Is New Zealand’s “100% Pure” image a lie? NOCTIVIS exposes the crisis breaking Kiwis—housing 8x average income, 33,000 more unemployed, council rates up 31.8%, and government greed fueling inequality. From stagnant wages to rising homelessness, we reveal the systemic failures and share real Kiwi stories. Are the solutions just empty promises? Watch here:
By Peter Williams
It took everyone by surprise. I only got wind of this when I saw the Taxpayers’ Union media release (I’ve copied it to the end of this email) at lunchtime today. My heart sank.
I appreciate that reasonable minds can differ on the urgency of climate change – but I think you’ll agree that sacrificing New Zealand’s economy for no material effect in emissions is the ultimate own goal.
In short the Government has just locked in the Ardern/Shaw anti-farming legacy, and signed New Zealand up for a brand new (2035) commitment that will see thousands of dollars for every man, woman, and child sent overseas for climate credits.
First some background.
You will recall that back in 2021, former Climate Change Minister James Shaw and then Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern flew to Glasgow and signed New Zealand up to a climate change/emissions target of a net reduction in emissions of 50 percent (compared to 2005) by 2030.
At the time, no meaningful economic analysis, public consultation, or debate occurred. In fact, the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment voiced their concerns saying “we are concerned that insufficient analysis has been undertaken to understand the fiscal and social impacts” of a 45 percent reduction target, let alone the 50 percent that Ardern and Shaw secretly agreed…
The politicians just took this decision because, in their gut, they just felt it was the right thing to do.
And what caused particular angst, was that the targets NZ signed up to include agricultural emissions (i.e. methane, or cow farts). Short of culling cows (and tanking New Zealand’s largest export industry), those emissions are impossible to avoid.
No other developed country faces the same problem. Because of our small population and disproportionate reliance on agriculture, New Zealand’s emissions makeup is more akin to a developing country, which, under the UN Paris Agreement, doesn’t have to cut emissions in the same way as we have signed up to.
Even if we could cut agricultural emissions, it would be pointless in terms of improving global warming: New Zealand’s agricultural sector is the most emissions-efficient in the world. Any calories/meat/milk-powder New Zealand doesn’t produce will be done elsewhere, and likely result in an overall increase in emissions.
These were the points made by the ‘groundswell’ farming protests, Federated Farmers, and even the National Party when they were in opposition!
To put the 50 percent net reduction target into perspective, half of New Zealand’s emissions relate to agriculture!
So that leaves non-agricultural emissions.
Thanks to Covid, in 2020 New Zealand shut down most of the economy to lockdown for months. Despite the Covid shutdown, official data† shows that emissions declined by only three percent that year!
So the idea New Zealand can or will get to a 50 percent reduction by 2030 is absolutely fanciful. To hit the 2030 target emissions would have to fall by five percent per year!
How much is the 2030 target going to cost households?
There are lots of variables that go into forecasting where New Zealand’s emissions are going to be in five year’s time (e.g. the strength of the economy, how many trees are planted, whether we get wet winters and hydro lakes get rain etc).
But what Ardern/Shaw signed us up for means that missing the target (and there is absolutely no doubt we will miss it) determines how much New Zealand is going to have to cough up and pay for international emission units.
Last year Treasury worked out what New Zealand is on the hook for. Are you sitting down?
Up to $24 billion is the latest official estimate for the 2030 deadline.
To put that into perspective, $24 billion is more than the current cost of NZ Super. $12,000 per household!
And that’s not even counting the cost of lost economic growth, higher energy costs, and lost exports.
I know these numbers are unbelievable, and it’s been something the Taxpayers’ Union has been struggling to put into perspective and to communicate how on Earth to raise the alarm about the seriousness of what New Zealand faces. It’s a dozen Dunedin Hospitals. Or 34 times larger than the total new spending allowance Nicola Willis has set for this year’s Government budget.
Because the payment isn’t due until 2030, it’s just outside the Treasury’s “forecast horizon” so doesn’t yet appear on any of the Government’s fiscals.
I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that it’s Ardern and Shaw’s ticking time fiscal time bomb.
