“The EU accuses Lukashenko of manufacturing the crisis in revenge for earlier sanctions in response to a violent crackdown on mass street protests against his rule in 2020. Germany said he must be countered with all strength.
“Lukashenko is making an inhumane power play with people,” German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, who is set to become the country’s next chancellor, said.
Lukashenko and Russia have said the EU was not living up to its humanitarian values by preventing migrants from crossing.
Large groups fleeing conflicts and poverty in the Middle East and elsewhere started flying to Minsk this spring with the help of Belarusian travel agencies.
Many have travelled to the border with Poland, Lithuania or Latvia and tried to cross into the EU, sometimes using wire cutters they say were given to them by Belarusian border guards.”
………………….
Lukashenko’s the fly in the ointment here. Not sure I’d read too much into the posturing going on, even the Russian bombers patrolling Belarus’ border.
Sounds like while the sabres are being rattled nobody actually wants to pull them out of their scabbards & use them, & certainly not Putin.
The EU tried to totally scupper the Belarus airline in June , by refusing to allow it to fly over EU airspace or use their airports , back in June because of the Ryanair incident.
Belarus then leased airlines from other countries, eg Turkey, running flights for migrants seeking entry to Europe.
It's tit for tat, not a lot to do with human rights(after all what's happened to Saudi Arabia), but more an effort to wedge Belarus away from Russia, its long time ally.
Crippling Belarus may hope to persuade Russia that Belarus is too big a burden to bear
Sanctions always have unforeseen consequences, and a tendency to backfire.
I’m struggling to remember the sanctions when the plane carrying a head of state , Bolivia’s Evo Morales was ordered down by umm, European states ., looking for Snowden
Sauce for the goose
Nice to be back here. TS is a great place for keeping up with (& learning more about) matters political, climatic, diplomatic, societal & a range of general interest matters continually raised by contributors.
A bonus is there are great humourists & characters among them.
So I hope this is an unintended consequence of the traffic light system that will be addressed and quickly.
I have 2 daughters, both dance and have done since they were very small one is 10 the other is just turned 12. I have been told that the dance school is considered a gym so my 12 year old will be unable to attend or sit exams unless double vaxxed which I am far from convinced of the benefits in this age cohort.
The 10 year old will be able to attend as will 11 year olds but as soon as they turn 12 they wont be able to attend until double vaxxed so if you went on your birthday at minimum 3 weeks of exclusion.
Excluding children from sport and social groups under these mandates is fucking ridiculous and damaging it needs to be stopped. Activities for children should not be lumped in with gyms in terms of the traffic light system they should be treated similarly to schools.
What you raise is one of the reasons why Covid is hard on families with dependent children. I am not sure how much thought the government gave to your situation. There are a number of issues.
Some of the under 12 in the dance group would have unvaccinated siblings at home.
Wearing a mask would over heat a child at a dance class. Social distancing would not be practical.
Even if there was a vaccinated and an unvaccinated class it is about the collective health of those who attend. Outside classes could be an option for the unvaccinated.
There is no normal for children and socialising within their peer group is important as well as being able to continue through the grades of an activity.
At some point classes could close short term or longer.
In the interim applies to the levels, steps and then the traffic light system.
People die from covid-19 and you are worried about your daughter missing several weeks of a dance class? I know your family is more important to you than anyone else but I think you need to take a walk and think about your priorities.
Yeah you're missing the point entirely… In the example of the dance class, what they are doing makes absolutely no fucking sense from a covid standpoint.
I also think on a longer term basis excluding children especially in early teen years from sports etc is actually really fucking harmful.
Everyone has had to pay a price since the arrival of the Delta strain. And children have not been immune. Your daughter missing a few weeks of dancing class – as mpledger pointed out – is a small price to pay.
My understanding is, the pfizer vaccine for children will be available for the under 12s in the New Year. So, the present circumstance is very temporary indeed and soon all of them will have to be vaccinated. We only have 5 weeks before the kids are off for Xmas then another 5 weeks of school holidays. By which time the vaccination of all children – for their own safety and well being – will hopefully be well underway.
There are serious ethical concerns vaccinating those young cohorts.
Not to mention children have paid a disproportionately high price given they have missed alot of education and have stunted socialization at a key point in brain development. Its wrong.
Interestingly Taiwan is no longer allowing those under 17 to have a second Pfizer shot due to the disproportionately high levels of myocarditis in that age cohort.
I agree Cricklewood. The kids have paid a very high price by way of interruptions to their education and all the unsettling emotions that go with it. But I don't think missing a few weeks of dancing classes is on the same level.
Your last paragraph must be referring to the general Pfizer vaccine that has been around for the past year. The vaccine I am talking about is the one especially produced for children under 12 and was only internationally approved a matter of weeks ago. That is the one NZ and many other countries plan to use for children because it has been proven safe and effective for them.
Yes the proven vaccine which is now raising enough red flags for countries to pull the handbrake that not concern you Anne? It indicates that they are not as safe as promised we already know they are not as effective as promised.
For the younger cohort proven safe and effective is a real stretch. As it stands all that we know is kids generate an immune response and small trials didnt raise red flags with refards side effects. Whether or not its actually beneficial in real terms the studies are still underway and the prevelance of rare side effects we wont know until its rolled out.
I take it you are happy excluding the younger cohort if parents opt not to vax them. Can you see how this might cause some issues?
Do you think it should be mandated for everyone eligible? Should the state take action against parents who refuse to vaccinate children?
When are you going to read comments properly and stop including negative remarks about matters not present in my comment in the first place!
If your claims re- Taiwan are correct, then the vaccine Taiwan was using could not have been the "Pfizer vaccine for under 12s " as it has only very recently been approved by the US medical authorities and [presumably] the WHO. As far as I can ascertain the trials in the US have only just finished and the vaccine is being rolled out across the country as we speak.
That is the vaccine NZ has managed to acquire (but unlikely to be in the country yet) and it will be rolled out early in the New Year. By all means, refuse to allow your children to be vaccinated by a vaccine which has gone through all the hoops and been approved for universal use. That is your prerogative.
mpledger…my opinion, based on reading numerous research papers and after watching the shit show that was the JCVI recommendations over giving young children these products, is that those pushing these 'vaccines' onto a demographic who are infinitesimally affected by the disease is fuckwittery of the highest order. Immoral. Unethical and completely scientifically and medically unjustified.
Question. [deleted]
(Not going to link again…don't be lazy..look up the research for yourself.) The experts have appeared to have given up totally on any sort of herd/community/population immunity against Covid.
[deleted]
There is a logical progression here…can you think what that might be?
And anyone who demands that a parent put aside their natural instincts to protect their children against some myth of the 'greater good' is beneath contempt.
Shame on you.
[I’ve deleted the claims of fact that have no linked evidence. I’ve left the opinions. We’ve been over this before and I’m not willing to spend more time on this. Each time you or anyone makes a claim of fact, you have to provide evidence as you go (that’s a quote, link and your own explanation interpretation). The reason for this is because otherwise we’re just talking past each other and it gets hard to make sense of what people are claiming.
There’s been a lot of moderation on this topic in the past, I think everyone has had fair warning. I’m noticing in general, across topics, that I’m having to remind regular who should know better. This isn’t FB where people trade in their personal reckons, we require a high level of evidence for claims of fact because we want robust debate. Reread the Policy if unclear (that’s everyone, not just Rosemary) – weka]
[please don’t do that. People shouldn’t be expected to read whole pages or research papers to understand you. Instead, quote, link, give your explanation or rationale. Yes, I know it’s more work, but it also holds a lot more water which matters in controversial debates. It will also improve the debate and lessen the accusations (both sides take heed) – weka]
Apologies…I post links to peer reviewed research that never get read and/or I try to give at least a precis of what the research I've read found.
Sometimes I feel what I say, my opinions, are worth nothing if not backed up by the science and sometimes I know that no matter what I say the person will have already made up their mind so what's the point?
So I spare them my ramblings and chuck the science at them.
Or not.
I will try not to get into discussions unless I can give it at least 80% attention.
pushing these 'vaccines' onto a demographic who are infinitesimally affected by the disease is fuckwittery of the highest order.
I think that there is sufficient evidence now from the UK to show that the effects of covd on children are far from trivial. Certainly the vaccines we have at present are far fro being effective enough but to trivialise covd in younger cohorts is not a responsible track to take
Cricklewood. Reason, common sense, consistency and sadly science have all been sacrificed on the altar of the Covid vaccines.
From Monday I will not longer be considered a fit person to provide the care my C4/5 tetraplegic partner needs. The fact he too is un vaccinated does not affect the Health Order mandate other than to make it even more impossible for another carer to provide the care he needs. Ho hum.
BUT, both he and I are welcome to attend the local base hospital in our un vaccinated state so he can have a routine yearly check up for his leukaemia which he was treated for 10 years ago. We just need to check in with the clinic the day before to assure them we have no symptoms. I assume that ALL attendees at the haematology clinic will be PPE'ed, regardless of vaccine status. Which is entirely appropriate.
Sadly you are correct, the debate around vaccination of young children will get very ugly I fear. Some will demand mandates for all sorts of childrens activities. Having kids looking suspiciously at each other will not end well.
From Monday I will not longer be considered a fit person to provide the care my C4/5 tetraplegic partner needs.
I was wondering if you would get caught up in that.
For those that don't know, the MoH is withdrawing funding from disabled people who are being cared for by their own family if the caregiver is unvaccinated.
They can use the funding only for vaccinated caregivers, which is probably reasonable for staff coming in from outside the home, but makes less sense for family caregivers and makes a complete mockery of everything the government says about empowering disabled people in their own lives.
It's one of the most fucked up things I've seen this government do.
For those that don’t know, the MoH is withdrawing funding from disabled people who are being cared for by their own family if the caregiver is unvaccinated.
Ummm. Tricky position for MoH, DHBs and for that matter for parliament. What you appear to not be considering is that this is an employee or contractor arrangement with a employer. It carries legal responsibilities for the employer. And potential large penalties in criminal, civil, and employment courts.
As a direct or indirect employer, they or the DHBs are potentially liable for their employees who infect others or vice versa (as a reckless endangerment) regardless of who the employee is. There would have to be a specific legal immunity – something that would have to be accurately described by legislation.
Then there are the insurance aspects. Diseases aren’t covered by ACC. No kind of insurance would cover sending high risk employees into a work situation as a deliberate act by the employer.
It is hard to see how Parliament could legislate such a specific legal immunity for the employers about family members. If you even look at any family law you’d understand just how fraught that is. Because simply defining what is a family member is pretty damn undefined. Which is why the legislation tends towards being very limited and prescriptive. So there would be endless cases with long-term family ‘friends’ and ‘partners’ running through the court.
This is essentially the legal position that most employers are in. Where they are been given legal coverage for mandates in potentially high risk medical areas by the use of the Health Acts by parliamentary legislation and government orders in council, both legal routes have been very prescriptive and quite unambiguous. That is what is required for them to be effective in the short time frames available.
Basically I’d suggest that you look to this at the legal review of the pandemic legislation that we will be doing a few years down the line. Offhand, I can’t think of a good way of legally defining the bounds of this.
Your best bet would probably be to make the funding a grant to the people being cared for so that they become the employer – then they can incur the legal risk.
It’s one of the most fucked up things I’ve seen this government do.
Not really. It is just that you’re mostly looking at it from the viewpoint of the carer and the cared for – without looking at it from the legal position of the funding agency.
If you look back in family law, you will find similar issues appearing every time that direct funding is given on a family basis. DHB cases from the 70s and 80s being the obvious one.
