For a bit of contextualisation … I've just rustled up a wee graph of PM Ardern'sApproval ratings in the One News Kantar (formerly Colmar Brunton) Poll:
Odd that only Collins' Approval ratings were measured from late 2020 to late 2021 [or, at least, her's were the only figures outlined in the Colmar Brunton Poll reports of Dec 2020, May 2021 & Nov 2021] ..so we don't really know exactly when Ardern's numbers started falling.
If Ardern's Preferred PM numbers are anything to go by .. then her approval ratings probably first took a bit of a nose-dive in early 2021, then more or less plateaued through mid-2021, before experiencing another, though smaller, fall over the last 4 months. But no way of knowing for sure.
Appreciate you asking, Ad … given that a few people have asked both here & on Twitter … I'll probably post a brief note on my blog in the next week or so … don't want to wallow in ostentatious self-indulgence all over The Standard. Lots of other people in the same boat.
First off good luck…secondly something that im sure you have considered, approval rating, or rather dissaproval rating of 37%, when Nat/Act running at 43%.
On the polling, bear in mind that the Leader Approval ratings (also Preferred PM) involve the entire sample (ie including the Don't Know element) … whereas the Party Support figures exclude the DKs … so if you re-calculated Party Support based on the entire sample – apples with apples – Nat +ACT wouldn't be too far above 37%.
But it’s true that there’s usually a minority of Opposition supporters who are happy with popular PMs (Labour voters & Key / National voters & Ardern) … but as PMs begin to polarise the electorate (as most inevitably do) … that minority shrinks into an ever smaller residue.
You've summed up the problem there, Swordfish. It's irregular polling on that approval/disapproval question. The other Qs (party vote, preferred PM) are in every CB/Kantar poll, so reasonable comparisons can be made.
If it's omitted from the next poll, and then re-inserted at some unspecified future date, then what does it really tell us? For example, it's almost certain that Luxon's "don't knows" will drop considerably, as people form an opinion and say they approve/disapprove. From that you could create a headline "10% more disapprove of Luxon", which might be mathematically correct but of limited value.
Other democracies have far more frequent polling (obviously, bigger media market = more polls) and so numbers like approve/disapprove for Trump/Biden have a long history and therefore context. One News is really just playing with it.
Nothing so high flown. Putin has woken up to the fact that, though his troll army may whip up a bit of support for his arguments among the deplorables, the serious part of Europe has united against him as it hasn't since the Berlin wall fell. If Germany is pressed hard enough to drop Nordstream, the game he has been playing will prove to be an exceptionally costly failure.
The Ukraine may win after all – Europe and allies are going to bend over backwards to support them for a year or two.
You're a great substitute for Red,White +Blue 'logic'…
France and especially Germany do not want to know about confronting Russia.
Lavrov has a good point..honour the Minsk agreement of 2015 and ..no problemo.
Putin has picked his moment perfectly-40% of Europes gas supply comes from Russia…Nordstream 2 cost billions..not just Russia is exposed…does Europe want to..freeze to..death!
Well, the Minsk agreement would have required Russia to respect Ukraine's borders – they got a bunch of nukes in return for that, but of course the rules never apply to Putin.
Yes, Nordstream is the cheapest alternative for the moment – but Germany lived without it before, and can do so again. If that's the price of avoiding a bellicose post-Soviet border, and the substantial and costly army required to defend it, the benefits of Nordstream would be eclipsed.
Russia has a habit of lying about Nato promises – prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union there was no formal agreement Nato would not expand eastwards because no one saw the collapse coming – so neither party made formal commitments of that kind.
As for the Minsk agreement, the full text is here, and it does not seem to contain the promise Russia asserts.
I don't think so. There seems to be a civil war going on in the Ukraine between ethnic Russians living in the East a hangover from the days when the Ukraine was part of Russia) and ethnic Ukranians in the West. Russia seems to be providing unofficial support to the Eastern regions while the US supports the West with military hardware.
