Parliament’s 120 youth MPs have joined the call to lower the voting age to 16 years old.
The youth MPs, part of a Youth Parliament programme held every three years, took up their seats in the House on Tuesday to question Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her Cabinet ministers.
Alongside a two-day schedule of debates and mock-lawmaking, the young MPs have been advocating for the ‘Make It 16’ campaign, asking lawmakers to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in both local body and general elections.
Rangatahi once again eloquently call for the lowering of the voting age to 16. As I look at state of the world and our place in it, I find it hard to see any negatives to an increase in the political franchise of our youth.
It is the first of 18 (I think that was the number but can't vouch for that) units that have been cleared to go ahead. One other has reached the building stage but the others are still in the planning and designing stage so it could be a year or two (or three) before they are built and operational.
There is a shortage of suitable trained staff in NZ sure, but the govt. plans to acquire the trained personnel from overseas. Presumably they will be acquired as they are needed.
This should be interesting. Greens AGM will vote on a remit to change how long delegates have to read and discuss any post-election coalition agreement on offer. Delegates make the decision to accept or reject agreements.
And then there's the Peoples Inquiry into Student Wellbeing (full report pdf). While being a student is a transitory experience that is not an excuse for it to be such a struggle. Action on many of these would be welcomed by other low income households too I would imagine.
Here are some of the key findings of the report:
On average, our students are spending more than 53% of their income on rent, yet many report poor living conditions. To put that in perspective,53% is massively above the Housing Affordability Index which states that people should spend no more than 30% of their income on housing.
1 in 3 students regularly don’t have enough money to buy food, clothing, pay bills, get healthcare or other basics, despite 71% juggling work on top of study.
One in six students said their shared flat didn't meet their needs but couldn't move because rents were too high.
69% reported poorer mental health throughout the pandemic
And taken together, the cost of living and higher education and students’ living conditions make it difficult for many students to be at their best and reach their learning potential. If students were not doing it so hard, New Zealand may benefit from better tertiary education outcomes.
anyone can currently get a job at min wage of 21.40 (plus 8% holiday pay, plus sick leave, plus 3% min Kiwi safer employers contribution).
any student can go and get a part time job stacking shelfs at a supermarket.
People the world over work whilst studying.
But, just as a disclaimer.
Young people in NZ spend a huge amount of their income on rent. So do all other people be they students or not who rent. Hence why in NZ we have the accommodation supplement as without that many many many tenants would not be able to rent in the first place.
Young people in NZ have not enough money to buy food, clothing, pay bills, get healthcare despite working fulltime or even two or three jobs. Hence why in NZ we have food grants, emergency grants, dental grants and so on and so forth.
Pretty much most low income tenants would say that their flats don't meet their needs but can't move because the cost is too high.
Pretty much most of low income tenants, beneficiaries, or those on a health related benefit will state that their mental health is poor due to stress. Pretty much most of the adults and kids currently will report a drop in mental well being throughout the pandemic
Taken this all together, we can confidently state that students, low income workers, single parents and other care givers, are all having issues paying rent, food, utilities, doctors etc.
Maybe it is time to tell students that life is hard sometimes – no effort no gain, no one owes them an education other then basic min required to reach High school and even then you can drop out.
Maybe its time to tell students that the Universities are paid for by people who are janitors in their universities and the rest of the tax payers.
Maybe it is also time to tell students that you can always get a full time job and become a part time student, or they could go into an apprentice ship.
These same students that have ti tighten their belt during their study years will hopefully get employed by a council, government, big corps who will then have the good income to make up for three years of 'student poverty' and 'student loans'. And if that is not the case maybe they studied something that has no value?
But these students in NZ do not have it any harder then any other worker who finds that their min wage despite all the increases will not hold up to living costs. Ditto for those that have good incomes and want to have a lifestyle still.
Maybe we really just need to define 'student' firstly, and then decide if the change needs to come from that re-definition. No one needs to go to the Toi Ohomoi for 'kitchen skills' these could be learned in a restaurant as an apprentice. Ditto the Hairdresser, mechanic, and so on and so forth.
When the latest batch of students graduate from Waikato University this week, an "undercover bogan" will be among them.
At first glance, PhD graduand Dave Snell might look like all the other graduands this Thursday, but look a little closer and the dedicated bogan buff will have a couple of noticeable differences under his formal regalia.
"Well, I am going to have to wear the goofy hat and long coat, but no doubt I'll have a metal T-shirt underneath."
Mr Snell said he also had a Beavis and Butthead tie that he planned to pull out for the special occasion.
The self-proclaimed bogan made global headlines in 2007 when he was awarded a taxpayer-funded doctoral scholarship worth nearly $100,000 to study the "everyday bogan's identity and community amongst heavy metal fans".
The difficulty with this subject is that people have a collection of different ideas about how inflation works anyway, but here are some typical ones.
Now as noted in 6.1.1.1, one cause of price increases can be a bunch of corporates who decide now is a good time to put prices up because they will result in profits. This doesn't seem to be the first thing people think of when they discuss inflation but it does seem to be a significant thing happening at present.
Now onto why tax cuts would be inflationary to the Green party. This is likely because tax cuts leave more income in the hands of the public. In fact this is true of any policy which increases a govt deficit. This provides more spending ability to the people who are left with that income which could be inflationary, especially in cases where the popularity of some goods increases much faster than supply can increase. There are certainly some goods, such as home office tech, which have suddenly come under huge increases in demand (for obvious reasons) and this may have caused those suppliers to increase their prices in response.
Now when Nationals leader talks about inflation and wants to criticize govt spending he's probably taking this a step further and implying that most people in NZ have too much income at present. Put aside for a minute that Nationals promoted economic policy will be tax cuts (which as I said do increase income left with the public). The implication of this fact, in National party dog whistle, is that workers are costing too much and spending too much and this is the primary reason corporations have increased prices. Never mind the fact that a majority of NZers have gotten real (e.g inflation adjusted) income cuts, and having ignored this then you now have a way to criticize govt policy as being too inflationary. It aligns with enough of the general discussion about savings rates and disposable income that this will make complete sense to some supporters and even many critics won't notice its not true and will merely justify the govt policy in some way.
Now in the most extreme case the inflation is caused by increased 'liquidity'. Liquidity means spending power and the implication of this term is that govt spending increases bank liquidity and banks then multiply up this by some multiple resulting in their maximal lending capacity, so additional govt liquidity implies increased bank lending. Once reaching that conclusion the implication which is supposed to follow is that longer term inflation adjusts to follow the expansions in lending via this process. Expansion of the liquidity is supposed to translate into inflation and supposedly the reverse too.
