Three disturbingly different views on climate change

Written By: - Date published: 2:10 pm, June 10th, 2019 - 63 comments
Categories: climate change, disaster, Donald Trump, global warming, science, uk politics, uncategorized, us politics - Tags:

The past week we have experienced a terrifyingly disturbing array of views on climate change.  The first came from the President of the United States who thought that things were fine and America has the best climate.  From the BBC:

“I believe that there’s a change in weather and I think it changes both ways,” Mr Trump told Piers Morgan in an interview that aired on Wednesday.

Mr Trump said he shared the prince’s desire for a “good climate” but blamed other nations for increasing pollution.

He has rolled back many US climate laws despite warnings from his own agencies.

Mr Trump said his meeting with Prince Charles was meant to last only 15 minutes.

“He did most of the talking, and he was really into climate change and I think that’s great,” Mr Trump said of Prince Charles on the ITV programme Good Morning Britain.

“He wants to make sure future generations have climate that is good climate as opposed to a disaster and I agree.”

But Mr Trump once again placed the blame on other countries, namely China, India and Russia, for worsening air and water quality while claiming the US has one of “the cleanest climates there are”.

“Don’t forget, it used to be called global warming, that wasn’t working, then it was called climate change, now it’s actually called extreme weather because with extreme weather you can’t miss,” the president said.

Mr Trump pointed to past examples of weather disasters to refute the idea that “extreme weather” is becoming more common due to climate change.

“I don’t remember tornados in the United States to this extent but then when you look back 40 years ago we had the worst tornado binge we ever had. In the 1890s we had our worst hurricanes.”

It is a shame this person is too stupid to realise that his views are bizarre. 

Although it is difficult to work out if he is motivated by a klutzy misunderstanding of the science or a deep seated mendacity to the issue.  

Because he is doing is best to stuff up the US clean energy market.  From Time:

In the biggest blow he’s dealt to the renewable energy industry yet, President Donald Trump decided on Monday to slap tariffs on imported solar panels.

The U.S. will impose duties of as much as 30 percent on solar equipment made abroad, a move that threatens to handicap a $28 billion industry that relies on parts made abroad for 80 percent of its supply. Just the mere threat of tariffs has shaken solar developers in recent months, with some hoarding panels and others stalling projects in anticipation of higher costs. The Solar Energy Industries Association has projected tens of thousands of job losses in a sector that employed 260,000.

The tariffs are just the latest action Trump has taken that undermine the economics of renewable energy. The administration has already decided to pull the U.S. out of the international Paris climate agreement, rolled back Obama-era regulations on power plant-emissions and passed sweeping tax reforms that constrained financing for solar and wind. The import taxes, however, will prove to be the most targeted strike on the industry yet.

Then there was this contrary view from people who actually know what they are talking about and who have presented a dark view of our future that regrettably appears to be a coherent appraisal.  From the Herald:

In the past week, the world has experienced chaotic weather phenomena, from deathly Indian heatwaves to snow inundating parts of Queensland. Now, the Breakthrough National Centre for Climate Change has issued a report predicting the end of human civilisation as we know it.

The report, terrifyingly entitled Existential climate-related security risk, glimpses 30 years into the future to the year 2050 — and the results are grim.

Authors David Spratt, a researcher into climate change, and Ian Dunlop, former chairman of the Australian Coal Association and chair of the Australian Greenhouse Office Experts Group on Emissions Trading, propose a scenario in which global emissions and climate threats are ignored, and the trajectory of environmental collapse goes unchecked.

Their conclusions spell out a dire warning.

Using climate data, Spratt and Dunlop claim the Earth can expect at least a 3C rise in temperatures, which would trigger global decay and destruction of crucial ecosystems, including the Arctic, Amazon rainforests and coral reefs.

“More than a billion people may need to be relocated, and in high-end scenarios, the scale of destruction is beyond our capacity to model, with a high likelihood of human civilisation coming to an end,” Spratt and Dunlop warn.

By 2050, total ecological collapse would give way to massive social consequences ranging from “increased religious fervour to outright chaos”.

The report suggests the catastrophic chain of environmental disasters will climax with widespread pandemics, forced migration from inhabitable locations and a likely nuclear war due to skirmishing for limited resources.

