Former airline boss, Christopher Luxon, has been talking the country down a lot recently.
Apparently, we are inward looking and fearful (the smiling PM is on her fifth trade/diplomatic trip in as many weeks). Apparently, Kiwis are sitting around the dining table tonight, concerned (they're not, the ones he's talking to are in Rarotonga or Wanaka). And apparently, businesses are soft and addicted to government support (yet at the same time the government doesn't support them enough).
Not only does former airline boss, Christopher Luxon, speak in boardroom jargon, he speaks in contradictions, and speaks negatively.
It's the last one which he will have to ditch most urgently if he wants to become NZ boss because talking down to the country doesn't work. Kiwis don't like to be told they are scared, soft, and inward looking.
The media to their credit have asked former airline boss, Christopher Luxon, about his gloomy comments, but right now he doesn't seem to be getting the right advice because he doubles down at all of his many stand ups.
I am not unhappy about his negative style because it contrasts so well with the positive style of Jacinda Ardern.
"Little needs to get better advisors. Ones that tell him to stop trying to drive a wedge between nurses and the public."
Interestingly Ian Powell also said this:
"Little’s poor performance has made him a ministerial liability. A big factor behind this is his failure to recognise the importance of relationships in public health systems."
That is what is really hard to stomach. I had high hopes when Little was appointed.
Union man, seemed to have a degree of 'relatability', heart in the right place…
His deliberate melding of wage negotiation and pay equity settlements to imply nurses were greedy was duplicitious, now this denial that large parts of his workforce feel in crisis. All in the shadow of the pandemic.
David Clark the first MInister of Health was told 5 years ago there was a serious work force shortage. This was before the pandemic.
They hold a worthless enquiry into Mental Health (how many have their been now?) rather than just getting on and hiring/training more staff.
The set up a Cancer Agency ( things have got worse, surgery for cancer being delayed because of the Health workforce shortage).
Then in the middle of a pandemic, rather than spending his every waking hour developing and implementing a plan to increase the workforce, they re-structure the health system, paying Earnst and Young Consultants millons of dollars
This is a massive failure and Little needs to resign.
Do these people not realize what a health system is? Its nurses, Drs, and allied health professionals.
New Zealand Nurses Organisation media release, 22 December 2021
"The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) is pleased to advise that it has today signed an Agreement in Principle to settle its Nursing Pay Equity claim for the NZNO and PSA members who work in district health boards (DHBs).
NZNO Industrial Services Manager Glenda Alexander said this settlement is of historical significance because it corrects the long-standing sex-based undervaluation of nursing work.
“This Pay Equity agreement will be absolutely life-changing for many of our members.
“It has been the result of countless hours of data collection and analysis – and then figuring out how it all translates to new pay rates. It is fantastic to finally see that tremendous effort coming to fruition.
“It will do wonders for the future of the profession as well, because it sets a positive pathway for recruitment in years to come.”
The agreement was signed, then they reneged, hence the Minister's remarks "it is very unusual for a union to re-litigate terms of settlement that they have already signed up to"
Signing an agreement doesn't mean it is ratified. That's the point Ian Powell was making. It's also not how other commentors here are describing it.
Little seems to have had a pop at all and sundry in recent times, including Pharmac, rural health professionals and general practices, Dr John Bonning, and now the Nurses Association. It's strange behaviour for a Minister of Health.
"They committed themselves to it when they signed it."
No, they didn't. They committed to taking the agreement to ratification. That's the process, and as Ian Powell said, Andrew Little knows that. Little attacking all and sundry is not helpful.
Yeah they did. They were never promised full backpay, yet the NZNO were very happy with the agreement in Dec 2021. The Minister didn't attack all and sundry, as Patricia pointed out @ 3.1.1.1.2 he "called out their union negotiators, not the nurses"
I belonged to the nurses union for many years, they don’t help when needed by a health worker in strife. I don’t rate them. They are extremely radical. I cancelled my membership. So I can see where he is coming from.
