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Twin peaks

Written By: - Date published: 3:31 pm, April 22nd, 2008 - 50 comments
Categories: economy, Environment, International, science - Tags: , , ,

We have all heard of the peak oil crisis that is already manifesting itself in fuel prices. Now, consider peak food, the point where our ability to produce food peaks even as demand grows.

Wheat was the first plant to be domesticated, around 10,000 years ago. Our civilisations are built on the excess calories available from wheat and other domesticated grasses. We remain essentially a grain-eating species; 50% of humanity’s calorie intake is from grains.

Now, the price of grains is skyrocketing. This is not ‘food price inflation’- inflation is just a change in numbers on pieces of paper- this is the demand for humanity’s basic food sources not being met by supply. This is people rioting and starving for want of food. Why?

  • There are too many people: Every year the population of this planet grows by 75 million people. Even if that additional population was met solely by increasing calorie-intense wheat production, 20 million extra tonnes would be needed each year; production is not keeping up.
  • There is not enough fertile land: The demand for arable land is insatiable. That 20 million tonnes of wheat would require more land than all the crops grown in New Zealand each year. And the land already being used is losing its fertility, meaning more and more (less productive) land is needed. On top of this, the climate is changing. There are more droughts and storms, weather patterns are shifting, temperatures are rising, and farmlands are losing fertility.
  • There is not enough water: as the demand for food grows so does the demand for water, mostly to grow crops and water animals but also for industrial processes. A large part of the world’s fresh water supply is being sourced from underground aquifers and these are drying up, which impedes the growth of food production and makes land less fertile.
  • There is not enough oil: oil is needed throughout the food production process to power farm vehicles, for fertilisers, for transport, in mills, and in the final stage to the supermarket. There isn’t enough oil to meet demand and its price is rising, which makes food more expensive. Talk to people worried about peak oil and their post-peak planning revolves around how to grow enough food.
  • Grain is being turned into meat: in most of the world, farm animals are fed primarily on grains. Around a third of the world’s grain production is used for this purpose. Feeding an animal 100 calories results in 5-15 calories of meat for humans to eat. As demand for meat and other animal products (including dairy) grows, more grain is diverted from human consumption to animals and more calories are wasted.
  • Food is being turned into biofuel: if turning grain into milk and meat is the rich indirectly eating the poor’s food, then biofuel is the rich burning the poor’s food in their cars. Biofuel is ethanol (alcohol) made from fermenting grains. Farmers are following the dollars, perversely encouraged by government incentives, and converting from producing grain for food to grains for biofuel. And up goes the price of grain for food (and for animal feed, meaning higher dairy and meat prices).

Too many hungry mouths need grains and too much of the grain that is being produced is being diverted from those mouths, even as our ability to increase production falters. Other types of food (seafood, meat, dairy) are also facing more demand than can be supplied. As oil production peaks we are, partially as a result, facing peak food. And, as with peak oil, there is no planning at national or international level to confront a problem that is global in its causes and effects. These two, sparsely-populated, well-watered, fertile islands can feed themselves easily but the ride is going to get rougher for the world we live in and trade with.

Our civilisation is built on cheap energy: cheap energy for our machines through oil and cheap energy for our bodies through grains. In both cases, demand is still growing while supply is peaking. What awaits us on the other side of these peaks?

50 comments on “Twin peaks ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Steve Pierson 1
    22 April 2008 at 3:35 pm

    I left that last question hanging because it’s cooler rhetoric but I see two options:

    A capitalist/nation-state centric world, where the rich can afford to steal from the mouths of the poor

    Or a world of social democracy with better international integration, where we organise our production and consumption logically, sustainably, and fairly.

    This is a massive systemic problem. It cannot be saved by individuals looking out for themselves.

  2. Patrick 2
    22 April 2008 at 3:35 pm

    Key’s solution: Soylent Green.

  3. randal 3
    22 April 2008 at 3:41 pm

    thats right steve…and as the capitalists say, nobody ever guaranteed anyone a living and humanity despite its neurotic illusions of omnipotence is not immune to extinction… there ya have it dude! I-Way to ‘ell.

  4. roger nome 4
    22 April 2008 at 3:49 pm

    Steve, Steve, Steve – what are we going to do with you? You obviously haven’t been reading your Chicago school of economics gospel enough lately. You just “demand” more resources, and the magic hand goes “poof” and “supplies” them – see easy isn’t it? Just sit back, watch some motor sport, drink some more beer and everything will be just fine …

  5. higherstandard 5
    22 April 2008 at 3:49 pm

    Why do you detest the USA when they are one of if not the largest of the food donor states in the world.

    Perhaps you’d like to see socialist/communist China take over world affairs and institute their one baby per family policies throughout the world.

  6. roger nome 6
    22 April 2008 at 3:56 pm

    oh, I feel a self-righteous vegan vegetarian plug coming 🙂 What we really need is for everyone to go vegan/vegetarian. At the moment over half of our grains are consumed by animals for meat and dairy production – which only gives back about 5-10% of the calories originally consumed.

  7. r0b 7
    22 April 2008 at 3:58 pm

    What’s this – more obsessive Key bashing? Oh no – wait…

    Excellent post Steve. This is the Big Picture. And do you know, I despair sometimes, because I wonder if democracy is the right system to cope with looming disasters. A message of personal sacrifice doesn’t win many votes.

    Disclaimer – I am not proposing that we abandon democracy / elect Helen as president for life (just in case some RWNJ takes my musing above as proof of a secret left wing agenda).

    Take home message? I’d like to see Labour moving much much faster on Green issues.

  8. higherstandard 8
    22 April 2008 at 3:59 pm

    RN

    If you want to foresake a nice steak every now and again feel free. I will continue consuming the occasional steak and roast lamb.

  9. Steve Pierson 9
    22 April 2008 at 4:00 pm

    roger nome. i know, i know. And I’m such a hypocrite for not doing it but here we are.

    hs. it’s not about individual countries, and it’s certainly not ‘yay China, boo America’… this is about how we meet growing needs on a finite planet.

    captcha: Naturally concerned

  10. roger nome 10
    22 April 2008 at 4:09 pm

    “Why do you detest the USA when they are one of if not the largest of the food donor states in the world.”

