Looking forward to seeing the results of Fonterra being taken to the Financial Markets Authority. Would have been better if Landcorp had done it, but at least someone has the heft to hold them to account.
Big companies can have big problems…whats so new about that.
Its a cooperative which HAS to take the milk …every day whether it wants it or not. It cant say during peak season, we are cutting volumes by 5% this month as the market for milk powder is weak or the cheese factory is past its production limit. No siree.
Ask sheep and beef farmers about the joys of not having a guaranteed buyer at the same price all year, and you have to pay to deliver to the works.
Why anyone would invest in these non-transacting Fonterra shares escapes me.
You're not a transacting shareholder, so have very limited rights and say over how the company is run, and you're giving your money to farmers, and Theo Spierings, to play with. They may pay you a dividend, in a good year, maybe. And your shares may hold their value, on a rising market with a string of good years.
Otherwise bend over and look like you're enjoying it.
This could become a telling commentary on New Zealand corporate and investor culture. Not holding my breath though.
Sterling work from Kirsty Johnston and Chris Knox behind the Herald paywall.
While the 'experts' have been rabidly and wrongly apportioning blame for the measles outbreak to the 'anti-vax' movement the real reasons for the declining immunisation rates have been largely ignored.
Those of us who have tried to point out that blaming so called anti vaxxers has simply made the situation worse have been dismissed…or worse.
"Vaccination rates are dropping across the country as fewer families immunise their babies.
Now, in the midst of a measles epidemic, a Herald analysis of immunisation data finds just 77 per cent of six-month-olds are now getting their vaccines on time.
While the debate has been centred around the impact of the anti-vaxx movement, the numbers paint a different picture.
Plummeting vaccination rates are being driven largely by the failure to immunise babies born into poor or Māori families – not by parents deliberately opting out. "
'While the 'experts' have been rabidly and wrongly apportioning blame for the measles outbreak to the 'anti-vax' movement.
But of course thats my opinion on your wording . Can you correct my mistaken view?
People decline medical treatment or interventions all the time, thats OK.
What is a plague is those people who actively campaign to get others not to immunize, those are generally called anti -vaxxers
As I found further down about the 1990s massive epidemics , low immunization rates – the aim of the anti vaxxers- make epidemics spread.
Stuff has a detailed series of articles issued today with some very good reporting,finding that it is the antivax movement ,and detailing the effects of the perpetrators .
The question arises that should NZ call a measles emergency? Invocation of the Civil defence act emergency powers would enable suppression of the transfer of false information during an epidemic.The censor would be required to review any information imparted etc.
It's a mix of both Rosemary and you know it. Trying to hide behind the well known fact that poverty stricken families are also failing to have their children immunised does you no favour. This has long been the case and until these families are better educated and better informed it will always be the case.
Anti-vaxxers have a great deal to answer for, and I think it is about time the government rolled out a campaign to counter the pseudo scientific crap being spread across the internet. It might look impressive to the gullible of mind but it is still crap.
Babies and toddlers in particular are going to die due to this latest epidemic, and those peddling the anti-vax myths have to take their fair portion of the blame.
You're going to have to provide some evidence to back that up Anne. It is simply too easy to blame 'anti-vaxxers' for declining immunisation rates.
And are you assuming that these 'anti-vaxxers' are part of some organised group whose major mission is to convince parents that all vaccines are bad?
It is just as likely that the individuals who make up the 1300 claims of significant vaccine injury accepted by ACC since 2006 have whanau and friends who have been influenced by these events.
Seeing a previously 'normal' child now in a wheelchair being peg fed and having to be suctioned to clear secretions because of the vaccine induced brain damage sends a powerful message. Having our health authorities deny/dismiss that these adverse events happen….or worse…not warn parents that a very high fever and resulting seizures after a vaccination is not normal…is negligent.
Trouble is… with suppressing discussion about vaccine adverse events and casting all who have concerns about possible side-effects from vaccines into a pseudo criminal group who are personally responsible for every single case of measles that ends up in hospital you're simply going to drive the discussion underground.
Surely it would be better to be able to have open and transparent discussions…instead of resorting to name calling?
Okay…so we have a bunch of trendy 'yummy mummy' midwives catering to the well heeled of Auckland. These are the folk with spare $$$ to be 'educated' about vaccines and immunisation.
How many of the un-vaccinated measles sufferers parents attended such a course?
Herne Bay, one of the wealthiest places in the country has seen rates for all milestone ages fall from 93 to 84 per cent in two years.
A few kilometres across the city to the east in Glen Innes – among the bottom quarter of most deprived suburbs in the country in 2013 – rates rose about three percentage points in the same time.
We've had a decade of social-media-spread fear-mongering about vaccinations, and this data is backing it up – falling vaccination rates doesn't map to areas of social deprivation.
The reasons for not vaccinating vary, and in the most vulnerable populations access remains the core issue, not anti-vax material. Afaik this has been the position of the MoH for a long time.
This doesn't mean anti-vax material isn't also an issue, but railing against social media use while we could instead be urging the govt to increase access seems stupid.
Then, perhaps, we can have the conversation as to whether or not it is acceptable to dismiss and diminish those who have suffered significant injuries due to vaccinations at a rate of over 100 per year.
Bearing in mind that the majority of cases of measles resolve with no lasting effects.
….which thwarts my bid to gain stats back to 1940 because,
" Measles immunisation was introduced in 1969 [18]and measles has been a notifiable disease since June 1996. " Wtf? Not a notifiable disease until 1996? For the supposed Death Plague?
Grrr….the frustrating thing is that it is difficult to assess what has not been accurately measured. One has to wonder why the data has not been collected or collated into one document like the UK stats. No wonder we're left with readily discredited anecdata.
It's not the "death plague". It is, however, an infectious disease that kills a larger proportion of the people who get it than the vaccine that prevents it.
But no, I meant literally email or call the ministry of health or similar.
For deaths, try trawling the NZ yearbooks – they stop reporting measles deaths separately apparently in the early 1980s, though before then measles deaths are reported. Went to listing major causes of death.
The greater good argument would be more sound if it did take into account people damaged by vaccines. At the moment there's a taboo on speaking their names. That's just shitty. Maybe the next greater good argument is that we can hide those people because it helps a better vaccine engagement. Meanwhile, we run a shitty neoliberal economy that sacrifices large numbers of people all the time, and the public debate around measles is hating on anti-vaxxers instead of expecting the MoH to do it's job better and make access to the MMR vaccine much easier.
Sometimes vaccine harm is emphasised while minimising e.g. measles harm. Not just deaths, but longer term conditions as well. And I doubt they'd get ACC coverage.
@McFlock re vaccine harm vs long term disability from measles.
1300plus accepted vaccine injury claims by ACC since 2006.
Rightfully treated as a Treatment Injury by ACC and a fluctuating (depending on the flag over the Beehive) rate of acceptance.
(If there as a way of posting the OIA reply here I would.)
If one could prove there were errors or omissions by medical personnel in treating a case of measles that led to a death or impairment then I guess give an ACC claim a shot. Nothing ventured.
Let's not start a side discussion on the inequities between ACC and MOH for supports for long term impairments.
1: all vaccines vs measles is not a reasonable comparison of harm – what's the ACC rate for the MMR vaccine specifically?
