Open mike 21/07/2020

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, July 21st, 2020 - 57 comments
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57 comments on “Open mike 21/07/2020 ”

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  1. Sacha 1
    21 July 2020 at 7:35 am

    A break from the bad news. Meet the New Zealander who came up with the 'bubble' concept, Dr Tristram Ingham. https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/122163720/dr-tristram-ingham-the-brains-behind-the-covid19-bubble

    “Build your bubble” was the answer he pitched to the ministry. It went alongside messages like “don’t be scared, be prepared” and aligned with the concept of hibernation. The idea was that “you didn't have to wait for the tidal wave to come, you could do something,” Ingham explains.

    “Effectively it was a social contract with people, a set of rules you negotiated with family members or housemates.”

    • Rosemary McDonald 1.1
      21 July 2020 at 8:55 am

      There were so many issues that affect people with disabilities and their families in that article Sacha it is almost impossible to isolate one to highlight.

      The 'bubble' thing…not a novel concept and unsurprising it has been deployed again to make the Lockdown seem a little less scary.

      What struck me about that article is that Dr. Ingham did go into some detail about having to not only reorganise his life but the lives of his extended family in order to ensure his care needs were met. Were his usual carers, the ones he 'cancelled' compensated for loss of earnings?

      Not so easy for others….

      But he doesn’t shy away from the reality of those weeks trapped at home, without carers or support networks, with supermarkets stripped of the basics, online delivery slots impossible to secure and no PPE.

      “Lockdown was pretty traumatic.”

      And he also relates an experience, all too familiar to those with impairments (especially those with high support needs) when engaging with those who effectively control the lives of those not blessed with ACC cover.

      Too often, a disabled person’s voice is not at the table, he says, “or if it is it’s not given the volume it needs”.

      He talks of being at a high-level government meeting where a service provider turned around and said while they didn’t mind “asking” disabled people what they wanted, “we certainly don’t want them on our committee – we want people with skills”.

      Being the only disabled person in the room, that was “horrifying”, he says.

      Fuck me. This guy is an actual doctor….with degrees and a significant disability…and even he is not considered worthy enough to to contribute to the planning and provision of disability supports?

      Unsurprising to we lesser mortals who have tried to engage in good faith with these people, thinking it was simple ignorance that was at the root of their inefficiencies.

      The other issue Dr. Ingham raised was the lack of security in the reforms brought in during April to allow disabled people …

      …the autonomy they’d been asking for, as criteria were loosened for things such as what disability support money could be spent on.

      Now the “million-dollar question” is whether the red tape will be tightened again. “There's a real sense that these changes need to continue,”

      While I am enjoying finally having an income after 20 years of unpaid care provision, this is by no means a secure arrangement. There was a strange email from our IF Host the other day…confused and confusing and asking for clarity produced more confusion.

      And finally….the references to Dr. Ingham being a 'millionaire' in the article makes sense now after this piece on the Natrad this morning.

      https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018755844/covid-19-govt-contractor-paid-400-an-hour-for-help

      • greywarshark 1.1.1
        21 July 2020 at 11:30 am

        Rosemary – burrow not too far into anything from the top these days and look for the 'money' side of it.

        So the real reason why 'they' don't want disabled people at the table is that they don't have the 'money first', obeying the strictures of neolib efficiency skills. They are money-users without awareness of spending limits, not tightly-budgeted people but care-oriented, people-oriented skills; Not Wanted on Board! And the two sides are likely to be often in opposition, and need to listen to and work alongside each other, not freeze each other out.

        • Rosemary McDonald 1.1.1.1
          21 July 2020 at 12:02 pm

          "…not tightly-budgeted people but care-oriented, "

          Thing is GWS, many, many disabled people are, from necessity, extremely 'tightly-budgeted people'. They understand about limited income and having to do more with less.

          They have to be, often having to subsist on pathetic WINZ benefits and having to crawl for every cent extra their begging might produce.

          Those disabled people who are in paid employment more often than not have extra expenses not faced by the abled bodied. (ACC will reimburse these costs, but try getting the MOH or WINZ to offer support.)

          Up until the mid eighties, a person with a significant impairment who was in paid employment was expected to fund their own personal cares…funding was means tested and The Powers That Be struggled to get their heads around the fact that a person in a wheelchair needing 50 hours per week of hands on care could also hold down a full- time, mainstream job.

          What a person with experience of receiving care would bring to the service providers table would be practical ideas to improve efficiencies….possibly leading to lowering the providers 'overheads' and potentially reducing their profit making ability. They jealously defend their possies around the trough.

  2. Nick 2
    21 July 2020 at 7:36 am

    Another one bites the dust

    And another ones gone

    And another ones gone

    Another one bites the dust

    • Sacha 2.1
      21 July 2020 at 7:39 am

      Not cool.

