Daily review 28/09/2020
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5:30 pm, September 28th, 2020 - 114 comments
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- Timeline confirmed for Emissions Reductions PlanCabinet has agreed to begin consulting on the Emissions Reduction Plan in early October and require that the final plan be released by the end of May next year in line with the 2022 Budget, the Minister of Climate Change, James Shaw confirmed today. “Cabinet’s decision allows organisations and communities ...4 days ago
- Pay parity pathway for early learning teachers confirmedPay parity conditions and higher funding rates for education and care services will come into force on 1 January, 2022, Minister of Education Chris Hipkins confirmed today. The Government signalled this work in Budget 2021. “From 1 January, 2022, centres opting into the scheme will receive government funding and be ...4 days ago
- Speech to the New Zealand Nurses Organisation Conference 2021Kia Ora tatau katoa. Ka tuku mihi ki nga nēhi, He pou Hauora o Aotearoa, E ora ai tatou. Whakatau mai I runga i te kaupapa o te ra Te NZNO conference. Tena koutou tena koutou Tena tatou katoa Good morning, and thank you inviting me ...4 days ago
- Government investment in farmer-led catchment groups sweeps past 150 mark171 catchment groups have now been invested in by the Government 31 catchment groups in the Lower North Island are receiving new support More than 5,000 farmers are focussed on restoring freshwater within a generation through involvement in catchment groups Government investment in on-the-ground efforts by farmers to improve land ...5 days ago
- Fight to protect kauri on trackThe Government is pitching in to help vital work to protect nationally significant kauri forests in Auckland, Minister of Conservation Kiri Allan says. “Ensuring the survival of these iconic trees for future generations means doing everything we can to prevent the potential spread of kauri dieback disease,” Kiri Allan said. ...5 days ago
- Joint statement of Mr Bernard Monk; Hon Andrew Little, Minister Responsible for Pike River Re-entry,...[Note: The Parties have agreed on terms to fully and finally settle the proceeding and will jointly issue the below statement.] At the heart of this litigation are the lives of the 29 men tragically lost at the Pike River mine on 19 November 2010 and to whom we pay ...5 days ago
- More financial support for businessesToday’s decision to keep Auckland in a higher COVID Alert Level triggers a third round of the Wage Subsidy Scheme which will open for applications at 9am this Friday. “The revenue test period for this payment will be the 14th to the 27th of September. A reminder that this is ...6 days ago
- Aotearoa New Zealand provides further humanitarian support for AfghanistanAotearoa New Zealand is providing a further $3 million in humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. “There is significant humanitarian need in Afghanistan, with the crisis disproportionately affecting women and girls,” said Nanaia Mahuta. The UN has estimated that 80% of the quarter of a million ...6 days ago
- Innovative te reo prediction tool announced in Te Wiki o Te Reo MāoriA new Māori language prediction tool will play a key role in tracking our te reo Māori revitalisation efforts, Minister for Māori Development Willie Jackson announced today. He Ara Poutama mō te reo Māori (He Ara Poutama) can forecast the number of conversational and fluent speakers of te reo Māori ...6 days ago
- Further Government support for people to access food and essential itemsThe Government is responding to need for support in Auckland and has committed a further $10 million to help people access ongoing food and other essential items, Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni announced today. This latest tranche is targeted at the Auckland region, helping providers and organisations to distribute ...6 days ago
- Half a million Pfizer vaccines from DenmarkThe Government has secured an extra half a million doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines from Denmark that will start arriving in New Zealand within days, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “This is the second and larger agreement the Government has entered into to purchase additional vaccines to meet the ...1 week ago
- Inland Revenue providing essential COVID support for businessesInland Revenue is seeing increased demand for Resurgence Support Payments and other assistance schemes that it administers, but is processing applications quickly, Revenue Minister David Parker said today. David Parker said the Resurgence Support Payment, the Small Business Cashflow (loan) Scheme and the Wage Subsidy are available at the same ...1 week ago
- New Zealand marks 20th anniversary of 9/11 attacksNew Zealand is expressing unity with all victims, families and loved ones affected by the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks, and all terrorist attacks around the world since, including in New Zealand. “Saturday marks twenty years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States, which killed nearly 3,000 people ...1 week ago
- Speech to SPREP Environment MinistersTalofa Honourable Ulu of Tokelau Faipule Kelihiano Kalolo Tēnā koutou katoa and warm Pacific greetings from Aotearoa to your excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. The new science released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on 8 August paints an alarming picture of the projected impacts of climate change on the ...1 week ago
- Additional Resurgence Support Payments to support businessBusinesses affected by higher Alert Levels will be able to apply for further Resurgence Support Payments (RSP). “The Government’s RSP was initially intended as a one-off payment to help businesses with their fixed costs, such as rent. Ministers have agreed to provide additional payments to recognise the effects of an ...1 week ago
- More Dawn Raids scholarships announcedDetails of the ‘Manaaki New Zealand Short Term Training Scholarships’, a goodwill gesture that follows the Government’s apology for the Dawn Raids of the 1970s, were released today by Pacific Peoples Minister Aupito William Sio. “These scholarships that are targeted to the Pacific will support the kaupapa of the Dawn Raids’ ...1 week ago
- One-way quarantine-free travel for RSE workers starting in OctoberOne-way quarantine-free travel for Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) workers from Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu starts in October New requirement for RSE workers to have received their first vaccination pre-departure, undertake Day 0 and Day 5 tests, and complete a self-isolation period of seven days, pending a negative Day 5 ...1 week ago
- Govt boosts Pacific suicide prevention supportApplications have opened for the Pacific Suicide Prevention Community Fund as the Government acts to boost support amid the COVID delta outbreak. “We know strong and connected families and communities are the most important protective factor against suicide and this $900,000 fund will help to support this work,” Health Minister ...1 week ago
- Govt parks the expiry of licenses, WoFs and regosAs a result of the Delta outbreak, driver licences, Warrants of Fitness (WoFs), Certificates of Fitness (CoFs), vehicle licences (‘regos’) and licence endorsements that expired on or after 21 July 2021 will be valid until 30 November 2021, Transport Minister Michael Wood has announced today. “While this extension won’t officially ...1 week ago
