Daily review 21/01/2022
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5:30 pm, January 21st, 2022 - 42 comments
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Daily review is also your post.
This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day.
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- Release: $1.7b for no increase in access to medicineThe National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...3 weeks ago
- Release: National should heed Tribunal warning and scrap coalition commitment with ACTThis afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...3 weeks ago
- Release: More accountability for preventable workplace deaths this Workers’ Memorial DayLabour is calling for more accountability for preventable workplace deaths because everybody who goes to work deserves to come home safely. ...3 weeks ago
- New measures to protect powerlines from trees
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced that the Government will make it easier for lines firms to take action to remove vegetation from obstructing local powerlines. The change will ensure greater security of electricity supply in local communities, particularly during severe weather events. “Trees or parts of trees falling on ...16 hours ago - Wairarapa Moana ki Pouakani win top Māori dairy farming awardWairarapa Moana ki Pouakani were the top winners at this year’s Ahuwhenua Trophy awards recognising the best in Māori dairy farming. Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka announced the winners and congratulated runners-up, Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board, at an awards celebration also attended by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Finance Minister ...17 hours ago
- DJ Fred Again – Assurance report received"On the 27th of March, I sought assurances from the Chief Executive, Department of Internal Affairs, that the Department’s correct processes and policies had been followed in regards to a passport application which received media attention,” says Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden. “I raised my concerns after being ...1 day ago
- District Court Judges appointedAttorney-General Judith Collins has announced the appointment of three new District Court Judges, to replace Judges who have recently retired. Peter James Davey of Auckland has been appointed a District Court Judge with a jury jurisdiction to be based at Whangarei. Mr Davey initially started work as a law clerk/solicitor with ...2 days ago
- Unions should put learning ahead of ideologyAssociate Education Minister David Seymour is calling on the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) to put ideology to the side and focus on students’ learning, in reaction to the union holding paid teacher meetings across New Zealand about charter schools. “The PPTA is disrupting schools up and down the ...2 days ago
- Craig Stobo appointed as chair of FMACommerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly today announced the appointment of Craig Stobo as the new chair of the Financial Markets Authority (FMA). Mr Stobo takes over from Mark Todd, whose term expired at the end of April. Mr Stobo’s appointment is for a five-year term. “The FMA plays ...2 days ago
- Budget 2024 invests in lifeguards and coastguardSurf Life Saving New Zealand and Coastguard New Zealand will continue to be able to keep people safe in, on, and around the water following a funding boost of $63.644 million over four years, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Associate Transport Minister Matt Doocey say. “Heading to the beach for ...2 days ago
- New Zealand and Tuvalu reaffirm close relationshipNew Zealand and Tuvalu have reaffirmed their close relationship, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand is committed to working with Tuvalu on a shared vision of resilience, prosperity and security, in close concert with Australia,” says Mr Peters, who last visited Tuvalu in 2019. “It is my pleasure ...2 days ago
- New Zealand calls for calm, constructive dialogue in New CaledoniaNew Zealand is gravely concerned about the situation in New Caledonia, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The escalating situation and violent protests in Nouméa are of serious concern across the Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “The immediate priority must be for all sides to take steps to de-escalate the ...2 days ago
- New Zealand welcomes Samoa Head of StatePrime Minister Christopher Luxon met today with Samoa’s O le Ao o le Malo, Afioga Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II, who is making a State Visit to New Zealand. “His Highness and I reflected on our two countries’ extensive community links, with Samoan–New Zealanders contributing to all areas of our national ...2 days ago
- Island Direct eligible for SuperGold Card fundingTransport Minister Simeon Brown has announced that he has approved Waiheke Island ferry operator Island Direct to be eligible for SuperGold Card funding, paving the way for a commercial agreement to bring the operator into the scheme. “Island Direct started operating in November 2023, offering an additional option for people ...2 days ago
- Further sanctions against RussiaForeign Minister Winston Peters today announced further sanctions on 28 individuals and 14 entities providing military and strategic support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Russia is directly supported by its military-industrial complex in its illegal aggression against Ukraine, attacking its sovereignty and territorial integrity. New Zealand condemns all entities and ...3 days ago
