That eerie silence

Written By: - Date published: 8:29 am, March 26th, 2020 - 69 comments
Categories: covid-19 - Tags: ,

Waking up this morning was a bit of an eerie feeling. The alarm went off as usual at 0700 (and the 0880 one just clicked over). Very little traffic noise. The quiet sound of the workstation and server fans was louder than the the remaining white noise from the traffic.

It isn’t like this place is normally particularly loud. The insulation in the walls is superb. The location is close to the centre of Auckland – 50 metres to the corner of Ponsonby and K Roads. We’re actually surrounded by commuter roads.  Have a look at the map to get an idea.

Where the servers live.

We and our machines live on the ridge that looks down the North Western motorway. But that is 250 metres away and is the blank wall of our apartment. Great North Road is about 50 metres away up on the top of the ridge. But it has a pile of high apartments and car yard between us and it.

We get most of our car noise from Newton Road which is 50 metres from us and is usually jam packed at this time of the morning – week days, weekends, public holidays – but not now. 

This morning, there are the odd cars going on all roads. But the server noise is louder. When the fridge starts up it sounds like an old DC8 flying overhead at low altitude.

Welcome to the first morning of the lock-down. Time to finish that coffee and for me to get stuck into work…

This post is here for you to share your first day under lock-down.

Update – it isn’t that quiet out the back door. This was a bit of video I did at about 0745.

 

69 comments on “That eerie silence ”

  1. mac1 1

    Just received an e-mail from an old friend in Italy. He is in his fifth week of lockdown, and writes that he and his wife have not yet killed each other. So, lovely people, it can be done, with good grace and humour, hope and a good dose of the Internet……

  2. Sanctuary 2

    I only got married 26 days ago, so I am luxuriating in the pleasure of spending a month of waking up in a leisurely fashion with my new wife rather than dashing off to work. We took the hound for a walk at 5am this morning (sticking to normal wake up times) and Sandringham/Mt. Albert was almost completely deserted. We saw one person jogging and one car.

    Every cloud has some sort of silver lining, for me it is having a nice morning with my new bride for everyday for a month.

    Struggling with focus trying to work from home, but that is slowly coming right.

    • Incognito 2.1

      Ah, the honeymoon phase! Long may it last for you. Some manage to make it last for a long period of time.

  3. riffer 3

    Been working from home since Monday as I'm high-risk category (Type I diabetes). Set up my audio capture and my video capture and editing suite. Doing some interesting capture of experiences of older New Zealanders talking about their times in the war and post-Hawkes Bay earthquake. It's been good to hear them talking about getting through tough experiences. Gives me a bit of hope. Hope everyone else is okay.

    • Anne 3.1

      Here's a story for you – short and sweet:

      My parents arrived in NZ in 1930. Newly wed with a new-born, they settled on the outskirts of Palmerston North and all was well. Then along came the Napier earthquake. My mother said the surrounding hills were rolling all over the place. New-born was now walking and had waddled off around the outside of the house. Mother could do nothing because of the rocking and rolling. When it finally stopped new-born came waddling back as if nothing had happened. Mother never ever knew what went on around the side of the house.

      They hopped on the next boat back to England and ventured out here again in 1939 just before the start of WW2. By that time they had 3 children and a few years later decided to have a couple more new-borns of which I was one.

      • riffer 3.1.1

        It's really important that stories like these aren't lost. I wonder what historians will think, in the future, of the stories of what people did during the lockdown.

  4. Carolyn_Nth 4

    We had a few tenants leave our small block of studio apartments before Christmas. A couple of new tenants, a couple of empty units still. The one below me has been being renovated in the last month. The last couple of days there's been a rush to do some work – very noisy some of the time. Carpet laying, drilling in the walls.

    The house across the other side of our car park was sold as a do-up around November. there's been on-going noisy work for months – building an extension, pneumatic drill to drill rock in the front yard, machines lifting the rocks and using it to build a wall. They also had a rush of noisy work the last 2 days.

    The property behind us has recently been sold and they had a circular saw going yesterday evening.

    This morning, all is still and quiet.

    But heard the 2 newest tenants drive out of the car park as usual this mourning – must be essential services.

    Loving the quiet.

    • Treetop 4.1

      I heard a conversation on a street while out walking recently.

      "How hard is it going to be to get a joint?"

  5. Cinny 5

    Miss 12 told me NZ cats and dogs will be so very happy because their owners will be home.

    Personally I'm feeling a strange sense of calm.

  6. I'm sitting on the deck with a coffee and it's so quiet I can easily hear an intense business related discussion from over the fence. The burglars who live next door are beside themselves. They can't easily rip off occupied houses and even if they raid now closed shops, there's a real chance they'll get pulled over by the cops while they're driving around.