What you appear to not be considering is that this is an employee or contractor arrangement with a employer
I definitely considered that, and then ran through my head the various aspects and still concluded that the government and the MoH basically don't give a shit. In two ways: one is the normal way that disabled people get treated in NZ. Two is that they're not philosophically inclined towards any leeway for unvaccinated people (i.e. they're sending a very strong message at the same time as casting as wide a net as possible, so why would they want to exempt anyone when coercion seems to be helping the vax rate?)
Asking around it looks like the MoH said no, then yes (due to low risk), and finally no. Really hard to follow what exactly happened and why (Rosemary might know more), or whether the final decision was based on the legals you refer to, or was more about health policy.
If the issue is one of risk, consider that a severely disabled man who is being looked after by his wife, and she doesn't work anywhere else. MoH would have written a list of who was covered by the health order, and they could have included exceptions. They're not mandating all NZ workers, just some, so I think your argument about legal risk is overstated.
The DBHs and MoH don't have to be in the employer role (afaik the MoH never is, and the DHB only where they act as a healthcare agency), they can and do give funding directly to the disabled person. I'd be very surprised if all family caregivers have insurance.
There's also the option that the caregiver is self-employed.
Because simply defining what is a family member is pretty damn undefined
Pretty sure the MoH will have already done this, given they have specific programmes aimed at family care givers.
Obviously a family care giver who worked outside of the home with other vulnerable people or in key positions would be a different story (and I'm fairly certain this is who the original policy was written to cover).
Your best bet would probably be to make the funding a grant to the people being cared for so that they become the employer – then they can incur the legal risk.
Ok, hearing Rosemary grimace all the way from Northland on that one. A huge number of disabled people in NZ are living below the poverty line. Thanks to successive governments refusing to address disable people's income, and messes around ACC vs WINZ. And no, I don't think WINZ would come to the party on the funding.
And, where the MoH funds people directly, they are not allowed to use that funding to pay unvaccinated caregivers, including family. That's the point. The government is going hard on this, I doubt that people with private income to pay caregivers will be ok even if they are willing to take the risk, afaik it's just flat out against the law now.
But I do expect a lot of this stuff to go under the radar. The Panel recently had someone decrying hairdressers working from home under the table during covid, as if hairdressers haven't always done this. Lots of care work and cleaning gets done this way too. Unvaxxed people who lose their jobs will look for under the table work. Disabled people who can afford it will get desperate for workers and hire who they can. It's not like there's already an abundance of workers out there.
Vaccination is not mandatory if you live with a person who is disabled. It is mandatory if you are employed by a person who is disabled.
For me it is about the welfare of the disabled person and not some wacko law when it comes to being vaccinated when in the company of a person who is disabled in a shared home.
depends on the funding stream, but the MoH does give funding directly to some clients who then can choose their own caregivers (as employees or contractors I think).
Been away from the computer for a bit (a friend left strict instructions on my To Do notice board for me to spend less time screening) but not to worry…you have it well and truly in hand. (Peter has IF, and yes, although it was not Gazetted when we were informed by HealthcareNZ the other day, family carers providing care in the family home do come under the Health Order mandate fuckwittery.)
We have been here before, and my brief period as a paid family carer has allowed us to stock up and stockpile medical supplies etc (which are difficult to source for some reason) so we are, as usual, prepared.
Pissed off, but prepared. Fuck 'em we say. Raise the drawbridge and lower the portcullis and restock the moat with piranhas.
To celebrate the completion of Peter's new accessible bathroom (after nearly two years) we found a local home based carer to come in to ride shotgun in case I had forgotten how to do bathroom transfers and the like…and in case Himself decided a blackout was in order. This very, very capable woman had had her first Pfizer shot with huge reluctance, and only because her clients need her and she was forced to have it. She was crook for a week. I haven't heard if she's had her second.
This is a shit show.
We are living through the most extraordinary of times and we must, above all, reject the notion that there is only 'one source of truth'.
do you mean people on Super pay a family caregiver from their pension? Afaik, the mandate is on all health workers, doesn't make where the funding comes from. And which people on Super have the income to pay for lots of support?
The NZ Governments (of all persuasions) have almost prided themselves on treating non ACC high needs disabled Kiwis and their chosen family carers like shit.
This is nothing new and completely expected.
In our experience, Ministry of Health bureaucrats have a profound sense of authority based on a dearth of actual knowledge and expertise. To the point of actually causing harm to those they are supposed to be supporting.
Weka
Inhuman behavior is a consequence of pressure applied from powers we depend on. This was true in other countries with far more severe implications but the principle stands. I am disgusted to read that this is implemented. Insult to injury.
You do not need to answer, but is the Pfizer vaccine the reason for you not getting vaccinated?
When it comes to an alternative I was surprised when I heard that the Astra Zeneca vaccine (non mRNA) was going to be offered as an alternative. Another one needs to be found which is also not a mRNA one.
Immuno compromised is another topic. Even in the past.
I do think that the government need to make an exception when it comes to an unvaccinated person being the sole carer of a person in a household bubble providing the person who has the care agrees and is not coerced. There is no point in swapping a problem/s for another one. As well vaccination is not mandatory in a household. I agree with a person needing to be vaccinated were they to go into another household to give care.
So there is a difference when it comes to what goes on in your household.
There certainly are some curve balls and some need a bit more thought.
Treetop. A very close friend, in her early thirties and an early recipient of both Pfizer shots, developed a string of symptoms…including heart issues… and being an avid researcher I dug around a bit.
I simply googled her symptoms and added 'Pfizer shot'. I was totally unprepared for what I found. One website which supports US sufferers of a condition I happen to have had experience with had a new thread on its forum with 456 pages of 10 comments each of people sharing their post vax stories. I had not heard of this website before…nor that it was an actual 'thing' that I had suffered from on more than one occasion. What I'm trying to say is that these people were not my tribe.
That thread is over 750 pages now, and some of those vaccinated (because they were more likely to suffer from Covid) are still very debilitated, some are suicidal and almost all of them regret the day they took the shot. All of the shots. Moderna, Pfizer, J&J, AZ. A US site….has become a haven for sufferers throughout the world, including NZ, who like me made a symptom specific google search and found an island of discussion and support. All of those sharing their stories were met with dismissal and disbelief when they sought medical help.
My young friend is largely recovered, thank the goddess, but she did have Holter heart monitoring and an MRI and a CT scan and an ultrasound. And an ambulance when she collapsed unable to breathe at work.
My partner, after 50 years post spinal injury, is by his own description neurologically fucked. Prone to autonomic dysreflexia, thermoregulatory impairment and orthostatic hypotension at the best of times, the last few years have seen his instability increase. Change…temperature, posture, eating too quick, light, stuff in the air… whatever the fuck can cause extreme dizzines, faintness, blackouts and weird one side of the face rashes. He has become an incredibly delicate wee flower in his 70s… but it is the low, low barely- double -digits blood pressure that has him most worried.
These new vaccines are simply too big a risk.
Thanks for the support on the carer thing. I was Peter's unpaid carer for over twenty years and have only been paid for the work under Covid dispensation fro April last year.
Will we miss my income…a bit…but we knew this was coming months ago so we are prepared.
And there is information we do not have at hand yet.
Vaccination method. Will they aspirate? That alone reduces risk of vaccine into the blood etc.
Will the government provide AZ antibodies (last over 6 months) as an alternative to vaccine.
When will Novavax (not so good at preventing Delta infection but some may prefer its risk profile) be available as an alternative to the AZ and Pfizer?
Can the unvaxxed or one dosed choose one dose of Pfizer and one dose AZ (common in the UK and evidence suggests this is OK – downside is the 2 vaccines have different risk profiles)?
Can people choose their booster – say double dose Pfizer plus AZ vaccine or Novovax or AZ anti-bodies.
When will the under 65 have access to booster doses. This speaks to any sort of long term semblance of immunity (lasts well to 4 months then fades to still effective at 6 months and less so afterwards). They have ordered 4M vaccines 5-11 (one or two dose?) and one dose boosters for those over 65 health workers and the health compromised. But nothing about any boosters for others and when. The UK is providing boosters at 6 months from the second dose for all. We should have booster does before next winter for all who want them.
So that leaves one with risk management assessment planning
For example
Delay vaccination till
someone aspirates.
and then take the 2nd dose 12 weeks later so that immunity lasts through winter.
PS For mine the risk of long COVID – vascular damage, organ damage and aging of the cells from infection weights risk on the side of being protected – the balance to that is capability of reducing risk of infection.
The other unknown is the Health Ministry plan for rationing.
For example they have finally funded the diabetes 2 drug that prevents deterioration to need for dialysis – but only for one third of those who need it.
They might import treatments (anti-virals and fluvoxamine – anti-inflammatory that can be used before the steroid can be) but restrict provision of them to only some – this would increase the number of long COVID outcomes.
The other unknown is the Health Ministry plan for rationing.
I have no doubt they have one. The groundwork has been done for it to be acceptable to not treat the 'willfully unvaxxed' , to 'prioritise' and 'make the hard decisions'.
From many comments here on TS from 'Lefties'… there is a real appetite for the 'tent in the corner of the hospital carpark.'
If that is to be the case, and I have little doubt that there will be more of this attitude from those in healthcare, then at least doctors should be able to prescribe medicines and recommend therapies that may not necessarily have been approved by the bureaucrats at Medsafe. ( I am talking about off label use of established drugs with many years of safety records.)
People say all sorts of stuff because of their insecurity (interning Japanese banning Moslem migrants etc), it’s those who do that are of more concern.
(I would not rely on it, but if infected and without adequate health back up would raid the Evie McTin for a cookie).
There is no point in swapping a problem/s for another one
Thing that really fucks me off is that if we hadn't spent the last however many decades forcing many disabled people to live in poverty (financial and health), I think many of the current hesitant disabled people would choose to vaccinate. If people feel they will be looked after, then they are often more willing to take risk.
The degree of health privilege expressed by lefties in recent months is mindblowing. But it does sit alongside their relative reluctance to actually do something about the poverty of disabled people.
I think you mean the neo-liberal regime straight jacket managing elected governments, including those nominally centre-left.
Actual lefties have sought income support for those with disability at super levels, and both income support for carers and the continuance of income support to those with disability while with working partners.
One puts people's welfare first, the other puts cost of services first.
During the family carers cases hearings…so many , over such a long time…one aspect that was poorly described was the cost benefit of having a family member providing some very high level advanced personal cares.
To pay for registered/enrolled nurse level care would be too expensive and 'allowing' unregulated carers to perform some of the RN/EN level tasks raised a raft of liability issues. Not providing the care would put the patient in hospital (very expensive) or their life at risk (cheap, and many think this is actually the desired outcome).
Paying a family carer at the same rate as an unregulated carer with the disabled person giving permission for that family member to perform those high level care tasks you'd think it would have been an obvious win/win/win.
How much more is there that we have no means of knowing let alone checking? Is NZ becoming a country throwing proven checks and balances over board to get the wink wink nudge nudge instead?
that's really bad. Might be corruption, but I'd be looking first at an already stressed system degenerating under the pandemic stress. Also decades of neoliberal managerial culture. Not excuses, but if we want to fix this shit we need to be honest about the systemic issues, not just want heads to roll.
I would suggest Rako very publicly disputing what had been said about Saliva testing by both the MOH and Minister put them at a severe disadvantage during the tender process. No doubt a bureaucrat or 3 in the Ministry had an axe to grind.
I think that it's fair to say that in general the move from pandemic to endemic is ideologically driven rather than science based. An interesting article at naked capitalism gives a lot of insight to the roots of "living with covd" and the necessary tragedies that this will entail. in the case of NZ, by the end of summer we will have obtained complete transmission of Delta throughout the country if national summer holidays are given the ok. From the article:
Having an infectious disease become endemic is not the same as having a sore throat as much as our media would like to portray it that way. If COVID follows form to the previous coronavirus pandemics that have become endemic, we have literally years to go before our immune systems collectively call a truce with it.