- One year on from Loafers LodgeA year on from the tragedy at Loafers Lodge, the Government is working hard to improve building fire safety, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “I want to share my sincere condolences with the families and friends of the victims on the anniversary of the tragic fire at Loafers ...3 days ago
- Pre-Budget speech to Auckland Business ChamberKa nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you so much for having me here in the lead up to my Government’s first Budget. Before I get started can I acknowledge: Simon Bridges – Auckland Business Chamber CEO. Steve Jurkovich – Kiwibank CEO. Kids born ...4 days ago
- New Zealand and Vanuatu to deepen collaborationNew Zealand and Vanuatu will enhance collaboration on issues of mutual interest, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “It is important to return to Port Vila this week with a broad, high-level political delegation which demonstrates our deep commitment to New Zealand’s relationship with Vanuatu,” Mr Peters says. “This ...4 days ago
- Penk travels to Peru for trade meetingsMinister for Land Information, Chris Penk will travel to Peru this week to represent New Zealand at a meeting of trade ministers from the Asia-Pacific region on behalf of Trade Minister Todd McClay. The annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade meeting will be held on 17-18 May ...4 days ago
- Minister attends global education conferencesMinister of Education Erica Stanford will head to the United Kingdom this week to participate in the 22nd Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEM) and the 2024 Education World Forum (EWF). “I am looking forward to sharing this Government’s education priorities, such as introducing a knowledge-rich curriculum, implementing an evidence-based ...4 days ago
- Education Minister thanks outgoing NZQA ChairMinister of Education Erica Stanford has today thanked outgoing New Zealand Qualifications Authority Chair, Hon Tracey Martin. “Tracey Martin tendered her resignation late last month in order to take up a new role,” Ms Stanford says. Ms Martin will relinquish the role of Chair on 10 May and current Deputy ...4 days ago
- Joint statement of Christopher Luxon and Emmanuel Macron: Launch of the Christchurch Call FoundationNew Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and President Emmanuel Macron of France today announced a new non-governmental organisation, the Christchurch Call Foundation, to coordinate the Christchurch Call’s work to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. This change gives effect to the outcomes of the November 2023 Call Leaders’ Summit, ...5 days ago
- Panel announced for review into disability servicesDistinguished public servant and former diplomat Sir Maarten Wevers will lead the independent review into the disability support services administered by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. The review was announced by Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston a fortnight ago to examine what could be done to strengthen the ...5 days ago
- Minister welcomes Police gang unitToday’s announcement by Police Commissioner Andrew Coster of a National Gang Unit and district Gang Disruption Units will help deliver on the coalition Government’s pledge to restore law and order and crack down on criminal gangs, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. “The National Gang Unit and Gang Disruption Units will ...5 days ago
- New Zealand expresses regret at North Korea’s aggressive rhetoricForeign Minister Winston Peters has today expressed regret at North Korea’s aggressive rhetoric towards New Zealand and its international partners. “New Zealand proudly stands with the international community in upholding the rules-based order through its monitoring and surveillance deployments, which it has been regularly doing alongside partners since 2018,” Mr ...5 days ago
- New Chief of Defence Force appointedAir Vice-Marshal Tony Davies MNZM is the new Chief of Defence Force, Defence Minister Judith Collins announced today. The Chief of Defence Force commands the Navy, Army and Air Force and is the principal military advisor to the Defence Minister and other Ministers with relevant portfolio responsibilities in the defence ...5 days ago
- Government puts children first by repealing 7AALegislation to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act has been introduced to Parliament. The Bill’s introduction reaffirms the Coalition Government’s commitment to the safety of children in care, says Minister for Children, Karen Chhour. “While section 7AA was introduced with good intentions, it creates a conflict for Oranga ...5 days ago
- Defence Minister to meet counterparts in UK, ItalyDefence Minister Judith Collins will this week travel to the UK and Italy to meet with her defence counterparts, and to attend Battles of Cassino commemorations. “I am humbled to be able to represent the New Zealand Government in Italy at the commemorations for the 80th anniversary of what was ...5 days ago
- Charter schools to lift educational outcomesThe upcoming Budget will include funding for up to 50 charter schools to help lift declining educational performance, Associate Education Minister David Seymour announced today. $153 million in new funding will be provided over four years to establish and operate up to 15 new charter schools and convert 35 state ...5 days ago
- COVID-19 Inquiry terms of reference consultation results received“The results of the public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has now been received, with results indicating over 13,000 submissions were made from members of the public,” Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “We heard feedback about the extended lockdowns in ...5 days ago
