"The Government yesterday announced a $45 million investment in police on Wednesday, including $15.496 million for a new Tactical Response Model, an additional 78 constabulary staff and 28 intelligence analysts, and frontline training.
The Tactical Response Model will include Tactical Dog Teams and Tactical Prevention Teams with advanced training to undertake warrants and other work involving moderate risk. They will be "generally unarmed" unless specific deployment requires it.
"I want to be clear – the new Tactical Response Model is not Armed Response Teams," Williams said as the funding boost was unveiled.
"These officers will wear standard police uniforms, drive standard police vehicles, and will not be armed in their day-to-day duties. They will support frontline investigation and prevention teams and will focus on high-risk offenders, firearms, methamphetamine, and organised crime groups."
National began calling for the return of ARTs a few months ago after Police Commissioner Andrew Coster revealed violent criminal behaviour was ramping up, and offenders seemed to be more willing to use guns against police.
National's police spokesperson Simeon Brown said on Twitter it was "good" the Government was paying attention to the needs of police, but it looked like the ARTs were being introduced in "disguise". "This is good news for frontline officers but simply reinforces that the ARTs should never have been abandoned."
Police Association president Chris Cahill said the plan "falls short of the overwhelming call from our members for general arming", but he's willing to see how it goes: 'We are prepared to give this tactical response model an opportunity to deliver what our members so clearly need to police safely without the need for general arming.
It's a big ask, but all indications are that police and the Government are serious about a viable alternative between the status quo and an armed police service.'"
… … … …
I found this very interesting. Kind of DOES look to me like the Armed Response Teams, except that I gather they will only carry firearms by order on a case by case basis. Which may give local commanders some wriggle room.
While I personally hesitate to rush to support general arming of the police, having read of the alarming number of cases in recent times where officers have found themselves getting shot at and have been lucky to escape with their lives, I am wondering whether sole officers in patrol cars are too unsafe these days, and should perhaps be wearing their glocks on their hips while on duty.
But then an obvious downside could be that, alone, they may be too much at risk of having their firearm grabbed & used against them. There's no external safety catch on glock pistols. You just pull 'em & fire then, from what I've seen on YouTube gun-lovers' videos.
Some police officers may feel safer and behave differently – if arming NZ police becomes the norm then there will likely be a change in some criminal behaviour too.
Imho routine arming of NZ police would be a backward step – really sad if it’s necessary. #KiwiWayOfLife
No mention of firearms in this 2019 NZ police recruitment video.
Yes, the number of firearms in the possession of criminals is a problem, as is how they choose to use them.
My (uninformed/naive) concern is that some criminals may choose to use their guns more frequently if they know that police officers are routinely armed. I do hope that any 'arms race' (between police officers and criminals) will make the NZ police, and Kiwis in general, safer (or at least no less safe), but I have doubts.
The issue with armed police, as we have seen overseas is it becomes the " police protecting themselves from the public," instead of " the police protecting the public".
We have enough of that attitude from too many already.
Mainly from some of the younger police officers, I suspect.
Sadly, the days of minimum height restrictions & a calm, friendly, helpful manner being some of the principal police recruitment requirements are long gone.
As are the days of at least SOME police officers walking city & town streets, on the beat, when the public/community & the officers got to know & to generally trust each other.
Police officers are now too remote from their corporate-style executive management, & vice versa, I fear.
looks to me more like specialist full-time teams to focus on the big-bads in society. A model that has had mixed results in other police forces – fine until they build an esprit de corps of being "elite" and going for the "big busts" with "high threat levels".
Then they can end up taking down stupid teenagers with the aggression levels needed for arresting pablo escobar.
Well, I dunno what the answer is ensuring our police don’t get shot with no way to immediately defend themselves.
I wouldn’t take on the job of a police officer these days, even if I could.
I posted on other forum for a few years with a poster who’s got two daughters. The older one’s a GP, doing well for herself. He & their mum must have brought them up well because even tho he wasn’t keen the younger one’s a policewoman, in Auckland.
He said she sees a lot of really shitty stuff going on, but she still wants to do the job.
At the time we were posting about it, she’d already been stabbed with a screwdriver once – in South Auckland.
I’m sure I’d be worrying all the time if my “dad’s girl” was a policewoman.
If she's close enough to get stabbed, a gun won't be much help.
One of the good things NZ did was make the AOS largely supplemental to other routine police duties (used to be, anyway – dunno about these days). So they're frontline cops rather than being a sequestered unit where bad attitudes can brew.
But if the tactical response teams end up 9-5 warrant serving, they won't get that out-of-unit exposure.
Just spotted this, in today’s news. Very pertinent. Especially the embedded video of the Police Commissioner, talking about NZ’s criminals having more firearms, where they’re getting them from, & their being much more prepared to use them days.
Found this equally fascinating:
“Judge Russell Collins said a cultural report on Forde’s past and his addiction to meth “painted a pretty sad picture”, involving a childhood beset with violence and alcoholism.
The report, written by high-profile Mongrel Mob member Harry Tam, also said Forde had been subjected to reverse-racism as a Pākehā child raised in Flaxmere, and this had contributed to his becoming a criminal.
The judge said he understood Forde’s reasons for having the firearms, but that could not be accepted as a mitigating argument, and the public had no tolerance for this kind of offending.”
Interesting profile in NY Times ( yes, I know) about the 'other' Bronx progressive congressman that isnt AOC
Unlike AOC who was raised in Westchester suburbs and whos father was an architect Ritchie Torres grew up in a single parent household and worked at dead end minimum wage job.
'“I don’t hire ideologues or zealots,” he tells me on a walk through his district. “Most of the people in the South Bronx are practical rather than ideological. Their concerns are bread and butter, health and housing, schools and jobs.”
He goes off on an interesting tangent on one topic
'Torres is also particularly alarmed by the phenomenon that the Russian American evolutionary anthropologist Peter Turchin calls “elite overproduction.”
“We produce far more college graduates than there are elite positions for those graduates to occupy,” Torres observes. When those graduates find themselves deep in debt, shut out of the kinds of jobs they were promised and crushed by the cost of housing, “it is bound to have a radicalizing effect.”
“The possibility of an additional MIQ facility in Rotorua has created an unlikely political alliance – with National MP Todd McClay, Māori Party MP Rawiri Waititi and Labour List MP Tamati Coffey all united in opposition.
The unified voice from Rotorua’s three MPs comes in the wake of the joint head of managed isolation and quarantine, Megan Main, confirming Rotorua may host additional facilities.
