The emails show police planned "random and multiple" bail checks on Stephens and egged each other on. One officer addressed his colleagues as "fellow nightstalker bros" and another signed off with "happy hunting".
Stephens, who was frustrated at night-time bail checks and texted a friend complaining that police "won't let me sleep", was shot and killed in Rotorua in July 2016 after lashing out and smashing up an empty police car.
Wtf ?The guy “might have” been bad? But are these Police for real? Sadly…yes. And many more similar cases. I CERTAINLY value good Police. At times a very difficult,stressful..and traumatic job. But these kind of …provocation and attitude need to be gone. So we can feel Respect for Our Police…..
Setting aside most individuals, the police as an organization lost their authority and public respect during the 81 Sprinbok tour. They have never regained it.
Setting aside the red squad in particular, the ordinary police officers that I saw behaved in an exemplary manner often under extreme provocation. That was the final game at Eden Park too. Mind you. I didn't last the distance because of the level of violence.
Peter Ellis is a horrible example (also from the 20th century) But not, I think, of police corruption.
It seems more to do with the moral panic around 'gay men' having 'access to' toddlers – and the gravy train that recovered memory syndrome proved to the dodgier side of the psych industry.
I think an appalling miscarriage of justice. But, not that the police were predominantly liable. The Crown prosecutors and the judge need to carry a lot of the blame here.
Scott Watson – (convicted 1999) – I'm truly in the 'don't know' basket. It's one of those cases where there seems to be just as much evidence on one side as is refuted by the other. Do you believe that the police fabricated evidence?
I'm not absolutely sure to whom you're referring to. My doubts about both of these cases is; Peter Ellis – after ploughing through Lynley Hood's 'A City Possessed' and the recanting of evidence and treatment of the 'most credible' witness by various Police Officers, as well as the Newsroom article mentioned in this thread. As for Scott Watson – of course I'm not sure of his innocence or guilt – the evidence from the late Guy Wallace about the boat used by Scott Watson – he swore on oath that it was a ketch – the Police insisted it was a sloop. Did they say this to fit their narrative.
Me too Patricia Bremner – I have a good friend whose late father regularly visited Arthur Allan Thomas while he was imprisoned. He was sure of his innocence.
Reason for updating is to establish that the historic problems cited (provocation and attitude) are still ongoing. No police involved in the Thomas case are still working – and many, if not most, are dead. So can hardly be influencing the current situation.
Halatau Naitoko – accidentally shot by police, while trying to stop a different guy hyped on meth, who'd already shot at police. Tragedy. The communication to the family was a disastrous failure. Do you believe that it was anything other than an accident?
"Do you believe that it was anything other than an accident?"
These folk are trained so I don't think the trigger was pulled accidentally and I am not privy to what the IPCA knows
While looking at the Halatau Naitoko case, I came across Adam Morehu, shot in the back, 4 metres from his gun. The cop that shot him was found to not comply with practice, procedure and lacked judgement and reasoning. "Officer B has never been identified and whether he faced disciplinary action is not known"
No, failures were caused by the "Type" of personality chosen.
Military background and macho values promoted
Rotorua had a really bad group who caused a big scandal that went right to the top.
Much as Goodfellow chose 5 ratbags in a row, the old boys club was operating as they swallowed the "Traffic Officers" and "Airforce". Boy did they choose some doozies as well.
I've run across my share of alpha folly, but, properly disciplined, these folk are not irredeemable. I'm inclined to rest much of the blame with command – who should be monitoring enough to detect and prevent the issue – not that that in any way excuses the perpetrators.
Racism and misogyny have been all too prevalent among the cops for decades. Many of us have found ourselves on the receiving end.
It was once automatic for them to take claims made by women with a grain of salt. It happened to me 25 to 30 years ago and reading this story triggers the memory. I was so angry and upset with their attitude (which presented itself in demeaning ways) I kept a filled water pistol in the glove-box of my car. The plan was: next time a police car crawled up beside me with the passenger window down, they were going to get a blast of water in their faces. Fortunately for me a suitable opportunity never occurred.
Seriously, I hope the police officers who were involved are themselves charged and brought to justice.
Bullying remains widespread throughout the police little more than a decade after a commission of inquiry into the organisation's culture, victims say.
Bullying remains widespread throughout the police little more than a decade after a commission of inquiry into the organisation's culture, victims say.
I had occasion to draw the attention of a senior teacher that the police officer had attacked his wife, and attacked his partner while on patrol, and was now doing "police in Schools"
His response, "that is outside my brief, I am responsible for him in the classroom. "
So I said "sit in on the lesson when it is a woman teacher please."
He did, and shortly afterwards the man was in court.
Another occasion the Police offered a fishing trip for two children. They were chosen… A few days later I had an opportunity to speak to one boy. "They did not take me Miss", Wow so those guys had one 12 year old on his own. Alarm bells went off. On talking to the boy concerned, he had gone from thrilled and up beat to sullen. I said "what went down that you are so unhappy?" His eyes filled "It was fishing Mrs B, fishing about my Uncle." 4 hours of fishing. I reported that but the other scandal broke…
There are good and bad, but the bad can really impact lives.
Northland GP writes about the Health reforms and the perilous state GP practices are in.
Millions spent on health reform, while missing the real problems. “ with spending aimed at the bureaucracy, not the coalface, ultimately they (health reforms) will be a glaring monument to the ideology over practicality mantra”
NZ healthcare is hanging on the will of the good people still going to work every day.
But yeah, Dr. Reti and the other fellow must not ge quite the right people to talk about healthcare and how it is delivered in NZ, and Northland specific due to what? Their political affiliation? Good grief. Do you check if the nurse that will give you a covid test is sufficiently lefty and ideologically approved, and if not, will you refuse their care?
Well I did not read of Dr. Reti complaining about the state of Whangarei's Hospital before there was a change of Govt.
There has been a great deal of invective against the incumbents by Reti since, all of it political, so no I don't rate him.
His medical credentials may be fine… but selective anger late in the piece feels false.
I think that Shane Reiti is one of the good guys in politics (even if you think he's on the wrong side politically).
There's lots of evidence that he's been campaigning strongly for years over the Whangerei hospital upgrade (as you would expect both as a local MP and a medical practitioner). You're just not likely to read it in the MSM (not a minister, not the health spokesman, not a national issue, at the time)
Geniunely pleasedfor you and your partner Visu. And of course this speaks volummes about the worth of our highly competent health work force (most of them are, they train for a long time and as the article says, Drs are amongst our brightest and best. There is also serious avenues for review when things go wrong).