If you’ve ever wondered just how misleading Fox News can be, watch what their viewers have been told about why Boris Johnson has resigned as Prime Minister:pic.twitter.com/iOSWnUnHqb
We've been through the 648 members of Nurses for Freedom and can't find a single registered nurse. @nzstuff and @TheProject_NZ need to do a bit of diligence before giving platforms to these people. The health system needs migrant nurses, not imaginary nurses. https://t.co/FufJctlu61pic.twitter.com/CSogmslFND
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The programme of historical anniversaries to be acknowledged by the New Zealand Government over the next five years includes some of our nation’s most important events, Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Carmel Sepuloni said. “We’re continuing to lay the foundations for a better future by ensuring all New Zealanders ...
Before I commence, as I did at the beginning of the day, I would once again like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which we meet, and pay my respects to the original occupants of these ancestral lands, and to the Elders past, present, emerging and yet ...
Southland-based oat milk producer New Zealand Functional Foods is getting new Government backing, with a $6 million investment from the Regional Strategic Partnership Fund, Economic and Regional Development Minister Stuart Nash announced today. “We set up the Regional Strategic Partnership Fund (RSPF) to help build more productive, resilient, and sustainable ...
Kiribati is now in the grip of a disastrous drought while it deals with the impact of Climate Change. This makes Kiribati Language Week 2022 a special time to think about the future ,said the Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio. The third of nine Pacific Language Weeks, Wikin ...
Parliamentary Under-Secretary Rino Tirikatene will depart to Australia today to attend the First Peoples International Business Forum: Aotearoa New Zealand and Victoria, which runs from 11 to 12 July in Melbourne. The two-day event is being hosted by the Aboriginal Economic Development group (AED), Global Victoria, Dept Jobs, Precinct and ...
A major redevelopment of Dunedin’s iconic Hillside Workshops is on track to have the facility up and running by early 2024, Minister for State Owned Enterprises, Dr David Clark said. The Government is investing $105 million in KiwiRail’s Hillside Workshops – helping restore the site to its former glory by ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern tonight sent New Zealand’s condolences following the death of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was shot at a rally today. “New Zealand sends our condolences to Japan at this time of profound grief and deep shock,” Jacinda Ardern said. “This act of violence against ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met in Sydney this morning for their first annual Australia New Zealand Leaders Meeting. “It was great to meet with Prime Minister Albanese again further cementing the close renewed relationship between Australia and New Zealand,” Jacinda Ardern said. “It is ...
The Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Michael Wood has today announced the appointment of Geoffrey Summers as the Chair of the Remuneration Authority (the Authority) for a three-year term. The Authority is responsible for setting the rates of pay and allowances for Members of Parliament, the Judiciary and Local ...
An Action Plan signed up to by all children’s agencies will require them to work with each other and the community to support those with the greatest need, Minister for Children Kelvin Davis has announced. The Oranga Tamariki Action Plan requires the Chief Executives of Oranga Tamariki, the Police, ...
National sport and recreation organisations are being supported to help recover and operate successfully after the impact of COVID-19. The $30 million funding announced today for the National Partner Strengthen and Adapt programme is part of the $264.6 million Sport Recovery Package from Budget 2020. “This investment enables national bodies ...
The Government is keeping up the momentum on supporting community energy education initiatives with the opening of the third funding round of its successful Support for Energy Education in Communities (SEEC) Programme, Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods says. Community groups, organisations, and businesses can now apply for a total ...
The 2023 Toloa Fund will allow more young Pasifika to become scientists, technologists, engineers, artists, and mathematicians said the Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio. For the past seven years, the Toloa programme has provided funding opportunities for young Pacific people to thrive in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and ...
After over three years away in Canada undergoing an extensive systems upgrade, the Royal New Zealand Navy frigate HMNZS Te Mana and her 170-strong crew sailed into the Waitematā Harbour today with Minister of Defence Peeni Henare on board for its ceremonial homecoming. “The Government is committed to ensuring that ...
A large donation from Wellington property developer and philanthropist Mark Dunajtschik for a new mental health unit at Hutt Hospital is being welcomed by Health Minister Andrew Little. “The Government committed to replacing Te Whare Ahuru, the hospital’s 24-bed acute mental health unit, with a modern facility of the same ...
Due to COVID-19, the escalating impacts of climate change, and the intensification of geo-strategic competition, the Government has commissioned a Defence Policy Review to ensure that New Zealand’s Defence policy, strategy, and planned capability investments remain fit for purpose, Minister of Defence Peeni Henare announced today. “Our Defence Force is ...
