Because she isn't that nutty righty, which is what is far right.
She could probably be classed as far right on a bad day if you take her anti-immigration antics seriously, but there are plenty of left people who dislike immigration.
Right, far right and alt right seem to be shifting in the days of the orange idiot.
Now anyone who voted Republican and Trump seems to be classed as far right in the US at the mo'.
A couple of defining features of the alt right are being anti-feminist and white supremacist. Compared to far right libertarians like David Seymour, who run politics of privilege but are not particularly racist or misogynist. Southern looks alt right to me. It's why the meme is funny.
Now anyone who voted Republican and Trump seems to be classed as far right in the US at the mo'.
Well, not anyone who voted for the orange wonder.
Just the ones who hoped for the policies he's actually implementing. And the ones who chanted "build the wall" and "lock her up". And the ones who liked his birtherism about Obama. And a few others.
As for voting for other Repuclicans, that a very broad brush. There might be some Republican candidates who don't jack off about child separations and indefinite detention. People who vote for those candidates might not be "far right".
Yet here she is surrounded by actual neo fucking Nazis and throwing the same white supremacy hand signal as the Christchurch murderer.
Here is Lauren's security detail for her tour – which received a red carpet treatment from SKY and News. It is composed of the neo-Nazi Lad's Society. I pointed this out to Marcus, who is Jewish, at the time. She did not respond. pic.twitter.com/jgQHQQvpsp
If so, maui, to what is she and her group saying "Ok"? Is it, "I am happy to be at the centre of this group and I am Ok with their group associations and ideology?"
I went once to hear speak a Nigerian Anglican priest. He fulminated against Islam. At the door afterwards I told him I could smell the gunsmoke. He said that he could tell from my body language during the speech that I was not in agreement. I certainly was not giving him the "OK" signal! The signals we give are more accurate than our words as to what we believe..
If a bunch of idiot white supremacist arseholes decide to take up hand shaking for a laugh and it turns into "a sign", are you going to stigmatise anyone who shakes someones hand and make it a white supremacist thing?
So here's the point. The alt-right cultures are using common symbols, memes etc to both communicate with each other and confuse and mock the general public and create confusion. People might find it funny up to the point we remember that the Chch mosque mass murderer is one of the people who used the sign, and organised and networked on 8chan.
The other way is a few white supremacist idiots on sites like 8Chan are taking the piss and normal people are falling for it and some other alt right idiots are falling for it and taking it seriously and doing the "symbolism" and every day things are suddenly made bad because of a few loud normal peoples over reaction and triggering.
Should just ignore the obvious trolling, and it tends to go away after a month or two.
Yes. And they love to keep recycling the "joke". The shared humour serves exactly the same group bonding and self-identification purpose as "serious" gestures.
The other way is a few white supremacist idiots on sites like 8Chan are taking the piss and normal people are falling for it and some other alt right idiots are falling for it and taking it seriously and doing the "symbolism" and every day things are suddenly made bad because of a few loud normal peoples over reaction and triggering.
If it's an in-joke for some far-right fuckwits and a serious symbol for other far-right fuckwits, then calling it a far-right fuckwit behaviour is not an over-reaction. To point it out is a public service, because we know what happens when far-right fuckwits hide in the dark for too long.
We have a problem Minister, it needs to be dealt and it means resources, stop blaming years of underfunding and start funding us correctly – New Zealand Resident Doctors' Association's national secretary, Deborah Powell
She said the association didn't want to hear excuses about the previous Government's lack of funding.
Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director, Ian Powell, said patients' lives were being put at risk in large part because of a severe shortage of specialists and other staff in emergency departments.
"Health Minister David Clark and National health spokesman Michael Woodhouse are bickering about whose government is to blame for the mess our EDs are in," he said.
"The truth is both politicians' respective parties have been like floundering fish when it comes to running the public health system."
Australasian College for Emergency Medicine president elect, Dr John Bonning, said if it was an a emergency patients would be treated, but for others there can be an offloading delay, which can affect patient outcomes. If somebody is waiting with angina that might be turning into a heart attack, if somebody has a critical infection that can get worse. There are some time critical conditions that might not be immediately obvious when they first come in. There needed to be more surgical and medical ward resourcing, so patients can be admitted to those wards, to take the strain off EDs.
St John medical director Dr Tony Smith said this (ambulance ramping) reduces the availability of ambulances to respond to the next emergency in the community.
Back to the topic (for those who care about it) the current Minister's excuse doesn't stack up.
Yes, it does take years to train both senior nurses and clinicians but why can't he source more (already trained) senior nurses and clinicians from offshore to fill the current shortfall?
Dr Clark said the problem can't be solved overnight.
"These resources are people, their training takes a long period of time, both senior nurses and clinicians take upwards of seven years to train," he said.
I'm not that fussed where he sources them from as long as they are fit for purpose.
And yes, I do think it comes down to funding, more precisely, their BRR. Additionally, what they have chosen to prioritise. So much for wellbeing and the year of delivery.
With all due respect, that is not an excuse as such, is it? The Minister wasn’t really excusing anything.
You should be “fussed where he sources them from as long as they are fit for purpose” because either you are ignorant of the problem or you are disingenuous. You don’t seem to realise or acknowledge that good qualifications, be it for teachers, nurses or doctors, for example, are in hot demand globally and it is a highly competitive market.
Is it enough to advertise? Can they step straight into their new position without additional education and/or training?
I disagree that it simply is a matter of throwing a few dollars at it. If it were that simple (!), the problem would be solved by lunchtime. Evidently, it isn’t this simple.
With all due respect, that is not an excuse as such, is it?
I believe so. First off, no one in their right mind thinks it can be solved overnight. But even the professionals in the sector expect it to be solved within a reasonable time as would most. So that line (overnight) is a total joke really.
And stating locals take time to train is an excuse, because doctors can be and are brought in from offshore. I haven't seen a Kiwi doctor on both occasions I've been in there of late, they have all be from offshore. Ireland is a popular place to source them from. They love it over here.
Yes, there is a global demand for doctors, etc, that's where money helps to attract them along with our lifestyle.
Can they step straight into their new position without additional education and/or training?
Probably not, but it wouldn't take several years to do that. Again, coming back to a more reasonable, thus acceptable (within the profession and public's mind) time frame.
IMO an excuse is when someone doesn’t really want to fix the problem or doesn’t want to do anything about it. I don’t think that applies here as is evident from your link @ 2.
Many love it over here. Some come and some stay and some move on. Life is quite expensive over here, especially in the main centres. Teachers and nurses struggle with housing costs and even medical specialist gasp at (choke on) living expenses. Their (recent and overdue) pay rises are just a drop in a bucket.
Additional or re-training won’t take seven years or so but even so, it will take time and depends on capacity as well, i.e. somebody has to oversee and undertake this. We’re not talking about WOF inspectors or builders and we are not talking about just a simple written exam to check off things.
What is considered a “reasonable” or “acceptable” time frame depends on one’s perception and understanding of the situation. An ignorant or gullible person could easily be made to believe that a few dollars and a few weeks is all that is needed …
IMO an excuse is when someone doesn’t really want to fix the problem or doesn’t want to do anything about it.
As you can see from the initial post, that's the feeling the professionals in the sector have i.e. he's not doing enough to correct the problem. Hence, they are speaking out and it is they that are sick of the excuses.
Life is quite expensive over here
Yes, many I came across stated that. Hence they would have to pay well. Which, of course, comes down to money.
What is considered a “reasonable” or “acceptable” time frame depends on one’s perception and understanding of the situation. An ignorant or gullible person could easily be made to believe that a few dollars and a few weeks is all that is needed.
I'm sure the professionals in the linked article (above) have a good understanding of this.
The Minister and his cabinet colleagues are awaiting the full health system review led by Heather Simpson. How much change do you expect them to make in the meantime?
@The Chairman Systemic and chronic underfunding of social services is a natural result of letting neoliberals run amok with cost cutting and demanding profits from the public sector, with a view to privatising the lot. The model for the last 40 years has failed, glad to see you recognise that
Of course health professionals and their unions want action immediately in their parts of the system. Does not mean it is possible, nor that they grasp the whole picture.
However there are things beyond increasing workforce than can be started now, so I do not buy the Minister hanging everything on that.
Of course health professionals and their unions want action immediately in their parts of the system. Does not mean it is possible, nor that they grasp the whole picture.
Are you implying health professionals and their unions are extremists demanding action that can't be met? Moreover, they have no grasp of what is doable in their profession?
I'm confident our health professionals and their unions have more grasp of the matter than you do.
Health practitioners are hired to deliver healthcare within their particular scope pf practice, not to manage competing priorities across disciplines or delivery timeframes for change programmes.
It's like expecting a bus driver to know about road network planning or rail electrification. They can see a need for better timetables and more colleagues to share the load, sure.
Health practitioners are hired to deliver healthcare within their particular scope pf practice…
Being on the front line in delivering healthcare within their particular scope of practice gives them a very good insight on what is required to improve that delivery, opposed to a manger stuck behind a desk that doesn't really have a clue on the daily ins and outs.
Moreover, Unions have a wider oversight, giving them a far broader view, thus insight.
Additionally, so does the Minister and his advisers, which are meant to be there to help. Yet the best he can come up with when pressed on the matter is he can't fix it overnight, he's holding a review and it will take several years to train up more. He seems to have had a better grasp on the matter when he was in opposition, but now that he's in charged, requires a review. Which will no doubt largely rely on the insights of the Union and staff.
Two years they have been in power and we are still awaiting a review, meanwhile more lives are being put at risk. Frankly, it's not good enough, hence the outcry. Do better.
Chair, as a self-proclaimed friend of the left, do you reckon NZ's public health service/sector/system would be better placed to serve the NZ public now if National rather than Labour/NZ1st/Greens had been (re-)elected in 2017?
Dr Jonathan "Safe Pair of Hands" Coleman may have had a vested interest in ensuring that NZ's public health sector was well and truly ***ked over 'looked after'.