I am pretty sure you are in Auckland, and as such, urban areas are less effected by the chronic GP shortage.
100% to Sabine at 2.1.1.
Reti is advocating for a third medical school amongst other things, a sign that he acknowledges we have a problem of insufficient Drs which will only get worse as more retire.
I hate to say this, because I hear it through the grape vine that Andrew Little is a very nice man, but I think he is proving to be an utter failure as a health minister.
If you read the article I posted this GP from Northland is talking about the funding system for GP s and how this is not keeping pace with inflation. How the most significant problem is shortages of rural GPs (higher rates of Maori).Littles health reforms are an example of ideology before seeing the bleeding obvious.
I have met Andrew Little and can confirm that he comes across as likeable. I would have voted for him had he not thrown the towel in the corner in a 'too hard for me to win' desperation.
I even believe that he is utterly honest in his quest to reform healthcare.
Neither however changes anything on the fact that several years after leaving Auckland i still travel there for my GP and Dentist as locally no one admits patients anymore as they are full to the brink.
We need more doctors and we need more nurses and that should not be a left or a right thing, but a common sense thing.
As for Shane Reti, we are Year 3 in a global pandemic that does not seem to slow down, and i would guess that Reti has learned a few things since, evidenced by him going up north to vaccinate people rather then stay in wellington to blather about shit no one actually cares. Which means he is growing as a human being. But hey he is the wrong type of human being. Right? A politically right leaning human being, and i am sure our moralistic superior lefty commentators here would never ever go to such a doctor whilst ill. Right?
Keep up Sabine. Reti has been found to have presented an article with skewed health graphs. see PLA on Reti above at 2.1 1.2 1.1 Cheers
Andrew Little realised he was a supporter not really a Leader who could inspire. As you say he is a good man. As to the Health Reforms, there is never a good time for change. He won sufficient Health vote to clear Hospital debt. That is huge.
I think it is very important Sabine that all health professionals check that they use your (?she/her in your case) correct pro nouns and that all patients quiz all health professionals about their pro nouns and their committment to using them at all times (even when someone is under anaesthetic).
Apparently the first email/notification to staff from our flash, politically correct new NZ Health included pro nouns!
He wants more and better-remunerated GPs. Add that to more and better-remunerated nurses, midwives, radiographers, junior hospital doctors, specialists, etc. And more drugs funded by Pharmac. Some of it will have to be done. But what about also asking the question: Why are so many people so sick before their time? and then aiming to eliminate poverty, financial insecurity, housing deprivation, despair and alienation – and regulating the food environment properly?
AB do I detect some reluctance to pay health staff more money?
Of course we have to pay them better. And we need to fund more drugs. Our track record on this is shocking .
We know what the social and environmental factors are that mean some have worse health outcomes. We also know what personal/psychological factors mean some do better than other others health wise (I am referring here to what our wonderful Dunedin study found about this).
Once illness is detected, the prognosis is most often better when intervention is early
AB do I detect some reluctance to pay health staff more money?
I detect massive reluctance to pay more tax to pay health staff more money – pay for the upcoming super and healthcare costs for the elderly, pay beneficiaries the same as NZS….
Dr Reti very nicely says he wants more money spent while working for a party who consistently takes away the money needed to pay for it. Maybe if he explained where he thinks the money will come from he might have more credibility. Until then he is just pissing in the wind.
I can only speak for my own experience – 2 weeks ago my partner went to the GP for a regular visit and mentioned a mole that had been identified by another health related service as warranting a medical examination. The GP took a picture of the mole and sent it to the relevant service at Green Lane Clinic. Within 2 days my partner had an email with an appointment at the Dermatology service for the following week. We duely turned up last Thursday, the mole was examined, photographed again and pronounced upon as not an immediate problem but to be looked at again in 3 months.
All done and dusted within a fortnight. Excellent, joined up services from all the health professionals involved, and the system that supports them.
My partner had bowel surgery in Feb 20, done laparoscopically in Invercargill. Over the intervening she’s developed several large hernias that coincide with the incisions and is in a lot of pain
After a lot of back and forth, denial and misdiagnosis she was finally referred to the hospital about a month ago by her GP. Got a letter last week saying the current wait is 14 weeks. We will then have a 400 km round trip to Invercargill for the appointment and my partner will have to deal with the hospital on her own as visitors and support aren’t allowed because of COVID
Saw a story straight out of "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World."
Some times you just have to shake your head.
North Carolina Looks to Remove Public EV Chargers, Probably to the Trash
A bill currently in the works in the North Carolina legislature would allocate $50,000 to get rid of free public EV chargers unless free gas pumps are built alongside.
"The organisation’s financial situation was a “significant concern”, with the Te Pūkenga group forecasting an at-least $110m full-year deficit. “This is $53.5m worse than budget ($56.5m deficit) and is predominantly due to lower provider-based enrolments,” she said."
"These enrolments were down by 12% on the previous year. This decline is in strong contrast to Te Pūkenga’s 2022 budget, which assumed a 4% increase in enrolments.”
Ok, that's (maybe) fair enough, but then there's this:
"There appears to be minimal rationalisation/transformation planned as part of the organisation changes, which will see financial performance remain poor.”
…and…
"The 2021 annual report also showed one employee – evidently the chief executive – was earning an income of between $670,000 and $679,999. By comparison, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is earning $471,049. A further five Te Pūkenga employees are earning between $380,000 and $451,000."
So there is an "apparent lag in progress to get the new organisation up and running", ahuge financial blowout.
Clearly none of those people's pay were linked to performance.
Hardly 5 minutes. April 2020 – so over 2 years in.
While you could expect anomalous results in the first year – as new systems bed down; to have a projected loss (which, given enrolment patterns – is almost certainly an actual loss) of double an already generous estimate – indicates that whatever was systemically wrong with the previous structure has been inherited by the new one.
More to the point, it appears that the senior leadership are abandoning ship – indicating that they have no faith in the organization, either.
"Dudgeon’s grim memo to Hipkins – which is dated May 16 but was published on the commission’s website late last week – sets out the details of Te Pūkenga’s troubles in stark detail."
"Hipkins’ own handwritten notes on the memo revealed he shared Dudgeon’s trepidation over Te Pukenga’s management and ability to get itself out of its financial hole "
But, in May, Hipkins was blithely telling us – nothing to see here, move right along.
‘‘So we do have to give them time and support to make sure they are getting to the bottom of the structural problems that they inherited from the 16 component organisations that make up Te Pukenga to make sure we get the sector back into a viable state.
