Time for a Just Transition?

Written By: - Date published: 4:28 pm, December 30th, 2009 - 15 comments
Categories: Environment, Spying - Tags: , ,

Happy ValleyWith so much attention on climate change, and such a lack of concern, urgency and commitment to action from the current Tory government you would think it would be something labour would be working hard on, and be busy drafting detailed policy and vocally demanding action be taken. The Copenhagen climate summit was a cop out, divided between those that wanted an ambitious deal and emissions reductions and the Tim Groser’s of the world that wanted what was best for various vested interests such as coal corporations and agricultural giants like Fonterra. Canada echoed this position, by pushing for Tar Sands to be mined and burnt rather than pushing for emissions reduction and a fair deal. Tuvalu seemed to be pushed off a cliff.

Where does Labour stand when it comes to local climate issues in Aotearoa? Take mining and coal for example: on the one hand Labour is shocked and appalled by the suggestion of public conservation land being opened up to the friends of Gerry ‘Sexycoal’ Brownlee, yet they are vague when it comes to other matters like the proposed mine in the Waimangaroa Valley (Happy Valley), which is a pristine wilderness area with conservation values. It has been pointed out by those that champion the views of coal lobbyists like Don Elder that Chris Carter supported the Cypress Mine going ahead and signed off the destruction of Mount Augustus nearby.

So a Conservation minister supported mountaintop removal mining so coal could be sent to China, sounds rather similar to the position taken by the surprise Tory Conservation minister and former WTO trade negotiator, Tim Groser. While it was a surprise Tim Groser was given the Conservation minister role (both to himself and the NZ public), it is no surprise where he and Gerry Brownlee sit when it comes to issues like opening up public land to mining interests. Tim Groser is both Conservation minister and trade minister, and additionally has the role of climate negotiator and assistant climate minister.. He wants to open up conservation land to foreign mining interests to see more coal etc, and is conservation minister, a role which requires he protect public conservation land… Conflict of interest?

While Nick Smith the climate minister says he supports sending coal to China and India because if we don’t somebody else will, what does the possible next climate minister, Charles Chauvel say? When he was Conservation minister, Chris Carter acted like a lobbyist for SOE and state mining corporation, Solid Energy. Even when Solid Energy was caught using spies to try to get the upper hand against public opposition from environmentalists, Labour stood behind Solid Energy and their CEO, Don Elder who hired Thompson and Clark and ignored government directives from Trevor Mallard, the then SOE minister.

David Parker put Don Elder in his place and called his bluff at the annual power conference in Auckland and Chris Trotter wrote an article on Labour and the Save Happy Valley campaign against a mine getting the go ahead in the Waimangaroa Valley. All in all Labour seems to have an unclear position when it comes to climate change and coal, an unclear position on its commitment to emissions reductions, what an appropriate target should be and what value it places on conservation land.

Taking a stand against the Cypress Mine going ahead in the pristine wilderness of the Waimangaroa Valley on the West Coast would be a good start for labour, if it wants to be seen as taking conservation and climate issues seriously.

A new hydro scheme has just been granted approval down from the Stockton Mine, that will both provide renewable energy and clean up some of the polluted Ngakawau River and the Acid Mine Drainage that comes from the Stockton Mine. This small hydro project is the kind of fresh thinking that could get Aotearoa moving on climate change, and also provide a just transition to a low carbon economy.

Information abour the hydro development is available here: www.hydrodevelopments.co.nz

Information about the Waimangaroa Valley and photos are available here: www.savehappyvalley.org.nz

15 comments on “Time for a Just Transition? ”

  1. Bill 1

    Labour stands where National stands, stands where Labour stand.

    Both serve business.

    They may differ only on matters that are reasonably insignificant from the perspective of business. ( Them’s the rules.)

    On all else they are the same with different spin and noise attached in order to create the illusion that meaningful degrees of divergence and difference exist. The reality is an indefatigable sameness.

    If you think that’s over calling it, then ask yourself what major changes have occurred in NZ during your lifetime? A bipartisan adoption of neo-liberalism? Business got what business wanted. You and I got the fallout.

    Is there anything of major significance on any non-business front that a NZ government has pursued/ implemented in your life time? Anything at all?

    There isn’t.

