Get Ugly
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9:20 am, October 20th, 2021 - 94 comments
Categories: covid-19, health -
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Is this government quite incapable of being tough? We’ve got to the limits of kindness. The hard stuff of enforcement is being left to the Police and judges, not to the immense power of public persuasion that has already been applied to us vaccinated. Grow a spine government.
It’s Wednesday and after the awesome rollout about 1.8 million New Zealanders are still locked down. We are beyond the Saturday of sausage sizzles, free coffee, free hangis, free food vouchers, free travel to and from venues, free bands, the glad-handling, the relentless social media campaigns, the political and celebrity star-power, the media darling dancing, hand-holding, free promises of jobs and tours, tens of $$millions into NGOs, and relentless manufactured glee with appropriately adulatory media coverage. 130,000 of the entire population of New Zealand vaccinated in a single day.
Monday it was back to the fudging and more people spreading a pandemic through idiocy.
Time to change the tone, all of us, elected politicians and health bureaucrats included. We all know of people who are suffering, committed relationship withering, jobs that have stunted to nothing, and just under 2 million Kiwis locked down because a handful of morons just can’t be bothered for the rest of us. And then after they get caught they say sooooo-reeeeeee. Really sorry you are sick and I made it happen. Soooooooooooo-reeeeeeeeee.
It is no fun to say but our hospital system is something to be avoided. You will sit in that emergency room chair for hours and hours on any day, even before all this. If you want more than stitches or a stent you will be waiting for months and you will likely get much sicker. Our hospitals have a very high chance that you will become worse interacting with them. That was before the un-Covid-vaccinated decided to make a moral stand for their freedoms. The Auckland region has a minor outbreak of COVID Delta and the entire 3 DHB’s are preparing for isolation tents set up in car parks. It’s a full public service precariat.
Why is it this entire government incapable of holding criminally stupid citizens to account by name? Is this leftie government so weak it is yet again unable to translate from policy to compulsion? 90% appears to be the limit of where this naive view of human nature gets us.
If our authority figures are going to have the courage to name and shame the horse-riders who jet to Wanaka and the influencers who party on the North Shore like it’s 1999, we should also be capable of naming and shaming the dangerous criminals spreading it among the poor. It’s just pc bullshit hypocrisy.
The people one could appeal to through selflessness, nobility, national cause, protection of family and community – those people are vaccinated already.
Barring medical exceptions, we’re getting to the 10% who are selfish, rebellious, criminal superspreaders, easily led, paranoid, anarchistic, and antisocial. You won’t get to those with kindness.
We need public messaging that we can all share which focuses on what life will be shortly like for the unvaccinated.
It’s time to get disgusting.
We do it for our multi-decade anti-smoking campaigns with gooey glee.
We do it for our anti drink-driving campaigns with skull-smashing shock.
We do it for our anti drug-driving and anti-drug campaigns with both fun and shame.
We do it for people imagining they would do any high risk activity needing ACC.
We do it for anti domestic violence campaigns without breaking a sweat.
We do it for anti-suicide campaigns in harrowing detail.
If you go onto the Reddit site r/nursing you can see all of the unvaccinated consequences with all the runny-plumb-chutney closeups you could imagine. Patients with maggots in their sinus cavities. Intubated pregnant women who give birth and die without so much as touching their baby, and the baby is straight to ICU. Long term fungal infections. Long term disability. Long term mental strain and mental damage. With that will come long term sickness beneficiaries and ACC claims, and of course straight after that will come long term needless poverty and utterly wasted lives.
What we will get to next for those unvaccinated individuals is that they will be very hard to employ, very hard to house, very hard to befriend or even have in your house, deeper morbidity and faster deaths.
Go to GoFundMe and search COVID and you will see the financial hell that the unvaccinated put on their families. Often they die anyway and still leave the financial debt on their already-grieving families.
So there’s plenty there to generate a bit of stick with, all factual, just without the happy-clappy bullshit.
We’ve had 6 months of Team of Five Million and full credit for the results. We’ll get to 90% in Auckland in a week and 90% for the rest of the country through November.
Now it’s time to get ugly on the rest.
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- Release: Hon Willie Jackson to debate at the Prestigious Oxford UnionHon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...1 week ago
- Members Bill will prevent Māori land confiscationsGreen Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...2 weeks ago
- TIKANGA IS NOT LAW. IT IS CULTURAL INDOCTRINATION.A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...2 weeks ago
- Release: National won’t commit to full Nelson Hospital upgradeThe Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour calls for fast track list to be releasedMinisters must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: National gaslights women fighting for equal payNational has scrapped the pay equity taskforce that fights for equal pay for women and looks at ethnic pay gaps. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: More job cuts, fewer houses under NationalThe Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Children fall deeper through the cracks in Govt cutsWith Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour honours memory of Sir Robert MartinThe Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: 130,000 cattle saved from live exportLabour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...2 weeks ago
- Central Bank makes clear Government is pouring fuel on housing crisis fireToday’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...2 weeks ago
- New unemployment figures paint bleak pictureThe Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: National’s job cuts already starting to bite as unemployment risesUnemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...2 weeks ago
- Release: National hiking transport costs for families and young New ZealandersWeekly expenses will grow for more than 1.6 million New Zealanders as the Government ends free and half price public transport fares tomorrow. ...3 weeks ago
- Release: Labour welcomes EU free trade agreementThe New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...3 weeks ago
- Surprise: Landlord tax cuts don’t trickle downThe Green Party is renewing its call for rent controls following reports of rental prices hitting an all-time high. ...3 weeks ago
- Release: $1.7b for no increase in access to medicineThe National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...3 weeks ago
- Release: National should heed Tribunal warning and scrap coalition commitment with ACTThis afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...3 weeks ago
- Release: More accountability for preventable workplace deaths this Workers’ Memorial DayLabour is calling for more accountability for preventable workplace deaths because everybody who goes to work deserves to come home safely. ...3 weeks ago
- DJ Fred Again – Assurance report received
"On the 27th of March, I sought assurances from the Chief Executive, Department of Internal Affairs, that the Department’s correct processes and policies had been followed in regards to a passport application which received media attention,” says Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden. “I raised my concerns after being ...14 hours ago - District Court Judges appointedAttorney-General Judith Collins has announced the appointment of three new District Court Judges, to replace Judges who have recently retired. Peter James Davey of Auckland has been appointed a District Court Judge with a jury jurisdiction to be based at Whangarei. Mr Davey initially started work as a law clerk/solicitor with ...19 hours ago