    I really feel for them.

  7. Ad 7

    My own company has gone so HUT-HUT! it's like we're actually enjoying martial law.

    We are required to keep logs for ourselves and our staff of what we are working on.

    We are keeping a full operating rhythm of meetings from 8am, and using Zoom for group social gatherings.

    We do Skype individually with our staff at a specific daily time.

    All these records are far above what we would normally have to do for timesheets – but I suppose the insurers might request them at some point once our claims go in.

    Still it was great to run this morning with almost no cars and just the birds waking up .

  8. Andre 8

    As an introvert living alone, this whole lockdown thing has definite upsides.

    • Ad 8.1

      Well you sure ain't an introvert on this site, so good on you for engaging every day.

      The Otitori – Park – South Titirangi – Woontons – Titirangi Beach Road – Otitori – Wood Bay circuit was excellent with no cars this morning …

      … also at 7.10am the Manukau framed by Kauri and Nikau forest was really, really out and the whole of the harbour was like a great golden disc of complex patterns and whorls and wrinkled folds among the shining remains of tide.

      It's not an ugly place our neighbourhood.

      • Andre 8.1.1

        Here I'm dealing with a device, not actual people.

        https://dilbert.com/strip/1994-02-19

        And yeah, no airport noise, no f#$%& personal watercraft on the harbour, no buses or cars on Sth Titirangi Rd, lots of loud birds … glorious.

        • RedLogix 8.1.1.1

          … I like people, I'm just not very good at them …

          Good linky. I could never choose between Dilbert or Wal as my role model devil

        • mac1 8.1.1.2

          Andre, so you like to be left to your own devices? Couldn't help that. But, yes, the traffic noise on SH1 has hugely diminished, just the sound of gas guns firing in the distance and that will cease after grape harvest- so glad that is continuing.

          I heard the grapegrowers CEO Philip Gregan on the radio saying how they had to be very stern with grape growers who don't step up to the mark regarding protection from the virus. One can spoil it for all.

          One outcome from this time might be that we all recognise our social interdependence, and act accordingly in the future.

        • Paaparakauta 8.1.1.3

          Wellington airport is busy with aircraft taking off at regular intervals and the corner diary/news/lottery agent locked down and peering grimly through perspex to accept payment via sliding draw from customers and lottery addicted desperados.

      • swordfish 8.1.2

        It's not an ugly place our neighbourhood.

        Compared to Wellington it's little more than grotesque.

        • Ad 8.1.2.1

          The best view of Wellington is from the Days Bay ferry at the end of each working day: seeing it recede. The Kaikouras frame it well in deep winter snow through the heads.

          You'd be welcome to be toured through Titirangi's forests if you are up this way. Otherwise, I'd encourage you to look at the concept of beauty with a little generosity.

  9. observer 9

    I live not that far from Lprent, near K Road/Queen St intersection.

    I've looked outside when I hear voices raised (normally lost in the traffic and general hubbub). Most of the people I've seen from my window this morning have looked familiar: local homeless.

    They sit on their usual benches, in groups of 2 or 3, nowhere to self-isolate. Selfishly, I want them to move out of sight/mind, but far more importantly – they are at serious risk.

    I don't know what the answer is (and of course we want real long-term solutions to homelessness), but it's a worry.

  10. Lindsey Rea 10

    On the other side of the NW motorway from you Lprent, I can confirm that the traffic started at about 5.30am as usual, but at a weekend volume, rather than the weekday. There were a bunch of trucks early, and then it slowed right down – so instead of the morning rush being constant, it was quite variable. In our street, my tenants upstairs are all working from home, and most of the neighbours are in lockdown. The only movement is from the essential service workers, we have at least 3 households with health service workers, and a vet.

    • lprent 10.1

      Yeah I remember your place across the gully..

      Just had a 'stir crazy' ride (I have been at home since tuesday last week). Down the north western cycleway, off at St Lukes and up the hill on Tuarangi Road to Grey Lynn. Pinged by the speed display for riding at 48km/hr on Williamson Ave. Up to Ponsonby Rd and the back home.

      Duration 17 minutes of fast riding. Carefully avoiding the pedestrians – including the one on New North Road shared path who, as she read her phone, meandered over the most of the wide pavement as I was approaching from behind.

      The crippling bit is when I have climb the 5 flights of stairs (carrying the bike battery) to my partners eyre. She swears it will add years to my life. Personally I think that the post-ride cold drink and the daily heart pills might stave off the evil day that I have to go into a living death ( ie learn to like golf)…

  11. joe90 11

    Ventured into town very early this AM to help my SO do some work stuff. Headed home at 9am and the city centre reminded me of a Sunday morning fifty years ago but with a noticeable police presence talking to a few youngsters on foot.

