Daily review 08/04/2019

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 pm, April 8th, 2019 - 44 comments
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Daily review is also your post.

This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Don’t forget to be kind to each other …

44 comments on “Daily review 08/04/2019 ”

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  1. Herodotus 1
    8 April 2019 at 6:19 pm

    If you did not know that Labour was in power .. Such a statement could have been made by Hekia Parata, as part of the National Govt. keeping within a “financial envelope”.
    “The Ministry offers rejected last week were very similar to an offer previously rejected in November because the government has refused to budge from its “envelope” of $698 million over four years.”
    https://www.maoritelevision.com/news/education/teachers-overwhelmingly-reject-latest-pay-offer
    And where is our Minister ??? If he is not willing to front up, perhaps he should step aside to allow for someone more capable.
    And then we recently had this ….
    “Core Crown spending shrank 7.4 per cent to $56.15b from a year earlier, and was $713 million below expectations, with some $200m of predicted education spending NOT OCCURRING because of demand-driven factors ”
    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12217122

    • Anne 1.1
      8 April 2019 at 6:50 pm

      Don’t have time to check the figure but I heard a report on TV1 that the government had offered an extra $128 million to the teachers over and above the offer they made last year. Reasonable offer given the volume of desperately needed funds in all sections of society after 9 years of social spending decreases (in real terms) by the previous government.

      Until such a time they face reality and recognise others in the same boat as them are also worthy of consideration, the teachers have lost me. If the nurses can do it , so can they.

      Lets not forget: despite the way they were treated by the previous government, there was hardly a peep out of them over that 9 year period.

      • JanM 1.1.1
        8 April 2019 at 7:00 pm

        Weĺl said, Anne, I’m really disappointed in them. Having said which, I’m part of the early childhood sector so my faith in NZEI is seriously low anyway

        • greywarshark 1.1.1.1
          8 April 2019 at 7:18 pm

          I am not impressed by the speaker on Radionz this afternoon saying that the primary teachers want the same as secondary. I am a bit tired of the self-centred I Want flag. On the surface it sounded reasonable, same degree, same number years teaching, and a bunch of six year olds is a handful for any teacher, each age group is demanding in a different way. But secondary teachers do carry a heavier burden, people are stressed about their kids doing okay and being ready to take on a job, if they can get one.

          But I think that secondary teachers in specific subjects are not always easy to find. I think that the primary teachers spokesperson is dissimulating and it is as maddening for them to want to get everything as it was to hear the airline engineers threatening strikes at holiday time. If unions want to have people’s support and confidence they had better not start the absurdity of pissing off everybody Because They Are Right. And We Deserve It. Get a reasonable offer that deals to all aspects and go with it.

          The Resident Doctors also need to decide what is most important, important and not satisfactory but can wait. If the Labour Coalition stays in they can get another bite of the cherry. If National gets in they will find that the cherries have all been sold. So shape up you dozy in-group with your consensus ideas and expose your minds to fresh air with no beer-fumes to prevent cerebral activity.

      • Blazer 1.1.2
        8 April 2019 at 7:37 pm

        agree all day long..Anne.

      • Herodotus 1.1.3
        8 April 2019 at 8:26 pm

        http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1904/S00083/primary-teachers-and-principals-reject-latest-offers.htm
        “The Ministry offers rejected last week were very similar to an offer previously rejected in November because the Government has refused to budge from its “envelope” of $698 million over four years.” So the govt hasn’t offered any more just repackaged.
        http://www.education.govt.nz/news/ministry-response-to-nzei-te-riu-roa-ballot-result/
        https://campaigns.nzei.org.nz/time/sept-offer-ptca-ppca-2/#teachers
        The govts offer of a $698m package it is over 3 years (and the union doesn’t get another chance until this collective agreement expires) so in real terms (NPV) the value to the teachers is less than the headlines would indicate. IMO the govt is scared should the NZEI be successful what then for PPTA ?