There are a few reasons for doubt in this however,
1) The way things actually work is govt spending is always borrowed back before being re-spent. The result of this voluntary policy choice regarding govt debt is that no net liquidity is being added by govt spending. What is being added is govt borrowings, rather than something a bank directly spends.
2) Its official reserve bank policy to lend as much liquidity as needed at the OCR so that banks can always make payments. The implication of this is that banks are never liquidity constrained in how much lending they can produce anyway.
3) Banks appear to actually assess their lending based on the borrowers ability to repay the loan, or credit worthy-ness. I've never heard of a bank saying no to a borrower because of the banks ability to pay, but you do hear about when the bank questions the borrowers ability to make the loan repayments.
4) Even if banks did work this way (or some other way which is compatible with this such as a market between savers debtors) what does that have to do with corporate decisions to increase prices or worker decisions to push for wage increases? Most people have next to no idea about what any of the relevant variables are at present including, how much debt the govt has, how much spending the govt is doing, how much money banks owe to depositors, how much lending banks have on issue. If people don't know the value of the relevant variables does it make sense to think they are responding to them?
However as you can understand when these ideas meet typical reporting on finance you get ideas like QE is inflationary popping up. If you want to understand how inflationary QE is just imagine a realistic analogy for it. Imagine banks stop having saving accounts and instead shift every-ones funds into a current account. The only difference is that this is happening in banks bank accounts at the central bank (where they clear payments with each other and the govt). Would that cause massive inflation? Is that clearly the cause of present inflation in NZ? and if so why have multiple countries had QE policies for a decade and only quite recently price increases.
Anyway that's an overview of some of the thoughts floating around here.
BTW, I totally agree with the sentiments of the Green party in that tweet. A National policy of giving out tax cuts in favour of those most easily absorbing the present price increases, over those who are already wearing real income cuts due to those price increases, is certainly unfair as a policy choice. I just don't think talking about inflation is a very coherent way to describe this as unfair.
Liquidity means simply more money in circulation.Globally Central banks objective is to remove inflationary pressures from the economic system,by wealth destruction ( bringing levered positions to historical costs) such as the 100b$ valuation loss to the NZ property market.
It's kinda of a technical point in that you give someone on a low income $100 they spend it all.
Give someone wealthy $100 they might spend $50 and save $50 so overall less inflationary but doesnt fix the structural problem in that inflation hurts those on the lowest incomes hardest.
Yes but the positive effects of an increase in benefits and student allowances would be much more widespread than tax cuts for the top end. Also it is indisputable that those at the bottom end of the income range are those most suffering from the rising costs in living.
Moscow is carrying out an intense Russification effort in occupied regions, one that appears designed to quash Ukrainians’ sense of history, nationhood and even their language. Targeting what children learn is a key strategy. Ukrainian education “must be corrected,” Russian Education Minister Sergei Kravtsov said at a June 28 meeting of President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party.
Yet the Kremlin’s effort extends far beyond the schools. It already has blocked Ukraine’s cellphone network and media in areas it controls, while broadcasting Russian state propaganda about its “denazification” of the country. It has torn down Ukrainian city signs and replaced them with Russian ones. And under a Putin decree, Moscow is trying to get Ukrainians throughout the country to sign up for Russian passports.
My reaction before reading the script was: they took their masks off for 30 secs while the photographer took the photo. Sure enough that is what happened.
Another attempt to discredit Ardern. The death by a thousand cuts syndrome.
Edit: If you look closely you can see those in the front with their masks in their hands. When quoting Professor Baker, I bet the journo didn’t tell him they were wearing masks but took them off briefly for the photo.
It is the image that endures – the photograph is frozen in time and the explanation will be divorced from that. The image is inescapable.
It is ALL about perception …. and the FACT that Arden et al were not wearing their masks at that moment in time and thus seen to be participating in a possible "super spreader" event involving young people ….. with no distancing.
After all captured actions speak louder than words.
My complaint was more to do with the journos story which conveniently ignored one or two relevant facts.
It is easy to say these things with the benefit of hindsight but given the 'gotcha' nature of reporting these days, the dignitaries at least should have anticipated the outcome.
One point in their favour. Journos expect interviewees to take off their masks when they are being interviewed. And that can be up to 30 minutes, yet they kick up a fuss for 30secs. while a photo is being taken. Agreed though it was not a good look.
It was a choice. Those that removed masks made that choice.
After over two years of Covid, you'd think there would be solutions to long interviews where it is apparent separation is achieved, making masks superfluous.
However, in every situation where exposure is present – people make a choice, and deal with the consequences.
I don't consider it 'not a good look' – I consider it bad practice.
He has found a way to fit the mask to reduce the problem, and then takes his glasses off to wipe when needed. He wears the mask all his 9-10 hour day, and is quite active (recording 17-20k steps daily during a work initiated fitness challenge).
I have worked on two sites that required fit-testing of respirators in order to go into certain areas due to dust hazards. Unless the PPE fits correctly it is useless and from experience I can tell you it is quite easy to fail the test. Beards and even quite modest facial hair will also cause a fit test to fail. (I have also done a fair bit of DIY spray painting of two pack epoxies and polyurethanes and own a bunch of 3M respirators for the purpose. )
That fogging up of your glasses is due to the fact that the concave area between the bridge of the nose and the cheeks is the usual weak link. Unless properly trained most people will have a gap there that presents the path of lowest resistance and much of your breath will flow through it instead of the mask filter media.
In ideal circumstances N95 masks may well be useful – but ideal most untrained people are not.
So do you consider mask wearing to be ineffective in terms of reducing the transmission of Covid, thereby rendering any criticism of the photo superfluous?
And the testing sounds interesting. How did it test for the incidence and frequency of sneezing and coughing from respiratory infections?
Did it consider the contamination of surfaces from the same?
(Note: So far avoided Covid, but did catch the one doing the rounds with sudden and violent sneezing. Would've been interesting to know the speed and distance of those droplets)
Extra note: Partner has reduced beard to improve fit, in line with your results.
So do you consider mask wearing to be ineffective in terms of reducing the transmission of Covid…
It's not. Actual science shows that reduction of airborne virus reduces transmission, by reducing exposure. This is why well fitted masks work better than ill fitted ones, but ill fitted ones work better than no mask. This is a pretty easy concept to understand, it's not all or nothing, I don't know why people are arguing against it.
There's a better illustration than this, but this is the one I found easily.
It would be useful to have a source for the graphic….but I'm guessing it might be fairly recent with the rise and rise of folks out there in the wild…infected but with minor or no symptoms because their wonderfully efficient 'vaccine' is (at the moment) 'working'.
…surgical masks were as effective as N95 respirators at preventing the flu, which is to say, not all that effective because, of the 446 nurses who took part in this study, nearly one in four (24%) in the surgical mask group still got the flu as did 23% of those who wore the N95 respirator.
