The Daily Blog under attack

Written By: - Date published: 4:46 pm, April 29th, 2015 - 110 comments
Categories: blogs - Tags:

Earlier today Martyn Bradbury reported that The Daily Blog was under attack:

The site has been up and down all afternoon.

If there is anything The Standard can do to help let us know.

Update:

Update: 2205

lprent; It looks like it is back up again. Good. I expect we will hear the reason shortly.

Nope – down again.. Looks like a late late night for someone. Godknows that I know what those are like. Good luck for an early complete.

110 comments on “The Daily Blog under attack ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. esoteric pineapples 1
    29 April 2015 at 4:55 pm

    Just noticed that myself so came here to check out what is going on – hmmmmmmm

    Good on The Standard for lending its support

  2. Murray Rawshark 2
    29 April 2015 at 5:01 pm

    I expect we’ll see the GCSB leaping into action any minute now. After all, isn’t part of their job to protect Kiwis from cyber attacks?

  3. Anne 3
    29 April 2015 at 5:02 pm

    +1
    Bomber has his failings but sometimes he really rises to the occasion, and he certainly did so over the pony-tail case harassment case. Maybe Lynn could assist if he has the time? Good diplomacy maybe?

    So typical of the National Party’s thugs eh.

    • lprent 3.1
      29 April 2015 at 5:11 pm

      I have been having a great deal of CPU running on TS over the past day or so along with the hundreds of attempted logins. It may not be anything suspiciously local. We seem to be having one of those nasty botnet periods at present.

      But the usual defences weren’t getting challenged enough for me to look at. And the fan noise seemed to stop last night.

      TDB: Let me know if you need a hand or some tips about what to put in place.

      • Frank Macskasy 3.1.1
        29 April 2015 at 10:04 pm

        Well said, Lprent. Solidarity between progressive blogs would be an unbeatable force for good!

        • lprent 3.1.1.1
          29 April 2015 at 10:28 pm

          I’m not particularly into solidarity as I’m a person of extreme individuality. Just ask any author here past and present – I am sure that is the one thing they will agree on.

          However I’m usually merely irritating (Lyn’s words) when I’m not having to defend things that I am responsible for.

          Unless I decide that I want to change something (or write some code), in which case I tend towards the utterly implacable. Cameron Slater has an idea of what that is like.

          Just a personal set of traits.

    • saveNZ 3.2
      29 April 2015 at 8:47 pm

      @Anne +1
      Bomber’s in big trouble after International Ponygate. Will we see the Jackboots matching in and seizing his computers aka Nicky Hager or maybe a more subtle and less public cyber attack…..

    • Tracey 3.3
      30 April 2015 at 8:49 am

      We don’t know what or who has caused it. Pretty early to label it a NP related thing? Isn’t it?

  4. mary_a 4
    29 April 2015 at 5:04 pm

    I thought it was my computer for a while there.

    Bit suspicious I’d say, particularly coming so soon after TDB reported the Key/waitress issue!

    Many thanks TS for reporting this and for offering TDB support. And I wish Martyn and TDB team all the best for getting the site up and running again.

    Kia Kaha my friends.

  5. Hateatea 5
    29 April 2015 at 5:12 pm

    I am sad to hear that this is happening. There seems little point to such behaviour but I suppose somewhere there is someone thinking that they are cool and clever.

    Kia kaha, kia maia, kia manawanui.

  6. Hone 6
    29 April 2015 at 5:12 pm

    The GCSB was the ones doing the attack maybe.
    I noticed TDB was down and i knew it had too be pay back from the right wing nutters.

  7. Clemgeopin 7
    29 April 2015 at 5:13 pm

    um, yes, I went there a little while ago to read their article about how the unite union was going to assist the victim, Amanda Bailey. I can see the front page and the article headings, but when I click the links to read more, it goes to error message, ‘server not found’!
    http://thedailyblog.co.nz/

  8. freedom 8
    29 April 2015 at 5:27 pm

    Most of today it wouldn’t load at all.

    Then the front page would go up, sometimes, but any further in was met with a 404

    Now, the article pages can be accessed but are devoid of content. Just the banner, the article title and nothing else but a blank page.

