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August 7, 2025 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 07 August 2025

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Cassandra

New study in the US shows that computer models offer “little guidance” on how much of the climate responds to higher levels of carbon dioxide, most extreme weather events are not increasing, sea levels in North America show no increasing trend while weather attribution claims are challenged by natural climate variation along with an admission that they were originally designed with ‘lawfare’ in mind. Who would have known?

For blogger Anthony Watts, who has spent decades challenging the ‘settled’ politicised science, the most important consideration is that the report, “directly confronts the exaggerated and politicised rhetoric that has dominated headlines for decades”. Watts has good company – the scientific consensus (whatever that might be) seems to be moving away from doom and gloom.

Not that it matters much. Despite all the solemn commitments worldwide the only country actually taking concrete action is New Zealand which is shooting itself in both feet. For the rest it’s all talk and no action. Germany, for example, has taken the extraordinary step of fighting emission increases by dismantling nuclear and importing a zillion tons of Russian oil and gas!
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August 7, 2025 8:04am
- Im Right
  
  Unfortunately the left have ingrained climate crisis so deeply in there reason for existing, no proof or science facts can or will sway them from the doom they believe, I guess when your friends and peers plus echo chamber web sites visited it’s almost impossible to have a coherent debate….the person (who has not been converted to their doom cult) is deemed a climate denier/far right/nazi hell even a racist!
  When there are climate experts who’s salary and livelihood are paid for by organisations and institutions who need to keep the climate change fear going, then the ‘science’ really flies out the window and each report produced, funnily enough, match the paymasters outlook also….how fortuitous!
  I suspect in a few years a few of the newly retired ‘experts’ will come clean and actually tell the truth.
  
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  August 7, 2025 8:19am
  - R
    
    actually tell the truth!……highly unlikely. Once indoctrinated, always indoctrinated, and unable to recognise a truth!
    
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    August 7, 2025 10:10am
  - I remember when
    
    ‘Climate change’ is the ideal subject for those wanting something to worry about.
    Plenty of areas of uncertainty, unlikelyhood of consensus, once a possible answer results room to suggest that it’s not 100% right.
    Add the ability to guarantee that ‘99% settled science’ is, at the very least, decades away.
    
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    August 7, 2025 11:48am
- mandk
  
  But, but, but …
  
  The climate change industry told everyone that the science is settled.
  
  And we were all assured that the vaxx was safe and effective.
  
  Who can we rely on to tell us the truth?
  
  I know! We could get a council of wise people to tell us. I nominate Keir Starmer, Jacinda Ardern and Kalus Schwab.
  
  Any other suggestions?
  
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  August 7, 2025 8:20am
  - rouppe
    
    Angela Merkel, Bernie Sanders, Oprah Winfrey
    
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    August 7, 2025 9:14am
    - Don Beckett
      
      Chris Luxon ??
      
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      August 7, 2025 10:34am
      - pdm
        
        Simon Watts!!!
        
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        August 7, 2025 10:58am
      - Keith White
        
        The Fabulist Mike from this site should Shirley star…
        
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        August 7, 2025 4:34pm
  - cmm
    
    If the science is settled, then there is no point in doing any more “climate research”. Just shut down all these grifts because there is nothing more to learn.
    
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    August 7, 2025 9:33am
  - R
    
    The 21st centuries Brains Trust!
    
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    August 7, 2025 10:11am
- peterwn
  
  And even more ironical, Germany is importing nuclear produced electricity from France. French people do not fear nuclear power as much as people in other countries so France is able to build nuclear power stations to meet its own needs and to export power.
  As far as NZ and other countries are concerned, anti nuke people and groups have sufficient momentum to spook the population about the alleged risks of nuclear power. This has been sufficient for successive governments to keep nuclear power off the table.
  
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  August 7, 2025 8:20am
  - David Garrett
    
    Peter: In a seismically active country like NZ the risks are more than “alleged ” mate. I dont know enough about it to know whether those risks can be adequately managed
    
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    August 7, 2025 8:32am
    - BarryB
      
      One of the problems with current education is that people havent been encouraged to think. Theyve been told that AI – or the government – will do the thinking for them.
      
      You dont put nuclear plants on earthquake faults – you do what the Russians are doing for their remote northern cities. You put the plant on a boat – you know like the navies of the world have been doing. Yes a big enough tidal wave could possibly upset things – but if so we would have much bigger problems to worry about……
      
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      August 7, 2025 8:51am
      - Ian Boag
        
        From Wikipedia ..
        
        Russia built a floating nuclear power plant for its far eastern territories. The design has two 35 MWe units based on the KLT-40 reactor used in icebreakers
        
        70 MWe is piddly ….
        
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        August 7, 2025 11:27am
      - NeverMindTheBollocks
        
        Ian – so let’s have a few of them.
        
        Not that Russian tech would be my first choice, but the point stands.
        
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        August 7, 2025 12:11pm
      - slijmbal
        
        A boat in any reasonable depth of water is safe from tsunamis – they require a deep smaller height wave to come in to shallow water – it’s a bit like going from a wide pipe to a narrow pipe. There is probably a bigger issue with storms and thus it would need to go in to a reasonably sheltered area ie a bay. Bays in NZ generally have people around them as they’re useful so lots of people would be unhappy.
        
        I would be more concerned about the mechanics of the process as one is significantly limited when doing such engineering on the water. It’s a lot easier on dry land. I have no evidence but would not be surprised if it’s actually more likely to have problems on the water but of course if you then let the boat sink it does not take a lot of water to stop the radiation.
        
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        August 7, 2025 12:41pm
      - Colville
        
        I thought the “floating” idea was just so you could build it elsewhere (in a factory) and tow it in, nothing to do with seismic etc.
        
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        August 7, 2025 2:11pm
      - Ian Boag
        
        @Bollocks
        
        70 Mw is not quite enough to run Palmerston North …. 🙂
        
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        August 7, 2025 9:54pm
    - cmm
      
      The seismic risks can be largely eliminated by building on a reinforced concrete foundation that acts as a “raft”.
      
      Fukushima was not compromised by the earthquake. What happened there was that the emergency back up generators were stupidly built on the seaward side of the plant and those were compromised.
      
      Nukes of that sort need to be constantly supplied with power to keep their cooling systems running. If that does not happen then they need to vent.
      
      There are two solutions to that:
      * build the generators in such a way that the generators cannot be compromised.
      * use one of the “fail safe” nuclear reactor methods like thorium-based LTFR which go to sleep if you remove power.
      
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_fluoride_thorium_reactor
      
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      August 7, 2025 8:54am
      - RoboRob
        
        Yup. All the modern designs incorporate fail safe systems that dont require human intervention and dont rely on outside power sources.
        
        If you factor in birds dying in turbines or dams breaking, new (4th gen) nuclear power plants are likely tied with solar for the safest form of generation.
        
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        August 7, 2025 9:13am
      - Colville
        
        Fukushima 2011.
        
        Nuclear related deaths = 0
        Tsunami related deaths = 19,000
        
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        August 7, 2025 9:19am
      - cmm
        
        Roborob: No, not all modern designs fail safe. Many do not.
        
        The trick is to use technologies that do fail safe. LFTR is one of those.
        
        One of the things they do on LFTRs is have a drain plug that is frozen closed by a refrigerant loop. If the power fails then the plug unfreezes and the fluid drains into its storage tanks.
        
        Systems designed like that are perfectly safe to flick the switch and walk away.
        
        The same cannot be said for the majority of nukes in operation today.
        
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        August 7, 2025 9:38am
      - slijmbal
        
        @Roborob
        
        “nuclear power plants are likely tied with solar for the safest form of generation”
        
        per KWh nuclear is the safest on evaluations I have seen – digging up the materials for solar and falling off the roof being the main offenders I believe. Of course, coal is , and always has been, the biggest killer per KWh.
        
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        August 7, 2025 12:44pm
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      But somehow Japan and Taiwan have managed that risk…..
      
      Remember the Clyde Dam is built in the region of active faults
      
      https://www.nzgs.org/libraries/geology-and-the-clyde-dam/
      
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      August 7, 2025 8:56am
      - Ruahine
        
        The building of the Clyde Dam resulted in the creation of some beautiful Lakes and Waterways.
        
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        August 7, 2025 9:28am
      - imalwaysright
        
        The Clyde design is a great solution to seismic risk.
        The mid part of the dam can move like a wedge should the sides/ hills move in or out.
        
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        August 7, 2025 9:59am
      - Jack5
        
        Imalwaysright’s …The mid part of the dam can move like a wedge …
        
        Wasn’t (or perhaps isn’t) a Clyde dam risk what happens if quakes cause hillsides upstream to collapse into upstream water storage?
        
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        August 7, 2025 1:49pm
    - Local Miller
      
      “seismically active country like NZ” is just a cover for being anti nuclear power. NZ is geologically very well surveyed and the seismically active areas are well documented alongside stable areas. A nuclear power plant has a very small footprint and there’s no reason why an appropriate location to site one or more couldn’t be found.
      A lot of detail can be found on the GNS website, including the model that shows low risk areas. https://www.gns.cri.nz/data-and-resources/2010-national-seismic-hazard-model/
      
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      August 7, 2025 8:56am
      - cmm
        
        The bottom like is that, justified or not, there is a huge anti-nuke sentiment in NZ and trying to build nukes here is close to impossible.
        
        Why waste time even trying when we have not fully developed our geothermal resources yet?
        
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        August 7, 2025 9:01am
      - David Garrett
        
        Local: NZ is geologically very well surveyed and the seismically active areas are well documented alongside stable areas.
        
        Bollocks to that. Most Cantabrians had never experienced an earthquake prior to September 2010. Then the one which destroyed much of Christchurch hit six months later – the latter at least was due to movement along a hitherto unknown fault.
        
        I’m not saying the risks can’t be managed, but it is dangerous and fanciful to suggest those risks don’t exist.
        
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        August 7, 2025 9:08am
      - RoboRob
        
        @cmm
        
        One very good reason for looking at nuclear over geo (which is also good), is that you can build nuclear near where the power is needed. This means you dont need to upgrade the grid to carry power huge distances. Transpower are forecasting MASSIVE costs to upgrade the national grid which is why the government is allowing 10% rises in the lines fees.
        
        A few nukes between Auckland and Hamilton and one near Christchurch would probably eliminate the need to upgrade the grid.
        
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        August 7, 2025 9:23am
      - RoboRob
        
        @David
        
        Christchurch suffered from massive earthquakes. Very few building collapsed, only old or illegally built newer buildings.
        
