Daily review 14/04/2021

Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, April 14th, 2021 - 43 comments
Categories: Daily review - Tags:

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 …

43 comments on “Daily review 14/04/2021 ”

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  1. gsays 1
    14 April 2021 at 6:15 pm

    While avoiding the term clusterf…., today's balls up around a fibbing MIQ worker, a third party sub-contractor, (this one an overseas owned one) and non compliant front line workers could be avoided if Government departments employed all staff directly.

    The workers can receive appropriate training, be paid appropriately and compliance would be far more assured.

    • Sacha 1.1
      14 April 2021 at 6:23 pm

      It is not even about who employs the workers. There is no shared IT system for recording and managing their vaccinations, let alone ours. Someone decided how urgently that needed to be ready and made arrangements accordingly.

      • gsays 1.1.1
        14 April 2021 at 6:38 pm

        Kinda puts a focus on a long needed reform of the DHBs.

        • Anne 1.1.1.1
          14 April 2021 at 6:47 pm

          Agreed.

          My reckons: Jacinda Ardern was sending a message to recalcitrant MIQ workers. Don't try lying your way out of Covid regulation fails because you'll be found out:

          https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/124834931/prime-minister-jacinda-ardern-alleges-infected-miq-security-guard-lied-about-getting-covid19-tests

          • gsays 1.1.1.1.1
            14 April 2021 at 7:11 pm

            I kinda have a bit of empathy for the worker, more if they are doing it on the minimum wage, lots if they were employed casually or on a zero hour contract.

            • Anne 1.1.1.1.1.1
              14 April 2021 at 8:07 pm

              That's a good point. Chances are they are lowly paid. But it was silly to try and lie their way out of trouble. He/she was unlucky to be the one who picked up the virus and ended up being caught out.

          • DukeEll 1.1.1.1.2
            14 April 2021 at 8:35 pm

            Is there anything a labour politician does that you wouldn't be able to excuse?

            If the government was a lead contractor, and it's subcontractors were breaching the law, what would the actual government do? it would prosecute the lead contractor for breaching H&S and public health violations.

            Instead, this government hides behind "contractors" and uses house privilege to smear there minimum wage workers, who are on minimum wage as the government wants lowest price possible contracts.

            disgusting behaviour all round

            • Muttonbird 1.1.1.1.2.1
              14 April 2021 at 9:06 pm

              What rubbish. This is simply another example of private sector failure. Government agency gives private contractor a job, guard facility and get your workers tested as per the law.

              Private contractor doesn't do it.

              There should be heavy fines involved.

              • Jester …
                14 April 2021 at 11:46 pm

                It's the non existent system that is wrong. When the worker told his employer he had been tested, they should have been able to check a register or database and say no you haven't been, no more work until you have been tested.

                • Muttonbird …
                  15 April 2021 at 8:13 am

                  No. Employers were asked to test their workers, by law. That didn't happen. It's a failure of the private sector and apparently private individuals which, and I agree with you on this, cannot be trusted to do the required thing.

                  What happened to personal responsibility? What's with this desire for big, authoritarian government all of a sudden? Looks like mere political convenience to me, hmmm?

                  • Sacha …
                    15 April 2021 at 8:23 am

                    Trust and verify only works if the infrastructure is there to allow someone's private – or public – employer to see proof. Unless you envisage them chaperoning each worker to the testing station to watch the swab go up their nose.

                    • Muttonbird …
                      15 April 2021 at 8:48 am

                      The employers were asked to ensure their workforce was tested. Much easier to verify compliance at this level. Why are employers allowed to divest themselves of responsibility in this situation?

                    • Sacha …
                      15 April 2021 at 9:11 am

                      How does an employer verify compliance?

                    • Sabine …
                      15 April 2021 at 9:14 am

                      well we then can do with any government oversight, lets all just operate on an honor system, no more Wof, no more building inspections, no more regulations and inspections for food premises etc etc etc

                      The government should and hopefully did make testing a mandatory requirement, should have had in place a system to spot test contractors record keeping to see if they fulfilled their obligation and fwiw, no casual contractors should be working at hte plague hotels.

                      The bucks needs to stop somewhere, but partisanship is no so entrenched that it does not matter how much these useless schmucks
                      with their ‘she’ll be right attitude’ fuck up in their role as final oversight, rather lets bash down to some geezer who seems to be a casual employee on min wage. Classy all the way around and join me in a happy chorus of

                      We don't know how lucky we are…..