      • greywarshark 2.1.1
        21 July 2020 at 11:31 am

        What is warm and right then teacher?

        • Sacha 2.1.1.1
          21 July 2020 at 11:40 am

          what would Jacinda do?

          • Robert Guyton 2.1.1.1.1
            21 July 2020 at 11:44 am

            "When I took over as leader of the Labour Party I was very deliberate in saying that no matter what else was happening in politics, that I was absolutely determined that we within our team would try and change the culture of politics, that we would campaign positively, that we wouldn't involve ourselves in personal politicking or in what people often call dirty politics," she said.

            "In my mind, that if we wanted to restore faith in political institutions, if we wanted a strong democracy, we need people to look to this place and to the politicians and parties within it and have a bit of faith in us."

            • UncookedSelachimorpha 2.1.1.1.1.1
              21 July 2020 at 1:09 pm

              I missed that statement by JA – it is excellent and to a good extent, it is what the coalition has actually done.

  3. Treetop 3
    21 July 2020 at 7:53 am

    So there is no ongoing operational police matter and Collins cannot interfere in an operational matter.

    Collins cannot sack Falloon immediately. Without doubt Falloon needs to be on sick leave.

    So now a pattern of behaviour could be established and if so could the Falloon issue become an operational matter under another act?

    The 19 year old needs a free legal advisor.

    Falloon's resignation is immediate.

  4. Pat 4
    21 July 2020 at 8:35 am

    Its a hard row to hoe finding the perfect politician

    • AB 4.1
      21 July 2020 at 9:54 am

      … unless they've got a large road to show?

      • Draco T Bastard 4.1.1
        21 July 2020 at 9:57 am

        So…

        The roads are just a cover up and National keeps repeating them because they once worked?

      • Pat 4.1.2
        21 July 2020 at 10:25 am

        that would be a road to nowhere in the context

        • greywarshark 4.1.2.1
          21 July 2020 at 11:35 am

          Reminds me of once when I was in Naples staying in a campground outside the city and there was a beautiful but deserted road from the city to a sports stadium that was rarely used. I was told that a firm with Mafia interests had won a contract to build it – it seemed that it was merely a political ploy, an exercise in profit-making from the gummint to their mates.

  5. Reality 5
    21 July 2020 at 8:38 am

    Dave Armstrong's satirical column on being a Nat MP in Stuff today is laugh out loud hilarious.

  6. Incognito 6
    21 July 2020 at 8:41 am

    Only 60 days until Election Day.

    • Just Is 6.1
      21 July 2020 at 3:22 pm

      That's a long time in politics, given the way it's been going since the demise of the leader of the opposition..

      The first one

  7. Tricledrown 7
    21 July 2020 at 8:43 am

    Karma has caught up with National and its Dirty politics The temporary leader of the National disgrace party,one of the major players in Dirty politics, poetic justice .

    Crusher getting Crushed by her own MP's, dirty rats leaving natz stinking ship.

    • I Feel Love 7.1
      21 July 2020 at 8:53 am

      Conversation in the staff room "he shoulda been sacked", so much for crushing, pfft. Oh yeah, the dirty polly busted sending dirty photos to another woman.

  8. Dennis Frank 8
    21 July 2020 at 8:54 am

    Biden's Brer Fox strategy continues to trend him as winner: https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/national/

    As a general matter, nothing he’s said has made much of an impression one way or the other. His campaign, understandably, hasn’t tried hard to change that. It knows that it benefits if the election is solely a referendum on Trump—and is acting accordingly. On the other hand, Trump should know that it hurts him if the election is solely a referendum on him—yet persists in making it one anyway. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/07/15/the-unappreciated-shrewdness-of-the-joe-biden-campaign-364844

    I heard Trump on the radio earlier this morning saying that Democrat-controlled cities are "worse than Afghanistan". Due to the riots being worse in those cities, apparently. Like how he told the US governors a while back "you've got to dominate!" And also this morning `if I weren't in the whole country would go to hell'. Yet dominance and scaremongering are getting him no traction.

  9. Tricledrown 9
    21 July 2020 at 9:04 am

    Now Winston has hired a Dirty political operator from the Brexit campaign.

    Winston's popularity is finally fizzling out,desperate flailing around getting involved with a very Dirty operator won't revive his back to the past popularity.

    • Tricledrown 9.1
      21 July 2020 at 9:16 am

      Russian interference in Brexit covered up exposed after the UK election.

      Winston has lost it flailing around trying to regain popularity at all costs.

      This is a dumb strategy after all the Nats Dirty politics Winston will be seen in the same light.Desperation.

      • Gabby 9.1.1
        21 July 2020 at 12:28 pm

        Will he demand the dirty tricks brigade be allowed into the country under essential skills, or will they smear from a distance?

    • Gabby 9.2
      21 July 2020 at 12:26 pm

      Isn't Arron Banks a self-professed leader of people up the garden path? ie liar?