    HS – where do we start? The US food aid program started back in the 60s with Public Food law 480 as a way to use excess, subsidised wheat production to create future markets for the said grain, and displace land used for indigenous food production with cheap cash crops (tobacco, coffee, etc) for domestic American consumption. Nothing altruistic about it.

    Also – the US is biggest culprit when it comes to the inefficient use of grain – i.e. pretty much all the meat is produced using grain, and they consume twice as much meat per capita as the EU.

  11. higherstandard 11
    22 April 2008 at 4:11 pm

    Steve I agree and know where you are coming from which is why I find the comment

    A captalist/national state centric world, where the rich can afford to steal from the mouths of the poor particularly emotive and unhelpful.

  12. Matthew Pilott 12
    22 April 2008 at 4:13 pm

    This feels like a game of Chicken, with the world leaders refusing to do anything (“not in our economic interests”) while no-one knows how close we really are to the cliff edge and how hard and soon we might need to hit the brakes in order to avoid going off.

    Steve – I’d make a distinction over a point – our wealth is built upon cheap energy – and it’s hard not to fault developing nations for wanting to use their equivalent share of that cheap energy.

    My my isn’t cap being clever today: $1 republicans…

  13. Steve Pierson 13
    22 April 2008 at 4:28 pm

    hs. ah. my mistake. it should read ‘capitalist/nation-state centric’. I’ve changed it.

    the problem being you’ve got 200 countries competing with each other and millions of companies competing with each other for their own self-interest and that creates a tragedy of the commons situation, when what is needed is overall resource management.

  14. barnsleybill 14
    22 April 2008 at 4:31 pm

    Firstly, current fuel prices have nothing to do with peak oil.
    Secondly, less grain is being grown. Why? because of the climate change nutters forcing the US farmers (amongst others) to switch to growing corn via massive subsidies. A fuel that is far worse for the environment and very bad for starving african babies.
    Oh, the comment about Soylent green was gold. Perhaps it’s time has come.
    Personally I would process all the vegetarians and vegans first.

  15. slightlyrighty 15
    22 April 2008 at 4:34 pm

    This situation is not being helped by Labour initiatives. Take for example the policy of 10% biofuel. Biofuel is IMHO the biggest con job in history with the potential to be one of the greatest evils in history.

    The conversion of arable land from food crops to crops to run internal combustion engines while the third world riots over food is fundamntally evil.

    The problem is not fossil fuels, the problem is the internal combustion engine.

    Personally, I’d like to see more deveopment in this direction
    http://www.geekzone.co.nz/Jama/3160
    leaving arable land for things like growing food, not fuel.

    I’ll leave now and let you guys launch with a number of “small penis” comments.

  16. Scribe 16
    22 April 2008 at 4:36 pm

    The Labour-led Government signed up to the Millennium Development Goals several years ago but have done VERY little to work towards their promised target of 0.7% of gross national income going to overseas development assistance by 2015.

    After constant nagging from aid and development agencies there are now some intermediate targets, but if we’re going to point fingers, the Government benches are a place to start.

    National probably would not have done any better, but they weren’t the ones who made the commitment. And you would have expected Labour to be interested in this initiative.

  17. Steve Pierson 17
    22 April 2008 at 4:39 pm

    “Firstly, current fuel prices have nothing to do with peak oil.”

    well if barnsleybill says it true, I guess there’ nothing to worry about. phew.

    That said, I agree about biofuel from grain being a shitty idea, and it’s attracted a lot of criticism from the environmental movement right from the start. It only really got going because Bush gave huge subsidies to producers, thereby winning himself votes in crucial grain-porducing states.

    Ironically, the first leader to speak out against it was Fidel Castro – in pretty much the same terms we’re using here: the rich turning the poor’s food into their car’s fuel. I seem to remember he got mocked.

  18. Robinsod 18
    22 April 2008 at 4:43 pm

    I actually agree with you about biofuel, SR but not on electrical individual transport. I’m a motorhead myself but I can’t get past the argument that it is simply unsustainable. Especially in light of the fact that so much energy is used just to build cars (by some estimates 80% of the energy used over an average car’s life). I’m afraid that taking the electric train is going to become a way of life for most Kiwis.

    I know the right don’t like that idea (probably something to do with their phobia of society) but I don’t think it’s too bad. In fact I’m quite looking forward to the inevitable slow-down.

  19. roger nome 19
    22 April 2008 at 4:43 pm

    Agree with your last post steve. What we need is government which is strong enough to stand up to selfish rich interest groups who have no interest in the efficient use of the world’s finite resources – we need to create incentives to use scarce and precious resources efficiently, and disincentives for using them inefficiently. Sadly however, the right will fight that tooth and nail because the cling to 19th century economically liberailst notions which have an inherently short-term “me, me, me” focus.

  20. Matthew Pilott 20
    22 April 2008 at 4:45 pm

    Biofuel, if managed correctly, could significantly reduce global greenhouse gas problems. For this to work, you need to believe greenhouse gasses are a major problem, one that takes precedence over pretty much all others, and understand the carbon cycle (natural and unnatural). It’s a short term fix while alternatives are implemented – or at least it should be.

    NZ easily has the potential to internalise all our biofuel production. The capitalist system has managed to stop the third world from getting food for near on half a decade at least, so it’s a bit rich to blame it on biofuels!

    slightlyrighty, the problem is not the internal combustion engine – I don’t have a reference handy, but I think that transport emissions account for less than 10% of the golbal greenhouse gas output. Energy production is far worse. As at 1990, the Russian Federation’s electricity generation accounted for 2% of global emmissions – a truly staggering amount.

    I’d like to see a lot more work thrown at hydrogen fuel cell technology as it can tackle both transport and electricity generation – a genuine ‘two birds with one stone’ solution.

  21. roger nome 21
    22 April 2008 at 4:45 pm

    “Why? because of the climate change nutters forcing the US farmers (amongst others) to switch to growing corn via massive subsidies.”