2: harm from vaccine preventable diseases in a vaccinated population will be significantly smaller than the harm from those diseases in an unvaccinated population. To judge the value of vaccines, it would be more logical to compare vaccine harm against disease harm in an unvaccinated population, no?
Vaccine vs unvaxxed population seems to be at least reasonably doable, as opposed to guessing the disease prevalence at some sort of equilibrium level of vaccination where the number of opt-outers or delayers is balanced by the selfish who only vaccinate when there is a threat level they can understand, incorporating any other shortcomings in health literacy or systemic alienation that might be a barrier to primary healthcare.
I suspect such math would be more in line with economics than the real world, and with similar reliability.
Rosemary, you or someone else could try this link and then have a chat to Stats NZ to ask for the measles stats using the offer of help in the pop-up on the lower right hand side of the page Sorry, I am not available to do this as while I sometimes still read TS, I am rarely interested in commenting here these days.
Thanks vw. I just might send them an email…or…make an OIA to the Misery of Health. It disturbs me greatly that this guy Rainger/Ranger is saying..
" The fatality rate for measles was one in 1000, Rainger said, and as the numbers rose the likelihood of a fatality did too. "
…when, unlike the data from the UK showing the number of deaths per 1000 cases to be many times lower, there is no readily available pool of NZ stats to support such a claim.
I've suggested this previously, but IMHO when the annual death rate from measles cases is low (maybe not comparatively low, but low in an absolute sense – 1 in 1000 is a low rate in absolute terms), off a historically low annual number of cases (due to vaccination programmes), then that annual death rate it will bounce around a bit.
For the last 28 years, NZ's annual death rate from measles has been VERY low (zero; not bouncing around at all), so for the last 28 years NZ's annual death rate from measles has been the same or lower than that in the UK, because for some of those years the UK has also had no deaths from measles, while in other years it has had a few deaths, including in 1999 when the UK's rate of death from cases of measles (3 deaths from ~2400 cases) was higher than NZ's annual death rate during our biggest 'recent' measles epidemic (in 1991), and much higher than in NZ during every year since 1991.
To begin to understand why there was roughly 1 death for every 1000 cases of measles in NZ in 1991, the first port of call might be health workers/administrators/managers in the thick of it – there must quite a few still around. There was probably a health review commissioned, possibly some academic analysis too. But the reasons could include, or even be largely due to, chance, just as it was probably chance that the UK had a higher annual death rate from measles in 1999 than NZ has had for a very long time.
There may be some risk to patient safety, in terms of health sector/worker preparedness/familiarity in treating serious (life-threatening) cases of measles associated with this year's outbreak, given that there hasn't been a major outbreak for 28 years. But, hopefully, some will remember.
After all, "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it "
"If this outbreak is not stamped out by March next year NZ will lose its hard-earned measles elimination status."
Tbh, I wouldn't try to attach too much significance to year-to-year differences in annual rates of death from measles in or between developed countries. There will have been an enormous amount of medical/academic research on this by 1000s of health professionals and researchers, and I doubt that they have missed something I'm likely to spot, and/or are trying to cover up some glaring statistical anomaly.
This is an informative brief presentation by a medical doctor who thinks the death rate from measles is 3-4 per thousand, which seems very high (hence ‘don’t attach too much significance’, etc.) There's also a nice (Australian) comparison of the risks associated with contracting measles and the risks associated with being vaccinated for measles – very helpful.
Thanks Rosemary. I was hoping the MSM would address this. Pity it's behind a paywall. This has long been the issue, that the lowering numbers of vaccination in NZ are in part due to poor access to healthcare. The people who choose intentionally to not vaccinate are still afaik a small % of the population. I'd like to see some research done on that.
Thanks weka. This is the sole reason I coughed up the $$$ to read work like this from a journalist I respect.
I have linked on more than one occasion here on TS to the same databases the writers use. The data tells a different story to the one promulgated by the angry ranty DHBs who were embarrassed by their falling vaccination rates.
There are two major issues that I see here…the most significant is deprivation and difficulty accessing reliable health care in some communities. Only true transformational governance will ease this. It might alsoaddress that true indicator of our third world health status….rheumatic ever and the two hundred deaths per year from preventable heart damage.
The other issue is the fact that some New Zealand children have been injured by vaccines. Not many, but a significant enough number to be relevant to any discussion about vaccine efficacy and safety. We are not allowed to discuss these incidents without a barrage of abuse and accusations of being anti- vax and hence pro-plague.
I suggest that folk go out of doors into their communities and speak with the parents of these vaccine damaged children.
I see it similarly. Also, the people choosing not to access from informed consent (so not necessarily the anti-vaxers, although overlaps), often have a good enough standard of living so that if their child gets the measles or whooping cough they're more able to provide optimal care for that child (thus decreasing the chances of complications). I'd love to see some research on that too, but it's another of the taboo subjects.
"speak with the parents of these vaccine damaged children."
Oh dear. I cant see how campaigning against vaccination is allowed on this site. Personal choice is fine as for all medical interventions
The facts are
"The death rate for measles is about one-to-three people in every thousand. An estimated 10 per cent of cases require hospital treatment, and up to 30 per cent of people will develop complications, including pneumonia, diarrhoea and ear infections."
Thats only one of the diseases we vaccinate for as measles is covered by MMR Measles , Mumps,
Rubella is particularly nasty for unborn children leading to severe abnormalities
No surprise here: "The number of rubella cases has fallen dramatically since the vaccine became available in 1969. "
[perhaps you need some time out to reread the Policy. You were warned by me as a mod, and Rosemary asked you why you were calling her an anti-vaxxer, and you’ve ignored both of those and just carried on with misrepresenting her position. I don’t want to have to spend moderator time today reading your comments to see if you’re still passive-aggressive flaming. 2 day ban – weka]
I cant see how campaigning against vaccination is allowed on this site.
Are you accusing me of campaigning against vaccinations because I suggest folk go and speak with the families of those 1300 plus people who have been vaccine injured in the past 13 years in NZ?
Perhaps we should be asking ourselves why a supposedly first world country like NZ anticipates such a high death rate from what used to be a nasty but usually survivable childhood illness.
Perhaps we should also talk about our shameful rates of other third world diseases.
Maybe death rates are sometimes higher during measles epidemics because public health services are stretched thinner. That may have contributed to the comparatively high rate of death (1 death in 1000 cases) during NZ's 1991 measles epidemic (7000 cases).
In NZ, no deaths have been attributed to measles since 1991, so a big shout out to GPs and other health workers (and of course to parents who took advantage of free vaccinations for their children) for that excellent result.
If the current measles outbreak is restricted to one or two thousand NZers then maybe the health service will be able to prevent any measles-related deaths, but I'm guessing that health spokespersons don't want to appear too confident about that, for fear of vaccination rates falling still further.
In NZ, no deaths have been attributed to measles since 1991, so a big shout out to GPs and other health workers (and of course to parents who took advantage of free vaccinations for their children) for that excellent result.
For the life of me I cannot find similar data for NZ…ie…number of cases of measles and number of deaths from measles per year.
A pity, or we could have made a true comparison.
Of course the parents of fully vaccinated children cannot claim credit for there having been no deaths due to measles because their children, being vaccinated, will not have got measles. The UK data refers to deaths from actual measles.
I still don't understand why here in NZ there were a reported 7 deaths from around 7000 notified cases of measles while in the UK in the same year (1991) there was 1 death from 9680 notified cases.
