A new low

Written By: - Date published: 11:46 am, October 19th, 2011 - 44 comments
Categories: election 2008, election 2011, health - Tags:

Last election, National promised to subsidise a treatment for the rare and deadly Pompe disease. Now, they won’t even meet with the sufferers.

The truth of the matter is that New Zealand can’t afford ongoing treatments that cost $1m per patient per year – not without having to sacrifice cheaper and more effective care to many more people who need it.

Such calculations are the sad reality of a world where we have limited means and many demands competing for them.*

Which is why it is even more despicable that National made this promise. They gave people with a deadly disease false hope just to get a few votes from them and their families.

The Nats will promise us whatever we want to hear to get our votes. Knowing from the start they’ll never deliver.

– Dean

 

*(although, if we hadn’t splurged $800m  on the World Cup, we would have more to share around. Which would you rather have? Watch a few rugby games (on the TV) or give hundreds of people several more years of life? Best not to look at it in those terms, eh?).

44 comments on “A new low ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. drx 1
    19 October 2011 at 12:11 pm

    is there any follow up info on the Herceptin promise from the last election?

    • Lanthanide 1.1
      19 October 2011 at 12:22 pm

      They rushed it through parliament shortly after being elected, with Pharmac suffering political interference for the first time in its history.

      • Herodotus 1.1.1
        19 October 2011 at 1:13 pm

        Lan – as Pharmac is funded from the govt, all decisions it makes are under govt interferance. The difference this time is is more direct.
        And even though it is the Min of Health – how about the govt influence and mis truths regarding the meningococcal vacine
        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meningococcal_vaccine
        or the mass of $ that was spent on the H1N1 swing flu drug – and with the medicine fast approaching its expirely date we still had to pay full price for the medication after being diagionised with this- Well after the media had stopped score keeping cases. And what has happened to the original purchase? I understand that it was dumped- real good use of public money. And the 2nd post is not a dig at Lab as I am sure that this has also occurred under the current govt, just a waste of $ especially as we Joe public are also expected to fund the drug privately.
        http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10569707
        http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-68329.html

        • McFlock 1.1.1.1
          19 October 2011 at 1:56 pm

          Actually I don’t have a huge problem with your cases, H – although I’m not sure what the meningitis vaccine issue was. 
           
          Basically, such purchases should be done by bureaucrats with slide rules balancing QALY (quality-adjusted life years) against price, not ministers. The swine flu drug (tamiflu?) was stockpiled as a contingency, and we should be happy it wasn’t needed.

          A bit like if MNZ bought a spill-response vessel (or whatever the name for it is) in 2009, and it wasn’t used for 20 years before being sold at a substantially depreciated price. It wouldn’t have been a waste of money, because in 2009 we didn’t know for sure we wouldn’t need it. As it turns out, such a boat would have come in handy. So really we should just be happy we didn’t need to use govt-issue tamiflu stockpiles, because if we had, it would have meant we were in a pandemic.

          • Herodotus 1.1.1.1.1
            19 October 2011 at 3:13 pm

            the meng vaccine I was referring to was the national one that all under 20’s were able to receive. theree was never any comment thatthis vaccine only offerred protection for 3-4 years. It was made available about 4-5 years ago, and from memory Sweeden and NZ were the only countries to offer (And Sweden innoculation was for a different strain think)
            http://journal.nzma.org.nz/journal/121-1270/2963/
            http://tvnz.co.nz/content/1709217/425826.xhtml
            But McF, tamiflu WAS required as one who suffered from Swine Fle, as most cases such as mine had mild sypmtoms, yet to have tamiflu medicated I had to pay the $60+ yet here we were NZ dumping stock as it went past its due by date, instead of a cost effective way of allowing doses to be free 6 months before expirely date.
            Re oil spill- sure it may not be cost effective to have waiting all machinery for a response. But at least have a plan and where the machinery is around the world. What was the saying ” Most people dont plan to fail, but fail to plan” And there appears to have been a fail to plan scenario !!!

              • Blighty …
                19 October 2011 at 4:26 pm

                a plan that is resourced and works. Like the one recommended by the report that the government ignored.

                Not the crappy plan that we had.

                • insider …
                  19 October 2011 at 4:42 pm

                  The thompson and clark report? That basically said things were good overall but could do with a few tweaks in regional responder training and some additional kit for dealing with smaller spills, none of which would make any difference in this case. It doesn’t say what you imply

                  • Colonial Viper …
                    19 October 2011 at 5:43 pm

                    Joyce didn’t ask the questions he needed too and he wasnt ready when the real test came.