    And the reason there is nothing is that the question of the relationship between you and me and the real business of government has been settled and contained….ie the matter of us and our desires has been dealt with and contained within acceptable and non-threatening, to them, parameters.

    • Sorry Bill but Labour were far ahead of national in terms of commitment to policies to address climate change. Just look at what National did in its 100 days of action:

      1. Froze the ETS
      2. Destroyed the developing biofuels industry
      3. Reversed the ban on energy efficient lightbulbs
      4. Reversed the ban on thermal power stations.

      And since then they have kept it up. They have even forced Meridian to lose its carbon neutral status. I cannot see the logic in this. I suspect it was out of spite so that there would be no green NZ power companies.

      At least with Helen you had the aspirational promise of being carbon neutral. You will not get this under the current bunch.

      Labour did get along with business. But it did try to mould them when the national interest required this.

      • Bill 1.1.1

        The central point that both labour and national seek business orientated solutions first, foremost and last is I’d suggest a point inadvertently underscored by your comment.

        That one is slightly more moderate here or slightly less/more committed there, as you comment, is entirely beside the point.

        The ETS was/is a business orientated ‘solution’.

        Labour did not set any type of high bar there. Labour did as little as it might practically and politically get away with in the environment it was setting policy in… with nothing intended to upset business. National is doing as little as it might practically and politically get away with in the environment it is setting policy in…..with nothing intended to upset business. ( Not to say that neither party upsets business, but it’s by cock up rather than design)

        The power station ban should have stayed. But. Exported coal gets burned. So banning thermal stations isn’t an altogether honest commitment to tackling climate change.That aside, the bio-fuels and light bulbs are neither here nor there ( I can’t remember the exact figures, but it takes more energy to produce a litre of bio-fuel than the energy unleashed by its use and we could ban light bulbs altogether and we’d still have the same extent of climate change.)

        Anyway, for a wider perspective, rather than simply comparing Labour with National you might look to the ALBA Declaration on Copenhagen to see where democratic governments could and can go when they are not merely toddling along hand in glove ( or is it white cane and blind bitch?) with business and it’s interests.

  2. burt 2

    guest

    You start

    With so much attention on climate change, and such a lack of concern, urgency and commitment to action from the current Tory government…

    OK, I think, another ill informed “National bad” fruit loop having a rant.

    You then go on to detail Labour’s lack of concern and commitment with this;

    All in all Labour seems to have an unclear position when it comes to climate change and coal, an unclear position on its commitment to emissions reductions, what an appropriate target should be and what value it places on conservation land.

    Then you finish up with this;

    A new hydro scheme has just been granted approval down from the Stockton Mine…

    Fail, I wouldn’t put my name to a shonky piece of spin like that either.

  3. burt – how is saying a hydro scheme on the West Coast got approval spin?

    Spin:
    In public relations, spin is a form of propaganda, achieved through providing an interpretation of an event or campaign to persuade public opinion in favor or against a certain organization or public figure. While traditional public relations may also rely on creative presentation of the facts, “spin” often, though not always, implies disingenuous, deceptive and/or highly manipulative tactics.

    Politicians are often accused by their opponents of claiming to be honest and seek the truth while using spin tactics to manipulate public opinion.

    Because of the frequent association between “spin” and press conferences (especially government press conferences), the room in which these take place is sometimes described as a spin room.

    A group of people who develop spin may be referred to as “spin doctors” who engage in “spin doctoring” for the person or group that hired them.

    • burt 3.1

      greenie

      The approval of the hydro scheme is not BS spin, having that as an ending to a rant that started “such a lack of concern, urgency and commitment to action from the current Tory government”. was the call out I made. Do keep up.

  4. Are you saying National has a good environmental/action on climate change record?

  5. Whats has labour achieved when it comes to outcomes on addressing climate change? and what has national achieved when it comes to results?

    It seems NZ needs more renewable energy, needs to reduce transport emission and have a type of farming that is less intensive. The outcry about factory farming ‘cow cubicles’ has been huge, including even Fonterra saying it is a bad look.

    Is sending vast amounts of coal to China and India a wise move ? is Burn More Coal! really the message NZ wants to be sending to the developing world? Tim Groser supports coal being sent to China, yet says he wants it to reduce emissions…

    (random fact: In 2005, almost 6,000 miners lost their lives down Chinese coal mines.
    article on china and coal- http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2009-08/10/content_8548125.htm)

    Where Labour to convince NZ it had what it takes to tackle climate change what would it do?