    Kia kaha TDB

    • lprent 8.1
      29 April 2015 at 6:51 pm

      Pretty obvious. The database is getting work backed up and timing out the web server worker threads trying to fetch data from it. The front page gets cached because it doesn’t have comments on it, so it tends to stay up when the posts do not.

      It could be because it had too many apache2/nginx processes and threads accessing it at the same time.

      However it could also be from the wordpress 4.2.1 security update that went through yesterday to correct for a exploit on long comments. Part of that update involved a sweep of all comments to remove possible harmful javascript. It took a couple of hour to run on TS with 900k+ comments. If it was a slow database without 8 cores and SSDs, it’d take somewhat longer.

      I got caught by that kind of problem in 2009 with a slow single core database system. It took me couple of hours to realize I wasn’t under attack.

      • lprent 8.1.1
        29 April 2015 at 7:09 pm

        BTW: the vulnerability that wordpress 4.2.1 fixed was a brute

        https://wordpress.org/news/2015/04/wordpress-4-2-1/

        http://developers.slashdot.org/story/15/04/28/0227244/new-zero-day-disclosed-in-wordpress-core-engine

        WordPress security issues have for the most part involved a vulnerable plug-in, but a Finnish researcher has disclosed some details on a zero-day vulnerability he discovered in the WordPress 4.2 and earlier core engine that could lead to remote code execution on the webserver. Juoko Pynnonen of Klikki Oy reported a new and unpatched stored cross-site scripting vulnerability in the platform; a similar bug was patched this week by WordPress developers, but only 14 months after it was reported. The vulnerability allows an attacker to inject JavaScript in the WordPress comment field; the comment has to be at least 66,000 characters long and it will be triggered when the comment is viewed, Pynnonen said.

        “An unauthenticated attacker can store JavaScript on WordPress pages and blog posts. If triggered by an administrator, this leads to server-side code execution under default settings,” Pynnonen said. “A usable comment form is required. It looks like the script is not executed in the admin Dashboard, but only when viewing the post/page where the comment was entered. If comment moderation is enabled (the default setting) then the comment won’t appear on the page until it has been approved by an admin/moderator. Under default settings, after one ‘harmless’ comment is approved, the attacker is free from subsequent moderation and can inject the exploit to several pages and blog posts.”

        In other words a classic buffer overflow bug allowing for malicious code to gte past the KSS checker.

        Because I am a teeny bit paranoid there has always been a character limit on comments here. It is pretty large, which is why Penny Bright fails to hit it. But I suspect BLip has a couple of times when he has posted a list as a comment.

      • lprent 8.1.2
        29 April 2015 at 7:15 pm

        Umm.

        It could also be malicious code pushed into the site code (usually by not closing permissions for write or admin access) and then chewing up server processes.

        That is what the damn bots have been trying to get access to on this site pretty strongly in the last month. I had to lock them out more firmly last month.

        There are a lot of possibilities

  9. Anne 9
    29 April 2015 at 5:28 pm

    No, Hone. We may not like what the GCSB is doing in connection with the Five Eyes programme, but harassing little internal blog-sites is way beyond their brief. That responsibility lies with the SIS and they have much, much bigger fish to ‘worry’ about.

    If it turns out someone is blocking the site I’d say… ask a certain well known whale what he knows in the first instance.

    • humPrac 9.1
      29 April 2015 at 9:53 pm

      “That responsibility lies with the SIS”
      “They have much, much bigger fish to ‘worry’ about”
      If they go for “bigger fish”, then the responsibility does not lie upon them, therefore making your statement contradictory which deems your argument void.

      • Olwyn 9.1.1
        29 April 2015 at 10:20 pm

        You are reading Anne’s argument rather oddly. “That responsibility lies with the SIS” and “they have much bigger fish to worry about” can both be true at the same time and you do not have to think hard to see that. Anne is saying, if it turns out that someone is blocking the site, you can rule out the GCSB because they have different job. And you can probably rule out the SIS as well, since while it is their responsibility, they have bigger fish to worry about. Therefore, you need to look somewhere else. There is a well-known whale who is generally well informed about such matters so perhaps you should ask him. Nothing wrong with it!

    • Tracey 9.2
      30 April 2015 at 8:50 am

      IF someone deliberately does something like that to a site, is it a kind of vandalism? And therefore the police need to be notified?

