Wipeout

Written By: - Date published: 10:04 am, May 21st, 2018 - 31 comments
Categories: climate change, science, sustainability - Tags: , ,

It’s Monday morning, and not for the first time, I find myself agog that most people reading this will have gone to work to do some stuff, in the expectation that the school kids they might be passing on their way to do whatever they do, will be able to do the same type of stuff, and harbour the same broad expectations as they do when they grow up.

Yet another piece of research has been published on the perilous position of the world’s insect population. Apparently the most comprehensive study to date, it suggests that up to half of insect habitat will be “unsuitable” by century’s end if governments honoured cuts promised with the Paris Agreement.

The study has been published in “Science” which is behind a paywall, and at the time of posting I’m having problems accessing Sci-Hub to read the whole paper for myself. Regardless, what is clear from the Guardian’s reporting on it, is that yet again, the elephant in the room is being assiduously ignored.

The study looked at current geographic ranges and current climate conditions within the geographic ranges of some thousands of species and then calculated how ranges would change under different temperature increases.

Obviously then, there is no factoring in of habitat loss due to changes in land use. And there is no factoring in of pesticide use. And that, besides much else, is acknowledged and fair enough.

But the big one, and the one that never seems to factor in the commentary on such studies, is the research showing degradation of remaining food sources under accelerated growing conditions and the knock on effect that has up through the food chain. The base of the food chain is losing substantial quantities of its protein under accelerated growing conditions that favour the production of sugars. That means that insects are less robust and less able to withstand a whole host of impacts that a healthy population may have happily sailed on through. (It’s a bit like how our health and resilience drops away if we only ever eat highly processed sugar laden foods.)

It’s quaint that the Guardian has published another piece, inspired by their reporting on the “Nature” study, outlining what people might do to lend a helping hand to insects. But beyond being a ‘nice thing to do’, turning gardens and verges or whatever else into supposed insect sanctuaries is utterly pointless given those those sanctuaries will only provide seriously and increasingly denuded sources of food.

Is it worth noting, knowing as we do that our staple crops are losing their nutritional value because of rising levels of atmospheric CO2, that billions of us, much like many species of insects, also obtain the bulk of our protein from plant sources?

The bit that gets me is that we know how to stop things getting any worse. And yet…

So why do we continue doing what we do?

Do we hate this world?

 

31 comments on “Wipeout ”

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  1. Sabine 1
    21 May 2018 at 10:48 am

    no, but the vast majority of the world does not have the power to change anything, and those that have the power don’t see the need as they believe they will not be affected by their actions.

    We might want to take public transport, but if the state does not put the infrastructure in place we sill have to use private transport.
    And so it is with everything else.

    besides, we are in the ‘endtimes’ 🙂 , so its loot slash n burn, cause after us it will be the deluge. And that is the mind set of many. I have mine, and you having yours is not important.

    In the meantime i plant for insects, cause why not? We have nothing to loose, right?

    • Bill 1.1
      21 May 2018 at 11:09 am

      So if this is “end times” and “deluge” or whatever, then why keep ourselves constrained with all the striving and expectation and planning for stuff that’s going to ‘heading south’?

      The moment we stop playing along with the fantasy that promises a linear improvement on today’s prospects, the people who currently enjoy power become impotent.

      And seeing as how all we have to do is not do, it’s a devastatingly simple thing to bring this apparent juggernaut to a dead stop.

      I know that “me” not driving or holding down a job or flying and whatever else is likely just the imperceptible shifting of an unnoticed grain of sand on a beach. That said, just the smallest or seemingly insignificant movement “of a nothing” on a mountainside can presage a landslide or catastrophic collapse. Or not. 😉

      • Sabine 1.1.1
        21 May 2018 at 11:21 am

        Bill, ‘the endtimes’ refer to our way of life that is literally in death throws as it is not sustainable.
        Apres moi la deluge – after me the floods is simply a saying of many that they don’t care so as long as they have what they want. Hoskins and his ilk come to mind,

        The people that currently enjoy power do so because sadly we gave it to them or they took it. You go up to parliament and try to throw one out of the window – and i am all for a few cases of ‘defenestration’ (it worked so well in the 14 century leading to the thirty year war ) but alas, the police which is not there to serve and protect us but is there to uphold the privileges of the movers and shakers, will take us and charge us with the crime of throwing some gasbag out of a window 🙂 . Go back in history and accept the fact that there will always be a strong man or women – elected by the people or by the gun.
        So even tho that i know change is gonna come, and most likely it will not be good change’ will continue to plant for insects. Why? Because i can. Simple as.

