana! There ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Justine Bell-James, Associate Professor, TC Beirne School of Law, The University of Queensland After years of litigation, Australia’s highest court will today make a major decision on the fate of the controversial proposed expansion to the New Acland Coal mine in Queensland. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicholas Williams, Associate Professor in Urban Ecology and Urban Horticulture, University of Melbourne Tomorrow is the first World Green Roof Day. Cities around the world will celebrate the well-documented environmental, economic and social benefits of green roofs. New ground-level green spaces are ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Senior Lecturer, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Robodebt isn’t the only measure the government should consider withdrawing. Late last Friday, after a long press conference from the prime minister which avoided any mention of the topic, the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW Harvard University’s Alberto Alesina died suddenly of a heart attack on May 23. He was 63. His long-time colleague and friend Larry Summers wrote that before him, “there was no academic field of political economy. Today, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julian Meyrick, Professor of Creative Arts, Griffith University What keeps democracies together? As America burns, Brazilians die and Europe braces for another wave of the coronavirus, the question assumes an alarming immediacy. If the answer is complicated in one way, it is ...
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For official government advice, see here.The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is made possible thanks to donations from Spinoff Members. ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Millions of dollars divvied up by Sport NZ, MSD’s problem with wrongly denied payments grows, and internal coalition battles emerge in time for election.It’s Friday, and there hasn’t been a lot of it recently, so we’re going to start with ...
The Government picks Waitomo caves as 'strategic tourism asset' and grants $4m to Tourism Holdings, boosting shares another 7.8 percent. Facebook staff and alumni revolt over Zuckerberg's inaction on Trump ...
This week's biggest-selling New Zealand books, as recorded by the Nielsen BookScan NZ bestseller list and described by ReadingRoom literary editor Steve Braunias.NON-FICTION 1 Vegful by Nadia Lim (Nude Food, $55) 2 Stop Surviving Start Fighting by Jazz Thornton (Penguin Random House, $38) 3 So Delish! by Simone Anderson ...
Anomalies in the policy for superannuitants with overseas pensions are an indictment on the justice process in New Zealand, write Susan St John and Dr Claire Dale Along with many others, the Retirement Policy and Research Centre has worked assiduously for more than a decade to alert the public, policy-makers ...
Open Mike 31/10/2018 
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When the New Zealand Police started using Armed Response Teams - gangs of heavily-armed police cruising Māori-Pacifica neighbourhoods in juiced-up gun-trucks - they told us it was a "trial". But it turns out that those armed police - who were mainly doing traffic stops and bail checks, rather than the ...2 days ago
Another study comparing effect in children from nonendemic areas (Dagang) and endemic fluorosis area (Jinghai) about 80km apart in the Tianjin area of China. Hardly sampling the same population. Anti-fluoride campaigners still use studies from ... 3 days ago
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by The Spark “The system is broken”—the words of a young black man in Minneapolis watching flames destroy a police precinct demonstrators had torched. Broken? Yes, it is! What else could you say about a system whose police for nine minutes casually knelt on a black man’s neck, watching until ...5 days ago
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Chris Trotter has written a brilliant piece about the challenges New Zealand faces as catastrophic climate rapidly approaches. He singles out the parliamentary Green Party and its leaders for failing to lead on this matter.
It is a challenge for us as well.
As Rachel a stewart writes, “Virtually everything we argue about and/or discuss relates to climate change/capitalism. Both are intertwined, unchecked and deadly. .”
We must keep the issue of catastrophic climate change front and foremost in all our discussions.
We must pressure for action today.
“Saving the planet and feeding all its people long ago ceased to be a practical proposition. The amount of cultivatable land will shrink – along with the quantity of water necessary to ensure adequate harvests. As the mean global temperature increase passes 2oC, millions of human-beings will begin to starve. What is the correct moral response to famine, disease and conflict on an unprecedented scale? When the boatloads of desperate climate-change refugees start appearing off New Zealand’s coast, what should a Green New Zealand government do?
This is a long way from green technological fixes and rehabilitating four-letter words.
So, too, is deciding what to do when the big container ships and the oil-tankers stop venturing this far south. When the sheer number of super-hurricanes renders voyages too far out into the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans uninsurable. How will a Green government keep the chronically-ill provided with their life-saving pharmaceuticals; and crucial machinery supplied with spare parts; when the flow of these vital imports ceases? How will it keep the lights on and the electric cars powered-up when the snow refuses to fall and the hydro lakes are empty?
Who in today’s Green caucus has the courage to tell New Zealanders that teaching young people the skills required to keep the post-industrial communities of the future functioning is now a matter of urgency. Because in 100 years’ time Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin will be only a fraction of their present size and most of the population will be living in the countryside – where the food is. Which of today’s Greens are working with Maori to preserve the indigenous medical and pharmacological knowledge built-up over the 600 years of non-European occupation of Aotearoa?
Who will dare to tell today’s captains of industry that in 50 years the Internet will be but a memory? That the genocidal global resource wars will kick off with the destruction of the undersea communication cables. That the revolutions, civil and religious wars that roll across the sweltering continents will leave the control hubs for satellite communication unmanned for a generation. That the rocket launching pads will become nesting places for such birds as still fly through Earth’s fetid air.
These are the challenges which Green parties should be preparing us for. The challenges arising out of the fundamental transformations anticipated and demanded in the latest IPCC report. Deluding voters into thinking that somehow the scientists will come up with a way of saving us all: a way which allows capitalism, consumerism and narcissistic individualism to continue unchecked and unmodified; is not something with which any responsible Green should be associated.”
The whole article is here.
http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-long-term-green-advantage-of.html
Mike Joy, a courageous and independent scientist, has also warned of us of the need to act now or face catastrophic climate change.
“How many barrels of oil does it take to power the economy? Far from the punchline of a joke, the answer outlined by Dr Mike Joy, a senior researcher at Victoria University of Wellington’s Institute for Governance and Policy Studies, in a public lecture highlights some disturbing truths about our reliance on oil, the importance of energy to the economy, and how we might “transition to a de-carbonised world”.
Starting with the dire warning from more than 20,000 scientists worldwide that “if the world doesn’t act soon, there will be catastrophic biodiversity loss and untold amounts of human misery”, Joy went on to introduce the field of Biophysical Economics and one of its key concepts—Energy return on energy invested (EROI), or “how much energy do you have to put in to get that back?”.
The energy density of our alternatives is so much lower than fossil fuels, but if we want to keep under the 1.5oC threshold, we have to reduce our emissions by 6 percent per year from today,” said Joy.
“Basically we’re going to have to get used to having a whole lot less energy than what we had before, and that’s our only future. We have to figure out how we’re going to do that.”
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/@future-learning/2018/10/29/297393/energy-makes-the-economy-go-round
Do either articles reference the impact of military and war inc on climate?
Influence of atmospheric damage created through ‘experimental activity’?
To ignore or pretend they are not a major causal element is foolhardy at best…
has also warned of us of the need to act now or face catastrophic climate change.
But isn’t this the opposite of what Trotter is saying? Joy says there is still time to act while Trotter says it’s too late and we should give up and plan for the worst case scenario.
Yet so many governments aren’t ready to face it, let alone try. Capitalism’s all been ‘pay-later’ thinking — little children preferring a definite sweet now to possible sweets later. Feast rather than the long term. Not sure that’s wrong.
As we get to the sharp end of our feast and look out on our children and grandchildren, oblivious in their present comfort to the pre-agricultural deprivation awaiting them , we must do what we can to turn the freighter.
Yawn. So what is Trotter doing about it? What skills is he acquiring?