The Government, through the Energy Efficiency Conservation Authority (EECA) has begun an innovative green private finance pilot, working with participating financiers to help businesses get finance for big decarbonisation projects, says Minister of Energy and Resources, Megan Woods. “This pilot will further support initiatives focussed on climate impact and emissions ...
Te whare e tu nei Te marae e takoto ana, tena korua E nga mate maha, haere, haere, haere. Nga tangata whenua o tenei rohe, tena koutou. Tatou nga kanohi e hui mai ana, Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa Good afternoon. It is a pleasure to be ...
Ainsley Walter has been appointed as Chair of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) Board for a three-year term, Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Hon Carmel Sepuloni announced today. “Ainsley is one of many influential women across the arts and cultural sector and her appointment as Chair will only ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will lead New Zealand’s Ministerial delegation to the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF) in Sydney today, following a successful trade mission to Melbourne and Sydney which included over 30 New Zealand businesses. The theme of this year’s event is “The Great Acceleration: Emerging Stronger Together”. ...
Key gaps in the South Island’s public EV charging network will be closed with support from the Government’s Low Emissions Transport Fund (LETF), Minister for Energy and Resources Dr. Megan Woods announced today. “This round of co-funding was strategically targeted at a few specific locations, to ensure there is good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Cover, Professor of Digital Communication, RMIT University One of the world’s most popular social media platforms, TikTok, is now host to a steady stream of deepfake videos. Deepfakes are videos in which a subject’s face or body has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Lockyer, Associate Professor in Strategic Studies, Macquarie University Last week it was reported an Australian warship had, in early July, been closely followed by a Chinese guided-missile destroyer, a nuclear-powered attack submarine, and multiple military aircraft as it travelled through the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Johnston, Professor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), University of Sydney Jo Anne Mcarthur/Unsplash, CC BY Climate change is exacerbating pressures on every Australian ecosystem and Australia now has more foreign plant species than native, according to the highly anticipated State ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ayesha Tulloch, ARC Future Fellow, Queensland University of Technology Juliana Lee/Unsplash, CC BY Australia’s State of the Environment Report was finally released today – and its findings are a staggering picture of loss and devastation. As a conservation scientist, I’ve ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Abby Cathcart, Professor of Higher Education & Governance, Queensland University of Technology Holland Taylor as Professor Joan Hambling in The Chair.Elize Morse/Netflix This week, many Australian universities will be sending academics the results of the first semester student evaluation surveys. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sianan Healy, Tracey Banivanua Mar Research Fellow, La Trobe University ABC In a recent episode of Bluey, Onesies, six-year-old Bluey asks her mum Chilli what’s wrong with Auntie Brandy, who has come to visit for the first time in four ...
As New Zealand once again faces record high inflation, National and ACT say the government needs to lower spending, reduce regulatory bottlenecks and cut taxes. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The first week of the new parliament will contain some depressing news, with Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Monday softening up the community to expect a “confronting” statement on the economy. Chalmers said he would ...
Opinion - Joe Biden's controversial trip to Saudi Arabia could help New Zealand reset its own relationship with the Middle East, Geoffrey Miller writes. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Gleeson, Associate Professor in Public Health, La Trobe University Shutterstock Two and a half years into the pandemic, more than 12 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered worldwide, and more than 5 million are being administered each day. ...
Buzz from the Beehive A politically timely announcement from the Beehive yesterday advised that the Government is providing significant additional cost-of-living support and is fighting inflation by extending the reductions to fuel excise duty, road user charges and half-price public transport by more than five months until the end of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Simpson, Senior Lecturer, International Studies, University of South Australia James Gourley/AAP The fate of Labor’s 2030 climate policy hangs in the balance as the Greens and other climate-conscious crossbenchers this week consider pushing the government harder on emissions reduction. ...
