Twyford is a dead man walking. The meta from today's stories in Stuff is he has zero political capital, his credibility is exhausted and the media smell blood.-
I’m no fan of Twyford, he’s certainly turning out to be a less than stella cabinet minister. And it’s intolerable that he appears to have totally fucked up the years of light rail planning in Auckland. But this campaign by Coughlan in cahoots with Chris Bishop and National’s old pals still in the the transport ministry is starting to look pretty nasty and personal.
Yes, it’s appalling when the opposition does its job and points out that Twyford couldn’t even plan the route for light rail, let alone product a plan to build it. Must be a media conspiracy that prevented Twyford from pulling out a map and finding a route, which is almost identical to a road, from the cbd to mount roskill.
Twyford is at the heart of some of the government's most ambitious and difficult plans. He is simultaneously managing huge capital demands and battling a range of entrenched interests to effect major changes in policy and performance. It was never going to be easy. Nor is it obvious that all of those policies are well-founded. But they are the government's agenda.
If anything, his greatest personal failing mirrors that of the government as a whole – he's better at thinking policy up than at executing it. He's also not terribly humble about that fact.
But it's highly contestable to suggest that he should be falling on his sword in response to a campaign by a government agency to protect its own patch.
Excellent hit job by Stuff. A new Minister with a big knife and plenty of gaffer tape should cure the problems with a department that sounds dysfunctional.
For no other reason than destroying the dreams of those who were sold the Kiwibuild dream, he needs to go. March 18 we had confirmed the promise of $600k cap from the election was still there, then less than 2 months later sorry it is now $650k.
Thanks to that inability of this government we have lost 3+ years into addressing the housing issue. His legacy will go well beyond this govts tenor.
we now face in the 2020 election a bad option or a slightly worse option. Meanwhile the rest of us face REAL day to day issues.
median 'household' income in Auckland would be around $120k . Any other system of direct government subsidy to reduce the price to say $450k would be a $$$ gift to those who can take advantage of it.
The building of state houses for rent as social housing is continuing, Kiwibuild isnt designed to replace that
I don't know how your response relates to my comment, I’m guessing it was for Herodotus.
But aside from that, I'd be interested in where are you finding the median Auckland household income? I can only find the average, which is not the same. Also, it might have some data on the distribution of income and number of household occupants.
No idea where Duke gets his figures from, but this seems more accurate to me…
"First-home buyers in Auckland would need to be earning three times the median income to be able to afford a comfortable first home, according to real estate statistics website One Roof.
Based on the median house value in Auckland of $1.2 million, a household would need to earn $241,200 to comfortably afford mortgage repayments of 5.79 percent over 30 years.
That's triple the median income of $76,232, and the household would also need to be able to save $248,607 for a 20 percent deposit, according to One Roof."
Another concern I have about using "household" income is that overcrowded or multiple family households, flatten out any financial stresses that would otherwise be apparent. A household with grown children earning money, but unable to afford their own housing on their individual income, will be contributing to the statistics of household income and improving it.
Also, given the information in your link. The article shows the disparity (or despair-ity) of median housing costs compared to median incomes. Although we know that indicates that at least half the households are in that position – or worse – we have no idea how the top 50% is distributed, and whether the housing stress affects 51% or 80%.
I never did understand why Kiwibuild was separated from the need for social housing – the two go together – it is all about making sure that as many as possible have somewhere to call home. As for why some initial targets have not been able to be met, there are two that I suspect do not get much attention. The first is that housing is just one of the neglected (or deliberately diminished) areas of government service – the previous government did its best to either privatise (largely to "Charities", but that produced a fragmented industry that cannot be measured, and importantly reduced expectations of government doing anything itself), or sell off state houses to private purchasers. The second is the comparative weakness of the building industry. The Government choices regarding Christchurch were to use Fletchers as much as possible – controlling supply, the pace of work, and subcontractors. Accompanying that were a deliberate mis-interpretation of insurance contracts (requiring fixed price sign offs from policyholders for example) and shoddy regulatory monitoring. We now know that many newer buildings collapse in an earthquake than those built 50 to 100 years ago; we know that concrete has not always had the correct amount of steel reinforcing, or properly connected steel. We know that New Zealand builders are bejind overseas companies with mechanisation and pre-built houses – our big companies do not want to knw, while small companies go bankrupt too easily . . .
We know the limitations of our clean water, waste water and sewage reticulation systems – new developments are harder than they used to be. Then we have stupid pandering to employers to bring in large numbers of people to keep wages low – remember when baristas was the biggest single occupation for immigrants? The separation of trade education from work meant that it was cheaper for companies to avoid having apprentices; that is only now being turned around by the current government, and unemployment is lower partly a a result. Some of the problems we now know exist are the fault of deferred maintenance and poor regulation in the last government, and some of them have also been surprises to all of New Zealand in the last 2 years. Deferred maintenance in Health has been well publicised, but it goes beyond just buildings to staff levels and (together with teachers) to pay levels. All that has required ambitions for the current government to not always be met. It is fair to say that some could have been anticipated, but not all of them.
National's preoccupation with selected bits of government is well known – and as we know from The Standard, most of their claims turn out to be severely distorted, if not plain wrong.
Kiwibuild was only meant to reduce prices in the part of the 'market' above social housing levels. To drag houses on an average section in an average suburb from $900k to 750k, say. Not remotely 'affordable' for most families.
State houses were always going to have a bigger impact at the bottom and this govt have done an appalling job of communicating what they have done in that space.
Irrespective of the merits of Kiwibuild, it created great hope out there, and this was initially promoted in 2014. So there has been plenty of time available to ensure that this at least was more successful that what is has been, and many of the issues should have been worked out, instead of fixing it as we go 4 years after its conception. The hubris that has surrounded this when valid short comings were pointed out.
What are the 20-30's who placed their hope into this scheme ? 3 years wasted, dreams destroyed.
And remember this govt. increased the scope from 50k to 100k over 10 years, without any prompting.
It was probably pretty well planned out – but when you hit reality, sometimes plans go awry.
For me, KB always gets points for actual effort and setting up a testable goal. Like a lot of this government's work.
That having been said, it's fallen well short. But Twyford never struck me as being a Clare Curran, so maybe replacing him won't magically improve things. Maybe the initial slog of KB is just a much worse job than expected.
I was never a fan of this approach. In effect, it actually reinforces buoyant market prices for housing.
I had posted this link previously, about Grand Design series "The Street" about an approach to housing development that provides benefits to both the purchaser and the authorities. Apparently the series is going to be on NZ television soon.
The original Netherlands development Almere is still going, and worthwhile researching for how successful it has been in providing lower-cost housing, while building community:
Custom-build housing: Almere Poort
Initiated at the height of the financial crisis when housing providers had virtually stopped building, Almere Poort is a project built on council land as part of the city plans to provide affordable housing for low-income households of €20,000 (£14,500) a year.
Individuals can purchase a plot designated by the local authority. Once the plot is secured and a mortgage in place, the buyer is free to customise their home from a wide variety of different “ready-made” homes, many designed by in-house architects.
Ekim Tan, co-founder of Play The City, which uses gaming to resolve complex urban challenges, worked on an interactive user guide for the Almere project. She says the mayor’s idea was to make a direct relationship between the local authority and the housebuyer.
“They [volume housebuilders] feared the project’s success because it proved that the public could do without them,” adds Floris Alkemade, former partner at architects OMA and project architect for the masterplan.
The first view of the government;s housing plan showed it as not only feeble but probably terminal. How come the voters were cast in the role of the simple, direct, clear-eyed viewers on the sideline looking at the Emperor with No Clothes, but a heck of a con story to sell us?
Where are the smarts in Cabinet? Did they get left on the Cabinet table after a meeting. And was it like that funny happening on the way to an Art Installation where the arrangement of an Aftermath of a 'do' with cigarette ends and other detritus', was mistaken as rubbish by the prosaic cleaner and swept away.
Not what I would call art; and the Cabinet decisions lacked veracity also.
Ryan Bridge really? Who gives a toss what he thinks.
And Newshub knows like everybody else that Lees-Galloway had no choice but to allow the guy to stay if we were to comply with our international obligations.
Lets not forget Newshub as part of MediaWorks is going down the toilet and this bullshit is one of the reasons why.
It would help if people were less prepared to be spoon-fed bullshit. A lot of the time no one does any research for themselves, preferring to just meekly accept what they're being told, without knowing if it's a partisan hit-job, or just the 'feels' of some sour hack with an axe to grind. David Cunliffe was put through the wringer based on what turned out to be manufactured horseshit, and yet you had John Armstrong hysterically shrieking about his resignation. If 'The Hollow Men' and 'Dirty Politics' taught us anything, it's that none of this stuff is accidental. There's a cohesive strategy behind it.
That's a weak point Paddington, whatever is written about you will affect perceptions so you should drop off as soon as someone makes up a convincing lie? Where do standards sit in your part of the world – does anyone try to do anything good, and do most that you know sit on fences going hee-haw at the earnest tryers while they make up some juicy concoction about them for the gullible.
It's not a 'weak point', it is an observation of human frailty. The media's influence is, at least in part, determined by the willingness of the general public to accept 'news' at face value. When we challenge prevailing narrative, when we scratch below the surface, we expose the shallowness of media coverage. Too few do.
Actually I think Clark, would, if she felt that her minister was being undermined by his ministry, have moved pretty smartly to curtail a few careers in that department. The minister would have been most likely given a minder and told not to move unless Heather Simpson said he could.
I suspect part of Twyford's problem is that he has been too trusting of some in his ministry portfolios. Once upon a time these officials were strictly neutral but I fear that is no longer the case.
Twyford IS the problem IMO along with the other ABC national light ministers such as Nash, Robertson, Hipkins, Parker, O'Connor etc. WTF does Faafoi do !
Phildo has fallen into the trap of thinking his dept is behind him when any idiot can see the entire public service was turned over by National to suit it’s backers requirements.
Also there is the toxicity that is Shane Jones who thrives on undermining Labour with a proven history of laziness, arrogance and boorish behaviour.
But everyone knew that Shane Jones was like that tc, and he was chosen I think, despite those attributes because he was someone that the centre-Trump voters would feel akin to. Probably his rating is still positive with that group despite having his foot in his mouth, his automatic rifle in his meaty arm etc.
No doubt there. Quite a few ministries are larded with so many Gnat spoilers they're a trap for ministers – Radio NZ for one. By all means give Twyford a holiday – but lose the fake public servants – there's no place for them under this government.
That attack is bollocks- Nat party stooge is helped by journo. Coughlin needs to be asked why he doesn't identify the clear party affiliation.
The bigger question is why were we f- around with PPPs. It's a marquee policy- Twyford isn't on his own here. Sure he hasn't done that well, but he's not working in a vacuum.
Nope quite different. I'm asking if he was encouraged to seek a PPP when the project was quite a ways down the track and had already been campaigned on.
Snowden's twitter account is rich in news including Brazil, with the Bolsonaro family implicated in murder,Epstein's "suicide" (looking more like homicide according to Michael Baden who observed the autopsy)latest polling from New Hampshire..Sanders leading
Snowden's memoir Permanent Record should make interesting reading
Does anyone know the policy around police involvement in Auckland Transport fare dodging?
My son is a regular commuter on AT trains into Auckland. Leaves home between 5.30 and 6.30am so often wears a hoodie and sometimes a beanie for his early morning commute and just plays podcasts on his phone to pass the time.
He noticed several police officers board the train, and precede an AT staff member down the aisle. Surreptitious hand signals to the AT staff member resulted in various passengers being asked to confirm their fare payment. He was one of them.
Is this a judicious use of police time? Given that AT staff has a right to require proof of fare at any time, what would this operation been useful for? The only thing I can think of is immediate arrest of any farejumper.
Does anyone know the reasoning or legality behind this? Seems a lot like casual profiling.
Anyone who has approached the police about certain types of crimes – especially if it involves harassment, bullying and intimidatory criminal acts is likely to be – metaphorically speaking – turfed out on to the street and told to stop bothering the police. There have been instances in the past when women in particular have been physically attacked and even killed because police didn't take them seriously.
Yet they're happy to hop on a train and check law abiding passengers' tickets to see if they have diddled some corporate body of a dollar or two. Money talks.
About half of each region's public transit operations funding has to come from fares under current regulations.
People who steal free rides are not reducing some company's profits but are disdvantaging everyone else who uses and benefits from PT – hence operators all over the world act against that theft. Many places have dedicated transit enforcement officers so they are not diverting attention from other policing. NZ could do that if our govt changes the law.
Except Sacha, they are not acting on evidence or suspicion of someone breaking the law.
This is purely going through the carriage and pointing out persons to the AT staff member – who already has the ability to ask for proof of fare, and can arrange for suitable backup at the next station if there is evidence of fare dodging. This is profiling.
Given climate change transition requirements, the regulations that should be changed is not to introduce more police to the transport system, but to subsidise public transport fully.
AT already have ticket checkers, who can randomly check for fare dodgers. That is still the point.
My last sentence added after initial posting, was for Sacha, who in his closing sentence suggested regulation change would make police on transport systems legal. I should have ensured the missing the point comment stayed in position. We subsidise a lot of things, limiting subsidies of public transport to only 50% of cost is limiting options in addressing climate change, and reducing the harm from air pollution. We should at least consider higher levels of subsidy. My preference would be fully subsidised public transport for NZ citizens.
But grammar aside, do you think this it a good use of police resources, and whether it is a form of profiling?
We rang cops a few weeks back as a friends phone went missing then she got a call she could get phone back for $100 (she got him down to $10), she asked for cops to witness but they said they didn't have the staff, just take some friends. I went with her, scary dudes, paid $10, got phone back.
AT staff have no power to detain anyone. Offenders scarper at will unless police are there. Having specific transit officers who do not need to be fully-trained police is one way other places manage that.
Profiling is another thing altogether and not specific to this situation.
Free PT is an ideal but meeting the daily peak demands for it may not be achievable without pricing or some other rationing system. I believe our current arrangements deliver neither fairness nor climate action.
