The Bull Ring

  Eyes to the sky as annual garden bird survey begins Surveys over the years have showed pīwakawaka populations are on the rise. Photo: CC BY-NC 2.0 Daniel Pietzsch/Flickr The country's longest running citizen science project, the New Zealand Garden Bird Survey, started Saturday. People are being encouraged to head out into their gardens over the next nine days to spend an hour counting all the birds they see and hear. The survey helps scientists understand the health of garden bird populations and the wider environment. Manaaki Whenua researcher, Angela Brandt, said it provides a snapshot into how bird populations are changing across New Zealand. "What's exciting about having so many years of surveys now is we can see how trends are changing over time. "Some species show an uptick - like pīwakawaka, or a lessening decline - like tauhou - compared with earlier reports. Importantly, because the survey is done every year, it give...

ℕ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕞𝕚𝕤𝕖𝕤 𝕝𝕚𝕞𝕚𝕥𝕤 𝕠𝕟 𝕛𝕦𝕕𝕘𝕖 𝕕𝕚𝕤𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕚𝕟 𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕚𝕟𝕘 ℕ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕦𝕡 𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖𝕤 𝕚𝕗 𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕓𝕪 𝕚𝕞𝕡𝕠𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒 𝟜𝟘 𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕔𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕝𝕚𝕞𝕚𝕥 𝕓𝕪 𝕨𝕙𝕚𝕔𝕙 𝕒 𝕛𝕦𝕕𝕘𝕖 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕣𝕖𝕕𝕦𝕔𝕖 𝕒 𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖. W hen handing down a sentence, judges take a monetary or temporal starting point based on the nature of the crime. They then consider aggravating or mitigating factors, and add on or reduce to the sentence accordingly. Judges can reduce sentences according to a range of factors, such as the accused pleading guilty or their personal circumstances. . . National said there was a lack of clear guidance for the judiciary, which led to "substantially reduced sentences that fail to adequately denounce the severity of the crime, recognise the harm caused to the victim, and deter others from committing...

ℕ𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕝𝕪 $𝟞 𝕓𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕠𝕗 ℕ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝𝕤 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕒𝕩 𝕔𝕦𝕥𝕤 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕓𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕗𝕚𝕥 𝟝% 𝕠𝕗 𝕡𝕠𝕡𝕦𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 - 𝔸𝕟𝕒𝕝𝕪𝕤𝕚𝕤 ℕ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝’𝕤 𝕥𝕒𝕩 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕟 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕘𝕚𝕧𝕖 $𝟙𝟘 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕒𝕩 𝕔𝕦𝕥𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕥𝕠𝕡 𝟝 𝕡𝕖𝕣 𝕔𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕝𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕤 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕕𝕠𝕝𝕝𝕒𝕣 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕒𝕩 𝕚𝕥 𝕔𝕦𝕥𝕤 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕓𝕠𝕥𝕥𝕠𝕞 𝕙𝕒𝕝𝕗 𝕠𝕗 𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕣𝕤, 𝕒𝕔𝕔𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕠 𝕟𝕖𝕨 𝕔𝕒𝕝𝕔𝕦𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℂ𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕔𝕚𝕝 𝕠𝕗 𝕋𝕣𝕒𝕕𝕖 𝕌𝕟𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤. I f you take a fairly costly interpretation of National's policy, the changes would give people earning the Prime Minister's salary about $54,000 over the three years of the next Parliament, while people on the minimum wage would get a bit less than $350 over the same period. National's finance spokeswoman Nicola Willis said she completely rejected the figures. The centrepiece of National's election promise is a t...

ℙ𝕆𝕃𝕃 𝕠𝕗 𝕡𝕠𝕝𝕝𝕤: ℙ𝕠𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕃𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕣/𝔾𝕣𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕘𝕠𝕧𝕥 𝕨𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕒𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕠𝕗 ℕ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝/𝔸ℂ𝕋 ℙ𝕠𝕝𝕝 𝕠𝕗 𝕡𝕠𝕝𝕝𝕤: 𝕃𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕣-𝔾𝕣𝕖𝕖𝕟-𝕋𝕖 ℙ𝕒𝕥𝕚 𝕄𝕒𝕠𝕣𝕚 𝕞𝕠𝕤𝕥 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖𝕝𝕪 𝕔𝕠𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟, 𝕒𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕠𝕗 ℕ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝-𝔸𝕔𝕥 R ecent polling has a possible Labour/Green/ Te Pati Maori coalition government well ahead of any National/ACT coalition government ahead of the October election. . . Poll of polls: Labour-Green-Te Pati Maori most likely coalition, ahead of National-Act #HeraldPremium https://t.co/20Fao8kpdF pic.twitter.com/5CtCXAHNtQ — nzherald (@nzherald) June 23, 2023 Highlights from Rebecca Wright's interview with National's Campaign Chair Chris Bishop #NationNZ pic.twitter.com/E7My5jWhaH — Newshub Nation (@NewshubNationNZ) June 23, 2023 Predictably, behind a paywall😂🤦‍♀️Also the headline's been changed since earlier this morning ...