                  • DukeEll …
                    15 April 2021 at 10:08 am

                    The government is the employer here. this is a government function. that the contracted it out makes no difference to who is ultimately responsible. Disgraceful behaviour from this government, throwing some minimum wage worker under the lowest price contract under the bus.

                    • Muttonbird …
                      15 April 2021 at 10:17 am

                      The team of 5 million have all been asked to play their part. Most do, but some like this fellow and the KFC worker could not give a shit. It’s all about them.

                    • DukeEll …
                      15 April 2021 at 3:34 pm

                      You mean holding a government as an employer responsible for it's mistakes?

                      Fuck yeah I'm all about that.

                      trying to portray laissez faire government control of a government process as being some sort of libertarian win is weak

              • GreenBus …
                15 April 2021 at 9:28 am

                Bang on Muttonbird. There's a big disconnect in everyone's system when using an outside contractor. They will be left to manage everything themselves with little or no checking up by the main contractor. This is one of the main "benefits" of outsourcing work to contractors. Lowest price driven contractors who need to keep costs to a minimum are taking short cuts because nobody is watching them. Fail.

                • Muttonbird …
                  15 April 2021 at 9:31 am

                  It's like these construction contractors and subcontractors using and exploiting illegal immigrant labour and paying them cash. There’s a whole industry halfway outside the tax system and it is tacitly sanctioned by way of zero scrutiny of how construction companies contract. These people should be in jail but nothing ever happens to them because, the economy.

                  • DukeEll …
                    15 April 2021 at 10:11 am

                    How is your example any different to the government being the lead contractor? the Taxpayer and voters are the consumers here, the government has been handed the social contract to fulfill this function and they've subbed it out to the lowest price. now they're blaming the subbies. pathetic.

                    • Muttonbird …
                      15 April 2021 at 10:15 am

                      You seem to want much bigger government involvement in society and the economy. Odd position from someone of your political persuasion.

              • DukeEll …
                15 April 2021 at 10:06 am

                Government engages private sector to do work it's responsible for and government then brushes it's hands of all responsibility is what you are saying.

                basically agreeing with me.

              • Cricklewood …
                15 April 2021 at 4:53 pm

                Sure, but hiring contractors that in turn use sub contractors or casuals to provide such a critical service is something I'd expect the Nats to do…

                A majority Labour govt not so much… kinda shows how similar they are when you get down to nuts and bolts…

            • Drowsy M. Kram 1.1.1.1.2.2
              15 April 2021 at 12:05 am

              Is there anything a labour politician does that you wouldn't be able to excuse?

              Quite right – there's no excuse; this 'total shambles' is all on Labour party MPs.

              The Best and Worst Places to Be as Global Vaccinations Take Off
              A lightning-fast vaccination drive has propelled Israel toward the top of Bloomberg’s Covid Resilience Ranking, transforming everyday life to put the country alongside New Zealand [#1] and Taiwan as one of the best places to be in the coronavirus era.

              • DukeEll …
                15 April 2021 at 10:12 am

                When a labour government throws a minimum wage worker under the bus and calls them a liar under house privilege as a result of the lack of governance and oversight, it's a shambles and a disgrace.

                • Drowsy M. Kram …
                  15 April 2021 at 4:48 pm

                  Paraphrasing Griffin/Hecht/Bruce:

                  'It's a shambles, it's a disgrace, or it makes you fat!' laugh

                  DukeEll, you're in high dudgeon on behalf of a minimum wage worker – good on you. Note that the opposition parties, National and ACT, are opposed to increasing the minimum wage – funny that.

                  To be fair, the leader of the opposition knows well what it feels like to be thrown under a bus (and maybe more than once), so she at least should be able to muster some genuine sympathy.

                  She said Key had thrown her under a bus.

                • Jester …
                  16 April 2021 at 7:16 am

                  I agree. MIQ / Govt are blaming everyone but themselves and their lack of system. (and wasn't it found out afterwards that the KFC worker was only told to isolate the day after she worked?).

            • Anne 1.1.1.1.2.3
              15 April 2021 at 9:52 am

              Is there anything a labour politician does that you wouldn't be able to excuse?

              What in my reply to gsays @1.1.1 can be interpreted as… excusing a labour politician? You're a nut-bar. P**s off!