Sacha – It appears that you think profiling is happening here, and it is one of Molly's points. Some of the comments that pass for answers that you and Duke put up are off the track but you imply you have definite knowledge, which can not be possible as you make replies to everything, and no-one knows everything.
I don't know about the transport policing, but our country's approach seems to let things happen that make life hard for folks, and intrusively check on the population for infringements, and when people can't or don't comply with rules, they get punished. It would be better if the country was run to make it easy for people to manage their lives, but that idea isn't on the table.
I compare police going on transport looking for unpaid money infringement, and at hospital in the A&E section, their own security staff have to handle assault and violence infringements. That is where police should be stationed, at least one all night, and that would be policing for the people's good.
OK, I accept that. So what is the benefit of a police presence in this situation, given the level of the crime and the ability of AT to call ahead to have police present at the next station.
Profiling is another thing altogether and not specific to this situation.
In this case, the use of police – who are looked on to be experts in criminals – to identify possible farejumpers is the definition of profiling. Random checks are already possible.
Free PT is an ideal but meeting the daily peak demands for it may not be achievable without pricing or some other rationing system. I believe our current arrangements deliver neither fairness nor climate action.
I agree about the fairness and the climate action. I haven't witnessed any real discussions about higher subsidies for public transport either from this government or our local transport associations. I have seen dismissals that price was not considered to be a deterrent.
I have little faith that the pragmatists, who are usually not the most vulnerable or financially stressed, will even consider the impact of fairness in discussions about raising the 50% threshold that you stated was a regulatory limit. I would like to see that happen, and although I would like to see free public transport – understand the limitations of delivering that result.
I would love public transit to be free for our poorest and youngest – something like the Gold Gard. Also cheaper than increasing that 50% subsidy across the board. Nothing to stop govt doing it right away.
I would love public transit to be free for our poorest and youngest – something like the Gold Gard.
My partner's father, who died at the age of 93, utilised his Gold Card to catch the bus, train, ferry to Devonport and then return for a days outing. The benefit he had from this in terms of mental and physical health was considerable. As a community, we also benefit from having our older citizens visible, engaged and active. However, he was financially well off.
Any assessment on suitability for discounts etc is often crude and badly managed. We don't measure income vs fixed outgoings, we just measure taxed incomes. I know a few people who live very comfortable lives including private schools for their children and long annual overseas trips that are entitled to community services cards or similar benefits because of the way their personal incomes are calculated. Until these designs get better, I would rather have a way for citizens to access lower fares and leave the higher fares for tourists and non-citizens. We used to have a discount card provided for access to our local swimming pools that was delivered once a year to all households in our district. It allows those that regularly contribute taxes on top of fares, a reduction in fares and recognises their contribution.
Here's another one for Greywarshark. The guy couldn't be bothered stopping for police. Wimpy judge gives an $850 fine and Community detention………should have got jail time of say, six months and a fine of at least $5k. Need a decent deterrent. I believe the fines for not stopping for police in Australia are a lot harsher which may be a real deterrent which may be why police do not chase as often.
In contrast, all other Australian jurisdictions permit a term of imprisonment from the first offence of failing to stop, with Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) having the most significant penalties. In Queensland, a conviction for failing to stop carries a maximum penalty of three years’ imprisonment and a fine up to $25,230 AUD. In the ACT, offenders on their second or subsequent offence can be imprisoned for up to three years and fined up to $63,000 AUD. In New South Wales, the penalties are more severe – offenders can be imprisoned for up to three years for first offence and up to five years for a second or subsequent offence.
The whole report is worth a read. Probably several times to absorb it all, there's a lot there.
This fellow is not going to be affected by bigger fines, whatever. He sounds like someone a bit lost, out of control, hophead or a druggie, definitely not going to be have second thoughts about behaving better as he doesn't even have first ones by the sounds.
Defence lawyer Michael Scott said Chasteauneuf was under significant stress at the time, resulting in him being admitted to Palmerston North Hospital's mental health ward.
Australia having heavy penalties and putting people in prison would not be a useful line for us to follow. We already imprison people, second to the USA, which is an indication that we too are a hollow country, looks good on the outside, but inside worm-eaten.
He looks as if he might come from a comfortably off family and perhaps there has not been enough time spent helping him through the difficult teen years, with affection and encouragement.
Something that those who know-all might be able to advise is about set tasks for people needing actual 'correction'. If he was told to go to driving instruction and perhaps counselling, and didn't go, would he be followed up and then given a short jail term? I have the idea that after conviction there isn't much available except that Maori are trying to work with their own people.
WTF ? This is the judge (who's on 350K a year) – …..the chase put numerous people at risk, including police officers, the judge said. "They don't get paid enough for that to occur." "They don't get paid enough……"???
I mean the comment, apparently made to a probation officer – "I couldn't be bothered stopping…." is obviously a load of weird crap yet it seems that at both ends we're happy to settle for that as definitional. The media at one end and the wiseacres on here at the other end who lustily fantasise that smashing up an attitudinally fucked young life is going to result in a young life that's not fucked up ???
It's almost like we don't actually want any advance.
Surprise surprise. When you give rich people money, they keep it.
/
Mechanism by which the GOP tax cut was supposed to supercharge growth was by supercharging business investment. Business investment instead *fell* last quarter, by 3% annualized.
investment in structures — factories, offices, oil rigs, etc. — plunged 15.3% in Q3, after falling 11.1% in Q2
This was 2nd consecutive quarter in which overall business investment shrank.
2019 GDP growth also now on track to equal about what it averaged during Obama’s 2nd term.
The Trump economic agenda — tax cuts, trade wars, pro-pollution deregulation — ain’t so magical after all
Also worth pointing out that the mechanism by which we were supposed to get supercharged biz investment was through big capital inflows to the US. Capital inflows to US have instead been shrinking
A great move. Someone makes a start at taming the digital wild west.
We’ve made the decision to stop all political advertising on Twitter globally. We believe political message reach should be earned, not bought. Why? A few reasons…🧵
Twitter bans political ads in yet another attempt by the left to silence Trump and conservatives. Wouldn’t be surprised if @twitter lifted the ban after 2020.
The most sophisticated online program ever known? Really? Spittle-flecked Twitter rants at two in the morning because Faux News doesn't lavish you with unearned praise any more? It'd be funny if it weren't so sad.
Poor fucking Brad Parscale my heart weeps. One day maybe not too long off 'conservatives' will be declaring from under their straw coiffs that Trump was never a 'conservative' anyway. Which the decent people knew forever.
BREAKING: Chile's President Sebastián Piñera announces his embattled government will not host the APEC & COP25 summits "given the circumstances of recent weeks". Protesters continue to demonstrate, daily, and sometimes violently, protesting income inequality & social injustice. pic.twitter.com/MdLxOZkFOH
The crisis in Chile is terrifying, protesters are "violent" because cops are beating people up, and reports of rape and brutality etc. Scary place right now.
Someone held in jail in harsh conditions because he is an environmentalist who has criticised the USA government and was labelled as a possible terrorist! And Muslims who seem perfectly good people but paranopia finds them otherwise. I found this clip on line and interested people may have missed the link and my comment at –
What the heck? Our lives are to be continually disrupted by paranoid super liberal middle class apparatchiks who want to turn our lives upside down and spoil them to accommodate the new, demanding, restless culture who will never be happy and always mewling about something that they haven't got. It is an unimagined expansion of the Me Generation that wishes to insert themselves into every niche and space we have.
Now students have decided that they shouldn't clap with enthusiasm because..,.
Jazz hands is the British Sign Language expression of clapping, and the [Oxford] university union hopes that by doing away with clapping, whooping and cheering, events will be more accessible to people suffering from anxiety and those with hearing problems…
Frank Furedi is emeritus professor of sociology at the University of Kent. He is well known for his work on the sociology of fear, education, therapy culture, paranoid parenting and the sociology of knowledge.
"One of the great things about applauding, or applauding people, is it brings people together it's a kind of solidarity and you see it in sporting events in concerts, in all kinds of public situations.
"And if now, what you do is you kind of marginalise that very human way of identifying with each other. I think that has a very negative effect on the spirits."
Ferudi is a long-time critic of a style of parenting and teaching that he believes medicalises ordinary life challenges.
If you get tired of the constant PCness arising each day like weeds, you might like Ruth Dudley Edwards’ (Irish/UK writer) book called Murdering Americans about how an educational business makes money from teaching this stuff, and doesn’t like it being exposed to public gaze.
Surely, the acceptable norm that includes both jazz hands and audible clapping with understanding of noise sensitivities is the desired outcome?
People aware of such sensitivities, such as my sister-in-law who had several operations on her head and scalp, will often remove themselves from situations where noise may be an issue. Or she – in rare instances – will use hearing protection to protect herself from the associated pain of loud noises.
It would be good to see a combination of both "jazz hands" and "palm-to-palm" clapping being so common, that it is accepted without need for discourse.
How do you mean? Having a mix won't solve the noise/anxiety issue.
I'm quite sensitive to noise for health reasons and I'm ok with avoiding places where people are clapping and cheering if it's too much for me. This is a key human experience, to express excitement and joy by making a noise, not a good thing to interfere with.
I can imagine some exceptions to this eg where people with anxiety or noise sensitivity are speaking or at an event that is specific to them. I can also see the value in an option of some events using jazz hands. I'm a big fan of quiet spaces too, and hope libraries sort out the conflict on this sooner rather than later. Rather than banning clapping/cheering, I'd rather see quiet spaces increased.
Hi Molly, yes, I read it as a reply. I just wasn't clear what you meant by "It would be good to see a combination of both "jazz hands" and "palm-to-palm" clapping being so common, that it is accepted without need for discourse."
The comment " If you get tired of the constant PCness arising each day like weeds" just struck me as non-inclusive. I could be reading it wrong, but would like to live in a society where differences are just accepted, and not referred to as PC.
I know what you mean, and rising intolerance seems a thing. We don't seem that good at the moment as a society for resolving conflicting needs and it think this is made worse by the tension and fear people are feeling about the world.
I agree about library, not perfect quiet but controlled quiet. We have a man who clucks like a hen every few minutes, I don't know if I am unreasonable to dislike this. But if there were a few of them and perhaps a mentally different person whooping away then it is hardly a space for concentrated thinking.
Too much chatting and socialising of young people at the library general spaces some times. They need to be shushed off to their own space where they could enjoy talking at the tops of their voices.
I suppose headphones would help, and block out the distractions.
Too much chatting and socialising of young people at the library general spaces some times.
Libraries are almost our last equal access community space, open to all demographics, ages and skill levels. If it is used as a free sociable space by any community members, I'm all for it. Too many are trying to diminish or remove libraries, and they need to adapt.
Some of the more recent library buildings have a purpose-built acoustically designed quiet reading space. I think this is a great solution for those who want to read in silence while in the library. Best thing is, they can also take out items on loan and read in the privacy of their own homes – with a cup of tea.
it's not hard to design spaces once the needs are understood. Because libraries have traditionally been quiet places, I favour keeping them that way and adding in other, more socially loud spaces (or times). Not everyone can take books home to read. I sometimes used to sit in the library just to rest.
Papakura library was renovated a few years ago, and I tried out their quiet reading room. It was great, there was a specific toddler reading and singing activity scheduled, but inside the room itself was all comfortable armchairs and quiet.
As someone who enjoys quiet spaces, I understand the preference for libraries to remain so. I am also painfully aware of reoccurring proposals that aim to reduce or diminish our library resources. For me, making them more valued and indispensable to a wide range of ages and people may include changing traditional rules about how they are used. It's a fine balance though, and must include provisions for those who have always valued the library for it's quiet public space.
There are places I don't go because the noise is too loud, and heavy metal bands I avoid. I put my habnds to my ears when standing on the tarmac waiting to board a plane and one is revving next door, you do have to be careful with your hearing.
After dismissing the rants from Anti-Twyfords today it was refreshing to read Patrick Smellie' column. Won't stop the odious from creating mischief but any reasonable person might wonder at the mountains out of little bumps.
Consistent with Wellington's failure for years to get its act together under the previous government, the Basin Reserve and Mt Victoria tunnel choke point remains at the heart of the political stalemate between motorists and the public transport lobby….
…
"Some of the current commentary has suggested an entirely appropriate meeting between Twyford and the NZ Super Fund about the fund's alternative proposal for light rail was somehow illegitimate. In the process, the NZ Super Fund's good name is dragged through the mud, as if its desire to fund a multi-billion dollar asset for the country's largest city were some evil plot.
Wondering about the concerted attack focussed on the same people from papers, blogs, radio online. Going to be hard going for the next 12 months. Did I read that Bridges has 7 staff working on media and only 2 on policies?
The fact the new NZTA chair, Brian Roche, and Twyford are in unison in suggesting NZTA dropped the ball on the Super Fund proposal should be read as evidence the agency stonewalled rather than that Twyford has a yes-man on board or that this is all just some giant Twyford screw-up.
Aha… just as I thought. Petty-fogging officials are far more likely to be behind the screw-up – not Phil Twyford. To describe Twyford as incompetent and not up to ministerial level tasks is poppycock.
I know him well and have seen him in action on the campaign front. He's a superb organiser and knows exactly what he wants to do. I can imagine him getting up the noses of some in officialdom who like to think they are the real masters of policy formation and expect ministers to follow them – not the other way around.
Twyford is a glass half-full personality. Nothing is impossible to him but, maybe, when you're in government some things are impossible – at least in the short term. And that could be where he came a little unstuck.
"Twyford is a glass half-full personality. Nothing is impossible to him but, maybe, when you're in government some things are impossible – at least in the short term. And that could be where he came a little unstuck."
and that is possibly the most generous and polite description I have ever read
Why did he get both Housing and Urban Development as well as Transport to start off with? That was a really bad decision on the part of the Labour medical team. He couldn't breathe life into both those portfolios, especially seeing housing had an overdose of happy potion.
Maybe this Government has been trying too hard? I can't really think of any Minister in the previous Government who pushed so hard on any program that the people pointed the finger at rate of progress. Hard to think of any real strides forward. Therefore if Phil had promised little and kept very quiet, no more chitter chat then the naysayers would be stumped.