And you would be wrong. Russia's occupation of Crimea, and its lending of debadged regular forces to the 'rebels' in Donbass are clear cut border violations.
Real rebels never have tanks – they lack the industrial capacity to produce them.. The Donbass 'rebels' not only had tanks, but close BUK support, with which they shot down MH17.
US weapons are only being moved in in substantial numbers now – in response to Russian aggression.
The Russians never occupied Crimea. They had 20,000 troops stationed there by agreement with the Ukranians. When they "annexed" Crimea, they did so without an invasion, after a referendum had indicated overwhelming support for Crimea's return to Russia. The rebels don’t have fighter jets.
with which they shot down MH17.
The official story has it that the Russians drove a BUK launcher into Ukraine, and to a spot where MH17 would pass overhead, shot it down, and then high tailed it back to Russia. You can tell one that to the marines! Apparently MH17 was flying off course, over a war zone, and there is evidence that it was steered to the point where it was shot down, by Ukrainian fighter jets.
MH17 was the subject of a lengthy professional enquiry by, among others, the insurers. Had there been any substance whatsoever to that fairy story, they would have found a way not to pay – that's what insurance companies do.
The investigators debunked your supposition in court. A passenger jet shot down with cannon would be riddled with punctures of the calibre of the weapon used. There were no traces consistent with cannon fire. Only the most biased of diehard Putin-dupes still cling to your fiction.
I guess you have heard of what is sometimes referred to as a "kangaroo court". And in any case why would Russia have anything to do with shooting down a commercial airliner.
Speaking of humble, I was listening to Heather Stupidity-Allen interview Fran O on the radio this afternoon.
Fran O was asked how Jacinda Ardern can turn around her 'plummeting fortunes'. Her advice was, get this, for the Prime Minister to show more empathy and to be a bit more humble.
Hipkins did a runner. Went on xmas to avoid facing up to his moral obligation to do a system change. Typical Labour evasion strategy.
National MP Erica Stanford says Bellis' story is "terrible and it is not an isolated case. So many pregnant women and their partners have been denied emergency MIQ rooms even when the pregnancies are high risk and they have no visa to stay where they are. Hipkins was told. He did nothing," she said in a tweet.
Stanford attached a letter she sent to Hipkins on October 20, 2021, where she expressed her support for the Baby Bridge Initiative – which was started to help others to lobby the Government to do better by expecting parents – and asked for emergency MIQ application criteria to include pregnant Kiwis and their partners.
"I am concerned about reports of pregnant women being stranded overseas, unable to secure MIQ space, and the emotional and financial implications this is causing. It's so important that pregnant women and their babies are not exposed to any undue stress," she wrote in the letter.
"While I understand, and agree with, the need for a strong health response to COVID-19, there needs to be more flexibility and compassion shown to people. Allowing pregnant women and their partners to return to New Zealand through the emergency MIQ allocations would go towards alleviating some of the emotional stress they are under and would provide a safe environment for mother and child."
Stanford says National MPs are still advocating for pregnancy to be added to the list of criteria to be considered when assessing emergency MIQ applications. "Many pregnant women have been denied emergency MIQ allocations even when their pregnancies are high risk and they have no visa to stay where they are," she told Newshub in a statement on Monday.
Dunno why Hipkins believes that fronting like a morally-corrupt wimp is a savvy political strategy. Anyone with a moral compass would quickly suss out that a 10% authorisation rate for pregnant overseas kiwi applicants means the system is 90% discriminatory against pregnant women. Any competent credible minister would yank the plug on such a bullshit system before it did any more harm!
I expect the criteria was written with the understanding that the overwhelming majority of pregnant expat women would be in countries with comparable or superior health systems.
Perhaps….i imagine that they anticipated that the few cases that presented could be addressed through other exemptions. We either have a restricted access arrival policy or we dont…..the problem they have is the longer it runs the more desperate some situations become and then they find themselves caught in a cleft stick….is a pregnant woman more worthy of entry than a son or daughter wishing to see a dying parent, or an uninsured person needing life saving health care….the numbers rack up.