There is something seriously wrong with our health system.
I still don't understand why here in NZ there were a reported 7 deaths from around 7000 notified cases of measles while in the UK in the same year (1991) there was 1 death from 9680 notified cases.
Which statistical test to go by for these numbers is an esoteric discussion of which I know nothing. The point is that the lower confidence bound for the 7/7000 death rate for any given test is slightly lower than the upper bound for the 1/9680 rate (bear in mind the comparison numbers are in different magnitudes).
Does this mean there isn't some systemic difference? No. Just that we can't say for sure that either system is better than another, based on the samples we have to work with.
The rate ratios indicate there might me some difference using Byars, but it's not a binary "no difference/significant difference" situation. The intervals are pretty wide, and the gap is pretty narrow.
I freely admit to a superficial understanding of statistics, and the deep stuff you're directing me towards has given me a headache. I will consult my stats and data advisor later.
I'm not a stats engineer (more a data tradie lol) but the gist is that we're looking at whether the difference is actually a difference in the ability of each system, or is it just broadly what we'd expect from identical systems with reasonable variation in outcomes. E.g. if the car accident rate lowered from year to year, is this just random noise in the system or have things actually improved?
So the statisticians created probability tests for different circumstances. Some are p-values, personally I prefer CIs. p-values hurt my brain, and people love to view their significance as binary "care or do not care about result", whereas things are more subtle than that.
So using Byars, our 7/7000 equals a rate of 1 per 1000 with a lower bound of0.4/1000 and upper of 2/1000.
1/9680 gives a rate of 0.1/1000, with a CI range of 0.001/1000 to 0.57/1000. Obviously one rate is ten times the other as observed, but because the CIs overlap we can't be reasonably sure that the results won't be swapped the next time each health service faces an outbreak.
Now, they only just overlap so there might be something there if we look more closely with larger samples, but at this stage it's not a given either way.
A chart example of NZ child assault deaths is here. The numbers bounce about, the rates bounce about, but because the confidence intervals are so wide there probably isn't any real difference between them all. Even the lowest rate might just be an outlier, because we have so many datapoints so that might just be the way 95% CI (or 1:20 odds) rolled that time.
edit:
BTW, my math tends to fold in on itself and deliver garbage, so if anyone wants to check it please do. If I’m in a hurry or multitasking, I still find my code screws up because the alligator teeth point the wrong direction when looking for high-low pass filters lol
you know my eyes started glazing over when you said p values right?
I'm assuming (loosely) that it's probably both the maths and there are factors affecting actual rates (NZ being different from the UK). Having the long term yearly rates would be useful.
If it's any consolation, I spent 20 minutes trying to make sure my conversion of rates per ten thousand to rates per thousand went the right direction 🙂
I got Matt to check my maths recently for a post where I was working with millions and tens of thousands. I was only out by a factor of 10. That would still have been fairly embarrassing, lol.
When we were trying to have an inclusive nation and counting people as citizens not human resources, there were very strong moves against TB, and there were health buses that would travel to areas where you could go for vaccination against polio. These two diseases are not totally beaten but we need now the same sort of initiative to get measles down and under control again. Capice?
It is wrong for government and the Dept of Health to do the contract thing and lay the problem at overworked DHBs feet. The policies of the government have resulted in numbers of incoming people bringing more disease and health problems with them. Since the welfare budget was severely cut in 1991 it has never been adequate for families wellbeing, and without that income, and with fewer state houses for lower-income people we have a rolling, rising problem.
The PM himself said he was planning on having a low-wage economy, it takes a boofhead not to see that we are not extending services to people whose needs have been neglected. And lack of quality welfare leads to lack of quality in a country's achievements and standards.
thats not correct. Waiheke, Herne bay and the coromandel are leading the trend down, and they aren’t poverty stricken.
the science is settled on immunisation. Defending the “right to choose” to vaccinate is akin to defending the right opt out of Climate change prevention measures because of the chance of personal adverse outcomes. Humanity is at stake hear. Vaccine damage occurs at an infinitesimal rate compared to the occurrence of infectious diseases during an outbreak.
Herd immunity needs around 90% vaccinated rate (according to science). No reason why the 5% or so of the population that choose to not vaccinate shouldn't be allowed to.
Writing off the people who have been damaged doesn’t help convince anti-vaxxers btw, it makes things worse.
so when vaccinations are at 88% of the population, that 88% should be imperilled because of the poor choices of, at that point, a critical 5%?
Good to know that 5% of the population should be allowed to make choices that can adversely affect the other 95%, and shouldn’t be made to feel bad about it either
Climaction. Defending the “right to choose” to vaccinate is akin to defending the right opt out of Climate change prevention measures because of the chance of personal adverse outcomes.
Weird conflation…but nevermind…it is to be expected from certain groups who have an almost religious zeal when presenting their particular views.
So, and correct me if I'm wrong, those individuals who choose not to vaccinate because of well founded concerns over adverse effects are to blame for 'imperilling' the 88% who are vaccinated.
Excuse me…but if the vaccine is effective (as well as safe) how can the unvaccinated possibly imperil the fully vaccinated?
And how dare you dismiss the experiences of those who have been significantly adversely affected by a vaccine.
How dare I not subscribe to your views that your hurt is of greater meaning than the families of those poor defenceless children suffering from preventable disease they are too young to be immunised against? Interesting value pyramid you live within.
Vaccines are effective and safe. How many of the “vaccine damaged” 1300 since 2006 were from the measles vaccine? A critical part of your stat missing there when denying that not vaccinating kids by choice has no bearing on a measle outbreak
Vaccines are effective and safe. How many of the “vaccine damaged” 1300 since 2006 were from the measles vaccine?
Bear with me a minute. This is very difficult to ascertain as this report…
https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/documents/topic_sheets/adverse-event-summary.pdf …is at odds with the ACC data I obtained through an OIA. The above document states that between 2005 and 2009 that " Of the 4,757 reports, 174 (3.6%) meet the criteria of a serious report." Peculiar as ACC data shows 299 accepted claims for vaccine injury during the same period.
There is a wee chart in the Adverse Events Summary that does indicate which particular vaccine is being 'blamed' for the adverse event. MMR accounts for 25 of the 174 of the total 'serious' reports.
The discrepancy in numbers between the two might be an administrative lag between date of vaccination, onset of adverse event, reporting date, and the date that ACC made its decision.
Additionally, there might be some differences in criteria – adverse events are any event within X period of the vaccination, while ACC might have different causal threshold.
As for 25 serious reports, "serious" includes "hospitalisations", so I suggest the number of MMR-correlated incidents in that five year period has been thoroughly outstripped by hospitalisations in the current outbreak. Probably several times over by now.
Australia has 99 % vacination rate. No vacination,no playgroup,kindy or school.How simple is THAT.This is a major failure of Government public health policy.
Spot on Rosemary, the consequences of regional differences in vaccination rates in NZ, due to socioeconomic, cultural and other factors, seem to mirror trends seen in Europe.
Measles in Europe: record number of both sick and immunized (lessons for NZ?)
“This means that gaps at local level still offer an open door to the virus,” says Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab. “We cannot achieve healthier populations globally, as promised in WHO’s vision for the coming five years, if we do not work locally.”
