I knew it. I said it. The gender bill was the big distraction for fracking penguin breeding grounds

Hi all,

TL;DR: If you're a LemmyNZ user, go and vote for your preferred logo here:

A few weeks back there was some discussion in the weekly kōrero posts about replacing out logo. The logo was AI generated, was done using the really early tools available at that time, and was our logo before there were any users other than me. I've always hated it, and have wanted to replace it for a long time.

Of the back of that discussion, I started a vote. I underestimated how much people cared, and so cancelled the vote but learnt that people seem to like the banner (Laser kiwi).

I asked for help in this post, and one user played with some ideas for us (various versions in that post) and has come up with a cool logo with NZ the centre stage of the world. For good measure, I have kept the existing logo and the one from the previous vote in the poll.

I have also left the banner out this time. Last time I had them grouped and it wasn't clear if people liked the banner or the logo. We don't have a good suggestion to replace the banner so unless people have suggestions we can leave the laser kiwi.

The images in this vote are:

"Revenge for not being on so many world maps. Now its our turn to be the world map" by @Manticore@lemmy.nz

Kimmy the kiwi/lemmy logo hybrid, that I made and came about from the chat in the weekly kōrero:

And the existing one:

This is a vote for the logo of the LemmyNZ instance, so please only vote if your account is on LemmyNZ.

You can vote here.

https://bsky.app/profile/planet4589.bsky.social/post/3moqjsgfw2s2i

Unannounced LAUNCH at about 1020 UTC Jun 19 by Electron from Mahia of the US Space Force mission VICTUS HAZE Puma, to a 347 x 461 km x 97.5 deg, 2241LTDN sun-sync orbit.

NextSpaceflight page: https://nextspaceflight.com/launches/details/7546/

VICTUS HAZE Puma

VICTUS HAZE will see Rocket Lab design, build, launch, and operate a rendezvous proximity operation (RPO) capable spacecraft. SSC’s Space Safari’s VICTUS HAZE mission will be an exercise of a realistic threat-response scenario and on-orbit space domain awareness (SDA) demonstration. Once the spacecraft build is complete, Rocket Lab will be entered into a Hot Standby Phase awaiting further direction. Once the exercise begins, Rocket Lab will be given notice to launch the spacecraft into a target orbit. After reaching orbit, the spacecraft will be rapidly commissioned and readied for operations. Rocket Lab will configure a Photon class spacecraft bus to meet the unique requirements of the VICTUS HAZE mission.

The mission will improve Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) processes and timelines, demonstrating the ability to respond to on-orbit threats on very short timelines and validating techniques for space domain awareness (SDA) and on-orbit characterization. Rocket Lab’s constellation-class production capability and discriminating technical capabilities in the areas of in-space propulsion, precision attitude control, low latency communications, and autonomous operations are key enablers for this mission.

Rocket lab page? https://rocketlabcorp.com/missions/launches/victus-haze/

Rocket Lab will launch a tactically responsive space mission for the U.S. Space Force that includes the design, build, launch, and operation of Rocket Lab’s own spacecraft on an Electron rocket. The mission, named VICTUS HAZE, will demonstrate rendezvous and proximity operations for the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC).

The $32 million contract includes a Rocket Lab spacecraft, configured for the unique requirements of the VICTUS HAZE mission, that will launch on Electron within just 24 hours’ notice. The mission is designed to improve Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) processes and timelines to demonstrate the SSC’s ability to respond to on-orbit threats on very short timelines.

The mission is targeted for launch in 2026.

As of this post, the RocketLab page does not acknowledge that this launch has occurred :)

Previous mission: Curveball

Next mission: Ten Owl Of Ten

Some interesting "Wealth Tax" ideas in there and proposed changes that would net an extra ~$5B (estimated).

• Big corporations tax: The corporate tax rate will be increased from 28 percent to 33 percent for big companies with annual turnover exceeding $30 million. This will impact about 0.7 percent of businesses (e.g. banks, supermarkets and energy companies).

And new income tax rates:

Current

Proposed

--

There's a question I have about incidents like this.

If the road is closed, and will be for a matter of hours as the crash analysis process is worked through, why isn't there a procedure to get stuck vehicles off the motorway, by allowing them to turn around and drive up the on ramp?

Five hours is an appalling amount of time to be stuck.

