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Malnutrition – in NZ FFS

Written By: - Date published: 6:20 am, September 20th, 2017 - 49 comments
Categories: class war, families, health, national, poverty, useless - Tags: , , , , ,

Stunningly depressing piece by Kirsty Johnston in The Herald yesterday – Number of New Zealand children hospitalised with malnutrition doubles as food costs bite

Malnutrition is putting twice as many kids in hospital compared with 10 years ago, as food prices continue to bite into household incomes.

Child hospitalisation data shows around 120 children a year now have overnight stays due to nutritional deficiencies and anaemia, compared to an average 60 a decade ago.

Doctors say poor nutrition is also a factor in a significant proportion of the rest of the 40,000 annual child hospitalisations linked to poverty – and that vitamin deficiencies are more common in New Zealand compared to similar countries.

“Housing, stress and nutrition – it’s all tied together,” said pediatrician Dr Nikki Turner, from the Child Poverty Action Group. “If you want to eat nutritiously on a low-income it’s difficult, and that means you’re more likely to get sick and stay sick for longer.”

Read on, there’s more.

Proud of your legacy, National?

https://twitter.com/syalimadotcom/status/907814176202125312

49 comments on “Malnutrition – in NZ FFS ”

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  1. Incognito 1
    20 September 2017 at 7:38 am

    Part of the problem is that we supposedly pay export prices, you know, global market & competition and all that bizz. But when we export more and make more profit, the GDP grows and then the Government has more money to raise the minimum wage and benefits by a minisculimilistic amount, you know, because the Government cares about all of us. And so all poor people are better off and can buy more crap food. You see, it comes down to crap bad choices and Labour & the Unions (especially the Teacher Union), of course …

    • One Anonymous Bloke 1.1
      20 September 2017 at 8:02 am

      Look, you can clearly see on the graph that the bad choices really started increasing in 2008. The thing to do now is to identify who made the bad choices and extract some personal responsibility from them.

      • AB 1.1.1
        20 September 2017 at 8:28 am

        Yeah. I guess poor people decided to punish National by making lots of bad choices after National were elected. How ungrateful!

        • One Anonymous Bloke 1.1.1.1
          20 September 2017 at 8:55 am

          It wasn’t poor people who made the bad choice to let Mr. Peter Talley write employment law. Nor did they make the bad choice to breach human rights and introduce benefit sanctions. They didn’t make the bad choice to sell state housing and access to ministers.

          No, we know exactly who committed manslaughter and infanticide. It was the National Party.

          • AB 1.1.1.1.1
            20 September 2017 at 10:46 am

            Sorry – I should have used the sarcasm tag.
            I thought the sheer improbability of poor people suddenly making bad choices shortly after National was elected (but not before) clearly placed it in the sarc category.
            Loved your initial comment at 1.1 which is about turning National’s fake ‘principles’ against them.

            • One Anonymous Bloke 1.1.1.1.1.1
              20 September 2017 at 12:16 pm

              I realised you were being sarcastic, just sticking with the “bad choices” theme.

      • Siobhan 1.1.2
        20 September 2017 at 11:24 am

        Well, lets start with Anne Tolley.

        https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/schools-no-longer-required-be-food-police

        All for personal responsibility, or, if that doesn’t work having enough money to get your stomach stapled.

        http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/3260435/Stomach-stapled-MPs-put-weight-behind-Turia

        And if you really want to follow that path you get to KickStart breakfasts…which leads to Fonterra and the tax avoiding Sanitarium.

        Nice.

    • Tony Veitch (not etc) 1.2
      20 September 2017 at 9:45 am

      Dean Swift had the answer – way back in 1729 – in his essay ‘A Modest Proposal.’

      If we bred the lower classes, especially their children, for food, they would be better fed and therefore tender for the pot!

      My, haven’t we come a long way in nearly 300 years of capitalism!

      http://art-bin.com/art/omodest.html

    • The Chairman 1.3
      20 September 2017 at 11:02 am

      As I mentioned to Pat the other day, sometime ago I suggested the Government may have to enter into the market. From farm to shelf, ensuring margins aren’t out of whack. It would also give them the opportunity to generate long term employment, assist employee training and provide more oversight over incomes (namely, adopting the living wage as a minimum income for all employees they take on).

      Other less grand options would be to increase core benefit rates and instate the living wage as the minimum wage.

      Provide a discount for those on low incomes via community cards.

      Remove the GST off food.

      Do any of these appeal to you? Or do you have something else in mind. In other words, what would you like to see a government do to address this?

      • cleangreen 1.3.1
        20 September 2017 at 12:11 pm

        NZ First have a policy to remove GST off food, and are also keen to work with the model to suggest as ‘farm to shelf, ensuring margins aren’t out of whack. It would also give them the opportunity to generate long term employment, assist employee training and provide more oversight over incomes’

        NZ First are thinking outside the box, of “government knows best” as we know after nine years that does not work.

  2. Quasimodo 2
    20 September 2017 at 8:15 am

    In country which is a leading food *exporter* ?
    [Bill scratches his chin thoughtfully]
    What on earth could could it be ?
    Rogers’ Treasury had no data on this ..

  3. AsleepWhileWalking 3
    20 September 2017 at 8:21 am

    These are only the ones bad enough (or lucky enough?) to get treatment.

    Otago University comes out with an annual food study showing the price to eat a nutritionally balanced diet per person, per region.

    http://www.otago.ac.nz/humannutrition/research/food-cost-survey/otago057919.html

    If you look at the *basic* food cost (lowest of three categories) and compare with budgets of low income earners you can see problems.

    It’s not just beneficiaries either.