‘‘I expect that we will see the delivery of a significantly better sector, but that is going to take some time.’’
The reference to the 2021 surplus is also disingenuous – as it was (according to the deputy CEO – the last woman standing) almost entirely due to the Covid-subsidies that government provided to the tertiary sector.
From your ODT link, Otago Polytechnic chief executive Dr Megan Gibbons:
"Putting learners at the forefront is to be applauded — as is the focus on strengthening our commitments to the Treaty of Waitangi and our partnerships with iwi."
But not, as Chris Hipkins points out, on 'immediate financial sustainability', or for that matter getting the structure up and running 'on schedule'.
"Two years is a totally unrealistic time span to expect results."
That's a fair comment, but progress toward achieving results is measurable. Progress so far seems to be lot's of overpaid bureaucrats, not a lot of delivery. And that's a picture emerging from NZTA as well just quietly.
Instead of parroting one article in MSM without thinking and further analysis you could read the actual report first and then perhaps try writing a more informed and considered comment. As it stands, you’re just a gullible armchair critic who’s simply too lazy to put a bit of effort into their contributions on this site.
Thanks for the link. It shows how bad things really are, and confirms the MSM article was on the money, so to speak.
“Te Pūkenga budgeted for a group deficit of in
2022. Te Pūkenga is now forecasting a group deficit of $110.0 million due to lower-than-expected domestic enrolments across the ITP subsidiaries. If achieved, this would be larger than any deficit recorded across the ITP sector. We continue to be concerned that little work has been undertaken to improve Te Pūkenga’s financial position and a strategy to improve its long-term sustainability has yet to be put in place. Te
Pūkenga note that a strategy is expected to be developed in the third quarter of 2022”.
So I've gone through the full memo. Thanks again for the link. Here's my informed and considered feedback.
The government first announced the ITP merger in February 2019. The (immediate past) CEO commenced with Te Pūkenga in July 2020.
In February 2022, a strategic review of the transformation programme was undertaken based on “concerns around a lack of progress”.
The overall conclusion of that review was that “the programme as currently configured will not meet the Minister’s expectations, as we understand them, for 1 January 2023, unless there is a clear intervention of additional resources with an appropriate mandate”. Not a good start.
The document you linked to is the memo referred to in the Stuff article, which reviews the TP March 2022 quarterly report.
The memo begins by publishing a RAG status summary, analysing 11 key work streams. Of the 11, 5 had moved forward, 4 were unchanged and 2 had gone backwards. I'll be measured and suggest this isn't exactly inspiring. However my original post was about financial aspects of TP, so I'll refer you specifically to the content under Financial Performance, and highlight this comment:
"We continue to be concerned that little work has been undertaken to improve Te Pūkenga’s financial position and a strategy to improve its long-term sustainability has yet to be put in place. Te Pūkenga note that a strategy is expected to be developed in the third quarter of 2022."
I'll be less measured here and say this is corporate code for 'pull finger'.
The memo then reviewed the recommendations of the strategic review undertaken in February. This review covers 7 recommendations. Items 2 and 4 contain notes by Minister Hipkins highlighting concerns. Item 6 questions progress on key elements of the ‘transformation’. Again, back to my original point, Hipkins notes this as his #1 concern:
“We are concerned that there appears to be minimal rationalisation/transformation planned as part of the organisational changes which will see financial performance remain poor. Te Pūkenga consider more restructuring will occur later as part of system rationalisation.”
The section titled Financial Performance then outlines a series of concerns, including:
enrolments ‘are down’
cash reserves are ‘expected to fall’
overall financial reporting remains poor’
we ‘continue to have serious concerns about Te Pūkenga’s future sustainability’, and
continue to assess the Te Pūkenga group as ‘high risk’’.
It's horrible. Hipkins and Gillian Dudgeon have their work cut out.
At 5737ppm, the equivalent of one in every seven breaths I took on the bus was air other people had breathed out. I texted a friend: "OMG, the readings are so high I may as well let the other passengers lick my face!"
I was being a little gross, because even according to a scientist, it is a little gross.
"You can think of it as spit particles, tiny spit particles are what you are breathing in," says University of Auckland aerosol chemist Dr Joel Rindelaub. "It's breath backwash that gets people infected."
He doesn't endorse passenger face-licking, but when CO2 inside the bus is 5737ppm he jokes, "it probably wouldn't even hurt, right?"
The level of CO2 outdoors is about 420ppm. Rindelaub says a good indoor reading would be anything below 800ppm. This is also the level suggested by the United States Centers for Disease Control for indoor spaces as a benchmark for good ventilation. When readings get above 1000ppm there could be a high risk of Covid-19 transmission if someone in the space is infected.
"If you're above 2000, then that's a huge red flag."
High CO2 levels don't automatically mean you're going to catch Covid-19 – there has to be infected particles in the space, but they can indicate poor ventilation and a likelihood of high particle levels, if no filtration is used.
And a large part of the reason that the majority of my friends who work in the CBD, continue to work from home, or, if their presence is absolutely essential, drive in and work pays for parking. Admittedly (due to age) mostly mid-to-late career professionals – who have that option and leverage on their employers.
None. Not one. Would take the bus – even though the majority were regular bus users pre-Covid.
Ferry is perceived as slightly less risky – you can stand outside – but still have to navigate through the crush of people in the ferry buildings on boarding/disembarking.
World according to Chris: it’s over COVID and not at all battening down the hatches as the graphs swing upward once more with prior vaccinations working poorly against the new variant.
He’s been over to get the leadership advice of the Tory party- Osborne and Cameron whose hubris and austerity gave us Brexit and Boris who caused far too many Britons to die from Covid through lackadaisical leadership. So- worry about Chris because of his heroes.
And also his own words about business- they’re not doing it for themselves and they’re soft because the government is helping them so his government will be the government that will back them but presumably not help them. Or something.
A while ago while I was driving to work, and stuck in rush hour traffic slowly moving through the traffic lights. Watching all these people in their cars going about their business. I pondered what would happen if the fuel supply was just simply cut off, how would all these people get to work.
Now I know. People are inventive, and resilient, and imaginative.
Nothing would stop them getting to where they wanted to go.
A true leader, leads from the front, often ahead of their followers on many issues, not afraid to try to win their followers over and give a lead forward, even if it makes them unpopular. We saw that with this country’s leader over the vaccine mandates,
Used to feeding and inflaming their base emotions and prejudices and inciting the mob for his own ends, Trump’s not that sort of leader.
"….scared to say the word “vaccine” in front of his own supporters."
