Aotearoa Future (Energy) Sovereign Wealth Fund (AFE-SWF)

First Published at NIC by Martin Knoche In this blog I will share lessons learnt from Scandinavia in terms of looking after all of their people, including their indigenous Sami people. Let’s travel to Norway in the Far North of Europe. Norway stretches 1,750km from the South to the Northern border with Russia near Kjerkenes. … Continue reading Aotearoa Future (Energy) Sovereign Wealth Fund (AFE-SWF)

More evidence on the mitigation value of trees

Aerial image credit: Wendy Bown As a preamble for this post, the climate crisis calls on us to use trees and other vegetation to heal the climate. We must always remember that trees are valuable for their own worth. The policy document Te Mana o te Wai, expresses this value for water - the first … Continue reading More evidence on the mitigation value of trees

community Building

The two previous posts have focused on the human response to the climate crisis, including the work on high conflict by Amanda Ripley. What emerges for me is the absolute importance of understanding how we are complicit in the crises that are afflicting us. Daniel Hoyer and his colleagues from the Crisis Database Programme have … Continue reading community Building

Climate change and the great lurch backwards

The new coalition government has moved to undo some good climate policy and take Aotearoa back to the past. These policy moves are: Scrapping the Clean Car Discount Raising speed limits Stopping cycling and walking infrastructure developments Removing or reducing environmental protections Winding back progress on policy diversity (mātauranga Māori). These policies will hamper our … Continue reading Climate change and the great lurch backwards

Feeling underwhelmed by the “revolutionary” Wellbeing Budget? Here’s why.

Photo by Andre Hunter on Unsplash (This article was first published 16 June 2019 at catherinemikenn.com).Last month, members of the Labour Party’s Māori Caucus held a public consultation meeting on the Government’s celebrated Wellbeing Budget (hosted by Te Puawaitanga marae, Otangarei). I arrived with much anticipation, hoping to hear from our elected representatives about the smorgasbord of progressive … Continue reading Feeling underwhelmed by the “revolutionary” Wellbeing Budget? Here’s why.