“Planetary and human systems (reach) a ‘point of no return’ by mid-century in which the prospect of a largely uninhabitable Earth leads to the breakdown of nations and the international order,” the report predicts.

The report is perhaps new in that it focusses on the likely effect on civilisation of climate change rather than the environmental effects.

But surely this report and all of the similar reports that have preceded it should be sufficient for people to decide to do something.  

A third approach has emerged.  English Chancellor Philip Hammond has recently claimed that climate change is too expensive to do anything.  Thankfully Downing Street ridiculed his claims.  From the Guardian:

Downing Street has shot down claims made by the chancellor, Philip Hammond, that tackling the climate crisis would cost £1tn and require spending cuts for schools, hospitals and the police force.

No 10 said plans to create a net zero carbon economy would cost no more than the UK’s existing plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The firm response will be seen as a rare rebuke for Hammond, who warned Theresa May that reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero could cost the country £1tn and lead to industries becoming “economically uncompetitive” without government subsidies.

In a letter to the prime minister, Hammond said the proposed 2050 net zero target – one of the most far-reaching proposed in the world – would mean less money for schools, the NHS and police forces, the Financial Times reported.

Downing Street said analysis from the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) showed that the cost of a net zero carbon economy would “fall within our existing spending plans”.

It is funny that he complains about less money for schools, the NHS and the Police.  I thought this was the Conservative’s reason for being.

And sure the figure is large but Britain’s current Crown debt is 1.8 trillion GBP and its GDP is 2.06 trillion.  Britain can afford to do something about it.

Some right wing politicians do get it:

Maybe Boris should have a chat with Trump.

63 comments on “Three disturbingly different views on climate change ”

  1. tc 1

    Boris says what is expected to Garner support with no shame, sarcasm and with the practiced delivery of a used car salesperson.

    It's not that words aren't so much cheap with the Boris they're virtually worthless. His brexit bus sums the bs artist up.

  2. bewildered 2

    Saying all of that the US has done more to reduce their emissions than nearly all Paris signatories including nz as a result of shale revolution, similarly most green innovations and technology is coming out of the states At the end of the day people get far to worked up over trumps utterances and tweets which in most cases are just hyperbole or trump been trump

    • WeTheBleeple 2.1

      "The “Shale Revolution” refers to the combination of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling that enabled the United States to significantly increase its production of oil and natural gas, particularly from tight oil formations, which now account for 36% of total U.S. crude oil production."

      A Frenchman discovered photovoltaic aka solar. A Frenchman discovered tidal energy.

      Canada has three large-scale CCS projects in commercial operation, including SaskPower’s CCS facility at the Boundary Dam Power Station near Estevan, Sask., the Weyburn-Midale enhanced oil recovery projects operated by Cenovus Energy and Apache Canada, and the Shell Quest project at the Scotford oilsands upgrader near Edmonton.

      “The percentage of carbon dioxide that the MOF can absorb depends on the process,” Snurr says. “The [United States] Department of Energy target is to remove 90 per cent of carbon dioxide from a power plant; it’s likely that a process using this material could meet that target.”

      With their nanoscopic pores and incredibly high surface areas, MOFs are excellent materials for gas storage. MOFs’ vast internal surface areas allow them to hold remarkably high volumes of gas. The volume of some MOF crystals might be the size of a grain of salt, for example, but the internal surface area, if unfolded, could cover an entire football field.

      That is the US with their blue sky approach. Guess what else has tremendous surface area like described above – carbon. I can put charcoal in a chimney and do the same job as this nano-tech bullshit.

      $8000 spanners, nano-tech carbon scrubbers. LOL! They also have 'nano-sponges'…

      Go the USA, high tech genius!

      Swedish scientists have created crystals that capture CO2 much more efficiently than previously known materials, even in the presence of water.

      There's a US/EU study on injecting CO2 into rocks to turn it into rock. You just got to capture it, transport it, drill down to volcanic bedrock, inject it, seal it. Easy peasy.

      G.K. Surya Prakash and George Olah have learned to turn carbon into fuel!

      Dr. Prakash was born as the sixth child of late G.N. Krishnamurthy a noted economics professor from Bengaluru, and late Anasuyamma Krishnamurthy. He studied at the Vasanthnagar Government Primary School, and the Gandhinagar Higher Secondary School.

      But he's in the US now so…. dibs!

