Written By: - Date published: 8:38 am, April 11th, 2012 - 12 comments
As the Nats try to spin us into accepting another zero budget, focus is turning to 2 big holes that their policy decisions have created. First, the $1b+ a year spend on the low to negative value Roads of National (Party) Significance. Second, the $1b+ annual cost of the 2010 tax changes. That’s $2b+ that could be spent elsewhere, avoiding spending cuts without more borrowing.
Written By: - Date published: 10:34 am, April 10th, 2012 - 4 comments
Ruth Richardson has forced every subsequent policy to be sized up for ‘fiscal responsibility’. I’d like them to be sized up for ‘social responsibility’ and ‘environmental responsibility’ as well.
Written By: - Date published: 12:29 pm, April 5th, 2012 - 77 comments
Green Party MPs Catherine Delahunty and Gareth Hughes invite you to a series of hui to discuss the Government’s broad “drill it, mine it” agenda for Aotearoa – what’s happening, what does it mean to our environment and communities and how do we stop it.
Written By: - Date published: 10:27 am, April 5th, 2012 - 16 comments
MrSmith looks at the massive expansion of aquaculture in the Marlborough Sounds that King Salmon is planning, aided and abetted by National’s ‘Environmental Protection’ Agency. King Salmon got a public hand-out when it was having trouble selling its product but now it wants more public property to make more salmon, the public gets no voice.
Written By: - Date published: 10:39 am, April 4th, 2012 - 86 comments
NZ milk production has apparently risen by 30% since 2005. And, according to sources used by frenz.co.nz, back in 2006 over 14 billion liters of milk and 1.2 billion kilograms of milk solids (were) being processed by dairy companies annually That’s a lot of milk and associated dairy to spread around some four and a […]
Written By: - Date published: 7:17 am, April 4th, 2012 - 64 comments
Rookie Green MP Julie Anne Genter, a transport planning expert before entering Parliament, gave Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee, whose qualification for the job is that he used to teach kids to make wooden toy cars, a sharp lesson in transport policy in the House yesterday. It’s rare for a newbie to show up an old tusker like that. With petrol prices at record levels, I hope someone in the government’s listening.
Written By: - Date published: 8:24 pm, March 31st, 2012 - 31 comments
OK – so we’re a bit late with this – but it’s Earth Hour, 8:30 – 9:30pm NZ time.
Written By: - Date published: 11:03 am, March 29th, 2012 - 9 comments
Apparently the Auckland Council doesn’t know how much the POAL fiasco is costing. Rough estimates suggest that the cost is at least $400,000 a day, probably significantly more. No wonder the Council doesn’t want to know.
Written By: - Date published: 8:32 am, March 28th, 2012 - 43 comments
Ports of Auckland must pay the permanent workers among the union members it had illegally locked out. It’s only a partial victory for workers who want to work and have long-term job security, not just get paid for two weeks. But it’s yet another costly defeat for management. How long will they keep burning ratepayers’ money like this before the council acts?
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, March 25th, 2012 - 18 comments
As we all should know by now, the road rules for giving way have changed.
Written By: - Date published: 2:39 pm, March 22nd, 2012 - 14 comments
John Key was busy last night working for the causes of Aussie miner Bathurst, “officiating” at the opening of their lobbying office, and pressuring DoC to give them concessions to the Denniston plateau and help them destroy a unique ecosystem. How much more of him can NZ’s “clean, green” image take?
Written By: - Date published: 12:28 pm, March 20th, 2012 - 101 comments
Barack Obama will be breathing a sigh of relief after David Farrar endorsed his call to end oil subsidies. It seems the 3rd oil price spike in 5 years is getting the attention of even the Right. Something, they’ve got an inkling, is wrong and rising petrol prices are here to stay. Pity that, on the cusp of revelation, Farrar opts for the security blanket of neoclassical economics.