…
I wasn’t sure I’d be able to maintain my composure for long enough to do a proper job of shredding the McKinsey propaganda. But GM, unsolicited, did the heavy lifting, so please give him a big round of applause!
Below find McKinsey text in italics, with GM’s comments in normal typeface.
Some countries are, therefore, resetting their expectations: “For this outbreak, it’s clear that long periods of heavy restrictions [have not gotten] us to zero cases,” said New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern. “But that is OK. Elimination was important because we didn’t have vaccines. Now we do. So we can begin to change the way we do things.”
Or, what probably happened, New Zealand was pressured by its “international partners” to abandon elimination because it made them look bad (plus probably some other reasons). Michael Baker (who was one of the epidemiologists leading the elimination program) has said on several occasions now that the shift in policy came without any consultation with the scientists who were working with the government on COVID policy while elimination was the goal. They were completely taken out of the decision making process, which is quite telling.
The clear implication is that we are no longer following the science but have been co-opted into the business and economy centred view that peoples lives (the plebs) are less important than profits. The government could have stomped on the "freedom" protest organisers but instead has seen them as a useful tool to steer us towards endemic. The poll results could be read as the population realising the slide in commitment by the govt towards protecting peoples health. I dont know the Greens position on covd but there is an opening now for someone to make gains by filling the elimination space that has been abandoned by Labour.
I'm ok with the government not simply rubberstamping every suggestion from the scientific community. There are a wide variety of factors that might make a course of action counterproductive or impractical, so the ideal might not always intersect with the possible.
What I would like, however, is for advice regarding other factors (economic, administrative, enforcement capabilities, legal practicalities) to be as well-publicised as the scientific advice. Are we fighting a holding action to minimise ICU demands as region by region becomes exposed? Or is there just a "resistance is futile" atmosphere permeating the government because the white-ants have finally eroded the necessary compliance rates to the point that either the govt gives up or starts actual mass arrests? Or does polling in Auckland just look bad?
Everyone and their cousin has become a certified google epidemiologist with a side-hustle of immunology, just as we were all google seismologists and mining engineers ten years ago. But there doesn't seem to have been the same level of focus on the arguments for relaxing lockdowns as there was for implementing them.
Maybe that's the difference between science and the social sciences. Maybe it's maybelline.
Absolutely agree McFlock. It feels as though we are being left out of the conversation. It would be nice for a bit of transparency. Maybe the govt could let us in on their thinking rather than trying to herd us in the direction they have decided to take
The Government will soon be issuing sovereign "green bonds" to help raise finance towards a move to a low-carbon economy. Green bonds, which provide financing for low-emission or environmental projects such as renewable energy or reforestation, have increasingly become part of climate financing around the world.
Last year, the global green bond market reached a cumulative issuance milestone of US$1 trillion since its inception in 2007 – a year before the World Bank began issuing them.
Money raised from the bonds would be used to support projects that help reach the net-zero carbon 2050 target the Government has set with legislation. "Green bonds will enhance the development of New Zealand's sustainable finance market," Finance Minister Grant Robertson said.
This strikes me as a substantial shift away from greenwash.
"The creation of a green bond programme will add a new financing tool we can use to deliver the low-carbon projects we need to meet our climate targets," Climate Change Minister James Shaw said.
"Something in the order of 80 per cent of the global economy is now covered by some form of net-zero target. To meet these targets and cut emissions in line with what the science requires, capital needs to be directed towards activity that will accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy. Green bonds will be a crucial part of that."
New Zealand Debt Management at the Treasury is leading work on the green bond programme.
So what we seem to have here is both design and enforcement method. Time will tell if the combo actually works – but it does promise a morphing effect, away from neoliberalism towards sustainability.
Well, the short answer is the players in the game compete to produce winners. Privacy law prevents anyone knowing the truth, as usual.
Obviously a socialist would point to Grant Robertson, author of govt investment policy, as a player in the game. Grant would respond "Are you kidding? I'm a neoliberal. I just do policy. Others handle the money side of things."
World bank is immediately a red flag for me. First question is do bonds equate to a loan or is this a gift. Then if a loan are they denominated in $NZ or $US. If US then we are effectively selling our souls since we will always be open to political pressure through currency manipulation. At present all govt bonds are in $NZ. If push comes to shove we can always get the Reserve Bank to buy them back. QE for the people. Once we owe $US its game over for any remaining shred of independence.
With govt bonds in $US its irrelevant what value our currency is at. In fact if our currency devalues its easier to pay back. Debt in $US becomes very hard to repay if your currency comes under attack.
Good points. World Bank was once a red flag for me too but it seems to have headed towards being part of the solution in recent years. I've put a request for appraisal on Michael Reddell's site…
If you find out they are hawking green bonds as US denominated debt you will know that they have gotten a lot worse because it will signal that they have figured out how to enslave first world countries as well third world. I'm a cynic on that front especially as it's pretty recent since they tied Ecuador in a pretty little bow that will take some undoing.
Sally Brooker is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Otago, a principal investigator in the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, and co-leader of the German-NZ green hydrogen relationship building team. Her opinion:
storage of green electricity in batteries (small short haul) and in hydrogen (medium haul) will enable zero-emission planes on New Zealand’s domestic network.
Chris Bishop is making lots of noise around no need for MIQ for fully vaccinated people to be in MIQ.
That doesn't take into account a new variant emerging.if a new variant arrived which was more deadly that wasn't suppressed by existing vaccines it would be wise not to panic and keep MIQ in place until Covid is brought under control.Its easy for opposition to pick away at the existing govt,when you don't have to make the decisions.
Contact tracing is not keeping up with unlinked cases and Bishop wants to put more pressure on health workers and overload the hospital capacity quicker.
Not only a new strain emerging but antibodies waning and the R number increasing with the current Delta outbreak.
What is Bishop going to do when health workers become unwell or are partially burnt out?
A prison officer at the Waikeria jail in Waikato is on “special leave” after allegations he assaulted and strangled an inmate.
Anthony Prinsloo faces charges of injuring with reckless disregard, and strangulation, which carry maximum penalties of five and seven years imprisonment, respectively.
Prinsloo’s charge sheet says the charges relate to an alleged assault of prisoner Christopher Ranapia at the jail on June 20 this year.
Prinsloo has entered a not guilty plea to the injuring charge, and has yet to enter a plea on a more recently-added charge of strangulation, which was described as “intentionally or recklessly impeded Christopher Ranapia’s normal breathing by applying pressure on or to his throat, neck or both”.
Officer Anthony Prinsloo (a South African) has just officially charged me with breach of a prison rule after having found me in another inmates cell watching Lisa Owen interviewing me on “Newshub Nation” on TV3 on Saturday morning .
The name may be occasionally used as an ethnic slur for Afrikaners, in which instance it is also spelt according to English orthography: yarpie. This comes from the Afrikaans term plaasjapie, meaning "farm boy".[1] It has socio-economic connotations similar to the NZ/Australian term bogan or the American hillbilly. It may or may not be an offensive term depending upon intent and context of use. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japie
Yu Kongjian teaches Green design recycled from ancient times:
One of China's most prominent urban design thinkers and Dean of the prestigious Peking University's college of architecture and landscape, Yu Kongjian is the man behind the sponge city concept of managing floods that is being rolled out in scores of Chinese cities.
In 2015, following President Xi Jinping's endorsement, the government announced a multi-million yuan plan and an ambitious goal: by 2030, 80% of China's municipal areas must have elements of a sponge city and recycle at least 70% of rainfall.
Much of the concept is influenced by ancient farming techniques Prof Yu learnt growing up in the eastern coastal province of Zhejiang, such as storing rainwater in ponds for crops. It has won Prof Yu and his landscaping firm Turenscape many awards. "Nobody would drown, not even in the monsoon season. We just lived with the water. We adapted to the water when the floods came," he says. He left for Beijing aged 17 where he studied landscaping, and later studied design at Harvard.
"I'm a Chinese traditionalist," he says with a laugh. "We have thousands of years of experience, we have the solution you cannot ignore."
Indeed, and that's an excellent photo to start with! Onsite here I often advocate my favourite leftist principle: social equity. As this example from your link indicates, it's essential for any economy.
"Every village has an official 'water guardian', who ensures that the water is distributed evenly. The family whose land is at the bottom of the terrace gets the same water as whoever is at the top."
This style of agriculture is also a model of resilience:
"You can't mechanise the terraces," explained Goodman. "You can't use tractors or other machines because of their shape and location. And they're often knee-deep with water. So, the Hani are still using buffalo or doing the hard work by hand, using the same picks and hoes and hand tools that they've used for hundreds of years."
Nobody paid much attention until the 2000s, with the arrival of new tarmac roads and a local authority determined to get the terraces highlighted on Unesco's World Heritage List. (This was finally achieved in 2013, the UN agency stating: "The resilient land management system of the rice terraces demonstrates extraordinary harmony between people and their environment, both visually and ecologically.")
Yuanyang county, the home of the terraces, has a population of some 370,000 people, with almost 90% coming from tribal groups. Come bustling market days in villages such as Shengcun, the Hani are joined by their Miao, Yao, Dai, Zhuang and Yi neighbours to trade and attend to regional business, to eat and drink, to gossip and smoke their distinctive, elongated bamboo pipes… In a time of shrinking natural resources globally, Goodman says the Hani can give the world lessons in land management, as well as in how to live in harmony with the environment. "They are proud of what they've achieved," he said. "They accomplished something marvellous that has held firm for possibly 1,300 years."
1. “The Taranaki town of Stratford is on high alert today after six people tested positive for Covid-19.
One person is in hospital and the other five are isolating at home. All of the cases have a link to the Auckland outbreak.
Taranaki DHB medical officer of health Dr Jonathan Jarman says the six people were very reluctant to get tested and have not been using the tracer app.”
2. “The West Auckland woman says her 68-year-old father, who fled a conflict-scarred country 20 years ago for a better future, spent the last five days of his life in agony coughing up blood and was too weak to move, waiting for officials to say he should go to hospital.”
3. "Some of them didn't believe that Covid was even an actual thing. They thought it was a conspiracy until they actually got it. And so you've got a lot of those, kind of misinformation out there that our people are getting.” (Paula Ormsby, Waikato women's branch leader of Mongrel Mob Wāhine Toa)
4. "The Bay of Plenty town Murupara has the country's lowest vaccination rates – less than half of the eligible population has had even one dose.
A local doctor, who rejects the Pfiizer vaccine, is closing his practice rather than accept government mandates." The 30 year GP in Murupara has said, “I am not an antivaxxer and would personally administer this vaccine should my patient be adequately informed and give free choice.”
There is a criteria for a covid-19 death. I am guessing that it is something like – anyone dying from any cause within 30 days of diagnosis (or maybe recovery) from covid-19.
There has to be a pretty strict criteria so that there is uniform counting across countries etc. But sometimes human-made criteria can't cover all the permutations that life throws up.
Sometimes it is easier to over-count (slightly) then to spend time splitting hairs.
That's bloody ridiculous! The guy was out on his driveway, and probably would have been off work for a week with Covid, then back to normal. Don't you think lead poisoning would be a more likely cause of death?
I would have thought we would want to keep our deaths from Covid as low as possible, not artificially inflate them………what's next? An asymtomatic person tests positive and while leaving hospital to go to MIQ gets run over by a bus! Notch up another Covid kill.
Yes, it is called a "case definition". You need them in epidemiology – they work well but any case definition will usually include false positives and false negatives.
Simplicity is also desirable. In this case, simplicity has trumped accuracy, I am guessing. You could make the case definition more nuanced (to exclude this case, for example), but probably not worth it for tracking the big picture.
Well, no, a trial is akin to a case review rather than an epidemiological aggregate.