        And maybe if more of us would do what we can, rather then discussing what our ‘elite’ does not do – not for want nor money – we would actually get somewhere.
        But as long as we expect stuff to be done for us, and that is the crux of the matter, nothing will change, cause obviously there is no need for it, or else we would change? No?

        • Bill 1.1.1.1
          21 May 2018 at 11:36 am

          It seems we’re basically in agreement Sabine.

          I’m not convinced that every society in every culture throughout history had a ‘hard set’ social/political hierarchy headed up by an entrenched leader or clique. But then, I’ve been accused of being a dreamer before now 🙂

  2. Phil 2
    21 May 2018 at 11:06 am

    But wait there’s the wedding to report…… As McPherson says, ” Nature always bats last. “

  3. Draco T Bastard 3
    21 May 2018 at 11:10 am

    So why do we continue doing what we do?</blockquote?
    Because rich people are getting richer.

    That has been the modus operandi of every government for the last few centuries – make rich people richer. The fact that doing so causes huge amounts of poverty and deprivation and can now be seen to damage the environment is studiously ignored.

    • adam 3.1
      21 May 2018 at 11:49 am

      Greed, a whole book dedicated to it’s vice and promoting it not happening has been roaming around for quite some time. Mind you the Koch brothers have done a good job funding the whole prosperity theology fundamentalist gig.

      Prosperity Theology, for those who can’t quite grasp the core message of the gospels. And need a little help getting over being greedy.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosperity_theology

    • tc 3.2
      21 May 2018 at 11:49 am

      +100

      Also the more you move the hives about desperate to get the honey production your business model is based on the more of the hive you lose each time. There’s also these imported wasps that seek and destroy the hive colonies.

      Heard an oceanographer present some research on over 300 fish species that asks do the bigger ones in a species have a bigger impact i.e lay more / larger eggs spawning bigger fish.

      A categorical yes they do (using research that’s been about for decades) yet we continue to hound and plunder species like Tuna into extinction also. So on land and at sea we’re decimating the ecosystems we need to sustain the creatures that in turn sustain us.

      • greywarshark 3.2.1
        21 May 2018 at 12:50 pm

        And when it comes to fish the research shows that those in charge of protecting and controlling the harvest of this resource in our government department have been filing in an out-of-the-way shelf any information that shows that Something Must Be Done to conserve it. Can’t give source, you’ll have to fish it out for yourself. Using a long-line of course which may affect your net profit.

      • cleangreen 3.2.2
        22 May 2018 at 7:43 am

        100% tc.

        Pushing productivity is the evil killer of our ecosystems for sure as we see it every day now.

  4. Ovid 4
    21 May 2018 at 11:18 am

    The bit that gets me is that we know how to stop things getting any worse. And yet…

    So why do we continue doing what we do?

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons

    • Bill 4.1
      21 May 2018 at 11:31 am

      The “Tragedy of the Commons” argument is a thoroughly discredited piece of bullshit, and anyway, can hardly be applied to the situation of capitalism that has quite deliberately enclosed and destroyed the commons the world over.

      • Sabine 4.1.1
        21 May 2018 at 12:29 pm

        oh mate, please show me the society that not has its own elite, with its own hard set of social / political hierarchy headed by some fuckwit with the biggest stick.

        As a women i would love to see that society and what happened to it 🙂 and I don’t consider myself a dreamer.

      • greywarshark 4.1.2
        21 May 2018 at 12:53 pm

        Why is The tragedy of the commons a ‘thoroughly discredited piece of bullshit’?

        • Bill 4.1.2.1
          21 May 2018 at 1:02 pm

          It inserted notions of individualism into the basis of the argument and assumed a complete absence of any possible collective management.

          • greywarshark 4.1.2.1.1
            21 May 2018 at 1:13 pm

            Is this like the NZ colonial government trying to get Maori to accept individual title on their land. And till now, refusing them investment money on their collective titled land, so that they are hamstrung from doing much with it?

          • Bewildered 4.1.2.1.2
            21 May 2018 at 2:14 pm

            See 4.1.1,

        • Draco T Bastard 4.1.2.2
          21 May 2018 at 2:44 pm

          The Myth of the Tragedy of the Commons

          Where’s the evidence?

          Given the subsequent influence of Hardin’s essay, it’s shocking to realize that he provided no evidence at all to support his sweeping conclusions. He claimed that the “tragedy” was inevitable — but he didn’t show that it had happened even once.