        A 3rd gen nuke (old style) might have suffered minor concrete cracks but likely would have been perfectly fine. The concrete and materials are far stronger then that used in general construction. A 4th gen design, which is what we would use, would be perfectly safe unless a hole opened underneath it. Even then it would likely simply fall in and shut down.
        
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        August 7, 2025 9:27am
      - Colville
        
        DG.
        
        The further north you go the less seismic activity.
        Luckily the north is where the power is needed.
        
        If I were a betting man I would wager that in 20 years Tainui will be partnered with someone like Rolls Royce to have 3 SMRs up there feeding Auckland.
        
        I believe the ONLY way nuclear is going to happen is if an iwi drives it and Tainui have the money and brains to do so. I cant see the point in adding extra capacity to the south island.
        
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        August 7, 2025 9:28am
      - cmm
        
        @Robo: Our geothermal reserves are mainly very close to where we need power. They are close to the main lines running up the country.
        
        Yes, in theory closer location matters, but not yet. We can still add a couple of GW of geothermal without any significant changes to the grid.
        
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        August 7, 2025 9:42am
      - pdm
        
        Colville
        
        Do you really think Rolls Royce or similar would really want to do any sort of deal with Tainui while Tuku Morgan runs the cutter there?
        
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        August 7, 2025 11:00am
      - Jack5
        
        On ship generation …
        
        Auckland uses more than 5,000 mw of power in winter.
        
        American Gerald Ford-class aircraft carriers each have two A1B nuclear generators.
        
        Wikipedia says these are each likely to produce enough steam to generate 125 megawatts (168,000 hp) of electricity, plus 350,000 shaft horsepower (260 MW) to power the four propeller shafts.
        
        Might help emergency service if Auckland's volcanic field erupted.
        
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        August 7, 2025 2:04pm
      - Colville
        
        pdm.
        Rolls Royce will have dealt with shysters of every stripe and Morgan will be nothing new to them.
        Tainui would be in it for the money and the deal would be done.
        New Zealand would be a better place with that deal done.
        
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        August 7, 2025 2:16pm
    - rouppe
      
      Would you say that the engine room of a nuclear powered warship was the equivalent of “seismically active”? Certainly bounces around a lot.
      
      Yet they seem pretty stable.
      
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      August 7, 2025 9:18am
      - Don Beckett
        
        Yes, an SMR could be built on board a ship, so seismic activity is not an issue. That would certainly suit Auckland (Oops – sorry – Tamakai Makaurau 😆 ).
        
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        August 7, 2025 10:42am
      - pdm
        
        DB are you succumbing to the mantra?
        
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        August 7, 2025 11:02am
      - Don Beckett
        
        Didn’t you see the :lol:.
        
        Maybe it should have been //s.
        
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        August 7, 2025 2:55pm
      - pdm
        
        Apologies DB – those yellow faces are too deep for me.
        
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        August 7, 2025 6:02pm
    - Mr Nobody NZ
      
      Mr Garrett: There is an apostrophe in “don’t” as it is a contraction or shortened form of “do not” and the apostrophe (‘) replaces the omitted “o” … you are no doubt one of the old who think that your age makes you superior … not so Sir/Madam.
      
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      August 7, 2025 9:48am
    - crikey
      
      DG: You say “the risks are more than “alleged” then go on to say you don’t know enough about it…”.
      
      Why comment at all? You’re not adding anything useful to the conversation. Stick to things you do know about and don’t allow yourself to be caught up in the uninformed noise – there’s too much of that.
      
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      August 7, 2025 10:36am
    - Skippytony
      
      There is zero change of a nuclear power plant being built in NZ, even if it was “proven” to be completely earthquake proof. Just not going to happen.
      
      We could probably solve our power supply by investing in Hydro but there is little chance of ever getting that consented either.
      
      we have already unalived our gas / oil solution.
      
      So, right or wrong we are all in on renewables in NZ, even though thats clearly not working out well anywhere.
      
      Its people being unable or unwilling to be honest about trade-offs as usual.
      
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      August 7, 2025 10:43am
    - reubee
      
      In response to your comment later on that is too deep to reply to “Bollocks to that. Most Cantabrians had never experienced an earthquake prior to September 2010”
      that should be “Most living Cantabrians…”
      
      That was the 3rd time the Cathedral steeple has collapsed due to an earthquake. The other 2 times were over 100 years ago.
      
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      August 7, 2025 11:12am
    - Dougal10
      
      In a seismically active country hydro dams are a risk too , but our forefathers still built them.
      
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      August 7, 2025 11:44am
  - cmm
    
    peterwn: The Germans run the power through a crystal and moonbeam filter that de-nukes the electrons, so everything is still clean when they get it.
    
    The Germans built a bunch of wind farms on top of their coal fields, but, since then they have started digging up the coal again.
    
    Bottom line for NZ is that nukes would be a hard push and we don’t need to go there. We have ample geothermal reserves that could be developed and give us the extra power we need for another 20 years (say another 1500MW).
    
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    August 7, 2025 8:59am
    - rouppe
      
      We keep getting told how long it takes to build a nuclear power station. Maybe that 20 years of breathing room could be used to build one?
      
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      August 7, 2025 9:20am
      - imalwaysright
        
        Rouppe
        We have spent 50 years procrastinating about nuclear power. That’s a lot of breathing room for zero result.
        
        It seems to be the only thing NZ can still do well….procrastinate.
        
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        August 7, 2025 10:04am
    - Colville
      
      cmm.
      20 years of geothermal will be needed as it will take that long to educate New Zealanders about nuclear and hopefully by then the SMRs will be an actual thing!
      
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      August 7, 2025 9:24am
      - Ra Henare
        
        Having cold and dark nights(ie limited electric) due to lack of gas and generation will very quickly educate NZ residents for the need for reliable and extra generation.
        Plus nukes being built quickly around the world.
        
        Will be interesting to see how quickly modern Nukes can be built in China. No limiting restrictions or greeny politicians.
        
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        August 7, 2025 11:06am
      - cmm
        
        Yes, geothermal is the low-risk option both technically and politically.
        It is also the cheapest way to add up to 1500MW to our grid. Better yet, it is in the North Island close to the major power consumers.
        
        Geothermal is a cheaper option than solar, wind or nuke.
        We’re blessed with it. We should use it.
        
        In 20 to 50 years we will need to investigate other options too (assuming our power demand increases), but it is a no brainer to develop our unused geothermal resources first, even if the taniwha demands a few million $ in koha.
        
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        August 7, 2025 11:46am
      - NeverMindTheBollocks
        
        CMM – “geothermal is the low-risk option both technically and politically.
        It is also the cheapest way to add up to 1500MW to our grid”.
        
        I’m just going to ask that when you say “politically” and “cheaply”, have you fully factored in the taniwha tax?
        
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        August 7, 2025 12:16pm
    - GJM
      
      Depends on approval from the bro-racracy and the cost of the Iwi tax.
      
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      August 7, 2025 2:32pm
- cmm
  
  There are computer models and computer models. Computer models are not much better than random number generators unless they are based on the laws of physics.
  
  We have computer models that are based on the laws of physics that can predict exactly what the phase of the moon will be 1000 years from now.
  
  We have computer models of how GPS satellites move that can give us positions accurate to 20mm or so (less than an old fashioned inch) even though the satellites are zipping through the sky at many km per second.
  
  Then we have the bullshit end of computer models where people apply “fudge factors” etc until they get the output they want. There is no relationship between the inputs and outputs except the “feelings” of the people building the models.
  
  Somewhere around 2010, the East Anglia climate models (the “gold standard” of climate mathematical models) was released under the UK FOIA. I got my hands on the code for the model and had a look at it.
  
  There was no mention of any significant laws of physics. There was no reference to latent heat or the specific heat capacity of gases or water. There were, however, a bunch of “tweak factors” that had just been adjusted by eyeball until the desired output was achieved.
  
  In other words, very much at the bullshit end of the spectrum.
  
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  August 7, 2025 8:47am
  - slijmbal
    
    @cmm
    
    Here here.
    
    I was taught a model is the mathematical results of one’s assumptions. Sadly, showing shiny graphs or artificially high precision numbers makes a model look scientific and precise no matter how wrong the assumptions are.
    
    I recall the earlier versions of the models used in the IPCC political documents had CO2 as providing a linear contribution to warming. We know that to be untrue from the level of chemistry/physics historically taught at about 14/15. This is incredibly basic science.
    
    Don’t get me started on multivariant analysis, particularly when applied to complex systems eg people’s behaviour. The factors are chosen by the person doing the analysis and tend to lead to huge experimenter’s bias and a result that can be effectively determined by whoever is doing the research. This is one of the major reasons (along with tiny and skewed samples) that so many bits of research turn out to be later incorrect. If we then add the scientifically and mathematically ignorant interpretations of journalists one is more likely to get the correct answer from a random drunk on the street when we are told that “seaweed cures cancer” or the latest nonsense in the media.
    
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    August 7, 2025 12:58pm
    - Don Beckett
      
      I think the most basic error is the claim that: ‘CO2 is driving the oceans to warm & heat the planet’.
      I recall a chemistry experiment in the lab in 3rd. form in 1955 when I was 13 – heating water drives out the gasses – including CO 2.
      So they’ve got it arse -about- face. It is the “warming” that is causing the increase in CO 2, therefore other factors are at play – nothing to do
      with “anthropogenic global warming”.
      Send Luxon & Watts back to year 10 physics classes.
      
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      August 7, 2025 3:47pm
  - Ian Boag
    
    And there are computer models that – by and large – do a reasonable job of forecasting the weather … and inflation rates … and unemployment and stuff ….
    
    Should these all be binned? Replace by “lick a finger and hold it in the breeze?”
    
    Go figure.
    
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    August 7, 2025 2:15pm
    - slijmbal
      
      @Ian
      
      “And there are computer models that – by and large – do a reasonable job of forecasting the weather … and inflation rates … and unemployment and stuff …”
      
      except they don’t.
      
      Look how often they get it wrong on each of the measures you mentioned. For weather the longer term predictions – “expect a warm dry summer” – have a poor success rate. They are reasonably accurate out to very short timescales (days).
      
      The RBNZ often gets inflation wrong and it invariably changes rates late. How many times do we hear that the employment numbers are above\below expectations? The economy grew\shrunk unexpectedly etc etc. Tax take was much greater\less than expected (based on economic models of the country).
      
      This is the nature of complex systems (of which the climate is one) as they are notoriously difficult to model and if the assumptions in the model are influenced by prior ideological beliefs (like the climate model) they become even less accurate.
      
      Many are useful to a point but it’s important to realise they invariably have significant limitations.
      
      BTW no-one suggested binning them – nice straw man you troll you.
      