- The Pacific family of nations – the changing security outlookForeign Minister, Defence Minister, other Members of Parliament Acting Chief of Defence Force, Secretary of Defence Distinguished Guests Defence and Diplomatic Colleagues Ladies and Gentlemen, Good afternoon, tēna koutou, apinun tru It’s a pleasure to be back in Port Moresby today, and to speak here at the Kumul Leadership ...5 days ago
- NZ and Papua New Guinea to work more closely togetherHealth, infrastructure, renewable energy, and stability are among the themes of the current visit to Papua New Guinea by a New Zealand political delegation, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Papua New Guinea carries serious weight in the Pacific, and New Zealand deeply values our relationship with it,” Mr Peters ...5 days ago
- Driving ahead with Roads of Regional SignificanceThe coalition Government is launching Roads of Regional Significance to sit alongside Roads of National Significance as part of its plan to deliver priority roading projects across the country, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The Roads of National Significance (RoNS) built by the previous National Government are some of New Zealand’s ...6 days ago
- New Zealand congratulates new Solomon Islands governmentA high-level New Zealand political delegation in Honiara today congratulated the new Government of Solomon Islands, led by Jeremiah Manele, on taking office. “We are privileged to meet the new Prime Minister and members of his Cabinet during his government’s first ten days in office,” Deputy Prime Minister and ...6 days ago
- New Zealand supports UN Palestine resolutionNew Zealand voted in favour of a resolution broadening Palestine’s participation at the United Nations General Assembly overnight, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The resolution enhances the rights of Palestine to participate in the work of the UN General Assembly while stopping short of admitting Palestine as a full ...1 week ago
- Speech to the 2024 Infrastructure SymposiumIntroduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...1 week ago
- $571 million for Defence pay and projectsDefence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...1 week ago
- Climate change – mitigating the risks and costsNew Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...1 week ago
- Getting new job seekers on the pathway to workJobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...1 week ago
- Accelerating Social InvestmentA new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...1 week ago
- Getting Back on TrackCheck against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...1 week ago
- NZ – European Union ties more critical than everYour Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...1 week ago
- Therapeutic Products Act to be repealedThe Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...1 week ago
- Fiji’s Jo Nata reflects on the 2000 coup: ‘We let the racism genie out of the bottle’
SPECIAL REPORT: Islands Business in Suva Today is the 24th anniversary of renegade and failed businessman George Speight’s coup in 2000 Fiji. The elected coalition government headed by Mahendra Chaudhry, the first and only Indo-Fijian prime minister of Fiji, was held hostage at gunpoint for 56 days in the country’s ...35 mins ago - Rule change to protect powerlines from being hit by trees
Energy Minister Simeon Brown wants a 'clear to the sky' zone to prevent vegetation hanging over lines. ...6 hours ago - New Caledonia riots: Tear gas, stun grenades used as protesters swarm airport runwayBy Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist and Kelvin Anthony, RNZ Pacific digital journalist Police have used tear gas and stun grenades on rioters at an airport near Nouméa as the chaos in New Caledonia stretched into its sixth day. Five people, including two police officers, have died and hundreds of ...8 hours ago
- Government faces further legal action over Māori Health Authority axingIt is the second High Court action into the government's policies affecting Māori. ...11 hours ago
- Kanaky New Caledonia: Amnesty calls on France to ‘uphold rights’ of indigenous peopleAsia Pacific ReportThe global human rights watchdog Amnesty International has called on France to not “misuse” a crackdown in the ongoing unrest in the non-self-governing French Pacific territory of Kanaky New Caledonia in the wake of a controversial vote by the French Parliament to adopt a bill changing the territory’s ...13 hours ago
- Revamped school lunches may be less healthy – principalA major provider of school lunches fears the government's new $3 limit for most students will see them eating more pre-packaged and processed food. ...15 hours ago
- ‘Stop laughing, I’m trying to kill someone’: Cohen Holloway on playing a serial murderer
The star of Dark City: The Cleaner takes us through his life in TV, including the VHS revolution and the John Campbell impression that started it all. Best known for his comedic roles, Cohen Holloway says he struggled at times to maintain the stone cold facade of serial killer on ...21 hours ago - A life storyDavid Hill remembers an old friend, who you’ve probably never heard of. My friend Doug never travelled; he had little interest in the world beyond his own tiny rural town. I’ve rarely known anyone who radiated such contentment. Doug (I’ll call him that) died in March. You won’t know him. ...21 hours ago
- Do you recognise anybody in these 150-year-old photographs?Some of the earliest photos of life in Aotearoa are on display at Auckland Museum right now – but the identities of some of the people in them are a mystery. What was it like to be one of the first people in New Zealand to have their photo taken? ...21 hours ago
- The indie books fest bringing big ideas to small town WairarapaSince its founding almost a decade ago, Featherston Booktown has grown into one of the country’s most interesting and idiosyncratic literary events. Erin Banks reports from the audience. “Come in, have you had lunch? I’m about to make a cheese toastie.” Mary Biggs, operations manager of Featherston Booktown Karukatea Festival, ...21 hours ago