The author, a medical microbiologist (who ought to have a clue or two) points out that …
… given that many people describe the flu as like being hit by a truck, it is unlikely that people will be strolling around town with a mask on when they’re at their most infectious – three to four days after symptoms begin. They’ll be tucked up in bed, sweating and aching.
Perhaps one day we can safely ask the question if it was wise to mass 'vaccinate' with a non-sterilising product that fails to prevent infection but allows the infected to free-range in the community.
Rosemary, you seem to be highlighting that vaccinating people has resulted in many of them getting less ill from covid. Was that intentional?
Anyway how is your dossier on why, when and how the protest group rejected the leadership of the Tamiti aligned FARC group, coming along? Were all looking forward to the insights gleaned herein.
Yes. Do I have to copy and paste the quote from the medical biologist? No ? Good. I guess you haven't quite joined the dots on why a non- sterilising 'vaccine' might not be such a good idea?
Sure, the Pfizer product might prevent some, most perhaps, of the recipients from becoming so symptomatic that they are too ill to function normally. But this does not prevent them from being infectious.
Nature intends that the infectious are usually sick and therefore not out and about spreading the lurgie. I suppose this limits the spread, and in an ideal world allows a measure of herd immunity to build up in the community.
Old school vaccines were usually designed to prevent infection. And transmission. So properly immunised, the recipient was not going to catch the target disease or infect others.
Since the Omicron variants are better at getting around any protection from infection afforded by the Pfizer product it is not untoward to hypothesize that the situation will be at least the same.
In terms of protecting oneself from serious illness, hospitalisation and death then the fully 'vaccinated' and very recently boosted should be ok. I hope.
In terms of' vaccination imitating nature and providing community wide protection against disease transmission' then these mRNA products are a disaster. They are allowing, no, encouraging infected people to go about their busy social lives spreading joy and Te Virus wherever they go. More transmission…more mutations?
And as the author states…masks, even N95s, are not that effective.
And I'm not sure what you are on about re FRAC and his Wholiness. I mentioned a facebook thread that popped up in the early days of the Freedom Village. Like, weeks ago.
The general consensus was…as far as I read…that this was not the personality that was wanted to emerge as a leader/spokesman. For all the reasons that many on TS would suppose. Believe or not…the vast majority of the Freedom Villagers were not aligned closely with FRAC. It might have seemed like that to outsiders because, well, His Wholiness has set a standard of loud and in- your -face proselytising. Association, especially unsought, does not equate to collaboration or affiliation.
The '10 people at a table with one Nazi makes a table of 11 Nazis' does not apply here. Whether you like it or not. And it matters not, now.
Such a pity that no one from this Government was brave enough to go and speak with the largely moderate majority of those assembled. Perhaps with the groups supporting those seriously adversely affected by the Pfizer product?
Link for the above diagram. I put it in the comment as well, but making sure you can see it. It’s from 2020. I’ve seen better ones more recently that give a more detailed explanation. Principle is the same, it’s about reducing the amount of virus people are exposed to, it’s not an on/off switch.
Thanks for the more detailed explanation, though this is already what I thought you were saying. I just didn't think it was interesting to explore that and merely asked to understand that you are saying the vaccine has had observable positive health benefits across the community (e.g as you have observed vaccinated people are getting less sick from Covid). I also agree a sterilizing vaccine would have been much better as would a sterilizing vaccine against all variants, even those unknown or even un-evolved at the time of the vaccine development.
As far as your claims go, if were excluding vaccination from responses and simply going with what happens naturally with the course of an infection, then its absolutely clear the outcomes are going to deteriorate. We know this from the course of the pandemic before vaccination was available when the death toll was much higher, even with less infectious variants (maybe marginally deadlier until Omicron). So you can make the argument that people are going to stay home when showing more symptoms and the pandemic will naturally sort itself out, but that's clearly not how the world actually works (even with lock-downs).
Its also a bit simplistic to either categorize vaccines into sterilizing or not. The actual results are that sterilizing vaccines are (and this depends on the infection and natural immune response as much as the biotech) better at preventing reproduction of an infection. The result is that people show fewer symptoms, become less sick and transmit the infection less frequently with this improved immunity. So the very lowering of symptomatic infection your observing is related to sterilizing immunity. Even though the vaccinations available don't reach a level we would characterize as population sterilizing immunity they are observed to be improvements towards that direction. Its in fact possible if the virus was still at Alpha variant we would call it sterilizing immunity because that disappeared quickly once vaccines had been widely taken up.
Further, just a note on viral load between vaccinated and un-vaccinated, because this is also related to the asymptomatic effects your observing. Showing the viral load is similar for peak infection just shows that the nature of transmission is not different between vaccinated and un-vaccinated. In other words if you have a person with a similar viral load cross your path then the likelihood that they infected you in crossing paths will be similar. This doesn't say anything really about how vaccination effects transmission. But people who are asymptomatic will typically be carrying a lower viral load than a counterfactual version of themselves who are going around hacking and coughing through it. This is one of the ways that the vaccination program has improved outcomes across the community (lowering transmission) and clearly you have observed that is occurring well enough. Yes, the occurrence of asymptomatic transmission (of covid and known before vaccination was ever available) does complicate the case slightly, but asymptomatic people are less infectious than highly symptomatic people.
This topic is expanded here, linking to the study you already linked and incorporating it. (I expect you've probably read this already).
As to the FARC people. Your welcome to call them Nazis if you want. I'm more interested of the people in the protest who wanted FARC out. These are also the people who the media concludes are far right (or Nazis) in saying the protest contained extreme elements. It just seems obvious that (for all his bluster) that FARC group did lead several prior protests which were not even close to setting fire to Trevors favourite slide, so I'm somewhat interested in the decision to go that way, who made it any why they said they made it.
A list of anti-lockdown protests, many involving FARC.
I'm also going to suggest that David Seymour did meet with as many people from the protest as were harmed by the vaccine, out the back of a pub. Unfortunately anybody harmed could clearly only send their nieces nephews sisters aunts cousin along in person so everybody who was turned into a newt by the Pfizer product had some how turned back again by February. Anyway, at least one family appears to have gotten a roast lamb dinner out of Pfizer as a result, so there's always that.
Some people dislike masks because of their inconvenience. One gets that.
But, more peculiarly, for the political right masks have become a culture war rather than a matter of effectiveness. Stephen Reicher, professor of psychology at the University of St Andrews, writing in the Guardian, argues that some who hold a certain world view see masks as “a potent symbol of control: they are muzzles”. What these people reject “is less the mask and more the political and scientific establishment that proposes it”.
maybe. I was thinking more of the argument that it’s all or nothing. So a good fitting mask is useful, but otherwise masks aren’t. Not essentially an anti-mask position, and it simply isn’t true.