              • McFlock …
                19 October 2011 at 4:36 pm

                BTW, Iinsider, pointing to a strategy =/= pointing to a plan.
                 
                Hitler had a strategy to take over the world. But without workable, logical, and achievable plans for each step in the strategy, it was just so much bullshit.
                 

            • McFlock 1.1.1.1.1.2
              19 October 2011 at 4:33 pm

              The circumstances aroung the meningitis vaccine were that were had a growing epidemic of child & youth illness and deaths due to meningitis. As your link to NZMJ shows, a paper from 2008 only has data to 2006, so in 2004 when the immunisation programme was implemented, only NZ-level data from 2002 was generally available. It was unknown whether they were seeing a trend down from the peak, or simply a temnporary plateau. So they made the best decision at the time. But lessons have been learned, as they are from every program.  

              As for tamiflu, the question of how much to stockpile and when to release it is always an issue. Like I say, just because you had it doesn’t mean they should dip into the reserves they’ve built up for a massive outbreak of life-threatening cases.
               

            • Ianupnorth 1.1.1.1.1.3
              19 October 2011 at 5:13 pm

              Where did you get the info. re. the Menz B imms? The rates of disease have plummeted; the cost of treating one severe case in an ICU or PICU, or the cost of the loss of a limb really balance out the cost of the immunisation.
               
              Re. H1N1 (and SARS)- have to agree with you there – we went overboard.

              • Colonial Viper …
                19 October 2011 at 5:39 pm

                Sorry mate the disease rates were plummeting a year before the immunisation programme even started.

                They then had to justify their spend. And at least some of the recent meningitis cases have been from a different strain to that protected from with the MeNZ B vaccination.

                So now what – another million vaccinations this time for a different strain?

                • McFlock …
                  19 October 2011 at 9:39 pm

                  “plummeting” is a strong word, particularly as you have to look at the data as it was available when the decision was made.
                  And if it gets to 200/100k again, then yeah, I don’t have a huge problem with a vaccination programme.

                • higherstandard …
                  20 October 2011 at 5:18 pm

                  CV I hope you’re not one of these anti-vaccination types – reality is that vaccination is one of the most cost effective/ and indeed effective interventions in medicine.

                  There is an argument that the meningitis programme may not have been needed and the epidemic may have burned itself out, however, even in hindsight I believe Annette King made the correct decision

  2. Uturn 2
    19 October 2011 at 12:21 pm

    “Watch a few rugby games (on the TV) or give hundreds of people several more years of life? ”

    Sign me up for the people living longer*.

    *disclaimer: haven’t played rugby since I was thirteen. Don’t watch it on TV. Don’t much like the associated culture, so I can’t lose in this deal.

    Tell you what, I’ll trade broadband for dial-up for the extra people living longer. Or even a tax cut, or maybe even a lift in minimum wage.

    • Bazar 2.1
      19 October 2011 at 2:02 pm

      3-5 people in nz with the affliction.
      $1 million per person, per year, just for the treatments

      And its not a cure.

      The harsh bleak reality is that’s not an affordable treatment. The burden placed on everyone else, to pay for treatments that will improve their quality of life is counter productive.

      • McFlock 2.1.1
        19 October 2011 at 2:31 pm

        Actually, whether it’s “affordable” depends locally on what other treatments can be funded with that money (e.g. a magic dust that will keep 10 people alive for another year for the same $5mil), but more strategically on what we as a society would prefer to pay for –
        a plastic waka for a couple of weeks?
        Ministerial limos with a heated seat for blinglish’s tush? 
        A tax cut for our wealthiest?
        Keep a few more people alive?
         
        By the way: “The burden placed on everyone else, to pay for treatments that will improve their quality of life keep them alive is counter productive.”
        FIFY

        • Bazar 2.1.1.1
          20 October 2011 at 5:03 pm

          ” but more strategically on what we as a society would prefer to pay for –
          a plastic waka for a couple of weeks?
          Ministerial limos with a heated seat for blinglish’s tush?
          A tax cut for our wealthiest?
          Keep a few more people alive?”

          So you’re either agreeing that it’s too expensive, or you’re saying that two wrongs make a right.

          • McFlock 2.1.1.1.1
            20 October 2011 at 5:41 pm

            No, I’m pointing out our current budget priorities.

            Any of those options might be regarded as “right”, but is a plastic waka up for a couple of weeks really preferable to keeping two people alive for another year? That seems a wee bit fucked up to me. Being able to name one of them just makes it obvious.

            • Bazar 2.1.1.1.1.1
              20 October 2011 at 6:14 pm

              “No, I’m pointing out our current budget priorities.”

              No, you’re pointing out the most controversial use of this governments spending, and comparing it.