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      August 7, 2025 4:50pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Report here:
  
  https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2025-07/DOE_Critical_Review_of_Impacts_of_GHG_Emissions_on_the_US_Climate_July_2025.pdf
  
  Some commentary here:
  https://judithcurry.com/2025/07/29/new-climate-assessment-report-from-us-doe/
  
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  August 7, 2025 9:20am
- Handyman
  
  New Zealand is different.
  The big virtue signalling countries banning fossil fuels have quiet deals with other countries to provide emergency top-up electricity. The UK and Germany have deals with France for nuclear power, Norway for (gas financed) hydro power, and The Netherlands for coal power. Spain has just figured out why they are needed. Virtuous South Australia has a massive interconnector with Victorian coal power allowing it to be 100% hypocritical.
  
  Any New Zealand PM who tried to follow the European model would be beyond crazy because New Zealand does not have any nearby backup. It would take a particular kind of arrogance and stupidity to overrule all scientific and economic advice to ban natural gas in New Zealand.
  
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  August 7, 2025 9:42am
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    Yes, NZ has a closed grid. So do Taiwan and Western Australia, dunno about Japan.
    
    We should consider how Taiwan & WA handle security of supply.
    
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    August 7, 2025 12:18pm
  - cmm
    
    Europe, like most places in the world, has an interconnected grid allowing feed ins from elsewhere.
    
    This allows, say the Germans to eschew nukes, but they can buy nuke power from the French.
    
    It also gives people a get out of jail for insane green energy policies like PV and wind.
    
    Here we have no such luxuries. We don’t have realistic options to import electricity from outside of NZ.
    
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    August 7, 2025 12:48pm
Anthony Melchett

I think we have found the policy that will cause national to lose the election next year.

Yes they may not have rolled back as much of arderns nonsense as we would like, and they have been timid around the maorification of everything. Largely though we have got what it said on the tin and they are better than the insanity of the other lot.

Until yesterday when they felt it appropriate to announce all vehicles will be going to rucs.

This policy annoys everyone and helps no one, except maybe making it cheaper the fill the motor mower.

1. There is no way the fuel prices will drop by enough to offset the cost of rucs. They may do initially before mysteriously going back to where they were within 6 months.

2. Hybrid and fuel efficient vehicle owners will be pissed after being told to save the planet and then being charged extra for their virtue because they aren’t contributing enough tax. Depending on how this gets set up it may end up being similar to run a falcon or a prius!

3. Introduction of electronic transponders in all vehicles. The cost to implement and manage will likely be ridiculously expensive if its managed by a government department.

Then do you really want the government tracking your every movement? Charging more if you drive at peak times? What’s next? Increased rucs if you travel too far from home or too much in a week? Automatic speeding tickets for 1km over?

This is authoritarianism at its finest and a policy that you would expect to see from labour.

I think this will be the final straw for a lot of people.

I will not vote for a government that wants to track and charge my every move. I won’t vote for the other side but will vote with my feet. This is a really dangerous step towards control of movement.
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August 7, 2025 8:13am
- Pope Punctilious II
  
  So who are you going to vote for then?
  
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  August 7, 2025 8:19am
  - Anthony Melchett
    
    Like I said, it’s a deal breaker for me if the transponder method is used as I don’t consent to my every move being tracked.
    
    I won’t vote for the other side either but as I said will be off to a different country.
    
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    August 7, 2025 9:04am
    - R
      
      Different country,… which backwater country would that be?. Every mobile phone is already tracked, just ask some of the incarcerated elements, who the police found, by tracking their mobile phones
      
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      August 7, 2025 10:32am
      - Anthony Melchett
        
        As I have said, mobile tracking is different because you don’t have to take it with you and……. it doesn’t link you to a vehicle and explicitly charge you for moving
        
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        August 7, 2025 5:07pm
- David Garrett
  
  Anthony: Excellent points there. This talk of “tracking ” where you go is very disturbing
  
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  August 7, 2025 8:21am
  - Pavel
    
    It sure is, so much for ACT being the libertarian party. Why can’t it be like the current ruc system i.e, go to the post office, vtnz, online etc and buy them? Like most of Australia just put number plate readers into every police car, would be a lot easier than installing 3.5 million transponders in every car and they will also pick up if you don’t have a wof, rego, licence etc. At the very least transponders should be optional, making them compulsory is a huge intrusion into our liberty and freedom.
    
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    August 7, 2025 8:44am
  - Ruahine
    
    Never use a Credit or Debit Card.
    
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    August 7, 2025 9:31am
    - Colville
      
      I prefer to just lead a really boring life so that no one wants to follow my movements!
      
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      August 7, 2025 2:19pm
  - Mr Nobody NZ
    
    Mr Garrett: There is no space between the g and quotation mark (“) in your use of the word “tracking” … you are no doubt one of the old who think that a space should be automatically be placed after a word is placed in quote marks …. Not so Sir/Madam.
    
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    August 7, 2025 9:54am
    - Prince
      
      Mr Nobody, ‘old’ is an adjective, not a noun.
      
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      August 7, 2025 12:35pm
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        and the phrase
        a space should be automatically be placed
        contains a redundant be
        
        and the correct term for the ” ” punctuation marks is quotation marks not quote marks…
        
        but, I don’t like to nit-pick.
        
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        August 7, 2025 3:15pm
  - R
    
    “Tracking”!….depends on wether your travel is for HONEST or DISHONEST purposes!
    
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    August 7, 2025 10:29am
- Cassandra
  
  I think you’re reading far too much into this, Tony. Your phone is already tracking you and there’s been no outcry. RUC is a sensible move IMHO.
  
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  August 7, 2025 8:22am
  - Pavel
    
    Yes but my phone isn’t being tracked by the government and if they want that info they have to go to the high court and have a rock solid reason for accessing it.
    
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    August 7, 2025 8:34am
  - Anthony Melchett
    
    “Your phone is already tracking you and there’s been no outcry. ”
    
    I can choose not to take my phone with me.
    
    My phone doesn’t link my to a number plate, report my distance traveled and speed to a government department capable of charging me.
    
    Rucs may be a good solution, if you are happy to believe fuel prices will stay down.
    
    Electronic tracking? Be careful what you wish for.
    
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    August 7, 2025 9:07am
    - Inandout
      
      AM, I also expect known drug dealers carry mobiles but as far as I know Police don’t track them regularly. Unfaithful spouses; well that is another story.
      
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      August 7, 2025 9:47am
      - Colville
        
        I know traffic engineers can purchase phone movement info but its anonymised, you know the phone is moving at 58km/hr around the corner but you dont know who owns it.
        
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        August 7, 2025 2:21pm
    - MCōs
      
      The police can find out where the bad buggers have been by joining the dots from cell phone transmitters if my reading of court case reporting is correct.
      
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      August 7, 2025 10:55am
      - slijmbal
        
        @MCos
        
        they have to look at which towers your cellphone pings off. The best they can normally do is within an area of several hundred metres squared and that improves if your cell pings off multiple towers in close succession. Timewise though it’s more accurate. They can say one was in the area of XYZ or travelled from the area of ABC to DEF in a vehicle about this time but no better. Mind you that’s often enough with other supporting evidence.
        
        20 years ago when working at a mobile company I was aware that the sheer volume of data was such that the mobile companies dumped it reasonably quickly – weeks. The police would contact the company and ask them not to delete specific data, which was legal as they weren’t asking to view it rather to preserve it. I have no idea how long it is kept now but you’re probably safe if you buried that body a year ago.
        
        Your phone itself actually keeps a much more accurate picture unless you expressly turn off such mechanisms and for quite a long time as well.
        
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        August 7, 2025 1:10pm
- Philview
  
  Unfortunately, I predict we will end up with racial exemptions and poverty exemptions and an increasing obligation on the rest of us.
  
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  August 7, 2025 8:24am
  - Damocles11
    
    You are exactly right. According to Bishop the petrol tax is ‘regressive’ and punishes the poor so we need RUC. A future Labour / Greens / TPM government will bring in exemptions for beneficiaries and people under a certain income threshold, and of course charging Maori for RUC would be a breach of ‘Te Tiriti’. Families will probably be exempted at some stage as they are always having bones thrown to them. The usual mugs already carrying the bulk of the tax burden will not be exempted however.
    
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    August 7, 2025 9:18am
    - Reg Perrin
      
      Would be easy to get around it if they bring in exemptions for the items you list as you could have the car in the name of a relative that meet the criteria
      
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      August 7, 2025 9:37am
  - R
    
    Sounds normal administration then for NZ
    
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    August 7, 2025 10:34am
- Im Right
  
  I disagree Anthony
  I believe it’s a popular move, and on paper it’s a vote winner (well, certainly not a policy that actively loses them an election)
  From what I have seen…early stages yet I admit, the public are for it and it’s around the 60% or so in favour, not a game changing result so far, but not the doom and gloom your predicting.
  
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  August 7, 2025 8:25am
- mandk
  
  I disagree.
  
  Many people want to see heavy EVs charged for damaging the roads more than ICE cars do. They also want to see cyclists contributed to the cost of all those bike lanes that are plaguing our cities.
  
  But RUCs won’t be an election issue. Labour won’t propose anything much different.
  
  And universal RUCs won’t come in until 2027.
  
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  August 7, 2025 8:25am
  - Ian Boag
    
    If you want to recover more money from hybrids, a rough and ready way would be to up the rego. Not perfect, but what system is?
    
    I wondered if we are going to lead the world in this respect. So I asked chatGPT who else does it and found that Iceland (population 400,000) has beaten us to it and the Poms “are thinking about it”.
    
    Quite a few countries have them for heavy vehicles just like we currently do. Applying it to all vehicles must be a great idea so then we would be leading the world with the Icelanders.
    
    FWIW NZ is the only country where RUCs are applied to light diesel vehicles (cars etc). World leaders again. Elsewhere diesel just has similar excise to petrol. RUCs for heavy vehicles just go on top.
    
    The transponder thing is nonsense – to be useful for RUCs it would either have to include a GPS – or be hooked into the odometer – or every vehicle would need a hubodo like trucks do. Not going to happen. Transponders in other countries (eg Oz, Singapore) are there to register that the car has gone through a toll point, not to provide a mileage reading.
    
    And if RUC stickers in the windscreen are goneburger then rego stickers could go the same way like they have in Oz. Licence plate recognition and all that.
    
    So EVs could continue with RUCs like they do now with a reduced rate for plugin hybrids. The rest of us could follow the world and continue with excise tax. If the change has something to do with raising more revenue then changing the charging basis is not going to automatically make that happen.
    
    Another case of a solution looking for a problem.
    
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    August 7, 2025 8:52am
    - Anthony Melchett
      
      @ Ian Boag – Hang on, I think I just agreed with you for possibly the first time ever.
      