The coalition Government has actually achieved a huge amount in 2 years haven't they?
Some truth in that. Especially where Phil is concerned. As I said… he's a glass half full type of person who puts his heart and soul into any venture he is involved in.
Well Labour over-promised and expected miracles in giving Twyford two demanding and key portfolios. I wonder again why did they make this error, it's lacking in reason. Housing has been top of the mind for yonks and people wanted action. Gaping holes could be seen. I don't understand how things work – voters elect a government and then government puts all responsibility for certain work on a particular MP who then seems to become king-pin though the government wear the results.
Dr Sommer Kapitan, Auckland University of Technology, and Dr Patrick van Esch, Auckland University of TechnologyThe Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Bill will limit vape sales at dairies and service stations to only three flavours, and make vaping illegal in smokefree areas. Vaping laws will be more ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Aug 2, 2020 through Sat, Aug 8, 2020Editor's ChoiceFive Years After Speaking Out on Climate Change, Pope Francis Sounds an Urgent AlarmThe encyclical ‘Laudato Si’ motivated many people ...
From some quarters, incessant scaremongering. From others, it’s a full-on tilt into touching the alarmist buttons a little too readily (uncertain times make for very captive audiences with this angle of attack). The (so-called) Opposition (and merely regarding them as that seems to be a far looser term now ...
National Party leader - Judith CollinsElections often bring out the best and worst in politicians. Some rise to the occasion and provide us with a clear vision for the future. While others wallow in resentment and controversy, over-relying on attack politics to try to attain the interest of voters.That’s been ...
The attempts to sabotage Corbyn's leadership seems likely to do more damage than Corbyn supposedly ever could have done, even if all the stories about him were true:I was reluctant to say anything but this is too important, the full story needs to be told.Don’t let anyone ever tell ...
Good day to everyone. I’ve been asked by Mr Thinks to come here and talk to you all about my concerns regarding the government response to Covid-19. We’ve been living through this pandemic for, what seems like, years. Years and years and years. Why else would the National Party have ...
‘Good Economics for Hard Times’ should be on your reading list. New Zealand does not have a Minister of Labour. It has Ministers of Immigration and Workplace Relations and Safety but there is no minister with responsibility for the labour market. That responsibility was abolished in 2012 when ...
Back in the Kyoto era, the international climate change regime included a Clean Development Mechanism to fund emissions reduction projects in developing nations. Essentially someone would certify that a project - e.g. building a windfarm, or installing energy-efficient lightbulbs - would reduce emissions over and above "business-as-usual". The project would ...
As the classic MMP cartoon goes, just look at who is against it. Yesterday, the Hamilton City Council voted to use STV for its next two local body elections. The move was initially opposed by deputy mayor Geoff Taylor. The reason? Because a voting system which provided accurate representation and ...
On Wednesday evening (which in Parliament’s weird world technically was still Tuesday because urgency had been taken and so time stood still), MPs united to remove a pretty terrible piece of law from our statute books. No real fanfare or fireworks accompanied this action. Indeed, I didn’t even know about it ...
By Geoffrey Miller Prominent refugee advocate Murdoch Stephens says he is disappointed by Judith Collins’ reaction to Immigration New Zealand’s decision to grant refugee status to Kurdish-Iranian writer Behrouz Boochani. Judith Collins told media last month that “there’s a lot of concern in New Zealand about what they see as ...
Hello all. Judith here to talk about how National are going to take the election in September. The National Party prides itself its unity and cohesion. We are working together to deliver for New Zealanders. First of all, ee are a strong team. We are a very strong team. Our ...
Parliament has just begun the adjournment debate, signalling the effective end of this Parliament. So it seems like an appropriate time to assess Labour's term in office. Unfortunately, its a pretty dismal assessment. Labour campaigned on one thing: change. Not just a change in who got the top jobs and ...
Our climate change policies are insufficient to achieve our goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, according to independent assessor Climate Action Tracker: New Zealand won’t be carbon neutral by 2050 without much stronger policies, says an independent analysis by Climate Action Tracker. The non-profit highlighted a lack of active ...
That was clearly a huge explosion. Just after the explosion, we see a cloud of ‘fog’ moving outwards at high speed. This is a shockwave, rather similar to that which causes a sonic boom. The ‘fog’ is caused by water condensing from the atmosphere in areas of intense low pressure ...
Can we postpone this year’s election? Quite frankly, the political parties don’t seem ready for it, and aren’t about to offer voters the necessary policy choices for the unprecedented times we’re in. We’ve ended up with a campaign focused on scandal, personality and leadership, with a policy void that’s worse ...
It is the last sitting day of Parliament, and the last question time before the House is dissolved. So, are there any questions about the damning findings of the Hit and Run inquiry, and how the government plans to bring the military back under democratic control? Of course not. ...
Property speculator - John KeyThe National Party must be in dire straits to have to rely on John Key to campaign on their behalf. Not only has the former PM been in the news claiming the recently released unemployment figures aren’t accurate, the fool has also been promoting the opening ...
Nothing Too Drastic: Few would dispute that the Left, today, are few in number. Is their failure to make the public aware of and act upon the manifest failures of the present system attributable to their lack of active energy and intelligence? Or, is it simply because the Left’s ideas ...
by Don Franks This talk was given to the Wellington Anti Capitalist Alliance, fifteen years ago. The ultimate weapons of mass destruction so far seen on this planet have been used just twice, 60 years ago this month. August 6 and August 9 1945 witnessed the US atomic bombing ...
After I noticed that my name had been taken yet again in vain by my friendly antagonist Tom Hunter over at No Minister, I went over to see what the fuss was about. Nothing much, but then I discovered a post about the Operation Burnham Inquiry by Psycho Milt. I ...
The COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020 was extended today, until December 1st or the tenth sitting day following the resumption of Parliament after the election. It seems like a necessary extension. While we currently have eradicated the virus in New Zealand, it is still banging at the door, and ...
One of the government's key policies - extracted by NZ First as part of its coalition agreement - is the "Provincial Growth Fund": $1 billion a year spent on creating jobs in rural New Zealand. Yesterday the Auditor-General issued a report on the fund, finding that it lacks transparency, and ...
The Warehouse, one of New Zealand's biggest retailers, has decided to stop selling coal. Good. Coal is a dirty, polluting fossil fuel, and the less of it we have out there, the better. Retailers choosing not to sell it sends a clear message that this is not a fuel we ...
The labour market statistics have been released, and they show that unemployment actually dropped last quarter. All told, there are 111,000 unemployed - 15,000 fewer than when the government took office. But before anyone thinks that the pandemic hasn't put people out of work, remember that this is for ...
Judy KavanaghI’m OK with wearing a CovidCard. But are you? There’s no point me doing it alone.The author modelling a (fake) CovidCard. I didn’t know much about the CovidCard proposal until I read Dave’s latest blog post. You would wear the card visibly on your person. It ...
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.nzWhy can’t I use the battery from my electric car ...
As many good things come in threes (as the saying goes), we are happy to announce a third partnership between Skeptical Science and other websites. Fakebook.eco in Brazil is joining Klimafakten.de in Germany and Nauka o Klimacie in Poland to leverage translated rebuttal material and to make the information readily available in other ...
This interview on RNZ with Ross Tucker, the scientist who headed a review of transgender athletes playing in women’s rugby, discusses the findings of the review and what it means for women in sports. The review that World Rugby undertook had a broad range of independent experts and included a ...
Siouxsie WilesThe restrictions in place for metropolitan Melbourne now are in some ways stricter than those that were in force during New Zealand’s COVID-19 lockdown. A curfew is in place and most people have to wear masks when they leave their home – neither of which happened in New ...
On Friday the Hit and Run inquiry delivered a devastating report which found that NZDF had systematically misled Ministers over civilian deaths. The report called into question civilian control of the military (and indeed, military control of the military), a fundamental principle of our democracy. So you'd expect our politicians ...
Let's Do This Again: What else can Jacinda do in a political environment so bereft of imagination and courage but seek a continuance? If she trades upon the extraordinary personal qualities that she has, miraculously, carried with her into the office of Prime Minister, then I, for one, will offer ...
How corrupt are the New Zealand Police? This corrupt: On 10 February 2019, Police attended a family harm incident. The suspect attempted to run the attending officers over in a driveway with his car, narrowly missing them, before fleeing the scene. A short pursuit followed, ending when the suspect stopped ...
Parliament's triennial Review of Standing Orders was released today, and it contains a number of welcome, if minor, improvements. The ones that caught my are: A move to encourage "pre-legislative engagement" - the government consulting widely on legislation before it is introduced - by promising easier passage (e.g. with ...
Lauren Vargo, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonGlaciers around the world are melting — and for the first time, we can now directly attribute annual ice loss to climate change. We analysed two years in which glaciers in New Zealand melted the most in at least four ...
Caroline Shaw, Anja MizdrakE-bikes are everywhere. Sales are booming and predicted to overtake sales of new cars in a few years. There were three times as many e-bikes and e-scooters imported into NZ in 2019 alone as there are e-cars in the entire country. You can’t go out in ...
New Zealand First is facing a difficult struggle to get re-elected, but Josh Van Veen, who was once a researcher for Winston Peters, argues that there is still a very significant section of cultural conservatives who oppose mass immigration and political correctness and might yet be won back over to ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk Many Americans these days seem unable to avoid controversy on practically any topic, so why not embrace the discord and wade into the especially volatile arena of nuclear energy? Advocates claim it’s the only way to meet global climate goals, ...
Can we trust New Zealand’s military? There must now be serious doubt, given the landmark report released on Friday concluding the investigation into allegations made in the book Hit and Run by Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson about a 2010 SAS killing raid in Afghanistan. The most recent Colmar Brunton ...
In New Zealand, we've just had the report of the Hit and Run inquiry, which found that a New Zealand led raid had accidentally killed civilians, including a child. meanwhile, around the same time, the British SAS was conducting its own raids in Afghanistan, and theirs were a hell of ...
In addition to establishing a process for setting emissions reductions plans, the Zero Carbon Act established a process for managing the risks of climate change. The first part of this is the preparation of regular risk assessments, looking at the risks to our economy, society, environment, and ecology. The first ...
Over on The spinoff, Amnesty International's Meg de Ronde has a response to Friday's release of the Hit and Run report. And in response to Attorney-General David Parker's claim that the government was being "transparent" by releasing the report, its titled "we shouldn’t have to work this hard to get ...
Story of the Week... Opinion of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Rising Seas Could Menace Millions Beyond Shorelines, Study FindsAs climate change raises sea levels, storm surges and high tides will ...
There's an election next month, so you'd be expecting political parties to be telling us what they stand for and what they'd do if they'd win. But while the Greens have given us a detailed policy platform, and National has talked about roads and austerity, Labour, currently leading the polls ...
"Who's youse accusin' of innference?" Without the timely intervention of a team of top American political consultants and campaign experts, Boris Yeltsin would never have won his second term as President of the Russian Federation. The Russians waited 20 years to return the favour.WHEN IT COMES to the disinformation game, ...
As polling day in the American presidential election draws closer, things are looking bad for Donald Trump. The polls show that he is tracking well behind his Democrat rival. Most people assume that the President will be striving might and main to avoid what looks increasingly likely to be a ...
Our health professionals do an amazing job. Image credit: Wikipedia – Cardiac surgery. Finally, I have got back to these rankings. A long period in hospital and computer problems meant the June 2020 rankings were abandoned. Now, with a new personal defibrillator implanted in my chest and a new hard ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, July 26 through Sat, Aug 1, 2020Editor's ChoiceThe four types of climate denier, and why you should ignore them allThe shill, the grifter, the egomaniac and the ideological ...
Over the last few days, reports have emerged of people travelling from New Zealand and testing positive for Covid-19 upon arrival at their destination. First in South Korea and now in Australia. What might these positive tests mean?They’re false-positives As Toby Morris and I have explained before, there are ...
Former National Minister - Wayne MappYou could tell that the Hit and Run book by investigative journalists Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson was right on the money by the way former National Party Minister of Defence, Wayne Mapp, reacted to its now largely vindicated claims.Even though the recent inquiry into ...
So, the Hit and Run inquiry has reported back, and found some appalling shit at NZDF and NZSIS. And while they quibble a few of the details - the name of a dead child - they basicly uphold Hager and Stephenson's version of events. The SAS went to those villages. ...
We are failing to think though the interdependencies in an economy. We miss economist Bryan Philpott (1921-2000). I miss him personally – we used to have such great discussions – but this column is about how the nation misses his economic experience and wisdom. We tend to ...
Michelle Boag - LeakerThe Heron report (PDF) was released yesterday, and it was a bit disappointing to say the least. It correctly found that former National Party president Michelle Boag and National Party MP Hamish Walker were politically motivated in leaking peoples private medical information, but didn’t look further into ...
Adam Smith, Massey UniversityA recent global assessment of shark populations at 371 coral reefs in 58 countries found no sharks at almost 20% of reefs and alarmingly low numbers at many others. The study, which involved over 100 scientists under the Global FinPrint project, gave New Zealand a good ...
On different trajectories and from different ends of the political spectrum, last night’s One News/Colmar Brunton poll has the Green Party and ACT converging around the five percent mark. And, as odd as it may sound, they head into the election campaign with a lot in common.Putting the Greens and ...
Janet Stephenson, University of OtagoA proposed multibillion-dollar project to build a pumped hydro storage plant could make New Zealand’s electricity grid 100% renewable, but expensive new infrastructure may not be the best way to achieve this. New Zealand’s electricity generation is already around 80% renewable, with just over half ...
Truth In Advertising: Labour, it would seem, is the party that knows nothing about running the economy right up until the moment that it does. HOW DID LABOUR acquire its reputation for being a poor economic manager? As with most things political and historical, it’s a long story.In the beginning, the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Government rulemakers looking to decide how much money to spend to avoid adding more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere need a good estimate of what a warming climate will cost in social damages, for example through more extreme weather events. That point makes ...
