democracy under attack
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Covid-19 and a digital democracy
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 pm, March 15th, 2020 - 20 comments
Government has for the last decade been pushing for as many government services as possible to be primarily accessed digitally rather than face-to face. Funnily enough, the one public service they forgot to push to digital is themselves. Now’s the time Trevor.
Corrupt US
Written By: - Date published: 8:21 pm, March 10th, 2020 - 60 comments
That’s not a request by the way. This post is a kind of “confessions of a cynic who allowed optimism to creep up and have a hand in thought processes” post.
Buttigeig 2020?
Written By: - Date published: 11:06 am, March 5th, 2020 - 33 comments
Allowing for a Biden victory in the Democratic Party primary process, then come November, voters in the US will be voting on whether Buttiegieg or Trump will be the next President of the USA. That’s what I’m picking, and here’s why…
To Kill Democracy…
Written By: - Date published: 2:12 pm, February 22nd, 2020 - 12 comments
If major Democratic Party donors and ‘big business’ lobbyists wanted to monkeywrench democracy in the US, then here’s how they could go about it.
A Handy Clusterfuck?
Written By: - Date published: 11:36 am, February 5th, 2020 - 46 comments
A party that detests one of its Presidential nominees. A media establishment that’s largely a propaganda arm of that party. And games…stupid games.
Democratisation by Social Media and the Internet Is Just Meaningless Waffle
Written By: - Date published: 1:35 pm, December 24th, 2019 - 22 comments
Social Media and the Internet are literally in our faces 24/7 but our political engagement is diminishing.
The Missing Millions
Written By: - Date published: 11:18 am, December 12th, 2019 - 18 comments
Millions of people and an entire region of the UK left out of polling calculations….
‘Donations’ or bribes
Written By: - Date published: 9:58 pm, November 19th, 2019 - 95 comments
It has been ironic at our media frenzy on political ‘donations’. I suspect that our legal structure has been setup for bribing politicians with ‘donations’. Let us just make all politicians and donors guilty until proven innocent of false reporting of ‘donations’. It’d be more interesting than the current farce. Start with Simon Bridges – currently still under investigation by the SFO.
Police London-wide ban on Extinction Rebellion actions ruled unlawful
Written By: - Date published: 7:10 am, November 7th, 2019 - 5 comments
“The landmark judgment upholds the peoples’ fundamental right to peaceful protest and prohibits the Police from any such future ban”
Brittle cities
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, October 29th, 2019 - 10 comments
It is pretty hard to miss a variety of cities around the world going nuts for apparently minor offences.
British Justice tortures Assange
Written By: - Date published: 4:14 am, October 26th, 2019 - 36 comments
Craig Murray reports on the horror of Julian Assange’s treatment by British so-called “justice.” Read it and don’t weep. You can see why Murray resigned from the UK foreign service; their diplomacy is just as bad.
Elizabeth Warren on Facebook and the US presidential election
Written By: - Date published: 7:16 am, October 10th, 2019 - 72 comments
“They’re allowing Trump to spend over $1 million a week right now for ads on their platform—including ones that air the same lies that TV stations won’t.”
BoJo cornered
Written By: - Date published: 1:03 am, September 25th, 2019 - 75 comments
Lady Hale and the UK Supreme Court have torpedoed Boris Johnson’s cunning plan to prorogue Parliament. His request to the Queen was “unlawful, void, and of no effect.” Her Maj will not be pleased. Johnson is now boxed in – ask for an extension to Brexit, or resign.
China Becomes Fascist
Written By: - Date published: 12:52 pm, August 26th, 2019 - 42 comments
Those who see fascism emerging under Trump can observe the full modern version in action now in Hong Kong’s contest of protesters with the Chinese government.
Don’t mention the fascism
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, August 10th, 2019 - 103 comments
We are frogs in the pot.
Trump’s social media summit
Written By: - Date published: 8:57 am, July 13th, 2019 - 36 comments
Donald Trump’s social media summit, a white house gathering of right wing extremists and media trolls, is the complete antithesis of the post Christchurch massacre gathering organised by Jacinda Ardern to address the damage that social media can cause.
Guest post – Bucking the trend at ECAN
Written By: - Date published: 8:47 am, July 10th, 2019 - 26 comments
A guest post from Anthony Rimell about a very disturbing attempt by ECAN to allow the levels of nitrate leach into Christchurch’s water supply to increase.
The strange case of the missing Oregon Republican State senators
Written By: - Date published: 1:45 pm, June 24th, 2019 - 67 comments
Republican State Senators in the state of Oregon have headed for the hills and are being protected by a local nut job militia in an effort to thwart the democratically elected majority from doing passing a law to address climate change.
Government under FiveEyes
Written By: - Date published: 9:48 pm, June 7th, 2019 - 11 comments
Australian Federal Police chief Neil Gaughan told media after raiding the ABC that “if police did not investigate the leaking of classified information, Australia would no longer be entrusted by FiveEyes partners with intelligence that saves lives.” FiveEyes didn’t save Muslim lives in Christchurch.
Tiananmen Square’s Failed Revolution
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, June 4th, 2019 - 70 comments
Right now we could be dealing with a China with a similar mixed model to Vietnam, or a re-unified country like Germany. What happened to change this?
Same old dirty National
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, May 30th, 2019 - 179 comments
National is still embedded in Dirty Politics.
Run Brian Run
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, May 23rd, 2019 - 103 comments
Brian Tamaki is set to announce the launch of a new political party today.
Death tax fake news
Written By: - Date published: 10:47 am, May 21st, 2019 - 62 comments
Social media was responsible for the repeated broadcasting of the claim that Labor in Australia intended to bring in a death tax. What should happen when claims that are clearly wrong are made?
Will the Christian Conservatives rise again?
Written By: - Date published: 11:07 am, May 20th, 2019 - 78 comments
Simon Bridges has conceded that his claim that talk about Alfred Ngaro setting up a conservative party was “rumour and speculation” was not actually true. And Ngaro has gone on the offensive describing abortion as an unholy holocaust.
Is National thinking of a conservative puppet party?
Written By: - Date published: 9:12 am, May 17th, 2019 - 251 comments
The Herald has reported that National is considering allowing Alfred Ngaro to form another break away party this time with a definite christian conservative bent and also to take over the Botany electorate.
Should white supremacists be preferred over ISIS?
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, April 27th, 2019 - 117 comments
According to media sources in the United States Twitter won’t autoban white supremacists because too many GOP Politicians would be banned.
Confirmation bias
Written By: - Date published: 12:03 pm, April 21st, 2019 - 134 comments
The internet neatly divides us into separate isolated tribes with polarised views of what are the issues and what is reality. How do we engage in a civilised discussion to educate each other and reach a consensus of what we should be doing?
The Mueller report
Written By: - Date published: 10:11 am, April 19th, 2019 - 75 comments
Robert Mueller’s report has now been released and questions are being asked at the benign spin that the White House has been allowed to engage in to describe it before its release.
National’s culture review shambles redux
Written By: - Date published: 9:19 am, April 15th, 2019 - 32 comments
Simon Bridges has given a train wreck of an interview this morning on Radio New Zealand’s morning report about National’s culture review. It appears that National is keeping the report secret because of fears that the report may be leaked.
Reflections on Free Speech and Public Discourse
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, April 15th, 2019 - 119 comments
Silencing dissonant voices only leads to more and stronger dissonant voices and further radicalisation.
Trump’s tax returns and the Mueller investigation
Written By: - Date published: 7:40 am, April 5th, 2019 - 53 comments
Donald Trump and his supporters have been celebrating Mueller’s finding as interpreted by William Barr. But with Congress formally requesting his tax records and with the Mueller report not being yet released the celebration could be premature.
- Smashing down the barriers: Where are we at with COVID vaccines?
In the absence of a vaccine or a cure for a deadly disease, staying home in your bubble is what you do, the concept is not new. To the best of my knowledge last time we did this in NZ was for polio, in the years before a vaccine came ...46 mins ago - National Network on Cuba (USA): “Cuban medical solidarity is a pillar of its society and is founde...
The following statement was released on March 28 by the National Network on Cuba, a coalition of 40 groups, based in the United States. In recent weeks, Cuba has deployed hundreds of medical providers to over a dozen countries in Europe, Asia, as well as to their neighbors in Latin ...1 hour ago - Alarming decrease in calves increases fears for endangered Hector’s dolphinThis has been a terrible summer for Hector’s dolphins. The first indication was very low numbers of dolphin sightings during late spring and early summer. The Otago University Marine Mammal Research Team has carried out routine dolphin surveys at Banks Peninsula for more than 30 years. In all that time, ...4 hours ago
- Time for Grant Robertson to reveal package #2?