  4. cleangreen 4
    20 September 2017 at 8:27 am

    I am so ashamed of being a Auckland born living in HB/Gisborne to see that m fellow kiwis are starving and some not even able tolive in a home while I look around and see flash expensive cars around everywhere todaylike never seen before!!!!!!

    We seem to now be a careless society now.

    Butter prices are criminal too gone from around $2 to $5 now, so that is 15% a year and our inflation is supposded to be 2%!!!!

    Extortion is rife here now under National.

  5. David Mac 5
    20 September 2017 at 9:08 am

    If we’re serious about solving these kind of issues I think more money needs to be a component of a more holistic solution. A jolly good place to start but I think we’re naïve to think that an extra $300 a week into lower income households of NZ is going to make everything beaut.

    • miravox 5.1
      20 September 2017 at 9:43 am

      The definition of poverty is a lack of money. A few evaluations of programmes that do exactly what you suggest i.e. giving people cash so they’re no longer poor, have been done. Here’s a report on one evaluation from the U.S.

      https://talkpoverty.org/2016/07/07/want-lower-child-poverty-give-families-cash/

      It talks about a few other things like universal child allowances. Worth a read, if you’re interested.

      But yes, the resources for people to spend the money on need to be there – that is the more holistic solution you’re talking about? Things like good food options, accessible and affordable education and healthcare, good housing at an affordable price, second-chance education, well-planned, safe neighbourhoods, affordable childcare etc, etc?

      It would be awesome – reminds me of back in the day when I was on a single parent benefit. So much support was around to ensure my child and I could create a future (just like when Paula Bennett was a solo mum). It worked too!

      • David Mac 5.1.1
        20 September 2017 at 10:13 am

        Hi miravox, I am interested, I read your link, thanks.

        Yes re: the points you raise, inclusions for a holistic approach. I do think things like safer neighborhoods will come about when we’re better with the other things you mention. A policeman on every corner is a sticking plaster solution, the infection flares beneath.

        I am also thinking about the 100’s of families that walk onto used car lots everyday and get turned down for finance because the lender deems that the family can’t live on a $40 weekly food budget. I think we need to consider ways to avoid a 1996 money pit parked in the drive upgrading to a 2005 cash bonfire.

        • miravox 5.1.1.1
          20 September 2017 at 10:53 am

          There is so research out there about cash payment – much of it in very poor nations, but this one, in the U.S is comparable with NZ, I think. I also read Italy has just passed legislation for similar- cash payments to poor employed families. Which is actually similar to our working for families, I suppose – more cash in the hand, unconditionally to relieve poverty in poor working families… (pity no-one in power thinks to raise incomes to a living wage *sigh*).

          Agree re cars, they are expensive and when driving one that is going to break down at any moment, a bit of cash may tempt a person into buying one that is not so old (NZ has one of the oldest car fleets in the OECD, I think).

          I should have mentioned affordable, efficient public transport in my holistic list. Where I live at the moment (not NZ) the city has integrated public transport (trains, trams and buses) that cost €1/day – so 73% or people use public transport to get to work (visitors pay more of course).

          Car ownership rates are dropping here as a result – now at 372.5 / 1,000 inhabitants (I’d make a guess that these are mostly owned by quite well-off people – all late model BMWs, Audis etc around my place – although there seems to be a thing for flash minis!) and the number of annual transport passes exceeds the number of private cars. Such a transport system could certainly be a way of avoiding a 2005 cash bonfire.

          • David Mac 5.1.1.1.1
            20 September 2017 at 11:35 am

            Ha! We’re flat out running a current WOF up the Top. Nearly all the flash cars up here have an Auckland dealers name around their plates. We’re on the cusp of our next Wildebeest migration, bless em.

            Yep on cars and transport. I’m thinking more of the attitude we adopt when we’ve got a few extra $ in our purses. eg: A South Auckland family get word that a dearly loved relation is very ill up in the islands. There is a strong argument that would see them approach Instant Finance and arrange for everyone in the immediate family to go home and visit Aunty. I’m fearful of families facing these kind of decisions quickly finding themselves in exactly the situation they were in before receiving an extra $300 per week.

            • David Mac 5.1.1.1.1.1
              20 September 2017 at 11:46 am

              Those bloody parasitic shop trucks. An across the board benefit rise would see an entire upgrade in their walls of seductive pleasure. Where there once socks, Beyonce’s new fragrance.

              • David Mac …
                20 September 2017 at 11:50 am

                Draco’s Co-op idea could work there. What would happen if those Shop Trucks was a small business run by a Co-op of beneficiaries?

                How bout it Warehouse Steve? Just a few lazy mill. Fab PR for The Warehouse…you still got shares in that?

                • Stuart Munro …
                  20 September 2017 at 12:10 pm

                  The co-op idea really needs to apply to some kinds of social housing too. The cost of keeping solo parents and 1-2 children in separate dwellings is necessarily more than some degree of communal housing. Properly funded so they don’t become ghettoes such a community could offer a lot of mutual support. The Dayak longhouse is a better way to live than being rack-rented.

                  • David Mac …
                    20 September 2017 at 12:59 pm

                    This worked well in Sweden when I lived there, it fosters intangible benefits. The people that live in the council sized borough own them. The row I lived in, every front garden had spring ready seedlings in, ready to bloom. Before moving in, the bathroom in ours had reached it’s periodical renovation date. We chose one from a number of options. Induces the stuff that really matters, pride, a safe and loving sense of community etc.

                    It’s evolving up there. An influx of new Swedes have a conditioning background of dog eat dog. Being provided with a nice home and money seems to be a destination for many, their journey complete. It’s an outlook juxtaposed to the once monoculture approach of Sven and Co.