- Unions should put learning ahead of ideologyAssociate Education Minister David Seymour is calling on the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) to put ideology to the side and focus on students’ learning, in reaction to the union holding paid teacher meetings across New Zealand about charter schools. “The PPTA is disrupting schools up and down the ...19 hours ago
- Craig Stobo appointed as chair of FMACommerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly today announced the appointment of Craig Stobo as the new chair of the Financial Markets Authority (FMA). Mr Stobo takes over from Mark Todd, whose term expired at the end of April. Mr Stobo’s appointment is for a five-year term. “The FMA plays ...19 hours ago
- Budget 2024 invests in lifeguards and coastguardSurf Life Saving New Zealand and Coastguard New Zealand will continue to be able to keep people safe in, on, and around the water following a funding boost of $63.644 million over four years, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Associate Transport Minister Matt Doocey say. “Heading to the beach for ...21 hours ago
- New Zealand and Tuvalu reaffirm close relationshipNew Zealand and Tuvalu have reaffirmed their close relationship, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand is committed to working with Tuvalu on a shared vision of resilience, prosperity and security, in close concert with Australia,” says Mr Peters, who last visited Tuvalu in 2019. “It is my pleasure ...2 days ago
- New Zealand calls for calm, constructive dialogue in New CaledoniaNew Zealand is gravely concerned about the situation in New Caledonia, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The escalating situation and violent protests in Nouméa are of serious concern across the Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “The immediate priority must be for all sides to take steps to de-escalate the ...2 days ago
- New Zealand welcomes Samoa Head of StatePrime Minister Christopher Luxon met today with Samoa’s O le Ao o le Malo, Afioga Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II, who is making a State Visit to New Zealand. “His Highness and I reflected on our two countries’ extensive community links, with Samoan–New Zealanders contributing to all areas of our national ...2 days ago
- Island Direct eligible for SuperGold Card fundingTransport Minister Simeon Brown has announced that he has approved Waiheke Island ferry operator Island Direct to be eligible for SuperGold Card funding, paving the way for a commercial agreement to bring the operator into the scheme. “Island Direct started operating in November 2023, offering an additional option for people ...2 days ago
- Further sanctions against RussiaForeign Minister Winston Peters today announced further sanctions on 28 individuals and 14 entities providing military and strategic support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Russia is directly supported by its military-industrial complex in its illegal aggression against Ukraine, attacking its sovereignty and territorial integrity. New Zealand condemns all entities and ...2 days ago
- One year on from Loafers LodgeA year on from the tragedy at Loafers Lodge, the Government is working hard to improve building fire safety, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “I want to share my sincere condolences with the families and friends of the victims on the anniversary of the tragic fire at Loafers ...2 days ago
- Pre-Budget speech to Auckland Business ChamberKa nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you so much for having me here in the lead up to my Government’s first Budget. Before I get started can I acknowledge: Simon Bridges – Auckland Business Chamber CEO. Steve Jurkovich – Kiwibank CEO. Kids born ...3 days ago
- New Zealand and Vanuatu to deepen collaborationNew Zealand and Vanuatu will enhance collaboration on issues of mutual interest, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “It is important to return to Port Vila this week with a broad, high-level political delegation which demonstrates our deep commitment to New Zealand’s relationship with Vanuatu,” Mr Peters says. “This ...3 days ago
- Penk travels to Peru for trade meetingsMinister for Land Information, Chris Penk will travel to Peru this week to represent New Zealand at a meeting of trade ministers from the Asia-Pacific region on behalf of Trade Minister Todd McClay. The annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade meeting will be held on 17-18 May ...3 days ago
- Minister attends global education conferencesMinister of Education Erica Stanford will head to the United Kingdom this week to participate in the 22nd Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEM) and the 2024 Education World Forum (EWF). “I am looking forward to sharing this Government’s education priorities, such as introducing a knowledge-rich curriculum, implementing an evidence-based ...3 days ago
- Education Minister thanks outgoing NZQA ChairMinister of Education Erica Stanford has today thanked outgoing New Zealand Qualifications Authority Chair, Hon Tracey Martin. “Tracey Martin tendered her resignation late last month in order to take up a new role,” Ms Stanford says. Ms Martin will relinquish the role of Chair on 10 May and current Deputy ...3 days ago
- Joint statement of Christopher Luxon and Emmanuel Macron: Launch of the Christchurch Call FoundationNew Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and President Emmanuel Macron of France today announced a new non-governmental organisation, the Christchurch Call Foundation, to coordinate the Christchurch Call’s work to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. This change gives effect to the outcomes of the November 2023 Call Leaders’ Summit, ...4 days ago
- Panel announced for review into disability servicesDistinguished public servant and former diplomat Sir Maarten Wevers will lead the independent review into the disability support services administered by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. The review was announced by Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston a fortnight ago to examine what could be done to strengthen the ...4 days ago
- Minister welcomes Police gang unitToday’s announcement by Police Commissioner Andrew Coster of a National Gang Unit and district Gang Disruption Units will help deliver on the coalition Government’s pledge to restore law and order and crack down on criminal gangs, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. “The National Gang Unit and Gang Disruption Units will ...4 days ago
- New Zealand expresses regret at North Korea’s aggressive rhetoricForeign Minister Winston Peters has today expressed regret at North Korea’s aggressive rhetoric towards New Zealand and its international partners. “New Zealand proudly stands with the international community in upholding the rules-based order through its monitoring and surveillance deployments, which it has been regularly doing alongside partners since 2018,” Mr ...4 days ago
- New Chief of Defence Force appointedAir Vice-Marshal Tony Davies MNZM is the new Chief of Defence Force, Defence Minister Judith Collins announced today. The Chief of Defence Force commands the Navy, Army and Air Force and is the principal military advisor to the Defence Minister and other Ministers with relevant portfolio responsibilities in the defence ...4 days ago
- Government puts children first by repealing 7AALegislation to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act has been introduced to Parliament. The Bill’s introduction reaffirms the Coalition Government’s commitment to the safety of children in care, says Minister for Children, Karen Chhour. “While section 7AA was introduced with good intentions, it creates a conflict for Oranga ...4 days ago
- Defence Minister to meet counterparts in UK, ItalyDefence Minister Judith Collins will this week travel to the UK and Italy to meet with her defence counterparts, and to attend Battles of Cassino commemorations. “I am humbled to be able to represent the New Zealand Government in Italy at the commemorations for the 80th anniversary of what was ...4 days ago
