Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Kirsty Johnston @kirstyjohnston.bsky.social · 23h

Is this kind of like a racehorse syndicate? Would I own like, a little tiny bit of blade?

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Kirsty Johnston @kirstyjohnston.bsky.social · 1d

Because it’s going so well and all

www.nzherald.co.nz/business/com...

Richard Prebble: Govt must get out of electricity and let market deliver security

OPINION: Repaying debt would be better for taxpayers and the market.

www.nzherald.co.nz

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Reposted by Kirsty Johnston

Mark Gongloff @markgongloff.bsky.social · 7d

"Spain’s rapid renewables build-out means its power prices were set by fossil generation just 19% of the time, down from 75% in 2019. As a result, wholesale electricity was almost a third cheaper than the EU average"

Imagine having cheaper power

Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Spain’s Renewable-Energy Boom Loosens Gas’s Grip on Power Prices

Soaring renewables output in Spain is weakening gas’s grip on electricity prices, setting the country apart from much of Europe where fossil fuels still dictate the cost of power.

www.bloomberg.com

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Reposted by Kirsty Johnston

Keith Alexander @keithalexander.bsky.social · 2d

“We must stop expecting carbon offsetting to work at scale. […] We have assessed 25 years of evidence and almost everything up until this point has failed.”

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Carbon offsets fail to cut global heating due to ‘intractable’ systemic problems, study says

Analysis of 25 years of evidence shows most schemes are poor quality and fail to lower emissions

www.theguardian.com

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Kirsty Johnston @kirstyjohnston.bsky.social · 3d

"Data shows in almost all parts of the country, there were more people unemployed than there were jobs available."

www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

How many job hunters are there for each job ad?

Finding work may not be as easy as "getting off the PlayStation", data on jobs and job hunters shows.

www.rnz.co.nz

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Reposted by Kirsty Johnston

Glenn McConnell @glennmccnz.bsky.social · 7d

I went to speak to Samuel Leason's father, Adi, in Ōtaki. Others from the flotilla have told that "Israeli commandos" have taken 18-year-old Samuel, but neither the New Zealand nor Israeli governments have confirmed this.

Nevertheless, Adi is very proud of his son.

www.stuff.co.nz/world-news/3...

How Kiwi teen ended up in Israeli detention as part of Gaza flotilla protest

Samuel Leason had at first tried to get to Gaza by land, marching across the Sinai desert, his dad says.

www.stuff.co.nz

3 12 29

Kirsty Johnston @kirstyjohnston.bsky.social · 8d

If you're trying to get your head around the energy market announcement (or non-announcement) this piece by @marcdaalder.bsky.social is great

newsroom.co.nz/2025/10/01/g...

Damp squib energy reforms reject 8 of 10 recommendations

Analysis: The Government's limited energy package doubles down on fossil fuels after a market review recommends privatising the gentailers

newsroom.co.nz

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Kirsty Johnston @kirstyjohnston.bsky.social · 9d

If I worked at a government dept I reckon I would print everything and then shred it as like perfect preparation for this scenario. Just saying

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Kirsty Johnston @kirstyjohnston.bsky.social · 9d

The fact they even tried when at least 40 people had accessed it, had it emails to them or printed it (!!!) is amazing

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Kirsty Johnston @kirstyjohnston.bsky.social · 10d

"the government was forced to build a fertiliser plant in Kapuni, then a methanol plant in Waitara Valley and finally a gasoline plant in Motunui to find a use for the product." .... and they still dog us today

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Kirsty Johnston @kirstyjohnston.bsky.social · 10d

I'm assuming something about geothermal and then something complicated about the way fossil vs renewables are charged but not like... Onslow

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Kirsty Johnston @kirstyjohnston.bsky.social · 10d

Was literally just thinking about this! What's the endgame, like throw heaps of money at convincing one of the big players to come here and then ???

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Kirsty Johnston @kirstyjohnston.bsky.social · 10d

Really want to hear predictions on the Fronteir energy market report + reforms dropping tomorrow.

The focus on drilling for gas remains perplexing to me given we haven't found anything usable in decades despite spending billions. But will the govt move to ration our remaining gas in some way?