        • ScottGN 1.1.3.1
          8 April 2019 at 8:40 pm

          Umm…no I don’t think the government is scared actually. NZEI have overplayed their hand here. I think they’ve pretty much lost the public now and it may well suit the PM to give them a bit of a public slapping down.

  2. WeTheBleeple 2
    8 April 2019 at 6:27 pm

    The Truth Factory (NZH).

    The press are writing articles what other press have said
    And the opinion is that all’s not good for enemies of theirs
    And there’s been rallies of opinions sallies forth on facebook threads
    As he said this and she said this and pish is fish we’re fed

    I spread it on the ground I call all cats incontinent
    All bloated bursting bulls to come contribute now to this
    All monkeys who would fling their shit, all birds that perch and squeeze
    Upon this daily excrement, with treasures such as these.

    😀

    • Wayne 3.1
      8 April 2019 at 9:25 pm

      joe90

      So your solution is zero immigration control, like anyone can come if they can?

      For the US that might mean 20 million people in just one year, probably a lot more.

      Not a remotely realistic option, which anyone, including Sen Bernie can see.

  4. cleangreen 4
    8 April 2019 at 6:48 pm

    CEAC congratulates the new environmental ‘grassroots movement’ group including both Auckland physicist Professor Shaun Hendy and Victoria University climate scientist James Renwick on their evidence given to the public about the carbon cost to the environment of air travel.

    Our centre had never seen this ‘carbon footprint’ emission data focused on ‘air travel’ before.

    So now the information is here in public view for us all to consider in future, and thank these two scientists for disclosing the facts for us all.

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/travel/2019/04/auckland-professor-says-kiwis-should-quit-air-travel-to-protect-the-environment.html

    Auckland professor says Kiwis should quit air travel to protect the environment
    07/04/2019

    A grassroots movement calling for Kiwis to stay firmly on the ground is taking flight.

    Auckland physicist Professor Shaun Hendy says;
    “If you fly the 496km between Auckland and Wellington, you emit around 150kg of carbon dioxide equivalent. A medium-sized car making the same journey emits about a third less, while a bus, train and electric car all have significantly lower emissions – just under 55kg between all three of them.”

    Victoria University climate scientist James Renwick said.
    “Per kilometre, flying in a plane puts out more carbon dioxide than pretty much every other form of travel,”

    CEAC now call on the Government to restore all regional rail passenger and freight services to reduce our climate change emissions, and save our increasing road deaths also that are stubbornly becoming worse by the day.

    We call for these facts to be included and considered in the Zero Carbon Act when it is released.

  5. JanM 5
    8 April 2019 at 7:00 pm

    Weĺl said, Anne, I’m really disappointed in them. Having said which, I’m part of the early childhood sector so my faith in NZEI is seriously low anyway

    • SHG 6.1
      8 April 2019 at 7:15 pm

      Eurocentric much?

      There are Aboriginal cave paintings of birds dated c 40,000 BC. Earliest representation my arse.

      • joe90 6.1.1
        8 April 2019 at 7:40 pm

        Earliest representation my arse

        Umm….may be is the qualifier but hey, don’t let grammar get in the way of your ability to parse a fucking sentence.

        • SHG 6.1.1.1
          8 April 2019 at 7:59 pm

          You’re right, Australian First Nations people were technically not people, so the thing made by white people 7000 years later is the firstest and most importantest

          • joe90 6.1.1.1.1
            8 April 2019 at 8:23 pm

            Aww, dimwit thinks the folk who inhabited the Hohle Fels cave 40,000 years ago were white people.

            When it comes to skin color, the team found a patchwork of evolution in different places, and three separate genes that produce light skin, telling a complex story for how European’s skin evolved to be much lighter during the past 8000 years. The modern humans who came out of Africa to originally settle Europe about 40,000 years are presumed to have had dark skin, which is advantageous in sunny latitudes. And the new data confirm that about 8500 years ago, early hunter-gatherers in Spain, Luxembourg, and Hungary also had darker skin: They lacked versions of two genes—SLC24A5 and SLC45A2—that lead to depigmentation and, therefore, pale skin in Europeans today.

            https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/04/how-europeans-evolved-white-skin

            • SHG 6.1.1.1.1.1
              9 April 2019 at 12:47 am

              Wow, you sure have a hardon for Europeans huh?