Last thread here

Welcome to this week’s casual kōrero thread!

This post will be pinned in this community so you can always find it, and will stay for about a week until replaced by the next one.

It’s for talking about anything that might not justify a full post. For example:

• Something interesting that happened to you
• Something humourous that happened to you
• Something frustrating that happened to you
• A quick question
• A request for recommendations
• Pictures of your pet
• A picture of a cloud that kind of looks like an elephant
• Anything else, there are no rules (except the rule)

So how’s it going?

Who could possibly have seen this coming?

I wish I could get a job that kept giving me perks after I'd left/been sacked

I'm sure there's more nuance to it than that but fuck these cunts and their literally endless entitlements

Last thread here

Welcome to this week’s casual kōrero thread!

This post will be pinned in this community so you can always find it, and will stay for about a week until replaced by the next one.

It’s for talking about anything that might not justify a full post. For example:

• Something interesting that happened to you
• Something humourous that happened to you
• Something frustrating that happened to you
• A quick question
• A request for recommendations
• Pictures of your pet
• A picture of a cloud that kind of looks like an elephant
• Anything else, there are no rules (except the rule)

So how’s it going?

I found this pretty funny, Labour accused of being a no-show at Fieldays, it turns out they didn't book a tent, and were indeed on site talking to people all day.

A bit embarrassing for the Tories.

Public service anouncment: There is going to be a test of the Emergency Alert System this Sunday. So if your phone starts making loud sounds on Sunday, dont be alarmed.

Curveball

| Scheduled for (UTC) | 2026-06-11 08:00:00 | |

|

| | Scheduled for (EDT) | 2026-06-11 04:00:00 | | Launch site | Rocket Lab LC-2, Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA | | Booster recovery | No | | Launch vehicle | Electron (HASTE) | | Customer | Undisclosed | | Payload | Undisclosed | | Mass | Unknown | | Target orbit | ~~Suborbital~~ LEO? |

| Stream | Link | |

|

| | Rocket Lab (unlikely) | https://www.youtube.com/@RocketLabCorp/streams |

Stats

• 10th launch for Rocket Lab in 2026.
• 89th overall launch for Rocket Lab.

Payload info:

Rocket Lab mission page (none currently)

NextSpaceflight

Previous mission: Viva La StriX

Next mission: VICTUS HAZE Puma

Way back at the beginning, when genAI was new and LemmyNZ had but one user, our logo was created. It's terrible, it's AI generated, and I hate it.

I am keen to get a new one! There's also an option to get a new banner if that's what people want, though people have expressed that they like the current banner.

This post is to ask for people to supply their ideas for a new logo or banner. Hopefully there are some artists out there that can help! After we have some options I will organise a vote.

Reply to this post with your suggestions or your submissions.

Just a quick note to say I've updated LemmyNZ to run 0.19.19 today.

It was only just released, and only resolves security issues, so you shouldn't see any changes. Release notes here.

https://youtu.be/SHhF97dg1XA?t=114

Labour has vowed to cap public transport fares at $20 a week in main centres and $10 everywhere else if elected.

"This is real cost-of-living relief. It means cheaper commutes, more money left at the end of the week, and a public transport system that works for everyone."

The cap, which would be introduced on 1 July 2027, is $20 in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, and $10 everywhere else.

The party said it was higher in main centres because they offered more services, that cost more.

The policy would cost about $65 million each year, using about 1 percent of the National Land Transport Fund, Labour said.

Interesting Chart from Stuff

So disingenuine

I was just in New Zealand and that's the place where they've all decided to build their bunkers and I actually learned for the first time why they all chose New Zealand it's because there was an analysis of where the... if... if a nuclear bombs detonate like the probability of where they would detonate. Um when you look at the map of... of the blast radius, New Zealand is almost always outside of that blast radius. So that's why they're building their bunkers there.

Why not, why shouldn't I post it.

The Salvation Army’s second six-monthly survey of housing support providers, along with other data related to homelessness, reveals alarming trends: Homelessness is increasing across nearly all communities, with no area reporting a decline. Access to emergency housing is becoming increasingly restricted, with a 386% rise since August 2024 in Ministry of Social Development (MSD) rejections citing that people had ‘contributed to their own homelessness’.

NZ homelessness worst in history.

What do people think about this one? It doesn't seem like a particularly great start to his political career.