- COVID-19 community fund to provide support for vulnerable women and girlsMinister for Women Jan Tinetti today announced a $2 million community fund that will provide support for women and girls adversely affected by COVID-19. “We know that women, particularly those who are already vulnerable, are disproportionally affected by the kind of economic disruption caused by COVID-19,” Jan Tinetti said. ...1 week ago
- Next phase of support for Fiji’s COVID-19 response announcedA further NZ$12 million of support for Fiji’s COVID-19 response has been announced by Foreign Minister Hon Nanaia Mahuta today. The package builds on previous tranches of assistance Aotearoa New Zealand has provided to Fiji, totalling over NZ$50 million. “Fiji remains in a very challenging position in their response to ...1 week ago
- Robotic asparagus harvester aimed at addressing industry challengesThe Government is backing a $5 million project to develop a commercial-scale autonomous robotic asparagus harvester, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced today. The Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund (SFF Futures) is contributing $2.6 million to the project. Project partner Robotics Plus Limited (RPL) will build on a prototype asparagus ...1 week ago
- Additional Pfizer vaccines to arrive tomorrowMore than a quarter of a million additional doses of the Pfizer vaccine are on their way from Spain to New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. The additional doses will arrive in Auckland on Friday morning to help meet the current surge in demand for vaccination. “It’s been ...1 week ago
- Young people to have their voices heard in Youth Parliament 2022The dates and details for Youth Parliament 2022 have been announced today by Minister for Youth Priyanca Radhakrishnan, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Youth Parliament is an opportunity for 141 young people from across Aotearoa New Zealand to experience the political process and learn how government works. ...2 weeks ago
- Boosting support for tertiary students affected by COVID-19Students facing a hard time as a result of COVID-19 restrictions will continue to be supported,” Education Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed today. The Government is putting a further $20 million into the Hardship Fund for Learners, which will help around 15,000 students to stay connected to their studies and learning. ...2 weeks ago
- COVID-19: Immediate relief available for Māori and iwi organisationsThe Government has reprioritised up to $5 million to provide immediate relief to vulnerable whānau Māori and communities during the current COVID-19 outbreak Minister for Māori Development Willie Jackson announced today. The COVID-19 2021 Whānau Recovery Fund will support community-driven, local responses to gaps in access and provision of critical ...2 weeks ago
- New beef genetics programme to deliver cows with smaller environmental hoof-printThe Government is backing a genetics programme to lower the beef sector’s greenhouse gas emissions by delivering cows with a smaller environmental hoof-print, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced today. Informing New Zealand Beef is a seven-year partnership with Beef + Lamb New Zealand that is expected to result in more ...2 weeks ago
- Appointments to the New Zealand Qualifications AuthorityEducation Minister Chris Hipkins today announced new appointments to the board of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA). Former Associate Minister of Education, Hon Tracey Martin, has been appointed as the new Chair for NZQA, replacing the outgoing Acting and Deputy Chair Professor Neil Quigley after an 11-year tenure on ...2 weeks ago
- Govt supports residential house building by allowing manufacture of building suppliesThe Government has agreed to allow some building product manufacturing to take place in Auckland during Covid lockdown to support continued residential construction activity across New Zealand. “There are supply chain issues that arise from Alert Level 4 as building products that are manufactured domestically are mostly manufactured in Auckland. ...2 weeks ago
- Government invests in scientific research to boost economy, address climate change and enhance wellb...Research, Science and Innovation Minister Hon Dr Megan Woods has today announced the recipients of this year’s Endeavour Fund to help tackle the big issues that New Zealanders care about, like boosting economic performance, climate change, transport infrastructure and wellbeing. In total, 69 new scientific research projects were awarded over ...2 weeks ago
- Government announces $36m investment in Covid-19 research fund
The government will invest $36m into infectious disease research to aid with the Covid-19 pandemic response and prepare for future infectious disease outbreaks. ...2 hours ago - The safe bet and the cash cache: imprest supplyThe House: MPs have been arguing about imprest supply recently. Partly, that argument assumes you don't understand what it is. You're about to. ...9 hours ago
- Live updates, September 19: Will Auckland move to level three on Wednesday?
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for September 19. Auckland is currently at alert level four, the rest of NZ level two. Our coverage of the Covid response depends on members’ contributions. Click here to learn more.8.30am: Will Auckland move to level three on Wednesday? The factors that will drive ...9 hours ago - Time to review asylum-seeker support
Bernard Sama explains why - and how - we must strengthen mental wellbeing in the entire refugee status determination procedure in New Zealand As an advocate for people seeking asylum and refugee rights generally in New Zealand, I was devastated to learn the terrorist who carried out the attack at LynnMall ...11 hours ago - An ode for .. the Wānaka wankers
New Zealand's unelected poet laureate composes an ode for the two most shamed people in New Zealand The Wānakers From the sighing mangrove swamps of the North, did the young lovers flee; whence scrofulous humours didst afflict their City, that intemperate hub of commerce. Reluctant were our libertines ...11 hours ago - The Sunday Essay: On keeping a notes appIn a world of curated social media feeds, Sharon Lam revisits the beautiful chaos of her notes app.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New ZealandOriginal illustration by Sofia Drescher“Since the note is in my notebook, it presumably has some meaning to me.” So began Joan ...12 hours ago
- Lydia Wevers: On readingAn accomplished academic, a public intellectual and a brilliant writer, Lydia Wevers was also an insatiable reader. Here Lloyd Jones introduces excerpts from her essay on reading, which he commissioned for his Four Winds Press imprint.The New Zealand writing and reading community lost a committed stalwart with the death of ...12 hours ago
- On the seasonal joy of onion weedThis garlicky blossom is the ubiquitous queen of springtime. Charlotte Muru-Lanning explains why you should get out and find yourself a bunch, and what to do with it.Consider the onion family. We all know the brown onion practically runs the marae kitchen, shallot is definitely the perfectionist cousin with a ...12 hours ago
- Is it time for a Cobb & Comeback?Down from 37 at its peak, there are now just eight Cobb & Co branches in New Zealand. With plans afoot to return the chain to its former glory, Georgia Munn swings open the red saloon doors to see if the childhood favourite has still got it.Whatever happened to Cobb ...12 hours ago
- Curia political poll is grim news for the Nats – but its measure of enthusiasm for “Aotearoa” ...
