Written By: - Date published: 6:33 am, May 18th, 2012 - 11 comments
Across the country, the number of party votes National received fell in 2011, except for in Christchurch. Given turn-out fell 10%, the fact more people voted National was a sobering moment for critics of how the rebuild is being handled. Or perhaps not. Now, 87% of Press readers think the government isn’t doing enough. National just got lucky with the timing of the election.
Written By: - Date published: 12:51 pm, May 10th, 2012 - 5 comments
Remember when John Key said that rebuilding Christchurch wasn’t just that city’s challenge, it was New Zealand’s challenge? Yeah, well, now Gerry Brownlee and Bill English are pressuring the council to sell off its assets to pay for the rebuild. Green figures show the madness of that. This is a 20-year rebuild. The dividends over that period are more valuable than one-off sale revenue.
Written By: - Date published: 6:14 am, April 19th, 2012 - 8 comments
Anyone else see the irony in the ‘bureaucracy-slashing National Government‘TM reacting to delays in the Christchurch rebuilding – partly caused by lack of coordination between the local bureaucracy, the existing central government bureaucracy, and the bureaucracy National created especially to deal with the rebuild – by adding another layer of back-room bureaucracy?
Written By: - Date published: 3:31 pm, April 18th, 2012 - 61 comments
According to Gerry Brownlee it isn’t happening.
Written By: - Date published: 12:03 pm, April 15th, 2012 - 155 comments
The facts don’t seem to matter when it comes to our understanding of climate change. As the evidence grows stronger and stronger, so too, apparently, does public skepticism.
Written By: - Date published: 11:04 am, March 20th, 2012 - 16 comments
There’s no rental properties in Christchurch. Impossible for builders to move there and for families to move while their houses are being repaired. Who warned of a mass housing shortage a year ago and called for action? What did the government provide? A few over-priced caravans and a handful of temporary houses far short of the 10,000 promised.
Written By: - Date published: 12:45 pm, March 5th, 2012 - 15 comments
Christchurch is changed forever and there’s no going back. Let the heart of the old city become its memorial.
Written By: - Date published: 9:12 am, March 3rd, 2012 - 113 comments
Keep safe during the “weather bomb”. It will be good practice for the future.
Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, February 23rd, 2012 - 4 comments
As a followup to the “big media” coverage of Christchurch yesterday, there are plenty of people posting on their experiences of life in the quake-ridden city. One that I follow is the blog of award winning Kiwi author Helen Lowe.
Written By: - Date published: 7:15 am, February 22nd, 2012 - 18 comments
The thoughts of the whole country are with Christchurch today.
Written By: - Date published: 9:05 am, February 21st, 2012 - 54 comments
Key upbeat about quake recovery work – Headline
Here’s a couple of numbers that might sober Mr Smile and Wave:
Written By: - Date published: 11:09 am, February 19th, 2012 - 137 comments
There have been several interesting pieces on the politics of climate change recently, including some reflections (and a new book) from Michael Mann (the scientist behind the “hockey stick”), and leaked documents from the denier industry.
Written By: - Date published: 7:15 am, January 26th, 2012 - 26 comments
Christchurch has been back in the news recently for all the wrong reasons. What’s going on behind the public narrative of a tough and resilient populace soldiering on in the face of all these obstacles?
Written By: - Date published: 9:13 am, December 24th, 2011 - 59 comments
Heartfelt greetings and commiserations to all in the shaky city. Use this post for general discussion of the ongoing quakes in Christchurch.
Written By: - Date published: 8:20 am, December 21st, 2011 - 91 comments
How long until National usurps Christchurch Council? Brownlee’s doing the groundwork – creating a crisis, making the councillors to blame (for not automatically agreeing to whatever Parker wants), claiming public support. Reckon he’ll wait until rebuilding is just about to start. Then council gets blamed for the delays and he gets credit for the rebuilding.
Written By: - Date published: 11:23 am, December 19th, 2011 - 41 comments
It’s Nelson / Tasman’s turn to get hammered by nature. Commiserations to all those affected. As a country (and a world) we should brace for more extreme weather ahead.
