Poor little Sir John. Held to account over the doubtful running of his Bank by Lisa Owens. She is so mean. After all Key is beyond reproach and anyway it was just a few tens of thousands at stake.
There are very adequate medical interventions for blind spots, but quite a queue at Eye Clinics but no doubt bank directors can pull strings, or silken cords. Register at once I would suggest, before similar difficulties arise at your bank or place of business.
Omg what a slippery slimy bastard Key is. So glad he is not our PM. Owen sounded disgusted at the end of the interview.
so this bastard still gets the rest of his years pay and doesn’t have to pay the incorrectly itemised “business” expenses back. What f..ing planet do we live on. Beneficiaries on the breadline in court for not declaring relationships. We sure as hell don’t call it a blind spot. I hold key and his elk in contempt
"Well Lisa I may have got a parking ticket this morning…..but someone else got one yesterday…….."
"But Sir John……but but but….you are the head honcho……..and and………..your in charge of the only bank that is censured and barred from valuing its own capital……..Sir John…….
“Well Lisa Westpac did the same thing 17 times……….”
“But Sir John……….”
“I’m comfortable with it all…..here have a beer……….”
We all charge our wine storage fees to our employers after all…I find it amazing that the left (esp Greens) are often ridiculed for not "living in the real world" but what kind of people live in worlds where "wine storage" is something you think is normal to invoice your company for, far fucking out.
The business world is a different country. In one of my courses relating to business I read about a discussion on those with higher salaries, and the word 'hygiene' connected with them. Strange I thought. And part of the problem was how to lay the appreciation levels on them once they had got so much remuneration that extra was no hook for them. Then the extras like paying for their wine storage would be part of the package.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-factor_theory The two-factor theory (also known as Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory and dual-factor theory) states that there are certain factors in the workplace that cause job satisfaction while a separate set of factors cause dissatisfaction, all of which act independently of each other.
A wee word for our dolphins and new sanctuaries. The minister is right that these sanctuaries will also improve the fisheries overall. Just go diving around some of the sanctuaries already in place, you'll see a startling difference in many fish stocks. Ask the locals, the divers, the local fishermen, they know.
Dolphins – they do not hit set-nets, and, if there is catch in it, they do not hit set-nets being pulled out. The worse problem is drift nets. But…
A set net dropped from a boat is akin to a drift net: as it settles to the bottom it will catch dolphins (if they are happening by). It could be that a sonar device that sounds as the net drops (and lifts, in case it is empty) might help avoid this window where the dolphins do not detect the set nets while moving. The point is, you need the dolphins to be able to detect a net in motion, however that is achieved.
And drift nets should be outright banned.
If you get enough fishermen who run set nets to tell the truth, the very infrequent dolphins pulled up are typically well dead – caught on the way down, on the day before when the net was set.
Think your wires may be a bit crossed there WTB – dolphins can't see monofilament with their sonar. A drift net is something else: "Drift nets hang vertically in the water column without being anchored to the bottom." Set nets as we use the term in NZ lie along the bottom as we do not generally target pelagic species. Contemporary driftnetting targets pelagic species in international waters, with significant bycatch of seabirds. Dolphins prefer pelagic feedfish (they're oilier) especially pilchards. Common dolphins are caught as bycatch when trawling for jack mackerals in shallow water or purse seining. Hectors fish very close to shore and are liable to be taken in set nets in places like Akaroa or Moeraki.
No my wires aren't crossed I'm relaying the above after fishing set-nets from the port of Taranaki. Working as, drinking with, and talking with fishermen.
Nobody wants to catch dolphins, but it does happen. We were six miles out when we caught one. It led the discussion to learn of others.
I was describing a set-net ‘adrift’ as it falls to the bottom. We drop an anchor for it then it spools out and down, essentially drifting.
Personally id like to see all inshore nets banned on the grounds that they are just far too indiscriminate killers of sea life .I think if we,re to have a hope of retaining healthy fishstocks nets are one of the things we,re gonna have to give up .We can still be hunter gatherers without nets and undoubtedly wild fish would be better off .
Pertaining to commercial fishing within a certain number of nautical miles inshore yeah. But we will still need net fishing of some form for commerce and food production.
As for the family who sets a net in a bay to catch a feed for example , …that should be far more generous and less policed , however.
I was always taken by the Japanese way of encouraging breeding grounds off their coasts by the submersion of old tires linked by chain or the even better method of hollow cubed concrete – both forming artificial reefs. These areas could also be designed so they pose no risk to shipping or small private sporting / fishing craft.
What are we surrounded by like Japan?- thousands of kilometers of coastline.
And we can say commercial fishing does not go on around ALL of that and we can also say that most commercial fishing is not conducted immediately off the coast…
Therefore surely we can enhance our fish stocks by creating large areas of artificial reefs and enclaves , and make those areas designated areas and a no go zone for fishing. We have coastline to spare, and we could target those areas where the Maui and Hectors dolphins are generally.
Off course this would be old news to the powers that be and environmentalists, but has any real efforts been made along these lines, – as in mass production of artificial submerged reefs and designated areas etc ?
That's all interesting on fishing and our endangered dolphins or porpoises and I have transferred it to How to… to have on hand. Please everyone, if you are wondering what to do in the future, and various views on things, go back to past How to Get Theres and browse through the archives! It's under DEEP STUFF in Politics.
Agree with ya on the reefs idea wild seems like a no brainer to me too .Not keen on nets tho as ive said above theyre indiscrimanate you could catch one fish or one hundred .IF fish are scarce your gonna worsen that shortage by using nets and since theres virtually nothing you cant catch on a line i think its better to target specifically the fish you wanna catch an just take what you need no free passes for families or non commercial fishers we,re all in this togeather imo
It sounds good. However, artificial reefs are not that easy. An enterprise company tried it at Opunake in Taranaki with the purpose of creating a permanent break for surfers. There was a lot of funding, including from South Taranaki District Council. They spent years and megabucks on it, but the project never succeeded. And this was in a nearshore setting.
Is this proof that it's not what you know but Who You Know? Meaning when it comes to the wealthy compared to the poor there are two different sets of rules and that is the wealthy get more lee-way and chance of getting away with wrong-doings than the poor?
Is John Key's 'eagerness' to protect Hisco because some of the money Hisco 'received' was automatically donated to the NZ National Party?
It puzzles me that Key is so eager to protect his 'mate' Hisco compared to his obsession to get Kim Dotcom to be held accountable in a court in Key's beloved America??!!!!
I got a quick look at their recommendations before I ran out the door this morning and they don’t have a terribly optimistic view of our strategic environment.
I look forward to trading the lot and your and Wayne’s views.
Been chatting to a few people via the internet in between putting power into my "Tank Hanger" and man cave today and we agree that they contradict themselves quite a lot of time.
They also don't seem to understand or meaning of what an Integrated Air Defence System is?
Appear to have no understanding or background of CBRN warfare? I for one wouldn't use a Nuke or a Dirty Bomb on NZ as there is another way of screwing over NZ more effectively and a whole cheaper in equipment and manpower.
They seem to forget that Aircraft limited to so many hrs aka the Hec's and the P3K's are running out of Airframe Hrs rather fast and even Lockheed have said to the MOD/ RNZAF you are about to hit the max's design life of these A/C to a point we can't say what would happen if you go past its max design life hrs.
The Figures quoted for the Frigate replacement are way of the mark and they even added pic's of the RN/RAN Type 26 Frigate which hasn't even left the Slipway and it comes with a Rolls Royce price tag as well (well outside of NZ's price range based on last weeks updated DCP). There are a number of cheaper Frigates the would suit NZ which I post later on.
No mention of NZ's vulnerable Sea Lanes Of Communications which are essential to the well being of nation and generate its wealth via its import and exports especially since our heavy manufacture has gone the way of the dodo and light to medium manufacture industries are struggling to survive in a free market Neo Lib/ Con economic B/S theory.
