Why didn’t the warning sound at Pike River?

Written By: - Date published: 9:22 pm, January 6th, 2011 - 44 comments
Categories: business, Mining, workers' rights - Tags:

I never, ever thought I would say this but there’s a very good article in Investigate this week. It’s about the Pike River disaster. With methane sensors in place, alarms should have gone off well before the gas reached combustible level. Investigate reveals the sensors may have been disabled by workers who would lose pay if they had to stop work.

Investigate received an anonymous email from a man whose wife is connected to Pike River who claimed that there had been problems with miners whom Pike River brought on as contractors, rather than as employees. “As a contractor; they don’t get paid when the mine shuts down due to high methane levels and as a consequence, some of the contractors would cover the sensors with chewing gum to stop them triggering”

That’s a pretty blood-chilling notion. But it could explain why methane got to a combustible level with the men still inside and no alarm sounding.

One anonymous email doesn’t make a story but it’s backed up by two more similar accounts.

There’s ex-Pike River miner, Brent Forrester, reported in the Timaru Herald on November 26th:

“The 36-year-old, who was forced to leave the mine due to a hip-injury and now lives in Brisbane, said the mine “always had ventilation issues” and had to be “gassed out” due to high methane levels many times. He said his gas detection unit would go “off the charts”, suggesting the methane level was at an explosive level.

Mr Forrester said management struggled to maintain the methane levels, and safety concerns he and his crew raised were often ignored.

During his time at the mine Mr Forrester, who is not involved in mining any more, would be in charge of six men, while they worked in the mine, and he believed the explosion was something waiting to happen. “My first reaction was `I knew this was going to happen’, I just had a feeling.”

Mr Forrester, who worked with many of the men trapped below ground, said it was unlikely any of them would have survived the initial blast.

“I’m actually surprised the two guys that got out, got out. If you look at some of the information, it would have hit over 1200 degrees Celsius straight away from the explosion … There’s a risk of further explosions, so obviously it’s very hot. That coal has a low sulphur, high carbon content so it burns very hot. It’s a very unique sort of coal, it always fetches more on the market. If it ever caught on fire, you’d be struggling to get out of there.”

Mr Forrester said he and co-workers went to management many times, and safety concerns were discussed regularly between the workers.

“[The] reason I didn’t push it too far was the fear of losing my job. The pressure is always on, they’re losing a lot of money, so they’re making you cut a lot of short-cuts.”

Mr Forrester recalled an incident where a miner received a written warning after putting an air hose up to a methane sensor to bring its reading down.

He said many of the methane sensors, did not work or were not calibrated and the mine’s phone system needed to be upgraded.

When he raised these concerns with management, he said they did not take it seriously.

“I don’t believe management spent enough time in the mine.”

Andew Little adds further information on this issue of contractors’ desire to get paid clashing with the need for safety, resulting in methane sensors being disabled. Speaking to Investigate, Little says:

“I can tell you what I’ve heard in the day immediately following is that there’s apparently a bypass mode on the methane sensors used on the operating gear and heavy equipment of the miners [the equipment should have automatically shut down in the presence of dangerous methane levels] the emphasis was on maximising the coal take and some people were putting the senors on the equipment into a bypass mode”

So when we’re hearing three different stories about the sensors then I certainly think there’s something in it and that now has got to be one of the major focuses of the Commission of Inquiry, and the backdrop has to be, what kind of incentives were there that would have encouraged this kind of thing to happen?”

When I’ve asked people why mining is one of the most heavily unionised industries in the country, they say its born of the culture of working together in a dangerous situation – ‘you need to be able to trust and stand beside everyone down there, your life is on the line’. There’s an instinct for the miners to band together and to demand very high safety standards from their bosses.

Does bringing on workers as contractors, rather than employees, undermine this dedication to putting safety first? A contractor doesn’t get paid if the coal isn’t mined, like an employee does. That’s the whole point of having contractors in the mine, to make the workforce more ‘flexible’ and cheaper. So aren’t contractors, then, more incentivised to ignore safety issues so the mine keeps on operating? Did that lead to a cowboy attitude?

Why those methane sensors didn’t go off will have to be the focus of the inquiries into the disaster. We can’t jump to conclusions but the notion that the company management created conditions that appears to have actively incentivised workers to disable the safety system that should have saved 29 lives is very troubling.

btw: No, I don’t read Investigate regularly. The article was sent to me by a mate who claims he happened to be flicking trough it at a cafe at lunch.