          Hardin simply ignored what actually happens in a real commons: self-regulation by the communities involved. One such process was described years earlier in Friedrich Engels’ account of the “mark,” the form taken by commons-based communities in parts of pre-capitalist Germany:

          “[T]he use of arable and meadowlands was under the supervision and direction of the community …

          “Just as the share of each member in so much of the mark as was distributed was of equal size, so was his share also in the use of the ‘common mark.’ The nature of this use was determined by the members of the community as a whole. …

          “At fixed times and, if necessary, more frequently, they met in the open air to discuss the affairs of the mark and to sit in judgment upon breaches of regulations and disputes concerning the mark.” (Engels 1892)

          Historians and other scholars have broadly confirmed Engels’ description of communal management of shared resources. A summary of recent research concludes:

          “[W]hat existed in fact was not a ‘tragedy of the commons’ but rather a triumph: that for hundreds of years — and perhaps thousands, although written records do not exist to prove the longer era — land was managed successfully by communities.” (Cox 1985: 60)

          That would be, contrary to what the capitalists tell us, communism working.

    • Molly 4.2
      21 May 2018 at 12:45 pm

      From my point of view, the ‘Tragedy of the Commons’ is used as justification for privatisation. The real tragedy is that as people were disconnected from communities the social contract for common resources was broken, and greed and self-justification for the same became a method of getting ahead.

      The ‘commons’ use of resources can be found in many societies – including western – and works because of the geographical closeness of those involved. If you took more than you should, you had to deal with other members of the community when you were trading, selling and socialising. There was a self-correcting mechanism. As resources became monetarised, ‘owners’ could go elsewhere, and live their lives without the need to face the consequences of taking more than their share. The tragedy really is the use of capital to appropriate true ‘commons’.

      • Bill 4.2.1
        21 May 2018 at 1:03 pm

        The tragedy really is the use of capital to appropriate true ‘commons’.

        Yup.

  5. greywarshark 5
    21 May 2018 at 11:23 am

    Well said Bill. The general public haven’t caught on to the seriousness for the world’s future. Money is still the most important thing and then you can buy your way out of personal responsibility to others, to a tax system that is fairly progressive, to the environmental requirements that are boring and not newsworthy.

    The little people with obsessions, the Greenies, flap on endlessly about their favourite dogma. What do they know, they’re poor and harp on about old-fashioned practices because they haven’t the brains to see that the answer for the future is in technolology, that’s the way to make money; those others can do their thing and just scratch a living.

    What is needed is a group who can see it all and join together in a way that dramatises the urgency and the wisdom. They can group and call themselves SuperHeroes. Superman and his cohort try to do good. So would this group and be looking at all sorts of action with a vow to be careful, controlled, try to be positive and keep in touch with the latest activity and monitor the results. They must care about people and respect them as there is a group that likes the idea of an Eden for themselves while people are a nuisance and a blot on the world. Actually it turns out that we are, but we have to take equal portions of disdain, and try to utilise our strengths in problem solving and rejigging ourselves and society.

    It would excite the young, so willing to take risks in sports such as mountain biking and adventure marathons. One aspect of the excitement is that the group would be targeted by government and business because it would be a restraint on business as they know it. Big business even when it appears to be thinking environmentally and socially, will fall to the corruption meme – the bigger and more powerful and monetised, the more corrupt.

    SuperHeroes would have to care about people as well as the environment, insects etc. And all be doing something agreed as wise, not just providing funds. There are plenty of fence sitters watching and protesting occasionally and funding, good but not enough to make a difference. And who’re ya gonna call – SuperHeroes! No, SuperHeroes need to be there before the dull and the diverted have to realise the volume of the problem.

  6. adam 6
    21 May 2018 at 11:41 am

    So much for the plan to eat insects with the collapse of agriculture then…

  7. pat 7
    21 May 2018 at 11:51 am

    Fear…

    ..of the future

    ..of the unknown

    …of change

    ….of difference

    It is safer (and easier) to live in the present state of delusion. The mindset you describe applies in the main to the wealthy ‘west’ I would suggest, not those whose existence is daily challenged….and sadly it is that (our) cohort that is responsible and able to (attempt) to effect the necessary change….we won’t.

