Big, Bold, Permanent Change Needed: Children's Commissioner On 2019 Child Poverty Monitor

“I want to see family incomes dramatically raised by increasing benefits and making the minimum wage a living wage. And the Government needs to move much faster at increasing the supply of social housing..." More>>

ALSO:

• Image Out-Link - Tracking progress on reducing child poverty in New Zealand | Child Poverty
• Child Poverty Action Group - 2019 Child Poverty Monitor: There's more to be done
• Aotearoa NZ Association of Social Workers - Child poverty efforts must be escalated
• Maori Council - Child poverty figures show much more needs to be done
• NZ Taxpayers' Union - Child Poverty Figures show need for tax relief

RNZ Live Updates: Weather Mayhem Strands Tourists; Major Roads Closed

Hundreds of tourists are stranded on the West Coast, and on the other side of the South Island a flood-damaged bridge has closed State Highway 1, after a weekend of torrential rain... More>>

ALSO:

• The Scoop Team - PM's Post-Cab 9/12/19: And Then A Volcano
• Image RNZ - Weather chaos: tourists stranded on West Coast for days
• NZ Govt - Govt funds $100k for weather-hit communities - Govt releases funding to support South Canterbury
• Local Govt NZ - Floods highlight need for river management investment
• NZ Transport Agency - Road linking Timaru and Ashburton reopening midday - 8/12: SH1 remaining closed today and tonight at Rangitata River - Canterbury and West Coast flooding and highways update - Flooding and highways closed both sides of South Island
• West Coast Emergency Management - Media Release 7 – Heavy Rain Event West Coast - Media Release 6 Heavy Rain Event West Coast - Media Release 5 – Heavy Rain Event West Coast - Media Release 4 – Heavy Rain Event West Coast
• Timaru District Council - Arundel now focus of bridge restoration
• NZ Police - State Highway 1, Rangitata Bridge closed due to flooding
• Otago Regional Council - ORC Heavy Rainfall Update #8 - 9 Dec 2019
• Chorus - Chorus advisory | Weather impact
• Queenstown Lakes District Council - Forecast indicates weather to clear
• Spark - Spark South Island Network Services Restored
• Transpower - Transpower assets damaged by Rangitata flooding
• MetService - Good window of fine weather this week - Thunderbolts and Lightning - very, very frightening

Policing: Armoured Specialist Police Vehicles

New Zealand Police has taken delivery of three Armoured Special Purpose Vehicles. The vehicles are unmarked and look like standard Toyota Land cruisers... They will not be used for patrol. More>>

Fuels Rushing In: Govt "Ready To Act" On Petrol Market Report

The Government will now take the Commerce Commission’s recommendations to Cabinet...
• A more transparent wholesale pricing regime • Greater contractual freedoms and fairer terms • Introducing an enforceable industry code of conduct • Improve transparency of premium grade fuel pricing... More>>

ALSO:

• Commerce Commission - Study recommends changes to benefit competion
• BusinessNZ - Process concerns in market study
• Motor Trade Association - “At last!” says MTA in response to fuel market findings

Reserve Bank Capital Review Decision: Increased Bank Capital Requirements

Governor Adrian Orr said the decisions to increase capital requirements are about making the banking system safer for all New Zealanders, and will ensure bank owners have a meaningful stake in their businesses. More>>

ALSO:

• National - Reserve Bank decision will further slow economy
• NZ Bankers' Association - Banking industry welcomes conclusion to RBNZ capital review
• The NZ Initiative - RBNZ's flawed bank capital process should be suspended
• BusinessNZ - Further consultation essential on bank capital proposals

Aerospace: Christchurch Plan To Be NZ's Testbed

Christchurch aims to be at the centre of New Zealand’s burgeoning aerospace sector by 2025, according to the city’s aerospace strategic plan. More>>

ALSO:

• SpaceBase - Taking full advantage of space
• Great South - Southland student set on satellite success
• Image Out-Link - Shuttle Spacewalkers Work Outside Station | NASA

Analysis: Dotcom Appeal For Surveillance Data Dismissed

Kim Dotcom’s Appeal against the decision allowing the GSCB to withold information as to communications illegally intercepted by them has been dismissed by the Court of Appeal of New Zealand. More>>

ALSO:

• NZ Court of Appeal - Appeal Decision: Kim Dotcom v AG (GSCB)
• Binoy Kampmark - Legitimised Surveillance: Kim Dotcom’s case against GCSB

Gordon Campbell: On China’s Bad Week

Even before the local body election results came in from Hong Kong, China had been having a p.r. nightmare this week. First, the ICIJ released a trove of leaked cables about the mass concentration camp system that China has built to control and to “re-educate” over a million people from its Uighur minority... More>>