- Enduring the voyage of the tatauAfter 33 years abroad, Loveni Enari recently returned to Aotearoa and Samoa in what a friend joked was an “existential crisis”. He learnt and re-learnt so much about his family, friends and both countries. Almost as an afterthought, he got a Samoan tatau. This is his story. (Accompanying it are ...21 hours ago
- Bearing witness to a confession of murderNearly 30 years ago, two people told me they’d killed a woman they knew. I thought the truth would come out, that others would tell it. In the end, I had to. The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Fact: in 1995, Angela Blackmoore ...21 hours ago
- The Weekend: A landmark case for trans rights in AotearoaEditor Madeleine Chapman looks back at the week and shines a light on some increasingly rare longform journalism. Mōrena and welcome to The Weekend where there will sadly be no aurora to see. After a busy week last week of short, sharp pieces, this week we swung the other way, ...21 hours ago
- Tourists trapped by New Caledonia unrest feel ‘abandoned’ by NZBy Lauren Crimp , RNZ News reporter New Zealanders stuck among riots and civil unrest in New Caledonia’s capital say they feel abandoned by their own country, having received little help from the government. Nouméa descended into chaos on Monday, with clashes between indigenous Kanak pro-independence protesters and French security ...24 hours ago
- Kanaky in flames: Five takeaways from the New Caledonia independence riotsANALYSIS: By David Robie, editor of Asia Pacific Report Jean-Marie Tjibaou, a revered Kanak visionary, was inspirational to indigenous Pacific political activists across Oceania, just like Tongan anthropologist and writer Epeli Hao’ofa was to cultural advocates. Tragically, he was assassinated in 1989 by an opponent within the independence movement during ...1 day ago
- When body positivity becomes problematic
Forget thin is in, apparently now bigger is better … or is it? After over a decade of body positivity, girls, teens and women are even more confused about what body positivity actually is. The movement began with women confronting unrealistic expectations of how their bodies should look. But sub-strands ...1 day ago - Short story: Ruin, by Ockham winner Emma HislopGrace always sat at the bar at the back of The Cambridge, where she could watch who came in. A huge mirror ran the length of the pub, so you could sometimes watch people without them knowing. The mirror made the place seem a lot bigger than it really was. ...1 day ago
- The Secret Diary of .. Sheriff Mark MitchellMONDAY Sheriff Mark Mitchell rose at dawn. He had a long day’s ride ahead of him. He was headed for Waikeria. Waikeria! Even the name itself stirred his blood, and set root in his imagination. There was nothing and no one in Waikeria. But he would bend it to his ...1 day ago
- The Boy in the Water: A forensic examination, at lastThe first phase of the inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones finished this week, turning up plenty of revelations and few answers. But through all the confusion, heartbreak and antipathy on display, the simple fact at the heart of this case remains: if little Lachie’s body had ...1 day ago
- How Many Public Sector Roles Are Going, And From Where?
Public servants' jobs are on the chopping block as the sector scrambles to meet the Finance Minister's cost-cutting targets. ...1 day ago - Can you control your image? Gina Rinehart, King Charles and ‘moral portraits’Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Roger Benjamin, Professor in Art History, University of Sydney “She’s no oil painting”. Those were the unkind words of a colleague commenting on the subject of Vincent Namatjira’s acrylic painting, Gina. Every one of the prominent Australians and cultural heroes in Namatjira’s ...1 day ago
- Government plans for Māori wards breach The Treaty of Waitangi -TribunalGovernment plans to require local councils hold a referendum on whether to have Māori wards breaches the Treaty of Waitangi, a Waitangi Tribunal report has found. ...1 day ago
- Threatened species have declined 2% a year since 2000. Nature positive? Far from it.Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Megan C Evans, Senior Lecturer, Public Sector Management, School of Business, UNSW Sydney Martin Tobias Aakesson/Shutterstock Our government has great aspirations. It has committed to end extinctions and expand our protected areas to cover 30% of every Australian ecosystem by 2030. ...1 day ago
- Rugby league in Perth and Papua New Guinea? Here’s what could be next for the NRLSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Harcourt, Industry Professor and Chief Economist, University of Technology Sydney This year the National Rugby League (NRL) opened its season in Las Vegas. It was an audacious move by the league’s ambitious head honcho Peter V’Landys to showcase the game in ...1 day ago
- The budget has earmarked $8.6 million for live music. Is it enough to save the flailing industry?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Catherine Strong, Associate Professor, Music Industry, RMIT University Leading music organisations have praised the federal budget for its investment in the live music sector. The budget includes A$8.6 million for a program called Revive Live: to provide essential support to ...1 day ago
- The Week in Politics: Charter schools, special police units and a tricky problem for the governmentThe Week in Politics: ACT brings back a signature policy, while NZ First mulls how to fulfil a promise. ...1 day ago
