Hands Across The Water Podcast

Hosted by an ex-Political Aide & former journo.
Unafraid to speak truth. Retweets & comments ≠ endorsements. Available on Spotify, Google & Apple Podcasts

[Hands Across The Water Podcast @handsacrosspod]

Dare I ask, why not just turn it off & call it a day?! Dismantle the servers, close down the data centres & go back to a life without AI... While there's still a chance.

https://t.co/mB3GGG2Hlu

[Hands Across The Water Podcast @handsacrosspod]

Last year 'Abundance' was on every MP's nightstand- the core message of which was that if we build a politics of abundance rather than scarcity, where people's basic needs are met, we can have a better politics which spreads hope rather than fear... it's time to build that world.

[Hands Across The Water Podcast @handsacrosspod]

100,000+ Kiwis petition for a ban on the sale of fireworks (one of many such petitions in the last few years), the select committee recommends that the House introduces a ban... but nope. Disappointing #nzpol

[Hands Across The Water Podcast @handsacrosspod]

This election will inevitably be fought on the question "are you better off than you were 3 years ago?" - how will you answer?

[Hands Across The Water Podcast @handsacrosspod]

Timber mills are closing, NZ's 2nd-largest apple grower has closed, Watties is closing several factories, our largest malt mill is closing, the hospo industry is in dire straits, CBDs are full of shuttered businesses - yet apparently the economy is growing... #nzpol

[Hands Across The Water Podcast @handsacrosspod]

Surely it's time to ban hidden cameras, spycams (& even smart glasses) - domestic govts have the power to regulate what overseas retailers can ship into the country, so lets ban these things!

[Hands Across The Water Podcast @handsacrosspod]

Have your say!

[New Zealand Taxpayers' Union @TaxpayersUnion]

Do you support AI data centres in New Zealand?

[Hands Across The Water Podcast @handsacrosspod]

We need policy reforms that reward small business, entrepreneurship, hard work, frontline workers & help ordinary folks. We need a tax-free threshold to help people get ahead! #nzpol

[Hands Across The Water Podcast @handsacrosspod]

It has to be said - the economy is growing & yet ordinary folks are doing it tougher & tougher... I'll let you draw your own conclusions about who's reaping the rewards of that growth

[Hands Across The Water Podcast @handsacrosspod]

Is it too much to expect our actual elected officials to refrain from using AI slop in their campaigns?!

[Hands Across The Water Podcast @handsacrosspod]

ACT thinks regulating data center construction would be an act of economic self-harm, but having seen what life is like for people living near data centres in Europe & the US the contrary is true #nzpol

[More Perfect Union @MorePerfectUS]

Zuckerberg is building out a $10 billion Manhattan-sized data center in Richland Parish, Louisiana, in what will be Meta's largest data center in the world.

We spoke with farmers and residents in town — where 90% of income comes from farming — about what's at stake.

[Helen Clark @HelenClarkNZ]

Australia plans to “require data centres to contribute as much electricity as they use, minimise water use & a raft of other guardrails protecting workers, copyright holders & others who stand to be affected by unregulated use of #AI 🤖”. Useful precedent: https://t.co/C2bkHn4VFu

[Hands Across The Water Podcast @handsacrosspod]

Policy announcements are now coming thick & fast - with an economic crisis looming & the next industrial revolution on the horizon - Kiwis want bold answers, thumb-twiddling just won't do #nzpol

[Hands Across The Water Podcast @handsacrosspod]

Burnham's first week in the job reveals how much can be achieved when politicians want to get stuff done #UKpolitics

[Hands Across The Water Podcast @handsacrosspod]

Burnham's rise has swept across #ukpolitics. If his premiership can live up to the speech he has just given then he may well build a new Britain #newPM

[Hands Across The Water Podcast @handsacrosspod]

The stalemate reflected in recent polls suggests that Kiwis are hungering for something more - the tinkering around the edges by both parties is failing to deliver either results or public support. So with just over a year until polling day, who will choose to be bold? #nzpol

[Hands Across The Water Podcast @handsacrosspod]

Meanwhile, Labour are struggling to breakthrough with new ideas - while the polls put them a fraction ahead of National, it is still unclear how they propose to tackle the challenges facing NZ #nzpol

[Hands Across The Water Podcast @handsacrosspod]

National has always touted its economic credentials but new Ipsos data out this week reveals only 32% of Kiwis feel National is the best manager of the economy. They haven't been this low since the 2020 Labour landslide - can Luxon right the ship? #nzpol

[Hands Across The Water Podcast @handsacrosspod]

Headlines about politicians reconsidering their careers after threats & harassment are saddening. Not only for them but for our democracy as a whole. The less civil our discourse becomes the less accessible politicians will become. We need civility & respect to protect democracy.

[Hands Across The Water Podcast @handsacrosspod]

The Talbot Mills poll released today, by The Post, suggests 76% of people don't.

The Government has just over a year to turn those numbers around.

[Hands Across The Water Podcast @handsacrosspod]

The next election will be fought on the simple question: Do you feel better off than you did in 2023?