Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 2/7/24

Media moguls might need prodding to cough up under news law, but Melissa Lee easily found $7m for ‘choir games’

Melissa Lee – remember her? – was replaced as Minister of Media and Communications after just seven months in the role in which she promised new policy to tackle the media sector’s complex challenges.

At that time job losses were looming within the Newshub and TVNZ newsrooms and TVNZ – troubled by “commercial viability” considerations – had confirmed that the future of Shortland Street was under review.

David Farrar: Stupid Government backing Willie’s bill

Paul Goldsmith reports:

The Government is taking immediate action to support New Zealand’s media and content production sectors, while it develops a long-term reform programme, Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith says.

Chris Lynch: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon unveils action plan for next three months

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced that the Government’s latest action plan would”focus on making Kiwis safer and restoring law and order.”

“Before the end of the Q3 Action Plan, the Government will have passed laws that will give police tough powers to go after gangs by restricting their ability to associate and banning gang patches in public, give police more power to get guns out of the hands of criminals, increase access to effective rehabilitation for prisoners on remand, and improve efficiency in the courts and increase access to justice,” Luxon said.

Chris Trotter: Harsh truths

Like the US, New Zealand is in decline, and political elites won’t stop our infrastructure, economy, and social cohesion unravelling

THERE ARE LESSONS to be learned from the Biden-Trump debate/debacle. Important lessons, which New Zealanders would be most unwise to ignore. The first and most important of these is the need to face some harsh truths.

Cam Slater: Green Light from Voters to Replace B757s

Christopher Luxon’s dreams came true after Labour’s own pollsters have found a majority of voters would green-light the purchase of replacements for the aging and decrepit B757s that have embarrassed Prime Ministers from Clark to Key, to Ardern and now Luxon.

Mike's Minute: Is this as good as it gets for America?

It is true to say that Biden got it together, somewhat, as the debate unfolded.

But it started so badly that even in his finest moments it was ordinary.

The unmistakable truth is what you saw is as good as it gets. If Americans vote for him he doesn’t improve, he doesn’t get younger and he doesn’t get sharper.

Gaynor Chapman: When are we going to have a Multiplication Times Tables Check ?

Our Ministry of Education maths curriculum states students are to recall multiplication facts. But teachers have been led to believe rote-learning facts counters deep thinking and problem solving.

Studies however, since the 1980s, show students succeed better in maths when automaticity in the basic facts is developed, leading to enhanced maths learning and problem solving. Further, neuro- and cognitive sciences explain why rote learning facts and direct instruction are essential. Cognitive load theory (CLT) adds details.

Ian Bradford: The Continued Emission of CO2 is Coming from the Oceans NOT from Human Activities

We shall start with a slightly different form of a graph I have show before.  I remind you that graphs of this type going back a long way in time are put together using proxies. Proxies are physical characteristics that give an indication of such things as temperature and amount of CO_2. For example, if tree rings are close together, it signals slow growth and therefore low temperatures. 

Martin Hanson: CO2 levels have been higher in the past, but how do we know?

We often read that atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) has been much higher in the past than today – up to 2000 parts per million (ppm) by volume, or 0.2%, compared with 400 ppm (0.04%) today. 

Yes, but how do we know this? The evidence comes from fossil relatives of a plant that is familiar to many - the maidenhair tree, Ginkgo biloba. It is often called a ‘living fossil’, because its earliest remains extend to 200 million years ago (mya), and close relatives to 300 mya. What’s particularly interesting is that it’s the outer ‘skin’ (epidermis), of its fossilized leaves provide evidence about ancient climates, and in particular, atmospheric CO₂.

Viv Forbes: Battery Baloney, Hydrogen Hype and Green Fairy Tales

How low Australia has fallen - our once-great BHP now has a “Vice President for Climate”, the number of Australian students choosing physics at high school is collapsing, and our government opposes nuclear energy while pretending we can build and operate nuclear submarines. 

