Up the spout, round the bend and down the tubes.

Written By: - Date published: 11:43 am, November 28th, 2017 - 34 comments
Categories: capitalism, Environment, global warming, Globalisation, International, Politics, science, sustainability, the praiseworthy and the pitiful, useless - Tags: , , , , ,

Maybe you jump in the car to pop down to the dairy, or round to the supermarket, or whatever. It’s inconsequential and yes, you care about global warming.

So, let’s assume the total trip there and back amounts to 5 km of driving. No big deal, right?

‘Every’ car driver habitually uses the car for very short and’ inconsequential’ trips. But. There are over 1 billion private vehicles in the world. So every ‘trip down the dairy’ that’s just a couple of km, is one of over 1 billion such trips being taken repeatedly every day – contributing to well over one million tonnes of CO2 emissions… each and every time the kids are dropped at school; a loaf of bread is grabbed from the dairy; the dog is driven to it’s walk….

That rough and ready (some will say “unfair”) calculation* assumes every car has emission standards in line with EU regs (which of course they haven’t), and that every car is instantly driving at optimum speed with no ‘surge’ in emissions at the point of ignition etc. That’s cars.

But then there are those of us, like the politicians and negotiators flying to COP(out)23 Bonn recently, who use planes in a similarly cavalier fashion. A fairly incidental return flight from Auckland to Wellington, flying economy class, is getting up to around fifty ‘trips down the dairy’**in terms of emissions….and maybe one hundred and fifty ‘trips down the dairy’ if travelling business class.

There were over 5 000 000 (5 million) domestic passengers using Wellington airport last year – a “milestone” apparently. The full report, titled “Stellar” (I kid you not) can be found here.

So anyway. What with average land surface temperatures in the Southern Hemisphere during October clocking in at 1.1 degrees C above the 20th Century average – not the pre-industrial benchmark that’s used for 2 degrees– and with September having had the highest land surface temperatures on record for the Southern Hemisphere, those people at Bonn no doubt “got a shimmy on” and began enacting some good stuff. Right?

Yeah. Nothing came out of Bonn.

The talk shop fest of Paris still doesn’t have to translate into any action until 2020. And at Bonn it was agreed to have ten summits, reports, dialogues and meetings that politicians, policy makers, diplomats, bureaucrats, negotiators and their logistical support teams can fly around the world to attend before congregating for COP 24 in Poland next December for…. well, something or other – because the worlds oceans may never have been this warm, and higher atmospheric CO2 levels are causing malnourishment across species, so it’s imperative that “important people”  keep talking.

*1 billion (private cars) x 130 (grammes – EU emission standard) x 5 (km) x 3 (to approximate weight of CO2 resulting from given amount of expelled carbon)

** 90kg of CO2 per person for an economy seat return flight between Auckland and Wellington.

34 comments on “Up the spout, round the bend and down the tubes. ”

  1. Pat 1

    Hoping against hope…..Kevin Anderson while returning from COP23…

    “Disturbingly, and with the exception of utopian technophiles, few of those deeply engaged in climate change are convinced we “can have our cake and eat it”. Sadly, senior policy, scientific, academic and NGO figures are seldom prepared to voice publically what they admit privately. This repressive influence of the status quo both demonstrates its stifling power and hints at its potential weakness.

    Imagine a space where climate academics and others could be truly honest about their analysis and judgements and where disagreements were discussed openly and constructively. Add to this, informed dialogue on the ‘confluence of circumstances’ outlined above. And finally reframe climate change not as a threat to some arbitrary economic indicator, but as a secure, local and high-quality jobs agenda. Under such conditions, and with vociferous engagement by the ‘next’ generation, I can envisage an alternative progressive paradigm being ushered in – and soon.

    Do I think this is likely – far from it? But I certainly judge such a decarbonised and prosperous future to be both plausible and desirable.”

    http://kevinanderson.info/blog/personal-reflections-on-the-23rd-cop-in-bonn-fiji-nov-2017/

    • Bill 1.1

      Thanks for that Pat. Worth the read.

      Though, y’know, AGW posts…I get the suspicion many people swear and punch their keyboards furiously to get away from them if they happen to have stumbled in because of some ‘careless’ clicking 😉

      • Pat 1.1.1

        Frustrating in the extreme and the tenacity of someone like Kevin Anderson can only be admired.
        I have great hopes (though fully expected to be dashed) that with james Shaw and the Greens holding the climate change portfolio we (NZ) may be able to demonstrate a working example of a sustainable transition to apply pressure to the rest of the developed world but my fear is the elites have determined (erroneously) they will try and wait out the disaster and claim what remains…everything else is window dressing.
        Meanwhile what can we do but keep plugging the message and hope a critical mass will be achieved that takes those decisions away from those vested interests….theres always hope (until there isnt)

      • cleangreen 1.1.2

        Good article thanks bill for keeping the climate debate up there.