If your glasses fog, then your mask is not working. Most of your respiration is passing through that gap which is the path of least resistance.
I really don't know what else to say. When I am spray paint I can tell instantly if I have dislodged the respirator because I can smell the solvent. But the virus gives no such warning.
Recent research, peer reviewed and published, indicates that mask mandates might actually increase the CFR…due to what the humble researcher calls the Foegen Effect.
Essentially, one can rebreathe the virus particles nature intends are breathed away…like any other effluent. This can make certain folks sicker.
None of this really adds to anyone's sense of security, I get that, but mandated mass mask wearing will most likely do more harm than good.
If one is sick…coughing, snotting, sneezing and one cannot stay home until it passes then yes…wear a mask for the very short time one needs to be out. And as RL says…it should be a good fitting mask. This should be best practice.
And because not everyone will do this…if a person feels they are at risk from serious illness from an infection then they should wear an appropriately fitting mask when they have to go out in to crowded places.
We need to let the young and healthy get on with their lives and build some proper immunity against this thing or there's likely real trouble up ahead.
My partners employer provides enough masks for employees to have frequent changes.
Transmission of Covid between team members has not occurred, although a few have had multiple infections from other sources. They run quite lean on staffing, and multiple absences on the same team are hard to cover.
Whether it's the nature of the working environment or the preventative measures they've employed is impossible to determine.
I do think there's a benefit from continuing at the moment, it's become habitual and doesn't impede delay work practices because of that.
The most comprehensive between-country study of masks for COVID-19 infection is a comparison of policy changes, such as social distancing, travel restrictions, and mask wearing, across 41 countries. It found introducing a mask-wearing policy had little impact, but mask policies were mostly introduced after social distancing and other measures were already in place.
Until we have the needed research, we should be wary about relying on masks as the mainstay for preventing community transmission. And if we want people to wear masks regularly, we might do better to target higher-risk circumstances for shorter periods. These are generally places described by “the three Cs”: crowded places, close-contact settings, and confined and enclosed spaces. These would include some workplaces and on public transport.
We are likely to be better off if we get high usage of fresh masks in the most risky settings, rather than moderate usage everywhere.
As with the near total reliance on the Pfizer product to save us all, (and that's not working out too well) my thinking is that we should see mask wearing as just one of many tools in the toolbox. All the other methods to mitigate transmission and serious illness should be universally deployed…such as avoiding crowded, shouty places, eating well, exercise in the open air (maskless) and taking the good old fashioned tried and true vitamins for immune support.
However, National's deputy leader leapt to the prime minister's defence on Breakfast on Wednesday.
"No, look, she just took off the mask for the photo and can we give her a break for that?" Willis asked.
"Who among us hasn't taken their mask off for a photo? I'm sure that just like me and all the others in the photo she put the mask on to walk around Parliament.
"I think we all need to be a bit more relaxed about that."
A spokesperson for the prime minister told Newshub Ardern had been wearing a mask for the rest of the day, but took it off briefly for the group photo at the photographer's request.
In March, National Party leader Christopher Luxon admitted he shouldn't have been hugging and shaking hands with people at his State of the National speech."
When a leader tells the public to wear a mask, it is always going to be a story when they do not – much like David Clark going for a bike ride during lockdown.
An ex-leader like Helen Clark calling her out for it is also a low-hanging story.
Helen Clark was dismissive of the lack of masks in the photo generally. I don't think she singled out the PM. It appears many of the youth have been moving around the precinct mask-less.
Don’t forget RNZ too!
And followed up today with the honourable and relevant King Dickhead Prebble calling 3 Waters a coup.
Masks off for a second is risky, but it’s all about grades of risk. Is it outside? Or in a well ventilated space? Is it for more than 15 minutes?
It slightly increases the risk.
I guess it shows that the right aren’t quite as confident in their leader so they need to run dirty politics too?
God what a load of hooey there is in this issue’s thread.
No – the difference being that the authors actually know what they're talking about – it's fact based, rather than based on the political convenience of, say, a genocidal kleptocrat.
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As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
The Government Communications Security Bureau denies hosting a foreign spying capability flagged by the watchdog, differentiating it from the system recently criticised. ...
RNZ News A group of academic staff at New Zealand’s largest university have expressed concern at the administration’s move to block a protest encampment that was planned to take place on campus calling for support for the rights of Palestinians. This week, the University of Auckland warned that while it ...
Genterwocky After a hard days marching, Sir Doocey calls in at the Village Tavern For a pint of ale and a pork pie. The grim villagers stare at him. “Do not be travelling on the forest road,” warns a crusty old beak. “And why is that, antique peasant?” Grins Sir ...
Political conferences after a party returns to power are usually a chance for some healthy, even unhealthy backslapping. Yet National Party president Sylvia Wood’s address to its mainland representatives on Saturday hardly contained the unalloyed delight that one might have expected following National’s escape from the wilderness of opposition. Yes, ...
Comment: Almost half the world is voting in national elections this year and artificial intelligence is the elephant in the room. There are genuine fears AI-generated or AI-edited deepfakes will potentially manipulate election outcomes not just in the US and UK, but critically in countries such as India. For that ...
Ahead of the reality franchise’s return to New Zealand, allow us to introduce the eight brides and grooms. Chuck on a veil and tie back your man bun, because it’s time to say “I do” to a new season of Married at First Sight NZ. The reality TV “social experiment” ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Norton, Professor in the Practice of Higher Education Policy, Australian National University Every year on June 1, student debt in Australia is indexed to inflation. In 2023, high inflation pushed the indexation rate to 7.1%, the highest since 1990. This ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Changes in the May 14 budget will cut the student debt of more than three million people, wiping more than $3 billion from what people owe. The government will cap the HELP indexation rate ...
Asia Pacific Report The prosecutor’s office at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has appealed for an end to what it calls intimidation of its staff, saying such threats could constitute an offence against the “administration of justice” by the world’s permanent war crimes court. The Hague-based office of ICC Prosecutor ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk A women’s union in New Caledonia has staged a sit-in protest this week to support senior Kanak indigenous journalist Thérèse Waia, who works for public broadcaster Nouvelle-Calédonie la Première, after a smear attack by critics. The peaceful demonstration was held on ...
New Zealand Food Safety is monitoring overseas recalls of Indian packaged spice products manufactured by MDH and Everest due to concerns over a cancer-causing pesticide. ...
By Stephen Wright and Stefan Armbruster of BenarNews Fiji’s ranking in a global press freedom index has jumped into the top tier of countries with free or mostly free media after its government last year repealed a draconian law that threatened journalists with prison for doing their jobs. Fiji’s improvement ...