…
Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick said it had been made “very clear” at a meeting with MIQ officials involving council, iwi, Lakes DHB and Rotorua Economic Development that “Rotorua cannot sustain any more MIQ facilities”.
“Our community has taken on its fair share of MIQ for some time now and we have accepted this at a time when we are also trying to rebuild our economy, and despite housing challenges that have required the use of accommodation stock to fulfil a critical need.”
“Running MIQ facilities impacts on local DHB, police and security resources, and those are resources our community misses out on and that therefore increase risk in these areas. We also need to retain capacity for visitors – which we currently still have.”
…
“Minister Hipkins announced at Wednesday’s 1pm press conference a decision on the location of new MIQ facilities would be announced soon, and his office told Stuff ‘this week, or next week at the latest.'”
… … … … … …
Might be best to look elsewhere, Chris. Wonder if he’ll conclude the same thing?
Maybe the Government could buy the hotels and use them for emergency housing. If they have spare space, those who need emergency housing from other parts of the country can be shipped in. How would the Rotorua luminaries react to that?
Maybe the suggestion can go ahead but the locals can stipulate where those housed come from. Step on down Hamish Walker.
Yes, Sasha, I know. I do sometimes use the Quotes Button on the toolbar.
Problem is my little iPad2 is 2011 -with a pretty small "RAM-brain" for some websites now. I find that after posting 1 or at best 2 comments, the iPad won't let me insert any more text into a new comment.
My workaround is to turn off Javascript in Settings. Then I can type as many comments as I like. BUT – No Javascript : No Toolbox. 😟
I can detect little sympathy in the wider public for poor vaccination rates in the Maori community.
At the end of the day, if Maori don't get vaccinated despite the resources being thrown at the vaccination effort and it is gangs largely made up of Maori that are acting as reservoirs of community covid then the political will to protect Maori communities in the medium term is going to be somewhere between none and less than none.
This political reality seems to elude some people, who will continue to insist on blaming everyone but the mirror when covid catastrophe envelopes the Maori community.
“Vaccination rates of Māori in Taranaki are improving as health providers push for more whānau to get the Covi-19 jab.
District Health Board statistics show that although Māori make up 15.6 percent of people eligible for Covid-19 vaccination in Taranaki, they have only received 10 percent of the shots given in the region.
But last week 1143 Māori had shots in Taranaki, making up 21 percent of all vaccinations in the region – double the previous rate.
It will take a sustained effort to catch up with non-Māori: despite last week’s doubling, the Māori share of all shots so far in Taranaki only gained slightly, from 9.7 percent to 10 percent by the end of the week.”
…. …. ….
Ae, it’s a bit of a mystery why Māori vax rates are still so low. There seem to have been lots of prominent Māori publicly encouraging whanau to get vaccinated. The Māori King arrived rather late to the party but has just recently put something out urging all Māori to get their jabs. Might have been waiting to get his first?
My tuakana (elder same-sex sibling) texted me on 21 August:
“Got mine over a month ago.
Out of the blue call from Māori Tui Ora!
Was due last week for second but heard on news … ring and delay so 7 weeks from first”
…
Well said Sanctuary. That catastrophe could be our undoing in that we settlers may well reap what we have sown ( because of our abysmal treatment of the indigenous people, for those who can't join the dots.).
Yes. I feed a four foot long NZ Native Longfin called Elvira too. I feed them off a 3′ long pointed stick. Meat or dog roll chunks.
Best for them not to arrive together.
Eli attacks Granville. It’s own damn fault. Silly young sod Granville arrived one day at the Eel Spot, where I feed them, behind Elvira, & decided to bite the end of her tail.
He was lucky to survive what happened next. Elvira’s a very BIG girl !
Elvira (below) is a four foot long NZ Native Longfin.
Ella is an even bigger NZ Native Longfin. Longer by about two more inches. I had them arrive for a feed side by side once. I had to work out how to tell them apart. Elvira has a black "beauty spot" on the port side of her dorsal fin, two inches back from where it starts.
"My" stream is pretty big. It would likely be called a river in some countries.
Sometimes it's full of eels – both types.
NZ Native Longfins are protected in all of Wellington's waterways.
That’s what I was thinking yesterday, after it happened.
“Geoscience Australia put the 9.15am quake’s magnitude – a measure of the energy released – at about 5.9. The quake’s epicentre was just south of Mansfield and about 10 kilometres below the Earth’s surface”
…
That’s pretty big. From all the fallen bricks I saw in some street on One News at 6, they’re lucky no one seems to have been injured.
The fallen bricks were, at least as I heard it, in Chapel St, Prahran. It is normally very busy but because of the pandemic the shops were closed. No open shops equals no people. Don't let anyone tell you that there is no good coming from Covid 19.
The proverbial saying 'every cloud has a silver lining' is used to convey the notion that, no matter how bad a situation might seem, there is always has some good aspect to it.
i watched many of the submissions to the Select committee on the BMDRR Bill yesterday.
of note a submission from NZ’s older “states women” including Phillips Bunkle and Sandra Coney. While supporting rights for transgender people, they are against gender self ID and are calling for a royal commission of enquiry into the issues around gender ideology. Their submission starts around 4 50
I am sure people wonder why I continue to post about these issues on the Standard. I do because there is almost a complete media black out on this Bill and almost without exception the only coverage fails to report about gender ideology in any sort of balanced way.
I was also struck by the unprofessional manner of many of the MPs on the committee.
the labour MP for Nelson, Rachel Boyack sat with her eyes closed through out one presentation that she was clearly opposed to. It was very obvious where the committee biases lay, smiling and affirming submissions they supported. Is this usual in select committees? It shouldn’t be. It should be for MPs to neutrally listen and ask relevant questions.
Beth from SUFW gave a great presentation and the micro aggression against her was palpable. Rather than ask questions about the points she raised, Deborah Russell attempted to undermine SUFW, by asking how many people supported them, DR then spoke about NCW and how they have more supporters. I didn’t realise a select committees job was to undermine people who took the time and had the guts to make a presentation. DR attempts back fired as SUFW were able to say200+ active members and over 5000 followers and while NCW have many thousands, very few people follow them on social media. No other submitters asked how many they represent.
[edited link to make it direct and permanent – weka]
The Select Committee's role isn't to uncritically accept what they hear and see from submitters. If submitters choose to submit they need to understand and accept that they will be engaged with and challenged by MPs as that is the nature of political debate.