Lastly this really concerns me "This assessment, therefore, advocates a shift in New Zealand’s military policy; from one that tends to emphasise the purchase of assets designed for ‘force projection’, to one that favours a genuinely defensive military posture, the purpose of which is to protect New Zealand and its diverse peoples from external aggression." They seem to forget that Peacekeeping and Peace enforcement is Force Projection and they have seem to forget the NZDF actions in Timor-Leste in 99 during INTERFET, Bosnia, the Solly's and PNG. In fact to me and others the bench mark for all future Peacekeeping and Peace enforcement missions Chap1 to Chap7 should be on the INTERFET deployment and the lessons learnt from that deployment should be adopted which in this case Ronnie has finally done with release of last weeks updated DCP which is almost 20yrs after the fact.
Anyway I've printed the article off and I'll go though it with a red and hopefully I can do a post without turning it into a War and Peace essay IOT post it on the Standard for deeper discussion.
Key can't remember if he was on the ANZ board (joined Oct '17) when he sold his Omaha beach house to Hisco. Hazy if he was ANZ chairman (became chairman Jan '18) when the beach house sold (Feb '18)!
Former PM still having dodgy and ever so convenient brain fades! Be interesting to see how this one pans out!
Arrrgh me hearty , I loves yer Skull n' swords, reminds me of me old cohort Eddie Teach… I want one just like it for the Black Pearl…
As for your take on the scoundrels callin' themselves the old boys network,… I hear they be havin' it in for us all so I'd best be hoistin’ the anchor and unfurlin’ th' canvas… til we get an honest Governor at least in these here waters…
All that riding in chauffeur driven limousines isn't very good for your back actually – the leather is too soft. Then there's the knowledge you have a cellar load of Chateau Lafite Rothschild waiting to be quaffed back in Sydney. No wonder he fell ill.
Another WTF moment for Tamariki Ora. I found just listening stressful, but then I'm Maori so the 3 Maori babies each week being uplifted affects me more.
I don't care what creed or race the mother and baby are, if the resources are made available to support the mother there are very very few instances where a child should ever be taken from its parents.
Thing is the government is not prepared to invest in these people because most voters believe the family unit must survive without support from the community. That's what neo-liberalism and the market driven philosophy has taught them to believe.
Oranga Tamariki are damned if they do or damned if they don't.
With all due respect we don't know the circumstances and if a kid dies AGAIN people would be saying the complete opposite.
Yes the system looks like it doesn't work support wise in some cases and needs looking at, but a bit of empathy for what the workers have to deal with in a lot of cases wouldn't go amiss.
Like National did when children died of preventable third world respiratory illnesses when they deliberately ran down state housing , letting them become cold, damp , moldy shitholes to try to sell them off to private investors…
I think Chris T that those of us who follow social welfare matters and have done so for this and the past century from study and observation are not impressed by your kindness to Oranga Tamariki and willingness to put your faculties on hold.
In order to meet our 2050 carbon target and do our bit to avoid making the Earth uninhabitable, New Zealand needs to decarbonise our economy, replacing fossil fuels with electricity in the energy, industrial and transport sectors. The good news is that it will mean cheaper power for all of ...
For those folk who find my other Lock-Down Diary versions too “negative” or otherwise unpalatable… Here’s a photo of a pretty flower, . . Better? Tomorrow’s Sanitised Version: a cute animal video. . . . =fs= ...
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As Aotearoa enters week two of lockdown, it’s clear we’re all still working out what our “bubbles” look like and how to stay in them to stop the spread of Covid-19. New to the government’s Covid-19 website is some good guidance for people living in apartment blocks. Recent decades have ...
“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” Lenin Don’t we all know that feeling now.
Prospect Magazine alerted me to this particularly apt quote. It is a much more evocative quote than Hemingway’s “gradually then suddenly” which is also doing ...
Yesterday was the day the consequences of the lockdown suddenly got very real for many. Firms have been closing and laying people off since the outset of the quarantine but this has mostly been happening out of the public eye. The mass closure of a number of iconic New Zealand ...
Brian Williamson1, Prof Nick Wilson2 (1Economic consultant, UK; 2University of Otago Wellington)In this blog, we outline how a win-win social contract could be forged to address the major dimensions of response to the COVID-19 pandemic when using a mitigation strategy: the particular need to protect older people from high ...
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I haven’t done a huge amount in the last few days. I’m reading The Poppy War and I’ve sort of poked at a couple of games – I started SOMA but I’m a wimp and I quit while in the first room after the brain scan. I might try it ...
The swan politicians may be gliding on the water, occasionally snapping at one another. Meanwhile, as the Covid19 crisis illustrates, the officials are desperately paddling below providing the real locomotion. One of the most fatuous recent grandstanding comments (of about a week ago), adding to the public’s anxieties, was ...
Much has been written about the importance of discretion in an emergency situation, and the concerns raised by the potential for it to be exercised arbitrarily. Given the quality of the discussion, there seemed little point in adding to it at any length. In particular, I point to the evidence ...
Today has felt surreal. I was all set to touch base online with my science communication students when a colleague shared the news that Bauer Media would be shutting down its publications immediately. The first link I saw implied it was Woman’s Weekly affected, and even that shocked me. But ...
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Outgoing Police Commissioner Mike Bush appeared before the Epidemic Response Committee today, who asked him for the rules police are using to enforce the lockdown. He refused:Police Commissioner Mike Bush has admitted the advice given to Kiwis about what they're able to do during the lockdown hasn't been clear enough. ...
For those folk who find my other Lock-Down Diary versions too “negative” or otherwise unpalatable… Here’s a photo of my cat, . . Better? Tomorrow’s Sanitised Version: a pretty flower. . . . =fs= ...
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Funnily enough, my thought as I start this post is whether it will be well written enough. Or should that be well enough written? Because so much of what I know about good writing came from my two stints at The Listener, which this morning was shut down due to ...
With normal democratic procedures in abeyance, there were two ways to go. First, it was open for the government to dissolve itself and invite the National Party to join a ministry of national salvation. That would have lessened the democratic deficit of the times by having a team of rivals without ...
Dr Kirsty Ross Children and young people can respond differently in times of distress. This also varies by age and developmental stage, with younger children having more magical and imaginative thinking, and older children having more awareness and knowledge of the issues our communities are facing (which brings up ...
Hungary has been a virtual dictatorship for a decade now, as Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has gradually eroded its democracy. But now, its official, with the passage of an indefinite emergency law allowing rule by decree:Hungary’s parliament has passed a new set of coronavirus measures that includes jail terms for ...
While the economy is on pause under lockdown, the government is beginning to plan how to cope with the post-lockdown, post-tourism, post-export education world we will eventually find ourselves in. They're planning a lot of infrastructure spending as economic stimulus, and have asked for proposals which can start the moment ...
It's my distraction, setting up tiny scenes to photograph. I've got stuck on the Babushka dolls for now. Something about their bubble shape. Something about their never changing, smiling features, suggesting persistent equanimity. Can we get through everything that is being thrown at us and keep at least a tiny ...
. . March 31: Day six of living in lock-down… This time I managed to sleep a little longer and the alarm woke me at the pre-set time: 6.55am. Then remembered I was working a later shift and could’ve slept in. Oh well, there are things to do at home. ...
Image credit:Diamond Harbour School Blogs I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the blog format is altered. If your blog is unexpectedly missing or ...
Yesterday's Horizon poll showing support for a "Yes" vote in this year's cannabis referendum sliding into the majority for the first time in a year looked like good news for reformers – and it probably is. But the result warrants some scrutiny.The poll is the fifth in a series commissioned ...
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The Covid-19 saga will no doubt produce many twists and turns for us before it is finally brought to an end. But one thing it has shown us – and what comfort it should bring us – is that our country’s government is in good hands. I am not thinking ...
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The following statement was released on March 28 by the National Network on Cuba, a coalition of 40 groups, based in the United States. In recent weeks, Cuba has deployed hundreds of medical providers to over a dozen countries in Europe, Asia, as well as to their neighbors in Latin ...
This has been a terrible summer for Hector’s dolphins. The first indication was very low numbers of dolphin sightings during late spring and early summer. The Otago University Marine Mammal Research Team has carried out routine dolphin surveys at Banks Peninsula for more than 30 years. In all that time, ...
On March 17, Finance Minister Grant Robertson was quick out of the blocks with an economic rescue package to help businesses through the inevitable recession resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. Robertson had pulled together a scheme in short order that so far seems to have saved many jobs. In his ...