On March 17, Finance Minister Grant Robertson was quick out of the blocks with an economic rescue package to help businesses through the inevitable recession resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. Robertson had pulled together a scheme in short order that so far seems to have saved many jobs. In his ...6 hours ago - Saving lives
The purpose of the lockdown is to save lives, by reducing the spread of covid-19. We won't know if its really working for another week, but given the devastation that will result if it doesn't - 14,000 dead is the optimistic scenario - its definitely worth trying. But pausing the ...10 hours ago - Life in Lock Down: Day 5
. . March 30: Day five of living in lock-down… Woke up still in darkness. Alarm hadn’t gone off. Turn to radio clock; it’s a few minutes after 6am… I lie there in the dark, waiting to drift off to sleep… but it ain’t happening. Clock ticks over to 6.55 ...11 hours ago - Speaker: Les Gray: the man who told the truth
The story of Les Gray, the public sector psychologist who told the truth about his use of cannabis and set off a storm, has a special place in the lore of cannabis reform in New Zealand.When Paul Shannon interviewed Gray for the 'Dope and Hope' issue of Planet magazine in ...12 hours ago - Why now? Historical specificity and the perfect storm that has created trans identity politicsby Phil Duncan For Marxists, a key concern about social trends is their context – not just their causes, but why they happen when they do. Events and phenomena have causes, but they also are time or period-specific. While much of the left have capitulated recently to postmodernism, most notably ...1 day ago
- Time for a living wage for supermarket workersSince the lockdown began, we've all suddenly been reminded who the actually essential workers in our society are: not the people at the top who pay themselves the big bucks and rort the perks, but the people at the bottom they screw over and squeeze: cleaners, warehouse staff, truck drivers ...1 day ago
- Hard News: MUSIC: Lockdown GroovesKia ora! As I've watched nearly all my remaining work vanish over the past couple of days, it has occured to me that one good way to keep me away from arguing with fools on Twitter all the time (in the knowledge that all we're really doing is processing our ...1 day ago
- A place of greater safety?Aotearoa New Zealand has committed to trying to extirpate the virus that causes COVID-19 from its shores. To do that, as a society we’ve moved to “Level 4”. That means adapting to unprecedented restrictions on our personal freedoms, particularly to our rights to move freely and associate with friends and ...1 day ago
- The police and public trustWhen the Prime Minister declared a state of emergency last week, she handed the police powers to enforce it. And almost immediately, we started hearing about heavy-handed, arbitrary "enforcement" by police who (at best) cared more about order than law, or (more likely) had no idea what the rules were ...1 day ago
- Life in Lock Down: Day 4. . Lock Down: Day 4 – A photo essay with observations . March 29: Usual wake up routine as RNZ snaps on my radio-clock. Jim Mora’s voice slowly enters my conciousness; there’s talk of a second wave of covid19 taking hold in South Korea; the week in Parliament – ...1 day ago
- COVID-19 vs New Zealand
Yesterday, New Zealand recorded its first Covid-19 related death on the West Coast. Unfortunately this is unlikely to be the only fatality, with the virus now being found in every region of the country.However despite the significant danger, people are still unfortunately breaching lockdown rules.There’s really only one main very ...1 day ago - 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #13
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Review... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Story of the Week... ‘Misinformation kills’: The link between coronavirus conspiracies and climate denial Grist / Rob Kim / Stringer / CSA Images Scientific ...2 days ago - Rāhui day 4
The kids did surprisingly well today – meltdown count was about 3, and mostly fairly short ones. (And a fourth while I was writing.) Game-wise I had a go at Fell Seal: Arbiter’s Mark. It’s a fairly standard RPG with turn-based combat and what they call a “mature storyline” (it ...2 days ago - Letter to a friend
by Don Franks Hi David, Nice hearing from you, I’m glad to hear you’re getting by okay in these grim times. You asked how’s it going for us back here in New Zealand. You would have heard that the whole country is locked down and with breaks for exercise and ...2 days ago - Life in Lock Down: Day 3. . Lock Down: Day 3 – A photo essay with observations . March 28: First day of the first weekend in Lock Down. It feels like it’s been weeks since only Level 3 was declared last Tuesday, only four days ago. Woke up this morning to RNZ; coffee; toast, ...2 days ago
- 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #13A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week, i.e., Sun, Mar 22, 2020 through Sat, Mar 28, 2020 Articles Linked to on Facebook Sun, Mar 22, 2020 In Just 10 Years, Warming Has Increased the Odds of Disasters by Chelsea Harvey, ...3 days ago
- Rāhui day 3I’m here in lockdown with my flatmate and her two girls (6 and 2) and it. is. a time. They’re usually really active so to start with the only boardgame in the house is the copy of Guess Who that the 6 year old got for her birthday. Flatmate commented ...3 days ago
- A test of civil society.
The CV-19 (COVID) pandemic has seen the imposition of a government ordered national quarantine and the promulgation of a series of measures designed to spread the burden of pain and soften the economic blow on the most strategically important and most vulnerable sectors of society. The national narrative is framed ...3 days ago - Life in Lock Down: Day 2. . Lock Down: Day 2 – A photo essay with observations . March 27 – Day 2 of our Strange New World. The Park and Ride near my suburb, usually filled with hundreds of vehicles, had just… four; . . Another drive into Wellington City on a highway nearly ...3 days ago
- How Do You Feel? What Do You Think?
Fortune's Children: Under extraordinary pressure, the leader of the Government and the leader of the Opposition will each show us what they are made of. Have they been blessed with intelligence, grace, wit, poise, toughness, empathy and humour – and in what measure? More importantly, to what extent have they ...4 days ago - Landlords are NOT an essential service4 days ago
- A “new Society” post-COVID19 will definitely emerge. The question is: on what path?
Society-wise, aside from the specific morbidity shall we say of the medically-oriented aspects of this COVID-19 crisis, what is unfolding before the world is in more than one way an instructive study of humanity and reactions to a high intensity, high stress environment in real time. Friends, we are at ...4 days ago - Raise the Bar: Everything you need to know about the wage subsidy
Right now low waged and insecure workers are feeling the economic brunt of the looming #Covid19 Recession. In response legal advocate Toby Cooper* and hospitality and worker’s rights advocate Chloe Ann-King, are putting together a series of legal blogs about your employment rights: In this legal blog we outline some ...4 days ago - The massacre of prisoners in Modelo jail, Bogota, March 21by Equipo Jurídico Pueblos and Gearóid Ó Loingsigh (25/03/2020) An escape plan in question On the night of March 21st and the early morning of the 22nd, the forces of the Colombian state stormed into the Modelo prison in Bogotá, murdering 23 prisoners and injuring 83, in response to the ...4 days ago
- We are not AmericaWhen the government banned semi-automatic weapons in response to a terrorist atrocity, gun-nuts were outraged. Mired in toxic American gun culture, they thought owning weapons whose sole purpose was killing people was some sort of "constitutional right", a necessity for "defending themselves" against the government. Now, the Court of Appeal ...4 days ago
- When will we know the lockdown is working?Just before midnight on Wednesday March 25, Aotearoa New Zealand entered a countrywide alert level four lockdown. For at least the next four weeks, everyone who isn’t an essential worker is confined to their bubble. We are doing this to stop the explosive growth in people contracting and dying from ...4 days ago
- Lock Down: Day 1. . Lock Down: Day 1 – A photo essay with observations . Day one of the Level 4 nationwide lock-down (or, DefCon 4 as I sometimes cheekily call it) started at 11.59PM on 25 March. For a moment, most of the nation held it’s collective breath. In that brief ...4 days ago
- A Compelling Recollection.Broad, Sunlit Uplands: How those words fired my young imagination! Or, perhaps, it is more accurate to say: how those words fused, in my young mind, with the image printed on every packet of Fielder’s Cornflour. Always fascinated by history, especially modern history, I cannot hear Churchill’s wonderfully evocative words, even ...5 days ago
- The Warehouse – where everyone gets a virus. . 24 March 2020 9.46AM Number of covid19 cases in Aotearoa New Zealand: 102 . As of 11.59 on Thursday, most of New Zealand will go into “lock down”. People will be expected not to travel to work; not to socialise; and to stay home. I will not be ...5 days ago
- Aggressive action to address climate change could save the world $145 trillionThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections A respected research group, Project Drawdown, finds that deploying solutions consistent with meeting the Paris climate targets would cost tens of trillions of dollars globally. But crucially, those outlays would also yield long-term savings many times larger than the up-front costs. The new 2020 Drawdown ...5 days ago
- After the PandemicIt will pass. What happens next? Not immediately, but longer term. There are many opinions, fewer certainties. Will it “change everything!” as many confidently, and contradictorily predict? In this post I look at how foresight can help bound some of the uncertainties so you can more objectively consider the future. ...5 days ago
- Coronavirus – Cuba shows the wayWe’ve been meaning t write something on Cuba and the coronavirus but have just discovered a very good article on the subject in the US left publication Jacobin. The article looks at how Cuba, a poor country but one where capitalism has been done away with, is leading the way ...5 days ago
- Using privacy law to prevent the death penaltyIn 2018, El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey - two British citizens who had purportedly been stripped of their citizenship by the British government - were captured while fighting for Isis in Syria. The British government then conspired to hand them over to the US, and agreed to provide evidence ...5 days ago
