covid-19
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Trump’s not so bad: the nuclear holocaust edition
Written By: - Date published: 11:32 am, September 15th, 2021 - 52 comments
An occasional series
What should we call the Vaccination bus?
Written By: - Date published: 8:29 am, September 15th, 2021 - 82 comments
The Prime Minister has sparked another national debate. What should we call the new mobile vaccination vehicles that will be rolled out over the next week or so.
COVID, We Need To Talk About Class
Written By: - Date published: 9:51 am, September 14th, 2021 - 27 comments
We’ve never seen a nationwide disease illustrate class and deprivation like the future of the country depended on it. Not like this. This should change us.
Delta Covid – the battle so far
Written By: - Date published: 9:33 am, September 14th, 2021 - 65 comments
As Tamaki Makaurau enters week four of lockdown things are at an interesting stage.
Dirty Politics does not work any more
Written By: - Date published: 9:53 am, September 11th, 2021 - 83 comments
Egged on by a shock horror smear campaign on Cameron Slater’s latest post Judith Collins has attacked Dr Siouxsie Wiles by fat shaming her.
Is this the post Covid world?
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, September 11th, 2021 - 132 comments
Just as we did with travel security after 9/11, we are about to get our next set of global regulations to control crisis.
Until all of us are safe none of us are safe
Written By: - Date published: 10:39 am, September 9th, 2021 - 78 comments
On Monday of this week David Seymour received a roasting after posting a confidential Health code that was to be used by Waitakere Whanau to receive priority vaccination slots. He has now doubled down on his effort and claimed that prioritisation is wrong.
Seymour undermines vaccine roll out for Maori
Written By: - Date published: 1:53 pm, September 6th, 2021 - 81 comments
David Seymour has publicised a code designed for West Auckland whanau to try and improve poor vaccination rates amongst Maori.
National’s next leader?
Written By: - Date published: 8:28 am, September 3rd, 2021 - 60 comments
As the damage caused by Judith Collins’ leadership of the National Party intensifies it is inevitable that there will be internal discussions about who should replace her, and soon. And I think the best candidate is clear.
Judith’s very bad two days
Written By: - Date published: 8:12 am, September 2nd, 2021 - 50 comments
Judith Collins’ insistence that Parliament be reconvened even at a time that the country was in lockdown level 4 has backfired spectacularly.
Covid and the media
Written By: - Date published: 10:42 am, August 29th, 2021 - 54 comments
This week there has been some argy bargy between the Twitterati including the Waitakerati and the media on coverage of Covid in Aotearoa with elements of the media complaining that the criticisms are unjustified. A brief review of some of the offerings this week would suggest otherwise.
How Far Ought The State Go In A Pandemic?
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, August 29th, 2021 - 120 comments
Even in a time of crisis, people have human rights that must be upheld.
Gumming up the works
Written By: - Date published: 9:05 am, August 28th, 2021 - 53 comments
Last night it was revealed that National and Act had refused to agree to a proposed virtual Parliament sitting where questions could be asked, and instead wanted face to face meetings, even though this would mean a third of the country’s MPs travelling regularly to Wellington from a Covid delta hotspot.
Ardern Needs to do More Than Manage Crisis
Written By: - Date published: 2:23 pm, August 25th, 2021 - 24 comments
For a country that has sought to form advantage for itself with strong and hard COVID-19 lockdowns, we’re not gaining any more advantage than yet another binge-purge cycle of supply tension and shortages, rapid economic downturn softened by tens of billions of subsidy, followed by unsustainable booms, over and over again.
The mysterious socialist hermit kingdom
Written By: - Date published: 9:55 am, August 25th, 2021 - 111 comments
Various commentators including Nigel Farage have claimed that New Zealand’s Covid elimination strategy is a failure. Our death rate and the possibility that we can again return to a normality that other nations can only aspire to suggests they are wrong.
China reports zero local symptomatic Covid-19 cases for first time in weeks
Written By: - Date published: 10:52 am, August 24th, 2021 - 55 comments
You probably won’t see this in our local media, as our pundits today debate whether it is time to ditch our elimination strategy and Australia gives up on it. China is also well ahead on ensuring its vast population is vaccinated as well.
Matt King caught blowing anti vaccination dog whistle
Written By: - Date published: 11:15 am, August 23rd, 2021 - 22 comments
Former National MP Matt King has been publicly posting anti vaccination propaganda under the ruse of only wanting a conversation.
The importance of Jacinda’s 1 pm press conferences
Written By: - Date published: 11:50 am, August 22nd, 2021 - 130 comments
Jacinda Ardern has resumed the 1 pm briefings where she communicates effectively the country’s current situation and what the plan is. But National and some elements of the media are complaining, presumably that she is doing too good a job.