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Chloe Swarbrick is one of the most interesting politicians in the New Zealand Parliament, a highly effective campaigner who – after one term as a List MP – won Auckland Central for the Green Party. Still only 28, she is already seen as a future leader of her party. This ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. This morning, on Morning Report (RNZ) Monash University epidemiologist Tony Blakely noted that Covid19 death rates in New Zealand are 20% higher in New Zealand ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lauren Kate Kelly, PhD Candidate, ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, RMIT University Woolworths Online grocery shopping has boomed since the pandemic began in 2020, with Woolworths and Coles steadily expanding their home-delivery offerings. Rapid delivery is ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicole Sutton, Senior Lecturer in Accounting, University of Technology Sydney Shutterstock To seek “respite” is to look for a break from strenuous effort to recharge and regroup. In the context of aged care, subsidised respite care provides temporary support to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Wesley Morgan, Research Fellow, Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University This year’s Pacific Islands Forum marked the beginning of a more dangerous era as Pacific leaders tried to find common responses to both the climate crisis and sharpening geostrategic competition. There was ...
By Miriam Zarriga of the PNG Post-Courier Papua New Guinea’s Police Commissioner David Manning has fired the first warning shot in the hunt for candidates who were involved in disrupting the national elections in Enga province. He is deploying a multipolice and army taskforce to hunt down 15 suspected candidates ...
An appeal against convictions in New Zealand’s first criminal prosecution under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act (AML/CFT Act) was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on 1 July 2022. An estimated $1.35 billion from ...
A policy paper released today by The New Zealand Initiative rebuts the Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety’s claim to a select committee that New Zealand’s labour productivity growth rate since 1991 was 46% below that of Australia. On figures ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By T.J. Thomson, Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication & Media, Queensland University of Technology Universities throughout the country have obligations to ensure their graduates leave with the knowledge and skills necessary to interact in a culturally safe way with Indigenous people.T.J. Thomson, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Angsana A. Techatassanasoontorn, Associate Professor of Information Systems, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images We hear the phrase “digital transformation” a lot these days. It’s often used to describe the process of replacing functions and services that were once done ...
By Geraldine Panapasa in Suva Climate change remains the single greatest existential threat facing the Blue Pacific, as leaders concluded the biggest diplomatic regional meeting in Suva last week with a plea for the world to take urgent action to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. While renewed commitments by ...
By Hayden Donnell, RNZ Mediawatch producer Covid has now killed around 1700 people in New Zealand, but much of our news reporting and commentary has focused on how we’re moving on from the pandemic. Why is there such a mismatch between that media coverage, and the reality of a virus that’s inflicting more suffering ...
John Bishop, the father of National list MP Chris Bishop and a fellow who helped set up the NZ Taxpayers’ Union, ventured into sports commentary in his regular column in the Dominion-Post last week. In the aftermath of Ireland’s second-test defeat of the All Blacks, he called for heads to ...
The Green Party is urging rent controls and more support after a survey found two thirds of university students regularly struggle to buy food and other necessities. ...
It is said the “trouble with publishing is that too many people with half a mind to write a book, do so”. Or as Winston Churchill would put it, the trouble with Andrea Vance and reality is that they are separated by the English language. Words ...
Continued support for low- and middle-income New Zealanders is essential, with inflation hitting 7.3%, say the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions. “That means further support for the minimum wage, supporting employers to pay the Living Wage, and continuing ...
Today’s inflation figure of 7.3% demonstrates again just how far out of control Grant Robertson and Labour Government spending is. The Finance Minister cannot continue to bury his head in the sand while costs increase at an alarming rate. He must take ...
A new survey of elected members in local government has found that nearly half of respondents have experienced racism, gender discrimination, or other forms of harmful behaviour while doing their job in public office. “The purpose of the survey was ...
Analysis by Geoffrey Miller Joe Biden’s controversial fist-bump with Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), the Saudi crown prince, may help New Zealand to forge its own new direction in the Middle East. The US president’s trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia showed that despite real concerns over human rights, the Middle ...
SPCA is imploring the Government to make a commitment to ban the prolonged chaining and confinement of dogs in Aotearoa. After years of behind-the-scenes advocacy work from the animal welfare charity, and concerned calls from the public weekly, SPCA ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Webb, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology NASA/JWST It has been an exciting week with the release of breathtaking photos of our Universe by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Images such as ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yen Ying Lim, Associate Professor, Monash University ShutterstockAs part of a series on cycles of disadvantage, supported by a philanthropic grant from the Paul Ramsay Foundation, we’re publishing three articles on the social determinants of health. They look at ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Lewis, Senior Research Fellow, Australian Catholic University www.shutterstock.com Apple products are already a central part of our lives in so many ways. We use them to work, socialise, monitor our heart rates, pay for things and watch TV. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Greg Dolgopolov, Senior Lecturer in Film, UNSW Sydney When 13 Ukrainian soldiers were defending Snake Island in March, Russian forces told them to lay down their weapons. In response, the Ukrainians said “Russian warship, go fuck yourself!”. This maritime call ...