  10. joe90 10
    21 July 2020 at 10:22 am

    Rotten to the core.

    ‘Go back into a room with a predator? No thank you’

    For one former staffer from the Botany office of independent MP Jami-Lee Ross, the idea of going back to work for someone who made lewd comments towards her is “disgusting”. Yet this is exactly what her employer suggested.

    A new investigation for the Parliamentary Service has substantiated a number of complaints about his behaviour towards staff, adding to a long list that includes allegations of bullying and sexual harassment that has resulted in mental health implications for several former staffers.

    https://www.newsroom.co.nz/go-back-into-a-room-with-a-predator-no-thank-you

    • RedBaronCV 11.1
      21 July 2020 at 12:06 pm

      This tiktok link seems to be transfering a lot of data onto my computer which is taking time then to respond – rather than giving just a link that when clicked on then brings up the audio/video.

      Given it seems to be an app which has a dubious background/ reputation is this okay? Personally I don't watch audio/ video links

    • UncookedSelachimorpha 11.2
      21 July 2020 at 1:17 pm

      BRILLIANT!!

  12. Just Is 12
    21 July 2020 at 11:34 am

    Here's a great article on positive politics, leading by example.

    An interview with TVNZ

    The tide is turning in NZ politics, Nationals grip on immorality is receeding, fast..

    https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/pm-says-she-wasnt-interested-in-dirty-politics-after-learning-andrew-falloon-scandal-before-national

  13. greywarshark 13
    21 July 2020 at 12:06 pm

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/421649/contractors-paid-millions-to-help-with-government-s-covid-19-response

    $400 an hour – cheap! That's the way the money goes (in neolib NZ), Pop goes the weasel.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_Goes_the_Weasel | An alternative meaning which fits better with the theme of "that's the way the money goes" involves pawning one's coat in desperation to buy food and drink, as "weasel (and stoat)" is more usually and traditionally Cockney rhyming slang for coat than throat and "pop" is a slang word for pawn.

    • OnceWasTim 13.1
      21 July 2020 at 5:16 pm

      Stroke of luck he was close by in the Rapa and not up to much. They'd been shuffling through the roladex of old boy contacts with impressive C.Vs, and by chance, there was a 'nice guy' at hand – probably just tending his Llamas. or testing the local wine, or talking about old times with spook retirees around some gorgeous Greytown restaurant.

      We should really count ourselves lucky, or they'd have had to bring in someone from the Western Empire at twoice the proice

  14. Rosemary McDonald 14
    21 July 2020 at 2:37 pm

    A gleam of light in the murk..https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/sport/421655/world-rugby-considers-transgender-ban

    Hopefully common sense and science will prevail.

    "The latest peer reviewed research confirms that a reduction of testosterone does not lead to a proportionate reduction in mass, muscle mass, strength or power. These important determinants of injury risk and performance remain significantly elevated after testosterone suppression. "

  15. Tony Veitch (not etc.) 15
    21 July 2020 at 2:39 pm

    Wow! Question Time in parliament. Just watched question 2 – the leader of the opposition to the PM.

    Jacinda great in her answers, cutting Collins to shreds, and Julie-Ann and Winstone joined in.

    Not an auspicious start for the new LoTO.

    • Just Is 15.1
      21 July 2020 at 3:30 pm

      It's been the most entertaining afternoon TV I've seen in a while.

      It was certainly much better entertainment than most comedy shows.

      Mallards pretty fair

    • Gabby 15.2
      21 July 2020 at 5:04 pm

      Has Hammish cutPrice crowed about joodee crushing jacinda yet?

  16. ianmac 16
    21 July 2020 at 2:45 pm

    Headline in the Herald:

    'Stardust' vs 'the Crusher'; Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins face off in Parliament.

    Derek Cheng tries to tilt. The effect of Collins questioning on Transport petered out like a wet blanket in my view. On the length of time to start/finish programs like rail to airport, Jacinda answered, "As the Member well knows it sometimes takes a very long time to get what you want." (General laughter.)

    Score: Jardern 1 Collins 0

    • Devo 17.1
      21 July 2020 at 3:22 pm

      Clickbait headline, don't give them what they want (your views)

      • I Feel Love 17.1.1
        21 July 2020 at 3:29 pm

        I don't need too, she'll blame it on drinking and someone stole her phone, mea culpa, etc … I defended her the other day, I'll never read anything of hers again, she's lost it.

        • Just Is 17.1.1.1
          21 July 2020 at 3:36 pm

          Leopards don't change their spots.

          These persistant events plaguing the Nats must be quite overwhelming for her, having to recognise the reality of the National Party in full colour.

  18. AB 18
    21 July 2020 at 3:37 pm

    It's always terrible when the young die – and I will miss the thoughtful Michael Brooks especially from my list of alternatives to mainstream pap. He gave me a new word "pabulum" (or "pablum") and an example of radical humanism impressive in someone so young.