Late last night, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced that he is committing New Zealand to even harder targets for 2035!
Simon Watts is set to sign NZ up for a second eye-watering bill for 2035.
Once signed-up, it means New Zealand will have to pay a second time for a target that Christopher Luxon / the National Party have previously said is totally achievable!
It’s bad enough that New Zealand is hopelessly off track when it comes to meeting the existing 2030 target, and the $24 billion bill left by Ardern and Shaw, but to do it all over again is nothing short of economic sabotage.
Why haven’t the media covered this?
The media are in dire straits. Newsrooms are a fraction of the size they used to be, and those who are left are probably so young they either don’t understand the economics or are so committed to extreme views of ‘climate change mitigation at any cost’ that they just don’t care.
And, I’m sorry to be so blunt, but the only reason Simon Watts’ office would wait until 8:30pm on a Thursday night is so that the morning radio shows are already planned and there won’t be ‘breaking news’ style coverage.
It speaks volumes that Watts waited until after Parliament rose for the week, and with Parliament in recess next week, by the time political journos get back to work, the news will have moved on.
As far as I can see, with the exception of the Taxpayers’ Union, Federated Farmers, and other watchdog and industry groups, this announcement has been totally missed!
If there is any chance for the economy to get back on track, we must ensure Christopher Luxon, Winston Peters, and David Seymour, overrule Simon Watts and set a realistic target.
Will you join me in emailing the Coalition’s Party Leaders?
While the USA has pulled out, and other countries hedge their bets, why is Luxon’s Government doubling down?
Last week, the US pulled out of the Paris Agreement, and with the UK’s ‘net zero’ intentions in question (their Labour Government is ‘going for growth’ too!), it makes no sense for the New Zealand government to sign up for a second round of ‘ambitious’, sorry, ‘impossible’ targets if they are serious about growing the economy.
Simon Watts has got this one wrong. Introducing more ambitious targets to smash the economy harpoons Christopher Luxon’s attempts to ‘Go for Growth’. Take 30 seconds to tell the Government that.
But something needs to be done about climate change, right?
New Zealand is already one of the most emissions-efficient countries in the world. More than 80 percent of our electricity comes from renewable sources. Our farmers are the most emissions-efficient at what they do. We already have an emissions trading scheme that covers more greenhouse gas emissions than any other country in the world. Of course, we need to keep up the momentum, but it’s not right to say we’re not already ‘doing our bit’.
Paying the rest of the world billions of dollars serves to make New Zealand poor – it doesn’t serve to solve global warming when the US, China, and Russia are not part of the same agreement/commitment.
Christopher Luxon gets this – well he did when he was Opposition Leader anyway.
The $24 billion dollar cheque could buy 12 Dunedin Hospitals. It could build 16 Transmission Gully Motorways. It could build 40,000 new school classrooms. It could even be used to fund more in-country climate initiatives!
Simon Watts just turned the $24 billion liability into a potential $48 billion liability. It’s economic sabotage on a grand scale. We need to stop him.
In a country cancelling infrastructure, health, and education investment due to the fiscal crisis can we really afford to burn billions on an unobtainable climate target?
Make no mistake, I want Christopher Luxon and his Government to succeed and deliver for New Zealand. I know the Taxpayers’ Union are committed to sensible climate change mitigation policy. But if last night’s decision stands, Mr Luxon (and the country) is destined to fail. We can’t let that happen.
Email the Prime Minsiter and Party Leaders
This is the media release the Taxpayers’ Union sent out reacting to Watts’ late night announcement:
MEDIA RELEASE
SIMON WATTS JUST HARPOONED THE PRIME MINISTER’S ‘GOING FOR GROWTH’ PLAN
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
At 8pm last night – timed, presumably, to avoid pick up on the morning news shows – Climate Change Minister Simon Watts released New Zealand’s 2035 Nationally Determined Contribution to combatting climate change under the Paris Agreement.
The target, which locks unavoidable agricultural emissions into New Zealand’s international targets, are even more ‘ambitious’ than the 2030 targets made when Jacinda Ardern/James Shaw flew to Glasgow. They will cost future taxpayers literally tens of billions of dollars in penalties.
Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, said “Ardern’s 50% emissions reduction by 2030 target was ludicrous. Treasury estimates that in just five years taxpayers will be on the hook for up to $24 billion – that’s $12,000 per New Zealand household. The Government has now signed us up for another bill for five years later.”
“To not only lock this cost in, but go even harder for 2035 is economic sabotage. Watts and his Cabinet colleagues are not going to be around in a decade to have to pay the bill, but are doubling down on Paris at the very time our trading partners are pulling back.”
“Half of New Zealand’s emissions are agricultural. To achieve the 51-55% reduction Simon Watts has put NZ on the hook for would mean we either must shut down parts of our agricultural sector, or just about everything else. To say this is fantasy does Mickey Mouse a disservice.”
“The only way New Zealand avoids paying tens of billions in international carbon credits is if every square inch of Otago and Southland is planted in pine. But even the Government’s own experts advise that pathway is not credible.”
“So this decision will see New Zealanders having to stump up billions more to buy international credits in a decade’s time.”
“The Taxpayers’ Union has long supported sensible emissions reductions using our world leading Emissions Trading Scheme. But such a scheme can only operate with realistic targets and collective international action. Sacrificing our economic prosperity at the altar of good intentions when other countries are pulling back is nothing short of economic sabotage.”
“Minister Todd McClay was on radio this morning talking about how the Government want to ‘power up’ agricultural exports. He’s sure in for a shock.”
“Meanwhile, Simon Watts has just harpooned the Prime Minister’s ‘Going for Growth’ plan. Mr Luxon, Mr Peters, and Mr Seymour need to step in and overrule this decision.”
ENDS
Back-to-back interviews with Robinson/Elliot
Alex Jones interviews Tommy Robinson on what’s happening with the UK protests and riots. While Mr. Robinson, on first impressions, seems hard to listen to, he has good reason to be passionate about the UK government and media successful attempts to paint him as a person he is not, in other words a “straw man”.
Jones continues, interviewing Dr. Kirk Elliot on the current state of the market with his in-depth analysis of what’s happening behind the scense in the latest downturn. He also discusses how to protect yourself against hyperinflation the markets with silver and gold investment. Listen to excerpts of the interviews here.
By Randall Richards
Yesterday, I attended an “Aspiring Conversations” event called “Truth and Lies*” which is part of Wanaka, “Festival of Colour” held periodically in this small but growing town on New Zealand’s South Island. I, and about twenty-five friends who are concerned about threats to free speech and government overreach, had bought the $25 ticket to hear four people on stage discuss what their webpage describes as follows
“How do we know what is true and how do we deal with the misinformation and disinformation that plagues not just social media, but public life.”
The webpage gave the speakers’ backgrounds: “Susie Ferguson has recently produced a podcast series called Undercurrents. Kate Hannah (no-show) is the director of the Disinformation Project. Byron C Clarke is an expert on the far right and has just written Fear: New Zealand’s Hostile World of Extremists. Siouxsie Wiles is a science communicator who has been targeted by the alt right.” The event was hosted by Radio New Zealand host Kathryn Ryan
I was dreading going to the event. I was tempted to bring a barf bag in protest but decided at the last minute to nix that idea. I felt as if I were going into the den of lions. The thought of attending this talk brought a mild feeling of nausea. When I found a seat in the audience, I grew a bit anxious, as what looked like a largely retired, but woke population, started to fill the auditorium. As a group, my friends and I agreed we’d be respectful of their guidelines, (besides we discovered when Kathryn Ryan was reading the ground rules, that “Any disruptions from the audience would result in being escorted out by security personnel.” A friend from Arrowtown, NZ, who didn’t get our memo, did speak out loudly once, when Siouxsie Wiles stated on stage that there were minimal adverse effects of the Covid19 “vaccine”. He spoke up loudly, saying, “What about the skyrocketing excess deaths reported?” He was rewarded by a security guard coming to the end of his row and glowering at him with a threatening look of, “Don’t do that again, or you’re out of here.”
