Pope Francis on Climate Change

Written By: - Date published: 1:07 pm, June 16th, 2015 - 66 comments
Categories: capitalism, climate change, Economy, global warming - Tags: , ,

Basic common sense from the Pope on climate change. The fact that it will come across as radical, or too radical to many, is lamentable. All in all, it merely reads, to me at least, as an echo of reports and analyses that reject or resist political and economic interference.

“The attitudes that stand in the way of a solution (to climate change), even among believers, range from negation of the problem, to indifference, to convenient resignation or blind faith in technical solutions,” he wrote

(emphasis added)

“Humanity is called to take note of the need for changes in lifestyle and changes in methods of production and consumption to combat this warming, or at least the human causes that produce and accentuate it,” he wrote in the draft

From ‘The Independent (linked above) “The economic powers shall continue to justify the current world system, in which speculation and and the aim for financial returns to prevail that tend to ignore each context and the effects on the environment and on human dignity.”

And from the Guardian (linked above) “…the draft rejects outright “carbon credits” as a solution to the problem. It says they “could give rise to a new form of speculation and would not help to reduce the overall emission of polluting gases”. On the contrary, the pope wrote, it could help “support the super-consumption of certain countries and sectors”..

 

 

66 comments on “Pope Francis on Climate Change ”

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  1. weka 1
    16 June 2015 at 1:39 pm

    ‘super-consumption’, good phrase.

    What I liked about the pre-announcement the other day was stating this is an ethical issue, not an economic or scientific one.

    • Colonial Rawshark 1.1
      16 June 2015 at 3:15 pm

      When it comes to destroying the world that future generations have to try and live in, it is definitely a moral and ethical issue. We have to ask ourselves – does humanity deserve to survive. If so, it better demonstrate it.

  2. adam 2
    16 June 2015 at 2:09 pm

    The Pope also has the full support of the Jesuite scientific community. May I point out this is a body not know for its’ radicalism.

    This has been coming for some time and a conference coming up in Australia was when the report was going to be released. My sources tell me, that the Vatican is far from happy about the treatment of the Aboriginals, and other poor communities in Australia under the current liberal government.

    You may or may not realise, but the catholic worker, and many other catholic organisations have been opposed to neo-liberalism since its’ re-emergence to dominance, and it’s radical and bullish changes since the 80’s.

    • Colonial Rawshark 2.1
      16 June 2015 at 3:17 pm

      He’s the first Jesuit who has been Pope, yes?

    • Sans Cle 2.2
      17 June 2015 at 1:55 am

      Jesuits are quite radical in my estimation. Their approach to education is pretty radical for a religious organisation. I learned from them “to question is to begin to believe”; and not from a strict Catholic God fearing perspective – but from a philosophical enquiring perspective, deferring my (at the time very young, formative) mind to query everything until I could form my own opinion.
      That’s a lesson I have never forgotten, and a trait I can quickly identify in people who have been educated by Jesuits. Liberation education, and I haven’t seen it’s equal in any secular education.

  3. Stuart Munro 3
    16 June 2015 at 2:26 pm

    Yep – this Pope is a good one – all my Catholic friends are happy to have one they can be proud of for a change.

  4. Tiger Moutain 4
    16 June 2015 at 2:44 pm

    better to have a Pope of a near enough marxist persuasion (more left than many social democrats), but Frank can’t go the “whole hog” if he wants to keep his gig, because his general approach invites an examination of the basic tenets of theism, he is saying people can make a significant difference, don’t just leave it to the ‘creator’

    • Colonial Rawshark 4.1
      16 June 2015 at 3:18 pm

      God gave humans free will to make their own choices, so goes the doctrine.

    • Ovid 4.2
      16 June 2015 at 3:57 pm

      You’re debating what you think Catholicism is, rather than what it really holds:

      Each of the various creatures, willed in its own being, reflects in its own way a ray of God’s infinite wisdom and goodness. Man must therefore respect the particular goodness of every creature, to avoid any disordered use of things which would be in contempt of the Creator and would bring disastrous consequences for human beings and their environment.

      Catechism of the Catholic Church, para 339.

      It goes on to say at para 341:

      The beauty of the universe: the order and harmony of the created world results from the diversity of beings and from the relationships which exist among them. Man discovers them progressively as the laws of nature. They call forth the admiration of scholars. the beauty of creation reflects the infinite beauty of the Creator and ought to inspire the respect and submission of man’s intellect and will.

