The Friday dump on Havelock North

Written By: - Date published: 9:17 am, August 20th, 2016 - 68 comments
Categories: farming, health, water - Tags: , , , ,

The Havelock North gastro outbreak is big – Timeline: Havelock North’s water contamination crisis

More than 4000 people in Havelock North have been brought down with gastric illness – New Zealand’s worst-ever waterborne disease outbreak.

The outbreak might also have killed a person, after test results confirmed an elderly woman who died last week had contracted campylobacter.

The most likely cause comes as no surprise – Campylobacter most likely from livestock – Yule

The source of campylobacter found in Havelock North’s water is most likely to be cattle, sheep or deer, according to an interim report into the contamination crisis.

Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule said it was likely the previous weekend’s flooding had swept faeces from livestock into the water supply.

“It’s very hard to explain it in any other way. I’ve been a farmer, I’m an engineer, and it looks likely that somehow that has occurred.”

Naturally this development was the subject of a classic Friday 5pm news dump. A government that has let our water quality deteriorate would rather we didn’t know about the consequences.

This is the first such major event, but it won’t be the last, unless we clean up our water!

68 comments on “The Friday dump on Havelock North ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. save nz 1
    20 August 2016 at 9:22 am

    Great post. +100

  2. ropata 2
    20 August 2016 at 9:52 am

    That last tweet is unbelievable. Government by inaction and spin.

    Turns out the death *was* caused by the contaminated water
    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/311361/dead-havelock-north-woman-had-campylobacter

    • weka 2.1
      20 August 2016 at 10:18 am

      Thanks for that link. It also has the story of the woman who had a campylobacter infection in July and has ended up with Guillain Barre Syndrome, a long lasting autoimmune disease with multiple serious effects. The woman, Kerry McIntosh, is in hospital and unable to work, and now unable to walk. Despite GBS being rare, the DHB there is now expecting multiple cases from the area. That is serious shit. The council won’t give her the test results either, but they’ve ruled out food poisoning so are thinking it’s likely to be water (she lives right in the currently affected area).

      She set up this FB page for people to network,

      https://www.facebook.com/haveyoursayhawkesbay/?hc_ref=SEARCH&fref=nf

      • Lanthanide 2.1.1
        20 August 2016 at 1:35 pm

        Studies suggest that 1 out of every ~1690 people who get sick from campylobacter will end up with GBS.

        So there’s likely be at least 1 new case, possibly up to 3, from this event.

        • weka 2.1.1.1
          20 August 2016 at 2:18 pm

          Ok, thanks. They’re also talking about reactive arthritis (around 10 – 40 potential cases).

    • Matthew Whitehead 2.2
      20 August 2016 at 12:14 pm

      It’s not a health emergency, it’s a “difficult health situation.”

      Gosh, where have we heard that spin before? I give it a week before they’re talking about their comprehensive water safety plan.

    • Leftie 2.3
      20 August 2016 at 5:22 pm

      Ropata, the National government are being completely irresponsible and reckless with people’s lives.

  3. Sanctuary 3
    20 August 2016 at 10:13 am

    Meanwhile, that stalwart fortress of high browed fearless journalism the NZ Herald tells us today of the tragedy of a couple who just lost a son, why bananas are bad for breakfast, an American teenagers letter to bullies, and who Ryan Lochte got on the large with.

    You couldn’t make up such a steaming pile of banal bullshit if you tried.

    • ropata 3.1
      20 August 2016 at 10:26 am

      No mention of Havelock North but lots of tat about people shagging on a beach somewhere.

      FFS our ‘national’ newspaper is not even absorbent enough to be useful.

      • dv 3.1.1
        20 August 2016 at 10:55 am

        full page on the DomPost print front page.

      • alwyn 3.1.2
        20 August 2016 at 11:59 am

        Havelock North is south of the Bombay Hills.
        An Aucklander working for the Herald would probably have to use Google to find it on a map.
        And where did you get the idea that The Herald is our “national newspaper”?

      • mosa 3.1.3
        20 August 2016 at 2:22 pm

        Ropata its time the” Granny” retired.
        You cant even get your fish and chips wrapped up with it anymore.