              Like comparing a rotten apple to a rotting orange, and then suggesting that perhaps the apple is better.

              The elephant in the room is that they are both rotten.

              • Colonial Viper …
                20 October 2011 at 6:16 pm

                No that’s bullshit, we’re not going to allow you to run with the neo-liberal line that “Government is the problem”.

                In reality, its decisions favouring the few at the expense of the many which are the problem, and those are the ones which pour out of National.

                • Bazar …
                  20 October 2011 at 9:24 pm

                  And its posts like that viper, which make me believe you are incapable of independent (or even intelligent) thought.

                  I’ve not said anything even slightly neoliberal. I’ve only mentioned that the government has better things to spend money on.

                  You then spin into a rabid lashing at the national government’s failings, because they keep “favouring the few at the expense of the many”.

                  Oblivious to the contradiction much?

              • McFlock …
                20 October 2011 at 6:39 pm

                Keeping people alive, even if it’s expensive, is not rotten.
                “Ethically dubious if the money is better spent elsewhere” I can see, maybe even “unwise, because then there’d be no limit to expenses and the floodgates would open yadda yadda”. But to dismiss it as a rotten orange is a bit antisocial, to say the least.

                Even the waka seems to bring joy to some people – whether it’s the best way to spend a couple of mil, I’m not sure, but in wealthier times I wouldn’t begrudge them their inflatable.

      • freedom 2.1.2
        19 October 2011 at 5:08 pm

        Bazar, please remember you are talking about prices set by the pharmaceutical industry. An industry that reflects the actual costs and profits in much the same way as a funhouse mirror.

        • Bazar 2.1.2.1
          20 October 2011 at 5:07 pm

          Well unless another figure can be provided as to the cost of treatments, then the only figure i have to work and judge by is $1 million per person, per year.

          And at that price, its not affordable.
          Even if it was a fraction of that price, i question as to how affordable it would be.

      • Roger 2.1.3
        19 October 2011 at 8:58 pm

        If it is so unrealistic then surely you agree that National should never have promised to make such a promise. This instance of supposed pragmatism is completely dishonest, Key should pay out of his own fortune if he is unwilling to use government funding otherwise his words are meaningless.

        • Bazar 2.1.3.1
          20 October 2011 at 5:13 pm

          “If it is so unrealistic then surely you agree that National should never have promised to make such a promise.”

          I don’t remember seeing where National said they would allow treatment at any cost.

          There was this paragraph in the scoop artical however

          “The National Party made a pledge they were going to make a pathway that made access to high-cost medicine accessible”

          But $1 million per person, per year, isn’t “high-cost”.
          To suggest national broke that pledge because they won’t write blank checks is unfair to say the least.

          But i won’t hold my breath expecting common sense to prevail on this website.

      • fmacskasy 2.1.4
        21 October 2011 at 11:31 pm

        Actually, it IS affordable. It’s a matter of priorities: http://fmacskasy.wordpress.com/2011/10/19/priorities/

  3. Blighty 3
    19 October 2011 at 12:21 pm

    Pharmac had said that, if they had more money, they would still choose to offer more subsidies on other drugs rather than the long-course herceptin. They said there was more value to be gained in terms of improved health outcomes that way.

    So, to get around that, National side-stepped Pharmac’s decision-making process and allocated some money (I have $49 million in my head for some reason) that was specifically for funding long-course herceptin.

    Now, that’s their right as the government but it doesn’t change the fact that, if that money had been spent subsidising other drugs instead, it would have delivered greater health outcomes for the community.

    Breast cancer is a high profile disease with a strong lobby group. National wanted votes from middle-aged women. Good government and the wider good went out the window.

    • Rich 3.1
      19 October 2011 at 12:45 pm

      A strong lobby group that’s heavily astroturfed by Roche, who of course have a huge interest in convincing vulnerable people that their product is rather more effective than it is.

      Also, people wishing to lobby parliament ought to take a look at the sitting schedule to see when anyone is going to be there. (Clue: not weekends and not after it’s shut down for the election). I’m amazed that groups do this – or is the idea that the edifice itself is symbolic, like the cenotaph?

      • Lanthanide 3.1.1
        19 October 2011 at 1:16 pm

        I don’t think they were trying to ‘lobby parliament’, but rather they wanted a meeting with John Key.

    • Draco T Bastard 3.2
      19 October 2011 at 3:20 pm

      Now, that’s their right as the government but it doesn’t change the fact that, if that money had been spent subsidising other drugs instead, it would have delivered greater health outcomes for the community.