Additionally, on the mortality records the primary cause of death will still eventually be the bullet. But those get finalised after the coronial cases are closed, so lag a couple of years.
Keeping them in the epidemiological aggregate looks a bit silly for small numbers, but then with larger numbers we might find that shooting victims with covid are more likely to die than non-covid victims, so maybe it could be regarded as a contributory cause (albeit not primary cause) of death.
So… because a person died, having been shot, is it reasonable to conclude that he couldn't have passed on Covid? If he wasn't listed as having Covid, could the usual tracking and tracing of contacts have been done? Are Covid deaths recorded because the person died with, or died of, the infection?
Died with. But we're not exactly living in a time where people are dropping off all over the place. Brits in particular were trying the "it only means died with not of" line last year, which is why the excess mortality stats also gained prominence.
It actually tends to work the other way – because a lot of governments got overwhelmed (charitable explanation) or wanted to hide the true toll of their incompetence (most likely), they actually stopped tests and counts unless they absolutely couldn't avoid it. So in a lot of the world, 2020 mortality was higher than expected but by much more than the official covid count.
But then there's the question about what other things emerged to raise mortality rates by 15-20% at the same time covid hit the world. Godzilla sneaking around the place?
For violent deaths, they have to be referred to the coroner, in which case cause of death isn't legally established until a finding is made. In the meantime, the reporting is that someone died while Covid positive until the Coroner's determination arrives, after which the figures can be updated.
This no doubt seems weird, but came about to avoid deliberate undercounting of deaths for political convenience (HIV was bad for this).
" It’s been a whirlwind week of kōrero, talanoa, media, meetings, and negotiations. There have been some really positive developments, but some issues remain. Over the next two days countries need to come together to agree an outcome that keeps us on track to address the climate crisis. The consequences of not doing so are intolerable.
As I told countries on Tuesday:
For decades political leaders have known what would happen if they did not act to cut emissions. They had a chance to stop it. But they didn’t. And so, it falls to us. Right here. Right now."
(Copied from Facebook. Anyone wanting to read from the source could copy some of the text, paste it into their browser’s search bar and have it appear, effortlessly, I reckon).
"They saw the winners sent home with their laptops and smart-phones. They saw themselves heading out to work every morning, as usual, to do what were once called the “shit jobs” – but were now referred to as “essential occupations”. They wondered about that. If their jobs were “essential”, why weren’t they paid the same sort of wages as the people on “Zoom” meetings, whose jobs clearly were not? They saw a world which kept on working pretty well, even when more that half the workforce was doing nothing more productive than exchanging e-mails. Some members of the Team of Five Million seemed to have a whole lot less to do than others. Something was definitely wrong with this picture."
So Devon Conway punches his bat and breaks his hand. So much for "a champion team will always beat a team of champions". His lack of self discipline has just helped Australia's chances of taking the final.
"Glasgow: The shock new pact between China and the United States unveiled in Glasgow has been hailed as a breakthrough as the deadline looms for the climate summit’s negotiations.
The world’s two largest emitters declared global warming an existential crisis which demands co-operation between the superpowers.
In a boost to the flagging COP26 talks and sign of a possible thawing in the fractured relationship between both countries, Chinese climate envoy Xie Zhenhua and his US counterpart John Kerry stunned observers by unveiling the joint declaration pledging tougher action this decade.
The agreement was negotiated in secret for months during about 30 virtual meetings and negotiation sessions in Shanghai, London and Washington before final terms were settled in Glasgow on Wednesday night local-time (Thursday AEDT)"
"Xie described climate change as an “existential crisis” and said agreement between the US and China on how to deal with global warming far outweighed their differences on the issue.
Kerry, a former US secretary of state under Barack Obama, framed the surprise agreement as much-needed momentum for the COP26 talks.
“The two largest economies in the world have agreed to work together to raise climate ambition in this decisive decade,” Kerry told reporters in Glasgow.
“Our teams have worked together for months, and we have worked in good faith. We have found common ground.”
Kerry described the joint-declaration as a “road map for our present and future collaboration” on climate change."
Thanks, Brigid. Seems like a breakthrough. Perhaps prudent to await further analysis before we get too excited. Simulation is a strategy of govts since whenever…
I linked briefly to this development a couple of days ago. It's the outcome of significant on-going negotiations and it's not at all clear who the players are, what their motives and commitment to this really is.
Nor do we have any details on the intended 'co-operation'.
So far all the talk is around methane reduction – but that's literally only a half measure. The CCP knows full well that it risks being the very odd man out in this game, their CO2 emissions being larger and growing faster than any other major nation. You can parse the data however you like, but unless the PRC turns this corner no other actions anywhere else in the world will matter much. They know this.
They also know that solar and wind power does not work in their climate zone – nor can anyone reasonably demand they should 'shrink' their per capita energy use. This leaves just one singular path forward. The question has to be – are the US and the PRC planning to cooperate on a new generation of nuclear power?
If this is true – there could be a great deal more to this deal than is apparent so far.
Yeah, you got it. The fact that they've been doing bilateral negotiations for months suggests an ongoing mutual commitment to actually getting a substantial deal done. But it's also in their mutual interest to signal an output @ COP26. So there's a wee bit of a fudge going on.
Re the nuclear angle, your summary of the relevant logic is apt. No point precipitating a public relations disaster via premature announcement. Framing of that would be crucial. All the scientific, economic & political ducks in a row is the design challenge. If they're engaged on that task it'd be a massive breakthrough.
Typically the Guardian gets it wrong claiming they met in the Ecuador Embassy .They met in 2011, when Moris was called in to help Jennifer Robinson, long time lawyer of Assange
In the RT link Amy Goodman interviews Stella Moris
Assange and Moris have been engaged for five years, and have been asking officials at the maximum-security prison for permission to arrange a wedding since May. When they finally received a reply, they were told the matter was referred to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). As the CPS represents the US government in the extradition proceedings against the Australian-born publisher, putting them in charge of the marriage basically gives Washington veto powers, which is “completely outrageous,” Moris told Democracy Now.
Hard to disagree with her, but I must point out that the state has sovereign power. Therefore bureaucrats are authorised to pass the buck whenever possible. The referral to the CPS by a bureaucrat seems malevolent yet I bet that bureaucrat has nothing in his employment contract requiring him to make decisions in accord with the human rights of prisoners.
Therefore, as state agent, he is free to choose where to pass the buck. There's no requirement in the law around state constitution in western countries that requires the state to make decisions based on ethical conduct or human rights as far as I know. Sure, most western countries signed up for the UN Covenants that describe such rights, but I'm unaware of any actual constraint resulting from the signing that binds state employees into acting in accord…
Geez, this sounds like very bad police/MOH coordination … ☹️
“Distraught family members who were allegedly let through Auckland’s border by compassionate police officers for the funeral of their Covid-infected father subsequently had their border exemption application declined.
Three siblings travelled from Whangārei to farewell their father before they received a response from the Ministry of Health on their application, the Herald has been told.
The family claim they were allowed into Auckland and attended the funeral, after which their travel exemption application was declined.
Now they fear they may have trouble returning home.”
Looks like what happens when humanitarian concerns come into conflict with the little hitler syndrome. Bureaucrats are big on rules and small on humanity…
With respect, Dennis, I think little hitler syndrome is an inaccurate & unfair description.
I was a public servant for 34 years, but I was never a bureaucrat & studiously avoided employment in any roles that required a bureaucratic temperament or attitude.
What most likely has happened here is classic bureaucracy tho. The person or persons charged with making the decision are too far removed from the people affected by it & most likely have little effective discretion to depart from firm & generally successful (so far) rules that have kept covid under control (until delta).
My bet is that at MOH there was a collective “If we say yes, we’ll open the floodgates & there’ll be a raft of such requests in future that we can’t then deny”-type decision. So the decision was to hang tuff for what seemed like a good reason.
Policepersons, on the other hand, are the sharp end, dealing with people face to face on a daily basis. They have lots of discretion. Many of them are moved by simple human compassion that comes from seeing grief daily. The longer they’re in a frontline role the better they get at becoming sensible, pragmatic decision-makers.
Fair enough. I accept such nuances characterise the public service. Your point re the police/public interface & pragmatism is a good one. Anyway, feel free to admonish me again whenever I air my stance on public service bureaucrats. Since it is based on half a century or so of observing the little hitler syndrome evident in media reportage of their decision-making, it'll probably keep showing up!
There’s no doubt that there ARE some little hitlers in the public service, in both case officer & supervisor roles, and I’ve met some of these psychopaths – but in the case of these applications for covid exemptions it’s a safe bet that at least two people – and very likely more than two – are involved in collectively making & then approving the final decision.
Most public servants in my experience are not the cold-hearted inflexible bastards they’re often stereotyped as. They’re ordinary, compassionate, empathetic folk like the rest of us. What counts is the policy criteria they get charged with enforcing, but don’t usually have any input into developing.
Altho Gliding On was right on the mark with many of its characterisations of how govt departments operated in the 70’s, when I joined, right down to the decor, office layouts, tea ladies & typists.
Things changed massively after Roger Douglas raided & stripped out the economy. No more tea ladies, just a kitchen area & free milk, sugar, cheapest instant coffee & tea – and open plan offices (with cube walls, if you were lucky).
The cops letting them through without a pass were endangering people in other regions. I can understand why, but they took a risk that was above their pay grade.
edit: ah, ok, they were going the other direction (into akl) so not too bad. Still it’s a bit like going overseas – if you go without everything done first, there’s no guarantee you won’t get stuck.
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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 ...
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. ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
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 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Norton, Professor in the Practice of Higher Education Policy, Australian National University Every year on June 1, student debt in Australia is indexed to inflation. In 2023, high inflation pushed the indexation rate to 7.1%, the highest since 1990. This ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Changes in the May 14 budget will cut the student debt of more than three million people, wiping more than $3 billion from what people owe. The government will cap the HELP indexation rate ...
Asia Pacific Report The prosecutor’s office at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has appealed for an end to what it calls intimidation of its staff, saying such threats could constitute an offence against the “administration of justice” by the world’s permanent war crimes court. The Hague-based office of ICC Prosecutor ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk A women’s union in New Caledonia has staged a sit-in protest this week to support senior Kanak indigenous journalist Thérèse Waia, who works for public broadcaster Nouvelle-Calédonie la Première, after a smear attack by critics. The peaceful demonstration was held on ...
New Zealand Food Safety is monitoring overseas recalls of Indian packaged spice products manufactured by MDH and Everest due to concerns over a cancer-causing pesticide. ...
By Stephen Wright and Stefan Armbruster of BenarNews Fiji’s ranking in a global press freedom index has jumped into the top tier of countries with free or mostly free media after its government last year repealed a draconian law that threatened journalists with prison for doing their jobs. Fiji’s improvement ...
We might be in Invercargill but all anyone can talk about is Gore. Specifically, Salford Street. That’s where three-year-old Lachlan Jones lived, south of the centre of town, between the A&P Showgrounds and the Mataura River. Roughly 1.2 km away from the single level home he lived in with his ...
MONDAY I lined up the latest round of civil servants from city hall against the wall, and signalled for the firing squad to drop their rifles. I stepped up onto a wooden crate to look at the office workers in the eye. But that didn’t feel right, so I found ...
Keen hiker and second-year MSc student Liam Hewson wears two hats when he’s in the great outdoors. “The scientist in me appreciates nature and goes, ‘Oh, there’s that thing and there’s another thing,’ but then the tramper and the outdoorsy person in me thinks, ‘Cool bush.’” Born and bred in ...
After a long and illustrious career as a goal kicker, Dan Carter’s favourite way to unwind is… kicking goals. Why can’t he get enough of it? And what it’s like to watch him do it for an hour straight? A semicircle of people wielding cameras and phones has formed in ...