            • miravox 5.1.1.1.1.2
              20 September 2017 at 12:05 pm

              You’re not suggesting families should remain poor and kids hospitalised with malnutrition because some bastard neoliberal government deregulated the finance industry are you…???

              Put the money people back in a heavily regulated box so they stop making extortionate profits off the poor who have to borrow for family emergencies (or even a rare holiday) at rates they can’t manage because they don’t get paid a living wage!

              (Sorry for my outburst – that suggestion touched a nerve)

              • David Mac …
                20 September 2017 at 12:35 pm

                We agree, the status quo sucks.

                The status quo = nobody goes home to see Aunty. Skype Goodbyes.

                With an income rise of $300, with careful budgeting and a plan that is stuck to, 1 family representative heading up to the islands is doable. In a decent society we should all be able to afford such a thing.

                I’m not sure how best we induce an attitude that may arrive at the decision that 8 people going up to visit Aunty, although doable, may not be the best path to take. Sanctions, rules and laws etc are a useless way to achieve this. We have to arrive at these sorts of decisions by ourselves.

                I wonder if not too far behind someone that budgets well there wasn’t a parent that had a “No, you’ve spent this week’s budget, you’ll have to wait until Sunday for the ice-cream fund to top up again” attitude.

                I’d like to see a hefty increase lift the quality of everyone’s life, for it to work.

                • miravox …
                  20 September 2017 at 7:20 pm

                  “I’d like to see a hefty increase lift the quality of everyone’s life, for it to work”

                  Oh I think the residents of Herne bay & St Heliers look after their increasing quality of life quite well. 😉

                  “Sanctions, rules and laws etc are a useless way to achieve this. We have to arrive at these sorts of decisions by ourselves.”

                  People don’t make decisions in isolation – it’s worth looking at places hat have more successful systems than ours, and political powers in these places don’t ignore a health society the way we do. Society and how it works has equal billing with the environment and economy.

                  Governments and people with public power (even if not the political sort) do set the tone of discourse (I’ll just use Trump as the outstanding example for that, instead of NZ examples). It also sets the tone for decision-making. We need to have a kinder, less cynical approach from the top of society, alongside changes in policy preferences and indicators. People will generally take the hint quite quickly – e.g. the NZ housing situation.

                  We need to change the government, but we also need to change how government works, not ignoring the needs of the poorest is the best start. I’m still gobsmacked about Paula Bennett’s comment about the cost of motel accommodation during this housing crisis – she was the minister responsible and didn’t see it coming – this poverty & health crisis is no different and a significant portion of blame for ignorance, discourse of ‘personal responsibility’ & cynicism that has whipped up hatred from the top goes to to the same person.

  6. Antoine 6
    20 September 2017 at 9:47 am

    I know, lets tax the water used for food production

    • Antoine 6.1
      20 September 2017 at 9:47 am

      And the CO2 produced by farms

      • Antoine 6.1.1
        20 September 2017 at 9:52 am

        Also lets not give a broad based tax cut that would leave people with more money to buy food

        • The Chairman 6.1.1.1
          20 September 2017 at 10:42 am

          Considering the wage gap between the haves and haves not, it would suggest tax cuts shouldn’t be so broad based and should be directed more towards the bottom end.

        • Stuart Munro 6.1.1.2
          20 September 2017 at 12:13 pm

          Buy all means cut taxes at the bottom where the liquidity will circulate productively. But it would be better to raise taxes at the top – the top spend their surplus disposable income on speculation that further impoverishes everyone else.

          • The Chairman 6.1.1.2.1
            20 September 2017 at 12:24 pm

            “But it would be better to raise taxes at the top”

            Quick, somebody tell Jacinda.

            Both would be the way to go.

            • Stuart Munro 6.1.1.2.1.1
              20 September 2017 at 2:04 pm

              She has quietly mentioned she may do something to discourage speculators – if she does it right it could address a good chunk of the problem.

  7. Dot 7
    20 September 2017 at 10:28 am

    It is a plus that we have some good journalists left to inform us.
    This shame is not the Aotearoa that we want —–now it is time to vote for change.

  8. Bill 8
    20 September 2017 at 10:53 am

    This isn’t “National’s legacy” – not wholly.

    This is the ongoing legacy of Liberalism. From the linked article … (my bold)

    …income in the poorest third of households has remained flat since 1982.

    This is the same across the western world (flat and declining incomes).

    Other countries have shown a willingness to break free from the tethers of Liberalism to greater and lesser degree. Which is why ( I’ll throw in the punt) progressive or left leaning folks need to vote Green- firstly, to ensure there is no NZL/NZF coalition and secondly, to push NZL way beyond their Liberal comfort zone.

    • The Chairman 8.1
      20 September 2017 at 11:21 am

      “This is the ongoing legacy of Liberalism”

      Indeed.

      “Which is why ( I’ll throw in the punt) progressive or left leaning folks need to vote Green- firstly, to ensure there is no NZL/NZF coalition and secondly, to push NZL way beyond their Liberal comfort zone.”

      I was rather disappoint with James Shaw the other day. When asked (on Q&A) how would he make Labour more progressive than it already is, poverty wasn’t one of the two issues he plans to further push Labour on.

      From 25 seconds into the interview:
      https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/q-and-a/clips/james-shaw

      • cleangreen 8.1.1
        20 September 2017 at 12:00 pm

        100% chairman,

        I agree, also last night on the Climate change debate I heard James Shaw crowing about his being in “UK big bussiness management ” and that was his attempt to show he must be regarded as capable to be in Government.

