Daily review 30/12/2021

Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, December 30th, 2021 - 56 comments
Categories: Daily review - Tags:

Daily review is also your post.

This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Don’t forget to be kind to each other …

56 comments on “Daily review 30/12/2021 ”

  1. Patricia Bremner 1

    May 2022 be a better year for all of us. Good health and may you have good company too.

  2. The Chairman 2

    How well is your news media severing you?

    Has anybody here viewed The Joe Rogan – Dr Peter Mccullough interview (which has gone viral online) or seen any news coverage of it?

    It's one hell of an interview. Dr Peter Mccullough really is a totally amazing source of knowledge.

    I highly recommend viewing the full interview and can provide a link if anyone requires assistance locating it online. Moreover, happy to further discuss this if anybody here has any questions or interest in learning more

    Has anybody here heard of The World Council for Health?

    It's a recently formed global umbrella organization made up of a rather impressive group of globally renowned medical experts, health-focused organizations and civil society groups. An organization free from pharmaceutical industry ties.

    These are rather large news worthy stories and if your usual media source is not covering them you've got to wonder why. Moreover, one has to start to wonder what else one is missing out on.

    • millsy 2.1

      I wouldn't listen to the conspiracy theory industrial complex if you paid me.

    • observer 2.2

      Fact-check: wrong about pretty much everything.

      https://healthfeedback.org/claimreview/joe-rogan-interview-with-peter-mccullough-contains-multiple-false-and-unsubstantiated-claims-about-the-covid-19-pandemic-and-vaccines/

      To give just one example: the claim that you cannot get Covid twice. Disproved by cases every day.

      https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-coronavirus-reinfection-idUSL1N2TC0PH

      So to answer your "wonder" question, they are not covered for the same reason that astronomers claiming lunar cheese content are ignored.

      • The Chairman 2.2.1

        An interesting reply you've put forward, observer.

        I'll look into your factcheckers assertions and share my opinion on them a bit later on.

        Thanks for your interest.

        One quick question for you. Have you seen the interview or do you merely rely on the opinions of the factcheckers to form your opinion?

        I like to look at both and form my own. So thanks for sharing.

      • Bill 2.2.2

        Are those cases verified by way of follow up testing? Or is one +ve PCR test enough to designate the person as being a covid 'case'? Because given the huge number of false positives, it's not beyond the realms of belief that some people who believe they've been infected with a particular strain twice, in fact have only had it once.

        There's possibly a similar thing happening with the so-called asymptomatic 'cases'. My garden variety common sense suggests if I have a respiratory infection, then I'll have some measure of symptoms. The idea (for example) that I can not have a cold but nevertheless actually have a cold just strikes me as a bit weird.

        • The Chairman 2.2.2.1

          Because given the huge number of false positives, that some people who believe they've been infected with a particular strain twice, in fact have only had it once.

          That's right, Bill. Moreover, I don't think it is also beyond the realms of belief that some may also be suffering from long Covid and have mistaken that as possibly
          being infected again. Especially in the early days, when little was known about long Covid.

          • observer 2.2.2.1.1

            The mental gymnastics to live in denial are quite incredible. Not based on evidence, but purely on the need to change facts to fit. For example …

            You would have to believe that this famous case in March 2020 continued for the next 21 months undetected, despite the fact that the coach at a major professional sporting institution has been regularly tested, countless times over those 21 months. Then suddenly it is detected again?

            https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/59818457

            In the end it's your choice, of course. If promoting a falsehood means reality must be explained away, in order to keep the faith, then that must outweigh any evidence to the contrary. A thousand Covid tests would not persuade you. It no longer matters what is verifiable or falsifiable. Nothing matters beyond the need to believe.

            • The Chairman 2.2.2.1.1.1

              Dr Rob Shorten, Chair of Microbiology Committee, Association for Clinical Biochemistry & Laboratory Medicine says:

              “The specific nature of these sequences means that someone with flu or a common cold virus is highly unlikely to test positive for COVID-19,” he told Reuters.

              https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-swab-idUSKBN26R3DH

              Highly unlikely does not equate to it being totally impossible.

              Therefore, it seems it is possible (albeit in rare occurrences) that the common flu can be mistaken for Covid.

              This would help explain the small number of so called reinfection cases to date and seems to also stack up well with Dr Peter McCullough reasoning on this.

              Therefore, after all this time of continuing testing it could be the coach could have fallen into one of these rare occurrences.

          • Bill 2.2.2.1.2

            Regardless, it's one small, possibly contentious detail from a comprehensive hour and a half long interview (or however long it was).

