PeteO

@pete0.bsky.social

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Old. lost, confused. Here for the cat pictures

The government has recently announced an increased maintenance budget of $4 billion over the next three years. However, cost recovery from the principal cause of the deferred maintenance has not been addressed. Heavy vehicles will receive a direct annual subsidy of $1.4 billion dollars per annum by 2027, mostly attributable to maintenance costs. They will receive a further indirect subsidy of $8.4 billion dollars per annum by 2027, due to pollution costs ($7.2 billion) and social costs ($1.2 billion) associated with deaths and injuries. Collectively, these numbers represent a massive subsidy for heavy road vehicles, relative to rail and coastal shipping.
'Shocked' minister demands answers after criminal paid by taxpayers for five years
Election 2026: National launches new KiwiSaver policies as Simeon Brown compares NZ First, Act to children Jamie Ensor Jamie Ensor Chief Political Reporter·NZ Herald· 21 Jun, 2026 03:01 PM 6 mins to read https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/election-2026-national-launches-new-kiwisaver-policies-as-simeon-brown-compares-nz-first-act-to-children/D3CMWTFELRBKDAA4BRP7XCDPK4/
https://www.christopherandbanks.co.nz/ website Dated 2017, but more designed in 1997
Chart comparing Projected Costs and BCRs for RONS
Families in line for $250 a fortnight under National tax cut package Thomas Manch and Luke Malpass August 30, 2023 https://www.thepost.co.nz/politics/350063492/families-line-250-fortnight-under-national-tax-cut-package
OPINION: I have never been to Central Otago. There is every likelihood I will slither into my crypt without stepping into that pristine environment, treading on the brown grasslands or gazing at the uninspiring vistas that serve little purpose other than as a backdrop for postcards no one will ever send. https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360965326/damien-grant-theres-no-reason-listen-millionaires-complaining-about-mining-projects
'Over the top' mega-mansion for sale for $37.5m, targets US buyer Luxury Queenstown home hasn't been built yet, but Sydney-based developer has high hopes. https://www.oneroof.co.nz/news/over-the-top-mega-mansion-for-sale-for-37-5m-targets-us-buyer-49272
Farmers are at the pointy end of rising fuel costs. “The buck always stops with us,” Waikato Federated Farmers president Phil Sherwood said. “And we can’t pass it on.” https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/dairy-farmers-face-higher-fuel-and-fertiliser-costs-despite-strong-payout/RTSZDHJKONBWFKZCX2Y4R6HYQQ/
1998 Auckland Power Crisis The 1998 Auckland power crisis was a five-week-long power outage affecting the central city of Auckland, New Zealand, from 19 February to 27 March 1998.[1][2] A 1998 ministerial inquiry criticised both the Auckland Electric Power Board and its privatised successor, which had halved its staff after taking over in October 1993. The report blamed risk and asset management and contingency planning, but said reviews of the electricity network were in accordance with industry practice. However, Mercury Energy's Board had known for 5 years of a potential failure of the power cables, but, instead of also replacing them, they took the cost-saving risk of only building a replacement tunnel, which wasn't ready in time.[3] The inquiry report also said, "Internal expertise in 110 kV assets was not maintained at a sufficient level".[4]
Calculation examples This example illustrates how a car and a truck affect the surface of a road differently according to the fourth power law. Car (total weight 2 tonnes, 2 axles): load per axle: 1 tonnes Truck (total weight 30 tonnes, 3 axles): load per axle: 10 tonnes 10 4 = 10 ⋅ 10 ⋅ 10 ⋅ 10 = 10 , 000 {\displaystyle 10^{4}=10\cdot 10\cdot 10\cdot 10=10,000} times as large The load on the road from one axle (2 wheels) is 10 times greater for a truck than for a car. However, the fourth power law says that the stress on (damage to) the road is this ratio raised to the fourth power. Since the truck has three axles, this value is tripled, but since the car has two axles, the comparison value is reduced by half. Therefore, the resulting stress difference between truck and car is 15,000 to 1.