              PS: I think it was 100,000 years ago. Actually a million. So long as it’s more than the darkie number.

              #firstest
              #mostimportantest

          • Incognito 6.1.1.1.2
            8 April 2019 at 9:26 pm

            You’re right. The cave is in Germany and the sculptor was blond, blue-eyed, had pale skin, spoke German, loved Sauerkraut mit Wurst, drove a Beemer and was technically German 😉

      • mauī 6.1.2
        8 April 2019 at 10:26 pm

        Thank you SHG. I found it odd that Joe28 didn’t bring up aboriginal cave art too…

    • ScottGN 6.2
      8 April 2019 at 7:39 pm

      33,000 year old mammoth ivory and some muppet is holding it without gloves? I’m inclined to think this is a load of bollocks.

      • joe90 6.2.1
        8 April 2019 at 7:45 pm

        Of course, everyone’s a fucking expert so why would an actual archeologist bother.

        • ScottGN 6.2.1.1
          8 April 2019 at 7:51 pm

          An actual archeologist bother with what?

          • joe90 6.2.1.1.1
            8 April 2019 at 7:57 pm

            Post an image of what may be the earliest representation of a bird.

            Because experts on the interwebs know shit.

            • ScottGN 6.2.1.1.1.1
              8 April 2019 at 8:02 pm

              I don’t know what your banging on about mate? I do know however that an atefact of that age and provenance would not be handled by anyone not wearing the right kit to protect it from damaging skin oils.

              • joe90 …
                8 April 2019 at 8:37 pm

                Stickies or not, it’s a stock photo and it tops the search results.

                • greywarshark …
                  9 April 2019 at 11:19 am

                  What will tomorrow’s trivial pursuit for enlightenment be about I wonder? One thing we do know is that the human brain is a wonder
                  and as the saying goes ‘Wonders never cease’.

  8. ScottGN 8
    8 April 2019 at 7:49 pm

    Apparently the PM said today the government was still assessing the public’s feedback on the CGT? Code I reckon for “Shit it looks like we’ve totally fucked this one up so after a decent interval (and some fast talking) we’re going to ditch the bloody thing”?

    • Shadrach 8.1
      8 April 2019 at 9:21 pm

      The CGT will be introduced as a soft extension of the brightline test. It won’t apply to Kiwisaver, businesses, farms, etc. In the end it will raise SFA, and will be yet another total flop to add to Kiwibuild etc.

  9. Drowsy M. Kram 9
    8 April 2019 at 8:12 pm

    Just finished a four-minute Reid Research phone poll gauging public opinion on the prospect of NZ finally catching up to the rest of the developed world by introducing a CGT.

    Funny thing was the questions weren’t neutral – just like the introduction above, the questions were not so subtlely biased, in this case to ellicit a broad ‘NO‘ to a CGT.

    So obvious was this bias (‘Are you aware that some groups say a CGT will be bad for NZ’s productive sector?’, or some such – wish I could remember, but they just rankled) that from about 45 seconds onwards I answered every question as if a CGT would be the best thing since sliced bread.

    Not a good look for Reid Research, IMO.

    • ScottGN 9.1
      8 April 2019 at 8:23 pm

      I wonder why Reid Research is still out in the field working on a poll the results of which have already been released by the organisation that commissioned it?

      • Drowsy M. Kram 9.1.1
        8 April 2019 at 8:32 pm

        This poll?

        https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/04/large-majority-of-new-zealanders-don-t-want-capital-gains-tax-poll.html

        “The poll found that just 22.8 percent think it should be a priority. And nearly half of voters – 47.8 percent – say the CGT debate has harmed the Government, while 33.1 percent say it hasn’t, and 19.2 percent don’t know.”