      I’ll need to check but I think that’s one of the harbingers of the apocalypse.
      
      It’s a solution looking for a problem and the second policy released in 2 weeks that could have a labour logo on it!
      
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      August 7, 2025 9:12am
    - Ian Boag
      
      Whoops. Checked it out. Iceland has introduced RUCs for EVs/hybrids. Last year. AFAICT no plans to extend it to all vehicles. So we can really lead the world. 🙂
      
      Bananas. Expensive solution casting round for a suitable problem.
      
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      August 7, 2025 10:41am
    - leoj
      
      My thoughts entirely…
      
      Govt needs more money, charge excise tax on diesel.
      
      Scrap RUC, an idea that was designed for farmers and their farm machinery.
      
      The whole tax system would be far simpler.
      
      Oil companies will soon increase their prices due to the temporaray drop and people’s false sense that the cost is lower. Many will not factor in the RUC. Too complicated for the dunces.
      
      The pretrol misers, supposedly good for the climate, will have been told to get stuffed. The govt ALWAYS wants more, no matter what, and will change policy even if the green faction is upset.
      
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      August 7, 2025 1:47pm
      - Ian Boag
        
        charge excise tax on diesel
        
        I meant instead of RUCs on diesel cars and utes and stuff. Diesel at the pump tends to cost about the same as petrol most places I have seen.
        
        It’s what the rest of the world does – although we tend to be a bit selective of which bits of “the rest of the world” are good ideas …. 🙂
        
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        August 7, 2025 3:30pm
  - JimBobJoe
    
    Apparently Heavy EVs have to be very heavy to damage roads…. A caller to ZB in Wellington (Nick Mills 9 to noon show) covered this off.
    
    Apparent the damage is not linear to the weight of the vehicle and real damage needs 10 tons plus, so that rules out all personal vehicles I can think of.
    
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    August 7, 2025 8:31pm
- Reg Perrin
  
  I can’t see Labour Campaigning on not doing this. They love a new tax. It won’t stop with just the above. I can see the Greens wanting to have increased costs for cars with different emissions
  
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  August 7, 2025 8:32am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  I’m a muppet where motor-cars are concerned (that’s what husbands are for…)
  
  So could someone explain in single syllables how I will be charged RUC.?
  
  (i.e. do I purchase a load of km before I drive somewhere?
  
  Does someone come and check the odometer every so often and then bill me?)
  
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  August 7, 2025 9:03am
  - David Garrett
    
    Maggy: It’s the former ; you “buy miles” and they give you a little sticker the same size as the rego, which you then display beneath the rego one. It gives a maximum number on your odometer; you are “paid up” until that number of k’s have been driven.
    
    If plod pulls you up and your RUC is – say – 300 ks behind your odometer, you will probably get a ticket – unless the driver is a nice looking young woman with a tight fitting top, in which case probably just a warning to get them up to date!
    
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    August 7, 2025 9:13am
    - RoboRob
      
      Thats the current system. If they go electronic, which they should, then its more likely to be a monthly (or other) bill automatically taken from your payment method. I guess they will allow people to preload their account the same way power companies do.
      
      The issues will be around enforcement of payment, which is already an issue for RUCs.
      
      All in all the proposed changes are the only sensible way to deal with making all motorists pay a share of roading expenses. Much easier to have everyone on the same system.
      
      The danger will be the electronics will also easily automated road tolls. Councils will likely be all over this.
      
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      August 7, 2025 9:36am
    - Mr Nobody NZ
      
      Mr Garrett: Such a disappointing response from the site’s English Teacher however …
      1) There rules for semicolon use is no space before the semicolon and one space after the semicolon.
      2) The use of “k’s” or “ks” is not recognised as a standard or official abbreviation for kilometres and you should instead use “km” or “km’s” to avoid ambiguity.
      
      You are no doubt one of the old who thinks that age automatically grants you a greater level of authority … not so Sir/Madam.
      
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      August 7, 2025 10:06am
      - imalwaysright
        
        Shouldn’t there be a comma after Nobody?
        
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        August 7, 2025 12:40pm
      - Prince
        
        Mr Nobody, your sentence 1) makes no sense.
        Perhaps ‘the’ instead of ‘there’, and ‘rule’ instead of ‘rules’ ?
        
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        August 7, 2025 12:41pm
      - zulumonster
        
        “There rules for semicolon use” … woops
        
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        August 7, 2025 1:52pm
  - Ian Boag
    
    Probably in arrears when you get a WoF. Or you could be sent a bill sometime in the year based on your mileage the previous year – info gathered at WoF time. Drawback would be that year 1 would be “free” and year 2 would get two years worth of charge. A bit like provisional tax.
    
    There could also be a “standard” charge applied to rego (say 5000ks worth) which would get dropped into the overall calculation.
    
    To run the roads, they still need to collect the same or more money. Changing the charging basis will not alter that …
    
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    August 7, 2025 9:14am
  - Anthony Melchett
    
    For diesels and EVs you buy kms in advance. If you were ever pulled over they would check your current speedo reading is within the purchased range. It also gets updated at a wof inspection so if your current kms at the wof are higher than what you have paid to, you will get sent an invoice to pay to catch up.
    
    Works OK for what it is but the extra admin may be too much for dummies so they are talking about putting transponders in every vehicle to track your distance traveled and invoice accordingly.
    
    Bad on so many levels!
    
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    August 7, 2025 9:17am
  - cmm
    
    RUC = “diesel miles”
    
    You buy a sticker thing for minimum 1000km at a time (most people buy in blocks of 5000 or 10000km).
    The sticker must match your odometer.
    If your RUC says 50,000 km and your odometer shows 65,000km then you will be fined. This is checked at traffic stops and WoF.
    
    You are supposed to buy before you drive, but they will generally give you 1000 or so km of grace.
    
    For trucks etc there are also more complex options like eRUC, but we can leave that for your future education.
    
    Until 2 years ago we had two diesel vehicles. I would buy blocks of 10,000km at a time which costs $760+processing fee at the current rate. The smallest block you can buy is 1000km at $76 + processing fee.
    
    I would think that many that struggle to budget will “forget” and will get into severe debt. Alternatively many will disconnect their odometers.
    
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    August 7, 2025 9:21am
    - Ian Boag
      
      disconnect their odometers
      
      That’s pretty bit hard these days – can be done but not just a matter of unscrewing the speedo speedo cable or rolling back mechanical dials. Look it up ….
      
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      August 7, 2025 10:46am
      - leoj
        
        Ya reckon?
        
        A computer nerd could probably access the software and “rearrange” things quite easily.
        
        Some people are VERY clever.
        
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        August 7, 2025 1:52pm
      - Ian Boag
        
        @leoj
        
        I didn’t say it was impossble, just relatively difficult. No doubt there are hackers who can manage it, although there would be significant differences beween different makes.
        
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        August 7, 2025 3:33pm
- cmm
  
  “There is no way the fuel prices will drop by enough to offset the cost of rucs. ”
  
  The devil is in the details.
  
  Under the current RUC system then yes, those with small cars will get negatively impacted because the current lowest band is for vehicles up to 3500kg at 7.6 cents/km.
  
  This high cost for the lowest rate is a lot of the reason the really efficient small diesel vehicles never took off in NZ.
  
  However if they introduce a new small car category (0-1500kg) at, say, 4 cents/km. then that could make more sense.
  
  Currently the levy in petrol is around 70cents per litre. If you have a car that does 5l/100km, then that’s equivalent to 3.5c/km of RUC. Stepping up to 7.6c/km is rather punitive.
  
  The other part of the equation would be to introduce a way to make it easier to buy RUC in smaller blocks (eg. top up your RUC with each fill). People with poor budgeting skills will struggle to buy 5000km blocks or RUC.
  
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  August 7, 2025 9:12am
  - The Goblin
    
    The minimum to buy is 1000km, currently $70 so not too difficult to manage for most.
    
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    August 7, 2025 9:20am
    - cmm
      
      Sure, for “most”, but no doubt there are many who will put off buying their RUC until it gets unmanageable.
      
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      August 7, 2025 9:44am
      - Paulus
        
        Don’t fret Winz will pay !
        
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        August 7, 2025 11:32am
- rouppe
  
  If you take point 2 to the extreme then there will be no road tax collected as people find a loophole such has having a bev with a 1cc engine running. “Look it’s a hybrid! No rucs for me!”.
  
  So rather than railing about how unfair it is, how do you suggest we collect sufficient money for road development and upkeep?
  
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  August 7, 2025 9:26am
  - cmm
    
    RUC is the fair way to do it and is what I think the right things is, but:
    * How do you force people to buy it? At least with a levy on petrol they can’t drive their cars until they have paid it.
    * There needs to be a lower bottom category, otherwise those with 5l/100km cars are going to be paying double what they were.
    
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    August 7, 2025 9:47am
    - wsk12345
      
      How do uou force people to buys it?
      
      How about you must hve it to buy petrol, we could pay at the fuel station….. oh hang on….
      
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      August 7, 2025 10:16am
    - rouppe
      
      Your point 1 is valid.
      
      But what is a 5l/100km car? I have a diesel passat. I’m paying full ruc.
      
      On a trip I get 5.5l/100km. If I put it in sport mode and use all 500 of those newton metres, I’ll get a lot worse.
      
      I think they’ll have to put in other weight classes, if only for motorcycles, but largely I think smaller cars don’t cause sufficiently lesser wear on the road than larger cars to start putting in lots of other weight bands.
      
      Be great if they use this to start charging bicycles to offset the cost of cycle lanes though!
      
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      August 7, 2025 10:26am
      - Paulus
        
        I had Diesel Passat – best car I ever had, and paid as required kms and always wondered why we all didn’t change to that way.
        PERSUADED by wife to change after 6 years – still wrankles, even if I still have my 5th VW (petrol).
        
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        August 7, 2025 2:03pm
    - Ian Boag
      
      If you are doing this on the basis that higher weights wear out the road faster …. the science (based on experimental data) tells us that road wear goes up as the 4th (!) (yes!) (honestly!) power of the axle weight.
      
      So 2x the axle weight = 16x as much wear and 4x the axle weight = 250 times the wear. If the RUC thing was all digital you could just have a charging regime based on axle weight in something like 200 kg steps.
      
      Bananas.
      
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      August 7, 2025 11:38am
- Vidar
  
  If roads are a service, then users should pay for what they use. Full stop. Hybrids, like petrol cars, cause wear and tear. If a Prius and a Corolla both drive 10,000 km a year, why should one pay road tax and the other ride free?
  