    • schwen 9.3
      2 May 2015 at 8:13 pm

      “If it turns out someone is blocking the site I’d say… ask a certain well known whale what he knows in the first instance”

      Who? the fat german hacker whale aka kdc?

  10. Paul 10
    29 April 2015 at 5:40 pm

    Show solidarity.
    Make an offer to Martin Bradbury the option of guest posts here until it is resolved.

    • te reo putake 10.1
      29 April 2015 at 6:15 pm

      Agree. I think it’s kinda covered in the OP, if not explicitly. TDB made a similar offer when TS was down a couple of months ago, so I imagine there wouldn’t be a problem reciprocating here. An injury to one is an injury to all.

    • lprent 10.2
      29 April 2015 at 6:37 pm

      I’d prefer to resolve it there rather than having to add the 30+ authors listed on TDB piling into here.

      There are usually just two types of attacks. The classic DoS at the switch that his ISP (probably voyager like me) can handle. Then the one that targets wordpress.

      In the latter case paying for wordfence gets rid of most of it at the .htaccess level, and the plugin I use for comments gets rid of the rest.

      • lprent 10.2.1
        29 April 2015 at 7:16 pm

        But if needs must then I have another server here. I’d just have to give up playing games for a while.

        • TheContrarian 10.2.1.1
          29 April 2015 at 9:05 pm

          What are you playing these days? I just rebooted Dead Space 2 for a bit of shits and giggles.

          • lprent 10.2.1.1.1
            29 April 2015 at 10:44 pm

            Mostly Civ5 at present. I’m mostly playing for zen whilst background thinking. A little of some old games like Homeland2

            But I only use linux at home so that is limiting. But I also can’t be bothered learning new games. I have too many lumps of code to get into at present.

  11. In Vino 11
    29 April 2015 at 5:40 pm

    Ditto, It looks like Martyn has done something right…

    I fear that the internet may in the future not turn out to be the free info. avenue that so many of us hope for.
    But I rather hope that it will, and such sabotage will not turn into domination, and thereby censorship.

  12. The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 12
    29 April 2015 at 5:44 pm

    My server has also been under a sustained attack.

    • te reo putake 12.1
      29 April 2015 at 6:11 pm

      Your keyboard knows how it feels!

    • lprent 12.2
      29 April 2015 at 6:33 pm

      You don’t have a server listed? What is it?

      • The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 12.2.1
        29 April 2015 at 6:35 pm

        Erm, I’m not telling.

        • lprent 12.2.1.1
          29 April 2015 at 6:58 pm

          Yes. That is a totally believable story then…

          /sarc

          • The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 12.2.1.1.1
            29 April 2015 at 7:10 pm

            Do you want to tell me details about my server? Why would I do that?

            My IT guy says it’s under attack. I have no reason to disbelieve him, but you are free to.

            • lprent 12.2.1.1.1.1
              29 April 2015 at 7:18 pm

              Every server in the world is under attack at present. It is like background noise.

              My mailbox shows blockages from compromised machines everywhere in the world being locked out of The Standard when they try to login.

              • weka …
                29 April 2015 at 7:58 pm

                Is that usual what’s going on?

                • Clemgeopin …
                  29 April 2015 at 8:47 pm

                  Only the expert Iprent can answer that for sure, although we all know that a server was under constant attack by the Prime Minister, of all people, of this country!

                • lprent …
                  29 April 2015 at 9:00 pm

                  About every other year we get a widespread major botnet attack of some kind. This year it appears to be picking author names off the posts and then trying to login to them. Needless to say I have some pretty fierce protection. They violate it and get locked out for a few hours and I get a email message.

                  At present, I get message every 4 or 5 minutes from machines being blocked from login.

                  We have very few author or above logins, and they all have adequete passwords. I also get notified when editor and above login it. My daemons also look at where they login fom.

    • Tracey 12.3
      30 April 2015 at 8:52 am

      have you told the police so they can help your wife?

  13. ianmac 13
    29 April 2015 at 5:49 pm

    Yep. Cannot access TDB. “502 Bad Gateway”

    • mary_a 13.1
      29 April 2015 at 5:54 pm

      @ posters (11) & (12) Ditto. Same here.

      So much for free speech then! As long as dear leader isn’t challenged or criticized, then NZ is able to speak as freely as it likes! Yeah right!