        That did not go down well in our home as we always considered Green Party as a ‘working class’ stable government partner not a big bussiness government, as that is what we have had for 9 urs and are dying everywhere now because of ‘big bussiness’.

        James Shaw is to slick for his own good I am afraid.

        We used to be a green party members 1999-2002 when Green Party members were all working class not upper class. As a leader he is sending the wrong message for us as he may be trying to suck in the rich set now.

        My family has looked at NZ First because of this who are all either retired working follks or just other ordinary folk we have found, and cetainly not all rich folks when we went to any meetiings.

  9. marty mars 9
    20 September 2017 at 11:31 am

    Very sad state of affairs. I work directly with a foodbank and I know things are very poor for the poor and disadvantaged. Yes lots of blame to share around from the neolibs, capitalism, and all the rest. We need to fix the structure AND we need people to just help others. That is my hope.

  10. The Chairman 10
    20 September 2017 at 11:41 am

    I would like to extend my questions made in comment 1.3 to everyone.

    We know this is a problem, so lets see if we can come to a consensus on a solution.

    So there’s the challenge for you lot. Let’s do this.

    • In Vino 10.1
      20 September 2017 at 5:14 pm

      5½ hours later, and mine is the first response. I think too many people have seen through your cleverness, Mr Chairman. I suggest you give it all up.

    • Andrea 10.2
      21 September 2017 at 9:24 pm

      Until ‘the market economy’ beyond the shopping trolley of low income people is dealt with it won’t matter how much money you add – those people will see little to no direct benefit from it.

      Rates/rents will rise. That’s inevitable. They’ve been rising like scum to the top of the septic tank ever since the Accommodation Supplement became juicy enough.

      Power. Water. Transport. Education and uniforms. Medical attention and dental/optician. They will ALL rise, ticket clippers in hand, to chad their share. You know they will.

      Liberate more land for housing. Good horticultural land for a pile of jerry-built rubbish – and the transport costs will be added to the price of the humble cabbages, potatoes and seriously fat-laden and meat-flavoured sausages.
      Grow your own at home and sell or share? Well hahaha – council by-laws, health and safety, hell no, it’s not middle class.

      It wouldn’t matter how much you added to the basic income – the vultures, leeches, and systems beyond will leave the dupes in the middle no better off.

      Fix the social environment first – otherwise you’re simply feeding the parasites.

  11. SpaceMonkey 11
    20 September 2017 at 12:02 pm

    This is appalling! And in NZ???? I hold every NZ Government accountable for this since David Lange’s Fourth Labour Government onwards. That’s where the disease to our society started that led to this and there’s been no serious attempt to change course since then.

  12. patricia bremner 12
    20 September 2017 at 12:27 pm

    We also need to face that if you are really poor, long slow cooking is not the best use of the power available because of costs.

    Along with the food, there needs to be basic cooking utensils and a good pot and steamer. They are not cheap!!

    Night classes could offer nutritious food recipes and lessons in 1 pot meals, pot and steamer meals. etc. how to multiply the meal for different numbers, and cheap additions to enlarge food value and portion size.

    Basic information like, porridge has iron and is a sustaining breakfast. The use of lentils and beans to bulk out meats. Learning to use frozen vegetables in winter.

    Many families still have war recipes, these were aimed at being filling and nutritious.Some of the better recipes should be put together to provide meal ideas.

    All poor families want to feed their families as well as possible, so more money, more community cooking, more sharing and caring is needed so we create a climate of “Let’s do this”

  13. The Pink postman 13
    20 September 2017 at 1:37 pm

    Has anybody else noted that English is often interviewed whilst eating a bloody good meal . What an insult to the people living in poverty,

    • Delia 13.1
      20 September 2017 at 7:46 pm

      Yes I had, to many times and it is not a mistake any other Leader makes, shameful and utterly insensitive.

  14. Draco T Bastard 14
    20 September 2017 at 2:31 pm

    People should no longer be surprised by this if they’ve bothered to read history. This is the type of thing that always happens under capitalist systems going all the way back to the first civilisation in Sumer. Capitalist systems always result in the collapse of society as the people at the bottom are deprived of the necessities of life by the greed of the rich.

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/earth-insight/2014/mar/14/nasa-civilisation-irreversible-collapse-study-scientists

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  • BRYCE EDWARDS’ Political Roundup:  The Beehive’s revolving door and corporate mateship
    * Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealanders are uncomfortable with the high level of influence corporate lobbyists have in New Zealand politics, and demands are growing for greater regulation. A recent poll shows 62 per cent of the public support having a two-year cooling off period between ministers leaving public ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago

  • Bryce Edwards: The Beehive’s revolving door and corporate mateship
    New Zealanders are uncomfortable with the high level of influence corporate lobbyists have in New Zealand politics, and demands are growing for greater regulation. A recent poll shows 62 per cent of the public support having a two-year cooling off period between ministers leaving public office and becoming lobbyists and ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    1 day ago

  • A miracle pill for our transport ills
    This is a guest post by accessibility and sustainable transport advocate Tim Adriaansen It originally appeared here.   A friend calls you and asks for your help. They tell you that while out and about nearby, they slipped over and landed arms-first. Now their wrist is swollen, hurting like ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    2 days ago

  • The Surprising Power of Floating Wind Turbines
    Floating offshore wind turbines offer incredible opportunities to capture powerful winds far out at sea. By unlocking this wind energy potential, they could be a key weapon in our arsenal in the fight against climate change. But how developed are these climate fighting clean energy giants? And why do I ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • The next Maori challenge
    Over the past two or three weeks, a procession of Maori iwi and hapu in a series of little-noticed appearances before two Select Committees have been asking for more say for Maori over resource management decisions along the co-governance lines of Three Waters. Their submissions and appearances run counter ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago

  • Secret “war-crime” warrants by International Criminal Court is mischief-making
    The decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue war crimes arrest warrants for the Russian President and the Russia Children Ombudsman may have been welcomed by the ideologically committed but otherwise seems to have been greeted with widespread cynicism (see Situation in Ukraine: ICC judges issue arrest warrants ...
    Open ParachuteBy Ken
    2 days ago

  • How to answer Drunk Uncle Kevin's Climate Crisis reckons
    Let’s say you’re clasping your drink at a wedding, or a 40th, or a King’s Birthday Weekend family reunion and Drunk Uncle Kevin has just got going.He’s in an expansive frame of mind because we’re finally rid of that silly girl. But he wants to ask an honest question about ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • National’s Luxon may be glum about his poll ratings but has he found a winner in promising to rai...
    National Party leader Christopher Luxon may  be feeling glum about his poll ratings, but  he could be tapping  into  a rich political vein in  describing the current state of education as “alarming”. Luxon said educational achievement has been declining,  with a recent NCEA pilot exposing just how far it has ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    2 days ago

  • Climate Change: More Labour foot-dragging
    Yesterday the IPCC released the final part of its Sixth Assessment Report, warning us that we have very little time left in which to act to prevent catastrophic climate change, but pointing out that it is a problem that we can solve, with existing technology, and that anything we do ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • Te Pāti Māori Are Revolutionaries – Not Reformists.
    Way Beyond Reform: Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer have no more interest in remaining permanent members of “New Zealand’s” House of Representatives than did Lenin and Trotsky in remaining permanent members of Tsar Nicolas II’s “democratically-elected” Duma. Like the Bolsheviks, Te Pāti Māori is a party of revolutionaries – not reformists.THE CROWN ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • When does history become “ancient”, on Tinetti’s watch as Minister of Education – and what o...
    Buzz from the Beehive Auckland was wiped off the map, when Education Minister Jan Tinetti delivered her speech of welcome as host of the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers “here in Tāmaki Makaurau”. But – fair to say – a reference was made later in the speech to a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • Climate Catastrophe, but first rugby.
    Morning mate, how you going?Well, I was watching the news last night and they announced this scientific report on Climate Change. But before they got to it they had a story about the new All Blacks coach.Sounds like important news. It’s a bit of a worry really.Yeah, they were talking ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • What the US and European bank rescues mean for us
    Always a bailout: US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Government would fully guarantee all savers in all smaller US banks if needed. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: No wonder an entire generation of investors are used to ‘buying the dip’ and ‘holding on for dear life’. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Who will drain Wellington’s lobbying swamp?
    Wealthy vested interests have an oversized influence on political decisions in New Zealand. Partly that’s due to their use of corporate lobbyists. Fortunately, the influence lobbyists can have on decisions made by politicians is currently under scrutiny in Guyon Espiner’s in-depth series published by RNZ. Two of Espiner’s research exposés ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    2 days ago

  • It’s Raining Congestion
    Yesterday afternoon it rained and traffic around the region ground to a halt, once again highlighting why it is so important that our city gets on with improving the alternatives to driving. For additional irony, this happened on the same day the IPCC synthesis report landed, putting the focus on ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    2 days ago

  • Checking The Left: The Dreadful Logic Of Fascism.
    The Beginning: Anti-Co-Governance agitator, Julian Batchelor, addresses the Dargaville stop of his travelling roadshow across New Zealand . Fascism almost always starts small. Sadly, it doesn’t always stay that way. Especially when the Left helps it to grow.THERE IS A DREADFUL LOGIC to the growth of fascism. To begin with, it ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 days ago

  • Good Friends and Terrible Food
    Hi,From an incredibly rainy day in Los Angeles, I just wanted to check in. I guess this is the day Trump may or may not end up in cuffs? I’m attempting a somewhat slower, less frenzied week. I’ve had Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s new record on non-stop, and it’s been a ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    3 days ago

  • At a glance – What evidence is there for the hockey stick?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • Carry right on up there, Corporal Espiner
    RNZ has been shining their torch into corners where lobbyists lurk and asking such questions as: Do we like the look of this?and Is this as democratic as it could be?These are most certainly questions worth asking, and every bit as valid as, say:Are we shortchanged democratically by the way ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • This smells
    RNZ has continued its look at the role of lobbyists by taking a closer look at the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff Andrew Kirton. He used to work for liquor companies, opposing (among other things) a container refund scheme which would have required them to take responsibility for their own ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • Major issues on the table in Mahuta’s  talks in Beijing with China’s new Foreign Minister
    Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta has left for Beijing for the first ministerial visit to China since 2019. Mahuta is  to  meet China’s new foreign minister Qin Gang  where she  might have to call on all the  diplomatic skills  at  her  command. Almost certainly she  will  face  questions  on what  role ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    3 days ago

  • Inside TOP's Teal Card and political strategy
    TL;DR: The Opportunities Party’s Leader Raf Manji is hopeful the party’s new Teal Card, a type of Gold card for under 30s, will be popular with students, and not just in his Ilam electorate where students make up more than a quarter of the voters and where Manji is confident ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Make Your Empties Go Another Round.
    When I was a kid New Zealand was actually pretty green. We didn’t really have plastic. The fruit and veges came in a cardboard box, the meat was wrapped in paper, milk came in a glass bottle, and even rubbish sacks were made of paper. Today if you sit down ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on how similar Vladimir Putin is to George W. Bush
    Looking back through the names of our Police Ministers down the years, the job has either been done by once or future party Bigfoots – Syd Holland, Richard Prebble, Juduth Collins, Chris Hipkins – or by far lesser lights like Keith Allen, Frank Gill, Ben Couch, Allen McCready, Clem Simich, ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    3 days ago