      Yep, the herceptin promise by NAct is proof positive that they don’t understand economics. When you have limited resources you do the best with what you have for everyone. You don’t go around promising a small minority huge chunks of those resources when doing so will actually make everyone worse off.

  4. travellerev 4
    19 October 2011 at 12:27 pm

    Bullocks. If banks can print money out of thin air to make a Derivatives bubble of 600 trillion for themselves we can create the same top help the less fortunate
    Take the tax cut to the rich back should help those five people suffering just fine.

    • Colonial Viper 4.1
      19 October 2011 at 5:48 pm

      You’re talking Social Credit here.

        • Colonial Viper 4.1.1.1
          20 October 2011 at 9:02 am

          Check this out

          http://www.economist.com/content/global_debt_clock

          Developed countries which form the hubs of the global financial system are the ones which are most screwed by debt (e.g. US, Ireland, UK, France, Germany).

          Note that public debt is less than 10% of the outstanding derivatives liabilities held by the big financial institutions. Its the banks who should die, not the sovereign integrity of these nations.

          Why on earth would we follow the economic ‘leadership’ of these failing bankster occupied debt serf countries.

  5. Tiger Mountain 5
    19 October 2011 at 12:35 pm

    It is a heartbreaking conundrum for those affected. We all have to deal with our mortality (usually by denial) but these poor buggers have a more definitive idea of theirs. ShonKey saying no would not be a good photo op is probably where it ends for the Nats.

    The pharmaceutical corporates play their part in this sad story too. Science turns up some wonderful treatments and possibilities and then the results are corralled by the corporate funders and certain drugs marketed at exorbitant prices due to the capitalist market model-all research and development costs are ‘passed on’. Which is another good reason to support the 99%ers. System change required.

  6. mik e 6
    19 October 2011 at 6:01 pm

    National are like all these collapsed finance companies that promised the earth and ripped every body off including the tax payer who cleaned up what was left of the mess.We should take them to the commerce commission for false advertising all promise and no delivery!

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • Rising costs hit farmers hard, but  there’s more  positive news  for  them this  week 
    New Zealand’s dairy industry, the mainstay of the country’s export trade, has  been under  pressure  from rising  costs. Down on the  farm, this  has  been  hitting  hard. But there  was more positive news this week,  first   from the latest Fonterra GDT auction where  prices  rose,  and  then from  a  report ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    55 mins ago

  • ROB MacCULLOCH:  Newshub and NZ Herald report misleading garbage about ACT’s van Veldon not follo...
    Rob MacCulloch writes –  In their rush to discredit the new government (which our MainStream Media regard as illegitimate and having no right to enact the democratic will of voters) the NZ Herald and Newshub are arguing ACT’s Deputy Leader Brooke van Veldon is not following Treasury advice ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 hours ago

  • Top 10 for Wednesday, December 6
    Even many young people who smoke support smokefree policies, fitting in with previous research showing the large majority of people who smoke regret starting and most want to quit. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Wednesday, December ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 hours ago

  • Eleven years of work.
    Well it didn’t take six months, but the leaks have begun. Yes the good ship Coalition has inadvertently released a confidential cabinet paper into the public domain, discussing their axing of Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs).Oops.Just when you were admiring how smoothly things were going for the new government, they’ve had ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    8 hours ago

  • Why we're missing out on sharply lower inflation
    A wave of new and higher fees, rates and charges will ripple out over the economy in the next 18 months as mayors, councillors, heads of department and price-setters for utilities such as gas, electricity, water and parking ramp up charges. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Just when most ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    8 hours ago

  • How Did We Get Here?
    Hi,Kiwis — keep the evening of December 22nd free. I have a meetup planned, and will send out an invite over the next day or so. This sounds sort of crazy to write, but today will be Tony Stamp’s final Totally Normal column of 2023. Somehow we’ve made it to ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    8 hours ago

  • At a glance – Has the greenhouse effect been falsified?
    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 ...
    Skeptical Science
    18 hours ago

  • New Zealaders  have  high expectations of  new  government:  now let’s see if it can deliver?
    The electorate has high expectations of the  new  government.  The question is: can  it  deliver?    Some  might  say  the  signs are not  promising. Protestors   are  already marching in the streets. The  new  Prime Minister has had  little experience of managing  very diverse politicians  in coalition. The economy he  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    21 hours ago

  • You won't believe some of the numbers you have to pull when you're a Finance Minister
    Nicola of Marsden:Yo, normies! We will fix your cost of living worries by giving you a tax cut of 150 dollars. 150! Cash money! Vote National.Various people who can read and count:Actually that's 150 over a fortnight. Not a week, which is how you usually express these things.And actually, it looks ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    22 hours ago