44 comments on “Why didn’t the warning sound at Pike River? ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. lprent 1
    6 January 2011 at 9:36 pm

    That is exactly the question I have been asking since the disaster. Why didn’t the gas detectors raise the alarm? Why apparently did the first notice of the disaster happen when the two survivors staggered out of the mine.

    There was something seriously flawed with the detection in that mine.

    • lprent 1.1
      6 January 2011 at 9:40 pm

      Oh and when Wishart does straight investigation rather than his wishing hard to prove his own prejudices, he does a very good job. You can tell the difference. He doesn’t editorialize on straight investigations. His stuff at the end of the 80’s was excellent.

  2. Speaking Sense To Unions 2
    6 January 2011 at 9:55 pm

    “The pressure is always on, they’re losing a lot of money, so they’re making you cut a lot of short-cuts.”

    “Mr Forrester recalled an incident where a miner received a written warning after putting an air hose up to a methane sensor to bring its reading down.”

    you don’t see the obvious contradiction?

    I really don’t like your chances of trying to argue that contractors cared less for their lives than employees. To do so soley on the basis of Whishart’s accusations would be rather bad taste

    • Colonial Viper 2.1
      6 January 2011 at 10:15 pm

      I really don’t like your chances of trying to argue that contractors cared less for their lives than employees. To do so soley on the basis of Whishart’s accusations would be rather bad taste

      Except thats NOT the argument.

      Its that the contractors lost money relative to the employees everytime there was a methane stop work, and that they knew it.

      The only economically rational thing to do – avoid as many methane stopwork incidents as they thought was safe.

      Pike River is in the shit.

      Why were the unions not on to the scent of these potential safety bypasses months ago? (Or were they.)

      • Speaking Sense To Unions 2.1.1
        6 January 2011 at 10:18 pm

        so, now the argument is the contractors thought it was safe to work when there was high methane levels?

        • Marty G 2.1.1.1
          6 January 2011 at 10:25 pm

          no, the argument is that there are three sources saying that contractors had been disabling the methane sensors because they didn’t want to lose money from the mine being closed down for what they viewed as false alarms/over-reactions because the contractor model perversely incentivised them to do so.

          • Speaking Sense To Unions 2.1.1.1.1
            6 January 2011 at 10:30 pm

            what three sources? There’s one source – Whishart’s secret email. Neither the Timaru Herald artilce or Little refer to contractors.

            Every sensor would have had to be disabled as no alarm was raised – I doubt that the mine workers could not have been unware of that if it had occured and I doubt very much they all would have agreed.

            • Marty G 2.1.1.1.1.1
              6 January 2011 at 10:41 pm

              They’re all about shutting off the system.

              Little’s mentions maximising the coal take, which matches with the first one. there’s more from little later in the article that i didn’t quote that mentions contractors specifically. don’t ave it with me to quote now.

              Forrester mentions someone getting a written warning. fair enough, usually that would only apply to employees.

          • McFlock 2.1.1.1.2
            6 January 2011 at 10:43 pm

            It’s much easier to rationalise risk when your family has bills that need paying. If people were sabotaging sensors does that make them suicide bombers? No – it means that they persuaded themselves that the safety threshhold on the sensors was too low, and that it’ll be okay to stay in the red for a while. And then the kids can see the dentist.

            • Speaking Sense To Unions 2.1.1.1.2.1
              6 January 2011 at 10:53 pm

              I’m more inclined to doubt Wishart’s 1+1=6 style of journalism than those miners’ comitment to their own safety. One reported incident when the company warned someone over an event we don’t know the full significance of.

              • McFlock …
                7 January 2011 at 2:52 am

                I would agree, if Wishart were the only one to report concerns about the safety culture and systems at Pike. But he isn’t.

                Of course, the only way we’ll know for sure is if a recovery team goes in for the bodies and brings back some of the sensors to see if they were probably functional at the time, and if not why not.

                It’s not solely about recovery. Going in might help stop it happening again.

              • mickysavage …
                7 January 2011 at 9:09 am

                You should not jump to conclusions SSTU. Wait for the royal commission hearing. I get the feeling there is a lot more to come out. In particular if the power supply was cut then I cannot imagine why everyone was not ordered out immediately.