  5. adam 5
    16 June 2015 at 3:25 pm

    I found this 10″ the other day now I found the video. Woohoo.

    1960 this was published!! Man before his time Mr Tom Lehrer.

    We need more Satirists.

  6. Chooky 6
    16 June 2015 at 3:25 pm

    Catholic Church has not been too good on birth control and overpopulation and women’s rights…(understatement) ….fullstop

    Human overpopulation and climate change?

    • Bill 6.1
      16 June 2015 at 3:49 pm

      “Human overpopulation and climate change?”

      No.

      Between ~1% and 5% of humanity is responsible for anywhere between ~40% and 60% of fossil related GHG emissions. Or, put another way, between ~70 million and 350 million people are responsible for about half of all fossil related GHG emissions.

      Take out over three of the more than six and a half billion people who are not in that approximate 5% and we don’t even get half way to solving the problem of GHG emissions.

      Take out the 5% and we’re half way to getting to where we need to be on the GHG emissions front.

      The problem is emissions, not population.

      • weka 6.1.1
        16 June 2015 at 9:14 pm

        Hmm, not sure what you are meaning there. There is definitely an issue if the developing countries with large populations want to follow the West.

        At the same time, the region’s share of global greenhouse gas emissions has risen to almost 40%. This is largely due to rapid economic growth in the People’s Republic China, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Viet Nam. Increased demand in future will likely be met mainly by fossil fuels, as these are cheaper and more readily available than renewables. If this trend is confirmed, Asia will be responsible for almost half of global carbon emissions by 2030.

        http://blogs.adb.org/blog/asia-climate-change-battleground

        There are also significant other environmental reasons for looking at population too (not least how food is grown).

        None of that is particularly about Catholicism though, other than it promotes the antithesis of countries being able to control population (and they’re not the only ones).

        • Bill 6.1.1.1
          16 June 2015 at 9:27 pm

          What I’m meaning is that if you live in NZ and earn over something like $50 000, you are probably the part of the global population that is responsible for around 50% of emissions.

          What I’m meaning is that the vast majority of populations in China, India and elsewhere are only responsible for a small percentage of global emissions.

          You say that if they all wanted the consumerism we have, then there’d be a problem. This is true. But even with fast economic growth, by the time the average person in those places was in any position to be ‘like us’, the game would have already have been a bogey for some time.

          China’s emissions are due in large part to western industry re-locating there.

          That emissions have to peak in 2030 for China (later for India and Africa) and then drop at something like 5 -10% per annum is entirely in keeping with the Copenhagen Accord and the science of climate change.

          I can see no good reason to deny China, India, Africa etc the opportunity to lay in infrastructure such as water,power, transport networks, hospitals, schools etc that the west has.

          The problem is if they lay in the same non-resilient infra-structure that we have.

          • Colonial Rawshark 6.1.1.1.1
            16 June 2015 at 9:30 pm

            The Eurasion Silk Road and Belt plan is predicated on rail and shipping. China knows that future fossil fuel use is very definitely limited.

          • weka 6.1.1.1.2
            16 June 2015 at 10:32 pm

            Sorry, I’m still not getting it. The link I gave says that emissions for Asia Pacific are already high (40%), not low. How can increasing population there not be a factor in emissions? eg 3 x as many people wanting to drive a car (or whatever the number is). Are you suggesting that the West can offset that by scaling down? Or are you saying that the governments in the Asia Pacific can choose to to reduce emissions at the same time as populations are increasing rapidly? That seems possible, but not a given.

            “I can see no good reason to deny China, India, Africa etc the opportunity to lay in infrastructure such as water,power, transport networks, hospitals, schools etc that the west has.”

            Whereas I see good reason to deny everyone those things, ourselves included, if they’re created using fossil fuels. Food, clean water, shelter, healthcare, education quality of life, sure, but Western style infrastructure? I just don’t see how that is possible without using fossil fuels.

            • Colonial Rawshark 6.1.1.1.2.1
              16 June 2015 at 10:44 pm

              Asia is not going to stop developing towards higher standards of living. They are not going to stop industrialising, commercialising and innovating. And they don’t care about “western style” infrastructure, they’ve seen that the west is failing very badly. They’ll do things their own way, in a style which suits themselves.