  • Pushback
    When this government came to power, it did so on an explicitly white supremacist platform. Undermining the Waitangi Tribunal, removing Māori representation in local government, over-riding the courts which had tried to make their foreshore and seabed legislation work, eradicating te reo from public life, and ultimately trying to repudiate ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    22 hours ago

  • Defence ministerial meeting meant Collins missed the Maori Party’s mischief-making capers in Parli...
    Buzz from the Beehive Maybe this is not the best time for our Minister of Defence to have gone overseas. Not when the Maori Party is inviting (or should that be inciting?) its followers to join a revolution in a post which promoted its protest plans with a picture of ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    23 hours ago

  • Threats of war have been followed by an invitation to join the revolution – now let’s see how th...
     A Maori Party post on Instagram invited party followers to ….  Tangata Whenua, Tangata Tiriti, Join the REVOLUTION! & make a stand!  Nationwide Action Day, All details in tiles swipe to see locations.  • This is our 1st hit out and tomorrow Tuesday the 5th is the opening ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago

  • Top 10 for Tuesday, December 4
    The RBNZ governor is citing high net migration and profit-led inflation as factors in the bank’s hawkish stance. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Tuesday, December 5, including:Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr says high net migration and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago

  • Nicola Willis' 'show me the money' moment
    Willis has accused labour of “economic vandalism’, while Robertson described her comments as a “desperate diversion from somebody who can't make their tax package add up”. There will now be an intense focus on December 20 to see whether her hyperbole is backed up by true surprises. Photo montage: Lynn ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago

  • CRL costs money but also provides huge benefits
    The City Rail Link has been in the headlines a bit recently so I thought I’d look at some of them. First up, yesterday the NZ Herald ran this piece about the ongoing costs of the CRL. Auckland ratepayers will be saddled with an estimated bill of $220 million each ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    1 day ago

  • And I don't want the world to see us.
    Is this the most shambolic government in the history of New Zealand? Given that parliament hasn’t even opened they’ve managed quite a list of achievements to date.The Smokefree debacle trading lives for tax cuts, the Trumpian claims of bribery in the Media, an International award for indifference, and today the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago

  • Cooking the books
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis late yesterday stopped only slightly short of accusing her predecessor Grant Robertson of cooking the books. She complained that the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU), due to be made public on December 20, would show “fiscal cliffs” that would amount to “billions of ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago

  • Most people don’t realize how much progress we’ve made on climate change
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The year was 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ with Bruno Mars was at the top of the music charts. Jurassic World was the most popular new movie in theaters. And decades of futility in international climate negotiations was about to come to an end in ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • Of Parliamentary Oaths and Clive Boonham
    As a heads-up, I am not one of those people who stay awake at night thinking about weird Culture War nonsense. At least so far as the current Maori/Constitutional arrangements go. In fact, I actually consider it the least important issue facing the day to day lives of New ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    2 days ago

  • Bearing True Allegiance?
    Strong Words: “We do not consent, we do not surrender, we do not cede, we do not submit; we, the indigenous, are rising. We do not buy into the colonial fictions this House is built upon. Te Pāti Māori pledges allegiance to our mokopuna, our whenua, and Te Tiriti o ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • You cannot be serious
    Some days it feels like the only thing to say is: Seriously? No, really. Seriously?OneSomeone has used their health department access to share data about vaccinations and patients, and inform the world that New Zealanders have been dying in their hundreds of thousands from the evil vaccine. This of course is pure ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • A promise kept: govt pulls the plug on Lake Onslow scheme – but this saving of $16bn is denounced...
    Buzz from the Beehive After $21.8 million was spent on investigations, the plug has been pulled on the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro electricity scheme, The scheme –  that technically could have solved New Zealand’s looming energy shortage, according to its champions – was a key part of the defeated Labour government’s ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • CHRIS TROTTER: The Maori Party and Oath of Allegiance
    If those elected to the Māori Seats refuse to take them, then what possible reason could the country have for retaining them?   Chris Trotter writes – Christmas is fast approaching, which, as it does every year, means gearing up for an abstruse general knowledge question. “Who was ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • BRIAN EASTON:  Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies. Brian Easton writes – The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Climate Change: Fossils
    When the new government promised to allow new offshore oil and gas exploration, they were warned that there would be international criticism and reputational damage. Naturally, they arrogantly denied any possibility that that would happen. And then they finally turned up at COP, to criticism from Palau, and a "fossil ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • GEOFFREY MILLER:  NZ’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    Geoffrey Miller writes – New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the government’s smokefree laws debacle
    The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out – for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    2 days ago