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https://twitter.com/makeit16nz/status/1549270667845156865?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/129315422/youth-mps-call-on-parliament-to-lower-the-voting-age?cid=app-iPhone
Rangatahi once again eloquently call for the lowering of the voting age to 16. As I look at state of the world and our place in it, I find it hard to see any negatives to an increase in the political franchise of our youth.
If you agree add your name to this petition:
https://our.actionstation.org.nz/petitions/make-the-voting-age-16
Just watching the tele (one news) so can't provide a link.
A 6 bed unit in Porirua for the most psychiatric needy. Sadly they don't have enough staff to allow capacity
It is the first of 18 (I think that was the number but can't vouch for that) units that have been cleared to go ahead. One other has reached the building stage but the others are still in the planning and designing stage so it could be a year or two (or three) before they are built and operational.
There is a shortage of suitable trained staff in NZ sure, but the govt. plans to acquire the trained personnel from overseas. Presumably they will be acquired as they are needed.
That's what I took from the TV item.
Meet Vank Walen.
https://www.facebook.com/MXDMAGTX/videos/405538291618884/
This should be interesting. Greens AGM will vote on a remit to change how long delegates have to read and discuss any post-election coalition agreement on offer. Delegates make the decision to accept or reject agreements.
https://twitter.com/gelukinmusic/status/1549256027245527040
And then there's the Peoples Inquiry into Student Wellbeing (full report pdf). While being a student is a transitory experience that is not an excuse for it to be such a struggle. Action on many of these would be welcomed by other low income households too I would imagine.
This is an utterly criminal state of affairs for a country that used to have a proud record in the area of Education.
When did this go wrong?
To my mind, Rogernomics and all the semi-literate fools who supported it.
Tomorrow's Schools = Educational Decline.
Student debt = Penalty on Education
anyone can currently get a job at min wage of 21.40 (plus 8% holiday pay, plus sick leave, plus 3% min Kiwi safer employers contribution).
any student can go and get a part time job stacking shelfs at a supermarket.
People the world over work whilst studying.
But, just as a disclaimer.
Young people in NZ spend a huge amount of their income on rent. So do all other people be they students or not who rent. Hence why in NZ we have the accommodation supplement as without that many many many tenants would not be able to rent in the first place.
Young people in NZ have not enough money to buy food, clothing, pay bills, get healthcare despite working fulltime or even two or three jobs. Hence why in NZ we have food grants, emergency grants, dental grants and so on and so forth.
Pretty much most low income tenants would say that their flats don't meet their needs but can't move because the cost is too high.
Pretty much most of low income tenants, beneficiaries, or those on a health related benefit will state that their mental health is poor due to stress. Pretty much most of the adults and kids currently will report a drop in mental well being throughout the pandemic
Taken this all together, we can confidently state that students, low income workers, single parents and other care givers, are all having issues paying rent, food, utilities, doctors etc.
Maybe it is time to tell students that life is hard sometimes – no effort no gain, no one owes them an education other then basic min required to reach High school and even then you can drop out.
Maybe its time to tell students that the Universities are paid for by people who are janitors in their universities and the rest of the tax payers.
Maybe it is also time to tell students that you can always get a full time job and become a part time student, or they could go into an apprentice ship.
These same students that have ti tighten their belt during their study years will hopefully get employed by a council, government, big corps who will then have the good income to make up for three years of 'student poverty' and 'student loans'. And if that is not the case maybe they studied something that has no value?
But these students in NZ do not have it any harder then any other worker who finds that their min wage despite all the increases will not hold up to living costs. Ditto for those that have good incomes and want to have a lifestyle still.
Maybe we really just need to define 'student' firstly, and then decide if the change needs to come from that re-definition. No one needs to go to the Toi Ohomoi for 'kitchen skills' these could be learned in a restaurant as an apprentice. Ditto the Hairdresser, mechanic, and so on and so forth.
edit
do we think that this dude here is still paying of his studentloan? and should that student loan be wiped?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/6839032/Bogan-researcher-to-graduate-with-PhD
Can someone please explain the rationale here?
https://twitter.com/nzgreens/status/1549283705969319936
Your first mistake is assuming that Nationals economic policy needs to make some kind of sense.
lol, no, never. I was hoping someone would explain how tax cuts harm attempts to address inflation.
and this,
https://twitter.com/jacobjakemo/status/1548931927196835841
The difficulty with this subject is that people have a collection of different ideas about how inflation works anyway, but here are some typical ones.
Now as noted in 6.1.1.1, one cause of price increases can be a bunch of corporates who decide now is a good time to put prices up because they will result in profits. This doesn't seem to be the first thing people think of when they discuss inflation but it does seem to be a significant thing happening at present.
Now onto why tax cuts would be inflationary to the Green party. This is likely because tax cuts leave more income in the hands of the public. In fact this is true of any policy which increases a govt deficit. This provides more spending ability to the people who are left with that income which could be inflationary, especially in cases where the popularity of some goods increases much faster than supply can increase. There are certainly some goods, such as home office tech, which have suddenly come under huge increases in demand (for obvious reasons) and this may have caused those suppliers to increase their prices in response.
Now when Nationals leader talks about inflation and wants to criticize govt spending he's probably taking this a step further and implying that most people in NZ have too much income at present. Put aside for a minute that Nationals promoted economic policy will be tax cuts (which as I said do increase income left with the public). The implication of this fact, in National party dog whistle, is that workers are costing too much and spending too much and this is the primary reason corporations have increased prices. Never mind the fact that a majority of NZers have gotten real (e.g inflation adjusted) income cuts, and having ignored this then you now have a way to criticize govt policy as being too inflationary. It aligns with enough of the general discussion about savings rates and disposable income that this will make complete sense to some supporters and even many critics won't notice its not true and will merely justify the govt policy in some way.
Now in the most extreme case the inflation is caused by increased 'liquidity'. Liquidity means spending power and the implication of this term is that govt spending increases bank liquidity and banks then multiply up this by some multiple resulting in their maximal lending capacity, so additional govt liquidity implies increased bank lending. Once reaching that conclusion the implication which is supposed to follow is that longer term inflation adjusts to follow the expansions in lending via this process. Expansion of the liquidity is supposed to translate into inflation and supposedly the reverse too.
There are a few reasons for doubt in this however,
1) The way things actually work is govt spending is always borrowed back before being re-spent. The result of this voluntary policy choice regarding govt debt is that no net liquidity is being added by govt spending. What is being added is govt borrowings, rather than something a bank directly spends.
2) Its official reserve bank policy to lend as much liquidity as needed at the OCR so that banks can always make payments. The implication of this is that banks are never liquidity constrained in how much lending they can produce anyway.
3) Banks appear to actually assess their lending based on the borrowers ability to repay the loan, or credit worthy-ness. I've never heard of a bank saying no to a borrower because of the banks ability to pay, but you do hear about when the bank questions the borrowers ability to make the loan repayments.