The New Zealand Herald was not alone in reporting on the discomforting results for National in the latest Curia opinion poll and the petition mounted by Maori Party leaders to have the name ... 1 day ago - Live updates, September 18: Pākehā discharged without conviction more often than MāoriWelcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for September 18. Auckland is currently at alert level four, the rest of NZ level two. Our coverage of the Covid response depends on members’ contributions. Click here to learn more.Coming up today The latest delta outbreak case numbers will be released via a ...1 day ago
- Protecting the people, East Coast styleNgāti Porou and Te Whānau-a-Apanui led the way at the beginning of the pandemic by drawing the line at their borders to protect the people within. They weren’t just fighting to keep Covid out – they were battling bureaucracy, racism and hunger too.Click here to read this story in te ...1 day ago
- Hei tā te Tairāwhiti tiaki tangataI mua kē a Ngāti Porou me Te Whānau-a-Apanui e ārahi ana i te tīmatanga o te mate urutā i tā rātou aukati i te huarahi whakaroto ki ō rātou rohe hei tiaki i te hunga o roto. Ehara i te mea i whawhai noa iho rātou i te Kowheori ...1 day ago
- When will NZ stop honouring this genocidal dictator?
Absent-mindedly paying tribute to murderous Turkish dictator Mustafa Kemal Atatürk is a stain on this country's integrity. It's time we did something about it, writes Maria Armoudian. Last week, in what once seemed to many an impossibility, the towering tribute to a racist champion of the American Confederacy, General Robert E. Lee, ...1 day ago - Short story: Beatrice’s visit, by Carol Aru
"She had spent roughly thirty thousand vatu on a whole cow": a story about money, set in Vanuatu Tina was daydreaming as she raked the newly trimmed grass around their house. Beatrice, whom she had not seen for ten years, was coming to visit today. They’d been best friends. Tina ...1 day ago - Nicola Legat on the poleaxing of New Zealand booksSelling books during lockdown can be safe and we were told doing so would be considered essential. So why are we in this shambles again? The publisher of Massey University Press makes her case. Most evenings after dinner in this interminable lockdown I find myself up on sad, shuttered Ponsonby Road ...1 day ago
- Wellington And Dunedin Feminists Rally For Disappearing Rights
Local feminists are marching for their rights in Wellington and Dunedin on New Zealand Suffrage Day, this Sunday, in protest against two bills before Parliament that the women say will erode their rights; the Births, Deaths, Marriages and Relationships ...2 days ago - ‘Either you cave in, or you fight back’: The Christchurch family fundraising for AfghanistanA Christchurch couple who fundraised to create a ‘living memorial’ for the victims of March 15 are calling for more government support for young Afghans affected by the war. When Kabul fell to the Taliban last month, Christchurch couple Bariz Shah and his wife Saba Afrasyabi watched on anxiously, glued ...2 days ago
- Siouxsie Wiles: Should I get vaccinated if I’m pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or breastfeeding?I know from personal experience the anxiety, the nausea, the uncertainty that can surround decisions at such sensitive times, writes Siouxsie Wiles.I’ve been inundated with emails and messages from people worried about getting vaccinated if they are trying for a baby, or pregnant, or breastfeeding. Before I tell you what ...2 days ago
- Gasson giving it her all in global swim league
She may have missed the cut to swim at her second Olympics in Tokyo, but now Helena Gasson is the only Kiwi breaking records on the international stage, Dave Crampton reports. Helena Gasson has no idea when she will be back in New Zealand. She’s one of many Kiwi athletes competing ...2 days ago - Women’s police stations in Australia: would they work for ‘all’ women?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amanda Porter, Senior Fellow (Indigenous Programs), The University of Melbourne Proposals to expand police powers, to criminalise coercive control and to establish specialist women’s police stations have all occupied a prominent place in Australia’s recent debate about responses to violence against women. ...2 days ago - Forget nose spray, good sex clears a stuffy nose just as effectively — and is a lot more funSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David King, Senior Lecturer in General Practice, The University of Queensland Shutterstock Medical news is full of stories about promising new treatments for challenging conditions, or for additional health benefits of routine behaviours and habits. Who doesn’t want to feel ...2 days ago
- ‘Bloody fool!’: why Ripper the musk duck, and many other talkative Aussie birds, are exciting bi...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Dalziell, Postdoctoral Associate, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University shutterstock Recently, two native Australian birds have stolen the limelight with their impressive vocal imitations. A superb lyrebird called Echo at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo has produced a painfully realistic vocal ...2 days ago
- The Week in Politics: Vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinateAnalysis - The government makes a big push to get as many people as possible vaccinated, the polls are bleak for Judith Collins and MIQ bookings are set to re-open, writes Peter Wilson. ...2 days ago
- VIDEO: Michelle Grattan on the Anglosphere’s reassertion in the Indo-PacificSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra University of Canberra Professorial Fellow Michelle Grattan and University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Paddy Nixon discuss the week in politics. This week Michelle and Paddy discuss the revelation that anonymous donors covered some ...2 days ago
- Why does my internet connection feel slow and jumpy, even when my internet speed is high?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vijay Sivaraman, Professor of Telecommunications and Internet Technologies, UNSW Jeshoots.com/Unsplash, CC BY-SA Of the 8.2 million homes and businesses active on Australia’s National Broadband Network (NBN) in July 2021, 77% are now reported to be on a broadband plan that ...2 days ago
- ECE relief teachers present COVID pay petition to GovernmentA union-backed petition to ensure ECE relief teachers are paid during lockdown, signed by nearly 5,000 teachers and supporters, was delivered to Government via Zoom this afternoon. The petition, addressed to Education Minister Chris Hipkins and received ...2 days ago
- Come on, Joel – more research should show that classism and the pox weren’t the only exports sen...ACT leader David Seymour (who is doing nicely in opinion polls) irked many people when he sent out priority vaccination access codes intended for Māori. The critics (no surprises here) included Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson, who said the move was “despicable” and she would be writing to Speaker ...2 days ago
- The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending September 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.The Auckland store remains benched but we have fingers crossed for an imminent move to level three, at ...2 days ago
- On the money: Kate Sheppard and the making of a New Zealand feminist iconSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Pickles, Professor of History, University of Canterbury Shutterstock In 1992 four New Zealand icons (and the queen) appeared on new banknotes. Part of creating national identity, these notable citizens were chosen to represent the pinnacles of achievement. Āpirana ...2 days ago
- PSA Nurses and MERAS Midwives settle pay talksDistrict Health Boards are pleased to announce settlements have been reached in bargaining with PSA Nurses and with midwives covered by the MERAS – the Midwifery Employee Representation & Advisory Service. ...2 days ago