- Charter schools to lift educational outcomesThe upcoming Budget will include funding for up to 50 charter schools to help lift declining educational performance, Associate Education Minister David Seymour announced today. $153 million in new funding will be provided over four years to establish and operate up to 15 new charter schools and convert 35 state ...4 days ago
- COVID-19 Inquiry terms of reference consultation results received“The results of the public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has now been received, with results indicating over 13,000 submissions were made from members of the public,” Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “We heard feedback about the extended lockdowns in ...4 days ago
- The Pacific family of nations – the changing security outlookForeign Minister, Defence Minister, other Members of Parliament Acting Chief of Defence Force, Secretary of Defence Distinguished Guests Defence and Diplomatic Colleagues Ladies and Gentlemen, Good afternoon, tēna koutou, apinun tru It’s a pleasure to be back in Port Moresby today, and to speak here at the Kumul Leadership ...4 days ago
- NZ and Papua New Guinea to work more closely togetherHealth, infrastructure, renewable energy, and stability are among the themes of the current visit to Papua New Guinea by a New Zealand political delegation, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Papua New Guinea carries serious weight in the Pacific, and New Zealand deeply values our relationship with it,” Mr Peters ...5 days ago
- Driving ahead with Roads of Regional SignificanceThe coalition Government is launching Roads of Regional Significance to sit alongside Roads of National Significance as part of its plan to deliver priority roading projects across the country, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The Roads of National Significance (RoNS) built by the previous National Government are some of New Zealand’s ...5 days ago
- New Zealand congratulates new Solomon Islands governmentA high-level New Zealand political delegation in Honiara today congratulated the new Government of Solomon Islands, led by Jeremiah Manele, on taking office. “We are privileged to meet the new Prime Minister and members of his Cabinet during his government’s first ten days in office,” Deputy Prime Minister and ...6 days ago
- New Zealand supports UN Palestine resolutionNew Zealand voted in favour of a resolution broadening Palestine’s participation at the United Nations General Assembly overnight, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The resolution enhances the rights of Palestine to participate in the work of the UN General Assembly while stopping short of admitting Palestine as a full ...1 week ago
- Speech to the 2024 Infrastructure SymposiumIntroduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...1 week ago
- $571 million for Defence pay and projectsDefence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...1 week ago
- Climate change – mitigating the risks and costsNew Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...1 week ago
- Getting new job seekers on the pathway to workJobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...1 week ago
- Accelerating Social InvestmentA new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...1 week ago
- Getting Back on TrackCheck against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...1 week ago
- NZ – European Union ties more critical than everYour Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...1 week ago
- Therapeutic Products Act to be repealedThe Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...1 week ago
- Decisions on Wellington City Council’s District PlanThe Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...1 week ago
- Rape Awareness Week: Government committed to action on sexual violenceRape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...1 week ago
- ‘Stop laughing, I’m trying to kill someone’: Cohen Holloway on playing a serial murderer
The star of Dark City: The Cleaner takes us through his life in TV, including the VHS revolution and the John Campbell impression that started it all. Best known for his comedic roles, Cohen Holloway says he struggled at times to maintain the stone cold facade of serial killer on ...1 hour ago - A life storyDavid Hill remembers an old friend, who you’ve probably never heard of. My friend Doug never travelled; he had little interest in the world beyond his own tiny rural town. I’ve rarely known anyone who radiated such contentment. Doug (I’ll call him that) died in March. You won’t know him. ...1 hour ago
- Do you recognise anybody in these 150-year-old photographs?Some of the earliest photos of life in Aotearoa are on display at Auckland Museum right now – but the identities of some of the people in them are a mystery. What was it like to be one of the first people in New Zealand to have their photo taken? ...2 hours ago
- The indie books fest bringing big ideas to small town WairarapaSince its founding almost a decade ago, Featherston Booktown has grown into one of the country’s most interesting and idiosyncratic literary events. Erin Banks reports from the audience. “Come in, have you had lunch? I’m about to make a cheese toastie.” Mary Biggs, operations manager of Featherston Booktown Karukatea Festival, ...2 hours ago
- Enduring the voyage of the tatauAfter 33 years abroad, Loveni Enari recently returned to Aotearoa and Samoa in what a friend joked was an “existential crisis”. He learnt and re-learnt so much about his family, friends and both countries. Almost as an afterthought, he got a Samoan tatau. This is his story. (Accompanying it are ...2 hours ago
- Bearing witness to a confession of murderNearly 30 years ago, two people told me they’d killed a woman they knew. I thought the truth would come out, that others would tell it. In the end, I had to. The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Fact: in 1995, Angela Blackmoore ...2 hours ago
- The Weekend: A landmark case for trans rights in AotearoaEditor Madeleine Chapman looks back at the week and shines a light on some increasingly rare longform journalism. Mōrena and welcome to The Weekend where there will sadly be no aurora to see. After a busy week last week of short, sharp pieces, this week we swung the other way, ...2 hours ago
- Tourists trapped by New Caledonia unrest feel ‘abandoned’ by NZ
By Lauren Crimp , RNZ News reporter New Zealanders stuck among riots and civil unrest in New Caledonia’s capital say they feel abandoned by their own country, having received little help from the government. Nouméa descended into chaos on Monday, with clashes between indigenous Kanak pro-independence protesters and French security ...4 hours ago - Kanaky in flames: Five takeaways from the New Caledonia independence riotsANALYSIS: By David Robie, editor of Asia Pacific Report Jean-Marie Tjibaou, a revered Kanak visionary, was inspirational to indigenous Pacific political activists across Oceania, just like Tongan anthropologist and writer Epeli Hao’ofa was to cultural advocates. Tragically, he was assassinated in 1989 by an opponent within the independence movement during ...7 hours ago
- When body positivity becomes problematic
Forget thin is in, apparently now bigger is better … or is it? After over a decade of body positivity, girls, teens and women are even more confused about what body positivity actually is. The movement began with women confronting unrealistic expectations of how their bodies should look. But sub-strands ...8 hours ago - Short story: Ruin, by Ockham winner Emma HislopGrace always sat at the bar at the back of The Cambridge, where she could watch who came in. A huge mirror ran the length of the pub, so you could sometimes watch people without them knowing. The mirror made the place seem a lot bigger than it really was. ...8 hours ago
- The Secret Diary of .. Sheriff Mark MitchellMONDAY Sheriff Mark Mitchell rose at dawn. He had a long day’s ride ahead of him. He was headed for Waikeria. Waikeria! Even the name itself stirred his blood, and set root in his imagination. There was nothing and no one in Waikeria. But he would bend it to his ...8 hours ago
- The Boy in the Water: A forensic examination, at lastThe first phase of the inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones finished this week, turning up plenty of revelations and few answers. But through all the confusion, heartbreak and antipathy on display, the simple fact at the heart of this case remains: if little Lachie’s body had ...8 hours ago
- How Many Public Sector Roles Are Going, And From Where?