Chair, as a self-proclaimed friend of the left, do you reckon NZ's public health service/sector/system would be better placed to serve the NZ public now if National rather than Labour/NZ1st/Greens had been (re-)elected in 2017?
Of course not. But that is no excuse to allow Labour to get away with falling short too.
There is little point of keeping them (National) out of power if Labour aren't going to be much better. If that is continually going to be the case, it's long past time we on the left look for better representation or press Labour harder.
Spot the telltale signs of ingrained anti-Labour bias:
Of course not. But that is no excuse to allow Labour to get away with falling short too.
There is little point of keeping them (National) out of power if Labour aren’t going to be much better. If that is continually going to be the case, it’s long past time we on the left look for better representation or press Labour harder. [my bolds for clarity]
Chair, you're making no sense. Surely there is a great deal of point to keeping the National party's self-serving wreckers ('Working for NZ'; 'Brighter Future' – my arse) out of power if the current coalition government is doing even slightly better.
You yourself just acknowledged (@10:58 am) that the NZ public health service would be less well placed to serve the NZ public now if a National government was still in charge – well done!
The fact Labour are only slightly better than National is a main reason many people I know no longer vote at all. They no longer see a point as they know they are largely screwed either way.
And the more people on the left don’t vote the more our politics moves to the right.
“The fact Labour are only slightly better than National” is youropinion, repeated ad nauseam here in your disingenuous “lefty” “more left than most” fashion.
IMHO the current coalition government (with all its constraints) is a much better government for all New Zealanders than a National-led government ever could/would be.
Chairman, you have been blowing your own cover for so long without cease that I think you may have some kind of compulsion disorder. You are now the concern troll with the longest record for pretending innocence while repeating the offence – trying to project your concerns into discredit for the Left.
Even if, as Drowsy Kram so nicely reminds us, you consider yourself "more left than most." I guess that those 'most' are people who just feel 'alright'.
As you can see from the responses to a serious issue, I'm clearly more left than most of you lot. Seems not many here are willing to talk the truth when it may harm Labour. Whereas, I'm of the belief of holding them to account to help bring about change for the better.
Nonetheless, I'm not the topic. Hence, care to try again? Or do you just want to join the mob and continue to throw crap at me?
Once again, back to the topic. I'm surprised I've yet to hear the media pull the Minister up on his line they take time to train. I'd love to hear what he would say about not bringing in more from offshore?
Would the minister need to place the ads personally, or are these specialists just sitting on a shelf somewhere ready to relocate at a moment's notice with full NZ-compatible certification for their specialty areas?
Ever been to hospital of late, it's like being at the UN.
Sourcing doctors from offshore is nothing new, they've been doing it for years.
I've recently experienced both sides of it. On an urgent matter, the service was great. But a on a not so critical visit, the wait time (although they did admit me in the end) was atrocious.
"Ever been to hospital of late, it's like being at the UN."
hang on there mr chair more-left-than-most man – what exactly are you implying with that sentence because it reads a bit dicey to me. How can you tell a UN like person from a kiwi?
"They all have accents and none I came across were Kiwi."
accents you say? oh dear I think mr chair more-left-than-most man you are digging a bit of a hole – best to front up now and own the issue you have.
Of course you may have unnatural powers and abilities to discern a persons citizenry from their accent – daresay in some parallel universe you may be considered a marvel but as you've yet to confirm that ability here, then, the question is moot.
Medical language sounds quite foreign to most people. And some patients hallucinate under the influence of some medication. I’m glad to see that The Chairman has fully recovered and has is back to his former self and with us to share his pearls of newly gained wisdom during his obviously traumatic and eye-opening descend into the foreign-operated and woefully underfunded healthcare system of Aotearoa-New Zealand.
I wasn't claiming I know their citizenship status. Merely highlighting many are from offshore.
Strong foreign accents is a good indication people aren't originally from here. And many I conversed with openly admitted they have recently come from abroad. Foreign doctors practicing here is nothing new. Just as Kiwi doctors heading offshore isn't a new concept. Many Kiwi doctors head to the UK in search of better pay. After all, they have large loans to pay off.
sure mr chair more-left-than-most man you stick with that story. Truth is you let a cat out the bag and the cat is not nice at all and you know it. Your observations are unpleasant and bigoted imo – foreign this and that from accents is bullshit.
So do you think they were sitting on a shelf waiting for a job in NZ? Or can the hiring of even one specialist from overseas become a process that takes years?
After all you're the one who wrote upthread "I'm not that fussed where he sources them from as long as they are fit for purpose".
Do you have any idea as to the process that ensures specialists sourced from overseas are assessed to be "fit for purpose"? Even if the minister snapped his fingers to bypass two or three levels of governance/management separation and removed every other barrier to employing staff, how long would you expect it to take to solve the problem?
Strangely enough, most I've come across love to travel. My own GP even has worked in several countries before practicing here. And I've had several over the years as most came from overseas and have taken off again. It seems Kiwi ones largely do the same, which would explain why there aren't many here.
“How long would you expect it to take to solve the problem?”
Far less than several years, most I’ve come across don’t even stay here that long. And it seems (going off the article) those in the profession agree with me. They wouldn’t be complaining if the Minister’s excuse was legit.
Yeah, it's a bit more complex than just turning up and saying "I'm an emergency cardiothoracic trauma surgeon".
First off, I never claimed it was that easy.
From your link
If you are applying for registration in a vocational scope and do not hold an approved Australasian postgraduate medical qualification such as a Fellowship, Diploma or Certificate, your training, qualifications and experience will first need to be assessed to see whether they are equivalent to those of a locally trained specialist
So how many doctors do you think hold an approved Australasian postgraduate medical qualification, enough for us to meet our current shortfall?
Moreover, how many doctors in the world do you think hold qualifications and experience that can meet the assessment to see whether they are equivalent to those of a locally trained specialist?
One would expect globally, there would be thousands.
You do realise ambulance ramping is a problem in Ausas well, right? So # specialists with Australasian qualifications = "not enough".
So then you have qualifications in other parts of the world, and assessing their experience and quals not just in the specialty, but also in general medical basics and things like medical ethics and dr-patient communication. Each of those needs formal and thorough assessment, while encouraging and sorting out immigration issues and general things like "is this doctor a sexual predator".
You seem to think it's about the number of trained doctors. It's not. It's about doctor availability, retention, and the attractiveness of working in the NZ health sector and the associated workplace conditions.
Very few of these are under ministerial control. Does the health sector need yet another shake-up, or would that just make things even worse?
You seem to think it's about the number of trained doctors. It's not. It's about doctor availability, retention, and the attractiveness of working in the NZ health sector and the associated workplace conditions.
We require a higher number of trained doctors.
The higher the number of trained doctors available globally, the easier it is to source them. So numbers is part of it.
So to is money,
Money is required to help attract and retain them and this applies to locally trained ones too.
And speaking of locally trained ones, what is the Government doing to grow their numbers?
The thing is, DHB's are largely in financial stress. Thus, they require more money to better do this. Which is totally in the Government's hands.
Just because Australia is also under pressure doesn't mean we can't poach doctors from there. Again, money along with work place conditions helps with this which again, is largely under ministerial control.
And again, I never said finding those that meet our assessment needs was going to be easy, but it needs to be done to help solve this problem.
ooo – DHB elections are coming up, ain't they? You could fix the problem in your DHB and show the minister how it's done. It'd really help you campaign for the nats next year, too, with the credibility you build up hiring new specialists.
Private equity vampires have taken to sucking the life out of tropical rain forests.
Two Brazilian firms owned by a top donor to President Trump and Mitch McConnell are significantly responsible for the ongoing destruction of the Amazon rainforest, carnage that has developed into raging fires that have captivated global attention. https://t.co/53CvjQLEsD
Brazil's president suggests international conspiracy to hold back Brazil. "Indians don't do lobbying. They don't speak our language. And somehow they've ended up with 14% of our land," Bolsonaro claims. pic.twitter.com/t5N1FTRA0p
Yep there is a real war going on and indigenous activists and environmentalists and protectors of the land are being murdered in alarming numbers. This scum will mow down many indigenous communities and people – we are about to lose whole cultures in that jungle and there is fuck all we can do about it.
So, after interfering with the police, and then interfering with immigration decisions, Stuart Nash has finally been sacked: Stuart Nash has been sacked as a minister, after Stuff revealed he had emailed business figures, including donors, detailing private Cabinet discussions. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed the people Nash emailed ...
Nearly 25% of mortgages in Auckland are deemed at risk in a 1-in-100 year flood event. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Once a year, every year, from now on, in our not-so-slow-cooking climate crisis, there will be a moment when the most important number in Aotearoa’s own personal, national ...
Item One: About a confected crisis Please bear with me for a moment, readers outside Auckland, I wish to sound the klaxon. Auckland, we have until 11pm today to have our say. About what? About this, as copied and pasted from Pippa Coom’s Facebook page:The "austerity" budget is built on ...
Buzz from the Beehive Yet again, the statement we were looking for could not be found on the Beehive website. Nor was it on the Scoop or Green Party websites. But – come to think of it – we are probably wasting our time by searching. Our quest is for the ...
The following is from a speech given by Arundhati Roy at the Swedish Academy on March 22, 2023, at a conference called Thought and Truth Under Pressure and reprinted from Literary Hub. I thank the Swedish Academy for inviting me to speak at this conference and for affording me the privilege ...
After almost two decades of racism, Australia is finally getting off its "stop the boats" bullshit. But don't worry, racists - Michael Wood has your back!The Government wants to increase the time it can detain without a warrant people seeking asylum en masse from four days to 28 ...
Last year, the Education and Workforce Committee recommended that the government legislate for pay transparency to prevent employers from secretly discriminating. This ought to be a bread and butter issue for Labour - discrimination sees women (and particularly Māori and Pasifika women) paid significantly less than men. But since then ...