    Think you’ll find that’s actually the US corn industry Bill – go to “the oil drum” blog for more details

  22. Scribe 22
    22 April 2008 at 4:49 pm

    roger,

    What we need is government which is strong enough to stand up to selfish rich interest groups who have no interest in the efficient use of the world’s finite resources – we need to create incentives to use scarce and precious resources efficiently, and disincentives for using them inefficiently. Sadly however, the right will fight that tooth and nail because the cling to 19th century economically liberailst notions which have an inherently short-term “me, me, me’ focus.

    The irony is that this left government has seen emissions jump drastically under its watch, yet you’re suggesting the right are going to be the problem.

    Nice try though, fella.

    It’ll be interesting watching Labour toot its horn over its climate change policies despite the evidence that it’s been an abject failure on that score.

  23. Rocket Boy 23
    22 April 2008 at 4:51 pm

    Steve this issue is a 3rd world problem largely due to over population. In the 1st world populations are mostly just replacing themselves or with a declining birth rate actually going backwards. The only thing stopping most 1st world countries populations actually falling is immigration.

    It is a different story in Asia and Africa with rapidly increasing populations. With China one of the few countries actually doing something about this problem.

    If you are serious about finding the solution to the issues you raise maybe you could suggest how places like India and Africa are going to control there populations rather than suggest it is the greedy 1st world stealing from the poor or the fact that most of us eat meat.

  24. Robinsod 24
    22 April 2008 at 4:54 pm

    Oh yes Rocket Boy – they should take people in hand for breeding too much. As China does. Are you a pinko Rocket boy?

  25. Rocket Boy 25
    22 April 2008 at 4:59 pm

    What’s a ‘pinko’ Robinsod? Someone who has been out in the sun too long?

  26. r0b 26
    22 April 2008 at 5:03 pm

    It’ll be interesting watching Labour toot its horn over its climate change policies despite the evidence that it’s been an abject failure on that score.

    I agree that Labour is moving far too slowly on climate change. But at least they are moving. I see no evidence to suggest that National would move any faster. In fact what I see is evidence that National would dearly love to stop, stick it’s head in the sand, and repeat “not our problem, not our problem, not our problem” until drowned by the rising seas.

    I repeat – democracy is not well suited to addressing the looming crises. Within the democratic framework the only way I can see to really address these issues (peak oil, peak food, climate change) is a truly binding multi-partisan process. Take it off the table as a political issue. Get an all party working group (based on sound scientific advice) to work out what needs to be done. Do it. No politics.

    In my dreams eh?

  27. slightlyrighty 27
    22 April 2008 at 5:04 pm

    What do you think of the Policy announced by Key today, to invest up to 1.5 billion to roll out fibre-optic cable nationwide by 2014. Virtual meetings and telecommuting would also cut down on fossil fuel consumption would it not?

  28. higherstandard 28
    22 April 2008 at 5:07 pm

    rOB

    In my dreams eh

    Sadly yes – case in point the UN.

  29. Matthew Pilott 29
    22 April 2008 at 5:08 pm

    Rocket Boy – a one (simplistic) sentence explanation:

    People breed more when they are poor because it is considered a sign of security to have many children, thus the developed world’s deprivation of the developing world is to blame for population growth; it is not a ‘third world problem’ because the developing world accounts for a miniscule proportion of historical global greenhouse gasses which are the cause of current food shortages…

    slightlyrighty – it sure would, maybe 0.0002% in the forseeable future. As said – it’s energy production, not transport.

    r0b – National enthusically received the ‘fast follower’ recommendation, did they not?

    While I wish the issue could be de-politicised, while politics continues to have some influence on the matter this cannot occur.

  30. roger nome 30
    22 April 2008 at 5:10 pm

    “Firstly, current fuel prices have nothing to do with peak oil.”

    Bill – non-opec production is going to peak around 2010 – no experts doubt that. OPEC is a cartel and wants top dollar for its non-renewable resource. So we’re seeing the beginning of an artificial peek now with constrained supply, both geological and political. And of course it’s driving prices up.

  31. r0b 31
    22 April 2008 at 5:11 pm

    HS, MP – I agree – the chances of depoliticising this and taking real action are effectively nil. My only conclusion is a pretty depressing one. We get to ride the big slide, and it’s not going to be pretty.

    Please, someone, convince me that the glass is half full?

  32. higherstandard 32
    22 April 2008 at 5:14 pm

    rOb

    Don’t give up on the human race it can always surprise for the good as well as the bad

  33. roger nome 33
    22 April 2008 at 5:14 pm

    “The irony is that this left government has seen emissions jump drastically under its watch, yet you’re suggesting the right are going to be the problem.”

    This Labour government is more right-wing than any government which existed during the 60s or 70s. It’s hardly a left-wing government.

  34. Harrison 34
    22 April 2008 at 5:17 pm

    Luckily we live in a benign strategic environment, so that NZ will never feel threatened by our near (and not so near neighbours eh?)

    Anyone recall the Club of Rome report back in the 70’s?

  35. r0b 35
    22 April 2008 at 5:17 pm

    Don’t give up on the human race it can always surprise for the good as well as the bad

    On a small local scale yes. On a global scale? I’d like to hope so, and I admire your optimism, but I don’t share it.

  36. roger nome 36
    22 April 2008 at 5:18 pm

    Rocket boy:

    “Steve this issue is a 3rd world problem largely due to over population. In the 1st world populations are mostly just replacing themselves or with a declining birth rate actually going backwards.”

    It’s equally as much about the way in which resources are being used as it is about population – i.e. even if population stays stable in the US, the way in which they’re using their land is unsustainable.

  37. Edosan 37
    22 April 2008 at 7:33 pm

    A widescale shift to vegetarianism *would* solve much of the food problem plus a number of problems involving environmental degradation. Growing crops takes far less water and produces far more calories per acre (around 200 times) than raising livestock. If everyone was vegetarian the world could easily support a much larger population. Whether this is a good thing is open to debate obviously.
    I don’t think people in food scarce parts of the world need to be convinced of this, rioters in Haiti or Egypt would, I’m sure, prefer grains/beans/vegetables over…. well nothing. The problem is that more money can be made selling grains to livestock farmers who can then get more money shipping their product to the rich world. The result: less actual food available on the ground in many parts of the developing world.
    If you remove the drive for profit by (some) farmers, and improve the situation with less emphasis on the production of meat, the picture starts to look a lot better.
    As Amartya Sen said: There was never a famine in the world that was not man made.