4) Even if banks did work this way (or some other way which is compatible with this such as a market between savers debtors) what does that have to do with corporate decisions to increase prices or worker decisions to push for wage increases? Most people have next to no idea about what any of the relevant variables are at present including, how much debt the govt has, how much spending the govt is doing, how much money banks owe to depositors, how much lending banks have on issue. If people don't know the value of the relevant variables does it make sense to think they are responding to them?
However as you can understand when these ideas meet typical reporting on finance you get ideas like QE is inflationary popping up. If you want to understand how inflationary QE is just imagine a realistic analogy for it. Imagine banks stop having saving accounts and instead shift every-ones funds into a current account. The only difference is that this is happening in banks bank accounts at the central bank (where they clear payments with each other and the govt). Would that cause massive inflation? Is that clearly the cause of present inflation in NZ? and if so why have multiple countries had QE policies for a decade and only quite recently price increases.
Anyway that's an overview of some of the thoughts floating around here.
BTW, I totally agree with the sentiments of the Green party in that tweet. A National policy of giving out tax cuts in favour of those most easily absorbing the present price increases, over those who are already wearing real income cuts due to those price increases, is certainly unfair as a policy choice. I just don't think talking about inflation is a very coherent way to describe this as unfair.
Tax cuts are inflationary,as they add to liquidity.As would an increase in benefits or student allowances (mp's councillors etc)
liquidity meaning rich people would have more money to spend?
Liquidity means simply more money in circulation.Globally Central banks objective is to remove inflationary pressures from the economic system,by wealth destruction ( bringing levered positions to historical costs) such as the 100b$ valuation loss to the NZ property market.
It's kinda of a technical point in that you give someone on a low income $100 they spend it all.
Give someone wealthy $100 they might spend $50 and save $50 so overall less inflationary but doesnt fix the structural problem in that inflation hurts those on the lowest incomes hardest.
Yes but the positive effects of an increase in benefits and student allowances would be much more widespread than tax cuts for the top end. Also it is indisputable that those at the bottom end of the income range are those most suffering from the rising costs in living.
After a thirty year hiatus the Russification of Ukraine resumes.
https://twitter.com/iLepikVonWiren/status/1549133629049212932
Moscow is carrying out an intense Russification effort in occupied regions, one that appears designed to quash Ukrainians’ sense of history, nationhood and even their language. Targeting what children learn is a key strategy. Ukrainian education “must be corrected,” Russian Education Minister Sergei Kravtsov said at a June 28 meeting of President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party.
Yet the Kremlin’s effort extends far beyond the schools. It already has blocked Ukraine’s cellphone network and media in areas it controls, while broadcasting Russian state propaganda about its “denazification” of the country. It has torn down Ukrainian city signs and replaced them with Russian ones. And under a Putin decree, Moscow is trying to get Ukrainians throughout the country to sign up for Russian passports.
https://archive.ph/lp2wp (wapo)
Yet another shit story by some 'johnny come lately' Herald journo:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/pm-jacinda-ardern-photographed-maskless-with-100-plus-crowd/V4UEQFRUB5TFVF7ER4Z2IHOHQQ/
My reaction before reading the script was: they took their masks off for 30 secs while the photographer took the photo. Sure enough that is what happened.
Another attempt to discredit Ardern. The death by a thousand cuts syndrome.
Edit: If you look closely you can see those in the front with their masks in their hands. When quoting Professor Baker, I bet the journo didn’t tell him they were wearing masks but took them off briefly for the photo.
It is the image that endures – the photograph is frozen in time and the explanation will be divorced from that. The image is inescapable.
It is ALL about perception …. and the FACT that Arden et al were not wearing their masks at that moment in time and thus seen to be participating in a possible "super spreader" event involving young people ….. with no distancing.
After all captured actions speak louder than words.
Anne, like everyone in a similar situation they have a choice:
1, Take a group photo with everyone masked, and have obscured faces (but good PR for mask compliance);
2. Take group photo with masks off ( for facial exposure, so smiles can be seen, because effective mask wearing is an on/off construct, – who knows?).
They chose 2. (apart from 1 lone mask-wearer) and this is a forseeable consequence.
My complaint was more to do with the journos story which conveniently ignored one or two relevant facts.
It is easy to say these things with the benefit of hindsight but given the 'gotcha' nature of reporting these days, the dignitaries at least should have anticipated the outcome.
One point in their favour. Journos expect interviewees to take off their masks when they are being interviewed. And that can be up to 30 minutes, yet they kick up a fuss for 30secs. while a photo is being taken. Agreed though it was not a good look.
It was a choice. Those that removed masks made that choice.
After over two years of Covid, you'd think there would be solutions to long interviews where it is apparent separation is achieved, making masks superfluous.
However, in every situation where exposure is present – people make a choice, and deal with the consequences.
I don't consider it 'not a good look' – I consider it bad practice.
Do you wear glasses? If so have you ever had them fog up when you put your mask on?
My partner does, I no longer do.
He has found a way to fit the mask to reduce the problem, and then takes his glasses off to wipe when needed. He wears the mask all his 9-10 hour day, and is quite active (recording 17-20k steps daily during a work initiated fitness challenge).
How is this relevant to a photo op?
I have worked on two sites that required fit-testing of respirators in order to go into certain areas due to dust hazards. Unless the PPE fits correctly it is useless and from experience I can tell you it is quite easy to fail the test. Beards and even quite modest facial hair will also cause a fit test to fail. (I have also done a fair bit of DIY spray painting of two pack epoxies and polyurethanes and own a bunch of 3M respirators for the purpose. )
That fogging up of your glasses is due to the fact that the concave area between the bridge of the nose and the cheeks is the usual weak link. Unless properly trained most people will have a gap there that presents the path of lowest resistance and much of your breath will flow through it instead of the mask filter media.
In ideal circumstances N95 masks may well be useful – but ideal most untrained people are not.
OK.
So do you consider mask wearing to be ineffective in terms of reducing the transmission of Covid, thereby rendering any criticism of the photo superfluous?
And the testing sounds interesting. How did it test for the incidence and frequency of sneezing and coughing from respiratory infections?
Did it consider the contamination of surfaces from the same?
(Note: So far avoided Covid, but did catch the one doing the rounds with sudden and violent sneezing. Would've been interesting to know the speed and distance of those droplets)
Extra note: Partner has reduced beard to improve fit, in line with your results.
It's not. Actual science shows that reduction of airborne virus reduces transmission, by reducing exposure. This is why well fitted masks work better than ill fitted ones, but ill fitted ones work better than no mask. This is a pretty easy concept to understand, it's not all or nothing, I don't know why people are arguing against it.
There's a better illustration than this, but this is the one I found easily.