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: 1:19 pm, March 19th, 2012 - 30 comments
With just a few clicks of your mouse you can help send a message to the government in support of helping the world’s rarest dolphin – our own Maui’s dolphins.
Written By: - Date published: 11:01 am, March 19th, 2012 - 26 comments
Imagine taking your children down to the park to find an overseas had set up a dairy farm in one corner. The shit builds up and flows onto the playground. You complain, but are told the farm is under no obligation to treat or retain their waste and the council has no powers to do anything about it. That’s what’s happening with aquaculture thanks to the EPA.
Written By: - Date published: 9:51 pm, March 13th, 2012 - 16 comments
The trailers for John Key’s Thursday speech are calling it for a ” new super-Ministry” under the command of Steven Joyce. Merger isn’t the issue – the policy direction is. If Joyce just stays focussed on roads of national significance, mines and oil wells of national significance, and casinos of national significance it will be another waste of time reshuffle. If it becomes genuinely high quality export focussed, then it may prove worthwhile. Fingers crossed.
Written By: - Date published: 7:25 am, March 12th, 2012 - 36 comments
David Shearer’s private member’s Bill on foreign investment is pure common sense: unless foreign ownership actually adds something substantial to the economy that cannot be supplied by local owners then all foreign investment brings is higher land prices, locking out Kiwis from ownership. Overseas buyers must bring something real to the table. A good first policy.
Written By: - Date published: 10:05 am, March 9th, 2012 - 25 comments
Can anyone tell me why the Nats are spending $300m to build and $36m pa to run a 960-bed PPP prison when there are 2000 spare beds in the system and prisoner numbers are projected to fall? Or why Joyce is cutting a dirty ‘convention centre for pokies’ deal when international convention numbers are falling? Or why they’re spending $1b a year on low BCR highways when vehicle numbers are falling?
Written By: - Date published: 2:18 pm, March 8th, 2012 - 28 comments
Ports of Auckland wants to increase profits by slashing pay-packets by 20% – $6m. So far, the process has cost them at least $28m. Add $9m for redundancies. Add the cost of continuing interruption as the contractors are established. Add the cost of blacklisting. Add the cost of customers that have shifted ports. Len Brown should sack the POAL management for incompetence.
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: 7:50 am, March 2nd, 2012 - 19 comments
Louise Upston had a patsy for Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee about a bridge replacement in her electorate (the Nats have big achievements to crow about, eh?). Upston asked about the project’s benefits. Brownlee responded “First, I would expect re-election of the local member”. Now we know what National sees at those end of those highways to nowhere – swing votes.
Written By: - Date published: 3:34 pm, March 1st, 2012 - 22 comments
There never was a good business case for holiday highways. Now it’s even worse.
Written By: - Date published: 11:52 am, March 1st, 2012 - 113 comments
The Left has its fair share of conspiracy theorists – who think that, for reasons tenuously explained at best, various, often opposing, organisations are secretly carrying out massive cons and not being discovered. But we’ve got nothing on the Right. Belief that climate change is world’s most enormous conspiracy, engineered for no good reason, is an article of faith for these guys. If it weren’t so serious, it would be hilarious.
Written By: - Date published: 2:44 am, February 27th, 2012 - 4 comments
Rick Boven in Auckland – Global environmental trends Global environmental trends will affect New Zealand’s future. In his forthcoming lecture to the Fabian Society, Rick Boven of the New Zealand Institute will summarise the high-level trends, identify implications for New Zealand, explain obstacles to an effective response and propose strategic priorities to reduce risks and […]
Written By: - Date published: 11:21 am, February 26th, 2012 - 68 comments
While most of us talk about “saving the world” some people act.
Written By: - Date published: 1:59 pm, February 23rd, 2012 - 12 comments
In 48 hours, Australia could save one million square kms of ocean forever — setting up the largest marine reserve in the world and preserving thousands of delicate species. But they will need an global outcry to beat out commercial fishing and mining companies hoping to destroy the plan.
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:
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