  19. ianmac 19
    21 July 2020 at 4:08 pm

    '

    Labour list MP Raymond Huo has announced he will be retiring at the election.

    Huo was elected in 2008 and was Labour’s first Chinese MP. He has been accused of having close links with “united front” groups linked to the Chinese state, but has denied this.

    “I am proud to have been Labour’s first Chinese born MP,” Huo said in a statement.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300062284/labour-mp-raymond-huo-retiring-from-politics-at-election

    • Treetop 19.1
      21 July 2020 at 7:06 pm

      I read the link, no mention made of the part the police played. I need to chase up what part the police played. Possibly Falloon was told that were more complaints to be made the case would be reopened.

      The way I read it the complainant would have felt let down by the police decision.

      This belongs in 17.

  20. Eco Maori 20
    22 July 2020 at 8:25 am

    Kia Ora

    The Am Show.

    Awsome New Plymouth is setting up a Maori ward.

    That's is cool online business interest is booming.

    I say get some plant setup to remanufacture our plastic waste into floats for mussel and fish farms.

    CONGRATULATIONS Greta.

    Ka kite Ano.

  21. Eco Maori 21
    22 July 2020 at 6:57 pm

    Kia Ora

    Te Ao Maori Marama.

    Yes Maori have to grab opportunity's to provide a better future for their people.

    All councils should have more Maori included in the discussion and decision.

    Ka kite Ano.

  22. Eco Maori 22
    23 July 2020 at 6:30 pm

    Kia Ora

    Newshub.

    Snowing on the moanga and down south the ski fields operators will be smiling.

    That's is cool NZ tourist touring in mass instead of going overseas.

    That's is sad the Tuatara being eaten by a rat such ancient creatures they are.

    Ka kite Ano.

  23. Eco Maori 23
    23 July 2020 at 6:56 pm

    Kia Ora

    Te Ao Maori Marama.

    That's is cool Te puia sorting out their issue with the Government.

    Cool Te Tairawhiti Hauora are working together to provide better health and wellbeing outcomes for their Tangata.

    Ka kite Ano.

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    Note: An earlier version of this article noted Levy was a “party time Health NZ commissioner” - this has been updated - forgive my Freudian slip.Dr Lester Levy is charging $320,000 a year to be a part time Health NZ commissioner. Rachel Thomas reports that Levy is still teaching 2 ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Postcard from Sydney: Southwest and City Metro extension

    This is a guest post from Sydney reader Nik Clement After 2 years in Auckland I moved back to Sydney just over a year ago. While in Auckland, I went to the opening of Puhinui station and used it a fair bit, living in Manukau Central and being able ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    3 days ago
  • Tolling revolt brewing in National heartland

    Kia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, September 18:Locals gathered in Woodville last night to protest at the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s decision to toll the new road linking the Manawatu and Hawkes Bay, saying ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • The doom spiral

    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In his last post, Zeke discussed incredible warmth of 2023 and 2024 and its implications for future warming. A few readers looked at it and freaked out: This is terrifying and This update really put me in a ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago
  • Government directs Te Puni Kōkiri to conduct Māori Language Week in English

    The coalition government has issued a directive to Te Puni Kōkiri, the Ministry of Māori Development, instructing them that – in the interests of clear communication – they are to conduct this year’s Māori Language Week primarily or exclusively in English. The directive is in line with the Government’s policy ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    4 days ago
  • Government celebrates fact that New Zealand’s healthcare is so good people are queuing up for it a...

    At yesterday’s post-cabinet press conference, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, flanked by his Health Minister Shane Reti and someone we can’t independently verify was a real sign language interpreter, announced that he had some positive news for the country. “Alright team, I’m just going to hand over to uh, Dr. Shane, ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    4 days ago
  • Heartwarming: Thoughtful driver uses indicator to tell you what they’ve just done

    It’s 4:10pm in the morning, and you’re in the middle lane heading north on the great southern motorway of our nation’s capital, Auckland. There are no cars directly in front of you, but quite a few in the lane to your left. Suddenly, without warning, a black ute enters your ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    4 days ago
  • NPC teams will now be allowed to actually use the Ranfurly Shield in play

    Following decades of controversy, the governing body of New Zealand rugby, New Zealand Rugby, has ruled that the team currently holding the Ranfurly Shield may once again use it in play during the National Provincial Championship (NPC). The ruling restores the utility of a prize that for many years was ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    4 days ago
  • Climbing out of the hamster wheel

    I arrived home with a head full of fresh ideas about mindfulness and curbing impulsive aspects in my character.On the second night home I grabbed a piece of ginger and began swiftly slicing it on our industrial strength mandolin, the one I have learned through painful experience to treat with ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • More Notes From Stinky Town

    Good morning, folks. Another wee note from a chilly Rotorua morning that looks much clearer than yesterday. As I write, the pink glow in the east is slowly growing, and soon, the palest of blue skies should become a bit more royal.A couple of people mentioned yesterday that I should ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Make it make sense: why axe valuable local projects?