He’s a lot like you really Ed.
Do you think climate change is a yawn?
Wow…..
If you had been paying attention on this site, you will know I stopped eating meat because of climate change.
What are you doing?
Apart from emailing snide comments?
Woosh!
One of the issues with climate change is that it seems so insurmountable that it has become less of a priority against the daily capitalist grind of making money or survival.
Maybe it needs to be put into smaller segments by what each industry should or could be doing for example, insurance, what are they doing (apart from putting up premiums until they refuse to cover the risks), what is dairy farming doing, what are electrical companies doing, what are councils doing, what is transport doing (in Wellington changing to diesel buses for example, FAIL) etc etc
It has to be changed from two words into the practical legislation of prevention and now.
Trotter is a yawn. He has no idea what “Green” is. He can’t understand that greenies care about ecosystems and not just people. That they want to limit the damage to the environment generally and not just say “fuck it”. Watching him try and comment with relevance on the Green Party is akin to watching a chimpanzee studying an internal combustion engine.
He has an agenda here like always. He wishes to attack the Greens as best he can. If it is the survival of working people that is at stake, then why not attack Labour Party policy? He is a stale old school leftie with zero relevance.
Giving up meat is not preparing for the scenario that Trotter is speaking of. Many of the imported vegan protein sources that you eat would not be available. Are you learning what of these crops could be grown here and where, and how to grow them sustainably? Your ignorance of permaculture that you have shown so many times here would suggest not.
I also don’t believe that you gave up meat because of climate change. This is certainly something you like to hang it off along with animal welfare, but your rigidity on the subject shows that it is a personal thing. You have refused to even consider that animals may have a part in permaculture land systems. Grazing chickens in orchards is one example i have given. Mussel farms would be another animal based culture that could both improve the environment and provide good quality protein.
I’m not doing what Trotter suggests because i am a greenie. I am rather working to limit the damage to the environment by participating in a political party with the same aims.
I am though as part of generally being a greenie landscaping and developing my half acre urban property along permaculture principles and practice.
Trotter is a lot like you Ed because basically you are both full of shit.
Is there anything that Trotter actually wrote that you disagree with? If anything I’d rate his sentiments a tad on the alarmist end of the spectrum; but not unreasonable either. So exactly why do you think all this a ‘yawn’?
Or are you just offended because Trotter has strayed on the Green’s widdling patch?
I think i’ve explained above why i find him a yawn.
Going all doom and gloom would be an idiotic strategy for the Greens in the current context. The first step to progress is to get a general consensus to address the problem. Telling people that it is too late to address the problem will not help.
OK that makes more sense; I agree totally. Doom and gloom nihilism is literally a dead-end response. And Trotter is certainly not the only one to have flirted with it either.
But hell, faced with such an overwhelming prospect you can surely have some empathy for where it comes from.
Part of the yawn is that i don’t think Trotter is being genuine but rather taking an angle to attack the Greens. As i point to above, these criticism would be better addressed to Labour as Trotter shows only concern for people and not the environment too.
I’m not going to quibble how you interpret Trotter’s motives; you’re entitled to your reading of him.
Still he isn’t the enemy either, and not every ally is going to map 100% onto your own motives and values. But that doesn’t mean we cannot reach out and work with people where there is some common ground.
Hey not ruling out working with the guy. Just responding to him attacking the people doing the actual work.
Mussel farms improve the environment? My Marlborough Sounds based relatives would strongly disagree. Maybe if the growers weren’t so greedy…
When done along sustainable principles yes. Mussels filter the water and remove nitrogen and phosphorus and so can help restore our estuaries and harbours.
100% Ed, full marks there.
You are right and others seem to ignore the warnings totally at their peril and ours too.
Phase of the day; “None so deaf as those who will not listen”
The Trotsker seems to be missing the point he is making.
He likes to pointificate.
Ed, I posted this the other day on TS in relation to Trotter’s latest attack on the Greens…..
Trotter hates the Greens and has never really tried to understand them. He wants rid of them.
He is an unreconstructed Old Lefty and writes very well, often brilliantly, about that sector of traditional left-wing union-dominated politics. Nothing wrong with any of that BTW-all power to the unions.
But why he attacks the Greens when Labour will probably never be able to form a government without the Greens I can’t fathom.
Meanwhile the Greens are polling 7% and doing fine.
They are particularly strong on transport-it will be good when Genter comes back from maternity leave.
Since I wrote the above the Greens have had another policy gain with the retention and refurbishment of 15 electric locos that should help to get freight out of trucks and on to rail. Not all Green policies are climate change related; many have major social gains.
“Meanwhile the Greens are polling 7% and doing fine”
Greens vote is ‘usually’ less than their pre election polls. There is only so much their base vote amoungst tertiary educated middle class women will do.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/NZ_opinion_polls_2014-2017-majorparties.png
Poll trend was Greens 7% +-2% and NZ First 6% +-1%
Actual result was Greens 6.2% while NZ first 7.2% One was up on trend the other was down .
2014 election had Greens polling on say 12.2% while election result was 10.7% and similar in 2011.
7% is not doing fine , its saying they will get much the same as now, which is a ‘setback’
On similar lines to Ed’s post above:
Sometimes ‘The Canary’ comes up with little gems!
Extinction Rebellion – 31st October.
“A problem thousands of years in the making
“For around 5,000 years we’ve had a problem as a species. We have lived in hierarchies for most of that time. A few people at the top have control over what the rest of us do.
“And, if we’re honest with ourselves, we know this has never really worked. Because if it had, why has there generally always been poor people at the bottom? Why has there commonly been some human lives that are worth more than others?
“We consider ourselves the most advanced life form on the planet; possibly the universe. Yet throughout our history, the majority of us have willingly accepted a minority telling us what to do. When has it benefited us? And why, in 2018, is society no more truly equal than it was thousands of years ago? Even with all our academic, scientific, and technological advances?
“Today, we may be led to believe that just because we own a car, rent a house, and buy the same shopping each week that we’re ‘more equal’ to Richard Branson than Egyptian slaves were to their Pharaoh. Looks can be deceptive. Because it’s all relative. Many of us may not be physical slaves – but only the Richard Bransons truly have freedom in 21st century society.”
“Original sin
“But moreover, why do we still put up with these damaging hierarchies?
“It’s called greed and power. The first is a human desire; forged over thousands of years by hierarchies. One that tells us having more stuff makes us better than our neighbour. The second is almost a drug, that corrupts many people who have it. Those at the top push both as being in reach of those at the bottom. Together, they’re what drive benefit cuts; make people homeless; allow fracking and destroy the NHS. But now, this greed and power from the ‘one percent’ has literally put every species and the planet at risk. And we continue to be complicit in it; consciously or not.
“This has to end.”
Read the entire article:
https://www.thecanary.co/opinion/2018/10/30/our-time-is-up-weve-got-nothing-left-but-rebellion/
“To put it bluntly: we’re fucked. And the only way it will change is by all of us taking drastic action now. We can’t leave it to politicians and corporations to decide. Unless someone can name one point in history when leaving power in the hands of a few has been good for the many? As in every single lifeform on this planet? And when it actually lasted.”
Yes, I would agree with you.
Unless we get rid of capitalism, we are going to see a brutal transition to a simpler sustainable future or even our extinction as a species. It’s that stark.
Our actions have already caused mass rapid extinction that may prove irreversible.
This article came out in the Guardian yesterday.
“Humanity has wiped out 60% of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles since 1970, leading the world’s foremost experts to warn that the annihilation of wildlife is now an emergency that threatens civilisation.