              And yes they are going to burn plenty of fossil fuels on the way.

              • weka …
                16 June 2015 at 10:56 pm

                “And yes they are going to burn plenty of fossil fuels on the way.”

                Why?

                • Colonial Rawshark …
                  16 June 2015 at 11:01 pm

                  Because that’s how you fabricate and move complex high value added materials and structures.

            • Bill 6.1.1.1.2.2
              17 June 2015 at 5:53 pm

              From memory, the cross-over in emissions happened around 2005…ie, in 2005 Annex 2 country emissions eclipsed Annex 1 country emissions – became over 50% of total emissions.

              But going with the 40% for Asia/Pacific, how much of that is western insofar as off-shoring industry off-shores emissions too? How much of their economic growth is from imported ‘assembly line’ production that gets exported back to the west and is therefor meaningless in terms of domestic production/consumption?

              Bearing in mind that the overwhelming majority of people in China live off the back of around US$1 or US$2 a day, (the same applies to India, much of the rest of Asia and Africa too) and therefor probably have precisely zero access to fossil fuels, the growing population, in and of itself, isn’t an AGW problem. That there is a burgeoning middle class in a hugely unequal society, on the other hand, is, because a proportion of them are consuming fossil fuels at a rate high enough to be included in that global 1 – 5% who are the real problem with regards emissions.

              Moving away from consumerism and individual fossil fuel use, what’s with the denial of hospitals, access to treatment/medicine and education? And why deny sanitation or power distribution systems? It strikes me as unnecessary and misanthropic.

              China is a part of the problem, but also a part of the solution. If it had somehow been prevented from doing anything in terms of development, then AGW would still be a critical problem… and many solutions would not be as developed or as affordable as they are (solar power comes to mind). At the end of the day, China has committed to peaking by 2030 or 2035. This is well within the limits of the science around AGW. They seem to be slightly ahead of target btw. Now sure, it’s not just about peak, it’s about the rate of emissions on the way to peak and the drop off rate after the peak. But China does seem to be pulling its finger out, and that can’t be said of the west.

              • Macro …
                17 June 2015 at 6:39 pm

                Yep! And further to that – Nick Stern et all have just released a report which suggests China’s GHG emissions could peak by 2025. Which is really good news if that is so.
                I entirely agree with your analysis re the exportation by western countries of their manufacturing GHG emission to China and India. It never ceases to amaze me just how hypocritical we can be, pointing the finger at China! I’m not sure I agree with the first sentence of the Guardian report linked to: I think 2 degrees is well in the rear view mirror. 🙁
                http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/08/chinese-greenhouse-gas-emissions-may-peak-by-2025-says-study

                • Bill …
                  17 June 2015 at 7:27 pm

                  Within that link, there’s the following…

                  According to the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a 2C pathway requires annual greenhouse gas cuts of 40-70% by 2050, compared with levels in 2010 – and to zero or below by 2100.

                  Thing is, that’s utter crap. Take out the reliance on carbon capture and storage, both working and being rolled out, and get back to scientific certainties (90%+) instead of playing around with odds of 3/1 shortening towards 2/1, and 2 degrees is almost certainly gone. There is a remote chance (given uncertainties around various forcings) that zero fossil related emissions by 2050 can allow the world to avoid +2 degrees C.

                  Fucking around until the end of the century, playing the odds, and relying on non-existent technologies leaves us looking at prospects of +4 degrees.

      • Colonial Rawshark 6.1.2
        16 June 2015 at 9:23 pm

        The problem is emissions, not population.

        Emissions are, if you’ll forgive me, the result of an output function. And people, particularly the numbers of them, are an input into that.

        Put it another way: a 1000 people living in a certain way is always going to generate far more emissions than 100 people living in that certain way.

        • weka 6.1.2.1
          16 June 2015 at 11:02 pm

          There’s also a time factor and the rate at which large populations grow. 100 people doubling their population is differen to 1000 people.

          btw, I’m in favour of NZ limiting population growth too. I think we should be working off what the land here can sustain without fossil fuels.

        • Bill 6.1.2.2
          17 June 2015 at 10:24 am

          Yes, emissions are an output function running at around 20:80 (input/output) that suggests a 1:50 input/output ratio- based on the numbers of people using fossil fuels; not total population.

