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".
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.
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.
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Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
The pressure is mounting on the Government as it finalises its Budget Policy Statement, but yet more predicted revenue ‘goes missing’. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Climate Commission has delivered another funding blow to the National-ACT-NZ First coalition Government’s tax-cutting plans, potentially carving $1.4 billion off the ‘climate ...
The Government now faces the prospect of having to watch another tax raise the price of petrol when, only six days ago, it abolished the Auckland Regional Fuel tax. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon argued that the regional fuel tax imposed costs on lower-income people with less fuel-efficient vehicles and that ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
The government’s attack on Māori health this week is committing tangata-whenua to a premature death, says Te Pāti Māori. “The government have begun their onslaught on Māori health with the abolishment of the Māori Health Authority and smokefree laws in the same day” said health spokesperson and co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. ...
Today marks a tragic milestone for New Zealanders as the Coalition Government side with big tobacco to repeal the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act 2022, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins and Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
This year’s Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity and the contribution of Pacific communities to New Zealand culture, says Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti. Dr Reti announced dates for the 2024 Pacific Language Weeks during a visit to the Pasifika festival in Auckland today and says there’s so ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
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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.
https://twitter.com/rgcooke/status/1107793414517460992
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.
https://twitter.com/theintercept/status/1166455254151499777
They could always fuck off back to Portugal.
https://twitter.com/tomphillipsin/status/1166347061593280513
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)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3f2g4RMfhS0
Acca dacca!
https://youtu.be/2lqdErI9uss