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. . March 30: Day five of living in lock-down… Woke up still in darkness. Alarm hadn’t gone off. Turn to radio clock; it’s a few minutes after 6am… I lie there in the dark, waiting to drift off to sleep… but it ain’t happening. Clock ticks over to 6.55 ...
The story of Les Gray, the public sector psychologist who told the truth about his use of cannabis and set off a storm, has a special place in the lore of cannabis reform in New Zealand.When Paul Shannon interviewed Gray for the 'Dope and Hope' issue of Planet magazine in ...
by Phil Duncan For Marxists, a key concern about social trends is their context – not just their causes, but why they happen when they do. Events and phenomena have causes, but they also are time or period-specific. While much of the left have capitulated recently to postmodernism, most notably ...
Since the lockdown began, we've all suddenly been reminded who the actually essential workers in our society are: not the people at the top who pay themselves the big bucks and rort the perks, but the people at the bottom they screw over and squeeze: cleaners, warehouse staff, truck drivers ...
Kia ora! As I've watched nearly all my remaining work vanish over the past couple of days, it has occured to me that one good way to keep me away from arguing with fools on Twitter all the time (in the knowledge that all we're really doing is processing our ...
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When the Prime Minister declared a state of emergency last week, she handed the police powers to enforce it. And almost immediately, we started hearing about heavy-handed, arbitrary "enforcement" by police who (at best) cared more about order than law, or (more likely) had no idea what the rules were ...
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by Don Franks Hi David, Nice hearing from you, I’m glad to hear you’re getting by okay in these grim times. You asked how’s it going for us back here in New Zealand. You would have heard that the whole country is locked down and with breaks for exercise and ...
. . Lock Down: Day 3 – A photo essay with observations . March 28: First day of the first weekend in Lock Down. It feels like it’s been weeks since only Level 3 was declared last Tuesday, only four days ago. Woke up this morning to RNZ; coffee; toast, ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week, i.e., Sun, Mar 22, 2020 through Sat, Mar 28, 2020Articles Linked to on FacebookSun, Mar 22, 2020In Just 10 Years, Warming Has Increased the Odds of Disasters by Chelsea Harvey, ...
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Right now low waged and insecure workers are feeling the economic brunt of the looming #Covid19 Recession. In response legal advocate Toby Cooper* and hospitality and worker’s rights advocate Chloe Ann-King, are putting together a series of legal blogs about your employment rights:In this legal blog we outline some ...
by Equipo Jurídico Pueblos and Gearóid Ó Loingsigh (25/03/2020) An escape plan in question On the night of March 21st and the early morning of the 22nd, the forces of the Colombian state stormed into the Modelo prison in Bogotá, murdering 23 prisoners and injuring 83, in response to the ...
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Broad, Sunlit Uplands: How those words fired my young imagination! Or, perhaps, it is more accurate to say: how those words fused, in my young mind, with the image printed on every packet of Fielder’s Cornflour. Always fascinated by history, especially modern history, I cannot hear Churchill’s wonderfully evocative words, even ...
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This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections A respected research group, Project Drawdown, finds that deploying solutions consistent with meeting the Paris climate targets would cost tens of trillions of dollars globally. But crucially, those outlays would also yield long-term savings many times larger than the up-front costs. The new 2020 Drawdown ...
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We’ve been meaning t write something on Cuba and the coronavirus but have just discovered a very good article on the subject in the US left publication Jacobin. The article looks at how Cuba, a poor country but one where capitalism has been done away with, is leading the way ...
In 2018, El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey - two British citizens who had purportedly been stripped of their citizenship by the British government - were captured while fighting for Isis in Syria. The British government then conspired to hand them over to the US, and agreed to provide evidence ...
Transformers: The disaster of the Great Depression was transformed into a new and fairer society by the democratic socialism of the First Labour Government. The disaster of the Covid-19 Pandemic offers a similar transformative possibility to the Labour-NZ First-Green Government. Seize the time, Jacinda! You will never have a better ...
Tamper with The System? Well, we already are. But there's a difference between accidentally trickling sand into a precision gearbox versus formulating a plan to alter it on the fly with improvements in mind. One action is more or less innocently unscrupulous, the other amenable to earning an easy ...
Associate Prof George Thomson, Louise Delany, Prof Nick WilsonWhile it is possible that New Zealand can use intense public health controls to eradicate COVID-19 from the country – we must also plan for other scenarios where thousands of New Zealanders are sick – including many urgently hospitalised.1 Better resilience ...
Kia ora my name is Chloe Ann-King* and I am the founder of Raise the Bar, a campaign and non-profit that gives free legal aid, advocacy and tautoko to hospitality workers in Aotearoa. Right now all over our country hospo workers are being fired at will, having shifts cut or being ...
We're about to do something unprecedented as a nation. We hope that by taking this extraordinary action before a single life in New Zealand has been lost to the deadly novel virus we will save tens of thousands of lives. Our lives. We'll do it together, in households, in isolation ...
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.”So writes the author of Ecclesiastes, a book in the Old Testament that’s counted as a ‘wisdom’ book and written as if by an unnamed king of Jerusalem. But who would have thought there would be a time ...
I was surprised when the prime minister described the Economic Response to Covid-19 package as the ‘largest peacetime government spend in New Zealand's history’. Reflecting – checking through history – I realised that the term ‘spend’ was crucial and the package had no income tax cuts. Even so, it has ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters says getting New Zealanders back home and other travellers out of the country is "a nightmare for our embassies, consuls, and staff around the world".Speaking to NewstalkZB's Mike Hosking, the Foreign Minister said that he gave a clear message to people travelling overseas that they ...
The domestic travel ban has been lifted for stranded foreign tourists trying to get to international airports to fly home, after the Coalition Government announced a plan to help the tens of thousands of foreigners stranded here. Foreign Minister Rt. Hon. Winston Peters spoke with RNZ's Susie Ferguson said foreign ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters believes the country is rediscovering its resilience and self-reliance through its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.He says he is heartened that the mass majority of New Zealanders are following lockdown rules and that the government looking at the future, including paying to keep much ...
New Zealand can emulate the success of the US after the Great Depression by exploiting our own resources to turn the economy around quickly, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says. Mr. Peters told Magic Talk that New Zealand has an opportunity to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic a "superior, ...
All 45 New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) personnel are either on their way back to New Zealand, or already in the country, according to Defence Minister Ron Mark."Twenty-eight personnel arrived back in New Zealand last week and are in isolation at the Royal New Zealand Air Force base in ...
The COVID-19 situation in New Zealand is moving fast - and to avoid what we've seen overseas - the Government's response must be to move fast too. We're committed to keeping New Zealanders safe and well-informed every step of the way. ...
We know people are feeling anxious about COVID-19. While the situation is serious, New Zealand has a world-class health system and we’re well-prepared to keep New Zealanders safe. ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is encouraging New Zealanders overseas to stay where they are amid the COVID-19 pandemic. "We are reaching a point where the best option for most New Zealanders offshore is to shelter in place, by preparing to safely stay where they are.” "This includes following the instructions ...
Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Foreign Minister Winston Peters is encouraging the tens of thousands of New Zealanders travelling overseas to consider sheltering in place, in light of COVID-19. “Since 18 March, we have been warning New Zealanders offshore that the window for flying ...
Ground-breaking law has passed that will decriminalise abortion and ensure women and pregnant people seeking abortions have compassionate healthcare. ...
The Green Party says that the measures announced by the Government today will help families and businesses to prioritise our collective health and wellbeing in the response to COVID-19. ...
As New Zealanders brace for a global downturn due to Covid-19, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says his Coalition Government’s rescue package "more significant" than any other he's seen around the world. The Coalition is to reveal a multi-billion-dollar stimulus plan on Tuesday afternoon designed to cushion the economic blow ...
The Government will be introducing legislation to make changes to the Companies Act to help companies facing insolvency due to COVID-19 to remain viable and keep New Zealanders in jobs. The temporary changes include: Giving directors of companies facing significant liquidity problems because of COVID-19 a ‘safe harbour’ from insolvency ...
The Government’s plan to cushion the blow of COVID-19 by supporting incomes, jobs and businesses, and position the economy to recover has been backed by another international report. International credit rating agency Moody’s today reaffirmed its highest Aaa credit rating on New Zealand, saying the economy is expected to remain ...