    Last week, Matt looked at how the government wants to pour a huge chunk of civic infrastructure funding for a generation  into one mega-road up North, at huge cost and huge opportunity cost. A smaller but no less important feature of the National Land Transport Plan devised by Minister of Transport ...
    Greater AucklandBy Jolisa
    4 days ago
  • Driving blind at higher speeds

    An open letter by experts about plans to raise speed limits warns the “tragic consequence will be more New Zealanders losing their lives or suffering severe injury, along with a substantial burden on the nation's healthcare and rehabilitation services”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • 2024’s unusually persistent warmth

    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink My inaugural post on The Climate Brink 18 months ago looked at the year 2024, and found that it was likely to be the warmest year on record on the back of a (than forecast) El Nino event. I suggested “there is a real chance ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago
  • National plan for 2000 more Kiwis a year in prison

    Open for allYesterday, Luxon congratulated his government on a job well done with emergency housing numbers, but advocates have been saying it‘s likely many are on the streets and sleeping in cars.Q&A featured some of the folks this weekend - homeless and in cars. Yes.The government’s also confirmed they stopped ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • I Found a Note in a Tree

    Hi,On most days I try to go on a walk through nature to clear my head from the horrors of life. Because as much as I like people, I also think it’s incredibly important to get very far away from them. To be reminded that there are also birds, lizards, ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Politicians need to lift their game

    Declining trust in New Zealand politicians should be a warning to them to lift their game. Results from the New Zealand Election Study for the 2023 election show that the level of trust in politicians has once again declined. Perhaps it is not surprising that the results, shared as part ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    5 days ago
  • Police say they won’t respond to bomb threats anymore as ‘it’s never anything’

    Police Commissioner Andrew Coster says that New Zealand’s police force will no longer respond to bomb threats, in an attempt to cut costs and redirect police resources to less boring activities. Coster said that threat response and bomb disposal was a “fairly obvious” area for downsizing, as bomb threats are ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    5 days ago
  • A dysfunctional watchdog

    The reality of any right depends on how well it is enforced. But as The Post points out this morning, our right to official information isn't being enforced very well at all: More than a quarter of complaints about access to official information languish for more than a year, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Climate Change: The threat of a good example

    Since taking office, the climate-denier National government has gutted agricultural emissions pricing, ended the clean car discount, repealed water quality standards which would have reduced agricultural emissions, gutted the clean car standard, killed the GIDI scheme, and reversed efforts to reduce pollution subsidies in the ETS - basically every significant ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Vegas Baby

    Good morning, lovely people. Don’t worry. This isn’t really a newsletter, just a quick note. I’m sitting in our lounge, looking out over a gloomy sky. Although being Rotorua, the view is periodically interrupted by steam bursting from pipes and dispersing—like an Eastern European industrial hellscape during the Cold War.Drinking ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Why Entrust Needs New Leadership

    I am part of a new team running in the Entrust election in October. Entrust is a community electricity trust representing a significant part of Auckland, set up to serve the community. It is governed by five trustees are elected every three years in an election the trust itself oversees. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • London Bridge is falling down

    In the UK, London is the latest of council groups to signal potential bankruptcy.That’s after Birmingham, Britain’s second largest city, went bankrupt in June, resulting in reduced sanitation services, libraries cut, and dimmed streetlights.Some in the city described things as “Dickens” like.Please, Sir, Can I have some more?For families with ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Govt may kick elderly out of hospitals

    The Government is considering how to shunt elderly people out of hospitals, and also how to cut their access to other support. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Monday, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Getting the nephs off the couch

    The so-called “Prince of the Provinces”, Shane Jones, went home last Friday. Perhaps not quite literally home, more like 20 kilometres down the road from his house on the outskirts of Kerikeri. With its airport, its rapidly growing (mostly retired) population, and a commercial centre with all the big retail ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • De moralibus orcorum: Sargon of Akkad, Rings of Power, Evil, and George R.R. Martin

    I have noted before that The Rings of Power has attracted its unfortunate share of culture war obsessives. Essentially, for a certain type of individual, railing on about the Wokery of Modern Media is a means of making themselves a online livelihood. Clicks and views and advertising revenue, and all ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    6 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #37

    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, September 8, 2024 thru Sat, September 14, 2024. Story of the week From time to time we like to make our Story of the Week all about us— and ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago
  • Salvation For Us All

    Yesterday, I ruminated about the effects of being a political follower.And, within politics, David Seymour was smart enough on Friday to divert attention from “race blind” policies [what about gender blind I thought - thinking of maternity wards] and cutting school lunches by throwing meat to the media. Teachers were ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A warm embrace

    Far, far away from here lives our King. Some of his subjects can be quite the forelock tuggers, but plenty of us are not like that, and why don't I wheel out my favourite old story once more about Kiwi soldiers in the North African desert?Field Marshal Montgomery takes offence ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Literal clowns are running the place, we must put a timeout on this stupidity… right Aotearoa?