A new project merging local councils' water service IT systems as part of the three waters reforms could blow out beyond the $500 million upper limit officials have quoted, National says. ...
New Plymouth's mayor says he wants another go in the job. Neil Holdom has worn the chains for two terms, and he said for the past year people have been ...
Incumbent Bay of Plenty Regional Councillor, Toi Kai Rākau Iti, will campaign for re-election to his Kohi Constituency seat under the Māori Party ticket. As an independent, Councillor Iti believes he has been successful alongside the region's two other constituency ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Grattan Institute Shutterstock Handing out a cushy job to a political mate might seem harmless – after all, everyone does it, right? – but the politicisation of public appointments has real, pervasive consequences for Australian ...
Health Minister Andrew Little admits waiting times at the Emergency Department are getting longer but says health entities are doing all they can to make improvements. ...
Repeated calls from candidate Leo Molloy to commit to a new waterfront stadium would put the ratepayers of Auckland Council on the hook for at least $3 billion, mayoral candidate Wayne Brown says. “Estimates are hard to nail down, as the recent explosion ...
The 25-cent cut in petrol excise duty and half-price public transport fares will be extended into next year, the government has confirmed this afternoon. ...
By Reiner Brabar in Jayapura Papua People’s Petition (PRP) protesters have braved brutal police blockades, forced dispersals and assaults while staging simultaneous mass actions across Papua. The actions were held on Thursday to demonstrate the people’s opposition to revisions of the Special Autonomy Law on Papua (Otsus), the creation of ...
RNZ Pacific A state of emergency has been declared in American Samoa because of severe weather conditions resulting in damage to roads, infrastructure, property, and coastal villages. American Samoa Governor Lemanu Peleti Mauga declared the state of emergency after homes, the school and church on Aunu’u island were swamped by ...
COMMENTARY:By Megan Darby, editor of Climate Home News When it comes to the world’s two biggest emitters, we are caught between a secretive autocracy and an oversharing corrupted democracy. Most media attention is focused on the latter. The United States this week raised hopes of a compromise climate spending ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will reinstate the pandemic leave payment for workers who have to isolate but do not have sick leave, after earlier vigorously defending its ending on budgetary grounds. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese ...
The government’s failure to stop the sale of Huiarua and Matanui stations on New Zealand’s East Coast to foreign buyers borders on treason according to Social Credit Party leader, Chris Leitch. More than 6000 hectares, including a significant area ...
RNZ Pacific The media has been taken to task for doom-laden climate crisis presentations in a speech at an international workshop — and told to tell the full story. Former Marshall Islands president Hilda Heine made the comments as the keynote speaker at the recent East West Centre’s international media ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards. Political Roundup: Labour wants to be tough on crime – and tough on the causes of crimePolitical scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. The Labour Government has managed to get one major issue right this week, at least in an electoral sense. The Government has been under ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olga Oleinikova, Senior Lecturer and Director of the SITADHub (Social Impact Technologies and Democracy Research Hub) in the School of Communication, University of Technology Sydney Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited Ukraine this month, promising an extra A$100 million in military aid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Turner, PhD Candidate, University of Adelaide The beloved Asian elephant Tricia died at Perth Zoo this month at the ripe old age of 65, making her one of the world’s oldest elephants. Tricia was born in 1957 and arrived at ...
A bizarre appearance on TV3's New Zealand Today last night has confirmed Leo Malloy does not have the credibility, temperament or capacity to lead and represent Auckland and it should be a suitable epitaph for his campaign, candidate Wayne Brown says. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Holly Seale, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney Back in mid 2020, it was suggested mask use was similar to seat belt wearing in cars. Not everyone wore a seat belt start straight away, but now it’s unheard of to get into a car ...