      • Philj 3.1.4
        20 August 2016 at 7:23 pm

        I presume it’s suitable as a fire starter

        • whispering kate 3.1.4.1
          21 August 2016 at 8:50 am

          It works great as a liner for the cat litter tray too. I get the the weekend Herald delivered once a week from a neighbour in a supermarket bag solely for me to line the tray. We gave the paper up over 2 years ago and have never missed it – a load of tripe and a waste of money. I got a month’s supply recently as a teaser to get back on subscription but it was like pulling teeth just trying to read it – absolutely have given it up for the rubbish it is.

    • Leftie 3.2
      20 August 2016 at 5:27 pm

      And don’t forget Sanctuary, how many ties John key has.

  4. dukeofurl 4
    20 August 2016 at 10:35 am

    I only knew about the source being identified because I checked RNZ website after 5PM
    I was expecting it to be covered on the TV news, even as an update. But nothing.

    Its been clear from the very first that Yule has been following spin management to the letter. And I wondered when they found results, my guess the answer would be ‘inconclusive’ as they would politically the best result for the spin doctors and council.

    What doesnt make sense is that ‘cattle, sheep and deer’ havent caused this sort of problem before ?

    • Sanctuary 4.1
      20 August 2016 at 11:03 am

      The problem is the growth of Havelock North, which is encroaching on the bores, and the growth of intensive farming, neither of which has been properly planned for in the usual, slack arsed NZ way of waiting for a Cave Creek to happen before fixing it. Now whenever it rains heavily it seems run-off full of cow – sorry, “livestock” – shit is contaminating the bores Havelock North draws it’s water from.

      God knows what Hastings District Council spends it’s money on, it is sixty eight million dollars in debt and has higher rates than Napier. Napier has been run (down) by a succession of do-nothing mayors selected by the local wannabes who prefer to keep rates down and preside over the cities decline. Yule has not really been that spectacular a mayor, although he seems to believe his own press releases more and more as time goes by.

      The whole story of Hawkes Bay since it was economically gutted in the 1980s and 90s and lost it’s local media is a case study in the decline of effective governance in the face of economic stagnation and the absence of proper democratic checks and balances like a local media and the rise of a third world social structure with the attendant poor and ignorant electorate and a local ruling class which routinely practices cronyism, nepotism, and nod and wink corruption.

      • weka 4.1.1
        20 August 2016 at 11:42 am

        Is there farming intensification in the area of the bores? The pictures I saw were all of vinyards etc, not animals.

        • b waghorn 4.1.1.1
          20 August 2016 at 12:05 pm

          i’m getting a sneaky feeling that where they say the water comes from (50 year old deep aquifer) and where it’s really coming from might be two different things.

          topping up out of the tuki tuki or some such would be a good way of getting nasties in your water.

          • weka 4.1.1.1.1
            20 August 2016 at 12:12 pm

            If they are testing at the tap end, or the reservoir, they will have no idea where the contamination is.

            Do you mean intentionally topping up?

          • dukeofurl 4.1.1.1.2
            20 August 2016 at 12:46 pm

            The ’50 year old water’ would only apply at the deepest parts of the Heretaunga aquifer, maybe 150m +
            So you go nearer the surface the ‘newer’ the water gets, so its only weeks old just below the confined layer.
            These bores are at 20m

            • weka 4.1.1.1.2.1
              20 August 2016 at 12:52 pm

              How do you know it’s only weeks old?

              Where is that top level water coming from?

              • b waghorn …
                20 August 2016 at 1:10 pm

                In the link I put up for the bottling plant if you click the ‘water’ at the top it has a supposed diagram of the water aquifers.
                I note they are selling the deepest and probably cleanest , while the locals get the leavings.

                • weka …
                  20 August 2016 at 1:33 pm

                  This one?

                  http://www.nzmiracle.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/water_image2.jpg

                  This one from the HDC seems to imply that the town supply is coming from the second aquifer. Nobody has explained how that could get contaminated (or if it even is, can they even test from the bottom of the bore?).

                  http://www.hastingsdc.govt.nz/files/all/property/water/Aquifer.jpg

                  And this is the council’s description of the water supply,

                  http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11693935

                  Still a lot of information not being provided by the MSM. If flooding (and effluent) is a possible source, how would it get into the bore? or the aquifer? etc.