  38. higherstandard 38
    22 April 2008 at 7:50 pm

    Edosan

    “There was never a famine in the world that was not man made.’

    Now that really is poppycock.

  39. Hillary 39
    22 April 2008 at 8:33 pm

    Perhaps climate change will create the kind of conditions required to move away from our present form of capitalism, to a more sustainable economic system that does not encourage greed and selfishness the way capitalism does. The answer is clearly not communism, but it is not capitalism either, unless it is dramatically adapted.

  40. Monty 40
    22 April 2008 at 9:54 pm

    For a hundreds years they have been talking about the world’s food production not being able to match population growth. That has turned out to be a crock. The issue never has been capability of production, but rather supply – to the areas where food is needed – the the corrupt countries of the world such as is found with too much abundance on the africian continent the food never gets to where is it needed.

    On the other hand capitalist countries that reward effort never go hungary. Farmers are incentivised to produce variou products to meet national and international demand.

    Reward for effort means farmers will grow as much as they can. And of course there are always being developed better seeds that can produce more in a wider variety of conditions. Those efforts are the result of research by big Multi-nationals. Their incentive may be profit (and I think that is a good thing) but the profit can also go (and is multiplied many times over) by the farmers who grow the product, the processing factories, the transport lines and even the consumer. T

    The problem with th eleft and socialists is that they do not have any understanding of macro-economics. Socialists are inward looking, and tend to blame everyone but the utopian societies they strive but always fail to deliver.

  41. r0b 41
    22 April 2008 at 10:18 pm

    On the other hand capitalist countries that reward effort never go hungary.

    You mean like America during the Great Depression?

  42. infused 42
    22 April 2008 at 11:29 pm

    There is no oil problem. Peak oil is a load of shit. Maybe you should read about the new oil fields being drilled at the moment. Everytime you post Steve it hurts my brain. Not because I can’t understand you, but because of how stupid you really are.

  43. r0b 43
    22 April 2008 at 11:42 pm

    Infused, your pronouncements on scientific matters shouldn’t be taken any more seriously than that which comes out of the South end of a North bound bullock.

    You know three fifths of bugger all about depleted uranium:

    Five years of hell


    and I’ll venture that you know less about peak oil.

    Go read this post here:

    Guest post: Simon Tegg on Peak Oil


    then go check out his website:
    http://simontegg.wordpress.com/
    download and read his two papers.

    Then come back to us and talk about peak oil.

  44. Ren Stimpy 44
    23 April 2008 at 12:20 am

    Someone called Malthus made a very similar claim several hundred years ago. He was, and still is, wrong.

  45. r0b 45
    23 April 2008 at 8:05 am

    Yes of course, because I have never broken my leg, my leg is therefore unbreakable.

    In short, no RS, Malthus will have the last laugh on you.

  46. Matthew Pilott 46
    23 April 2008 at 9:45 am

    Monty, your problem is that you maybe (don’t quote me here) know nothing but macroeconomics, and think that ‘the economy’ can do everything.

    Try a bit of cultural anthropology, and look at the evolution of civilised societies – where did they occur? River valleys. Why? Because people weren’t scratching a subsistance living out of the earth – they had crop surpluses. This enabled them to barter surplus food to others, who could spend their time doing non-food production tasks.

    Fast forward to now. Food doesn’t get to where it’s needed because the inhabitants of the starving areas are doing just that – starving! It’s a bit hard to get a buck making funky bookends to export to wealthy nations when you’re counting your ribs.

    Given these people can’t grow food due to massive drought, and too hungry to do a hell of a lot, and have nothing in the way of resources – you can take the planet to hell in a handbasket with your macroeconomics or learn how the real world works. What the hell this has to do with ‘the left and socialists’ is beyond me. The invisible hand doesn’t exist, or it fucked up. ‘The left and socialists’ aren’t exactly the biggest fans of your failed economic theories.

  47. Edosan 47
    23 April 2008 at 10:10 am

    Matthew: Food doesn’t get to where it’s needed because people are starving.

    Actually, people are starving because food doesn’t get to where it’s needed. I think I’ll have to defend my statement about famines above. Even a couple of years ago in Niger, during a huge famine, there was plenty of food around. The problem was that most people couldn’t afford it. In Niger, like most areas that experience famine, it is only a certain sector of society that is affected. When a large group of people (the poorest) suddenly find themselves without the ability to aquire food, famine occurs.
    It can start with a drought or other natural disaster, which initially depletes some of the supply and drives up prices, but the amount of people that starve to death doesn’t have anything to do with the amount of food left, rather their ability to afford it.
    This happens in third world countries because of the lack of social safety nets and the inneficiant way that land is used. Most crops turn into cash crops for the developed word (at the behest of the IMF), and in times of crises are not very helpful because many are inedible (i.e. coffee or tobacco).
    Yes macroeconomics plays a part. If it’s the type that western countries would like developing countries to have, it usually plays a bad part.

  48. Matthew Pilott 48
    23 April 2008 at 10:25 am

    Edosan, you are, of course right, but so am I… It’s a vicious circle – no food, no work. No work, no money. No money, no food.

  49. Draco TB 49
    23 April 2008 at 11:07 am

    Someone called Malthus made a very similar claim several hundred years ago. He was, and still is, wrong.

    No, he was just a little early.

    There is no oil problem. Peak oil is a load of shit. Maybe you should read about the new oil fields being drilled at the moment.

    New oil field discoveries peaked in the 1960s when we were finding 6 barrels of oil for every one we used. Now we using 6 for every one we find and the number we are finding is still going down. Several oil companies are spending less on oil discovery today than they were last year.

    A capitalist/nation-state centric world, where the rich can afford to steal from the mouths of the poor
    You mean what’s been happening for the last several centuries then ie, more of the same.

    James lovelock The person who put forward the Gaia hypothesis that all climatology is now based upon. He says we live in interesting times.

    My own take on the matter is that all these things (Peak Oil, Peak Food, Climate Change) will combine into a ‘perfect storm’ sometime in the next 10 to 20 years. There’s nothing that we can do about it except to try and ride it out.