      • The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 13.1.1
        29 April 2015 at 6:29 pm

        That’s right mary_a, it is undoubtedly John Key who has attacked Bradbury’s dog’s breakfast of a website. There’s just no other explanation.

        • Realblue 13.1.1.1
          29 April 2015 at 6:41 pm

          Indeed Gormless, Bradbury is so important and a threat to the Government, he must be attacked. His strategising for Mana was incredibly effective, so I’m picking the CIA. That or he has shit security.

          • The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 13.1.1.1.1
            29 April 2015 at 7:10 pm

            Do you want to tell me details about my server? Why would I do that?

            My IT guy says it’s under attack. I have no reason to disbelieve him, but you are free to.

          • The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 13.1.1.1.2
            29 April 2015 at 7:14 pm

            There’s precedent. Remember when “they” had to silence him on National Radio not (specifically and emphatically not) because he was a boring fucktard who read out long pre-prepared speeches, but because he was sticking it to the man.

            “They” hate him because he’s turning New Zealanders onto socialism.

        • Tracey 13.1.1.2
          30 April 2015 at 8:54 am

          I agree with Gormless, there are so many possibilities, to assume some kind of government link is a bit OTT at this stage.

  14. marty mars 14
    29 April 2015 at 6:02 pm

    Bomber has finally got up their noses enough and now they are paying back. This will increase the street cred of TDB and Bomber – at least after this attack has been repulsed. Kia kaha Bomber.

    • Realblue 14.1
      29 April 2015 at 6:43 pm

      “Street cred”? Jesus you’re lame.

    • SHG 14.2
      30 April 2015 at 6:07 pm

      Anyone who has the pleasure of administering a website running WordPress deals with these sorts of attacks on a regular basis. Just one of those things.

      • Kevin T 14.2.1
        3 May 2015 at 9:50 am

        We’ve a web developer. A popular website being attacked and taken down is not unusual these days. The core WordPress technology used here tends to get more malicious bot traffic and more attacks than most, simply because it is the worlds most popular CMS platform.

        The last week has seen very similar attacks on tens of thousands of websites worldwide. There is nothing here that tells me that thedailyblog attack was politically motivated or done by right wing activists etc. Likely just another random denial of service (DOS) attack, which those of us who build blogs for a living see on a regular basis. However I suspect the developers will learn from this and as we all do, put in place additional measures to minimise it occurring again. It’s an ongoing battle, but just part of the job for those who build high traffic websites or blogs.

  15. millsy 15
    29 April 2015 at 6:25 pm

    Chaos and Mayhem strike again.

    • Tracey 15.1
      30 April 2015 at 8:57 am

      I think you give him too much credit

      When this site has some troubles, does everyone go to other sites and blame the Government or NAts or WO and it turns out to be a techncial issue?

  16. Mike the Savage One 16
    29 April 2015 at 6:30 pm

    The Whale or so may be behind this. Never trust the rotten brigade in power, and their allies and underlings.

  17. esoteric pineapples 17
    29 April 2015 at 6:40 pm

    Unfortunately I’m using my phone so can’t post the link but go to No Right Turn to find the tool the government plans to use to shut down political dissent on the Internet. It’s the law that will put people in prison for up to two years for causing someone else “emotional harm” by posting something.This could apply to anything from a Facebook comment to a newspaper’s online content (Even the same stuff that is okay to print on paper I imagine). The implications for free speech on the Internet are huge.

  18. TheContrarian 18
    29 April 2015 at 7:09 pm

    Serious question – people believe government agencies are attacking The Daily Blog?

    • felix 18.1
      29 April 2015 at 7:21 pm

      More likely it’s the usual bunch of creepy contractors.

      • TheContrarian 18.1.1
        29 April 2015 at 7:30 pm

        Like the last time TDB was hacked….those right-wing bastards redirected him to a Eastern European gambling site. Bomber had proof it was the govt. but we had to take his word for it.

        • felix 18.1.1.1
          29 April 2015 at 7:32 pm

          Why would the govt attack TDB?

          National Party Dick Squad, sure, but govt? Nah.

          • lprent 18.1.1.1.1
            29 April 2015 at 7:43 pm

            Yeah, but the dick squad are pretty damn useless incompetents who succeed almost by accident and then almost certainly because someone organised them (probably Jason Ede).