The Covid vaccine may not be the nirvana
Written By: - Date published: 12:47 pm, August 21st, 2021 - 151 comments
Claims that a comprehensive vaccination scheme will allow life to get back to normal ignores the experience of Israel, which despite having a large proportion of its population vaccinated is having a surge of new infections of Covid that is stretching its health system.
The antidote page for all those chickens
Written By: - Date published: 3:15 pm, August 19th, 2021 - 32 comments
This is the page that I read at least once a week. With a clean brevity it gives me almost all of the strategic summary information about the progress of the vaccinations in NZ. Even it’s title is clean and clear. COVID-19: Vaccine data. But I’m trained in operations and rather more interested in reality rather than the average untrained pundit or politician who run around like a Chicken Little saying the equivalent of “the sky is falling” every other week. Thankfully they were ignored.
A little bit of understanding can go a long way …
Written By: - Date published: 11:09 am, August 19th, 2021 - 18 comments
Our online Persona is not us, but just a mask.
Here again, but Delta gives less latitude. So give less latitude.
Written By: - Date published: 8:57 am, August 18th, 2021 - 31 comments
We’re back in a Covid-19 lock down. Until we get to a very high level of vaccinations >80-90%, something that no state has yet achieved, this is our only realistic defence against outbreaks. Delta is way more infectious than previous variants. It infects the vaccinated to act as spreaders. Don’t know about anyone else. But this time I intend to exert my right to give less social latitude to idiots.
The importance of political leadership in dealing with Covid
Written By: - Date published: 8:55 am, August 18th, 2021 - 66 comments
Political leadership in the time of Covid is important. As the Government urgently swung into action and imposed a level 4 lockdown after news of a community case of Delta Covid who lived in Auckland and had spent time in Coromandel while infectious, Thames-Coromandel District Mayor and former National MP Sandra Goudie admitted to not scanning regularly.
Covid-19 and the risk-based border plan
Written By: - Date published: 10:58 am, August 12th, 2021 - 93 comments
Details on the government’s plan for New Zealand’s borders, and the Delta variant of Covid.
Youtube punishes Murdoch’s Sky News for pedalling Covid misinformation
Written By: - Date published: 7:44 am, August 3rd, 2021 - 38 comments
This will have the conspiracy theorists spinning. Youtube have stopped Murdoch’s Sky News Australia from uploading videos for the next seven days after the channel uploaded videos questioning Covid and advocating for the use of alternative medicines including Donald Trump’s favourite hydroxychloroquine
The latest Reid Research Poll result
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, August 2nd, 2021 - 134 comments
Last night’s Reid Research poll result suggests that the electorate is reverting back to a more conventional dynamic after the stratospheric heights that Labour enjoyed immediately post Covid elimination.
Letting private enterprise handle Covid quarantine is a really stupid idea
Written By: - Date published: 11:55 am, July 27th, 2021 - 31 comments
Leader of the Opposition David Seymour has proposed that private enterprise should provide quarantine services. The recent experience of Melbourne where private security firms failed dramatically to properly managed quarantine facilities suggests that this is a really stupid idea.
The many and varied takes of Des Gorman on covid
Written By: - Date published: 3:05 pm, July 25th, 2021 - 32 comments
A review of Des Gorman’s comments about Covid over the last 15 months, pretty well all of which have been negative, makes you wonder how it is possible that we have been able to maintain an effective Covid free status in Aotearoa New Zealand.
What If Boris Is Right?
Written By: - Date published: 11:51 am, July 24th, 2021 - 80 comments
Now that UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has “opened up” the United Kingdom from many of the Covid19 strictures that it had undergone, there is a lot at stake to his reputation and indeed to the lives and livelihoods of its citizens.
The bubble pops
Written By: - Date published: 11:32 am, July 24th, 2021 - 32 comments
The appearance of community spread Delta variant Covid in Australia has caused New Zealand to suspend the trans Tasman travel bubble.
Freedom day
Written By: - Date published: 7:55 am, July 19th, 2021 - 58 comments
As infection rates of Covid in the United Kingdom surge Boris Johnson has announced that today will be the UK’s Freedom day and will be removing pretty well all mandatory Covid restrictions, even the wearing of masks and social distancing.