  6. Definitely siding with Greenie on this one.

    If anything this blog post is a good sign when the standard points out labour’s short falls, rather than maintain the national=bad, labour=good, paradigm. I’m looking forward to the labour party drafting some decent policy on climate change(with their ETS being almost as useless as National’s) in their time as opposition.

    Hopefully the labour party will come to understand that what is needed is a party with ideas very different to the current government(Who knows if that happens they might be viewed as an alternative to National, rather than identical, which means they might even get some votes). National’s inaction on climate change will only get us more derisive articles in the Guardian damaging our international reputation.

    I’m glad this Guest post covered labour’s failings in the area of climate change, if more of this were to happen they might start forming some decent policy.

    • Bill 6.1

      I’m glad this Guest post covered labour’s failings in the area of climate change, if more of this were to happen they might start forming some decent policy.

      That’s a nice thought, but mere mention or talk of Labour’s failings or shortcomings on climate change, will not in itself, translate into more robust climate change policy for the reasons I mentioned here. ( link busted….comment at top of thread)

      Unfortunately governments and parties react only when pressure from below is applied to the extent that their risk analysis shows that they (the party or government) will suffer more by doing nothing than they will if they cede to the demands being made.

      I’m afraid that on their own, rational or intelligent argument counts for nought in a world of power grabs.

      If we want any government in NZ to instigate serious climate change policies, we need to organise and shake up their comfort zone.

      • Draco T Bastard 6.1.1

        Well, their comfort zone is going to be shaken no matter what happens. The choice they have is being ready for it (ie, making the necessary plans for climate change) or having it totally destroy society. These are our choices as well – we either get off our fat arse and tell the politicians to do the right thing or we’re going to feel the pain.

        So far, both major parties are listening to business and not the people or the scientists. Unfortunately, a lot of the people aren’t listening to the scientists either.

        • Bill 6.1.1.1

          Don’t want to sound like I’m just banging on the same old point, but to simply ‘tell’ politicians what to do will achieve absolutely nothing. They have to be made to do what they are being told to do!

          The compulsion for them is a realisation that their position, if maintained is untenable. The problem we have in NZ is that all main parties are more or less on the same page with regards to major issues, therefore ballot box threats have no effect….they can fart about on peripheral issues to ‘mark’ their territory or distance from one another.

          Meanwhile, nothing changes.

          And I get your point about the climate blowing comfort zones this way and that anyway. But I’d far rather live in a world with growing seasons and what have you, than in a world of atmospheric chaos and a hopeless dose of self righteous ‘told you so’ ness.

          Which means that the anti must be upped on all political parties. And the actions of you and me are what is going to up the anti. Or not. Our choice to follow conviction and get right fucking angry and be uncontainable and uncompromising with our demands….. or sit down, shut up and ride on down all quiet like.

  7. The Marsden B coal power station was stopped by action and campaigning.

    If Labour and National want to continue as is, then answers will come from elsewhere – it will take direct action to change things. Nick Smith has said he supports coal mining, despite pre election saying it is the dirtiest fossil fuel, and a key source of emissions. Labour have said they do not support new coal fired power stations being build in NZ, yet they support NZ coal being exported to Australia and China etc for it to be burnt there.

    The next climate conference is in Mexico, following the failure of the Copenhagen climate conference in Denmark. If you have had enough of Tim Groser and John Keys empty rhetoric and excuses, get involved with actions and projects that will make things happen.

    This year the first Camp for Climate Action Aotearoa was held in Wellington. http://www.climatecamp.org.nz here are some images from the camp

    NZ stock exchange disrupted following failure at Copenhagen
    http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0912/S00268.htm – press release

    Climate Activists Blockade NZ Stock Exchange
    http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0912/S00188.htm

    Climate Change Demonstration Outside MFAT – images:
    http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0912/S00187.htm

    Climate Camp Aotearoa video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtKtvH2vOyo&feature=player_embedded

  8. more about climate camps:

    There have been at least 19 Climate Camps being held across the world in 2009; each situated at a different target; each making the link between local struggles for environmental justice with the global imperative of climate change.

    This year Climate Camps have been popping up at coal mines, coal fired power stations, an airport in France, a nuclear reactor in Lapland, the European Carbon Exchange in London and more.