As has been so often noted, bullies are also mostly cowards.
The reason why the Right will have a resurgence is because the Left continuously refuses to follow through and falls short.
But there is still time for Democrats to move ahead. We reviewed each of their big policy items, why they failed, and scored (out of 5) their chance of passage before the midterms:
The Left's great dilemma …. when doing "something" and failing is just as damaging as doing nothing and doing anything half effective is seen as "progressive"and needs must be reversed by the Right.
Oh – and both forgetting that the worm always turns ….. and another Trump always lurks in the future!
I agree. Half effective "progressive" policy, gives the progressive movement a bad name. Pretty much guaranteeing the lurking future Trump at the levers of power. With even worse outcomes, than the first one.
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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 ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
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. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
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 ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Council members voted 21 to 4 in favour of Ahluwalia returning to the Laucala campus following a much-awaited meeting in Vanuatu this week. It comes as USP and its two unions — the Association of the University of the South Pacific Staff (AUSPS) and the Administration and Support Staff Union ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicola Henry, Professor & Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Social and Global Studies Centre, RMIT University Shutterstock Following an emergency meeting of the National Cabinet this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a raft of measures to tackle the problem ...
Analysis - A poll showing the opposition is more popular than the government raises questions, politicians go through their 'trial by pay rise' and a Green MP loses her cool in the debating chamber. ...
The entire stretch of Tokomaru Bay on the East Coast will be subject to a joint customary marine title for two hapū, and extending up to four miles out to sea. A High Court judge has found the two groups, who during the case settled a dispute over boundaries for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Hall, Lecturer, Media & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University A longstanding feud between TikTok and Universal Music Group seems to have finally reached an end, with both parties signing a deal that will see Universal-backed music returned to the social media ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Siobhan O’Dean, Postdoctoral Research Associate, The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney After several highly publicised alleged murders of women in Australia, the Albanese government this week pledged more than A$925 million over five years ...
Political parties have now fully disclosed the donations they received last year - with National getting more than double the cash of any other party. ...
A Pacific regionalism expert has called out New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS military pact. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard de Grijs, Professor of Astrophysics, Macquarie University Bruno Scramgnon/Pexels All systems are “go” for tonight’s launch of China’s next step in a carefully planned lunar exploration program. Placed on top of a powerful Long March 5 rocket, the Chang’e 6 ...
National returned a massive donation the day after a Newsroom story linked the donors to a property being investigated for operating unlawfully as a migrant workers’ hostel. The party’s 2023 donation filings, released on Friday, show it returned a $200,000 donation from Buen Holdings on August 23. That was the ...
Pacific Media Watch New Zealand has slumped to an unprecedented 19th place in the annual Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index survey released today on World Press Freedom Day — May 3. This was a drop of six places from 13th last year when it slipped out of its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joshua Black, Political Historian and Administrator Officer, Australian Historical Association, Australian National University Australia has had its fair share of public record-keeping controversies in recent years. Some have been mere farce, as in the case of two formerly government-owned filing cabinets (containing ...
Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), a United Nations-affiliated organization dedicated to fostering peace through civilian-led initiatives, has issued a statement in response to the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. ...
A poem by Tessa Keenan, from AUP New Poets 10. Mātou These days we are a photograph; one of a farm strewn with cows that used to be bright harakeke or swamp. The kids point at it and say the sun sits behind a smudge (left by someone at Christmas); ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (Faber & Faber, $25)The masterful Irish writer ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. Key facts Marriages and civil unions In ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lennon Y.C. Chang, Associate Professor of Cyber Risk and Policy, Deakin University Taiwan stands out as a beacon of democracy, innovation and resilience in an increasingly autocratic region. But this is under growing threat. In recent years, China has used a variety ...
In this excerpt from her new memoir, Dame Susan Devoy remembers her turn as star contestant on the 2022 season of Celebrity Treasure Island. The most anxious time of every day was pre-elimination, when you knew this could be your final day on the show. I felt such contradictory emotions, ...
A week that began in triumph ended in an all-too-familiar disaster for the Green Party. Duncan Greive asks if there’s something in the mission that breaks its best and brightest. A long, strange week for the Green party began with a fantastic poll result. On one level this is hardly ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Vanuatu’s former prime minister and opposition MP Ishmael Kalsakau has stepped down — just two days after he confirmed he was the rightful opposition leader. Kalsakau, MP for Port Vila, confirmed to ABC’s Pacific Beat, and the Vanuatu Daily Post on Thursday that he ...
What’s to blame for the coalition’s choppy start? Six months in, and the mojo meter is in the doldrums. A new poll would put National out of power and sees its leader, Chris Luxon, sliding in popularity. How much is it about policy, how much coalition management and a perception ...
The striking report goes far beyond the proposed repeal of the Oranga Tamariki Act’s Treaty of Waitangi provision, and its impact should be felt far beyond the unique circumstances of the claim it addresses. Earlier this week, the Waitangi Tribunal released an interim report on the government’s proposed repeal of ...
The world has been experiencing a productivity slowdown, from which New Zealand has not been exempt. COVID-19 temporarily boosted labour productivity, but more recently, productivity has retreated. The overall trend since 2007 has been one of slow productivity ...
What’s more wasteful than spending $315k on syrup and machine maintenance? Trying to drum up a controversy about it.Cast your mind back to the pre-pandemic idylls of 2019. A “rat” was a disgusting rodent and not a self-administered plague test; the sixth Labour government was in power; and the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Professor of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Monash University, Monash University Ken stocker/Shutterstock In the wake of numerous killings of women allegedly by men’s violence in 2024, thousands of Australians have joined rallies across the country to demand action ...
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Wtf ?The guy “might have” been bad? But are these Police for real? Sadly…yes. And many more similar cases. I CERTAINLY value good Police. At times a very difficult,stressful..and traumatic job. But these kind of …provocation and attitude need to be gone. So we can feel Respect for Our Police…..
Setting aside most individuals, the police as an organization lost their authority and public respect during the 81 Sprinbok tour. They have never regained it.
Over 50% of the population weren’t even born then!?
No, Don't agree there.
Setting aside the red squad in particular, the ordinary police officers that I saw behaved in an exemplary manner often under extreme provocation. That was the final game at Eden Park too. Mind you. I didn't last the distance because of the level of violence.
Then follow that up with the realization of the framing of Arthur Thomas for the murder of Jeannettte and Harvey Crewe.
To the best of my knowledge no one has been held accountable within the Police.
Also more than 40 years ago. Could you update your examples to the 21st century, at least.