Thomas Cranmer writes – ———— An unruly mob in Albert Park has catapulted New Zealand into the global headlines with ugly images that may become iconic in the debate about the dangers of transgenderism. ———— Bravo Kellie-Jay Keen. She did the job that needed to be done. For all the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global warming is melting the Arctic ice cap, and that’s having unforeseen effects on the world’s weather — even thousands of miles away from the North Pole. Some climate scientists have begun to link increasingly common heat waves in Europe to what is ...
Hot on the heels of the demotion of former police Minister Stuart Nash for breaching the Cabinet Manual, Radio New Zealand has revealed the close links between lobbyists and politicians- an area of New Zealand politics that is completely unregulated. The evidence in Guyon Espiner’s series Mate, Comrade, Brother, the ...
At the Auckland Transport board meeting today a series of papers really highlight the cost of sprawl. For the last few years, the Supporting Growth work has been looking at designing the strategic transport networks for future greenfield areas in the South, Northwest, North (around Dairy flat) and in Warkworth. ...
Hi,Today’s newsletter is something I’ve wanted to report for ages, but I have been waiting on a New Zealand judge to make a ruling. That ruling has been made — so here we go.Enjoy.A scene from Mister Organ.Two Police Officers Knock on My DoorOn November 4 last year, I was ...
Only three days after Nanaia Mahuta had dinner with China’s Foreign Minister, New Zealand’s intelligence chiefs were talking about state actors interfering in New Zealand politics and using ethnic communities here for espionage purposes. Neither GSCB Director (and new SIS director) Andrew Hampton nor acting SIS CEO Phil McKee ...
In what has been one of her most important diplomatic mission, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta has opened the door for a visit to Beijing by Prime Minister Chris Hipkins later this year. Such a mission is regarded as vital with a new Prime Minister Li Qiang settling into office. ...
Saturday morning, we went to Albert Park.We were there to show support, to challenge words of demonisation.To repeat those words from Michèle A’Court:Making them sound “other” is a technique used by racists and homophobes to dehumanise whole groups of people who “aren’t like them”. If you dehumanise people, it is ...
Too Strong For The Law’s Web: But, if the USA is too big to punish, why isn’t the Russian Federation? Russia’s economy may be roughly the size of Italy’s, but it’s nuclear arsenal is more than capable of laying human civilisation to waste. Threatening to arrest Vladimir Putin - especially when ...
Nobody likes a fascist, except other fascist’s of course. Thankfully they were completely outnumbered in Auckland last Saturday when a supposed advocate for women’s rights, Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull aka Posie Parker, tried to give a public speech about how transgender people are worthy of persecution.You can understand why Parker and her ...
On Friday I sent out a newsletter called Posie Parker vs Transgender Rights to provide information about the visit to our shores of Ms Parker. I attempted to show there were multiple points of view but on balance my sympathies were strongly with the counter protest group standing up for ...
Brian Easton writes – Evaluating the recent crashes of Silicon Valley Bank in the US and Credit Suisse in Switzerland plus two other banks (perhaps more by the time you read this) needs to begin with a review of the inevitable instability in the financial sector. The financial sector ...
Oh, the irony. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull has made a career out of inciting public hostility against the trans community, only to find herself on the receiving end of public hostility at her Auckland rally. In a further case of karmic justice, the people who brought her into the country ended up ...
In 1972, British soldiers tortured a false confession out of Liam Holden, resulting in him being given Britain's last death sentence. While it was commuted to life imprisonment, Holden was wrongly imprisoned for 17 years. Now, the courts have finally recognised that it was torture: In 1973 Liam Holden ...
Taxpayers are not only subsidising already-very-profitable private banks via the cheap ‘Funding For Lending’ loans that helped pumped up house prices in 2021, but are also paying the banks upwards of $2 billion a year in interest for cash kept with the Reserve Bank. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: ...
This weekend saw a showdown between two tribes of contemporary gender politics: those in favour of progressing transgender rights versus women wishing to defend their spaces. It’s a debate with huge passion, outrage and consequences. The figure at the centre of the clash was the British “trans-exclusionary radical feminist” Posie ...
Tomorrow the Auckland Transport board meet again. Here are some of the highlights from their board papers. The open session starts at 9am and can be watched on this Teams link. Closed Session The closed session is typically where the most interesting items are discussed. Items for Approval ...
Mutual Support: Democracy in New Zealand will not be saved by pitting Pakeha against Māori, but by joining together with every other citizen who still understands the meaning of working together to build something good that will last. Call that co-governance if you like, or call it something else – ...
Imagine being a great big business success enjoying your lavish Waiheke island property with infinity pool and ballroom and riparian rights and heli-pad. Sweeeet. But imagine, also, having to take orders from some little bureaucratic oik about how often you can land a chopper on it.I can’t, really, but it ...
Hi,New Zealand’s Life megachurch has confirmed to Webworm it was paid $10,000 by Hillsong for investigating Brian Houston’s sexual misconduct allegations.Following Webworm publishing this piece about the $10,000 payment, Life’s Corporate Communications Manager Phil Irons has confirmed what it was for:Paul [de Jong] was engaged by Hillsong to assist in ...
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Mar 19, 2023 thru Sat, Mar 25, 2023. Story of the Week Q&A: IPCC wraps up its most in-depth assessment of climate change The final part of the world’s most comprehensive assessment of ...
by Daphna Whitmore I thought the #LetWomenSpeak meeting would be a good time to talk about free speech and why it is important for the left. Then the mob stampeded the open-air gathering and no one got to speak. Here’s what I was had prepared. Today I want to talk ...
By Don Franks Today my friend Ani O’Briien went to a meeting in Auckland and wrote: “No sooner had Kellie-Jay Keen Minshull arrived at the Rotunda, a protestor (who had managed to get past the barrier) ran at her and threw a red substance all over her and a security ...
Jonathan Milne, managing editor for Newsroom Pro, has expressed his indignation about the outcome of a court decision yesterday in an article headed Posie Parker wins the beautiful freedom to make an ugly argument.Newsroom Pro laments: High Court Justice David Gendall has regretfully allowed an outspoken anti-trans activist to enter New ...
imagine my surprise this week when the National Party, in their infinite wisdom, decided to release an education policy. As you can imagine, this got us so riled up here in the office that we dusted off our Windows XP laptop, waiting 17 hours for all the updates to be ...
Come on Jess thought Mr Evans come on. He watched the large clock on the wall tick closer to 8:40am. Come on girl.In two minutes he had to submit the class attendance report and with Jess having already been late once that term it’d mean an automatic visit from the ...
This week’s UN IPCC report warned climate emissions will need to be cut by almost half by 2030, if warming is to be limited to 1.5°C. Bronwyn Hayward points out in The Hoon podcast how far behind NZ’s government and councils are now on climate action compared to the rest ...
Chris Hipkins, after he became prime minister, committed to defeating the cost-of- living crisis. He proceeded to make a bonfire of policies that were at the heart of Jacinda Ardern’s administration. But, as Richard Prebble pointed out this week, “the government has not just U-turned, it has repudiated the ...
There are some wellness, crystal-gazing, holistic spiritual guidance types in my disaster-hit coastal community who insist that the power of positive thinking will overcome the physical and material damages incurred by the community. They object to restrictions on road travel … Continue reading → ...
Evaluating the recent crashes of Silicon Valley Bank in the US and Credit Suisse in Switzerland plus two other banks (perhaps more by the time you read this) needs to begin with a review of the inevitable instability in the financial sector. The financial sector is inherently unstable, like military ...
1. We see here new police minister Ginny Andersen. Which larger than life NZ political figure was her great-uncle?a. Rob Muldoonb. Bill Andersenc. Richard John Seddond. Norman Kirk2. We see here archival footage of Ginny Andersen coming out of her electorate office to ask ex-tobacco lobbyist Chris Bishop if he ...
Buzz from the Beehive Stuart Nash, speaking as Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, one of his remaining portfolios after he was dropped down the Hipkins Government batting order, has drawn attention to the blue economy and its potential. Nash says the government is investing in the blue economy, or – ...
Photo by Josh Mills on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week for an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session for paying subscribers about the week that was for the next hour, including:The runs on Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic Bank on the west coast of the United States that forced the ...
Roundup is back! We skipped last week’s Friday post due to a shortage of person-power – did you notice? Lots going on out there… Our header image this week shows a green street that just happens to be Queen St, by @chamfy from Twitter. This week (and last) in ...
After threatening Prime Minister Chris Hipkins of consequences if he dared to bar her entry, Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull has been given her visa, regardless. This will enable her to hold rallies in Auckland and Wellington this weekend, and spread her messages of hostility against an already marginalised trans community. Neo-Nazis may, ...
* Bryce Edwards writes – The New Zealand Government has been silent about Australia’s decision to commit up to $400bn acquiring nuclear submarines, even though this is a significant threat to peace and stability in the Asia Pacific. The deal was struck by the Albanese Labor Government as ...
Boomers voted him in, but Brown’s Trumpish moments might spook Aucklanders worried about what a change to National nationally might mean. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR:Auckland MayorWayne Brown has become our version of Donald Trump and Boris Johnson, except without any of the insatiable appetite for media appearances. He ...
The New Zealand Government has been silent about Australia’s decision to commit up to $400bn acquiring nuclear submarines, even though this is a significant threat to peace and stability in the Asia Pacific. The deal was struck by the Albanese Labor Government as part of its Aukus pact with the ...
Recently you might have heard of a person called Posie Parker and her visit to Aotearoa. Perhaps you’re not quite sure what it’s all about. So let’s start with who this person is, why their visit is controversial, and what on earth a TERF is.Posie Parker is the super villain ...
The chair of Parliament’s Select Committee looking at the Government’s resource management legislation wants the bills sent back for more public consultation. The proposal would effectively kill any chance of the bills making it into law before the election. Green MP, Eugenie Sage, stressing that she was speaking as ...