Our Green politicians want: “No Coal, No Gas, No Nuclear” while Our ABC, Our CSIRO and Our Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) are telling us that wind and solar energy plus a bit of standby gas, plus heaps of batteries and new power lines can power our homes, industries AND the mass electrification of our vehicle fleet. This sounds like Australia’s very own great leap backwards? 

Clive Bibby: The shake up we all need

The East Coast of New Zealand has a somewhat disastrous natural history due to its proximity to the “off shore” Hikurangi and other more localised fault lines - most notable being the 1931 Napier and 2011 Christchurch earthquakes. 

While the deaths and destruction of property associated with these calamitous events will forever be ingrained in our social fabric history, on reflection, we can look back on them as a prerequisite for much needed change - albeit arguably the least attractive of choices if we had the opportunity to chose. 

There is no question that both the Napier and Christchurch cities and environs are the beneficiaries of the changes that were forced upon them. 

Heather du Plessis-Allan: That Trump-Biden debate was excruciating

Did you watch that Trump-Biden debate?

Man, that was excruciating wasn’t it? At one point, I think it was the Medicare bit, I was literally watching it through my fingers, cause I'd already covered by face with my hands, it was that bloody awkward.

The amazing thing about it is that this is day four of calls for Biden to stand down, which is an enormous amount of pressure. And there is no indication from within the top ranks of his party that they are going to make him stand down.

Breaking Views Update: Week of 30.6.24

Tuesday July 2, 2024 

News:
The death of Maori health aspirations came like a thief in the night
Today, it represents the forced demise of an initiative more than a century in the making – The Māori Health Authority.

Health disparities between the Māori and non-Māori populations in New Zealand are both stark and persistent. These disparities are rooted in historical injustices, socio-economic inequalities, and systemic biases within the healthcare system. Addressing them requires a comprehensive approach that acknowledges the unique cultural, social, and economic challenges faced by the Māori people.

Andrew Dickens: The ferry saga is a pox on both National and Labour

I wasn't here last week because I was attending a funeral.

A dear friend. 58 years old. Gut cancer.

A reminder to us all- live life. Don't put things off.

So, last week I thought I'd talk about the ferry debate and I thought that the issue would be over by now. But it's not. It rumbles on like the stubbed toe it is.

John MacDonald: There is no finish line for boy and girl racers

When I heard on Friday morning that the cops had been out in force the night before cracking down on boy racers, I thought two things.

My first thought was ‘that’s great, I hope they do it again right through the weekend’. And the reason I thought that - and it was purely selfish - was because, with the kids home from uni, I knew a couple of them were planning to drive out to a party with mates on Saturday night.

David Farrar: A convert to the mobile phone ban

The Herald reports:

Taranaki’s Waitara High School implemented a mobile phone ban at the start of 2023, more than a year ahead of the Government’s official move.

But it was only for pupils in Years 9 through 12.

Kerre Woodham: Are these new changes the end of the world?

Big day today. Paid parental leave increases in line with increases to the average weekly earnings, so if you're about to go off on maternity leave, you will have an increase in parental pay for up to 26 weeks.

Regional fuel and diesel taxes gone, saving the drivers of Toyota Corollas - those fairies of the land, the wakas of the whenua – about $6 every time they fill up, but you will need that $6 because that's going to go somewhere else.

Monday July 1, 2024 

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Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 1/7/24

Roll up, oinkers – Shane Jones is calling hogs to a new trough, not as rich as the PGF, true, but a $1.2bn swill must be tempting

When it has been filled with a swill funded by taxpayers and invitations have been issued to various organisations to come and slurp, it’s fair to suppose it is a trough. This likelihood is increased significantly when we learn the invitation to come and slurp is issued by Shane Jones.

Graham Adams: The Cancer Society is racist? Really?

The media’s mission to demonise NZ’s health system continues.