  8. Robert Guyton 8
    21 May 2018 at 12:13 pm

    Do we “hate the world”?
    Most of us do; the wild world any way, just as we have been taught to do.
    Love wasps? Convolvulus? Couch? Blowflies? Borer beetles? We’ve been fooled into thinking that our place in the order of things relies upon destroying all life that doesn’t benefit us directly. That’s resulted in us hating, unconsciously perhaps, almost everything that lives.

  9. greywarshark 9
    21 May 2018 at 12:37 pm

    I can’t love wasps Robert, or convulvulus or the other things mentioned. I don’t like perfection and sterility though so perhaps I’m not so bad. But no sainthood for me.

    But I can make prophecies. No-one here will say what a good idea it is this SuperHero thing. Let me at it. What there will be is judicious chewing or outright rejection of the idea.

    Because that is what we are good at these days, thinking and quarrelling and scathing and belittling, and being cautious because – to quote from Yes Minister,
    “Many, many things must be done, but nothing must be done for the first time.”
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmXzGI0XP7M

  10. DB 10
    21 May 2018 at 12:47 pm

    DDT making bugs relax, there in your food like poison tacks. – Iron Butterfly, 1968.

    Here in NZ just last season cows had the screaming shits as the high temps and rainfall were making grasses more sugar less protein – this I got from a Fonterra Exec.

    Who needs to wait for the future.

  12. eco maori 12
    21 May 2018 at 9:53 pm

    Good post Bill Ka pai e hoa we need to treat all the living beings on Papatuanukue with the respect they deserve the insects have been on Papatuanukue for hundreds of millions of years and we are going to wipe them out in 100 years we need the wild life all life for us to searvive they are the canary in the mines a warning if they go we are next Ka kite ano

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  • STEPHEN FRANKS: Press seek to publicly shame doctor – we must push back
    The following is a message sent yesterday from lawyer Stephen Franks on behalf of the Free Speech Union. I don’t like to interrupt first thing Monday morning, but we’ve just become aware of a case where we think immediate and overwhelming attention could help turn the tide. It involves someone ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Competing on cruelty
    The right-wing message calendar is clearly reading "cruelty" today, because both National and NZ First have released beneficiary-bashing policies. National is promising a "traffic light" system to police and kick beneficiaries, which will no doubt be accompanied by arbitrary internal targets to classify people as "orange" or "red" to keep ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • Further funding for Pharmac (forgotten in the Budget?) looks like a $1bn appeal from a PM in need of...
    Buzz from the Beehive One Labour plan  – for 3000 more public homes by 2025 – is the most recent to be posted on the government’s official website. Another – a prime ministerial promise of more funding for Pharmac – has been released as a Labour Party press statement. Who ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: The Vested interests shaping National Party policies
    As the National Party gets closer to government, lobbyists and business interests will be lining up for influence and to get policies adopted. It’s therefore in the public interest to have much more scrutiny and transparency about potential conflicts of interests that might arise. One of the key individuals of ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago

  • Labour may be on way out of power and NZ First back in – but will Peters go into coalition with Na...
    Voters  are deserting Labour in droves, despite Chris  Hipkins’  valiant  rearguard  action.  So  where  are they  heading?  Clearly  not all of them are going to vote National, which concedes that  the  outcome  will be “close”. To the Right of National, the ACT party just a  few weeks  ago  was ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    4 days ago

  • GRAHAM ADAMS: Will the racists please stand up?
    Accusations of racism by journalists and MPs are being called out. Graham Adams writes –    With the election less than three weeks away, what co-governance means in practice — including in water management, education, planning law and local government — remains largely obscure. Which is hardly ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on whether Winston Peters can be a moderating influence
    As the centre-right has (finally!) been subjected to media interrogation, the polls are indicating that some voters may be starting to have second thoughts about the wisdom of giving National and ACT the power to govern alone. That’s why yesterday’s Newshub/Reid Research poll had the National/ACT combo dropping to 60 ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    4 days ago

  • Tuesday’s Chorus: RBNZ set to rain on National's victory parade
    ANZ has increased its forecast for house inflation later this year on signs of growing momentum in the market ahead of the election. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: National has campaigned against the Labour Government’s record on inflation and mortgage rates, but there’s now a growing chance the Reserve ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • After a Pittsburgh coal processing plant closed, ER visits plummeted
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Katie Myers. This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Pittsburgh, in its founding, was blessed and cursed with two abundant natural resources: free-flowing rivers and a nearby coal seam. ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • September-23 AT Board Meeting
    Today the AT board meet again and once again I’ve taken a look at what’s on the agenda to find the most interesting items. Closed Agenda Interestingly when I first looked at the agendas this paper was there but at the time of writing this post it had been ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    4 days ago