More children in the WHO European Region are being vaccinated against measles than ever before; but progress has been uneven between and within countries, leaving increasing clusters of susceptible individuals unprotected, and resulting in a record number of people affected by the virus in 2018. In light of measles data for the year 2018 released today, WHO urges European countries to target their interventions to those places and groups where immunization gaps persist.
Measles killed 72 children and adults in the European Region in 2018. According to monthly country reports for January to December 2018 (received as of 01 February 2019), 82 596 people in 47 of 53 countries contracted measles. In countries reporting hospitalization data, nearly 2/3 (61%) of measles cases were hospitalized. The total number of people infected with the virus in 2018 was the highest this decade: 3 times the total reported in 2017 and 15 times the record low number of people affected in 2016.
The surge in measles cases in 2018 followed a year in which the European Region achieved its highest ever estimated coverage for the second dose of measles vaccination (90% in 2017). More children in the Region received the full two-dose series on time, according to their countries’ immunization schedules, in 2017 than in any year since WHO started collecting data on the second dose in 2000. Coverage with the first dose of the vaccine also increased slightly to 95%, the highest level since 2013. However, progress in the Region, based on achievements at the national level, can mask gaps at subnational levels, which are often not recognized until outbreaks occur.
“The picture for 2018 makes it clear that the current pace of progress in raising immunization rates will be insufficient to stop measles circulation. While data indicate exceptionally high immunization coverage at regional level, they also reflect a record number affected and killed by the disease. This means that gaps at local level still offer an open door to the virus,” says Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab. “We cannot achieve healthier populations globally, as promised in WHO’s vision for the coming five years, if we do not work locally. We must do more and do it better to protect each and every person from diseases that can be easily avoided.”
1990s epidemics were greater , many thousands caught the disease. What happened then.. really dont think there was some sort of national emergency proclaimed
"
In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed, Jim Bolger was prime minister, and New Zealand was sick with measles.
Vaccination coverage was low and the highly infectious disease was ripping through the population. Estimates vary, but as many as 40,000 to 60,000 people likely got sick, according to a previous version of the immunisation handbook, put out by the Ministry of Health.
Seven people died, including four unimmunised children. Six years later, in 1997, a second, smaller epidemic struck. There were 2169 cases around the country. About 950 people were hospitalised across both events, according to the 2011 handbook.
"People have forgotten what used to happen when we didn't have such high vaccination rates," said Dr Jill Sherwood, a public health medicine specialist at ESR, a Crown Research Institute."
Because there's absolutely nothing else threatening the wellbeing of the country right now, the most tech-literate Government ever!1 has decided that it's a good time to do some pearl-clutching about adult content on the Internet.
There's a measles epidemic, men and boys are killing themselves in greater numbers than ever before, people are sleeping in cars, carbon emissions are increasing, water quality is declining, so of course it's time for a bit of "won't someone think of the children" dead-cat distraction.
Here are some things that have my spidey sense tingling:
" Five draft laws have been proposed to the Minister by Family First "
–oh neat, Family First. Just who I need advice on matters of sexuality and freedom of expression.
" Directing the state department of education to take a direct role in educating parents of enrolled students on the harms of pornographic material. "
–telling parents what to think doesn't sound outside the department's purview AT ALL.
"Options being looked at include: R18 access to porn websites: Residents will have to provide age ID to have access "
–hands up who trusts the NZ government to secure an enormous digital collection of identity documentation?
Valid point about family first lobbying ministries, but the real question should be, with the large number of children regularly accessing hardcore pornagraphy, especially that which is degrading and exploitative of women, and the persistence of rape culture, misogyny and brutal disrespect to them in our society, can we afford not to impose restrictions on who gets to view it?
Those too are valid points. But in the real world we also have to acknowledge two things:
1. The NZ Government is technically illiterate. It wouldn't have the foggiest idea how to block some people's access to parts of the Internet without screwing other parts of the Internet up for everyone.
2. One person's perversion is another person's expression of identity. If the Government blocks (for example) trans or non-binary porn for people who are over the legal age of consent, it will be a disaster.
Perhaps you could characterise both points as parts of the same problem – it’s crazy to trust the imposition of morality on the Internet to wealthy, able-bodied, old, white, straight, cisgender technophobes.
Adult people can perve their hearts out for all I care, but the issue is children having free access and the damage it does not only to the viewer, but those who form relationships or encounter them in the present and future.
In the old days you found a mag on the common or under your dads bed, and that was your exposure to porn, but this digital media age has much worse content, viewed by many many more people.
I'm not a prude, nor do I have the solution, though I think for the safety and mental well being of our younglings, something should be done, whatever it is.
"My country unleashed a horrific war that would cost more than 50 million people — among them millions of Polish citizens — their lives. This war was a German crime," the president said in a speech before Polish President Andrzej Duda, US Vice President Mike Pence, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, as well as representatives of 30 other countries.
The Russians' fond belief that they were hapless, peace-loving victims of WW2 is something Putin's trying to reinforce, so chances of an admission of guilt = 0.
These days, as far as Russia's concerned the war started on 22 June 1941. Quibbling about who did what before that is for bigoted, ant-Slavic westerners who want to undermine the heroic Soviet achievement because they're embarrassed at their own countries' dismal failure to contain the Nazi threat. It's going down a treat inside Russia – not so much in Poland, Finland, the Baltic Republics or Romania, mind…
The response to the Bridges National Cancer "Plan" recently seemed to be heavily commented on in MSM.
An actual Cancer Plan published yesterday seemed to have a muted response, except for the expected rapid denigrating response from National. "Too little. Too late." Strange for a National Party after 9 long years?
Unless the government already had such a 'cancer plan' in the pipeline before National presented theirs, you have to wonder why they let National and the MSM set the agenda in the first place. Who said that that was the problem de jour, that everyone has to address this week? It's important, to be sure, but why not focus on your own legislative agenda?
After the last three years, the work of a just and righteous God cannot be considered credible evidence of His goodness unless He picks all of Mar-a-lago up by the roots, sails it across half of Florida and heaves it on top of Doral and its every last bedbug. https://t.co/5UblkKzF1c
Fucknuts, we are invoking an omnipotent divinity capable of heaving one Trump shithole atop another, destroying the realty and leaving no other soul’s hair mussed. And hey, roaming twitter with a flatlining sense of humor and some manufactured outrage just sucks unwashed ass. https://t.co/BVA12JwYEv
Aotearoa is no Australia just because they like using the big stick userly it is used on the people who are down and out. Aotearoa can come up with a smart solution to the measles problem in Aotearoa.
The old health system was the best in the Papatuanuku in value for money and services. My experience with the health system is not good at all I seen the way that they discriminated against me and my mokopuna. I don't trust anyone in that system
Ma Te wa the Kiwi build is a good move by the Coalition government to fix the last lots Houseing short they were serving themselves rubbing there hands together reaping the capital gains cause by shonkys short.
Dorain is a powerful force from Tawhirimate and Papatuanuku we need to heed our scientists warning and drop carbon out of our lives as fast as possible.
Its great that our Prime Minister is taking to Ngāti Porou about our Awa Tangaroa and the state of the Fisheries on the East Coast to resolve the issues that were agreed appon in the 1980s
Ka pai Chris these loan sharks cost Maori and Pacific tangata heaps of money with their huge interest charged on their loans to people who can least afford to pay it back Eco Maori dislike these people .