- It’s Time For Disaster Socialism.Transformers: The disaster of the Great Depression was transformed into a new and fairer society by the democratic socialism of the First Labour Government. The disaster of the Covid-19 Pandemic offers a similar transformative possibility to the Labour-NZ First-Green Government. Seize the time, Jacinda! You will never have a better ...6 days ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #12, 2020Tamper with The System? Well, we already are. But there's a difference between accidentally trickling sand into a precision gearbox versus formulating a plan to alter it on the fly with improvements in mind. One action is more or less innocently unscrupulous, the other amenable to earning an easy ...6 days ago
- Avoidable hospitalisations: Helping our health system get through COVID-19Associate Prof George Thomson, Louise Delany, Prof Nick Wilson While it is possible that New Zealand can use intense public health controls to eradicate COVID-19 from the country – we must also plan for other scenarios where thousands of New Zealanders are sick – including many urgently hospitalised.1 Better resilience ...6 days ago
- Raise the Bar: 10 questions to ask your employer proposing redundancy
Kia ora my name is Chloe Ann-King* and I am the founder of Raise the Bar, a campaign and non-profit that gives free legal aid, advocacy and tautoko to hospitality workers in Aotearoa. Right now all over our country hospo workers are being fired at will, having shifts cut or being ...6 days ago - An equitable way to support businessThe Herald reports that the government is planning to lend billions of dollars to large businesses to keep them operating during the pandemic. As with mortgage relief, this is necessary: we need companies to stay in business, to reduce the economic damage and help things get restarted again when this ...6 days ago
- Hard News: Together AloneWe're about to do something unprecedented as a nation. We hope that by taking this extraordinary action before a single life in New Zealand has been lost to the deadly novel virus we will save tens of thousands of lives. Our lives. We'll do it together, in households, in isolation ...7 days ago
- Why timing is everything: ‘A time to refrain from embracing’ starts today“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.”So writes the author of Ecclesiastes, a book in the Old Testament that’s counted as a ‘wisdom’ book and written as if by an unnamed king of Jerusalem. But who would have thought there would be a time ...7 days ago
- Dealing with the Covid-19 Tsunami.I was surprised when the prime minister described the Economic Response to Covid-19 package as the ‘largest peacetime government spend in New Zealand's history’. Reflecting – checking through history – I realised that the term ‘spend’ was crucial and the package had no income tax cuts. Even so, it has ...7 days ago
- What about renters?The government today announced the latest part of its pandemic relief package: a six-month mortgage holiday for people whose incomes have been affected by the pandemic. Which is great, because these people are going to need help, and that's what the government should be doing. At the same time, it ...1 week ago
- Living within our means.Years ago the Argentine sociologist Carlos Weisman wrote a book titled “Living within our Means.” It was a critique of Argentine society that focused on the paradoxical question of why, in a land of plenty, there was so much economic instability, inequality, corruption and political turmoil. His conclusion was basically ...1 week ago
- Transparency and the pandemicParliament will be leading by example and adjourning tomorrow after a special sitting to consider an epidemic notice and state of emergency. Day-to-day oversight of the government will be delegated to a select committee. But that's not the only overight mechanism. The OIA will still be law, and (so far) ...1 week ago
- ‘Overjoyed’: a leading health expert on New Zealand’s coronavirus shutdown, and the challengin...Michael Baker, University of Otago Overjoyed. That’s not a word epidemiologists normally use, but that’s how I felt after hearing Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s announcement about New Zealand’s COVID-19 shutdown of everything except essential services for at least four weeks from midnight on Wednesday. More than anything, I just ...1 week ago
- One way to solve the housing crisisHow much homelessness is caused by house hoarding? We're about to find out. The pandemic has destroyed tourism, which means that house hoarders who put their hoarded properties up as short-term tourist rentals are now offering them on the ordinary rental market:Property investors are pulling properties from Airbnb to offer ...1 week ago
- The pros and cons of planting trees to address global warmingThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bruce Lieberman It seems like such a simple, straightforward, empowering idea: plant trees – a lot of trees – all over the world, and watch the planet’s temperature fall. Who doesn’t love a tree or two, even far more – the right ...1 week ago
- Not a grand coalition, but a government of national salvation
According to Newshub, Simon Bridges is open to joining a “grand coalition” with Labour as we hunker down to go into a month long lockdown. The idea is sound. Before now, the role of the opposition was to scrutinise and oppose. In the context of what almost amounts to a ...1 week ago - Raise the Bar: hospitality workers & wage subsidy entitlements
Kia ora my name is Chloe Ann-King* and I am the founder of Raise the Bar, a campaign and non-profit that gives free legal aid, advocacy and tautoko to hospitality workers in Aotearoa. Right now all over our country hospo workers are being fired at will, having shifts cut or ...1 week ago - Lifting our game against COVID-19We need to be lifting our game against COVID-19. You and I need to help those working to prevent the spread of COVID-19 while they’re trying to lift the testing and treatment efforts. We don’t want to be playing this game running backwards. Best to play it solidly forward, from ...1 week ago
- The maths and ethics of minimising COVID-19 deaths in NZProf Tony Blakely, Prof Michael Baker, and Prof Nick Wilson The NZ Government must do more to clearly articulate its COVID-19 strategy: eradication or ‘flattening the curve’ mitigation. But to do so means understanding the maths and ethics of both these strategies. In this blog, we adapt our work for ...1 week ago
- All aboard the Covid Train
A few days ago I was starting to write something about the pandemic, which now seems unconscionable. It took the form of a letter to an agony aunt:“Dear Deidre, I have an ugly confession. I am quite excited by Covid-19.”This is how the piece went:“I’m not a psychopath, honest. Although the ...1 week ago - 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #12Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Climate Feedback Article Review... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Reviews... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Story of the Week... In Just 10 Years, Warming Has Increased the Odds of Disasters The likelihood of extreme events ...1 week ago
- We are all socialists nowLast week, the government announced a $12 billion initial package to support people during the pandemic. Today, the Reserve Bank is buying government bonds - effectively printing money - to keep up the money supply during the crisis. Normally such moves would have the right apoplectic. Instead, the National Party ...1 week ago
- A plea to experts: safeguard your role in public life
I am a pundit, somebody who opines and comments on the news. There are no real qualifications to punditry though having a rudimentary way with words and good general knowledge helps. That is one reason there is a constant oversupply of would-be pundits and why it is quite hard to ...1 week ago - Enlightenment when?I recently encountered the following prescription from a Faculty of Education at a leading New Zealand University. At first I wondered if it was another product of the postmodern generator (http://www.elsewhere.org/journal/pomo/), designed to create gibberish in the postmodern form, but I’m told it is real: The “schooled” society: Towards the ...1 week ago
- What the Crisis Can teach Us
The coronavirus pandemic has of course had a major impact on individual lives and on societies as a whole. But, long after the crisis has passed (assuming it does), we will begin to realise that its real and lasting significance lies in the lessons it has taught us, if only ...1 week ago - Hammering home measures to stop COVID-19
COVID-19 has plunged Aotearoa New Zealand (indeed, the world) into territory that, while maybe not totally unprecedented, certainly hasn’t been seen during the lifetimes of most of us here today. Our borders are closed to non-citizens, we’re being told not to gather in groups of more than 500 outside/100 inside, ...1 week ago - What does ‘level two’ mean – and why does it matter?For the last few weeks, I’ve been urging you to prepare yourself, your family, business, and community for Covid-19. Now it’s time for real action. Yesterday the director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield announced another 13 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand, bringing our total to date to 52. ...1 week ago
- 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #12A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week, i.e., Sun, Mar 15, 2020 through Sat, Mar 21, 2020 Editor's Pick Now Isn’t the Time to Forget About Our Climate Change Efforts Tasha Tilberg, Lindsey Wixson, and Liu Wen photographed ...1 week ago
- Is the Guardian becoming a real newspaper again?by Jan Rivers The article has been corrected to show that it was Ewen MacAskill, former Guardian journalist and not Luke Harding who travelled to meet Edward Snowden with journalist Glenn Greenwald and filmmaker Laura Poitras. Some of the Guardian’s well-known journalists who did not sign the protest letter are ...2 weeks ago
- Life asserts itself regardlessby Cultural Worker Late March 2020 amidst the virus. With gigs crashing and burning all around it was without much hope that I called a long standing rest home booking: “ Hi, I’m supposed to be entertaining at your place this afternoon – is it still on?” “”If you don’t ...2 weeks ago
- Politics, the possible, and the pandemicWhenever people demand real change from their politicians, we're told that "politics is the art of the possible". The implication is that change isn't possible, so we'd better just get used to the sucky status quo. But now that there's a pandemic, a lot of things we were previously told ...2 weeks ago
- The Only Way Through This Crisis Is Together.Together: In leading New Zealand through the Covid-19 Pandemic, the Prime Minister could do a lot worse than allow herself to be guided by the spirit of collective sacrifice and co-operation that animated the New Zealanders of 80 years ago. Most Kiwis alive today have had no opportunity to prove their ...2 weeks ago
- GFC vs Covid-19It is said that generals fight the last war. In the case of the early stages of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) they had learned from the Great Depression of the 1930s and they fought intelligently and successfully. Later their advice would be ignored in favour of the Austerians who ...2 weeks ago
- Nobody Left Behind.2 weeks ago
- Rebuilding a truly “Democratic” counter, or a “moderate Republican” bolt-hol...
