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Each week, the Listener brings you quotes from New Zealand and around the world that best highlight what has happened in the past seven days. Today’s quotes include a Moroccan resident recalling the recent deadly earthquake, David Seymour addressing the housing crisis and a Niwa meteorologist’s warning for upcoming summer weather – among other events.
“The black shirts of New Zealand paced around a little dazed and confused. There is nothing quite as disorienting as the sight of beaten All Blacks.” – the Guardian correspondent Jonathan Liew
France beat the All Blacks 27-13 in the opening match of the Rugby World Cup on Friday, September 8, becoming the first team in 36 years to defeat New Zealand in a pool match. All Blacks coach Ian Foster says the side needs to get better but, despite the loss, he doesn’t think they need to “rebuild” or make any major changes.
“We felt a huge shake like it was doomsday. Ten seconds and everything was gone.” – Moroccan resident Ayoub Toudite
A magnitude 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck Marrakesh, Morocco, on Friday, September 8, in what was the biggest to hit the African country since before 1900. At least 2900 people have died, but the toll is expected to increase as rescue teams continue trying to find survivors.
“After the quick suspension carried out by Fifa, plus the rest of open proceedings against me, it is evident that I will not be able to return to my position.” – suspended Spanish football federation president Luis Rubiales
Rubiales announced his resignation during an interview with the British journalist Piers Morgan, an exit largely due to public pressure caused by him kissing Spanish women’s team striker Jenni Hermoso on the mouth after the World Cup final. While he claimed the kiss was consensual at the time, Hermoso insisted that it wasn’t. His resignation comes almost two weeks after the team’s coach Jorge Vilda was fired for reasons he called “unfair” and “undeserved”.
“If anyone wants movies made by AI, let them get it immediately. I don’t care about people who want to be fulfilled and get something shitty, quickly.” – Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro
Del Toro addressed the use of AI in the entertainment industry during a keynote address at the Toronto Film Festival. He argued that it was “just a tool” and AI would succeed or die based on what people did with it creatively to bring a personal vision to a screen.
“We need to build (homes) like the boomers.” – Act leader David Seymour
ACT says 51,000 new homes will be needed every year for the next five years to make up the housing shortfall forecast. Seymour says that throughout the 1960s and 1970s, home building rates consistently exceeded eight homes per thousand people per year, hence a call back to the boomer generation.
“The more far-out artists, the better.” – American musician Gary Wright, who died on September 4
Gary Wright was known as a pioneering singer-songwriter who modernised pop music through the use of synthesisers, something previously uncommon in the pop landscape in the 1970s. His hit song Dream Weaver peaked on the New Zealand singles charts at number 31, and number 1 in the US. He died at his home in California, aged 80.
“We could be seeing days exceeding 25C during the second half of September. By the end of this month, or by mid-October, I think we’ll really have had our first real taste of this El Niño event, and what’s to come for the rest of 2023.” – Niwa meteorologist Ben Noll
Meteorologists are anticipating a hotter, drier summer for much of the country under the El Niño climate pattern – the unusual warming of surface waters cause by strong winds pushing warm surface water toward the western Pacific. El Niño occurs irregularly at two-to seven-year intervals, and can affect ocean currents and coastal fisheries, as well as local weather.
“Here’s the rub if you are Māori. We’re not indigenous.” – Winston Peters
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters told those in attendance at a public meeting in Nelson last Sunday that Māori are not indigenous. He claimed Māori legends trace back to Hawai-iki, and that the belief Māori were indigenous was a “misconstruct”. Nelson’s Labour candidate Rachel Boyack responded to Peters’s claims, saying they were “ridiculous”.