      US scientists have discovered how to make 'low-energy' carbon-fibre which they hope to sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars per ton. Great tech, not gonna save anyone.

      Carbon capture in Canada

      "A Canadian company, called Carbon Engineering, has published peer-reviewed findings, which show the process can now be done for less than $100 per ton. This is a major improvement on current estimates of $600 per ton."

      I reckon the US is still a major problem actually. The biggest threat of the lot.

    • Pat 2.2

      Fuck you speak a load of shit

      • WeTheBleeple 2.2.1

        ^^ That comment was almost like you were channeling me – the comment I made before doing some investigation on behalf of other readers. And he speaks the fecal streaks with such confidence!

    • joe90 2.3

      Saying all of that the US has done more to reduce their emissions than nearly all Paris signatories

      BFD. Per capita they're still emitting more double what we do and nearly three times more than France

      https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.PC?locations=US

      https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.PC?locations=FR&view=chart

      https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.PC?locations=NZ&view=chart

      • Mack . 2.3.1

        WTF does the World Bank know about the science of the mythical man-made "climate change". It's the same as getting your medical prescription from a ventriloquist.

        • Pat 2.3.1.1

          where have you been for the past 6 months Mack?

          • Mack . 2.3.1.1.1

            Nah, Pat, it's more like where have YOU been for the last 30 years.

            https://jennifermarohasy.com/2011/03/temperatures-of-void-space-and-microstates/#comment-477093

            Read some science and get yourself enlightened.

            [That links to a nonsensical comment by you made on March 19, 2011 at 7:50 am. If you have nothing better to contribute here I’d suggest you pull your head before Lynn pulls your head off – Incognito]

            • Pat 2.3.1.1.1.1

              Coverage by the Guardian's Graham Readfearn noted that none of the conservative media reports had sought views of the research amongst members of the scientific community. When Readfearn did so, he received severe criticisms of the work and its methods, and declarations that it was "junk science" (by David Karoly) and that the publication should be withdrawn.[3] Methodological issues with the research and criticisms made included:

              • Unexplained and selective use of proxy temperature records – only six were used and no reason was given for their choice,[3] when a recent paper showed that there are at least 692 available.[25] Their approach was criticised as "extremely unscientific" by Benjamin Henley of the University of Melbourne for making no attempt to compare their approach with actual temperature data. With results that are interpreted incorrectly and which do not support the conclusions, Henley stated that the paper should never have been published and should be withdrawn by the journal.[3] Henley made harsher comments directly to Marohasy on Twitter, describing the paper as "an absolute pile of rubbish" that "reads like a D-grade high school lab report and is utterly flawed."[26]
              • Gavin Schmidt, the Director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, described that paper as an example of "what happens when people have their conclusions fixed before they start the work" and assessed it as "worthless." He identified an internal contradiction in their method, whereby equilibrium climate sensitivity was assumed to be solely due to natural internal variations (and thus excluding external factors including volcanic action and solar variations) despite this contradicting claims elsewhere in the paper. Schmidt also found that "something went wrong" in the digitisation of the results resulting in a temporal offset. Consequently, in the Northern Hemisphere data, "what they think is 2000, is actually 1965" and so at least 35 years of recent warming has been omitted.[3] Schmidt put his criticisms direct to Marohasy on Twitter, seeking her comments on his statement that her "conclusions are based on inaccurately cited data that's incorrectly scaled and incorrectly aligned in time."[27] Marohasy rejected Schmidt's claims as "false"[28] and declared that Schmidt was wrong[27][29] when he suggested[30]that they had used a smoothed version of the Moberg at al. (2005)[31] data set.
              • Piers Forster, the Director of the Priestley International Centre for Climate, criticised the "unphysical" approach taken in using extrapolation where measured data are available. For example, patterns of volcanic activity prior to 1880 have been extrapolated forward despite the actual pattern of volcanism in the previous 150 years being both well-known and significantly different from the period pre 1880.[3]
              • Author John Abbot was also criticised for claiming an affiliation to James Cook University, despite the manuscript being submitted well after his adjunct position ended.[3]

              Ah well…indeed my question was a straightforward one, not rhetorical….you seem to turn up for very brief periods every 6 months or so…at least under this moniker for the past year or so.