Open access notables The United States experienced some historical low temperature records during the just-concluded winter. It's a reminder that climate and weather are quite noisy; with regard to our warming climate,, as with a road ascending a mountain range we may steadily change our conditions but with lots of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The Nanny State has scored some wins (or claimed them) in the past day or two but it faltered when it came to protecting Kiwi citizens from being savaged by one woman armed with a sharp tongue. The wins are recorded by triumphant ministers on the ...
Sometimes you see your friends making the case so well on social media you think: just copy and share.On acceptance and decency, from Michèle A’CourtA notable thing about anti-trans people is they way they talk about transgender women and men as though they are strangers “over there” when in fact ...
Not that long ago, things were looking pretty good for climate change policy in Aotearoa. We finally had an ETS, and while it was full of pork and subsidies, it was delivering high and ever-rising carbon prices, sending a clear message to polluters to clean up or shut down. And ...
Comparing (and switching) electricity providers has become easier, but bundling power up with broadband and/or gas makes it more challenging. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The Kākā TL;DR: The new Consumer Advocacy Council set up as a result of the Labour Government’s Electricity Price Review in 2019 has called on either ...
Hokitika-based Westland Milk Products has put the heat on dairy giant Fonterra with a $120m profit turnaround in 2022, driven by record sales. Westland paid its suppliers a 10c premium above the forecast Fonterra price per kilo, contributing $535m to the West Coast and Canterbury economies. The dairy ...
* Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealanders are uncomfortable with the high level of influence corporate lobbyists have in New Zealand politics, and demands are growing for greater regulation. A recent poll shows 62 per cent of the public support having a two-year cooling off period between ministers leaving public ...
New Zealanders are uncomfortable with the high level of influence corporate lobbyists have in New Zealand politics, and demands are growing for greater regulation. A recent poll shows 62 per cent of the public support having a two-year cooling off period between ministers leaving public office and becoming lobbyists and ...
This is a guest post by accessibility and sustainable transport advocate Tim Adriaansen It originally appeared here. A friend calls you and asks for your help. They tell you that while out and about nearby, they slipped over and landed arms-first. Now their wrist is swollen, hurting like ...
Floating offshore wind turbines offer incredible opportunities to capture powerful winds far out at sea. By unlocking this wind energy potential, they could be a key weapon in our arsenal in the fight against climate change. But how developed are these climate fighting clean energy giants? And why do I ...
Over the past two or three weeks, a procession of Maori iwi and hapu in a series of little-noticed appearances before two Select Committees have been asking for more say for Maori over resource management decisions along the co-governance lines of Three Waters. Their submissions and appearances run counter ...
The decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue war crimes arrest warrants for the Russian President and the Russia Children Ombudsman may have been welcomed by the ideologically committed but otherwise seems to have been greeted with widespread cynicism (see Situation in Ukraine: ICC judges issue arrest warrants ...
Let’s say you’re clasping your drink at a wedding, or a 40th, or a King’s Birthday Weekend family reunion and Drunk Uncle Kevin has just got going.He’s in an expansive frame of mind because we’re finally rid of that silly girl. But he wants to ask an honest question about ...
National Party leader Christopher Luxon may be feeling glum about his poll ratings, but he could be tapping into a rich political vein in describing the current state of education as “alarming”. Luxon said educational achievement has been declining, with a recent NCEA pilot exposing just how far it has ...
Way Beyond Reform: Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer have no more interest in remaining permanent members of “New Zealand’s” House of Representatives than did Lenin and Trotsky in remaining permanent members of Tsar Nicolas II’s “democratically-elected” Duma. Like the Bolsheviks, Te Pāti Māori is a party of revolutionaries – not reformists.THE CROWN ...
Buzz from the Beehive Auckland was wiped off the map, when Education Minister Jan Tinetti delivered her speech of welcome as host of the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers “here in Tāmaki Makaurau”. But – fair to say – a reference was made later in the speech to a ...
Morning mate, how you going?Well, I was watching the news last night and they announced this scientific report on Climate Change. But before they got to it they had a story about the new All Blacks coach.Sounds like important news. It’s a bit of a worry really.Yeah, they were talking ...
Always a bailout: US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Government would fully guarantee all savers in all smaller US banks if needed. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: No wonder an entire generation of investors are used to ‘buying the dip’ and ‘holding on for dear life’. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen ...
Wealthy vested interests have an oversized influence on political decisions in New Zealand. Partly that’s due to their use of corporate lobbyists. Fortunately, the influence lobbyists can have on decisions made by politicians is currently under scrutiny in Guyon Espiner’s in-depth series published by RNZ. Two of Espiner’s research exposés ...
Yesterday afternoon it rained and traffic around the region ground to a halt, once again highlighting why it is so important that our city gets on with improving the alternatives to driving. For additional irony, this happened on the same day the IPCC synthesis report landed, putting the focus on ...
The Beginning: Anti-Co-Governance agitator, Julian Batchelor, addresses the Dargaville stop of his travelling roadshow across New Zealand . Fascism almost always starts small. Sadly, it doesn’t always stay that way. Especially when the Left helps it to grow.THERE IS A DREADFUL LOGIC to the growth of fascism. To begin with, it ...
Hi,From an incredibly rainy day in Los Angeles, I just wanted to check in. I guess this is the day Trump may or may not end up in cuffs? I’m attempting a somewhat slower, less frenzied week. I’ve had Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s new record on non-stop, and it’s been a ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
The Government’s decision to introduce ‘mass arrivals’ legislation goes against the values we all share of Aotearoa as a place where all people are treated fairly, the Green Party says. ...
MINISTER DAVIDSON MUST RESIGN AFTER 'VIOLENCE' COMMENTS Marama Davidson should stand down as ‘Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence’ for the clear and outrageous statement she made at the Posie Parker protest that ‘white straight men’ are the cause of violence. Her offensive, racist, and sexist remarks ...
In response to Newshub and Amelia Wade’s obvious and ham-fisted attempt at a typical and predicted political hit job. As any politically aware reporter would know, any Cabinet subcommittee has a duty and obligation as a part of any government to respond to any UN declaration, in this case ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for the invitation to speak with you today and in your busy lives turning up to this meeting. Forty five years ago, in Howick, often described as racist, and where few Maori lived because it had been a ‘Fencible’ settlement at the time of the Anglo-Maori ...
The Green Party has marked the National Party’s new education policy and given it a fail, especially for its failure to address the underlying drivers of school performance. ...
You will never truly understand, from the pictures you’ve seen in the newspapers or on the six o-clock news, the sheer scale of the devastation wrought by Cyclone Gabrielle. ...
Political parties that want to negotiate with the Green Party must come to the table with much faster, bolder climate action, co-leaders James Shaw and Marama Davidson emphasised in their State of the Planet speech today. ...
Political parties that want to negotiate with the Green Party after the election must come to the table with much faster, bolder climate action, co-leaders James Shaw and Marama Davidson emphasised today. ...
We’re boosting incomes and helping ease cost of living pressures on Kiwis through a range of bread and butter support measures that will see pensioners, students, families, and those on main benefits better off from the start of next month. ...
The error Labour Ministers made by stopping work on a beverage container return scheme will be reversed by the Greens at the earliest opportunity as part of the next Government. ...
“Cabinet needs to do better - and today has shown exactly why we need Green Ministers in cabinet, so we can prioritise action to cut climate pollution and support people to make ends meet,” says Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson. ...
Biggest increase in food prices for over three decades shows the need for an excess profit tax on corporations to help people put food on the table. ...
New legislation passed by the Government today will make it harder for gangs and their leaders to benefit financially from crime that causes considerable harm in our communities, Minister of Justice Kiri Allan says. Since the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009 came into effect police have been highly successful in ...
This evening I have advised the Governor-General to dismiss Stuart Nash from all his ministerial portfolios. Late this afternoon I was made aware by a news outlet of an email Stuart Nash sent in March 2020 to two contacts regarding a commercial rent relief package that Cabinet had considered. In ...
Legislation to enable more build-to-rent developments has passed its third reading in Parliament, so this type of rental will be able to claim interest deductibility in perpetuity where it meets the requirements. Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods, says the changes will help unlock the potential of the build-to-rent sector and ...
A law passed by Parliament today exempts employers from paying fringe benefit tax on certain low emission commuting options they provide or subsidise for their staff. “Many employers already subsidise the commuting costs of their staff, for instance by providing car parks,” Environment Minister David Parker said. “This move supports ...
Today marks the 40th anniversary of Closer Economic Relations (CER), our gold standard free trade agreement between New Zealand and Australia. “CER was a world-leading agreement in 1983, is still world-renowned today and is emblematic of both our countries’ commitment to free trade. The WTO has called it the world’s ...
The Government is making procedural changes to the Immigration Act to ensure that 2013 amendments operate as Parliament intended. The Government is also introducing a new community management approach for asylum seekers. “While it’s unlikely we’ll experience a mass arrival due to our remote positioning, there is no doubt New ...
The Government welcomes progress on public sector pay adjustment (PSPA) agreements, and the release of the updated public service pay guidance by the Public Service Commission today, Minister for the Public Service Andrew Little says. “More than a dozen collective agreements are now settled in the public service, Crown Agents, ...
The Government has introduced the Severe Weather Emergency Recovery Legislation Bill to further support the recovery and rebuild from the recent severe weather events in the North Island. “We know from our experiences following the Canterbury and Kaikōura earthquakes that it will take some time before we completely understand the ...
Further assistance is now available to businesses impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle, with Customs able to offer payment plans and to remit late-payments, Customs Minister Meka Whaitiri has announced. “This is part of the Government’s ongoing commitment to assist economic recovery in the regions,” Meka Whaitiri said. “Cabinet has approved the ...
More than 41,000 sole parent families will be better off with a median gain of $20 a week Law change estimated to help lift up to 14,000 children out of poverty Child support payments will be passed on directly to people receiving a sole parent rate of main benefit, making ...
A major investment by Government-owned New Zealand Green Investment Finance towards electrifying the public bus fleet is being welcomed by Climate Change Minister James Shaw. “Today’s announcement that NZGIF has signed a $50 million financing deal with Kinetic, the biggest bus operator in Australasia, to further decarbonise public transport is ...
