Troy Baisden

Possibly caused by it being so hard to hear G vs J over the cicadas this week?

Heathrow’s third runway is turning into another infrastructure fiasco The government must step in

(Paywall) Heathrow’s third runway is turning into another infrastructure fiasco
economist.com/leaders/2026...
from The Economist

Heavens! All that confusing noise about AirNZ’s dire financial results, and then I see in the Economist that the dire state of British planning has Heathrow’s expansion in exponential cost overruns when it is already the second most expensive airport in the world.

AUCKLAND IS THE MOST EXPENSIVE!

Alas, I get that but it seems that if we believe Skilling (which I mostly do) our problem is as much as twice as bad as you normally point out. We need to build the connectivity and strategy to actually drive ODI if we ever expect to succeed as a small advanced nation rather than fall from the club.

Skilling did cover the problem of the current account deficit, aka “relying on the kindness of strangers,” at 20:45 in the kākā minihoon. It connects well to @bernardchickey.bsky.social’s ‘what is the North Star’ discussion and also the idea we need outward direct investment if we hope to scale?

FFS. Another year, another round of cuts to our public education and research system. This hurts everyone over time.

Remember friends, never repeat the propaganda. It is not 'savings' it is cuts.

And shame on ODT for repeating the 💩. They should know better. 🤡

#NZPOL

Nice - general enthusiasm for wind plus solar plus geothermal!

Thoughts on the government's LNG analysis #2: (documents here: https://lnkd.in/ec3vVs7C ) This one will make Mike Casey weep. Rooftop solar was eliminated as an LNG alternative because it doesn... Thoughts on the government's LNG analysis #2: (documents here: https://lnkd.in/ec3vVs7C ) This one will make Mike Casey weep. Rooftop solar was eliminated as an LNG alternative because it doesn't (...

Where is @scotscientist.bsky.social when we been more venom on the range of pumped hydro options? www.linkedin.com/posts/christ...

How did we get into having Veolia on this contract?

Perplexity Perplexity is a free AI-powered answer engine that provides accurate, trusted, and real-time answers to any question.

Is it just me and a few encounters and anecdotes, but ummm… isn’t this untreated sewage mess in Welly seem a a bit to like par for course with Veolia? www.perplexity.ai/search/6bbcc...

And, does it matter that the reform is failing?

Yes, failure to maintain capacity in the public research system is one of the main reasons our economy continues to fall below expectations and peer developed nations, as we see with unemployment continuing to grow in yesterday's news.

(5/5)

That's especially true when the ministry examined options for a truely independent board, but opted for quasi-independence. The arrangement allows claims of independence, but the RFNZ Board won't be independent when it matters and the ministry or minister want control or to silence science. (4/5)

scientists.org.nz/news/13593197

Appointing a high-level board to 'simplify' the system won't help. (3/5)

As detailed in our release, the final advice paper to the minister before the reforms proceeded identified the problem, said officials can't understand where the money is going and therefore can't recommend any solutions.

(2/5)

The reform is failing... (1/5)

NZAS: "We have 500% overheads in some cases."
Kathryn Ryan: "What??? Where is that happening?"
NZAS: "In some of our PROs."

NB: Overheads are a necessary part of institutions, but it means something needs fixing when they approach 10 times international norms.

Walmart Joins Tech Giants With $1 Trillion Market Valuation

In the annals of NZ, even though I mostly avoid both, it doesn't feel great having The Warehouse in a bit of a deathspiral while the same model in the US is a headline success. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/b...

Ah… hmmmmmm

Indeed, I thought it was decided but without sufficient detail so it unravelled?

Indeed, the merger could be good and I really believe CRIs can be great institutions for the challenges of the 21st century with sensible adjustments. But the reform has given us no line of sight to get there, or hope that scientists can use a funding system to build great things.

The current reforms of the research system are now on track for another failure. They double down on mistakes that undermine long-term growth, well being & safety. We must ask for accountability and transparency about three key issues as we go into the election year.

scientists.org.nz/news/13593197

Supporting integrity where it matters Restarting for the election year on a surprising example, thanks to Winston Peters

On my 25th anniversary day of being in NZ, my substack is back on slightly surprising topic, but one that captures why independence and integrity matter in a small nation. open.substack.com/pub/troybais...

Does driving faster get you there quicker? We put it to the test Two cars, one e-bike, one burning question. In a stop-start city, what is the most efficient way to get around Auckland?

www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/3609...

Sun’s trying to come out but end of 2025 (year of discontent!?) still looking moody in Welly.

Trump move to dismantle climate agency blows up Senate funding deal A potential deal to fund large swaths of the federal government, including the Departments of Defense and Health and Human Services, collapsed on Thursday night after Colorado senators demanded tha…

Good!

Colorado Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper objected to moving forward with the minibus spending package, which would have funded 85 to 90% of the federal government through September 2026, because of the Trump regime's plan to dismantle NCAR.

Mediawatch: Angst over EVs blows up in headlines EV uptake boomed with incentives in place, but this week, the government made traditional cars cheaper instead.

🔥 Our Affiliate Troy Baisden was on RNZ's Mediawatch recently, discussing misinformation about EV's malfunctioning and causing fires. The story was in the context of the Goverment slashing by 80% the clean car standard - which incentivised sales of low- or zero-emission vehicles. 🚗

Conference splash screen "State of Science 2025" - the event is at Royal Society Te Aparangi in Thorndon, Wellington. Logo shows a road cone wearing a labcoat, with hands in pockets.

We hope to see you tomorrow at our conference and awards, in person in Wellington. If you can't make it, we'll have some limited streaming including the opening session and awards. Check the webpage for details.

scientists.org.nz/nzas-confere...

Mediawatch: Angst over EVs blows up in headlines EV uptake boomed with incentives in place, but this week, the government made traditional cars cheaper instead.

"The most interesting thing about these stories is that there were stories about EV fires that contained ... no EV fire."

Te Pūnaha Matatini Principal Investigator @troybaisden.bsky.social spoke to Mediawatch about recent media coverage of electric vehicles → www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa... 🧪

The spreading of stories about EV fires on both social and mainstream media caught my attention as a growing trashfire of misinformation, and one I was happy to comment on ... in part by saying does seem seriously overblown given the lack of any fires caused by EVs in NZ as yet. (3/3)

It is bad enough that the government can claim no impact on emissions from massively weakening the clean car targets affecting imports. (2/3)

Mediawatch: Angst about EVs blows up in the headlines EV uptake boomed with incentives in place, but this week the government made traditional cars cheaper instead. And have reports of EVs on fire sparked safety fears fuelled by bad information?

A cocktail of stories in recent weeks has made me deeply concerned our information ecosystem around electric vehicles (EVs) as a pathway to emissions reduction has been undergoing "rapid disassembly."

This RNZ Mediawatch piece is a great compendium. (14 min)

(1/3)

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