- There’s $110 million for Indigenous education in the budget. But where’s the evidence it will wo...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marnee Shay, Associate Professor, Principal Research Fellow, The University of Queensland The 2024 federal budget contains A$110 million for Indigenous education. This includes funding for various different organisations to represent and help Indigenous people as well as scholarships in a bid to ...1 day ago
- New Caledonia’s Nouméa airport closed until Tuesday, says Air New ZealandAir New Zealand has confirmed Nouméa’s Tontouta International airport in New Caledonia is closed until Tuesday. The airline earlier told RNZ it would update customers as soon as it could. Earlier today, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters told RNZ Morning Report government officials had been working on an “hourly basis” ...1 day ago
- Cameras reveal wombat burrows can be safe havens after fire and waterholes after rainSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Grant Linley, PhD Candidate in Ecology, Charles Sturt University Grant Linley Australia’s unprecedented Black Summer bushfires in 2019–20 created ideal conditions for misinformation to spread, from the insidious to the absurd. It was within this context that a bizarre story ...1 day ago
- ChatGPT is now better than ever at faking human emotion and behaviourSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marcel Scharth, Lecturer in Business Analytics, University of Sydney OpenAI executive Mira Murati launching GPT-4o. OpenAI Earlier this week OpenAI launched GPT-4o (“o” for “omni”), a new version of the artificial intelligence (AI) system powering the popular ChatGPT chatbot. GPT-4o is promoted ...1 day ago
- Menopause can bring increased cholesterol levels and other heart risks. Here’s why and what to do ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Treasure McGuire, Assistant Director of Pharmacy, Mater Health SEQ in conjoint appointment as Associate Professor of Pharmacology, Bond University and as Associate Professor (Clinical), The University of Queensland Speedkingz/Shutterstock Menopause is a natural biological process that marks the end of a ...1 day ago
- The Friday Poem: ‘Xiāng’ by Hannah PattersonA new poem by Hannah Patterson. Xiāng There’s a pear tree in our backyard And Xiāng tells me She can’t eat them anymore Not after some things that have happened in her life. She tells me, in Mandarin The word for pear sounds the same as the word for disassociation ...1 day ago
- Cycle lanes are good for business, actually‘Cycling Works’ aims to show business support for citywide cycle infrastructure. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, supermarket giant Foodstuffs lost its attempt to block the construction of a cycle lane outside Thorndon New World in Wellington. The Spinoff’s Wellington editor ...1 day ago
- The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending May 17The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 Slow Productivity by Cal Newport (Penguin, $40) Taking out the top spot in Auckland this ...1 day ago
- Nuclear subs are coming to Australia. Now the Coalition wants reactors, too. We’re not ready for i...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Lowe, Emeritus Professor, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University For decades, Australia has exported uranium – but not used it, other than in the Lucas Heights research reactor. But change is coming. We now face a rapidly deepening commitment to ...2 days ago
- After 180 years, new clues are revealing just how general anaesthesia works in the brainSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam D Hines, Research fellow, Queensland University of Technology Sergey Mironov/Shutterstock Over 350 million surgeries are performed globally each year. For most of us, it’s likely at some point in our lives we’ll have to undergo a procedure that needs general ...2 days ago
- 'I can do much better': Green MP Julie Anne Genter promises to improve conduct"In future I should walk away," Green MP Julie Anne Genter says after complaints over an exchange in Parliament and from two members of the public. ...2 days ago
- Call to protect asylum seekers who may arrive in New Zealand by boatA group of more than 40 refugees, charities and advocates want better protections for asylum seekers arriving by boat. ...2 days ago
- Homo Pentecostus: on queer intimacies, religion, ancestry and the human need for connectionSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Graffam, PhD Candidate in Theatre, Monash University Gianna Rizzo/Malthouse Music pumps; lights pulsate; two sweaty bodies sway together, touching, breathing in each other’s scent. A male body framed by downlight restlessly shifts between stances and gestures. He undresses. The intensity ...2 days ago
- Want to be buried on your own land, at sea or in a forest? A guide to unconventional send-offsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sandra van der Laan, Professor of Accounting, University of Sydney Mtaya/Shutterstock At some point, you or someone else will need to make a decision about your “send-off”. Most Australians die in an institution, such as a hospital or aged care facility. ...2 days ago
- Vanuatu, MSG chief reaffirms support for FLNKS, blames France over unrestAsia Pacific Report Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai — who is also Chairman of the Melanesian Spearhead Group — has reaffirmed MSG’s support of the pro-independence umbrella group Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) stance opposing the French government’s constitutional bill “unfreezing” the New Caledonia Electoral Roll. It is ...2 days ago
