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notices and features - Date published:
5:30 pm, June 15th, 2022 - 18 comments
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The current rise of populism challenges the way we think about people’s relationship to the economy.We seem to be entering an era of populism, in which leadership in a democracy is based on preferences of the population which do not seem entirely rational nor serving their longer interests. ...
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Just heard a Professor Lawrenson from Waikato University say on Checkpoint in 2002 we had a ratio of 85 GPs for 100,000 of population. By 2020 this had dropped to 75 per 100,000.
I wonder if this is an ‘unexpected’ by-product of the so called ‘rock-star’ economy, where the Natz imported hundreds of thousands of people to artificially inflate the GDP figures?
If so, the ‘better economic managers’ of the right, are shown to be paper tigers. And fundamentalist Luxon’s government (God help us) would be no better than Key’s gross mismanagement.
I think, it says more about the fact that the numbers of doctors we're training haven't kept up with the population growth. And bearing in mind that it takes a further two (I think) years to train as a GP, once you have your medical degree.
Rural NZ has been signalling loud and clear that there is a critical shortage of GPs for at least the last 20 years. (They're the canary in the mine, since rural practices are the hardest to staff). And, not only GPs, many small towns no longer have a dentist; and lots of veterinary practices are struggling for staff, too.
I feel as though I'm banging on the same point, yet again.
But nothing will change until we start to train significantly more medical professionals. Which will require the Government-of-the-Day (whoever it may be – and I'll cheer whoever accomplishes this) – to force the medical and dentistry and veterinary schools to double or triple the numbers accepted for entry.
Also, just taken a quick look at the immigration stats over the last 20 or so years – Immigration NZ website
https://www.stats.govt.nz/topics/migration
The outstanding, and unusual, peak was in 2019 (before Covid – crashed the totals into negative territory in 2020). I don't know what was going on there – but it certainly wasn't under a National government.
labour need to put all its efforts in to ensuring we have adequate health staff
I'd just like to point out that teachers are an even more important group, and that this stupid country is happily running teachers into the earth as well.
Debatable.
As a parent, we've had to endure some pretty poor teachers over the years (along with some unreservedly excellent ones). You can substitute a reasonable amount with home learning, and out-of-school classes. And, always hope that (in the primary years) next year you'll strike it lucky.
It's pretty hard to do that with health care. I have 3 people in my extended acquaintance network who have terminal cancer. In at least 2 of the cases, it's terminal because it wasn't caught (diagnosed/treated) in time – partly lockdown, partly an overwhelmed medical system, which has months of delays for diagnostic tests and treatment. Medical personnel really do save lives.
Yes, I too have benefitted from the help of superb, dedicated people in the Health System.
But if it is the improvement of society that matters.. Many people like me are certain to die in the near future. (20 years or so.)
All the children in the education system are young, and they are the future. Whether you had some good or bad teachers is not relevant.
If you want a good future, education is even more important than health, and we are still running our teachers into the ground, and there will be no mention of it till next pay round, when (like nurses) teachers will be criticised for striking.
There are better things that the police could be doing than having to protect the guests at a school opening:
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/protesters-crash-pms-speech-christchurch-school
They should have opened the gates and let the protestors in. Into the 'Special Needs' class.
Adrian Orr delivered a speech to other central bank types around the world about why the Reserve Bank of New Zealand is embracing Te ao Maori.
As night follows day this triggered resident racist, David Seymour, who seems determined to extinguish Maori culture, any culture really, in order to make NZ a country indistinguishable from any other in the western world.
I will tell you something which doesn't just verge on self-parody, it is self-parody, and that is David Seymour.
Has it not occurred to him that the reason Maori are hit the hardest by inflation is because of 200 years of confiscation and theft policy which he conveniently cements into permanence by way of pimping unchallengeable property rights for the descendants of white settlers.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/reserve-bank-governor-adrian-orr-shares-maori-perspectives-with-central-bankers/2GTV3TJRMUIDRYGHAS7YFEE3CA/
Sounds about right.
https://twitter.com/SMTuffy/status/1536295258161614849
NEW YORK (AP) — The price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies plummeted Monday after a major cryptocurrency lender effectively failed and halted all withdrawals from its platform, citing “extreme market conditions.”
It’s the latest high-profile collapse of a pillar of the cryptocurrency industry. These meltdowns have erased tens of billions of dollars of investors’ assets and spurred urgent calls to regulate the freewheeling industry.
https://apnews.com/article/cryptocurrency-technology-business-bitcoin-21b37420025d2653a9acbce075b1f7e5
Ireland's mica crisis looks much like our own leaky buildings crisis.
Other than the €420,000 ($707,770) government grant.
CABINET HAS SIGNED off on the mica grant scheme and has extended it to include homeowners in Clare and Limerick.
The estimated cost of the scheme, which is designed to help homeowners whose houses were damaged by the presence of mica in their concrete blocks, now stands at €2.7 billion.
Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien said the total grant amount per home will be capped at €420,000 as previously announced.
https://www.thejournal.ie/mica-redress-scheme-cabinet-5789779-Jun2022/
Australian regulator shuts spot market and directs generators to supply as baseload becomes critical.
https://twitter.com/SStapczynski/status/1536950704807755777
In the US the operators of Freeport the large LNG exporter whose fire stopped production have extended intended stoppage from 90 days to late 2022.Force majeure for existing contracts and Europe and SE asia go to bidding war for decreased supply.
The effects on the US economy will be deflationary as the surplus gas has reduced spot natural gas prices by 21%.
https://twitter.com/SStapczynski/status/1536921215029616641?cxt=HHwWgoDR2ffsntQqAAAA
Does our regulator EA have the same powers?
Likely, yes, without reading the regulations in detail.
Also worth understanding the $300 price cap in Australia took many bids out of the market for gas-fired generation. This comes in automatically when average prices exceed a threshold.
Some of the generators also declined to provide at the cap,with the directed price being higher.
Similar,from memory the minister also has extraordinary powers to invoke direction.( complex set of directions written so no one really understands it)
We would have been in the same boat this week with some south island hydro out and Taranaki TCC scheduled for maintenance this week and next.Contact after discussions with GE got an extension for 750 production hours (peaker station) so into october i think.
Yesterday afternoon with strong wind,solar and full available hydro ( storage being built up for the thermal shut down) spot prices dropped to 12$ mwh for around an hour.
Australia one of the worlds largest coal and gas exporters,with shortages of supply for both for generation as well as forced and unforced maintenance ,big political day tomorrow over there.
Biden invokes the 3 letter word (war) in a letter to Exxon over excess refining margins.
Seen to be doing something b4 the fed ups the ante on inflation tomorrow.
https://twitter.com/JavierBlas/status/1537014456839983106?cxt=HHwWhMCyqamgydQqAAAA