Democracy demands politicians be held accountable for bad lawmaking, and that’s what the Regulatory Standards Bill will do. It will require lawmakers to publicly declare what problem their law seeks to solve. It will require them to show the effects on peoples’ liberties and property rights. It will require them to weight the costs and benefits of the law. They’ll have to publicly state who pays the costs and reaps any benefits. That sort of transparency and accountability will not stop bad lawmakers. Parliament remains sovereign. What it will do is help voters identify and punish bad lawmakers when their vote.
bach or beach house many us its no contest https://www.stuff.co.nz/home-property/360938914/bach-or-beach-house-many-us-its-no-contest
Productivity is another big challenge. It’s been a problem for decades. To give you a feel for it, Australia is 25 per cent wealthier than us, Ireland is twice as wealthy as us, and Singapore is three times wealthier than us. And for those countries, greater productivity and more wealth mean higher incomes and better public services, like health and education. We have to get richer as a country. Getting to yes faster is a big part of the solution. source: https://www.national.org.nz/news/20251123-hon-christopher-luxon-speech-marking-two-years-in-government
Trump’s approval rating stands at 37%, down from 40% in the fall. By more than two-to-one, Americans say the administration’s actions have been worse than they expected (50%) rather than better (21%). Only about a quarter of Americans today (27%) say they support all or most of Trump’s policies and plans, down from 35% when he returned to office last year. That change has come entirely among Republicans.
Party Votes % of Votes Electorate Seats List Seats Total seats National Party 1,085,851 38.08 43 5 48 Labour Party 767,540 26.91 17 17 34 Green Party 330,907 11.60 3 12 15 ACT New Zealand 246,473 8.64 2 9 11 New Zealand First Party 173,553 6.08 - 8 8
3 September 2024 IVL increase to ensure visitors contribute more to New Zealand The International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL) will be raised to $100 to ensure visitors contribute to public services and high-quality experiences while visiting New Zealand, Minister for Tourism and Hospitality Matt Doocey and Minister of Conservation Tama Potaka say. “The Government is serious about enabling the tourism sector to grow as part of our overall goal of doubling exports in 10 years. International tourism plays a hugely important role in the New Zealand economy, with international visitors spending over $11 billion in the year ending March 2024,” Mr Doocey says. “But international tourism also comes with costs to local communities, including additional pressure on regional infrastructure and higher upkeep and maintenance costs across our conservation estate. “The IVL was introduced in 2019 as a mechanism to ensure international visitors were contributing directly to these costs, the vast majority of which are paid for by New Zealand taxpayers and ratepayers.” “Public consultation by the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) found 93 per cent of submitters supported raising the IVL, with the main rationale being an increase would be reasonable to help cover the costs of tourism.
Opinion Religion does not provide a moral basis for good and evil. Here’s why Damien Grant
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has been leading the coalition's changes, and on Tuesday acknowledged there were "some similarities, to be fair" with Labour's approach but also some "big differences https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/581427/duelling-rma-reforms-how-different-is-the-coalition-s-solution-from-labour-s
Luxon calls growing prisoner numbers ‘a good thing’ as police target slips https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360891167/luxon-calls-growing-prisoner-numbers-good-thing-police-target-slips
Last week, a conscience vote on a Government bill fell over
The Government may need to “adapt” its strategy for this war on road cones, van Velden said, after being asked to respond to new research,
Iwi-led youth scheme outshines bootcamps in cutting reoffending https://www.stuff.co.nz/te-ao-maori/360845064/iwi-led-youth-scheme-outshines-bootcamps-cutting-reoffending
Party vote Labour 31.2%, down 2.6 points National 29.6%, down 3.5 Greens 12%, up 1.3 NZ First 10.6%, up 2.5 ACT 6.6%, down 0.1 Te Pāti Māori 4.4%, up 0.1
‘The world doesn’t owe you a living’: PM says 4300 teens will lose Jobseeker benefit next year https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360844583/government-cut-benefit-4300-teens-november-2026
Finance Minister Nicola Willis calls protesting priests at her office ‘intimidating’
Forestry directors say court-ordered clean-up will make them bankrupt https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360819500/forestry-directors-say-court-ordered-clean-will-make-them-bankrupt
Nobody in NZ searched for Charlie Kirk until he was promoted by David Seymour / shot by someone in the US https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=today%201-m&geo=NZ&q=charlie%20kirk&hl=en-NZ
When Stuff first reported on the trip last month, the helicopter rental was estimated to cost $27,000. That figure was based on a quote for the same helicopters the prime ministers used, to fly from Queenstown to a mountaintop and back. But on Tuesday, in response to an Official Information Act request from Stuff, the Department of Internal Affairs revealed the actual bill was much higher. It paid $44,000 (including GST) to hire the two helicopters. Source: https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360818338/revealed-tens-thousands-spent-prime-ministers-mountain-trip
Bloated bureaucracy continues to balloon 25 May 2023 The public service’s bloated bureaucracy is continuing to balloon under Labour, with new figures showing another rise in the number of public servants, National’s Public Service spokesperson Simeon Brown says. https://www.national.org.nz/news/bloated-bureaucracy-continues-to-balloon
Despite ongoing restructures across the public service, the total number of public servants hasn’t actually decreased since the coalition Government came to power. In fact, the most recent data from the Public Service Commission shows the headcount of full-time public servants increased by 121 people following the 2023 election. That increase in public servants has come despite ongoing cost-cutting across the Government, and the National Party’s campaign pledge to spend less on “back office headcount”. https://share.google/U0Hb9kT9Cec7KAUQE
A smiling PM and Finance Minister telling businesses they should sell things for less than they cost https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360797805/willis-congratulates-night-n-day-butter-rollback
Ti Rikau Road walkway with weird bends
An Iter Avto in car navigation device from the 1930s See more at https://www.chargetrip.com/newsroom/history-of-in-car-navigation
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360691825/nicola-willis-persuaded-act-back-film-subsidy-boost-despite-prior-opposition “I persuaded him in the same way that I presented the case to you, which is, how can we be a government for economic growth if we allow a major industry to die? That would be inconsistent,” she said.