                • Speaking Sense to Unions …
                  7 January 2011 at 9:30 am

                  I shouldn’t jump to the conclusion that anything Wishart has to say on this issue has as much credibility as his views on a certain ex-PM’s sexuality?

                  Indeed I will wait for the commission.

                  [lprent: Wishart is known be the fool when he gets obsessed on something. I get obsessed as well troll killing, and you just did a classic slide in a unrelated topic troll tactic. I’d suggest you read the policy. ]

                  • mickysavage …
                    7 January 2011 at 9:38 am

                    Frack

                    If there is a more annoying thing to say in a post it is to somehow work in Helen Clark’s possible sexual preferences. This has nothing whatsoever to do with the topic and is clear evidence of a troll.

                    Try and avoid these sorts of comments and you will find the rest of what you say will be treated with a bit more respect.

            • ZeeBop 2.1.1.1.2.2
              7 January 2011 at 12:01 am

              Worse. If the incentive is to delay a shutdown until the end of the shift!

              The economy was booming for years, but pay was not going anywhere,
              and employees suk it up. Now the economy is stagnate and shrinking
              and the pay isn’t keeping up, but the bosses still want the same returns
              and have huge debt mountains to deal with, bankers are hurting! They
              need their bonus to increase this year. Something has to give, was
              Pike River the first fuse?

  3. IrishBill 3
    6 January 2011 at 10:16 pm

    I’d take anything in Investigate with a pinch of salt.

    • Marty G 3.1
      6 January 2011 at 10:21 pm

      yeah, so would I. Hell, I expected it to be on the lines of ‘those labour greenies killed them by not letting pike river be open cast’.

      That’s why I found the Timaru Herald article, to check the context. And I tend to trust Andrew Little’s word too.

      Even without these three accounts the issue of why the methane sensors didn’t work is at the heart of this. no way the mine should have been operating without them.

  4. RedLogix 4
    6 January 2011 at 10:59 pm

    Without wanting to gainsay the train of thought here it’s worth bearing in mind the presently known sequence of events.

    The first thing we do know is that the site electrician, Russell Smith was on his way into the mine to investigate a ‘power outage’ when the explosion hit him. To my mind there must be some link between these two events.

    Secondly the other survivor, Dan Rockhouse who helped drag Smith to safety (and his story is yet to be properly told and recongnised) in that crucial 24hrs of media coverage before the lawyers and company men stepped in … among the things he stated was “we lost the methane detectors”. As a non-technical person this statement could mean that either they failed (but how would he know that?) or they went way off scale. These facts as we know them do raise a bunch of questions in my mind that we really do need the Royal Commission to ask.

    On the other hand I’ve talked this over with two professional H&S experts. Both of them state that in the final analysis this tragedy will be shown to be a case of what is known as “hidden management failure”. What this means is that while the company believed it had done all the right things, (it’s H&S Officer for instance is one of the top in the field) had all the right procedures, equipment and paperwork in place…. the men working underground had a quite different understanding.

    I agree there remains a real possibility that Wishart is onto something. Conceivably the power failure was a consequence of someone attempting to disable the methane sensors because the levels were getting too high; but that thought is tempered by the fact that this was clearly no ordinary seepage of methane… everyone I’ve talked to believes that somehow they hit a virtual gusher of the stuff.

    • Colonial Viper 4.1
      6 January 2011 at 11:59 pm

      everyone I’ve talked to believes that somehow they hit a virtual gusher of the stuff.

      If they did it wouldn’t explode until it had mixed down to ~8-10% concentration by volume with ordinary air around it. That would have taken some time – I imagine anywhere from a couple of minutes to tens of minutes, depending on how much air movement was occurring in the area.

      I don’t know what the specs on those devices are but this should have been enough time for detectors to go off.

    • Marty G 4.2
      7 January 2011 at 6:19 am

      very interesting. i didn’t know about those comments from the survivors. weren’t there methane sensors on the digging machinery that are are meant to automatically shut them down if levels get too high as well as general sensors – and wouldn’t they be independently powered? Or is all that stuff electrically-powered from mains?

  5. Drakula 5
    6 January 2011 at 11:11 pm

    Inprent; I have asked myself that very same question. ‘Why in the 21st century didn’t they have sensetive measuring equipment instead of the canaries in the cages?’