I doubt they thought we would still be here 2 years on….always just a bit longer and the problems will go away.
I was disappointed Hipkins wasn't in his office right through Christmas and the New Year. As First Minister for Covid-19 Response, Minister of Education, Minister for the Public Service and Leader of the House he should have been up to his eyeballs in work. And last year was a pretty cruise one. If he needed time off he's obviously not up to the task.
If he was worth his salt he would have realised earlier in the year that people overseas would be screwing their heads off trying to get pregnant and trying to get back to New Zealand.
Having pregnant women treated like everyone else was cruel. Pregnancy should have meant automatic placement in MIQ. Actually it always used to be "Ladies First" didn''t it? Nah, just kidding.
The typical, lowest common denominator "He did nothing," bullshit from Stanford will impress the blind, stupid and totally partisan. The MIQ system hasn't been talked about ad infinitum behind doors? Priorities haven't been talked about? Emergency applications haven't been talked about? Pregnancy as a factor hasn't been talked about? Individual cases haven't been talked about? All of those by a stack of people including Hipkins. Nah, Hipkins did nothing,.
Would pregnant women not being assured of an MIQ placement on coming back to NZ have been a problem if Sanford's party had been in Government? They wouldn't have had MIQ would they? And no closed borders. And everything would have been hunky- dory.
MIQ system has brought 210,000 New Zealanders safely home. And kept 5 million of us safe from harm. And delayed Omicron until we could get the 3rd dose rolling.
Still, Jaime Ridge says MIQ is just terrible, so let's go with more publicist clicbait.
Might I suggest that Peter's comment @ 7:47pm last night was satirical. He did say, and my bold:
The typical, lowest common denominator "He did nothing," bullshit from Stanford will impress the blind, stupid and totally partisan. The MIQ system hasn't been talked about ad infinitum behind doors? Priorities haven't been talked about? Emergency applications haven't been talked about? Pregnancy as a factor hasn't been talked about? Individual cases haven't been talked about? All of those by a stack of people including Hipkins.
I think he supports your well made point about MIQ.
First Dog on the Moon (link below) provides some (cartoonish) non-elightenment on treasurers who know nothing about economics (nor do economists!), what to do with millions of dud RAT tests (maybe tsmithfield would be interested in this snippet), why cruelty is better than communism and how climate change can benefit capitalism. Instead of Oz, insert NZ equivalents of course!
Think I only managed to save an "illion" but will do my best to support the economy by spending it. I guess I could buy a dud RAT test for next time I have to use public transport in Brisbane, and get infected by a non-mask wearer, but I can't find any to buy!
They do…except its not everybody…its a particular cohort that dont tend to spend locally so are of limited use to the wider economy….thats the lie of averages for you.
Nationals get together …unity and the message..'we are not just about money…we care about people'!-Shipley's ..believe it or not'!
Couldn't get ex Tory leader David Cameron as expected and settled for a pep talk from..George Osborne.
Too funny!I guess the Natz realise not many in NZ know or care about Cameron's involvement in the Greensill Capital debacle.
Suxon mirrors Key's faux concern-(visit to McGhecan Close) …and a feature of penis head is…after he criticises the Govt, when asked what he would do…'would not be drawn on giving an..answer'.
The Socialists triumph in the Portugese snap election, cementing a fat Parliamentary majority. Looks like a similar bounce to New Zealand's 2020 election.
Record high Covid deaths and thousands of hospitalisations are raising alarm about the ability of NSW hospitals to cope with the current scale of the pandemic.
Shadow health minister Ryan Park told Sydney radio station 2GB on Monday the health system was "in absolute crisis and at breaking point".
"We cannot simply have a health system that goes on like this, because there is too much strain on our health workers," Park said.
Sunday was the deadliest day for NSW during the pandemic, with 52 deaths. Of those, 31 were aged care residents.
Please NZ government, stick to your plan to slow it down and most importantly do not listen to the opposition, business interests, and Mike Hoskings under any circumstances.