                  Someone said this the other day,

                  It would be unusual for a town’s bore to be contaminated but there is the possibility of contamination from a connection to the town’s water which is not protected by a Backflow Preventor. There was the case of Darfield’s water being contaminated but I do not know what the source was.
                  There is also the possiblity of the aquifer being contaminated by a irrigation set up spreading effluent and is also connected to the same aquifer and not having a proper Backflow Preventor at the head of the bore the effluent can flow into the bore. Ecan has allowed the installation of a Backflow Preventor that does no comply with NZ regulations but that is another story.

                  http://thestandard.org.nz/shit-in-the-water/#comment-1219173

                  • Mad Plumber …
                    20 August 2016 at 10:09 pm

                    In addition to my initial comments on Backflow Prevention, from the Picture’s of the Council Bore heads there does not seem to be any Back Flow Device.
                    The other possible source of contamination could be a decommissioned bore that the Regional Council know nothing about.
                    The other source could be a farm effluent pond that is leaking. Again hard to find especially if it is a clay lined pond. Most of the newer ponds are plastic lined.
                    The District council are taking all the flak at the moment but the Regional Council could also be to blame especially as the contamination seems to be from livestock. They are the ones that usually make the rules about ponds, bores and effluent disposal.

              • Lloyd …
                21 August 2016 at 1:34 am

                If it is traveling 300m per day, it was probably in the Tukituki River four days earlier.

                • weka …
                  21 August 2016 at 9:10 am

                  Is that river connected to that aquifer?

                  • Robert Guyton …
                    21 August 2016 at 9:30 am

                    Many aquifers are. Many.

                    • weka …
                      21 August 2016 at 9:41 am

                      Some aren’t I think. If it was as simple as a polluted river contaminating an aquifer, wouldn’t that be more obvious?

                      See http://www.hastingsdc.govt.nz/files/all/property/water/Aquifer.jpg

                      http://www.nzmiracle.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/water_image2.jpg

                      That appears to be saying that the rivers are not connected to the second or third aquifers (town supply is the second one down, commercial bottled water is the third one down).

                      Also, the report from the last contamination suggested that a possible source was the earth works done nearby having disrupted the impervious layer (they were speculating).

                      Which doesn’t mean teh rivers aren’t the source, but I’d like to see an explanation of how that could happen given the known geology. They chose that source for a reason.

                      (and needless to say, we should stop polluting the rivers anyway, because they will be affecting their own aquifer in addition to the river ecology).

                      It does beg the question of where the aquifers are being recharged from though.

      • weston 4.1.2
        20 August 2016 at 2:54 pm

        what have the respective rates got to do with it then sanctuary ?Youre saying napier is badly run because it has low rates and presumedly less debt but hastings has got high rates and enormous debt which particular point are you driving at ?

    • weka 4.2
      20 August 2016 at 11:45 am

      “What doesnt make sense is that ‘cattle, sheep and deer’ havent caused this sort of problem before ?”

      The woman in the video in the link above got sick in July, same area. She can’t get the council’s water test results from when she was first ill. I’m guessing she was the first.

      AFAIK they still don’t know how the contamination got in. Not sure if they even know where it’s happening. Is it in the aquifer? Or in the bore? (when the MSM say ‘bore’ I hope they mean the infrastructure and not the aquifer, but it’s hard to tell). How does that work? Someone commented yesterday that it is possible for contaminants to go down the bore and then be taken back up with the water supply.

    • jcuknz 4.3
      21 August 2016 at 9:07 am

      It was animals plus a flood …..I heard John Campbell i/v a Mushroom farmer who had a copy of the report that was not [apparently ] released to radio [RNZ]

  5. Siobhan 5
    20 August 2016 at 10:48 am

    Craig Foss is the National Party MP for Tukituki, Hawke’s Bay, and is seen as being very much ‘their man’ by the large proportion of Havelock North residents.

    He is also very much a proponent of the Ruataniwha Dam, which is on the shitty, stinky (in summer anyway) Tukituki river behind Havelock North.