    NZ’s Climate Camp hosted workshops on everything from sustainable energy use and direct action, to community gardening and internet hacking. The final day culminated in a Day of Action, where people take real action against the root causes of climate change.

    Climate Camp Aotearoa

    Sustainable Living Tips: the camp is an example of a sustainable temporary eco village using a horizontal organising structure. Yes – that means you make all the decisions at climate camp.

    Education: heaps of free workshops

    Direct Action: focusing on False Solutions to Climate Change

    Movement Building: the beginings of a peoples Climate Justice Movement in Aotearoa

  9. Press release from Straterra, Coal and fossil fuel lobby,
    Straterra… ‘aims to provide a united voice for companies working in the oil, gas, aggregates, minerals, metals and coal industries.’ (different to Greenhouse Policy Coalition, Major Energy Users Group and other similar lobbies).

    Time for reason, not rhetoric

    Tuesday, 15 December 2009, 12:10 pm
    Press Release: Straterra

    Media Release for immediate release

    15 December 2009

    Time for reason, not rhetoric

    The Copenhagen climate change summit should not be used for scoring cheap political points, as the Green Party has attempted to do this week, says Straterra Chief Executive Richard Michael.

    “This is not the time for emotional rhetoric,’ he said, responding to a media release issued by the Green Party that criticised a proposed new Solid Energy lignite processing plant in Southland and the Port of Lyttleton plans to double its coal stockyard to meet rising export demands. The release was headlined “Government commits to coal rather than Copenhagen’.

    Results powered by search.scoop.co.nz More Related Stories >>>

    “Yes, we need to innovate in terms of our natural resources use, and the sector is committed to doing so. But without a sound economic base that provides a platform for growth New Zealand cannot achieve its potential domestically and globally,’ said Mr Michael.

    Otago and Southland have up to 15 billion tonnes of lignite reserves. Even at its lowest value end-use, as a direct fuel for primary processing in the dairy, meat and other sectors, the total value of this resource at today’s prices is up to $500 billion. Converting lignite to higher value products such as transport fuels, fertilizers or other chemicals could increase the end value of this resource tenfold. At the same time it could insulate New Zealand’s economy from rising long-term global prices for all these products and create the equivalent of a new export industry worth up to $5 billion per year or more.

    “We need to balance environmental needs and economic growth and we believe the Government is striving to do just that,’ said Mr Michael.

    With world demand for steel exploding major producers such as India and China had a vociferous appetite for coal needed for production.

    “The world needs steel, and steel production needs coal. We have the ability to unlock the potential beneath our land while achieving maximum benefits for the economy with a minimum environmental footprint.’