  • Top 10 links at 10 am for Monday, December 4
    As Deb Te Kawa writes in an op-ed, the new Government seems to have immediately bought itself fights with just about everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Monday December 4, including:Palau’s President ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Be Honest.
    Let’s begin today by thinking about job interviews.During my career in Software Development I must have interviewed hundreds of people, hired at least a hundred, but few stick in the memory.I remember one guy who was so laid back he was practically horizontal, leaning back in his chair until his ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago

  • Auckland rail tunnel the world’s most expensive
    Auckland’s city rail link is the most expensive rail project in the world per km, and the CRL boss has described the cost of infrastructure construction in Aotearoa as a crisis. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The 3.5 km City Rail Link (CRL) tunnel under Auckland’s CBD has cost ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • First big test coming
    The first big test of the new Government’s approach to Treaty matters is likely to be seen in the return of the Resource Management Act. RMA Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed that he intends to introduce legislation to repeal Labour’s recently passed Natural and Built Environments Act and its ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago

  • The Song of Saqua: Volume III
    Time to revisit something I haven’t covered in a while: the D&D campaign, with Saqua the aquatic half-vampire. Last seen in July: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/07/27/the-song-of-saqua-volume-ii/ The delay is understandable, once one realises that the interim saw our DM come down with a life-threatening medical situation. They have since survived to make ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    2 days ago

  • Chris Bishop: Smokin’
    Yes. Correct. It was an election result. And now we are the elected government. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    3 days ago

  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #48
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 26, 2023 thru Dec 2, 2023. Story of the Week CO2 readings from Mauna Loa show failure to combat climate change Daily atmospheric carbon dioxide data from Hawaiian volcano more ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • Affirmative Action.
    Affirmative Action was a key theme at this election, although I don’t recall anyone using those particular words during the campaign.They’re positive words, and the way the topic was talked about was anything but. It certainly wasn’t a campaign of saying that Affirmative Action was a good thing, but that, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • 100 days of something
    It was at the end of the Foxton straights, at the end of 1978, at 100km/h, that someone tried to grab me from behind on my Yamaha.They seemed to be yanking my backpack. My first thought was outrage. My second was: but how? Where have they come from? And my ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Look who’s stepped up to champion Winston
    There’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today  – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • What's The Story?
    Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • The longest of weeks
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Suggested sessions of EGU24 to submit abstracts to
    Like earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Under New Management
    1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. Under New Management 2. Which of these best describes the 100 days of action announced this week by the new government?a. Petulantb. Simplistic and wrongheaded c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • While we wait patiently, our new Minister of Education is up and going with a 100-day action plan
    Sorry to say, the government’s official website is still out of action. When Point of Order paid its daily visit, the message was the same as it has been for the past week: Site under maintenance Beehive.govt.nz is currently under maintenance. We will be back shortly. Thank you for your ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • DAVID FARRAR: Hysterical bullshit
    Radio NZ reports: Te Pāti Māori’s co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has accused the new government of “deliberate .. systemic genocide” over its policies to roll back the smokefree policy and the Māori Health Authority. The left love hysterical language. If you oppose racial quotas in laws, you are a racist. And now if you sack ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #48 2023
    Open access notables From this week's government/NGO section, longitudinal data is gold and Leisorowitz, Maibachi et al. continue to mine ore from the US public with Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy, Fall 2023: Drawing on a representative sample of the U.S. adult population, the authors describe how registered ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • ELE LUDEMANN: It wasn’t just $55 million
    Ele Ludemann writes –  Winston Peters reckons media outlets were bribed by the $55 million Public Interest Journalism Fund. He is not the first to make such an accusation. Last year, the Platform outlined conditions media signed up to in return for funds from the PJIF: . . . ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • Weekly Roundup 1-December-2023
    Wow, it’s December already, and it’s a Friday. So here are few things that caught our attention recently. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt covered the new government’s coalition agreements and what they mean for transport. On Tuesday Matt looked at AT’s plans for fare increases ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago

  • Shane MacGowan Is Gone.
    Late 1996, The Dogs Bollix, Tamaki Makaurau.I’m at the front of the bar yelling my order to the bartender, jostling with other thirsty punters on a Friday night, keen to piss their wages up against a wall letting loose. The black stuff, long luscious pints of creamy goodness. Back down ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • The Hoon around the week to Dec 1
    Nicola Willis, Chris Bishop and other National, ACT and NZ First MPs applaud the signing of the coalition agreements, which included the reversal of anti-smoking measures while accelerating tax cuts for landlords. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • 2023 More Reading: November (+ Writing Update)
    Completed reads for November: A Modern Utopia, by H.G. Wells The Vampire (poem), by Heinrich August Ossenfelder The Corpus Hermeticum The Corpus Hermeticum is Mead’s translation. Now, this is indeed a very quiet month for reading. But there is a reason for that… You see, ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    6 days ago

  • Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies.The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. They also describe the processes of the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    6 days ago

  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • Finally
    Henry Kissinger is finally dead. Good fucking riddance. While Americans loved him, he was a war criminal, responsible for most of the atrocities of the final quarter of the twentieth century. Cambodia. Bangladesh. Chile. East Timor. All Kissinger. Because of these crimes, Americans revere him as a "statesman" (which says ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • Government in a hurry – Luxon lists 49 priorities in 100-day plan while Peters pledges to strength...
    Buzz from the Beehive Yes, ministers in the new government are delivering speeches and releasing press statements. But the message on the government’s official website was the same as it has been for the past several days, when Point of Order went looking for news from the Beehive that had ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • DAVID FARRAR: Luxon is absolutely right
    David Farrar writes  –  1 News reports: Christopher Luxon says he was told by some Kiwis on the campaign trail they “didn’t know” the difference between Waka Kotahi, Te Pūkenga and Te Whatu Ora. Speaking to Breakfast, the incoming prime minister said having English first on government agencies will “make sure” ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Top 10 at 10 am for Thursday, Nov 30
    There are fears that mooted changes to building consent liability could end up driving the building industry into an uninsured hole. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Thursday, November 30, including:The new Government’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on how climate change threatens cricket‘s future
    Well that didn’t last long, did it? Mere days after taking on what he called the “awesome responsibility” of being Prime Minister, M Christopher Luxon has started blaming everyone else, and complaining that he has inherited “economic vandalism on an unprecedented scale” – which is how most of us are ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    6 days ago

  • We need to talk about Tory.
    The first I knew of the news about Tory Whanau was when a tweet came up in my feed.The sort of tweet that makes you question humanity, or at least why you bother with Twitter. Which is increasingly a cesspit of vile inhabitants who lurk spreading negativity, hate, and every ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • Dangling Transport Solutions
    Cable Cars, Gondolas, Ropeways and Aerial Trams are all names for essentially the same technology and the world’s biggest maker of them are here to sell them as an public transport solution. Stuff reports: Austrian cable car company Doppelmayr has launched its case for adding aerial cable cars to New ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    6 days ago

  • November AMA
    Hi,It’s been awhile since I’ve done an Ask-Me-Anything on here, so today’s the day. Ask anything you like in the comments section, and I’ll be checking in today and tomorrow to answer.Leave a commentNext week I’ll be giving away a bunch of these Mister Organ blu-rays for readers in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago

  • National’s early moves adding to cost of living pressure
    The cost of living grind continues, and the economic and inflation honeymoon is over before it began. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: PM Christopher Luxon unveiled his 100 day plan yesterday with an avowed focus of reducing cost-of-living pressures, but his Government’s initial moves and promises are actually elevating ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Backwards to the future
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has confirmed that it will be back to the future on planning legislation. This will be just one of a number of moves which will see the new government go backwards as it repeals and cost-cuts its way into power. They will completely repeal one ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago

  • New initiatives in science and technology could point the way ahead for Luxon government
    As the new government settles into the Beehive, expectations are high that it can sort out some  of  the  economic issues  confronting  New Zealand. It may take time for some new  ministers to get to grips with the range of their portfolio work and responsibilities before they can launch the  changes that  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    7 days ago

  • Treaty pledge to secure funding is contentious – but is Peters being pursued by a lynch mob after ...
    TV3 political editor Jenna Lynch was among the corps of political reporters who bridled, when Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters told them what he thinks of them (which is not much). She was unabashed about letting her audience know she had bridled. More usefully, she drew attention to something which ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago

  • How long does this last?
    I have a clear memory of every election since 1969 in this plucky little nation of ours. I swear I cannot recall a single one where the question being asked repeatedly in the first week of the new government was: how long do you reckon they’ll last? And that includes all ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • National’s giveaway politics
    We already know that national plans to boost smoking rates to collect more tobacco tax so they can give huge tax-cuts to mega-landlords. But this morning that policy got even more obscene - because it turns out that the tax cut is retrospective: Residential landlords will be able to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago

  • CHRIS TROTTER: Who’s driving the right-wing bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In 2023, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 week ago

  • GRAHAM ADAMS:  Media knives flashing for Luxon’s government
    The fear and loathing among legacy journalists is astonishing Graham Adams writes – No one is going to die wondering how some of the nation’s most influential journalists personally view the new National-led government. It has become abundantly clear within a few days of the coalition agreements ...
    Point of OrderBy gadams1000
    1 week ago