I've always understood the job of the members of a Select Committee is to ask questions that enhance their understanding of the presenter's submission – points of clarification or follow-up. These people (BDMRR SC) showed no curiosity whatsoever and a couple of them were openly hostile to presenters (SUFW and SWS). This is not what we, taxpayers, pay them for. They need to understand that. The whole idea of this SC process is to substitute for a full and proper public consultation which almost no bill gets and none deserves more than this one.
Thank you for continuing to post about these issues Anker and Weka and others. I don't comment but I always read the posts and all the comments and share your concerns.
thanks so much for the headsup about the FOWL submission. Susan Middleton was outstanding. Ten fucking minutes vs Royal Commission of Inquiry.
I will try and put up a post on Saturday about this, probably a Women's Space post because I see the most important political issue at the moment is for women to have space to talk and organise.
That's fantastic Weka. Just a thought…..I wonder what you think about making this a open post? I.e. open for everyone to comment? I think if you did then men on this site might be more likely to read it.
Just re-read you post about women needing to talk and organise, so disregard what I said about an open post
Its is very significant when NZ Elder Statewomen call for a Royal Commission of Enquiry. Of course nothing in the media about this.
Sandra Coney and Philida Bunkle………For those of you not old enough to know these names google An unfortunate experiment at Greenlane Hospital.
ps Weka was not sure what was meant by your moderator’s comment? Just wanting to check, Cheers,
the link you put up went to the committee’s main FB page, not the page with the video on it. I changed the link so it went directly and people will still be able to find it in a week or a year.
They were exceedingly unprofessional. I get to speak next week and had been thinking of referencing the toxic atmosphere. I did not expect cheap 'gotcha' questions and even accusations of transphobia from Dr Kerekere. Why should anyone offer themselves to provide evidence with their obvious body language. I hope very much the chickens come home to roost on this topic and expose their shameful behaviour. I wrote this in the hope that they do. https://www.publicgood.org.nz/2021/09/23/jan-tinettis-millstone/
Great article Jan. Rachel Boyack unbelievable. It was a select committee to discuss a piece of legislation and RB raised the issue of constituents complaining about something SUFW alleging said in a talk they gave 3 months ago. If it bothered RB so much why didn’t she contacts SUFW to clarify. The complaints made weren’t even correct. SUFW doesn’t talk about women’s refuge in NZ………
I thought about the impact on democracy generally, and women's politics more specifically. I don't know what such committees are usually like, but this was a terrible example of consulation.
Thanks Nordy. I hadn't watched a select committee before, so I didn't know how it worked.
Beth from SUFW was up to the challange, although surely. the challange should be about the ideas submitted for the proposed legislation? No matter, Beth handled the challenge really well.
I agree Sacha about the number of FB followers is no substitute for a well reasoned position, which I think SUFW had. It was Deborah Russell who brought up SUFW membership numbers, although no other group was asked about this. It back fired on DR.
I would recomend anyone watch SUFW, Save NZ sport of Fowls presentations. All well reasoned.
I object to the legitimisation of a changed definition of the word woman , without much wider social debate.The invitation to make submissions is not good enough for such a radical shift..In effect, self sexID is about feelings rather than evidence.What does it mean to "feel" like a woman?Even I don't know and I've had 4 kids, suffered male violence, had painful periods, been discriminated and overlooked because of my sexThe bill amendment does not define what it means by sex or gender.That is far too sloppy
"What does it mean to "feel" like a woman?" I'm damned if I know either. There's nothing that I do or think or feel that's based on my gender. I just am. There's nothing that I do from one day to the next that is effected by my gender, other than the obvious physical attributes.
How does a transgender person 'know' what it feels like to be a woman when we can't identify it.
So true about the responses to a developing female body.The queasiness of being shoved into a corner by a family friend's male gut when no one was around
"Jeez, you're finally filling out"
And the shame of that, not being able to tell someone and be believed
Agree Francesca. They are legalising the changing definition of women and they are doing it by stealth and their is deafening silence by the media.
Having said that I heard SUFW interviewed on Magic Talk today. She was clear, articulate and you could hear the hosts disbelief as he asked questions to clarrify.
The vast majority don't know about these changes and there will be hell to pay for the Green and Labour MPs over this. My prediction.
Select Committees are great places to see the type of people we have as MPs and to see just how badly some of them react to having to sit there wasting their time listening to the Hoi Polloi ….. as some of them so obviously believe.
I have some concerns about the proposed Health changes – but that looks to be a selection of some excellently qualified key people on the boards.
The main thing will be to keep the boards focussed & not let changes get bogged down by unnecessarily bureaucratic middle management. Bureaucracies always grow becos:
Parkinson’s Fourth Law: “The number of people in any working group tends to increase irrespective of the amount of work to be completed.”
&
Parkinson’s Fifth Law: “If there is a way to delay an important decision, the good bureaucracy (or non-elected government officials), public or private, will find it.”
“Political views
Amy Adams describes herself as “socially liberal, economically conservative.” She considers herself a feminist and supported the Abortion Legislation Act 2020. She has defended abortion on the grounds of women’s reproductive rights and urged religious opponents of abortion reform to stop teaching that contraception is a sin.
Adams has also voted in favour of legalising same-sex marriage and legalising assisted dying for people with terminal illnesses.
As Minister of Justice, she wiped the convictions of men convicted of homosexual acts prior to the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1986, and apologised on behalf of the Government.” – Wikipedia
………………………………………
I don’t have a problem with Adams. She held a telecomms portfolio at one point. Two Labour Ministers have put her on the board. They presumably must believe she brings some useful skills & talents to the table?
The modelling from Te Punaha Matatini suggests that if 80 per cent of the 5+ population was fully vaccinated – around 75 per cent of the entire country – Covid-19 would still cause a serious death toll without other restrictions.
Hendy projects it would cause 60,000 hospitalisations and 7000 deaths over a one-year period.
If 90 per cent of the 5+ population was reached however – around 85 per cent of the full population – then deaths would drop to around 50 over a year.
Summarising:
80% eligible people vaccinated = 7000 deaths per year
For comparison, 27 deaths over 18+ months when vaccination rates were zero to begin with and the Delta variant did not exist from the outset. Not based on modelling, but on cold hard facts.
If vaccines remain effective against the virus or are reinforced with booster shots, if more than 90 percent of the population over the age of 5 is vaccinated and if moderate public health measures (like mandatory masking and improved ventilation) are put in place alongside a comprehensive testing, tracing and case isolation system, then the impact of the virus could be similar to an average flu year.
…
Masking and other widespread but less intrusive public health measures will help depress the R number and vaccines will still make a significant difference, reducing transmission by around 85 percent. But active testing for new cases, contact tracing of positive results, isolation of contacts and quarantine of Covid-19 cases will still be needed, the research has found.