            Covid isn't the only issue that's been/is surrounded by disturbing dynamics revolving around crude tribalism. Given that, all I can do is wish you luck with this endeavour of yours to introduce people to some broader or deeper perspectives beyond the bounds of "their tribe"

            • The Chairman 2.2.2.1.2.1

              Regardless, it's one small, possibly contentious detail from a comprehensive hour and a half long interview (or however long it was).

              Indeed, Bill. Though I'm sure you are aware of the tactic at play. Find the weakest argument and use that to discredit all else that was said.

              Thanks for wishing me luck, Bill. I'd also like to thank you for your efforts of late.

        • KJT 2.2.2.2

          W've already established why there isn't a "huge number of false positives".

          And. "Confirmed cases" are "confirmed" on more than the basis of just one test.

          Repeating your misunderstandings, i’m trying to be charitable here, doesn’t make it true.

          Open mike 23/12/2021 « The Standard

          • Bill 2.2.2.2.1

            W've already established why there isn't a "huge number of false positives".

            You convinced yourself against the pretty clear cut and simple to follow evidence laid out by Norman Fenton (and expanded on somewhat by Red) by ignoring some bog standard basics in Fenton's presentation and going on to spout some nonsense about who gets tested in NZ.

            People being told to isolate for a period of time after a +ve test aren't subject to a confirmatory test. My family who tested positive and who had to isolate weren't – though I guess it's possible they were an exception and everyone else undergoes a confirmatory test.

            • KJT 2.2.2.2.1.1

              I gave clear cut and easy to follow reasons why you were repeating a load of bullshit.
              Along with RL’s similar assertion that “80% of people who test positive for covid in New Zealand don’t have covid”.
              Both bollocks.
              I showed why it was bollocks, but you obviously don’t have the capability to understand.

            • KJT 2.2.2.2.1.2

              People who go to hospital are.

              • RedLogix

                At the point someone is hospitalised we can be reasonably sure they have COVID because:

                • They will be presenting with active symptoms
                • They will have at least one confirming PCR test
                • And at some point they will probably get a confirming antigen test.

                This is the group that you know have COVID almost for certain and are being seriously impacted by it. But it's way smaller in number than the 'positive tests' metric that keeps getting touted in the media.

                • KJT

                  Already explained why your statement that of a number tested for covid 80% "do not have covid" is bollocks.

                  Like Bill, It seems you were unable to follow the discussion

                  • RedLogix

                    How about you go and collect your Fields Medal in Mathematics for disproving Bayes Theorem and get back to us on that.

                    On the other hand I should thank you for prompting my curiosity to dig into an area I've not encountered before called Causal Inference. What I'm beginning to see is a very different picture.

                    • KJT

                      I applied it. You didn't understand it.

                      What you didn't understand, that your comments, would apply if we were testing a random selection of New Zealand's entire population.

                      But. We are not!

                      A prime example of something that outwardly seems plausible, on first glance, is not.

                    • RedLogix

                      What you didn't understand, that your comments, would apply if we were testing a random selection of New Zealand's entire population.

                      The apriori estimate of prevalence that we calculated for NZ of about 1 in 218 was derived from these same tests.

                      I agree that if we we sampled the whole population of NZ at random this estimated prevalence would be lower – but that would only increase the overall rate of false positives due to the Bayes effect.

                    • KJT

                      What I said.

                    • RedLogix

                      What I said. (Yes I can play idiot too.)

                      On the other hand – scan this – and get a sense of how hard this topic really is.

                      In an attempt to wrap this up – I would strongly suggest that the only metrics of any real comparative value are ‘number of confirmed cases in hospital‘ and ‘number of deaths from covid‘. These are reliable, well defined numbers and if everyone had stuck to using them, there would not be this level of contention going on.

                      As an interesting tangent the ‘dimensionless recovery rate’ is going to be (Recoveries/(1+ Deaths). This number is dimensionless because its a ratio between two numbers from exactly the same ‘hospitalised’ population – which rather magically eliminates almost all confounding factors across countries, populations, demographics, geography – almost everything.

                      Reveals all sorts of interesting information a lot of people will not want to understand.

                    • KJT

                      Still don't get it. Eh?

                      Persisting with the fiction that. “The MOH doesn’t know how many people actually have covid”. As if no one in the MOH knows how to do statistical analysis.

                      “Yes I can play idiot too”. Yes you can. Especially when you try to cover it up with big words.

                    • RedLogix

                      “The MOH doesn’t know how many people actually have covid”

                      What makes you so certain they do? As we've shown quite conclusively – that unless they tested everyone in NZ and retested all the positive cases at least once – then they cannot know. Not because they cannot do statistics, but due to the fundamental limitations of what testing tells us.

                      And as others have shown typically the positive tests that get re-tested are the relatively small fraction that get sick enough to be admitted to hospital. At which point they become a 'confirmed case' – which is a useful metric.