- Blazing a trail: the Leonard family legacy in Māori televisionProducer Susan Leonard remembers her father Ernie, a pioneer of Māori television, and how his legacy lives on in Pathfinders. My father was a fabulous man. His name was Ernie Leonard and he started in TV in the 1970s when it was still glamorous – when TVNZ made behind the ...2 days ago
- Home detention for New Caledonia’s unrest ringleaders, Tiktok bannedBy Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk, and Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist The suspected ringleaders of the unrest in New Caledonia have been placed in home detention and the social network TikTok has been banned as French security forces struggle to restore law and order. The French ...2 days ago
- Review finds big increase in multi-year government spends, use not always justifiedMulti-year appropriations - which give the government authority to spend money without reapplying annually - are loosening Parliament's control of the public purse, auditor-general says. ...2 days ago
- $63.6m for Surf Life Saving and Coastguard in Budget 2024"New Zealand has a tragically high drowning toll," Transport Minister Simeon Brown said at the announcement. ...2 days ago
- Dr. Eric Chuah Standing For Mayor Of TaurangaDr. Eric Chuah who stood for a centrist NZ political party in the October 2023 NZ Elections for Maungakiekie Auckland will stand as a candidate for Tauranga City Council Ward of Matua-=Otumoetai and Mayor of Tauranga. ...2 days ago
- How to enjoy a comedy festival in your own loungeIf you can’t get to the comedy fest, let us bring the comedy fest to you. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. The New Zealand International Comedy Festival is in full swing at the moment, with a veritable smorgasboard of comedy treats ...2 days ago
- Poll Shows Three Quarters Of Wellingtonians Oppose Airport SaleA new poll commissioned by Unions Wellington shows an overwhelming majority of Wellingtonians oppose the Council’s plan to sell the 34% public stake in Wellington Airport. ...2 days ago
- $63.6m boost for Surf Life Saving and Coastguard in Budget 2024"New Zealand has a tragically high drowning toll," Transport Minister Simeon Brown said at the announcement. ...2 days ago
- Nearly 1300 homes on hold amid government reviewNewly released documents show building has been paused on 690 KiwiBuild homes and 593 market homes. ...2 days ago
- At the heart of the budget is the sad truth the economy is weak. That’s one reason inflation will ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Aruna Sathanapally, Chief Executive, Grattan Institute, Grattan Institute A central focus of this week’s budget is the treasury’s forecast for inflation. By this time next year, inflation is projected to be back within the Reserve Bank’s 2-3% target range. Inflation has ...2 days ago
- Denser housing can be greener too – here’s how NZ can build better for biodiversitySource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yolanda van Heezik, Professor of Ecology, University of Otago Getty Images Cities across Aotearoa New Zealand are trying to solve a housing crisis, with increasing residential density a key solution. But not everyone is happy about the resulting loss of natural ...2 days ago
- Clean energy slump – why Australia’s renewables revolution is behind schedule, and how to fix itSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison Reeve, Deputy Program Director, Energy and Climate Change, Grattan Institute WDG Photo/Shutterstock For years, the electricity sector has been the poster child for emissions cuts in Australia. The sector achieved a stunning 26% drop in emissions over the past 15 ...2 days ago
- It’s OK to ask a loved one if they’re feeling suicidalIt’s often the last thing people want to do, but asking someone if they’re having suicidal thoughts is a critical first step to helping them. Content warning: this story discusses suicide and suicidal ideation. For a list of resources that can help if you or someone you know is feeling ...2 days ago
- Watch live: Transport Minister makes pre-Budget announcementSimeon Brown and Matt Doocey are set to reveal another bit of next week's budget. ...2 days ago
- We mapped a lost branch of the Nile River – which may be the key to a longstanding mystery of the ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy J. Ralph, Associate Professor, Macquarie University The pyramids at Giza, like dozens of others, are located several kilometres west of the current path of the Nile. Alex Cimbal / Shutterstock The largest field of pyramids in Egypt – consisting of 31 ...2 days ago
- If I’m diagnosed with one cancer, am I likely to get another?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Diepstraten, Senior Research Officer, Blood Cells and Blood Cancer Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute ABO PHOTOGRAPHY/Shutterstock Receiving a cancer diagnosis is life-changing and can cause a range of concerns about ongoing health. Fear of cancer returning is one ...2 days ago
- All options being considered to help New Zealanders in New Caledonia – Winston PetersGovernment looking at all options for helping New Zealanders who want to leave New Caledonia as death toll rises. ...2 days ago
- Rebuke issued in stoush over volume of on-bus announcements for blind passengersAnd how a union boss ruined a regional councillor's morning. ...2 days ago
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this needs naming. Young woman understandably upset about the impact of the pandemic on her future, is focusing blame on the policy that makes kids wear masks in schools, instead of being fucked off that the UK government made such a massive mess of the pandemic response.
She's kind of right that no-one cares about her generation, but the problem isn't mask wearing, it's Tory, anti-community, proto-fascist government who simply don't know how to look after the British people.