            They certainly aren’t technically competent. Generally the technically competent grow out of the childish joys of cracking and get on to building as they leave adolescence. Most actual cracks carried out by adults are either crims needing cash and paying some kids to do it for them, or they are disgruntled ex or current employees.

          • weka 18.1.1.1.2
            29 April 2015 at 8:02 pm

            And it being TheContrarian, it’s safe to assume there is some anti-Bradbury spin in that comment.

            • TheContrarian 18.1.1.1.2.1
              29 April 2015 at 8:10 pm

              Of course, Bradbury is tool. I don’t deny my anti Bradbury tendency. He is a class a douche.

    • lprent 18.2
      29 April 2015 at 7:24 pm

      Not me. If they were then it would have just cut out.

      I suspect that he has either found he has a slow database while updating, or something nasty got into his code. Those are the most likely scenarios.

      But they are usually either those or dying hardware (I remember a hard drive and a switch – both caused a lot of hassle) or failed upgrades after hikes in traffic.

      But Occams razor is that likely to be more prosaic than a crack or DoS

      I’m quite willing to get a survival site up if TDB needs it or to lend expertise if it is required. I doubt if there are many things that I haven’t had die on this site since it started.

      • Hateatea 18.2.1
        29 April 2015 at 7:27 pm

        lprent, if I ever seem ungrateful for all that you do for this site, it will be unintentional. I don’t understand the technical jargon in your replies here but I am humbled in the face of your knowledge. Respect, sir, much respect 🙂

        • lprent 18.2.1.1
          29 April 2015 at 7:38 pm

          I have the hide of a rhino, especially because I am an total arrogant techhead elitist programmer. And that is on top of the usual MBA attitudes.

          I have problems considering the concept at an emotional level that anyone who can’t write a million lines of code may be human. I allow exceptions for people who can write 500 page books or put together a feature length film (I have seen people do both, and it looks like it is as hard).

          However I think that a number of authors and commenters here are getting there

          😈
          /parody off

          There is a little of Sheldon in us all.

        • Anne 18.2.1.2
          29 April 2015 at 7:40 pm

          Well, he could be talking a load of gobbeldygook for all I know Hateatea but it does sound very impressive I grant you. 😛

        • Puddleglum 18.2.1.3
          30 April 2015 at 9:20 am

          Ditto Hateatea.

          There’s only one way to gain the kind of mastery over a technical area that lprent clearly has – thousands of hours actually doing the stuff and being fully focused on it (and, of course, having the cognitive and emotional predisposition to be able to and want to do it).

          I’m very grateful lprent has spent that time and has put it to use by building and maintaining this site.

    • Tracey 18.3
      30 April 2015 at 8:58 am

      I don’t on what I have read so far.

  19. Murray Rawshark 19
    29 April 2015 at 8:36 pm

    Given what’s been said here about wordpress, I’d say the most likely option is that some malicious code has got in somewhere. They try constantly. The enemy never leaves the gate, but it’s not always the government.

    I wouldn’t rule out some NAct idiots having a go at TDB, but it wouldn’t be high on the list of things I’d consider. More dangerous will be the new internet law, when some NAct backbencher claims to have their feelings deliberately hurt. The freedom and anarchy of the internet are seen as threatening by the powers that be/establishment/man/illuminati/(insert other favourite group). They don’t know how to handle it and will use very blunt instruments. I think things will be very different ten years from now.

    • lprent 19.1
      29 April 2015 at 10:55 pm

      What is interesting is that the claim of having their feelings hurt is in itself defamatory. I wonder what their feelings will be like after a defamation suit.

      This proposal has a great hole in it because I will make anyone trying to use it truly miserable, then I will start on whoever tried to enforce it. Civil law is interesting. Expensive, but very very interesting.

    • Tracey 19.2
      30 April 2015 at 9:01 am

      Maybe someone, like WO(?) does keep an eye on sites for any vulnerabilities arising after something has happened, like this? They may exploit a weakness but I don’t imagine they would instigate it?

  20. Maui 20
    29 April 2015 at 8:51 pm

    We’re at DEFCON 1 now, this is war. Have we got a nuke aimed at Whale Oil? 🙂

    [lprent: Threats of violence in comments, even in play, will earn you a quick kick exit from this site. ]

  21. Dale Cross 21
    29 April 2015 at 8:57 pm

    If tdb has been hacked then it’s for the public good. No political blog site is safe. Wonder who will write the book exposing all bummers private emails?