            • Incognito 2.3.1.1.1.2

              See my Moderation note @ 8:14 PM.

  3. Still up to us what we do in New Zealand and unless we get stuck in and do something truly effective who are we to complain about others?

    • Bewildered 3.1

      Yep people over play trump or think US is like nz, it is very different system All power does not lie in the presidency, It is just one branch of 3 that keep checks and balances on each other, similarly it has a written constitution as a federation of states protected by the Supreme Court In essence its not like nz where parliament is supreme and can do what they want ( ie gun laws etc) Likewise states can enact their own policies to a great degree on climate change ( California) no matter what trump thinks

    • greywarshark 3.2

      JS Oh are you Superman in the mild mannered Clark Kent mode. You had better keep a good supply of kryptonite handy because you aren't up to speed about the urgency of things these days. Who are we to complain about others indeed, little old us trying to move our 4 million people to start on making our small changes, and watching the 400 millions+ want to continue BAU until either the company collapses or the world does.

  4. barry 4

    The BNCCC are as batshit crazy as Trump. There will NOT be a 3 degrees temperature rise by 2050. At most there will be another 0.5 degrees rise.

    Such predictions are not helpful in getting people to pay attention. The real consequences are bad enough, without ridiculous exaggerations.

    • WeTheBleeple 4.1

      Proof for your oh so confident dribbling please.

      • greywarshark 4.1.1

        Yaddah yaddah yaddah. I think yrrab is trying to stand on his head while tying his shoelaces and the blood is flooding his brain. We are bound to have more like this as times become more difficult.

        They will do anything rather than think for themselves. It probably takes half a dozen of beer to just kickstart their thinking process along its rusty tracks.

    • Pat 4.2

      "The scenarios "don't seem that far-fetched to me. I don't think there's anything too crazy about them," said Adam Sobel, a professor of applied physics and mathematics at Columbia University in New York City who studies atmospheric and climate dynamics."

      https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/06/05/climate-change-apocalypse-could-start-2050-if-we-do-noting/1356865001/

      • Mack . 4.2.1

        "climate change apocalypse could start 2050…" Speculative crap from another looney academic bedwetting watermelon.

        At this present time, it looks as if the 4 horsemen haven't even saddled up yet.

      • barry 4.2.2

        20 years ago I was arguing with climate change deniers who were saying that the world wasn't warming and that sea levels weren't rising. I made some guesses then about where we would be now and they were pretty accurate.

        If you look at the graphs of temperature and sea levels over the last 60 years and extend them another 30, you will not be far off what we are going to see by 2050. I expect sea level to rise about 10 cm more and temperatures to rise by about another 0.2 degrees. This is already shocking and unacceptable that humans are going to allow it to happen (and in fact cause it).

        There are a few extreme cases (feedback tipping points), that could cause faster rises, but they are rather unlikely. 2 degrees or more in 30 years is beyond unlikely.

        Beyond 2050 we will see another half a degree rise by about 2100, but luckily I won't be around to say I told you so.

  5. … '' It is a shame this person is too stupid to realise that his views are bizarre''…

    Another two minute's wasted time to delete unwanted multiple copied and pasted material.

    @ thanks at IPRENT.

    Is it really stupid or bizarre? Or do you just hate on Trump as a residue of the failed theory of 'Russian collusion in rigging U.S elections ' Mueller report , – around rigging the USA elections? Can you get over it and move on?

    NOW,… you really think you have problems due to anthropomorphic climate change?… or do you agree the wooly mammoths died with such rapidity in former times that the so called paleontologists stated with alarm the fact that they died with ' tufts of grass still in their trunks'… and /or when the explosions of Krakatoa dimmed the Northern Hemisphere for 5 years and cast a pink / red glow at each and every sunset?

    My ,… there were supposedly a lot of volcanoes going off before we were even supposed to exist as a species…. according to the geologists, the paleontologists and long before the anthropologists… they called that era the carboniferous period…

    …. Or so we are led to believe…

    Do we ignore the historic warm age when England produced grapes which rivaled that of France during the Middle ages ?… or is that just a convenient Tolkien myth of Orks and Ogres?

    Will you accept the massive extinction events of the past as natural earth cycles or try to tie them into some kind of anthropomorphic interference from Homo Erectus or Homo Habililus's habitual lighting of camp fires?