Looking across the various arguments for/against the leading candidates to take the Democratic Nomination, you might honestly be very hard pressed to tell. There are a number of things that have now started happening since Amy Klobuchar and “Mayor Pete” Buttigieg both threw the towel in and immediately (and ...2 weeks ago - Abortion law reform a win for womenby Daphna Whitmore Abortion is no longer in the Crimes Act in New Zealand. The law reform passed yesterday and now abortion is a medical matter between a woman and her doctor. Many women’s groups and progressive people have campaigned for reform for decades. The women’s liberation movement and some ...2 weeks ago
- How to spot bogus science stories and read the news like a scientistDoug Specht, University of Westminster and Julio Gimenez, University of Westminster When fake news, misreporting and alternative facts are everywhere, reading the news can be a challenge. Not only is there plenty of misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic, climate change and other scientific topics floating around social media, you also ...2 weeks ago
- Why New Zealand needs to continue decisive action to contain coronavirusMichael Baker, University of Otago and Nick Wilson, University of Otago With some of the toughest border restrictions and a newly-announced NZ$500 million boost to health services, New Zealand is among a small number of countries with a strategy to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. New Zealand is also fortunate in ...2 weeks ago
- Parliament and the pandemic IIAs expected, the government has introduced a sessional order to allow Parliament to operate during the pandemic. You can read it on the Order Paper here, but the short version is that questions and motions can be filed electronicly, select committees can work remotely, and the the Business Committee can ...2 weeks ago
- When a virus goes viral: pros and cons to the coronavirus spread on social mediaAxel Bruns, Queensland University of Technology; Daniel Angus, Queensland University of Technology; Timothy Graham, Queensland University of Technology, and Tobias R. Keller, Queensland University of Technology News and views about coronavirus has spread via social media in a way that no health emergency has done before. Platforms like Twitter, Facebook, ...2 weeks ago
- Winston Peters: New Zealand ‘can turn economy around fast’, be ‘wealthier than ever before...
New Zealand can emulate the success of the US after the Great Depression by exploiting our own resources to turn the economy around quickly, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says. Mr. Peters told Magic Talk that New Zealand has an opportunity to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic a "superior, ...6 hours ago - Defence Minister Ron Mark: New Zealand has withdrawn all forces from Tajj military base in IraqAll 45 New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) personnel are either on their way back to New Zealand, or already in the country, according to Defence Minister Ron Mark. "Twenty-eight personnel arrived back in New Zealand last week and are in isolation at the Royal New Zealand Air Force base in ...1 day ago
- Week That Was: COVID-19 Alert Level 4
The COVID-19 situation in New Zealand is moving fast - and to avoid what we've seen overseas - the Government's response must be to move fast too. We're committed to keeping New Zealanders safe and well-informed every step of the way. ...3 days ago - SPEECH: Green Party Co-leader James Shaw – Ministerial statement on State of National Emergency an...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The scale of what we face right now is unlike anything we have ever seen before. Overcoming it is our common purpose. ...6 days ago - Winston Peters urging New Zealanders overseas to stay putForeign Minister Winston Peters is encouraging New Zealanders overseas to stay where they are amid the COVID-19 pandemic. "We are reaching a point where the best option for most New Zealanders offshore is to shelter in place, by preparing to safely stay where they are.” "This includes following the instructions ...1 week ago
- New Zealanders overseas encouraged to shelter in placeRt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Foreign Minister Winston Peters is encouraging the tens of thousands of New Zealanders travelling overseas to consider sheltering in place, in light of COVID-19. “Since 18 March, we have been warning New Zealanders offshore that the window for flying ...1 week ago
- Ground-breaking abortion law passes, giving NZers compassionate healthcareGround-breaking law has passed that will decriminalise abortion and ensure women and pregnant people seeking abortions have compassionate healthcare. ...2 weeks ago
- Package supports Kiwis to put collective health firstThe Green Party says that the measures announced by the Government today will help families and businesses to prioritise our collective health and wellbeing in the response to COVID-19. ...2 weeks ago
- Winston Peters: COVID-19 rescue package ‘more significant’ than any worldwideAs New Zealanders brace for a global downturn due to Covid-19, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says his Coalition Government’s rescue package "more significant" than any other he's seen around the world. The Coalition is to reveal a multi-billion-dollar stimulus plan on Tuesday afternoon designed to cushion the economic blow ...2 weeks ago
- Our response to COVID-19We know some people are feeling anxious about COVID-19. While the situation is serious, New Zealand has a world-class health system and we’re well-prepared to keep New Zealanders safe. ...3 weeks ago
- ‘Demerit Points System’ will address youth crimeDarroch Ball MP, Spokesperson for Law and Order A New Zealand First member’s bill drawn from the ballot today seeks to overhaul the youth justice system by instigating a system of demerit points for offences committed by young offenders. “The ‘Youth Justice Demerit Point System’ will put an end to ...3 weeks ago
- Opening Remarks to the Public Advisory Committee for Disarmament and Arms Control (PACDAC) Parliamen...Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs Honourable Ministers, Members of Parliament, members of the diplomatic corps, distinguished guests and official delegates, ladies and gentlemen – Welcome to you all. We are also privileged to have with us here today Ms Izumi Nakamitsu, the United Nations ...3 weeks ago
- Spotlight on nuclear disarmament ahead of Review ConferenceFletcher Tabuteau MP, Under-Secretary for Disarmament and Arms Control The Public Advisory Committee for Disarmament and Arms Control (PACDAC) is holding a Parliamentary Symposium on Tuesday to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) hosted by PACDAC Chair and Under-Secretary for Disarmament and ...3 weeks ago
- Investment in kingfish farmingHon. Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund is investing $6 million in a land-based aquaculture pilot to see whether yellowtail kingfish can be commercially farmed in Northland, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. A recirculating land-based aquaculture system will be built and operated ...3 weeks ago
- 1BT grants for Northland plantingHon. Shane Jones, Minister for Forestry Forestry Minister Shane Jones has announced two One Billion Trees programme grants of more than $1.18 million to help hapu and iwi in Northland restore whenua and moana. “Many communities around Aotearoa have benefited from One Billion Trees funding since the programme was launched ...3 weeks ago
- New Zealand reaffirms support for Flight MH17 judicial processRt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahead of the start of the criminal trial in the Netherlands on 9 March, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has reaffirmed the need to establish truth, accountability and justice for the downing of Flight MH17 ...3 weeks ago
- PGF investment in green hydrogenRt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister The Government is investing $19.9 million through the Provincial Growth Fund in a game-changing hydrogen energy facility in South Taranaki, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters announced today. “The development of alternative energy initiatives like this one is vital for the Taranaki region’s economy. ...3 weeks ago
- Coronavirus support for PacificRt. Hon. Winston Peters, Minister for Foreign Affairs Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says New Zealand is partnering with countries in the Pacific to ensure they are prepared for, and able to respond to the global threat of Coronavirus (COVID-19). “There are currently no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the ...3 weeks ago
- Government seeks infrastructure projects
The Government has tasked a group of industry leaders to seek out infrastructure projects that are ready to start as soon as the construction industry returns to normal to reduce the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford and Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones say. The Infrastructure ...4 hours ago - Essential media COVID-19 guidelines refinedThe Government is refining its COVID-19 essential business guidance to include the distribution of news publications for communities which are hard to reach. The Minister of Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media, Kris Faafoi, said the move was in recognition of the importance for New Zealanders who might be harder to ...6 hours ago
- New Zealand defence personnel conclude mission at TajiFollowing the successful conclusion of the Building Partner Capacity (BPC) mission at Taji, New Zealand defence personnel are returning to New Zealand from Iraq, in accordance with the Cabinet decision made in June 2019, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Ron Mark announced today. “New Zealand is very ...10 hours ago
- State of National Emergency extendedThe State of National Emergency to help stop the spread of COVID-19 has been extended for a further seven days, Minister of Civil Defence Peeni Henare said. The initial declaration on March 25 lasted seven days and can be extended as many times as necessary. “Since we went into isolation ...10 hours ago