  • Electorate Watch: West Coast-Tasman
    Continuing my series on interesting electorates, today it’s West Coast-Tasman.A long thin electorate running down the northern half of the west coast of the South Island. Think sand flies, beautiful landscapes, lots of rain, Pike River, alternative lifestylers, whitebaiting, and the spiritual home of the Labour Party. A brief word ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • Big money brings Winston back
    National leader Christopher Luxon yesterday morning conceded it and last night’s Newshub poll confirmed it; Winston Peters and NZ First are not only back but highly likely to be part of the next government. It is a remarkable comeback for a party that was tossed out of Parliament in ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago

  • 20 days until Election Day, 7 until early voting begins… but what changes will we really see here?
    As this blogger, alongside many others, has already posited in another forum: we all know the National Party’s “budget” (meaning this concept of even adding up numbers properly is doing a lot of heavy, heavy lifting right now) is utter and complete bunk (read hung, drawn and quartered and ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    4 days ago

  • A night out
    Everyone was asking, Are you nervous? and my response was various forms of God, yes.I've written more speeches than I can count; not much surprises me when the speaker gets to their feet and the room goes quiet.But a play? Never.YOU CAME! THANK YOU! Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • A pallid shade of Green III
    Clearly Labour's focus groups are telling it that it needs to pay more attention to climate change - because hot on the heels of their weaksauce energy efficiency pilot programme and not-great-but-better-than-nothing solar grants, they've released a full climate manifesto. Unfortunately, the core policies in it - a second Emissions ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • A coalition of racism, cruelty, and chaos
    Today's big political news is that after months of wibbling, National's Chris Luxon has finally confirmed that he is willing to work with Winston Peters to become Prime Minister. Which is expected, but I guess it tells us something about which way the polls are going. Which raises the question: ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • More migrant workers should help generate the tax income needed to provide benefits for job seekers
    Buzz from the Beehive Under something described as a “rebalance” of its immigration rules, the Government has adopted four of five recommendations made in an independent review released in July, The fifth, which called on the government to specify criteria for out-of-hours compliance visits similar to those used during ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • Letter To Luxon.
    Some of you might know Gerard Otto (G), and his G News platform. This morning he wrote a letter to Christopher Luxon which I particularly enjoyed, and with his agreement I’m sharing it with you in this guest newsletter.If you’d like to make a contribution to support Gerard’s work you ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • LINDSAY MITCHELL: Alarming trend in benefit numbers
    Lindsay Mitchell writes –  While there will not be another quarterly release of benefit numbers prior to the election, limited weekly reporting continues and is showing an alarming trend. Because there is a seasonal component to benefit number fluctuations it is crucial to compare like with like. In ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • BRIAN EASTON: Has there been external structural change?
    A close analysis of the Treasury assessment of the Medium Term in its PREFU 2023 suggests the economy may be entering a new phase.   Brian Easton writes –  Last week I explained that the forecasts in the just published Treasury Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update (PREFU 2023) was ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • CRL Progress – Sep-23
    It’s been a while since we looked at the latest with the City Rail Link and there’s been some fantastic milestones recently. To start with, and most recently, CRL have released an awesome video showing a full fly-through of one of the tunnels. Come fly with us! You asked for ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    5 days ago

  • Monday’s Chorus: Not building nearly enough
    We are heading into another period of fast population growth without matching increased home building or infrastructure investment.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Labour and National detailed their house building and migration approaches over the weekend, with both pledging fast population growth policies without enough house building or infrastructure investment ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • Game on; Hipkins comes out punching
    Labour leader Chris Hipkins yesterday took the gloves off and laid into National and its leader Christopher Luxon. For many in Labour – and particularly for some at the top of the caucus and the party — it would not have been a moment too soon. POLITIK is aware ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago

  • Tax Cut Austerity Blues.
    The leaders have had their go, they’ve told us the “what?” and the “why?” of their promises. Now it’s the turn of the would be Finance Ministers to tell us the “how?”, the “how much?”, and the “when?”A chance for those competing for the second most powerful job in the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • MIKE GRIMSHAW:  It’s the economy – and the spirit – Stupid…
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Over the past 30-odd years it’s become almost an orthodoxy to blame or invoke neoliberalism for the failures of New Zealand society. On the left the usual response goes something like, neoliberalism is the cause of everything that’s gone wrong and the answer ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #38
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Sep 17, 2023 thru Sat, Sep 23, 2023. Story of the Week  Opinion: Let’s free ourselves from the story of economic growth A relentless focus on economic growth has ushered in ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • The End Of The World.
    Have you been looking out of your window for signs of the apocalypse? Don’t worry, you haven’t been door knocked by a representative of the Brian Tamaki party. They’re probably a bit busy this morning spruiking salvation, or getting ready to march on our parliament, which is closed. No, I’ve ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago

  • Climate Town: The Brainwashing Of America's Children
    Climate Town is the YouTube channel of Rollie Williams and a ragtag team of climate communicators, creatives and comedians. They examine climate change in a way that doesn’t make you want to eat a cyanide pill. Get informed about the climate crisis before the weather does it for you. The latest ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Has There Been External Structural Change?
    A close analysis of the Treasury assessment of the Medium Term in its PREFU 2023 suggests the economy may be entering a new phase. Last week I explained that the forecasts in the just published Treasury Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update (PREFU 2023) was similar to the May Budget BEFU, ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago

  • Another Labour bully
    Back in June, we learned that Kiri Allan was a Parliamentary bully. And now there's another one: Labour MP Shanan Halbert: The Labour Party was alerted to concerns about [Halbert's] alleged behaviour a year ago but because staffers wanted to remain anonymous, no formal process was undertaken [...] The ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago

  • Climate Change: Ignoring our biggest problem
    Its that time in the election season where the status quo parties are busy accusing each other of having fiscal holes in a desperate effort to appear more "responsible" (but not, you understand, by promising to tax wealth or land to give the government the revenue it needs to do ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago

  • JERRY COYNE: A good summary of the mess that is science education in New Zealand
    JERRY COYNE writes –  If you want to see what the government of New Zealand is up to with respect to science education, you can’t do better than listening to this video/slideshow by two exponents of the “we-need-two-knowledge-systems” view. I’ve gotten a lot of scary stuff from Kiwi ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 week ago

  • Good news on the GDP front is accompanied by news of a $5m govt boost for Supercars (but what about ...
    Buzz from the Beehive First, we were treated to the news (from Finance Minister Grant Robertson) that the economy has turned a corner and New Zealand never was in recession.  This was triggered by statistics which showed the economy expanded 0.9 per cent in the June quarter, twice as much as ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • The Scafetta Saga
    It has taken 17 months to get a comment published pointing out the obvious errors in the Scafetta (2022) paper in GRL. Back in March 2022, Nicola Scafetta published a short paper in Geophysical Research Letters (GRL) purporting to show through ‘advanced’ means that ‘all models with ECS > ...
    Real ClimateBy Gavin
    1 week ago

  • Friday's Chorus: Penny wise and pound foolish
    TL;DR: In the middle of a climate emergency and in a city prone to earthquakes, Victoria University of Wellington announced yesterday it would stop teaching geophysics, geographic information science and physical geography to save $22 million a year and repay debt. Climate change damage in Aotearoa this year is already ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • CHRIS TROTTER: Calling the big dog’s bluff
      For nearly thirty years the pundits have been telling the minor parties that they must be good little puppies and let the big dogs decide. The parties with a plurality of the votes cast must be allowed to govern – even if that means ignoring the ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 week ago

  • The electorate swing, Labour limbo and Luxon-Hipkins two-step
     Another poll, another 27 for Labour. It was July the last time one of the reputable TV company polls had Labour's poll percentage starting with a three, so the limbo question is now being asked: how low can you go?It seems such an unlikely question because this doesn't feel like the kind ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    1 week ago