Below is the list of gender-critical material which appeared on Redline from October 1, 2019 to October 31, 2019. Rainbow Tick threatens to pull Massey’s tick if lesbians are allowed to speak Freer Lives – a gender-critical Marxist site Freer Lives on Violence, debate and Britain’s Gender Recognition Act British ...
Fact Check: New Zealand’s own relationship with China might, however, be salvageable if our own Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade was willing to equip its minister, Winston Peters, with a few facts. Legislating for the protection of national security – the very action our Foreign Minister is decrying – ...
I hope we can all agree that charging only certain returning expats for isolation costs is the right call. Instead of a blanket fee, which may have resulted in a small number of Kiwis deciding not to return home because of financial reasons, the Government has chosen to implement a ...
Back at the beginning of this government, the Greens made a foolish decision to support the Electoral Integrity Act - demanded by Winston Peters to keep his own backbench in line as part of his coalition deal with Labour - as an act of good faith within the coalition. It ...
SATURDAY AUGUST 1Artefact (Prime, 7.30pm). The series presented by Dame Anne Salmond screened on Māori Television, but is totally worth revisiting if you saw it the first time. Dame Anne tells the stories of taonga that highlight the history of Aotearoa. Further reading: this 2013 interview with Dame Anne by the lovely ...
Have unions and the Government sold workers short with their attempt at fixing the so-called “Hobbit Law”? Unionist Ian Powell argues that the union movement has been outmanoeuvered, and the Government has agreed to a new piece of anti-worker legislation that retains the principles of the previous National Government’s hated ...
Most of the claims made by anti-fluoride propagandists are simply wrong. Image source:Fluoridation and the ‘sciency’ facts of critics Anti-fluoride propagandists continually cite studies from areas of endemic fluorosis in their arguments against ...
An article in the EETimes suggests that advances in autonomous vehicles are not moving as quickly as expected because those working on them have confused complicated problems with complex ones. Engineering can only take you so far in complex worlds. Complicated systems tend to have fairly predictable inputs, processes and outputs. Complex systems (like ...
Last week, after Judith Collins announced that National would be cruel and vicious to kiwis caught overseas by the pandemic, and rob them at the border if they returned home, Labour looked like it was falling all over itself to cry "me too". But now, it looks like kindness has ...
We've announced that we will expand the Flexi-wage programme to support up to 40,000 more people into work, or to help them start their own business. It's yet another way we're helping keep our economy moving by getting people into work and training. Read on to find out more ...
Business subsidy of on average $7500, and up to $22,000, to hire unemployed New ZealandersUp to 40,000 jobs to be supported by $311 million investment in keeping New Zealanders off the unemployment benefitRing-fenced fund to help unemployed start their own business ...
This week was the last of the 52nd Parliament: a major milestone for our Government and a great opportunity to look back at all the progress we've made for New Zealanders. This week, we increased support for businesses to take on apprentices, improved access to hospital care in Northland, and ...
Kia orana and kia ora koutou katoa. It is a privilege to be able to speak in this adjournment debate and to mark and acknowledge the fact that we are now two years and 10 months into the conclusion of a parliamentary term that has been extraordinary in so many ...
On 1 August, we marked the anniversary of Jacinda Ardern becoming the Leader of the Labour Party. On that day in 2017, Leader Andrew Little nominated Jacinda Ardern to succeed him and lead the party to victory.Now, three years on, we look back at some of the key moments ...
With the June 2020 quarter showing underemployment increasing, the Green Party is calling for a Guaranteed Minimum Income and an increase to the abatement threshold to ensure everyone has a dignified income. ...
We went hard and we went early in our health response to COVID-19, and we did everything we could to cushion the economic impact too. In fact, we can fill every letter of the alphabet with the steps we took to fight COVID-19 and ensure we were in a position ...
Investing in our people, backing businesses, and upgrading infrastructure and housing throughout the country - it's been another week of progress for New Zealanders as we deliver our plan to recover and rebuild. ...
July was another busy month, packed with key investments aimed at progressing our economic recovery as we rebuild New Zealand. We extended support for businesses, helped create jobs through local infrastructure projects, and kept working to clean up our waterways so Kiwis can access safe clean water. Check out the ...
The Green Party is calling for the Defence Force Chiefs in place between 2010-2017 to front up and explain how dishonesty, process and policy failures within the Defence Force led to ‘a series of incorrect statements in briefings to ministers and public releases’ regarding alleged breaches of international torture prevention ...
Thanks to our strong health response, New Zealand’s economy is more open than many other countries. But as COVID continues to surge around the world, the economic consequences of the virus will continue to be a challenge, which is why we have a detailed plan to help New Zealand bounce ...
Thanks to our strong health response, New Zealand’s economy is more open than many other countries. But as COVID continues to surge around the world, the economic consequences of the virus will continue to be a challenge, which is why we have a detailed plan to help New Zealand bounce ...
The Government is stepping up action to deal with environmentally harmful products – including plastic packaging, tyres and e-waste – before they become waste. ...
The Green Party are ensuring that New Zealanders who were overseas when COVID-19 hit will not be charged for the cost of isolation or quarantine if they return home to live. ...
It's been another week of creating jobs, supporting local businesses, and investing in infrastructure up and down the country - all of which are helping to keep our economy moving post-COVID-19. ...
Law changes to end tenure review and provide for better management of Crown pastoral lands in the South Island high country were considered by Parliament today with the first reading of the Crown Pastoral Land Reform Bill says Minister for Land Information, Eugenie Sage. ...
The Green Party have secured legislative amendments in a bill expected to pass third reading this week, to ensure better rules for school teachers and staff, so they can de-escalate children with diverse needs and cognitive differences, such as autism, rather than using unnecessary and often traumatising force. ...
New Zealand needs to be more aggressive in pursuing economic opportunities and resist the short-term thinking affecting some of its major industry, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says.Mr Peters told Wellington Chamber of Commerce members this morning that the planned closure of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter will have ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has ridiculed the National Party "circus", with the politician saying it was in "chaos" after the resignation of another MP.Rangitata MP Andrew Falloon announced on Monday he would retire from politics after he allegedly sent inappropriate pornographic images to a young woman. Following a ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters today outlined what he saw as the requirements to re-open New Zealand's borders for tourists and travellers. If New Zealand was dealing solely with an Australian state such as Tasmania, we wouldn't need a vaccine, said Mr Peters, but these moves were complicated by the ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters appears to have prompted last-minute alterations to proposed legislation for commercial landlords and their tenants. Mr Peters told reporters on Wednesday said that he was making sure the proposed bill was in step with what the parties had actually agreed to. He said he ...
Associate Minister for State Owned Enterprise and New Zealand First List MP Shane Jones attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the new NZ Post "super depot" in Wellington. The state-owned postal service, which got $280 million from the Coalition Government last month, is expanding its operations to handle surging parcel volumes. ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First CHECK AGAINST DELIVERYIntroduction Good afternoon. Welcome to you all here today and party supporters watching from around the country. We appreciate your hard work keeping New Zealand First strong; thank you for keeping the faith. Sixty-three days out from Election Day, ...
The diversity of conservation boards around Aotearoa is increasing with 47 appointments to 14 of the 15 conservation boards across New Zealand announced today by the Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage. ...
A pest free Banks Peninsula/Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū is one step closer with a $5.11 million boost to accelerate this project and create jobs, announced Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage in Canterbury today. “This is a game changer for this ambitious project to restore the native wildlife and plants on Ōtautahi/Christchurch’s doorstep ...
A Government grant of $6.4 million will expand the Pettigrew Arena in Taradale with new indoor courts of national standard. “The project is likely to take 18 months with approximately 300 people employed through the process,” Grant Robertson said. “The expansion will increase the indoor court space up to 11 ...
The Far North tourist destination of Mangonui is to receive Government funding to improve waterfront infrastructure, open up access to the harbour and improve water quality, Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones has announced. A total of $6.5 million from the $3 billion set aside in the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund ...
The Government has re-affirmed its commitment to supporting the hosting of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, which the ICC has delayed from 2021 to 2022. “This is obviously a disappointing decision for cricket players and fans around the world and for the White Ferns and their supporters here at ...
Cyclists and walkers will now have a safer way to get around Taupō, Tūrangi, and between Hamilton and Cambridge, with funding for shared paths and Te Awa River Ride, Associate Minister of Transport Julie Anne Genter announced today. “The Te Awa River Ride is the latest part of massive growth ...
Six major cycle routes will be completed in Christchurch thanks to funding from the Government’s investment in shovel-ready infrastructure as part of the COVID-19 recovery Associate Minister of Transport Julie Anne Genter announced today. $125 million will be invested to kick-start construction and fund the completion of the following cycleway ...
Plans are underway for a brand new state-of-the-art hub for Whanganui’s justice and social agencies, following confirmation the ageing Whanganui Central Police Station is to be replaced. Police Minister Stuart Nash has announced $25 million in new infrastructure spending to improve facilities for the wider community, and for staff who ...
An adjustment payment has been made to Waikato-Tainui and Ngāi Tahu under the relativity mechanisms in their 1995 and 1997 Treaty of Waitangi settlements, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little announced today. The latest payments to Waikato-Tainui and Ngāi Tahu are $2,700,000 and $2,600,000 respectively to ensure the ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Transport Minister Phil Twyford today kicked off the start of the Auckland NZ Upgrade Programme rail projects which will support over 400 jobs and help unlock our biggest city. Both ministers marked the start of enabling works on the third main rail line project ...
The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) investment of $3.78 million in Wairoa will create much needed economic stimulus and jobs, Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. PGF projects announced today include: $200,000 loan to Nuhaka Kiwifruit Holdings Ltd (operated by Pine Valley Orchard Ltd) to increase the productivity ...
Tenants in public and Māori housing may be benefiting from their own affordable renewable energy in future – a fund to trial renewable energy technology for public and Māori housing has today been announced by Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods and Associate Minister for Housing (Māori Housing) Nanaia Mahuta. ...
Hokianga will receive $2.7 million to redevelop four of its wharves and upgrade its water supply, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. Far North District Council will receive $1.8 million from the Provincial Growth Fund for the work on the wharves. “The work will include the construction of ...
A $350 million Residential Development Response Fund is being established to support the residential construction sector and to minimise the economic impact from COVID-19, the Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods has announced. “The Residential Development Response Fund will help to progress stalled or at-risk developments that support our broader housing ...
As part of a broader plan to divert waste from landfill, the Government today announced $10.67 million for new infrastructure as part of the Resource Recovery Network across the Auckland region. “This key investment in Auckland’s community recycling network is part of the Government’s Infrastructure Reference Group ‘shovel ready’ projects ...
The Government is investing $45 million in the first stage of an ambitious urban development project for Tauranga that will employ up to 250 people and help the region grow, Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford announced today. Phil Twyford says the funding has been allocated out of the $3 billion ...
Getting low-emission trucks on the road is a step closer with investment in infrastructure to support hydrogen vehicles, the Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods has announced. The Infrastructure Reference Group has provisionally approved $20 million for New Plymouth company Hiringa Energy to establish a nationwide network of hydrogen-fuelling stations. ...
A new trades training centre to upskill the local workforce will be built in the South Waikato town of Tokoroa through funding from the Government’s COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund, Education Minister Chris Hipkins and Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones have announced. The Government will contribute $10.84 million from ...
The Government has agreed to repeal part of the Oranga Tamariki Act subsequent children provisions, Minister for Children Tracey Martin announced today. “There are times when children need to go into care for their safety – the safety and care of children must always be paramount,” Minister Martin said. “But ...
A $1.5 million boost to grow primary mental health and addiction services for Pacific peoples in Auckland, Hamilton and Canterbury will lead to better outcomes for Pacific communities, Associate Health Minister Jenny Salesa says. Pasifika Futures has received funding to expand services through The Fono, Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest by ...
Twenty-two projects to boost the sustainability and climate resilience of New Zealand’s food and fibres sector have been announced today by Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. The $18m funding will deliver practical knowledge to help farmers and growers use their land more sustainably, meet environmental targets, remain prosperous, and better understand ...
Employment Minister Willie Jackson welcomes an initiative that assists employers to get mature workers into New Zealand small businesses. The disadvantages that older people face in the workplace was highlighted in the whole of Government Employment Strategy. In order to address this, a Mature Workers Toolkit has been developed and ...
New Zealand and Australia reaffirmed today the need for the closest possible collaboration as they tackle a global environment shaped by COVID-19, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said. “In these challenging times, our close collaboration with Australia is more vital than ever,” said Mr Peters. Mr Peters and his Australian ...
The recovery and forensic examination of the loader driven by survivor Russell Smith means the underground team are now moving into an area of the Pike River Mine that has not been seen since the explosion, Minister Responsible for Pike River Re-entry Andrew Little said. “The fifth and last robot ...
The Government has confirmed a community-wide trial of CovidCard technology as it explores options for COVID-19 contact tracing. “Effective contact tracing is a vital part of the COVID-19 response,” Minister of Health Chris Hipkins said. “While manual processes remain the critical component for contact tracing, we know digital solutions can ...
The government is proposing changes to aquaculture legislation to improve the process for allocating and transferring aquaculture assets to iwi. Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash has introduced the Maori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Amendment Bill to Parliament. It proposes a limited new discretionary power for Te Ohu Kaimoana Trustee Limited (ToKM). ...
The Minister of Justice has today introduced the Family Court (Supporting Children in Court) Legislation Bill – the next step in the ongoing programme of work to fix the failed 2014 Family Court reforms led by then Justice Minister Judith Collins. The Bill arises from the report of the Independent ...
A new Department of Conservation (DOC) action plan tackles the impacts of climate change on New Zealand’s biodiversity and DOC managed infrastructure including tracks, huts and cultural heritage. Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage says extreme weather events around the country have really brought home our vulnerability to changing weather patterns. ...
A heavily scaled back international Antarctic season will commence this week, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods have confirmed. “Antarctica is the only continent that is COVID-19 free,” Mr Peters said. “Throughout the global pandemic, essential operations and long-term science have continued at ...