    Even if there was something we could do about it we don’t have the political will to do so either as a democracy or as a dictatorship. There are too many people so a few billion need to be got rid of (any volunteers?). Our supply of cheap energy has run its course so transport and food will become more and more limited. Those with the oil supplies will start to keep it to themselves to keep their own people happy. Peak Food – well, there just isn’t any more land available and what is growing food is losing it’s capability of doing so.

    New Zealand is one of the few countries in the world that can support it’s population but that comes with a price as well. We will have to stop others from coming in otherwise we will lose that ability.

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    After threatening Prime Minister Chris Hipkins of consequences if he dared to bar her entry, Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull has been given her visa, regardless. This will enable her to hold rallies in Auckland and Wellington this weekend, and spread her messages of hostility against an already marginalised trans community. Neo-Nazis may, ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    21 hours ago

  • BRYCE EDWARDS’ Political Roundup:  NZ needs to distance itself from Australia’s anti-China nucl...
    * Bryce Edwards writes – The New Zealand Government has been silent about Australia’s decision to commit up to $400bn acquiring nuclear submarines, even though this is a significant threat to peace and stability in the Asia Pacific. The deal was struck by the Albanese Labor Government as ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    22 hours ago

  • Wayne Brown's #Auxit moment
    Boomers voted him in, but Brown’s Trumpish moments might spook Aucklanders worried about what a change to National nationally might mean. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR: Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has become our version of Donald Trump and Boris Johnson, except without any of the insatiable appetite for media appearances. He ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    22 hours ago

  • Bryce Edwards: NZ needs to distance itself from Australia’s anti-China nuclear submarines
    The New Zealand Government has been silent about Australia’s decision to commit up to $400bn acquiring nuclear submarines, even though this is a significant threat to peace and stability in the Asia Pacific. The deal was struck by the Albanese Labor Government as part of its Aukus pact with the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    23 hours ago

  • Posie Parker vs Transgender Rights.
    Recently you might have heard of a person called Posie Parker and her visit to Aotearoa. Perhaps you’re not quite sure what it’s all about. So let’s start with who this person is, why their visit is controversial, and what on earth a TERF is.Posie Parker is the super villain ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago

  • Select Committee told slow down; you’re moving too fast
    The chair of Parliament’s Select Committee looking at the Government’s resource management legislation wants the bills sent back for more public consultation. The proposal would effectively kill any chance of the bills making it into law before the election. Green MP, Eugenie Sage, stressing that she was speaking as ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #12 2023
    Open access notables  The United States experienced some historical low temperature records during the just-concluded winter. It's a reminder that climate and weather are quite noisy; with regard to our warming climate,, as with a road ascending a mountain range we may steadily change our conditions but with lots of ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 day ago

  • What becomes of the broken hearted? Nanny State will step in to comfort them
    Buzz from the Beehive The Nanny State has scored some wins (or claimed them) in the past day or two but it faltered when it came to protecting Kiwi citizens from being savaged by one woman armed with a sharp tongue. The wins are recorded by triumphant ministers on the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • Acceptance, decency, road food.
    Sometimes you see your friends making the case so well on social media you think: just copy and share.On acceptance and decency, from Michèle A’CourtA notable thing about anti-trans people is they way they talk about transgender women and men as though they are strangers “over there” when in fact ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Climate Change: More Labour sabotage
    Not that long ago, things were looking pretty good for climate change policy in Aotearoa. We finally had an ETS, and while it was full of pork and subsidies, it was delivering high and ever-rising carbon prices, sending a clear message to polluters to clean up or shut down. And ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • Is bundling restricting electricity competition?
    Comparing (and switching) electricity providers has become easier, but bundling power up with broadband and/or gas makes it more challenging. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The Kākā TL;DR: The new Consumer Advocacy Council set up as a result of the Labour Government’s Electricity Price Review in 2019 has called on either ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Westland Milk puts heat on competitors as global dairy demand  remains softer for longer
    Hokitika-based Westland Milk Products  has  put the heat on dairy giant Fonterra with  a $120m profit turnaround in 2022, driven by record sales. Westland paid its suppliers a 10c premium above the forecast Fonterra price per kilo, contributing $535m to the West Coast and Canterbury economies. The dairy ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    2 days ago

  • BRYCE EDWARDS’ Political Roundup:  The Beehive’s revolving door and corporate mateship
    * Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealanders are uncomfortable with the high level of influence corporate lobbyists have in New Zealand politics, and demands are growing for greater regulation. A recent poll shows 62 per cent of the public support having a two-year cooling off period between ministers leaving public ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: The Beehive’s revolving door and corporate mateship
    New Zealanders are uncomfortable with the high level of influence corporate lobbyists have in New Zealand politics, and demands are growing for greater regulation. A recent poll shows 62 per cent of the public support having a two-year cooling off period between ministers leaving public office and becoming lobbyists and ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    2 days ago

  • A miracle pill for our transport ills
    This is a guest post by accessibility and sustainable transport advocate Tim Adriaansen It originally appeared here.   A friend calls you and asks for your help. They tell you that while out and about nearby, they slipped over and landed arms-first. Now their wrist is swollen, hurting like ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    2 days ago

  • The Surprising Power of Floating Wind Turbines
    Floating offshore wind turbines offer incredible opportunities to capture powerful winds far out at sea. By unlocking this wind energy potential, they could be a key weapon in our arsenal in the fight against climate change. But how developed are these climate fighting clean energy giants? And why do I ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • The next Maori challenge
    Over the past two or three weeks, a procession of Maori iwi and hapu in a series of little-noticed appearances before two Select Committees have been asking for more say for Maori over resource management decisions along the co-governance lines of Three Waters. Their submissions and appearances run counter ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago

  • Secret “war-crime” warrants by International Criminal Court is mischief-making
    The decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue war crimes arrest warrants for the Russian President and the Russia Children Ombudsman may have been welcomed by the ideologically committed but otherwise seems to have been greeted with widespread cynicism (see Situation in Ukraine: ICC judges issue arrest warrants ...
    Open ParachuteBy Ken
    3 days ago