- C’est fini: can the Australia-France relationship be salvaged after scrapping the sub deal?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Romain Fathi, Senior Lecturer, History, Flinders University YOAN VALAT/EPA French diplomatic language can be subtle. When Canberra announced its abrupt foreign policy change and unilateral decision to walk away from its contract with French submarine builder Naval Group, the French ...2 days ago
- It’s official: The AM Show has gone just as bonkers as BreakfastHow has Auckland’s long lockdown affected The AM Show? Tara Ward tuned in this morning to find out.Two weeks ago, Magic Talk radio host Ryan Bridge was announced as the new host of Three’s The AM Show, following the departure of long time presenter Duncan Garner. While TVNZ1’s Breakfast spends ...2 days ago
- Yesterdaze: A vacation of interest
An equestrian, a judge and a lawyer united the Team of Five Million, as Judith Collins doth projected too much. James Elliott has the news of the week. About 70 percent of us have now had one dose of the Pfizer vaccine. About 35 percent of us have had both doses of the Pfizer vaccine. And ...2 days ago - Minister of Police is engaged in a relentless crackdown on the gangs – but look at how seized mon...Your Point of Order team delighted at the words chosen by Police Minister Poto Williams to brandish the government’s law-and-order colours. Her statement was headed Government continues crackdown on gangs and organised crime and kicked off by advising us that … Operation Tauwhiro (did you know anything about it?) ...2 days ago
- ORC team places second in Trans-Tasman competitionThe Otago Regional Council (ORC) Team, ‘In Our Element’, won the New Zealand leg of the Australasian Management Challenge in May and competed remotely in the finals on 24 August, during alert level 4. ...2 days ago
- Covid-19 briefing: Trans-Tasman bubble burst for another eight weeksThe trans-Tasman bubble is being suspended for a further eight weeks, the New Zealand government has confirmed today. Watch the latest government briefing here. ...2 days ago
- Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – September 17 2021Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage. You can sign up to NZ Politics Daily as well as New Zealand Political Roundup columns for free here. Today’s content AUKUS Pact, Afghanistan, China Tess McClure (Guardian): Aukus ...2 days ago
- Fitzgibbon is quitting politics but this doesn’t mean Albanese can partySource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Kenny, Professor, Australian Studies Institute, Australian National University Joel Fitzgibbon and Anthony Albanese in parliament in 2018. Mick Tsikas/AAP One imagines the retirement of Joel Fitzgibbon at the next election simplifies things for Anthony Albanese, as he crafts a climate change ...2 days ago
- Govt warned of dangers if US and China seek to join CPTPPIt’s Our Future is reminding the Labour Government that it opposed the original Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), in light of reports the United States may consider joining the successor Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership ...2 days ago
- Keith Rankin Analysis – Indo-Pacific: The World’s New Geopolitical BuzzwordAnalysis by Keith Rankin, Keith Rankin. I have been watching the sudden rise to prominence of the word ‘Indo-Pacific’ these last couple of months. These last couple of days it may have been the most repeated word on Radio New Zealand. According to Wikipedia today, Indo-Pacific is “biogeographic region”, although ...2 days ago
- Te reo Māori and Welsh: Two indigenous languages, two stories of revivalBeaten for speaking the language; shame around speaking it; suppressed and ridiculed by the British. Sound familiar?Welsh is a dead language.This is what I’ve been hearing my entire life.I’ve always been aware of the comparison between my language and te reo Māori. Both, I knew, shared the precarious position of ...2 days ago
- Covid-19 update: Govt gives latest details on current Delta outbreakDeputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson and Director of Public Health Caroline McElnay are providing a media update on the Covid-19 outbreak. ...2 days ago
- How The Beths made lockdown movie magicNo one can go to a big gig right now, but a 2020 concert by The Beths has become the lockdown movie experience the country needs. How’d that happen?It was designed to be a brilliant night. After 12 shows around the country, The Beths were in some of the best ...2 days ago
- When COVID patients are intubated in ICU, the trauma can stay with them long after this breathing em...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deb Massey, Associate Professor, Faculty of Health, School of Nursing, Southern Cross University Shutterstock The current wave of COVID cases is leading to more hospital and intensive care (ICU) admissions. Frontline health workers and experts use the term “intubation” for ...2 days ago
- Back to the Rafters review: series reboot is full of heart and reflects changing timesSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Sparkes, Senior Lecturer (Media Studies and Production), University of Southern Queensland Brook Rushton/Amazon Prime Soap operas have been around since television was invented. Often involving outlandish plots, exaggerated storylines and hyperbolic characters and dialogue, they labour each moment on ...2 days ago
- The Friday Poem: Whāngai, by Jessie PuruA new poem from Tāmaki Makaurau poet Jessie Puru.WhāngaiKoro picked him up from the office they moved him to still wet from the womb sucking on his tongue waiting for mīraka, mother still being stitched and sedated.Koro wanted to slap the social worker’s hand away from him he took him ...2 days ago
- Do you think most people are trustworthy and helpful? How we measured ‘social cohesion’ and why ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicholas Biddle, Professor of Economics and Public Policy, ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National University Shutterstock COVID-19 has upended so many aspects of our lives in Australia, it can be hard to remember what life was like ...2 days ago
- Power plan regulations change aims to ensure fairnessAbout 60 percent of homes can expect lower power bills as the government announces a plan to phase out regulations on "low-use" electricity plans, the minister says. ...2 days ago
- Human Rights Commission says “Te Reo Māori is a right”The Human Rights Commission will no longer consider individual complaints over the use of te reo Māori or the term Pākehā. ...2 days ago
- ‘It has nothing to do with Lorde’Lorde’s te reo Māori mini-album Te Ao Mārama has prompted passionate conversation in Māori communities, and exposed the complex layers of hurt and intergenerational trauma being carried by those without their language. Writer and poet Rangimarie Sophie Jolley explains it’s about more than pop music – it’s personal.Te Reo Māori ...2 days ago
- Rules restricting boatingto stop spread of pest seaweedBiosecurity New Zealand is placing legal controls on parts of Aotea Great Barrier Island in a bid to contain the invasive seaweed Caulerpa brachypus , while the local Mana Whenua governance group on Aotea are supporting a dual response by imposing ...2 days ago
- Authorities told to throw out flawed sea level estimatesCoastal property groups are recommending the government urgently update its faulty advice to local authorities on sea level rise. ...2 days ago
- Commissioner warns against paper-based contact tracingPrivacy Commissioner John Edwards is concerned that people are gaining access to personal information from paper-based contact tracing registers and using it in ways that breach peoples’ privacy. The Government’s introduction of mandatory record ...2 days ago
- Greenpeace appalled by nightmarish waste to energy proposalA new proposal to build a waste to energy incinerator in Waimate to burn 350,000 tonnes of plastic, toxic sludge, nappies and other waste, is facing strong opposition from Greenpeace Aotearoa. ...2 days ago
