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6:00 am, April 28th, 2026 - 38 comments
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Open mike is your post.
For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.
The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).
Step up to the mike …
Because its what NZTruck inc have wanted all along.(IMO our present fuel crisis is just a means to that end.)
Ol' Trucker Dom. Been playing the violin since ages. But hey Dom…we could also save millions of litres of diesel..and millions of kilometres of heavy travel…by using Rail. (also the extra wear and ruin of NZ roads !)
Rail. Its got to be part of the answer. Along with Coastal Shipping.
If they are going to do it, and if it's really about diesel limitations, then they need to put a sunset clause on it – it takes effect when we go to level 2 and it finishes the next time we hit level 1.
I could say its all Trojan
Horsetruck…but there is nothing disguised about the Truckers aims/plans. Its been common knowledge for many years. And they sincerely hope the sun wont set on big rigging NZ roads…One ship can take 1200 truckloads Auckland/Wellington return, at up to 30 times less fuel than trucking it.
No road wear.Except for the last few K’s.
Rail is an anathema to those who make their money out of trucking. And we all know which parties said companies support, so it will never happen as long as this crowd are running the show, and Labour squandered all their opportunities to revive rail.
I'm still trying to figure out how they arrive at "unlock extra productivity"- perhaps the added employment for the people who have to repair the roads?
Luxo. Purblind?
Oh really ? Its seemingly all over ..apparently. (I dont think Luxo quite realises its all over..for National !)
I think that compounding all these crises, some of which are man-made and some of which are self-inflicted, is the growing fatigue of endless cycles of cost-cutting & restructuring everywhere. People never get the time to put their feet under a desk if they even still have a desk/job. In addition, the big AI-axe is hanging over many heads and already being wielded to chop heads of employees.
I absolutely agree its connective and compounded….and we (myself and others?) on the receiving (pounded) end, are indeed feeling fatigued beyond belief.I could say it feels never ending…but I'm looking at that beacon of November 7th.. Bring it : )
Oh just on the whole AI thing…I have sometimes thought..was it an answer to a question no one asked?(well, apart from the Tech Oligarchs :..hmmm how many more $Billions can we make?)
I recall some time back we had a small conversation on AI…(and scifi?) I had linked to
Well in amongst all that I forgot to input there had been a local push for a Data Centre (connected with Lake Parime) in Clyde Otago. I had commented about same some years back. Dunedin software engineer Oscar McNoe had some thoughts on same…
+100 both the large companies and the the public service entities are highly unstable; there is such a weariness, even in trades that have a reasonably solid pipeline of work.
What I would say to you is that while Luxon may make a passable CEO, he's certainly a sub-par PM – "And we actually go into this current crisis, this fuel crisis, you know… But [what I would say to you is] I think we're all over the crises, aren't we?"
Are 'we'? That last sentence reminds me of one of Trump's takes on the pandemic.
Possibly, although I reckon that unless you're, you know, wealthy and sorted, the old 'normal' is in the rear view mirror. We don’t know how lucky we are, and were.
https://overshoot.footprintnetwork.org/
I think Luxo's useage of we, is, as in the royal we? In an earlier comment I likened sir Key and protege Luxo as actors. But Luxo just cant carry it…the mask never slips…its permanently around his ankles..tripping him up : )
November 7th. Its coming for him…and NACT1
Does anybody know how much crude is getting to South Korea?
My AI google search says
*The East West pipeline to the Red Sea.
Russia has a pipeline to the Pacific, it sends ships with oil to China.
Then there is Singapore.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-02/singapore-oil-refineries-energy-shock-response/106504438
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/petrochina-plugs-singapore-plants-shortfall-with-crude-from-china-storage-trackers-say
They had some storage in Malaysia initially (and imported gasoil from India) but now look to alternative suppliers – such as West Africa.
It's not surprising that the most anti worker government in recent memory didn't talk to the unions before the
rushedFTA with India."She also warned that relying on overseas workers could come at the expense of developing the local workforce, particularly as unemployment rose."
It's sad but equally unsurprising that Labour didn't consult with the unions before signing up their support.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/593548/unions-warn-india-nz-fta-could-lead-to-migrant-exploitation
Stephen d, my ai thingy reckons there is plenty, mostly shadow fleet, or sanctioned Russian ones, it's almost like putins mate trump planned it.
Investing in the network to support electric trucks and offering of incentives to move away from diesel ought to now be the guiding principle of any NZ government. Unfortunately, our current government is corruptly completely captured by lobbyists and vested interests.
Take aways from this video?
47% of all diesel used worldwide is in trucks.
over 50% of all new heavy truck sales in China are now electric.
The Chinese government has invested heavily in the charging network to support these trucks.
Windrose will wipe out it's US competition in a decade.
NZ ought to be planning to ban new heavy vehicle diesel sales by 2031, and have them all off the road before 2050.
Hydrogen trucks are an alternative.