Not long after I began treatment in 2015 for an aggressive leukaemia, I was phoned by a representative of the Cancer Society. A hospital oncology staffer had strongly recommended I give the organisation my name and contact details so I did.

I had become aware — as most cancer sufferers do — that hospital doctors and nurses are highly dedicated, capable and sympathetic to patients’ needs but their primary focus is to keep you alive and return you to good health if possible. They work under immense pressure and don’t have much time to hold your hand if you’re not coping with your diagnosis or the rigours of treatment. They certainly don’t have the time to help you deal with practical concerns such as how you might get to and from hospital.

Professor Robert MacCulloch: If NZ Universities create fake news in their quest for dollars...

If NZ Universities create fake news in their quest for dollars, then our society really is in trouble.

The word University has in it the Latin word, "veritas", meaning the truth. In an age of bias and fake news promulgated by the Main Stream Media and Social Media, one would hope that universities would stay true to their central mission of providing objectivity.

Dennis Wesselbaum: NZ’s productivity stagnation requires a long-term plan from politicians. Here’s how

In the ups and downs of the global economy over the last decade, New Zealand has had one relatively consistent challenge: persistent productivity stagnation.

Productivity compares the amount of goods and services produced (output) with the amount of inputs used to produce them.

Since the Productivity Commission was set up in 2011, annual productivity growth has averaged at just 0.2% – one of the worst in the OECD.

Andrew Bydder: This Is a Bridge Too Far

The sleepy, leafy suburbs of quaint conservative Cambridge were torn apart by the Waipa District Council’s infamous BLUE BLOB.

Residents awoke to the local newspaper’s report about a new bridge location and the shifting of the town’s main arterial route through their back streets. There was no prior notice and the exact details were covered by the large blob of blue over a map, but the council was adamant that this was it. So adamant that they described four options of their own invention, with no public input, selected their preferred one and gave the residents a choice between Option C and… no, that was it, just Option C.

Damien Grant: KiwiRail should be sold for good this time

The image of the stranded Aratere is being used to demonstrate the failure of KiwiRail, its board and management. It shouldn’t.

Let’s start with the Aratere. Our only rail-enabled ferry was built in Spain and began service in 1998. It earned the nick-name “El Lemon” for its persistent breakdowns. It is scheduled to cease service in 2025.

In case you were wondering; that is next year.

Ele Ludemann: Need brutal honesty

A former MP told me years ago that when he first stood for parliament he talked to a few people whose opinions and judgement he respected.

He asked them to be brutally honest with him about his performance, especially if he was getting anywhere his best-before date.

David Farrar: Labour committed to wasting $3 billion

Stuff reports:

Labour Party transport spokesperson Tangi Utikere said the only timely, efficient option was to restart iRex.

Dr Eric Crampton: It' not easy, being local

Sometimes, only truly committed localists can see the polished diamond hiding inside the very rough stone.

We can remind ourselves that decades of poor incentives facing councils don’t build strong organisations. Who’d want the job when so much of the job is to be yelled at by central government?

Change the incentives to change the game.

Suze: The Greening of Auckland’s Poorer ’Burbs

The ugly legacy of an undemocratic partnership

The less affluent Auckland suburb of Otahuhu and others in South Auckland have been targeted by the Auckland City Council’s tree planting programme to increase the tree canopy and green residential areas, whether residents like it or not.

“In 2019, Auckland Council voted unanimously to declare a Climate Emergency, and earlier this year, formally adopted the Annual Budget 2022/23, a bold billion-dollar package to combat the climate crisis.

David Farrar: Youth Serious Offenders

The Herald reports:

A new sentencing category – Young Serious Offender – will be introduced, allowing judges to send offenders to military-style academies.

It would apply to teenagers aged 14 to 17 years at the time of the offending, have had two offences punishable by imprisonment of 10 years or more proven in court are assessed as being likely to reoffend with previous interventions having proven unsuccessful.

Sunday June 30, 2024 

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