National sports organisations have been given certainty of funding to ensure they can remain viable through the COVID-19 pandemic, Sport and Recreation Minister Grant Robertson announced today. “The global spread of COVID-19 has had a significant impact on sport and recreation in New Zealand, including the cancellation or postponement of ...
Changes have been made to allow butchers to process pork, only for supply to supermarkets or other processors or retailers that are open, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor has announced. “We carefully weighed the risk of allowing butchers to open their shops for retail customers, but the risk of spreading COVID-19 ...
Essential workers who take leave from work to comply with public health guidance are being supported with a leave scheme to ensure they will continue to receive income, say the Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Iain Lees-Galloway and Minister for Social Development, Carmel Sepuloni. A number of essential businesses ...
A Government WhatsApp channel has been launched to help make information more easily accessible and shareable in the fight against COVID-19. Govt.NZ, which is free to use on any mobile device, will carry information and news for the public, businesses, healthcare providers, not for profits and local government. It can ...
The Government has announced a plan to enable the safe, orderly exit of tens of thousands of stranded foreign nationals from New Zealand during the current COVID-19 Alert Level 4 restrictions, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters has said. “When we moved into lockdown a week ago, the ...
Health Minister Dr David Clark says the Government is delivering on its commitment to support general practice doctors and nurses, and pharmacies on the front-line of our fight against COVID-19. "For us to overcome COVID-19, we need community health services such as general practice and community pharmacy to step up ...
Justice Susan Thomas has been appointed Chief High Court Judge, Attorney-General David Parker announced today. She replaces Justice Geoffrey Venning who has resigned from the position. David Parker paid tribute to Justice Venning, who he said had stewarded the High Court very capably over the last five years. “On behalf ...
Businesses can start applying to their banks for loans under the Business Finance Guarantee Scheme set up to support the New Zealand economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We’re moving quickly to protect New Zealand businesses, jobs and the economy during this unprecedented global economic shock,” Finance Minister Grant Robertson said. ...
Work is underway looking at measures to speed up consents for development and infrastructure projects during the recovery from COVID 19, to provide jobs and stimulate our economy. Environment Minister David Parker said the COVID-19 pandemic is a serious global crisis that will have a wide ranging and lasting impact ...
Advance payments will be made to transport construction industry contractors to retain the workforce and ensure it is ready to quickly gear up to build projects which will be vital to New Zealand’s COVID-19 economic recovery, Transport Minister Phil Twyford announced today. He said keeping the workforce required to build ...
The Government has tasked a group of industry leaders to seek out infrastructure projects that are ready to start as soon as the construction industry returns to normal to reduce the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford and Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones say. The Infrastructure ...
Work to scale up the health system in preparation for COVID-19 was today outlined by Health Minister David Clark, as he reported back to the new Epidemic Response Committee. “We are well placed to contain the spread of COVID-19. We have taken early and decisive action at our borders, and ...
The Government is refining its COVID-19 essential business guidance to include the distribution of news publications for communities which are hard to reach. The Minister of Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media, Kris Faafoi, said the move was in recognition of the importance for New Zealanders who might be harder to ...
The Government is ensuring supermarkets can open on Easter Sunday so we can buy groceries, but stay closed on Good Friday allowing workers to take a break. This provides a balanced approach and ensures we avoid large queues that two days closure may cause. “Supermarkets will be able to open ...
Following the successful conclusion of the Building Partner Capacity (BPC) mission at Taji, New Zealand defence personnel are returning to New Zealand from Iraq, in accordance with the Cabinet decision made in June 2019, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Ron Mark announced today. “New Zealand is very ...
The State of National Emergency to help stop the spread of COVID-19 has been extended for a further seven days, Minister of Civil Defence Peeni Henare said. The initial declaration on March 25 lasted seven days and can be extended as many times as necessary. “Since we went into isolation ...
New Zealand’s ability to go hard and go early in the fight against COVID-19 has been underpinned by strong Government finances and the growing economy heading into this global pandemic, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. The Treasury today released the Crown financial statements for the eight months to the end ...
Health Minister Dr David Clark says 36 new intensive care beds at Christchurch Hospital’s new Hagley building are being fast tracked so they are available for treatment of COVID-19 patients. The Ministry of Health is working with contractor CPB and Canterbury DHB to enable access to the hospital’s ICU, ...
The Government has fast-tracked up to $1 million to help Air New Zealand move urgent freight to and from New Zealand, with the first flight to Shanghai leaving tonight, Transport Minister Phil Twyford announced today. Phil Twyford says it’s crucial that trade in vital goods such as medical supplies and ...
New Zealand will temporarily remove tariffs on all medical and hygiene imports needed for the COVID-19 response. Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Kris Faafoi said today that the New Zealand Customs Service will apply tariff concessions to all diagnostic reagents and testing ...
Minister of Finance Grant Robertson has clarified that the changes to the wage subsidy scheme announced yesterday mean that employers should be passing on the full subsidy to workers, except in the case where the person’s normal income is less than the level of the subsidy. “We still want employers ...
Medical face masks from the national reserve supply are now being distributed to District Health Boards, while at the same time local production is being ramped up. Yesterday more than 640,000 masks were sent to DHBS – that is an immediate two week supply, with more to follow in coming ...
The Government has made modifications to the wage subsidy scheme to ensure people don’t lose their jobs during the national lockdown. These changes will soften the impact of COVID-19 on workers, families and businesses, and position them to exit the lockdown and look to recovery, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. ...
Farmers whose herds were culled in response to the outbreak of Mycoplasma bovis will be able to minimise the tax treatment of their income in some circumstances. Revenue Minister Stuart Nash says Cabinet has agreed to change the law. It means farmers may be eligible to spread their income over ...
A $27 million dollar package, effective immediately, is being provided to social sector services and community groups to ensure they can continue to provide essential support to communities as we stay at home as a nation to stop the spread of COVID-19, Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni announced. “At ...
“The guilty plea today will provide some relief to the many people whose lives were shattered by what happened on March 15,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. “These guilty pleas and conviction bring accountability for what happened and also save the families who lost loved ones, those who were injured, ...
The Prime Minister is holding daily press conferences to update New Zealanders on the Government's response to COVID-19. Links to videos and transcripts of these updates below. These transcripts also include All of Government press conferences led by Director Ministry of Health's Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield. 25 March: Live update from the Prime ...
Frontline Police numbers have broken through the 10,000 mark for the first time in history as officers step forward to keep the community safe during the COVID19 lockdown. “Two Police graduations in Auckland and Wellington in the past week have been conducted in unprecedented circumstances,” Police Minister Stuart Nash said. ...
Urgent legislation has been passed to support the package of economic and social measures needed to recover from the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. “The COVID-19 Response (Taxation and Social Assistance Urgent Measures) Bill will cushion New Zealanders from the worst economic impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak,” said Revenue Minister ...
From tomorrow, Government support for farmers and growers affected by drought will be expanded and extended across the country, with access to Rural Assistance Payments (RAPS) available throughout the North Island, parts of the South Island and the Chatham Islands, Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni announced. “These challenging conditions have ...
Parliament has passed amendments to legislation that give the Secretary of Education stronger powers to act in the fight to limit the spread of COVID-19, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “They are part of a suite of changes passed under the COVID-19 Response (Urgent Management Measures) Legislation Bill,” Chris ...
Canada, Australia, Chile, Brunei and Myanmar have joined forces with New Zealand and Singapore by committing to keep supply chains open and remove any existing trade restrictive measures on essential goods, especially medical supplies, in the face of the Covid-19 crisis. Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker today welcomed ...
Immediate freeze on rent increases Tenancies will not be terminated during the lock-down period, unless the parties agree, or in limited circumstances Tenants who had previously given notice can stay in their if they need to stay in the tenancy during the lock-down period Tenants will still be able to ...
As New Zealand unites to lock-down in the fight against COVID-19, the Finance Minister is urging all businesses and workers to stay connected over the next four weeks. “We understand the extreme pressure many businesses are under right now. I know most business owners think of their workers as family ...
A State of National Emergency has been declared across the country as the Government pulls out all the stops to curtail the spread of COVID-19. “Today we put in place our country’s second ever State of National Emergency as we fight a global pandemic, save New Zealanders’ lives and prevent ...