  Fuel excise is a crude proxy for road use. The more efficient your car, the less you pay, even if you use the roads just as much. That’s not fair or efficient. RUCs fix that by charging based on actual use, not just how thirsty your engine is.
  
  However, electronic monitoring is terrifying.
  
  -Speed monitoring and auto-tickets
  
  -Geographic restrictions (can’t drive into city centers)
  
  -Weekly mileage quotas
  
  -Carbon-based rationing
  
  Do we really want a Labour/Greens/Maori party having control over a system like that?
  
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  August 7, 2025 9:59am
  - Anthony Melchett
    
    Vidar gets it.
    
    “However, electronic monitoring is terrifying.
    
    -Speed monitoring and auto-tickets
    
    -Geographic restrictions (can’t drive into city centers)
    
    -Weekly mileage quotas
    
    -Carbon-based rationing
    
    Do we really want a Labour/Greens/Maori party having control over a system like that?”
    
    No one really minds how road tax is collected. I’m concerned they won’t actually reduce the cost of fuel accordingly though.
    
    It’s the electronic monitoring you should be afraid of.
    
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    August 7, 2025 6:48pm
- Handyman
  
  1. The RUC rate will be set on a weight basis.
  A full battery EV is very heavy, more so than large petrol SUVs. Wait to hear the howls when Tesla drivers will pay more for RUCs than me in my V8 SUV.
  
  2. Just asking… are the transponders small enough to fit on cycles?
  Cycles could attract a negative RUC charge. Parents could offset their car RUC by getting their kids to cycle to school.
  
  3. RUCs could factor in ACC costs per vehicle type. Motor bikes will pay more.
  
  4. RUCs could be used for “Equity” and vary according to region with East Coast and Northland paying less because, you know, reasons.
  
  5. RUCs could vary according to purpose of trip. Regular visits to the hospital should be free.
  
  6. Finally, RUCs could be based on fuel usage rate, which would be calculated to equal, say, about 70c per litre of petrol.
  
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  August 7, 2025 10:07am
- waikatosinger
  
  “I will not vote for a government that wants to track and charge my every move. I won’t vote for the other side but will vote with my feet. This is a really dangerous step towards control of movement”
  
  Vote for ACT or NZ1st then. I am sick of people posting nonsense about punishing National for not doing enough by acting in a way that will install a Labour government. It is ridiculous. The people who advocate for this kind of thing here and elsewhere are either massively stupid or left wing shills trying to trick people into throwing their vote away.
  
  Remember when Cameron Slater on his blog Whaleoil encouraged a bunch of National people to switch their vote to NZ1st to “Teach National a lesson”. Astonishingly it seems to have been somewhat effective. Winston stormed back and promptly installed Jacinda. So how well did that work for you all then? Learn the lesson of history and don’t be so stupid. Mind you I think Winston would not be in a hurry to do that again. He too learned a lesson.
  
  There are three parties in this government all with different priorities. That means you can change the direction of the government by switching your vote between them. If you don’t like the way things are going try that first. It is likely to be much more successful than shooting the government between the eyes and installing Hipkins and his left wing loonies.
  
  I don’t think the country can afford a Labour/Green government right now. They have NOT reformed themselves since they lost office and they need a lot more time in the political wilderness. Everyone involved in the Jacinda government most especially Hipkins needs to resign. I wouldn’t trust those guys as far as I could boot them.
  
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  August 7, 2025 10:33am
  - Pope Punctilious II
    
    Pray that Hipkins doesn’t resign. Would you rather see Kieran McAnulty at the helm?
    
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    August 7, 2025 5:34pm
- Ra Henare
  
  Anthony.
  
  Doom and gloom
  Same as when GST was introduced.
  
  You did pickup that Petrol taxes would be removed?
  
  and doesnt come in until AFTER the next election.
  
  So I think the current coalition is safe as there is no viable alternative for thinking voters.
  
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  August 7, 2025 11:08am
  - cmm
    
    Based on the current lowest RUC cost that does not really stack up.
    
    If you have a car that uses 5l/100km you are currently paying 70 c of road levy per litre or 3.5 c per km.
    
    The cheapest RUC level is 7.6 c/km – ie more than double what a 5l/100km car pays and around 3x what a 3.5l/100km car pays.
    
    Unless we introduce a much lower level for the lightest cars then the current RUC is highly punitive for small, efficient cars.
    
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    August 7, 2025 12:37pm
  - Anthony Melchett
    
    Ra
    “You did pickup that Petrol taxes would be removed?
    
    and doesnt come in until AFTER the next election.”
    
    Do you really think petrol will stay down or will it magically be back up to where it was a few months later?
    
    Of course it doesn’t come in till after. If you vote for them, they will do it.
    
    My issue is labour will probably love this scheme. Electronic tracking of all vehicles is a communists wet dream.
    
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    August 7, 2025 5:12pm
- imalwaysright
  
  Taking a tax off fuel is like taking gst off food.
  Both have variable pricing and both are charged according to what the market will pay.
  After about a year of this scheme we will end up paying far higher costs to operate vehicles.
  Add to that the fact that our vehicles will be electronically linked to a database to measure mileage, and which will likely end up being able to restrict our usage should we default on payment.
  
  Sounds great…..!!!
  
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  August 7, 2025 11:10am
  - Beach Haven expat
    
    Agree. The current price, with tax, is what people are prepared to pay. No one fills up and breaks down the price elements as the $counter clicks over. It’s just $X.XX a litre they see when they pull into the forecourt.
    
    The fuel companies will bide their time but then the price will creep up to a level approximately what it is now (possibly with the sop that Gaza/Ukraine/Taiwan/Iran/the Shetland Islands tensions have spiked the price goshdarnit) as they know people were prepared to pay at that level.
    
    Similarly Bish’s lovely sounding transponder will over time morph into other uses. I’m not sure what the set up in NZ is now, but in the UK young drivers have black boxes in their car as part of reduced insurance premiums that monitors journeys, speed, excessive braking, total mileage so it’s not a big leap.
    
    I’m not saying the current system is not flawed, but wait 10 years and then review if it is working as sold to you in 2025. New Zealand is the country that locked its own citizens out and wooed the majority into spitting poison at their plague-carrying overseas compatriots on the back of being able to watch a Six60 concert.
    
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    August 8, 2025 1:00am
- cmm
  
  Why do people conflate RUC with tracking?
  
  Currently people for RUC (aka diesel miles) have a sticker in their windscreen. No tracking.
  
  The only people using tracking are those doing eRUC. That only makes sense for large vehicles where the RUC is very expensive. Nobody does eRUC for cars.
  
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  August 7, 2025 11:59am
  - Ian Boag
    
    Why do people conflate transponders with measuring distance travelled?
    
    AFAIK they are used to log use of toll roads by noting that you passed and entry (and maybe exit) point. I suppose that’s a form of “tracking” …
    
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    August 7, 2025 1:37pm
  - Anthony Melchett
    
    They have explicity said they will use e ruc systems or transponders to do it.
    
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    August 7, 2025 5:09pm
- Anthony Melchett
  
  Who downticks this – do you want a tracking device on your car?
  
  Wake up!
  
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  August 7, 2025 5:08pm
- alloytoo
  
  This move ignores the most basic rule of taxation:
  
  Simplicity.
  
  Replacing a system effectively managed by a few fuel suppliers with something which is vastly more complicated and difficult to manage.
  
  Notwithstanding the easily spotted tax grab, any rate greater than $50 per 1000kms will cost me more, and my car is by no means the most economical from it’s manufacturer.
  
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  August 8, 2025 6:52am
Chuck Bird

With the change from taxing petrol to taxing on distance, will they issue speeding tickets if you drive fast while passing?
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August 7, 2025 8:17am
artemisia

Unemployment rate for Pacific people more than double national average – 12.1%.

Ana Ika, social policy analyst at the Salvation Army, said “We would think… that a lot of that unemployment for Pacific is predominantly our young people”. Not mentioned in that article that 19 percent of Pacific leavers left school last year with no qualifications. Suggest a few dots to be joined right there.

Where are the parents of these young people? I worked with a lot of those PI parents back in the day. Pretty much all were first gen immigrants, and highly focused on education for the family. What has changed with these second gen parents of the uneducated and unemployed kids? All ”Blame the System” and “Give us More Money”? Something else? And can parents fix it before it becomes intergenerational?

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/569167/students-leaving-school-with-no-qualifications-highest-in-a-decade

https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/569214/unemployment-rate-for-pacific-people-more-than-double-national-average
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August 7, 2025 8:19am
- kowtow
  
  PI’s came to NZ to work in factories , now NZ pays PI’s not to work.
  
  That’s the diversity dividend at work.
  
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  August 7, 2025 8:32am
  - Groggy
    
    That’s the Neo-liberal economy dividend. Not many factories left these days.
    
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    August 7, 2025 5:25pm
- Damocles11
  
  Youth unemployment in general is high. That’s symptomatic of a sick economy. We keep bringing in people from overseas when we have vast numbers of people either unemployed or underemployed. The current model of using high immigration levels to boost GDP numbers and artificially create internal demand is no longer working. ‘Slashing’ interest rates is no longer working as people are full up to the gills with debt. John Key can bray all he likes for the ‘slashing’ of interest rates but his model for building a ‘rockstar’ economy based on immigration and stoking the property ponzi scheme is now stuffed. National has been too slow to recognise that because too many vested interests are wedded to this outmoded plan.
  
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  August 7, 2025 9:29am
  - artemisia
    
    High youth unemployment is also a symptom of employers saying no thanks. Maybe no quals and no work history could have something to do with it.
    
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    August 7, 2025 12:12pm
    - imalwaysright
      
      Also, the government mandated minimum hourly rate is excessive and many young people are incapable of the productivity necessary to be paid it.
      
      That, and the fact that employers in NZ effectively have to become surrogate parents to their employees, means potential employers may just put their money into the markets instead and enjoy a quiet life.
      
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      August 7, 2025 12:50pm
  - Paulus
    
    No – symptomatic of appalling Education system for the last 30 years, as so many now leave with NO qualiifications whatsoever Maori leading the PIs still.
    
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    August 7, 2025 2:05pm
- Cassandra
  
  Totally right. There’s little demand for people who can’t read and write. Or can’t turn up on time, sober!
  
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  August 7, 2025 9:44am
  - MCōs
    
    That’s a bit nasty
    
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    August 7, 2025 11:04am
    - cmm
      
      That’s also a bit true…
      
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      August 7, 2025 1:50pm
  - imalwaysright
    
    What an ignorant thing to say.
    
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    August 7, 2025 11:52am
- cmm
  
  PI wag school at double the average too.
  Coincidence?
  
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  August 7, 2025 9:48am
  - Paulus
    
    PI did not used to be high in the figures but now ?
    