              • DukeEll …
                15 April 2021 at 10:14 am

                Jacinda calls someone a liar in the house, under privilege, and you reckons (sic)

                My reckons: Jacinda Ardern was sending a message to recalcitrant MIQ workers. Don't try lying your way out of Covid regulation fails because you'll be found out:

                That's fairly awful behaviour on Jacinda's part to begin with but you see it as all the workers fault and therefore excusable.

                • Muttonbird …
                  15 April 2021 at 10:30 am

                  Why is:

                  Jacinda Ardern…sending a message to recalcitrant MIQ workers.

                  fairly awful behaviour?

                  I think it's great. Some people are extremely stupid and self absorbed. Clearly they need things spelled out to them, like when to say at home and when to get tested.

                • Anne …
                  15 April 2021 at 10:51 am

                  No. You're out of order! You put words and motivations into my mouth [and brain] that weren't there.

                  I agreed with gsays re – a focus on a long needed reform of the DHBs.

                  I went on to suggest Ardern [in response to a question by Judith Collins] made "the person lied" statement in part as a warning to MIQ staff who have not been having regular tests… to get tested [and vaccinated] or else they can expect to be removed.

                  Whether it was the right call is up to each person to decide. I did not pass judgement one way or the other,

    • Rosemary McDonald 1.2
      14 April 2021 at 7:25 pm

      ….could be avoided if Government departments employed all staff directly.

      It's a while back, I understand, but…sigh…

      Government security roles for managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) facilities have only recently been advertised, eight months after the government decided to hire its own security force instead of using private firms.

      https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/covid-19/440404/miq-moving-to-in-house-security-eight-months-after-government-decision

      Better late than never. Ho hum.

      • Pat 1.2.1
        14 April 2021 at 7:37 pm

        MBIE…nothing more needs to be said.

      • gsays 1.2.2
        14 April 2021 at 8:19 pm

        Thanks Rosemary, that is a good start.

        Now get that happening in the DHBs around the country rather than giving a return to random shareholders of security companies.

  2. greywarshark 2
    14 April 2021 at 6:37 pm

    Uncaring bureaucrats at Pharmac. Is this a failure of generic employment methods. They are organising drug supply for needy people, they should be totally honest with their GPs and other appropriate professionals, not about the price but about changes and perhaps have some people willing to trial them, and have fast reactive approaches, plus some available supplies of the old drug.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/439998/woman-lost-job-after-drug-changed-without-her-knowledge

    …"If Pharmac was asked, they said it's all in our heads and it's on us. My GP didn't know. My pharmacist was told it's the same medication and she's like, 'okay, yep'. So who's responsible for this?"

    Hume and two others complained to Health and Disability Commissioner Morag McDowell, who called for intervention from Dr Bloomfield….

    Hume, 28, has had epilepsy since the age of five, and it took her until her early twenties to get her seizures under control.

    She said her life was turned upside down in 2019 when Pharmac switched more than 10,000 people taking the anti-epileptic drug lamotrigine over to a generic form of the drug.

    "I was working for the first time in my life. I'd become stable enough and found a job that I could do. I lost that job because I couldn't cope with the stress," Hume said.

    "I've got a five-year-old, I can't be going from 'yeah, I'm doing well' to 'oh my gosh, I feel like I just can't can't do anything'."

    It was only after Hume's health went downhill that she found her drugs had been switched. Not only was she in the dark – her doctor was too.

    "My GP didn't even know about it. I went to him after I'd seen my neurologist and said this is what's going on – can you help me? And he said 'what brand switch?'."

  3. Peter 3
    14 April 2021 at 7:36 pm

    Someone lied to their boss about being tested Ardern says that, she's the devil incarnate.

    We moan and grizzle about state control and being told exactly what to do and the need to have every element of our lives monitored. We're grown ups, we're trustworthy we don't want to be treated as children. No doubt the Super critics of low trust, high control government are those bitching loudest about Ardern not having draconian paint by numbers systems in place.

    • Sabine 3.1
      15 April 2021 at 7:13 am

      Mandatory testing for all plague hotel staff that is supervised by the government is draconian. Yeah, right Tui.

      Well how draconian would a level 4 shutdown be for another 4 – 8 weeks because some untested casual plague hotel worker gets infected, and carries it about town?

      The government sets the contracts, hands them out and the last buck always stops with the guy who pays – so government oversight that contracts are fulfilled is not 'draconian', but hey, if you are responsible you can't blame some dude on min wage and a casual contract. Bashing down, Labour is good at it too!

      WE don't know how lucky we are…..dadidumdumdum…..