Mr Speaker I wish to make a Ministerial Statement under Standing Order 347 in relation to the recent declaration of a State of National Emergency. Having considered the advice of the Director Civil Defence Emergency Management, the Minister of Civil Defence declared a State of National Emergency for the whole of ...
People needing to travel on domestic flights, trains and Cook Strait ferries to get home before the country moves into level 4 lock-down tomorrow night will be able to continue using the passenger services until midnight on Friday, Transport Minister Phil Twyford said today. Domestic passenger services, particularly ferries, have ...
The Government, retail banks and the Reserve Bank are today announcing a major financial support package for home owners and businesses affected by the economic impacts of COVID-19. The package will include a six month principal and interest payment holiday for mortgage holders and SME customers whose incomes have been ...
Assessing the economic impact of Covid-19 requires a new approach to a problem economists have not encountered in modern times, writes Dr Kirdan Lees Covid-19 has presented quite a problem for economists. Containment policies that seek to flatten the Covid-19 curve or eliminate the virus, restrict economic activity. All governments ...
Every day at 1pm New Zealand’s Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield announces precise figures on the number of confirmed and probable cases of Covid-19 in the country. He is working on the best information available, and during this week the level of community transmission was put at around ...
Most of New Zealand's MPs are in lockdown just like the rest of us, confined to their neighbourhoods and stuck in their bubbles. Checkpoint called a few to ask them what they're doing. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Deery, Lecturer in Early Childhood Education, University of Melbourne “Stupid coronavirus!” I heard my six-year-old mumble while talking in her sleep. Earlier that day her swimming and basketball lessons were cancelled, a birthday party postponed, and she had to race with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tuffley, Senior Lecturer in Applied Ethics & CyberSecurity, Griffith University “Zoombombing” in case you haven’t heard, is the unsavoury practice of posting distressing comments, pictures or videos after gatecrashing virtual meetings hosted by the videoconferencing app Zoom. With hundreds of millions ...
Analysis - A leading epidemiologist says health authorities 'really have no idea' of the extent of community spread, Parliament's Epidemic Response Committee gets its teeth into what's going on during the lockdown and the horrendous economic imp ...
The fifth in our new series of charts, graphics and data visualisations by Chris McDowall, covering the Covid-19 epidemic within New Zealand. We’ll publish the latest set each day on The Spinoff.This work is entirely funded by the generosity of The Spinoff MembersInformation about confirmed and probable cases of Covid-19 ...
The Finance Minister says struggling companies will be able to put some debt into hibernation, under new legislation unveiled today. Watch the latest government update here. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Lund, Commissioning Editor, The Conversation Editor’s note: The following is current as at April 3, 2020. Things are changing quickly so best to keep an eye on the latest information from WA Health, as well as the federal government.This article ...
During the challenges associated with lockdown, the Māori Party are congratulating Ngāti Ruanui and South Taranaki on the decision of the Court of Appeal, announced today, to stop Trans-Tasman Resources plans for risky seabed mining off the South ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sunanda Creagh, Head of Digital Storytelling What does the COVID-19 pandemic sound like? For this episode, Dallas Rogers – a senior lecturer in the School of Architecture, Design and Planning at the University of Sydney – asked academic colleagues from all over ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sven Gallasch, Lecturer in Law, Swinburne University of Technology “People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion,” wrote Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations (published in 1776), “but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the ...
Environment Minister David Parker has directed officials to find ways to fast-track consents for infrastructure and development projects. He says his goal is to help create a pipeline of projects so that some can start immediately once Covid-19 restrictions are lifted “so people can get back into work as fast ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin Spain and Switzerland top cases, countries converging. Chart by Keith Rankin.Spain and Switzerland top cases, countries converging. Chart by Keith Rankin.Of the larger European countries, Italy is now in third place for known cases per person in the population. Spain has overtaken Switzerland for ...
Contact tracing is a crucial part of the Covid-19 puzzle and technology might prove essential to scaling up New Zealand's tracing capacity, Marc Daalder reports With the lockdown reducing physical contact between members of the public and testing ramping up, the only missing piece of the Covid-19 puzzle is contact tracing. ...
Insolvency laws will be temporarily changed to allow troubled companies to trade while technically insolvent Finance Minister Grant Robertson has announced changes to the Companies Act to allow companies to put their debts into "hibernation". Robertson said companies facing liquidity problems would have "safe harbour" from their normal insolvency duties ...
Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Ruanui and Te Kaahui o Rauru are celebrating the decision of the Court of Appeal, announced today, to stop Trans-Tasman Resources plans for risky seabed mining off the South Taranaki Bight. The Court of Appeal found that there ...
Bernard Hickey talks to Kiwibank Chief Economist Jarrod Kerr about a massive spike in US jobless claims, and they talk about an inspiring Kiwi app to fight Covid-19 globally. Guest, Pie Funds chief executive Mike Taylor also joins them to talk about the massive market swings and hopes for recovery. Bernard zooms out ...
Political commentators from the left and right sides of the political divide are questioning the powers being exercised by police during the nation-wide “lockdown”. The Asian Invasion 2019 blog draws attention to the warning sounded by former UK Supreme Court Justice Jonathan Sumption when he challenged Covid-19 actions by British ...
Pacific Media Watch The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) has strongly condemned the shoot-to-kill order by President Rodrigo Duterte this week as a ‘dangerous’ opening to target and kill anyone in a public space. “We are raising the alarm in the international community on President ...
The Reserve Bank looks set to start buying council bonds as well as Government bonds to unfreeze financial markets and allow councils to defer rates and jointly invest in infrastructure with the central Government, Dileepa Fonseka reports In what would be another unprecedented move to calm financial markets and help ...
Four PhD students engaged a clinical psychologist to help them navigate an uncertain time in their studies. They share their findings here.As four PhD students from Massey University’s Joint Centre for Disaster Research we, like many others, can’t stop reading and talking about the unfolding events that have gripped our ...
The SpinoffBy Ashleigh Rushton, Lisa McLaren, Marion Tan & Sara Harrison
Covid-19 testing of the wider population is on the cards as World Health Organisation research shows people are most contagious within their first few days of being infected Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield says Covid-19 carriers are highly infectious when they show few signs of carrying the virus. People were ...
Z Energy is the latest company to cut its dividend payout and start talking to its banks about strengthening its finances. Chief executive Mike Bennetts said the company, the largest fuel retailer in the country, had been battered by a range of issues over the past 18 months, and was ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Melissa Kang, Associate professor, University of Technology Sydney Young people in Australia are among the fastest-growing group to contract COVID19. According to the Department of Health, there are now more cases in Australia among people aged 20 – 29 years than any ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cassandra Pattinson, Research Fellow, The University of Queensland Getting a good night’s sleep can be difficult at the best of times. But it can be even harder when you’re anxious or have something on your mind – a global pandemic, for example. ...
Journalist and Great Barrier Island resident Lindsay Wright reflects on outer gulf pandemic preparedness. Hardy locals can tough it out but Auckland bach owners and boaties should keep their distance. Aotea Great Barrier, the easternmost island in the Hauraki Gulf, are undergoing a Covid-19-inspired population flood. Great Barrier has scenery that makes ...
The Pharmaceutical Society of New Zealand is delighted that the government has moved quickly to provide an initial financial support package for pharmacy. The $15 million package was paid this week to pharmacy contract holders. Pharmaceutical Society president ...
How is Covid-19 spreading within the country? Newsroom is collating information as it's available to paint a picture of what's happening.The following charts are based on numbers shared at the daily press conference and are "as of 9am" of the day. There were 71 new cases of Covid-19 in ...
A new poem by Wellington poet and bookseller Ash Davida Jane. washed up! it gets tiring pushing the fire alarm every nightbut things keep catching on fireor sometimes ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Charles Foster, Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Sydney Our earliest vertebrate (animals with backbones) ancestors laid eggs, but over millions of years of evolution, some species began to give birth to live young. There is a traditional dichotomy in vertebrate reproduction: species ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Charles Foster, Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Sydney Our earliest vertebrate (animals with backbones) ancestors laid eggs, but over millions of years of evolution, some species began to give birth to live young. There is a traditional dichotomy in vertebrate reproduction: species ...