Too late. Tomorrow morning Mikey will deliver the righteous sword of truth upon this hapless government.
Hosking has Jacinda running scared.
Peter Williams asked Robbo a question that Robbo considered conspiracy theory stuff. That was another excuse for a great escape by Robbo.
Then we get this tonight from our liberal leaning media
Maiki Sherman: Quote:
''Nothing quite says out of touch with those in poverty…''
Any reputable news organisation would have this waste of space looking for another job, But no, we need commentary added to the news to send voters in the right direction.
If Sherman said that she's made an appropriate observation.
If the Labour Party had their caucus get together in Queenstown the same comment would have been made – a million times. The word "optics" would have been common. The decision would have been slated on virtually every forum. Ardern personally would have been blamed.
Of course the cost of flying everyone south would've been thrown in too.
"Downing Street appears likely to drop its policy of dismissing frontline NHS and care staff in England who refuse Covid vaccinations, a minister has strongly indicated, after nursing and care organisations called for this to happen.
A decision would be made “in the course of the next few days”, according to Simon Clarke, the chief secretary to the Treasury. He said the lower severity of the Omicron variant of Covid did “open a space” for the policy to be reversed.
The apparent imminent U-turn came as the Royal College of Nursing argued that both the change in severity from Omicron and the number of NHS vacancies meant the mandatory vaccination policy should be dropped.
The National Care Association said it would also welcome a change of policy, while warning that many unvaccinated care staff had already lost their jobs in the run-up to the 1 April deadline."
Will be interesting to see if there's support for a similar U-turn here in a couple of months. NZ (3.3 total cases per 1000; 0.011 deaths per 1000) and the UK (240 total cases per 1000; 2.3 deaths per 1000) nurses currently face very different pandemic environments and challenges, against a background of global workforce shortages.
I believe that our government’s efforts to prioritise public health outcomes during this pandemic will appeal to a majority of healthcare workers.
Will be interesting to see if there's support for a similar U-turn here in a couple of months.
A 'u turn' you say rather than a response ie 'a change' following greater knowledge, advice from scientists etc that have been the reasons for changes by this Govt all along in the Covid response. You may want to frame it as a U turn ie a pejorative framing and get all and sundry righties on side.
With all of the work the Govt has done on Covid and all the changes to the way we live we have had nothing to suggest these are cast in stone. When we go to a new normal is this going to be cast as U turn?
So looking at a different situation the end of compulsory military training…..that was a U turn? How long in history can we go back pejoratively framing something as a U turn. There is still some legislation in force dating from 1908. When this is changed will this be described as a U turn too?
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Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
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 The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...
The Prime Minister has committed to resuming direct flights to Thailand. But it’s not a promise he will be able to deliver on anytime soon. The post Prime Minister jumps the gun in Thailand appeared first on Newsroom. ...
It’s not that long ago Eliza McCartney was seriously wondering if the Paris Olympics would be her pole vaulting swansong. After years of being hounded by injury after injury, the Rio Olympics bronze medallist was still confident she would compete at her second Olympics in Paris in July, unless something ...
FICTION 1 Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) There’s commercial fiction, like this book, and then there’s quality fiction, quality writers, quality literature; the forthcoming Auckland Writers Festival is full of quality, and ReadingRoom has two tickets to give away to the following events: Paul Lynch (Dublin ...
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You can’t have missed the Gallipoli story as the movies, documentaries, essays and books capture what it was like for New Zealand troops in their eight-month campaign on the Peninsula. But this Anzac Day the Auckland War Memorial Museum has published a book that sheds light on a little-known aspect of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk this week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to ...
It appears the primary requirement to be a politician is you must be unwittingly fatuous.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018828749/national-party-back-luxon-tells-caucus-retreat
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For a bit of contextualisation … I've just rustled up a wee graph of PM Ardern's Approval ratings in the One News Kantar (formerly Colmar Brunton) Poll:
Odd that only Collins' Approval ratings were measured from late 2020 to late 2021 [or, at least, her's were the only figures outlined in the Colmar Brunton Poll reports of Dec 2020, May 2021 & Nov 2021] ..so we don't really know exactly when Ardern's numbers started falling.