Dame Susan Devoy takes us through her life in television, including late night ER debriefs, her proudest CTI moment and the show she watches in secret. Quite aside from her four world champion squash titles, Dame Susan Devoy will likely go down in history as one of the best Celebrity ...
Hera Lindsay Bird reveals the best places in Ōtepoti to score more for your apocalypse-prep book hoard.Sometimes I get the feeling I’ve been killed in a car crash, and this second half of my life is just the brain unspooling itself, like one of those episodes of a hospital ...
ThreeNow’s new murder mystery series takes us on a dark, damp journey into the Australian wilderness.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. High Country is ThreeNow’s new Australian eight-part crime drama, set in a remote part of the Victorian highlands. It tells ...
Introducing a new way to read The Spinoff every weekend. After nearly 10 years of being an online magazine, we’re finally embracing the weekend liftout. Despite our best efforts to convince you otherwise, writers and editors at The Spinoff don’t work weekend. It is through the sheer power of technology ...
Tip one: let yourself be nurtured by this big old man. Tip two: don’t ask him to adopt you. So, you’ve arrived at your first session with a new therapist. He tells you to make yourself comfortable and you opt for the tweed armchair, hoping it makes you look like ...
I didn’t know books could open you back up; that there were books that stayed with you, where reading was like a chemical event. I knew nothing.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.Not too long ago, I was listening to the American ...
Former Olympic swimmer James Magnussen has already started training for the Enhanced games, though says he won’t start taking performance enhancing substances until about nine months out from the competition. The Australian world champion was the first athlete to be announced by Enhanced, but he says the organisation has had ...
Everyone thinks he’s dead. Every day they expect his body to be washed up along the coast. Most likely up Karitane way, the way the tide’s running. But nobody’ll be too surprised if his body’s never found. Even in death he wouldn’t have wished for such attention. He would have ...
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 ...
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The sabres are rattling in Europe as migrant flows are deployed against Russia's enemies. Neighbours of Belarus say migrant crisis risks military clash | Reuters
From the link:
“The EU accuses Lukashenko of manufacturing the crisis in revenge for earlier sanctions in response to a violent crackdown on mass street protests against his rule in 2020. Germany said he must be countered with all strength.
“Lukashenko is making an inhumane power play with people,” German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, who is set to become the country’s next chancellor, said.
Lukashenko and Russia have said the EU was not living up to its humanitarian values by preventing migrants from crossing.
Large groups fleeing conflicts and poverty in the Middle East and elsewhere started flying to Minsk this spring with the help of Belarusian travel agencies.
Many have travelled to the border with Poland, Lithuania or Latvia and tried to cross into the EU, sometimes using wire cutters they say were given to them by Belarusian border guards.”
………………….
Lukashenko’s the fly in the ointment here. Not sure I’d read too much into the posturing going on, even the Russian bombers patrolling Belarus’ border.
Sounds like while the sabres are being rattled nobody actually wants to pull them out of their scabbards & use them, & certainly not Putin.
The EU tried to totally scupper the Belarus airline in June , by refusing to allow it to fly over EU airspace or use their airports , back in June because of the Ryanair incident.
Belarus then leased airlines from other countries, eg Turkey, running flights for migrants seeking entry to Europe.
It's tit for tat, not a lot to do with human rights(after all what's happened to Saudi Arabia), but more an effort to wedge Belarus away from Russia, its long time ally.
Crippling Belarus may hope to persuade Russia that Belarus is too big a burden to bear
Sanctions always have unforeseen consequences, and a tendency to backfire.
6 standard diplomatic responses (H/t Yes PM)
Sanctions look like 4.5, but good luck finding another response to a country hijacking an aircraft.
I’m struggling to remember the sanctions when the plane carrying a head of state , Bolivia’s Evo Morales was ordered down by umm, European states ., looking for Snowden
Sauce for the goose
Then no problem.
Hmmm – this might cause a backdown though: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/11/belarus-threatens-to-cut-gas-deliveries-to-eu-if-sanctioned-over-border-crisis
Ally is not quite the term for the Belarus/ Russia relationship. Shirvan has a bit of background on that if you're interested: Are Belarus and Russia parting ways? – YouTube
.
Pooklet nap time
Cute.
Cheers Gezza (2). It's great to have you back on TS, sharing your delightful wildlife with us once more. The little pookies are soooo sweet.
Thank you, mary. 🌷
Nice to be back here. TS is a great place for keeping up with (& learning more about) matters political, climatic, diplomatic, societal & a range of general interest matters continually raised by contributors.
A bonus is there are great humourists & characters among them.
So I hope this is an unintended consequence of the traffic light system that will be addressed and quickly.
I have 2 daughters, both dance and have done since they were very small one is 10 the other is just turned 12. I have been told that the dance school is considered a gym so my 12 year old will be unable to attend or sit exams unless double vaxxed which I am far from convinced of the benefits in this age cohort.
The 10 year old will be able to attend as will 11 year olds but as soon as they turn 12 they wont be able to attend until double vaxxed so if you went on your birthday at minimum 3 weeks of exclusion.
Excluding children from sport and social groups under these mandates is fucking ridiculous and damaging it needs to be stopped. Activities for children should not be lumped in with gyms in terms of the traffic light system they should be treated similarly to schools.
What you raise is one of the reasons why Covid is hard on families with dependent children. I am not sure how much thought the government gave to your situation. There are a number of issues.
Are the classes aligned with the school terms?
Edit my points were numbered but they got erased when I added a further sentence, so format is squashed.
Yes classes are arranged in line with school terms, and wont happen until we get to red light.
The grades are often mixed age you will certainly have unvaxxed 11 year olds dancing with vaxxed 12 year olds.
You will also have unvaxxed younger kids in studios immediately before and other classes.
People die from covid-19 and you are worried about your daughter missing several weeks of a dance class? I know your family is more important to you than anyone else but I think you need to take a walk and think about your priorities.
Yeah you're missing the point entirely… In the example of the dance class, what they are doing makes absolutely no fucking sense from a covid standpoint.
I also think on a longer term basis excluding children especially in early teen years from sports etc is actually really fucking harmful.
Everyone has had to pay a price since the arrival of the Delta strain. And children have not been immune. Your daughter missing a few weeks of dancing class – as mpledger pointed out – is a small price to pay.
My understanding is, the pfizer vaccine for children will be available for the under 12s in the New Year. So, the present circumstance is very temporary indeed and soon all of them will have to be vaccinated. We only have 5 weeks before the kids are off for Xmas then another 5 weeks of school holidays. By which time the vaccination of all children – for their own safety and well being – will hopefully be well underway.
There are serious ethical concerns vaccinating those young cohorts.
Not to mention children have paid a disproportionately high price given they have missed alot of education and have stunted socialization at a key point in brain development. Its wrong.
Interestingly Taiwan is no longer allowing those under 17 to have a second Pfizer shot due to the disproportionately high levels of myocarditis in that age cohort.
I agree Cricklewood. The kids have paid a very high price by way of interruptions to their education and all the unsettling emotions that go with it. But I don't think missing a few weeks of dancing classes is on the same level.
Your last paragraph must be referring to the general Pfizer vaccine that has been around for the past year. The vaccine I am talking about is the one especially produced for children under 12 and was only internationally approved a matter of weeks ago. That is the one NZ and many other countries plan to use for children because it has been proven safe and effective for them.
Yes the proven vaccine which is now raising enough red flags for countries to pull the handbrake that not concern you Anne? It indicates that they are not as safe as promised we already know they are not as effective as promised.
For the younger cohort proven safe and effective is a real stretch. As it stands all that we know is kids generate an immune response and small trials didnt raise red flags with refards side effects. Whether or not its actually beneficial in real terms the studies are still underway and the prevelance of rare side effects we wont know until its rolled out.
I take it you are happy excluding the younger cohort if parents opt not to vax them. Can you see how this might cause some issues?
Do you think it should be mandated for everyone eligible? Should the state take action against parents who refuse to vaccinate children?
When are you going to read comments properly and stop including negative remarks about matters not present in my comment in the first place!
If your claims re- Taiwan are correct, then the vaccine Taiwan was using could not have been the "Pfizer vaccine for under 12s " as it has only very recently been approved by the US medical authorities and [presumably] the WHO. As far as I can ascertain the trials in the US have only just finished and the vaccine is being rolled out across the country as we speak.
That is the vaccine NZ has managed to acquire (but unlikely to be in the country yet) and it will be rolled out early in the New Year. By all means, refuse to allow your children to be vaccinated by a vaccine which has gone through all the hoops and been approved for universal use. That is your prerogative.
Um I addressed your comment I said re Taiwan that indeed that is the Pfizer we are currently giving to those 12 and up.
The second part of my comment address the child dose vaccine and your comments re proven safety and efficiency which are actually far from settled.
mpledger…my opinion, based on reading numerous research papers and after watching the shit show that was the JCVI recommendations over giving young children these products, is that those pushing these 'vaccines' onto a demographic who are infinitesimally affected by the disease is fuckwittery of the highest order. Immoral. Unethical and completely scientifically and medically unjustified.
Question. [deleted]
(Not going to link again…don't be lazy..look up the research for yourself.) The experts have appeared to have given up totally on any sort of herd/community/population immunity against Covid.
[deleted]
There is a logical progression here…can you think what that might be?
And anyone who demands that a parent put aside their natural instincts to protect their children against some myth of the 'greater good' is beneath contempt.
Shame on you.
[I’ve deleted the claims of fact that have no linked evidence. I’ve left the opinions. We’ve been over this before and I’m not willing to spend more time on this. Each time you or anyone makes a claim of fact, you have to provide evidence as you go (that’s a quote, link and your own explanation interpretation). The reason for this is because otherwise we’re just talking past each other and it gets hard to make sense of what people are claiming.
There’s been a lot of moderation on this topic in the past, I think everyone has had fair warning. I’m noticing in general, across topics, that I’m having to remind regular who should know better. This isn’t FB where people trade in their personal reckons, we require a high level of evidence for claims of fact because we want robust debate. Reread the Policy if unclear (that’s everyone, not just Rosemary) – weka]
Rosemary, most of the information in your comment on covid and the vaccine is incorrect, but probably not worth debating further in this case.
I hope good luck will see you through!
Rosemary, most of the information in your comment on covid and the vaccine is incorrect, but probably not worth debating further in this case.
Please…debate away.
List the incorrect statement I made please.
I'll make a start, eh?
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33716331/
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-age-sex-demographics/
https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2101
[please don’t do that. People shouldn’t be expected to read whole pages or research papers to understand you. Instead, quote, link, give your explanation or rationale. Yes, I know it’s more work, but it also holds a lot more water which matters in controversial debates. It will also improve the debate and lessen the accusations (both sides take heed) – weka]
mod note.
Apologies…I post links to peer reviewed research that never get read and/or I try to give at least a precis of what the research I've read found.
Sometimes I feel what I say, my opinions, are worth nothing if not backed up by the science and sometimes I know that no matter what I say the person will have already made up their mind so what's the point?
So I spare them my ramblings and chuck the science at them.
Or not.
I will try not to get into discussions unless I can give it at least 80% attention.
Hi Rosemary
I think that there is sufficient evidence now from the UK to show that the effects of covd on children are far from trivial. Certainly the vaccines we have at present are far fro being effective enough but to trivialise covd in younger cohorts is not a responsible track to take
mod note.
This "people die from Covid" narrative could be used to justify any damn thing. It's a bs argument.
Cricklewood. Reason, common sense, consistency and sadly science have all been sacrificed on the altar of the Covid vaccines.
From Monday I will not longer be considered a fit person to provide the care my C4/5 tetraplegic partner needs. The fact he too is un vaccinated does not affect the Health Order mandate other than to make it even more impossible for another carer to provide the care he needs. Ho hum.