  • A Womance, and a Nomance.
    After the trench warfare of Tuesday night, when the two major parties went head to head, last night was the turn of the minor parties. Hosts Newshub termed it “the Powerbrokers' Debate”.Based on the latest polls the four parties taking part - ACT, the Greens, New Zealand First, and Te ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • New community-level energy projects to support more than 800 Māori households
    Seven more innovative community-scale energy projects will receive government funding through the Māori and Public Housing Renewable Energy Fund to bring more affordable, locally generated clean energy to more than 800 Māori households, Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods says. “We’ve already funded 42 small-scale clean energy projects that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Huge boost to Te Tai Tokerau flood resilience
    The Government has approved new funding that will boost resilience and greatly reduce the risk of major flood damage across Te Tai Tokerau. Significant weather events this year caused severe flooding and damage across the region. The $8.9m will be used to provide some of the smaller communities and maraes ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Napier’s largest public housing development comes with solar
    The largest public housing development in Napier for many years has been recently completed and has the added benefit of innovative solar technology, thanks to Government programmes, says Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods. The 24 warm, dry homes are in Seddon Crescent, Marewa and Megan Woods says the whanau living ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Te Whānau a Apanui and the Crown initial Deed of Settlement I Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me...
    Māori: Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me te Karauna te Whakaaetanga Whakataunga Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me te Karauna i tētahi Whakaaetanga Whakataunga hei whakamihi i ō rātou tāhuhu kerēme Tiriti o Waitangi. E tekau mā rua ngā hapū o roto mai o Te Whānau ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Plan for 3,000 more public homes by 2025 – regions set to benefit
    Regions around the country will get significant boosts of public housing in the next two years, as outlined in the latest public housing plan update, released by the Housing Minister, Dr Megan Woods. “We’re delivering the most public homes each year since the Nash government of the 1950s with one ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Immigration settings updates
    Judicial warrant process for out-of-hours compliance visits 2023/24 Recognised Seasonal Employer cap increased by 500 Additional roles for Construction and Infrastructure Sector Agreement More roles added to Green List Three-month extension for onshore Recovery Visa holders The Government has confirmed a number of updates to immigration settings as part of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Poroporoaki: Tā Patrick (Patu) Wahanga Hohepa
    Tangi ngunguru ana ngā tai ki te wahapū o Hokianga Whakapau Karakia. Tārehu ana ngā pae maunga ki Te Puna o te Ao Marama. Korihi tangi ana ngā manu, kua hinga he kauri nui ki te Wao Nui o Tāne. He Toa. He Pou. He Ahorangi. E papaki tū ana ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Renewable energy fund to support community resilience
    40 solar energy systems on community buildings in regions affected by Cyclone Gabrielle and other severe weather events Virtual capability-building hub to support community organisations get projects off the ground Boost for community-level renewable energy projects across the country At least 40 community buildings used to support the emergency response ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • COVID-19 funding returned to Government
    The lifting of COVID-19 isolation and mask mandates in August has resulted in a return of almost $50m in savings and recovered contingencies, Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Following the revocation of mandates and isolation, specialised COVID-19 telehealth and alternative isolation accommodation are among the operational elements ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Appointment of District Court Judge
    Susie Houghton of Auckland has been appointed as a new District Court Judge, to serve on the Family Court, Attorney-General David Parker said today.  Judge Houghton has acted as a lawyer for child for more than 20 years. She has acted on matters relating to the Hague Convention, an international ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Government invests further in Central Hawke’s Bay resilience
    The Government has today confirmed $2.5 million to fund a replace and upgrade a stopbank to protect the Waipawa Drinking Water Treatment Plant. “As a result of Cyclone Gabrielle, the original stopbank protecting the Waipawa Drinking Water Treatment Plant was destroyed. The plant was operational within 6 weeks of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Govt boost for Hawke’s Bay cyclone waste clean-up
    Another $2.1 million to boost capacity to deal with waste left in Cyclone Gabrielle’s wake. Funds for Hastings District Council, Phoenix Contracting and Hog Fuel NZ to increase local waste-processing infrastructure. The Government is beefing up Hawke’s Bay’s Cyclone Gabrielle clean-up capacity with more support dealing with the massive amount ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Taupō Supercars revs up with Government support
    The future of Supercars events in New Zealand has been secured with new Government support. The Government is getting engines started through the Major Events Fund, a special fund to support high profile events in New Zealand that provide long-term economic, social and cultural benefits. “The Repco Supercars Championship is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • There is no recession in NZ, economy grows nearly 1 percent in June quarter
    The economy has turned a corner with confirmation today New Zealand never was in recession and stronger than expected growth in the June quarter, Finance Minister Grant Robertson said. “The New Zealand economy is doing better than expected,” Grant Robertson said. “It’s continuing to grow, with the latest figures showing ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Highest legal protection for New Zealand’s largest freshwater springs