    I am sure many have asked themselves that question at the time.

    Ian Wishart did very goo research in the 80s with the ‘Paradise Conspiracy’, but I think that since then he has found the lord (oh dear) and the later book I read called ‘Eves Bite’ was absolute homophobic bullshit!!!

    I think that if the Pike River issue is to be investigated well ( and the bereaved families deserve the best), then Nicky Hager of ‘Hollow Men’ fame is the man.

  6. tsmithfield 6
    7 January 2011 at 6:25 am

    I can’t verify the accuracy of my following comment, so take it with a grain of salt.

    However, we have dealings with a contracting firm that had people at Pike river. The manager told us that they stopped dealing with Pike because of safety concerns. Their concern was that methane levels were allowed to rise to 4% before the mine was evacuated. Apparently other mines are closer to 2% for evacuation. Methane becomes explosive at just over 5%. If what I say is correct, then Pike River were pushing the boundaries at the very least.

  7. Speaking Sense To Unions 7
    7 January 2011 at 7:52 am

    It’s being assumed that the nature of the contractors’ employment conditions ment they would lose money during methane-caused stoppages. Does anyone know if that is the case?

    • Bright Red 7.1
      7 January 2011 at 8:19 am

      standard practice for a contractor – no work, no pay.

    • The Voice of Reason 7.2
      7 January 2011 at 8:28 am

      Good question. I don’t have the answer at Pike River, but that’s the usual arrangement with contractors. For the employer, that’s the primary difference between the two groups of workers. Waged workers get paid their agreed hours, even if there is no work available, contractors get sent home unpaid. It’s one of the reasons this government is so keen on casualising the NZ workforce. Contractors are labour on tap, entirely dependant on the whim of the boss.

      As for the methane readers, I don’t think they are electrically powered. Certainly, the personal ones aren’t. They’re wallet sized dials worn on the overalls. My guess is that the gas build up was in an area not being worked on at the start of the shift and that there were no sensors either in that area or, if they were there, they were not being monitored. Eventually the gas found an ignition source and, well, we know the rest.

      • Speaking Sense To Unions 7.2.1
        7 January 2011 at 8:45 am

        Does Wishart provide details of the contracts? It would be a fairly important part of his argument.

        • Colonial Viper 7.2.1.1
          7 January 2011 at 8:58 am

          Just assume standard terms and conditions of any standard mine contractors’ contract until more known. I suppose this means: mine shut down outside the company’s control = no pay.

          I can’t see any such contract saying: if the mine shuts down outside the company’s control = we will keep paying you anyway.

        • Lanthanide 7.2.1.2
          7 January 2011 at 9:41 am

          You know, when someone starts an investigation, it is rare for them to have 100% of all relevant details right from the outset. Especially in a particularly public and sensitive case like this where there are already official investigations being undertaken in parallel.

          captcha: forthcoming

    • higherstandard 7.3
      7 January 2011 at 8:35 am

      I believe many of the contractors were paid employees of other companies and there doesn’t really appear to have been any incentive for the behaviour as alluded to above.

      http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/pike-river-2010/64959/payment-for-mine-contractors-whose-employees-died

  8. Speaking Sense to Unions 8
    7 January 2011 at 9:25 am

    “Just assume…”

    why do we have to assume the central premise of the argument? What are the standard contracts for mines? Does Wishart provide these details?

    • The Voice of Reason 8.1
      7 January 2011 at 9:45 am

      “why do we have to assume the central premise of the argument? ”

      Because we (and Wishart) don’t have access to the commercial contracts. But the enquiry will have that access and the facts will come out there. But it is pretty safe to assume that Pike River treated its contractors as most businesses do. No work, no pay. And therefore, an incentive to ignore or fiddle with the sensors exists.

      Having said that, I’m going to wait until the enquiry, rather than trusting a proven fantasist like Wishart. Just because it’s possible doesn’t make it a fact.

      • Colonial Viper 8.1.1
        7 January 2011 at 10:59 am

        Yep, at the end of the day its merely a possible scenario, no more no less.

        And, there will be hundreds of those contracts floating around in the hands of people who used to be in the industry, it wouldn’t be too hard to get your hands on one if you really wanted.

  9. pollywog 9
    7 January 2011 at 10:13 am

    What level of training/experience does a miner need to realise the risk of methane build up and was that adequately provided ?