  22. esoteric pineapples 22
    29 April 2015 at 8:58 pm

    The Internet has become the world’s brain/nervous system. There is no way in the world that governments/whatever are going to allow it to be unmolested.

  23. Kim dandy 23
    29 April 2015 at 8:58 pm

    I wouldn’t put anything past ‘this’ Government, however I am hoping the problem has been caused by overloading – thousands of NZer’s trying to get onto the site to read Amanda Bailey’s side of the story…

  24. ropata 24
    29 April 2015 at 9:15 pm

    http://www.digitalattackmap.com

    Choose “unusual” and you’ll see that NZ and Brazil are experiencing a bit of extra botnet traffic at the moment.
    Nothing like some of the massive ~400 Gbps attacks last year though

  25. CLEANGREEN 25
    30 April 2015 at 7:16 am

    Untied we stand – divided we fall, good on the standard offering support to our fabulous Martyn Bradbury.

    Why doesn’t all opposition parties place a court injunction and request half of the public owned NVNZ/RNZ be placed under Opposition control.

    It is wrong to have only the Government controlling all our taxpayer funded public media for their benefit and give no voice for the opposing political parties.

    Every time an opposing media site goes down it serves to remind us all that we have possibly the most repressive control on freedom of our voices of anywhere globally.

    Get organised for our sake opposition Parties and put your pettiness aside for our common good please.

    • mary_a 25.1
      30 April 2015 at 11:51 am

      @ CLEANGREEN (24) Hear hear my friend.

      Having withdrawal symptoms without TDB already.

      However, really do appreciate The Standard team being so supportive, accepting comments from Martyn’s regular visitors/posters.

  26. Stuart Munro 26
    30 April 2015 at 8:37 am

    In terms of reposting TDB material, it seems reasonable to presume that the attack on TDB may be intended to suppress access to the Amanda Bailey material.

    This material perhaps could be accommodated here – particularly the original pieces.

  27. vto 27
    30 April 2015 at 9:00 am

    Of course it is. A website is property. That property has been damaged.

    However the police are on the side of the right wing so nothing will happen

    edit: not sure why this ended up here, was in response to tracey somewhere up above

  28. Pasupial 28
    30 April 2015 at 10:12 am

    I just ran into a glitch on TS about 10am. Clicked away on a link (to Scoop), then when I came back all the comment fields were blank. This persisted when I reloaded the page from bookmarks. But now that I’ve restarted the browser a couple of times after doing other things (thus clearing cookies), it seems fine.

    TDB is back up now.

    • te reo putake 28.1
      30 April 2015 at 10:23 am

      Same thing happened to me. Seemed to clear itself after a few minutes. It’ll be interesting to hear what happened on TDB, though I suspect its the nature of these things that the originator of the attack won’t be found (assuming it was a DDoS and not just a glitch in hardware or software).

    • freedom 28.2
      30 April 2015 at 10:33 am

      re TDB, still getting “504 Gateway Time-out” here

  29. The Murphey 29
    30 April 2015 at 10:20 am

    TDB has come under ‘attack’ from a few ‘regulars’ on this site in recent times

    [not aimed at you Rob – can you check why my comments seem to still be going to moderation please] – Cheers

    [lprent: I usually look at releasing bans around lunch time. I was otherwise engaged today. ]

  30. freedom 30
    30 April 2015 at 11:53 am

    Anyone else having similar trouble getting onto scoop today?
    have also tried from the feeds here, but something is broken

    Direct address is failing as are any links to the site

    502 in the tab title
    Proxy Error

    The proxy server received an invalid response from an upstream server.
    The proxy server could not handle the request GET /.(address of storylink)

    Reason: Document contains no data

    Apache/1.3.41 Server at http://www.scoop.co.nz Port 80

  31. Dave 31
    30 April 2015 at 12:26 pm

    Lol alert level is back to calf shit yellow. No threats imminent.

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    WerewolfBy lyndon
    1 day ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 26

    TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Weekly Roundup 26-July-2024

    Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 day ago
  • God what a relief

    1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
    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
    19 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
    21 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
    23 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
    24 hours 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
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