I see a fair amount of push back against the UK pandemic response, things that we would mostly consider to be okayish here because we used those tools in a completely different way ie in a way that made people and their wellbeing a priority.
https://twitter.com/keddie_donald/status/1484000349681815552
My experience in Korea was similar – masks are frankly no big deal – Koreans have been wearing them in winter since the first SARs outbreak.
whereas when you force people to wear a mask they're not used to, while treating them like shit, they're going to have a reaction.
Anything a person does they have not done before is going to take time to get used to. I hated the mask when I first started to wear them. So I got someone to make me masks that fitted me better and now I am very comfortable in them.
I'm afraid that student put me off with her talon-like finger nails. That told me she's high maintenance and maybe not a good role model. If teachers were yelling at kids (and we only have her word for the 'yelling' bit) then it was likely because they were frustrated with those students who refused to wear their masks and had no exemption.
Whether you believe it was a good idea or not, the teachers are the ones who would have been in the gun if it was discovered they were teaching mask-less students.
Edit: Just seen joe90 @ 1.2. Methinks the “yelling” was at best an exaggeration or at worst it never happened.
No different to traffic rules – rage how one may, one is obliged to obey.
Pretending to respect the bullshit is self-defeating.
pretty long distance between pretending to respect and treating people like shit. Are you suggesting that the way the UK government has treated its citizens isn't a factor in resistance to the useful parts of the pandemic response?
I'm sure it hasn't helped – but the kind of antivaxxers who run around calling people sheeple and trying to peddle Soros/Gates/Ivermectin and/or chemtrails need not expect support.
you appear to have completely missed my point.
No, I've seen it – I merely reject it.
you think there are no cultural reasons why Asians are much better at wearing masks than Australasians?
As with traffic rules, I simply don't care.
These rules are made for public safety in consultation with relevant experts. We do not get to bush lawyer them any more than we can road safety regs – and humouring those who do only encourages further antivaxxer nonsense.
good luck with effecting big social change by forcing people to do something they don't want at the same time as treating them badly.
What treating them badly – and what social change for that matter?
The public health laws have always been strict – and beyond appeal – because they need to be. Covid doesn't care about antivaxxer feelings – appeasing the loons only encourages them.
this is why I think you missed my point. Don't worry about it, it was just a misunderstanding way up thread.
Requiring masks, and ridiculing the pathetic repeaters of QAnon crap is not treating people badly.
obviously requiring masks isn't treating people badly. Looks like you really did misunderstand my original point.
So you keep saying – but we've had this argument before – and you seem to have nothing to add to what you asserted last time.
now I have no idea what you are talking about.
I essentially agreed with your first comment and added a short statement pointing to the cultural difference between Korea and NZ. You've gone off on something that is not what I was saying.
here's my point again, in more detail.
There are cultural reasons why mask wearing is more acceptable in Asia than in NZ. Because it's not a culturally accepted practice in NZ prior to the pandemic, people need to adjust, learn new skills and practices and that needs to be integrated into the culture.
Where there is high stress associated with that, ridicule, being mean, being unkind, and generally treating people badly is a hindrance to that integration. I'm not talking about Qanon followers here or antivaxxers, I'm talking about Joe Blogs who is sick of the whole thing and wants it to go away, isn't bothering to wear a fitting mask, often lets it hang open or off his nose so he can breath better, is starting to think the whole thing has gone to far. Those people are the ones we need to call in.
Where there is high stress associated with that, ridicule, being mean, being unkind, and generally treating people badly is a hindrance to that integration.
I know that you believe this, but the basis of much of our country's administration works in the opposite way, especially since the advent of neoliberalism, punitive measures have become routine. Departing from administrative norms, like choosing not to jail Brian Tamaki expeditiously for frank breaches of Covid regulations feeds the false narratives that Covid rules are somehow less serious than other regulations. The classical approach would have been to use him as an early example of the universal application of rules – pour encourager les autres.
Perhaps you have studies demonstrating the ineffectiveness of a punitive approach – if so there are many governing mechanisms that would be in need of revision.
Largely speaking it is not QAnon followers per se, but those who recycle their garbage, having got it second hand initially from acquaintances or like secondary sources.
The young woman is a Tory talking head and former Conservative party candidate who's since had a bit of a roasting over her performance. Now she's insisting that the clip was misleading.
https://twitter.com/sophielouisecc/status/1484313674760085508
https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/speaker/sophie-corcoran/
must admit I spent most of the clip wondering who she would vote for.
Suffering shit people. I see Mayor Goff has donated 25k from his mayoral fund to Tonga. This is just over 4weeks of his salary not including perks. Furthermore it's not his money it's ratepayers money.
As a person who has espoused socialist policies i.e. collective responsibility, all of his tit sucking life I find that someone at the head of an enormous Pacific community is showing his true neolib colours. That is, how many votes are in this for me ??
sorry, what's the problem?