A last minute email sent out to ticket-holders the day before the event stated, that if we’d like to submit questions to be considered, they’d have to be emailed in prior. So that evening we, as a group, decided to submit the following questions:
1. What are the panel’s views on Dr. Michael Kelly’s recent article that calculated it would cost New Zealand $500 BILLION to implement the climate change actions being proposed by our Government?
2. Does the panel regard it to be “true” that the Covid vaccine was “safe and effective?”
3. What is the panel’s opinion of NZ’s Bill of Rights which states that: “Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, including the freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and opinions of any kind in any form.”
4. What level of C02 is acceptable to members of this panel when ice samples show that the planet currently has its lowest ever levels of CO2 levels in the last 70 million years?
5. What is the panel’s opinion regarding the refusal of our ministry of Health to release the true data on the vaccination injury statistics and all-cause mortality figures over the last 4 years?
6. Why does the panel think advertisers are withdrawing from mainstream media in their droves, causing their collapse?
7. Can members of the panel please confirm, in public that you do not receive any funding from third parties like the UN, WHO or Governmental or university bodies – either directly or indirectly?
There was no Q&A section of the presentation.
Knowing, this might be the case, we printed out copies of the questions to hand out to the audience as they exited the building with the following additional background printed on the front:
Questions for the Truth & Lies Panel Discussion
Some concerned people in the Otago region are planning to ask these 7 questions at the Truth and Lies discussion event on the 6th of April, which is slated to be part of Wanaka’s Aspiring Conversations, at The Festival of Colour.
We, as individuals, will request these questions be answered during the Q&A portion of the event, if there is such a portion. If not, we will ask the panel if they will answer the questions in the room, immediately after the event.
If the panel will not address the questions after the event, we will present these questions to them with a request to respond via email, and will also hand out copies of this document to the attendees as they exit the event.
We’re hopeful the discussion panel will hear our concerns, and we look forward to hearing their answers.
We also included their mission of the event:
From the Festival of Colour Website:
“Our vision is to create an extraordinary platform that inspires, entertains, and challenges, fostering community well-being. Through diverse performances, thought-provoking discussions, and interactive events, we aim to engage our community and captivate individuals from all walks of life. Our dynamic programme showcases both established and emerging artists, representing Aotearoa’s artistic and cultural landscape alongside international acts.
We believe in the transformative power of the arts to spark conversations, challenge perceptions, and connect people. Alongside showcasing incredible performances that move our audiences, our festivals stimulate dialogue on critical issues, encouraging reflection and exploration of new ideas, encouraging personal growth, cultural understanding, and social cohesion.“ (emphasis added by author)
I’m sorry to say the event fell far short of ticking any of the boxes I highlight above. On the contrary, the event encouraged conformative non-critical thinking by oversimplifying major issues of the day such as the use of the internet and the Telegram platform in particular. At one point, Susie Ferguson stated she was “given a tour of Telegrams groups” as if it were some sort of foreign dark web element of our society. It is not.
Byron Clarke stated “Be skeptical and stick to broadcasting standards.” I say, keep an open mind, and follow your nose. Someone recently is quoted as saying, people know the truth when they see it, they can smell it.” Another quote oft attributed to Mark Twain, “A lie gets half way around the world before truth gets a chance to put its pants on.” Maintaining an open, curious mind today is mandatory to stay healthy and at peace.
My twelve year son, who attended the event, picked up on the overall feeling of fear from the panel members, and he was right. Clarke earlier stated, “We’re in worrying times when our landscape of news media is changing with fake news, fake info, on the internet which is considered the truth”. The audience then sighed or gasped. I had the distinct feeling I was in a paddock of sheep.