Welcome to the second edition of our lockdown Top 10s. A reminder that this chart has nothing to do with sales or launches or the publishing cycle; these are just books the Unity team love – and this week it’s westerns, full of big skies and long rides and showdowns.AUCKLANDAll ...
Wellington Mayor Andy Foster’s plan to cover revenue shortfalls through borrowing without cutting low priority spending is immoral, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union . “Businesses and households across the country are meeting financial challenges ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kevin John Brophy, Emeritus Professor of Creative writing, University of Melbourne “Katrina, I had in mind a prayer, but only this came,” Bruce Dawe wrote to his infant daughter, new-born, in intensive care, her life in the balance, declaring as poets must ...
The shock closure of Bauer NZ – and with it all of the country’s current affairs magazines – is a stark reminder of the fragile state of local media, writes Mel Bunce, the author of a book on the subject.It is a dark week for journalism in New Zealand, with ...
Join Leonie Hayden as she works through the first four weeks of Scotty Morrison’s Māori Made Easy.Rāmere/FridayWe made it to the end of week one e te whānau. It wasn’t that hard! In fact it was… Māori made easy.To end our week of pronunciation practice we’re going to revisit everything we ...
India faces more challenges battling Covid-19 than any other country in the world. With 1.3 billion inhabitants, hundreds of different languages spoken, and an estimated 80% of the workforce daily wage earners currently without jobs, it could be a recipe for disaster.I’ve been living in India for more than three ...
By Sri Krishnamurthi of Pacific Media Watch The Vanuatu government is using the Covid-19 to impose draconian measures and authoritarian rule by end of last month. Wholesale censorship of all Covid-19 related content has been instituted. Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) took the extraordinary step to ...
People with lower credit scores increased their borrowing upon news of the lockdown, while those with higher scores dropped away. March data from the credit-reporting agency Centrix, which runs credit checks on behalf of banks, finance companies, online lenders, and buy now pay later schemes, showed credit inquiries dropped sharply ...
Small business owners say commercial rent relief is desperately needed if they are to survive past the Covid-19 disruptions. While the wage subsidy helped with staff costs, there is currently no government assistance for commercial rent - which typically accounts for 40 percent of a firm's fixed costs. Landlords and ...
SkyCity is making 200 staff redundant as part of cost cutting because of the Covid-19 virus. The casino operator said it had no choice but to cut the size of the workforce given that once business resumes it will be at much reduced level. Chief executive Graeme Stephens said it's ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Glikson, Earth and paleo-climate scientist, Australian National University At several points in the history of our planet, increasing amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have caused extreme global warming, prompting the majority of species on Earth to die out. In ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand. Today’s contentMedia Henry Cooke (Stuff): There’s no easy way for Government to save media drowning. But a fast fix is ...
Just after midday a cyclist was killed on a straight road on a clear day, after being hit by a van in North Canterbury. Lucinda Rees from NZ School Speeds is asking for the mandatory cyclist/vulnerable road user passing gap, which is in consultation, ...
By Indra Singh in Suva Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says that if Fijians continue to disregard the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic directives from authorities, a nationwide 24-hour curfew could be imposed. His comments come as Fiji yesterday recorded its two latest coronavirus cases, taking the total to seven. Bainimarama said ...
In our new series The Lockdown Letters, some of New Zealand’s best writers tell us what they’ve been up to in the days of Covid-19 alert level four. Today, Ōtaki author Renée.Yes, a few cyclists out and about. I remember my first bike bought from Farmers around 1942, five shillings a ...
Internal memos from NZ’s biggest magazine company, which announced its sudden closure yesterday, state they were lobbying to change a ban on publication. But the minister responsible, Kris Faafoi, has doubled down on rejecting that position, calling those internal communications ‘contradictory’ to what they said to him directly.Magazine publishing giant ...
Up to 100,000 foreigners could be seeking to leave the country in coming weeks, now the Government has relaxed domestic travel restrictions for them. ...
The loss of a loved one can be difficult in the best of times. But it’s even more painful when the planes are grounded.Late on Saturday night, three days into New Zealand’s level four lockdown, Harish got a call from his sister in India telling him that his father had ...
Health Minister David Clark has flouted the Government's advice to exercise locally after confirming he drove to a park to go mountain biking on Thursday. ...
Covid-19 cases top 1m; Trump brags he's #1 on Facebook and says he knows about the virus because a 'friend' got it; UK testing scandal grows; Cats more vulnerable to virus than dogsTicking up to a million cases: A gruesome landmark was passed today when we go over one million ...
“So do not fear, I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” Isaiah 41:10 COVID-19 - Lock down: one week on Welcome to the latest Policy Watch ...
Workers at the Port of Lyttelton are resisting the introduction of casual cargo handlers due to concerns about COVID19. RMTU South Island Organizer John Kerr says there is concern about a Lyttelton Port Company (LPC) proposal to "bring in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Strangio, Associate Professor of Politics, Monash University One of Australia’s preeminent historians, Stuart Macintyre, once observed of John Curtin, the Labor Party leader revered for navigating this nation through the dangers of the second world war, that he would have ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Geoff Hanmer, Adjunct Professor of Architecture, University of Adelaide New research the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that SARS CoV 2, which causes the disease known as COVID-19 coronavirus, is more stable on plastic and stainless steel than on cardboard or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW The Australian government’s JobKeeper wage subsidy, estimated to cost A$130 billion, is a crucial measure to help keep the economy from completely cratering. But, even if COVID-19 is sufficiently under control for the economy to return ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gordon Menzies, Associate Professor of Economics, University of Technology Sydney During this pandemic, our twin health and economic crises require two different types of concern, and they operate differently. For the health crisis, a high level of concern is necessary. Saving lives ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Harriette Richards, University of Melbourne Times of instability and crisis produce increased nostalgia for the past. We long for a time that no longer exists, or never existed. Like melancholy, nostalgia is a sentiment of loss – one that’s particularly familiar to ...
RBNZ bans bank dividends; Who is next after Bauer's shock closure? Vital plan blocked; Commission wins in real estate price fixing case; Softbank walks out WeWorkNo you won’t: The Reserve Bank took the unprecedented step of prohibiting the banks from paying dividends during the coronavirus crisis or redeeming any ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Media reels after horror week, Wellington Council facing massive budget crunch, and highest single day of new Covid-19 cases.It had always been clear that this was going to be a difficult time for the media, with the Covid-19 downturn hitting ...
Former National Finance Ministers Steven Joyce and Bill English question the severity of the Covid-19 lockdown and ask whether the Government has an exit strategy. Andrew Patterson reports. Steven Joyce and Bill English have seen their fair share of financial crises and natural disasters as the last National Government's finance ...
There is no sign the government will tighten quarantine controls for those arriving at the border, in response to calls from the Opposition to quarantine and test everyone. ...
Two new cases of Covid-19 have been identified in Fiji, prompting a lockdown of its capital. Teuila Fuatai reports. Fijian health authorities are scrambling to identify close contacts of its latest two Covid-19 cases. The couple, from Nabua, Suva, appear unrelated to the country’s previous five. Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama ...
Christchurch is a city of contrasts, as some stretch their legs with smiles and others with suspicion. David Williams reports It was no surprise it happened in Christchurch’s student quarter. The smiles of those standing at their gates in Ilam Road broadened as a baby kayak strapped to a skateboard ...
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level four. The country is shut down, apart from essential services. For updated official government advice, see here.The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The ...
How long does it take to recover, how do you know you’ve recovered and can you catch Covid-19 twice? If you’ve had Covid-19 when are you officially recovered? Turns out there’s no test in New Zealand. It's judged by time of onset and last symptoms. How do I tick the ...
The first thing to note about the partying Queenstown backpackers is these acts of youthful rebellion are not an isolated phenomenon. As I write this on April 1, The Guardian is reporting on a group of people in their 20s who took the opportunity to celebrate Spring Break in the ...
Every Friday of lockdown, LockerRoom will share posts from Kiwi sportswomen who've caught our eye with novel ways of keeping on top of their game at home. This week we have Black Ferns making their own training equipment, a Kiwi professional cyclist virtually racing against riders around the world, and ANZ Premiership netballers calling their ...
Steve Braunias pays tribute to the Listener, closed yesterday in the wake of Covid-19's devastation of the economy. This piece to mark the end of the Listener is exactly how I started writing for the Listener: late at night, with instant coffee, in a state of shock. The shock then ...
