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dougir.bsky.social

@dougir.bsky.social
123 followers 443 following 160 posts
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Reposted by @dougir.bsky.social
707Kat @707kat.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
The Norwegian Consumer Council has made a new ad to consumers about Enshittification. Death has joined the chat.
youtube.com
The Life of Death and the Ensh*ttificator
YouTube video by Forbrukerrådet - Norwegian Consumer Council
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Reposted by @dougir.bsky.social
CEO Johnny Cans @oldmatecans.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Happy second iRex ferry arrival week! This is the week the second rail enabled bigger ferry would have arrived in Aotearoa, six months after the first. We currently will not receive any new ferries until 2029, and at present have one ferry working and will go 4 years without a rail enabled ferry.
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dougir.bsky.social @dougir.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
This makes me so f... angry. They heartless fools. www.rnz.co.nz/news/pacific...
rnz.co.nz
Pacific households to be hardest hit by scheduled benefit cuts, social housing rent hikes
Pacific households in New Zealand will be the hardest hit by scheduled benefit cuts and social housing rent increases, according to officials.
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dougir.bsky.social @dougir.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Exactly! Millions in wasted roading projects compete with a starving health system newsroom.co.nz/2026/09/16/m...
newsroom.co.nz
Millions in wasted roading projects compete with a starving health system
Comment from Auckland University: Why is extraordinary waste seemingly normalised in transport, while funding a struggling health system is so difficult?
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Reposted by @dougir.bsky.social
Marc Daalder @marcdaalder.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Electric cars, trucks and buses are cutting New Zealand’s dependency on imported fossil fuels, saving the country hundreds of millions of dollars since the start of 2024, according to a Newsroom analysis. newsroom.co.nz/2026/09/15/e...
newsroom.co.nz
Electric vehicles save NZ $90m in oil imports amid fuel crisis
As fuel prices surge, electric vehicles are helping to cut hundreds of millions of dollars from New Zealand's overseas oil bill.
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Reposted by @dougir.bsky.social
Ganesh Rajaram Ahirao @ganeshahirao.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Yeah, may be a bit nerdy for some, but when the marginal productivity theory (which is the core foundation of our current economic model) is blown out of the water by evidence (as Stiglitz does here), then is little left of that model that can be robustly defended. 🙏🏾 evonomics.com/joseph-stigl...
evonomics.com
Joseph Stiglitz Says Standard Economics Is Wrong. Inequality and Unearned Income Kills the Economy - Evonomics
The rules of the game can be changed to reverse inequality
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Reposted by @dougir.bsky.social
Ryan CrawCour @ryan.crawcour.social · 30/08/2026
Renney smashed this debate. Told it like it is. No wonder Simeon didn't think their finance person should attend, and Seymour didn't think Henry should attend. And it's clear why, Renney would've wiped the floor with them all. "We're not a poor country. We make poor choices" #nzpol
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dougir.bsky.social @dougir.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
This is an excellent data thread. Mind you I love graphs. That aside, some really important points here
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dougir.bsky.social @dougir.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
Vote for the parties that are committed to keeping out the current coalition open.substack.com/pub/simonwil...
open.substack.com
Be careful what you wish for: The trouble with TOP
If Q is the answer, what is the question?
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dougir.bsky.social @dougir.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
Excellent article about Luxon the pretending to be daddy open.substack.com/pub/andrewdi...
open.substack.com
Luxon's Wearing Daddy's Pants
The Prime Minister goes to Rotorua, tells drowning businesses to swim harder, and confesses
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dougir.bsky.social @dougir.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
This is a must-read article. It fills me with conflicting emotions, but I wish more could hear its message e-tangata.co.nz/comment-and-...
e-tangata.co.nz
Tina Porou: 'Our leadership is not a threat to Aotearoa' | E-Tangata
“The fear of Māori having a place at the table outweighed both the evidence and the truth about what the law actually did.” — Environmental planner Tina Porou on the government’s decision to remove Ma...
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dougir.bsky.social @dougir.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Excellent thread, yet again
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dougir.bsky.social @dougir.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
This makes me so angry. If you don't have the heart to care about our children, what claim do you have to humanity? This govt has so many tools to fix this, but chooses to blame those with the least resources. If you value corporate welfare over child welfare, you are beneath my contempt
rnz.co.nz
Report on child poverty reveals 'national shame', Children's Comissioner says
The Children's Commissioner says the latest report on child poverty reveals the country's "national shame".
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dougir.bsky.social @dougir.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
open.substack.com/pub/simonwil... Simon Wilson:solid as ever
open.substack.com
What should we do about Brian Tamaki?
I debated free speech and hate speech this week, in the shadow of Brian Tamaki’s racist incitement to violence
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dougir.bsky.social @dougir.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Wake up NZ. A good society is one where everyone can live a good life. Do we really want to watch our fellow citizens struggling just to eat? www.rnz.co.nz/news/busines...
rnz.co.nz
Who's poor in New Zealand now?