The Government is providing up to $30 million to help fund the NZ Campus of Innovation and Sport in Upper Hutt - an investment that will create 244 jobs. “The sports hub is designed to be a world-leading shared service for a range of sports, offering the level of facilities ...
Transport Minister Phil Twyford announced today transport projects currently in construction will continue at pace due to extra Government support for transport projects to mitigate the impact of COVID-19. To keep the $16.9 billion 2018-21 National Land Transport Programme going the Government has allocated funding from the COVID Response and ...
$50 million for further rural broadband digital connectivity has been allocated from the $3 billion infrastructure fund in the COVID Response and Recovery Fund has been announced by Shane Jones, Minister for Infrastructure and Kris Faafoi, Minister for Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media. The investment will go to boosting broadband ...
The Minister for Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media has congratulated the Ultra-fast Broadband (UFB) programme on its major milestone of connecting more than 1 million New Zealand households and businesses to UFB. “This milestone has been 10 years in the making and demonstrates the popularity of the UFB network. “Uptake ...
Landmark legislation passed today puts New Zealand on track to saving thousands of lives and having a smokefree generation sooner rather than later, Associate Health Minister, Jenny Salesa says. The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Bill regulates vaping products and heated tobacco devices. “There has long been concern ...
A discriminatory law that has been a symbol of frustration for many people needing and providing care and support, has been scrapped by the Government. “Part 4A of the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Amendment Bill (No 2) was introduced under urgency in 2013 by a National Government,” Associate ...
Kiwi motorists are set to reap the benefits of a more competitive fuel market following the passing of the Fuel Industry Bill tonight, Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods says. “This Act is where the rubber meets the road in terms of our response to the recommendations made in the ...
The Government has delivered on its promise to New Zealanders to modernise tenancy laws with the passing of the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill 2020 today, says Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing), Kris Faafoi. “The Residential Tenancies Act 1986 was out-dated and the reforms in the RTA modernise our ...
New rules to protect and restore New Zealand’s freshwater passed into law today. Environment Minister David Parker and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor welcomed the gazetting of the new national direction on freshwater management. “These regulations deliver on the Government’s commitment to stop further degradation, show material improvements within five years and ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced the appointment of Jeremy Clarke-Watson as New Zealand’s new Consul-General in Los Angeles. “New Zealand and the United States share a close and dynamic partnership, based on a long history of shared values and democratic traditions,” Mr Peters said. “Mr Clarke-Watson is a ...
Victims of family violence can end a tenancy with two days’ notice Landlords can terminate tenancies with 14 days’ notice if tenants assault them Timeframe brought forward for limiting rent increases to once every 12 months Extension of time Tenancy Tribunal can hear cases via phone/video conference Reform of New ...
Two employment schemes – one new and one expanded – going live today will help tens of thousands of people continue training on the job and support thousands more into work, the Government has announced. Apprenticeship Boost, a subsidy of up to $12,000 per annum for first year apprentices and ...
Binge-drinking in teenagers has dropped dramatically in the past 20 years - but the reasons for that are complex Teenage binge-drinking has "dropped off the cliff" in the last 20 years but until now, no one really knew why. A new paper, What explains the decline in adolescent binge-drinking in New ...
A senior journalism lecturer is urging the foreign media to respect New Zealand’s strict reporting restrictions for the sentencing of the gunman who carried out the Christchurch mosque attacks last year. Brenton Tarrant will be sentenced in the High Court in Christchurch beginning on Monday, August 24. Eighteen overseas and ...
Celebrity agent Ryan Serhant is promoting the sale, a snip at $24 million. It looks so good, why let pesky details like closed borders and foreign buyer bans stop you?Along with panoramic views, adventure sports and fine wines, the New Zealand pitch for wealthy Americans now includes the lure of ...
The Green’s latest housing policy is a lot of wishful thinking, National’s Housing spokesperson Jacqui Dean says. “Blue-sky thinking has never been the Green’s problem, but delivery has. “The Government partners talked a big game on housing ...
Studying a Bachelor of Arts at AUT helped Guled Mire understand his place in the world, so that he can make a difference in his community. Video: AUTBy Simon SmithGuled Mire says his new Fulbright NZ scholarship to study at an Ivy League university in the United States ...
Kia ora everyone. Thank you all for coming here today. Thank you to the community for having us today, I’m proud that this is my neighbourhood! And thank you to the Housing Foundation for having us, as we announce the next exciting pillar of ...
The Green Party has unveiled its housing plan which aims to get the record-high number of people off the social housing waiting list, while improving the size and quality of the rental market. ...
In its third major policy announcement, the Green Party has revealed a suite of plans to subsidise community-provided rental housing and boost the state housing build programme, Marc Daalder reports Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic and global economic meltdown, New Zealand's housing crisis has continued unabated. House prices are still surging and the ...
By Patrick Makis in Buka Contact tracing has begun for the Autonomous Region of Bougainville’s first covid-19 case. The 22-year-old male, who had returned from Port Moresby on an Air Niugini flight on July 29, is stable and is being isolated in Arawa town. ABG’s Deputy Controller, Health Secretary Clement ...
The Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon wants New Zealanders to amplify the resilience of Māori whānau and communities on the International Day of Indigenous Peoples on Sunday 9th of August. The theme for the day is ‘COVID-19 and Indigenous Peoples’ ...
A small proportion of Covid-19 patients continue experiencing symptoms long after they test negative. Freya Sawbridge, one such ‘Covid long hauler’, describes what it’s like.Four months have passed and I’m onto my fifth relapse. The room is eerily still yet my mind spins like the stripes of a barber’s pole. ...
A new poll shows New Zealand First list MP Shane Jones coming third in the contest for the Northland seat that's being seen as crucial to his party's chances of staying in Parliament. ...
A poll in the electorate seat of Northland shows New Zealand First could be out of Parliament altogether after the election Shane Jones has a big hill to climb if he wants to take Northland and secure NZ First's position in parliament. National Party candidate Matt King is well ahead of ...
Christchurch writer Chris Stuart spent decades toggling between high-stakes overseas aid work and the strange safety of home. Out of that has emerged a crime novel: For Reasons of Their Own. I used to always tell people that when you work in war zones and disasters, you are only ever a ...
Welcome to Election Live for August 9, bringing you the latest on election 2020 and other breaking news. For key dates in the election seasonclick here. For all you need to know about the cannabis referendum click here. For the assisted dying referendum click here. 7.15am: Labour tax policy coming ...
New Zealand's unofficial poet laureate Victor Billot pens topical verse every Sunday. This week: the rotten egg laid by the outgoing coalition governmentLet’s keep moving I was sitting in my cheap motel room next to the window, smelling petrol fumes when on the TV came a lady in red ...
She’s Cheryl West, she’s Ellen Crozier, she’s the woman who makes headlines for throwaway jokes online. Sam Brooks talks to Robyn Malcolm, actor and activist.There’s nothing more compelling on a New Zealand screen than Robyn Malcolm wanting something. Whether it’s Cheryl West trying to get a lingerie business off the ...
The Labour leader returned yesterday to the Auckland Town Hall, where she was last seen riding the Jacindamania wave towards government. Toby Manhire went along to see how this campaign launch compared to the 2017 edition.A lot was the same. The big wash of red light bouncing off the Town ...
REVIEW: JACINDAMANIA: THE SEQUELWritten, directed and starring: Jacinda ArdernGenre: Political love story Classification: General ReleaseRunning Time: Six weeksShowing: NationwideRating: * * * * starsReviewer: Tim Murphy We've waited three years but the sequel to the 2017 blockbuster Jacindamania has finally arrived, debuting Saturday at the ...
Judith Collins is still shy of a month into the job but in her media blitz she and her arched eyebrows are everywhere, along with the party slogan "Strong team, More Jobs, Better Economy". ...
New Zealand First is pleased to announce the next tranche of candidates that will represent our values and spread our message across the country at this year’s election. We thank these hardworking New Zealanders for putting their hand up to take on the ...
A high-ranking Chinese candidate promoted over more than a dozen incumbent MPs is the biggest surprise in an otherwise orthodox National Party list for the 2020 election, as Sam Sachdeva reports The National Party has released its list rankings for the 2020 election, with the ascent of new candidate Nancy ...
The National Party is pleased to announce the appointment of Nancy Lu to the National Party’s List for the 2020 General Election, President Peter Goodfellow says. “Nancy Lu is a Chartered Accountant with a background in accounting and business working ...
Headline: A crisis of governance. – 36th Parallel Assessments [embedded content] The Port of Beirut warehouse explosion, involving 2.7 kilotons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate negligently stored in an unsecured area, crystalizes in one national tragedy a much wider trend: the crisis and decline of democratic governance world-wide.For a ...
National’s 2020 Party List is a strong mix of experience coming up through our Caucus, and new and exciting talent joining our team from communities across New Zealand, Party President Peter Goodfellow says. “The National Party is incredibly ...
Latest from the Beehive – It looked (at first blush) like Christchurch would gobble up around half the money earmarked by the government for projects to get us on our bikes. Julie Anne Genter, Associate Minister of Transport and a Green with a fondness for two-wheeled, pedal-driven transport, today banged ...
The suggestion of putting border exemptions up for auction so large companies can bring in overseas executives and key workers is naïve and totally unfair,” says Ms June Ranson, chair of the New Zealand Association of Migration and Investment ...
Looking for a wonderfully trashy movie to watch? TVNZ OnDemand now have some of Lifetime’s best dramas for your viewing pleasure. In a world of serious and credible television, the arrival of Lifetime to TVNZ OnDemand is joyous news. Lifetime is an American cable channel that churns out emotional drama after emotional drama, ...
The introduction of a $3,100 fee for returning New Zealanders will disadvantage Māori disproportionately, Phoebe Carr (Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Tūhoe)and Max Harris argue.The government has once again failed to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi by rushing through legislation to introduce exorbitant managed isolation fees for returning New Zealanders. This ...
7 August 2020: The Team of Six Million, a campaign group established to oppose the imposition of quarantine fees by the New Zealand Government, has expressed disappointment at the Government's urgent passing of the Public Health Response Amendment Bill to ...
In July support for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s Labour Party was at 53.5% down 1% since June, but still more than double the support for National on 26.5%, down 0.5%, with just over a month to go before the election in mid-September. If ...
Welcome to Election Live for August 7, bringing you the latest on election 2020 and other breaking news. For key dates in the election season click here. For all you need to know about the cannabis referendum click here. For the assisted dying referendum click here. Policy launching soon. Get in touch ...
After initial concerns about low testing rates in South Auckland, Counties Manukau DHB has the second-highest testing rate in the country. Ōtara Health chief executive Sosefina Paletaoga explains her organisation’s role in achieving this. Covid-19 has affected us all in different ways, and for us in Ōtara, it has highlighted existing ...
Oranga Tamariki's Chief Executive appeared before the Waitangi Tribunal a day after a report from the Chief Ombudsman found the agency had used its draconian powers to uplift babies too readily in many cases A Waitangi Tribunal hearing has seen Oranga Tamariki chief executive Gráinne Moss concede her organisation harmed families during ...
"A resident of the boarding house disappeared the same day Mrs Bethany’s body was discovered": provincial gothic, with astrology, by Auckland writer Mandy McMullin. I moved into the tearooms the day I turned sixteen, 23 December 2006. The same day I met Garth. It was Saturday, a lucky day for ...
The resignation of Westland Milk Products chief executive Tony Brendish almost a year to the day the company was sold to Chinese conglomerate Yili makes a mockery of assurances that there was no conflict of interest in top management preparing ...
*Watch the video in the player below*The wheels of progress turn frustratingly slow in Christchurch’s Red Zone. Frank Film asks, is anything going to happen? Hayley Guglietta is honest about her group’s activities on vacant land bordering Christchurch’s Avon River. She admits the groundwork was commenced without official ...
On this week's Extra Time podcast: After significant investigations into cycling, football and hockey in New Zealand, now gymnastics is in the spotlight around their athletes' welfare. Allegations of multiple New Zealand gymnasts suffering from verbal and physical abuse, bullying and unsafe training methods have surfaced over the past week. And ...
She’s a lone wolf, a team player, a rebel, a leader and the nicest lady around. But what combination of those do you need to survive in government?On a cold July morning, I found myself driving around Totara Park in Manurewa in the dark. I had been invited to a ...
All around the country, people are asking ‘what’s going to happen in the 2020 general election campaign?’ That’s because they haven’t read this guide, which reveals exactly what will happen in the 2020 general election campaign.Someone has finally put this term of parliament out of its misery. We’ve had three ...
The UK car industry has run a good race in the post-Brexit lobbying stakes. But Britain’s chemical industry looks to be making a late run, if recent coverage in the Financial Times is accurate.The issue for the industry is the post-Brexit regulatory regime and how this is to be ...
Latest from the Beehive – We had just finished digesting an outpouring of announcements from the Beehive over the previous 24 hours or so when the Point of Order Trough Monitor shrieked an alert. A new trough had been established. While we were inspecting the contents of this new trough, ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Chart 1, Historical: Australian much lower than Spain, Belgium and Sweden. Chart by Keith Rankin. The known incidences of Covid19 in Spain, Belgium and Sweden are similar, although Sweden lagged for a while before overtaking the other two. In deaths, Sweden is slightly lower than ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The good news in the Reserve Bank’s latest quarterly set of forecasts is that the recession won’t be as steep as it thought last time. The bad news is it ...
Analysis: National entices voters with big infrastructure projects, Judith Collins rips into Jacinda Ardern and Parliament passes a bill that could affect every tenant in the country. ...
By RNZ Pacific France’s new overseas minister Sebastien Lecornu says New Caledonia’s restrictions over the covid-19 pandemic will not affect the preparations for the October referendum on independence. Lecornu gave the assessment during a visit to New Caledonia House in Paris. Paris is expected to send dozens of officials and ...
Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa descendants are overjoyed they can do up their wharenui, while also attracting their rangatahi back to their marae, with more than $1.5 million from the Provincial Growth Fund. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julian Meyrick, Professor of Creative Arts, Griffith University National crises, like the pandemics that can provoke them, come in stages. Each stage presents leaders with unique problems that require mental, moral and emotional agility to manage. Change is the only constant, as ...