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Reposted by Kirsty Johnston

henry cooke @henrycooke.bsky.social · 10d

EXC: Plans are underway for a coordinated strike across the public sector on October 23 featuring:
- Nurses
- Teachers
- Doctors
- and more

If the ballots go ahead it could well be the biggest coordinated strike in NZ history

www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

Tidal wave of strike action planned for October 23

Plans are under way for a co-ordinated strike across much of the public sector, with nurses, teachers and other public sector workers potentially walking off the job on the same day.

www.thepost.co.nz

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Reposted by Kirsty Johnston

Glenn McConnell @glennmccnz.bsky.social · 10d

Fewer than one in five countries don’t recognise Palestine.

www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360...

NZ is in a small club of countries that don’t recognise Palestine. What links them?

New Zealand is one of just 33 nations who don’t recognise Palestine. What does that say about our country?

www.stuff.co.nz

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Reposted by Kirsty Johnston

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 10d

The Department of Energy has added these terms to its growing “list of words to avoid” because words are dangerous:

climate change
green
decarbonization
emissions
energy transition
sustainability
sustainable
clean energy
dirty energy
carbon footprint
CO₂ footprint
tax breaks
tax credits
subsidies

Energy Dept. adds ‘climate change’ and ‘emissions’ to banned words list

It is the latest in a series of Trump administration efforts to dispute, silence or downplay climate change.

www.politico.com

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Kirsty Johnston @kirstyjohnston.bsky.social · 21d

Would love to see some expert analysis on whether 11B was intended to shield agencies from scrutiny about their decision-making as is currently happening or if it was actually about children’s privacy and is being used inappropriately

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Kirsty Johnston @kirstyjohnston.bsky.social · 21d

Me: attempts hold child protection agency accountable over three children missing for three years

Agency:

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Kirsty Johnston @kirstyjohnston.bsky.social · 23d

Every single sentence in @bernardchickey.bsky.social's newsletter this morning was bleaker than the last but this really stood out to me even amid that

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Kirsty Johnston @kirstyjohnston.bsky.social · 23d

Honestly this is the most interesting thing I’ve read today

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Kirsty Johnston @kirstyjohnston.bsky.social · 23d

Ok wait can you explain "every grocery item is about 80c more expensive than it should be" and also I think you're describing people like me who don't know how much things cost - I'm the target market? Beacuse I'm like "let's switch from steak to mince because it's cheaper" but IT ISN'T ?????

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Kirsty Johnston @kirstyjohnston.bsky.social · 25d

This is good news but Luxon doesn’t mention Family Court ….

www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Christopher Luxon expects inquiry into Tom Phillips case

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says he expects there would be an inquiry into the handling of the Tom Phillips case

www.rnz.co.nz

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Reposted by Kirsty Johnston

Kirsty Johnston @kirstyjohnston.bsky.social · 27d

Tom Phillips is dead after a police shooting, and his three children have been found alive. The immediate danger is over. But a larger question lingers: who decided Tom Phillips was safe enough to be left alone with his children - and why?

My story: www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Who decided Tom Phillips was safe enough to leave alone with his kids?

Experts are calling for a full inquiry into the case, saying questions have to be asked about what agencies knew.

www.rnz.co.nz

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Reposted by Kirsty Johnston

Auckland Women's Centre @akwomenscentre.bsky.social · 27d

"If New Zealand is to learn anything from Tom Phillips' abduction of the children there must be an urgent and full independent inquiry, informed by specialists in family violence, into the entire response to this case," said Backbone Collective co-founder Deborah Mackenzie.

Kirsty Johnston @kirstyjohnston.bsky.social · 27d

Tom Phillips is dead after a police shooting, and his three children have been found alive. The immediate danger is over. But a larger question lingers: who decided Tom Phillips was safe enough to be left alone with his children - and why?

My story: www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Who decided Tom Phillips was safe enough to leave alone with his kids?

Experts are calling for a full inquiry into the case, saying questions have to be asked about what agencies knew.

www.rnz.co.nz

11 24

Kirsty Johnston @kirstyjohnston.bsky.social · 27d

Tom Phillips is dead after a police shooting, and his three children have been found alive. The immediate danger is over. But a larger question lingers: who decided Tom Phillips was safe enough to be left alone with his children - and why?

My story: www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Who decided Tom Phillips was safe enough to leave alone with his kids?

Experts are calling for a full inquiry into the case, saying questions have to be asked about what agencies knew.

www.rnz.co.nz

12 52 150