- Low fixed charge regulation removal good for Kiwis in need“The Government’s decision to remove the low fixed charge regulation is a positive move which will stop many low-income households subsidising the electricity of better-off families,” Electricity Retailers’ Association Chief Executive Cameron Burrows ...2 days ago
- New Conservative supports rights of Defence force personnelRecently, the NZDF (New Zealand Defence Force) mandated that all personnel take the COVID-19 vaccine as a part of the baseline medical requirements for deployment in NZ and overseas. This decision has a far-reaching impact on service men and women ...2 days ago
- Fires caused by lithium-ion batteries on the increaseBlazes have become more common in recent times due to the sheer number of lithium-Ion batteries simply being discarded in household bins. ...2 days ago
- Commission supports legislation to ban conversion therapyThe Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission (the Commission) appeared in front of the Justice Select Committee yesterday to speak to its written submission on the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill (the Bill). ...2 days ago
- Why NZ is unlikely to follow Australia’s lead on social media defamation lawSome key differences in existing law mean that New Zealand media organisations remain generally safe from liability for comments posted under their content, writes Otago University law lecturer Alex Patu.Let’s face it, there’s a reason people say “never read the comments”: most commentary below social media posts is just the ...2 days ago
- QLD police will use AI to ‘predict’ domestic violence before it happens. Beware the unintended c...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Heather Douglas, Professor of Law, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock The Queensland Police Service (QPS) is expected to begin a trial using artificial intelligence (AI) to determine the future risk posed by known domestic violence perpetrators. Perpetrators identified as ...2 days ago
- Chief health officers are in the spotlight like never before. Here’s what goes on behind the scene...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Harris, Senior Research Fellow, Deputy Director, CHETRE, UNSW Until COVID-19, few people knew anything about Australia’s chief medical officer or the state and territories’ chief health officers. Now they are front and centre of the news cycle. But media coverage misses ...2 days ago
- Tasmania’s salmon industry detonates underwater bombs to scare away seals – but at what cost?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benjamin Richardson, Professor of Environmental Law, University of Tasmania Shutterstock Australians consume a lot of salmon – much of it farmed in Tasmania. But as Richard Flanagan’s new book Toxic shows, concern about the industry’s environmental damage is growing. ...2 days ago
- Destroying vegetation along fences and roads could worsen our extinction crisis — yet the NSW gove...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Euan Ritchie, Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University Shutterstock What do koalas, barking owls, greater gliders, southern rainbow skinks, native bees, and regent honeyeaters all have in common? ...2 days ago
- Local, face-to-face support offers a lifeline for uni students in regional and remote AustraliaSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cathy Stone, Conjoint Associate Professor, School of Humanities & Social Science, University of Newcastle CUC Far West, Author provided For university students living out of reach of a campus and studying online, the growing presence of Regional University Centres is ...2 days ago
- Vital Signs: we’re doing well despite Delta, but 3 major economic challenges loomSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW This week the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development published its first “Economic Survey of Australia” since 2018. It gives Australia good marks for a remarkably good economic response to the COVID pandemic, but warns ...2 days ago
- Friday essay: Nevermind 30 years on – how Nirvana’s second album tilted the world on its axisSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dean Biron, PhD in Cultural Studies; teaches in School of Justice, Queensland University of Technology For many of us back in 1991, it felt as if the planet tilted slightly further on its axis when Smells Like Teen Spirit — the lead ...2 days ago
- ANZUS without NZ? Why the new security pact between Australia, the UK and US might not be all it see...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato We live, to borrow a phrase, in interesting times. The pandemic aside, relations between the superpowers are tense. The sudden arrival of the new AUKUS security agreement between Australia, the US and UK simply ...2 days ago
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First past the post is the winner in a horse-race, right? Politics in New Zealand is a horse-race, right??
The kings horse always wins.
If it was our minister of racing would be polling a lot higher than 1%.
Colmar Brunton poll looks like a Colmar Brunton. Always seems to be about 3% leaned towards the Nats. Hard to make much of it, but bless Jessica Mutch Mackay, she's trying to spin it like we finally have a poll we can rely on.
Labour should coalesce with ACT – Rimmer has worked hard, earned the respect – Jacinda! Choose Seymour!
I'd rather not see that to be honest. ACT has a policy of doing away with the place I work, so I'm not keen on that.
It’s the trends that count. Not ideal direction for labour.
I'm beginning to think, based on the poll results post debate, and the stuff I read Collins saying, that a substantial percentage of NZers actually like violence, and seeing people hurting other people.
On election day it's the number (of votes) that counts – that number is looking less than "ideal" for National
National’s time will come again, but it won’t be this time – they need to get past their obsession with shitty low blows first.
Indeed not looking awesome for National at the moment. But if the greens fall below 5% then labour no mates isn’t looking quite as comfortable.
Expect Green party support will keep them in parliament – Labour look dependable regardless.
You'll have about an hour of hope on election night.
7 pm: Greens 5%. 10 pm: Greens 6-7%.
Two weeks later, the result: Greens 8-9%.
It's always fun to watch National supporters fail to understand how counting votes actually works. Key won a single party majority 3 times, as long as you went to bed early.
It takes a special kinda person to believe the greens are going to land at 8-9%.
I’m not surprised you’re one of them.
Nothing special, just evidence-based analysis of Labour's cautious positioning, and the clear incentive for Labour left voters to back the coalition partner, both tactically (i.e. above threshold) and philosophically (more progressive government).
Wow you just convinced me that I need to part vote green .
Keep up the good work
The trend is that Labour + Greens have not moved. There aint no trend.
I'm still amazed that around 35% Nat & Act voters – are not voting as if their life depends on it. Because them opener borders would not be good.
I am curious though, we we are not getting any polling on the referenda? Is that not allowed?
Spliffer? It's curious, isn't it! Will those who vote "left", because the right is so crap, protest-vote against cannabis reform, for "balance"?
That's what I reckon's happening.
The previous CB poll had polling on the referendums, and I expect this one might too. TV networks always pad out several days' worth of coverage from the polls, to get their money's worth.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/1-news-colmar-brunton-poll-support-cannabis-legalisation-dropping-end-life-choice-remains-steady-v1
there you go.
looking good for a no on cannabis.