How is New Zealand faring in during the Covid-19 pandemic? Newsroom is taking a weekly look at the latest numbers related to the virus and the impact on the economy.Excess deaths Overseas the death toll in some countries has risen sharply, with the ...
Justice campaign organisation JustSpeak has outlined a vision for a society without prisons in its 2020 election campaign ‘ Our Justice Our Future ’. The campaign was launched last night in Wellington, to a sold out audience of supporters and volunteers. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vasso Apostolopoulos, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Research Partnerships, Victoria University During the COVID-19 pandemic we’re constantly being reminded to practise good hygiene by frequently washing our hands and regularly cleaning the spaces where we live and work. These practices aim to remove or kill ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra University of Canberra Professorial Fellow Michelle Grattan and University of Canberra Assistant Professor Caroline Fisher discuss the week in politics. This week Michelle and Caroline discuss the closure of ‘non-essential’ businesses in Melbourne under stage ...
Labour's campaign slogan "Let's Keep Moving" is hardly the most inspirational but reflects the conservative game plan - trade on the Covid response and stay on track. ...
By granting a permit to OceanaGold to mine under DOC land in the Coromandel, the government is not only threatening an endangered species, says Catherine Delahunty – it’s threatening future generations.I woke up angry. The government has given a 40-year permit to OceanaGold to mine under DOC land behind Whangamatā. ...
How come, after numerous condemnatory reports, Oranga Tamariki chief executive Grainne Moss holds on to her job? Aaron Smale wonders if those harmed by her tenure aren't a big enough voting bloc So, what happens when a government department breaks the law and breaches its own policies? Nothing, apparently. The latest ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ari Mattes, Lecturer in Communications and Media, University of Notre Dame Australia Review: The Meddler, screening at the Melbourne International Film Festival For movie scholars and enthusiasts, one of the worst things about the COVID-19 pandemic has been the shutting down of ...
The combination of solar panels, electricity storage batteries, smart household gadgets, and a boring looking black box is set to change forever how our electricity system works. But do we need subsidies? ...
The New Zealand Bar Assocation says misinformed criticism of a South Island judge’s sentencing of a sex offender has the potential for disturbing consequences for the justice system and society generally. The Bar Association’s President Kate Davenport ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Royal Commission into Aged-Care Quality and Safety delivered it’s interim report in October 2019. Titled ‘Neglect’, it provided a scathing insight into the aged care industry – finding it centred around transactions not care. ...
By Tom Peters, Socialist Equality Group More than one year after the March 15, 2019 terrorist attack, an official inquiry into the mass shooting that killed 51 people and injured 49 in two Christchurch mosques has still not released any information ...
Open mike 31/10/2019 
Dr Sommer Kapitan, Auckland University of Technology, and Dr Patrick van Esch, Auckland University of Technology The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Bill will limit vape sales at dairies and service stations to only three flavours, and make vaping illegal in smokefree areas. Vaping laws will be more ...14 hours ago
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Aug 2, 2020 through Sat, Aug 8, 2020 Editor's Choice Five Years After Speaking Out on Climate Change, Pope Francis Sounds an Urgent Alarm The encyclical ‘Laudato Si’ motivated many people ...23 hours ago
...1 day ago
...2 days ago
From some quarters, incessant scaremongering. From others, it’s a full-on tilt into touching the alarmist buttons a little too readily (uncertain times make for very captive audiences with this angle of attack). The (so-called) Opposition (and merely regarding them as that seems to be a far looser term now ...2 days ago
National Party leader - Judith CollinsElections often bring out the best and worst in politicians. Some rise to the occasion and provide us with a clear vision for the future. While others wallow in resentment and controversy, over-relying on attack politics to try to attain the interest of voters.That’s been ...2 days ago
The attempts to sabotage Corbyn's leadership seems likely to do more damage than Corbyn supposedly ever could have done, even if all the stories about him were true: I was reluctant to say anything but this is too important, the full story needs to be told.Don’t let anyone ever tell ...2 days ago
Good day to everyone. I’ve been asked by Mr Thinks to come here and talk to you all about my concerns regarding the government response to Covid-19. We’ve been living through this pandemic for, what seems like, years. Years and years and years. Why else would the National Party have ...2 days ago
‘Good Economics for Hard Times’ should be on your reading list. New Zealand does not have a Minister of Labour. It has Ministers of Immigration and Workplace Relations and Safety but there is no minister with responsibility for the labour market. That responsibility was abolished in 2012 when ...2 days ago
Back in the Kyoto era, the international climate change regime included a Clean Development Mechanism to fund emissions reduction projects in developing nations. Essentially someone would certify that a project - e.g. building a windfarm, or installing energy-efficient lightbulbs - would reduce emissions over and above "business-as-usual". The project would ...3 days ago
By Geoffrey Miller Prominent refugee advocate Murdoch Stephens says he is disappointed by Judith Collins’ reaction to Immigration New Zealand’s decision to grant refugee status to Kurdish-Iranian writer Behrouz Boochani. Judith Collins told media last month that “there’s a lot of concern in New Zealand about what they see as ...3 days ago
4 days ago
by Don Franks This talk was given to the Wellington Anti Capitalist Alliance, fifteen years ago. The ultimate weapons of mass destruction so far seen on this planet have been used just twice, 60 years ago this month. August 6 and August 9 1945 witnessed the US atomic bombing ...4 days ago
As polling day in the American presidential election draws closer, things are looking bad for Donald Trump. The polls show that he is tracking well behind his Democrat rival. Most people assume that the President will be striving might and main to avoid what looks increasingly likely to be a ...7 days ago
Our health professionals do an amazing job. Image credit: Wikipedia – Cardiac surgery. Finally, I have got back to these rankings. A long period in hospital and computer problems meant the June 2020 rankings were abandoned. Now, with a new personal defibrillator implanted in my chest and a new hard ...1 week ago
Below is the list of gender-critical material which appeared on Redline from October 1, 2019 to October 31, 2019. Rainbow Tick threatens to pull Massey’s tick if lesbians are allowed to speak Freer Lives – a gender-critical Marxist site Freer Lives on Violence, debate and Britain’s Gender Recognition Act British ...2 weeks ago
TUESDAY AUGUST 4Grand Designs UK (Three, 7.30pm). ...2 weeks ago
Most of the claims made by anti-fluoride propagandists are simply wrong. Image source: Fluoridation and the ‘sciency’ facts of critics Anti-fluoride propagandists continually cite studies from areas of endemic fluorosis in their arguments against ... 2 weeks ago
The Green Party has revealed its Homes for All Plan, which lays the foundation for an Aotearoa where everyone has a warm, dry and affordable home. ...15 hours ago
We've announced that we will expand the Flexi-wage programme to support up to 40,000 more people into work, or to help them start their own business. It's yet another way we're helping keep our economy moving by getting people into work and training. Read on to find out more ...2 days ago
New Zealand needs to be more aggressive in pursuing economic opportunities and resist the short-term thinking affecting some of its major industry, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says. Mr Peters told Wellington Chamber of Commerce members this morning that the planned closure of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter will have ...3 weeks ago
A pest free Banks Peninsula/Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū is one step closer with a $5.11 million boost to accelerate this project and create jobs, announced Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage in Canterbury today. “This is a game changer for this ambitious project to restore the native wildlife and plants on Ōtautahi/Christchurch’s doorstep ...19 hours ago
Inquiry into flagship Pacific Reset reaffirms importance of development work in the region, but MFAT needs to be more open. ...7 mins ago
Binge-drinking in teenagers has dropped dramatically in the past 20 years - but the reasons for that are complex Teenage binge-drinking has "dropped off the cliff" in the last 20 years but until now, no one really knew why. A new paper, What explains the decline in adolescent binge-drinking in New ...7 mins ago
A senior journalism lecturer is urging the foreign media to respect New Zealand’s strict reporting restrictions for the sentencing of the gunman who carried out the Christchurch mosque attacks last year. Brenton Tarrant will be sentenced in the High Court in Christchurch beginning on Monday, August 24. Eighteen overseas and ...5 hours ago
...8 hours ago
Celebrity agent Ryan Serhant is promoting the sale, a snip at $24 million. It looks so good, why let pesky details like closed borders and foreign buyer bans stop you?Along with panoramic views, adventure sports and fine wines, the New Zealand pitch for wealthy Americans now includes the lure of ...9 hours ago
The Green Party has unveiled its housing plan which aims to get the record-high number of people off the social housing waiting list, while improving the size and quality of the rental market. ...15 hours ago
In its third major policy announcement, the Green Party has revealed a suite of plans to subsidise community-provided rental housing and boost the state housing build programme, Marc Daalder reports Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic and global economic meltdown, New Zealand's housing crisis has continued unabated. House prices are still surging and the ...15 hours ago
A poll in the electorate seat of Northland shows New Zealand First could be out of Parliament altogether after the election Shane Jones has a big hill to climb if he wants to take Northland and secure NZ First's position in parliament. National Party candidate Matt King is well ahead of ...20 hours ago
New Zealand's unofficial poet laureate Victor Billot pens topical verse every Sunday. This week: the rotten egg laid by the outgoing coalition government Let’s keep moving I was sitting in my cheap motel room next to the window, smelling petrol fumes when on the TV came a lady in red ...23 hours ago
REVIEW: JACINDAMANIA: THE SEQUEL Written, directed and starring: Jacinda Ardern Genre: Political love story Classification: General Release Running Time: Six weeks Showing: Nationwide Rating: * * * * stars Reviewer: Tim Murphy We've waited three years but the sequel to the 2017 blockbuster Jacindamania has finally arrived, debuting Saturday at the ...1 day ago
A high-ranking Chinese candidate promoted over more than a dozen incumbent MPs is the biggest surprise in an otherwise orthodox National Party list for the 2020 election, as Sam Sachdeva reports The National Party has released its list rankings for the 2020 election, with the ascent of new candidate Nancy ...1 day ago
Latest from the Beehive – It looked (at first blush) like Christchurch would gobble up around half the money earmarked by the government for projects to get us on our bikes. Julie Anne Genter, Associate Minister of Transport and a Green with a fondness for two-wheeled, pedal-driven transport, today banged ...2 days ago
Oranga Tamariki's Chief Executive appeared before the Waitangi Tribunal a day after a report from the Chief Ombudsman found the agency had used its draconian powers to uplift babies too readily in many cases A Waitangi Tribunal hearing has seen Oranga Tamariki chief executive Gráinne Moss concede her organisation harmed families during ...2 days ago
"A resident of the boarding house disappeared the same day Mrs Bethany’s body was discovered": provincial gothic, with astrology, by Auckland writer Mandy McMullin. I moved into the tearooms the day I turned sixteen, 23 December 2006. The same day I met Garth. It was Saturday, a lucky day for ...2 days ago
*Watch the video in the player below* The wheels of progress turn frustratingly slow in Christchurch’s Red Zone. Frank Film asks, is anything going to happen? Hayley Guglietta is honest about her group’s activities on vacant land bordering Christchurch’s Avon River. She admits the groundwork was commenced without official ...2 days ago
On this week's Extra Time podcast: After significant investigations into cycling, football and hockey in New Zealand, now gymnastics is in the spotlight around their athletes' welfare. Allegations of multiple New Zealand gymnasts suffering from verbal and physical abuse, bullying and unsafe training methods have surfaced over the past week. And ...2 days ago
The UK car industry has run a good race in the post-Brexit lobbying stakes. But Britain’s chemical industry looks to be making a late run, if recent coverage in the Financial Times is accurate. The issue for the industry is the post-Brexit regulatory regime and how this is to be ...2 days ago
How is New Zealand faring in during the Covid-19 pandemic? Newsroom is taking a weekly look at the latest numbers related to the virus and the impact on the economy. Excess deaths Overseas the death toll in some countries has risen sharply, with the ...2 days ago
How come, after numerous condemnatory reports, Oranga Tamariki chief executive Grainne Moss holds on to her job? Aaron Smale wonders if those harmed by her tenure aren't a big enough voting bloc So, what happens when a government department breaks the law and breaches its own policies? Nothing, apparently. The latest ...3 days ago
The combination of solar panels, electricity storage batteries, smart household gadgets, and a boring looking black box is set to change forever how our electricity system works. But do we need subsidies? ...3 days ago
Twyford is a dead man walking. The meta from today's stories in Stuff is he has zero political capital, his credibility is exhausted and the media smell blood.-
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/117020181/the-true-cost-of-phil-tywfords-billion-dollar-memory-lapses and – https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/117034013/for-the-second-day-in-a-row-phil-twyford-looks-like-hes-given-parliament-the-wrong-information
Perhaps Jacinda just got the reason to remove Twyford. He is now a political liability.
I’m no fan of Twyford, he’s certainly turning out to be a less than stella cabinet minister. And it’s intolerable that he appears to have totally fucked up the years of light rail planning in Auckland. But this campaign by Coughlan in cahoots with Chris Bishop and National’s old pals still in the the transport ministry is starting to look pretty nasty and personal.
would certainly help if he stopped handing them ammunition
Transport is serious. You can't lie, you can't get the wrong story from officials, you can't make mix things up, you can't not remember.
Now if he were, say a PM, and it was something unimportant, like say the GCSB, he could lie, would be allowed to not remember, be able to obfuscate…
Sure would!
Yes, it’s appalling when the opposition does its job and points out that Twyford couldn’t even plan the route for light rail, let alone product a plan to build it. Must be a media conspiracy that prevented Twyford from pulling out a map and finding a route, which is almost identical to a road, from the cbd to mount roskill.
certainly a personal attack.
Patrick Smellie balances the ledger somewhat: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?objectid=12281214
Excellent hit job by Stuff. A new Minister with a big knife and plenty of gaffer tape should cure the problems with a department that sounds dysfunctional.
For no other reason than destroying the dreams of those who were sold the Kiwibuild dream, he needs to go. March 18 we had confirmed the promise of $600k cap from the election was still there, then less than 2 months later sorry it is now $650k.