    But on the way home we did see several police I cars so I reckon they'll be checking road users soon enough.

  12. Carolyn_Nth 12

    I am very aware we are living though, and a part of, a historic, and unprecedented time.

    In future, academics will research "the great global lock down"; uni students will write essays on it; school students will visit local libraries to find info on it for school projects; and many books will be written about it.

    And future generations will ask their oldies, "What did you do in The Great Lock Down?"

    • RedLogix 12.1

      True enough. And thousands of PhD proposals on the data science of epidemics are being penned at we read this. cheeky

      • Poission 12.1.1

        And thousands of PhD proposals on the data science of epidemics

        More entropy?

        As we said, when one deals with deep uncertainty, both governance and precaution require us to hedge for the worst. While risk-taking is a business that is left to individuals, collective safety and systemic risk are the business of the state. Failing that mandate of prudence by gambling with the lives of citizens is a professional wrongdoing that extends beyond academic mistake; it is a violation of the ethics of governing.

        The obvious policy left now is a lockdown, with overactive testing and contact tracing: follow the evidence from China and South Korea rather than thousands of error-prone computer codes. So we have wasted weeks, and ones that matter with a multiplicative threat.

        https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/25/uk-coronavirus-policy-scientific-dominic-cummings?CMP=share_btn_tw

    • Treetop 12.2

      The world has changed, 180 countries are now affected. How much is unknown.

  13. mac1 13

    Started chatting to my neighbour. There's a good outcome from the lockdown. He's always at work. I said to him as he paint his bargeboards and prunes his trees, this is just a preview of what retirement is like……

  14. Kay 14

    Wellington airport is incredibly quiet. I'm actually starting to miss that 6am wake-up flight to Sydney 🙁

  15. Treetop 15

    On worldometer latest affected countries and territories is 198.

  16. RedLogix 16

    My partner's passport expired at the worst possible moment and by the time we got a fresh one on Tuesday afternoon, travel back to NZ became impossible. (If you aren't on the 'essential services' list you won't get on the plane.)

    Now we're stuck here in Brisbane until at least June I would imagine. In itself this is not a bad thing, we're in an ideal spot for a lockdown. But my father, brother and daughter are all in serious need of us being home right now. And of course all my contracting work has gone to zero. Still our problems are modest compared to millions of others.

    There are a lot of kiwis here in Australia who never had any practical option to return to NZ who are going to need support if they are going to get through this. A petition is being put together urgently to raise the matter to the relevant Ministers here in Australia:

    https://www.change.org/p/give-full-centrelink-support-for-kiwis-who-live-and-work-in-australia-covid-19?use_react=false

    • Paaparakauta 16.1

      An obvious solution is dual nationality. It involves jumping through a few hoops and some waiting time but nation states have their own ways of doing things and it can prevent a lot of angst and wasted effort if you qualify.

      Queensland and West Australian conservatives have a lot to answer for in my view.

      • RedLogix 16.1.1

        You need an employer to sponsor your application, and as a contractor that's just not available to me. Nor many others working here.

        • Paaparakauta 16.1.1.1

          I did that while working in Sydney and sponsorship never came up – as did my sister. I was aware the political climate in Australia was becoming more hostile due to increased influence of Pauline Hanson and the 'National' Party in WA and Qld. The employment issue never arose, but they have since tightened the legislation.

          I would like to think that a more open-minded government will change that stance. I remember bumping into Gough Whitlam and Bob Hawke outside the Lido theatre in Wellington not long after they were elected. I also saw Gough on the overpass from Sydney University theatre over Paramatta Rd. not long before he died. Those days can return.

    • Treetop 16.2

      June is a long way off. With some luck a defence force flight could occur. This is probably being organised at an official level or will be.

      Is there a place where there is a register were this to occur?

    • Ad 16.3

      I totally sympathize.

      My Significant Other is looking after her mother and family at the other end of the country from me and we will miss our wedding anniversary for the first time.

      Maybe end of April or May some time we reconnect properly.

      • RedLogix 16.3.1

        Thanks. We've had a sequence of Murphy's visit us this year, this being merely the latest. But for the moment we're safe and the internet is still on. cheeky

        But as you said a few weeks back, 2020 seems like a year with a lot of entropy about.

    • Muttonbird 16.4

      You harangue Tedros for not anticipating the speed of this virus but you yourself couldn't even anticipate travel restrictions back to NZ to assist your family.

      You can get a NZ passport in one day in NZ, probably 2-3 in Australia yet you weren't prepared for this despite asking all others to be prepared.

      Through February and March while this was building you didn’t think to look at your passports.

      Righto. Must be nice in Brisbane.