Yup, no silver bullets unless new generation vaccines come around soon that provide lasting sterilising immunity against existing and future Covid-19 variants and possibly still dependent on a global elimination drive. We’re watching & creating the dawning of a New Brave World (not to mention CC).
Te Pūnaha Matatini modeller Professor Shaun Hendy said the cluster was clearly reaching towards the upper limit of expectations when it was detected in Auckland nearly a week ago.
Then they predicted 50 to 120 cases to have been circulating prior to the lockdown.
Now Hendy said a "best-case scenario" could see about 200 cases – greater than the outbreak in August last year – while it was possible the cluster could swell to 1000.
"It's very early to be making estimates because we don't yet know how effective alert level 4 is, but it is possible we could see 1000 cases before we close out this cluster.
"This does mean we will likely see level 4 held in place for several weeks more in the Auckland region.
I stopped searching at last year's US data because we still have loads of old people alive.
If someone needs to go to hospital because of an infectious respiratory disease, they're in deep trouble and going downhill. If they were getting better by themselves, they wouldn't need admitting. Hospitals can usually help, but if there are other factors like age or the patient has other conditions then the odds get worse.
It very much depends on the reason one goes to hospital, these days. Heart attacks? Bloody miracle workers compared to 20 years ago. Most cancers have amazeballs survival stats, too. But your liver or some acute respiratory thing? Still a tall order for a lot of people.
Ultimately, they want people to get vaccinated because they've chosen [my italics] to protect themselves and their community. That will be the main motivation used by the Government.
Transcript by Brittney Deguara of Live update on 23 Sep. 21
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As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
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 ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Eric Stokan, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Maryland, Baltimore County If you live in one of the most economically deprived neighborhoods in your city, you might think the government is directing a smaller share of public funds to your community. ...
Wansolwara The news media’s crucial role in climate change and environment journalism was the focus of The University of the South Pacific’s Journalism Programme 2024 World Press Freedom Day celebrations. The European Union Ambassador to the Pacific, Barbara Plinkert, and Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Henry Puna were the chief ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Adams, Professor of Corporate Law & Academic Director of UNE Sydney campus, University of New England Last August, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched legal proceedings against Qantas. The consumer watchdog accused the airline of selling thousands of tickets ...
This episode of A View From Afar was recorded LIVE on May 6, 2024 (NZST) which is Sunday evening, May 5, 2024 at 8:30pm (USEST). In an analytical essay titled ‘A moment of friction’ political scientist Dr Paul Buchanan wrote how we are living within a decisive moment ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison Taylor, Assistant Professor, Bond University Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures At the crux of the critical response to Luca Guadagnino’s new movie Challengers is one word: “sexy”. The film charts a love triangle between three up-and-coming tennis players: Tashi (Zendaya), ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jenny Stewart, Professor of Public Policy, ADFA Canberra, UNSW Sydney For years, First Nations people have been telling governments they want to be listened to. In particular, they want more ownership of the programs and services that are supposed to help them. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Why do trees have bark? Julien, age 6, Melbourne. This is a great question, Julien. We are so familiar with bark on trees, that most of us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anthony Nasser, Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy, University of Technology Sydney PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is an important ligament in the knee. It runs from the thigh bone (femur) to the shin bone (tibia) and helps stabilise ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne I covered the May 2 United Kingdom local government elections for The Poll Bludger. The Blackpool South parliamentary byelection was also held, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deanna Grant-Smith, Professor of Management, University of the Sunshine Coast The federal government has announced a “Commonwealth Prac Payment” to support selected groups of students doing mandatory work placements. Those who are studying to be a teacher, nurse, midwife or social ...
We round up everything coming to streaming services this week, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, ThreeNow, Neon and TVNZ+. If you love a dark comedy: Bodkin (Netflix, May 9)An English podcaster, an Irish podcaster and American podcaster walk into a pub and…make a TV show? ...
By Eleisha Foon, RNZ Pacific senior journalist A Pacific regionalism academic has called out New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS and says the security deal “raises serious questions for the Pacific region”. Auckland University of Technology academic Dr Marco de Jong ...
How worried should we be about the cloud? This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. I currently have a few thousand unread emails languishing in my inbox, mostly old marketing newsletters and piles of unread science journal press releases. I have a similar number ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nuurrianti Jalli, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies College of Arts and Sciences Department of Languages, Literature, and Communication Studies, Northern State University Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Southeast Asian governments not only have to deal with the virus but also with the false ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Murakami Wood, Professor of Critical Surveillance and Securities Studies, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa The skyline of Riyadh, the capital and largest city of the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia.(Shutterstock) There is a long history of planned city building by both governments ...
The LIVE Recording of A View from Afar podcast will begin today at 12:45pm May 6, 2024 (NZST) which is Sunday evening, 8:30pm (USEST). In an analytical essay titled ‘A moment of friction’ political scientist Dr Paul Buchanan wrote how we are living within a decisive moment of ...
The Boil Up’s Lucinda Bennett considers the oyster – from freshness to pearls to the joy of shucking your own. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. In Carmen Maria Machado’s short story ‘Eight Bites’, a woman begins her last supper before bariatric surgery with “a cavalcade ...
Asia Pacific Report A group of 65 Auckland University academics have written an open letter to vice-chancellor Dawn Freshwater criticising the institution’s stance over students protesting in solidarity with Palestine. They have called on her administration to “support” the students who were denied permission to establish an “overnight encampment” by ...
The Student Volunteer Army is on the march, generating approximately 1.6 million hours of volunteering from roughly 35,000 secondary school students in just five years. For Rebekah Brown, the pathway to volunteering started with her singing coach. With a passion for the arts, the suggestion to volunteer at Acting Antics, ...
Keeping up with online communication can be exhausting, so Fran Barclay enlisted the help of Meta’s new ‘intelligent assistant’ to respond to all her messages. Could her mates tell the difference? For centuries, technology has ruled the ways in which we communicate. From the dawn of written language, to the ...
Jamie Arbuckle, a councillor who has become an member of parliament, says he has settled into having two roles so comfortably he's going to keep both pay cheques. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luis Gómez Romero, Senior Lecturer in Human Rights, Constitutional Law and Legal Theory, University of Wollongong Fifty years ago, Australian feminist Anne Summers denounced “the ideology of sexism” governing over so many women’s lives. Unfortunately, sexism is as lethal today as it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jose Antonio Lara-Hernandez, Senior Researcher in Architecture, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images The COVID-19 pandemic and the hybrid work patterns it fostered have changed the way we think about office space, and central business districts in general. While fears ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dale Boccabella, Associate Professor of Taxation Law, UNSW Sydney There’s a good reason your local volunteer-run netball club doesn’t pay tax. In Australia, various nonprofit organisations are exempt from paying income tax, including those that do charitable work, such as churches. ...