Thanks to that inability of this government we have lost 3+ years into addressing the housing issue. His legacy will go well beyond this govts tenor.
we now face in the 2020 election a bad option or a slightly worse option. Meanwhile the rest of us face REAL day to day issues.
Kiwibuild itself was a poisoned chalice.
It was a badly conceived solution to the issue of affordable housing.
median 'household' income in Auckland would be around $120k . Any other system of direct government subsidy to reduce the price to say $450k would be a $$$ gift to those who can take advantage of it.
The building of state houses for rent as social housing is continuing, Kiwibuild isnt designed to replace that
I don't know how your response relates to my comment, I’m guessing it was for Herodotus.
But aside from that, I'd be interested in where are you finding the median Auckland household income? I can only find the average, which is not the same. Also, it might have some data on the distribution of income and number of household occupants.
No idea where Duke gets his figures from, but this seems more accurate to me…
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2018/09/aucklanders-need-three-times-median-income-to-afford-home-data.html
+ New Zealand's median income is $52,000
Hi Siobhan,
Another concern I have about using "household" income is that overcrowded or multiple family households, flatten out any financial stresses that would otherwise be apparent. A household with grown children earning money, but unable to afford their own housing on their individual income, will be contributing to the statistics of household income and improving it.
Also, given the information in your link. The article shows the disparity (or despair-ity) of median housing costs compared to median incomes. Although we know that indicates that at least half the households are in that position – or worse – we have no idea how the top 50% is distributed, and whether the housing stress affects 51% or 80%.
I never did understand why Kiwibuild was separated from the need for social housing – the two go together – it is all about making sure that as many as possible have somewhere to call home. As for why some initial targets have not been able to be met, there are two that I suspect do not get much attention. The first is that housing is just one of the neglected (or deliberately diminished) areas of government service – the previous government did its best to either privatise (largely to "Charities", but that produced a fragmented industry that cannot be measured, and importantly reduced expectations of government doing anything itself), or sell off state houses to private purchasers. The second is the comparative weakness of the building industry. The Government choices regarding Christchurch were to use Fletchers as much as possible – controlling supply, the pace of work, and subcontractors. Accompanying that were a deliberate mis-interpretation of insurance contracts (requiring fixed price sign offs from policyholders for example) and shoddy regulatory monitoring. We now know that many newer buildings collapse in an earthquake than those built 50 to 100 years ago; we know that concrete has not always had the correct amount of steel reinforcing, or properly connected steel. We know that New Zealand builders are bejind overseas companies with mechanisation and pre-built houses – our big companies do not want to knw, while small companies go bankrupt too easily . . .
We know the limitations of our clean water, waste water and sewage reticulation systems – new developments are harder than they used to be. Then we have stupid pandering to employers to bring in large numbers of people to keep wages low – remember when baristas was the biggest single occupation for immigrants? The separation of trade education from work meant that it was cheaper for companies to avoid having apprentices; that is only now being turned around by the current government, and unemployment is lower partly a a result. Some of the problems we now know exist are the fault of deferred maintenance and poor regulation in the last government, and some of them have also been surprises to all of New Zealand in the last 2 years. Deferred maintenance in Health has been well publicised, but it goes beyond just buildings to staff levels and (together with teachers) to pay levels. All that has required ambitions for the current government to not always be met. It is fair to say that some could have been anticipated, but not all of them.
National's preoccupation with selected bits of government is well known – and as we know from The Standard, most of their claims turn out to be severely distorted, if not plain wrong.
Kiwibuild was only meant to reduce prices in the part of the 'market' above social housing levels. To drag houses on an average section in an average suburb from $900k to 750k, say. Not remotely 'affordable' for most families.
State houses were always going to have a bigger impact at the bottom and this govt have done an appalling job of communicating what they have done in that space.
Irrespective of the merits of Kiwibuild, it created great hope out there, and this was initially promoted in 2014. So there has been plenty of time available to ensure that this at least was more successful that what is has been, and many of the issues should have been worked out, instead of fixing it as we go 4 years after its conception. The hubris that has surrounded this when valid short comings were pointed out.
What are the 20-30's who placed their hope into this scheme ? 3 years wasted, dreams destroyed.
And remember this govt. increased the scope from 50k to 100k over 10 years, without any prompting.
It was probably pretty well planned out – but when you hit reality, sometimes plans go awry.
For me, KB always gets points for actual effort and setting up a testable goal. Like a lot of this government's work.
That having been said, it's fallen well short. But Twyford never struck me as being a Clare Curran, so maybe replacing him won't magically improve things. Maybe the initial slog of KB is just a much worse job than expected.
I was never a fan of this approach. In effect, it actually reinforces buoyant market prices for housing.
I had posted this link previously, about Grand Design series "The Street" about an approach to housing development that provides benefits to both the purchaser and the authorities. Apparently the series is going to be on NZ television soon.
The original Netherlands development Almere is still going, and worthwhile researching for how successful it has been in providing lower-cost housing, while building community:
The first view of the government;s housing plan showed it as not only feeble but probably terminal. How come the voters were cast in the role of the simple, direct, clear-eyed viewers on the sideline looking at the Emperor with No Clothes, but a heck of a con story to sell us?
Where are the smarts in Cabinet? Did they get left on the Cabinet table after a meeting. And was it like that funny happening on the way to an Art Installation where the arrangement of an Aftermath of a 'do' with cigarette ends and other detritus', was mistaken as rubbish by the prosaic cleaner and swept away.
Not what I would call art; and the Cabinet decisions lacked veracity also.
And Newshub are going after David Clark (https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2019/10/ryan-bridge-health-minister-david-clark-owes-new-zealand-an-explanation-over-measles-epidemic.html) and Ian Lees-Galloway (https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/10/immigration-minister-iain-lees-galloway-didn-t-request-court-judgements-before-granting-drunk-driver-residency.html).
Time for the PM to take a punt and blood some new talent?
Ryan Bridge really? Who gives a toss what he thinks.
And Newshub knows like everybody else that Lees-Galloway had no choice but to allow the guy to stay if we were to comply with our international obligations.
Lets not forget Newshub as part of MediaWorks is going down the toilet and this bullshit is one of the reasons why.
Good points, but the media do influence perception, whether we like it or not. And politicians rise or fall on public perception.
It would help if people were less prepared to be spoon-fed bullshit. A lot of the time no one does any research for themselves, preferring to just meekly accept what they're being told, without knowing if it's a partisan hit-job, or just the 'feels' of some sour hack with an axe to grind. David Cunliffe was put through the wringer based on what turned out to be manufactured horseshit, and yet you had John Armstrong hysterically shrieking about his resignation. If 'The Hollow Men' and 'Dirty Politics' taught us anything, it's that none of this stuff is accidental. There's a cohesive strategy behind it.
That's a weak point Paddington, whatever is written about you will affect perceptions so you should drop off as soon as someone makes up a convincing lie? Where do standards sit in your part of the world – does anyone try to do anything good, and do most that you know sit on fences going hee-haw at the earnest tryers while they make up some juicy concoction about them for the gullible.
It's not a 'weak point', it is an observation of human frailty. The media's influence is, at least in part, determined by the willingness of the general public to accept 'news' at face value. When we challenge prevailing narrative, when we scratch below the surface, we expose the shallowness of media coverage. Too few do.
Its just a usual rants from a low rating breakfast show trying to make the news itself.
Jacinda needs to act on this IMO. The longer Twyford stays there the more crap he is putting on to Labour. Helen Clark would have sacked him by now.
Actually I think Clark, would, if she felt that her minister was being undermined by his ministry, have moved pretty smartly to curtail a few careers in that department. The minister would have been most likely given a minder and told not to move unless Heather Simpson said he could.
Spot on ScottGN.
I suspect part of Twyford's problem is that he has been too trusting of some in his ministry portfolios. Once upon a time these officials were strictly neutral but I fear that is no longer the case.
Twyford IS the problem IMO along with the other ABC national light ministers such as Nash, Robertson, Hipkins, Parker, O'Connor etc. WTF does Faafoi do !
Phildo has fallen into the trap of thinking his dept is behind him when any idiot can see the entire public service was turned over by National to suit it’s backers requirements.
Also there is the toxicity that is Shane Jones who thrives on undermining Labour with a proven history of laziness, arrogance and boorish behaviour.
But everyone knew that Shane Jones was like that tc, and he was chosen I think, despite those attributes because he was someone that the centre-Trump voters would feel akin to. Probably his rating is still positive with that group despite having his foot in his mouth, his automatic rifle in his meaty arm etc.
And generally being an up-himself Trumpian prick.
Being naïve is not an OK quality for a Minister.
Well said
No doubt there. Quite a few ministries are larded with so many Gnat spoilers they're a trap for ministers – Radio NZ for one. By all means give Twyford a holiday – but lose the fake public servants – there's no place for them under this government.
That attack is bollocks- Nat party stooge is helped by journo. Coughlin needs to be asked why he doesn't identify the clear party affiliation.
The bigger question is why were we f- around with PPPs. It's a marquee policy- Twyford isn't on his own here. Sure he hasn't done that well, but he's not working in a vacuum.
That's certainly compatible with Pattrick Smellie's interpretation, which seems to account for everything but the noise from the cheap seats.
Nope quite different. I'm asking if he was encouraged to seek a PPP when the project was quite a ways down the track and had already been campaigned on.
Snowden's twitter account is rich in news including Brazil, with the Bolsonaro family implicated in murder,Epstein's "suicide" (looking more like homicide according to Michael Baden who observed the autopsy)latest polling from New Hampshire..Sanders leading
Snowden's memoir Permanent Record should make interesting reading
https://twitter.com/Snowden?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
His Twitter feed is always interesting.
Has Assange got a twitter feed?
Assange is allowed very few visitors, has no access to books or computer let alone his own writings with which to defend himself.
Does anyone know the policy around police involvement in Auckland Transport fare dodging?
My son is a regular commuter on AT trains into Auckland. Leaves home between 5.30 and 6.30am so often wears a hoodie and sometimes a beanie for his early morning commute and just plays podcasts on his phone to pass the time.
He noticed several police officers board the train, and precede an AT staff member down the aisle. Surreptitious hand signals to the AT staff member resulted in various passengers being asked to confirm their fare payment. He was one of them.
Is this a judicious use of police time? Given that AT staff has a right to require proof of fare at any time, what would this operation been useful for? The only thing I can think of is immediate arrest of any farejumper.
Does anyone know the reasoning or legality behind this? Seems a lot like casual profiling.
Is this a judicious use of police time?
No, it is not imho.
Anyone who has approached the police about certain types of crimes – especially if it involves harassment, bullying and intimidatory criminal acts is likely to be – metaphorically speaking – turfed out on to the street and told to stop bothering the police. There have been instances in the past when women in particular have been physically attacked and even killed because police didn't take them seriously.
Yet they're happy to hop on a train and check law abiding passengers' tickets to see if they have diddled some corporate body of a dollar or two. Money talks.
And yes…casual profiling is on the cards.
diddled some corporate body
About half of each region's public transit operations funding has to come from fares under current regulations.
People who steal free rides are not reducing some company's profits but are disdvantaging everyone else who uses and benefits from PT – hence operators all over the world act against that theft. Many places have dedicated transit enforcement officers so they are not diverting attention from other policing. NZ could do that if our govt changes the law.
Except Sacha, they are not acting on evidence or suspicion of someone breaking the law.
This is purely going through the carriage and pointing out persons to the AT staff member – who already has the ability to ask for proof of fare, and can arrange for suitable backup at the next station if there is evidence of fare dodging. This is profiling.
Given climate change transition requirements, the regulations that should be changed is not to introduce more police to the transport system, but to subsidise public transport fully.
You are missing the point.
You have changed the point. Thats a different argument, even if fares were only expected to be 20% of cost, they still would have ticket checkers.
No one is going to subsidise public transport fully like you say
AT already have ticket checkers, who can randomly check for fare dodgers. That is still the point.
My last sentence added after initial posting, was for Sacha, who in his closing sentence suggested regulation change would make police on transport systems legal. I should have ensured the missing the point comment stayed in position. We subsidise a lot of things, limiting subsidies of public transport to only 50% of cost is limiting options in addressing climate change, and reducing the harm from air pollution. We should at least consider higher levels of subsidy. My preference would be fully subsidised public transport for NZ citizens.
But grammar aside, do you think this it a good use of police resources, and whether it is a form of profiling?
We rang cops a few weeks back as a friends phone went missing then she got a call she could get phone back for $100 (she got him down to $10), she asked for cops to witness but they said they didn't have the staff, just take some friends. I went with her, scary dudes, paid $10, got phone back.
Would be very tempted myself to just wave that phone goodbye, and replace it with a cheaper second-hand one.
Must admit, your friend has severely good negotiation skills, need her on our foreign trade talks.
How did the phone thieves ring the owner of the stolen phone?
AT staff have no power to detain anyone. Offenders scarper at will unless police are there. Having specific transit officers who do not need to be fully-trained police is one way other places manage that.
Profiling is another thing altogether and not specific to this situation.
Free PT is an ideal but meeting the daily peak demands for it may not be achievable without pricing or some other rationing system. I believe our current arrangements deliver neither fairness nor climate action.
Sacha – It appears that you think profiling is happening here, and it is one of Molly's points. Some of the comments that pass for answers that you and Duke put up are off the track but you imply you have definite knowledge, which can not be possible as you make replies to everything, and no-one knows everything.
I don't know about the transport policing, but our country's approach seems to let things happen that make life hard for folks, and intrusively check on the population for infringements, and when people can't or don't comply with rules, they get punished. It would be better if the country was run to make it easy for people to manage their lives, but that idea isn't on the table.
I compare police going on transport looking for unpaid money infringement, and at hospital in the A&E section, their own security staff have to handle assault and violence infringements. That is where police should be stationed, at least one all night, and that would be policing for the people's good.
Curious how you are confident something I have said is 'off the track'?
Nobody knows everything. Learning is a good thing. You seem to have enough time for that, which is a blessing.
AT staff have no power to detain anyone.