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    August 7, 2025 2:06pm
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      Yes, their absentee rate has been appalling over the last few years, especially in the Auckland region…
      
      The report said 18 percent of Māori students and 17 percent of Pacific students were chronically absent in term two, compared with 8 percent of Pākehā students and 6 percent of Asian students.
      
      https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/532253/chronic-school-absences-reaching-crisis-levels-ero-says
      
      The report said regular attendance improved for all ethnicities reaching 51 for Māori, 55 percent for Pacific students, 74 percent for Asian students, and 69 for European/Pākehā.
      
      https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/563919/school-attendance-better-for-term-one-than-same-time-last-year
      
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      August 7, 2025 2:49pm
- Ra Henare
  
  Think you might find PPPP behind the change.
  
  Easy to go on the bennie
  
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  August 7, 2025 11:10am
Chuck Bird

‘I’m ashamed’: Former Israeli PM reacts to starvation in Gaza | LBC

Former Israeli PM Ehud Olmert joins Ben Kentish to react as the UK prepares to recognise a Palestinian state by September, unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire.

Mr Olmert tells Ben that it looks like Keir Starmer ‘was not enthusiastic’ about having to make the decision, but argues that perhaps he feels like ‘there is no other way to influence’ the Israeli government.

The former Israeli PM went on to say that he is ‘heartbroken’ to watch Israel becoming a ‘pariah state’ under Netanyahu.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMwxFDxRrjY
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August 7, 2025 8:21am
- Notsofast
  
  There is no head of state in the world that could allow the slaughter of its citizens in which every act was unambiguously a war crime, without coming down like a ton of bricks on the perpetrators.
  Think the 2nd world War, after which Britain was not recognised as a pariah state.
  
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  August 7, 2025 8:52am
- David George
  
  CB “Israel becoming a ‘pariah state’ ” is down to the litany of lies against them.
  Perhaps the “Hamas Heroes” are eating all the food, as the man boobs and muffin tops suggest. As for these pictures of “starving” kids – surely the Gazans themselves would make sure they had something to eat? Not if there are useful idiots that foolishly fall for their BS.
  https://www.spiked-online.com/2025/08/05/the-photo-from-gaza-that-misled-the-world/
  
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  August 7, 2025 9:49am
  - MCōs
    
    Perhaps Ehud Olmert, who was first elected to the Knesset in 1973, knows more about what’s going on over there than David George.
    
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    August 7, 2025 11:18am
    - David George
      
      Perhaps he does “MCōs” but you will note his insistence that it is Israel that should end the war. Hamas have been offered a very reasonable peace deal: release the hostages and de-militarise Gaza. They have not only refused that but are insisting on taking over Jerusalem as their capital – among other absurdities.
      Hamas are as committed, as ever, to the destruction of Israel and the Jewish people – including the very fools calling for capitulation.
      
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      August 7, 2025 11:43am
  - Chuck Bird
    
    David, you can get all the different views online. What I copied below is from a friend who served in the IDF. As you can see, he does not have a high opinion of Netanyahu.
    
    Hi Chuck,
    They are right in some ways and very wrong in others.
    Netanyahu is a crook and a lier, therefore he has a couple of criminal cases against him in Israel.
    He made a mistake in the beginning of the war but that was also Biden’s fault.
    The war should not have started in this horrific way and it was a long term mistake to pass the Qatari money to Hamas but his mistakes did not start there.
    The way Netanyahu invested in Judea and Samaria was outrageous; he placed more and more civilians thare and by that making the IDF and border police work much harder.
    The two are wrong to pull the “Gaza hunger” false campaign as a political weapon against Bibi as it has a massive collateral damage on Israel….
    You can see on my facebook page I put a few posts about the subject from a few angles.
    Best regards
    Ynon
    
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    August 7, 2025 1:51pm
- cmm
  
  Stuff is still showing these discredited photos and videos.
  
  https://www.stuff.co.nz/world-news/360783146/netanyahu-eyes-full-gaza-takeover-ceasefire-hopes-fade
  
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  August 7, 2025 9:50am
- mogg
  
  Starmer is not making the decision, he is being forced into it by the number of hard left backbenchers in the Labour Party. As we have seen with his failed attempts to slow down the massive benefits bill which is bankrupting Britain, he is not in control he is continually caving in to the hard left.
  At the moment UK is in a debt spiral, as were the Greeks 5 years ago, everyone knows this but Labour can not stop it. The IMF will be involved at some point in the future.
  
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  August 7, 2025 11:22am
David Garrett

Good morning from the Kingdom…”only” 22C yesterday…my secretary wearing a puffer jacket in the office and still complaining of being cold…meanwhile we palangis find the weather at this time of year delightful
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August 7, 2025 8:24am
- pdm
  
  In the mid 70’s we did 3 years in Suva.
  
  Starting in June and through July and August I wore a jersey to work most days of the last two years.
  
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  August 7, 2025 8:51am
- Cassandra
  
  I’m sitting here in Tauranga in my shirtsleeves. Central heating (heat pump system) a wonderful invention.
  
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  August 7, 2025 9:46am
  - R
    
    Cheaper to wear another layer of clothing!
    
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    August 7, 2025 10:44am
  - pdm
    
    Cass – how do you stop the bloody thing squirting out cold air once you get the temperature to the setting you want?
    
    Bloody thing drives us up the wall with that to the extent I would prefer the old gas heater we used to have.
    
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    August 7, 2025 11:07am
    - imalwaysright
      
      Pdm
      There should be an option to select Auto, Heat, Cool, Fan etc.
      
      Sounds like you are set to Auto.
      Select Heat and you should be OK.
      
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      August 7, 2025 11:58am
      - Colville
        
        and turn the fan speed all the way down which will limit it cycling on/off.
        
        1 0
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        August 7, 2025 4:16pm
      - pdm
        
        Thank you both.
        
        Been out since I did the comment so will look into tomorrow.
        
        1 0
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        August 7, 2025 6:13pm
    - waikatosinger
      
      I don’t suppose you still have the manual? Programming these things through the pokey little remote control is a nightmare. Recommend you conscript a teenage boy.
      
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      August 7, 2025 12:30pm
    - Flossie
      
      Hopefully somebody will enlighten you pdm. Or more correctly “us”! My partner is obsessed with fiddling with the settings trying to stop the cold air breeze. It’s driving me crazy!
      
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      August 7, 2025 1:03pm
      - pdm
        
        See above Flossie – the guns have the cure.
        
        You and I both hope.
        
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        August 7, 2025 6:15pm
  - Nigel Kearney
    
    Also in short sleeves here in Wellington. I’d actually prefer to go out and walk around in 12 degrees than in 22 degrees.
    
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    August 7, 2025 11:22am
    - NeverMindTheBollocks
      
      And walk socks?
      
      5 0
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      August 7, 2025 1:11pm
      - pdm
        
        Walk socks with Roman Sandals.
        
        Was that your look today Bollocks?
        
        2 0
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        August 7, 2025 6:16pm
- Ra Henare
  
  This Kingdom is just great, 6am a lovely 28c
  No its not hot.
  
  I found 28c on visits to the land of the long white shroud would have me sweating like a **** in 28c.
  
  Humidity???
  
  The hot war has ceased, but the propaganda war continues, winding up the locals with BS.
  
  I smile at the attempt to downplay the situation in Gaza because some MSM used an inappropriate photo. Probably the same people who keep deriding MSM as being lefties or misinformation pushers.
  
  But its impossible to use facts to counter emotional attachments in any debate
  
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  August 7, 2025 11:17am
- MCōs
  
  A friend of mine worked for the MOW in Chch about fifty years ago.
  He said one day the office was particularly stuffy so he opened a window. One of the more senior officers closed it again and told him if he wanted some fresh air to take his jersey off.
  
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  August 7, 2025 11:23am
Pope Punctilious II

Here, have some taxpayer-funded Critical Race Theory for breakfast: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13613324.2024.2306379
Look at this gem of a sentence: “Tribal Critical Race Theory calls into question the problematic goal of assimilation embedded within policies that require Indigenous students to forgo cultural integrity and to replace cultural knowledge with (predominantly Eurocentric) academic knowledge to succeed in universities”.
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August 7, 2025 8:25am
- Paulus
  
  Eh !
  
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  August 7, 2025 8:44am
- rouppe
  
  1. You don’t have to go to university.
  2. If you do, there are certain expectations on entrants, including base scientific knowledge
  3. If you feel learning that base knowledge undermines your culture and don’t want to learn it, don’t complain you can’t go to university.
  
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  August 7, 2025 9:32am
- Phronesis
  
  For example, teaching the descendants of a purely oral culture to read and write.
  
  This is just the logical outcome of pretending that an early stone age culture can be favourably compared with western culture.
  
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  August 7, 2025 10:04am
- Jack5
  
  The extract below from the link in His Eminence’s 8.25 post shows — once more — that Critical Race Theory is rubbish, and that indigenous activists who follow it are sociology’s equivalent of mad alchemists.
  
  … Brayboy expanded the framework by introducing Tribal Critical Race Theory (TribalCrit) and tenets critical to the liminal position of Indigenous peoples as both political and racialised being. Brayboy argued that policies that seek to serve the interest of Indigenous peoples frequently fail to achieve the stated aims as they are rooted in imperialism with a desire for material gain.
  
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  August 7, 2025 10:25am
- R
  
  Interpretation for you…….if you don’t get an education, there will be no improvement in your lifestyle. Simple really.
  
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  August 7, 2025 10:46am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  I read to the end…..and discovered this:
  
  As Universities sit on unceded Māori lands, true decolonisation can only occur when the land is returned.
  
  I wonder how much it will cost to go to a “decolonised” university.
  
  Who would bother?
  
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  August 7, 2025 12:33pm
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    I think Vic sits on ceded lands. Tenths Trust and all that.
    
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    August 7, 2025 1:13pm
  - Colville
    
    Massey in Palmy sits on land sold by chieftain Te Awe Awe to some crown representative back in the day…
    My dear ole Dad used to own a rifle that was given as a thankyou gift to said chieftain as park of the payment package. Lovely gun with big silver engraved escutcheon in the stock telling the tale.
    
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    August 7, 2025 2:28pm
  - GJM
    
    Tainui already own Waikato Uni, and I believe the hospital.
    It might explain why Waikato Uni is such rubbish.
    