  • Top 10 news links for Wednesday, Nov 29
    TL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere for Wednesday November 29, including:The early return of interest deductibility for landlords could see rebates paid on previous taxes and the cost increase to $3 billion from National’s initial estimate of $2.1 billion, CTU Economist Craig Renney estimated here last ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Smokefree Fallout and a High Profile Resignation.
    The day after being sworn in the new cabinet met yesterday, to enjoy their honeymoon phase. You remember, that period after a new government takes power where the country, and the media, are optimistic about them, because they haven’t had a chance to stuff anything about yet.Sadly the nuptials complete ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • As Cabinet revs up, building plans go on hold
    Wellington Council hoardings proclaim its preparations for population growth, but around the country councils are putting things on hold in the absence of clear funding pathways for infrastructure, and despite exploding migrant numbers. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Cabinet meets in earnest today to consider the new Government’s 100-day ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • National takes over infrastructure
    Though New Zealand First may have had ambitions to run the infrastructure portfolios, National would seem to have ended up firmly in control of them.  POLITIK has obtained a private memo to members of Infrastructure NZ yesterday, which shows that the peak organisation for infrastructure sees  National MPs Chris ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 week ago

  • At a glance – Evidence for global warming
    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 ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Who’s Driving The Right-Wing Bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago

  • PISA results show urgent need to teach the basics
    With 2022 PISA results showing a decline in achievement, Education Minister Erica Stanford is confident that the Coalition Government’s 100-day plan for education will improve outcomes for Kiwi kids.  The 2022 PISA results show a significant decline in the performance of 15-year-old students in maths compared to 2018 and confirms ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago

  • Collins leaves for Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins today departed for New Caledonia to attend the 8th annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ meeting (SPDMM). “This meeting is an excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security matters and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Pacific,” Judith Collins says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Working for Families gets cost of living boost
    Putting more money in the pockets of hard-working families is a priority of this Coalition Government, starting with an increase to Working for Families, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “We are starting our 100-day plan with a laser focus on bringing down the cost of living, because that is what ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme scrapped
    The Government has axed the $16 billion Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme championed by the previous government, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says. “This hugely wasteful project was pouring money down the drain at a time when we need to be reining in spending and focussing on rebuilding the economy and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • NZ welcomes further pause in fighting in Gaza
    New Zealand welcomes the further one-day extension of the pause in fighting, which will allow the delivery of more urgently-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza and the release of more hostages, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. “The human cost of the conflict is horrific, and New Zealand wants to see the violence ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Condolences on passing of Henry Kissinger
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters today expressed on behalf of the New Zealand Government his condolences to the family of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who has passed away at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut. “While opinions on his legacy are varied, Secretary Kissinger was ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Backing our kids to learn the basics
    Every child deserves a world-leading education, and the Coalition Government is making that a priority as part of its 100-day plan. Education Minister Erica Stanford says that will start with banning cellphone use at school and ensuring all primary students spend one hour on reading, writing, and maths each day. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • US Business Summit Speech – Regional stability through trade
    I would like to begin by echoing the Prime Minister’s thanks to the organisers of this Summit, Fran O’Sullivan and the Auckland Business Chamber.  I want to also acknowledge the many leading exporters, sector representatives, diplomats, and other leaders we have joining us in the room. In particular, I would like ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Keynote Address to the United States Business Summit, Auckland
    Good morning. Thank you, Rosemary, for your warm introduction, and to Fran and Simon for this opportunity to make some brief comments about New Zealand’s relationship with the United States.  This is also a chance to acknowledge my colleague, Minister for Trade Todd McClay, Ambassador Tom Udall, Secretary of Foreign ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • India New Zealand Business Council Speech, India as a Strategic Priority
    Good morning, tēnā koutou and namaskar. Many thanks, Michael, for your warm welcome. I would like to acknowledge the work of the India New Zealand Business Council in facilitating today’s event and for the Council’s broader work in supporting a coordinated approach for lifting New Zealand-India relations. I want to also ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Coalition Government unveils 100-day plan
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has laid out the Coalition Government’s plan for its first 100 days from today. “The last few years have been incredibly tough for so many New Zealanders. People have put their trust in National, ACT and NZ First to steer them towards a better, more prosperous ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Further humanitarian support for Gaza, the West Bank and Israel
    The Government is contributing a further $5 million to support the response to urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, bringing New Zealand’s total contribution to the humanitarian response so far to $10 million. “New Zealand is deeply saddened by the loss of civilian life and the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2023-12-06T01:03:43+00:00