A world-leading payments system is expected to provide a significant cash flow boost for Kiwi innovators, Minister of Research, Science, and Innovation Ayesha Verrall says. Announcing that applications for ‘in-year’ payments of the Research and Development Tax Incentive (RDTI) were open, Ayesha Verrall said it represented a win for businesses ...
Minister of Transport Michael Wood joined crowds of keen cyclists and walkers this morning to celebrate the completion of the Te Awa shared path in Hamilton. “The Government is upgrading New Zealand’s transport system to make it safer, greener, and more efficient for now and future generations to come,” Michael ...
Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Andrew Little has delivered the Crown apology to Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua for its historic breaches of Te Tiriti of Waitangi today. The ceremony was held at Queen Elizabeth Park in Masterton, hosted by Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua, with several hundred ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta has concluded her visit to China, the first by a New Zealand Foreign Minister since 2018. The Minister met her counterpart, newly appointed State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Qin Gang, who also hosted a working dinner. This was the first engagement between the two ...
World-class satellite positioning services that will support much safer search and rescue, boost precision farming, and help safety on construction sites through greater accuracy are a significant step closer today, says Land Information Minister Damien O’Connor. Damien O’Connor marked the start of construction on New Zealand’s first uplink centre for ...
Attorney-General David Parker has announced the appointment of Christopher John Dellabarca of Wellington, Dr Katie Jane Elkin of Wellington, Caroline Mary Hickman of Napier, Ngaroma Tahana of Rotorua, Tania Rose Williams Blyth of Hamilton and Nicola Jan Wills of Wellington as District Court Judges. Chris Dellabarca Mr Dellabarca commenced his ...
Tēnā koutou katoa. Can I begin by thanking Gary Taylor, Raewyn Peart and others in the EDS team for their herculean work in support of the environment. I’d also like to acknowledge Hon Simon Upton, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, my parliamentary colleagues, and the many activists here who strive ...
A new Government-backed project will help ocean-related businesses in the Nelson Tasman region to accelerate their growth and boost jobs. “The Nelson Tasman region is home to more than 400 blue economy businesses, accounting for more than 30 percent of New Zealand’s economic activity in fishing, aquaculture, and seafood processing,” ...
After three years of COVID-19 disruptions schools are finally settling down and National want to throw that all in the air with major disruption to learning and underinvestment. “National’s education policy lacks the very thing teachers, parents and students need after a tough couple of years, certainty and stability,” Education ...
People aged over 50 with innovative business ideas will now be able to receive support to advance their ideas to the next stage of development, Minister for Seniors Ginny Andersen said today. “Seniors have some great entrepreneurial ideas, and this programme will give them the support to take that next ...
A cross government target for relevant government procurement contracts for goods and services to be awarded to Māori businesses annually will increase to 8%, after the initial 5% target was exceeded. The progressive procurement policy was introduced in 2020 to increase supplier diversity, starting with Māori businesses, for the estimated ...
77,000 fewer children living in low income households on the after-housing-costs primary measure since Labour took office Eight of the nine child poverty measures have seen a statistically significant reduction since 2018. All nine have reduced 28,700 fewer children experiencing material hardship since 2018 Measures taken by the Government during ...
Deputy Prime Minister Kamikamica; distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. Tēnā koutou katoa, ni sa bula vinaka saka, namaste. Deputy Prime Minister, a very warm welcome to Aotearoa. I trust you have been enjoying your time here and thank you for joining us here today. To all delegates who have travelled to be ...
$2.9 million convertible loan for Scapegrace Distillery to meet growing national and international demand $4.5m underwrite to support Silverlight Studios’ project to establish a film studio in Wanaka Gore’s James Cumming Community Centre and Library to be official opened tomorrow with support of $3m from the COVID-19 Response and Recovery ...
[CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY] E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā tangata katoa, o moana-nui-a-kiwa, E ngā mate, haere, haere, haere atū ra, manuia lau Malaga. Thank you for the kind introduction and opportunity to join you this morning. It is always good to be here in Aukilani, where I ...
E nga mana, e nga reo, e nga iwi, tēnā koutou katoa. Talofa lava and thank you Catherine, for the warm welcome. I’m sorry that I can’t be there in person today but it’s great for the opportunity to contribute virtually. I’d like to start by acknowledging: Alzheimers New Zealand, ...
Transport Minister Michael Wood has today launched the first national EV (electric vehicle) charging strategy, Charging Our Future, which includes plans to provide EV charging stations in almost every town in New Zealand. “Our vision is for Aotearoa New Zealand to have world-class EV charging infrastructure that is accessible, affordable, ...
Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment Priyanca Radhakrishnan has today launched the Love Better campaign in a world-leading approach to family harm prevention. Love Better will initially support young people through their experience of break-ups, developing positive and life-long attitudes to dealing with hurt. “Over 1,200 young kiwis told ...
Hon Rino Tirikatene, Minister for Courts, welcomes the Ministry of Justice’s appointment of Dr Garry Clearwater as New Zealand’s first Chief Clinical Advisor working with the Coroners Court. “This appointment is significant for the Coroners Court and New Zealand’s wider coronial system.” Minister Tirikatene said. Through Budget 2022, the Government ...
The Government via the Cyclone Taskforce is working with local government and insurance companies to build a picture of high-risk areas following Cyclone Gabrielle and January floods. “The Taskforce, led by Sir Brian Roche, has been working with insurance companies to undertake an assessment of high-risk areas so we can ...
E te huia kaimanawa, ko Ngāpuhi e whakahari ana i tau aupikinga ki te tihi o te maunga. Ko te Ao Māori hoki e whakanui ana i a koe te whakaihu waka o te reo Māori i roto i te Ao Ture. (To the prized treasure, it is Ngāpuhi who ...
113,400 exits into work in the year to June 2022 Young people are moving off Benefit faster than after the Global Financial Crisis Two reports released today by the Ministry of Social Development show the Government’s investment in the COVID-19 response helped drive record numbers of people off Benefits and ...
The Government’s priority to keep New Zealand at the cutting edge of food production and lift our sustainability credentials continues by backing the next steps of a hi-tech vertical farming venture that uses up to 95 per cent less water, is climate resilient, and pesticide-free. Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor visited ...
E nga mana, e nga iwi, e nga reo, e nga hau e wha, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou kātoa. Warm Pacific greetings to all. It is an honour to host the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers here in Tāmaki Makaurau. Aotearoa is delighted to be hosting you ...
The new renal unit at Taranaki Base Hospital has been officially opened by the Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall this afternoon. Te Huhi Raupō received around $13 million in government funding as part of Project Maunga Stage 2, the redevelopment of the Taranaki Base Hospital campus. “It’s an honour ...
Defence Minister Andrew Little has marked the arrival of the country’s second P-8A Poseidon aircraft alongside personnel at the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s Base at Ohakea today. “With two of the four P-8A Poseidons now on home soil this marks another significant milestone in the Government’s historic investment in ...
Aotearoa New Zealand will provide further humanitarian support to those seriously affected by last month’s deadly earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, says Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta. “The 6 February earthquakes have had devastating consequences, with almost 18 million people affected. More than 53,000 people have died and tens of thousands more ...
Migrant communities across New Zealand are represented in the new Migrant Community Reference Group that will help shape immigration policy going forward, Immigration Minister Michael Wood announced today. “Since becoming Minister, a reoccurring message I have heard from migrants is the feeling their voice has often been missing around policy ...
Construction has begun on major works that will deliver significant safety improvements on State Highway 3 from Waitara to Bell Block, Associate Minister of Transport Kiri Allan announced today. “This is an important route for communities, freight and visitors to Taranaki but too many people have lost their lives or ...
By Gorothy Kenneth in Port Moresby Private security companies are currently holding Papua New Guinea together with the largest workforce of 29,445 and supporting the police in managing law and order issues. There are only 6832 policemen and women serving the country currently, according to reports. Internal Security Minister Peter ...
By Gorothy Kenneth in Port Moresby Private security companies are currently holding Papua New Guinea together with the largest workforce of 29,445 and supporting the police in managing law and order issues. There are only 6832 policemen and women serving the country currently, according to reports. Internal Security Minister Peter ...
US President Joe Biden (right) meets with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (left) during the AUKUS summit at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego California on 13 March 2023. Image: RNZ Pacific/Jim Watson/AFP “But it is what it is,” he said of the tripartite arrangement. ‘Escalation of ...
US President Joe Biden (right) meets with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (left) during the AUKUS summit at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego California on 13 March 2023. Image: RNZ Pacific/Jim Watson/AFP “But it is what it is,” he said of the tripartite arrangement. ‘Escalation of ...
Procurement professional Ankit Bansal has been selected by local party members as National’s candidate in Palmerston North for the 2023 General Election. “I’d like to thank our local party members for endorsing me to campaign in Palmerston ...
Executive Manager of Te Mahia Community Village Rima Nakhle has been selected by local party members as National’s candidate in Takanini for the 2023 General Election. “The Takanini electorate is my home and I’m really excited to have the opportunity ...
Property management company director Dr Carlos Cheung has been selected as National’s candidate in Mt Roskill for the 2023 General Election. “Mt Roskill is my home and I’m grateful for the opportunity to campaign here for a National Government that ...
The Chairperson of the Governance and Administration Committee is calling for submissions on the Severe Weather Emergency Recovery Legislation Bill The Severe Weather Emergency Recovery Legislation Bill is the second bill in response to Cyclone Gabriel. The ...
Prime minister Chris Hipkins’ full statement, as shared to media, on the decision to remove Stuart Nash from cabinet: This evening I have advised the Governor-General to dismiss Stuart Nash from all his ministerial portfolios. Late this afternoon I was made aware by a news outlet of an email Stuart ...
Four strikes and Stuart Nash has been ousted from cabinet. It follows revelations this evening that he shared private cabinet discussions with business leaders and criticised decisions made in a 2020 email, according to reporting by Stuff. In the email, Nash set out his opposition to a decision cabinet had ...