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.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/09/police-minister-poto-williams-insists-new-tactical-response-model-is-not-armed-response-teams.html
"The Government yesterday announced a $45 million investment in police on Wednesday, including $15.496 million for a new Tactical Response Model, an additional 78 constabulary staff and 28 intelligence analysts, and frontline training.
The Tactical Response Model will include Tactical Dog Teams and Tactical Prevention Teams with advanced training to undertake warrants and other work involving moderate risk. They will be "generally unarmed" unless specific deployment requires it.
"I want to be clear – the new Tactical Response Model is not Armed Response Teams," Williams said as the funding boost was unveiled.
"These officers will wear standard police uniforms, drive standard police vehicles, and will not be armed in their day-to-day duties. They will support frontline investigation and prevention teams and will focus on high-risk offenders, firearms, methamphetamine, and organised crime groups."
National began calling for the return of ARTs a few months ago after Police Commissioner Andrew Coster revealed violent criminal behaviour was ramping up, and offenders seemed to be more willing to use guns against police.
National's police spokesperson Simeon Brown said on Twitter it was "good" the Government was paying attention to the needs of police, but it looked like the ARTs were being introduced in "disguise". "This is good news for frontline officers but simply reinforces that the ARTs should never have been abandoned."
Police Association president Chris Cahill said the plan "falls short of the overwhelming call from our members for general arming", but he's willing to see how it goes: 'We are prepared to give this tactical response model an opportunity to deliver what our members so clearly need to police safely without the need for general arming.
It's a big ask, but all indications are that police and the Government are serious about a viable alternative between the status quo and an armed police service.'"
… … … …
I found this very interesting. Kind of DOES look to me like the Armed Response Teams, except that I gather they will only carry firearms by order on a case by case basis. Which may give local commanders some wriggle room.
While I personally hesitate to rush to support general arming of the police, having read of the alarming number of cases in recent times where officers have found themselves getting shot at and have been lucky to escape with their lives, I am wondering whether sole officers in patrol cars are too unsafe these days, and should perhaps be wearing their glocks on their hips while on duty.
But then an obvious downside could be that, alone, they may be too much at risk of having their firearm grabbed & used against them. There's no external safety catch on glock pistols. You just pull 'em & fire then, from what I've seen on YouTube gun-lovers' videos.
Bugger.
*You just pull 'em & fire them
(Dunno why the TS edit feature isn't coming up on my iPad any more after I post?)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_New_Zealand_police_officers_killed_in_the_line_of_duty
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/111880584/drumbeat-remains-for-permanent-arming-of-nz-police
Some police officers may feel safer and behave differently – if arming NZ police becomes the norm then there will likely be a change in some criminal behaviour too.
Imho routine arming of NZ police would be a backward step – really sad if it’s necessary. #KiwiWayOfLife
No mention of firearms in this 2019 NZ police recruitment video.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/108057755/new-police-recruitment-video-aims-to-attract-diverse-new-cops-such-as-sam-nugegoda
And just for information (NZ and Norway are adjacent in the list).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_firearm_use_by_country#New_Zealand
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/police-killings-by-country
Problem seems to be that our crims are routinely armed now, especially with the charming imports from Aus in recent years.
Yes, the number of firearms in the possession of criminals is a problem, as is how they choose to use them.
My (uninformed/naive) concern is that some criminals may choose to use their guns more frequently if they know that police officers are routinely armed. I do hope that any 'arms race' (between police officers and criminals) will make the NZ police, and Kiwis in general, safer (or at least no less safe), but I have doubts.
The targets however appear to be other gang members, not police, or the general public, That may well change if they are confronted by armed police.
An "arms race" is definitely possible. It has happened elsewhere.
The issue with armed police, as we have seen overseas is it becomes the " police protecting themselves from the public," instead of " the police protecting the public".
We have enough of that attitude from too many already.
Mainly from some of the younger police officers, I suspect.
Sadly, the days of minimum height restrictions & a calm, friendly, helpful manner being some of the principal police recruitment requirements are long gone.
As are the days of at least SOME police officers walking city & town streets, on the beat, when the public/community & the officers got to know & to generally trust each other.
Police officers are now too remote from their corporate-style executive management, & vice versa, I fear.
looks to me more like specialist full-time teams to focus on the big-bads in society. A model that has had mixed results in other police forces – fine until they build an esprit de corps of being "elite" and going for the "big busts" with "high threat levels".
Then they can end up taking down stupid teenagers with the aggression levels needed for arresting pablo escobar.
Well, I dunno what the answer is ensuring our police don’t get shot with no way to immediately defend themselves.
I wouldn’t take on the job of a police officer these days, even if I could.
I posted on other forum for a few years with a poster who’s got two daughters. The older one’s a GP, doing well for herself. He & their mum must have brought them up well because even tho he wasn’t keen the younger one’s a policewoman, in Auckland.
He said she sees a lot of really shitty stuff going on, but she still wants to do the job.
At the time we were posting about it, she’d already been stabbed with a screwdriver once – in South Auckland.
I’m sure I’d be worrying all the time if my “dad’s girl” was a policewoman.
If she's close enough to get stabbed, a gun won't be much help.
One of the good things NZ did was make the AOS largely supplemental to other routine police duties (used to be, anyway – dunno about these days). So they're frontline cops rather than being a sequestered unit where bad attitudes can brew.
But if the tactical response teams end up 9-5 warrant serving, they won't get that out-of-unit exposure.
.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/125538791/guns-bombs-and-ammo-found-at-gang-pad-for-protection
Just spotted this, in today’s news. Very pertinent. Especially the embedded video of the Police Commissioner, talking about NZ’s criminals having more firearms, where they’re getting them from, & their being much more prepared to use them days.
Found this equally fascinating:
“Judge Russell Collins said a cultural report on Forde’s past and his addiction to meth “painted a pretty sad picture”, involving a childhood beset with violence and alcoholism.
The report, written by high-profile Mongrel Mob member Harry Tam, also said Forde had been subjected to reverse-racism as a Pākehā child raised in Flaxmere, and this had contributed to his becoming a criminal.
The judge said he understood Forde’s reasons for having the firearms, but that could not be accepted as a mitigating argument, and the public had no tolerance for this kind of offending.”