The new estimate of the massacre of wildlife is made in a major report produced by WWF and involving 59 scientists from across the globe. It finds that the vast and growing consumption of food and resources by the global population is destroying the web of life, billions of years in the making, upon which human society ultimately depends for clean air, water and everything else.
“We are sleepwalking towards the edge of a cliff” said Mike Barrett, executive director of science and conservation at WWF. “If there was a 60% decline in the human population, that would be equivalent to emptying North America, South America, Africa, Europe, China and Oceania. That is the scale of what we have done.”
“This is far more than just being about losing the wonders of nature, desperately sad though that is,” he said. “This is actually now jeopardising the future of people. Nature is not a ‘nice to have’ – it is our life-support system.”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/30/humanity-wiped-out-animals-since-1970-major-report-finds
And there’s more sobering, shocking news about human impacts on the planet.
It all puts the corporate media’s discussions about royal visits, All Blacks’ selections and Jono and Ben’s axing in context. Utter trivia, complete distractions.
The media is a major obstacle to humankind acting immediately to avert the oncoming catastrophe.
Unless we approach the challenge and mobilise as if it were WW3, then we can forget passing a habitable world to our grandchildren.
“Scientists in Canada have warned that massive glaciers in the Yukon territory are shrinking even faster than would be expected from a warming climate – and bringing dramatic changes to the region.
After a string of recent reports chronicling the demise of the ice fields, researchers hope that greater awareness will help the public better understand the rapid pace of climate change.
The rate of warming in the north is double that of the average global temperature increase, concluded the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in its annual Arctic Report Card, which called the warming “unprecedented”.
“The region is one of the hotspots for warming, which is something we’ve come to realize over the last 15 years,” said David Hik of Simon Fraser University. “The magnitude of the changes is dramatic.”
Whole story here.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/30/canada-glaciers-yukon-shrinking
“But moreover, why do we still put up with these damaging hierarchies?
It is a paradox. Hierarchy arises from value. The core reason why humans do anything at all is because when we move from one condition to another, we expect the outcome to be ‘better’. And we can only measure this using values; we constantly stack up and compare, we order from best to worst, we are hardwired to create hierarchies of value.
Translating value into action demands performance. And all humans have different competency and we all perform at different levels. For instance I’m an experienced programmer and understand some of the science; but compared to the towering figures at the centre of the computing revolution, Kurt Goedel, Alan Turing and John von Neuman I’m way, way down the hierarchy of value. And of all the computer people who ever worked in the field, only a tiny fraction will make a real, novel and valuable contribution. The rest of us are mere artisans of varying degrees of skill. Something the Pareto distribution (and it’s close cousin Prices Law) describes.
Every field of human endeavour is organised in hierarchies of value; whether we formalise them or not. They are how we know what is ‘better’ and which direction to move in. Hierarchy in inherent and inevitable; it cannot be eradicated without also demolishing entire value structures. If you ‘end’ all values, precisely what will you do today? What is worth doing anymore? Or is the phrase ‘drastic action’ a code for ‘an orgy of destruction because I’m angry and too ignorant to think of anything better’?
The modern world is massively complex; and it creaks and totters in many vital organs. But the person who wrote this article has no fucking clue how to actually fix it. It amounts to thinking you can usefully improve a precision machine with a sledgehammer … and pretending there will be no consequences when it breaks.
I feel you’ve rather missed the point of the article.
Whether we like it or not, the sledgehammer is poised to strike. We’re not going to even approach the beginning of fixing climate change by tinkering at its edges.
Hence the movement’s title – Extinction Rebellion.
The old ways got us into this mess! Well, let’s be anarchists – tear it all down and see what comes out of it all.
Perhaps there are no solutions, only actions.
Well, let’s be anarchists – tear it all down and see what comes out of it all.
I promise you, an even bigger mess. The original problems would only get worse, and our capacity to deal with them would eliminated. Not a smart strategy at all.
Look I’m not unsympathetic to the sentiment; I get it. The outlook is bleak and scary and the temptation to advocate for ‘something dramatic’ is real. But also profoundly irresponsible.
It has been tried before and it has failed miserably every time. It is cute you think the idea is an original one though.
I agree that hierarchies of skill and value are unavoidable. People after all are not equally talented, hardworking, etc.
But I don’t believe it’s inevitable, or right, that we jump from that fact into accepting extreme hierarchies of power and reward, which are quite different things.
Yes. Although hierarchy is necessary and unavoidable; it is also prone to being captured and becoming corrupt. Hierarchy endows power which can easily be mis-directed into protecting itself and tilting the rewards unjustly.
A healthy hierarchy provides stability and direction of purpose; while at the same time is open to scrutiny, review and re-invention when the environment changes. In very general terms the right is good at operating the system according to the agreed rules and procedures; the left is good at calling it out when it becomes corrupt and needs refreshing.
No it doesn’t else Donald Trump would be living in a caravan park.
Actually, it’s probably far more likely that they’re just not properly recognised for the work that they’ve done. I recall the story of the guy who invented industrial diamonds. He spent hundred of hours working for no reward and when he accomplished it the company gave him a $10 gift voucher while stating that the discovery was theirs.
As I’ve been saying for years: We cannot afford the rich and Capitalism is the problem.
Nope. Capitalism is essentially the economic expression of the Rennaisance idea of the sovereign individual. It links the idea of the right of every individual to equality before the law and equality of opportunity, to the right to private property. It embeds the notion of human right to dignity and security with the capacity to own their body, their labour and the fruits of it.
The notion of private property is a very old one; but when it met the evolution of the modern credit money systems and legally protected in English common law … the result was the broad system we call capitalism. As an economic tool is has been incredibly successful on its own terms; as a social and environmental tool it has deep shortcomings. Capitalism as we have it right now has problems, but it’s not the problem.
You advocate throwing the tool away and hoping something better will come along; I’m arguing that we study the existing tool closely, regard what it does well, understand it’s limitations and why they arise … and carefully engineer a better version.
This is why competent economists like Steven Keen never talk about ‘the end of capitalism’. Instead he devotes time, talent and energy to understanding the system (his Minsky Model is a masterpiece), and works to train the next generation of economic leaders in more sophisticated implementations of what we already have.
No it doesn’t. It embeds the right of the rich to own everything and thus to live the life of kings on the labour of everyone else.
Yes it is and it’s brought about the collapse of every single civilisation that took it too far. Private ownership needs to be heavily restricted to personal items. The problems begin when it’s extended into owning land, houses and business.
Yes, it’s made a few people very rich at everyone else’s expense.
No I’m not. I’m advocating dropping private ownership of houses, businesses and land. Land and houses will be state owned, city managed. Businesses will be self-owned and run as cooperatives by the people who work in them. There will be no shareholders.
Money to be created by the government and spent into the economy via productive works, 0% interest loans to businesses and a UBI. It won’t be created by private banks whenever they make a loan.
In other words, the system would be very similar to what we have now but without the bludging of shareholders and other forms of unearned income that is detrimental to society.
How come not one single state has attempted your proposed solutions, even the ones who are anti-capitalist like Cuba and North Korea?
Perhaps they simply didn’t think of it.
Why didn’t they think of it given YOU think the solution is so simple and so self evident?
I’m advocating dropping private ownership of houses, businesses and land. Land and houses will be state owned, city managed. Businesses will be self-owned and run as cooperatives by the people who work in them. There will be no shareholders.
In other words you are saying that your version of communism would be less catastrophic than all the ones tried already. I’m not sure whether to admire your optimistic naivety, or call out the dangerous hubris.
it’s made a few people very rich at everyone else’s expense.