    These people are inept on every level. They’re inept to the detriment of our internal politics, cohesion and increasingly our international reputation. And they are reveling in the fact they are getting away with it. We cannot even have “respectful debate” with a government that clearly rejects the very ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    7 days ago
  • Fact brief – Does manmade CO2 have any detectable fingerprint?

    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with John Mason. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Does manmade CO2 have any ...
    Skeptical Science
    7 days ago
  • Judge Not.

    Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Matthew 7:1-2FOUR HUNDRED AND FORTY men and women professing the Christian faith would appear to have imperilled their immortal souls. ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago
  • Managed Democracy: Letting The People Decide, But Only When They Can Be Relied Upon To Give the Righ...

    Uh-uh! Not So Fast, Citizens! The power to initiate systemic change remains where it has always been in New Zealand’s representative democracy – in Parliament. To order a binding referendum, the House of Representatives must first to be persuaded that, on the question proposed, sharing its decision-making power with the people ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago
  • Looking For Labour’s Vital Signs.

    Flatlining: With no evidence of a genuine policy disruptor at work in Labour’s ranks, New Zealand’s wealthiest citizens can sleep easy.PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN has walked a picket-line. Presidential candidate Kamala Harris has threatened “price-gauging” grocery retailers with price control. The Democratic Party’s 2024 platform situates it well to the left of Sir ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago
  • Forty Years Of Remembering To Forget.

    The Beginning of the End: Rogernomics became the short-hand descriptor for all the radical changes that swept away New Zealand’s social-democratic economy and society between 1984 and 1990. In the bitterest of ironies, those changes were introduced by the very same party which had entrenched New Zealand social-democracy 50 years earlier. ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago
  • Kōrero Mai – Speak to Me.

    Good morning all you lovely people. 🙂I woke up this morning, and it felt a bit like the last day of school. You might recall from earlier in the week that I’m heading home to Rotorua to see an old friend who doesn’t have much time. A sad journey, but ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Winning ways

    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on anything you may have missed. Street architecture adjustment, KolkataShare Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • 48 seconds on a plan that would reverberate for a million years

    Despite fears that Trump presidency would be disastrous for progress on climate change, the topic barely rated a mention in the Presidential debate. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Using blunt instruments and magical thinking to ignore evidence of harm

    The abrupt cancellations and suspensions of Government spending also caused private sector hiring, spending, and investment to freeze up for the first six months of the year. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāThis week we learned:The new National/ACT/NZ First Coalition Government ignored advice from Treasury that it didn’t have to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Is This A Dagger Which I See Before Me: A Review and Analysis of The Rings of Power Episode 5 (Seaso...

    Another week of The Rings of Power, season two, and another confirmation that things are definitely coming together for the show. The fifth Episode of season one represented the nadir of the series. Now? Amid the firmer footing of 2024, Episode Five represents further a further step towards excellent Tolkien ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • In Open Seas; A Book

    The background to In Open Seas: How the New Zealand Labour Government Went Wrong:2017-2023Not in Narrow Seas: The Economic History of Aotearoa New Zealand, published in 2020, proved more successful than either I or the publisher (VUP, now Te Herenga Waka University Press) expected. I had expected that it would ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Sept 13

    The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts and talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate science on rising temperatures and the climate implications of the US Presidential elections; and special guests Janet ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Do or do not. There is no try

    1. Upon receiving evidence that school lunches were doing a marvellous job of improving outcomes for students, David Seymour did what?a. Declared we need much more of this sort of good news and poured extra resources and funding into them b. Emailed Atlas network to ask what to do next c. Cut ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • Dangerous ground

    The Waitangi Tribunal has reported back on National's proposed changes to gut the Marine and Coastal Area Act and steal the foreshore and seabed for its greedy fishing-industry donors, and declared it to be another huge violation of ti Tiriti: The Waitangi Tribunal has found government changes to the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Climate Change: National wants to cheat on Paris

    In 2016, the then-National government signed the Paris Agreement, committing Aotearoa to a 30 (later 50) percent reduction in emissions by 2030. When questioned about how they intended to meet that target with their complete absence of effective climate policy, they made a lot of noise about how it was ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Treasury warned Govt lower debt limits meant less ‘productivity-enhancing investment’

    Treasury’s advice to Cabinet was that the new Government could actually prudently carry net core Crown debt of up to 50% of GDP. But Luxon and Willis instead chose to portray the Government’s finances as in such a mess they had no choice but to carve 6.5% to 7.5% off ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Tourism on the table for Pacific Ministers’ meet-up