BUT, both he and I are welcome to attend the local base hospital in our un vaccinated state so he can have a routine yearly check up for his leukaemia which he was treated for 10 years ago. We just need to check in with the clinic the day before to assure them we have no symptoms. I assume that ALL attendees at the haematology clinic will be PPE'ed, regardless of vaccine status. Which is entirely appropriate.
Logic departed long since. RIP.
Sadly you are correct, the debate around vaccination of young children will get very ugly I fear. Some will demand mandates for all sorts of childrens activities. Having kids looking suspiciously at each other will not end well.
I'd certainly like to see the outcome of Taiwan's experience with 2nd dose Pfizer for 12-17 year olds
https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4340862
The US reports a heightened risk of myocarditis and periocarditis in that age group
I was wondering if you would get caught up in that.
For those that don't know, the MoH is withdrawing funding from disabled people who are being cared for by their own family if the caregiver is unvaccinated.
They can use the funding only for vaccinated caregivers, which is probably reasonable for staff coming in from outside the home, but makes less sense for family caregivers and makes a complete mockery of everything the government says about empowering disabled people in their own lives.
It's one of the most fucked up things I've seen this government do.
Its delibrate cruelty no other explantion for it.
Kindness went out the window a while ago.
Ummm. Tricky position for MoH, DHBs and for that matter for parliament. What you appear to not be considering is that this is an employee or contractor arrangement with a employer. It carries legal responsibilities for the employer. And potential large penalties in criminal, civil, and employment courts.
As a direct or indirect employer, they or the DHBs are potentially liable for their employees who infect others or vice versa (as a reckless endangerment) regardless of who the employee is. There would have to be a specific legal immunity – something that would have to be accurately described by legislation.
Then there are the insurance aspects. Diseases aren’t covered by ACC. No kind of insurance would cover sending high risk employees into a work situation as a deliberate act by the employer.
It is hard to see how Parliament could legislate such a specific legal immunity for the employers about family members. If you even look at any family law you’d understand just how fraught that is. Because simply defining what is a family member is pretty damn undefined. Which is why the legislation tends towards being very limited and prescriptive. So there would be endless cases with long-term family ‘friends’ and ‘partners’ running through the court.
This is essentially the legal position that most employers are in. Where they are been given legal coverage for mandates in potentially high risk medical areas by the use of the Health Acts by parliamentary legislation and government orders in council, both legal routes have been very prescriptive and quite unambiguous. That is what is required for them to be effective in the short time frames available.
Basically I’d suggest that you look to this at the legal review of the pandemic legislation that we will be doing a few years down the line. Offhand, I can’t think of a good way of legally defining the bounds of this.
Your best bet would probably be to make the funding a grant to the people being cared for so that they become the employer – then they can incur the legal risk.
Not really. It is just that you’re mostly looking at it from the viewpoint of the carer and the cared for – without looking at it from the legal position of the funding agency.
If you look back in family law, you will find similar issues appearing every time that direct funding is given on a family basis. DHB cases from the 70s and 80s being the obvious one.
I definitely considered that, and then ran through my head the various aspects and still concluded that the government and the MoH basically don't give a shit. In two ways: one is the normal way that disabled people get treated in NZ. Two is that they're not philosophically inclined towards any leeway for unvaccinated people (i.e. they're sending a very strong message at the same time as casting as wide a net as possible, so why would they want to exempt anyone when coercion seems to be helping the vax rate?)
Asking around it looks like the MoH said no, then yes (due to low risk), and finally no. Really hard to follow what exactly happened and why (Rosemary might know more), or whether the final decision was based on the legals you refer to, or was more about health policy.
If the issue is one of risk, consider that a severely disabled man who is being looked after by his wife, and she doesn't work anywhere else. MoH would have written a list of who was covered by the health order, and they could have included exceptions. They're not mandating all NZ workers, just some, so I think your argument about legal risk is overstated.
The DBHs and MoH don't have to be in the employer role (afaik the MoH never is, and the DHB only where they act as a healthcare agency), they can and do give funding directly to the disabled person. I'd be very surprised if all family caregivers have insurance.
There's also the option that the caregiver is self-employed.
Pretty sure the MoH will have already done this, given they have specific programmes aimed at family care givers.
Obviously a family care giver who worked outside of the home with other vulnerable people or in key positions would be a different story (and I'm fairly certain this is who the original policy was written to cover).
Ok, hearing Rosemary grimace all the way from Northland on that one. A huge number of disabled people in NZ are living below the poverty line. Thanks to successive governments refusing to address disable people's income, and messes around ACC vs WINZ. And no, I don't think WINZ would come to the party on the funding.
And, where the MoH funds people directly, they are not allowed to use that funding to pay unvaccinated caregivers, including family. That's the point. The government is going hard on this, I doubt that people with private income to pay caregivers will be ok even if they are willing to take the risk, afaik it's just flat out against the law now.
But I do expect a lot of this stuff to go under the radar. The Panel recently had someone decrying hairdressers working from home under the table during covid, as if hairdressers haven't always done this. Lots of care work and cleaning gets done this way too. Unvaxxed people who lose their jobs will look for under the table work. Disabled people who can afford it will get desperate for workers and hire who they can. It's not like there's already an abundance of workers out there.
Vaccination is not mandatory if you live with a person who is disabled. It is mandatory if you are employed by a person who is disabled.
For me it is about the welfare of the disabled person and not some wacko law when it comes to being vaccinated when in the company of a person who is disabled in a shared home.
Yes, but also, pretty sure it's if you are a paid caregiver (rather than simply an employee), so it would cover self-employed people as well.
To make it simple who pays the self employed carer and who pays the employee who is the carer?
I think there are two different contracts when it comes to funding.
depends on the funding stream, but the MoH does give funding directly to some clients who then can choose their own caregivers (as employees or contractors I think).
Been away from the computer for a bit (a friend left strict instructions on my To Do notice board for me to spend less time screening) but not to worry…you have it well and truly in hand. (Peter has IF, and yes, although it was not Gazetted when we were informed by HealthcareNZ the other day, family carers providing care in the family home do come under the Health Order mandate fuckwittery.)
We have been here before, and my brief period as a paid family carer has allowed us to stock up and stockpile medical supplies etc (which are difficult to source for some reason) so we are, as usual, prepared.
Pissed off, but prepared. Fuck 'em we say. Raise the drawbridge and lower the portcullis and restock the moat with piranhas.
To celebrate the completion of Peter's new accessible bathroom (after nearly two years) we found a local home based carer to come in to ride shotgun in case I had forgotten how to do bathroom transfers and the like…and in case Himself decided a blackout was in order. This very, very capable woman had had her first Pfizer shot with huge reluctance, and only because her clients need her and she was forced to have it. She was crook for a week. I haven't heard if she's had her second.
This is a shit show.
We are living through the most extraordinary of times and we must, above all, reject the notion that there is only 'one source of truth'.
Thanks weka for batting on this.
The arrangement lprent suggested would be OK for those on super.
do you mean people on Super pay a family caregiver from their pension? Afaik, the mandate is on all health workers, doesn't make where the funding comes from. And which people on Super have the income to pay for lots of support?
Er no – simply that those who get money to pay a carer would not have their super cut (WINZ can only stalk benefit payments).
The NZ Governments (of all persuasions) have almost prided themselves on treating non ACC high needs disabled Kiwis and their chosen family carers like shit.
This is nothing new and completely expected.
In our experience, Ministry of Health bureaucrats have a profound sense of authority based on a dearth of actual knowledge and expertise. To the point of actually causing harm to those they are supposed to be supporting.
And they do not care.
https://publicaddress.net/access/the-family-carers-case-here-we-go-again/
Weka
Inhuman behavior is a consequence of pressure applied from powers we depend on. This was true in other countries with far more severe implications but the principle stands. I am disgusted to read that this is implemented. Insult to injury.
I typed out a couple of responses to this – but reluctantly was compelled to self-moderate.
More than anything else right now I feel ashamed.
What you self moderating!
I thought I would give it a stab @ 3.2.2.2.1.1
That was a lot more level headed response that I was capable of in the moment.
You do not need to answer, but is the Pfizer vaccine the reason for you not getting vaccinated?
When it comes to an alternative I was surprised when I heard that the Astra Zeneca vaccine (non mRNA) was going to be offered as an alternative. Another one needs to be found which is also not a mRNA one.
Immuno compromised is another topic. Even in the past.
I do think that the government need to make an exception when it comes to an unvaccinated person being the sole carer of a person in a household bubble providing the person who has the care agrees and is not coerced. There is no point in swapping a problem/s for another one. As well vaccination is not mandatory in a household. I agree with a person needing to be vaccinated were they to go into another household to give care.
So there is a difference when it comes to what goes on in your household.
There certainly are some curve balls and some need a bit more thought.
Treetop. A very close friend, in her early thirties and an early recipient of both Pfizer shots, developed a string of symptoms…including heart issues… and being an avid researcher I dug around a bit.
I simply googled her symptoms and added 'Pfizer shot'. I was totally unprepared for what I found. One website which supports US sufferers of a condition I happen to have had experience with had a new thread on its forum with 456 pages of 10 comments each of people sharing their post vax stories. I had not heard of this website before…nor that it was an actual 'thing' that I had suffered from on more than one occasion. What I'm trying to say is that these people were not my tribe.
That thread is over 750 pages now, and some of those vaccinated (because they were more likely to suffer from Covid) are still very debilitated, some are suicidal and almost all of them regret the day they took the shot. All of the shots. Moderna, Pfizer, J&J, AZ. A US site….has become a haven for sufferers throughout the world, including NZ, who like me made a symptom specific google search and found an island of discussion and support. All of those sharing their stories were met with dismissal and disbelief when they sought medical help.
My young friend is largely recovered, thank the goddess, but she did have Holter heart monitoring and an MRI and a CT scan and an ultrasound. And an ambulance when she collapsed unable to breathe at work.
My partner, after 50 years post spinal injury, is by his own description neurologically fucked. Prone to autonomic dysreflexia, thermoregulatory impairment and orthostatic hypotension at the best of times, the last few years have seen his instability increase. Change…temperature, posture, eating too quick, light, stuff in the air… whatever the fuck can cause extreme dizzines, faintness, blackouts and weird one side of the face rashes. He has become an incredibly delicate wee flower in his 70s… but it is the low, low barely- double -digits blood pressure that has him most worried.
These new vaccines are simply too big a risk.
Thanks for the support on the carer thing. I was Peter's unpaid carer for over twenty years and have only been paid for the work under Covid dispensation fro April last year.
Will we miss my income…a bit…but we knew this was coming months ago so we are prepared.
I thought at first you said too big an ask. Also true. Science is just not good at assessing risk for the outliers.
As you will know…we largely have to do our own risk assessment and management…because we sure as hell haven't got a hotline we can call.
Sure.
And there is information we do not have at hand yet.
So that leaves one with risk management assessment planning
For example
Delay vaccination till
PS For mine the risk of long COVID – vascular damage, organ damage and aging of the cells from infection weights risk on the side of being protected – the balance to that is capability of reducing risk of infection.
The other unknown is the Health Ministry plan for rationing.
For example they have finally funded the diabetes 2 drug that prevents deterioration to need for dialysis – but only for one third of those who need it.
They might import treatments (anti-virals and fluvoxamine – anti-inflammatory that can be used before the steroid can be) but restrict provision of them to only some – this would increase the number of long COVID outcomes.
The other unknown is the Health Ministry plan for rationing.
I have no doubt they have one. The groundwork has been done for it to be acceptable to not treat the 'willfully unvaxxed' , to 'prioritise' and 'make the hard decisions'.
From many comments here on TS from 'Lefties'… there is a real appetite for the 'tent in the corner of the hospital carpark.'