    Reminds me of guys having a competition to see who can hold on to the firecracker the longest. The one who gets his hand blown off wins…

    • Bright Red 9.1
      7 January 2011 at 10:27 am

      notice the mate of Forrester’s who died was a roofer by trade and sub-contracted into the mine.

      from the linked article:

      “”I’m gutted that he was down there. He was only meant to be sub-contracting every now and again for them. He’s a roofer by trade … I still can’t believe he was down there. I just wish he’d stuck to being on a roof.” “

  10. prism 10
    7 January 2011 at 9:40 pm

    How come raising conjectures and hypotheses about Pike River would be bad taste? Thinking around the problem in all its aspects is the only way to go as far as understanding the factors involved. It is heartbreaking thinking that miners might have got caught up in the same mindset that Emile Zola wrote about on the mines in Europe in the 1800s-1900s.

    captcha – angles

  11. Marjorie Dawe 11
    7 January 2011 at 10:03 pm

    It seems that the methane was certainly at such high levels as to cause an explosion but the macro reasons for this would surely be bigger than the miners blocking the sensors. Why weren’t the concerns raised by Mr Forrester acted upon. What safety and inspection plans did the mine management put into place to address these concerns. Where were the government mine inspectors in this? Why did our current government not act on the review which found that the mining industry had insufficient safety standards and regulations?
    I hope that this is not a cynical attempt to place a large amount of the blame onto the miners who were tragically killed rather than the people who should have been managing the situation and ensuring that they were safe.

  12. Drakula 12
    7 January 2011 at 10:33 pm

    Well I guess that it will all come out in the inquiry; that’s if the bloody inquiry is not fixed and bent to corporate sympathy.

    I heard on the radio (if I can believe the main stream media) that some want part of the inquiry held in Christchurch.

    The miners families are putting their foot down and are insisting that the full inquiry is held at Greymouth so that they can follow the events more closely.

    Good on them to they should not compromise one iota.

    Still some are insisting that most of the inquiry is held in Graymouth but the summing up be conducted in Christchurch.

    That’s not good enough nothing in my view should be conducted behind closed doors!!!!!

  13. McFlock 13
    7 January 2011 at 10:34 pm

    Besides the issue of either faulty or sabotaged sensors, it could just be that a catastrophic event prior to the explosion was not detected or instrument readings were unexpected and misinterpreted (e.g. Chernobyl). Rather than just expecting a high methane reading, did whatever happen damage a sensor network? Were the sensors networked, or did their trip switches just cut the power circuits and hence the electrician thinks there’s a fault and goes into the mine? Another big thing that the various investigations will cover.

    Engineering history is full of systems where people trained for individual failures (e.g. hydraulic A loses fluid to the aircraft control surfaces are moved with hydraulic B), but an unexpected event damages dozens of separate systems that are not connected even though they run through the same general area in the structure (e.g. a missile damages hydraulics A and B, so the flight crew have to learn how to fly using differential engine power alone after figuring out what happened).

    • Colonial Viper 13.1
      7 January 2011 at 11:13 pm

      I hope someone saved all the readings from the control room. When instruments fail there are often tell tale signs. Zero readings for instance, when there clearly should always be some methane in a coal mine.

      • McFlock 13.1.1
        8 January 2011 at 1:19 am

        If it’s a modern automated system then the data’s probably intact – they broadcast the cctv footage of the tunnel entrance.

        If they were still working on employee A noting readings on a clipboard (and such things aren’t always CSI-style up to date), either in a surface control room or within the mine itself, then it’s not so promising that all the data will be there, or possibly its accuracy could be easily questioned.

        And then there’s the oblique indication of a situation – one facility I worked at, with well over a thousand alarms/indicators beyond basic access control/intruder detection, sometimes all the doors in a building would unlock on a hot day (often registered just in the streaming log). It usually meant that the heat tripped a fire alarm (installed in winter), so all the doors unlocked, but the fire alarms were done by one contracting company and sometimes the security techs in the other contracting company hooked the fire alarms up to the doors but forgot to create an alarm id on the monitoring software. And when the fire service turns up before onsite security or hazmat teams know anything’s going on, the ca-ca verily doth flow.