Good question, sorry I'm not that good with words.
Answer, multiply 25k by 10 then you wouldn't have heard from me
send more money to Tonga? Sounds good to me.
Context makes it clear, it's exactly what it's supposed to be:
"The support is provided from a charitable trust fund—set up for the purpose of disaster relief in the Pacific—to which businesses, individuals and Auckland Council have contributed over time."
(italics added)
https://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/news/2022/01/auckland-mayor-phil-goff-pledges-25-000-from-mayoral-relief-fund-to-support-tonga-recovery/
(and it dates back to 2012. A few seconds of Google-checking saves a lot of outrage, you know).
Wherever the money comes from, in my eyes is immaterial. I would be too embarrassed to announce such a pitiful sum to the public if I was mayor
Lol.
Would all the proto Maoists care to give themselves a clap on the back? The Covid narrative is dead, but the agenda, as I fucking well said in my "loony" post last week, goes on…and on.
The affected person must be treated as a person who has received a booster dose (and may continue to carry out certain work) if,—
(a) before 15 February 2022, they receive a booster dose; or
(b) on or after 15 February 2022, they receive a booster dose before the close of the date that is 183 days after the date on which they were vaccinated.
https://legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/2022/0004/latest/whole.html?search=ts_act%40bill%40regulation%40deemedreg_COVID-19%20Public%20Health%20Response%20(Vaccinations)%20Amendment%20Order%202022_resel_25_a&p=1&fbclid=IwAR3tl8dDS_l2s4WC10vy6zY1gCfuWgWdbHS5JjxmmODngtxD8xokmukoPE0#LMS629669
I'll bite. Was hoping Lprent had simply banned you from posting altogether because of your unhinged vaccine sceptic stance. Seems not.
I feel like the promotion of anti-vax themes by yourself and your stablemate, Redlogix, does irreparable damage to The Standard.
Justice for bwaghorn by the way. A great contributor, lost. There’s a man who was brave enough to say what everyone else was thinking.
Here is the remarkable thing; you are still here and free to express your opinion, within the usual boundaries of site policy and moderation.
By contrast the orthodox medical and political establishment is now so deeply invested in the safe and effective narrative, that questioning or admitting to anything which might be seen to contradict or undermine it is no longer tolerable and must be silenced. And you seem right on board helping them out with that.
Best of luck.
Commenters cannot attack authors on this site. Or they can, and they can expect to be banned. Which is what happened to bwaghorn.
I think there are all sorts of problems with Bill's position and how he argues on site. But that comment from bwaghorn was way over the top, the worst attack I've seen on an author in a while. I would have given a short ban and a very strong warning of a long ban if it ever happens again, but regulars here know how different moderators operate, and can take some responsibility for their own actions.
As you have just demonstrated, it's possible to say what one is thinking without being abusive or attacking an author.
Well who knows what a 'proto Maoist' is and who cares.
Reading the careful legal drafting in the extract reminded me of having to analyse, as a law student, a legal passage in some UK export regs about ground nuts coming from West Africa some that were ground ground nuts and some that were whole ground nuts. When we were presented with it most of us felt we could do it better. Wrong, wrong. Our first goes either left out vital bits or changed the impact.
There is an art & science in legal drafting and a facility with English that most of us would only dream of used by our Parliamentary Counsel in the drafting of Bill/Acts /Orders and Regs.
So I salute the law draftspeople especially b) which is a tiny and not very complicated example of having dotted the I s and crossed the Ts.
Good review of a biography of Smedley Butler, the USMC general and war hero who wrote "war is a racket" and exposed a 1930's attempt by wall st financiers to overthrow FDR as president.
Looks like an interesting book, and the review is on a US military affairs oriented website. Interesting place to be mentioning the US history of imperialism, even indirectly.
Good find.
' his late-in-life epiphany that during his 33 years of Marine Corps service, he and his men fought, killed, bled, and died more to shore up the profits of Wall Street than to defend the United States from foreign invaders. '
Nothing's ….changed.
Just hangin' out with the bros.
I wonder if dolphins always surfed like this, or did they copy humans.
Copied humans …I would say.
Got a couple living next door and they're under water with their….mortgage.
Doubt it. Their divinity, shape-shifting antics, aquatic prowess and bow-surfing turns up in all manner of mythologies.
Besides, wtf could drown in a puddle apes teach these gorgeous, ocean going beasties.
I love the way they hang about in groups waiting for the right wave to come along. Just like their human companions.
David Seymour asks his Destiny Church kinfolk to stop playing guitar at the gates of MECF because it disturbs his other kinfolk, rich white people in nice Mt Eden apartments.
Quite the conundrum.