        It is our “neuclear moment” today as the PM said correctly.

        It is what we do that is what will define us in history, so I livve 77 kms from the nearestr town now and go to town once a week for ‘provisions’ and dont drive for the other six days.

        I have spring water and a compacter sewerege system, and compact our own rubbish or re-use the items as long as possible repairing them many times.

        This was what our forefathers did so I am very comfortable knowing I am following in their footsteps too.

        Far to many today are just to lasy to see that a small effort and throught will go a long way.

        I even use my tryes on the car as long as i can before replecing them mostly with other ‘used tyres’ so if you drive slower your tyres last far longer, also and dont shed as many tyre dust particulates that would otherwise just end up in our waterways from ‘road runnoff’ and the wider environment.

        The global threat is very real today and we need to change now.

  2. Tony Veitch (not etc) 2

    I heard on the news a few days ago NZ baseball (I think) crowing about the possibility of entering a franchise in the North America baseball (or whatever) league.

    We just don’t get it, do we! Countless flights between here and North America – yes, I know there may not be ‘extra’ flights – but the thinking says this can all go on forever!

    That’s why, sooner or later, Guy McPherson will be proved right!

  3. Molly 3

    There was an article in the Herald about Air New Zealand “taking the lead” in offsetting its 3,000,000 tons of carbon dioxide annual emissions.

    Looking up to see what that meant in terms of emissions, I found the EPA equivalency converter. Not sure how accurate it is, given that it is the US EPA, but good to have the comparison data on hand.

    Air NZ’s 3,000,000 tons:
    337,571,734 gallons of gasoline
    3,282,275,711 pounds of coal burned
    323,939 homes energy use for one year

    Equivalent to carbon sequestered by:
    77,748,433 tree seedlings grown for ten years
    3,533,569 acres US forests for one year
    24,478 acres of U.S. forests preserved from conversion to cropland in one year

    “If it goes ahead, Air New Zealand will spearhead the scheme, and is likely to provide grants to private landowners to plant trees on their land in exchange for the carbon units generated. It could be up to 15,000ha of new native and exotic trees and the airline says it would be aimed at helping It is hoped to benefit regional economies.”

    If this is per year (unlikely) the 37,000 acres (15,000 ha) is at least a move to be carbon neutral by 2020, but the piecemeal nature of the scheme means that it will be hard to monitor, and the lack of oversight might have those trees being removed at any time.

    • Bill 3.1

      Off-setting is absolute bullshit that allows for the continued burning of fossil at the expense of having the full effect from what needs to be done with regards land use.

      We need zero carbon emissions from energy (that includes not having bio-fuel) and massive changes in land use to have a snowball’s chance in hell of avoiding the creation of a climate that’s inimical to human survival.

      • Molly 3.1.1

        I’m more likely to agree with you than not on off-setting Bill, so there’s not point in arguing the fact.

        I was just struck by how even with that stated intent within a three-year timeframe it doesn’t even come close to being carbon-neutral using that method.

        The issue of carbon use for flights is one that seems to be deliberately ignored by many NZers. Someone posted an interesting link recently about carbon use by NZ airports compared to overseas, showing how our geographical location adds so much more to the trips. It adds to the issue of relying on overseas tourists being beneficial economically for the country, while adding to the overload of the planet.
        If we can’t accept that fact and adapt when we live in a land of plenty, then how are we going to expect change from those who are much more empoverished and vulnerable.

        How much is enough, before we make changes?

  4. Ad 4

    Why don’t more people care about climate change?

    https://www.live-conscious.org/blog/live/why-dont-more-people-care-about-climate-change

    Common themes:

    – It’s not going to affect me
    – It involves sacrifices I’m not prepared to take
    – It’s too scary/overwhelming/depressing
    – I don’t understand it
    – I live in a city, so nature is not real

    • Bill 4.1

      Hubris, idiocy and desperately clinging to the familiar against inevitable collapse.

      It ends well.

      Oh. And I guess (when it’s done, and only for a short while) there’ll be the bullshit refrain of “I was a good person only doing those things we were told that good people do”.

      Lamp-posts are so mis-purposed 👿

      • marty mars 4.1.1

        Wow bill. Blaming people for not getting it and then stringing them up on lamposts – yeah that’ll work.

        People don’t get it for all sorts of reasons – simplistic blaming ones are a waste imo.