You come back to this point so often I have to conclude Orwell was right; you don’t care so much about the poor as you simply hate the rich. It’s not a promising starting point.
Communism hasn’t been tried. All we’ve had is other forms of hierarchy which failed as hierarchies always do.
The present system fails. It has always failed and always will. Eliminating the capitalists will, as a matter of fact, ensure that everyone will get the value that they produce rather than having it syphoned off to bludging shareholders and other rentiers.
The poor will actually be better off as they’ll no longer be paying taxes to the rich.
Communism hasn’t been tried.
Oh yes it has. See below. Maybe you need your nose rubbing in it, I dare you to get past the two hour mark:
Great read it basically sayes EVERYONE is an ARSEHOLE !!!
I first read Gulag Archipelago in my 20’s; it remains one of four or five deeply influential books I’ve ever read.
It’s a chilling and cautionary narrative of one of the most horrible episodes of the 20th century. When I was in Russia about 20 years back I made a point of travelling to the only gulag left in Perm, and just last year a work project took me to Kolyma, the area in Eastern Siberia where the most brutal gulags were located.
And I’ve driven on the “Highway of Bones”. Here are some pics of the region from a random linky:
https://jumboswank.com/employing-the-highway-of-bones-in-russian-far-east-with-my-father/
Yet the there is a deep lesson in Solzhenysen’s work; the entire evil edifice only functioned because the mass of people stopped speaking truth. Everyone knew about it, no-one could speak the truth of it. Yes we are all capable of being utter arseholes, and reading this book permanently convinced me of my own capacity for evil.
Most of us mistake merely being harmless with actively choosing good. Most of us never find ourselves in a situation where we can indulge in being evil with no immediate chance of being caught and sanctioned. Most of the time we don’t do bad things because it’s the easiest thing to do. But faced with the gulags, or concentration camps, or orders to commit genocide … how many of us have the courage to actively choose to be good over evil?
This is what the Archepelago explores. I can barely listen to it now in more than 30 minute segments.
Everyone knew about it, no-one could speak the truth of it.
It’s still happening, and it’s more ruthless than ever….
https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-the-u-s-state-department-deletes-the-occupation-1.6069726
https://www.wrmea.org/013-may/getting-the-words-right-israel-isnt-occupying-palestine%E2%80%94its-conquered-it.html
I’ve traveled some this road last year to get to a job. Watch just the first five minutes of this and understand why you have trouble convincing me:
One of the points that Marx raises is the capitalists working people to death. And we still see it happening today. Pike River Mine, logging deaths and more. That’s in NZ. In other countries we see actual murder to keep the capitalists in power.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-union_violence
One body per metre … for 1200 km.
Nice to see some rational solutions to the problems with capitalism there, Red.
Although seriously engaging with Draco about the practicality of his ideas always seems like a bit of a trap
A.
Do you seriously think, when climate catastrophe strikes, as strike it will, all the norms of society will not be thrown into confusion?
We cannot, simply cannot ‘profit’ our way out of what is coming. We need to already be thinking outside the box, and that will probably mean a complete rethink of the institutions of government.
We simply cannot envisage what shit may happen as a result of catastrophic climate change. But what I do believe is – we can’t solve any of the looming problems by ‘capitalistic’ tinkering.
Do you seriously think, when climate catastrophe strikes, as strike it will
There are two reactions to a threat which always fail:
1. Denialism: Pretending it’s not happening OR if it is it doesn’t matter.
2. Catastrophism: Pretending that it’s so bad that either nothing can be done, OR that everything has to be impossibly changed deal with it.
There is a third reaction which will also probably fail, given the enormity of the change that is coming:
3. Blinkered thinking/she’ll be rightism. “We can get through this with only small changes to the way we make money.”
Humanity has never faced such a monumental change in such a relatively small period of time. We simply cannot afford to take this threat lightly.
Ah no. Nothing ‘she’ll be right about it’.
But frankly any and all suggestions that we have to tear down the global economy in order to deal with this are fucking idiotic. Lets do that, lets stop everything, shut down the economies of the world tomorrow and stop every skerrick of activity that might possibly cause climate change.
Have you any idea how murderous this would be? The resulting chaos, social disruption, violence and famine would put at direct risk the lives of billions; immediately.
And any possible chance to address the problem without a mass die-off would be lost … deliberately. Maybe this is what you want; it’s hard to tell.
RL, I can’t see into the future any more than you can – but, if the entire tropical band north and south of the equator becomes too hot for human life, do you seriously think there won’t be chaos?
Millions, perhaps as many as a billion, of people will be forced to migrate to more equatable climatic areas – at the same time as the grain-lands of Europe and North America will be coming under climate stress. Already some governments in Europe are digging in their toes about accepting more migrants. And the exodus hasn’t even started yet.
Seriously, the decades from 2020 to 2040 could be a clusterfuck of disruption. Hundreds of millions of people will probably die and the institutions of government will struggle to cope with the catastrophe.
I sure as hell don’t know how we’re going to get through to the other side, but I repeat, I think we should be thinking outside the box already.
But perhaps I’m being too pessimistic? Perhaps capitalism will rise to the challenge, solve the climate change problem and make money at the same time!
Of course I understand everything you say above is a real possibility. I’m not neglecting or discounting that at all. But I do know that plunging the global economy into an immediate crisis is a certain route to an even worse outcome.
Every time we use climate change as the end to justify the means of ‘ending capitalism’ we achieve nothing except amplify and confirm the suspicions of most of the population. Most people are not communists or hard radical left. They don’t want a bar of it. Provoking them with useless talk makes an already monumentally difficult task harder.
There is no single silver bullet solution to this; it’s multi-dimensional and complex. No single person, or organisation, or nation on it’s own stands any chance of succeeding.
But 7 billion people can together do it. The trick is getting us together. Learn to be competent and persuasive; find something you can do, however small, and get good at it. Then people will come flocking to offer you bigger opportunities.
I don’t know the future either; but I do know there is only one strategy which optimises our chances of getting through this without too much devastation. Stop tilting at windmills, learn to use the already powerful tools around media, technology and money to make your case positively. The box of ideas and possible tech to get us through this mess is already huge, you don’t need to invent anything original or unique. Surround yourself with people who know what they are doing and ally yourself with them, even when at first brush you don’t agree with them.
The challenge could turn out even more monstrous than either of us imagine. But we’ve lost already unless we face it skillfully. I don’t intend to be mean here, but recycled neo-marxist tosh will not cut mustard.
Agree with thiz almost 100 percent.
+ 1 draco
Dear Green Party
I’m posting this for those involved in any manner with Canterbury re drought. Please pass this on. The methods as outlined here involve restoration of eroded outlets and installation of ‘dams’ that retain water to be infiltrated into the land. Plantings are also essential for the shade and infiltration aspects provided, including the build up of organic matter which increases a soils capacity for holding water, and decreasing evaporation.
Get cracking showing how it works on a model farm in the drought area. (You do have a decent hydrologist/ecologist/permie designer in your ranks??) Within a couple of years other farmers will be lined up to get their land rehydrated.
The drainage systems covering our country can be converted to retaining water (and draining excess) easily. Simple floodgate control at storm culverts will enable rehydration of the land.
It’s not a far stretch to show how with similar methods you can also turn riparian scrub into highly productive aquaculture/silviculture re: the late Charles Mitchell’s farm. I know his system, too.
Refill the aquifers, restore the landscape. Consultation available. Time wasters will be shredded by my Aspie ire.
Thanks for that great link, WeTheBleeple
Sounds like the opposite of where NZ is going and taking the water out of the aquifers and not being vigilant against ground water pollution, instead these farmers are tying to restore natural water systems, pre colonial times, against drought.