If Ardern's Preferred PM numbers are anything to go by .. then her approval ratings probably first took a bit of a nose-dive in early 2021, then more or less plateaued through mid-2021, before experiencing another, though smaller, fall over the last 4 months. But no way of knowing for sure.
Much more importantly Swordfish, how is your health?
Appreciate you asking, Ad … given that a few people have asked both here & on Twitter … I'll probably post a brief note on my blog in the next week or so … don't want to wallow in ostentatious self-indulgence all over The Standard. Lots of other people in the same boat.
Thanks also to Anker for her support.
First off good luck…secondly something that im sure you have considered, approval rating, or rather dissaproval rating of 37%, when Nat/Act running at 43%.
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Cheers, Pat.
On the polling, bear in mind that the Leader Approval ratings (also Preferred PM) involve the entire sample (ie including the Don't Know element) … whereas the Party Support figures exclude the DKs … so if you re-calculated Party Support based on the entire sample – apples with apples – Nat +ACT wouldn't be too far above 37%.
But it’s true that there’s usually a minority of Opposition supporters who are happy with popular PMs (Labour voters & Key / National voters & Ardern) … but as PMs begin to polarise the electorate (as most inevitably do) … that minority shrinks into an ever smaller residue.
Ah, i see.
I thought tribalism may have been losing its grip….its not to be.
You've summed up the problem there, Swordfish. It's irregular polling on that approval/disapproval question. The other Qs (party vote, preferred PM) are in every CB/Kantar poll, so reasonable comparisons can be made.
If it's omitted from the next poll, and then re-inserted at some unspecified future date, then what does it really tell us? For example, it's almost certain that Luxon's "don't knows" will drop considerably, as people form an opinion and say they approve/disapprove. From that you could create a headline "10% more disapprove of Luxon", which might be mathematically correct but of limited value.
Other democracies have far more frequent polling (obviously, bigger media market = more polls) and so numbers like approve/disapprove for Trump/Biden have a long history and therefore context. One News is really just playing with it.
e.g. today, Scott Morrison: 58% disapprove:
https://theconversation.com/labor-leads-coalition-56-44-and-morrison-slumps-dramatically-in-first-2022-newspoll-175994
Boris Johnson: 73% disapprove:
https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/trackers/boris-johnson-approval-rating
Wow 56-44……Albanese has used the tactic of saying little and offering no policies thus letting ScoMo stew in his own juice…it seems to be working
Now, I sure don't like Putin, but the Russian Navy has called off the defence drills it was practising off the Irish cost.
Irish fishermen are now in the media essentially claiming that they've beaten the Russians.
Is it me or did Putin just do a Khruschev?
Nothing so high flown. Putin has woken up to the fact that, though his troll army may whip up a bit of support for his arguments among the deplorables, the serious part of Europe has united against him as it hasn't since the Berlin wall fell. If Germany is pressed hard enough to drop Nordstream, the game he has been playing will prove to be an exceptionally costly failure.
The Ukraine may win after all – Europe and allies are going to bend over backwards to support them for a year or two.
You're a great substitute for Red,White +Blue 'logic'…
France and especially Germany do not want to know about confronting Russia.
Lavrov has a good point..honour the Minsk agreement of 2015 and ..no problemo.
Putin has picked his moment perfectly-40% of Europes gas supply comes from Russia…Nordstream 2 cost billions..not just Russia is exposed…does Europe want to..freeze to..death!
Well, the Minsk agreement would have required Russia to respect Ukraine's borders – they got a bunch of nukes in return for that, but of course the rules never apply to Putin.
Yes, Nordstream is the cheapest alternative for the moment – but Germany lived without it before, and can do so again. If that's the price of avoiding a bellicose post-Soviet border, and the substantial and costly army required to defend it, the benefits of Nordstream would be eclipsed.
And you are aware the Minsk agreement guaranteed Ukraine would not join..NATO.