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abc6197
edit, source link added
It would be useful to have a source for the graphic….but I'm guessing it might be fairly recent with the rise and rise of folks out there in the wild…infected but with minor or no symptoms because their wonderfully efficient 'vaccine' is (at the moment) 'working'.
In the olden times, and again from The Conversation (https://theconversation.com/can-surgical-masks-protect-you-from-getting-the-flu-125023) the author determined that there was dubious benefit from surgical masks. And in a study comparing surgical masks and the 'superior' N95 found that…
…surgical masks were as effective as N95 respirators at preventing the flu, which is to say, not all that effective because, of the 446 nurses who took part in this study, nearly one in four (24%) in the surgical mask group still got the flu as did 23% of those who wore the N95 respirator.
The author, a medical microbiologist (who ought to have a clue or two) points out that …
… given that many people describe the flu as like being hit by a truck, it is unlikely that people will be strolling around town with a mask on when they’re at their most infectious – three to four days after symptoms begin. They’ll be tucked up in bed, sweating and aching.
Perhaps one day we can safely ask the question if it was wise to mass 'vaccinate' with a non-sterilising product that fails to prevent infection but allows the infected to free-range in the community.
Rosemary, you seem to be highlighting that vaccinating people has resulted in many of them getting less ill from covid. Was that intentional?
Anyway how is your dossier on why, when and how the protest group rejected the leadership of the Tamiti aligned FARC group, coming along? Were all looking forward to the insights gleaned herein.
@ Nic the etc etc…
Yes. Do I have to copy and paste the quote from the medical biologist? No ? Good. I guess you haven't quite joined the dots on why a non- sterilising 'vaccine' might not be such a good idea?
Sure, the Pfizer product might prevent some, most perhaps, of the recipients from becoming so symptomatic that they are too ill to function normally. But this does not prevent them from being infectious.
Nature intends that the infectious are usually sick and therefore not out and about spreading the lurgie. I suppose this limits the spread, and in an ideal world allows a measure of herd immunity to build up in the community.
Old school vaccines were usually designed to prevent infection. And transmission. So properly immunised, the recipient was not going to catch the target disease or infect others.
The Pfizer product clearly does not prevent infection or transmission, and for Delta at least, the positive testing fully 'vaccinated' had a similar viral load as the positive testing unvaccinated. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7031e2.htm?s_cid=mm7031e2_w
Since the Omicron variants are better at getting around any protection from infection afforded by the Pfizer product it is not untoward to hypothesize that the situation will be at least the same.
In terms of protecting oneself from serious illness, hospitalisation and death then the fully 'vaccinated' and very recently boosted should be ok. I hope.
In terms of' vaccination imitating nature and providing community wide protection against disease transmission' then these mRNA products are a disaster. They are allowing, no, encouraging infected people to go about their busy social lives spreading joy and Te Virus wherever they go. More transmission…more mutations?
And as the author states…masks, even N95s, are not that effective.
And I'm not sure what you are on about re FRAC and his Wholiness. I mentioned a facebook thread that popped up in the early days of the Freedom Village. Like, weeks ago.
The general consensus was…as far as I read…that this was not the personality that was wanted to emerge as a leader/spokesman. For all the reasons that many on TS would suppose. Believe or not…the vast majority of the Freedom Villagers were not aligned closely with FRAC. It might have seemed like that to outsiders because, well, His Wholiness has set a standard of loud and in- your -face proselytising. Association, especially unsought, does not equate to collaboration or affiliation.
The '10 people at a table with one Nazi makes a table of 11 Nazis' does not apply here. Whether you like it or not. And it matters not, now.
Such a pity that no one from this Government was brave enough to go and speak with the largely moderate majority of those assembled. Perhaps with the groups supporting those seriously adversely affected by the Pfizer product?
Link for the above diagram. I put it in the comment as well, but making sure you can see it. It’s from 2020. I’ve seen better ones more recently that give a more detailed explanation. Principle is the same, it’s about reducing the amount of virus people are exposed to, it’s not an on/off switch.
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abc6197
Thanks for the more detailed explanation, though this is already what I thought you were saying. I just didn't think it was interesting to explore that and merely asked to understand that you are saying the vaccine has had observable positive health benefits across the community (e.g as you have observed vaccinated people are getting less sick from Covid). I also agree a sterilizing vaccine would have been much better as would a sterilizing vaccine against all variants, even those unknown or even un-evolved at the time of the vaccine development.
As far as your claims go, if were excluding vaccination from responses and simply going with what happens naturally with the course of an infection, then its absolutely clear the outcomes are going to deteriorate. We know this from the course of the pandemic before vaccination was available when the death toll was much higher, even with less infectious variants (maybe marginally deadlier until Omicron). So you can make the argument that people are going to stay home when showing more symptoms and the pandemic will naturally sort itself out, but that's clearly not how the world actually works (even with lock-downs).
Its also a bit simplistic to either categorize vaccines into sterilizing or not. The actual results are that sterilizing vaccines are (and this depends on the infection and natural immune response as much as the biotech) better at preventing reproduction of an infection. The result is that people show fewer symptoms, become less sick and transmit the infection less frequently with this improved immunity. So the very lowering of symptomatic infection your observing is related to sterilizing immunity. Even though the vaccinations available don't reach a level we would characterize as population sterilizing immunity they are observed to be improvements towards that direction. Its in fact possible if the virus was still at Alpha variant we would call it sterilizing immunity because that disappeared quickly once vaccines had been widely taken up.
Further, just a note on viral load between vaccinated and un-vaccinated, because this is also related to the asymptomatic effects your observing. Showing the viral load is similar for peak infection just shows that the nature of transmission is not different between vaccinated and un-vaccinated. In other words if you have a person with a similar viral load cross your path then the likelihood that they infected you in crossing paths will be similar. This doesn't say anything really about how vaccination effects transmission. But people who are asymptomatic will typically be carrying a lower viral load than a counterfactual version of themselves who are going around hacking and coughing through it. This is one of the ways that the vaccination program has improved outcomes across the community (lowering transmission) and clearly you have observed that is occurring well enough. Yes, the occurrence of asymptomatic transmission (of covid and known before vaccination was ever available) does complicate the case slightly, but asymptomatic people are less infectious than highly symptomatic people.
This topic is expanded here, linking to the study you already linked and incorporating it. (I expect you've probably read this already).
https://theconversation.com/no-vaccinated-people-are-not-just-as-infectious-as-unvaccinated-people-if-they-get-covid-171302
As to the FARC people. Your welcome to call them Nazis if you want. I'm more interested of the people in the protest who wanted FARC out. These are also the people who the media concludes are far right (or Nazis) in saying the protest contained extreme elements. It just seems obvious that (for all his bluster) that FARC group did lead several prior protests which were not even close to setting fire to Trevors favourite slide, so I'm somewhat interested in the decision to go that way, who made it any why they said they made it.