    • Ovid 6.2
      16 June 2015 at 4:05 pm

      Catholic Church has not been too good on birth control
      Agreed.

      overpopulation
      Of the top 10 most populous nations, only 2 are more than 15% Catholic. The United States (20.8-23.9%) and Brazil (63%). China is 0.75% Catholic. India is 1.58%. Source

      women’s rights
      Agreed, I don’t see it tempering its position on abortion, divorce or women in the clergy any time soon. But I don’t see how that contributes with any significance to climate change.

    • adam 6.3
      16 June 2015 at 5:17 pm

      All of society is quite backwards on treating women as human beings – just wondering where your anti-catholicism is coming from Chooky?

      • Chooky 6.3.1
        16 June 2015 at 6:06 pm

        fights for family planning rights, contraception , abortion, fights for equal pay for equal work, working outside the family….discrimination against sexual relationships outside marriage, no sex without procreation eg what happened in Ireland to unmarried mothers and their children ( mass graves)….really i shouldn’t have to spell it out….the Catholic Church is built on misogyny and women as second class citizens in the eyes of this Papist church and their patriarchal God …for a long time they have opposed equal rights, contraceptive rights , abortion rights to women in secular society who arent even Catholic!…they oppose population control…they want women subservient to the male ego

        overpopulation is a core contributor to climate change…the Catholic Church patriarchal anthropocentric, anti feminist , anti -ecology value system ethos contributes directly or indirectly to overpopulation

        • Chooky 6.3.1.1
          16 June 2015 at 6:36 pm

          See: The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis
          Lynn White Jr
          Science 10 March 1967: 1203-1207.

          https://www.uvm.edu/~gflomenh/ENV-NGO-PA395/articles/Lynn-White.pdf

          “Both our present science and our present technology are
          so tinctured with orthodox Christian arrogance toward nature that no solution for our ecologic crisis can be expected from them alone. ..

          “The victory of Christianity over paganism was the greatest psychic revolution in the history of our culture. It has become fashionable today to say that, for better or worse, we live in the “post-Christian age.” Certainly the forms of our thinking and language have largely ceased to be Christian, but to my eye the substance often remains amazingly akin to that of the past. Our daily habits of action, for example, are dominated by an implicit faith in perpetual progress which was unknown either to Greco- Roman antiquity or to the Orient. It is rooted in, and is indefensible apart from,
          Judeo- Christian theology. The fact that Communists share it merely helps to show what can be demonstrated on many other grounds: that Marxism, like Islam, is a Judeo-Christian heresy. We continue today to live, as we have lived for about 1700 years, very largely in a context of Christian axioms…

          • Colonial Rawshark 6.3.1.1.1
            16 June 2015 at 6:56 pm

            You might as well point the finger at “western civilisation” as being the problem, plundering both people and the environment. And when you look at the US, and before them the UK, and before them the Spanish, the Dutch, it does seem that way does it not.

            • Facetious 6.3.1.1.1.1
              16 June 2015 at 7:17 pm

              Do you realise all these cultures built the culture and comforts you live in today? What the world would be without the English, Dutch or Americans?

              • Colonial Rawshark …
                16 June 2015 at 9:27 pm

                Yes, it is very good having billions of slaves and many mines in poor provinces of the world supplying the centres of imperial power with resources, goods and wealth.

                • In Vino …
                  17 June 2015 at 5:19 pm

                  Not to mention the possible imminent destruction of our own environment. What can possibly go wrong with our marvellous modern world?

          • Charles 6.3.1.1.2
            17 June 2015 at 6:43 am

            Interesting article. Starts off well, but a logical error is made on page five, second to last paragraph, which should have alerted him to revise the conclusion and direction of the essay. He was so intent on his conclusion, that he forgot the overall historical and philosophical context – while speaking about the history of theology and philosophy – so lost his obligation as an academic to remain apart from his own ideas. However, it still reads the more or less important facts/ideas, and since this thread is loosely about Christianity, this part,

            “It is often hard for the historian to judge, when men explain why
            they are doing what they want to do, whether they are offering real reasons
            or merely culturally acceptable reasons.”

            …in the context of the preceeding paragraphs, would have been quite radical thinking in 1974, bordering on heresy, (ironic for him too!) when the essay was written. Such an idea should have been thoroughly explored and understood widely now, by Christians in general, but for some reason it has been further pushed aside to make room for things inside Christianity that are not about Christianity at all – see quoted sentence above.