Public servants' jobs are on the chopping block as the sector scrambles to meet the Finance Minister's cost-cutting targets. ...11 hours ago - Can you control your image? Gina Rinehart, King Charles and ‘moral portraits’Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Roger Benjamin, Professor in Art History, University of Sydney “She’s no oil painting”. Those were the unkind words of a colleague commenting on the subject of Vincent Namatjira’s acrylic painting, Gina. Every one of the prominent Australians and cultural heroes in Namatjira’s ...12 hours ago
- Government plans for Māori wards breach The Treaty of Waitangi -Tribunal
Government plans to require local councils hold a referendum on whether to have Māori wards breaches the Treaty of Waitangi, a Waitangi Tribunal report has found. ...12 hours ago - Threatened species have declined 2% a year since 2000. Nature positive? Far from it.Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Megan C Evans, Senior Lecturer, Public Sector Management, School of Business, UNSW Sydney Martin Tobias Aakesson/Shutterstock Our government has great aspirations. It has committed to end extinctions and expand our protected areas to cover 30% of every Australian ecosystem by 2030. ...12 hours ago
- Rugby league in Perth and Papua New Guinea? Here’s what could be next for the NRLSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Harcourt, Industry Professor and Chief Economist, University of Technology Sydney This year the National Rugby League (NRL) opened its season in Las Vegas. It was an audacious move by the league’s ambitious head honcho Peter V’Landys to showcase the game in ...14 hours ago
- The budget has earmarked $8.6 million for live music. Is it enough to save the flailing industry?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Catherine Strong, Associate Professor, Music Industry, RMIT University Leading music organisations have praised the federal budget for its investment in the live music sector. The budget includes A$8.6 million for a program called Revive Live: to provide essential support to ...15 hours ago
- The Week in Politics: Charter schools, special police units and a tricky problem for the governmentThe Week in Politics: ACT brings back a signature policy, while NZ First mulls how to fulfil a promise. ...15 hours ago
- There’s $110 million for Indigenous education in the budget. But where’s the evidence it will wo...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marnee Shay, Associate Professor, Principal Research Fellow, The University of Queensland The 2024 federal budget contains A$110 million for Indigenous education. This includes funding for various different organisations to represent and help Indigenous people as well as scholarships in a bid to ...15 hours ago
- New Caledonia’s Nouméa airport closed until Tuesday, says Air New ZealandAir New Zealand has confirmed Nouméa’s Tontouta International airport in New Caledonia is closed until Tuesday. The airline earlier told RNZ it would update customers as soon as it could. Earlier today, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters told RNZ Morning Report government officials had been working on an “hourly basis” ...15 hours ago
- Cameras reveal wombat burrows can be safe havens after fire and waterholes after rainSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Grant Linley, PhD Candidate in Ecology, Charles Sturt University Grant Linley Australia’s unprecedented Black Summer bushfires in 2019–20 created ideal conditions for misinformation to spread, from the insidious to the absurd. It was within this context that a bizarre story ...16 hours ago
- ChatGPT is now better than ever at faking human emotion and behaviourSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marcel Scharth, Lecturer in Business Analytics, University of Sydney OpenAI executive Mira Murati launching GPT-4o. OpenAI Earlier this week OpenAI launched GPT-4o (“o” for “omni”), a new version of the artificial intelligence (AI) system powering the popular ChatGPT chatbot. GPT-4o is promoted ...16 hours ago
- Menopause can bring increased cholesterol levels and other heart risks. Here’s why and what to do ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Treasure McGuire, Assistant Director of Pharmacy, Mater Health SEQ in conjoint appointment as Associate Professor of Pharmacology, Bond University and as Associate Professor (Clinical), The University of Queensland Speedkingz/Shutterstock Menopause is a natural biological process that marks the end of a ...17 hours ago
- The Friday Poem: ‘Xiāng’ by Hannah PattersonA new poem by Hannah Patterson. Xiāng There’s a pear tree in our backyard And Xiāng tells me She can’t eat them anymore Not after some things that have happened in her life. She tells me, in Mandarin The word for pear sounds the same as the word for disassociation ...17 hours ago
- Cycle lanes are good for business, actually‘Cycling Works’ aims to show business support for citywide cycle infrastructure. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, supermarket giant Foodstuffs lost its attempt to block the construction of a cycle lane outside Thorndon New World in Wellington. The Spinoff’s Wellington editor ...17 hours ago
- The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending May 17The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 Slow Productivity by Cal Newport (Penguin, $40) Taking out the top spot in Auckland this ...17 hours ago
- Nuclear subs are coming to Australia. Now the Coalition wants reactors, too. We’re not ready for i...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Lowe, Emeritus Professor, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University For decades, Australia has exported uranium – but not used it, other than in the Lucas Heights research reactor. But change is coming. We now face a rapidly deepening commitment to ...17 hours ago
- After 180 years, new clues are revealing just how general anaesthesia works in the brainSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam D Hines, Research fellow, Queensland University of Technology Sergey Mironov/Shutterstock Over 350 million surgeries are performed globally each year. For most of us, it’s likely at some point in our lives we’ll have to undergo a procedure that needs general ...17 hours ago
- 'I can do much better': Green MP Julie Anne Genter promises to improve conduct"In future I should walk away," Green MP Julie Anne Genter says after complaints over an exchange in Parliament and from two members of the public. ...18 hours ago
- Call to protect asylum seekers who may arrive in New Zealand by boatA group of more than 40 refugees, charities and advocates want better protections for asylum seekers arriving by boat. ...18 hours ago
- Homo Pentecostus: on queer intimacies, religion, ancestry and the human need for connectionSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Graffam, PhD Candidate in Theatre, Monash University Gianna Rizzo/Malthouse Music pumps; lights pulsate; two sweaty bodies sway together, touching, breathing in each other’s scent. A male body framed by downlight restlessly shifts between stances and gestures. He undresses. The intensity ...18 hours ago
- Want to be buried on your own land, at sea or in a forest? A guide to unconventional send-offsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sandra van der Laan, Professor of Accounting, University of Sydney Mtaya/Shutterstock At some point, you or someone else will need to make a decision about your “send-off”. Most Australians die in an institution, such as a hospital or aged care facility. ...18 hours ago
- Vanuatu, MSG chief reaffirms support for FLNKS, blames France over unrestAsia Pacific Report Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai — who is also Chairman of the Melanesian Spearhead Group — has reaffirmed MSG’s support of the pro-independence umbrella group Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) stance opposing the French government’s constitutional bill “unfreezing” the New Caledonia Electoral Roll. It is ...18 hours ago
- Blazing a trail: the Leonard family legacy in Māori televisionProducer Susan Leonard remembers her father Ernie, a pioneer of Māori television, and how his legacy lives on in Pathfinders. My father was a fabulous man. His name was Ernie Leonard and he started in TV in the 1970s when it was still glamorous – when TVNZ made behind the ...19 hours ago
- Home detention for New Caledonia’s unrest ringleaders, Tiktok bannedBy Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk, and Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist The suspected ringleaders of the unrest in New Caledonia have been placed in home detention and the social network TikTok has been banned as French security forces struggle to restore law and order. The French ...19 hours ago
- Review finds big increase in multi-year government spends, use not always justifiedMulti-year appropriations - which give the government authority to spend money without reapplying annually - are loosening Parliament's control of the public purse, auditor-general says. ...19 hours ago
- $63.6m for Surf Life Saving and Coastguard in Budget 2024"New Zealand has a tragically high drowning toll," Transport Minister Simeon Brown said at the announcement. ...20 hours ago
- Dr. Eric Chuah Standing For Mayor Of TaurangaDr. Eric Chuah who stood for a centrist NZ political party in the October 2023 NZ Elections for Maungakiekie Auckland will stand as a candidate for Tauranga City Council Ward of Matua-=Otumoetai and Mayor of Tauranga. ...20 hours ago
- How to enjoy a comedy festival in your own loungeIf you can’t get to the comedy fest, let us bring the comedy fest to you. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. The New Zealand International Comedy Festival is in full swing at the moment, with a veritable smorgasboard of comedy treats ...20 hours ago
- Poll Shows Three Quarters Of Wellingtonians Oppose Airport SaleA new poll commissioned by Unions Wellington shows an overwhelming majority of Wellingtonians oppose the Council’s plan to sell the 34% public stake in Wellington Airport. ...20 hours ago
- $63.6m boost for Surf Life Saving and Coastguard in Budget 2024"New Zealand has a tragically high drowning toll," Transport Minister Simeon Brown said at the announcement. ...21 hours ago
- Nearly 1300 homes on hold amid government reviewNewly released documents show building has been paused on 690 KiwiBuild homes and 593 market homes. ...21 hours ago
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Agree with all that and I'm not locked down. I feel for Auckland waiting patiently for the last 10% to get the jab. I think the PM is going softly softly because of the potential backlash from the Maori and P.I population and being judged as racist if she gave the order to open up. I'm sure the Govt would get cracking if it was only us whities doing this.