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    August 7, 2025 2:53pm
peterwn

I was phoned by a pollster last night about Wellington City local body election.
The poll asked what you thought of various Mayoral candidates and in particular your thoughts on Diane Calvert v Andrew Little and Ray Chung v Andrew Little. You were then asked who you voted for in the last general election (I ‘passed’ on that one).
I can only conclude that Andrew Little (who is standing for Mayor but whose publicity indicates no political affiliation apart from the colour red) or his cohorts have commissioned the poll. I wonder who is paying – a union, a benefactor, Labour Party or The Post. I also wonder if The Post will run a front page gratis advertorial promoting Andrea like they promoted Tory last time.
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August 7, 2025 8:31am
- peterwn
  
  Oops I meant Andrew Little not Andrea!
  
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  August 7, 2025 8:59am
  - pdm
    
    pw I think `angry andy’ is definitely more imposing than angry andrea’.
    
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    August 7, 2025 11:09am
    - Colville
      
      Do NOT picture Angry Andy in a frock!
      
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      August 7, 2025 2:29pm
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        Cannot be as disturbing as the Andrew Little art piece at the 2016 Wallace Art awards
        
        Warning
        Disturbing images on link…..
        
        https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/naked-andrew-little-art-work-at-wallace-art-awards-as-youve-never-seen-him-before/BKMIDF5VY5PWLO3KDBMPTUHCDE/
        
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        August 7, 2025 3:22pm
- RoboRob
  
  More likely the poll results will be announced as if it was a valid poll. Unsurprisingly Andrew (and Andrea) Little will be described as the most favoured candidate.
  
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  August 7, 2025 9:39am
NeverMindTheBollocks

I see Wellington is entering a sister city arrangement with Ramallah. I do hope Tory finds time to visit before her Mayoral term is up.
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August 7, 2025 8:35am
- Nobby2
  
  Nevermind, and she stays there.
  
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  August 7, 2025 2:11pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

Lane (The Terrace) bike rack report:

At 8.40am, null bikes today.

A cool, calm, dry morning in the Capital, ideal for cycling.

Anecdotally, traffic is up around town. It’s midweek, school term time, no excuses for the cycling classes.
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August 7, 2025 8:40am
- artemisia
  
  Wellington CC has kindly provided some Shell Lane bike rack usage info.
  
  No usage assumptions in the business case because “The driver for this project was a lack of cycle parking facilities on and around the Terrace”.
  
  Some driver eh.
  
  The same response does include a snapshot survey of usage back in March (summer time). Results reported were for peak usage that day.
  
  https://fyi.org.nz/request/31300-shell-lane-the-terrace-cycle-rack-usage#incoming-126774
  
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  August 7, 2025 11:37am
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    Weasel words, eh. No business case worthy of the name, no cost benefit analysis, no success criteria definition or measurement. It’s almost as if public sector procurement rules don’t apply to them.
    
    The OIA request at least prodded them to measure usage over a week or so. No methodology stated, but assuming they counted the maximum per day, their numbers pretty much align with what I see. Which is not very many at all.
    
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    August 7, 2025 2:59pm
Notsofast

With sex self ID New Zealand Parliament promotes rape culture.

“There has been no negotiation or consent about males – no matter how they identify – having access to female-only spaces. It has been forced on us. When there is no consent, when something is forced upon women, that’s rape culture right there.‘”

From a commentary on the Tickle vs Giggle case currently making idiots of Australian judicial elites.

https://www.spiked-online.com/2025/08/05/australia-land-of-sun-surf-and-pregnant-men/
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August 7, 2025 8:46am
Bridgenag

The EU has spent over a million Euros fighting online hate speech in South Sudan, where almost nobody has internet access
EUGYPPIUS

“Imagine hailing from a country that has known protracted civil war and all manner of ethnic violence, and then being fed this naive Western drivel about bias and discrimination. It is no wonder that nobody in South Sudan gives the slightest shit about #defyhatenow.”

https://open.substack.com/pub/eugyppius/p/the-eu-has-spent-over-a-million-euros?r=4oxscl&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
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August 7, 2025 8:47am
- Colville
  
  A machete “buyback” scheme would be a better way to spend the cash!!
  
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  August 7, 2025 9:56am
  - waikatosinger
    
    Just what they need. A subsidy for machete makers.
    
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    August 7, 2025 12:35pm
- cmm
  
  The stuff that probably counts as “hate speech” is probably saying anything that might upset the Muslim aggressors.
  
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  August 7, 2025 11:00am
Bridgenag

The CCP Is Inside the Fed: Shocking New Evidence of Chinese Infiltration at America’s Central Bank
A decade-long infiltration campaign by the Chinese Communist Party has penetrated the Federal Reserve—coercing employees, stealing sensitive data, and compromising America’s financial core.
NATALIE WINTERS

“Most Americans have heard about Chinese spies targeting our military or hacking private companies. But there’s another front in this quiet war, one that’s gone largely unreported—and it may be the most dangerous of all: China’s long game to infiltrate and manipulate the United States Federal Reserve.”
https://open.substack.com/pub/nataliegwinters/p/the-ccp-is-inside-the-fed-shocking?r=1aj1bv&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
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August 7, 2025 8:53am
- peterwn
  
  And in Wellington we are getting a proliferation of cop shops. Apart from the usual ones, CCP opened one a little while back and the USA has just opened one.
  
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  August 7, 2025 9:02am
  - MCōs
    
    Do they have merchandise?
    
    4 1
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    August 7, 2025 11:31am
Paulus

I see the so called Education Department has produced a serious of cock ups in the production of the new maths studies.
Oh dear us ?
Is this typical of what we can expect for all educators, and also teachers, who will fight tooth and nail to make the new syllabus and qualifications not work.
Were these balls ups done deliberately so they can castigate the Minister and the elected Government
at the most suitable time for the media.
Is this kind of thing now critical from the increased – not reduced numbers, Public Service against the Goverment ?
The lady in charge says such balls ups are just regular mistakes.
And these women represent the future and deplorable education past of children in New Zealand.
Was it some 18% of children are leaving school with NO qalification whatsoever and we have huge young people unemployment because of it.
Of course Maori and now PI are the leaders in this disgrace, but with the Education Department being like they are nothing will change.
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August 7, 2025 9:00am
- BeaB
  
  The Ministry of Education has one of the biggest Labour-led increases in staff. Surely one or two of these could be relied on to do some accurate proof-reading!
  This is embarrassing for a hardworking minister and an unnecessary annoyance for teachers.
  If the Secretary for Education can’t do even the simplest of jobs properly, perhaps it’s time for someone new who knows what the job is and can actually do it.
  
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  August 7, 2025 9:30am
- rouppe
  
  Any they’re blaming National for it, not the entrenched Labour loving ministry staff.
  
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  August 7, 2025 9:35am
- Handyman
  
  These errors are actually proof we need to change the education system. The producers of this document are the product of the failed education system. Some of the staff are the cause of the problem.
  I have been involved in producing annual reports for public companies. It is possible to produce important documents with no errors, but it takes effort, a culture of excellence and an intolerance of “slackness”.
  
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  August 7, 2025 10:19am
BananaLlama

I don’t understand why they can’t turn the buckets on at the Stockton coal mining site. Surely you can verbally trespass them and at that point they are the criminals.
13 0
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August 7, 2025 9:21am
- artemisia
  
  Police are involved at Stockton mine and will be providing advice. The owners will follow that advice as if they don’t and accidents happen they run the risk of lawfare for years. They are in the fast-track process atm and are already getting too many headlines.
  
  Fast-track project status reported here –
  https://www.fasttrack.govt.nz/projects
  
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  August 7, 2025 9:59am
  - BananaLlama
    
    Police don’t always provide correct advice.
    
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    August 7, 2025 10:09am
- Jack5
  
  The background to BananaLlama’s post:
  
  https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/569097/climate-protestor-claims-stockton-mine-employee-fired-gun-to-scare-him
  
  Same pattern as the idiots who tried to block coal train lines.
  
  Surely miners can sue Green saboteurs for costs.
  
  6 0
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  August 7, 2025 10:36am
  - kowtow
    
    Yep , they should sue.
    
    ‘The mine had to transport coal by truck because of the protest – which had so far cost the company $270,000.’
    
    3 0
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    August 7, 2025 1:21pm
- pdm
  
  Turning the buckets on may be a bit drastic but what about fire hoses?
  
  Has anyone contacted The Despicable Mallard for advice?
  
  8 0
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  August 7, 2025 11:11am
BeaB

As expected, the low IQ Luddites at RNZ hauled in a tame principal to express her shock horror at AI marking. Leaving aside the reality that most marking will still be done by teachers, I was interested to hear my grandchildren’s response when asked which they would prefer – a teacher or AI? Almost without hesitation they chose AI. Why? Faster, more accurate, no playing favourites.
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August 7, 2025 9:28am
- RoboRob
  
  Smart grandchildren!
  
  You would think teachers would all be in favour of AI marking. Lets face it, thats less work for them and the same pay. I have done some limited marking, boring as batshit and time consuming.
  
  I am sure once Labour get back in, they will be all in favour of AI marking.
  
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  August 7, 2025 9:42am
- Jethrod
  
  So forgive my ignorance, but is this marking done on items produced by the student on a PC or does the teacher somehow scan in a students hand written offering.
  If produced on a PC then the item could quite easily have been produced by AI I understand. Alternatively a student could research AI on the particular subject and then present it handwritten.
  Easy for the teacher and higher marks for a AI researched and marked topic.
  Nothing learnt!
  
  5 0
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  August 7, 2025 10:26am
- cmm
  
  So long as it puts a few teachers into the dole queue I’m onboard.
  
  Still, it will depend very much on what is being marked.
  If it is stuff that just has a right or wrong answer, then why can’t the kids mark it themselves? That’s what we did for maths and science.
  
  For essay-style answers where favouritism etc can be played, I wonder how good AI marking would be. But then how good is teacher marking?
  
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  August 7, 2025 10:40am
rouppe

Absolute gold!

Fresh off yesterday’s Nazi jeans post where DPF said it could have been Beyoncé, who should pop up in a Levi jeans ad but Beyoncé!

And absolute silence from this same previously outraged sources.
5 1
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August 7, 2025 9:44am
sungsamning

https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2025/08/05/bombshell-memos-show-dhs-and-fbi-were-concerned-about-tim-walz-last-year-n4942425
DHS and FBI Had HUGE Concerns About Tim Walz Last Year.
Newly released Homeland Security group chat messages, obtained after a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit from Judicial Watch, show outright glee from agency insiders at Washington’s potential nightmare. “China is happy,” one employee wrote on August 7, 2024, just a day after Harris announced Walz as her VP pick. The employee even linked a BBC News article detailing how China’s internet celebrated Walz’s validation. Another official immediately responded, pushing to bring in the FBI, the agency responsible for domestic counterintelligence, underlining the seriousness of the situation.
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August 7, 2025 9:49am
sungsamning

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/08/wayne-root-want-indict-obama-hillary-here-is/
Want to Indict Obama & Hillary? Here is the One Name Everyone Has Forgotten- Who Ties Together Entire RussiaGate Scandal: Jeff Sessions.
Watergate was a zit…while RussiaGate is CANCER.
This is a coup, insurrection and treason by Obama, Hillary and their Deep State/communist cabal- all wrapped into the biggest scandal in U.S. history.
Yet the mainstream media is once again gaslighting us at the highest levels, while whistling past the graveyard. Why? Because this is their scandal. They were in on it from the first day, as the PR wing of the Democrat Party and various communist traitors hellbent on the intentional destruction of America.
5 1
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August 7, 2025 9:50am
cmm

One question about RUC…
Who is going to enforce it?