Peter Ellis and Scott Watson spring to mind.
Peter Ellis is a horrible example (also from the 20th century) But not, I think, of police corruption.
It seems more to do with the moral panic around 'gay men' having 'access to' toddlers – and the gravy train that recovered memory syndrome proved to the dodgier side of the psych industry.
I think an appalling miscarriage of justice. But, not that the police were predominantly liable. The Crown prosecutors and the judge need to carry a lot of the blame here.
Scott Watson – (convicted 1999) – I'm truly in the 'don't know' basket. It's one of those cases where there seems to be just as much evidence on one side as is refuted by the other. Do you believe that the police fabricated evidence?
Most of these "Satanic Panic" cases had one thing in common – a fundamentalist Christian on the prosecuting side.
I don't know a lot about the ChCh case – is that the case there? Or are you commenting generally?
I thoroughly recommend Lynley Hood's A City Possesed about the Civic Creche case.
A disconcerting aspect was the senior cop investigating was having a relationship with the main complainants mother.
That 'investigation' was jeopardised by police zealotry in the recently formed child sex investigation team.
Police interview techniques
were dodgy and children's evidence was presented selectively. But, like Thomas, they got their man.
Again, no one has been held responsible.
We are more likely to get landlord politicians to sort housing before cops hold their own to account.
Peter Ellis + 1
And not only the justice system, but the media and academia.
Do not link Peter Ellis and Scott Watson together.
One was an innocent man who deserves to have his reputation restored and the other is a piece of shit
I tend to agree with you, but not everyone does.
(Assuming I've interpreted your comment correctly)
I feel bad for that girl, her memories so warped and distorted
Here's from someone who agrees with you.
I tend to think he's innocent. What a horrible business.
Absolutely horrible indeed
Totally agree with your views here and the precise way the innocent man and piece of shit are expressed
I'm not absolutely sure to whom you're referring to. My doubts about both of these cases is; Peter Ellis – after ploughing through Lynley Hood's 'A City Possessed' and the recanting of evidence and treatment of the 'most credible' witness by various Police Officers, as well as the Newsroom article mentioned in this thread. As for Scott Watson – of course I'm not sure of his innocence or guilt – the evidence from the late Guy Wallace about the boat used by Scott Watson – he swore on oath that it was a ketch – the Police insisted it was a sloop. Did they say this to fit their narrative.
Was refers to Peter Ellis, is refers to Scott Watson.
Scott Watson is a complete prick, extremely arrogant and volatile, especially when he doesn't get his way
Well I was 40 then, and it still worries me.
Me too Patricia Bremner – I have a good friend whose late father regularly visited Arthur Allan Thomas while he was imprisoned. He was sure of his innocence.
JillyBee
"Also more than 40 years ago. Could you update your examples to the 21st century, at least."
Why?
The lack of accountability is the same.
Since you asked: Halatau Naitoko
Reason for updating is to establish that the historic problems cited (provocation and attitude) are still ongoing. No police involved in the Thomas case are still working – and many, if not most, are dead. So can hardly be influencing the current situation.
Halatau Naitoko – accidentally shot by police, while trying to stop a different guy hyped on meth, who'd already shot at police. Tragedy. The communication to the family was a disastrous failure. Do you believe that it was anything other than an accident?
"Do you believe that it was anything other than an accident?"
These folk are trained so I don't think the trigger was pulled accidentally and I am not privy to what the IPCA knows
While looking at the Halatau Naitoko case, I came across Adam Morehu, shot in the back, 4 metres from his gun. The cop that shot him was found to not comply with practice, procedure and lacked judgement and reasoning. "Officer B has never been identified and whether he faced disciplinary action is not known"
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/109880551/they-should-never-have-died-grieving-mothers-resist-new-legal-protection-for-police-who-kill#:~:text=Halatau%20Naitoko%20was%20killed%20on,stander%2C%20and%20wounded%20another%20driver.
There have always been those that got carried away – but the vast majority mature over time to become solid citizens.
An excess of enthusiasm and a lack of supervision causes problems in many occupations. It is to be hoped those concerned will learn the lesson well.
No, failures were caused by the "Type" of personality chosen.
Military background and macho values promoted
Rotorua had a really bad group who caused a big scandal that went right to the top.
Much as Goodfellow chose 5 ratbags in a row, the old boys club was operating as they swallowed the "Traffic Officers" and "Airforce". Boy did they choose some doozies as well.
I've run across my share of alpha folly, but, properly disciplined, these folk are not irredeemable. I'm inclined to rest much of the blame with command – who should be monitoring enough to detect and prevent the issue – not that that in any way excuses the perpetrators.
Thanks for those links PLA.
Racism and misogyny have been all too prevalent among the cops for decades. Many of us have found ourselves on the receiving end.
It was once automatic for them to take claims made by women with a grain of salt. It happened to me 25 to 30 years ago and reading this story triggers the memory. I was so angry and upset with their attitude (which presented itself in demeaning ways) I kept a filled water pistol in the glove-box of my car. The plan was: next time a police car crawled up beside me with the passenger window down, they were going to get a blast of water in their faces. Fortunately for me a suitable opportunity never occurred.
Seriously, I hope the police officers who were involved are themselves charged and brought to justice.
Hi Anne. Yes I am quite concerned about it. And my links above…clearly show a bullying culture , as per usual,TOP DOWN.
Surely after all the exposure and whistle blowers (incl many brave Police ! ) this culture must end.
My apologies….my Link had been duplicated. Updated now.
I had occasion to draw the attention of a senior teacher that the police officer had attacked his wife, and attacked his partner while on patrol, and was now doing "police in Schools"
His response, "that is outside my brief, I am responsible for him in the classroom. "
So I said "sit in on the lesson when it is a woman teacher please."
He did, and shortly afterwards the man was in court.
Another occasion the Police offered a fishing trip for two children. They were chosen… A few days later I had an opportunity to speak to one boy. "They did not take me Miss", Wow so those guys had one 12 year old on his own. Alarm bells went off. On talking to the boy concerned, he had gone from thrilled and up beat to sullen. I said "what went down that you are so unhappy?" His eyes filled "It was fishing Mrs B, fishing about my Uncle." 4 hours of fishing. I reported that but the other scandal broke…
There are good and bad, but the bad can really impact lives.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/129232736/health-reforms-are-missing-the-problems-at-the-coalface
Northland GP writes about the Health reforms and the perilous state GP practices are in.