    About Straterra

    Straterra, which was launched in September 2008, aims to provide a united voice for companies working in the oil, gas, aggregates, minerals, metals and coal industries. The sector has annual revenues exceeding four billion dollars and exports of around two billion dollars. Independent studies demonstrate the potential to double these revenues and provide much needed employment in the New Zealand economy.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • And I don't want the world to see us.
    Is this the most shambolic government in the history of New Zealand? Given that parliament hasn’t even opened they’ve managed quite a list of achievements to date.The Smokefree debacle trading lives for tax cuts, the Trumpian claims of bribery in the Media, an International award for indifference, and today the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 hours ago
  • Cooking the books
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis late yesterday stopped only slightly short of accusing her predecessor Grant Robertson of cooking the books. She complained that the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU), due to be made public on December 20, would show “fiscal cliffs” that would amount to “billions of ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 hours ago
  • Most people don’t realize how much progress we’ve made on climate change
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The year was 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ with Bruno Mars was at the top of the music charts. Jurassic World was the most popular new movie in theaters. And decades of futility in international climate negotiations was about to come to an end in ...
    13 hours ago
  • Of Parliamentary Oaths and Clive Boonham
    As a heads-up, I am not one of those people who stay awake at night thinking about weird Culture War nonsense. At least so far as the current Maori/Constitutional arrangements go. In fact, I actually consider it the least important issue facing the day to day lives of New ...
    14 hours ago
  • Bearing True Allegiance?
    Strong Words: “We do not consent, we do not surrender, we do not cede, we do not submit; we, the indigenous, are rising. We do not buy into the colonial fictions this House is built upon. Te Pāti Māori pledges allegiance to our mokopuna, our whenua, and Te Tiriti o ...
    17 hours ago
  • You cannot be serious
    Some days it feels like the only thing to say is: Seriously? No, really. Seriously?OneSomeone has used their health department access to share data about vaccinations and patients, and inform the world that New Zealanders have been dying in their hundreds of thousands from the evil vaccine. This of course is pure ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    17 hours ago
  • A promise kept: govt pulls the plug on Lake Onslow scheme – but this saving of $16bn is denounced...
    Buzz from the Beehive After $21.8 million was spent on investigations, the plug has been pulled on the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro electricity scheme, The scheme –  that technically could have solved New Zealand’s looming energy shortage, according to its champions – was a key part of the defeated Labour government’s ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    17 hours ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER: The Maori Party and Oath of Allegiance
    If those elected to the Māori Seats refuse to take them, then what possible reason could the country have for retaining them?   Chris Trotter writes – Christmas is fast approaching, which, as it does every year, means gearing up for an abstruse general knowledge question. “Who was ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    19 hours ago
  • BRIAN EASTON:  Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies. Brian Easton writes The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    21 hours ago
  • Climate Change: Fossils
    When the new government promised to allow new offshore oil and gas exploration, they were warned that there would be international criticism and reputational damage. Naturally, they arrogantly denied any possibility that that would happen. And then they finally turned up at COP, to criticism from Palau, and a "fossil ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    21 hours ago
  • GEOFFREY MILLER:  NZ’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    Geoffrey Miller writes – New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    22 hours ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the government’s smokefree laws debacle
    The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out – for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable ...
    22 hours ago
  • Top 10 links at 10 am for Monday, December 4
    As Deb Te Kawa writes in an op-ed, the new Government seems to have immediately bought itself fights with just about everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Monday December 4, including:Palau’s President ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    23 hours ago
  • Be Honest.
    Let’s begin today by thinking about job interviews.During my career in Software Development I must have interviewed hundreds of people, hired at least a hundred, but few stick in the memory.I remember one guy who was so laid back he was practically horizontal, leaning back in his chair until his ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    24 hours ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    1 day ago
  • Auckland rail tunnel the world’s most expensive
    Auckland’s city rail link is the most expensive rail project in the world per km, and the CRL boss has described the cost of infrastructure construction in Aotearoa as a crisis. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The 3.5 km City Rail Link (CRL) tunnel under Auckland’s CBD has cost ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • First big test coming
    The first big test of the new Government’s approach to Treaty matters is likely to be seen in the return of the Resource Management Act. RMA Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed that he intends to introduce legislation to repeal Labour’s recently passed Natural and Built Environments Act and its ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • The Song of Saqua: Volume III