You seem to be somewhat ignorant of the actual issues.
Geometric progression and the health system capability are the primary issues. The race issues has bugger all to do with it except for higher susceptibility and lower vaccination rates.
The current R0 for Auckland appears to be running at something like 1.3 (it was heading under 1.0 at level 4). Which is why we have a slowly increasing trend. Removing the current lockdown will release it to move towards its natural rate for delta at something like 6.5. I'd pick it at running on something like 3.0 because people will remain cautious for a while with masks etc.
All the vaccine does is to make it much more unlikely that any infection will cause a person who is vaccinated to need to go to hospital. It doesn't stop them getting the disease, it just makes them less likely to get it badly. They are probably less infectious as well – but on the other hand, they will tend to be dickheads who think that they are immune – and couldn't give a shit about who they kill by infecting them.
So if you use a basic bit of maths and some simple assumptions you discover the joys of geometric progression.
Auckland = ~1,600,000 people
@ 10% not vaccinated = 160,000 people as hospitalisation targets.
Approx 25-30% of those will need health case intervention at some level because there are a lot of vaccinated sources to infect them and give them a good high starting infection. = 160k * 0.3 = 48,000.
Now if we had a r0 of 3.0 starting with say 100 infected and 4 days to infection spreader
infected population every 4 days 100, 300, 900, 1800, 5400, 16200, 48600, 145800, 437400 at 32 days.
Assuming an even spread that would be 43,740 unvaccinated and at 30% – 13,122 additional patients requiring medical care at some level in just over a month.
That would be on top of the existing medical care that keeps our hospitals full. Auckland hospitals, clinics, and doctors typically run at well over 80% of their potential capacity. There isn't capacity to add 10 thousand plus in month.
Now there are a lot of things wrong with my basic maths. But it is way more realistic that your rather dumbarse and unthinking reckons…
So who do are you going to murder with your reckons.
The cancer, elderly and diabetics patients being turfed out of hospital. Or have covid-19 patients dying everywhere? Can I leave the bodies on your lawn?
We don't have a realistic working treatment for people infected with covid-19. The new one from Merck looks like the only one with verified recovery rate. We don't have a sterilising vaccine.
Opening up has to be a careful process in what is essentially virus friendly population that has only largely been vaccinated and has a 30 year history of underfunded health care system that has little spare capacity.
That is why the post was about going and locking up and shaming people violating the lockdowns rather removing the lockdowns.
Most of those health violations are by ignorant self-centred fuckwit ‘whities’. Like that North shore party of the wealthy Aucklanders going on holidays or the people I see wandering around Ponsonby and Parnell without masks.
Agree with your comments about the need for care in opening up, and a good analysis but perhaps slightly pessimistic on the numbers? Wouldn't a high double vaccination rate reduce the R value further (on top of the assumed reduction to 3.0 due to extra caution with mask-wearing etc)? I know the Pfizer vaccination isn't technically a sterilising one but there is plentiful evidence that it reduces the likelihood of infection (and the likelihood of being a spreader if you do get infected) so if we got to 90%+ double jabbed then surely this would slow down the spread even amongst the unvaccinated. Although if by then the unvaccinated are left only hanging out with each other (which is the track we're on) then maybe this theory won't hold.
I agree that we should be following the percentage not vaccinated, and that should be of the whole population/ 10% of cases so far are in the age group 0 to 9 – all of those are currently ineligible. We are at about 57% fully vaccinated at present, with a further 16% with one injection, so we can be fairly confident that in 3 weeks we will have 73% fully vaccinated. Personally having seen how infectious Delta is, we need to get to 85% or 90% – but of the total population, not just 'those eligible'.
We must also be close to having some of those vaccinated early, needing another injection . . .
I wouldn't murder anyone. I totally support Elimination, period. The move to suppression is state sanctioning of manslaughter or something similar IMO. It is Auckland that has given up Elimination and now getting very impatient to open up, it doesn't effect me I'm in the Naki.This impatience is directed at Maori for their low vaccination rate, and being too slow to get it done. Lockdown fatigue is causing Aucklands impatience, that and business non stop bleating about everything.
My reckons that our PM is being extremely tolerant of the vax hesitant, of which Maori are a significant sector due to the issues of disadvantage and cultural differences that don't apply to us whities so much. In other words if this consideration for our cuzzies wasn't forthcoming, I reckons we would more likely have been thrown under the bus by now. I thank the heavens we have such a prime minister.
Are you channelling Judith Collins?
Judith will never run on this. It requires a ballsie leader to run on this and National fully supports Labour doing it.
https://www.healthnavigator.org.nz/medicines/c/covid-19-vaccines/
This was available in early 2020 and by what I remember, the vulnerable, elderly, Maori and pacific nationals got priority right from the start.
Enough is enough.
It's good that Thames-Coromandel Mayor Sandra Goudie has had more of a chance to explain herself past a short radio interview.
A report today says she left high school with School C. It didn't mention if sciences were subjects she studied at that low level. Her husband might be the science buff in the family by what was written.
The irony now is the best thing Sandra Goudie and her husband could do for public health in New Zealand is get Covid and suffer badly.
Because of lockdowns, border controls, mask wearing, vaccinations, contact tracing, the effort of a lot of people, the Goudies may be be safe. Then no doubt they'll say, "See we were right." If they got a harsh dose other parasites might have cause to think and take action.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/126714541/tell-the-mayor-to-get-vaccinated-sandra-goudie-wont-take-the-pfizer-vaccine-and-wont-say-why
No idea what that sort of excusing is all about. She grew up with stories of polio, I imagine. She has no excuse. A GP in Murupara has just left their job due to not wanting a vaccination – plenty of education, yet there she is.
Also I've no time for the ones who will say they'll take some other vaccine. They won't it's just them kicking the can down the road.
These people are leaders. They need to have their platforms taken away. I'm well into cancel culture where this public health issue is concerned. Having said that, being the butt of a few jokes and a comedic roasting might be more effective.
You could have told the whole story about her education. The full sentence was "She left Queen’s High School in Dunedin at 16 with School Certificate, later doing university papers by correspondence." Someone who can leave school with School Cert and then do some University Studies, particularly by correspondence was actually showing a great deal of dedication.
You should also realise that at the time she was at school only half the people who sat School Cert passed, and not all the pupils actually sat the exam or even remained at school for long enough to even reach the time to sit. To have passed School Certificate was to complete your education, at an above average level, for the majority of students in our education system.
You should also look at the average education standards at the time. Goudie would have finished school in the late 1960's. The PMs of that era included Kirk, who left school at 13, Bolger who finished at 15 and Mike Moore at 14. None of them had attained School Certificate.
She may be an idiot for not having her vaccinations but she is no different, after all, than about half the Maori population is she? She is also not as unschooled as you are implying.
I understand the relationship between schooling and being educated.
I don't mind making implications based on my inferences from what was written about Goudie's formal education. You might infer from it that she did all sorts of papers and graduated or got close to it. I might infer that she did English 1 and Geography 1 or parts thereof.