- Strong Govt books support ‘go hard, go early’ responseNew Zealand’s ability to go hard and go early in the fight against COVID-19 has been underpinned by strong Government finances and the growing economy heading into this global pandemic, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. The Treasury today released the Crown financial statements for the eight months to the end ...12 hours ago
- Christchurch Hospital Hagley ICU to open to support COVID-19 responseHealth Minister Dr David Clark says 36 new intensive care beds at Christchurch Hospital’s new Hagley building are being fast tracked so they are available for treatment of COVID-19 patients. The Ministry of Health is working with contractor CPB and Canterbury DHB to enable access to the hospital’s ICU, ...1 day ago
- Government supports Air NZ freight flightsThe Government has fast-tracked up to $1 million to help Air New Zealand move urgent freight to and from New Zealand, with the first flight to Shanghai leaving tonight, Transport Minister Phil Twyford announced today. Phil Twyford says it’s crucial that trade in vital goods such as medical supplies and ...2 days ago
- Tariff concessions on COVID-19 related productsNew Zealand will temporarily remove tariffs on all medical and hygiene imports needed for the COVID-19 response. Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Kris Faafoi said today that the New Zealand Customs Service will apply tariff concessions to all diagnostic reagents and testing ...3 days ago
- Clarification of modification to wage subsidy schemeMinister of Finance Grant Robertson has clarified that the changes to the wage subsidy scheme announced yesterday mean that employers should be passing on the full subsidy to workers, except in the case where the person’s normal income is less than the level of the subsidy. “We still want employers ...3 days ago
- Face masks flowing to DHBsMedical face masks from the national reserve supply are now being distributed to District Health Boards, while at the same time local production is being ramped up. Yesterday more than 640,000 masks were sent to DHBS – that is an immediate two week supply, with more to follow in coming ...4 days ago
- COVID-19: Further steps to protect New Zealanders’ jobsThe Government has made modifications to the wage subsidy scheme to ensure people don’t lose their jobs during the national lockdown. These changes will soften the impact of COVID-19 on workers, families and businesses, and position them to exit the lockdown and look to recovery, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. ...4 days ago
- Tax relief for Mycoplasma Bovis farmersFarmers whose herds were culled in response to the outbreak of Mycoplasma bovis will be able to minimise the tax treatment of their income in some circumstances. Revenue Minister Stuart Nash says Cabinet has agreed to change the law. It means farmers may be eligible to spread their income over ...4 days ago
- $27 million for NGOs and community groups to continue providing essential servicesA $27 million dollar package, effective immediately, is being provided to social sector services and community groups to ensure they can continue to provide essential support to communities as we stay at home as a nation to stop the spread of COVID-19, Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni announced. “At ...5 days ago
- Statement on guilty plea of March 15 terrorist“The guilty plea today will provide some relief to the many people whose lives were shattered by what happened on March 15,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. “These guilty pleas and conviction bring accountability for what happened and also save the families who lost loved ones, those who were injured, ...5 days ago
- COVID-19 updatesThe Prime Minister is holding daily press conferences to update New Zealanders on the Government's response to COVID-19. Links to videos and transcripts of these updates below. These transcripts also include All of Government press conferences led by Director Ministry of Health's Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield. 25 March: Live update from the Prime ...5 days ago
- Police numbers break through 10,000 markFrontline Police numbers have broken through the 10,000 mark for the first time in history as officers step forward to keep the community safe during the COVID19 lockdown. “Two Police graduations in Auckland and Wellington in the past week have been conducted in unprecedented circumstances,” Police Minister Stuart Nash said. ...6 days ago
- Urgent tax measures for economic recoveryUrgent legislation has been passed to support the package of economic and social measures needed to recover from the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. “The COVID-19 Response (Taxation and Social Assistance Urgent Measures) Bill will cushion New Zealanders from the worst economic impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak,” said Revenue Minister ...6 days ago
- Further support for farmers and growers as drought persistsFrom tomorrow, Government support for farmers and growers affected by drought will be expanded and extended across the country, with access to Rural Assistance Payments (RAPS) available throughout the North Island, parts of the South Island and the Chatham Islands, Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni announced. “These challenging conditions have ...6 days ago
- COVID-19: Temporary changes to Education ActParliament has passed amendments to legislation that give the Secretary of Education stronger powers to act in the fight to limit the spread of COVID-19, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “They are part of a suite of changes passed under the COVID-19 Response (Urgent Management Measures) Legislation Bill,” Chris ...6 days ago
- Canada, Australia, Chile, Brunei and Myanmar join NZ and Singapore in committing to keeping supply a...Canada, Australia, Chile, Brunei and Myanmar have joined forces with New Zealand and Singapore by committing to keep supply chains open and remove any existing trade restrictive measures on essential goods, especially medical supplies, in the face of the Covid-19 crisis. Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker today welcomed ...6 days ago
- COVID-19: Rent increase freeze and more protection for tenantsImmediate freeze on rent increases Tenancies will not be terminated during the lock-down period, unless the parties agree, or in limited circumstances Tenants who had previously given notice can stay in their if they need to stay in the tenancy during the lock-down period Tenants will still be able to ...6 days ago
- Working together to protect businesses and workersAs New Zealand unites to lock-down in the fight against COVID-19, the Finance Minister is urging all businesses and workers to stay connected over the next four weeks. “We understand the extreme pressure many businesses are under right now. I know most business owners think of their workers as family ...6 days ago
- State of National Emergency declared to fight COVID-19A State of National Emergency has been declared across the country as the Government pulls out all the stops to curtail the spread of COVID-19. “Today we put in place our country’s second ever State of National Emergency as we fight a global pandemic, save New Zealanders’ lives and prevent ...6 days ago
- Prime Minister’s statement on State of National Emergency and Epidemic NoticeMr Speaker I wish to make a Ministerial Statement under Standing Order 347 in relation to the recent declaration of a State of National Emergency. Having considered the advice of the Director Civil Defence Emergency Management, the Minister of Civil Defence declared a State of National Emergency for the whole of ...6 days ago
- Deadline for domestic travel extendedPeople needing to travel on domestic flights, trains and Cook Strait ferries to get home before the country moves into level 4 lock-down tomorrow night will be able to continue using the passenger services until midnight on Friday, Transport Minister Phil Twyford said today. Domestic passenger services, particularly ferries, have ...1 week ago
- Mortgage holiday and business finance support schemes to cushion COVID impactsThe Government, retail banks and the Reserve Bank are today announcing a major financial support package for home owners and businesses affected by the economic impacts of COVID-19. The package will include a six month principal and interest payment holiday for mortgage holders and SME customers whose incomes have been ...1 week ago
- Government working to keep air freight movingMinister of Transport Phil Twyford has today announced details of the Government’s support package to keep key air freight moving and ensure New Zealanders retain access to essential goods during the four-week level 4 lockdown. “The Government is working with airlines and air freight operators to ensure New Zealand’s key ...1 week ago
- New Zealand moves to COVID-19 Alert Level 3, then Level 4 in 48 hoursNew Zealand moved up to COVID-19 Alert Level 3 – Restrict New Zealand to move up to COVID-19 Alert Level 4 – Eliminate, in 48 hours Two-staged approach to give people and businesses time to prepare Level 3, from tomorrow Non-essential businesses must close All events and gatherings must be ...1 week ago
- Prime Minister: COVID-19 Alert Level increasedGood afternoon The Cabinet met this morning to discuss our next actions in the fight against COVID-19. Like the rest of the world, we are facing the potential for devastating impacts from this virus. But, through decisive action, and through working together, do we have a small window to get ...1 week ago
- Govt takes significant economic decisions as NZ readies for Alert Level 4 in COVID-19 fightThe Government is announcing significant further support for the economy, workers and businesses as the country unites to prepare for Alert Level 4 in the fight against COVID-19. Cabinet today agreed to remove the cap on the Government’s wage subsidy scheme, which will inject a further $4 billion into the ...1 week ago
- Govt backs RBNZ move to support economy with lower interest ratesThe Government is backing the Reserve Bank’s latest action to support the economy by reducing longer-term interest rates, meaning lower costs for businesses and mortgage holders, and a lower currency to help our exporters. The Minister of Finance has signed a memorandum of understanding and a letter of indemnity with ...1 week ago