I don't think our side is going to win.
And ACT and National govt might just come through.
They won't come through – as long as voters … vote. Which doesn't mean a "like" on social media.
With an average turnout, Ardern will win a second term comfortably, with the Greens.
But a low turnout is a real risk, and Collins' only hope. Let's do all we can to encourage people to get out, as soon as advance voting starts.
Millsy, last election I said "Don't despair", I say it again
Vote early. Shut out the noise, as you have done your best.
Agree with that. Also, remember the only important poll is your vote. Forget what the media is wanting you to hear or think.
Also, I say to anybody thinking of voting for the right aren't we lucky to have had an incompetent administration of the coalition of losers who didn't know what they were doing that stopped you from getting the virus and kept you safe so you can now vote for some other party which is more concerned about greed than peoples welfare.
As someone said many times "You don't know how lucky you are" or if National supported by that gun lobbying prat Rimmer get in "were"
Yip the coalition has been so useless I am going on holiday next week visiting friends and family across the north island and having meals in cafes while having adventures.
News must be new, so shifts of one percentage point are presented as up/down movement, supposedly more "interesting" than a reporter explaining the margin of error.
The real take from tonight's poll is confirmation and consolidation from other polling: no, the Greens haven't been hurt (and don't wait for the commentators to re-assess their doom-laden predictions), but NZF are gone and ACT's gain is real.
I see National has scored 3 percentage points since last week's poll. I reckon its due to Collins performance at the first leader's debate.
As someone pointed out to me last week… what's the matter with Jacinda? She can sock it to them in the debating chamber and gets kudos for it so why can't she do it in a TV debate.
I concur. Pull your socks up Jacinda.
My comment from before stands. Seriously, it seems like Judith Collins would gain 10% for National if she assaulted Jacinda Adern live on telly during the debate.
Why does Jacinda have to sock it to anybody?
Well then why does she 'sock it to them' in the House? I could have put it this way… she needs to counter Judith's bullying behaviour and untruths by calling her out on it.
Why do people assume that socking it to bullies is somehow wrong? That is why they get away with so much because people let them.
She doesn't need to get dragged into a mudfight, but she does need to engage with Collins better. Just rebut with calm, direct questions, instead of letting Collins rewrite history:
"So what does that mean, Judith? You supported zero carbon act / gun control / the lockdown (etc) Do you regret that?".
Don't rely on the moderator to do that job for her, which was the problem in the TVNZ debate. Collins' whoppers went unchallenged. A post-debate fact-check is useless, it needs to be in real time.
"That's as true as your five dollar cheese, Judith …".
Which is pretty much what I was trying to say. 🙂
Have been watching the youth debate courtesy of TVNZ online. What a treat.
They reminded me of the public meetings and debates of yesteryear – lively, lots of fun, a bit raucous at times but the two ingredients which were missing… nastiness and bully boy/girl behaviour.
Bravo to all who took part. A great debate ably managed by Jack Tane.
Labour + Greens is the same in this poll as the last CB, they just traded a percentage point with each other. That’s good right? Isn’t it what most commenters in here wanted?
Nats + ACT look to have clawed a bit back from the minors.
So no change really.
I'd be happier with a higher GP vote obviously but a L/G coalition withhout NZF is a really good result for the left. Would be great for the Mp to get a seat or two as well, they've ruled out supporting Nat.
What Mutch Mckay and others aren't factoring in is Overseas votes. Always favour the left, bound to overwhelming favour Jacinda Ardern especially as we are not charging in the main for quarantine.
I will check out how many votes this usually off. This latest poll may serve a purpose of getting Labour voters out to vote.
Another factor as community transmission fades away, this will help Labour too
For all the hype about what a political wunderkind Swarbrick is, the miserable polling results on such a no-brainer as the cannabis referendum is quite an abject failure. (h/t James at 3.3 for link)
snort, is that the Ad school of politics? What forces do you think have been brought to bear on the vote?
Prob'ly much the same forces that legalisation advocates have had to overcome in all the other places in the world where legalisation actually passed. Often resoundingly.
except the places where they haven't been overcome.
Lots of people don't want to legalise cannabis. Might help to understand why.
Because for too many people, they go with their feels and reckons and "other ways of knowing", rather than facts and evidence, when making their decisions.
yep. For others, they don't have the time or inclination to educate themselves.
Hooten saying on Twitter that the SFO investigation into NZ First is set to be released. They reckon it clears them all.
Winston says a lot of things. Many of them so weaseled it’s an art form.
his party say exactly what winny tells them to. So it’s not surprising they are all saying the same thing.
I guess we will wait for the SFO – but it sounds like it’s close (or they know it’s going to be after the election so they can lie their pants off before hand)
For the ignorant pontificating about hydrogen being a waste of time.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/09/airbus-unveils-concepts-for-hydrogen-powered-plane
the time for gloating is when theres a working prototype and proven safety…you may be a little premature
Those parroting oil industry propaganda dismissing hydrogen are being premature. Still the most promising sustainable technology for long haul ships. Nothing else comes close. Except for fusion, which looks a lot less likely than solving the issues with hydrogen. I've been following the research closely, being "in the business".
When shipowners, not noted for wasting money, commute serious money to something they expect a return
EROI of 0.25
Depends on the source.
You can name a source with a better EROI?….preferably at least 10 fold more efficient
Like rail. The return has to factor in the costs of not having it. Such as climate collapse from continued fossil fuel use.
Thats fine as long as you accept that it is totally unsustainable especially in a world where energy is in short supply….as will the world be when it no longer uses fossil fuels (for whatever reason)
0.25 seems a wee bit harsh. I've seen some figures as good as 0.5, including compressing the hydrogen. Admittedly from hydrogen optimists.
The piece below from InsideEVs gives a good illustration of the losses, even if their general tone is inline with their other articles of being a bit over-pessimistic on hydrogen. Nevertheless, their figure for EROI goes as high as 0.35.
https://insideevs.com/news/406676/battery-electric-hydrogen-fuel-cell-efficiency-comparison/
0.5 still dont cut it does it.
Weeell, if the choice is doing without shipping (and aviation), and massively overbuilding renewable electricity to be able to make hydrogen for those applications even at an EROI of 0.25, I'm picking the hydrogen route will happen.
But I'm also picking that if the world ever comes to its senses and puts a high enough price on fossil fuels that reflects the damage they do, then shipping will go to small nukes, and long haul aviation will go to liquid biofuels.