Asked about that ruling and human rights concerns on Wednesday, Luxon said: “I do not care what anyone else says about it.” “I’m sorry, but this country is built on rights and responsibilities. And if you choose to take the rights but not hold up the responsibilities and find yourself in jail, we are temporarily removing your rights for voting. That’s completely reasonable,” he said.
The Port Albert Co-operative Dairy Company replaced its factory in Port Albert with a more substantial one in Te Hana in 1934.[10] The dairy factory was the town's major employer until it closed in 1987.[11] After it closed Te Hana declined, with a high crime rate, unemployment of 20%, significant substance abuse, and poor living conditions.[12] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Te_Hana
David Seymour 22 October 2024 · JUST ANNOUNCED: We have made the healthy school lunch programme smarter and better, saving taxpayers money while feeding more kids. By working with business to do more with less, we’ve managed to bring the cost down from $8.61 per meal to $3 per meal. If Labour had used our approach it would have saved more than $800 million over five years. This is ACT driving real change in Government.
https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/building-consents-issued-november-2024/
Grown man pouts while dressed in tight leather and complains about how others don't fit his views of normal
The Peter principle is a concept in management developed by Laurence J. Peter which observes that people in a hierarchy tend to rise to "a level of respective incompetence": employees are promoted based on their success in previous jobs until they reach a level at which they are no longer competent, as skills in one job do not necessarily translate to another.
Organisers of a children’s event violently disrupted by Destiny Church groups are urging the rainbow community to remain vigilant with concerns of more protests. source: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/destiny-church-violent-protests-auckland-pride-urges-vigilance-in-lgbtq-community
Man in cheap suit saluting the crowd
Example crossword and clues
The Honest Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone - Especially Ourselves Dan Ariely
Ute branded with 3Waters waiting for crash repair
Christopher Luxon 'frustrated' as trade mission to Japan nearly derailed by Defence Force plane breakdown
On The Post: Toll roads, congestion charges, water meters on the cards (from Stuff)
NZs Deputy Deputy PM twerking in a previous life, while attempting to get someone to take him seriously. This is on you Epsom...
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/simon-bridges-speeding-offence-considered-before-appointment-as-nzta-chair-i-learned-a-valuable-lesson/D2CIVJ2AMNAFFH7E35HMWC7EOI/ Mr Bridges’ current roles as chief executive of the Auckland Business Chamber, chair of the National Road Carriers Association and chair of the Northern Infrastructure Forum are all conflicts of interest,” the documents said, confirming Bridges would resign from two of the three roles mentioned if he became the transport association’s chairman.
Resources Minister Shane Jones has come out swinging at the "woke-riddled left" during an energy debate in Parliament.  The NZ First MP accused Opposition parties of a "faint green vision" to "keep the lights on with unicorn kisses".  https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2024/05/shane-jones-slams-woke-riddled-left-amid-energy-debate-chl-e-swarbrick-fires-back.html
Actually, it's not celebrating Aucklanders. It's Arrowtown considering no cars on the main street. Auckland has no cars on parts of Queen St, but it doesn't look like this
How it started - The Taxpayers Union Van painted with Hands off our Homes, Stop Central Planning Committees in Jun-23 (from https://whatsoninvers.nz/taxpayers-union-launches-nationwide-hands-off-our-homes-roadshow/)
https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/24-11-2023/we-dont-answer-stupid-questions-inside-the-strong-and-stable-coalition-announcement ‘We don’t answer stupid questions’: Inside the strong and stable coalition announcement