            • Chooky 6.3.1.1.2.1
              17 June 2015 at 10:05 am

              @ Charles…there were precursors to Lynn White Jr’s article (eg. Nietzsche, Toybnee, Edward C. Whitmont, ecofeminists) and there have been many articles and books since Lynn White Jr’s article in ‘Science’ critical of patriachal monotheism’s anthropocentrism which began with Judaism and the suppression of the matriarchal pagan earth worshipping religions and Caananites….and was continued by Christianity and the suppression of the primal indigenous pagan religions wherever there was colonialism…the rape, objectification and plundering of the Earth has been parallel with the treatment of women under patriarchal monotheism…

              (and it is not just confined to Christianised countries ….where ever there are patriarchal societies eg China…there is overpopulation, subjugation of women and primal religions and environmental degradation….eg Tibet)

              ….those disciplines which have theorists which argue along similar lines to Lynn White Jr include ecologists, ecofeminists, ecotheologians, postmodern geographers, social historians, ecopsychologists

              While most in- house Christians are oblivious … Thomas Berry, Catholic priest, cultural historian and ecotheologian was notable for arguing along similar lines as Lynn White Jr. and the ecofeminists…. as does NZ theologian Lloyd Geering

  7. johnm 7
    16 June 2015 at 7:58 pm

    As Robert Atack keeps repeating: it’s too late now the destruction is done and CC has it’s own unstoppable momentum. Probably what’s motivated the Pope to speak now is CC chaos events are being reported daily and even the msm are doing it. An impotent gesture it might have had some influence back in the 60s and 70s.

  8. AmaKiwi 8
    16 June 2015 at 8:18 pm

    We are witnessing a power struggle within Catholicism between money and people.

    This is the first Latin American pope. He represents the great majority of Catholics, who are poor. Previous popes came from the wealthy countries which is where Catholicism and Christianity are dying.

    The battle lines are being drawn. Will the next pope also represent the poor or will we return to a pope representing the well off? Time will tell.

    If the next pope is from Asia, Africa, or Latin America, we may see a glacial shift in Catholic policies around women, sexuality, and reproductive rights.

    • Colonial Rawshark 8.1
      16 June 2015 at 9:16 pm

      Hopefully they don’t knock the current guy off…

    • Ergo Robertina 8.2
      16 June 2015 at 9:45 pm

      The next pope may well be from those regions; the shift is reflected in a micro way in the priests coming from overseas to minister parishes in NZ as our priests die out.
      Don’t expect that to involve progressive attitudes towards women or sexuality. It may have the opposite effect.
      Anecdotally, there are issues in some parishes: if the priest is from a country where women have few rights, they may have an attitude to women (who typically do the parish admin and general organising) that’s out of step with the culture.

      • Chooky 8.2.1
        17 June 2015 at 10:18 pm

        yes the Catholic Church is now flourishing in third world countries where women have few rights…. women in the West have fought long and hard for womens’ rights especially to control their own fertility …and in Western countries where women are relatively emancipated Catholicism is in decline.

        • Colonial Rawshark 8.2.1.1
          17 June 2015 at 10:24 pm

          just remember that lots of different things are in decline in Western nations.

          And western cultural imperialism is just that – judging others by our own values, and discounting what works for them because we decide that it doesn’t work for us so they should do things our way. Because we know better than those poor people in poor countries.

          • Ergo Robertina 8.2.1.1.1
            17 June 2015 at 10:30 pm

            You mean we should think it’s fine for women in other cultures to have no rights because it ”works for them”; exactly who does it work for again?
            It’s not cultural imperialism to demand basic human rights for women.

            • Colonial Rawshark 8.2.1.1.1.1
              17 June 2015 at 10:37 pm

              Maybe we should have economic sanctions or regime change as options on the table unless they comply with our demands and our wisdom.

              • Ergo Robertina …
                17 June 2015 at 10:46 pm

                Maybe you should stop constructing strawman arguments, and engage with topics in an intellectually honest manner.

                • Colonial Rawshark …
                  17 June 2015 at 11:05 pm

                  You used the word “demand.” What do you propose to do when these other nations don’t comply with our “demands.”