        Don’t think that the questions I was asked are relevant to “priority” or “harmed the Government“, so maybe it’s a follow-up poll, a tweek, or just pure research? I do remember being asked: ‘If a general election, who you would vote for?”, and “Who did you vote for at the last election?”

        The CGT questions I was asked were poorly designed (IMHO), and betrayed quite a ‘fear factor’ among a few about paying their fair share of tax on wealth, while a growing majority struggle to meet day-to-day needs.

        • Psycho Milt 9.1.1.1
          8 April 2019 at 9:42 pm

          One is left to ponder what the outcome of an opinion poll on whether people think they should have to pay income tax or GST would be…

    • joe90 10.1
      8 April 2019 at 8:39 pm

      Oh noes, the sewer denizens will be beside themselves.

      • greywarshark 10.1.1
        9 April 2019 at 11:12 am

        Rats leaving the sinking ship? If it’s a sign that we are going down that gets them to release their stranglehold on the airwaves okay. We will survive! Now all intending survivors start pumping and bailing.

  11. joe90 11
    8 April 2019 at 8:48 pm

    The victims of mesothelioma and asbestosis will be delighted.

    ASBEST, Russia — Sniped at for decades by health advocates, Russia’s doggedly defiant producer of asbestos — a substance banned as a killer by more than 60 countries — thinks it has perhaps finally found the perfect figure for a campaign to rehabilitate the product’s deeply stained image: President Trump.

    “Trump is on our side,” said Vladimir V. Kochelayev, chairman of the board of Uralasbest, one of the world’s few remaining producers of asbestos, citing what he said were reports that the Trump administration was easing restrictions on asbestos use.

    […]

    Mr. Trump, before becoming president, did indeed have a long record of defending asbestos as a fire-retardant, tweeting in 2012 that if it had not been replaced with “junk that doesn’t work, the World Trade Center would never have burned down” in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. His 1997 book, “The Art of the Comeback,” said that asbestos had “got a bad rap,” claiming that efforts to force its removal from schools and other buildings were “led by the mob,” rather than motivated by health concerns.

    Such views mesh neatly with Russia’s own longstanding view that asbestos producers are the victim of an elaborate conspiracy driven by greedy, primarily American, lawyers who make money suing for asbestos-related damages and chemical companies that produce alternative fire retardant materials.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/07/world/europe/asbestos-russia-mine.html

  12. joe90 12
    8 April 2019 at 9:19 pm

    Keith Berryman has passed away.

    • greywarshark 12.1
      9 April 2019 at 11:10 am

      The Berrymans – A human sacrifice to the neo liberal economic and social radicals of the Right.
      http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/3203816/Lawyer-demands-inquiry-into-bridge-accident

      Valiantly defended by lawyer Rob Moodie who used every possible stratagem to break through the government’s palisade against reason and fairness.
      A real Don Quixote of NZ. A noble knight of high endeavour.

      I think we should start annual citizens awards or have we got them already? I think there is a Roger award, that’s demonstrating the faulty (Fawlty?). But our Positive Prizes for helping NZ in some important way; showing us how we can behave well and be staunch. One citation would be the Don Quixote prize for the giants and giantesses of our society that we can look up to with admiration and gratitude for doing good mental, societal leading-edge actions, as well as those heroes who save people from..fire, accident, being lost in the mountains etc.

  13. ianmac 13
    8 April 2019 at 11:16 pm

    Q&A was pretty good tonight for a change. Education. Chris Hitchens.
    Good questions. Good answers from Chris. Forgotten the woman Interviewer’s name. Red hair. (Panel pretty useless.)

  14. greywarshark 14
    9 April 2019 at 12:31 pm

    Somehow the image for today reminds me of the policeman type who acted as Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther series. Does that click with anyone else? If he changes his job he may have a career in retro movies and have more fun with some humour instead of constant edgy drama and script-changing. Let’s face it the present director has lost the plot!