- Government statement on commercial cooperation during COVID-19The Government has asked the Commerce Commission to take account of the exceptional circumstances created by COVID-19 when monitoring business behaviour in coming weeks. “The purpose of my request to the Commerce Commission is to make sure businesses can work together in ways that will allow them to provide ...1 week ago
- New Zealand temporarily closes diplomatic posts in Barbados and Myanmar due to COVID-19The New Zealand Government has temporarily closed its High Commission in Bridgetown, Barbados and its Embassy in Yangon, Myanmar due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Due to the increasing scarcity of air links in and out of Bridgetown and Yangon, and the pressure COVID-19 is placing ...1 week ago
- Supporting Māori communities and businesses throughAssociate Health and Whānau Ora Minister Peeni Henare has today announced the Government’s plan to support Māori communities and businesses in the face of COVID-19. “Our Government’s $12.1 billion economic package will help many Māori whānau, workers and businesses, whether it’s through wage subsidies, income support and worker redeployment, or ...1 week ago
- Guidelines for hospitality establishments releasedThe Government and the hospitality industry have worked together to produce guidelines to assist with managing and reducing transmission of COVID-19, Health Minister David Clark announced today. The guidelines developed between the Government, Hospitality New Zealand and SkyCity Entertainment Group, set out how the new restrictions on physical distancing and ...1 week ago
- Nation steps up to COVID-19 Alert Level 2Four stage Alert System for COVID-19 announced New Zealand moved up to COVID-19 Alert Level 2 – Reduce Contact New Zealanders over 70 and those with certain medical conditions told to stay at home as much as they can to reduce risk of contact with the virus Workplaces to implement ...1 week ago
- PM Address – Covid-19 UpdateKia ora koutou katoa I’m speaking directly to all New Zealanders today to give you as much certainty and clarity as we can as we fight Covid-19. Over the past few weeks, the world has changed. And it has changed very quickly. In February it would have seemed unimaginable to ...1 week ago
- NZ and Singapore commit to keeping supply and trade links open, including on essential goods and med...New Zealand and Singapore have jointly committed to keep supply chains open and to remove any existing trade restrictive measures on essential goods, especially medical supplies, in the face of the Covid-19 crisis. Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker welcomed the commitment. “This is an important collective response, and ...2 weeks ago
- Joint Ministerial Statement by Singapore and New Zealand -Covid-19 situationJOINT MINISTERIAL STATEMENT BY SINGAPORE AND NEW ZEALAND AFFIRMING COMMITMENT TO ENSURING SUPPLY CHAIN CONNECTIVITY AMIDST THE COVID-19 SITUATION The COVID-19 pandemic is a serious global crisis. As part of our collective response to combat COVID-19, Singapore and New Zealand are committed to maintaining open and connected supply chains. We ...2 weeks ago
- Transit between Australia and New ZealandTravel restrictions, closing our border to almost all travelers came into force from 23:59 on Thursday 19 March 2020 (NZDT). All airlines were informed of these restrictions before they came into force. Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says “The transit of passengers between Australia and New Zealand has been agreed upon and ...2 weeks ago
- The Real Pod: The final pod for the final rose
The Real Pod assembles one more time to dissect the final week of The Bachelorette NZ, with special thanks to Nando’s.We’ve reached the end of our love journey in more ways than one, as this season of The Bachelorette NZ coincides with end of The Real Pod in its current ...31 mins ago - More Equal Societies Are Better For All
We can be justifiably proud of our Government’s approach to the Covid 19 virus crisis. It has acted quickly recognising the WHO recommendations. The country “lock-down’ will do much to stop the spread of the virus and the Government support for people ...37 mins ago - PPE Victory For Frontline Health WorkersFrontline health workers in aged care, home care, and community support are relieved by the Ministry of Health announcement that proper PPE will now be made available to them through DHBs. E tū member Pam King, a support worker in Invercargill, congratulated ...39 mins ago
- Covid-19: Every New Zealand case, mapped and charted, March 31The second in our new series of charts, graphics and data-visualisations by Chris McDowall, covering the Covid-19 epidemic within New Zealand. We’ll publish the latest set each day on The Spinoff.This work is entirely funded by the generosity of The Spinoff MembersInformation about confirmed and probable cases of Covid-19 in ...3 hours ago
- Antibody tests: to get a grip on coronavirus, we need to know who’s already had it
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Larisa Labzin, Research Fellow, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland With much of society now effectively in lockdown, how will we know when it’s safe to resume something like normality? It will largely depend on being able to say who ...3 hours ago - ‘Pandemic drones’: useful for enforcing social distancing, or for creating a police state?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Richardson, Senior Research Fellow, UNSW People in Western Australia may soon see more than birds in the sky, as the state’s police force has announced plans to deploy drones to enforce social distancing. The drones will visit parks, beaches and cafe ...3 hours ago
- Federal government gets private hospital resources for COVID-19 fight in exchange for funding suppor...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Private hospitals will be on the frontline in the coronavirus battle, under an arrangement with the federal government that makes available the sector’s more than 30,000 beds and 105,000 workforce, including more than 57,000 nursing ...3 hours ago
- NZ lockdown – Day 6: Emergency extended by 7 days – PM on mediaBy RNZ News Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has eased restrictions on the media industry in New Zealand during the four-week lockdown, saying it was not exempt from the financial hardship caused by the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. She said community newspapers will now be able to be printed for hard ...3 hours ago
- ‘Pandemic drones’: useful for enforcing social distancing, or just for creating a police state?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Richardson, Senior Research Fellow, UNSW People in Western Australia may soon see more than birds in the sky, as the state’s police force has announced plans to deploy drones to enforce social distancing. The drones will visit parks, beaches and cafe ...3 hours ago
- What is homeschooling? And should I be doing that with my kid during the coronavirus lockdown?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca English, Lecturer in Education, Queensland University of Technology “How to home school” has been trending on Google for the past few weeks as more and more children stay home from school because of COVID-19. So, what is homeschooling and is this ...3 hours ago
- The coronavirus lockdown could test your relationship. Here’s how to keep it intact (and even impr...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Raquel Peel, Lecturer, University of Southern Queensland With the raft of social distancing measures in place to control the spread of coronavirus, you may be spending more time with your partner than ever before. If you’re both working from home, and with ...4 hours ago
- A ‘rapid shift to a new way’ for supermarket business
The CEO of Foodstuffs tells Rod Oram he is certain food manufacturers and supermarkets can produce and distribute enough food for Kiwis, although the company is preparing for further challenges ahead Can New Zealand’s food manufacturers and supermarkets keep feeding the nation through the escalating Covid-19 crisis? “The answer is ...4 hours ago - Can mosquitoes spread coronavirus?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cameron Webb, Clinical Associate Professor and Principal Hospital Scientist, University of Sydney The pathogens mosquitoes spread by sucking our blood cause over half a million deaths each year and hundreds of millions of cases of severe illness. But there is no scientific ...5 hours ago
- Why closing our borders to foreign workers could see fruit and vegetable prices spikeSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Rose, Research fellow, Australian National University One aspect of the COVID-19 crisis that has so far escaped widespread public attention in Australia is its potential impact on our food security. We haven’t seen supermarket shortages of fruit and vegetables like toilet ...5 hours ago
- JobKeeper payment: how will it work, who will miss out and how to get it?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Cassells, Associate Professor, Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre, Curtin University The A$130 billion $1,500-per-fortnight JobKeeper payment will benefit six million Australians for six months, with payments expected from May 1. Eligible businesses include not-for-profits and businesses with turnovers of less than $1 ...5 hours ago
- The safest sex you’ll never have: how coronavirus is changing online datingSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa Portolan, PhD student, Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University When Tinder issued an in-app public service announcement regarding COVID-19 on March 3 we all had a little laugh as a panoply of memes and gags hit the internet. Two ...5 hours ago
- Outlander recap: Jamie has the worst birthday everIt’s been a tough week in both 2020 and 1771, but things just got a whole lot worse for Jamie and Claire. Contains very big, very sad spoilers for season five, episode seven of Outlander.We are locked in a bubble of our own distress, we are self-isolating in a heavy ...5 hours ago