Clarke added the example of “The protest of the mandates in Wellington are signs of worrying times, when they could have been protesting for a more worthy cause”. He continued, “While reputable newscasts are behind some sort of paywalls, (TV subscriptions, advertising, etc) the internet is free, such as New Zealand’s own Counterspin Media, Reality Check Radio, Voice Media, my own blog and Infowars and TCN the U.S. to name a few. (For the record, the above excluding my own and Counterspin, have paid elements of their services. Voice Media is virtually a full paid subscription service and TCN has much of its content behind a paywall). The mainstream military industrial media globalist complex gets paid to lie and create the mess, we have to volunteer or scrounge for donations to clean up the mess. I, and others in truth* media, can speak from experience that countering the narrative doesn’t pay well. Without corporate sponsors, even the “founding father” of truth media, Alex Jones, has to promote his health line of supplements to stay on air. He doesn’t receive government grants as does RNZ and other “Old Fashioned Media, OFM” here in New Zealand.
The moderator brought up our Bill of Rights in NZ, and the right to free speech. That was a curious exchange, with Souixsie Wiles stating in effect, that free speech is not an absolute, that when someone says something which could end up killing someone with misinformation (regarding the pandemic), this is not a right. This sparked a few comments from the audience. Rightfully so.
Byron incorrectly stated that “people who are online too much are susceptible , That’s why the pandemic blew things up for a certain percentage of the population. My feeling is that what they’re reading online justifies violence, and the material appeals to those that don’t trust authority.” Firstly, violence is never justified, and yes, there surely must be a small percentage of unbalanced individuals who advocate violence on the internet. But to the bigger picture, correct me if I’m wrong, is it not only our right, but our responsibility to have a healthy distrust our government? The founding fathers of the U.S. Declaration of Independence certainly accounted for that when they constructed the constitution.
Going back to what my 12-yr old picked up, that the panelists seemed fearful, and “not in a good way” as he put it. “They weren’t healthy and happy looking like our friends” he stated. “They seemed like they had low energy.” My read on the situation confirms his perceptions.
I had a cathartic experience at the event. I had never seen any of these people in person before. Once I saw them on stage, I felt empathy for them. All I wanted to do was somehow reach out to them, either on or off the record. It was helpful hearing their story to understand where they are coming from. It’s clear they are troubled and don’t have the full picture. As I’ve written in previous articles, and stated on stage, I was brought up in an extended family who had a healthy distrust (but also respect) of the U.S. government and military. My uncle was a 4-star general in the army and worked in the Pentagon as an aide to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He told me about the reality of Washington DC and the power structures. It’s mainly what got me interested in being a United Press International photojournalists in my late teens and early ’20’s. It’s also what got me interested in finding out the back-story of how things work, by making my own investigative phone calls, and receiving answers I didn’t want to hear by our state-owned media and institutions.
Last night, all I could do was feel compassion for these ill-informed panelists who know not what they do. Well, maybe they do. The saying, “they’re either being played or being paid” holds true here. Despite that, all I saw were humans on stage, who were mirroring in statements, (to a much greater degree than my friends and I feel), some of the same issues we felt when being mandated out of public places or fired from our jobs. The people on stage made comments such as, “I feel afraid to speak out for fear of reprisals, for losing my job, for losing friendships.” All I saw was a mirror of myself, in an exaggerated form. As a caveat, I would say, I’m not really fearful, and at this point, I don’t care what people think of my opinions. That’s one of the advantages of getting older.
This cast of characters on stage might even be “in on the take”. So what? It is what it is. It doesn’t mean we don’t stand outside the venue with posters showing photographs of vaccine injured individuals who have suffered greatly, to help open people’s eyes. But it does mean we have compassion for those that haven’t yet seen the whole truth. It’s like being upset at someone for having a cold or illness. How can you? It seems on the surface, they have a choice in the matter, but they don’t have a choice until they break free of the conditioning. It’s not their fault. It’s a condition of the times. An exciting time to be a journalist and a writer. I can tell you that much!
Author’s Note:
*I was tempted to include in this article, that the title should have been called “Lies and More Lies” which I think is funny, but it implies the panel members know that they’re lying, and I can at least tell, with certainty, they’re not seeing the whole picture. Whether it’s intentional or not, at least at this level I’m not sure. Look up “Hegelian Dialectic.”
This just in: Just received this text from a friend who was not able to attend the event:
“Hi Randall, Looks like you all made a bit of an impact with the pants on fire crowd.”
Oh good, I look forward to hearing more!