        But then we had alarm redundancies (such as a direct alert to the fire service), so didn’t solely rely on a guy being able to walk out and raise the alarm – the first issue that stuck in my mind with Pike River.

  14. Alexandra 14
    8 January 2011 at 12:25 pm

    The problem with Wishart is his sources are, more often than not, anonymas. He seldom references his authorities, and has a reputation that ought to serve as a warning about the Pike article.
    I struggle to accept that any of the contractors would be so fucking stupid to deliberately tamper with the sensors. The risks are far too obvious. I dont know anything about the sensors, but would they be so vulnerable that they can be covered with gum to prevent them from triggering??

    It just sounds like more wishart bullshit to me. Hopefully, the enquiries will establish why the men were in the mine when the explosion occurred and this kind of speculation will be put to bed.

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    Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    16 hours ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #16 2024
    Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications: Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
    Skeptical Science
    16 hours ago

  • Where on a Computer is the Operating System Generally Stored? Delving into the Digital Home of your ...
    The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    16 hours ago

  • How Many Watts Does a Laptop Use? Understanding Power Consumption and Efficiency
    Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    17 hours ago

  • How to Screen Record on a Dell Laptop A Guide to Capturing Your Screen with Ease
    Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    17 hours ago

  • How Much Does it Cost to Fix a Laptop Screen? Navigating Repair Options and Costs
    A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    17 hours ago

  • How Long Do Gaming Laptops Last? Demystifying Lifespan and Maximizing Longevity
    Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    17 hours ago

  • Climate Change: Turning the tide
    The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    18 hours ago

  • How to Unlock Your Computer A Comprehensive Guide to Regaining Access
    Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    19 hours ago

  • Faxing from Your Computer A Modern Guide to Sending Documents Digitally
    While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    19 hours ago

  • Protecting Your Home Computer A Guide to Cyber Awareness
    In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    19 hours ago

  • Server-Based Computing Powering the Modern Digital Landscape
    In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    19 hours ago

  • Vroom vroom go the big red trucks
    The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    19 hours ago

  • Jones finds $410,000 to help the government muscle in on a spat project
    Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    20 hours ago

  • Again, hate crimes are not necessarily terrorism.
    Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    23 hours ago

  • Despair – construction consenting edition
    Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    23 hours ago

  • Coalition promises – will the Govt keep the commitment to keep Kiwis equal before the law?
    Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    23 hours ago

  • An impermanent public service is a guarantee of very little else but failure
    Chris Trotter writes –  The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago

  • What happens after the war – Mariupol
    Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
    Open ParachuteBy Ken
    1 day ago

  • Babies and benefits – no good news
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three.  ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago

  • Should the RBNZ be looking through climate inflation?
    Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours, as of 9:16 am on Thursday, April 18 are:Housing: Tauranga residents living in boats, vans RNZ Checkpoint Louise TernouthHousing: Waikato councillor says wastewater plant issues could hold up Sleepyhead building a massive company town Waikato Times Stephen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the public sector carnage, and misogyny as terrorism
    It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    1 day ago

  • Meeting the Master Baiters
    Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 day ago

  • How extreme was the Earth's temperature in 2023
    This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blog In 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 day ago

  • Backbone, revisited
    The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Ministers are not above the law
    Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • What’s the outfit you can hear going down the gurgler? Probably it’s David Parker’s Oceans Sec...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point  of Order first heard of the Oceans Secretariat in June 2021, when David Parker (remember him?) announced a multi-agency approach to protecting New Zealand’s marine ecosystems and fisheries. Parker (holding the Environment, and Oceans and Fisheries portfolios) broke the news at the annual Forest & ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Bryce Edwards writes  – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Matt Doocey doubles down on trans “healthcare”
    Citizen Science writes –  Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • A TikTok Prime Minister.
    One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • Texas Lessons
    This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    2 days ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links at 6:06 am
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours as of 6:06 am on Wednesday, April 17 are:Must read: Secrecy shrouds which projects might be fast-tracked RNZ Farah HancockScoop: Revealed: Luxon has seven staffers working on social media content - partly paid for by taxpayer Newshub ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Fighting poverty on the holiday highway
    Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago

  • Bernard's six-stack of substacks at 6:26 pm
    Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • At a glance – Is the science settled?
    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
    3 days ago

  • Apposite Quotations.
    How Long Is Long Enough? Gaza under Israeli bombardment, July 2014. This posting is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 days ago