Given the savaging of lifelong scientists over covid from those who have no record of science study I don't mind having a go at Goudie's attitude about science stuff.
It's all right for the people who know a lot being told to 'suck it up.' Likewise Goudie. The experts put themselves out there. She did too.
In other words you really don't have the faintest idea about Mrs Goudies's qualifications.
When you say "those who have no record" you are simply announcing that you don't know. Oh well, I suppose I can suggest that "Pete" has no idea about anything because as far as I know he dropped out of school at the minimum possible age and only knows the basics of reading and writing?
All I know about Mrs Goudie's qualifications is what has been in the media.
You can suggest "Pete" has no idea about anything" all you want. You'd be wrong of course because I have an idea that she doesn't have science, microbiology, immunology or epidemiology qualifications of significance.
I also have an idea that if she did have such qualifications she would have let us know.
(Thanks for thinking I made it to the minimum age and I wasn't one of those special cases who was 'let go' early.)
Does that mean failing a few marketing papers, or getting an advanced degree in rocket science, I wonder?
Not sure that she comes across on camera as much of a rocket scientist.
I suggest you ask Stuff. They wrote the sentence. On the other hand getting any sense out of that organisation is well-nigh impossible.
I have met a couple of rocket scientists in my time. Well they were actually engineers who had worked as programmers for NASA back in the Apollo days although when I knew them they were no longer there. They were really no different to anyone else.
Well, they were a bit more qualified than school cert and some correspondence papers, I'd suggest.
My cousin was a scientific leader at Scott base in the 60's. He was an Associate Member of the NZ Royal Society and published several papers on his developments in radar. and other scientific work including microwave ovens for milk biscuits! He had failed School Certificate because he was dyslexic and unable to gain sufficient marks in English. My task was to proof read his work before it was sent off for publication.
He had no formal academic qualifications at all. Just because someone doesn't have SC doesn't necessarily mean that they are brainless.
Yeah, but did he work for years in his field literally doing his own research?
Or did he just feel he knew radar better than the research community in that field, like the esteemed mayor seems to do?
Actually he knew radar better than most in that field – he developed a radar capable of counting the number of beats of a bees wing in the 50's. Scientists from around the world wrote to him as Dr … lol not realising he had no academic qualifications . They used the technology to help track migrating insects in Canada. He was the first to measure the speed of a cricket ball bowled by "Typhon" Tyson at the Basin Reserve* when the MCC cricket team visited NZ. That technology was later used by the traffic police as well as common place in TV sports broadcasts. It was the ability to track very small fast moving objects that was the break through.
* The ball was mounted on plinth as a trophy and had pride of place on the mantle piece.
It was also common at the time for maybe half of teenagers to leave highschool at 15-16 (during or end of 5th form), we used to have whole schools just for warehousing them and teaching them non-academic skills (Queens High School was a more 'academically' focused school aimed at people going to Uni).
Polytechs used to be more trade schools for these kids, with remedial HS maths/english, often taught at nights by the same teachers they'd had in high school (I taught a computer course at Polytech in the 70s, my old HS teachers were teaching in the rooms next to me)
Time to have a health ministry register for people who will not vaccinate, people who cannot vaccinate I would exclude them.
The reason for not vaccinating will need to be considered and if no alternative is available then put them on the register. If a person will not disclose if they have been vaccinated, give them 7 days to comply and if still no verification put them on the register.
True. We have so much positivity about getting the jab. There should also be a scare campaign to remind people of the horrors of catching Covid, and if you survive, the impact on your life.
https://twitter.com/toastfloats/status/1445237131362766849?s=20
https://www.dailykos.com/tags/Antivaxxchronicles
No jab no job,
Why not no jab no benefit
No jab no existence? Are we changing NZ humanitarian outlook?
The only way is self responsibility. Everybody had and has access, so there is no inequality at all. If someone chooses not to vaccinate, all good. But they also have to live with the consequences.
Health Services should have the same % of ICU beds as the total of non vaccinated people. i.e. 15% unvaccinated, 200 beds available total, 30 beds for covid. If you run out, bad luck. Equality does not mean that someone has to carry someone else's can. This is in my book a clear cut equation. Equitable to everybody regardless of age, color, race, left or right handed… etc.
Unless there is a do not resuscitate on a patients medical notes, everything that can be done for a patient vaccinated or unvaccinated applies.
The trend for those requiring an ICU bed will be the unvaccinated.
There always has been inequality in the health system and the health system now has to deal with unvaccinated people who will cause inequality for vaccinated people when it comes to an ICU bed.
Well then, any taxpayer should be able to claim compensation from ACC if denied treatment on these grounds. It would require a change in legislation but it also could be fought in court that this can fall under "death by accident" if the health professional is not help personally liable. This will open a pandoras box but I for one will not be held at ransom, if I am about to lose my life I have nothing that would hold me back to go down this road.
https://communitylaw.org.nz/community-law-manual/not-rated/financial-support-for-bereaved-families/ongoing-income-support-and-some-one-off-payments/
Where did I say someone would be denied treatment?
Also clarify what the grounds are.
When it comes to ACC if the deceased did not have an executor ACC will not give out information or recieve information even when a death has occurred.
This country has seen more than enough “Bennie Bashing”.
Jab–increased payments…
That's my preference but someone had to say it. I've got a p addict nephew that sticks p ,weed ,tobacco and lots of booze in his body but wont get a jab because he doesn't want them sticking god knows what in his body!!!?? A couple a hundy might just change his mind.
not easy sometimes…all the best
Agreed and some of that ugly needs to be dished up at the media who thoroughly deserve it.
Soapboxes for goudie, key, slater smears etc it’s a fn joke.
And we jailed people who hit their kids, how about the same for threatening to give them Covid.
It’s time. Let’s Do This.
"We" don't do it for people who feel the need to have more than one house while so many have none. crickets chirping
At the moment home ownership is the lowest in history. If it dips below 50% the shit will start really flying. Government is still taking half measures in order to save capitalism. But the problem is capitalism itself
Roblogic so what are you going to replace it with.
No other system has worked better other than capitalism with higher taxes providing more govt services which no one wants to vote for.
Social democracy with a few heavily regulated free market features. Nationalise all banking and all privately held land. A communal ownership model worked pretty well for Maori society.
Capitalism is not the same as an industrial revolution. China lifted millions out of poverty by a programme of massive socialist reforms. Marx admitted that free market capitalism enables a race to produce lots of goods, but saw that eventually it burns out.
We are in the burn-out phase. The world is on fire thanks to capitalism. We need a better way
We are in the burn-out phase. The world is on fire thanks to capitalism. We need a better way
I have been expecting the Green movement to provide that ever since I joined it in '68 but few in the movement even try to co-create it.
Ain't hard to see how: a balance of competition & collaboration. To that principle one would need to add other essential ingredients like stakeholder theory, true-cost accounting, permaculture, etc. Then bake the cake.
Human Nature has proven that doesn't work.Natures rewards greed ie Natural Selection the strongest survive take the most resources.
Tell me a country that has adapted your philosophy. Its wishful dreaming ,futility. Looking at NZ voting trends less than 1,000 people vote pure socialism,the next best option the Greens 8% .90% vote for the existing system.