Millions spent on health reform, while missing the real problems. “ with spending aimed at the bureaucracy, not the coalface, ultimately they (health reforms) will be a glaring monument to the ideology over practicality mantra”
Yep the NZ Health system is/has a problem. Not quite sure if Dr Geoff Cunningham or his mate Dr Reti are quite the right people to take as gospel…
NZ healthcare is hanging on the will of the good people still going to work every day.
But yeah, Dr. Reti and the other fellow must not ge quite the right people to talk about healthcare and how it is delivered in NZ, and Northland specific due to what? Their political affiliation? Good grief. Do you check if the nurse that will give you a covid test is sufficiently lefty and ideologically approved, and if not, will you refuse their care?
Just lol
Well I did not read of Dr. Reti complaining about the state of Whangarei's Hospital before there was a change of Govt.
There has been a great deal of invective against the incumbents by Reti since, all of it political, so no I don't rate him.
His medical credentials may be fine… but selective anger late in the piece feels false.
I think that Shane Reiti is one of the good guys in politics (even if you think he's on the wrong side politically).
There's lots of evidence that he's been campaigning strongly for years over the Whangerei hospital upgrade (as you would expect both as a local MP and a medical practitioner). You're just not likely to read it in the MSM (not a minister, not the health spokesman, not a national issue, at the time)
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/dr-shane-reti-money-in-place-for-whangarei-hospital-upgrade-why-the-delay/MWJZSHGYJUI2WL5VCLX5QVNUNM/
And, lots of evidence that he actually continues to work closely with the community (as well as having undeniable political opinions).
https://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/article/print-archive/undoctored/not-playing-politics-third-career-dr-shane-reti
Yea…I dont reckon he’s even “one of the good guys” from the Nats…let alone politics. You of course, are entitled to your view..such as it is….
Thanks for permission to have an opinion.
As a matter of interest, who do you think is 'one of the good guys' from the National side of the house?
Oh thats quite alright : )
Re Nats…hmm.
https://www.parliament.nz/en/mps-and-electorates/members-of-parliament/
I honestly did look….and…..pretty thin on "good guys" .
Maureen Pugh maybe gets a Survived Lightning AND Simon Bridges Award.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maureen_Pugh#Personal_life
So…there you have it. Colours. Nailed.
Feel free to Opinion : )
Compelling links PLA. Plain facts. Nothing political there. A nice bloke Mr Reti may be, but tunnel-vision big time.
Here's some more plain facts for you, Anne
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/is-mental-health-worse-after-covid
So? What's that supposed to do with the price of fish?
A different perspective on the story (and statistics) as you'd see if you actually read the article.
No. I did not read your link Belladonna. Don’t always have the time or the inclination.
Don't know what mental health had to do with the linked subject matter re-PLA@ 2.1.1.2.1.1, which I did happen to read earlier in the day.
My less than sincere apologies if, for some reason unknown to me, you took umbrage. 😮
Geniunely pleasedfor you and your partner Visu. And of course this speaks volummes about the worth of our highly competent health work force (most of them are, they train for a long time and as the article says, Drs are amongst our brightest and best. There is also serious avenues for review when things go wrong).
I am pretty sure you are in Auckland, and as such, urban areas are less effected by the chronic GP shortage.
100% to Sabine at 2.1.1.
Reti is advocating for a third medical school amongst other things, a sign that he acknowledges we have a problem of insufficient Drs which will only get worse as more retire.
I hate to say this, because I hear it through the grape vine that Andrew Little is a very nice man, but I think he is proving to be an utter failure as a health minister.
If you read the article I posted this GP from Northland is talking about the funding system for GP s and how this is not keeping pace with inflation. How the most significant problem is shortages of rural GPs (higher rates of Maori).Littles health reforms are an example of ideology before seeing the bleeding obvious.
I have met Andrew Little and can confirm that he comes across as likeable. I would have voted for him had he not thrown the towel in the corner in a 'too hard for me to win' desperation.
I even believe that he is utterly honest in his quest to reform healthcare.
Neither however changes anything on the fact that several years after leaving Auckland i still travel there for my GP and Dentist as locally no one admits patients anymore as they are full to the brink.
We need more doctors and we need more nurses and that should not be a left or a right thing, but a common sense thing.
As for Shane Reti, we are Year 3 in a global pandemic that does not seem to slow down, and i would guess that Reti has learned a few things since, evidenced by him going up north to vaccinate people rather then stay in wellington to blather about shit no one actually cares. Which means he is growing as a human being. But hey he is the wrong type of human being. Right? A politically right leaning human being, and i am sure our moralistic superior lefty commentators here would never ever go to such a doctor whilst ill. Right?
Keep up Sabine. Reti has been found to have presented an article with skewed health graphs. see PLA on Reti above at 2.1 1.2 1.1 Cheers
Andrew Little realised he was a supporter not really a Leader who could inspire. As you say he is a good man. As to the Health Reforms, there is never a good time for change. He won sufficient Health vote to clear Hospital debt. That is huge.
Or, to take a different interpretation, he used graphs presented to him in the answer to an official information request, without careful scrutiny.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/is-mental-health-worse-after-covid
He wouldn't be the first politician to take data which supported his hypothesis at face value.
The only surgeon who’s allowed to operate on me is one with two Left hands.
I think it is very important Sabine that all health professionals check that they use your (?she/her in your case) correct pro nouns and that all patients quiz all health professionals about their pro nouns and their committment to using them at all times (even when someone is under anaesthetic).
Apparently the first email/notification to staff from our flash, politically correct new NZ Health included pro nouns!
He wants more and better-remunerated GPs. Add that to more and better-remunerated nurses, midwives, radiographers, junior hospital doctors, specialists, etc. And more drugs funded by Pharmac. Some of it will have to be done. But what about also asking the question: Why are so many people so sick before their time? and then aiming to eliminate poverty, financial insecurity, housing deprivation, despair and alienation – and regulating the food environment properly?
AB do I detect some reluctance to pay health staff more money?
Of course we have to pay them better. And we need to fund more drugs. Our track record on this is shocking .
We know what the social and environmental factors are that mean some have worse health outcomes. We also know what personal/psychological factors mean some do better than other others health wise (I am referring here to what our wonderful Dunedin study found about this).
Once illness is detected, the prognosis is most often better when intervention is early
AB do I detect some reluctance to pay health staff more money?
I detect massive reluctance to pay more tax to pay health staff more money – pay for the upcoming super and healthcare costs for the elderly, pay beneficiaries the same as NZS….