    Apart from increased water usage the dam will involve massive intensification of all the activities that relate to this outbreak ie intensive farming.

    This is an important issue during the last election. This and Nationals policies to water management.

    He was elected bringing these policies to the table.

    I am so looking forward to the next election to see how this plays out. It is a perfect example to bring up in the old argument we have at home..
    “Why DO people Vote against their own best interests??”

    • Sanctuary 5.1
      20 August 2016 at 11:07 am

      I remember swimming in the Tukituki river when I was a kid. 🙁

      • b waghorn 5.1.1
        20 August 2016 at 12:09 pm

        I was at the tuki tuki 6 years ago at Patangata it was crystal clear and brimming with trout. Don’t know if it still is.

    • nom 5.2
      20 August 2016 at 11:43 am

      I look forward to the spin this to frame the the dam as a ‘positive’ – backup drinking water supply?

      • Siobhan 5.2.1
        20 August 2016 at 11:53 am

        Yes, I had thought of that too, infact I think they had earlier(pre this crisis) mentioned the dam being used like a toilet flush for toxins in the river. Maybe they could instal a giant Glade Toilet Cleaning Perfume thingy(with Blue colouring) just to make the whole situation perfect.

        • te reo putake 5.2.1.1
          20 August 2016 at 1:44 pm

          Heh! It could be Hasting’s equivalent to the L&P bottle or Ohakune’s giant carrot. I can just see tourists flocking to take selfies before their latte’s come back up on them.

          I can also see another business opportunity. Hawkes Bay could be marketed as the weight loss capital of NZ. Just one glass of Waipuk water and you’ll shit yourself thin. Everyone’s a winner!

          • gsays 5.2.1.1.1
            20 August 2016 at 3:27 pm

            i heard a rumour havelock north is using feilding’s redundant tourism slogan-

            ‘would it kill you to visit?’

  6. ropata 6
    20 August 2016 at 11:51 am

    People vote in the short term interest of their wallets, not thinking of *potential* risks like shit in the water supply

    Guess who opposed protecting the Cooks Beach aquifer bores from penetration from septic tanks, and the beach water too? Yes, ratepayers.— Alasdair Thompson (@ajthompson13) August 19, 2016

  7. dv 7
    20 August 2016 at 11:57 am

    Ultra Violet treatment of water for individual houses appears to becoming viable- Seem to be about 2-3k per installation.

  8. Jon Philip Smith 8
    20 August 2016 at 12:18 pm

    HDC and Health Care HB will have us all drinking our own shit for ever more and a day know the water supply has been clorinated.

    They are incapable of doing anything else but push paper around and talk and have more talks anything but action.

    They will increase rate rates so we can all pay for our own compensation and pay for the inquiries into what is not any mistry at all, shit is in the water how is that a mistry?

    Shit has been in all our rivers and streams and dams for generations only a fool would think it was a mistry to find it in our water supply?

    • ropata 8.1
      20 August 2016 at 1:42 pm

      the word is “mystery”

      and no, we have never seen this level of disgusting effluent in our water before. tragedy of the commons, irresponsible farming, and lax governance at all levels.

  9. dv 9
    20 August 2016 at 12:27 pm

    Herald reporting 50 mins ago.

    An interim scientific analysis indicates contamination from cattle, sheep and deer may have been present in Havelock North’s water supply, which in normal times is not disinfected with chlorine.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11697827

  10. Keith 10
    20 August 2016 at 2:02 pm

    Listening to Foss on the news speaking in parliament I smelt a dirty big rat. He was spouting bullshit about community team spirit and everyone pulling together, wa, wa, waa. Then the Nats, full well knowing this is going to be caused by agricultural run off, launch one of their damage control enquiries, one assumes in an educated guess, is to bury the truth. All round their reaction is becoming all too familiar.

    What must happen is a fully independent fact finding enquiry, not a Nat whitewash.