Update: I’ve been hearing some really good comments from my community here in Wanaka, and encourage you, and those beyond the area, to comment in section below or on my Farcebook page as well to stir the pot.
I had been listening to Alex Jones on shortwave radio, before he was on the internet, maybe before there was internet. Watch this interview, and you will learn something. It even may be your gateway to the truth. Although I’ve written about this before, it’s worth repeating, that caustic characters, (which at times, Jones can be) in retrospect, weren’t caustic enough. People like Edward Brown in NH, the late William Cooper and Jones, were and are simply trying to slap us out of our hypnotized stupor. Ed Brown actually said to my face, before he was locked up and they threw away the key, “It’s all very nice that you’re researching the truth, and treating it as “a hobby” (which I did until a few years ago), “But what are you actually doing about the situation we now find ourselves in?” I took offence to this side-arm toting stalwart’s comment. But in retrospect, he had a point. Now I respectfully say what’s on my mind, because I have just as much right to do so as anyone. I’m also doing more, which I’ll share in another post soon, but for now….
Tucker Carlson’s intro transcript:
“We have a ruling class in the United States defined by its hatreds. Not its loves, not its hopes, but by its hatreds. They hate all kinds of people, large groups of people: the deplorables, the bitter clingers, America’s entire blue-collar population, the unfashionable people. They’re hated by the people who run our country.
But no one is hated more by them than a man called Alex Jones. Alex Jones is the single-most-censored man in all American history. He was the first media figure in our history to be completely erased in one day. De-platformed. Alex Jones was de-platformed before it was a common term. And not just de-platformed — sued, attacked. They attempted to criminally charge him.
What did Alex Jones do wrong? Alex Jones didn’t rape anybody. He didn’t loot Macy’s. He didn’t burn a police station. He didn’t invent a fake cryptocurrency and loot pension funds. He didn’t start a pointless war that made this country poorer and more disorganized. He didn’t open the southern border. No. Alex Jones had opinions that deeply rattled the people who run America. In fact, rattled a lot of us.
And I’ll just confess that I first heard of Alex Jones when he questioned the official story behind 9/11. And I, speaking for myself, was deeply offended by this. I didn’t take any time to find out what he was saying, but I was bothered by the idea that this defining event in American history, which changed the life of everyone who lived here then, might not actually have unfolded as we were told it did. And that possibility was too destabilizing. And I remember feeling resentment toward Alex Jones for saying that.
But several years later, I went up in Austin, Texas, and through a chain of circumstances, wound up meeting Alex Jones. And I learned what everyone who has met him now knows, which is Alex Jones is not a crazy person. Alex Jones has said pretty far out things on TV from time to time. Not that far out. He hasn’t said men can become women or Ukraine is a democracy. But within the bounds of, say, cable news, pretty far out.
But fundamentally, Alex Jones is right about a lot of things. And, in fact, that’s why they don’t like him. Alex Jones has an uncanny, really an amazing ability to predict events before they happen. He has called it and he’s done it on tape again and again, to the point where it’s a meme on the Internet. “Alex Jones prophet,” not conspiracy nut, prophet. But when you dig into Alex Jones’s predictions, they are so spot-on that it’s remarkable.
How does he do this? We’re guessing there’s a kind of spiritual sensitivity to Alex Jones. Maybe that’s his secret. He was displaying this years before the average person in this country even thought about matters like that. Now it’s pretty obvious to most people that the current war going on in this country is taking place in ways you can’t see it most of the time. But ten years ago, people were not thinking that way. Alex Jones was. And so, we thought it’d be interesting to sit down and talk to Alex Jones, the man. He joins us now in our studio.”
While I’m not one for big “fear headlines” Ed Griffin is has good credibility so I recommend seeing this.
The Greatest Financial Loss in World History, Millions Will Be Devastated: G. Edward Griffin.
Author of ‘The Creature From Jekyll Island’ G. Edward Griffin warns that rapidly expanding government debt and the coming collapse of the financial system will lead to unimaginable losses that threaten to wipe out millions, if the people don’t stand up and do something about it.
Mountain Spirit's Blog 