- Prime Minister Reconsiders Ban On Rural And Ethnic PublicationsPrime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced that rural and ethnic media outlets will be re-classified as essential services, if they are able to show they serve either a hard to reach or non-English speaking audience and follow health and safety ...5 hours ago
- Submit tax returns even if unable to meet payments, businsesses told
Businesses should continue filing their tax returns, even if they cannot make the payments, so the IRD can keep track. Under laws quickly passed before the country entered alert level four, Inland Revenue has the power to write off interest accrued on tax payments due on or after February 14. ...5 hours ago - Dramatic spending drop in lockdown
Spending through electronic payments dropped steeply on the first day of the Covid-19 lockdown compared with the same day a year ago. Figures just released by Paymark - which monitors electronic payments - show spending dropped by two-thirds - 72 percent - on the first day of level four restrictions ...6 hours ago - Businesses want minimum wage increase postponed
Businesses are asking the government to defer the minimum wage rise - scheduled to go up tomorrow - but workers do not agree. The minimum wage is due to rise to $18.90 from $17.70 per hour. The Employers and Manufacturers Association said the timing was inappropriate. "In the middle of ...6 hours ago - Oil and gas ban lacked consultation
A new report has found that a two-year-old a ban by the government on new oil and gas exploration would be costly, would do little for the environment and was done without proper consultation. The ban on new exploration permits, except on land in Taranaki, was announced by the government ...6 hours ago - If you’re worried about bushfires but want to keep your leafy garden, follow these tipsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Philip Gibbons, Professor, Australian National University As we witnessed last summer, the number of houses destroyed during bushfires in Australia has not been stemmed by advances in weather forecasting, building design and the increased use of large water-bombing aircraft. At the latest ...6 hours ago
- Delays and confusion surround wage subsidy scheme
Government agencies may be working overtime to get wage subsidies to people during lockdown but many are still in the dark over what they are entitled to and when they will get it. Gavin Somers runs a fishing charter company in Auckland's Waitematā Harbour. His business, Snapper Fishing Charters, started ...6 hours ago - Seven new Covid-19 clusters in NZ
There are seven new clusters of Covid-19 cases in New Zealand, doubling the number of clusters overnight. The Ministry of Health website notes that because they are connected to a known or likely patient zero, they're not classified as community transmission. However, they do represent the spread of Covid-19 within communities. The ...6 hours ago - Local government ‘unsung heroes’ of Covid-19
A new unit solidifies the role councils will play in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic Local government will help distribute food and medication to those most in need during the Covid-19 lockdown. Director of Civil Defence Emergency Management Sarah Stuart-Black announced the Society of Local Government Managers, Local Government New ...6 hours ago - Explainer: what is the national cabinet and is it democratic?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer Menzies, Principal Research Fellow, Policy Innovation Hub, Griffith University Crises pose particular challenges for democratic leaders. They are expected to make critical decisions in times of uncertainty and rapidly develop effective plans to lead us out of the crisis. Normally, we ...7 hours ago
- Here’s hoping Big Pharma come up quickly with something to beat Covid-19
Stuff’s headline ran “Vaccine hopes push sharemarket higher”. An intriguing one, and sure enough Wall St had rallied on news the drug giant Johnson & Johnson had reported it expects to begin human clinical tests on a vaccine candidate for Covid-19 by September. Point of Order went in search of ...7 hours ago - Covid-19: More tests needed, Ardern says
Coronavirus testing is set to increase after government officials loosened the criteria for who should be checked and when The number of tests for coronavirus is set to ramp up, with health officials relaxing the testing criteria as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called for more testing to be done. New Zealand's ...7 hours ago - Alive from the US heart of Covid-19, New York City
Kiwi writer and photographer Cherie Aaarts Coley sent this dispatch from isolation in New York City, the US epicentre of Covid-19 I’m not sure what day it is today, or the date. I barely even know the month. It doesn’t seem to matter any more. Mostly all that seems to ...7 hours ago - What actually are ‘essential services’ and who decides?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gary Mortimer, Professor of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, Queensland University of Technology The Morrison government keeps using the word “essential” to describe employees, public gatherings, services and businesses that are still allowed and not restricted as it tries to reduce the spread ...7 hours ago
- RITA was counting on a 2019/20 net profit of $165.8 million – but did they expect being nobbled by...
According to a Stuff report: New Zealand might be in lockdown but at a time when problem gamblers are at their most vulnerable, the TAB and online gambling sites are open for business. Might be in lockdown? We wonder where sports writer Mat Kermand was when he wrote that sentence as ...7 hours ago - More masks for community care workers
The Government will release "a large number" of masks and other protective equipment to DHBs to distribute for community and home care workers, Marc Daalder reports Community care workers who have been left without access to personal protective equipment (PPE) will now have their wishes granted as the Government moves to ...8 hours ago - Madeleine Chapman: Our PM is the finals MVP we need right nowMadeleine Chapman, who wrote the just-published biography Jacinda Ardern: A New Kind of Leader, says watching our prime minister handle the Covid-19 response is like watching an NBA star burst out from the pack. (Yesterday we published an extract). Rajon Rondo was the fourth-best player on the Boston Celtics roster in ...8 hours ago
- CEAC – “Gov’t Must Charter Airlines To Fly Stranded Kiwis Home.”NZ Gov't must charter airlines to fly stranded Kiwis home just as British Gov’t has agreed to do here today; https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-52099252 Quote; BBC 30th March 2020. Coronavirus: Foreign Office links up with airlines to fly stranded Britons ...8 hours ago
- CEAC – “Gov’t Must Charter Airlines To Fly Stranded Kiwis Home.”NZ Gov't must charter airlines to fly stranded Kiwis home just as British Gov’t has agreed to do here today; https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-52099252 Quote; BBC 30th March 2020. Coronavirus: Foreign Office links up with airlines to fly stranded Britons ...8 hours ago
- Covid-19 in NZ – Tuesday’s numbers charted
How is Covid-19 spreading within the country? Newsroom is collating information as it's available to paint a picture of what's happening. There were 58 new cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand, down from the previous day's 76 new cases. Details of how many tests have been completed are now being ...8 hours ago - Covid-19: How banks and Govt are working together
Newsroom Pro’s Bernard Hickey and Kiwibank Chief Economist Jarrod Kerr zoom out at lunch to talk about the Reserve Bank’s latest move to help banks lend to corporates. Bernard Hickey talks with Kiwibank Chief Economist Jarrod Kerr and Kiwibank CEO Steve Jurkovich about how the banking sector, the Reserve Bank and ...8 hours ago - Covid-19 definition may be broadened over test fears
A new committee set up to oversee the Government's Covid-19 response has held its first meeting - with testing criteria under the microscope Health officials are set to expand the criteria for coronavirus testing, amidst concerns of suspected cases being turned away at testing facilities. The Government has also been ...8 hours ago - Australians are moving home less. Why? And does it matter?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Aude Bernard, Lecturer, Queensland Centre for Population Research, The University of Queensland Australians are among the most mobile populations in the world. More than 40% of us change address every five years, about twice the global average. Yet the level of internal ...8 hours ago
- Flexible, Responsive Family Violence Services Needed During COVID-19 Crisis...9 hours ago
- Great first time to try: travel writing from the homeSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Stubbs, Senior Lecturer, School of Creative Industries, University of South Australia Being in isolation might be a great time to try something new. In this series, we get the basics on hobbies and activities to start while you’re spending more time ...9 hours ago
- Keith Rankin Chart Analysis – Covid19: United States’ Deaths as at 29 March 2020Analysis by Keith Rankin While, United States’ local data on Covid19 is more readily available than for other countries, the American ‘country’ system of local governance is way out of date and often does not well represent urban conglomerations. Doing my best from the available data, I constructed the following ...9 hours ago
- ‘My partner’s being punished because I’m a doctor’
Shared custody of children between separated parents has become a flash point under pandemic lockdown rules, Teuila Fuatai reports. An Auckland doctor and her partner have been forcibly separated from their five-year-old son for the lockdown, in breach of a court-mandated 50/50 custody arrangement. The boy’s parents split three years ...9 hours ago - ‘I need people to make sure I’m OK’: How teenagers are coping with lockdownEmily Writes talks to teens about how the level four restrictions are affecting them, and asks how they can be better supported.There are unfortunately so many terrible stereotypes about teenagers, but Gen Z might just be our most resilient generation yet.Struggling through feelings of helplessness around climate change, they started a ...9 hours ago