Dr Reti very nicely says he wants more money spent while working for a party who consistently takes away the money needed to pay for it. Maybe if he explained where he thinks the money will come from he might have more credibility. Until then he is just pissing in the wind.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/129221982/afraid-stressed-and-always-facing-more-demand–a-gps-diagnosis-of-our-health-system
REally getting very, very serious. A Tauranga GP speaks up about his workload.
I can only speak for my own experience – 2 weeks ago my partner went to the GP for a regular visit and mentioned a mole that had been identified by another health related service as warranting a medical examination. The GP took a picture of the mole and sent it to the relevant service at Green Lane Clinic. Within 2 days my partner had an email with an appointment at the Dermatology service for the following week. We duely turned up last Thursday, the mole was examined, photographed again and pronounced upon as not an immediate problem but to be looked at again in 3 months.
All done and dusted within a fortnight. Excellent, joined up services from all the health professionals involved, and the system that supports them.
A somewhat different experience in Central Otago
My partner had bowel surgery in Feb 20, done laparoscopically in Invercargill. Over the intervening she’s developed several large hernias that coincide with the incisions and is in a lot of pain
After a lot of back and forth, denial and misdiagnosis she was finally referred to the hospital about a month ago by her GP. Got a letter last week saying the current wait is 14 weeks. We will then have a 400 km round trip to Invercargill for the appointment and my partner will have to deal with the hospital on her own as visitors and support aren’t allowed because of COVID
Got serious doubts she will get through it.
Graeme, I am very sorry to hear this. And I truly wish you all the Best.
Really sorry to hear this Graeme. Cancer is cruel
Unfortunately it’s not cancer, if it was there would be a lit more action. This is most likely post op stuff probably going back 10 years
So sorry Graeme. I made an incorrect assumption! My mind is on cancer a lot lately.
Take care. Not good that you and your partner have to endure this
That is very hard Graeme. All the best to you both.
Saw a story straight out of "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World."
Some times you just have to shake your head.
North Carolina Looks to Remove Public EV Chargers, Probably to the Trash
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a40543385/north-carolina-wants-remove-free-public-ev-chargers/
Don't they just hate discrimination in Americar, the land of the free……….
Please keep an eye on the weather. Keep safe all.
Te Pūkenga off to a great start. Not.
"The organisation’s financial situation was a “significant concern”, with the Te Pūkenga group forecasting an at-least $110m full-year deficit. “This is $53.5m worse than budget ($56.5m deficit) and is predominantly due to lower provider-based enrolments,” she said."
"These enrolments were down by 12% on the previous year. This decline is in strong contrast to Te Pūkenga’s 2022 budget, which assumed a 4% increase in enrolments.”
Ok, that's (maybe) fair enough, but then there's this:
"There appears to be minimal rationalisation/transformation planned as part of the organisation changes, which will see financial performance remain poor.”
…and…
"The 2021 annual report also showed one employee – evidently the chief executive – was earning an income of between $670,000 and $679,999. By comparison, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is earning $471,049. A further five Te Pūkenga employees are earning between $380,000 and $451,000."
So there is an "apparent lag in progress to get the new organisation up and running", a huge financial blowout.
Clearly none of those people's pay were linked to performance.
Surely the polytechnic clusterfuk is a reason to not 3Water.
And not the only reason.
https://mobile.twitter.com/kehetauhauaga/status/1546208189783216128
Yes another reason
I am not able to read that tweet – maybe the author considers me to be too much of a bottom feeder to warrant consideration.
It's today's episode of the Mahuta whanau affair. Twitter is gobsmackingly toxic, but whoever the post is authored by has been very busy.
You know that Polytechnics were in trouble before this Government was even elected. Right?
Whatever was wrong, the merging of the polytechs into a uber-organization seems not to have fixed it.
I wouldn't expect it to in five minutes.
Hardly 5 minutes. April 2020 – so over 2 years in.
While you could expect anomalous results in the first year – as new systems bed down; to have a projected loss (which, given enrolment patterns – is almost certainly an actual loss) of double an already generous estimate – indicates that whatever was systemically wrong with the previous structure has been inherited by the new one.
More to the point, it appears that the senior leadership are abandoning ship – indicating that they have no faith in the organization, either.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/300633044/mega-polytech-te-pkenga-boss-on-personal-leave-for-unspecified-period
https://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/129230563/damning-report-reveals-financial-meltdown-at-new-mega-polytech-te-pkenga
But, in May, Hipkins was blithely telling us – nothing to see here, move right along.
https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/southland/polytech-merger-deficit-horrendous-waste
The reference to the 2021 surplus is also disingenuous – as it was (according to the deputy CEO – the last woman standing) almost entirely due to the Covid-subsidies that government provided to the tertiary sector.
From your ODT link, Otago Polytechnic chief executive Dr Megan Gibbons:
"Putting learners at the forefront is to be applauded — as is the focus on strengthening our commitments to the Treaty of Waitangi and our partnerships with iwi."
But not, as Chris Hipkins points out, on 'immediate financial sustainability', or for that matter getting the structure up and running 'on schedule'.
Having had to actually implement major changes in an organisation. Nowhere near as large or complicated as Polytechnics. BTW.
Two years is a totally unrealistic time span to expect results.
Noting. It took a long time for the results of right wing meddling to destroy them.
Glad to hear that you feel there is nothing to worry over. No doubt Chris Hipkins will look forward to receiving your valuable advice on this issue.
He doesn't appear to be too happy with the progress…..
Not what I said.
Certainly what you implied
"I wouldn't expect it to in 5 minutes"
"Two years is a totally unrealistic time span to expect results."
That's a fair comment, but progress toward achieving results is measurable. Progress so far seems to be lot's of overpaid bureaucrats, not a lot of delivery. And that's a picture emerging from NZTA as well just quietly.
Instead of parroting one article in MSM without thinking and further analysis you could read the actual report first and then perhaps try writing a more informed and considered comment. As it stands, you’re just a gullible armchair critic who’s simply too lazy to put a bit of effort into their contributions on this site.
https://www.tec.govt.nz/assets/Ministerial-papers/AM-22-00207-Te-Pukenga-monitoring-report-March-2022-quarter-FINAL-004_Redacted.pdf
Thanks for the link. It shows how bad things really are, and confirms the MSM article was on the money, so to speak.
“Te Pūkenga budgeted for a group deficit of in
2022. Te Pūkenga is now forecasting a group deficit of $110.0 million due to lower-than-expected domestic enrolments across the ITP subsidiaries. If achieved, this would be larger than any deficit recorded across the ITP sector. We continue to be concerned that little work has been undertaken to improve Te Pūkenga’s financial position and a strategy to improve its long-term sustainability has yet to be put in place. Te
Pūkenga note that a strategy is expected to be developed in the third quarter of 2022”.