100% support here too.
I watched this last night. It is a prime example of exactly the kind of competent and effective response we truly need to beat this bastard.
Quit the bickering and bitching; watch this and be impressed. Be inspired, and then look around at your own life, look for what is immediately in front of you and fix that first.
My partner has a wry joke that goes “If you’re going to learn cross-country skiing, start with a small country first”.
Then come back here, tell us your success story and help others.
Most people can’t afford to change, to fix what’s in front of them.
Humankind spawned “this bastard” – the mystery is why we continue to nuture it in spite of known threats.
Maybe partly to do with the fact the many (some more than most) have done very well from ‘it’, at least in the short term.
Yes I largely agree with this DK; but to most people the idea of de-growth is deeply unattractive. There are profound psychological reasons why; and it would make a great tangential discussion to explore them.
Look most people have a fair clue that the current setup is a bit fucked. And there are many, many people at least a little open to the idea of changing the way we organise our economies if we can present a competent, credible alternative plan.
No-one wants to go back to medieval living standards; they just won’t voluntarily go there. And there are tens of thousands of people out there right now working on ways to solve the problem. Not all of them will work, but some will. They need our help and encouragement. They need us to be good at this; they don’t need us sitting about renting sackcloth.
And don’t discount the possibility that an entire raft of new tech, some of it very close to coming online, like solid state lithium batteries, perovskite enhanced PV’s, a whole generation of graphene based materials and techniques, HVDC global grids and on to whole rafts of research I’ve never heard of … all have the potential to transform our resource intensity dramatically. We have to bet on this.
And I understand that at core, it is the human heart that will prove most stubborn to change. But at least it can and will change with zero carbon footprint 🙂
We are in Aus currently, and this programme has just aired on tv. Australia’s latest PM supported this idea the previous one dissed it.
It was amazing to see how the hydrated land survived 4 years drought.
It all made so much sense.
Dirty dairying is destroying this country.
SIX MONTHS ON: GAZA’S GREAT MARCH OF RETURN
Has Jacinda Ardern spoken out about this yet? And if not, why not?
Wierd scenes eh Morrissey in the wake of the shooting in the states of the jews in the synagog …maybe my hearings not the best …but i didnt hear a single news outlet explore the possibility thet the reason they got shot might have been something to do with the fact israel shoots palistinians with total impunity on a regular basis .Nope according to the worlds reporters its ANTI SEMITISM .
The shooter was targeting not Israelis but liberal, compassionate, American Jews. He had a particular hatred for the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.
https://www.hias.org/
“As Facebook and Twitter are purging alternative media outlets, a neoconservative operative at a US government-funded think tank says more censorship is on its way. Max Blumenthal and Jeb Sprague discuss how scaremongering over Russia and China is being exploited to silence dissent on social media.”
This Russian fantasy nonsense, lazily recycling Hillary Clinton’s campaign crap, is just as rabid here. Two of the very worst are John Campbell and Bernard Hickey. And then there’s THIS ignoramus….
https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2018/01/jesse-mulligan-sometimes-when-i-read.html
Well you would say that Morrissevich.
Very funny, Gabbieva. But seriously, now, listening to the likes of Campbell and Mulligan channel British and U.S. black propaganda is a hard listen, isn’t it.
Great to see the Minister of Transport reverse the Kiwirail board decision and require them to continue with electric trains rather than diesel.
This refurbishment will keep the Hutt workshop busy for years.
Also very good to.see them considering converting the whole fleet to hydrogen rather than extending electrification.
This would pull out all their diesel and give stronger network resiliency.
They would be better off running the trains on gas turbines.
For all this talk about hydrogen, no one has actually come up with a viable hydrogen propulsion system that has been put into everyday use.
The major problem with hydrogen is storing it effectively. The damn molecule is so small that most metals and materials are like tissue paper to it; it just migrates out of the vessel and is lost at a rate that is very hard to engineer around.
The good news is that graphene (apart from being a bloody wonder material in so many other respects) looks like it has some real potential to solve this key problem:
https://www.greenoptimistic.com/graphene-hydrogen-storage-tanks-20081008/
Alston already has them operating in Germany.
About time Phil woke up to save the electric rail system as he was previously “sidelined by false reports coming out of MBIE old “cherry picked” documents National had made up to show rail was not worth saving or ‘viable’ so twyford thought rail was dead. Thank christ he has come to his senses not a minute to soon.
Our letter to Minister of transport Phil twyford last week;
Protecting our environment & health.
In association with other Community Groups, NHTCF and all Government Agencies since 2001.
• Health and wellbeing.
• East Coast Transport Project.
TO;
Hon Phil Twyford – Minister of Transport.
Hon’ Jacinda Ardern PM.
Hon Winston Peters. Deputy PM.
Hon’ Shane Jones. Minister of Regional Development.
Hon’ Grant Robertson. Minister of Finance.
Hon’ Stuart Nash. MP For Napier Wairoa/ Matawai regions.
Hon’ Megan Woods. Minister of Energy.
URGENT PRESS RELEASE; – ACTION NEEDED HERE BY – Transport Minister Twyford.
26th October 2018.
Dear Ministers, Local civic authorities & rail stakeholders,
We have written to you all multiple times since becoming our new Government requesting to restore our railway to Gisborne that was damaged after a storm in March 2012; – and caused by a lack of rail funding maintenance in 2011 on after funding was cut by Minister of transport Steven Joyce; – http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1302/S00183/kiwirail-admits-lack-of-maintenance-led-to-wash-out.htm
Here is an important study paper from October 11, 2018 by Cody Januszko, Carnegie Mellon University Department of Engineering and Public Policy Transporting freight by road accounts for around seven percent of the world’s total energy-related carbon dioxide emissions. Recognizing that heavy road freight is particularly hard to decarbonize, says the paper here.
But the report also claims roads are subsidised by us for truck freight so we need to level the playing field now in favour of “encouraging more rail freight services in all our exporting regions now and not delay the move back to rail freight any more.
QUOTE; “In the U.S., railroads own their own tracks, so they have to build their own infrastructure,” says Vaishnav, an assistant research professor in EPP. “Trucking uses public infrastructure, but does not bear the full cost of the damage heavy trucks do to roads and other infrastructure and indeed to the environment.”
Here attached above are the electronic copies of four of the studies on the benefits of rail we advocate, and Gisborne District Council has produced called “The socio-economic & environmental loss of rail for the Gisborne District” -2012 and we strongly endorse this study report.
6-249607-Socio-economic_&_environmental_impacts_of_loss_of_rail_-on May_2012
We now want all Government agencies to have a copy so distribute anywhere as they need to be mentioned to Government and others as evidence for our cal to restore the Gisborne Napier- Wellington rail service again.
* 6-249607-Socio-economic_&_environmental_impacts_of_loss_of_rail_-on May_2012 (2) *BERL Report November/Dec 2012.
*”The value of rail in NZ produced 2016 by national and kept hidden and released by Labour Minister of transport Phil Twyford Feb 2018. (Plus press release promising regional rail.) (Twyford) then kiwi rail press cover of rail study.
*Bolland report produced for Ministry of Transport 2010 but kept hidden by National and never released. Shows rail saved NZ lots of money and without rail how much a year it costs us.
Your response to our call is requested
The electric wire catenary system is only ever going to be partial – it will never replace the need for a diesel fleet, because it is never going to stretch all the way from Whangarei to Bluff to Nightcaps to Whanganui – or indeed to Gisborne.