    Tourism and Hospitality Minister Matt Doocey will meet with Trade and Tourism Minister of Australia Don Farrell and Fiji Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica in Rotorua this weekend for a trilateral tourism discussion. “Like in New Zealand, tourism plays a significant role in Australia and Fiji’s economy, contributing massively to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • Young people report on family and sexual violence

    The Te Puna Aonui Expert Advisory Group for Children and Young People has presented its report today on improving family and sexual violence outcomes for young people, to the Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence, Karen Chhour.  The presentation at the Auckland event was an opportunity for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • $18 million being invested in the victims of crime

    The Government is putting more than $18 million towards improving the experience of the criminal justice system for victims, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Minister for Children Karen Chhour say. “No one should experience crime, but for those who through no fault of their own become victims, they need to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • Landmark phonics check in te reo Māori

    For the first time, schools can use a purpose-built tool to check how a child is progressing in reading through te reo Māori. “Around 45 schools are trialling a New Zealand first te reo Māori phonics check, known as Hihira Weteoro. It will help kaiako (teachers) focus on what ākonga ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago
  • New sea walls safeguard Ōpōtiki’s transformation

    Two new breakwater walls at Pākihikura (Ōpōtiki) Harbour will provide boats with safe harbour access to support the continued growth of aquaculture in Bay of Plenty, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones say. The Ministers and leaders from Tē Tāwharau o Te Whakatōhea and other ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kitmap to improve access to science infrastructure

    Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced an online platform to optimise the use of New Zealand’s science and technology research infrastructure and to link the public and private sector. “This country is home to world-class science, technology, and engineering expertise. Kitmap is set to empower Kiwi innovators, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Driving the uptake of low emission heavy vehicles

    The Government has launched the Low Emissions Heavy Vehicle Fund (LEHVF) to promote innovation and offset the cost of hundreds of heavy vehicles powered by clean technologies, Energy Minister Simeon Brown and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts say. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech on replacing the Resource Management Act

    Replacing the RMA Hon Chris Bishop: Good morning, it is great to be with you. Can I first acknowledge the Resource Management Law Association for hosting us here today. Can I also acknowledge my Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Simon Court, who is on stage with me. He has assisted me in establishing the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Replacement for the Resource Management Act takes shape

    Two new laws will be developed to replace the Resource Management Act (RMA), with the enjoyment of property rights as their guiding principle, RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Parliamentary Under-Secretary Simon Court say. “The RMA was passed with good intentions in 1991 but has proved a failure in practice. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Tough laws pass to make gang life uncomfortable

    Legislation passed through Parliament today will provide police and the courts with additional tools to crack down on gangs that peddle misery and intimidation throughout New Zealand, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “From November 21, gang insignia will be banned in all public places, courts will be able to issue non-consorting orders, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • New levy rates set to ensure continued funding of FENZ

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the rates for the redesigned levy that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) from July 2026.  “Earlier this year FENZ consulted publicly on a 5.2 percent increase to the levy. I was not convinced that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Police allocate Officers to Beat and Gang Units

    The Coalition Government welcomes Police’s announcement today to deploy more police on the beat and staff to Gang Disruption Units.  An additional 70 officers will be allocated to Community Beat Teams across towns and regional centres.  This builds on the deployment of beat officers in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch CBDs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Consultation begins on significant updates to the biosecurity system

    Proposals to strengthen the country’s vital biosecurity system, including higher fines for passengers bringing in undeclared high-risk goods, greater flexibility around importing requirements, and fairer cost sharing for biosecurity responses have been released today for public consultation. Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says “The future is about resilience and the 30-year-old ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Wānaka community to benefit from new overnight health service

    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says an Overnight Acute Care Service opening in October will provide people in Wānaka and the surrounding area with the assurance of quality overnight care closer to home.  “When I was in Wānaka earlier this year, I announced funding for an overnight health service – ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Preventing potholes with data-driven technology

    The Government is rolling out data collection vans across the country to better understand the condition of our road network to prevent potholes from forming in the first place, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.  “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is a key priority for the Government and increasing ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • GDP data shows effect of high interest rates

    Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data for the quarter to June 2024 reinforces how an extended period of high interest rates has meant tough times for families, businesses, and communities, but recent indications show the economy is starting to bounce back, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ data released today ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • NZ to host first Fiji, Australia trilateral trade Ministers’ meeting in Rotorua

    Trade Minister Todd McClay will host Fijian Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica and Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell for trilateral trade talks in Rotorua this weekend. “Fiji is one of the largest economies in the Pacific and is a respected partner for Australia and New Zealand,” Mr McClay says. Australia and New Zealand ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • NZ hosts Annual CER Trade Ministers’ meeting in Rotorua