😠
* these days.
Yeah, I'm just wary of heading to models that end up escalating that problem while being a sledgehammer to crack the nuts of less serious offending.
First Dog on the Moon has an important message from Mother Nature.
'
"Whatever you thought you would be doing at the end of the world, you are doing it right now"
FDOTM
"Get back on the comet you flew here on dickheads” made me larf.
Interesting profile in NY Times ( yes, I know) about the 'other' Bronx progressive congressman that isnt AOC
Unlike AOC who was raised in Westchester suburbs and whos father was an architect Ritchie Torres grew up in a single parent household and worked at dead end minimum wage job.
'“I don’t hire ideologues or zealots,” he tells me on a walk through his district. “Most of the people in the South Bronx are practical rather than ideological. Their concerns are bread and butter, health and housing, schools and jobs.”
He goes off on an interesting tangent on one topic
'Torres is also particularly alarmed by the phenomenon that the Russian American evolutionary anthropologist Peter Turchin calls “elite overproduction.”
“We produce far more college graduates than there are elite positions for those graduates to occupy,” Torres observes. When those graduates find themselves deep in debt, shut out of the kinds of jobs they were promised and crushed by the cost of housing, “it is bound to have a radicalizing effect.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/21/opinion/Ritchie-Torres-AOC.html
😆 Hahahahahaha!
That’s brilliant !
Crikey! Very funny. Lot of hard work there.
Good work
.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/126455787/rotoruas-three-mps-united-in-opposition-against-additional-miq-hotels-in-tourism-hub
“The possibility of an additional MIQ facility in Rotorua has created an unlikely political alliance – with National MP Todd McClay, Māori Party MP Rawiri Waititi and Labour List MP Tamati Coffey all united in opposition.
The unified voice from Rotorua’s three MPs comes in the wake of the joint head of managed isolation and quarantine, Megan Main, confirming Rotorua may host additional facilities.
…
Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick said it had been made “very clear” at a meeting with MIQ officials involving council, iwi, Lakes DHB and Rotorua Economic Development that “Rotorua cannot sustain any more MIQ facilities”.
“Our community has taken on its fair share of MIQ for some time now and we have accepted this at a time when we are also trying to rebuild our economy, and despite housing challenges that have required the use of accommodation stock to fulfil a critical need.”
“Running MIQ facilities impacts on local DHB, police and security resources, and those are resources our community misses out on and that therefore increase risk in these areas. We also need to retain capacity for visitors – which we currently still have.”
…
“Minister Hipkins announced at Wednesday’s 1pm press conference a decision on the location of new MIQ facilities would be announced soon, and his office told Stuff ‘this week, or next week at the latest.'”
… … … … … …
Might be best to look elsewhere, Chris. Wonder if he’ll conclude the same thing?
Where is the elsewhere ?
Rotorua has the hotels. Do they just let them rot and its tourism industry accomodation will just grow again like a new forest….yeah over 20 years!
Ah, what to do?
Maybe the Government could buy the hotels and use them for emergency housing. If they have spare space, those who need emergency housing from other parts of the country can be shipped in. How would the Rotorua luminaries react to that?
Maybe the suggestion can go ahead but the locals can stipulate where those housed come from. Step on down Hamish Walker.
Gezza, have you tried the Quotes button on the editor toolbar? Easy way to show what is from the article and what your own comments are.
Test
Yes, Sasha, I know. I do sometimes use the Quotes Button on the toolbar.
Problem is my little iPad2 is 2011 -with a pretty small "RAM-brain" for some websites now. I find that after posting 1 or at best 2 comments, the iPad won't let me insert any more text into a new comment.
My workaround is to turn off Javascript in Settings. Then I can type as many comments as I like. BUT – No Javascript : No Toolbox. 😟
I'm trying different layouts eg … … … … dotted lines
to see if that visually helps demarcate any "quoted text" from my free text.
Sounds frustrating Gezza.
Not really as frustrating as it sounds, Sasha.
roblogic suggested the workaround to me a week or so ago – was having the same problem with his(?) iPad – a more recent one.
It only takes 2 or 3 seconds to open Settings, turn JS off, & refresh Safari.
Then I just leave it like that unless I need to re-enable Javascript to play & watch a video, for example.
PS: Apologies – just noticed your monicker is correctlly spelt Sacha.
Thank you.
I can detect little sympathy in the wider public for poor vaccination rates in the Maori community.
At the end of the day, if Maori don't get vaccinated despite the resources being thrown at the vaccination effort and it is gangs largely made up of Maori that are acting as reservoirs of community covid then the political will to protect Maori communities in the medium term is going to be somewhere between none and less than none.
This political reality seems to elude some people, who will continue to insist on blaming everyone but the mirror when covid catastrophe envelopes the Maori community.
16 Sept 2021: Stuff :
“Vaccination rates of Māori in Taranaki are improving as health providers push for more whānau to get the Covi-19 jab.
District Health Board statistics show that although Māori make up 15.6 percent of people eligible for Covid-19 vaccination in Taranaki, they have only received 10 percent of the shots given in the region.
But last week 1143 Māori had shots in Taranaki, making up 21 percent of all vaccinations in the region – double the previous rate.
It will take a sustained effort to catch up with non-Māori: despite last week’s doubling, the Māori share of all shots so far in Taranaki only gained slightly, from 9.7 percent to 10 percent by the end of the week.”
…. …. ….
Ae, it’s a bit of a mystery why Māori vax rates are still so low. There seem to have been lots of prominent Māori publicly encouraging whanau to get vaccinated. The Māori King arrived rather late to the party but has just recently put something out urging all Māori to get their jabs. Might have been waiting to get his first?
My tuakana (elder same-sex sibling) texted me on 21 August:
“Got mine over a month ago.
Out of the blue call from Māori Tui Ora!
Was due last week for second but heard on news … ring and delay so 7 weeks from first”
…
And we’re not even Māori ! 😳
Well said Sanctuary. That catastrophe could be our undoing in that we settlers may well reap what we have sown ( because of our abysmal treatment of the indigenous people, for those who can't join the dots.).
Perhaps listen to the likes of Hone Harawira to get a view from a different lens.
Thank you gsays.
This is Granville, in my stream. A 3 foot long Australasian Shortfin eel. He's a beautiful colour – yellow & green. And a very personable tuna.
https://i.imgur.com/RMnFCWf.gif
Yes. They certainly can see you and rise up to be near the surface…you must be feeding him/her
Yes. I feed a four foot long NZ Native Longfin called Elvira too. I feed them off a 3′ long pointed stick. Meat or dog roll chunks.