    Time to revisit something I haven’t covered in a while: the D&D campaign, with Saqua the aquatic half-vampire. Last seen in July: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/07/27/the-song-of-saqua-volume-ii/ The delay is understandable, once one realises that the interim saw our DM come down with a life-threatening medical situation. They have since survived to make ...
    1 day ago
  • Chris Bishop: Smokin’
    Yes. Correct. It was an election result. And now we are the elected government. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    2 days ago
  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #48
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 26, 2023 thru Dec 2, 2023. Story of the Week CO2 readings from Mauna Loa show failure to combat climate change Daily atmospheric carbon dioxide data from Hawaiian volcano more ...
    2 days ago
  • Affirmative Action.
    Affirmative Action was a key theme at this election, although I don’t recall anyone using those particular words during the campaign.They’re positive words, and the way the topic was talked about was anything but. It certainly wasn’t a campaign of saying that Affirmative Action was a good thing, but that, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • 100 days of something
    It was at the end of the Foxton straights, at the end of 1978, at 100km/h, that someone tried to grab me from behind on my Yamaha.They seemed to be yanking my backpack. My first thought was outrage. My second was: but how? Where have they come from? And my ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Look who’s stepped up to champion Winston
    There’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today  – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • What's The Story?
    Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • The longest of weeks
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Suggested sessions of EGU24 to submit abstracts to
    Like earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...
    3 days ago
  • Under New Management
    1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. Under New Management 2. Which of these best describes the 100 days of action announced this week by the new government?a. Petulantb. Simplistic and wrongheaded c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • While we wait patiently, our new Minister of Education is up and going with a 100-day action plan
    Sorry to say, the government’s official website is still out of action. When Point of Order paid its daily visit, the message was the same as it has been for the past week: Site under maintenance Beehive.govt.nz is currently under maintenance. We will be back shortly. Thank you for your ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • DAVID FARRAR: Hysterical bullshit
    Radio NZ reports: Te Pāti Māori’s co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has accused the new government of “deliberate .. systemic genocide” over its policies to roll back the smokefree policy and the Māori Health Authority. The left love hysterical language. If you oppose racial quotas in laws, you are a racist. And now if you sack ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #48 2023
    Open access notables From this week's government/NGO section, longitudinal data is gold and Leisorowitz, Maibachi et al. continue to mine ore from the US public with Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy, Fall 2023: Drawing on a representative sample of the U.S. adult population, the authors describe how registered ...
    4 days ago
  • ELE LUDEMANN: It wasn’t just $55 million
    Ele Ludemann writes –  Winston Peters reckons media outlets were bribed by the $55 million Public Interest Journalism Fund. He is not the first to make such an accusation. Last year, the Platform outlined conditions media signed up to in return for funds from the PJIF: . . . ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 1-December-2023
    Wow, it’s December already, and it’s a Friday. So here are few things that caught our attention recently. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt covered the new government’s coalition agreements and what they mean for transport. On Tuesday Matt looked at AT’s plans for fare increases ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • Shane MacGowan Is Gone.
    Late 1996, The Dogs Bollix, Tamaki Makaurau.I’m at the front of the bar yelling my order to the bartender, jostling with other thirsty punters on a Friday night, keen to piss their wages up against a wall letting loose. The black stuff, long luscious pints of creamy goodness. Back down ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Dec 1
    Nicola Willis, Chris Bishop and other National, ACT and NZ First MPs applaud the signing of the coalition agreements, which included the reversal of anti-smoking measures while accelerating tax cuts for landlords. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • 2023 More Reading: November (+ Writing Update)
    Completed reads for November: A Modern Utopia, by H.G. Wells The Vampire (poem), by Heinrich August Ossenfelder The Corpus Hermeticum The Corpus Hermeticum is Mead’s translation. Now, this is indeed a very quiet month for reading. But there is a reason for that… You see, ...
    4 days ago
  • Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies.The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. They also describe the processes of the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    5 days ago
  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • Finally
    Henry Kissinger is finally dead. Good fucking riddance. While Americans loved him, he was a war criminal, responsible for most of the atrocities of the final quarter of the twentieth century. Cambodia. Bangladesh. Chile. East Timor. All Kissinger. Because of these crimes, Americans revere him as a "statesman" (which says ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Government in a hurry – Luxon lists 49 priorities in 100-day plan while Peters pledges to strength...
    Buzz from the Beehive Yes, ministers in the new government are delivering speeches and releasing press statements. But the message on the government’s official website was the same as it has been for the past several days, when Point of Order went looking for news from the Beehive that had ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • DAVID FARRAR: Luxon is absolutely right
    David Farrar writes  –  1 News reports: Christopher Luxon says he was told by some Kiwis on the campaign trail they “didn’t know” the difference between Waka Kotahi, Te Pūkenga and Te Whatu Ora. Speaking to Breakfast, the incoming prime minister said having English first on government agencies will “make sure” ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Top 10 at 10 am for Thursday, Nov 30