And if both or either of those things happen they will be tightly restricted, chronically expensive and sparingly used.
The rooskies did a working prototype more than three decades ago with the Tu-155. Just a minor downside was the tank, that only fed one of the three engines for a short flight, took up a hefty fraction of the passenger area in the fuselage.
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/TU-155-Liquid-Hydrogen-Aircraft-Design-Tupolev-2009_fig12_235113427
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_Tu-155
The "proven safety" aspect is a bit lacking, tho.
I'd also like to hear good atmospheric physicists comment on the effects of leaking significant quantities of hydrogen into the stratosphere just below the ozone layer.
And Archie Blue built a mini that ran on onboard electrolysis in the 1970s…..where are all these hydrogen powered vehicles now?
In the Museum of Wonderful Inventions that would Save the World that the Oil Industry Bought and Suppressed to Protect their Profits.
They didnt…he died poor
They obviously paid what it was worth.
they paid nothing…and didnt need to for the same reason noted above…the EROI is unworkable.
… what it was worth.
and the museum is empty
Well at least they went one better than the poms, as the poms give up designing a Hydrogen powered plane (like it did with its 1960's version of its Joint Strike Fighter as it became a dog of an Aircraft on paper) as a became a monster of an aircraft as the old adage of aircraft design of power vs weight vs drag = more power vs more weight = more drag and on it went upwards.
Tony Butlers Book, British Secret Projects Hypersonics, Ramjets & Missiles.
Chatper 11, Fuel and Materials for Hypersonic Flight
It may take slightly more than that. London has run hydrogen buses for over a decade – but, although a handful of new doubledeckers are in prospect, there has been no move to swap any significant fraction of the fleet to hydrogen, even as scheduled replacements. They are a vanity project at this time.
Not what you would deem a roaring success.
Against nearly half a million battery electric buses? Yeah, nah.
https://www.pri.org/stories/2019-10-08/china-dominates-electric-bus-market-us-getting-board
Then in the US they're looking at their massive fleets of school bus to go battery electric and then be vehicle to grid when needed. It's actually a reasonably good fit for smoothing the output from massive PV installations.
https://www.axios.com/electric-school-buses-vehicle-to-grid-power-19f7b6b1-662b-4501-a96e-dcf3fd57a886.html
can you explain what Labour and Ngai Tahu said today then?
Is Ardern talking about manufacturing hydrogen in Bluff, to use for the long haul road fleet in NZ? Which means freighting hydrogen from Bluff all over NZ?
And O'Regan is talking about using Manapouri to manufacture hydrogen and sell it overseas? Or is there something else about export I am missing?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/122908649/election-2020-ngi-tahu-pushes-for-green-hydrogen-transition-at-tiwai-point
Would be good to understand this in the NZ context.
I think the only concrete thing to come out of today's event was that the current government wants there to be a controlled transition from an aluminium smelter in Southland to something else over 3-5 years.
The hydrogen proposal may be a viable alternative. It may also be a dead cat. I'm inclined to go with the dead cat.
ok, shall I take it that no-one knows what Ardern or O'Regan mean at all?
https://www.interest.co.nz/business/107254/labour-aims-three-five-year-extension-life-southland-smelter-including-supporting
that doesn't explain it.
It gives all the explanation provided to date
Don't worry about the ouvea waste either as we can; dig a hole, burn it or hope there is another flood. But the solution is "MOVE" it to other sites. That is a long term solution ?? As there was no comment regarding this I wonder if our government has been outmanoeuvre AGAIN.
"New Zealand Aluminium Smelters and Rio Tinto have regularly reaffirmed their March 2018 commitment to the $4 million plan alongside local authorities and the government to move the waste from Mataura and other sites around Southland over six years."
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12363030
Nothing would surprise
It doesn't talk about Ngai Tahu at all, and it doesn't cover Ardern's statement this afternoon.
Ardern made a subsequent statement re Tiwai?…you have a link?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/122908649/election-2020-ngi-tahu-pushes-for-green-hydrogen-transition-at-tiwai-point
I've been asking what this means,
"We are creating a freight link for refuelling freight in New Zealand"
I assume she means that hydrogen would be manufactured at Tiwai and then shipped to fueling stations across NZ.
As i understand it. that is the Taranaki hydrogen plant.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/113153482/joint-venture-green-hydrogen-project-tipped-as-beginning-of-hydrogen-industry-in-taranaki
https://www.hiringa.co.nz/
Export would appear to be this
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5c350d6bcc8fedc9b21ec4c5/t/5de5b6665be571035175c34b/1575335526810/New+Zealand+Hydrogen+Association+-+Media+Release+-+LOI+-+28+November+2019+FINAL.pdf
yes, but she was talking about Ngai Tahu's idea about Tiwai and I thought an engineering bod here might get past their antipathy for the idea and explain what she meant.
Sounds like Ngai Tahu are simply floating an idea, whether it has any Gov support isnt stated…what Ardern described is what is covered in the links posted re Taranaki
I don't think one of the worlds largest shipping companies, who are noted for being tight arses, would invest tens of millions, in a "dead cat".
Don't know anything about the Tiwai proposal.
What I do know about is research into hydrogen as a cargo ship fuel.
If the storage issues can be sorted, which seem much more technically feasible, and closer to solutions than the long awaited nuclear fusion, hydrogen has the energy density to replace hydrocarbons for shipping.
It can also be extracted from water using sustainable electricity.
As has been noted, currently the return is not as good as using the electricity directly, but there are several promising technologies to improve that.
Anyone who thinks shipping is going to go away, is not aware of how much of their food and necessities is transported around NZ alone.
Hands up (even tiny ones) if you spend 100X more a year on your hair than you pay in tax.
72% of Kiwis approve of Jacinda Ardern (tonight's poll).
Keep up the snide, the snark, the personal insults, Judith. You're reading the room so well.
That is the problem, Labour trades on the Cult of Personality. Should Labour win this election that will mean that since the transition of NZ in 1984. Labour will have been in power longer than National. I wonder who then takes responsibility for where NZ will be in 2-3 years time.
No matter how well or what good intentions JA has, she is only the leader of Labour and is still bound by the party.
Yep…when Ardern is 60 in 2040 she may retire gracefully….then National may have a chance of the Treasury Benches.
Non political question?
I just started James joyce's Ulysses.
Should I bother carrying on ?
does he learn to write a sentence that makes sense at some point . ?
