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AI, the promise, the reality and the bursting bubble

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I have been doing my own research into AI and data centres by talking to local experts and environmental scientists. I have also been getting useful information from other credible international sources. Most people opposing the Southland data centre project are concerned about what is happening in the United States, where AI companies build these massive centres in small rural communities who do not have the ability to push back. The demands on energy, and water have an immediate impact and the lack of environmental controls also mean noise and light pollution too. From what I have gleaned the environmental impact of the Makarewa data centre won't have some of the extreme impacts of those in the US, but are still concerning without tight regulations and strong oversight. I am especially concerned about the three adjacent wetlands that could be impacted. The biggest issue will be the electricity supply. When NZ is already struggling to have consistent supplies this one centre wil...
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Worker rights restored under Greens

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The Green Party has proposed that we should make union membership automatic, with the ability to opt out. This a no brainer to restore some balance to the employment relationship. The 1991 Employment Contracts Act effectively deregulated our labour market by abolishing compulsory unionism, making bargaining voluntary, and nullifying nationwide industry awards, it stripped away widespread collective rights and shifted the balance of power heavily toward individual contracts and employers. Union membership has plummeted from almost 50% in the 1980s to around 18% today. Disinformation has always existed about unions because employers have the most power and influence. I note the headlines that the Green union policy will drag NZ back to the "dinosaur age". Sadly many workers have been convinced that their interests are best met outside of unions and collectivism is promoted an evil 'communist' concept. The neoliberal economic system we have embraced is one of individual...
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New Zealand's shameful history of child neglect

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Almost ten years ago I wrote a post detailing why New Zealand ranked at the bottom of the developed world for child health and welfare. With over 330,000 views, and widely shared, it has become my most read post. When so many were shocked at the time it despairs me that so little has changed despite an awareness of need.   When we look at the global trends for child health and wellbeing, many developed countries are experiencing greater inequity through the continued dominance of neoliberal politics and the rise of the populist right. The fact that New Zealand also reflects that trend and is still ranked 32nd out of 37 high income countries (and the worst in a key indicator), exposes a deepening crisis that deserves immediate attention.  According to UNICEF data this is where New Zealand currently sits in key indicators: Mental Wellbeing (37th out of 37) We are still firmly at the bottom for what must be the most concerning health statistic. Poor mental health impacts o...
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New Zealand's economic backbone not so strong

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Anna Chrichton's brilliant cartoon sums it up.  The farming sector is enjoying a boom time at the moment. Beef prices are experiencing a 60 year high, the farm gate milk price is almost $10/kgMS, wool prices have achieved a 10 year high, lamb is getting $2/kg more than last year and fruit prices are also strong. If the sector is the 'backbone of the economy', as is often claimed, then why is it that we are struggling to stand upright economically at the moment. Unemployment is sitting at 5.3% (over 11% for Māori and Pasifika) and households are generally struggling to make ends meet.   The problem with agriculture is that most New Zealanders get little value from the sector. While it earns around 85% (dairy is 30%) of our export income it only adds only 5% to our total GDP. It employs just 5% of the workforce and contributes a measly 1-3% of total tax income . The average farmer pays around the same amount of tax as the average NZ household. The income generated mainly ...
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NZ egalitarianism ditched, poverty entrenched and mega wealth thrives

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When I was a child in the 1960s I didn't have an awareness of inequality. There was no evidence of rough sleeping, all children brought lunches to school and whether you were a freezing worker, a teacher or even an MP, incomes didn't seem to vary that much. 60 years ago an MP would earn about the same as a teacher, plus expenses. The unemployment rate then was under 1%.  There were no records regarding the individual wealth of New Zealanders until the first NBR Rich List in 1986. John Spencer topped the list then with his total wealth of $675 million, inflation adjusted it would be the equivalent of about $1.9 billion.  Today there are 18 individuals and families with wealth over $1 billion and the wealthiest have over $20 billion. In 40 years real wealth at the top has increased around 10 times. Sixty years ago the top statutory personal income tax rate was 67.5%, it is now 39%. The IRD found that the very richest in NZ only pay around 8-9% on their net income, due to untaxed...
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If it looks like corruption, sounds like corruption and smells like corruption...

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New Zealand voters are being presented with a real scandal.  It isn't that a Labour Party in house, media training event was leaked and the Minister of Finance was jokingly and insensitively described as a "duck-faced horse"; It isn't that Chlöe Swarbrick was kicked out of the House for suggesting that government MPs should "grow a spine" and should vote for a bill sanctioning Israel for war crimes; and it certainly isn't with regards to what Chris Hipkins' ex-wife shared about her ex-husband...this is much, much bigger than that!  This scandal implicates the Prime Minister's Office in a deliberate coverup involving Fonterra (New Zealand's largest corporate), Z Energy (the country's largest fuel Company) and the coalition government cabinet. It involves the Supreme and High Courts of New Zealand, the Ombudsman, environmental lawyers and Mike Smith (the climate change spokesperson for the National Iwi Chairs). Considering those connected t...
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Fact Checking David Seymour Again

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David Seymour fronts Act, New Zealand's libertarian party that also embraces elements of populism. Libertarians believe that Governments should be small, property rights supplant human rights and market forces are all we need to ensure a thriving economy. Taxation should be limited and people should be able spend their money where they choose for their health care, education and core services. Public services are an anathema to them, especially public broadcasting. Despite advocating for free speech, Seymour can be quite a snowflake when criticisms are directed at him or his party's policies. He is also well known for making sweeping generalisations and promoting disinformation to support his case. My personal interactions with him have confirmed his blind support of corporate thinking and his flippant dismissal of anything outside his narrow ideology. I challenged him about his disastrous school lunch programme being delivered by an overseas corporate. His initiative destroye...
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