It hasn't.
But Russia has repeatedly violated its borders.
Russia has a habit of lying about Nato promises – prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union there was no formal agreement Nato would not expand eastwards because no one saw the collapse coming – so neither party made formal commitments of that kind.
As for the Minsk agreement, the full text is here, and it does not seem to contain the promise Russia asserts.
But Russia has repeatedly violated its borders.
I don't think so. There seems to be a civil war going on in the Ukraine between ethnic Russians living in the East a hangover from the days when the Ukraine was part of Russia) and ethnic Ukranians in the West. Russia seems to be providing unofficial support to the Eastern regions while the US supports the West with military hardware.
I don't think so.
And you would be wrong. Russia's occupation of Crimea, and its lending of debadged regular forces to the 'rebels' in Donbass are clear cut border violations.
Real rebels never have tanks – they lack the industrial capacity to produce them.. The Donbass 'rebels' not only had tanks, but close BUK support, with which they shot down MH17.
US weapons are only being moved in in substantial numbers now – in response to Russian aggression.
Russia's occupation of Crimea,
The Russians never occupied Crimea. They had 20,000 troops stationed there by agreement with the Ukranians. When they "annexed" Crimea, they did so without an invasion, after a referendum had indicated overwhelming support for Crimea's return to Russia. The rebels don’t have fighter jets.
with which they shot down MH17.
The official story has it that the Russians drove a BUK launcher into Ukraine, and to a spot where MH17 would pass overhead, shot it down, and then high tailed it back to Russia. You can tell one that to the marines! Apparently MH17 was flying off course, over a war zone, and there is evidence that it was steered to the point where it was shot down, by Ukrainian fighter jets.
MH17 was the subject of a lengthy professional enquiry by, among others, the insurers. Had there been any substance whatsoever to that fairy story, they would have found a way not to pay – that's what insurance companies do.
The investigators debunked your supposition in court. A passenger jet shot down with cannon would be riddled with punctures of the calibre of the weapon used. There were no traces consistent with cannon fire. Only the most biased of diehard Putin-dupes still cling to your fiction.
I guess you have heard of what is sometimes referred to as a "kangaroo court". And in any case why would Russia have anything to do with shooting down a commercial airliner.
Lydia Ko…so talented,so humble..wins another tournament.
Speaking of humble, I was listening to Heather Stupidity-Allen interview Fran O on the radio this afternoon.
Fran O was asked how Jacinda Ardern can turn around her 'plummeting fortunes'. Her advice was, get this, for the Prime Minister to show more empathy and to be a bit more humble.
I nearly drove off the road.
A wonderful ambassador.
Hipkins did a runner. Went on xmas to avoid facing up to his moral obligation to do a system change. Typical Labour evasion strategy.
Dunno why Hipkins believes that fronting like a morally-corrupt wimp is a savvy political strategy. Anyone with a moral compass would quickly suss out that a 10% authorisation rate for pregnant overseas kiwi applicants means the system is 90% discriminatory against pregnant women. Any competent credible minister would yank the plug on such a bullshit system before it did any more harm!
I expect the criteria was written with the understanding that the overwhelming majority of pregnant expat women would be in countries with comparable or superior health systems.
that was a stupid mistake then, given the second story in the post.
and why would these countries provide free health care to these stranded kiwi women?
If deliveries are not covered by travel insurance The government, I think, should be prepared to meet the costs.
Perhaps….i imagine that they anticipated that the few cases that presented could be addressed through other exemptions. We either have a restricted access arrival policy or we dont…..the problem they have is the longer it runs the more desperate some situations become and then they find themselves caught in a cleft stick….is a pregnant woman more worthy of entry than a son or daughter wishing to see a dying parent, or an uninsured person needing life saving health care….the numbers rack up.
I doubt they thought we would still be here 2 years on….always just a bit longer and the problems will go away.
I have been informed that the fastest track back to NZ..is that you are suicidal…if not repatriated.
Do you know someone trying to return?
Know someone who used it and has ..returned.