Tangata whenua do value our ENVIRONMENT more than western society's do we know that we are part of all things in our environment be it whenua Tangaroa or Tawhirimate.
The Tangata Whenua O Australia are being discriminated against by the Australian Crown its a very sad situation that they are in WTF it that common Tangata whenua Australia its no who's in the hinaki its who hasn't been to jail what a waste of great talenteEd tangata. Shane Phillips Ka pai with your mahi
Ngāti Manawheno it's great to see our tamariki preforming it's better for Eco Maori to see all our Wahine stepping up to the hard mahi in Aotearoa.
The effects dark magic cast on Collins’ MPs has gotten so out of control that she’s beginning to fear it’s the work of someone else. When Judith Collins was finally elected leader of the New Zealand National Party last night, it was accompanied by a moving show of unity, as ...
Having lost yet another leader in quick succession, the National party was clearly so desperate to find a successor that they turned to someone whose earlier bids to become leader they had already twice rejected. It may not be clear why Judith Collins should suddenly have become National’s saviour after ...
For the third time in the past decade, the government is directly subsidising wage earners to get them through a tough patch. The Covid-19 wage subsidy scheme though dwarfs the previous two schemes that were implemented post the Christchurch and Kaikoura earthquakes: some figures put the number of New Zealanders ...
Supposedly the struggle against climate change is one of this government's priorities. But how can we assess whether government policies and targets are enough to meet that challenge? Are our policies working? Are our targets enough? On the latter question, whether or not they are consistent with the Paris Agreement ...
The Civilian takes a look at the new leader of the National Party, Todd Muller This article was written over the past weekend as part of The Civilian’s series of “Meet the Leaders” profiles. Some will claim that this makes the article outdated, because Muller is no longer leader. But ...
With carbon prices rising, farmers have been squealing about farmland being converted (or rather, restored) to forest for carbon farming. And meanwhile, Fooodstuffs has started selling carbon-neutral milk: Carbon-neutral milk – where the product's greenhouse gases are offset by carbon credits – is coming to a supermarket fridge near you. ...
Like everyone else, I was shocked when Todd Muller resigned as Leader of the National Party yesterday morning - and even more shocked when National picked Judith Collins to replace him. Sure, this is about desperation and salvaging as many seats as they can, but still. In case ...
Judith Collins - National Party leaderThe National Party, after Todd Muller’s quick exit stage right, have chosen Judith Collins as their new leader in what can only be seen as a desperate attempt to regain some of the conservative voters they’ve lost in recent months.There are numerous pros and cons ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzI would like to know how much difference we could ...
INT: NATIONAL PARTY CAUCUS ROOM – MORNING The sun is streaming in the window. On the table is a single jandal. A group of 3 National Party members walk into the room instantly spotting the jandal. Gerry: What’s that? Judith: What? Gerry: That jandal. What’s that. Shane: It’s a… jandal? ...
When Parliament sits next Tuesday, the Prime Minister will finally meet her match. Judith Collins and Jacinda Ardern are opposites in just about every respect. Yet they have the same basic appeal. Ardern and Collins are as much cultural icons as they are political leaders. Each represents a different side ...
The "palace letters" between Australia's then Governor-General John Kerr and the Queen were released today by the Australian Archives. From the bits I caught of the original press conference, they didn't sound so bad. But now people have had time to go through them properly, and they show an appalling ...
About 10 years ago when I was producing Q+A on TVNZ, first-term minister Judith Collins arrived for an interview with a staff member I hadn’t met. She kindly introduced us. “This is Tim Watkin,” she said. Adding after the briefest of pauses, “he writes mean things about me on Pundit”.Her ...
The toxic implosion of National thanks to an internal culture of screaming bullshit, most of it completely supercharged in the last decade by a feckless, moronic, “smile and wave” Banker (lauded as “a businessman who will sort out politics!”) who mainlined Neoliberal economics and was literally called, by his own ...
Todd Muller - National Party MPTodd Muller’s shock resignation today really only points to one possible conclusion; there’s further damning evidence linking him directly to National’s latest dirty political episode that will likely be unearthed during an official inquiry.Obviously Muller being directly involved in the leaking of COVID-19 patient’s private ...
In the months following the Christchurch massacre, the police acquired a sudden interest in nazis and gun "enthusiasts" (both of which they had previously been ignoring because they were white), and started kicking in doors around Christchurch and seizing firearms, using warrantless search provisions in the Search and Surveillance Act ...
. . The last 24 hours in Aotearoa’s New Zealand’s politics has provided more drama than a week’s worth of “Shortie Street” episodes combined and binge-watched. It began approximately around 5.30 last night (7 July) with a disclosure by Clutha-Southland MP, Hamish Walker that he had leaked a list of ...
The Serious Fraud Office has announced that it is investigating the Labour Party over donations it received in 2017. Which means the three largest parties in Parliament are all now either being investigated or prosecuted for donation fraud. The only parties who aren't are the Greens and ACT. As ...
Dr Kim Handley, University of AucklandJust how do cyanobacteria live in their natural habitat, and how do they coexist with other bacteria and microbial life forms? And what difference will knowledge on this bacteria have on maintaining New Zealand’s water quality? One of the consequences of declining water quality ...
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Climate Feedback Article Review... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Review... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Story of the Week... Global temperatures could exceed crucial 1.5 C target in the next five years In this aerial view ...
Three months on, and looking at the state of the world - 13 million cases, 560,000 dead, and both rising - it is clear that New Zealand's lockdown saved lives. But it didn't just save us from the pandemic and prevent future deaths - it also significantly reduced our background ...
Yesterday the Greens released their second big election policy - on energy. The short version is "more solar, less coal". They'd stick solar panels and batteries in every state house, and network them together to form a virtual power plant. They'd use grants to fund rooftop solar installations just as ...
National has a problem. And it’s time they said it out loud. It can’t be dismissed as a one-off anymore or excused because ‘everyone does it’. No, it cuts deeper than that. National has an ethics problem. Especially when it comes to privacy and using ordinary people as pawns in ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, July 5 through Sat, July 11, 2020Editor's ChoiceThink Covid-19 Disrupted the Food Chain? Wait and See What Climate Change Will DoThe pandemic has revealed deep flaws in the ...
The Council of Disobedient Women There is a regular segment in the Speak Up For Women podcasts called “Absolutely Blasted Mad Moment of the Week”. Each podcast the speaker and the host discuss a recent event that is the most insane thing they have seen in the gender critical space ...
Todd Muller - Dishonest National Party leaderIt seems that dishonest Todd Muller is, like many right-wing politicians, entirely morally bankrupt. I mean just look at the National Party’s leaking omni-shambles over the last week or so. They’ve imploded in a spectacular display of backfiring dirty politics, the likes of which ...
TUESDAY JULY 14Yorkshire Airport (Prime, 7.30pm). Bloomin’ ’eck, behind the scenes at Leeds Bradford Airport. Apparently, there is plenty of “northern charm”, although reaction in the UK ranged from “brilliant” to “patronising”. It is narrated by Hugh Dennis, whose middle name might be “Arch”.WEDNESDAY JULY 15Queen: Live at Wembley (Prime, ...