        • Bill 4.1.1.1

          What’s me chaining my bike got to do with stringing people up marty? 😉

          But yeah. Look. If someone “doesn’t get” algebra or whatever, it doesn’t really matter. But when people ‘carry on their merry way’ because they choose (driven by fear or whatever else ) to be willfully ignorant of shit that’s going to affect everyone – well, that’s a different matter altogether.

          • marty mars 4.1.1.1.1

            It’s the same actually.

            The inability to see is a human trait.

            Threats won’t work, sadly only megadeath imminent death may.

            • Bill 4.1.1.1.1.1

              Nah marty, it’s not the same.

              A pile of clowns lobbing water balloons to one another in the presence of your kids is not the same as a pile of clowns lobbing a loaded gun to one another in the presence of your kids.

              But hey, if the clowns in the second scenario “don’t get it” (the danger), then that’s okay in your book? They’re excused? You won’t act against them because their blind idiocy is “a human trait”?

              • It’s not a clown with a gun though is it – and even if it was, the inability to act when needed is common in that scenario.

                People dont get it, they probably won’t get it in our lifetime. That is the way it is. Sure, sound the alarm, ring the bell and call out loudly – and then accept and make today the best it can be.

      • Ad 4.1.2

        That struggle to sustain movements is pretty real.

        Anyone remember Occupy?
        Black Lives Matter?
        The current sex crime wave is running the same risk.

        Green parties the world over are not breaking through.

        The article I linked to had a few pointers, but climate change at best is a disaggragated and uneven set of movements.

  5. Ad 5

    A big test will be whether the batteries work at scale.

    This Friday, the South Australian Tesla electricity storage solution goes live. T hat’s 100 days since they signed the contract.

    The Tesla battery pack network is a 100-megawatt storage facility near a wind farm in Adelaide.

    This summer is the test, as it will need to compensate for the loss of the Engie SA 1600 megawatt Hazelwood coal-fired plant that was closed in March.

  6. greywarshark 6

    I felt a little hopeful when i read this:

    24 months to save our living planet
    Alice Jay – Avaaz
    Wed 22/11, 7:22 p.m.denkinraid@clear.net.nz
    Dear friends,

    We have 24 months to save our living planet. That’s not an exaggeration.

    90% of the Great Barrier Reef is dead or dying. Pristine oceans are becoming plastic graveyards. We’re driving extinction to 1000 times the natural rate. And it’s suicidal — by causing our delicate biodiversity to totally collapse, we’re making the planet uninhabitable for humans!

    But scientists have discovered something astounding — if we free 50% of our planet from human exploitation, our ecosystem will stabilise and regenerate. Life on earth will recover!

    No other global movement is championing this planet-saving proposal. If 50,000 of us chip in now we can make the proposal famous, face down the polluters and poachers, and get leaders to drive through a deal to save the planet at the Global Summit on Biodiversity in 2020.

    Chip in now — we did it with climate in Paris. We’ve got 24 months to do it again:

    I’LL DONATE $3
    I’LL DONATE $6
    I’LL DONATE $12
    I’LL DONATE $24
    I’LL DONATE $48
    OTHER AMOUNT

    50% may sound pie in the sky, but it’s not. Our governments already committed to protecting around a quarter of our land and seas. Many conservation experts agree that this is what the planet needs now. And the 2020 summit could adopt it as a global goal.

    But it won’t happen without us. Avaaz has the national depth, global breadth, and the ambition to drive forward a huge idea like this, and if enough of us chip in now we know exactly what to do:

    Make Biodiversity Famous: get the story of this crisis all over media, embolden scientists, business leaders and celebrities to speak out, and spread the word until the whole world knows about the crisis and the solution.
    Build the global 50% movement: weave together our campaigns and partners working on climate, forests, oceans, the extinction of majestic creatures, plastics, pesticides etc into a mass global movement demanding 50% protection.
    Inspire political leadership: We did it before on climate — with Avaaz’s global people power we can make this a Head of State issue, and back the champions to build a North/South high ambition coalition to not give up until we’ve got a deal.
    Confront the polluters: our movement has already taken on Monsanto, the poaching industry, and the plastic polluting countries and won. Now we’ll go head to head with them so they can’t spoil the plan.
    Define the Deal: get to work now with scientists and political experts to develop top notch strategies so there are smart, viable policy options on the table.

    To win we have to get started now. When we first launched our 100% clean energy campaign in 2013, many said it was unrealistic. But in 24 months, every government in the world agreed with us.

    Protecting 50% of the planet will unleash the magic of nature and stop us hurtling towards tipping points that’ll collapse the delicate balance of life on earth. But we’re running out of time and right now, almost no one knows about the crisis, the crucial summit coming up, or this inspiring proposal.

    Our movement doesn’t have enormous amounts of money, but time and again we’re able to turn the common sense of scientists into a public movement that makes political leaders listen. Let’s drive this inspiring 50% idea into the mainstream, to save our living planet.