    Trade Minister Todd McClay will meet with Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministers’ meeting in Rotorua this weekend.  “CER is our most comprehensive agreement covering trade, labour mobility, harmonisation of standards and political cooperation. It underpins an important trading relationship worth $32 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government proposing changes to jury trials

    The Government is seeking the public’s feedback on two major changes to jury trials in order to improve court timeliness, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “The first proposal would increase the offence threshold at which a defendant can decide to have their case heard by a jury. “The second is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Business key to regional economic dialogue

    Local businesses and industries need to be front and centre in conversations about how regions plan to grow their economies, Regional Development Shane Jones says. The nationwide series of summits aims to facilitate conversations about regional economic growth and opportunities to drive productivity, prosperity and resilience through the Coalition Government’s Regional ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • More funding for Growing Up in New Zealand study

    The Government is investing $16.8 million over the next four years to extend the Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) Longitudinal Study. GUiNZ is New Zealand’s largest longitudinal study of child health and wellbeing and has followed the lives of more than 6000 children born in 2009 and 2010, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Tough targets for charter schools will raise achievement

    Associate Education Minister David Seymour says that Charter Schools will face a combination of minimum performance thresholds and stretch targets for achievement, attendance and financial sustainability. “Charter schools will be given greater freedom to respond to diverse student needs in innovative ways, but they will be held to a much ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • NZ votes for Middle East resolution at UN

    New Zealand has voted for a United Nations resolution on Israel’s presence in occupied Palestinian Territory with some caveats, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “New Zealand’s yes vote is fundamentally a signal of our strong support for international law and the need for a two-state solution,” Mr Peters says.    “The Israel-Palestine ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Honouring the legacy of New Zealand’s suffragists

    Suffrage Day is an opportunity to reaffirm New Zealand’s commitment to ensuring we continue to be a world leader in gender equality, Minister for Women Nicola Grigg says. “On 19 September, 131 years ago, New Zealand became the first nation in the world where women gained the right to vote. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Foreign Minister to travel to New York, French Polynesia

    Foreign Minister Winston Peters is travelling to New York next week to attend the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, followed by a visit to French Polynesia. “In the context of the myriad regional and global crises, our engagements in New York will demonstrate New Zealand’s strong support for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Thanking social workers on their national day

    “Today, on Aotearoa New Zealand Social Workers’ Day, I would like to recognise the tremendous effort social workers make not just today, but every day,” Children’s Minister and Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence Karen Chhour says. “I thank all those working on the front line for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Minister of State for Trade heads to Laos for ASEAN meetings

    Minister of State for Trade Nicola Grigg will travel to Laos this week to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Ministers’ Meetings in Vientiane.   “The Government is committed to strengthening our relationship with ASEAN,” Ms Grigg says. “With next year marking 50 years since New Zealand became ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Members appointed to retail crime MAG

    The Government has appointed four members to the Ministerial Advisory Group for victims of retail crime, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee say. “I am delighted to appoint Michael Hill’s national retail manager Michael Bell to the group, as well as Waikato community advocate and business ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Speech to the New Zealand Nurses Organisation AGM and Conference 2024

    It’s my pleasure to be here to join the opening of the NZNO AGM and Conference for 2024.  First, I’d like to thank NZNO Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku, NZNO President, Anne Daniels, and Chief Execuitve Paul Gaulter for inviting me to speak today.  Thank you also to all the NZNO members ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Improvements for New Zealand authors

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says changes to the Public Lending Right [PLR] scheme will help benefit both the National Library and authors who have books available in New Zealand libraries. “I am amending the regulations so that eligible authors will no longer have to reapply every year ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister commends Police for gang operation

    Police Minister Mark Mitchell congratulates Police for the outstanding result of their most recent operation, targeting the Comancheros. “That Police have been able to round up the majority of the Comancheros leadership, and many of their patched members and prospects, shows not only the capability of Police, but also shows ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • New appointments to the EPA board

    Environment Minister Penny Simmonds has announced a major refresh of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) board with four new appointments and one reappointment.   The new board members are Barry O’Neil, Jennifer Scoular, Alison Stewart and Nancy Tuaine, who have been appointed for a three-year term ending in August 2027.  “I would ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Enabling rural recovery works in Hawke’s Bay

    Cabinet has approved an Order in Council to enable severe weather recovery works to continue in the Hawke’s Bay, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds and Minister for Emergency Management and Recovery Mark Mitchell say. “Cyclone Gabrielle and the other severe weather events in early 2023 caused significant loss and damage to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • FamilyBoost childcare payment registrations open

    From today, low-to-middle-income families with young children can register for the new FamilyBoost payment, to help them meet early childhood education (ECE) costs. The scheme was introduced as part of the Government’s tax relief plan to help Kiwis who are doing it tough. “FamilyBoost is one of the ways we ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Prioritising victims with tougher sentences

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