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Natural disasters test new leaders in New Zealand – some did better than others.

Written By: - Date published: 4:48 am, February 19th, 2023 - 1 comment

After the Auckland flood, Wayne Brown’s election will now be viewed as a cautionary tale. What can happen when someone who is inexperienced and unsuited to political office is elected to important political leadership roles. The blowback of this on the New Zealand right should not be understated, it is bad news for them.

What repeat covid infections do to the human body

Written By: - Date published: 2:36 pm, January 6th, 2023 - 28 comments

There’s bad news, but there is also hope and opportunity.

New Zealand is in a terrible state *

Written By: - Date published: 10:55 am, January 6th, 2023 - 116 comments

* or is it?

Labour’s big reset

Written By: - Date published: 7:46 am, December 13th, 2022 - 77 comments

New Zealand politics is at an interesting stage.  With announcements about Ministerial futures pending and with a review of all current projects to occur over Christmas Jadinda Ardern is planning to repurpose Labour to have its best chance in the election next year.

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Pause With Map In Hand and Scratch Their Heads

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, November 13th, 2022 - 19 comments

If 2020 was the worst year in my lifetime how does 2022 compare?

The right is weirdly gleeful about the end of the mask mandate

Written By: - Date published: 6:59 am, September 14th, 2022 - 40 comments

National MPs and their supporters have been celebrating the removal of the mandate with weird levels of glee.

Covid review due today

Written By: - Date published: 8:37 am, September 12th, 2022 - 45 comments

The Government is to make an announcement today on the future of covid mandates and the traffic light system.  With infection numbers and hospitalisation and death rates plummeting it appears likely that these measures will not be renewed.

Labour’s Ardern and Democrats’ Biden: Learnings

Written By: - Date published: 7:47 am, August 28th, 2022 - 47 comments

For those fishing around for a progressive playbook in this fractious world, Biden and Ardern are pretty similar. But Biden appears to be turning the fortunes of the Democrats around but Ardern is currently unrewarded. Is there anything to learn?

Was This The Change We Needed?

Written By: - Date published: 1:07 pm, August 9th, 2022 - 11 comments

Crises that profoundly test a small developed state like New Zealand have required huge growth in state strength and policy power. But was it the change we needed?

Chris Bishop supports AND opposes vaccine mandates

Written By: - Date published: 8:28 am, August 3rd, 2022 - 51 comments

Remember when National’s Chris Bishop thought that Labour was not being staunch enough of mandates?  He now thinks that Labour is being too staunch.

Wear your #$%^& mask properly

Written By: - Date published: 10:38 am, July 16th, 2022 - 90 comments

Although we still compare favourably to the vast majority of Western nations in terms of our Covid response our performance has been eclipsed by Japan and Singapore, two nations which strong mask mandates and cultural norms supporting the wearing of masks.

Luxon is still struggling to understand Mask rules

Written By: - Date published: 9:05 am, July 14th, 2022 - 28 comments

During January of this year Christopher Luxon described the traffic light system as confusing.  This week he described it as “very, very confusing”.  It is of concern that he appears not to have learned about what the rules require in the meantime.

Complaint about RNZ use of Bryce Edwards article upheld

Written By: - Date published: 1:58 pm, July 11th, 2022 - 33 comments

The Media Council has upheld a complaint against a Bryce Edwards article published on RNZ’s website that incorrectly stated that Labour went into the 2020 election promising to break up the supermarket duopoly and bring down the cost of food and that the policy was essentially dead when the policy only promised to conduct a market study using the Commerce Commission.

Covid – time for red?

Written By: - Date published: 9:23 am, July 5th, 2022 - 68 comments

Covid death rate July 2022

With a second wave of Covid infections starting and with new potentially more serious variants emerging it may be time for the Government to consider a return to the Covid red setting.

RNZ’s weird take on MIQ

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, April 20th, 2022 - 93 comments

RNZ’s recent shock horror reporting on a memo from November 2021 proposing a wind back of MIQ is severely deficient.  The framing is one sided and ignores the subsequent emergence of Omicron as a variant of concern.

The battle lines for the next election

Written By: - Date published: 8:31 am, April 18th, 2022 - 79 comments

Despite Labour seeing the country through the biggest public health threat seen in the last century and despite improving numbers of houses and a reduction in child poverty some on the left are buying into National’s despair lines.  And the issues on which the next election will be fought are becoming clearer.

Why trust in the media is declining

Written By: - Date published: 2:09 pm, April 10th, 2022 - 47 comments

A recent study into New Zealand’s media suggests that trust in what the media says is declining and that views of what is good and bad media is more and more dependent on the participant’s world view.

Why in the middle of a pandemic an immediate change to Orange is magical thinking

Written By: - Date published: 9:27 am, April 5th, 2022 - 77 comments

National’s friends are in unison complaining that the Government should be announcing now when we will be back into Orange.  But our exemplary performance compared to other nations suggests strongly that the Government should continue to respect the medical advice it is receiving.

Covid and political capital

Written By: - Date published: 8:28 am, March 28th, 2022 - 141 comments

Jacinda Ardern has burned significant political capital on dealing with Covid.  But it is something that a responsible Political leader, of which there are few, would do.

Can This Government Be Saved?

Written By: - Date published: 5:43 pm, March 25th, 2022 - 118 comments

Can Labour win a third term? Here are some pathways up, and some pathways down.

Government announces significant changes to traffic light settings and mandates

Written By: - Date published: 11:52 am, March 23rd, 2022 - 218 comments

The Government has announced changes to Covid policies relating to traffic light settings and mandates.

National’s politicisation of Covid over the past two years

Written By: - Date published: 9:07 am, March 21st, 2022 - 34 comments

A slightly deeper review of National’s response to the Covid epidemic over the past two years.  The overwhelming impression is that they have always complained about supposed Government incompetence in handling the pandemic and have always argued for the loosening of restrictions no matter how justifiable.

Convoy protest aftermath 5/3/22

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, March 5th, 2022 - 35 comments

A general discussion post.

Real protestors do not burn kids playgrounds

Written By: - Date published: 8:10 am, March 4th, 2022 - 239 comments

Wellington protestors recent activities in torching a 100 year old Pohutukawa, burning a kid’s playground and threatening to occupy Wainuiomata Marae suggests they are being given PR advice by Vladimir Putin.

Convoy protest aftermath 4/3/22

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, March 4th, 2022 - 83 comments

A general discussion post.

Convoy protest 3/3/22

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, March 3rd, 2022 - 187 comments

A general discussion post.

Convoy protest 2/3/22

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, March 2nd, 2022 - 338 comments

A general discussion post.

Two years of living dangerously

Written By: - Date published: 1:53 pm, March 1st, 2022 - 75 comments

Yesterday marked the second anniversary of the first Covid case in New Zealand. What a time it has been.

Convoy protest 29/2/22

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, March 1st, 2022 - 94 comments

A general discussion post.

Convoy protest 28/2/22

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, February 28th, 2022 - 151 comments

A general discussion post.

Don’t give up New Zealand: omicron, vaccination protection, and why it’s the wrong time to ‘let it rip’

Written By: - Date published: 11:32 am, February 27th, 2022 - 109 comments

Act as if you have Covid, and look to protect others around youAshley Bloomfield

New research shows vaccination protects against omicron. Along with all our other tools – what we do now matters.

This is the knife edge for New Zealand: do we lapse into neoliberal “I’m ok Jack”, and not worry about others? Or do we step up and act collectively to protect us all?

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