Latest from the Beehive Our first instinct, on reading of government appointments nowadays, is to check to see who has landed new jobs and what are their family connections to the inhabitants of the Beehive. This follows the disclosure and questioning in recent weeks of certain appointments to public positions. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Blakely, Professor of Epidemiology, Population Interventions Unit, Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne New Zealand, Australia and many countries are experiencing a further Omicron wave driven by the latest BA.4/BA.5 subvariants. ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julaine Allan, Senior lecturer, University of Wollongong At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government’s pandemic response struggled to include the country’s most minoritised groups, including First Nations people. Daily press conferences were broadcast, but the messages were not delivered ...
Essay by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. A scientific hypothesis is a claim that is both plausible and ’empirically’ testable. A hypothesis is the first part of the process of pure science. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathryn Lucas-Healey, Research Fellow, Battery Storage and Grid Integration Program, Australian National University Shutterstock Rooftop solar panels and small batteries are driving Australia’s rapid shift towards renewable energy. Some 30% of detached homes on Australia’s national grid have these systems ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hunter Fujak, Lecturer in Sport Management, Deakin University Wikidata Fellowship A particular eccentricity of the Australian sporting landscape is that, culturally, our football codes remain strongly tied to their geographic origins. Australian rules originates from Melbourne, with the southwestern ...
Analysis - More than 900 doctors warn the health workforce is in serious trouble as the surge in Covid-19 cases and hospitalisations draws a response from the government. ...
OP-ED by Turkish Foreign Minister, Mr Mevlüt Cavusoglu. Turkish Foreign Minister, Mr Mevlüt Cavusoglu. On the evening of July 15, 2016, the “Fethullahist Terrorist Organization” (FETO) launched a bloody coup attempt against the people and the government of my country. Their aim was to establish a radical, fundamentalist regime, loyal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jack Feehan, Research Officer – Immunology and Translational Research, Victoria University Shutterstock COVID cases are surging across Australia. The rise of the BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants of Omicron, and the rapid increase in COVID hospitalisations, has prompted policymakers to expand ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Halsey, Professor, School of Education, Flinders University Shutterstock Students in regional, rural and remote Australia have been behind their urban counterparts on almost every recognised measure of successful schooling for decades. This is unacceptable and has to change. ...
Former airline boss, Christopher Luxon, has been talking the country down a lot recently.
Apparently, we are inward looking and fearful (the smiling PM is on her fifth trade/diplomatic trip in as many weeks). Apparently, Kiwis are sitting around the dining table tonight, concerned (they're not, the ones he's talking to are in Rarotonga or Wanaka). And apparently, businesses are soft and addicted to government support (yet at the same time the government doesn't support them enough).
Not only does former airline boss, Christopher Luxon, speak in boardroom jargon, he speaks in contradictions, and speaks negatively.
It's the last one which he will have to ditch most urgently if he wants to become NZ boss because talking down to the country doesn't work. Kiwis don't like to be told they are scared, soft, and inward looking.
The media to their credit have asked former airline boss, Christopher Luxon, about his gloomy comments, but right now he doesn't seem to be getting the right advice because he doubles down at all of his many stand ups.
I am not unhappy about his negative style because it contrasts so well with the positive style of Jacinda Ardern.
Bad language warning.
Lee Camp ask the most silly question, how will the world end…
Health Minister Andrew Little has a pop at the Nurses Association, describing them as talking with a 'forked tongue'.
This was either a political blunder, or a very calculated and high stakes attack.
The snide forked tongue jab is very rich.
Pay equity negotiations started in 2018 and from the get-go it was understood that when settled back pay would be due.
Little needs to get better advisors. Ones that tell him to stop trying to drive a wedge between nurses and the public.
Ian Powell wrote a piece earlier this month which had a pop at Little, including around the pay equity talks.
"And he is getting stuck into the NZ Nurses Organisation, accusing the union of reneging on a deal on pay equity. Simply not true. The “deal” was agreed to by two negotiating teams, but still required ratification. Following membership feedback, NZNO identified two obstacles to ratification which required resolution. That is not reneging; it is the part of the process called ratification. As a former union leader, Little knows this well."
"Little needs to get better advisors. Ones that tell him to stop trying to drive a wedge between nurses and the public."
Interestingly Ian Powell also said this:
"Little’s poor performance has made him a ministerial liability. A big factor behind this is his failure to recognise the importance of relationships in public health systems."
That is what is really hard to stomach. I had high hopes when Little was appointed.