- Daily smoking rates flat-line, youth vaping keeps rising – NZ Health Survey
Daily smoking rates have flat-lined after dramatic falls in previous years, while vaping among younger people continues to rise. ...3 days ago - Watch: Traffic-stopping haka breaks out during hīkoi to Parliament
Vehicles were barred from entering the intersection as a group of men performed the haka to a crowd of hundreds of onlookers. ...4 days ago
- Hīkoi to Parliament: The families taking part and why
The hīkoi is a family affair, with tamariki everywhere; pepe sleeping in carts and buggies or tugging their cousins' hair. ...4 days ago
- The best signs from the final day of the Toitū Te Tiriti hīkoi
How many ways can you say you’re pissed off? A good protest sign signifies all the things you want to say at a demonstration: I’m here, I care and I’ve found the most fed up/witty/creative way to express this. And after a week of nationwide protests for the Toitū Te ...4 days ago - Pike River: 14 Years On And Far Too Many Of Us Are Being Injured At Work
"The Minister’s actions on health and safety show the Minister has failed to understand the lessons of Pike River. Instead of boosting health and safety at work, her party and her Government are looking for ways to water down the protections it has delivered." ...4 days ago - Live: 35,000 join as Treaty Principles Bill hīkoi reaches Parliament
Hīkoi mō te Tiriti is heading for Waitangi Park and heavy traffic through the CBD is expected ahead of the evening commute. ...4 days ago
- Dunedin Hospital protesters rally to support campaign
About 1000 people turned up to hear why building the hospital as planned, was important. ...4 days ago
- Watch: ‘Kill the bill, kill the bill’ – David Seymour walks out, waves to proteste...
The ACT leader was met with chants of "Kill the bill, kill the bill" when he walked out of the Beehive, before waving to the crowd and returning inside. ...4 days ago
- Livestream: 35,000 join as Treaty Principles Bill hīkoi reaches Parliament
The Treaty Principles Bill's architect made a brief appearance, and was met with chanting, as 35,000 people protesting overflowed from Parliament's lawn. ...4 days ago
- Public humiliation is still a common teaching tool in medical education. Here’s how it leaves pati...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carolyn Heward, Lecturer, Clinical Psychology, James Cook University Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock Imagine being questioned about complex technical knowledge in front of your peers, supervisors, and members of the public – knowing that a wrong answer could lead to public ridicule. ...4 days ago - Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti: The final day march to Parliament in photos
It was an early start for thousands as the hīkoi sets off for its final destination - the grounds of Parliament. ...4 days ago
- It’s clear footy has an Indigenous participation problem, and the AFL draft is only part of the so...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chelsey Taylor, PhD Candidate, Swinburne University of Technology From revolutionary Geelong ruckman Graham “Polly” Farmer, to the electrifying Krakouer brothers (Phil and Jim) at North Melbourne, through to modern stars such as Charlie Cameron, Adam Goodes, Lance Franklin and Eddie Betts, Indigenous ...4 days ago
- What our politicians’ signatures tell us about their personalities
We asked a handwriting expert to analyse the scrawls of our elected officials. Here’s what they said. Recently I received a press release from the trio of ministers – Simeon Brown, Shane Jones and Chris Bishop – tasked with overseeing the government’s controversial fast-track consenting bill. The press release itself ...4 days ago
- Livestream: 19,000 join as Treaty Principles Bill hīkoi reaches Parliament
'The energy, the power-it's palpable here on the ground,' an MP says as a sea of red, black and white flags sorrounds the Beehive. ...4 days ago
- Education minister says kids should be in school instead of at hīkoi
But the son of a haka expert, travelling down with students from Huntly, says "this is all part of our learning, this is their school". ...4 days ago
- Basic rules for screen time at a young age can help reduce childhood obesity – new research
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ladan Hashemi, Senior Research Fellow in Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Childhood obesity is a growing concern worldwide. But in New Zealand it’s a particularly pressing issue. With one of the highest rates in the OECD, about one ...4 days ago
- Livestream: Treaty Principles Bill hīkoi mō te Tiriti at Parliament
Thousands have marched through the streets of a capital and to the Beehive. ...4 days ago
- Kanaky Aotearoa Solidarity Says “Toitū Te Tiriti!”