    There are fears that mooted changes to building consent liability could end up driving the building industry into an uninsured hole. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Thursday, November 30, including:The new Government’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on how climate change threatens cricket‘s future
    Well that didn’t last long, did it? Mere days after taking on what he called the “awesome responsibility” of being Prime Minister, M Christopher Luxon has started blaming everyone else, and complaining that he has inherited “economic vandalism on an unprecedented scale” – which is how most of us are ...
    5 days ago
  • We need to talk about Tory.
    The first I knew of the news about Tory Whanau was when a tweet came up in my feed.The sort of tweet that makes you question humanity, or at least why you bother with Twitter. Which is increasingly a cesspit of vile inhabitants who lurk spreading negativity, hate, and every ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Dangling Transport Solutions
    Cable Cars, Gondolas, Ropeways and Aerial Trams are all names for essentially the same technology and the world’s biggest maker of them are here to sell them as an public transport solution. Stuff reports: Austrian cable car company Doppelmayr has launched its case for adding aerial cable cars to New ...
    5 days ago
  • November AMA
    Hi,It’s been awhile since I’ve done an Ask-Me-Anything on here, so today’s the day. Ask anything you like in the comments section, and I’ll be checking in today and tomorrow to answer.Leave a commentNext week I’ll be giving away a bunch of these Mister Organ blu-rays for readers in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • National’s early moves adding to cost of living pressure
    The cost of living grind continues, and the economic and inflation honeymoon is over before it began. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: PM Christopher Luxon unveiled his 100 day plan yesterday with an avowed focus of reducing cost-of-living pressures, but his Government’s initial moves and promises are actually elevating ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Backwards to the future
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has confirmed that it will be back to the future on planning legislation. This will be just one of a number of moves which will see the new government go backwards as it repeals and cost-cuts its way into power. They will completely repeal one ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • New initiatives in science and technology could point the way ahead for Luxon government
    As the new government settles into the Beehive, expectations are high that it can sort out some  of  the  economic issues  confronting  New Zealand. It may take time for some new  ministers to get to grips with the range of their portfolio work and responsibilities before they can launch the  changes that  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    6 days ago
  • Treaty pledge to secure funding is contentious – but is Peters being pursued by a lynch mob after ...
    TV3 political editor Jenna Lynch was among the corps of political reporters who bridled, when Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters told them what he thinks of them (which is not much). She was unabashed about letting her audience know she had bridled. More usefully, she drew attention to something which ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • How long does this last?
    I have a clear memory of every election since 1969 in this plucky little nation of ours. I swear I cannot recall a single one where the question being asked repeatedly in the first week of the new government was: how long do you reckon they’ll last? And that includes all ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • National’s giveaway politics
    We already know that national plans to boost smoking rates to collect more tobacco tax so they can give huge tax-cuts to mega-landlords. But this morning that policy got even more obscene - because it turns out that the tax cut is retrospective: Residential landlords will be able to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER: Who’s driving the right-wing bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In 2023, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • GRAHAM ADAMS:  Media knives flashing for Luxon’s government
    The fear and loathing among legacy journalists is astonishing Graham Adams writes – No one is going to die wondering how some of the nation’s most influential journalists personally view the new National-led government. It has become abundantly clear within a few days of the coalition agreements ...
    Point of OrderBy gadams1000
    6 days ago
  • Top 10 news links for Wednesday, Nov 29
    TL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere for Wednesday November 29, including:The early return of interest deductibility for landlords could see rebates paid on previous taxes and the cost increase to $3 billion from National’s initial estimate of $2.1 billion, CTU Economist Craig Renney estimated here last ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Smokefree Fallout and a High Profile Resignation.
    The day after being sworn in the new cabinet met yesterday, to enjoy their honeymoon phase. You remember, that period after a new government takes power where the country, and the media, are optimistic about them, because they haven’t had a chance to stuff anything about yet.Sadly the nuptials complete ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • As Cabinet revs up, building plans go on hold
    Wellington Council hoardings proclaim its preparations for population growth, but around the country councils are putting things on hold in the absence of clear funding pathways for infrastructure, and despite exploding migrant numbers. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Cabinet meets in earnest today to consider the new Government’s 100-day ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • National takes over infrastructure
    Though New Zealand First may have had ambitions to run the infrastructure portfolios, National would seem to have ended up firmly in control of them.  POLITIK has obtained a private memo to members of Infrastructure NZ yesterday, which shows that the peak organisation for infrastructure sees  National MPs Chris ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • At a glance – Evidence for global warming