                      Worse still this process of getting from a 'positive test' to a 'confirmed case' will vary from country to country and over time – which makes comparisons even more meaningless.

                    • KJT

                      Already explained why your statement is incorrect.

                      We already know the range of false postives and negatives for each individual test.
                      And the range of results a sampling of populations with different rates of covid give.

                      The maths is not difficult.

                      “We cannot know” suits the narrative of those who think that covid is one big Government and scientific conspiracy. But it is not, true!

                    • RedLogix

                      Already explained why your statement is incorrect.

                      You may want to try again.

                    • KJT

                      That requires a degree of ability, or wish to comprehend, on the part of the person I am talking to.

                      Try re-reading.

                      It is what analytical statistics is for.

                    • RedLogix

                      You have implied at least three times now that I am too stupid to understand your superior logic.

                      Alternatively you may want to consider that you have not explained yourself very well.

                      Which do you think is more likely?

                    • KJT

                      I'll leave it there.

                      Because I don't think you want to understand.

                      The answers are in your own explanation of the statistics. There is a low occurance in the whole NZ population. There is a much higher occurance rate in the population we are actually testing.

                      You actually explained it, yourself.

                    • RedLogix

                      And my response to this was made here.

                      Maybe I was too brief. The point is that Bayes Theorem requires that to interpret the data correctly we need to estimate the actual prevalence of COVID in the population we are testing. This is necessary to correctly understand the impact of false positives.

                      Your claim is that we're testing a subset of NZ that is more likely to have COVID – in other words they have a higher prevalence than the general population. And from our actual testing of this group, we have estimated an apriori prevalence of about 1 in 218. Which we then applied to the 'positive tests' data from this group, tells us that about 80% of these will not actually have COVID.

                      Following your logic, which I think is reasonable, if we tested all of NZ at random, we would be testing a much larger population with a much lower prevalence, maybe 1 in 1000. And this would mean the Bayesian false positives would be an even higher percentage.

                      What you cannot do however is use the apriori estimate from one group and apply it to the test data from another. Which I suggest is what you're effectively doing here.

                  • KJT

                    Have another look at your calculation.

      • The Chairman 2.2.3

        In addition to Bill's reply and mine to his, Dr Peter Mccullough also alludes to people having Covid then later getting sick again but this time from the common cold which is then mistaken as Covid due to pervious traces still being detected in their system

    • Blazer 2.3

      Joe Rogan is a comedian and his YT videos on boxing …reinforce..that.

  3. Dennis Frank 3

    It started like this:

    In 1879 the government pushed through a survey of lands on the Waimate Plains which had been nominally subject to confiscation four­teen years earlier but in practice occupied and used by Māori.

    That May, the people of Parihaka began ploughing up surveyed lands in the area in an act of non-violent resistance led by prophets Te Whiti-o-Rongomai and Tohu Kakahi. The pair had founded the settlement of Parihaka in the 1860s as a place of refuge for all those affected by war and confiscation… in June the arrests began. By August around 200 men had been arrested. That same month the Maori Prisoners’ Trials Act, suspending the right of the accused to a speedy trial, was passed by Parliament. The first group of prisoners was sent to Dunedin that same month… A West Coast Commission was established to investigate any unful­filled promises to Taranaki Māori. Native Minister John Bryce declared there were none. His uncompromising approach was too much for his fellow Cabinet ministers, and in January 1881 Bryce resigned.

    The settler govt was unable to resolve the situation – so they recalled the bugger later the same year!

    On 19 October 1881 a proclamation was issued, giving the Parihaka community two weeks to submit to the law or lose any lands they still held. Bryce was immediately sworn in as Native Minister to make preparations for the forthcoming confrontation.

    All of this took place as the Governor, Sir Arthur Gordon – a known critic of the gov­ernment’s actions in Taranaki – returned to Wellington after visiting Fiji, landing just two-and-a-quarter hours after the signing of the proclamation. He was furious that the government, knowing he would never sign such a document, had rushed it through in his absence.

    https://www.newsroom.co.nz/voices-from-the-new-zealand-wars-the-invasion-of-parihaka

    So how the hell could it possibly be legal without his signature??? Newsroom deserves our thanks for illuminating our history. Yet these investigative journos don't seem to feel any need to focus on the key point. Govt legislation isn't legal until the legal representative of the head of state signs it!!

    • Gezza 3.1

      So how the hell could it possibly be legal without his signature??? Newsroom deserves our thanks for illuminating our history. Yet these investigative journos don’t seem to feel any need to focus on the key point. Govt legislation isn’t legal until the legal representative of the head of state signs it!!