Suzanne McFadden speaks to two Kiwi 'bubbles' who have unanticipated - but serendipitous - housemates. Sue Bremner has found a silver lining to the brooding cloud of lockdown – it’s meant getting to know the sister who never knew she existed for almost 65 years. Englishwoman Bremner has found herself holed ...
Daily review 17/06/2019 
Daily review is also your post.
We must root out the traitors among us! ...2 hours ago
In order to meet our 2050 carbon target and do our bit to avoid making the Earth uninhabitable, New Zealand needs to decarbonise our economy, replacing fossil fuels with electricity in the energy, industrial and transport sectors. The good news is that it will mean cheaper power for all of ...10 hours ago
For those folk who find my other Lock-Down Diary versions too “negative” or otherwise unpalatable… Here’s a photo of a pretty flower, . . Better? Tomorrow’s Sanitised Version: a cute animal video. . . . =fs= ...11 hours ago
As Aotearoa enters week two of lockdown, it’s clear we’re all still working out what our “bubbles” look like and how to stay in them to stop the spread of Covid-19. New to the government’s Covid-19 website is some good guidance for people living in apartment blocks. Recent decades have ...13 hours ago
Yesterday was the day the consequences of the lockdown suddenly got very real for many. Firms have been closing and laying people off since the outset of the quarantine but this has mostly been happening out of the public eye. The mass closure of a number of iconic New Zealand ...14 hours ago
Resuming Normal Service: The Republican Party's nominee for in 1920, Warren Harding, promised the American people: “not heroics, but healing; not nostrums, but normalcy; not revolution, but restoration”. If she wishes to remain our prime minister, then Jacinda Ardern will offer New Zealanders the same.HOW EDUCATED AMERICA snickered when the ...16 hours ago
by Daphna Whitmore A third of the world is under lockdown and a clear assessment of this measure to curb the spread of COVID-19 is urgently needed. With any high-stakes decisions it has to be asked what are we dealing with here? Are the measures warranted? Will they achieve their ...22 hours ago
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Foreign Minister Winston Peters says getting New Zealanders back home and other travellers out of the country is "a nightmare for our embassies, consuls, and staff around the world". Speaking to NewstalkZB's Mike Hosking, the Foreign Minister said that he gave a clear message to people travelling overseas that they ...9 hours ago
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Glazed, like a pig on a spit.
Poor little Sir John. Held to account over the doubtful running of his Bank by Lisa Owens. She is so mean. After all Key is beyond reproach and anyway it was just a few tens of thousands at stake.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint
"CEO leaves due to a "blind spot."
Most burglars would like to claim "blind spot" as an excuse but I doubt a judge woul not wear it. Sir John's hands a very clean.
Seems like a severe punishment for what may be a relatively minor indiscretion
but I do think Sir Johns lips were moving!
Minor discretion ?
Not what I hear from an insider, I think he's gone to spare the company and him a great deal of embarrassment.
I’m sure you are right but oh the irony
I think he's gone to spare John Key a great deal of embarrassment.
I involuntarily washed my hands after that interview.
Roast pork anyone?
Never mind, don't eat it ,… it tastes bad.
Been raised and fed on dirty money gleaned from poor peoples minimum wages, thus tastes and looks like old cardboard.
A junior staffer at fault. Now where have we heard that before?
Those sneaky junior staffers !
Where can a CEO capitalist or politician neo liberal rorter get a decent junior staffer these days?
One who knows how to shut their mouths?
I was starting to wonder that myself. Is there a union for "junior staffers".
Radionz
ANZ CEO leaves due to 'blind spot' on recording expenses – John Key https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018700014/anz-ceo-leaves-due-to-blind-spot-on-recording-expenses-john-key
There are very adequate medical interventions for blind spots, but quite a queue at Eye Clinics but no doubt bank directors can pull strings, or silken cords. Register at once I would suggest, before similar difficulties arise at your bank or place of business.
Do you think 'blind spot' will wash with the IRD when I file my tax return this week?
They will look tell you to 'wash' your eyes and get the 'sleep' out, and give you one day to pay or it's to the salt mines for you.
Omg what a slippery slimy bastard Key is. So glad he is not our PM. Owen sounded disgusted at the end of the interview.
so this bastard still gets the rest of his years pay and doesn’t have to pay the incorrectly itemised “business” expenses back. What f..ing planet do we live on. Beneficiaries on the breadline in court for not declaring relationships. We sure as hell don’t call it a blind spot. I hold key and his elk in contempt
Me too Anker. One rule for the rich etc…
hmmmm Now about those Sub Prime Mortgages….
https://aotearoaawiderperspective.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/john-key-and-the-subprime-crisis.pdf
Then there's the bach that whatshisface sold to Hisco…maybe(?) before he became a director…(on Stuff)
It was sold in January 2018. Key was a bit vague about that but it was checked out. About $3million +.
"But Sir John…….but but but….."
"But Lisa on the other side of the coin…….."
"But Sir John why haven't you resigned……."
"Well Lisa I may have got a parking ticket this morning…..but someone else got one yesterday…….."
"But Sir John……but but but….you are the head honcho……..and and………..your in charge of the only bank that is censured and barred from valuing its own capital……..Sir John…….
“Well Lisa Westpac did the same thing 17 times……….”
“But Sir John……….”
“I’m comfortable with it all…..here have a beer……….”
We all charge our wine storage fees to our employers after all…I find it amazing that the left (esp Greens) are often ridiculed for not "living in the real world" but what kind of people live in worlds where "wine storage" is something you think is normal to invoice your company for, far fucking out.
The business world is a different country. In one of my courses relating to business I read about a discussion on those with higher salaries, and the word 'hygiene' connected with them. Strange I thought. And part of the problem was how to lay the appreciation levels on them once they had got so much remuneration that extra was no hook for them. Then the extras like paying for their wine storage would be part of the package.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-factor_theory
The two-factor theory (also known as Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory and dual-factor theory) states that there are certain factors in the workplace that cause job satisfaction while a separate set of factors cause dissatisfaction, all of which act independently of each other.
https://study.com/academy/lesson/hygiene-factors-definition-lesson-quiz.html
A wee word for our dolphins and new sanctuaries. The minister is right that these sanctuaries will also improve the fisheries overall. Just go diving around some of the sanctuaries already in place, you'll see a startling difference in many fish stocks. Ask the locals, the divers, the local fishermen, they know.
Dolphins – they do not hit set-nets, and, if there is catch in it, they do not hit set-nets being pulled out. The worse problem is drift nets. But…
A set net dropped from a boat is akin to a drift net: as it settles to the bottom it will catch dolphins (if they are happening by). It could be that a sonar device that sounds as the net drops (and lifts, in case it is empty) might help avoid this window where the dolphins do not detect the set nets while moving. The point is, you need the dolphins to be able to detect a net in motion, however that is achieved.
And drift nets should be outright banned.
If you get enough fishermen who run set nets to tell the truth, the very infrequent dolphins pulled up are typically well dead – caught on the way down, on the day before when the net was set.
Think your wires may be a bit crossed there WTB – dolphins can't see monofilament with their sonar. A drift net is something else: "Drift nets hang vertically in the water column without being anchored to the bottom." Set nets as we use the term in NZ lie along the bottom as we do not generally target pelagic species. Contemporary driftnetting targets pelagic species in international waters, with significant bycatch of seabirds. Dolphins prefer pelagic feedfish (they're oilier) especially pilchards. Common dolphins are caught as bycatch when trawling for jack mackerals in shallow water or purse seining. Hectors fish very close to shore and are liable to be taken in set nets in places like Akaroa or Moeraki.
No my wires aren't crossed I'm relaying the above after fishing set-nets from the port of Taranaki. Working as, drinking with, and talking with fishermen.
Nobody wants to catch dolphins, but it does happen. We were six miles out when we caught one. It led the discussion to learn of others.
I was describing a set-net ‘adrift’ as it falls to the bottom. We drop an anchor for it then it spools out and down, essentially drifting.
Personally id like to see all inshore nets banned on the grounds that they are just far too indiscriminate killers of sea life .I think if we,re to have a hope of retaining healthy fishstocks nets are one of the things we,re gonna have to give up .We can still be hunter gatherers without nets and undoubtedly wild fish would be better off .