Best for them not to arrive together.
Eli attacks Granville. It’s own damn fault. Silly young sod Granville arrived one day at the Eel Spot, where I feed them, behind Elvira, & decided to bite the end of her tail.
He was lucky to survive what happened next. Elvira’s a very BIG girl !
I think in some southern lakes they have a giant variant- the NZ longfin
Yes, so do we up in the North Island.
Elvira (below) is a four foot long NZ Native Longfin.
Ella is an even bigger NZ Native Longfin. Longer by about two more inches. I had them arrive for a feed side by side once. I had to work out how to tell them apart. Elvira has a black "beauty spot" on the port side of her dorsal fin, two inches back from where it starts.
"My" stream is pretty big. It would likely be called a river in some countries.
Sometimes it's full of eels – both types.
NZ Native Longfins are protected in all of Wellington's waterways.
Best you don't tell Elvira about eel-rents.
https://historiacartarum.org/eel-rents-project/
Good heavens !
No, joe. I wouldn't want to do anything to ruin our beautiful relationship!
There's a creepy man's face peering out of the mud at 7 seconds. And again at the end.
.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/300413783/scientists-say-victoria-quake-probably-caused-by-tectonic-pressure-from-nz
That’s what I was thinking yesterday, after it happened.
“Geoscience Australia put the 9.15am quake’s magnitude – a measure of the energy released – at about 5.9. The quake’s epicentre was just south of Mansfield and about 10 kilometres below the Earth’s surface”
…
That’s pretty big. From all the fallen bricks I saw in some street on One News at 6, they’re lucky no one seems to have been injured.
I did not realise it was their biggest quake in Melbourne since colonisation until an Australian tv reporter said it on the tvnz breakfast show.
If you have any friends in Melbourne I suggest that you send them a link to this site. It provides a record of all the earthquakes that happen.
https://earthquaketrack.com/p/new-zealand/recent?mag_filter=5
I asked for earthquakes greater than 5 on the North Island East Coast. There are lots of them.
Then you tell your Melburnian mates that a 5.8 is nothing at all. People wouldn't even get up from their chair for that.
The fallen bricks were, at least as I heard it, in Chapel St, Prahran. It is normally very busy but because of the pandemic the shops were closed. No open shops equals no people. Don't let anyone tell you that there is no good coming from Covid 19.
Tru dat.
Gawd. Didn’t expect I’d need to a grammar check on that website! 😰
What is the world coming to these days ! I blame the education dept.
Yes. ONE building has the part of the parapet collapse and into a side street off a well known shopping strip.
Considering the vast swaths of the city in Victorian era unreinforced brick buildings- which they still build with today- Im very surprised.
Good job, it’s time we were able to put some pressure on them instead of vice versa.
of note a submission from NZ’s older “states women” including Phillips Bunkle and Sandra Coney. While supporting rights for transgender people, they are against gender self ID and are calling for a royal commission of enquiry into the issues around gender ideology. Their submission starts around 4 50
I am sure people wonder why I continue to post about these issues on the Standard. I do because there is almost a complete media black out on this Bill and almost without exception the only coverage fails to report about gender ideology in any sort of balanced way.
I was also struck by the unprofessional manner of many of the MPs on the committee.
the labour MP for Nelson, Rachel Boyack sat with her eyes closed through out one presentation that she was clearly opposed to. It was very obvious where the committee biases lay, smiling and affirming submissions they supported. Is this usual in select committees? It shouldn’t be. It should be for MPs to neutrally listen and ask relevant questions.
Beth from SUFW gave a great presentation and the micro aggression against her was palpable. Rather than ask questions about the points she raised, Deborah Russell attempted to undermine SUFW, by asking how many people supported them, DR then spoke about NCW and how they have more supporters. I didn’t realise a select committees job was to undermine people who took the time and had the guts to make a presentation. DR attempts back fired as SUFW were able to say200+ active members and over 5000 followers and while NCW have many thousands, very few people follow them on social media. No other submitters asked how many they represent.
[edited link to make it direct and permanent – weka]
The Select Committee's role isn't to uncritically accept what they hear and see from submitters. If submitters choose to submit they need to understand and accept that they will be engaged with and challenged by MPs as that is the nature of political debate.
And the number of Facebook followers a submitter has is no substitute for a well-reasoned position.
Oh, yes, but a social media megaphone does help spreading beliefs and opinions 24/7 straight onto people’s Apple Watches.
Luckily their position was well reasoned and well evidenced as well as being eloquently delivered.
Lucky for some.
I've always understood the job of the members of a Select Committee is to ask questions that enhance their understanding of the presenter's submission – points of clarification or follow-up. These people (BDMRR SC) showed no curiosity whatsoever and a couple of them were openly hostile to presenters (SUFW and SWS). This is not what we, taxpayers, pay them for. They need to understand that. The whole idea of this SC process is to substitute for a full and proper public consultation which almost no bill gets and none deserves more than this one.
Thank you for continuing to post about these issues Anker and Weka and others. I don't comment but I always read the posts and all the comments and share your concerns.
Thanks Pingao. That really helps to know.!
thanks so much for the headsup about the FOWL submission. Susan Middleton was outstanding. Ten fucking minutes vs Royal Commission of Inquiry.
I will try and put up a post on Saturday about this, probably a Women's Space post because I see the most important political issue at the moment is for women to have space to talk and organise.
Best wishes with this.
@ weka
Ditto.
That's fantastic Weka. Just a thought…..I wonder what you think about making this a open post? I.e. open for everyone to comment? I think if you did then men on this site might be more likely to read it.
Just re-read you post about women needing to talk and organise, so disregard what I said about an open post
Sandra Coney and Philida Bunkle………For those of you not old enough to know these names google An unfortunate experiment at Greenlane Hospital.
ps Weka was not sure what was meant by your moderator’s comment? Just wanting to check, Cheers,
the link you put up went to the committee’s main FB page, not the page with the video on it. I changed the link so it went directly and people will still be able to find it in a week or a year.
Thanks very much. The conversion practices prohibition bill is underway too. Again there are some serious problems. Migt you be interested in an open letter that I have written to Dr Ayesha Verrall as a post for discussion. It's here. https://www.publicgood.org.nz/wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Letter-to-Dr-Ayesha-Verrall.pdf
They were exceedingly unprofessional. I get to speak next week and had been thinking of referencing the toxic atmosphere. I did not expect cheap 'gotcha' questions and even accusations of transphobia from Dr Kerekere. Why should anyone offer themselves to provide evidence with their obvious body language. I hope very much the chickens come home to roost on this topic and expose their shameful behaviour. I wrote this in the hope that they do. https://www.publicgood.org.nz/2021/09/23/jan-tinettis-millstone/
I thought about the impact on democracy generally, and women's politics more specifically. I don't know what such committees are usually like, but this was a terrible example of consulation.