Written By: - Date published: 12:03 pm, December 13th, 2011 - 18 comments
140 more jobs have been lost in Christchurch. Employment in the region had already fallen by 26,800 in the year to September. DoL research says that 18% of surviving businesses cut staff due the earthquakes, 40% lost revenue, 50% survived with government support, and 28% a finding they are losing more staff. The economy is […]
Written By: - Date published: 8:52 am, December 9th, 2011 - 89 comments
To add insult to the injury of another wasted year on climate change, the government has taken the opportunity of the Durban conference not to make progress, but to disgrace us yet again.
Written By: - Date published: 3:23 pm, November 19th, 2011 - 8 comments
It’s a year since the explosion at Pike River killed 29 men. Just people like you and me doing their job. It seems some semblance of justice may be delivered to those who let this disaster happen. But the lasting legacy must be a change of culture and regulations to put people’s lives before companies’ profits. So no more suffer the fate of the Pike River 29.
Written By: - Date published: 4:18 pm, November 10th, 2011 - 60 comments
IEA: World is hurtling toward irreversible climate change
Government shifts to ETS go-slow
Discuss…
Written By: - Date published: 8:13 am, November 5th, 2011 - 125 comments
Predictions on global greenhouse gas emissions have turned out to be wrong. The real emissions are higher than the worst case projections. Models of warming, however, have been confirmed as accurate. Here in NZ a joint VUW / Otago study makes damning criticisms of the Nats’ record on climate change.
Written By: - Date published: 1:30 pm, November 3rd, 2011 - 80 comments
There’s a TVNZ poll out tonight and a Herald poll tomorrow morning but, ahead of them, here’s some other new polls results that point to trouble for the Nats. 27% of young people want to leave New Zealand. 82% of people oppose farm sales to foreign buyers. 24% of people will change their vote over the Rena.
Written By: - Date published: 11:56 am, November 3rd, 2011 - 17 comments
Labour’s EQC policy has taken the holes in the current system revealed by the earthquakes – too low cap, inequitable flat levy, non-universal coverage, lack of provision for accommodation coverage – and fixed them. On top of that, they’ve promised to give people access to their geotech info. Great policy. No wonder National’s angry.
Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, October 26th, 2011 - 24 comments
KJT looks at how the neoliberal fly-by-night attitude set the grounds for the Rena disaster and the inadequate response.
Written By: - Date published: 12:15 pm, October 22nd, 2011 - 35 comments
New Zealand’s economy, Christchurch, Pike River, Rena – all terrible disasters to befall our country and our Government. It’s a massive challenge to respond well to such crises, and nobody really expects a magic wand, but we do have a right to expect some kind of competent, coordinated and decisive leadership response from our Government. Yet […]
Written By: - Date published: 10:07 am, October 21st, 2011 - 16 comments
More protests in Tauranga. Simon Bridges blames “out of towners”.
Written By: - Date published: 8:02 am, October 21st, 2011 - 51 comments
A recent poll confirms that the expected loss of Nat votes over the Rena disaster is a real effect.
Written By: - Date published: 4:41 pm, October 19th, 2011 - 42 comments
Did Hone Harawira call for Steven Joyce to be hanged? Ahh – no. Someone at 3News needs to switch to decaf.
Update: 3News – who are very responsive with this sort of problem – have tidied up their reporting of this issue. Bravo.
Written By: - Date published: 1:21 pm, October 19th, 2011 - 7 comments
Clarke and Dawe on maritime disasters, all good build up to our own home-grown version…
Written By: - Date published: 1:19 pm, October 19th, 2011 - 40 comments
The Nats are clearly at panic stations. They’re trying to minimise the Rena disaster by comparing the number of dead animals to those killed by other means. As one emailer put it: “it’s like saying the Christchurch earthquake was no big deal because more people die of cancer”. Meanwhile, Key visits oiled birds and says they’re the price of economic ‘progress’.
Written By: - Date published: 10:22 am, October 18th, 2011 - 41 comments
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