      Perhaps you were listening to Scomo's soothing voice a little too much…

      • Incognito 16.4.1

        If you would like to exchange e-mail addresses, I’ll be more than happy to assist and let you take your conversations elsewhere and away from TS.

  17. Wensleydale 17

    I'm 'essential' so business as usual for me for the most part. Have to say, driving around Auckland right now is the best — no traffic, plenty of parking, a noticeable lack of arseholes in Audis, it's great. We've all been issued with special notices to hand to the police should they feel inclined to stop us and ask what the Devil we think we're playing at trundling about during lockdown.

    I feel a bit like Bruno Lawrence in 'The Quiet Earth'. It's surreal.

  18. gsays 18

    G'day from the Manawatu here.

    The road we are on is a main route from the saddle road/gorge/Pahiatua track to the Vinegar Hill road. It is very quiet, the odd service ute and that is about it.

    As a family unit we are lining the Versatile garage the father-in-law bought us. There are 6 ceiling bays that we need to dwang out, insulate and screw 9mm ply to. I figure 2 bays a day is enough to keep progress going without the others getting snarky at the foreman.

    In the arvo if weather permits, perhaps go for a bike ride. A motorbike ride on my beloved 1987 BMW K75.

    Thinking of getting a board game going, the likes of Shadows over Camelot- a co-operative game where the players work together against the game.

    Also we both have elderly parents nearby to look out for and support.

    • mpledger 18.1

      In other times I would have suggested the co-operative board game "pandemic".

      • Treetop 18.1.1

        No bull, I picked up a book in a box on a berm yesterday day "Outbreak the epidemic rages – no-one is safe" Author Robin Cook.

        As a balance I also selected "Bend in the Road" best selling author of "Message in a Bottle and The Notebook" Author Nicholas Sparks.

  19. bwaghorn 19

    So so glad to be a work alone shepherd.

    Give me land lots of land and a starry sky above.

    Dont fence me in .

    Be nice to each other .

  20. First time since Christmas I'm not the only one in the house, so the lock-down has its upsides. Videoconference meetings from your couch at which you can turn off the video & mic so no-one can see you rolling your eyes and sighing are also pretty good.

    On the down side, the funeral for my colleague and friend who died on Sunday was supposed to be at 11am today, and instead she got unceremoniously interred with only immediate family present in time to beat the deadline, which sucks a big one. Meeting finished by 11 so I poured myself a triple whisky, turned the guitar on and belted out a bunch of hardcore riffs that she would have absolutely hated, in her honour. (Also good – when you're working from home, no-one can tell when you're drinking on the job.)

  21. Paaparakauta 21

    78 new cases, and that's just today. No wonder people at Wellington Airport were looking worried ..

    Kia Kaha, Aotearoa !

    https://www.health.govt.nz/news-media/media-releases/78-new-cases-covid-19-new-zealand

    • mpledger 21.1

      It's most likely to continue going up for the next 7 days, or so, as those people were most likely infected before we got to level 4. It's what's going on 10-14 days from now that's important.

      • In Vino 21.1.1

        Precisely. I wonder how our morale will be – especially if figures don't do what we hope. Long way off yet – new experience for us all, I would think.

  22. adam 22

    Best sleep in ever. No car noise – what a difference. How bloody nice.

  23. Exkiwiforces 23

    If you think its eerie silence, I almost sit under the base leg for runway 29 at RAAF Darwin/ Darwin Airport. I hardy hear any jets, or bug smashers fly in or out Darwin atm or any of the big heavies fly over head either including out at my bush block. This yr is also when Ex Pitch Black is held as well going to be very quiet indeed.

  24. Rosemary McDonald 24

    https://youtu.be/sPLgsV_Ms3Q

    Don't touch me, I won't touch you.

  25. Grafton Gully 25

    A revelation – no idea what I'd been missing. Set up comfortably in the spare room, no air con with temperature beyond my control and odour from people farting in the corridor, no background noise, windows that open. Went for walk, did 8 hours for a day's pay, another walk, then an evening to enjoy. Bring back windows that open and minimise air con !

  26. Dawn Trenberth 26

    Quietly at home. Had a skype local board workshop on Tuesday. Husband at home. Daughter is working from home. Reports on local social media about groups of children playing on the playground. I believe neighbours have reported it. Will take a while for everyone to comply.

  27. Played Roblox online with my nephew for a few hours. Went for a walk up Parnell Road and along St Stephens Ave to the rose garden, then down to Judges Bay. Really pleasant in the sun and nice to see a few other humans wandering about.

    “Ka ora pea au i a koe, ka ora koe i a au.”

    https://twitter.com/tekawa_robb/status/1242767995341946880?s=20

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    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    8 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    24 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
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  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
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  • Trustee tax change welcomed
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  • Minister’s Ramadan message
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  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
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  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
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