Julie Webb-Pullman: Jacinda, THAT Tweet, And Gaza

The MFAT tweet condemning rocket fire from Gaza while failing to condemn the Israeli extrajudicial assassinations and civilian killings that generated Islamic Jihad’s rocket-fire in defensive response, reveals the hypocrisy at the heart of New Zealand’s so-called “even-handed” foreign policy and practice towards Palestine. More>>

Madrid Climate Talks: Decade Ending 2019 Likely To Be Hottest On Record

“If we do not take urgent climate action now, then we are heading for a temperature increase of more than 3°C by the end of the century, with ever more harmful impacts on human wellbeing.” More>>

ALSO:

• NIWA - Hottest November on record: NIWA climate scientists
• RNZ - Government funds to continue investing in fossil fuels - COP 25: Pacific nations demand greater commitments - Leaders urged not to COP out of climate action in Madrid - Bridges condemns climate protest vandalism at his office
• NZ Govt - Climate change lens on major Government decisions
• UN - Green economy not to be feared - Sustainable Development Goals - Is the world ready to end the coal era? - COP25 Launchpad for Significantly more Climate Ambition
• Greenpeace - Ex-Tuvalu PM Sopoaga at COP25
• WWF - State of the Environment Report 2020
• Oxfam NZ - NZ undercutting the Pacific on key climate issue
• Global Climate and Health Alliance - COP25: Health sector denounces lack of funds
• NZ Energy and Environment Business Week - Govt sets mandate for climate change negotiations
• Millions of Mothers - Parents Around the World Plea for Urgent Climate Action
• The Conversation - Climate explained: how climate change will affect food - How plant-based meat stretches cultural & legal boundaries
• Carbon Market Watch - Markets must increase climate action, not undermine it
• Greenpeace - Fiji among 10 nations most impacted by climate crisis - Greenpeace installs oil museum at OMV - Protestors to OMV: It’s not over
• NZ Psychological Society - NZ psychologists join world pledge to stem climate change
• Callaghan Innovation - Environmental innovators urged to take on C-Prize challenge
• The Wise Response Society - Recent Climate Reports Underscore Genuine Emergency
• Citizens Environmental Advocacy Centre - UN Climate report- record emissions’ - Govt' must use rail - PM must attend COPS 25 Climate Change Conference.
• Citizens Environmental Advocacy Centre - CEAC – How to stop destructive loss of ocean oxygen?

Gordon Campbell: On The Recent Upheavals Inside Iran

In the fortnight since the Internet got switched back on in Iran, the ferocity of the crackdown on the recent demonstrations has become evident. Reportedly, hundreds of people have been killed, thousands wounded and thousands more have been arrested. More>>

ALSO:

• Image November - Iranians of NZ became the voice of the protesters in Iran

UN Emissions Report: World On Course For Climate Spike

Even if countries meet commitments made under the 2015 Paris Agreement, the world is heading for a 3.2 degrees Celsius global temperature rise over pre-industrial levels… More>>

ALSO:

• UN - Climate change: Another year of record gas emissions
• GNS Science - As emissions rise, carbon fingerprint points to fossil fuels
• Recreation Aotearoa - Climate Emergency could be the best thing in our lifetime
• The Conversation - Climate explained: how much does flying contribute? - Climate explained: why coastal floods are more frequent
• Greenpeace NZ - Police move in to end Greenpeace oil ship occupation

Howard Davis: Three Stocking Stuffers from Te Papa Press

Te Papa has published three wonderfully informative and beautifully produced volumes that describe the people and cultures encountered during Cook's voyages and the Māori cultural treasures he discovered there. More>>

40 Years On: Prime Minister Delivers Erebus Apology

"That loss, in and of itself, was huge. It sent ripples across the country, and trauma that those who weren’t directly affected would probably struggle to fathom. But that loss and grief was compounded. It was undeniably worsened by the events that followed." More>>

ALSO:

• RNZ - Private ceremony marks Erebus 40 years on
• ACT - Seymour commends PM on Erebus apology
• NZALPA - Speech by NZ Airline Association President on Mt Erebus
• Erebus National Memorial - Erebus Civic Service for 40th anniverary
• NZ Police - Mt Erebus disaster: The Police story - Police Museum

The Testaments: Margaret Atwood Announces Three NZ Events

The evening will also feature Atwood’s remarkable career, her diverse range of works and why she has returned to the fictional world of Gilead 34 years later. More>>

Transit Of Mercury: Historic Viewing Recreated

Keen stargazers gathered at Te Whanganui o Hei on the Coromandel Peninsula to watch a rare astronomic event this morning. More>>