  • How to answer Drunk Uncle Kevin's Climate Crisis reckons
    Let’s say you’re clasping your drink at a wedding, or a 40th, or a King’s Birthday Weekend family reunion and Drunk Uncle Kevin has just got going.He’s in an expansive frame of mind because we’re finally rid of that silly girl. But he wants to ask an honest question about ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • National’s Luxon may be glum about his poll ratings but has he found a winner in promising to rai...
    National Party leader Christopher Luxon may  be feeling glum about his poll ratings, but  he could be tapping  into  a rich political vein in  describing the current state of education as “alarming”. Luxon said educational achievement has been declining,  with a recent NCEA pilot exposing just how far it has ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    3 days ago

  • Climate Change: More Labour foot-dragging
    Yesterday the IPCC released the final part of its Sixth Assessment Report, warning us that we have very little time left in which to act to prevent catastrophic climate change, but pointing out that it is a problem that we can solve, with existing technology, and that anything we do ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • Te Pāti Māori Are Revolutionaries – Not Reformists.
    Way Beyond Reform: Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer have no more interest in remaining permanent members of “New Zealand’s” House of Representatives than did Lenin and Trotsky in remaining permanent members of Tsar Nicolas II’s “democratically-elected” Duma. Like the Bolsheviks, Te Pāti Māori is a party of revolutionaries – not reformists.THE CROWN ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 days ago

  • When does history become “ancient”, on Tinetti’s watch as Minister of Education – and what o...
    Buzz from the Beehive Auckland was wiped off the map, when Education Minister Jan Tinetti delivered her speech of welcome as host of the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers “here in Tāmaki Makaurau”. But – fair to say – a reference was made later in the speech to a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • Climate Catastrophe, but first rugby.
    Morning mate, how you going?Well, I was watching the news last night and they announced this scientific report on Climate Change. But before they got to it they had a story about the new All Blacks coach.Sounds like important news. It’s a bit of a worry really.Yeah, they were talking ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • What the US and European bank rescues mean for us
    Always a bailout: US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Government would fully guarantee all savers in all smaller US banks if needed. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: No wonder an entire generation of investors are used to ‘buying the dip’ and ‘holding on for dear life’. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Who will drain Wellington’s lobbying swamp?
    Wealthy vested interests have an oversized influence on political decisions in New Zealand. Partly that’s due to their use of corporate lobbyists. Fortunately, the influence lobbyists can have on decisions made by politicians is currently under scrutiny in Guyon Espiner’s in-depth series published by RNZ. Two of Espiner’s research exposés ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago

  • It’s Raining Congestion
    Yesterday afternoon it rained and traffic around the region ground to a halt, once again highlighting why it is so important that our city gets on with improving the alternatives to driving. For additional irony, this happened on the same day the IPCC synthesis report landed, putting the focus on ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    3 days ago

  • Checking The Left: The Dreadful Logic Of Fascism.
    The Beginning: Anti-Co-Governance agitator, Julian Batchelor, addresses the Dargaville stop of his travelling roadshow across New Zealand . Fascism almost always starts small. Sadly, it doesn’t always stay that way. Especially when the Left helps it to grow.THERE IS A DREADFUL LOGIC to the growth of fascism. To begin with, it ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 days ago

  • Good Friends and Terrible Food
    Hi,From an incredibly rainy day in Los Angeles, I just wanted to check in. I guess this is the day Trump may or may not end up in cuffs? I’m attempting a somewhat slower, less frenzied week. I’ve had Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s new record on non-stop, and it’s been a ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    3 days ago

  • At a glance – What evidence is there for the hockey stick?
    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 ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • Carry right on up there, Corporal Espiner
    RNZ has been shining their torch into corners where lobbyists lurk and asking such questions as: Do we like the look of this?and Is this as democratic as it could be?These are most certainly questions worth asking, and every bit as valid as, say:Are we shortchanged democratically by the way ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • This smells
    RNZ has continued its look at the role of lobbyists by taking a closer look at the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff Andrew Kirton. He used to work for liquor companies, opposing (among other things) a container refund scheme which would have required them to take responsibility for their own ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • Major issues on the table in Mahuta’s  talks in Beijing with China’s new Foreign Minister
    Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta has left for Beijing for the first ministerial visit to China since 2019. Mahuta is  to  meet China’s new foreign minister Qin Gang  where she  might have to call on all the  diplomatic skills  at  her  command. Almost certainly she  will  face  questions  on what  role ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    4 days ago

  • Inside TOP's Teal Card and political strategy
    TL;DR: The Opportunities Party’s Leader Raf Manji is hopeful the party’s new Teal Card, a type of Gold card for under 30s, will be popular with students, and not just in his Ilam electorate where students make up more than a quarter of the voters and where Manji is confident ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • Make Your Empties Go Another Round.
    When I was a kid New Zealand was actually pretty green. We didn’t really have plastic. The fruit and veges came in a cardboard box, the meat was wrapped in paper, milk came in a glass bottle, and even rubbish sacks were made of paper. Today if you sit down ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on how similar Vladimir Putin is to George W. Bush
    Looking back through the names of our Police Ministers down the years, the job has either been done by once or future party Bigfoots – Syd Holland, Richard Prebble, Juduth Collins, Chris Hipkins – or by far lesser lights like Keith Allen, Frank Gill, Ben Couch, Allen McCready, Clem Simich, ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    4 days ago

  • CHRIS TROTTER:  Te Pāti Māori’s uncompromising threat to the status quo
    Chris Trotter writes – The Crown is a fickle friend. Any political movement deemed to be colourful but inconsequential is generally permitted to go about its business unmolested. The Crown’s media, RNZ and TVNZ, may even “celebrate” its existence (presumably as proof of Democracy’s broad-minded acceptance of diversity). ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Shining a bright light on lobbyists in politics
    Four out of the five people who have held the top role of Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff since 2017 have been lobbyists. That’s a fact that should worry anyone who believes vested interests shouldn’t have a place at the centre of decision making. Chris Hipkins’ newly appointed Chief of ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago

  • Auckland Council Draft Budget – an unnecessary backwards step
    Feedback on Auckland Council’s draft 2023/24 budget closes on March 28th. You can read the consultation document here, and provide feedback here. Auckland Council is currently consulting on what is one of its most important ever Annual Plans – the ‘budget’ of what it will spend money on between July ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    4 days ago

  • Talking’ Posey Parker Blues
    by Molten Moira from Motueka If you want to be a woman let me tell you what to do Get a piece of paper and a biro tooWrite down your new identification And boom! You’re now a woman of this nationSpelled W O M A Na real trans woman that isAs opposed ...
    RedlineBy Admin
    4 days ago

  • More Māori words make it into the OED, and polytech boss (with rules on words like “students”) ...
    Buzz from the Beehive   New Zealand Education Minister Jan Tinetti is hosting the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers for three days from today, welcoming Education Ministers and senior officials from 18 Pacific Island countries and territories, and from Australia. Here’s hoping they have brought translators with them – or ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • Social intercourse with haters and Nazis: an etiquette guide
    Let’s say you’ve come all the way from His Majesty’s United Kingdom to share with the folk of Australia and New Zealand your antipathy towards certain other human beings. And let’s say you call yourself a women’s rights activist.And let’s say 99 out of 100 people who listen to you ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • The Greens, Labour, and coalition enforcement
    James Shaw gave the Green party's annual "state of the planet" address over the weekend, in which he expressed frustration with Labour for not doing enough on climate change. His solution is to elect more Green MPs, so they have more power within any government arrangement, and can hold Labour ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • This sounds familiar…
    RNZ this morning has the first story another investigative series by Guyon Espiner, this time into political lobbying. The first story focuses on lobbying by government agencies, specifically transpower, Pharmac, and assorted universities, and how they use lobbyists to manipulate public opinion and gather intelligence on the Ministers who oversee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • Letter to the NZ Herald: NCEA pseudoscience – “Mauri is present in all matter”
    Nick Matzke writes –   Dear NZ Herald, I am a Senior Lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Auckland. I teach evolutionary biology, but I also have long experience in science education and (especially) political attempts to insert pseudoscience into science curricula in ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • So what would be the point of a Green vote again?
    James Shaw has again said the Greens would be better ‘in the tent’ with Labour than out, despite Labour’s policy bonfire last week torching much of what the Government was doing to reduce emissions. File Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Green Party has never been more popular than in some ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • Gas stoves pose health risks. Are gas furnaces and other appliances safe to use?
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah Wesseler Poor air quality is a long-standing problem in Los Angeles, where the first major outbreak of smog during World War II was so intense that some residents thought the city had been attacked by chemical weapons. Cars were eventually discovered ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Genetic Heritage and Co Governance
    Yesterday I was reading an excellent newsletter from David Slack, and I started writing a comment “Sounds like some excellent genetic heritage…” and then I stopped.There was something about the phrase genetic heritage that stopped me in tracks. Is that a phrase I want to be saying? It’s kind of ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • BRIAN EASTON: Radical Uncertainty
    Brian Easton writes – Two senior economists challenge some of the foundations of current economics. It is easy to criticise economic science by misrepresenting it, by selective quotations, and by ignoring that it progresses, like all sciences, by improving and abandoning old theories. The critics may go ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s Middle East strategy, 20 years after the Iraq War
    This week marks the twentieth anniversary of the Iraq War. While it strongly opposed the US-led invasion, New Zealand’s then Labour-led government led by Prime Minister Helen Clark did deploy military engineers to try to help rebuild Iraq in mid-2003. With violence soaring, their 12-month deployment ended without being renewed ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago

  • The motorways are finished
    After seventy years, Auckland’s motorway network is finally finished. In July 1953 the first section of motorway in Auckland was opened between Ellerslie-Panmure Highway and Mt Wellington Highway. The final stage opens to traffic this week with the completion of the motorway part of the Northern Corridor Improvements project. Aucklanders ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    5 days ago

  • Kicking National’s tyres
    National’s appointment of Todd McClay as Agriculture spokesperson clearly signals that the party is in trouble with the farming vote. McClay was not an obvious choice, but he does have a record as a political scrapper. The party needs that because sources say it has been shedding farming votes ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago

  • As long as there is cricket, the world is somehow okay.
    Rays of white light come flooding into my lounge, into my face from over the top of my neighbour’s hedge. I have to look away as the window of the conservatory is awash in light, as if you were driving towards the sun after a rain shower and suddenly blinded. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • So much of what was there remains
    The columnists in Private Eye take pen names, so I have not the least idea who any of them are. But I greatly appreciate their expert insight, especially MD, who writes the medical column, offering informed and often damning critique of the UK health system and the politicians who keep ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Mar 12, 2023 thru Sat, Mar 18, 2023. Story of the Week Guest post: What 13,500 citations reveal about the IPCC’s climate science report   IPCC WG1 AR6 SPM Report Cover - Changing ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • Financial capability services are being bucked up, but Stuart Nash shouldn’t have to see if they c...
    Buzz from the Beehive  The building of financial capability was brought into our considerations when Social Development and Employment Minister Carmel Sepuloni announced she had dipped into the government’s coffers for $3 million for “providers” to help people and families access community-based Building Financial Capability services. That wording suggests some ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago

  • Things that make you go Hmmmm.
    Do you ever come across something that makes you go Hmmmm?You mean like the song?No, I wasn’t thinking of the song, but I am now - thanks for that. I was thinking of things you read or hear that make you stop and go Hmmmm.Yeah, I know what you mean, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago

  • The hoon for the week that was to March 19
    By the end of the week, the dramas over Stuart Nash overshadowed Hipkins’ policy bonfire. File photo: Lynn GrieveasonTLDR: This week’s news in geopolitics and the political economy covered on The Kākā included:PM Chris Hipkins’ announcement of the rest of a policy bonfire to save a combined $1.7 billion, but ...
    The KakaBy Peter Bale
    1 week ago

  • Saving Stuart Nash: Explaining Chris Hipkins' unexpected political calculation
    When word went out that Prime Minister Chris Hipkins would be making an announcement about Stuart Nash on the tiles at parliament at 2:45pm yesterday, the assumption was that it was over. That we had reached tipping point for Nash’s time as minister. But by 3pm - when, coincidentally, the ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    1 week ago

