Some Worrying Numbers...
55 Maui's Dolphins left and the Government has opened up 25% of their sanctuary for oil exploration.
14.6C the average temperature for 2014, the hottest on record and 0.69C above the 20th Century average.
99 M3+ earthquakes in central and eastern United States between 2009 and 2013. There were only 21 between 1973 and 2008 and the number and severity of earthquakes is increasing. While the oil industry is claiming there is no proven relationship between the increase in earthquakes and the increase in fracking, there is evidence that says otherwise.
$182 million loss posted for Solid Energy for 2014, down from $335 million in 2013. The SOE still owes $300 million to various banks that was due to be paid off by 2016. The Chairwoman Pip Dunphy has resigned because she believes the company is not viable, but Bill English thinks otherwise.
$1.9 million a year to help feed hungry children ($9.5 million over 5 years).
$1 million budgeted to cover annual travel perks for retired MPs.
4th year of California's drought. The state is the food basket for the US and 80% of its water is used for agriculture.
$6.1 billion predicted reduction in farm income after the boom season of 2013/14. The farmgate milk price has almost dropped by half, falling from a high of $8.40 to $4.70.
11,700 Christchurch earthquake claims still to be resolved by EQC, 4 years after the major event. These are mainly the most severe cases and many families have been suffering in substandard conditions for all that time. There seem to be some crazy priorities in the rebuild.
52C or above is now coloured incandescent purple on Australian weather maps as these temperatures are expected to become more frequent.
$711,000 is the median house price in Auckland, 9% higher than the previous year.
$19,700 is the median income for Mangere-Otahuhu in the 2013 census. The 51,000 people living in the board area have seen their annual income drop by $200 since 2006.
$110,000 increase in pay for Southern DHB CEO. This was a 27.8% increase.
1,793 children in Whangarei received food assistance at least once a week. This is despite the Prime Minister claiming only a small number of children need support nationwide.
244 children killed by US drone attacks and 1122 civilians since 2004.
33,360 Auckland dwellings were listed as unoccupied in the 2013 census, while 11,200 more houses were needed to meet demand in 2014. Is there really a housing shortage, or poor management of existing stock?
Comments
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2915061/Nasa-climate-scientists-said-2014-warmest-year-record-38-sure-right.html
But for most of them = whats your point?
House prices in Auckland are no surprise if you artificially restrict land availability guess whats going to happen?
Huge social spending you advocate will lower average incomes.
California, and the Western US in general, has always been susceptible to drought.
More non news in that there is an increasing demand for free stuff (in this case school lunches).
A government entity has stuffed up earthquake response - there's no surprise there. What are you going to do about it is the question. Would you advocate getting rid of EQC and letting a perfectly capable insurance industry do the job properly?
The global temperature rise just confirms the general trend upwards. Deniers and skeptics had been claiming that the average temperature hadn't increased for a number of years therefore climate change had stopped. However, a number of plateaus had also occurred in the past and 2014 is a continuation of the upwards trend. Sea temperatures have continued to rise despite the air temperature remaining constant for a few years.
Regarding Auckland housing, did you note the number of unoccupied houses? Did you realize that Nick Smith has criticised land bankers too? It appears that greedy developers and property investors are the largest contributors to the housing shortage and the RMA has little to do with it.
Most of the houses being built at present are for the affluent. The Government is best placed for building social housing because of access to cheaper financing and economies of scale when tendering. The Government is also best able to dictate minimum quality for future proofing social housing.
It is also about time many in the private sector started pulling their weight. Working for Families and the accommodation supplement are basically subsidies for employers and landlords. Why should the taxpayer cough up around $3 billion a year to subsidise company profits and keep rents artificially high?
You must have different data to mine regarding the California drought. This is what I have: http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/California-Drought-Sierra-Nevada-Snowpack-Rain-288692181.html
What is yours?
Did you note the number of children in Whangarei needing food assistance and the amount being provided to retired MPs for travel perks? What should be our priority?
As regards the Christchurch priorities, Jenny Shipley is being paid $1,000 a day to oversee CERA and the recovery. It appears that they support money going into sports centres before helping those who suffered the most from the earthquake. The most costly and problematic claims were left to last, yet surely they should have been amongst the first to be helped? Families forced to live for four years in a broken home is not acceptable.
I'm surprised you didn't think it odd that the Southern DHB CEO had a 27.8% pay rise (when the DHB has run well over budget), while the median income for Mangere-Otahuhu has dropped $200 since 2006 (their annual incomes are only 1/6 of the increase given to the CEO).
Retired MPs and CEOs are on a massive taxpayer funded gravy train while hungry kids and low waged workers are told to suck it up.
Paranormal, you are obviously happy with the current state of affairs, but I am not!
Do you want to nationalise houses in Auckland for accommodation? No wonder the Greens are accused of being Marxist - you just can't help yourselves.
Gummint intervention - which appears to be what you are advocating, will only damage the economy and the poor even more.
You rail against the socialist election bribe that is welfare for families (why don't we add in free student loans for good order) and yet you want gummint to interfere in the provision of housing? Do you not realise that will distort the market further?
We've discussed Gorebull Warmening before and you still don't have any proof for your theory.
As for Christchurch, yet again if only gummint would get out of the way and let the market deliver what it does best. To stop this happening in the future tell me would you dismantle EQC? That would be the best start to resolving the issue.
Why do you try and conflate completely unrelated issues? CEO pay rises are totally unrelated to Mangere incomes. Private CEO pay levels are the business of the directors and shareholders. Public entity CEO's are overpaid - I'll agree with you there. I'm sure we have different methods of dealing with that though.
Monopolies and duopolies and government interventions currently abound that distort our economy so that it favours a few and encourages the growth of inequality.
Our power should be amongst the cheapest in the world, but isn't, our milk should be cheaper than countries we export to, but isn't, and our houses are now amongst the most expensive in the world so that only the top quintile can now afford a home. Government procurement ignores the economic benefits of supporting local businesses and maintaining higher skilled industries locally.
You may find Thomas Piketty's book a useful read.
I won't argue with you about climate change as you are an ardent denier and you have yet to produce any respectable institution (unaligned from the oil industry) that supports your views.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/louiswoodhill/2014/05/06/thomas-piketty-gets-the-numbers-wrong/
http://dailysignal.com/2015/02/18/economic-research-refutes-piketty/
As for Climate Change, you are welcome to rely on discredited organisations, but some of us prefer to rely on science, logic and evidence.
Your comment "Our power should be the cheapest in the World" shows you don't understand how business operates (i.e. the generators)and yet you ignore the cost impact of government monopoly (Transpower) whilst lauding the supposed benefits of government monopoly.
For clarity - our housing are not "amongst the most expensive". I know overseas investors that have bought property in Invercargill because it is some of the cheapest in the world and consequently provides a great return on investment. Auckland on the other hand is expensive due to government meddling, but you continually refuse to see that.
1) Please name some of the discredited institutions regarding climate change and who was responsible for discrediting them?
2) What is the production cost of each kwh in New Zealand? Then try and justify the final consumer charges and transmission costs.
3) Read my latest blog post and links and then try and justify house prices that are at a level most New Zealanders can't afford. http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2015/05/greed-inequality-and-denial.html