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    7 days ago
  • Who’s Driving The Right-Wing Bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In ...
    7 days ago
  • Sanity break
    Cheers to reader Deane for this quote from Breakfast TV today:Chloe Swarbrick to Brook van Velden re the coalition agreement: “... an unhinged grab-bag of hot takes from your drunk uncle at Christmas”Cheers also to actual Prime Minister of a country Christopher Luxon for dorking up his swearing-in vows.But that's enough ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago
  • Sanity break
    Cheers to reader Deane for this quote from Breakfast TV today:Chloe Swarbrick to Brook van Velden re the coalition agreement: “... an unhinged grab-bag of hot takes from your drunk uncle at Christmas”Cheers also to actual Prime Minister of a country Christopher Luxon for dorking up his swearing-in vows.But that's enough ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    7 days ago
  • National’s murderous smoking policy
    One of the big underlying problems in our political system is the prevalence of short-term thinking, most usually seen in the periodic massive infrastructure failures at a local government level caused by them skimping on maintenance to Keep Rates Low. But the new government has given us a new example, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago
  • NZ has a chance to rise again as our new government gets spending under control
    New Zealand has  a chance  to  rise  again. Under the  previous  government, the  number of New Zealanders below the poverty line was increasing  year by year. The Luxon-led government  must reverse that trend – and set about stabilising  the  pillars  of the economy. After the  mismanagement  of the outgoing government created   huge ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    7 days ago
  • KARL DU FRESNE: Media and the new government
    Two articles by Karl du Fresne bring media coverage of the new government into considerations.  He writes –    Tuesday, November 28, 2023 The left-wing media needed a line of attack, and they found one The left-wing media pack wasted no time identifying the new government’s weakest point. Seething over ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago
  • PHILIP CRUMP:  Team of rivals – a CEO approach to government leadership
    The work begins Philip Crump wrote this article ahead of the new government being sworn in yesterday – Later today the new National-led coalition government will be sworn in, and the hard work begins. At the core of government will be three men – each a leader ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago
  • Black Friday
    As everyone who watches television or is on the mailing list for any of our major stores will confirm, “Black Friday” has become the longest running commercial extravaganza and celebration in our history. Although its origins are obscure (presumably dreamt up by American salesmen a few years ago), it has ...
    Bryan GouldBy Bryan Gould
    7 days ago
  • In Defense of the Media.
    Yesterday the Ministers in the next government were sworn in by our Governor General. A day of tradition and ceremony, of decorum and respect. Usually.But yesterday Winston Peters, the incoming Deputy Prime Minister, and Foreign Minister, of our nation used it, as he did with the signing of the coalition ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago
  • Top 10 news links at 10 am for Tuesday, Nov 28
    Nicola Willis’ first move was ‘spilling the tea’ on what she called the ‘sobering’ state of the nation’s books, but she had better be able to back that up in the HYEFU. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere at 10 am ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago
  • PT use up but fare increases coming
    Yesterday Auckland Transport were celebrating, as the most recent Sunday was the busiest Sunday they’ve ever had. That’s a great outcome and I’m sure the ...
    1 week ago
  • The very opposite of social investment
    Nicola Willis (in blue) at the signing of the coalition agreement, before being sworn in as both Finance Minister and Social Investment Minister. National’s plan to unwind anti-smoking measures will benefit her in the first role, but how does it stack up from a social investment viewpoint? Photo: Lynn Grieveson ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Giving Tuesday
    For the first time "in history" we decided to jump on the "Giving Tuesday" bandwagon in order to make you aware of the options you have to contribute to our work! Projects supported by Skeptical Science Inc. Skeptical Science Skeptical Science is an all-volunteer organization but ...
    1 week ago
  • Let's open the books with Nicotine Willis
    Let’s say it’s 1984,and there's a dreary little nation at the bottom of the Pacific whose name rhymes with New Zealand,and they've just had an election.Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, will you look at the state of these books we’ve opened,cries the incoming government, will you look at all this mountain ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • Climate Change: Stopping oil
    National is promising to bring back offshore oil and gas drilling. Naturally, the Greens have organised a petition campaign to try and stop them. You should sign it - every little bit helps, and as the struggle over mining conservation land showed, even National can be deterred if enough people ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Don’t accept Human Rights Commission reading of data on Treaty partnership – read the survey fin...
    Wellington is braced for a “massive impact’ from the new government’s cutting public service jobs, The Post somewhat grimly reported today. Expectations of an economic and social jolt are based on the National-Act coalition agreement to cut public service numbers in each government agency in a cost-trimming exercise  “informed by” head ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Further humanitarian support for Gaza, the West Bank and Israel
    The Government is contributing a further $5 million to support the response to urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, bringing New Zealand’s total contribution to the humanitarian response so far to $10 million. “New Zealand is deeply saddened by the loss of civilian life and the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2023-12-04T20:16:54+00:00