  • Radical Uncertainty
    Two senior economists challenge some of the foundations of current economics. It is easy to criticise economic science by misrepresenting it, by selective quotations, and by ignoring that it progresses, like all sciences, by improving and abandoning old theories. The critics may go on to attack physics by citing Newton.So ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago

  • Jump onto the weekly hoon on Riverside at 5pm
    Photo by Walker Fenton on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week again when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kaka for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on Riverside (we’ve moved from Zoom) for our chat about the week’s news with ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • The Dream of Florian Neame: Accepted
    In a nice bit of news, my 2550-word deindustrial science-fiction piece, The Dream of Florian Neame, has been accepted for publication at New Maps Magazine (https://www.new-maps.com/). I have published there before, of course, with Of Tin and Tintagel coming out last year. While I still await the ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago

  • Snakes and leaders
    And so this is Friday, and what have we learned?It was a week with all the usual luggage: minister brags and then he quits, Hollywood red carpet is full of twits. And all the while, hanging over the trivial stuff: existential dread, and portents of doom.Depending on who you read ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • This station is Karanga-a-Hape, Chur!
    When I changed the name of this newsletter from The Daily Read to Nick’s Kōrero I was a bit worried whether people would know what Kōrero meant or not. I added a definition when I announced the change and kind of assumed people who weren’t familiar with it would get ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • Greens don’t shy from promoting a candidate’s queerness but are quiet about govt announcement on...
    There was a time when a political party’s publicity people would counsel against promoting a candidate as queer. No matter which of two dictionary meanings the voting public might choose to apply – the old meaning of odd, strange, weird, or aberrant, or the more recent meaning of gay, homosexual ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • Ask Me Anything about the week to March 17
    Photo by Joakim Honkasalo on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week for an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session for paying subscribers about the week that was for the next hour, including:PM Chris Hipkins announcement of the rest of a policy bonfire to save a combined $1.7 billion, but which blew up ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Slow consenting could create $16b climate liability by 2050
    Even though concern over the climate change threat is becoming more mainstream, our governments continue to opt out of the difficult decisions at the expense of time, and cost for future generations. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: Now we have a climate liability number to measure the potential failure of the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • THOMAS CRANMER: Challenging progressivism in New Zealand’s culture wars
    Thomas Cranmer writes  Like it or not, the culture wars have entered New Zealand politics and look set to broaden and intensify. The culture wars are often viewed as an exclusively American phenomenon, but the reality is that they are becoming increasingly prominent in countries around the world, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • District Court Judges appointed
    Attorney-General David Parker has announced the appointment of Christopher John Dellabarca of Wellington, Dr Katie Jane Elkin of Wellington, Caroline Mary Hickman of Napier, Ngaroma Tahana of Rotorua, Tania Rose Williams Blyth of Hamilton and Nicola Jan Wills of Wellington as District Court Judges.  Chris Dellabarca Mr Dellabarca commenced his ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago

  • New project set to supercharge ocean economy in Nelson Tasman
    A new Government-backed project will help ocean-related businesses in the Nelson Tasman region to accelerate their growth and boost jobs. “The Nelson Tasman region is home to more than 400 blue economy businesses, accounting for more than 30 percent of New Zealand’s economic activity in fishing, aquaculture, and seafood processing,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • National’s education policy: where’s the funding?
    After three years of COVID-19 disruptions schools are finally settling down and National want to throw that all in the air with major disruption to learning and underinvestment.  “National’s education policy lacks the very thing teachers, parents and students need after a tough couple of years, certainty and stability,” Education ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Free programme to help older entrepreneurs and inventors
    People aged over 50 with innovative business ideas will now be able to receive support to advance their ideas to the next stage of development, Minister for Seniors Ginny Andersen said today. “Seniors have some great entrepreneurial ideas, and this programme will give them the support to take that next ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government target increased to keep powering up the Māori economy
    A cross government target for relevant government procurement contracts for goods and services to be awarded to Māori businesses annually will increase to 8%, after the initial 5% target was exceeded. The progressive procurement policy was introduced in 2020 to increase supplier diversity, starting with Māori businesses, for the estimated ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Continued progress on reducing poverty in challenging times
    77,000 fewer children living in low income households on the after-housing-costs primary measure since Labour took office Eight of the nine child poverty measures have seen a statistically significant reduction since 2018. All nine have reduced 28,700 fewer children experiencing material hardship since 2018 Measures taken by the Government during ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Speech at Fiji Investment and Trade Business Forum
    Deputy Prime Minister Kamikamica; distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. Tēnā koutou katoa, ni sa bula vinaka saka, namaste. Deputy Prime Minister, a very warm welcome to Aotearoa. I trust you have been enjoying your time here and thank you for joining us here today. To all delegates who have travelled to be ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government investments boost and diversify local economies in lower South Island
    $2.9 million convertible loan for Scapegrace Distillery to meet growing national and international demand $4.5m underwrite to support Silverlight Studios’ project to establish a film studio in Wanaka Gore’s James Cumming Community Centre and Library to be official opened tomorrow with support of $3m from the COVID-19 Response and Recovery ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government future-proofs EV charging
    Transport Minister Michael Wood has today launched the first national EV (electric vehicle) charging strategy, Charging Our Future, which includes plans to provide EV charging stations in almost every town in New Zealand. “Our vision is for Aotearoa New Zealand to have world-class EV charging infrastructure that is accessible, affordable, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • World-leading family harm prevention campaign supports young NZers
    Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment Priyanca Radhakrishnan has today launched the Love Better campaign in a world-leading approach to family harm prevention. Love Better will initially support young people through their experience of break-ups, developing positive and life-long attitudes to dealing with hurt. “Over 1,200 young kiwis told ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • First Chief Clinical Advisor welcomed into Coroners Court
    Hon Rino Tirikatene, Minister for Courts, welcomes the Ministry of Justice’s appointment of Dr Garry Clearwater as New Zealand’s first Chief Clinical Advisor working with the Coroners Court. “This appointment is significant for the Coroners Court and New Zealand’s wider coronial system.” Minister Tirikatene said. Through Budget 2022, the Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

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