But yeah there should be an electric truck network (right down to commercial vehicles), and it should be Labour policy to work to this.
The problem is that that they are heavier.
And the weight leads to higher energy consumption per kilometre.
Have you added in the energy consumption of getting the diesel to NZ?
Thanks BW.
https://archive.li/jAjQi
”TVNZ political editor Maiki Sherman allegedly used a homophobic slur in an incident involving Lloyd Burr in Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ office”
Looks like Maiki Sherman is in trouble for having a potty mouth. And Ani O’Brien loves to stir. Especially against any government funded organisation.
If true, it is pretty stupid of Maki. May depend on whether Lloyd Burr wants to take the matter any further. Interesting that it has been kept quiet for nearly a year. If a politician had used that slur……..
Back in the days of Dirty Politics, the same people working at the same place leaked information to the same people, so that the information could reach the wider public via indirect means.
Then it was Whaleoil, then onto Kiwiblog. Then onto MSM.
Now we have social media.
They must be concerned about the election year budget …
As they were about Luxon’s poll ratings compared to the Labour leader earlier.
I guess this is of design to back up the fear that the PM has of being asked difficult questions
Want to get the PM – ask patsy questions or face revenge on the organisation.
This sort of tactic is desperate and is a face rarely seen in a first term, unless there is real panic.
It's O'Brien and it's a whole year later.
That tells us everything we need to know. Shit stirred by National, desperately and unsuccessfully. (See previous: Hipkins etc).
Ani O'Brien has past form when it comes to stirring and manipulating facts to suit her ultra right-wing views. Here she is trying to manipulate the facts around Nanaia Mahuta's 'Co-Governance' legislation and at the same time passing herself off as somebody who is not a racist when everything points to the fact she is a racist – at least when it comes to Maori:
https://theplatform.kiwi/podcasts/episode/ani-o-brien-on-racism
She starts out with a dig at Maiki Sherman and you know that 'Sherman's Maori blood played a role. Sherman is superior to O'Brien in every sense of the word and there's a shit load of jealousy in O'Brien's latest salvo against her. Its no coincidence this has come out when National is on the back foot.
There's another side to the story which we will hopefully get to know in due course.
From the team that tried to grow the economy by giving tax breaks to the already rich and denied a few $ more for the poor.
The writers of lowering insulation standards because apartments too hot, comes their latest blockbuster Bigger Loads on Trucks will Save Fuel.
No wonder we don't have strong satire, these clowns do it better themselves.
If the PM of a country can't go on the state broadcaster.
Left with two questions:
Is luxton a new school misogynist of the first order, or a more classic empire type?
And Two, what sort of trumpian bullshit is he trying to pull – I thought he said he was center right?
Extra: My mum want's to know if it's even legal – does the PM not have a duty to inform the population via the state broadcaster?
Orcs hate water and Ents.
Be an Ent!
https://norightturn.blogspot.com/2026/04/orcs-want-to-pillage-te-wahipounamu.html
Well, I'm truly puzzled. By the term, "homophobic". I know that "hydrophobic" means strong aversion to water and "bibliophilic" means a strong aversion to books, so it surely must follow that "homophobic" means a strong aversion to homo. What then, is homo? I've always taken it to mean, "the same"- homogenised milk is stirred to make it the same -not differentiated into cream and milk/whey whatever. Home Erectus – humans who stand upright, or Homo sapiens – humans who think.
Does this mean that a person can have an aversion to others who are the same as them? Or does it mean the homophobic person has an aversion to people who are attracted to those of their gender?
I wonder also, about words used by groups of humans to identify themselves; is "queer" a slight, or a badge of honour? If you call a queer man a faggot, is that a slur or a nod to queer history?If the deliverer of the title believes it to be an "in" term, and the recipient knows it to be other-than an insults there anything to be perturbed about?
The rightwingarazzi have gone ballistic on Maiki courtesy of Nicola Willis late, late, late breaking news, but is it any more than punishment for journalists asking Luxon questions?
It's generally pretty obvious when somebody is being a bigot, including homophobic.
No need to get lost in a forest of semantics, just call it out when you hear it. Simple.
Sure, if you have context and tone etc. but making sense of a report about a situation?
If you weren't there, how would you know?
I wouldn't. But that's not the question you asked.
You asked a very general question after some rambling, and I've answered it. The very specific separate question is "what happened in this one case?" (don't know but probably something unpleasant) and "why wait a year to use it?" (we know that one).
People should always challenge such (alleged) comments, immediately and sincerely. Obviously only doing it now is not a sign of sincerity.
The slur was faggot and shouted multiple times according to Ani O'Brien. Not hard to understand how that is a slur. Sherman says Burr had used a racial slur towards her.
Journalists drinking with MPs and I guess staffers, pre-budget, sounds like a recipe for something going wrong.
Meanwhile, the world crisis deepens. Tick tock…
Everyone is getting a bit precious lately.
They must all feel like they’ve lost their ring.
They're Doomed/