            • Chooky 8.2.1.1.1.2
              17 June 2015 at 10:53 pm

              +100 Ergo Robertina…”It’s not cultural imperialism to demand basic human rights for women.”

              women are not a subspecies…and the violation of womens’ rights have gone hand in hand with male ‘God given’ exploitation and disregard of the planet Earth

              http://www.praxis-epress.org/CGR/26-Seager.pdf

  9. Jim 9
    16 June 2015 at 10:41 pm

    A lot of this commentary seems to be unaware that Pope Saint John XXIII and Pope Blessed Paul VI were on the same page on some things. Look at John’s Pacem in Terris. Nuclear Weapons are a bad idea. Full.Stop. Carpet bombing cities is Not On. Full Stop. Look, at Paul’s Populorum Progressio. What he has to say about ‘free’ trade offers no comfort to the cheerleaders for TPPA. Yes, I agree, there are huge gaps – women’s rights, particularly, and related matters of fertility control. But I’m with Raul Castro on this guy – much more of this and I might have to start going to Mass again. And you watch all those fuckers in the Republican Party, and Tony Abbott, tying themselves in knots on Friday after the climate change encyclical is out.

  10. Atiawa 10
    16 June 2015 at 11:02 pm

    I read this at http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/opinion/69389240/faith-in-taranaki-not-so-old-im-stupid
    Contributed by Revd Canon Pat Scaife, South Taranaki for the good people of Hawera and surrounding districts.
    Pats church beckons.

  11. Reddelusion 11
    16 June 2015 at 11:08 pm

    Do We Look that Stupid? How do scientists expect to be taken seriously when their “theory” is supported by both floods AND droughts? Too cold AND too hot,medieval period was a random fluke, yet 2003 warmest year is global warming, can’t explain in hind site last 30 years but models are dead cert going forward, scienctific method is now determined by a vote by the IPCC

    • weka 11.1
      16 June 2015 at 11:12 pm

      Speaking of stupid, if you don’t understand how floods and droughts can both be consequences of a phenomenon you really shouldn’t be expressing an opinion in public.

    • Colonial Rawshark 11.2
      16 June 2015 at 11:13 pm

      How do scientists expect to be taken seriously when their “theory” is supported by both floods AND droughts?

      Changed weather patterns means that precipitation is very high in some areas, leaving very little rain for other areas. This results in some places getting much wetter/more regularly flooded, while other placed end up with far too little rain.

      BTW are you under 40? If so, you are going to see the full brunt of AGW in your life time. Enjoy the fruits of your karma in your old age, son.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 11.3
      17 June 2015 at 12:45 am

      scienctific method is now determined by a vote by the IPCC

      No, it isn’t. The IPCC doesn’t do any research. Why are you ignorant of this?

      Please link to the scientific literature regarding the Medieval warm period, and demonstrate how it constitutes a “fluke”.

      Link to the science discussing increased drought and precipitation, and point out the flaws.

      Show me a “dead cert” prediction from a climate model.

      You can’t do any of these things because you’re an incompetent fool.

  12. Reddelusion 12
    16 June 2015 at 11:16 pm

    Bet each way can’t be wrong, answer the rest weka

  13. Reddelusion 13
    17 June 2015 at 7:26 am

    chicken little syndrome is not and answer and if you can’t explain some thing simply then you probably can’t explain it Simple can be harder than complex, you have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. Most projections are bs, cut back to the bone they are guesses or scientifically huge risk of endogenousity risk in climate statistics

    • One Anonymous Bloke 13.1
      17 June 2015 at 7:36 am

      Please link to the scientific literature regarding the Medieval warm period, and demonstrate how it constitutes a “fluke”.

      Link to the science discussing increased drought and precipitation, and point out the flaws.

      Show me a “dead cert” prediction from a climate model.

  14. Macro 14
    17 June 2015 at 12:05 pm

    Pope Francis sees off the climate change deniers
    http://www.gocomics.com/francis/2015/06/08#.VXYU9xczLbo.twitter

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    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • Trust In Me

    Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • The Hoon around the week to July 26

    TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Care report released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 26

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced $802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Radical law changes needed to build road

    The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #30 2024

    Open access notables Could an extremely cold central European winter such as 1963 happen again despite climate change?, Sippel et al., Weather and Climate Dynamics: Here, we first show based on multiple attribution methods that a winter of similar circulation conditions to 1963 would still lead to an extreme seasonal ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • First they came for the Māori

    Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Join us for the weekly Hoon on YouTube Live

    Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Will the real PM Luxon please stand up?

    Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Will debt reduction trump abuse in care redress?

    Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Care report in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Olywhites and Time Bandits

    About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Why were the 1930s so hot in North America?

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters and Bob Henson Those who’ve trawled social media during heat waves have likely encountered a tidbit frequently used to brush aside human-caused climate change: Many U.S. states and cities had their single hottest temperature on record during the 1930s, setting incredible heat marks ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • Throwback Thursday – Thinking about Expressways

    Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • The Possum: Demon or Friend?

    Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • Not a story

    Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry published its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • A tougher line on “proactive release”?

    The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • 'Let's build a motorway costing $100 million per km, before emissions costs'

    TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Lester's Prescription – Positive Bleeding.

    I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Casey Costello gaslights Labour in the House

    Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone icon on the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Why is the Texas grid in such bad shape?

    This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Headline from 2021 The Texas grid, run by ERCOT, has had a rough few years. In 2021, winter storm Uri blacked out much of the state for several days. About a week ago, Hurricane Beryl knocked out ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on a textbook case of spending waste by the Luxon government

    Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • LXR Takaanini

    As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    3 days ago
  • Four kilograms of pain

    Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Luxon gets caught out

    NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • A worrying sign

    Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Are we fine with 47.9% home-ownership by 2048?

    Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloitte report for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Let's Win This

    You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Waimahara: The Singing Spirit of Water

    There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    4 days ago
  • A major milestone: Global climate pollution may have just peaked

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’s Oliver LewisScoop: Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announced the Board of Te Whatu Ora- Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • HealthNZ and Luxon at cross purposes over budget blowout

    Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 2500-3000 more healthcare staff expected to be fired, as Shane Reti blames Labour for a budget defic...

    Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Might Kamala Harris be about to get a 'stardust' moment like Jacinda Ardern?

    As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    5 days ago
  • Solutions Interview: Steven Hail on MMT & ecological economics

    TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
    The KakaBy Steven Hail
    5 days ago
  • Reported back

    The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Vandrad the Viking, Christopher Coombes, and Literary Archaeology

    Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Biden Withdrawal

    History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    5 days ago
  • Joe Biden's withdrawal puts the spotlight back on Kamala and the USA's complicated relatio...

    This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Why we have to challenge our national fiscal assumptions

    A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Existential Crisis and Damaged Brains

    What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • A speed limit is not a target, and yet…

    This is a guest post from longtime supporter Mr Plod, whose previous contributions include a proposal that Hamilton become New Zealand’s capital city, and that we should switch which side of the road we drive on. A recent Newsroom article, “Back to school for the Govt’s new speed limit policy“, ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #29

    A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago
  • I'd like to share what I did this weekend

    This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • For the children – Why mere sentiment can be a misleading force in our lives, and lead to unex...

    National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Order image, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A friend in uncertain times

    Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • The Chaotic World of Male Diet Influencers

    Hi,We’ll get to the horrific world of male diet influencers (AKA Beefy Boys) shortly, but first you will be glad to know that since I sent out the Webworm explaining why the assassination attempt on Donald Trump was not a false flag operation, I’ve heard from a load of people ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • It's Starting To Look A Lot Like… Y2K

    Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 20

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Pharmac Director, Climate Change Commissioner, Health NZ Directors – The latest to quit this m...

    Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Flooding Housing Policy

    The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • A Voyage Among the Vandals: Accepted (Again!)

    As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā's Chorus for Friday, July 19

    An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 19-July-2024

    Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: A market-led plan for failure

    TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Tobacco First

    Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Trump’s Adopted Son.

    Waiting In The Wings: For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSA announced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Hoon around the week to July 19

    TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #29 2024

    Open access notables Improving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society: To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Joint statement from the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand

    Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue.  We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago
  • AG reminds institutions of legal obligations

    Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    19 hours ago
  • More young people learning about digital safety

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views.  “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • Speech to the Conference for General Practice 2024

    Tēnā tātou katoa,  Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago
  • Employers and payroll providers ready for tax changes

    New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts.  “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    24 hours ago
  • Experimental vineyard futureproofs wine industry

    An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Funding confirmed for regions affected by North Island Weather Events

    The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Indonesian Foreign Minister to visit

    Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.   “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Strengthening partnership with Ngāti Maniapoto

    He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Transport Minister thanks outgoing CAA Chair

    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Test for Customary Marine Title being restored

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    Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet.  “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
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