    You see how silly this is getting?

    And yes,… we do not want to see the demise of polar bears , yet even nature does not need us,… they are interbreeding with brown bears…forming 'grolar or pizzly' bears…

    And that surely is a mock against all the Kings soldiers and all the Kings men… and the Bilderberger sham with global taxes on carbon, – while they relocate those same polluting industry's to third world nations to reap profits based on 'slave labour' conditions and unregulated polluting industry's.

    Get a grip on yourselves.

    Stop with the Al Gore crap who stood to gain millions out of this carbon tax scam and start to realize the con job . Yes , your sea levels are going to rise. Yes ,your climate is changing. And yes we are in for shitty weather. And yes , millions of people are going to be misplaced and refugeed because of it . But there's not a damn thing either the globalist Bilderbergers or Al Gore or any other con man group around that can do a damned thing about it.

    Accept it , and be like the animals our brethren and adapt.

    No one ever promised you a rose garden.

    This whole climate change thing has gone through so many multitude chameleon changes it is unreal. Every few years we see a new slant on the equation. When last years flavour of the month doesn't fit the narrative we suddenly get a new one.

    In all honesty ?

    You have more to fear from THIS , than rising sea levels:

    What Does a Nuclear Bomb Explosion Feel Like? – YouTube

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y__dxTaGEp0

    • In honour of my Late Aunty Joyce who really was a Labour supporter in the 1970's and who wouldn't have had any truck with the freak side show for what passes as Labour now. She , and her generation did it hard. They knew what it was to bring up a family on the bare minimum ,they saw their family members die in Europe. And still they carried on keeping on keeping on.

      Lynn Anderson – I Beg Your Pardon, I Never Promised You A Rose …

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-eclUz-RYI

      • greywarshark 5.1.1

        Mod

        WK is having trouble working the new system for comments. Can you cut out all that blank space he has in 5? Its weirdly annoying.

        • WILD KATIPO 5.1.1.1

          Get a grip and get honest please.

          Its not my fault as I have said.

          And please do not try the deflection route when it doesn't suit your political parameters. I am non tribalistic. I do not care for closed debate and preaching to a captive audience no matter what political stripe you claim to be.

          I thank you for your time.

  6. WeTheBleeple 6

    Reading the above who have their own agendas it's easy to see why we're fucked. Average IQ.

    • Macro 6.1

      +100%

    • Its interesting that in the era of Gwondaland and the breaking way of continents,… and the volcanic mountain building process and formation of tectonic plates , the submerging of vast areas of former carbon lifeforms aka plants,.. that we discover ,.. supposedly tens of thousands of years later ,… an energy source.

      Which sheds light on the fallacy that the environment which we enjoy now was the same as the environment previously. In fact , it was vastly different. That is ,… according to the paleontologists.

      All we have succeeded in doing ( according to them which they never admit to ) is to release the carbon that was previously locked up in the form of oil and coal reserves. And in effect, … in a retrograde fashion , return our environment to an ' earlier ' age.

      If you study the supposed early origins of this planet , you will find that the oceans occupied massive areas of current landscape to which we currently take for granted.

      Putting Solar and Galactic stresses aside , the advent of a meteorite smashing into another planet around the sun causing the Asteroid belt,…and the fact of a series of massive extinction events occurring on this planet regardless of mere 'human wants or needs' is a reality. And no Al Gore or Bilderberger society was ever there to advise us or ward that off….

      Do you really think they would have been effective back then?

      Of course not.

      And that is exactly the point.

      There comes a time when ' all the Kings horses and all the Kings men will never put Humpty back together again'.

      Otherwise you will end up as King Canute and his followers, – trying to hold back the tide and forever being humiliated by their failure.

      • WeTheBleeple 6.2.1

        I appreciate your passion and hope you are ok. Trying times.

      • Pat 6.2.2

        Humans have been around for max 200,000 years….organised societies of any scale maybe a few thousand…you're describing events millions of years ago….are you really going to claim equivalence?

        • WILD KATIPO 6.2.2.1

          What the hell nonsensical rhetorical philosophical argument is that ?

          Read the text, buddy , read the text.