So where and how are you going to change that.
Read a history book. And you're off-topic.
86% of us already have.
From your crickets chirping, one pretends silence is golden.
Sometimes it's just plain yellow.
So you spit on 'mum and dad' property investors in the street whenever you get the chance, do you? Cut off all ties with anyone with more than one property and tell them to fuck off and die, do you? Maybe. But I'd say it's bullshit, along with your 86% claim. crickets chirping
The people who are getting vaccinated include the disabled, homeless, renters, elderly, gang members, prostitutes, drug addicts, and everyone else in that 85.4% and rising every day.
Get the impression Sandra Goudie is relishing her notoriety. From pretty well a nonentity, hey she is known all over the country now.
Ah what becomes of the fallen who want just one more come-back special.
She needs to pluck that one-note-wonder tune for a good slot on the Act list.
Never easy going from the $160k backbencher salary to the minor-sawgrass-cowpattie-town-mayor earning under $90 that she'll be on now.
I'm rural , apart from a few days in the lead up to the first lockup I've felt safe, now I'm starting to genuinely worry,and given I'm made up of 90% she'll be right, that is a real worry,
Yeah state mandated vaccination gets a big no from me… just a step to far imo where do we stop with it? Should we mandate other types of health care? Everyone must take a 6 monthly medical? If you're overweight lose access to service till you fit within a certain criteria? Not allow processed food?
How bout we actually get another vax in might just mop up another percentage point as well.
End of the day everyone is able to make an informed decision, and some will get a nasty suprise… and yes it will put a strain on the health system etc but thats true of so many things people to themselves and others.
Given Maori are at the bottom end of Vax stats I'd bet any mandate that disproportionately effects Maori will end up with the Waitangi tribunal quick smart.
Not to mention it creates another class of peoe excluded from society with zero trust in govt and I'll bet long term thats far more damaging.
Maori are already the target of most of our longstanding social media campaigns.
Maybe thats the problem…
Yup it's not even a fine line between representation and blame.
That's the essence of social marketing campaigns.
Greta Thuneberg will have converted about zero people with her tuneless scolding rants.
But if you can remember the jingle "Come on now don't live behind a cloud", you'll be remembering a time where smokers were over 20% of the population. That campaign focused on social exclusion.
The field is wide open for a new ribbon, a march, a "day", a mascot.
Yes, might give at least a few of the hesitant a way to save face, as in 'I was always happy to get vaccinated – just didn't want one of those 'experimental' mRNA vaccines.'
Some people feeling backed into a corner will opt for a well-crafted escape route.
Getting the A-Z antibody cocktail here is an alternative for the anti-vaxxers.
It's better than the mono clonal anti-body treatment used in the USA as its in place prior to infection (it lasts up 6 months) – it should reduce hospitalisations, not so much spread though.
Just need to do what was done in other campaigns. Turn it on its head.
The "smoke free work place" made me examine my habits addiction and values. I changed.
We need to change the message from "Get vaccinated" to
"Be a Lifesaver" "Have more Freedom" "Get back to life' soon 68%/90% of us will! and "Where will you be?" with suitable visuals of ICU.
The ads on Youtube are focused on young people being able to attend concerts again. It's a pretty narrow focus compared to the ACC ads currently on, for example.
Research tends to agree with you I think. In relation to US states' failed incentive programmes, along with tackling the usual barriers to healthcare and misinformation peddlers
I have some tendencies towards authoritarianism but find both the post and more so a number of the comments quite disturbing.
Every population segment is a market.
It's getting easier to define that segment by the day in this case.
Well I think you should reflect on your list
We do it for our multi-decade anti-smoking campaigns with gooey glee.
We do it for our anti drink-driving campaigns with skull-smashing shock.
We do it for our anti drug-driving and anti-drug campaigns with both fun and shame.
We do it for people imagining they would do any high risk activity needing ACC.
We do it for anti domestic violence campaigns without breaking a sweat.
We do it for anti-suicide campaigns in harrowing detail.
..and ask how successful have these campaigns been and how long have they been running
I also take issue with your tongue in cheek comment
Our hospitals have a very high chance that you will become worse interacting with them.
Obviously they have an effect. YMMV.
If you think taking basic safety measures is "authoritarian" good luck ever travelling on a plane, getting a drivers license, or crossing a road.
We live in a society, not a libertarian utopia where we can piss on other people without consequence.
And so on. All you have to do is the most minimal ten minutes on MoH, Te Ara and Statistics sites to figure this out. Lots of causal factors, of which long range social marketing campaigns are one.
Stop being a lazy commentator.
The antismoking campaign continued for years whether it had any effect over and above the effect of banning smoking at indoor venues and the excise increases on cigarettes is debatable.
Same thing with your other examples – none of these interventions will have a noticeable effect on vaccination rates over the next couple of months which is where the effect needs to occur.
I could sympathize if you've directly involved with/health promotion for the government and are touting your wares but I'm unconvinced you've thought this through.
What do you think will work to get the remaining people over the line over and above what has been tried to date.
Personally I haven't seen vilification and shaming work very well in the health system over the years,
The PRICE of ciggy's is criminally expensive and a big motivator to give up for the kiwi battlers, that and the social status of a Lepper IMO.
The tendency to ignore the suffering in Auckland under endless lockdowns is a large blind spot from the rest of the country. As if locking down our largest city isn't already a power move. Vaccine mandates are relatively light in comparison to putting 1.8 million people under house arrest for 10 weeks.
FFS
Authoritarian left on full display
RWNJ bullshit.
Did you say that when John Key fenced off Christchurch and deployed the Army to stop people rescuing priceless things from the mess? When King Gerry sent in the bulldozers to demolish anything left standing, even if it was assessed to be safe? Or when the Gnats were beating the war drums and wanted to join the debacle in Iraq?
Maybe some commenters today could check and see if they agree with their image of themselves?
https://www.politicalcompass.org/
Or maybe they just do actual thinking.
Some might be interested in how differently they feel about this issue, compared to how they feel about other issues. That's all I was suggesting.
Don't get me wrong – I'm desperate for people to be vaccinated. With being immune-suppressed I have a lot to lose if they don't – friends, seeing family, going outdoors, independence, health. I just haven't ever believed punishing people for wrong-headed beliefs ever worked better in the long run than understanding why they feel the way they do and using an educational approach to persuade them – even if that approach requires a huge effort.
However I don't feel that way about people who are deliberately sowing the seeds of distrust – thriving on the power and money of it all. That's were the policing and sanctions should sit, imo.
..and some could be less critical. Grumpy people everywhere.
Agree Agree Agree.
No jab no job – unless you work alone.
No jab no vaccine passport.
It is time to make clear that persons who will not be vacinated will have to live with their actions.
Now will the govt change their tune?
Sure make them live with their actions and society at large can pay when they are excluded and end up in the justice system or perhaps lose their shit and do sonething really harmful to others…
It amazes me how quickly some the people who call themselves left default to authoritarianism… hell, if the political spectrum was a clock are 11pm and Act 1am… unfuckingreal
Well I grew up on tv programs like Daktari, where 90% of problems were resolved peacefully – [deleted]
Not sure the govt. will be game however – they're awful brave about dodgy gender theory, and some dreadful property speculator wet dream of high rise slums, but simple public health measures seem to frighten them.