  • CHRIS TROTTER:  Te Pāti Māori’s uncompromising threat to the status quo
    Chris Trotter writes – The Crown is a fickle friend. Any political movement deemed to be colourful but inconsequential is generally permitted to go about its business unmolested. The Crown’s media, RNZ and TVNZ, may even “celebrate” its existence (presumably as proof of Democracy’s broad-minded acceptance of diversity). ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Shining a bright light on lobbyists in politics
    Four out of the five people who have held the top role of Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff since 2017 have been lobbyists. That’s a fact that should worry anyone who believes vested interests shouldn’t have a place at the centre of decision making. Chris Hipkins’ newly appointed Chief of ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago

  • Auckland Council Draft Budget – an unnecessary backwards step
    Feedback on Auckland Council’s draft 2023/24 budget closes on March 28th. You can read the consultation document here, and provide feedback here. Auckland Council is currently consulting on what is one of its most important ever Annual Plans – the ‘budget’ of what it will spend money on between July ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    4 days ago

  • Talking’ Posey Parker Blues
    by Molten Moira from Motueka If you want to be a woman let me tell you what to do Get a piece of paper and a biro tooWrite down your new identification And boom! You’re now a woman of this nationSpelled W O M A Na real trans woman that isAs opposed ...
    RedlineBy Admin
    4 days ago

  • More Māori words make it into the OED, and polytech boss (with rules on words like “students”) ...
    Buzz from the Beehive   New Zealand Education Minister Jan Tinetti is hosting the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers for three days from today, welcoming Education Ministers and senior officials from 18 Pacific Island countries and territories, and from Australia. Here’s hoping they have brought translators with them – or ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • Social intercourse with haters and Nazis: an etiquette guide
    Let’s say you’ve come all the way from His Majesty’s United Kingdom to share with the folk of Australia and New Zealand your antipathy towards certain other human beings. And let’s say you call yourself a women’s rights activist.And let’s say 99 out of 100 people who listen to you ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • The Greens, Labour, and coalition enforcement
    James Shaw gave the Green party's annual "state of the planet" address over the weekend, in which he expressed frustration with Labour for not doing enough on climate change. His solution is to elect more Green MPs, so they have more power within any government arrangement, and can hold Labour ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • This sounds familiar…
    RNZ this morning has the first story another investigative series by Guyon Espiner, this time into political lobbying. The first story focuses on lobbying by government agencies, specifically transpower, Pharmac, and assorted universities, and how they use lobbyists to manipulate public opinion and gather intelligence on the Ministers who oversee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • Letter to the NZ Herald: NCEA pseudoscience – “Mauri is present in all matter”
    Nick Matzke writes –   Dear NZ Herald, I am a Senior Lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Auckland. I teach evolutionary biology, but I also have long experience in science education and (especially) political attempts to insert pseudoscience into science curricula in ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • So what would be the point of a Green vote again?
    James Shaw has again said the Greens would be better ‘in the tent’ with Labour than out, despite Labour’s policy bonfire last week torching much of what the Government was doing to reduce emissions. File Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Green Party has never been more popular than in some ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • Gas stoves pose health risks. Are gas furnaces and other appliances safe to use?
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah Wesseler Poor air quality is a long-standing problem in Los Angeles, where the first major outbreak of smog during World War II was so intense that some residents thought the city had been attacked by chemical weapons. Cars were eventually discovered ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • Genetic Heritage and Co Governance
    Yesterday I was reading an excellent newsletter from David Slack, and I started writing a comment “Sounds like some excellent genetic heritage…” and then I stopped.There was something about the phrase genetic heritage that stopped me in tracks. Is that a phrase I want to be saying? It’s kind of ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • BRIAN EASTON: Radical Uncertainty
    Brian Easton writes – Two senior economists challenge some of the foundations of current economics. It is easy to criticise economic science by misrepresenting it, by selective quotations, and by ignoring that it progresses, like all sciences, by improving and abandoning old theories. The critics may go ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s Middle East strategy, 20 years after the Iraq War
    This week marks the twentieth anniversary of the Iraq War. While it strongly opposed the US-led invasion, New Zealand’s then Labour-led government led by Prime Minister Helen Clark did deploy military engineers to try to help rebuild Iraq in mid-2003. With violence soaring, their 12-month deployment ended without being renewed ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    4 days ago

  • The motorways are finished
    After seventy years, Auckland’s motorway network is finally finished. In July 1953 the first section of motorway in Auckland was opened between Ellerslie-Panmure Highway and Mt Wellington Highway. The final stage opens to traffic this week with the completion of the motorway part of the Northern Corridor Improvements project. Aucklanders ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    4 days ago

  • Kicking National’s tyres
    National’s appointment of Todd McClay as Agriculture spokesperson clearly signals that the party is in trouble with the farming vote. McClay was not an obvious choice, but he does have a record as a political scrapper. The party needs that because sources say it has been shedding farming votes ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago

  • As long as there is cricket, the world is somehow okay.
    Rays of white light come flooding into my lounge, into my face from over the top of my neighbour’s hedge. I have to look away as the window of the conservatory is awash in light, as if you were driving towards the sun after a rain shower and suddenly blinded. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • So much of what was there remains
    The columnists in Private Eye take pen names, so I have not the least idea who any of them are. But I greatly appreciate their expert insight, especially MD, who writes the medical column, offering informed and often damning critique of the UK health system and the politicians who keep ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Mar 12, 2023 thru Sat, Mar 18, 2023. Story of the Week Guest post: What 13,500 citations reveal about the IPCC’s climate science report   IPCC WG1 AR6 SPM Report Cover - Changing ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • Financial capability services are being bucked up, but Stuart Nash shouldn’t have to see if they c...
    Buzz from the Beehive  The building of financial capability was brought into our considerations when Social Development and Employment Minister Carmel Sepuloni announced she had dipped into the government’s coffers for $3 million for “providers” to help people and families access community-based Building Financial Capability services. That wording suggests some ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Things that make you go Hmmmm.
    Do you ever come across something that makes you go Hmmmm?You mean like the song?No, I wasn’t thinking of the song, but I am now - thanks for that. I was thinking of things you read or hear that make you stop and go Hmmmm.Yeah, I know what you mean, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • The hoon for the week that was to March 19
    By the end of the week, the dramas over Stuart Nash overshadowed Hipkins’ policy bonfire. File photo: Lynn GrieveasonTLDR: This week’s news in geopolitics and the political economy covered on The Kākā included:PM Chris Hipkins’ announcement of the rest of a policy bonfire to save a combined $1.7 billion, but ...
    The KakaBy Peter Bale
    7 days ago

  • Saving Stuart Nash: Explaining Chris Hipkins' unexpected political calculation
    When word went out that Prime Minister Chris Hipkins would be making an announcement about Stuart Nash on the tiles at parliament at 2:45pm yesterday, the assumption was that it was over. That we had reached tipping point for Nash’s time as minister. But by 3pm - when, coincidentally, the ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    7 days ago

  • Radical Uncertainty
    Two senior economists challenge some of the foundations of current economics. It is easy to criticise economic science by misrepresenting it, by selective quotations, and by ignoring that it progresses, like all sciences, by improving and abandoning old theories. The critics may go on to attack physics by citing Newton.So ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago

  • Jump onto the weekly hoon on Riverside at 5pm
    Photo by Walker Fenton on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week again when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kaka for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on Riverside (we’ve moved from Zoom) for our chat about the week’s news with ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • The Dream of Florian Neame: Accepted
    In a nice bit of news, my 2550-word deindustrial science-fiction piece, The Dream of Florian Neame, has been accepted for publication at New Maps Magazine (https://www.new-maps.com/). I have published there before, of course, with Of Tin and Tintagel coming out last year. While I still await the ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago

  • Snakes and leaders
    And so this is Friday, and what have we learned?It was a week with all the usual luggage: minister brags and then he quits, Hollywood red carpet is full of twits. And all the while, hanging over the trivial stuff: existential dread, and portents of doom.Depending on who you read ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • This station is Karanga-a-Hape, Chur!
    When I changed the name of this newsletter from The Daily Read to Nick’s Kōrero I was a bit worried whether people would know what Kōrero meant or not. I added a definition when I announced the change and kind of assumed people who weren’t familiar with it would get ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • Greens don’t shy from promoting a candidate’s queerness but are quiet about govt announcement on...
    There was a time when a political party’s publicity people would counsel against promoting a candidate as queer. No matter which of two dictionary meanings the voting public might choose to apply – the old meaning of odd, strange, weird, or aberrant, or the more recent meaning of gay, homosexual ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • Ask Me Anything about the week to March 17
    Photo by Joakim Honkasalo on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week for an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session for paying subscribers about the week that was for the next hour, including:PM Chris Hipkins announcement of the rest of a policy bonfire to save a combined $1.7 billion, but which blew up ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Slow consenting could create $16b climate liability by 2050
    Even though concern over the climate change threat is becoming more mainstream, our governments continue to opt out of the difficult decisions at the expense of time, and cost for future generations. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: Now we have a climate liability number to measure the potential failure of the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • THOMAS CRANMER: Challenging progressivism in New Zealand’s culture wars
    Thomas Cranmer writes  Like it or not, the culture wars have entered New Zealand politics and look set to broaden and intensify. The culture wars are often viewed as an exclusively American phenomenon, but the reality is that they are becoming increasingly prominent in countries around the world, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • District Court Judges appointed
    Attorney-General David Parker has announced the appointment of Christopher John Dellabarca of Wellington, Dr Katie Jane Elkin of Wellington, Caroline Mary Hickman of Napier, Ngaroma Tahana of Rotorua, Tania Rose Williams Blyth of Hamilton and Nicola Jan Wills of Wellington as District Court Judges.  Chris Dellabarca Mr Dellabarca commenced his ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago

  • New project set to supercharge ocean economy in Nelson Tasman
    A new Government-backed project will help ocean-related businesses in the Nelson Tasman region to accelerate their growth and boost jobs. “The Nelson Tasman region is home to more than 400 blue economy businesses, accounting for more than 30 percent of New Zealand’s economic activity in fishing, aquaculture, and seafood processing,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • National’s education policy: where’s the funding?
    After three years of COVID-19 disruptions schools are finally settling down and National want to throw that all in the air with major disruption to learning and underinvestment.  “National’s education policy lacks the very thing teachers, parents and students need after a tough couple of years, certainty and stability,” Education ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Free programme to help older entrepreneurs and inventors
    People aged over 50 with innovative business ideas will now be able to receive support to advance their ideas to the next stage of development, Minister for Seniors Ginny Andersen said today. “Seniors have some great entrepreneurial ideas, and this programme will give them the support to take that next ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Government target increased to keep powering up the Māori economy
    A cross government target for relevant government procurement contracts for goods and services to be awarded to Māori businesses annually will increase to 8%, after the initial 5% target was exceeded. The progressive procurement policy was introduced in 2020 to increase supplier diversity, starting with Māori businesses, for the estimated ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Continued progress on reducing poverty in challenging times
    77,000 fewer children living in low income households on the after-housing-costs primary measure since Labour took office Eight of the nine child poverty measures have seen a statistically significant reduction since 2018. All nine have reduced 28,700 fewer children experiencing material hardship since 2018 Measures taken by the Government during ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Speech at Fiji Investment and Trade Business Forum
    Deputy Prime Minister Kamikamica; distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. Tēnā koutou katoa, ni sa bula vinaka saka, namaste. Deputy Prime Minister, a very warm welcome to Aotearoa. I trust you have been enjoying your time here and thank you for joining us here today. To all delegates who have travelled to be ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Government investments boost and diversify local economies in lower South Island
    $2.9 million convertible loan for Scapegrace Distillery to meet growing national and international demand $4.5m underwrite to support Silverlight Studios’ project to establish a film studio in Wanaka Gore’s James Cumming Community Centre and Library to be official opened tomorrow with support of $3m from the COVID-19 Response and Recovery ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Government future-proofs EV charging
    Transport Minister Michael Wood has today launched the first national EV (electric vehicle) charging strategy, Charging Our Future, which includes plans to provide EV charging stations in almost every town in New Zealand. “Our vision is for Aotearoa New Zealand to have world-class EV charging infrastructure that is accessible, affordable, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • World-leading family harm prevention campaign supports young NZers
    Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment Priyanca Radhakrishnan has today launched the Love Better campaign in a world-leading approach to family harm prevention. Love Better will initially support young people through their experience of break-ups, developing positive and life-long attitudes to dealing with hurt. “Over 1,200 young kiwis told ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • First Chief Clinical Advisor welcomed into Coroners Court
    Hon Rino Tirikatene, Minister for Courts, welcomes the Ministry of Justice’s appointment of Dr Garry Clearwater as New Zealand’s first Chief Clinical Advisor working with the Coroners Court. “This appointment is significant for the Coroners Court and New Zealand’s wider coronial system.” Minister Tirikatene said. Through Budget 2022, the Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Next steps for affected properties post Cyclone and floods
    The Government via the Cyclone Taskforce is working with local government and insurance companies to build a picture of high-risk areas following Cyclone Gabrielle and January floods. “The Taskforce, led by Sir Brian Roche, has been working with insurance companies to undertake an assessment of high-risk areas so we can ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • New appointment to Māori Land Court bench
    E te huia kaimanawa, ko Ngāpuhi e whakahari ana i tau aupikinga ki te tihi o te maunga. Ko te Ao Māori hoki e whakanui ana i a koe te whakaihu waka o te reo Māori i roto i te Ao Ture. (To the prized treasure, it is Ngāpuhi who ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government focus on jobs sees record number of New Zealanders move from Benefits into work
    113,400 exits into work in the year to June 2022 Young people are moving off Benefit faster than after the Global Financial Crisis Two reports released today by the Ministry of Social Development show the Government’s investment in the COVID-19 response helped drive record numbers of people off Benefits and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Vertical farming partnership has upward momentum
    The Government’s priority to keep New Zealand at the cutting edge of food production and lift our sustainability credentials continues by backing the next steps of a hi-tech vertical farming venture that uses up to 95 per cent less water, is climate resilient, and pesticide-free. Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor visited ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Conference of Pacific Education Ministers – Keynote Address
    E nga mana, e nga iwi, e nga reo, e nga hau e wha, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou kātoa. Warm Pacific greetings to all. It is an honour to host the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers here in Tāmaki Makaurau. Aotearoa is delighted to be hosting you ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • New $13m renal unit supports Taranaki patients
    The new renal unit at Taranaki Base Hospital has been officially opened by the Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall this afternoon. Te Huhi Raupō received around $13 million in government funding as part of Project Maunga Stage 2, the redevelopment of the Taranaki Base Hospital campus. “It’s an honour ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Second Poseidon aircraft on home soil
    Defence Minister Andrew Little has marked the arrival of the country’s second P-8A Poseidon aircraft alongside personnel at the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s Base at Ohakea today. “With two of the four P-8A Poseidons now on home soil this marks another significant milestone in the Government’s historic investment in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Further humanitarian aid for Türkiye and Syria
    Aotearoa New Zealand will provide further humanitarian support to those seriously affected by last month’s deadly earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, says Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta. “The 6 February earthquakes have had devastating consequences, with almost 18 million people affected. More than 53,000 people have died and tens of thousands more ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Community voice to help shape immigration policy
    Migrant communities across New Zealand are represented in the new Migrant Community Reference Group that will help shape immigration policy going forward, Immigration Minister Michael Wood announced today.  “Since becoming Minister, a reoccurring message I have heard from migrants is the feeling their voice has often been missing around policy ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • State Highway 3 project to deliver safer journeys, better travel connections for Taranaki
    Construction has begun on major works that will deliver significant safety improvements on State Highway 3 from Waitara to Bell Block, Associate Minister of Transport Kiri Allan announced today. “This is an important route for communities, freight and visitors to Taranaki but too many people have lost their lives or ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Ginny Andersen appointed as Minister of Police
    Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has today appointed Ginny Andersen as Minister of Police. “Ginny Andersen has a strong and relevant background in this important portfolio,” Chris Hipkins said. “Ginny Andersen worked for the Police as a non-sworn staff member for around 10 years and has more recently been chair of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Government confirms vital roading reconnections
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  • State Highway 5 reopens between Napier and Taupō following Cyclone Gabrielle
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