    The Government has accepted the Environment Court’s recommendation to give special legal protection to New Zealand’s largest freshwater springs, Te Waikoropupū Springs (also known as Pupū Springs), Environment Minister David Parker announced today.   “Te Waikoropupū Springs, near Takaka in Golden Bay, have the second clearest water in New Zealand after ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • More support for victims of migrant exploitation
    Temporary package of funding for accommodation and essential living support for victims of migrant exploitation Exploited migrant workers able to apply for a further Migrant Exploitation Protection Visa (MEPV), giving people more time to find a job Free job search assistance to get people back into work Use of 90-day ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Strong export boost as NZ economy turns corner
    An export boost is supporting New Zealand’s economy to grow, adding to signs that the economy has turned a corner and is on a stronger footing as we rebuild from Cyclone Gabrielle and lock in the benefits of multiple new trade deals, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. “The economy is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Funding approved for flood resilience work in Te Karaka
    The Government has approved $15 million to raise about 200 homes at risk of future flooding. More than half of this is expected to be spent in the Tairāwhiti settlement of Te Karaka, lifting about 100 homes there. “Te Karaka was badly hit during Cyclone Gabrielle when the Waipāoa River ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Further business support for cyclone-affected regions
    The Government is helping businesses recover from Cyclone Gabrielle and attract more people back into their regions. “Cyclone Gabrielle has caused considerable damage across North Island regions with impacts continuing to be felt by businesses and communities,” Economic Development Minister Barbara Edmonds said. “Building on our earlier business support, this ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • New maintenance facility at Burnham Military Camp underway
    Defence Minister Andrew Little has turned the first sod to start construction of a new Maintenance Support Facility (MSF) at Burnham Military Camp today. “This new state-of-art facility replaces Second World War-era buildings and will enable our Defence Force to better maintain and repair equipment,” Andrew Little said. “This Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Foreign Minister to attend United Nations General Assembly
    Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta will represent New Zealand at the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York this week, before visiting Washington DC for further Pacific focussed meetings. Nanaia Mahuta will be in New York from Wednesday 20 September, and will participate in UNGA leaders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Midwives’ pay equity offer reached
    Around 1,700 Te Whatu Ora employed midwives and maternity care assistants will soon vote on a proposed pay equity settlement agreed by Te Whatu Ora, the Midwifery Employee Representation and Advisory Service (MERAS) and New Zealand Nurses Association (NZNO), Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. “Addressing historical pay ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • New Zealand provides support to Morocco
    Aotearoa New Zealand will provide humanitarian support to those affected by last week’s earthquake in Morocco, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. “We are making a contribution of $1 million to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to help meet humanitarian needs,” Nanaia Mahuta said. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Government invests in West Coast’s roading resilience
    The Government is investing over $22 million across 18 projects to improve the resilience of roads in the West Coast that have been affected by recent extreme weather, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed today.  A dedicated Transport Resilience Fund has been established for early preventative works to protect the state ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Government invests in Greymouth’s future
    The Government has today confirmed a $2 million grant towards the regeneration of Greymouth’s CBD with construction of a new two-level commercial and public facility. “It will include a visitor facility centred around a new library. Additionally, it will include retail outlets on the ground floor, and both outdoor and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Nanaia Mahuta to attend PIF Foreign Ministers’ Meeting
    Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta will attend the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, in Suva, Fiji alongside New Zealand’s regional counterparts. “Aotearoa New Zealand is deeply committed to working with our pacific whanau to strengthen our cooperation, and share ways to combat the challenges facing the Blue Pacific Continent,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • PREFU shows no recession, growing economy, more jobs and wages ahead of inflation
    Economy to grow 2.6 percent on average over forecast period Treasury not forecasting a recession Inflation to return to the 1-3 percent target band next year Wages set to grow 4.8 percent a year over forecast period Unemployment to peak below the long-term average Fiscal Rules met - Net debt ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago

  • New cancer centre opens in Christchurch
    Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall proudly opened the Canterbury Cancer Centre in Christchurch today. The new facility is the first of its kind and was built with $6.5 million of funding from the Government’s Infrastructure Reference Group scheme for shovel-ready projects allocated in 2020. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago

  • Government invests in top of the south’s roading resilience
    $12 million to improve the resilience of roads in the Nelson, Marlborough and Tasman regions Hope Bypass earmarked in draft Government Policy Statement on land transport $127 million invested in the top of the south’s roads since flooding in 2021 and 2022 The Government is investing over $12 million to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago

  • New Zealanders continue to support the revitalisation of te reo as we celebrate Te Wiki o te Reo Mā...
    Ko tēnei te wiki e whakanui ana i tō tātou reo rangatira. Ko te wā tuku reo Māori, e whakanuia tahitia ai te reo ahakoa kei hea ake tēnā me tēnā o tātou, ka tū ā te Rātū te 14 o Mahuru, ā te 12 o ngā hāora i te ahiahi. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago

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