[don’t make comments that advocate violence against groups of people, even if you are joking – weka]
mod note
Clarence was a cross-eyed lion, right? Is that the point you're making?
It has more to do with the seriousness the antivaxxers are wont to cloak themselves in with their "I got rights" spiel – I don't choose to take them seriously, unless they're immune compromised. If they are ridiculed as sport, they'll lose the power to sway as many as they have been, and they are, frankly, a public menace. [deleted]
[just stop – weka]
Tempting, isn't it! Not a great strategy though, if you plan to move the weight of support your way 🙂
The weight of support is nothing I have much confidence in, Robert – I spent decades trying to get it through the thick heads of Labour that the suicides of my colleagues correlated with their corrupt approval of slave ships. Middle class notions of propriety have a lot of work to do to regain my trust.
mod note.
Neither paintball, nor vaccination are forms of violence.
This being so, you need not have censored me, especially given that you were able to recognize that the suggestion was not entirely serious.
I am losing patience with the willful antivax element, and I am by no means exceptionally volatile.
[Your comments weren’t in any way benign. Three day ban for wasting moderator time and not accepting a moderator note on violating site policy. You’ve been here long enough to know where the boundaries are.
If you advocate violence on TS you will get banned. Nothing to do with who you aim that at, it’s a blanket policy.
From the Policy (at the top of every page),
It's not a team of 5 million when the government is caving in and pandering to the feels and reckons of half a million moronic antisocial assholes to put 1.8 million of us into forced home detention with day release for work, just a small step short of prison.
Funny how so much of the pissing and moaning about vaccines and vaccine mandates is coming from those with well paying careers that they risk by refusing to be vaccinated.
Especially by those in careers where they claim to be providing "healthcare" and "education".
Fuck, if that's their level of cognitive function, we're collectively better off without them screwing up healthcare and education. Even if it adds a bit of short-term stress to fill the gaps.
I found this extract from a FB page somewhere, possibly on sorryantivaxxer.com and posted it on another MB.
It 'speaks' directly to your point Andre about health care and education. That people employed in those fields, especially health, could be anti vaxx has been an eye-opener to me.
https://trademe.tmcdn.co.nz/photoserver/full/1626073833.jpg
For public facing jobs I feel there is a responsibility to have staff vaccinated. For other areas I am not sure. I support vaccine passports. I do not see the need to mandate beneficiaries having the vaccination though having clinics open near places that people visit like WINZ/supermarkets could be useful.
Authoritarianism – fully half the people in the world live under a regime where you cannot criticise their rulers. Worth contemplating in light of COVID and it's impact on our lives:
Time to get ugly/
The antivaxxers have no hesitation in getting ugly.
Appalling behaviour from an antivaxxer midwife.
Ok so she didn't want to be vaccinated.
But instead of notifying her employer, so that they could arrange a replacement, sends off a moaning email to the pregnant woman in her care, writing she would rather leave her job than get vaccinated. Opportunisticly trying elicit support for her stance from the woman in her care, expecting her to be sympathetic and side with her against the health experts and government and her employer.
The email, seen by 1News, tells the expectant mum she was sorry but wanted freedom of choice.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2021/10/20/pregnant-canterbury-mum-frustrated-after-midwife-refuses-govts-vaccine-mandate/
Talk about uncaring. But it is the sort of behaviour we have come to expect from these fanatics.
How many other expectant mothers are under this midwife's care?
And did they receive the same email?
I'm getting very tired of these people
My family has a long multigenerational connection with midwifery, and in general I respect these people and the unique work they do enormously. Both my children were born at home.
This woman's stance aligns with my experience of midwives – and that's just how it is. This vilification and othering of those whose conscience and beliefs lead them to refuse vaccines – misguided or not – will take us nowhere good.
Was this midwife administering the Vitamin K injection at birth to prevent bleeding or is she failing in this duty of care as well? Maybe she is better off well away from any medical cares.
Considering 1/3 of ICU beds in the UK are being used by unvaccinated pregnant mothers with Covid 19 and they require huge resources because of the number of complications .
Mid wives who won't vaccinate are putting an unnecessary burden on our health system.
Bring in overseas mid wives urgently through MIQ.
It's fine if you don't want to vaccinate but don't expect that you can put others at risk.
Where are they getting their information from let's have a survey.Find out and see if some of those can see reason before they are stood down.
I wouldn't want an anti science midwife near any of my children's birth.
In fact I have dropped all my non, won't vax friends I don't want them to pass covid on to my family or anyone else.
Tough it's their decision not to vax their consequences.Most think their immune system is so good because they take fresh herbs and are fit and healthy. Looking at the number of Shock jocks in the US that have died because of their antivax stance should be a wake up call.Nick Cavuto the Fox commentator is saying he wouldn't be alive if not for 2 doses with his underlying conditions even Trump has admitted that after having covid he still got 2 doses but stopped telling people at his rallies after getting booed by his redneck supporters.Fox it's self wants all employees to explain their vax status.Facebook tictok,twitter etc all social media platforms should not be allowed to publish any unscientific vax information.
So much Covid – So little Kindness …
A little Kipling may be appropriate?
As I pass through my incarnations in every age and race,
I make my proper prostrations to the Gods of the Market Place.
Peering through reverent fingers I watch them flourish and fall,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings, I notice, outlast them all.
……..
In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all,
By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul;
But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "If you don't work you die."
…….
And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins
When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins,
As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will burn,
The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return!
Is it 1938 all over again?
Sometimes you have to be a little cruel to be kind.passing and potentially deadly disease around is not being kind.
Get ugly?
Anti-vaxxers have no hestitation at all in getting ugly.
Cruel and vicious anti-vaxxers give false names and phone numbers to make fake bookings to stop people getting vaccinated, wasting vaccine which has a short shelf life after being defrosted and if not used has to disgarded.
Now it’s time to get ugly on the rest.
Or you could listen to them.
Over at http://www.fyi.org.nz you will see a lot of questions directed at the Health Ministry and related agencies. Some people are waiting 20 working days before they receive an inadequate answer. Some are waiting longer than 20 working days. It shouldn’t take that long to receive important information.
I could be completely wrong but I imagine some of the unvaccinated are wondering why information is so hard to come by. For instance do we have the same contract with Pfizer, apart from perhaps price, as Albania? Their contract apparently states that the purchaser “acknowledges that the long-terms effects and efficacy of the Vaccine are not currently known and that there may be adverse effects of the Vaccine that are not currently known”. The contract is dated 1 June 2021, months after rollout of the vaccine began here.
How many vaccinated people received the above information before they made the decision to become vaccinated? Of course, the larger problem is that if people are not trusted to make the “correct” decision after receiving such information, is there other information they are not being trusted with?
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20616251-albanian-pfizer-covid-19-vaccine-contract
Reads like a standard disclaimer to me. Maybe get a lawyer to interpret it? similar to how the Stuff interactive on vaccines have interpreted clinical language about vaccines for the general public. E.g.