- NZ mine worker killed, two others wounded in Freeport shootingBy Victor Mambor in Jayapura A New Zealand employee of gold and copper mining company PT Freeport Indonesia was shot dead on Monday by gunmen in Timika, the capital city of Mimika regency in Papua. The employee, identified as 57-year-old Graeme Thomas Weal, according to RNZ Pacific, was engaged ...9 hours ago
- Covid-19: Questions fired in first Epidemic Response Committee meeting
Top health officials fronted this morning as the Epidemic Response Committee held its first public meeting via video conference. ...10 hours ago - Migrants Need Access To Benefits Considering COVID-19 CrisisAuckland Action Against Poverty is calling on the Government to grant people who do not meet the residential requirements access to benefits so that everyone can have a roof over their head and follow the Alert Level 4 Covid-19 guidelines. We ...10 hours ago
- What’s on RNZ News at midday – Mar 31
Top health officials are fronting as the Epidemic Response Committee holds its first public meeting via video conference. ...10 hours ago - Minimum Wage Increase Should Be DeferredThe Government's decision to continue with the implementation to increase the minimum wage will further hurt economic recovery. The minimum wage is set to rise to $18.90 tomorrow, up from $17.70, in what will be the second $1.20 increase in a row. "Right ...10 hours ago
- Government books in surplus before Covid-19Official figures show the government's finances had a surplus of $1.39 billion for the eight months ended February - a shade above expectations. ...10 hours ago
- COVID-19 Sign Language Interpreters Under Pressure Due To Online CriticismDeaf Aotearoa and the Sign Language Interpreters Association of New Zealand (SLIANZ) say sharing online parody videos and memes of New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) interpreters causes added stress on their interpreters who are providing access to important COVID-19 ...10 hours ago
- Do Māori Made Easy with me: Week one, day twoJoin Leonie Hayden as she works through the first four weeks of Scotty Morrison’s Māori Made Easy.Rātū/TuesdayWe’re learning te reo Māori in lockdown, e te whānau. Today we’re practising the ‘ng’ and ‘wh’ sounds. The letter combinations ‘ng’ as in sing, and ‘wh’ pronounced like an ‘f’, are called digraphs. ...11 hours ago
- Online forum to help businesses amid Covid-19 lockdown
An online forum set up to help businesses navigate the Covid-19 lockdown period is providing insight into what help companies need, and what they don't know. Manaaki was set up only days ago by small business owner Pat MacFie of the innovation company Indigo, whose own business has been severely ...11 hours ago - Warehouse and Noel Leeming reopen online stores
Warehouse is re-starting some of its operations to supply appliances and other items now classified as essential goods. The retailer says it will reactivate 16 Warehouse and Noel Leeming stores as well as two national distribution centres to supply a limited range of products and services. The move follows the ...11 hours ago - No decision coming on Tiwai strategic review
The country's only aluminium smelter has had a decision on its fate postponed even as it closes its fourth potline due to Covid-19. ...11 hours ago - Air NZ to start cutting staff after revenue slashed
Air New Zealand will start laying off workers this week and says Covid-19 has slashed its revenue by more than $5 billion. In a message to staff, chief executive Greg Foran said international travel made up two-thirds of the company's revenue and that was gone now for the forseeable future. ...11 hours ago - NZ Post courier staff stood down over non-compliance of social distancing
New Zealand Post has stood down four courier workers in Wellington for not observing social distancing with each other on the job. New Zealand Post central and southern general manager of operations Matthew Riordan said workers were aware of the need to maintain a two-metre separation with others at all ...11 hours ago - Easter Trading: Be Kind To Supermarket Workers, Prime Minister"Be kind to supermarket workers this Easter" is the message to Government from the union representing supermarket staff. "We make this call as the Government considers whether or not supermarkets should be open on Easter Friday and Sunday ...11 hours ago
- Expansion of essential goods sold in lockdown welcomed by retailers
People can now buy whiteware, heaters, blankets and devices during the lockdown through online or phone orders that will be delivered in a contactless way. The government has eased restrictions slightly to allow the sale of some essential goods, which people may need to safely isolate, stay connected to one ...11 hours ago - $1,500 a fortnight JobKeeper wage subsidy in massive $130 billion programSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Morrison government will provide a flat $1,500 a fortnight JobKeeper payment per employee for businesses to retain or rehire nearly six million workers, in a massive $130 billion six-month wage subsidy scheme to limit ...11 hours ago
- New modelling shows scale of Covid-19 threat
The Government has released the modelling it used to inform its decision to lock down the country, and the numbers paint a stark picture of the threat Covid-19 poses, Marc Daalder reports Last week, Jacinda Ardern said if she didn't take the unprecedented step of locking down the entire country ...11 hours ago - Restaurant review: Our Place, a hot new addition to the Auckland suburbsOur Place is the latest in a plethora of new suburban eateries opening up across Auckland city. When Sonya Wilson visited this week, she discovered a relaxed newcomer that embraces its homely, neighbourhood vibe. Compared to many of Auckland’s fine-dining establishments, Our Place is rather unassuming upon approach. Diners enter via ...12 hours ago
- Kiwis believe cannabis prohibition failing, controls preferrWith the COVID-19 pandemic set to see more state governments in the US contemplate legalising personal use cannabis to boost tax revenue and help restore balance sheets, our Government’s draft Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill could gain further ...12 hours ago
- ‘Clear warning of consequences’: Ministry of Health releases Covid-19 modelsIn the worst-case scenario modelled, almost 150,000 New Zealanders would be hospitalised with Covid-19 and more than 35,000 would lose their lives.The Ministry of Health has released its mathematical models that project the severity of the Covid-19 outbreak based on different measures imposed on the populous. The modelling delivers “a ...12 hours ago
- Minimum Wage Increases Vital For Over 250,000 WorkersTomorrow’s scheduled minimum wage increase is vital for the hundreds of thousands of minimum wage earners who are doing it tough through the COVID-19 global pandemic. E tū Assistant National Secretary Annie Newman says that while life is difficult ...12 hours ago
- Unless Changed, MoH Guidelines Treat Community Support Workers As ExpendableThe Public Service Associations says its members are receiving contradictory messages from the Ministry of Health that put at risk their lives and those of their clients. Home support workers were told on Monday afternoon by Dr Ashley Bloomfield that they ...12 hours ago
- Are you saying we’re expendable? spinal injury group asks
ACC has reneged on an agreement to supply masks, gowns and other protective equipment to people with severe spinal injuries and their community carers, after the Ministry of Health said hand-washing was enough to keep them safe The news that the supply of protective equipment to people with spinal injuries ...12 hours ago - Pacific governments ‘working better’ with creative media in pandemicBy Sri Krishnamurthi Pacific governments across the region have put side their differences with media and are working alongside them in these difficult times, say New Zealand journalists covering Moana. Most journalists who cover the Pacific come Pasifika backgrounds and have been pleasantly surprised by the change in attitude ...12 hours ago
- Watch live: Covid-19 Epidemic Response Committee holds first meetingTop health officials are fronting as the committee holds its first public meeting via video conference. ...12 hours ago
- Lockdown letters #5, Fiona Farrell: Citadels under siege, againIn our new series The Lockdown Letters, some of New Zealand’s best writers chronicle Covid-19 alert level four. Today, Dunedin-based author Fiona Farrell.Tonight she’ll go into work. Eleven till 8am in General Medical. My younger daughter will strap on her helmet, kiss the kids who will be in bed but probably ...12 hours ago
- Citizens Advice Bureau Sees Big Spike In Demand For Its ServiceThe Citizens Advice Bureau's free information and advice service continues to be available by freephone 0800 367 222 / 0800 FOR CAB, or by email and live chat via the CAB's website www.cab.org.nz . CAB volunteers are available to support you with ...12 hours ago
- How to get kids out in the wild while staying at homeThere’s never been a better time to connect our tamariki with nature than now. Paul Ward, co-founder of the gamified learning platform Wild Eyes, explains how. Thanks to Covid-19, cabin fever is on the curriculum for primary and intermediate school kids and their parents. Keeping Kiwi kids active, curious (and awake!) ...13 hours ago
- Farming, A PrivilegeNew Zealand farming has over the last couple of years under the current government has been berated, belittled & blamed for almost all of the pollution problems that we are facing as a country. This coalition government has produced many polices ...13 hours ago
- Government Must Must Provide Emergency Income For Women In The Sex Trade During Covid-19 PandemicThe Government needs to take immediate action to provide emergency income for women and young people in prostitution during the COVID-19 pandemic, says Ally-Marie Diamond, a spokeswoman for Wahine Toa Rising Aotearoa, a survivor-led organisation that advocates ...13 hours ago
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