The future of Stuart Nash, recently demoted to the bottom rung of cabinet, hangs in the balance following reports that he shared private cabinet discussions with business leaders and criticised decisions made in a 2020 email, according to reporting by Stuff. It follows Nash losing his police portfolio for breaching ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Crowley, Adjunct Associate Professor, Public and Environmental Policy, University of Tasmania Labor and the Greens on Monday announced a deal to strengthen a key climate policy, the safeguard mechanism, by introducing a hard cap on industrial sector emissions. But the ...
The native parrot the kea is under siege from aerial spread 1080 poison drops says a West Coast wildlife advocate Laurie Collins of Westport. While it is accepted that a good proportion of New Zealanders are opposed to aerial 1080 poison drops used ...
West Coasters might have a taste for the gung-ho but pragmatism has taken a turn for the cautious at an extraordinary Greymouth council meeting Outspoken West Coast Regional Council chair Allan Birchfield has been rolled by his colleagues in a bid to make peace with the government and stem the ...
By Tim Wilson, Executive Director, Maxim Institute* What does politics produce when mixed with violence and intimidation? Sadly nothing constructive, plus a humungous helping of anger, division, recrimination, spleen and confusion. Oh, and headlines. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Senator Lidia Thorpe’s defection from the Greens changed the power dynamic in the Senate. Now the government needs two crossbenchers (and the Greens) to pass legislation opposed by the Coalition. Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Crowley, Adjunct Associate Professor, Public and Environmental Policy, University of Tasmania Labor and the Greens on Monday announced a deal to strengthen a key climate policy, the safeguard mechanism, by introducing a hard cap on industrial sector emissions. But the ...
Security guards have made their voices heard and now have enough signatures to initiate a Fair Pay Agreement (FPA) for workers in their occupation. Since the Fair Pay Agreements Bill was passed in October 2022, more than 1000 security guards across Aotearoa New ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bianca Fileborn, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, The University of Melbourne ShutterstockThe following article discusses sexual violence, self-harm and suicide. Gender and sexuality diverse (LGBTQ+) people experience disproportionately high levels of sexual violence, but we still know very little about ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jesse J. Fleay, Republic Constitutional Scholar, Federalist, Co-Author of the Uluru Statement, University of Notre Dame Australia Australia is preparing for a referendum to decide on the proposed Voice to parliament for First Nations people. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has stated the ...
Toni Collette and John Leguizamo tell Tara Ward about the electric drama set in a world where gender equality becomes a sudden and shocking reality.There’s a moment halfway through in The Power when it seems Toni Collette could be channeling Jacinda Ardern. A mysterious medical event is sweeping the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Fiona Charlson, Conjoint NHMRC Early Career Fellow, The University of Queensland Shutterstock Last week the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, comprised of the world’s most esteemed climate experts, delivered its sixth report and “final warning” about the climate crisis. It ...
The government's national security arm says it is working on how to address the spread of disinformation and this is not directed specifically at the general election. ...
Poet Ash Davida Jane talks with poet Andrew Johnston about his Selected Poems, which spans 23 years of his published work. I’ve started writing this review in the notes app on my phone from the backseat of my friend’s car, which feels a far cry from the world of Andrew ...
National is demanding Marama Davidson apologise to cis white men over her comments from Saturday. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins says he considers the matter closed. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Manlik, Casual Academic and PhD Candidate, Macquarie University ABC The recent ABC mini-series, In Our Blood, offers a fictionalised account of Australia’s response to AIDS, focusing on the development of a partnership between impacted communities, health professionals and government. ...
Aucklanders – it’s your last chance to have a say on the council’s upcoming budget. Submissions close at 11pm tonight, after which they will be collated and considered by councillors before a final proposal’s released by the end of June. As my colleague Tommy de Silva explained earlier this month, ...
Aucklanders – it’s your last chance to have a say on the council’s upcoming budget. Submissions close at 11pm tonight, after which they will be collated and considered by councillors before a final proposal’s released by the end of June. As my colleague Tommy de Silva explained earlier this month, ...
After breaking a years-long gap between New Zealand ministerial visits to China, Nanaia Mahuta says the relationship is in good shape but the Government will keep discussing differences of opinion between the countries - including support for Ukraine New Zealand will keep pushing China to use its influence to help end ...
The government has commissioned an inquiry after forestry waste caused widespread devastation in Cyclones Hale and Gabrielle. But records show experts have been sounding the alarm for decades – why did no one hear them?This story was first published on Stuff. Ten minutes into the grey wasteland of the Mangatokerau ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Oliver A.H. Jones, Professor, RMIT University Shutterstock You might have noticed many skin and haircare products are advertised as “paraben-free”, or come across online influencers warning parabens are terrible for your health. But what is a paraben? And could a ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson should apologise to white men over the “sweeping generalisation” she made ahead of the Posie Parker counter-protest on Saturday. That’s according to National’s leader Christopher Luxon who was questioned on the comments this morning at parliament. Davidson was caught on camera blaming “cis white men” ...
Candida auris is more likely to infect those who are already ill or immunocompromised and is fatal for 30-60% of those infected.What is Candida auris?Candida auris (also known as C. auris) is a type of fungus called a yeast. It was first identified in 2009 from the ear ...
Lorde’s always been mysterious and her latest newsletter to fans does nothing to change that. The New Zealand singer has just wrapped up her lengthy Solar Power tour in support of her third album released at the height of the delta Covid wave back in 2021. And while reports have ...
New Zealand Politics Daily is a collation of the most prominent issues being discussed in New Zealand. It is edited by Dr Bryce Edwards of The Democracy Project. Other items of interest and importance todayPOSIE PARKER RALLY The Facts: New Zealanders are world leaders in respecting transgender men and women Chris ...
New figures show the government has called on just 3 percent of the half a billion dollars approved to build or expand mental health hospital facilities. ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins believes the polarising debate in the wake of British gender activist Posie Parker's New Zealand visit has not been helpful, nor was it helpful to bring ethnicity and race into the debate. ...
The Kiwibank Local Hero of the Year will be announced this Thursday. The judges have had their work cut out for them choosing a winner from these finalists.There are hundreds of New Zealanders across the motu who devote time to their communities. Those people who go the extra mile ...
Late last year, at the time David Farrier was readying to release his new documentary Mister Organ, broadcaster Sean Plunket started tweeting out what appeared to be court documents. As we detailed in our extensive timeline of the Mister Organ saga, the tweets included claims that Farrier had been served ...
Prime minister Chris Hipkins’ morning media round has been largely dominated by remarks made by one of his ministers over the weekend. Marama Davidson, who is also co-leader of the Green Party, was caught on capture at a counter-protest to anti-trans speaker Posie Parker stating: “I am the prevention violence ...
If insurers aren’t involved in discussions on how New Zealand adapts to climate change, we risk whole sections of the country becoming uninsurable. As New Zealand considers how to better prepare for a future affected by climate change, the insurance sector needs to be part the discussion on where and ...
It will also be a couple of months before a decision is made on what approach will be taken with Coromandel’s SH25A which has been closed since cracks appeared on January 27 in the wake of ex-Cyclone Hale. Any fix will take nine to 12 months to implement. Access in ...
Consumer NZ has warned customers to be aware of “unsubstantiated” or “misleading” eco-friendly claims made at the supermarket. The watchdog has taken a closer look at several items including a supposedly “planet conscious” air freshener, “ocean plastic” bags and “industrial compostable” teabags. But Gemma Rasmussen, Consumer’s head of research and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clancy William James, Senior Lecturer (astronomy and astroparticle physics), Curtin University ASKAP.CSIRO We have just published evidence in Nature Astronomy for what might be producing mysterious bursts of radio waves coming from distant galaxies, known as fast radio bursts or FRBs. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Wanning Sun, Professor of Media and Cultural Studies, University of Technology Sydney Shutterstock Early this month, the Daily Mail published a story online implying three Chinese men taking photos at the Avalon Airshow in Melbourne were spies. After complaints and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vincent Ho, Associate Professor and clinical academic gastroenterologist, Western Sydney University Shutterstock We all get hiccups from time to time, and sometimes they just won’t seem to go away. Hiccups are involuntary contractions of the diaphragm – the muscle ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Shutterstock A new report card on Australia’s environment reveals 2022 was a bumper year for our rivers and vegetation – but it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Darcy Watchorn, PhD Candidate, Deakin University Discoveries of albino animals have a unique ability to capture the public imagination, often leading to flurries of social media and news coverage. (Think Migaloo, the famous white humpback whale.) It’s easy to see why ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Dumay, Professor – Department of Accounting and Corporate Governance, Macquarie University Pxfuel What distinguishes a company that makes “good” chocolate (chocolate untainted by child labour, modern slavery, deforestation and the overuse of agrichemicals) from one that merely makes chocolate? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle de Souza, Lecturer in Law, University of New England Binge British comedy Romantic Getaway recently dropped on streaming service Binge. The show stars Katherine Ryan and Romesh Ranganathan as Alison and Deacon, a couple desperate for a child. Alison ...
The GCSB and NZSIS revealed concerns about the growing threat of foreign interference yesterday as RNZ launches new Chinese language news service and the national security system faces reform, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
Tim Brown is an ex-professional footballer turned co-founder of internationally recognised, Wellington-based footwear company Allbirds. They have just announced a world-first zero carbon shoe that Tim hopes can change the industry for good. He chats with Simon Pound about Allbirds’ kaupapa, growing a business overseas, and the reality of sustainable ...
For the first time in decades, a major new piece of Sky hardware launches without TVNZ’s channels alongside all the others. Duncan Greive explains why this is a big deal for the future of television. This week marks a landmark for Sky NZ – the debut of a piece of ...
She may not agree with them all. They may not agree with each other. But they found common cause. In New Zealand, as across much of the world, many of the groups that espouse anti-vaccine, conspiracy-aligned and rightwing extremist ideas have hitched their wagons to anti-trans-rights movements. Little surprise, therefore, ...