If Twyford gets a really good case from NZTA and Kiwirail to replace the entire fleet to a new carbon efficient system, that is good for the country. On all sorts of policy dimensions.
The rebuilt of the old electric trains only buys them a decade of future operation if they are lucky. That buys them a bit of time.
There is a good case to replace the entire rail engine system, rip out the electric system completely, and have a major national mode that needs neither electricity generation nor petroleum as its main energy base. Nothing like a good strong innovation case for a further massive step-change in rail.
The rebuilt of the old electric trains only buys them a decade of future operation if they are lucky.
The EF class is around 32 years old, but it can be considered mid-life with a decent electrical overhaul. The fantastic old DFB’s and DX’s date back to the 60’s and 70’s and mechanically are still trucking along fine.
Ah yes there is a tiny little bit of unreconstructed railfan in me 🙂
I am interested in any information on the use of regenerative braking on central north island electric locos gooogle seems not to be my friend today (ie i havent found the right question yet) any links anyone on this subject.
xanthe
Our electric locomotives are traction regenerative I believe.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_EF_class_locomotive
“The locomotives are supplied electricity from 25 kV AC overhead lines. These lines draw electricity from New Zealand’s national grid at four locations along the electrified section: Bunnythorpe, Tangiwai, Taumarunui, and Hamilton. The locomotives are fitted with regenerative braking as well as regular air brakes, so the traction motors can be turned into generators when the locomotive is coasting downhill and feed electricity back into the overhead lines and the national grid.”
https://www.connectorsupplier.com/regenerative-braking-systems-rail-applications/
“Key global locomotive manufacturers such as GE, EMD, and Vossloh have embraced the notion of the hybrid diesel locomotive while Siemens, Alstom, Bombardier, Mitsubishi, and Kawasaki have committed to the electrical systems approach with their offerings. All of these manufacturers have commercialized vehicles and systems which are now finding their way onto the global stage”.
http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=150711
thanks cleangreen, i had found the wikipedia claim that they “feed electricity back into the overhead lines and the national grid.” and so I have always believed, but so far I cannot find any confirmation of this claim or technical details which concerns me given that power is supplied as 25Kv 50hz. of course as they are being given an electrical upgrade in 2018 achieving this is very do-able but I would like to be confident that is is and will be done.
I can confirm that this happens at least in some locations. Reinjected power is at 55 kV. I wouldn’t say the quantity of electricity reinjected was huge, but no doubt every little helps.
A.
My understanding the power generated during braking is dumped as heat by large resisters on the locos.
Thats apart from the brakes themselves for lower speeds.
Proposals for NEW electric locos said they could be equipped for regeneration.
Wikipedia stories on the existing EF locos have unsourced material saying they regenerate
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_EF_class_locomotive
Here is a link for Ad’s story:
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2018/10/government-scraps-national-s-plan-for-kiwirail-diesel-trains.html
Refers specifically to trains between Hamilton and Palmy. Seems sensible although I am curious about the cost/benefit overall.
A.
It’s always the benefit horizons that bedevil rail investment compared to road.
and objectives,
a solution that will return maximum return to investors/shareholders may well be different to one that provides best cost benefit to users/public
so the question becomes who do they take their advice from.
Since rail is a publicly owned system the investment framework for it is through the NLTP. That’s where it gets reconciled however imperfectly. Next NLTP version will be smoother.
“however imperfectly” – i.e. driven by the preferred transport mode of the Government of the day
A.
>It’s always the benefit horizons that bedevil rail investment compared to road.
Are you saying that rail doesn’t typically tend to stand up over a standard length CBA (20-30 yrs) but pays off over a longer term (Say 50 yrs), and that this holds in this particular case too?
A.
This particular business case hasn’t been released to the public yet.
But generally yes that’s always been the tenor of the arguments.
Should be some way of factoring it in through e.g. terminal value adjustments (though perhaps hard to quantify).
A.
Interesting that the NZTA was assuming top ‘principal position as transport advisor to Government on transport” but “NZTA is only a road controlling authority” (RTA).
Ministry of transport (MoT) is the “key principal advisor to Government” for all forms of transport” – not NZTA!!!!!!
So Labour/NZF need to amend this anomaly and fund equally Ministry of Transport (MoT) as they do NZTA in future.
https://www.transport.govt.nz/about/
Quote;
About the Ministry of Transport
Last updated on: 14/08/2018
The Ministry of Transport is the government’s principal transport adviser. The majority of our work is in providing policy advice and support to Ministers.
Through our advice we aim to:
improve the overall performance of the transport system
improve the performance of transport Crown entities
achieve better value for money for the government from its investment in the transport system.
We help the government give effect to its policy by supporting the development of legislation, regulations and rules. We also manage and account for funds invested in transport.
The Ministry represents New Zealand’s interests internationally, particularly in aviation and maritime.
We work with Crown entities
We assist the government in its relationship with the transport Crown entities to ensure they are effectively governed, and are accountable for their performance and monitoring arrangements for transport sector Crown entities.
Visit the Transport Sector Functions page for more information
We work with local government authorities
Local government authorities own, maintain and develop New Zealand’s local road network and perform important regulatory functions. Regional councils (and unitary authorities) are required to develop regional land transport strategies that guide the decision-making of local councils. In the Auckland region, the Auckland Transport carries out these functions. Some local authorities own seaports and airports, or share ownership with the Crown.
> So Labour/NZF need to amend this anomaly and fund equally Ministry of Transport (MoT) as they do NZTA in future.
Sorry but you have no idea. NZTA needs billions of dollars per year to fund the country’s land transport network. MOT is just a few bureaucrats – bums on seats.
A.
Antoine;
You have no idea ‘why NZTA needs billions’ !!!!
https://trid.trb.org/view/1125281
Quantifying Incremental Pavement Damage Caused by Overweight Trucks
Quote
Significant increases in commercial truck loadings across the Saskatchewan road network have resulted in accelerated damage to the provincial highway system. This accelerated damage has decreased the expected performance life of many of these roads and also increased maintenance and rehabilitation requirements and costs.
Unquote;
Antoine; – It is because truck freight who are responsible wholly for totally wrecking our roads and causing the road maintenance to accelerate to such high levels now we need to change road freight companies the full cost of their damages now.
You need to learn the real truth here.
Here is an important study paper from October 11, 2018 by Cody Januszko, at the Carnegie Mellon University Department of Engineering and Public Policy Transporting freight by road accounts for around seven percent of the world’s total energy-related carbon dioxide emissions. Recognizing that heavy road freight is particularly hard to decarbonize, says the paper here.
But the report also claims roads are subsidised by us for truck freight so we need to level the playing field now in favour of “encouraging more rail freight services in all our exporting regions now and not delay the move back to rail freight any more.
QUOTE; “In the U.S., railroads own their own tracks, so they have to build their own infrastructure,” says Vaishnav, an assistant research professor in EPP. “Trucking uses public infrastructure, but does not bear the full cost of the damage heavy trucks do to roads and other infrastructure and indeed to the environment.”
Clearly NZTA must not be used to make rail studies up as they are principally geared to funding truck freight activities for private companies some which are foreign owned. Stop subsidising the trucks.
You are not making sense
A.
MoT is just a speedbump barely registering in Wellington to NZTAs actual funding and execution.
Would be better if they were reformed into a new proper transportation system regulator.
100% Ad.
And replace Steven Joyce’s well placed “tarmac lovers” sitting still inside the NZTA at the same time please.
I’m with Fred Eaglesmith on this one
Another good decision. Keep them coming Phil. Such a pleasure to see integrated planning involving communities.