ℝ𝕦𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕒𝕟 𝕞𝕖𝕣𝕔𝕖𝕟𝕒𝕣𝕪 𝕓𝕠𝕤𝕤 𝕧𝕠𝕨𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕡𝕦𝕟𝕚𝕤𝕙 𝕥𝕠𝕡 𝕓𝕣𝕒𝕤𝕤 ℝ𝕦𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕒 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕒𝕔𝕔𝕦𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝕞𝕖𝕣𝕔𝕖𝕟𝕒𝕣𝕪 𝕔𝕙𝕚𝕖𝕗 𝕐𝕖𝕧𝕘𝕖𝕟𝕪 ℙ𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕠𝕫𝕙𝕚𝕟 𝕠𝕗 𝕔𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕒𝕟 𝕒𝕣𝕞𝕖𝕕 𝕞𝕦𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕪 𝕒𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕙𝕖 𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕘𝕖𝕕, 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕪 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕡 𝕙𝕒𝕕 𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕕 𝕒 𝕙𝕦𝕘𝕖 𝕟𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣 𝕠𝕗 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕗𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕒𝕟 𝕒𝕚𝕣 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕧𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕡𝕦𝕟𝕚𝕤𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞. T he standoff, many of whose details remained unclear, looked like the biggest domestic crisis President Vladimir Putin has faced since he ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine - something he called a "special military operation" - in February last year. As the standoff between Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner mercenary force, and the defence ministry appeared to come to a head, the ministry issued a statement saying Prigozhin's accusations were "not true and are an informational provocation...

𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕖𝕣 ℙ𝕄 𝕁𝕠𝕙𝕟 𝕂𝕖𝕪 𝕞𝕒𝕪 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕣𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕢𝕦𝕚𝕤𝕙 𝕓𝕒𝕟𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕣𝕠𝕝𝕖 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕖𝕣 ℙ𝕣𝕚𝕞𝕖 𝕄𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕊𝕚𝕣 𝕁𝕠𝕙𝕟 𝕂𝕖𝕪 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕓𝕖 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕔𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕕𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕓𝕒𝕟𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕣𝕠𝕝𝕖𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕔𝕒𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕒 𝕡𝕠𝕥𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕒𝕝 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕗𝕝𝕚𝕔𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕥 R eserve Bank governor Adrian Orr said the trans-Tasman roles held by Sir John at ANZ and BNZ chairman Doug McKay, who holds similar roles, could raise questions over whose interests are pre-eminent. Mr Orr said if an Australian parent company got into trouble and a director sat on the Australian and New Zealand boards and the Australian board wanted to bring money back from New Zealand, it would be difficult for a director to act in the best interests of both boards at the same time. . . "My biggest concerns with boards is in whose interests are they working? Are they w...

ℙ𝕆𝕃𝕃: ℕ𝕖𝕨 ℤ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕗𝕖𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕡𝕠𝕤𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 ℍ𝕚𝕡𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟 𝕃𝕦𝕩𝕠𝕟 ℕ𝕖𝕨 ℤ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕗𝕖𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕡𝕠𝕤𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕝𝕪 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕃𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣 ℂ𝕙𝕣𝕚𝕤 ℍ𝕚𝕡𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟 ℕ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣 ℂ𝕙𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕡𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕃𝕦𝕩𝕠𝕟. T he latest Horizon Research  Political Feelings Study , comparing how the two main parties’ current leaders are making New Zealanders feel, finds Hipkins outperforming Luxon on all 12 feelings measured. It is the first study to compare Hipkins with Luxon. It also finds Hipkins performs better than former lead Jacinda Ardern did in October 2022 on 9 of the 12 factors measured. Luxon’s performance compared with October 2022 has declined. In June 2023, the highest ranking feeling invoked by Hipkins is “hopeful” (26%), significantly higher than 20% who said the same about Luxon. Similarly, 26% said Hipkins made them feel “comfortable”,  significantly hi...