MONDAY JULY 13Bodyguard (TVNZ 1, 8.30pm). It's the final; if you haven't seen this already on Netflix, get ready, the ending is batshit.Unforgotten (Vibe, Sky 006, 8.30pm). I wonder if Sanjeev Bhasksar's character has got rid of that damn backpack in the third season of this cold case drama? Although, come ...
Simon Bridges must be the unluckiest person in New Zealand politics. When he was elected as leader of the National party, he also became Leader of the Opposition – a position, he was entitled to assume, that would require him to “oppose”. But the government he set out to oppose ...
This is a re-post from The Guardian by Damian Carrington Spreading rock dust on farmland could suck billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air every year, according to the first detailed global analysis of the technique. The chemical reactions that degrade the rock particles lock the greenhouse gas into ...
Check out Speak Up For Women’s new podcasts: Episode 3 In this episode Speak Up For Women spokeswoman Ani O’Brien (@aniobrien) is joined by Beth Johnson (@beth_nosnhoj) to discuss the proposal from Statistics NZ to change standard data collection policy to “gender by default” rather than sex. They discuss why the ...
During a recent public consultation on the future of Archives New Zealand, a key report was suppressed. The Ombudsman has ruled that the refusal was unjustified. Sadly, the consultation was over by the time of the the decision has been made. However, the law on the use of the ...
National MP - Michael WoodhouseUnbelievable! Michelle Boag also sent National’s Michael Woodhouse confidential emails about COVD-19 patients, and he continued to publicly attack the Government over these very same breaches of privacy.This is the biggest political self-own since the Act Party’s David Garrett admitted in Parliament that he used a ...
Transcript: National Party policy announcement on roads – 8 July, 2020 Muller: Good afternoon everybody. Thank you for coming. Reporter 1: Is Hamish Walker a racist? Muller: Hang on… you haven’t even said good afternoon to me yet. Reporter 1: Good afternoon Mr Muller. Is Hamish Walker a racist? ...
Back in April, I wrote about trials in Iran of a fixed-dose combination of two existing anti-viral drugs used to treat hepatitis C – sofosbuvir and daclatasvir – that could point to an effective treatment for Covid-19 symptoms.At the time, data from those trials was not available outside the hospitals ...
Prof Nick Wilson, Dr Anja Mizdrak, Dr Jennifer Summers, Prof Michael BakerThe pandemic-related lockdown is possibly the most dramatic public health intervention in NZ history. It helped achieve the elimination of community transmission of the COVID-19 virus in NZ. But it was also associated with 548 fewer total ...
Reprehensible: There is much that could be said about Michael Woodhouse, but what would be the point? Any man who willingly involves himself in a situation as reprehensible as the one depicted in the above photograph has already vouchsafed all that decent people need to know about his character. That there have ...
As the debate over assisted dying rages in the run-up to the referendum at the election on September 19, a persistent problem continues to dog the discussions. That is to say, a prominent spokesperson for a particular group takes a strong public stand in opposition without acknowledging that they don’t ...
No Other Suspects? The mainstream news media was willing to print and broadcast harsh Opposition criticism of the Government, even though they knew that the source of the leaked information was a National Party MP. Even though, by pushing the story up towards the top of every news bulletin they were ...
Sacrificial Lamb: If the stories about Mr Taogaga and the unauthorised release of confidential medical data had been deliberately orchestrated by Labour’s political opponents, their deflection of the news media’s attention away from the Prime Minister’s address to the Labour Party Congress could hardly have been more successful.THE LABOUR PARTY ...
The East is Rent: The consequences of unleashing the young against the old; of elevating ideological rigor above reasoned debate; and of setting the present against the past; was a decade of unprecedented social stress and tension, interspersed with explosions of murderous mob violence and tragic material destruction. More than ...
The Green Party of Aotearoa-New Zealand could go from helping Jacinda Ardern run the country, to being turfed out of Parliament altogether in ten weeks. And that could see the end of Labour in government. Without them, Labour would likely have to do what no party has done since the ...
Remember the government's tyrannicalTerrorism Suppression (Control Orders) Bill? Remember how it was rammed through Parliament, with a four-day submission period and a select committee process that was a democratic fraud? At the time, the government gave the impression that there was an urgent need for this legislation, that a ...
Attack journalist - Tova O'BrienWe all know that much of the mainstream media in New Zealand is terribly biased. They are in effect another branch of the National Party, and can often be even more prejudiced than their right wing bosses.In fact many right wing politicians moonlight as journalists and ...
Former National Party President - Michelle BoagAfter the complete botch job Hamish Walker made of leaking the private details of COVID-19 patients to the mainstream media last week, the best-case scenario for Todd Muller and the National Party would be if the news cycle went quiet about their involvement.But unfortunately ...
One of the challenges of working on illegal wildlife markets, is you don’t really have scope to talk about your research into illegal wildlife markets. There is some stuff though that willbe coming out on Asiatic black bears in China, and before Covid19, I was delving more into rhinos. Which ...
Some are surprised at this sudden brain implosion on the part of both Michelle Boag, former National Party President, and the National Party in general, in exposing the private, confidential details of COVID patients. Others…? Let’s be blunt: not so much. Too many of that Party have long operated with ...
Michelle Boag - Former National Party PresidentWhen Todd Muller decided not to discipline Hamish Walker for his horribly racist press release last week, you had to wonder if his lack of proper leadership had something to do with a shared belief system? After all, the whiteness of the blue “team” ...
On Twitter today, lawyer Felix Geiringer asked a good question: why are MP's exempt from the Privacy Act? The Act imposes its obligations on "agencies", and s8 of the 2020 Act states that this term does not include... a member of Parliament in their official capacity The 1993 Act, ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzWhat was the climate and sea level like at times ...
So now we know, beyond all doubt. The National party has no interest in joining the “team of five million” in our fight against the pandemic but its priority is to take every opportunity it can to damage the government. The cynicism is breathtaking. It was prepared to leak the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters The massive dust storm that formed over the Sahara Desert in mid-June invaded the southeastern U.S. June 25-28, bringing dangerous levels of air pollution, low visibility, and colorful sunsets. The air pollution event over parts of Texas and the Gulf ...
In 1987, as a British Labour MP, I was elected to the Shadow Cabinet by my colleagues and was asked by the party leader to direct Labour’s campaign in the general election of that year. The election was to take place at the height of Mrs Thatcher’s dominance and we ...
National MP Nicola WillisHousing, which I would argue is a fundamental human right, has long been a problem in New Zealand. Not only do we have some of the most overpriced houses in the entire world, much of the housing stock is substandard and therefore affects not just people’s health ...
If the government has not lined up behind a "Yes" vote in this year's cannabis referendum the way some reformers would have liked, one entirely laudable thing it did do was commission some science around the public's choice.That science landed today, in the form of the report from an expert ...
Associate Professor Sara WaltonAt the heart of the discussion on opening up our borders is the dichotomy of health and the economy – both of which are actually intertwined, like many things with our economy, as this epidemic has shown.If we think about our country as a system, ...
This is a re-post from Carbon Brief by Josh Gabbatiss This year will see the largest ever drop globally in both investment and consumer spending on energy as the coronavirus pandemic hits every major sector, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The crisis is accelerating the shutdown of older fossil-fuelled ...