          I'm talking about ( according to the flavour of the month scientists you chose to follow at the time ) and quoting your own scientific bullshit that you have been led to believe in since around the time before the late 1980's when it suddenly became fashionable to go along with the latest globalist scam epitomized by a Democrat politician of the USA of 'uniting the world' against our own stupidity,- stupidity that is reflected in those same nutjobs who were government paid and who prior to that ,… had no qualms about making a buck out of the global energy industry.

          Wise up.

          The planets climate is changing, – for better or for worse, – and there isn't a damn thing you can do about it. Unless you want to relocate the polluting industry's to the third world nations while the globalists fleece you of your tax dollars as you lay dieing in the belly of a Siberian Mammoth.

          Have a chat to that extinct Siberian Mammoth and get a perspective on what it was like to die with a trunkfull of tundra grass still in your gob. Maybe that'll set you straight. Ask if Al Gore had of been around back then if that would have changed things.

          • Pat 6.2.2.1.1

            And 'the text' implies we have no agency…when the reality is we are the cause…and cruicially WE CAN do something about, though we are most unlikely to as your attitude amply displays.

            Can we stop it ?no ….but we can sure as hell reduce the impact if we so choose

            • Mack . 6.2.2.1.1.1

              The only impact we have to reduce is the impact this looney "greenhouse" crap has on the minds of our children.

  7. greywarshark 7

    This seems a sensible and defensible approach to climate change and drought in Hawkes Bay.

    Environment Minister David Parker said the water storage projects were of a much smaller scale than previously proposed initiatives, like the rejected Ruataniwha Dam project.

    Both projects will support horticultural production in the region by improving the security of water supply in dry years, Mr Parker said.

    Unlike the prior Ruataniwha scheme, which relied on increasing cow and cattle numbers putting more pressure on water quality, these projects will assist the conversion of livestock farms to horticulture, Mr Tabuteau said.

    Cabinet cannot continue to invest in water storage to put more dairy on the ground, he said.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/391693/pgf-spends-68m-in-hawke-s-bay-two-dams-among-main-projects

    Sounds good to me. Labour Coalition making a difference for the better.

    • WeTheBleeple 7.1

      That's freaking brilliant. Have they been reading 'How to Get There' or got their own resident fluvial geomorphologists… hehehe.

      What are the main crops in Hawkes Bay? Great sunlight hours I hear… (googles)

      Loads of crops. This could go really well if it doesn't all end up Talleys land…

      I could probably design a cleaner set-up for the salmon farmers (my aquaculture has not required cleaning for 20 years now), but the guy sounds like a right shit. 50M profit in the last year, whinge moan I’m so important…

      • WILD KATIPO 7.1.1

        And this is the panacea for 'climate change' ?

        Or just a feel good exercise in spending the public's purse?

        • WeTheBleeple 7.1.1.1

          Trying to be nice but you are being a bit hysterical. You think we don't understand the urgency?

          Water is life. To capture biological carbon requires water. To transition to a high-veg based diet requires transition of dairy to gardens. Small scale earthworks for water capture completely transforms landscapes like the Loess Plateau, Gobi Desert and other projects we've been busy posting.

          While you just cuss everyone out like you're the only concerned citizen in town and the only one who knows anything. It's delusional at best.

          I ask again. Are you OK?

          • WILD KATIPO 7.1.1.1.1

            Nothing hysterical at all.

            Havin' a good old time with you eager idealists.

            And one thing YOU WILL LEARN about me is I don't take kindly to crap, bullshit , hyperbole or fake arse bullshit for the sake of political points scoring.

            Period.

            And its a shame more don't speak up who are EXACTLY like me.

            I'm from the country , I am proudly and fiercely working class, have a Dip in science and technology and qualified as a head of security. As well as foreman in horticulture and self employed painter decorator , – what you take me for kid?

            Some sort of online noob at 55 years of age ?

            As I have said earlier on , – I don't give a flying rats shit about idealistic political bullshit. Who says they are wrong or who says they are right. Just the straight out truth.

            • WeTheBleeple 7.1.1.1.1.1

              Yes, the truth is more important than all the horseshit they fling at each other. Couldn't agree more. A line needs to be drawn in the sand about bullshitting the public.

              You do sound like you've read one too many conspiracy theories and if you think global warming's a globalist hoax there's no point talking to you about it.

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    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    6 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    10 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    10 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    10 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    11 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    12 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    13 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    15 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    8 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
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