    With hope and determination,

    Alice, Allison, Marigona, Ricken, Iain, and the rest of the Avaaz team

    More information:

    Could we set aside half the Earth for nature? (The Guardian)
    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/radical-conservation/2016/jun/15/could-we-set-aside-half-the-earth-for-nature

    Sixth Wildlife Mass Extinction May Happen in 2020, Experts Say (Nature World News)
    http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/30805/20161027/year-2020-era-wildlife-mass-extinction.htm

    How many species are we losing? (WWF)
    http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/biodiversity/biodiversity/

    Avaaz is a 44-million-person global campaign network that works to ensure that the views and values of the world’s people shape global decision-making. (“Avaaz” means “voice” or “song” in many languages.) Avaaz members live in every nation of the world; our team is spread across 18 countries on 6 continents and operates in 17 languages. Learn about some of Avaaz’s biggest campaigns here, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

  7. Ad 7

    Looks like Welilngton will be infected with some intense electric autonomous vehicles boosterism for a few weeks:

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/99074823/Petrol-cars-could-vanish-as-quickly-as-the-horse-and-carriage

    I always love it when tech futurist evangelists come into town and front to Ministers with stuff like:

    When consultant McKinsey advised telecommunications giant AT&T in 1980 that there would be fewer than a million cellphones in the US by 2000, whereas the actual number was 109 million, he said.

    “In 13 years, New York City went from all horses to all cars.” Implying exponential change in transport is really possible.

    On Yer Bike.

  8. Tony Veitch (not etc) 8

    The trouble with climate change is that it comes in the guise of small events that affect someone else, somewhere else.

    Like 40 mm rain in 3 hours in Roxbrugh. No big deal, unless you live there. But these event are going to become/are becoming more frequent and destructive.

    But that’s why people tend not to take it seriously – and won’t, until it’s too late!

  9. Andrea 10

    Stop ’emissions trading’.

    It can’t work.

    It happens too far from the shopping public. It removes personal responsibility. It allows the unacceptable to continue – eg platic beadlets, packaging and baggies, parking lots with acres of heat-reflecting tar seal, dark roofs. It leaves small buyers helpless to influence the makers and promoters who are PROFITING from this inevitable mayhem. The system is weighted against the introduction of beneficial change and politicians are seldom of the kind who rock the comfy status quo.

    And nearly worst of all – the rubbish myths about economic consumption and have-to-have breeding to ‘pay for our pensions and provide carer services’.

    We invented those mindsets. We’ve curbed smoking and encouraged seat belt use. Surely we can provide people with actions they can take and affordable options to harmful things? Surely our politicians can be moved off pap and onto solids – work for the all and the future. (Even when the populations cease to grow.)

    It definitely is possible – and practical. Keep thinking and engaging.

  10. timeforacupoftea 11

    This would seem a sensible idea.
    We should start today and make a stand and make it illegal to drive a fossil burning vehicle if you are born after 1998.
    That would automatically increase electric vehicles on our roads as employers employing these workers would also be necessary for them to own or lease electric cars for business sales etc.

    • greywarshark 11.1

      Sounds like an autocratic RW solution. Solve all our problems by banning, controls.

    • solkta 11.2

      Sounds like it would just increase youth unemployment, as well as breaching the Bill of Rights Act.

  11. Whispering Kate 12

    The advent of flight has made the planet a whole lot smaller. The price we pay for this is our families spread far and wide around the universe so that families are fragmented and to stay in touch we have to skype and email. When we, as family want to see our loved ones physically we have to resort to flying. Sea travel is now a luxury. All the shipping lines offer today are cruise ships, not shipping for transporting passengers from A to B. There are very few merchant shipping lines which will offer you a berth on their working vessels and take you to your destination and you will pay dearly for this luxury of not being jammed into steerage with all the other sardines in the tin.

    Many people would love to travel by sea and be kinder to the planet but it isn’t possible. Responsible families try to limit their air travel but its the price they pay for seeing family very seldom. Life is too short to have your loved ones being away 20 years and only seeing them so infrequently. Progress and technology brings its pleasures and pains it would seem.

  12. One Two 13

    If all the contributing variables were ‘on the table’..

    I imagine the commentary might be significantly different..

  13. One Anonymous Bloke 14

    I’ve long been of the pessimistic opinion that the weather is going to render the problem moot and we’ll pick up the pieces.

    I’m starting to wonder if it’s more hope than pessimism.

    “Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens.”

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

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
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    7 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
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    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
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  • Government lowering building costs
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  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
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    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
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    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
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    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
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  • Progress continues apace on water storage
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  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
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  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
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