We now have a police force that has guidance to not prosecute shoplifting less than $500, fuel drive-offs less than $150 and Paywave fraud less than $1000.

So who is going to pursue delinquent RUC?
8 0
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August 7, 2025 10:26am
- rouppe
  
  Possible to do at wof time. They currently do that.
  
  Yes i know people are going to say they don’t get a wof either. But that sort is going to come to the attention of police sooner or later and if such cars were destroyed more often… maybe.
  
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  August 7, 2025 10:30am
- artemisia
  
  Assume owner will not be able to get any WoFs or regos for at least the vehicle with unpaid RUCs. Maybe others in their name. And assume debt collectors will chase up and wreck credit ratings.
  
  Until owners learn, or find a ‘loophole’.
  
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  August 7, 2025 10:38am
  - cmm
    
    Under the current system, your odometer readings are taken down when you do a WoF and those go back to NZTA. NZTA then sends you a bill (+ a bit of a penalty if your RUC is not up to date.
    
    But they still issue you with a WoF. The WoF is supposed to be only about road safety. If they withheld the WoF then we’d just get the unintended consequences of more unroadworthy cars on the road.
    
    I figure many of the people who would be skipping RUC payments already have blown credit ratings etc so RUC would not matter to them.
    
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    August 7, 2025 10:45am
- mogg
  
  At the moment traffic wardens have car cams which can show every last detail about your car. The electronic RUCs will be registered on this system, if you are behind you will be driving your car illegally, there will be penalties involved.
  Out walking an old friend who is now a traffic warden stopped his vehicle, on his cam he had video of me crossing the road and walking down the footpath, and a list of every vehicle he had driven past with all details.
  
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  August 7, 2025 11:36am
- MCōs
  
  I’m sure I heard the system will be privatized and I also heard your car will soon be able to be clamped for non payment of minor infringement notices.
  That could lead to terse exchanges within the family!
  
  4 3
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  August 7, 2025 11:41am
- kowtow
  
  Given that it will be the govt’s own coffers losing out , not a privately owned small business , the Regime will , no doubt ,order the “non politicised police” to rigorously enforce the rules .
  
  I wonder if the IRD has a policy of non enforcement for delinquents owing ,say $ 999.99 .
  
  5 0
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  August 7, 2025 11:53am
- Paulus
  
  Runs well for years so why prevaricate.
  Every vehicle is on the National register.
  
  2 0
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  August 7, 2025 2:09pm
cmm

I do feel for this bloke’s family, but….

Do we really live in an age when a 24 year old needs to have a 33kV power line pointed out to him as a hazard? Surely an adult should be capable of figuring that out for himself.

Perhaps the problem with this over-zealous health and safety is that it ends up becoming the boy that cried wolf. Nobody takes it seriously any more and the important stuff gets lost in the vast tide of irrelevant dross.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/workers-for-coogans-contractors-not-briefed-on-power-line-safety-before-sean-clears-electrocution-death/MF7Z6SWRTZHRBB7DHQY6G67CUI/
10 0
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August 7, 2025 10:59am
- R
  
  24 yr old electrocuted. Another sad example of the short coming of Lange’s Tomorrow’s Schools. At 24, he would have started school just as the Labour Party philosophy of ‘teaching what to think,not how to think’ was firmly embedded in our schools. Another indictment of failed Labour.
  
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  August 7, 2025 3:31pm
  - Swifty
    
    Wasn’t he Irish and not in the country long?
    
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    August 7, 2025 5:47pm
Im Right

Let’s see how long it is till the left turn this into an attack on the poor and never forgetting the obligatory ‘disadvantages maori’.
Give it a few days…it will come via lefty blogs and lefty media (Stuff/TVNZ etc)
4 0
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August 7, 2025 11:47am
RoboRob

https://www.roymorgan.com/findings/9984-nz-national-voting-intention-july-2025

Latest ‘real’ poll out.

Nat down 1% to 31%
Labour Up 2.5% to 31%
Act down 1% t0 10.5%
NZF up 1.5% points to 9.5%

The Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating dropped 11.5pts to 83.5 in July. Now a majority of 53.5% (up 7.5% points) of electors say New Zealand is ‘heading in the wrong direction’ compared to only 37% (down 4% points) who said New Zealand is ‘heading in the right direction’.

Not good news for National who continue to trend down. NZF continue to trend up. Labour and National tied on 31% should be very worrying for National. Chris Hipkins should be over the moon.
3 1
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August 7, 2025 11:51am
- mandk
  
  The most striking finding is that only 1% of women aged 18-49 would vote for ACT, while 26.5% would vote for the Greens.
  
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  August 7, 2025 4:01pm
- greybeard
  
  Are there still people around who believe these polls ?
  
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  August 7, 2025 6:32pm
Swifty

Has Tamihere unfairly maligned this guy?

Has he posted without ensuring without a shadow of a doubt that it was the chap who defaced the Maori Party billboard?

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/kahu/glen-eden-lawnmower-says-livelihood-at-stake-after-graffiti-claims-from-te-pati-maori-president/BWNFZKNXMFDJNCSRKUHL4VHP2Y/

If so, what a terrible thing to do to a person.
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August 7, 2025 1:55pm
- David Garrett
  
  Swifty: You actually PAY to read dross from the Horrid? Not Mrs Garrett’s boy.
  
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  August 8, 2025 6:13am
Fender

Ruc ? Have you ever sat behind someone filling a boat at a gas station, 200 for a days fishing is nothing multiple that by the number of boaties
Fishing trawlers are diesel arnt they
Thats a lot of tax missing
Just leave it as it is , charge Evs a fee and move on system works fine with basically zero admin now
2 1
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August 7, 2025 1:59pm
imalwaysright

When you build a solar farm on a flood plain next to the sea….
https://reneweconomy.com.au/ultimate-test-new-zealand-solar-farm-powers-through-major-flood-event/

Forget the solar farm, the next big thing is solar aquariums…

Some of the road names around the aquarium are interesting, West Drain Road, Hydro Road…
3 0
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August 7, 2025 2:33pm
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  Never buy a house on Swamp Rd.
  
  Or Wai(anything) Rd.
  
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  August 7, 2025 3:09pm
Chuck Bird

Pleased that my EROAD shares went up by over 25%. That should cover any extra cost with the new system if it eventuates.
3 2
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August 7, 2025 3:05pm
BeaB

A stupendous feat of heroic flying by our RNZAF on a perilous mid-winter medical mission to Antarctica and it makes the bottom of P11 in The Herald. And barely a squeak anywhere else.
9 1
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August 7, 2025 3:22pm
- R
  
  There were no ‘special people’ in the crew.
  
  2 0
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  August 7, 2025 9:51pm
greybeard

Has anyone else seen the latest iteration of the “Stuff” homepage and website ?
It looks as though it was an NCEA Level 1 attempt which received a “did not achieve” result.
5 1
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August 7, 2025 4:18pm
- David Garrett
  
  Grey: Well most of the content is “stuff” that would be more at home in the Women’s Weekly so I guess that is appropriate.
  
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  August 8, 2025 6:17am
Crafty

So many ways you can pick holes in the points raised by this idiot:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360784379/labour-leader-chris-hipkins-hints-capital-gains-tax

“More spending is needed to get the settings right”. How much did our debt go up FFS??? And what do we have to show for it?

“We can’t get rich in this country by buying and selling houses”. How much did houses go up under the last government? An absolute shit load actually.

“It’s based on the government narrative that government spending should be constrained to 30% of GDP”. This country is very prone to natural disasters, remember Christchurch? And how did blowing out the budget work out last time with regards to inflation?

Honestly this guy has no fucking idea.
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August 7, 2025 4:47pm
- greybeard
  
  Of course he hasn’t. But he is simply following the left-wing mantra that whatever you say has to be (a) in opposition to the current government and (b) inflammatory and controversial: forget logic, truth and common sense , just get your name, picture and voice out there.
  
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  August 7, 2025 6:28pm
kiwikidsnz

Tamihere Thugs veto again…
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/569326/auckland-lawn-mower-says-he-s-getting-death-threats-after-vandalism-claims-from-te-pati-maori-president
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August 7, 2025 5:44pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Seems to be a common theme here…
  
  Te Pāti Māori were quick to post images of the billboard on their social media pages along with the personal phone numbers of people working at LUMO. This was the contact information of staff – from the finance team to marketing to sales. They have all received huge numbers of abusive phone calls, including threats. This was explicitly what Te Pāti Māori wanted. They said they “encouraged” their supporters to contact the staff from the company.
  
  As of about an hour or two ago, the party has removed the post from their Facebook and Instagram. But it was too late. The comments on the post itself were atrocious, but the intimidation campaign they instigated was unacceptable.
  
  My own address was posted publicly also. We were told we were going to get “smashed”, “death to all white people” was called for, and there were open plans discussed to destroy the digital billboards.
  
  https://www.bassettbrashandhide.com/post/don-brash-the-truth-about-our-m%C4%81ori-ward-billboards
  
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  August 7, 2025 7:16pm
Maggy Wassilieff

Oh, what?

https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360784463/66-billion-covid-spend-treasury-asks-if-government-went-too-far

It was the largest spend up in the history of New Zealand.

Treasury now estimates the Government spent $66 billion responding to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Treasury says the spending went on for too long…..

NSS!!
9 0
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August 7, 2025 6:38pm
- Prince
  
  And Hipkins is still dishing out financial advice…!
  Criminal.
  
  2 0
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  August 7, 2025 6:57pm
greybeard

https://www.stuff.co.nz/world-news/360784158/porsche-driver-clocked-doing-more-320-kph-german-autobahn

Let’s face it, it could have been much worse!

He could have been driving a BYD, or a Donfeng, or a Tiggo, or a Leapmotor, or an Omada: at least his car had a proper name !
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August 7, 2025 6:46pm
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  RUCs would have been cheaper than fuel tax in this case.
  
  0 0
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  August 7, 2025 7:54pm

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