Pertaining to commercial fishing within a certain number of nautical miles inshore yeah. But we will still need net fishing of some form for commerce and food production.
As for the family who sets a net in a bay to catch a feed for example , …that should be far more generous and less policed , however.
I was always taken by the Japanese way of encouraging breeding grounds off their coasts by the submersion of old tires linked by chain or the even better method of hollow cubed concrete – both forming artificial reefs. These areas could also be designed so they pose no risk to shipping or small private sporting / fishing craft.
What are we surrounded by like Japan?- thousands of kilometers of coastline.
And we can say commercial fishing does not go on around ALL of that and we can also say that most commercial fishing is not conducted immediately off the coast…
Therefore surely we can enhance our fish stocks by creating large areas of artificial reefs and enclaves , and make those areas designated areas and a no go zone for fishing. We have coastline to spare, and we could target those areas where the Maui and Hectors dolphins are generally.
Off course this would be old news to the powers that be and environmentalists, but has any real efforts been made along these lines, – as in mass production of artificial submerged reefs and designated areas etc ?
That's all interesting on fishing and our endangered dolphins or porpoises and I have transferred it to How to… to have on hand. Please everyone, if you are wondering what to do in the future, and various views on things, go back to past How to Get Theres and browse through the archives! It's under DEEP STUFF in Politics.
Agree with ya on the reefs idea wild seems like a no brainer to me too .Not keen on nets tho as ive said above theyre indiscrimanate you could catch one fish or one hundred .IF fish are scarce your gonna worsen that shortage by using nets and since theres virtually nothing you cant catch on a line i think its better to target specifically the fish you wanna catch an just take what you need no free passes for families or non commercial fishers we,re all in this togeather imo
It sounds good. However, artificial reefs are not that easy. An enterprise company tried it at Opunake in Taranaki with the purpose of creating a permanent break for surfers. There was a lot of funding, including from South Taranaki District Council. They spent years and megabucks on it, but the project never succeeded. And this was in a nearshore setting.
Is this proof that it's not what you know but Who You Know? Meaning when it comes to the wealthy compared to the poor there are two different sets of rules and that is the wealthy get more lee-way and chance of getting away with wrong-doings than the poor?
Is John Key's 'eagerness' to protect Hisco because some of the money Hisco 'received' was automatically donated to the NZ National Party?
It puzzles me that Key is so eager to protect his 'mate' Hisco compared to his obsession to get Kim Dotcom to be held accountable in a court in Key's beloved America??!!!!
Hi everyone,
Has anyone heard of this group called the “The 42 Group”? I haven’t yet read there Defence Policy yet as I’m about to go out?
http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/1906/42_Group__Independent_Strategic_Defence_Policy_Assessment_for_NZ__2018__v1.0.pdf
I got a quick look at their recommendations before I ran out the door this morning and they don’t have a terribly optimistic view of our strategic environment.
I look forward to trading the lot and your and Wayne’s views.
Been chatting to a few people via the internet in between putting power into my "Tank Hanger" and man cave today and we agree that they contradict themselves quite a lot of time.
They also don't seem to understand or meaning of what an Integrated Air Defence System is?
Appear to have no understanding or background of CBRN warfare? I for one wouldn't use a Nuke or a Dirty Bomb on NZ as there is another way of screwing over NZ more effectively and a whole cheaper in equipment and manpower.
They seem to forget that Aircraft limited to so many hrs aka the Hec's and the P3K's are running out of Airframe Hrs rather fast and even Lockheed have said to the MOD/ RNZAF you are about to hit the max's design life of these A/C to a point we can't say what would happen if you go past its max design life hrs.
The Figures quoted for the Frigate replacement are way of the mark and they even added pic's of the RN/RAN Type 26 Frigate which hasn't even left the Slipway and it comes with a Rolls Royce price tag as well (well outside of NZ's price range based on last weeks updated DCP). There are a number of cheaper Frigates the would suit NZ which I post later on.
No mention of NZ's vulnerable Sea Lanes Of Communications which are essential to the well being of nation and generate its wealth via its import and exports especially since our heavy manufacture has gone the way of the dodo and light to medium manufacture industries are struggling to survive in a free market Neo Lib/ Con economic B/S theory.
Lastly this really concerns me "This assessment, therefore, advocates a shift in New Zealand’s military policy; from one that tends to emphasise the purchase of assets designed for ‘force projection’, to one that favours a genuinely defensive military posture, the purpose of which is to protect New Zealand and its diverse peoples from external aggression." They seem to forget that Peacekeeping and Peace enforcement is Force Projection and they have seem to forget the NZDF actions in Timor-Leste in 99 during INTERFET, Bosnia, the Solly's and PNG. In fact to me and others the bench mark for all future Peacekeeping and Peace enforcement missions Chap1 to Chap7 should be on the INTERFET deployment and the lessons learnt from that deployment should be adopted which in this case Ronnie has finally done with release of last weeks updated DCP which is almost 20yrs after the fact.
Anyway I've printed the article off and I'll go though it with a red and hopefully I can do a post without turning it into a War and Peace essay IOT post it on the Standard for deeper discussion.
Key can't remember if he was on the ANZ board (joined Oct '17) when he sold his Omaha beach house to Hisco. Hazy if he was ANZ chairman (became chairman Jan '18) when the beach house sold (Feb '18)!
Former PM still having dodgy and ever so convenient brain fades! Be interesting to see how this one pans out!
there is NO corruption in NZ..just a malaise of selective amnesia when it comes to the old boy network.
Arrrgh me hearty , I loves yer Skull n' swords, reminds me of me old cohort Eddie Teach… I want one just like it for the Black Pearl…
As for your take on the scoundrels callin' themselves the old boys network,… I hear they be havin' it in for us all so I'd best be hoistin’ the anchor and unfurlin’ th' canvas… til we get an honest Governor at least in these here waters…
"Brain fade". ..poor fellow, still suffers from that does he?
What a wonderfully kind and incredibly inclusive world is banking where a person with such obvious deficits can be Boss of the Board!
All that riding in chauffeur driven limousines isn't very good for your back actually – the leather is too soft. Then there's the knowledge you have a cellar load of Chateau Lafite Rothschild waiting to be quaffed back in Sydney. No wonder he fell ill.
Oh yes, the chauffeured cars & wine scandal, never mind the back door money laundering ring or what have you has been going on …
Back door? ,… did someone mention back door?… as in back door man?
This calls for summit sleazy and nasty… summit about Dirty Deeds,.. Done Dirt Cheap…!
Like Key and his mates at the ANZ. Funny how both the band and the ANZ originate from Aussie…. Ozzie would be blushing at the irony …
AC/DC – Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (from Live at River … – YouTube
Another WTF moment for Tamariki Ora. I found just listening stressful, but then I'm Maori so the 3 Maori babies each week being uplifted affects me more.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018700025/advocacy-group-inundated-with-messages-about-oranga-tamariki
I don't care what creed or race the mother and baby are, if the resources are made available to support the mother there are very very few instances where a child should ever be taken from its parents.
Thing is the government is not prepared to invest in these people because most voters believe the family unit must survive without support from the community. That's what neo-liberalism and the market driven philosophy has taught them to believe.
There, but for the grace of luck, goes us all.
Oranga Tamariki are damned if they do or damned if they don't.
With all due respect we don't know the circumstances and if a kid dies AGAIN people would be saying the complete opposite.
Yes the system looks like it doesn't work support wise in some cases and needs looking at, but a bit of empathy for what the workers have to deal with in a lot of cases wouldn't go amiss.
Summary: this government likes brown people when it wants their votes, but washes its hands when the kids who are dying are brown.
Like National did when children died of preventable third world respiratory illnesses when they deliberately ran down state housing , letting them become cold, damp , moldy shitholes to try to sell them off to private investors…
Like National
exactly
Taking babies is going where angels fear to tread.
If it becomes normal, you're a problem.
I think Chris T that those of us who follow social welfare matters and have done so for this and the past century from study and observation are not impressed by your kindness to Oranga Tamariki and willingness to put your faculties on hold.
The extinction of the Australian pygmies – Quadrant Online
https://quadrant.org.au/opinion/history…/06/the-extinction-of-the-australian-pygmies/