Ah..I see. Where did the idea come from…an immigration consultant or some such?
An aquaintance said this was the recommended course of action for his son in..Australia.
Not sure who gave him the advice..no doubt it would be interesting to see if there was a spike in this being the reason.
I was disappointed Hipkins wasn't in his office right through Christmas and the New Year. As First Minister for Covid-19 Response, Minister of Education, Minister for the Public Service and Leader of the House he should have been up to his eyeballs in work. And last year was a pretty cruise one. If he needed time off he's obviously not up to the task.
If he was worth his salt he would have realised earlier in the year that people overseas would be screwing their heads off trying to get pregnant and trying to get back to New Zealand.
Having pregnant women treated like everyone else was cruel. Pregnancy should have meant automatic placement in MIQ. Actually it always used to be "Ladies First" didn''t it? Nah, just kidding.
The typical, lowest common denominator "He did nothing," bullshit from Stanford will impress the blind, stupid and totally partisan. The MIQ system hasn't been talked about ad infinitum behind doors? Priorities haven't been talked about? Emergency applications haven't been talked about? Pregnancy as a factor hasn't been talked about? Individual cases haven't been talked about? All of those by a stack of people including Hipkins. Nah, Hipkins did nothing,.
Would pregnant women not being assured of an MIQ placement on coming back to NZ have been a problem if Sanford's party had been in Government? They wouldn't have had MIQ would they? And no closed borders. And everything would have been hunky- dory.
Check your own moral compass.
MIQ system has brought 210,000 New Zealanders safely home. And kept 5 million of us safe from harm. And delayed Omicron until we could get the 3rd dose rolling.
Still, Jaime Ridge says MIQ is just terrible, so let's go with more publicist clicbait.
+1000 Ad
Agreed.
Might I suggest that Peter's comment @ 7:47pm last night was satirical. He did say, and my bold:
I think he supports your well made point about MIQ.
Where was Jan Tinetti on this as Minister of Women?
First Dog on the Moon (link below) provides some (cartoonish) non-elightenment on treasurers who know nothing about economics (nor do economists!), what to do with millions of dud RAT tests (maybe tsmithfield would be interested in this snippet), why cruelty is better than communism and how climate change can benefit capitalism. Instead of Oz, insert NZ equivalents of course!
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jan/31/josh-frydenberg-reckons-everyone-has-billions-of-dollars-saved-up-so-do-your-duty-and-buy-stuff
You have billions of dollar saved? Wow. I am impressed. s/
Think I only managed to save an "illion" but will do my best to support the economy by spending it. I guess I could buy a dud RAT test for next time I have to use public transport in Brisbane, and get infected by a non-mask wearer, but I can't find any to buy!
So Frydenberg, the Australian Treasurer, reckons everyone has billions of dollars saved up. Priceless – thanks for the laugh.
They do…except its not everybody…its a particular cohort that dont tend to spend locally so are of limited use to the wider economy….thats the lie of averages for you.
Yup – 'billions' is a Claytons' average.
Pretty good explainer on The Detail on vaccines and boosters, how they differ, and why they matter during the omicron outbreak.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/the-detail/story/2018828127/boosting-our-chances-of-dodging-disease
Nationals get together …unity and the message..'we are not just about money…we care about people'!-Shipley's ..believe it or not'!
Couldn't get ex Tory leader David Cameron as expected and settled for a pep talk from..George Osborne.
Too funny!I guess the Natz realise not many in NZ know or care about Cameron's involvement in the Greensill Capital debacle.
Suxon mirrors Key's faux concern-(visit to McGhecan Close) …and a feature of penis head is…after he criticises the Govt, when asked what he would do…'would not be drawn on giving an..answer'.
How inspiring.
Thanks for the laughs Blazer.
Don't all politicians "care about people"?. That's what they are always telling us. Including some with “long noses”.
The Socialists triumph in the Portugese snap election, cementing a fat Parliamentary majority. Looks like a similar bounce to New Zealand's 2020 election.