Kanaky Aotearoa Solidarity supports te hikoi and says Toitū te Tiriti! Māori never ceded sovereignty! ...4 days ago
- Video: Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke reacts to haka heard around the world
In the face of criticism, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke says there was definitely a moment of 'what just happened?', after the House was suspended during voting. ...4 days ago
- Livestream: Treaty Principles Bill hīkoi at Parliament
'The energy, the power-it's palpable here on the ground,' an MP says as a sea of red, black and white flags makes its way to the Beehive and crowds line the streets. ...4 days ago
- Review: Camping is the hyper horny, extremely silly play we need right now
Almost a decade ago, Camping dazzled with four relative unknowns in a tiny venue. Now it returns, with an all-star cast on a bigger stage. Does it still deliver? The original run of Camping, on stage at The Basement, is the funniest and most kinetically bizarre show I’ve seen in ...4 days ago
- ‘We don’t even have a CT scan here’: Dunedin Hospital protesters rally
About 1000 people turned up to hear why building the hospital as planned, was important. ...4 days ago
- Biggest Ever Community Petition, With Over 200,000 Signatures, Opposes Treaty Principles Bill
The country has spoken. This Bill is a bad faith attempt to revoke the Government’s commitments to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and it’s visible to not just Aotearoa, but the world. ...4 days ago
- Justice Committee Calls For Submissions On The Principles Of The Treaty Of Waitangi Bill
The committee is intending to complete hearings by the end of February 2025. Further decisions about hearings will be made and communicated in due course. ...4 days ago
- To build support, it might be time for the Greens to hang up their movement-style approach to politi...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Narelle Miragliotta, Associate Professor in Politics, Murdoch University State and territory elections held in 2024 have not delivered the electoral and legislative gains the Greens would have hoped for or expected. Of the elections conducted this year, the Greens’ performance was, ...4 days ago
- Australia’s new anti-vaping program in schools is a good step – but education is only part of th...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonine Jancey, Academic and Director Collaboration for Evidence, Research and Impact in Public Health, Curtin University Drazen Zigic/Shutterstock Last week, the federal government announced a plan to roll out an anti-vaping program in schools across the country. The education program, ...4 days ago
- We pay less for houses in one-in-100 year flood zones – but overlook risks of more devastating flo...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Song Shi, Associate Professor, Property Economics, University of Technology Sydney If you’re buying a house near a river or on a floodplain, you will likely come up against the question of flood risk. We usually talk about this in terms of chance. ...4 days ago
- What was the deal with Julius Caesar and Cleopatra’s ‘situationship’?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Charlotte Dunn, Lecturer in Classics, University of Tasmania Carl Gottlieb Venig/Wikimedia The Egyptian queen Cleopatra is often associated with glamorous beauty routines, deadly snake bites, lavish banquets and torrid affairs with some of the most notorious men in Roman history. ...4 days ago
- The cost of being: An ‘anti-capitalist’ barista and tutor renting in Wellington
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a 23-year-old explains why she’s been working since she was 11. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here. Gender: Female. Age: 23. Ethnicity: Cambodian Chinese. Role: Barista, tutor, campaigner, ...4 days ago
- Regulations Ministry: Online tool can be used to share ‘red tape horror stories’
The Regulations minister wants to hear "from tradies, farmers, teachers, chefs, engineers - every person doing productive work". ...4 days ago
- Elon Musk’s new job will bring tech ‘disruption’ to the US government – and history says it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hallam Stevens, Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies, James Cook University On November 12, United States president-elect Donald Trump announced he would appoint Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, to lead a newly constituted Department of Government Efficiency alongside fellow tech billionaire and former ...4 days ago
- AI for life: how sovereign Wiradyuri ways of knowing can transform technology for good
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Russ-Smith, Associate Professor, Social Work and Assistant Deputy Head of School, School of Allied Health, Australian Catholic University Philip Schubert/Shutterstock From climate change to geopolitical instability to health emergencies, we are entering a period of momentous change. The technology industry ...4 days ago
- Live updates: Toitū Te Tiriti hīkoi marches to parliament
Tens of thousands are expected to gather in Te Upoko-o-te-ika-a-Māui today, as the nationwide Toitū Te Tiriti hīkoi prepares to arrive at parliament. Follow this blog for up-to-date coverage and reaction. ...4 days ago
- NZ media’s second wave of doom
MediaRoom: North & South magazine ‘suspending’ print publication is the latest in a wave of closures in our media, suffering from extended economic malaise and lower advertising The post NZ media’s second wave of doom appeared first on Newsroom. ...4 days ago - Powered-up Regulatory Standards Bill removes role of courts
In his third attempt at constraining the drafting of new laws, David Seymour is seizing the controls The post Powered-up Regulatory Standards Bill removes role of courts appeared first on Newsroom. ...4 days ago
- With 14 community newspapers due to close, too many parts of NZ are becoming ‘news deserts’
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Greg Treadwell, Senior Lecturer in Journalism, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images When media company NZME proposed the closure of 14 community newspapers last week, the so-called “news desert” encroached a little further into the local information landscape. The term refers ...4 days ago
- New Zealand’s new ‘anti-scam czar’ gets to work
Millions of dollars are lost to scams each year. Should more attention be on the social media giants that platform them? Stewart Sowman-Lund writes in today’s edition of The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...4 days ago
- Dunedin Hospital rebuild: Rally stirs more opposition to cutbacks
A sea of Southerners filled Dunedin's Town Hall last night in support of the Save Our Southern Hospital campaign. ...4 days ago
- Thousands expected at Parliament as hīkoi moves towards the capital
This article first appeared at rnz.co.nz and is republished with permission.Tens of thousands of people are expected to gather at Parliament today as the final leg of the Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti reaches its last destination – but organisers and participants are saying it will not end there.At Takupūwāhia Marae ...4 days ago
- Treaty hīkoi: Commuter disruption expected as protest reaches Wellington
People on foot and in cars began making their way into central Wellington from the early hours of this morning. ...4 days ago
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