An author on her desire to write a book with plenty of sex in it There is sweet FA equal division of labour in my house: I do the lion’s share of cooking and cleaning and my husband brings home the bacon. To our children I willingly gave his ...
Auckland's floods unearthed a precious medal for Kiwi football great Michele Cox, carrying special memories of her professional career. Suzanne McFadden was there when she saved it from the skip bin. Michele Cox wears a delicate medal around her neck. A reminder of an important era in her footballing past. But ...
The world's been given yet another stark warning about the state of the climate - is New Zealand doing enough to bring its emissions down? The Detail takes a closer look at Labour's record on climate change. During the 2017 election campaign, then-Labour leader Jacinda Ardern made a bold statement: "We will ...
Allan Birchfield's popularity looks set to stop short of the West Coast Regional Council table as six councillors decide the newly re-elected chair's fate In a move unheard of in West Coast politics, regional councillors will vote on Tuesday on whether to dump the chair they just re-elected - Allan Birchfield. The Greymouth gold miner - ...
Pushing it to call her alt-right tbf.
But the bloke she hung out with was an odd unit.
Pushing it to miss the scare quotes.
why wouldn't you call her alt-right?
Because she isn't that nutty righty, which is what is far right.
She could probably be classed as far right on a bad day if you take her anti-immigration antics seriously, but there are plenty of left people who dislike immigration.
Right, far right and alt right seem to be shifting in the days of the orange idiot.
Now anyone who voted Republican and Trump seems to be classed as far right in the US at the mo'.
So she is on a par with you, not far right or anything.
Now I'm far right?
Lol
Let me guess something
You think the following are far right. Key, Hoskings and Peterson.
My first sentence was supposed to be she isn't nutty righty enough to be alt right btw.
Apologies
A couple of defining features of the alt right are being anti-feminist and white supremacist. Compared to far right libertarians like David Seymour, who run politics of privilege but are not particularly racist or misogynist. Southern looks alt right to me. It's why the meme is funny.
The meme is hilarious, but only for lovers of sweet irony.
I'm lost in the middle of far-out so sorry Chris T and thanks weka for defining the types of far and alt right, I have a better idea now.
Well, not anyone who voted for the orange wonder.
Just the ones who hoped for the policies he's actually implementing. And the ones who chanted "build the wall" and "lock her up". And the ones who liked his birtherism about Obama. And a few others.
As for voting for other Repuclicans, that a very broad brush. There might be some Republican candidates who don't jack off about child separations and indefinite detention. People who vote for those candidates might not be "far right".
Yes , not all those who voted for Trump. But the neo facists such as "proud Boys" ALL support Trump
Great photo essay of the leaders and hangers on at a proud Boys rally in Portland
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/8/27/1881553/-Photo-essay-Portraits-of-Proud-Boys-in-Portland
Yet here she is surrounded by actual neo fucking Nazis and throwing the same white supremacy hand signal as the Christchurch murderer.
So she promulgated the "replacement" theory, supported racist and far right groups, and had them provide her security.
Sounds close enough to "far right" for the label to be reasonably descriptive.
Sorry to break this to you Joe… but that is the hand signal for "OK"!
Or is it?
https://www.adl.org/education/references/hate-symbols/okay-hand-gesture
If so, maui, to what is she and her group saying "Ok"? Is it, "I am happy to be at the centre of this group and I am Ok with their group associations and ideology?"
I went once to hear speak a Nigerian Anglican priest. He fulminated against Islam. At the door afterwards I told him I could smell the gunsmoke. He said that he could tell from my body language during the speech that I was not in agreement. I certainly was not giving him the "OK" signal! The signals we give are more accurate than our words as to what we believe..
she is fully in – that hand signal says it all – cut from the same cloth – she just pretends better so she can make more money imo
Eddie Murphy was apparently a white supremacist
pretend ignorance is so you chris – but it's not enough pretend buddy – please try hard
If a bunch of idiot white supremacist arseholes decide to take up hand shaking for a laugh and it turns into "a sign", are you going to stigmatise anyone who shakes someones hand and make it a white supremacist thing?
if they're white supremacists, sure.
All good
A few idiots on 8Chans joke worked
So here's the point. The alt-right cultures are using common symbols, memes etc to both communicate with each other and confuse and mock the general public and create confusion. People might find it funny up to the point we remember that the Chch mosque mass murderer is one of the people who used the sign, and organised and networked on 8chan.
That is one way to look at it.
The other way is a few white supremacist idiots on sites like 8Chan are taking the piss and normal people are falling for it and some other alt right idiots are falling for it and taking it seriously and doing the "symbolism" and every day things are suddenly made bad because of a few loud normal peoples over reaction and triggering.
Should just ignore the obvious trolling, and it tends to go away after a month or two.
One of those white supremacist idiots murdered 51 Muslims.
I don't know who you think should be ignoring them, but your comment doesn't make sense. They're quite obviously not going away.
Yes. And they love to keep recycling the "joke". The shared humour serves exactly the same group bonding and self-identification purpose as "serious" gestures.
If it's an in-joke for some far-right fuckwits and a serious symbol for other far-right fuckwits, then calling it a far-right fuckwit behaviour is not an over-reaction. To point it out is a public service, because we know what happens when far-right fuckwits hide in the dark for too long.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/397757/doctors-concerned-over-safety-risks-of-ambulance-ramping
Seems the previous Government's lack of funding line is wearing thin.
[I’ve fixed the formatting so it’s clearer what you are quoting, please be more careful in future – weka]
You've warn so thin that you are transparent.
Stop playing the man and address the topic.
The topic was you being a smelly troll, as always.
Its called shroud waving Chairman
So you don't believe there is an actual problem?
The Minster hasn't denied it or suggested as such. In fact, he (the Minister) acknowledged the problem saying it can't be solved overnight.
Back to the topic (for those who care about it) the current Minister's excuse doesn't stack up.
Yes, it does take years to train both senior nurses and clinicians but why can't he source more (already trained) senior nurses and clinicians from offshore to fill the current shortfall?
What exactly is the Minister’s excuse and for what?
Where do you suggest they should be recruiting, the UK and Australia?
Do you think it simply is a matter of funding?
From the article linked above
Dr Clark said the problem can't be solved overnight.
"These resources are people, their training takes a long period of time, both senior nurses and clinicians take upwards of seven years to train," he said.
I'm not that fussed where he sources them from as long as they are fit for purpose.
And yes, I do think it comes down to funding, more precisely, their BRR. Additionally, what they have chosen to prioritise. So much for wellbeing and the year of delivery.
With all due respect, that is not an excuse as such, is it? The Minister wasn’t really excusing anything.
You should be “fussed where he sources them from as long as they are fit for purpose” because either you are ignorant of the problem or you are disingenuous. You don’t seem to realise or acknowledge that good qualifications, be it for teachers, nurses or doctors, for example, are in hot demand globally and it is a highly competitive market.
Is it enough to advertise? Can they step straight into their new position without additional education and/or training?
I disagree that it simply is a matter of throwing a few dollars at it. If it were that simple (!), the problem would be solved by lunchtime. Evidently, it isn’t this simple.
I believe so. First off, no one in their right mind thinks it can be solved overnight. But even the professionals in the sector expect it to be solved within a reasonable time as would most. So that line (overnight) is a total joke really.
And stating locals take time to train is an excuse, because doctors can be and are brought in from offshore. I haven't seen a Kiwi doctor on both occasions I've been in there of late, they have all be from offshore. Ireland is a popular place to source them from. They love it over here.
Yes, there is a global demand for doctors, etc, that's where money helps to attract them along with our lifestyle.
Probably not, but it wouldn't take several years to do that. Again, coming back to a more reasonable, thus acceptable (within the profession and public's mind) time frame.
Ok, it seems we’re not going to agree.
IMO an excuse is when someone doesn’t really want to fix the problem or doesn’t want to do anything about it. I don’t think that applies here as is evident from your link @ 2.
Many love it over here. Some come and some stay and some move on. Life is quite expensive over here, especially in the main centres. Teachers and nurses struggle with housing costs and even medical specialist gasp at (choke on) living expenses. Their (recent and overdue) pay rises are just a drop in a bucket.
Additional or re-training won’t take seven years or so but even so, it will take time and depends on capacity as well, i.e. somebody has to oversee and undertake this. We’re not talking about WOF inspectors or builders and we are not talking about just a simple written exam to check off things.
What is considered a “reasonable” or “acceptable” time frame depends on one’s perception and understanding of the situation. An ignorant or gullible person could easily be made to believe that a few dollars and a few weeks is all that is needed …
As you can see from the initial post, that's the feeling the professionals in the sector have i.e. he's not doing enough to correct the problem. Hence, they are speaking out and it is they that are sick of the excuses.
Yes, many I came across stated that. Hence they would have to pay well. Which, of course, comes down to money.
I'm sure the professionals in the linked article (above) have a good understanding of this.
The Minister and his cabinet colleagues are awaiting the full health system review led by Heather Simpson. How much change do you expect them to make in the meantime?
Yes, another review (buying them time as some say).
The professionals in the link above expect better and in a far quicker time frame than what the Minister is offering.
Moreover, they would know as they are in the sector, thus are speaking with knowledge.
Ponder this
How would you feel if you or a loved one was caught up in this and something bad happened. Would you and others here still be defending them then?
This isn’t a political game, lives are at risk here.
@The Chairman Systemic and chronic underfunding of social services is a natural result of letting neoliberals run amok with cost cutting and demanding profits from the public sector, with a view to privatising the lot. The model for the last 40 years has failed, glad to see you recognise that
Of course health professionals and their unions want action immediately in their parts of the system. Does not mean it is possible, nor that they grasp the whole picture.
However there are things beyond increasing workforce than can be started now, so I do not buy the Minister hanging everything on that.
Are you implying health professionals and their unions are extremists demanding action that can't be met? Moreover, they have no grasp of what is doable in their profession?