Portugal election: Key takeaways as Socialists cement power | Euronews
But same question will be asked as of Ardern: other than COVID, what else have you got in the tank?
Omicron is mild, eh?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/covid-19-omicron-concerns-in-nsw-over-rising-death-rates-hospitals-ability-to-cope-with-surge/VI3JRI725ERZOIZ4WND2GRIZFU/
Please NZ government, stick to your plan to slow it down and most importantly do not listen to the opposition, business interests, and Mike Hoskings under any circumstances.
Too late. Tomorrow morning Mikey will deliver the righteous sword of truth upon this hapless government.
Hosking has Jacinda running scared.
Peter Williams asked Robbo a question that Robbo considered conspiracy theory stuff. That was another excuse for a great escape by Robbo.
Then we get this tonight from our liberal leaning media
Maiki Sherman: Quote:
''Nothing quite says out of touch with those in poverty…''
Any reputable news organisation would have this waste of space looking for another job, But no, we need commentary added to the news to send voters in the right direction.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/01/31/national-party-to-have-a-new-focus-on-poverty-luxon/
So they go to Queenstown not Manukau.
Who the hell would want to go to Manukau? That would be disingenuous tokenism from a Tory government. National need to be like Labour.
Labour uses a barge pole to keep the stench of farming and business from their back doorstep, while at the same time regulating them.
National does the same with poverty and the beneficiary class.
It's simply politics… and the discrimination both major political parties bring to the table,
If Sherman said that she's made an appropriate observation.
If the Labour Party had their caucus get together in Queenstown the same comment would have been made – a million times. The word "optics" would have been common. The decision would have been slated on virtually every forum. Ardern personally would have been blamed.
Of course the cost of flying everyone south would've been thrown in too.
Muttonbird.
@ Muttonbird (10) … 100% concur with your summation.
"Downing Street appears likely to drop its policy of dismissing frontline NHS and care staff in England who refuse Covid vaccinations, a minister has strongly indicated, after nursing and care organisations called for this to happen.
A decision would be made “in the course of the next few days”, according to Simon Clarke, the chief secretary to the Treasury. He said the lower severity of the Omicron variant of Covid did “open a space” for the policy to be reversed.
The apparent imminent U-turn came as the Royal College of Nursing argued that both the change in severity from Omicron and the number of NHS vacancies meant the mandatory vaccination policy should be dropped.
The National Care Association said it would also welcome a change of policy, while warning that many unvaccinated care staff had already lost their jobs in the run-up to the 1 April deadline."
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jan/31/covid-mandatory-jabs-nhs-staff-england-omicron-u-turn
Will be interesting to see if there's support for a similar U-turn here in a couple of months. NZ (3.3 total cases per 1000; 0.011 deaths per 1000) and the UK (240 total cases per 1000; 2.3 deaths per 1000) nurses currently face very different pandemic environments and challenges, against a background of global workforce shortages.
I believe that our government’s efforts to prioritise public health outcomes during this pandemic will appeal to a majority of healthcare workers.
https://www.nursingtimes.net/news/global-nursing/post-covid-19-global-nursing-workforce-challenges-too-big-to-be-ignored-24-01-2022/
https://www.nursingcouncil.org.nz/NCNZ/News-section/news-item/2021/5/Guidance_statement_COVID-19_vaccine_and_your_professional_responsibility.aspx
https://www.england.nhs.uk/
A 'u turn' you say rather than a response ie 'a change' following greater knowledge, advice from scientists etc that have been the reasons for changes by this Govt all along in the Covid response. You may want to frame it as a U turn ie a pejorative framing and get all and sundry righties on side.
With all of the work the Govt has done on Covid and all the changes to the way we live we have had nothing to suggest these are cast in stone. When we go to a new normal is this going to be cast as U turn?
So looking at a different situation the end of compulsory military training…..that was a U turn? How long in history can we go back pejoratively framing something as a U turn. There is still some legislation in force dating from 1908. When this is changed will this be described as a U turn too?
https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1908/0081/latest/whole.html