Thanks Nordy. I hadn't watched a select committee before, so I didn't know how it worked.
Beth from SUFW was up to the challange, although surely. the challange should be about the ideas submitted for the proposed legislation? No matter, Beth handled the challenge really well.
I agree Sacha about the number of FB followers is no substitute for a well reasoned position, which I think SUFW had. It was Deborah Russell who brought up SUFW membership numbers, although no other group was asked about this. It back fired on DR.
I would recomend anyone watch SUFW, Save NZ sport of Fowls presentations. All well reasoned.
I object to the legitimisation of a changed definition of the word woman , without much wider social debate.The invitation to make submissions is not good enough for such a radical shift..In effect, self sexID is about feelings rather than evidence.What does it mean to "feel" like a woman?Even I don't know and I've had 4 kids, suffered male violence, had painful periods, been discriminated and overlooked because of my sexThe bill amendment does not define what it means by sex or gender.That is far too sloppy
"What does it mean to "feel" like a woman?" I'm damned if I know either. There's nothing that I do or think or feel that's based on my gender. I just am. There's nothing that I do from one day to the next that is effected by my gender, other than the obvious physical attributes.
How does a transgender person 'know' what it feels like to be a woman when we can't identify it.
Just found this. It's excellent
https://www.feministcurrent.com/2018/07/07/feeling-like-woman/
“Woman” is not a feeling. “Woman” just is.
Thanks Brigid
That was great!
So true about the responses to a developing female body.The queasiness of being shoved into a corner by a family friend's male gut when no one was around
"Jeez, you're finally filling out"
And the shame of that, not being able to tell someone and be believed
Because
'he was just being friendly'
Never ever occurred to any of them just how disgusted and revolted we were. And somehow we blamed ourselves!!
Jesus effing bloody christ
Exactly!
Thank you for that
Agree Francesca. They are legalising the changing definition of women and they are doing it by stealth and their is deafening silence by the media.
Having said that I heard SUFW interviewed on Magic Talk today. She was clear, articulate and you could hear the hosts disbelief as he asked questions to clarrify.
The vast majority don't know about these changes and there will be hell to pay for the Green and Labour MPs over this. My prediction.
Select Committees are great places to see the type of people we have as MPs and to see just how badly some of them react to having to sit there wasting their time listening to the Hoi Polloi ….. as some of them so obviously believe.
Govt appoints the initial boards of peak new sector organisations Health NZ and the Māori Health Authority – some solid people named. https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/expert-group-appointed-lead-new-zealand%E2%80%99s-future-health-system
I have some concerns about the proposed Health changes – but that looks to be a selection of some excellently qualified key people on the boards.
The main thing will be to keep the boards focussed & not let changes get bogged down by unnecessarily bureaucratic middle management. Bureaucracies always grow becos:
Parkinson’s Fourth Law: “The number of people in any working group tends to increase irrespective of the amount of work to be completed.”
&
Parkinson’s Fifth Law: “If there is a way to delay an important decision, the good bureaucracy (or non-elected government officials), public or private, will find it.”
Some excellently qualified people and Amy Adams
“Political views
Amy Adams describes herself as “socially liberal, economically conservative.” She considers herself a feminist and supported the Abortion Legislation Act 2020. She has defended abortion on the grounds of women’s reproductive rights and urged religious opponents of abortion reform to stop teaching that contraception is a sin.
Adams has also voted in favour of legalising same-sex marriage and legalising assisted dying for people with terminal illnesses.
As Minister of Justice, she wiped the convictions of men convicted of homosexual acts prior to the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1986, and apologised on behalf of the Government.” – Wikipedia
………………………………………
I don’t have a problem with Adams. She held a telecomms portfolio at one point. Two Labour Ministers have put her on the board. They presumably must believe she brings some useful skills & talents to the table?
Adams was a competent Minister. She also has rural networks which is a big qualification for that role.
Fresh Covid modelling by Shaun Hendy shows big impact of vaccination levels. https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300414146/covid19-nz-modelling-suggests-7000-deaths-in-a-year-even-with-75-per-cent-of-country-jabbed
Summarising:
That’s a MASSIVE difference !
Wonder how reliable the modelling is tho.
For comparison, 27 deaths over 18+ months when vaccination rates were zero to begin with and the Delta variant did not exist from the outset. Not based on modelling, but on cold hard facts.
The facts are based on natural selection,hence the difficulty with the laws of chance.
I think those new numbers are without lockdowns. More detail that I have not read yet: https://www.newsroom.co.nz/modelling-thousands-of-deaths-without-high-vaccination-rates
Yup, no silver bullets unless new generation vaccines come around soon that provide lasting sterilising immunity against existing and future Covid-19 variants and possibly still dependent on a global elimination drive. We’re watching & creating the dawning of a New Brave World (not to mention CC).
Core numbers
https://twitter.com/marcdaalder/status/1440846815000084481
Hendry's modelling of Covid in NZ has been pretty impressive. On the 24th August at the beginning the current outbreak his modelling forecast the outbreak could top 1000 cases.
So around 12% of hospitalisations result in death? Seems high.
Not that high really.
I stopped searching at last year's US data because we still have loads of old people alive.
If someone needs to go to hospital because of an infectious respiratory disease, they're in deep trouble and going downhill. If they were getting better by themselves, they wouldn't need admitting. Hospitals can usually help, but if there are other factors like age or the patient has other conditions then the odds get worse.
It very much depends on the reason one goes to hospital, these days. Heart attacks? Bloody miracle workers compared to 20 years ago. Most cancers have amazeballs survival stats, too. But your liver or some acute respiratory thing? Still a tall order for a lot of people.
Transcript by Brittney Deguara of Live update on 23 Sep. 21
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300413679/covid19-live-15-new-community-cases-in-auckland-government-releases-new-vaccine-modelling
That's a pretty impressive AB 23 picked for the 100th test with the Boks.
Bring it on boys and give them a hiding.
Depth at hooker, largely forgotten about Laumape with the steadiness of Havili and Ioane in the centres and Barrett looking good at 10.
Here is an interesting take on the great foe.
https://www.theroar.com.au/2021/09/22/how-the-springboks-hit-an-english-speed-bump-at-suncorp/amp/