I'm confident our health professionals and their unions have more grasp of the matter than you do.
Health practitioners are hired to deliver healthcare within their particular scope pf practice, not to manage competing priorities across disciplines or delivery timeframes for change programmes.
It's like expecting a bus driver to know about road network planning or rail electrification. They can see a need for better timetables and more colleagues to share the load, sure.
Being on the front line in delivering healthcare within their particular scope of practice gives them a very good insight on what is required to improve that delivery, opposed to a manger stuck behind a desk that doesn't really have a clue on the daily ins and outs.
Moreover, Unions have a wider oversight, giving them a far broader view, thus insight.
Additionally, so does the Minister and his advisers, which are meant to be there to help. Yet the best he can come up with when pressed on the matter is he can't fix it overnight, he's holding a review and it will take several years to train up more. He seems to have had a better grasp on the matter when he was in opposition, but now that he's in charged, requires a review. Which will no doubt largely rely on the insights of the Union and staff.
Two years they have been in power and we are still awaiting a review, meanwhile more lives are being put at risk. Frankly, it's not good enough, hence the outcry. Do better.
Chair, as a self-proclaimed friend of the left, do you reckon NZ's public health service/sector/system would be better placed to serve the NZ public now if National rather than Labour/NZ1st/Greens had been (re-)elected in 2017?
Let’s hope these Tory scroungers, troughers chancers and their ilk are out of action for a while.
Of course not. But that is no excuse to allow Labour to get away with falling short too.
There is little point of keeping them (National) out of power if Labour aren't going to be much better. If that is continually going to be the case, it's long past time we on the left look for better representation or press Labour harder.
Spot the telltale signs of ingrained anti-Labour bias:
Chair, you're making no sense. Surely there is a great deal of point to keeping the National party's self-serving wreckers ('Working for NZ'; 'Brighter Future' – my arse) out of power if the current coalition government is doing even slightly better.
You yourself just acknowledged (@10:58 am) that the NZ public health service would be less well placed to serve the NZ public now if a National government was still in charge – well done!
Party vote Labour/Green!
The fact Labour are only slightly better than National is a main reason many people I know no longer vote at all. They no longer see a point as they know they are largely screwed either way.
And the more people on the left don’t vote the more our politics moves to the right.
“The fact Labour are only slightly better than National” is your opinion, repeated ad nauseam here in your disingenuous “lefty” “more left than most” fashion.
IMHO the current coalition government (with all its constraints) is a much better government for all New Zealanders than a National-led government ever could/would be.
Party vote Labour/Green
There are alternatives.
onehealth.co.nz/urgent-care/after-hours-doctors/
Evidently, that isn't sufficient. If it were, there wouldn't be a problem.
mod note for you above.
Cool, thanks.
Hi Chairman.
Hi mauī.
Chairman, you have been blowing your own cover for so long without cease that I think you may have some kind of compulsion disorder. You are now the concern troll with the longest record for pretending innocence while repeating the offence – trying to project your concerns into discredit for the Left.
Even if, as Drowsy Kram so nicely reminds us, you consider yourself "more left than most." I guess that those 'most' are people who just feel 'alright'.
As you can see from the responses to a serious issue, I'm clearly more left than most of you lot. Seems not many here are willing to talk the truth when it may harm Labour. Whereas, I'm of the belief of holding them to account to help bring about change for the better.
Nonetheless, I'm not the topic. Hence, care to try again? Or do you just want to join the mob and continue to throw crap at me?
Care to answer why the Minister won’t act?
The Chairman, thinks…
"so long as I never admit it*, they'll never really know…"
*titters
Why would I admit to something I'm not?
Once again, back to the topic. I'm surprised I've yet to hear the media pull the Minister up on his line they take time to train. I'd love to hear what he would say about not bringing in more from offshore?
Would the minister need to place the ads personally, or are these specialists just sitting on a shelf somewhere ready to relocate at a moment's notice with full NZ-compatible certification for their specialty areas?
Ever been to hospital of late, it's like being at the UN.
Sourcing doctors from offshore is nothing new, they've been doing it for years.
I've recently experienced both sides of it. On an urgent matter, the service was great. But a on a not so critical visit, the wait time (although they did admit me in the end) was atrocious.
"Ever been to hospital of late, it's like being at the UN."
hang on there mr chair more-left-than-most man – what exactly are you implying with that sentence because it reads a bit dicey to me. How can you tell a UN like person from a kiwi?
Like the UN as in there are a multitude of races working in our local hospitals. They all have accents and none I came across were Kiwi.
"They all have accents and none I came across were Kiwi."
accents you say? oh dear I think mr chair more-left-than-most man you are digging a bit of a hole – best to front up now and own the issue you have.
Of course you may have unnatural powers and abilities to discern a persons citizenry from their accent – daresay in some parallel universe you may be considered a marvel but as you've yet to confirm that ability here, then, the question is moot.
Medical language sounds quite foreign to most people. And some patients hallucinate under the influence of some medication. I’m glad to see that The Chairman has fully recovered and has is back to his former self and with us to share his pearls of newly gained wisdom during his obviously traumatic and eye-opening descend into the foreign-operated and woefully underfunded healthcare system of Aotearoa-New Zealand.
Context, Marty.
I wasn't claiming I know their citizenship status. Merely highlighting many are from offshore.
Strong foreign accents is a good indication people aren't originally from here. And many I conversed with openly admitted they have recently come from abroad. Foreign doctors practicing here is nothing new. Just as Kiwi doctors heading offshore isn't a new concept. Many Kiwi doctors head to the UK in search of better pay. After all, they have large loans to pay off.
sure mr chair more-left-than-most man you stick with that story. Truth is you let a cat out the bag and the cat is not nice at all and you know it. Your observations are unpleasant and bigoted imo – foreign this and that from accents is bullshit.
No.
It is clearly evident you are clutching and are making accusations you can't sustain in an attempt to tar me in some way, Marty.
Stop playing the man and taking low blows.
So do you think they were sitting on a shelf waiting for a job in NZ? Or can the hiring of even one specialist from overseas become a process that takes years?
After all you're the one who wrote upthread "I'm not that fussed where he sources them from as long as they are fit for purpose".
Do you have any idea as to the process that ensures specialists sourced from overseas are assessed to be "fit for purpose"? Even if the minister snapped his fingers to bypass two or three levels of governance/management separation and removed every other barrier to employing staff, how long would you expect it to take to solve the problem?
Strangely enough, most I've come across love to travel. My own GP even has worked in several countries before practicing here. And I've had several over the years as most came from overseas and have taken off again. It seems Kiwi ones largely do the same, which would explain why there aren't many here.
“How long would you expect it to take to solve the problem?”
Far less than several years, most I’ve come across don’t even stay here that long. And it seems (going off the article) those in the profession agree with me. They wouldn’t be complaining if the Minister’s excuse was legit.
It is the other way round.
Yeah, it's a bit more complex than just turning up and saying "I'm an emergency cardiothoracic trauma surgeon".
Love your anecdata though. Totally expert testimony lol.
First off, I never claimed it was that easy.
From your link
So how many doctors do you think hold an approved Australasian postgraduate medical qualification, enough for us to meet our current shortfall?
Moreover, how many doctors in the world do you think hold qualifications and experience that can meet the assessment to see whether they are equivalent to those of a locally trained specialist?
One would expect globally, there would be thousands.
You do realise ambulance ramping is a problem in Ausas well, right? So # specialists with Australasian qualifications = "not enough".
So then you have qualifications in other parts of the world, and assessing their experience and quals not just in the specialty, but also in general medical basics and things like medical ethics and dr-patient communication. Each of those needs formal and thorough assessment, while encouraging and sorting out immigration issues and general things like "is this doctor a sexual predator".
You seem to think it's about the number of trained doctors. It's not. It's about doctor availability, retention, and the attractiveness of working in the NZ health sector and the associated workplace conditions.
Very few of these are under ministerial control. Does the health sector need yet another shake-up, or would that just make things even worse?
We require a higher number of trained doctors.
The higher the number of trained doctors available globally, the easier it is to source them. So numbers is part of it.
So to is money,
Money is required to help attract and retain them and this applies to locally trained ones too.
And speaking of locally trained ones, what is the Government doing to grow their numbers?
The thing is, DHB's are largely in financial stress. Thus, they require more money to better do this. Which is totally in the Government's hands.
Just because Australia is also under pressure doesn't mean we can't poach doctors from there. Again, money along with work place conditions helps with this which again, is largely under ministerial control.
And again, I never said finding those that meet our assessment needs was going to be easy, but it needs to be done to help solve this problem.
Bullshit.
Ever been to Med School of late, it’s like being at the UN.
I've never been to med school, but I have been to hospital
You’re missing the point. Never mind.
Of course they would need to advertise, Doctors aren't mind readers. And they would have to pay well. Nonetheless, many I've come across like it here.
ooo – DHB elections are coming up, ain't they? You could fix the problem in your DHB and show the minister how it's done. It'd really help you campaign for the nats next year, too, with the credibility you build up hiring new specialists.
Rubbish. Why would you be surprised about the media not holding a Minister to account? That has been happening for years.
You, Chairman, are surprised only on special occasions like this, which suit your dark, sinister, ulterior motives.
I hope for a suitably creative reply.
His (the Minister's) response begged the follow up question, that's why I was surprised it wasn't asked.
Moreover, this isn't the first time I've heard him use those lines, yet I've yet to hear him be pulled up on it.
So inspiring (yawn)
Good night.
Speaking of which, I'm off to bed. Ta ta.
Private equity vampires have taken to sucking the life out of tropical rain forests.
They could always fuck off back to Portugal.
Yep there is a real war going on and indigenous activists and environmentalists and protectors of the land are being murdered in alarming numbers. This scum will mow down many indigenous communities and people – we are about to lose whole cultures in that jungle and there is fuck all we can do about it.
For no particular reason, here is AC/DC – Let There Be Rock (Official Music Video)
Acca dacca!