If that is to be the case, and I have little doubt that there will be more of this attitude from those in healthcare, then at least doctors should be able to prescribe medicines and recommend therapies that may not necessarily have been approved by the bureaucrats at Medsafe. ( I am talking about off label use of established drugs with many years of safety records.)
People say all sorts of stuff because of their insecurity (interning Japanese banning Moslem migrants etc), it’s those who do that are of more concern.
(I would not rely on it, but if infected and without adequate health back up would raid the Evie McTin for a cookie).
I know you do your research carefully on medical matters. You have always come across as being very devoted to the health of your partner.
Thing that really fucks me off is that if we hadn't spent the last however many decades forcing many disabled people to live in poverty (financial and health), I think many of the current hesitant disabled people would choose to vaccinate. If people feel they will be looked after, then they are often more willing to take risk.
The degree of health privilege expressed by lefties in recent months is mindblowing. But it does sit alongside their relative reluctance to actually do something about the poverty of disabled people.
I think you mean the neo-liberal regime straight jacket managing elected governments, including those nominally centre-left.
Actual lefties have sought income support for those with disability at super levels, and both income support for carers and the continuance of income support to those with disability while with working partners.
There is restructuring and there is restructuring. One puts people's welfare first, the other puts cost of services first.
One puts people's welfare first, the other puts cost of services first.
During the family carers cases hearings…so many , over such a long time…one aspect that was poorly described was the cost benefit of having a family member providing some very high level advanced personal cares.
To pay for registered/enrolled nurse level care would be too expensive and 'allowing' unregulated carers to perform some of the RN/EN level tasks raised a raft of liability issues. Not providing the care would put the patient in hospital (very expensive) or their life at risk (cheap, and many think this is actually the desired outcome).
Paying a family carer at the same rate as an unregulated carer with the disabled person giving permission for that family member to perform those high level care tasks you'd think it would have been an obvious win/win/win.
But these are bureaucrats…
Cricklewood, in the context of a global pandemic that has killed over 5 million people, your kids’ dance classes are unimportant. Get a life.
So how deep is the rabbit hole?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/300452605/saliva-testing-processes-slammed-by-auditorgeneral
How much more is there that we have no means of knowing let alone checking? Is NZ becoming a country throwing proven checks and balances over board to get the wink wink nudge nudge instead?
that's really bad. Might be corruption, but I'd be looking first at an already stressed system degenerating under the pandemic stress. Also decades of neoliberal managerial culture. Not excuses, but if we want to fix this shit we need to be honest about the systemic issues, not just want heads to roll.
I would suggest Rako very publicly disputing what had been said about Saliva testing by both the MOH and Minister put them at a severe disadvantage during the tender process. No doubt a bureaucrat or 3 in the Ministry had an axe to grind.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2021/07/coronavirus-saliva-testing-provider-disputes-chris-hipkins-claim-of-reluctance-over-test-s-slow-rollout.html
"The ministry has consistently advised Chris Hipkins incorrectly – that saliva is a less sensitive sample for detecting Sars-CoV-2 as compared to nasopharyngeal swab tests." He said the company's protocols had been "diagnostically validated" as "at least as sensitive and accurate as nasopharyngeal swab tests".
I think that it's fair to say that in general the move from pandemic to endemic is ideologically driven rather than science based. An interesting article at naked capitalism gives a lot of insight to the roots of "living with covd" and the necessary tragedies that this will entail. in the case of NZ, by the end of summer we will have obtained complete transmission of Delta throughout the country if national summer holidays are given the ok. From the article:
The clear implication is that we are no longer following the science but have been co-opted into the business and economy centred view that peoples lives (the plebs) are less important than profits. The government could have stomped on the "freedom" protest organisers but instead has seen them as a useful tool to steer us towards endemic. The poll results could be read as the population realising the slide in commitment by the govt towards protecting peoples health. I dont know the Greens position on covd but there is an opening now for someone to make gains by filling the elimination space that has been abandoned by Labour.
I'm ok with the government not simply rubberstamping every suggestion from the scientific community. There are a wide variety of factors that might make a course of action counterproductive or impractical, so the ideal might not always intersect with the possible.
What I would like, however, is for advice regarding other factors (economic, administrative, enforcement capabilities, legal practicalities) to be as well-publicised as the scientific advice. Are we fighting a holding action to minimise ICU demands as region by region becomes exposed? Or is there just a "resistance is futile" atmosphere permeating the government because the white-ants have finally eroded the necessary compliance rates to the point that either the govt gives up or starts actual mass arrests? Or does polling in Auckland just look bad?
Everyone and their cousin has become a certified google epidemiologist with a side-hustle of immunology, just as we were all google seismologists and mining engineers ten years ago. But there doesn't seem to have been the same level of focus on the arguments for relaxing lockdowns as there was for implementing them.
Maybe that's the difference between science and the social sciences. Maybe it's maybelline.
Absolutely agree McFlock. It feels as though we are being left out of the conversation. It would be nice for a bit of transparency. Maybe the govt could let us in on their thinking rather than trying to herd us in the direction they have decided to take
Govt inserts Green lever into the economy:
This strikes me as a substantial shift away from greenwash.
So what we seem to have here is both design and enforcement method. Time will tell if the combo actually works – but it does promise a morphing effect, away from neoliberalism towards sustainability.
So, who's making the money?
Well, the short answer is the players in the game compete to produce winners. Privacy law prevents anyone knowing the truth, as usual.
Obviously a socialist would point to Grant Robertson, author of govt investment policy, as a player in the game. Grant would respond "Are you kidding? I'm a neoliberal. I just do policy. Others handle the money side of things."
Yaaay Greens.
this does look good. Depends on what the funds to towards I guess.
World bank is immediately a red flag for me. First question is do bonds equate to a loan or is this a gift. Then if a loan are they denominated in $NZ or $US. If US then we are effectively selling our souls since we will always be open to political pressure through currency manipulation. At present all govt bonds are in $NZ. If push comes to shove we can always get the Reserve Bank to buy them back. QE for the people. Once we owe $US its game over for any remaining shred of independence.
With govt bonds in $US its irrelevant what value our currency is at. In fact if our currency devalues its easier to pay back. Debt in $US becomes very hard to repay if your currency comes under attack.
Good points. World Bank was once a red flag for me too but it seems to have headed towards being part of the solution in recent years. I've put a request for appraisal on Michael Reddell's site…
If you find out they are hawking green bonds as US denominated debt you will know that they have gotten a lot worse because it will signal that they have figured out how to enslave first world countries as well third world. I'm a cynic on that front especially as it's pretty recent since they tied Ecuador in a pretty little bow that will take some undoing.
Sally Brooker is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Otago, a principal investigator in the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, and co-leader of the German-NZ green hydrogen relationship building team. Her opinion:
Chris Bishop is making lots of noise around no need for MIQ for fully vaccinated people to be in MIQ.
That doesn't take into account a new variant emerging.if a new variant arrived which was more deadly that wasn't suppressed by existing vaccines it would be wise not to panic and keep MIQ in place until Covid is brought under control.Its easy for opposition to pick away at the existing govt,when you don't have to make the decisions.
Contact tracing is not keeping up with unlinked cases and Bishop wants to put more pressure on health workers and overload the hospital capacity quicker.
Not only a new strain emerging but antibodies waning and the R number increasing with the current Delta outbreak.
What is Bishop going to do when health workers become unwell or are partially burnt out?
Of course he's a yarpie.
A prison officer at the Waikeria jail in Waikato is on “special leave” after allegations he assaulted and strangled an inmate.
Anthony Prinsloo faces charges of injuring with reckless disregard, and strangulation, which carry maximum penalties of five and seven years imprisonment, respectively.
Prinsloo’s charge sheet says the charges relate to an alleged assault of prisoner Christopher Ranapia at the jail on June 20 this year.
Prinsloo has entered a not guilty plea to the injuring charge, and has yet to enter a plea on a more recently-added charge of strangulation, which was described as “intentionally or recklessly impeded Christopher Ranapia’s normal breathing by applying pressure on or to his throat, neck or both”.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/126940647/prison-officer-on-special-leave-after-claims-he-strangled-an-inmate
Waikeria Crackdown
Am I headed for the pound again ??
Officer Anthony Prinsloo (a South African) has just officially charged me with breach of a prison rule after having found me in another inmates cell watching Lisa Owen interviewing me on “Newshub Nation” on TV3 on Saturday morning .
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2018/06/26/arthur-taylor-crackdown-by-prison-for-watching-my-interview-with-lisa-owen/
Not a great fan of ethnic slurs, and don’t like populist jargon either, but had never heard this one.
The name may be occasionally used as an ethnic slur for Afrikaners, in which instance it is also spelt according to English orthography: yarpie. This comes from the Afrikaans term plaasjapie, meaning "farm boy".[1] It has socio-economic connotations similar to the NZ/Australian term bogan or the American hillbilly. It may or may not be an offensive term depending upon intent and context of use.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japie
Yu Kongjian teaches Green design recycled from ancient times:
We need this guy to come here and teach our town planners that concreted places don't absorb water and thus surface flooding.
We need the water in the ground, not on concrete to collect all sorts of pollution and then go via the storm drain to nowhere.
Random thoughts wonderfully colliding
https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20211025-the-marvel-of-chinas-multi-generational-rice-terraces
Indeed, and that's an excellent photo to start with! Onsite here I often advocate my favourite leftist principle: social equity. As this example from your link indicates, it's essential for any economy.
This style of agriculture is also a model of resilience:
The faces of covid today;
1. “The Taranaki town of Stratford is on high alert today after six people tested positive for Covid-19.
One person is in hospital and the other five are isolating at home. All of the cases have a link to the Auckland outbreak.
Taranaki DHB medical officer of health Dr Jonathan Jarman says the six people were very reluctant to get tested and have not been using the tracer app.”
2. “The West Auckland woman says her 68-year-old father, who fled a conflict-scarred country 20 years ago for a better future, spent the last five days of his life in agony coughing up blood and was too weak to move, waiting for officials to say he should go to hospital.”
3. "Some of them didn't believe that Covid was even an actual thing. They thought it was a conspiracy until they actually got it. And so you've got a lot of those, kind of misinformation out there that our people are getting.” (Paula Ormsby, Waikato women's branch leader of Mongrel Mob Wāhine Toa)
4. "The Bay of Plenty town Murupara has the country's lowest vaccination rates – less than half of the eligible population has had even one dose.
A local doctor, who rejects the Pfiizer vaccine, is closing his practice rather than accept government mandates." The 30 year GP in Murupara has said, “I am not an antivaxxer and would personally administer this vaccine should my patient be adequately informed and give free choice.”
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018820227/covid-19-murupara-racing-to-get-vaccinated
The new face today is Taupo.
Can someone explain to me why this person has been added to our Covid deaths?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/auckland-shooting-three-people-charged-over-new-lynn-murder-self-isolating-fourth-on-the-run/EXKEM7V7AEN3DB7WX2OKE2QMB4/?objectid=12485044&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=nzh_fb&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1636601423
I'm no coroner, but didn't the bullet going through him cause his death?
There is a criteria for a covid-19 death. I am guessing that it is something like – anyone dying from any cause within 30 days of diagnosis (or maybe recovery) from covid-19.
There has to be a pretty strict criteria so that there is uniform counting across countries etc. But sometimes human-made criteria can't cover all the permutations that life throws up.
Sometimes it is easier to over-count (slightly) then to spend time splitting hairs.
That's bloody ridiculous! The guy was out on his driveway, and probably would have been off work for a week with Covid, then back to normal. Don't you think lead poisoning would be a more likely cause of death?
I would have thought we would want to keep our deaths from Covid as low as possible, not artificially inflate them………what's next? An asymtomatic person tests positive and while leaving hospital to go to MIQ gets run over by a bus! Notch up another Covid kill.