Hydrogen for power is a complete waste of electricity, it takes far, far more electricity to make enough hydrogen to achieve the desired outcome.
yes Hydrogen is a detour off the highway to reducing carbon.
The easiest/cheapest way to ‘make’ the hydrogen is from natural gas- they hide that fact with waffle as ‘only a backup method’ or CO2 sequestration – is if they would pay for that.
It wouldn’t hurt to be looking seriously at highspeed rail.
The energy equation is not much different to conventional, but the speed allows it to compete favourably with carbon heavy domestic air services.
TransTasman traffic could probably run on something similar to the Busan Shimonoseki ferries, again with substantial carbon savings.
These things might take years to scope out – better to begin that sooner than later.
Hydrogen is a bit like fusion – a wonderful tech with no working prototypes. If we were determined to embrace the new, maglev at least has working prototypes.
SPORTS NEWS:
Knocking up a quick half century before lunch
https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2018/10/its_about_the_policy_not_the_people.html/comment-page-1#comment-2346591
This is interesting. The UK has had enough of Facebook etc not paying taxes and has gone it alone with a digital services tax, albeit not very tough.
Interesting thing here is that it breaks all the normal tax rules because it is based on turnover not profit and the tax authorities will make other assumptions as to company structure rather than rely on what it is being told by Facebook etc.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/oct/29/uk-digital-services-tax-budget-facebook-google-amazon
Labour in the UK has called the tax a pittance….but it is a start and once in place can be upped. The Yanks have been blocking a tax for years.
The digital people are screaming. Music to my ears. Come on Jacinda lets do it.
Yes.. tax these monoliths.
GST is based on turnover !
Where did you get the idea it wasnt, as its plain and simple.
What they will do is base the tech tax on turnover like VAT but without any deductions for the tax on goods supplied.
Sorry I wasn’t thinking about GST which is actually a tax added to turnover not part of it. But you can see the point of the digital services post I hope?
BTW I’m a qualified accountant (lapsed).
I think the map we use has a lot to do with some euro western feelings of superiority – like they’re better than everyone else or they are the sum total of what’s gone before – you know, the white superiority stuff.
“As most of us know, the world map we grew up with isn’t exactly the most accurate vision of the world. Currently, the Mercator projection—which was created by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569—is the standard map projection. Though we’ve known for quite some time that this projection significantly distorts the size of landmasses, for nearly 450 years nothing better has become the standard.
More than just a cartography error, many critics have said that the Mercator projection is a visual representation of Eurocentricity and historic colonialism, as Africa and South America appear much smaller than they actually are.”
https://mymodernmet.com/world-map-accuracy/
Who actually uses Mercator these days? My atlas doesn’t; nor does Google Maps (which is my main go-to for maps nowadays); nor, I would think, do most maps in NZ classrooms.
A.
Oh hmmm
“Most people go through life perfectly happy in the knowledge that the real earth looks like it does on a standard Mercator projection map.
… The comic (link below) by Randall Munroe at XKCD looks at What your favorite map projections says about you (assuming you have one).”
https://brilliantmaps.com/xkcd/
That’s a good XKCD
My kid came home with a map centred on the South Pole which I liked.
A.
Centre it on Aoteoroa and be surprised. (Easy in google earth.)
Really, this is why we invented 3D computer graphics.
You know who didn’t need no damn Mercator projection.
http://thenonist.com/index.php/thenonist/permalink/stick_charts/
You are complicit Parker as are all of labour.
“Parker described it as a “momentous” day for New Zealand and world trade, and said the CPTPP had become even more vital now the World Trade Organisation was in such a parlous state.
The CPTPP represented 13 per cent of the worlds GDP, and its member countries had a combined annual gdp of just under $15 trillion New Zealand dollars.”
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/108238830/cptpp-trade-deal-over-the-line-after-final-nations-ratify-pact
One of our strongest-supported pieces of legislation in a while.
If the WTO starts failing by end of next year, such agreements may be the closest to rule-based trade that small states like us can get.
The structural entropy is accelerating.
Supported by who?
I still haven’t seen majority support for it from the people. Only the idiots in government and business.
Parliament.
Obviously.
We’re supposedly a democracy which would indicate that it needs the support of the people.
Does it have that support?
Yes. Through every single party’s votes in the New Zealand Parliament except the Greens. For the formation and passage of legislation, that is the very definition of democracy.
So yes, by an overwhelming democratic majority, it has that support.
Legislation is passed through the democratic system called parliament.
It sailed through.
It had that democratic support by the truckload.
See, that’s not actually a democracy. That’s a dictatorship no different from the feudal system.
You just pop down to parliament and give them a jolly good piece of your mind. Chant around it and see if it levitates for you.
You know how many anarcho-syndicalists does it take to change a lightbulb?
They just stand on a chair, hold the lightbulb up, and wait for the whole world revolve around them.
that’s a good ‘un
That’s awesome!
I’ve got one for you…
Q:How many kids with ADHD does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: “Do you wanna go bike riding?!”
(Maybe will have offended someone with that but I’m sure the lord will forgive me)
Dissing on ADHD Kids now …. How hypocritical You are !
“I still haven’t seen majority support for it from the people.”
Thats because a minority of a minority party – Greens- are opposed and cant sleep at night over the possibility of an investor sueing the government. They are sleepless I tell you.
What a load of bollocks.
I haven’t seen anything since that shows the support for this increasing.
That poll in 2015 wasnt the revised TPPA agreed to by Labour in 2018.
So you say you havent seen the support for TPPA increasing ?
Luckily I found something for you- but was same yr 2015
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11566580
only 27.4 per cent support TPP on the basis it would be good for New Zealand’s economic well-being, although that is up 4.5 points from September when just 22.9 per cent supported it.
Almost the same number, 25.8 per cent oppose it on the basis of the investor-state dispute settlement provisions, down 5.5 points from the same questions asked in September.
But 45.9 per cent formed no view on it, the same as September.
Thats means 73% have no view or support it . They are sleeping well at night.
Likely the revised investor -state dispute provisions – which mean local operating companies that have overseas owners have to go through local courts- means only a rump oppose it totally now.
Other polls
https://yournz.org/2016/02/28/tppa-poll/
Of course not much polling since then as its low concern to most.
So, we’re all about to get poorer – goodo.
100% Draco.
Labour sold us down the river as National did so they were both in bed to strip us of our Sovereignty.
Damn them all.
Defense firms see only hundreds of new U.S. jobs from Saudi mega deal
So, it’s really just another deal to boost the profits for the bludging shareholders of the military-industrial complex.
Kathryn Ryan, who’s incapable of recognizing bullshit
when it’s rubbed in her face, needs to talk to more children.
Nine to Noon, RNZ National, Wednesday 31 October 2018, 11:32 a.m.
During a discussion with Young Adult fiction author Melanie Rodriga, the host affected her most serious voice and intoned….
Melanie Rodriga, who seemed to be a bright person, was too polite to acknowledge the clanging, jangling irony of that statement.
https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2018/02/bradley-manning-show-trial-begins-in.html
https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2018/01/dame-ann-leslie-arrrrgggh.html
https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2018/01/is-it-possible-national-radio-is.html
So that first link – you cut and paste from here onto your blog and then post back here to direct people to your blog where a copy of the conversation from here is. Did enjoy seeing some old and long gone quality commenters there ta.
Thanks, Marty. That blog of mine I started many years ago, but only put two items on it and forgot about it until late last year. I’m paranoid about sites closing down and everything getting lost, as happened with the old Planet Rugby chat site, and the willful destruction of Google Groups. I have been trying to harvest everything I’ve done online since 2003.