  11. mosa 11
    20 August 2016 at 2:40 pm

    Its only political considerations that they are having an enquiry.
    This issue is not going away but they ” dont do fully independent fact finding” its not in the dna.
    They will be assessing the damage and its all spin from there or Key has had a blow to the head and has a rapid conversion to all of a sudden having enquiries when he has always resisted on all the other issues that proper process would have demanded one.
    As usual there is more to this than meets the eye, lets hope it gets sorted.

  12. Rae 12
    20 August 2016 at 3:24 pm

    Breaking news, Hastings and Flaxmere water contaminated.

  13. righty right 13
    20 August 2016 at 3:35 pm

    the government has done nothing to clean up the water system its not good enough they have had 8.5 years bulling and threatening academics head in the sand isn’t leadership its the mark of a coward and thats is all key is.

  14. dave 14
    20 August 2016 at 7:00 pm

    its right wing voters who bullshited all over the place pricks like BM and infused in a chorus of national party bullshit have caused this contamination key should meet an equally turdy end to his disastrous reign as prime shiter.

  15. miravox 15
    20 August 2016 at 7:15 pm

    For old times sake. Starting at 11 mins

    • mosa 15.1
      20 August 2016 at 8:25 pm

      GOD that mans face is everywhere , it should be put too good use like a cure for constipation.

  16. Ad 16
    20 August 2016 at 7:19 pm

    Both the Hastings Mayor and the Hastings Council Chief Executive are reporting that they still have no idea what the cause is.

    They’ve failed to prevent it, failed to front for it to the sick, failed to find the cause.

    Thankfully the local hospital is saying that the worst is over in terms of patients.

    Since it’s clearly beyond Council’s power to solve it, central government should appoint a Commissioner over the Council.

    This next year looks like being the longest year in National’s political life for many, many years.

  17. Neil 17
    20 August 2016 at 7:24 pm

    Maybe intensive dairying etc., has something to do with it?, surely not because John says so

  18. Philj 18
    20 August 2016 at 8:33 pm

    The media information released has been confusing and at odds with itself. One day we are told that the number afflicted had peaked, next day we are told that it is greater than the day before. One day we told the water tanker is contaminated the next day we told that the water tanker wasn’t contaminated. Clearly, this is a toxic situation that the ‘authorities’, local and National, have failed in their duty Do you believe in anything that we are being told? As awful as the situation is, especially for the afflicted, the official response has been even worse. No wonder the publics trust in our politicians and democratic processes is rapidly diminishing.

  19. righty right 19
    21 August 2016 at 10:51 am

    are the farmers going to be made to pay clean up the mess they have created(fat chance) or is it gen x and y who cant even afford a home going to be made to pay while dairy farmers get off free take the profit and dump costs on to the community farmers created this bloody mess they should clean it up. national are going to lie bullshit cover up do nothing. if the tourist stop coming the newly unemployed should nail the dairy industry to the wall. the dairy industry is playing loose and fast with our health economy and ultimately our lives and that isn’t fare they have to be made to pay!these bastards don’t even pay tax and tax payers are subsidizing intensification while these farming wankers wreak our environment

  20. Observer Tokoroa 20
    22 August 2016 at 10:15 am

    .
    . Just in case you don’t know who is running our Parliament, it is:
    .
    The Maori Party, United First Party, The Act Party, The National Party.
    .
    . Not a single one of them is competent. They work on the twin basis of “Spin” and Loading up the very wealthy with more assets and more “Wealth”.

    .

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    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
    17 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
    20 hours ago
  • More young people learning about digital safety

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says.  “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Opposition united in bad faith over ECE sector review

    Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet.  “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Kiwis having their say on first regulatory review

    After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks.  “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government upgrading Lower North Island commuter rail

    The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government moves to ensure flood protection for Wairoa

    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • PM speech to Parliament – Royal Commission of Inquiry’s Report into Abuse in Care

    Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.  At the heart of this report are the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges torture at Lake Alice

    For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges courageous abuse survivors

    The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Half a million people use tax calculator

    With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis.  “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Paid Parental Leave improvements pass first reading

    Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Rebuilding the economy through better regulation

    Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • ‘Open banking’ and ‘open electricity’ on the way

    New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Charity lotteries to be permitted to operate online

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Accelerating Northland Expressway

    The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Sir Don to travel to Viet Nam as special envoy

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