Union man, seemed to have a degree of 'relatability', heart in the right place…
His deliberate melding of wage negotiation and pay equity settlements to imply nurses were greedy was duplicitious, now this denial that large parts of his workforce feel in crisis. All in the shadow of the pandemic.
David Clark the first MInister of Health was told 5 years ago there was a serious work force shortage. This was before the pandemic.
They hold a worthless enquiry into Mental Health (how many have their been now?) rather than just getting on and hiring/training more staff.
The set up a Cancer Agency ( things have got worse, surgery for cancer being delayed because of the Health workforce shortage).
Then in the middle of a pandemic, rather than spending his every waking hour developing and implementing a plan to increase the workforce, they re-structure the health system, paying Earnst and Young Consultants millons of dollars
This is a massive failure and Little needs to resign.
Do these people not realize what a health system is? Its nurses, Drs, and allied health professionals.
Yea…I had wondered about you. Good to see where you really are. I will keep that in mind.
Andrew Little has called out their union negotiators, not the nurses Pat.
+1 Patricia Bremner
"…not the nurses Pat."
I think you mean 'not the nurses Anker'
Reneged on a deal agreed to in December 2021
"it is very unusual for a union to re-litigate terms of settlement that they have already signed up to"
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300566043/nurses-organisation-uturns-on-pay-equity-agreement-health-minister-says
"And he is getting stuck into the NZ Nurses Organisation, accusing the union of reneging on a deal on pay equity. Simply not true.
The “deal” was agreed to by two negotiating teams, but still required ratification. Following membership feedback, NZNO identified two obstacles to ratification which required resolution.
That is not reneging; it is the part of the process called ratification. As a former union leader, Little knows this well."
New Zealand Nurses Organisation media release, 22 December 2021
"The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) is pleased to advise that it has today signed an Agreement in Principle to settle its Nursing Pay Equity claim for the NZNO and PSA members who work in district health boards (DHBs).
NZNO Industrial Services Manager Glenda Alexander said this settlement is of historical significance because it corrects the long-standing sex-based undervaluation of nursing work.
“This Pay Equity agreement will be absolutely life-changing for many of our members.
“It has been the result of countless hours of data collection and analysis – and then figuring out how it all translates to new pay rates. It is fantastic to finally see that tremendous effort coming to fruition.
“It will do wonders for the future of the profession as well, because it sets a positive pathway for recruitment in years to come.”
https://www.nzno.org.nz/about_us/media_releases/artmid/4731/articleid/6430/nursing-pay-equity-agreed-in-principle
But didn't that still require ratification?
The agreement was signed, then they reneged, hence the Minister's remarks "it is very unusual for a union to re-litigate terms of settlement that they have already signed up to"
Signing an agreement doesn't mean it is ratified. That's the point Ian Powell was making. It's also not how other commentors here are describing it.
Little seems to have had a pop at all and sundry in recent times, including Pharmac, rural health professionals and general practices, Dr John Bonning, and now the Nurses Association. It's strange behaviour for a Minister of Health.
They committed themselves to it when they signed it. Minister Little doesn't suffer fools easily. Sure looks like some needed pulling up.
"They committed themselves to it when they signed it."
No, they didn't. They committed to taking the agreement to ratification. That's the process, and as Ian Powell said, Andrew Little knows that. Little attacking all and sundry is not helpful.
Yeah they did. They were never promised full backpay, yet the NZNO were very happy with the agreement in Dec 2021. The Minister didn't attack all and sundry, as Patricia pointed out @ 3.1.1.1.2 he "called out their union negotiators, not the nurses"
Louis, please give evidence of your assertion "They were never promised full backpay".
Plus as been said a few times now, whatever was signed DID have to be ratified by the union members.
"Health Minister Andrew Little says nurses were never promised back pay"
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300569099/nurses-consider-going-to-era-over-broken-promise-in-pay-equity-deal
"There is a binding agreement in place between the parties, and it should be honoured”
See link @ 3.1.2
Well, certainly seems like it. And yes re Andrew Little.
ffs
Ah! A true English Gentleman …. 'shanked' (in the back!) by immigrants?
How fascist pigs roll.
Eh? What do you mean this is how facist pigs roll.
Oink oink,the trough is over at the daily blog I'm afraid.