A group of people the size of the population of Christchurch is in hardship, but there are ways to turn it around, a group of social service charities says.
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dougir.bsky.social @dougir.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Exactly right. Please read and share open.substack.com/pub/ganeshna...
open.substack.com
Fiscal myths and economic reality
Speech to The Reality of Everything symposium
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dougir.bsky.social @dougir.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
I refuse to give up explaining this, but it is tiring
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dougir.bsky.social @dougir.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Sigh
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dougir.bsky.social @dougir.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Government, community, human rights. We need taxation to ensure these pillars of a decent society are maintained. Good article
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dougir.bsky.social @dougir.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Good stuff Bernard. It's great to hear genuine discussion of the opportunity cost of fiscal "discipline"
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dougir.bsky.social @dougir.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
How can this happen in our country. Shame, shame, shame www.rnz.co.nz/news/health/...
rnz.co.nz
Research shows homeless children overlooked by social housing system
The last census showed 33,000 children suffered from severe housing deprivation.
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dougir.bsky.social @dougir.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
Another banger from Dame Anne newsroom.co.nz/2026/06/06/a...
newsroom.co.nz
Anne Salmond: Hayek's bastards, revisited
Neoliberalism's attempt to make self-interest into a governing philosophy has proven to be a disaster, writes Dame Anne Salmond, but alternatives do exist
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Reposted by @dougir.bsky.social
Newsroom NZ @newsroom.co.nz · 04/06/2026
In The Matrix film, when Agent Smith has the character Neo in a headlock on subway tracks, a grimacing Hugo Weaving tells Keanu Reeves the sound of the approaching train is “inevitability”. The Department of Conservation appears to be in a similar headlock.
newsroom.co.nz
Conservation on the cusp: funding cuts and a Chrisp appointment
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dougir.bsky.social @dougir.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
Good article on EVs newsroom.co.nz/2026/03/24/w...
newsroom.co.nz
What I've learned (and saved) in my first year owning an EV
I've saved $2 a day by owning and driving an electric vehicle – even before petrol prices spiked above $3 a litre, Marc Daalder writes.
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dougir.bsky.social @dougir.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
I feel a little guilty sense of schadenfreude reading this. thespinoff.co.nz/politics/13-...
thespinoff.co.nz
Christopher Luxon’s refusal to go is yet more evidence of our culture of no
National is polling at 28.4% but its leader won’t leave. Where is the ambition for outcomes? The growth mindset?
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dougir.bsky.social @dougir.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Excellent article showing this govt protection of power co. profits, locking in fossil fuel dependence, all the while taxing those who pay for their own solar power
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dougir.bsky.social @dougir.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
NZH tells of one site over 780% higher than normal rainfall etc., maybe a couple of more ex tropical cyclones, but ends with the "good news" is that "there is low risk of drought conditions developing in Northland over the next three months." Always look on the bright side of life, sings Brian
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dougir.bsky.social @dougir.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
Even a little Aotearoa New Zealand to warm the heart.
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Reposted by @dougir.bsky.social
Assiduously Julie @awaterevalley.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
Inside the weirdest trial of the year: Jim Grenon, Julian Batchelor and TVNZ thespinoff.co.nz/media/19-12-...
thespinoff.co.nz
Inside the weirdest trial of the year: Jim Grenon, Julian Batchelor and TVNZ
Billionaires, secrets, conspiracy theories, denials of racism, contempt of court and twists at every turn. This case had it all.
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dougir.bsky.social @dougir.bsky.social · 03/08/2025
"Aotearoa New Zealand is sadly not immune to illiberal forces"
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Reposted by @dougir.bsky.social
Bernard Hickey @bernardchickey.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
Many thanks again to paying subscribers for their support and encouragement to make this sort of public interest journalism about housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy available to the public. thekaka.substack.com/p/behold-ano...
thekaka.substack.com
Behold, another Quarterly Survey of Business Delusion
NZIER survey finds gap between business' awful experienced activity & still-hopeful expectations widens again to record-high -35%; Lack of demand fears at 11-year high; Architects' confidence slumps
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dougir.bsky.social @dougir.bsky.social · 20/06/2025
Debate boy once again lives the mantra "snark triumphs over research and insight"
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dougir.bsky.social @dougir.bsky.social · 15/06/2025
Bloody hell. These guys continually get top jobs based on saying what is wanted to be heard rather than competence
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dougir.bsky.social @dougir.bsky.social · 14/06/2025
An economy based on real estate, finance and immigration does not let to productivity growth. No shit, Sherlock. Unfortunately those with the power to change the settings are big winners
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dougir.bsky.social @dougir.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
Spot on analysis thespinoff.co.nz/politics/05-...
thespinoff.co.nz
Ruth Richardson’s state honour is a slap in the face for the poor
The architect of 1991's 'mother of all budgets' did immense damage to the country’s most vulnerable.
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