  • What’s a life worth now?
    You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Howling at the Moon
    Karl du Fresne writes –  There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Newshub is Dead.
    I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Seymour is chuffed about cutting early-learning red tape – but we hear, too, that Jones has loose...
    Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago

  • Was Hawkesby entirely wrong?
    David Farrar  writes –  The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • PRC shadow looms as the Solomons head for election
    PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time. A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Climate Change: Criminal ecocide
    We are in the middle of a climate crisis. Last year was (again) the hottest year on record. NOAA has just announced another global coral bleaching event. Floods are threatening UK food security. So naturally, Shane Jones wants to make it easier to mine coal: Resources Minister Shane Jones ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • Is saving one minute of a politician's time worth nearly $1 billion?
    Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Long Tunnel or Long Con?
    Yesterday it was revealed that Transport Minister had asked Waka Kotahi to look at the options for a long tunnel through Wellington. State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    3 days ago

  • Smoke And Mirrors.
    You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • What is Mexico doing about climate change?
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • State of humanity, 2024
    2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Govt’s Wellington tunnel vision aims to ease the way to the airport (but zealous promoters of cycl...
    Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • The case for cultural connectedness
    A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Useful context on public sector job cuts
    David Farrar writes –    The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated.   While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell On When Racism Comes Disguised As Anti-racism
    Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    4 days ago

  • Govt ignored economic analysis of smokefree reversal
    Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • True Blue.
    True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • Who is running New Zealand’s foreign policy?
    While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago

  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #15
    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 7, 2024 thru Sat, April 13, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week is about adults in the room setting terms and conditions of ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Feline Friends and Fragile Fauna The Complexities of Cats in New Zealand’s Conservation Efforts

    Cats, with their independent spirit and beguiling purrs, have captured the hearts of humans for millennia. In New Zealand, felines are no exception, boasting the highest national cat ownership rate globally [definition cat nz cat foundation]. An estimated 1.134 million pet cats grace Kiwi households, compared to 683,000 dogs ...

    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    5 days ago

  • Or is that just they want us to think?
    Nice guy, that Peter Williams. Amiable, a calm air of no-nonsense capability, a winning smile. Everything you look for in a TV presenter and newsreader.I used to see him sometimes when I went to TVNZ to be a talking head or a panellist and we would yarn. Nice guy, that ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Fact Brief – Did global warming stop in 1998?
    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Did global warming stop in ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • Arguing over a moot point.
    I have been following recent debates in the corporate and social media about whether it is a good idea for NZ to join what is known as “AUKUS Pillar Two.” AUKUS is the Australian-UK-US nuclear submarine building agreement in which … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    6 days ago

  • No Longer Trusted: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    Turning Point: “What has turned me away from the mainstream news media is the very strong message that its been sending out for the last few years.” “And what message might that be?” “That the people who own it, the people who run it, and the people who provide its content, really don’t ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago

  • Mortgage rates at 10% anyone?
    No – nothing about that in PM Luxon’s nine-point plan to improve the lives of New Zealanders. But beyond our shores Jamie Dimon, the long-serving head of global bank J.P. Morgan Chase, reckons that the chances of a goldilocks soft landing for the economy are “a lot lower” than the ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    6 days ago

  • Sad tales from the left
    Michael Bassett writes –  Have you noticed the odd way in which the media are handling the government’s crackdown on surplus employees in the Public Service? Very few reporters mention the crazy way in which State Service numbers rocketed ahead by more than 16,000 during Labour’s six years, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Minister to Europe for OECD meeting, Anzac Day
    Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 hours ago

  • Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago

  • Government commits $20m to Westport flood protection
    The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    19 hours ago

  • Taupō takes pole position
    The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago

  • Cost of living support for low-income homeowners
    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners.  “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago

  • Government backing mussel spat project
    The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago

  • Government focused on getting people into work
    Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Clean energy key driver to reducing emissions
    The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forward
    The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic Partnership
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government consults on extending coastal permits for ports
    RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Inflation coming down, but more work to do
    Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • School attendance restored as a priority in health advice
    Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Unnecessary bureaucracy cut in oceans sector
    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Patterson promoting NZ’s wool sector at International Congress
    Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector.    "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Removing red tape to help early learners thrive
    The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • RMA changes to cut coal mining consent red tape
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