      Never underestimate Wikipedia re Kiwiland’s history, Dennis. It’s a superb resource on both Māori hapu iwi AND Pākehā histories of New Zealand. And it just keeps getting better, imo.
      ….. …. …… ….

      “In mid-September 1881 Gordon sailed for Fiji, leaving Chief Justice Sir James Prendergast as acting Governor. In his absence, and with an election looming, Hall’s ministry completed its plans to invade Parihaka. Bryce’s replacement as Native Minister, Canterbury farmer William Rolleston, secured two votes worth a total of £184,000 for contingency defence against Taranaki Māori and the government significantly boosted the number of Armed Constabulary on the west coast.

      On 8 October Rolleston visited Parihaka to urge Te Whiti to submit to the Government’s wishes. If he refused and war ensued, Rolleston explained, “the blame will not rest with me and the government. It will rest with you.”

      When news of the Hall government’s plans reached Gordon, he terminated his Fiji visit and hurried back to New Zealand. At 8pm on 19 October, two hours before the Governor returned to Wellington, however, Hall convened an emergency meeting of his Executive Council and Prendergast issued a proclamation berating Te Whiti and his people for their “threatening attitude”, their rebellious speech and their resistance of the armed constabulary.

      It urged the people of Parihaka to leave Te Whiti and for the visitors to return home. It gave them 14 days to accept the “large and ample” reserves on the conditions attached to them by the government and willingly submit to the law of the Queen or the lands would forever pass away from them and they alone would be responsible for this and “for the great evil which must fall on them.”

      “As usual,” observed historian Hazel Riseborough, “it was a question of mana.” The proclamation was signed by Rolleston late on 19 October—his last act as minister before Bryce was returned to Cabinet and just two hours before Gordon arrived back in New Zealand. The Governor, though angry at the issuing of the Proclamation, acknowledged it would be supported “by nine-tenths of the white population of the colony” and allowed it to stand.

      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parihaka#Invasion

      You might want to mention it to newsroom?

      • Blazer 3.1.1

        So who..cares?

        • Gezza 3.1.1.1

          Dennis. And I. At least.

          If you don’t care, why TF did you even bother to post that waste of space & time?

          • Blazer 3.1.1.1.1

            Because now I know you and Dennis..care.

            • Gezza 3.1.1.1.1.1

              Explain to me, if you can, how you are not now simply trolling?

              • Blazer

                Never complain,never explain..as for trolling…'physician..heal thyself'..hat tip to ..Trav.

                • Gezza

                  So who..cares?

                  I’ve never wasted anyone’s time trolling with that sort of pointless crap.
                  Wrongly accusing me of trolling as your typical counterpunch doesn’t wash.
                  I’m leaving it at that. To do otherwise means you’ve been successful.

      • Dennis Frank 3.1.2

        Cool, thanks for that Gezza. Yeah the notion of a wiki on Parihaka never crossed my mind. So the devious bastards outwitted the governor, huh?

        Dunno if I can go along with the gov wimping out on the basis of a 90% settler consensus though. The monarch wasn't really served by settler disregard of Te Tiriti, and her rep ought to have been able to figure that out.

        And on the technicality of law, I wonder if other instances of chief justices acting to represent the head of state when he went on holiday have also happened. Must've been a clause in the royal appointment charter enabling that, I guess.

        • Gezza 3.1.2.1

          Wikipedia’s nowadays my first source to check on anything related to NZ’s land wars, or NZ places/towns/cities/history/significant historical events or incidents, or anything to do with Māori. It’s extensively cross-referenced. One can spend hours just following various cross references & reading the linked articles.

          A typical example is Battle Hill Forest Park, where I once hiked to the top for lunch & read the history of the place.

          https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_Hill_Farm_Forest_Park

          If you follow all the links in that & the cross links in those to iwi & nga Rangatira you get a really good overview of the history of the early settlement of North Wellington & the Māori resistance to it.

  4. The Chairman 4

    Back in June the FLCCC announced a Treatment Protocol for Long Covid.

    If anyone is interested I'll be happy to point you towards it

  5. Jester 5

    It seems pretty unfair to me that this bloke has been able to get in to NZ three times since the pandemic started, and yet NZers that actually live here have not been able to.

    Covid-19: DJ Dimension on third border exemption to NZ since December 2020 | Stuff.co.nz

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    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from 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 public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    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 ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    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 ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    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 ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    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 ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    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. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The 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 ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    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 ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    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 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    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 ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter 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 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    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 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    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 ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    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 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    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 ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    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 ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    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, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    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 ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    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 ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    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 ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    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 ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    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 ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    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 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    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, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    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.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    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, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    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. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    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, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    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, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    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,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    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. ...
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  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
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  • Government lowering building costs
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  • Trustee tax change welcomed
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  • Minister’s Ramadan message
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  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
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    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
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  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
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  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
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