Yes, it is called a "case definition". You need them in epidemiology – they work well but any case definition will usually include false positives and false negatives.
Simplicity is also desirable. In this case, simplicity has trumped accuracy, I am guessing. You could make the case definition more nuanced (to exclude this case, for example), but probably not worth it for tracking the big picture.
I was thinking, a good defense lawyer could probably get the shooter a not guilty verdict as the bullet didn't kill him, Covid did!
Well, no, a trial is akin to a case review rather than an epidemiological aggregate.
Additionally, on the mortality records the primary cause of death will still eventually be the bullet. But those get finalised after the coronial cases are closed, so lag a couple of years.
Keeping them in the epidemiological aggregate looks a bit silly for small numbers, but then with larger numbers we might find that shooting victims with covid are more likely to die than non-covid victims, so maybe it could be regarded as a contributory cause (albeit not primary cause) of death.
Sorry I thought it was obvious I was being sarcastic!
In the defense argument line, sure, but the gripe about the aggregate record seemed real.
It's not quite as odd as one might imagine.
So… because a person died, having been shot, is it reasonable to conclude that he couldn't have passed on Covid? If he wasn't listed as having Covid, could the usual tracking and tracing of contacts have been done? Are Covid deaths recorded because the person died with, or died of, the infection?
Died with. But we're not exactly living in a time where people are dropping off all over the place. Brits in particular were trying the "it only means died with not of" line last year, which is why the excess mortality stats also gained prominence.
It actually tends to work the other way – because a lot of governments got overwhelmed (charitable explanation) or wanted to hide the true toll of their incompetence (most likely), they actually stopped tests and counts unless they absolutely couldn't avoid it. So in a lot of the world, 2020 mortality was higher than expected but by much more than the official covid count.
But then there's the question about what other things emerged to raise mortality rates by 15-20% at the same time covid hit the world. Godzilla sneaking around the place?
For violent deaths, they have to be referred to the coroner, in which case cause of death isn't legally established until a finding is made. In the meantime, the reporting is that someone died while Covid positive until the Coroner's determination arrives, after which the figures can be updated.
This no doubt seems weird, but came about to avoid deliberate undercounting of deaths for political convenience (HIV was bad for this).
James Shaw speaks 🙂
" It’s been a whirlwind week of kōrero, talanoa, media, meetings, and negotiations. There have been some really positive developments, but some issues remain. Over the next two days countries need to come together to agree an outcome that keeps us on track to address the climate crisis. The consequences of not doing so are intolerable.
As I told countries on Tuesday:
For decades political leaders have known what would happen if they did not act to cut emissions. They had a chance to stop it. But they didn’t. And so, it falls to us. Right here. Right now."
(Copied from Facebook. Anyone wanting to read from the source could copy some of the text, paste it into their browser’s search bar and have it appear, effortlessly, I reckon).
"They saw the winners sent home with their laptops and smart-phones. They saw themselves heading out to work every morning, as usual, to do what were once called the “shit jobs” – but were now referred to as “essential occupations”. They wondered about that. If their jobs were “essential”, why weren’t they paid the same sort of wages as the people on “Zoom” meetings, whose jobs clearly were not? They saw a world which kept on working pretty well, even when more that half the workforce was doing nothing more productive than exchanging e-mails. Some members of the Team of Five Million seemed to have a whole lot less to do than others. Something was definitely wrong with this picture."
That picture has been askew for quite some time
http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2021/11/behold-losing-class.html
So Devon Conway punches his bat and breaks his hand. So much for "a champion team will always beat a team of champions". His lack of self discipline has just helped Australia's chances of taking the final.
It was not intentional. It is a game. Tim Seifert is no mean player Top score T20 84.
I must confess that I was fishing for Alwyn.
I'm sorry but Alwyn's are a completely protected species in New Zealand so any fishing for me is banned.
We are also far smarter than anglers.
Aha, caught you!
What to watch out for fishing for alwyn
https://i.imgur.com/OSMo0HH.gif
I'll bet that is your great mate Seamus, isn't it Gezza?
Yaw diversionary tactics are wasted on me, my bro. We both know that's YOU❗️ 😀 💪🏼 🐧
Yeah we lose a bit in the batting but we gain in keeping department and maybe the adversity of losing a key player lifts the team as a whole
Of more concern is that'll miss the Indian tour
"Glasgow: The shock new pact between China and the United States unveiled in Glasgow has been hailed as a breakthrough as the deadline looms for the climate summit’s negotiations.
The world’s two largest emitters declared global warming an existential crisis which demands co-operation between the superpowers.
In a boost to the flagging COP26 talks and sign of a possible thawing in the fractured relationship between both countries, Chinese climate envoy Xie Zhenhua and his US counterpart John Kerry stunned observers by unveiling the joint declaration pledging tougher action this decade.
The agreement was negotiated in secret for months during about 30 virtual meetings and negotiation sessions in Shanghai, London and Washington before final terms were settled in Glasgow on Wednesday night local-time (Thursday AEDT)"
"Xie described climate change as an “existential crisis” and said agreement between the US and China on how to deal with global warming far outweighed their differences on the issue.
Kerry, a former US secretary of state under Barack Obama, framed the surprise agreement as much-needed momentum for the COP26 talks.
“The two largest economies in the world have agreed to work together to raise climate ambition in this decisive decade,” Kerry told reporters in Glasgow.
“Our teams have worked together for months, and we have worked in good faith. We have found common ground.”
Kerry described the joint-declaration as a “road map for our present and future collaboration” on climate change."
https://www.theage.com.au/world/europe/existential-crisis-united-states-and-china-stun-cop26-with-joint-climate-change-pact-20211111-p597wq.html
Thanks, Brigid. Seems like a breakthrough. Perhaps prudent to await further analysis before we get too excited. Simulation is a strategy of govts since whenever…
Since it doesn’t show up here I’m guessing it’s a bilateral thingy: https://ukcop26.org/cop-president-daily-media-statement-and-latest-announcements-11-november/
Although this other report of it shows it happened at the venue: https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/china-us-make-joint-statement-cop26-climate-summit-2021-11-10/
I linked briefly to this development a couple of days ago. It's the outcome of significant on-going negotiations and it's not at all clear who the players are, what their motives and commitment to this really is.
Nor do we have any details on the intended 'co-operation'.
So far all the talk is around methane reduction – but that's literally only a half measure. The CCP knows full well that it risks being the very odd man out in this game, their CO2 emissions being larger and growing faster than any other major nation. You can parse the data however you like, but unless the PRC turns this corner no other actions anywhere else in the world will matter much. They know this.
They also know that solar and wind power does not work in their climate zone – nor can anyone reasonably demand they should 'shrink' their per capita energy use. This leaves just one singular path forward. The question has to be – are the US and the PRC planning to cooperate on a new generation of nuclear power?
If this is true – there could be a great deal more to this deal than is apparent so far.
Yeah, you got it. The fact that they've been doing bilateral negotiations for months suggests an ongoing mutual commitment to actually getting a substantial deal done. But it's also in their mutual interest to signal an output @ COP26. So there's a wee bit of a fudge going on.
Re the nuclear angle, your summary of the relevant logic is apt. No point precipitating a public relations disaster via premature announcement. Framing of that would be crucial. All the scientific, economic & political ducks in a row is the design challenge. If they're engaged on that task it'd be a massive breakthrough.
Julian Assange and Stella Moris are getting married in Belmarsh prison
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/nov/11/julian-assange-allowed-to-marry-partner-stella-moris-in-jail
Typically the Guardian gets it wrong claiming they met in the Ecuador Embassy .They met in 2011, when Moris was called in to help Jennifer Robinson, long time lawyer of Assange
In the RT link Amy Goodman interviews Stella Moris
She's an impressive young woman
https://www.rt.com/uk/540043-julian-assange-marriage-moris/
Typical state behaviour though:
Hard to disagree with her, but I must point out that the state has sovereign power. Therefore bureaucrats are authorised to pass the buck whenever possible. The referral to the CPS by a bureaucrat seems malevolent yet I bet that bureaucrat has nothing in his employment contract requiring him to make decisions in accord with the human rights of prisoners.
Therefore, as state agent, he is free to choose where to pass the buck. There's no requirement in the law around state constitution in western countries that requires the state to make decisions based on ethical conduct or human rights as far as I know. Sure, most western countries signed up for the UN Covenants that describe such rights, but I'm unaware of any actual constraint resulting from the signing that binds state employees into acting in accord…
Geez, this sounds like very bad police/MOH coordination … ☹️
“Distraught family members who were allegedly let through Auckland’s border by compassionate police officers for the funeral of their Covid-infected father subsequently had their border exemption application declined.
Three siblings travelled from Whangārei to farewell their father before they received a response from the Ministry of Health on their application, the Herald has been told.
The family claim they were allowed into Auckland and attended the funeral, after which their travel exemption application was declined.
Now they fear they may have trouble returning home.”
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-delta-outbreak-family-of-glen-eden-man-who-died-denied-border-exemption-after-travelling-to-funeral/4EGO5TPI2R5VKFQCYTREPPPCKE/
Looks like what happens when humanitarian concerns come into conflict with the little hitler syndrome. Bureaucrats are big on rules and small on humanity…
With respect, Dennis, I think little hitler syndrome is an inaccurate & unfair description.
I was a public servant for 34 years, but I was never a bureaucrat & studiously avoided employment in any roles that required a bureaucratic temperament or attitude.
What most likely has happened here is classic bureaucracy tho. The person or persons charged with making the decision are too far removed from the people affected by it & most likely have little effective discretion to depart from firm & generally successful (so far) rules that have kept covid under control (until delta).
My bet is that at MOH there was a collective “If we say yes, we’ll open the floodgates & there’ll be a raft of such requests in future that we can’t then deny”-type decision. So the decision was to hang tuff for what seemed like a good reason.
Policepersons, on the other hand, are the sharp end, dealing with people face to face on a daily basis. They have lots of discretion. Many of them are moved by simple human compassion that comes from seeing grief daily. The longer they’re in a frontline role the better they get at becoming sensible, pragmatic decision-makers.
Fair enough. I accept such nuances characterise the public service. Your point re the police/public interface & pragmatism is a good one. Anyway, feel free to admonish me again whenever I air my stance on public service bureaucrats. Since it is based on half a century or so of observing the little hitler syndrome evident in media reportage of their decision-making, it'll probably keep showing up!
There’s no doubt that there ARE some little hitlers in the public service, in both case officer & supervisor roles, and I’ve met some of these psychopaths – but in the case of these applications for covid exemptions it’s a safe bet that at least two people – and very likely more than two – are involved in collectively making & then approving the final decision.
Most public servants in my experience are not the cold-hearted inflexible bastards they’re often stereotyped as. They’re ordinary, compassionate, empathetic folk like the rest of us. What counts is the policy criteria they get charged with enforcing, but don’t usually have any input into developing.
'Gliding On' has alot to answer for Gezza…probably one of DF's favourites…right timeline.
.
🤔
👍🏼 😀
Altho Gliding On was right on the mark with many of its characterisations of how govt departments operated in the 70’s, when I joined, right down to the decor, office layouts, tea ladies & typists.
Things changed massively after Roger Douglas raided & stripped out the economy. No more tea ladies, just a kitchen area & free milk, sugar, cheapest instant coffee & tea – and open plan offices (with cube walls, if you were lucky).
Well, no, there are good reasons for it.
The cops letting them through without a pass were endangering people in other regions. I can understand why, but they took a risk that was above their pay grade.
edit: ah, ok, they were going the other direction (into akl) so not too bad. Still it’s a bit like going overseas – if you go without everything done first, there’s no guarantee you won’t get stuck.