A short opinion piece – Friday 26th June 2020 Whilst our Government has treated many financial victims of the current Covid-19 virus with appropriate generosity, the same cannot be said for those of the two earlier “epidemics” in NZ. The “Covid-84” virus (also called “Rogernomics”) spread systemic greed, with the ...
Everyone deserves a a decent life. We know this is possible with a fairer approach to income support and tax Read the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand’s Poverty Action Plan here ...
After a long break, the government is back inserting secrecy clauses in legislation. This time its the Overseas Investment Amendment Bill (No 3), which in its clause allowing Ministers to exempt purchasers of farm land from the usual rules also allows them to exempt an exemption from the publication requirement: ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters acknowledged today the heavy price of trying to lead the National Party today. ‘One’s sympathy goes out to Todd Muller and his family. Todd is a good man, unlike most of his colleagues he does ...
We're keeping New Zealand moving, one progress-packed week at a time. Read below to find out how we're creating jobs, protecting the environment, looking out for the health of New Zealanders', and upgrading our critical infrastructure - and that's only this week. ...
We're keeping New Zealand moving, one progress-packed week at a time. Read below to find out how we're creating jobs, protecting the environment, looking out for the health of New Zealanders', and upgrading our critical infrastructure - and that's only this week. ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund is providing up to $19.5 million to boost innovative primary sector businesses and create training and job opportunities for Northland locals through the construction of an innovation and enterprise park at Ngawha, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones ...
The Green Party is today unveiling part one of its plan for a fossil-fuel free Aotearoa, including an immediate ban on new industrial coal boilers. ...
Mark Patterson MP, Spokesperson for Primary Industry New Zealand First is supporting calls by hunters and the New Zealand Tahr Foundation (NZTF) to halt a large scale cull of Himalayan Tahr by the Department of Conservation in National Parks. The calls are supported by a 40,000 strong petition and the ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First leader Winston Peters today scoffed at suggestions that a team of six political operatives have been dispatched to New Zealand to assist his campaign. ‘As President Ronald Reagan once said, ‘there they go again.’ ‘The clickbait journos can’t ...
New Zealand First is pleased to announce Jenny Marcroft as the party’s election 2020 candidate for the Auckland Central electorate. Jenny spent years working in Auckland Central, having spent a vast proportion of her broadcasting career there. She says she, "knows the place and knows the people." Ms Marcroft says ...
New Zealanders deserve healthy rivers and lakes that are safe to swim in - but they have been getting worse for decades. That's why, with our latest announcement, we're investing in projects that will help clean up our rivers and lakes and restore them to health, within a generation. ...
This week we moved into the second half of 2020 - and our Government delivered another week of big changes and major progress for New Zealanders. Read below for a wrap of the key things moments from the week - from extending paid parental leave, to making major investments in ...
The Green Party has opposed the COVID-19 Recovery Fast-track Consenting Bill which shortcuts normal consenting processes under the Resource Management Act (RMA), reduces public participation and narrows environmental considerations. ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister of Regional Economic Development A regional freight hub for the lower North Island will be built just northeast of Palmerston North, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. The Government is investing $40 million through the Provincial Growth Fund to designate and buy land and design ...
Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson is calling for the introduction of a Guaranteed Minimum Income to lift hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty and prevent more families entering into further debt with the Ministry of Social Development. ...
There has been renewed focus on New Zealand First acting as a handbrake on the Government after our decision to not support Auckland light rail. We are a handbrake for bad ideas, that istrue, but our track record since 2017 has seen New Zealand First constructively also serve as an ...
Mark Patterson MP, New Zealand First List MP New Zealand First’s Fair Residency for Superannuation Bill passed its First Reading in Parliament today. The Bill makes a significant change to NZ Super by raising the minimum residency requirement from 10 to 20 years, after age 20. “Currently, a migrant of ...
Darroch Ball MP, Spokesperson for Law and Order A New Zealand First member’s bill in the name of Darroch Ball introducing a six-month minimum prison sentence for assaults on first responders has passed its second reading in Parliament. The new offence of "injuring a first responder or corrections officer with ...
Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Deputy Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First welcomes the launch of the new Criminal Cases Review Commission, gifted with the name from Waikato-Tainui - Te Kāhui Tātari Ture, announced in Hamilton today by Justice Minister Andrew Little. “New Zealand First has long believed in and ...
The Green Party is celebrating over $800m in new funding for green projects, which will get people into jobs while solving New Zealand’s long-term challenges. ...
Mark Patterson MP, Spokesperson for Primary Industries New Zealand First is appalled that Meridian seems to have been unnecessarily spilling water from its dams to drive up its profits."While New Zealanders have been coming together in some of our darkest hours, we don’t expect power gentailers to waste water and ...
We wrapped up the first half of 2020 with a busy month, taking additional steps to support New Zealanders as we continue with our economic recovery. We rolled out targeted packages to support key industries like tourism and construction, helped create jobs in the environmental and agriculture sectors, and set ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Infrastructure Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones has welcomed the appointment of Maurice Davis and his deep infrastructure and construction experience to the board of the Infrastructure Commission. Mr Davis (Ngāti Maniapoto), is the seventh and final appointment to the board led by former Reserve Bank Governor ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand’s click bait journalism is taking a turn for the worse, with yet another example of sensationalist, wilful-misrepresentation of the facts. “New Zealand First has worked constructively with its Coalition partner on hundreds of pieces of legislation and policy, and ...
The Green Party is today unveiling its Poverty Action Plan, which includes a Guaranteed Minimum Income to ensure people have enough to live with dignity. ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Rotorua Museum redevelopment and Whakarewarewa and Tokorangi Forest projects will be accelerated thanks to a $2.09 million Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) boost, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher ...
This week, we rolled out the next steps of our recovery plan, with new infrastructure investment, extra support for tourism operators, and a new programme to get Kiwis into agriculture careers. The global economic consequences of COVID-19 will continue to be a challenge, but we have a detailed plan to ...
Jenny Marcroft MP, Spokesperson for Health New Zealand First welcomes the passage of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Bill through its final reading in Parliament today fulfilling a coalition agreement commitment. “This is an important step in saving the lives of New Zealanders and delivers a key coalition commitment ...
Whakatāne has been given a $2.5 million boost to speed up previously funded projects and create more than 450 jobs in the next decade. Of those, the equivalent of 160 full-time jobs could be delivered in the next six weeks. Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters is in town to make ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is investing $2.5 million to accelerate three infrastructure projects in Whakatāne, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. “This package is about ...
Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones is throwing his weight behind a bid by the Auckland Council to fast-track the more than doubling of the city's water allowance from the Waikato River. And he's coming out strongly against anyone who plans on getting in the way of this campaign. "It is my ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has expressed his condolences regarding the passing of Niue’s former Premier, Sir Toke Talagi, which occurred today in Niue. “Sir Toke, who was also formerly Niue’s Foreign Minister, made a significant contribution to Niue over a long career. He served as a dedicated Premier of ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has extended New Zealand’s condolences following the death of Niue’s former Premier, Sir Toke Talagi, who has passed away in Niue. “We extend our condolences to his family and to the people of Niue. Sir Toke was an elder statesman of the Pacific and a long ...
Two leaking and run-down community facilities in Gore will receive Government funding to provide jobs for local contractors and long-term benefits to the Gore community and wider region, Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones has announced. The funding comes from the $3 billion tagged contingency set aside in Budget 2020 for infrastructure. ...