So I've gone through the full memo. Thanks again for the link. Here's my informed and considered feedback.
The government first announced the ITP merger in February 2019. The (immediate past) CEO commenced with Te Pūkenga in July 2020.
In February 2022, a strategic review of the transformation programme was undertaken based on “concerns around a lack of progress”.
The overall conclusion of that review was that “the programme as currently configured will not meet the Minister’s expectations, as we understand them, for 1 January 2023, unless there is a clear intervention of additional resources with an appropriate mandate”. Not a good start.
The document you linked to is the memo referred to in the Stuff article, which reviews the TP March 2022 quarterly report.
The memo begins by publishing a RAG status summary, analysing 11 key work streams. Of the 11, 5 had moved forward, 4 were unchanged and 2 had gone backwards. I'll be measured and suggest this isn't exactly inspiring. However my original post was about financial aspects of TP, so I'll refer you specifically to the content under Financial Performance, and highlight this comment:
"We continue to be concerned that little work has been undertaken to improve Te Pūkenga’s financial position and a strategy to improve its long-term sustainability has yet to be put in place. Te Pūkenga note that a strategy is expected to be developed in the third quarter of 2022."
I'll be less measured here and say this is corporate code for 'pull finger'.
The memo then reviewed the recommendations of the strategic review undertaken in February. This review covers 7 recommendations. Items 2 and 4 contain notes by Minister Hipkins highlighting concerns. Item 6 questions progress on key elements of the ‘transformation’. Again, back to my original point, Hipkins notes this as his #1 concern:
“We are concerned that there appears to be minimal rationalisation/transformation planned as part of the organisational changes which will see financial performance remain poor. Te Pūkenga consider more restructuring will occur later as part of system rationalisation.”
The section titled Financial Performance then outlines a series of concerns, including:
It's horrible. Hipkins and Gillian Dudgeon have their work cut out.
The air that we breathe.
At 5737ppm, the equivalent of one in every seven breaths I took on the bus was air other people had breathed out. I texted a friend: "OMG, the readings are so high I may as well let the other passengers lick my face!"
I was being a little gross, because even according to a scientist, it is a little gross.
"You can think of it as spit particles, tiny spit particles are what you are breathing in," says University of Auckland aerosol chemist Dr Joel Rindelaub. "It's breath backwash that gets people infected."
He doesn't endorse passenger face-licking, but when CO2 inside the bus is 5737ppm he jokes, "it probably wouldn't even hurt, right?"
The level of CO2 outdoors is about 420ppm. Rindelaub says a good indoor reading would be anything below 800ppm. This is also the level suggested by the United States Centers for Disease Control for indoor spaces as a benchmark for good ventilation. When readings get above 1000ppm there could be a high risk of Covid-19 transmission if someone in the space is infected.
"If you're above 2000, then that's a huge red flag."
High CO2 levels don't automatically mean you're going to catch Covid-19 – there has to be infected particles in the space, but they can indicate poor ventilation and a likelihood of high particle levels, if no filtration is used.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/470690/whose-breath-are-you-breathing
And a large part of the reason that the majority of my friends who work in the CBD, continue to work from home, or, if their presence is absolutely essential, drive in and work pays for parking. Admittedly (due to age) mostly mid-to-late career professionals – who have that option and leverage on their employers.
None. Not one. Would take the bus – even though the majority were regular bus users pre-Covid.
Ferry is perceived as slightly less risky – you can stand outside – but still have to navigate through the crush of people in the ferry buildings on boarding/disembarking.
World according to Chris: it’s over COVID and not at all battening down the hatches as the graphs swing upward once more with prior vaccinations working poorly against the new variant.
He’s been over to get the leadership advice of the Tory party- Osborne and Cameron whose hubris and austerity gave us Brexit and Boris who caused far too many Britons to die from Covid through lackadaisical leadership. So- worry about Chris because of his heroes.
And also his own words about business- they’re not doing it for themselves and they’re soft because the government is helping them so his government will be the government that will back them but presumably not help them. Or something.
Here’s the RNZ story
'
Frogs gather to talk about the rising heat.
'Is it getting hot in here?'
No mention of climate change, no mention of turning the heat down by cutting emissions,
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/breaking-uk-weather-amber-warning-27452063#source=push
And so it goes.
A while ago while I was driving to work, and stuck in rush hour traffic slowly moving through the traffic lights. Watching all these people in their cars going about their business. I pondered what would happen if the fuel supply was just simply cut off, how would all these people get to work.
Now I know. People are inventive, and resilient, and imaginative.
Nothing would stop them getting to where they wanted to go.
https://theprint.in/world/charred-coconut-shell-stoves-cycling-5-hacks-helping-sri-lankans-survive-economic-crisis/1033985/?
A true leader, leads from the front, often ahead of their followers on many issues, not afraid to try to win their followers over and give a lead forward, even if it makes them unpopular. We saw that with this country’s leader over the vaccine mandates,
Used to feeding and inflaming their base emotions and prejudices and inciting the mob for his own ends, Trump’s not that sort of leader.
"….scared to say the word “vaccine” in front of his own supporters."
As has been so often noted, bullies are also mostly cowards.
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-finds-one-word-ll-no-longer-say-followers-rcna37579?cid=nt_npd_ms_as_ms_220127
The reason why the Right will have a resurgence is because the Left continuously refuses to follow through and falls short.
Guess what. Not one of Biden's promises has 5 out 5 chance of being passed.
Voting rights & democracy reform: Chances of priority passing before the midterms: 1/5
Police reform: Chances of priority passing before the midterms: 0/5
Enshrining abortion rights nationally: Chances of priority passing before the midterms: 0/5
The economy and climate: Chances of priority passing before the midterms: 2/5
Expanding healthcare coverage: Chances of priority passing before the midterms: 3/5
By all measures this is a failure for the Left and why people look to the Right for solutions to their problems.
The Left's great dilemma …. when doing "something" and failing is just as damaging as doing nothing and doing anything half effective is seen as "progressive"and needs must be reversed by the Right.
Oh – and both forgetting that the worm always turns ….. and another Trump always lurks in the future!
I agree. Half effective "progressive" policy, gives the progressive movement a bad name. Pretty much guaranteeing the lurking future Trump at the levers of power. With even worse outcomes, than the first one.
Yep – and all supported by a legion taught to hate and demand UTU …. in which the Left are mere pikers compared to the Far Right