Or am I missing something?
How far in have you got?
I made it 3 sentences before deciding I would take the zero for that part of my seventh form English assessment.
About 10 pages and have not the foggiest in what's going on.
Jaeezzuss! 10 Pages!
I am not worthy to roll in your spittle.
1 once read anna karenina start to finish .that's a feat I I'm still very proud of.
I went through a phase when I found Tolstoy quite readable. But oddly, really not memorable. I really can't recall anything about his works, and don't feel any desire to reread them to refresh my memory. Unlike some other authors I keep getting drawn back to, because there's fresh nuance and subtleties I find every time I go back.
Quality outcome – 7 more pages than me.
I couldn't figure out why I wanted to live in some guy's head when he went to the bog – I think that was what was going on anyway.
Tolstoy IMHO is a lot more readable but I was very upset by he ending of war & peace when i was younger.
Your teacher was a sadist.
Bwaghorn – it takes some doing but is a treasure once you've learned the language. Give it time. One evening, as you drop off to sleep, you'll feel your brain aligning itself to Joyce's style. New day, you're off!
Aagh I see I bit like watching the romeo and juliet movie
Ok when I'm not so busy and tired of an evening I will attempt again.
Yep. One of the greatest things ever written. First time through don't try too hard to understand it. Treat it like poetry. Then find a decent companion or exegesis and read it a second time.
In 1963, my English Teacher chose not Ulysses to inflict upon us, but 'Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man'. I read it OK, maybe not understanding it as well as if I had been older, but it was OK, and may be an easier Intro to James Joyce..
Judith is only 2% away from her personal aspirational target of 35%. I know she can do it! In any case, just like Merv, she will cling on to Leadership like shit sticks to a blanket; it is the National way and pretty legal too.
@weka 7.1
I’d be quite happy if the Māori Party picked up a seat from Labour and maybe an extra list MP too. But the polling out tonight in the Māori seats doesn’t look very promising for that.
So Labour + Greens looks the most likely government combo at this stage. Though I see that the Nact and ACT fanbois are juggling all sorts of crazy scenarios on the old Twitter.
Just watched the online Young voters debate with Jack Tame. One rep from each Party. Plus a few from Party groups around the Hall.
Pretty good. Questions specific with some follow up. 3 were sitting MPs. It was much more watchable that the Leaders Debate with John.
Taking part in the debate were:
Kiri Allan – Labour
Simeon Brown – National
Chlöe Swarbrick – Greens
Robert Griffith – NZ First
Brooke van Veldon – Act
@bwaghorn 14.
Just give it away. Everybody else does.
I didn't. Once you've finished, there's the art of Pablo Picasso, start to finish.
Merv's still hanging around?
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/427117/nats-official-who-allegedly-goes-by-merv-still-in-leadership
tried researching how many overseas votes there were last election 2017. But to date unable to find it.
Anybody know what percentage voted from overseas? Swordfish?
65,000 overseas votes.
It's on the election website.
.
anker
61,524
= 2.34% of all votes (incl informal & disallowed).
= 2.37% of valid votes only.
Which is equivalent to 2.84 MPs in Parliament and heaps more than ACT’s share of the total vote.
The more I see of Collins, the less impressed I am. I had thought that she was sharp, good at cutting through others' arguments and someone for getting real points across clearly. However, as leader, she seems to be spouting nonsensical buzz-words, and often tailing off at the end of sentences, having lost track of exactly where she was going. After the debate, she was constantly trying to remember figures and tripping over her own tongue, and when she was asked about whether she hadn't neglected her own policy somewhat, she reeled off a few policies, before saying, 'It's only an hour and a half, if only it was two-and-a-half, I could have got… done any more [nervous smile and '…yeah…', like she's trying to make small-talk when visiting her mother-in-law for the first time, and pretending she doesn't hate the slightly stale date scones that were clearly cut on a board normally used for garlic].'
Then, today at the Grey Power meeting, there was, 'I don't think for a moment that these [Labour politicians] know how many cents there are in a dollar, except they do know that your dollar should be their dollar.' That's a non-sequitur of John-Key-ish proportions; just stringing together lazy, right-wing clichés with no thought for whether they even fit together to form a statement. It reminds me a lot of Melissa Lee, too, who, when put on the spot campaigning for a seat, ended up spouting a whole lot of stuff that either didn't make any sense, or seemed to mean something that she really should not have said.
Witness, too, the line at the same meeting, 'I know you might love Miss Ardern, but actually, I'm all over her.' So she loves her even more than they do? Riiiight…. Okay, we all know what she meant, but even then: is she trying to say that there was a time when she thought was wildly enthused by Ardern, or something? All in all, if you imagine a lot of what Collins says being said by the rhetorically hapless George W Bush, it really doesn't seem too far out of place.
Susie Ferguson didn't do a bad job on Morning Report the other day of pulling her up on her bumbling replies about their fiscal errors, but honestly, presenters should be halting her constantly, and asking her, 'Wtf… you just said what?… and what was it even supposed to mean?' and people should be putting together montages of her gaffes accompanied by a laughing track.
Fully agree, Hanswurst – her language ability is limited, and she will need compliant, helpful Media to help her again if she is to repeat her questionable "success" of that first TV debate.
Mind you, I thought both John Key and Bill English mangled the English language, and found it hard to believe that Bill English was really a graduate in English! Todd Muller had big problems with language too.
Better if I don’t say what I thought of Simon Bridges as an alleged graduate of Harvard in Law, etc… “The medicine is worse than the cure.” Lord save us!
I fully agree, especially on Key, but the thing is that Key was mangling the language in his fabled capacity as a freewheeling, self-taught financial wizard, while English built his political persona around the image of 'barbecue Bill', the amateur pugilist and Dipton farmer. Part of the problem for Bridges and Collins is that they have built their political images as clever lawyers, Collins as a hard-nosed battler for conservative principles, Bridges (rightly or wrongly) as a precocious hot-shot prosecutor. It's much harder for them to defuse a situation by grinning and saying, 'Aw shucks!'
Like her commentary during the Mt Albert byelection campaign of some years back when she made her claim about criminals from South Auckland stopping off in Mt Albert on their way to West Auckland. No-one knew what that had to do with the price of fish but the local wits and cartoonists did try to unravel her thoughts on the matter… much to everyone's enjoyment.
Not sure Collins could ever beat that pearler but you never know.
A useful rapid testing option, if we take the trouble to develop it. Sniffer dogs can detect Covid apparently.