A list of anti-lockdown protests, many involving FARC.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_anti-lockdown_protests_in_New_Zealand
I'm also going to suggest that David Seymour did meet with as many people from the protest as were harmed by the vaccine, out the back of a pub. Unfortunately anybody harmed could clearly only send their nieces nephews sisters aunts cousin along in person so everybody who was turned into a newt by the Pfizer product had some how turned back again by February. Anyway, at least one family appears to have gotten a roast lamb dinner out of Pfizer as a result, so there's always that.
Great diagram weka – clear and simple.
As to "why people are arguing against" the utility of masks, for many 'mask-hesitant' that's simple too (imho) – no-one tells me what to do!
maybe. I was thinking more of the argument that it’s all or nothing. So a good fitting mask is useful, but otherwise masks aren’t. Not essentially an anti-mask position, and it simply isn’t true.
If your glasses fog, then your mask is not working. Most of your respiration is passing through that gap which is the path of least resistance.
I really don't know what else to say. When I am spray paint I can tell instantly if I have dislodged the respirator because I can smell the solvent. But the virus gives no such warning.
When your mask is dislodged, is the smell as bad as having no mask at all?
A spray painting respirator has a flexible seal that fits much, much better than any paper mask I have worn.
To be fair I have never taken the mask right off and gotten a lungfull so I cannot compare. But even the smallest leak is instantly obvious.
Hiya Molly. Way back when it was clear that it was possible to be infected with Te Virus via the eyes.
2019-nCoV transmission through the ocular surface must not be ignored
Published:February 06, 2020
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30313-5/fulltext
Recent research, peer reviewed and published, indicates that mask mandates might actually increase the CFR…due to what the humble researcher calls the Foegen Effect.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35363218/
Essentially, one can rebreathe the virus particles nature intends are breathed away…like any other effluent. This can make certain folks sicker.
None of this really adds to anyone's sense of security, I get that, but mandated mass mask wearing will most likely do more harm than good.
If one is sick…coughing, snotting, sneezing and one cannot stay home until it passes then yes…wear a mask for the very short time one needs to be out. And as RL says…it should be a good fitting mask. This should be best practice.
And because not everyone will do this…if a person feels they are at risk from serious illness from an infection then they should wear an appropriately fitting mask when they have to go out in to crowded places.
We need to let the young and healthy get on with their lives and build some proper immunity against this thing or there's likely real trouble up ahead.
As always, I think there's a balancing act.
My partners employer provides enough masks for employees to have frequent changes.
Transmission of Covid between team members has not occurred, although a few have had multiple infections from other sources. They run quite lean on staffing, and multiple absences on the same team are hard to cover.
Whether it's the nature of the working environment or the preventative measures they've employed is impossible to determine.
I do think there's a benefit from continuing at the moment, it's become habitual and doesn't impede delay work practices because of that.
Whether it's the nature of the working environment or the preventative measures they've employed is impossible to determine.
They've looked into just that… https://theconversation.com/face-masks-cut-disease-spread-in-the-lab-but-have-less-impact-in-the-community-we-need-to-know-why-147912
The most comprehensive between-country study of masks for COVID-19 infection is a comparison of policy changes, such as social distancing, travel restrictions, and mask wearing, across 41 countries. It found introducing a mask-wearing policy had little impact, but mask policies were mostly introduced after social distancing and other measures were already in place.
Until we have the needed research, we should be wary about relying on masks as the mainstay for preventing community transmission. And if we want people to wear masks regularly, we might do better to target higher-risk circumstances for shorter periods. These are generally places described by “the three Cs”: crowded places, close-contact settings, and confined and enclosed spaces. These would include some workplaces and on public transport.
We are likely to be better off if we get high usage of fresh masks in the most risky settings, rather than moderate usage everywhere.
As with the near total reliance on the Pfizer product to save us all, (and that's not working out too well) my thinking is that we should see mask wearing as just one of many tools in the toolbox. All the other methods to mitigate transmission and serious illness should be universally deployed…such as avoiding crowded, shouty places, eating well, exercise in the open air (maskless) and taking the good old fashioned tried and true vitamins for immune support.
"
However, National's deputy leader leapt to the prime minister's defence on Breakfast on Wednesday.
"No, look, she just took off the mask for the photo and can we give her a break for that?" Willis asked.
"Who among us hasn't taken their mask off for a photo? I'm sure that just like me and all the others in the photo she put the mask on to walk around Parliament.
"I think we all need to be a bit more relaxed about that."
A spokesperson for the prime minister told Newshub Ardern had been wearing a mask for the rest of the day, but took it off briefly for the group photo at the photographer's request.
In March, National Party leader Christopher Luxon admitted he shouldn't have been hugging and shaking hands with people at his State of the National speech."
I guess that's because it was such a crap speech.
When a leader tells the public to wear a mask, it is always going to be a story when they do not – much like David Clark going for a bike ride during lockdown.
An ex-leader like Helen Clark calling her out for it is also a low-hanging story.
It will pass.
Though an easy one for an opposition Deputy to stand out on: https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/07/20/give-her-a-break-willis-defends-pms-maskless-group-photo/
Helen Clark was dismissive of the lack of masks in the photo generally. I don't think she singled out the PM. It appears many of the youth have been moving around the precinct mask-less.
Yes I noticed that hard right winger Helen Clark wasn't too impressed.
"Former Prime Minister Helen Clark said it was shocking to see all the unmasked people.
"Indeed shocking to see the unmasked youth parliament. What on Earth are they thinking. NZ is in the middle of a pandemic surge," she tweeted."
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2022/07/covid-19-david-seymour-other-politicians-chastise-jacinda-ardern-after-she-s-pictured-maskless-among-large-crowd.html
Personally I don't think its that big a deal as when Jacinda was overseas no one seemed to be wearing masks.
Don’t forget RNZ too!
And followed up today with the honourable and relevant King Dickhead Prebble calling 3 Waters a coup.
Masks off for a second is risky, but it’s all about grades of risk. Is it outside? Or in a well ventilated space? Is it for more than 15 minutes?
It slightly increases the risk.
I guess it shows that the right aren’t quite as confident in their leader so they need to run dirty politics too?
God what a load of hooey there is in this issue’s thread.
The New Zealand Russian community are publishing an online paper now, and this issue includes their responses to the war in Ukraine.
inhabitedisland1.pdf (russianforkids.co.nz)
Well, not much one-sided propaganda in there, is there?
No – the difference being that the authors actually know what they're talking about – it's fact based, rather than based on the political convenience of, say, a genocidal kleptocrat.
That newsletter was a good find Stuart.