OK, I accept that. So what is the benefit of a police presence in this situation, given the level of the crime and the ability of AT to call ahead to have police present at the next station.
Profiling is another thing altogether and not specific to this situation.
In this case, the use of police – who are looked on to be experts in criminals – to identify possible farejumpers is the definition of profiling. Random checks are already possible.
Free PT is an ideal but meeting the daily peak demands for it may not be achievable without pricing or some other rationing system. I believe our current arrangements deliver neither fairness nor climate action.
I agree about the fairness and the climate action. I haven't witnessed any real discussions about higher subsidies for public transport either from this government or our local transport associations. I have seen dismissals that price was not considered to be a deterrent.
I have little faith that the pragmatists, who are usually not the most vulnerable or financially stressed, will even consider the impact of fairness in discussions about raising the 50% threshold that you stated was a regulatory limit. I would like to see that happen, and although I would like to see free public transport – understand the limitations of delivering that result.
I would love public transit to be free for our poorest and youngest – something like the Gold Gard. Also cheaper than increasing that 50% subsidy across the board. Nothing to stop govt doing it right away.
I would love public transit to be free for our poorest and youngest – something like the Gold Gard.
My partner's father, who died at the age of 93, utilised his Gold Card to catch the bus, train, ferry to Devonport and then return for a days outing. The benefit he had from this in terms of mental and physical health was considerable. As a community, we also benefit from having our older citizens visible, engaged and active. However, he was financially well off.
Any assessment on suitability for discounts etc is often crude and badly managed. We don't measure income vs fixed outgoings, we just measure taxed incomes. I know a few people who live very comfortable lives including private schools for their children and long annual overseas trips that are entitled to community services cards or similar benefits because of the way their personal incomes are calculated. Until these designs get better, I would rather have a way for citizens to access lower fares and leave the higher fares for tourists and non-citizens. We used to have a discount card provided for access to our local swimming pools that was delivered once a year to all households in our district. It allows those that regularly contribute taxes on top of fares, a reduction in fares and recognises their contribution.
Nothing to stop govt doing it right away.
That's the saddest part.
Here's another one for Greywarshark. The guy couldn't be bothered stopping for police. Wimpy judge gives an $850 fine and Community detention………should have got jail time of say, six months and a fine of at least $5k. Need a decent deterrent. I believe the fines for not stopping for police in Australia are a lot harsher which may be a real deterrent which may be why police do not chase as often.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/117037373/teen-couldnt-be-bothered-stopping-for-police-leads-them-on-chase
From page 63 of the IPCA report "Fleeing Drivers in New Zealand" earlier this year:
The whole report is worth a read. Probably several times to absorb it all, there's a lot there.
He's a white boy who considers himself to be above the law. Of course he got the wet bus ticket.
The judge couldn't be bothered..
Jimmy
This fellow is not going to be affected by bigger fines, whatever. He sounds like someone a bit lost, out of control, hophead or a druggie, definitely not going to be have second thoughts about behaving better as he doesn't even have first ones by the sounds.
Defence lawyer Michael Scott said Chasteauneuf was under significant stress at the time, resulting in him being admitted to Palmerston North Hospital's mental health ward.
Australia having heavy penalties and putting people in prison would not be a useful line for us to follow. We already imprison people, second to the USA, which is an indication that we too are a hollow country, looks good on the outside, but inside worm-eaten.
He looks as if he might come from a comfortably off family and perhaps there has not been enough time spent helping him through the difficult teen years, with affection and encouragement.
Something that those who know-all might be able to advise is about set tasks for people needing actual 'correction'. If he was told to go to driving instruction and perhaps counselling, and didn't go, would he be followed up and then given a short jail term? I have the idea that after conviction there isn't much available except that Maori are trying to work with their own people.
WTF ? This is the judge (who's on 350K a year) – …..the chase put numerous people at risk, including police officers, the judge said. "They don't get paid enough for that to occur." "They don't get paid enough……"???
I mean the comment, apparently made to a probation officer – "I couldn't be bothered stopping…." is obviously a load of weird crap yet it seems that at both ends we're happy to settle for that as definitional. The media at one end and the wiseacres on here at the other end who lustily fantasise that smashing up an attitudinally fucked young life is going to result in a young life that's not fucked up ???
It's almost like we don't actually want any advance.
Would this guy have stopped for police?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/117003370/alcohol-and-cannabis-in-fatal-crash-drivers-blood
Surprise surprise. When you give rich people money, they keep it.
/
investment in structures — factories, offices, oil rigs, etc. — plunged 15.3% in Q3, after falling 11.1% in Q2
This was 2nd consecutive quarter in which overall business investment shrank.
2019 GDP growth also now on track to equal about what it averaged during Obama’s 2nd term.
The Trump economic agenda — tax cuts, trade wars, pro-pollution deregulation — ain’t so magical after all
Also worth pointing out that the mechanism by which we were supposed to get supercharged biz investment was through big capital inflows to the US. Capital inflows to US have instead been shrinking
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1189525328114393090.html
A great move. Someone makes a start at taming the digital wild west.
meh
putting an end to promoting RWNJ's will be a start.
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1189523656008962049.html
previously on TS
aww
The most sophisticated online program ever known? Really? Spittle-flecked Twitter rants at two in the morning because Faux News doesn't lavish you with unearned praise any more? It'd be funny if it weren't so sad.
Trump's craft in using the Twitter contributed to him winning in 2016. It shouldn't be scoffed at.
Poor fucking Brad Parscale my heart weeps. One day maybe not too long off 'conservatives' will be declaring from under their straw coiffs that Trump was never a 'conservative' anyway. Which the decent people knew forever.
Just means Facebook has 2 sets of rules, one for every one else and another for the tiny number of US right wing 'fakebook sites'
Chile too Hot. COPS out.
The crisis in Chile is terrifying, protesters are "violent" because cops are beating people up, and reports of rape and brutality etc. Scary place right now.
I see the wild fires in California have threatened The Ronald Reagan Presidential library and museum
Hell, I hope it doesn't threaten the Donald Trump one, his comic might get burnt.
Someone held in jail in harsh conditions because he is an environmentalist who has criticised the USA government and was labelled as a possible terrorist! And Muslims who seem perfectly good people but paranopia finds them otherwise. I found this clip on line and interested people may have missed the link and my comment at –
https://thestandard.org.nz/small-start-to-inflated-bullshit/#comment-1663980 – which I thought was an important factor when we are talking about free speech and what a RW government might think too free.
What the heck? Our lives are to be continually disrupted by paranoid super liberal middle class apparatchiks who want to turn our lives upside down and spoil them to accommodate the new, demanding, restless culture who will never be happy and always mewling about something that they haven't got. It is an unimagined expansion of the Me Generation that wishes to insert themselves into every niche and space we have.
Now students have decided that they shouldn't clap with enthusiasm because..,.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/lately/audio/2018720013/the-jazz-hands-debate
Jazz hands is the British Sign Language expression of clapping, and the [Oxford] university union hopes that by doing away with clapping, whooping and cheering, events will be more accessible to people suffering from anxiety and those with hearing problems…
Frank Furedi is emeritus professor of sociology at the University of Kent. He is well known for his work on the sociology of fear, education, therapy culture, paranoid parenting and the sociology of knowledge.
He is the author of How Fear Works: Culture of Fear in the 21st Century…
Applause can unify, he says.
"One of the great things about applauding, or applauding people, is it brings people together it's a kind of solidarity and you see it in sporting events in concerts, in all kinds of public situations.
"And if now, what you do is you kind of marginalise that very human way of identifying with each other. I think that has a very negative effect on the spirits."
Ferudi is a long-time critic of a style of parenting and teaching that he believes medicalises ordinary life challenges.
If you get tired of the constant PCness arising each day like weeds, you might like Ruth Dudley Edwards’ (Irish/UK writer) book called Murdering Americans about how an educational business makes money from teaching this stuff, and doesn’t like it being exposed to public gaze.
Surely, the acceptable norm that includes both jazz hands and audible clapping with understanding of noise sensitivities is the desired outcome?
People aware of such sensitivities, such as my sister-in-law who had several operations on her head and scalp, will often remove themselves from situations where noise may be an issue. Or she – in rare instances – will use hearing protection to protect herself from the associated pain of loud noises.
It would be good to see a combination of both "jazz hands" and "palm-to-palm" clapping being so common, that it is accepted without need for discourse.
How do you mean? Having a mix won't solve the noise/anxiety issue.
I'm quite sensitive to noise for health reasons and I'm ok with avoiding places where people are clapping and cheering if it's too much for me. This is a key human experience, to express excitement and joy by making a noise, not a good thing to interfere with.
I can imagine some exceptions to this eg where people with anxiety or noise sensitivity are speaking or at an event that is specific to them. I can also see the value in an option of some events using jazz hands. I'm a big fan of quiet spaces too, and hope libraries sort out the conflict on this sooner rather than later. Rather than banning clapping/cheering, I'd rather see quiet spaces increased.
Hi weka, just realised that my comment is not attached to grey's above. Meant to be a reply to her links and reference to PCness.
Hi Molly, yes, I read it as a reply. I just wasn't clear what you meant by "It would be good to see a combination of both "jazz hands" and "palm-to-palm" clapping being so common, that it is accepted without need for discourse."
The comment " If you get tired of the constant PCness arising each day like weeds" just struck me as non-inclusive. I could be reading it wrong, but would like to live in a society where differences are just accepted, and not referred to as PC.
I know what you mean, and rising intolerance seems a thing. We don't seem that good at the moment as a society for resolving conflicting needs and it think this is made worse by the tension and fear people are feeling about the world.
I agree about library, not perfect quiet but controlled quiet. We have a man who clucks like a hen every few minutes, I don't know if I am unreasonable to dislike this. But if there were a few of them and perhaps a mentally different person whooping away then it is hardly a space for concentrated thinking.
Too much chatting and socialising of young people at the library general spaces some times. They need to be shushed off to their own space where they could enjoy talking at the tops of their voices.
I suppose headphones would help, and block out the distractions.
Noise-cancelling headphones are great. Don't even have to have anything playing.
Too much chatting and socialising of young people at the library general spaces some times.
Libraries are almost our last equal access community space, open to all demographics, ages and skill levels. If it is used as a free sociable space by any community members, I'm all for it. Too many are trying to diminish or remove libraries, and they need to adapt.
Some of the more recent library buildings have a purpose-built acoustically designed quiet reading space. I think this is a great solution for those who want to read in silence while in the library. Best thing is, they can also take out items on loan and read in the privacy of their own homes – with a cup of tea.
it's not hard to design spaces once the needs are understood. Because libraries have traditionally been quiet places, I favour keeping them that way and adding in other, more socially loud spaces (or times). Not everyone can take books home to read. I sometimes used to sit in the library just to rest.
Papakura library was renovated a few years ago, and I tried out their quiet reading room. It was great, there was a specific toddler reading and singing activity scheduled, but inside the room itself was all comfortable armchairs and quiet.
As someone who enjoys quiet spaces, I understand the preference for libraries to remain so. I am also painfully aware of reoccurring proposals that aim to reduce or diminish our library resources. For me, making them more valued and indispensable to a wide range of ages and people may include changing traditional rules about how they are used. It's a fine balance though, and must include provisions for those who have always valued the library for it's quiet public space.
There are places I don't go because the noise is too loud, and heavy metal bands I avoid. I put my habnds to my ears when standing on the tarmac waiting to board a plane and one is revving next door, you do have to be careful with your hearing.
… and heavy metal bands I avoid…
this made me smile, trying to think of heavy metal bands you accommodate.
After dismissing the rants from Anti-Twyfords today it was refreshing to read Patrick Smellie' column. Won't stop the odious from creating mischief but any reasonable person might wonder at the mountains out of little bumps.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12281214
Snap at 1.1.3 above
Oh heck. Sorry Sacha. Missed it.
Wondering about the concerted attack focussed on the same people from papers, blogs, radio online. Going to be hard going for the next 12 months. Did I read that Bridges has 7 staff working on media and only 2 on policies?
More like 20-something focusing on social media, apparently.
Aha… just as I thought. Petty-fogging officials are far more likely to be behind the screw-up – not Phil Twyford. To describe Twyford as incompetent and not up to ministerial level tasks is poppycock.
I know him well and have seen him in action on the campaign front. He's a superb organiser and knows exactly what he wants to do. I can imagine him getting up the noses of some in officialdom who like to think they are the real masters of policy formation and expect ministers to follow them – not the other way around.
Twyford is a glass half-full personality. Nothing is impossible to him but, maybe, when you're in government some things are impossible – at least in the short term. And that could be where he came a little unstuck.
Surely that is not a sacking matter.
"Twyford is a glass half-full personality. Nothing is impossible to him but, maybe, when you're in government some things are impossible – at least in the short term. And that could be where he came a little unstuck."
and that is possibly the most generous and polite description I have ever read
Well, I should take some at least of what you may have read with a grain of salt Pat.
I knew him. I suspect many of those who have joined the ‘let’s get Phil Twyford’ club never actually knew him.
Why did he get both Housing and Urban Development as well as Transport to start off with? That was a really bad decision on the part of the Labour medical team. He couldn't breathe life into both those portfolios, especially seeing housing had an overdose of happy potion.
Maybe this Government has been trying too hard? I can't really think of any Minister in the previous Government who pushed so hard on any program that the people pointed the finger at rate of progress. Hard to think of any real strides forward. Therefore if Phil had promised little and kept very quiet, no more chitter chat then the naysayers would be stumped.
The coalition Government has actually achieved a huge amount in 2 years haven't they?
Maybe this Government has been trying too hard.
Some truth in that. Especially where Phil is concerned. As I said… he's a glass half full type of person who puts his heart and soul into any venture he is involved in.
Well Labour over-promised and expected miracles in giving Twyford two demanding and key portfolios. I wonder again why did they make this error, it's lacking in reason. Housing has been top of the mind for yonks and people wanted action. Gaping holes could be seen. I don't understand how things work – voters elect a government and then government puts all responsibility for certain work on a particular MP who then seems to become king-pin though the government wear the results.