Helen Clark’s nuanced take on world events
In a recent interview Helen Clark managed to neatly summarise current world problems and express a desire for New Zealand to maintain its independent foreign policy.
Environment
Everyone must go
Chris from Marketing’s latest gimic to lead us to economic nirvana is to use money that is meant to be used for environmental enhancement to run a campaign in Australia with a slogan that is awkward and negative.
State of the Nation – dire
Remember National’s promise to get us back on track? Salvation Army’s latest state of the nation report suggests that for ordinary people things are getting much worse.
Leadership D.O.A.
As we approach the half-time oranges for his government, I thought I’d give Mr Luxon some feedback and a few suggestions on how he might turn things around – if becoming a real leader interests him.
Why get upset with solar power?
You have to hand it to the right. They have succeeded in making ordinary people oppose the most beneficial projects imaginable. Like a group of residents in North Canterbury that is opposing construction of a solar farm.
Standing for Auckland
Can Kerrin Leoni pave the way as Tamaki Makaurau’s first wāhine Māori Mayor? Open to all today from Nick’s Kōrero…
The Second Major Offensive of Neoliberalism in New Zealand Since the 80s
The Coalition is fighting a multi-front blitzkrieg to entrench neoliberal hegemony in NZ.
Keep on Digging
The latest outbursts and brain farts from the great Kumara of the North…
Open to all today in Nick’s Kōrero – Shane Jones calls climate change ‘woke’ and says, ‘Send the Mexicans home’.
The difference between Christopher Luxon and Donald Trump *
* is not as great as you think.
America would never happen here!
Why corporate fascism may no longer be a distant dream – and how it’s closer than you might think
The future dystopia
He’s baack. The man least suited to running the world’s most powerful country is now President again.
Reviewing the Cook Strait Ferry fiasco
A review of the history of the Ferries issue suggests that this could be coalition ending and career ending.
The Los Angeles fires – could they happen here?
With large parts of Los Angeles burning and the right still trying to divert attention and blame the question arises, could the same thing happen here?
President Biden’s Accomplishments
It’s common these days to see the rapid 2024 exit of multiple global social democrat leaders as just a post-COVID symptom of democratic impatience. But Biden achieved far more than his age-related decline obscures.
2024 in review
It is that time of year when during the brief hiatus of civilisation known as the holidays we get the time to reflect on what has happened over the past 12 months.
Government sabotages its Emissions Reduction Plan
Under its latest Emissions Reduction Plan the Government is placing major reliance on processing of orgnic waste and landfill gas capture. But it has quietly recently cut funding for the Waste Minimisation Fund by $177 million over 4 years.
Clusterfreak
Yesterday’s replacement ferry announcement by Nicola Willis suggests that very little progress has been made in securing replacement Cook Island ferries.
AT is to be gutted
The Government announced reform of AT, effectively conceding that the behemouth National created in 2010 was the wrong structure.
Electric Shock
New Zealand is one of the slowest countries in the developed world to transition from combustion to electric vehicles. The shocks we are seeing in Europe to car makers and car buyers herald more trouble ahead.
It’s almost like we shouldn’t leave the climate crisis to the market
The collapse of SolarZero is a massive red flag.
Blowout in costs of Roads of National Significance
There has been a major blowout in the cost of the Roads of National Significance with the cost being potentially $10 billion more than National claimed during last year’s campaign.
What happened?
Why did America vote for the least suitable candidate imaginable? And what are the implications for New Zealand politics?
The 2024 US Election: A No-Win Scenario
Tuesday (Wednesday in NZ) is election day in the United States of America. Where billionaires buy elections, the President is not elected by popular vote, and the nominee of the Republican Party attempted to overturn the results after he was voted out of office four years ago. Somehow, despite his crimes, Donald Trump is a coin-toss away from taking back the White House.
When a right becomes a wrong
The Free Speech Union is wanting an extremist right wing shock jock who the Christchurch Killer described as the person who most influenced him the privilege of visiting New Zealand to host a fundraising event.
Ferry crisis what ferry crisis?
The Cook Strait Ferry issue is getting to a critical point. An announcement was expected in July. But it appears that NZ First is digging its heels in about the need tor the replacement ferries being rail capable.
Hauraki Gulf Marine reserves are being Jonesied*
* the process whereby a Marine Reserve is opened up to commercial fishing.
Hurricane Milton: watching the climate train wreck in slow motion
Catastrophe and meaningful response.
Ferry ferry quite contrary
There appears to be an impasse in the Coalition’s ranks with Act and National not wanting rail enabled replacement ferries but Winston Peters demanding that they be rail enabled.
Trouble at Mill
It seems clear that the Government refused to do anything to stop Winston Pulp from closing its mills. And the Government’s plans to address price volatility by the use of LPG is counterproductive, especially when the cost of renewable energy is considered.
A new Labour electricity policy
Proposed policy for the Labour Party. New Zealand’s power system should empower the people in their lives and systems, secure electricity use and production for New Zealand in perpetuity, and make the electricity system serve New Zealand not the other way round. How do we achieve this?
National’s eternal road obsession
The year is 2035 and after the McAnaulty-Sepuloni Government is removed from power new National Prime Minister Simeon Brown makes his first new announcement. Guess what it is?
Simeon Brown peddling porkies about gas shortage
Energy Minister Simeon Brown is peddling lies about a gas shortage. The country exports around 40 percent of its annual gas production as methanol. More is used to make synthetic nitrogen fertilizer, a nasty greenhouse emission source, for our farms. We don’t need expensive LNG distribution facilities while exporting the bulk of our own gas.
So much for Localism and Devolution
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced that the Government will do away with Local Government’s obligations to consider the social, cultural and environmental implications of their decisions.
English rising anti-fascism
This is more hope than I have felt about humans in a long time
Maritime Union v Willis
National’s decision to cancel the replacement Cook Strait ferry project is developing into a full blown political crisis for the Government with estimates that it could cost the Crown up to a billion dollars and with further costs to come.
National’s carbon budget is a crock
It is now clear why Simon Watts rushed out a three page brochure setting out what this Government’s response to climate change will be. It knew that the latest Climate Change Emissions Reduction Plan was coming out for consultation. And that it could not come up with a credible plan.