Often I’ll link straight to The Standard or wherever I first posted, but since so much of my stuff is now on the blog, it’s often more convenient.
Yes your system works.
I’ve given up on my blog – a good record of the time though.
The poor wee devotees of liberalism will struggle with this one. It shows up just how far down the rabbit hole the fubar ideology has gone. Plus funny as.
+1 Adam – some of the best videos there are on foreign policy. Probably explains why our defence force now is expected to defend foreign and domestic corporations rather defend NZ people and sovereignty. Thanks neoliberalism.
“A movement, calling for ‘Blexit’ or exit of blacks from the Democratic party has been launched,..”
Not surprising really after Hillary’s latest unpleasant comment.
Lol Kanye is into it so it must be quality – nah it’s not.
Its fake news, the same as the Clinton message.
Hint she said No twice, when asked about 2020.
meanwhile Pence turns up in Pittsburgh with a ‘fake rabbi’ to offer prayers – In the name of Jesus – I kid you not!
“As he began his prayer, it became immediately clear that the rabbi, Loren Jacobs of Congregation Shema Yisrael in suburban Detroit, would not be considered a Jew by any of the four major denominations of Judaism. In his prayer, he mentioned the “saving power” of the Lord and concluded, “In the name of Jesus, amen.”
Rabbi Jacobs believes that Jesus is the Messiah, a conviction that is theologically incompatible with Judaism.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/30/us/mike-pence-rabbi-jacobs.html
Doesnt sound like there will be a jewish exodus from the democrats next week.
Clintons are all now confirmed as stool pigeons for the Global elite of course. They are still funded by George Soros the convicted criminal and attend “the Bilderberg Group” secret meetings.
Thank goodness we have decent gun control in NZ.
Ha!
Kia ora The Am Show Its good that thousands of new houses built are on the market in Auckland .
Is it a coincidence that there was a housing crisis in America Britain Canada NZ Banks love houses a safe bet they can most time’s claw there money back if thing go wrong Banks caused it with there lending policy’s I see one made a cool 2 billion .
Becoming a Republic do we need more political fighting for the head of states job do we want to have politics like they have in America at the minute I think not.
Maori and Pacific people won’t go for that we have other reason to if it aint broke don’t fix it one will end up with a big mess.
There you go all shonkys m8 are making billions banks retailers a lot of business profits at least % 30 higher after 9 years of national then bill decided to kick our youth.
Ka kite ano
I believe there is a God and Heaven we are living in Heaven now its just people don’t treat Te Papatuanuku / Mother Earth like a Heavenly thing and respect her and her creatures .
Men are chasing money and destroying our planet in 3 small life times we will only have % 10 of the wild creatures left this is why Eco Maori pushes for more wahine to become world leaders as MAN IS TURNING OUR HEAVEN INTO HELL we need wahine to kick there ASSES out and back to reality.
If one keeps shitting in one own back yard you end up in the SHIT not much logic needed to work that out.
The Maori view is that we are related to all the creatures and what do you know hundreds of years later scientist prove that thought to be fact the matrix genealogy .
The Maori view on our connection with Papatuanuku and her creatures is a common view of most indigenous cultures around Papatuanuku .
The neo liberals capitalist are running this heaven into hell all for there greed of prophet over everything else in the world change COMPANY Constitutional needed to have clauses in them to put our earth and decedents well being before profit .
Its a crying shame what man is doing to the world at the minute.
Humanity has wiped out 60% of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles since 1970, leading the world’s foremost experts to warn that the annihilation of wildlife is now an emergency that threatens civilisation.
The new estimate of the massacre of wildlife is made in a major report produced by WWF and involving 59 scientists from across the globe. It finds that the vast and growing consumption of food and resources by the global population is destroying the web of life, billions of years in the making, upon which human society ultimately depends for clean air, water and everything else. Ana to kai ka kite ano link below
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/30/humanity-wiped-out-animals-since-1970-major-report-finds
Some music for my other post its cool that some are getting the big picture we need all the common people to stand up and fight with there votes if we all vote the pollies will BUCKLE and start making laws that benefit all creatures.
Man does not own the Earth we are just caretakers for the next generations wake up
History shows that, when presented with unpalatable evidence of the undesirable effects of our decisions, we either bury our collective heads in the sand, or order the problems we face in terms of their tractability. Where they are judged to be intractable, as in this instance, they are relegated for later attention. We cannot continue to delude ourselves that the transition to near-zero fossil fuel use is possible without global mandation.
The overriding message located between the lines of the IPCC report is that we must lead our lives within the planet’s means. In all conscience, we are currently locked into a process that will inevitably result in passing on a dying planet to our children and their successors. Should this not be at the absolute top of the international debating agenda? Ka kite ano
My link to the story above multi tasking Ka kite ano.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/oct/30/climate-change-action-effective-ipcc-report-fossil-fuels
The go oil party are big cheats taking minority people right to Democracy right to vote with corrupt laws. The federally-recognized Spirit Lake Tribe filed a complaint Tuesday against North Dakota Secretary of State Alvin Jaeger that reads: “Jaeger’s implementation of the residential address requirement has imposed severe—sometimes insurmountable—burdens on the right to vote for many voters on reservations.”
Every time the secretary of state’s Alvin Jaeger is asked a question that indicates deceit on his and his office behalf he showed Eco Maori he was lying the eyes are A direct view into ones true intentions the mouth can lie but the eyes reveal those LIES .
Kia kaha wahine and fight for the right of our childrens future. link is below ka kite ano
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/10/31/politics/native-american-tribe-suing-north-dakota-voter-id/index.html
Mana Wahine Barba Streisand has a new Album Just released Kia kaha.
Some Eco Maori Music For The Minute
Just five countries hold 70% of the world’s remaining untouched wilderness areas and urgent international action is needed to protect them, according to new research.The UQ and WCS study, published in the journal Nature, identifies Australia, the US, Brazil, Russia and Canada as the five countries that hold the vast majority of the world’s remaining wilderness. Link is below Ka kite ano.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/31/five-countries-hold-70-of-worlds-last-wildernesses-map-reveals
Kia ora Newshub The banks have been shutting down banks in rural places leaving people with banking services .I see shonky have his bull line in the herald to he made the problem and is throwing up a smokescreen he should go play golf with trump.
There you go those Saudi sisters have lost there lives it doesn’t look good for the Saudis they will never become a major place for all people to visit if they carry on treating wahine and the lower class people like dirt .
That’s cool the goverment has a new housing development plan’s for Porirua . I say the Law commission or whom ever is advocating law changes should worry more about the common poor person not getting a fair go from New Zealand laws 6 times the system has underarm bowled Eco Maori cheated me
Carbon based fuel is going to be a thing of the past the faster the better the fuel company’s should invest in green energy that’s the future or else you are pushing up hill.
No comment on the police pay I seen two following me at the supermarket with uniform I gave them a ki ora they could not even look at me I blasted the Rock radio music and drove off respectfully on Tuesday.
Ka kite ano
Ki ora James & Storm from The Crowd Goes Wild
The coach has confidences in his players who are playing Japan test team the Japan team have there Kiwi connection coaching staff .
That was a good game of T20 cricket for the Kiwis and Pakistan.
Hope the white ferns have a good run at there T20 cricket matches kia kaha ladys.
The wife loves her horrors not me comedy science and doco’s .
Josh rafting with the Aussies nice tat one should know that if they are encouraging you to sit some ware its a set up.
Money makes the soccer ball go around Qutar wining the football world cup.
Ka kite ano .
Maori TV Te Kaea I got side tracked helping my offspring .Kia kaha ka kite ano