Kia ora tatou Today I am setting out our plan in the event we have a new case of community transmission of COVID-19 in New Zealand. I will take a bit of time to do that, and then I’ll be happy to take questions at the end. Since we moved ...
·$124 million Government investment in recycling infrastructure ·Plans confirmed to increase and expand the waste levy to divert material from landfill, and recycle revenue into resource recovery and waste minimisation ·Innovative construction and demolition facility opened in Auckland with $3.1 million in support from Government’s Waste Minimisation Fund (WMF). As ...
A package of wellbeing infrastructure investments in Kaipara which focuses on improving the lives of the elderly and upgrading the iconic Kauri Museum has been announced by Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones today. “These shovel-ready projects will have significant benefits for their respective communities and I’m pleased this funding ...
More support is rolling out for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from the COVID Response and Recovery Fund, to help them adapt and innovate to deal with the impact of the virus. The Ministers for Economic Development and Small Business have announced a further $40 million for the Regional Business ...
Stephen Clark, Māori Land Court Judge of Hamilton has been appointed as a District Court Judge with jury jurisdiction to be based in Hamilton, Attorney-General David Parker announced today. Judge Clark graduated with an LLB from Auckland University in 1988 and was admitted to the Bar in the same year. ...
The Crown will provide a loan to Hawke’s Bay Airport to ensure it can trade through COVID-19 economic impacts, support the region’s recovery and protect up to 200 jobs. The Crown has a 50 percent shareholding in Hawke’s Bay Airport Limited (HBAL), with Napier City Council holding 26 percent and ...
Four celebrated Māori and Pasifika events will receive up to $100,000 each in funding from the new Creative and Cultural Events Incubator fund, Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford announced today. The four events that were successful in the inaugural funding round are: Kia Mau Festival, Wellington Māoriland Film Festival, Otaki ...
The Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio is pleased to announce the inaugural launch of Kiribati Language Week as part of the 2020 Pacific language Weeks programme. “I am so pleased that this year we are able to provide resourcing support to the Kiribati community in Aotearoa which will ...
Wildlife institutions affected by a loss of visitor revenue during the COVID-19 lockdown are set to receive government support with nearly $15 million of funding available announced Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage. “Eco-sanctuaries, zoos, aquariums, wildlife parks, and wildlife rescue, hospital and rehabilitation facilities provide crucial support for the recovery ...
The Government is expanding and accelerating frontline mental health and wellbeing services at tertiary education institutes (TEI) to help students manage ongoing stresses related to COVID-19. “The lockdown has been hugely disruptive for students. Many of them have had to relocate and move to online learning, isolating them from their ...
The Minister of Police says a major operation against the Mongrel Mob in Waikato will make a big dent in drug harm and violent offending linked to organised crime networks. “Senior leadership of the Waikato Mongrel Mob has been taken out as a result of Operation Kingsville, which resulted in ...
The Government is extending the border exception criteria to enable some offshore victims and support people of the Christchurch mosque attacks to attend the sentencing of the accused beginning on 24 August2020, says Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway. “We want to support our valued Muslim brothers and sisters who were directly ...
A project to support volunteer efforts to look after streams and rivers is getting a boost thanks to support from DOC’s Community Conservation Fund announced Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage today. “The government is backing efforts to look after waterways with $199,400 for the Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust from ...
Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter today announced that funding for the COVID-19 Community Fund for women and girls will be doubled, as the first successful funding applications for the initial $1million were revealed. “Women and girls across the country have suffered because of the effects of COVID-19, and I ...
The Government’s books were better than forecast with a higher GST take as the economy got moving again after lockdown, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. The Crown Accounts for the 11 months to the end of May indicate the year end results for tax revenue will be stronger than forecast. ...
A plan to revitalise New Zealand’s strong wool sector and set it on a new, more sustainable and profitable path was unveiled today by Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. The newly-released report - Vision and Action for New Zealand’s Wool Sector - was developed by the Wool Industry Project Action Group ...
Community efforts to create a Predator Free Whangārei will receive a $6 million boost, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage announced today. The new funding, through Government company Predator Free 2050 Ltd, will create around 12 jobs while enabling the complete removal of possums over ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced that the New Zealand Government is reviewing the settings of its relationship with Hong Kong. “China’s decision to pass a new national security law for Hong Kong has fundamentally changed the environment for international engagement there,” Mr Peters said. “New Zealand remains deeply ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has announced details of a multimillion-dollar investment in Whangārei for infrastructure projects that will help it recover from the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 200 jobs are expected to be created through the $26 million investment from the Government’s rejuvenation package ...
Following a second incident in which a person escaped from a managed isolation facility, security is being enhanced, including more police presence onsite, Minister Megan Woods said. “The actions of some individuals who choose to break the very clear rules to stay within the facilities means that more resourcing is ...
Waste reduction and recycling programmes in Kaipara are set to get a boost with Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage today announcing a $361,447 grant from the Ministry for the Environment’s Waste Minimisation Fund (WMF) Sustainable Kaipara. “The new funding will allow Sustainable Kaipara to partner with local schools, kura, community ...
The Government will support the Southland economy in the wake of multinational mining company Rio Tinto’s decision to follow through with its long signalled closure of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter. “This day has unfortunately been on the cards for some time now, but nevertheless the final decision is a ...
New tools being developed to help boost Aotearoa’s Predator Free 2050 effort were unveiled today by Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage and Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau. A new rat poison, a camera with predator recognition software to detect and report predators, a new predator lure and a ...
The Coalition Government has approved the purchase of a fleet of Bushmaster vehicles to replace the New Zealand Army’s armoured Pinzgauers, Defence Minister Ron Mark has announced today. The new fleet of 43 Australian-designed and built Bushmaster NZ5.5 will provide better protection for personnel and improved carrying capacity. “The age ...
The Government’s three prevention frameworks to reduce family violence in Aotearoa were launched this week by Associate Minister for Social Development Poto Williams. The frameworks were developed in partnership with communities around New Zealand, and build on the work the Government has already begun with its new family violence prevention ...
The Government is pleased to confirm funding for improvements to radiology and surgical services at Hawke's Bay DHB, Health Minister Chris Hipkins says. "The Minister of Finance the Hon Grant Robertson and former Health Minister Dr David Clark approved funding for Hawke's Bay DHB’s redevelopment of their radiology facilities ...
• New funding for four beds at Napier’s Springhill Residential Addiction Centre • A new managed withdrawal home and community service, and peer support before and after residential care at Tairāwhiti DHB • A co-ordinated network of withdrawal management services throughout the South Island • Peer support in Rotorua and ...
Introduction, seafarers and POAL Good morning everyone, I am delighted to be online with you all today. Before I begin, I have to acknowledge that COVID-19 has disrupted the maritime sector on an unprecedented scale. The work of seafarers and the maritime industry is keeping many economies around the world ...
A $13 million investment from Government will create jobs and improve the resilience of the rail connection between Christchurch and the West Coast, Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones and Regional Economic Development Under-Secretary Fletcher Tabuteau say. The funding comes from the tagged contingency set aside in Budget 2020 for infrastructure projects ...
The Government is investing $761 million to assist local government upgrade under-pressure water services across the country, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. The announcement was made at the site of the water bore that was found to be the source of the fatal ...
Recognised Seasonal Employers and migrant seasonal workers stranded in New Zealand will be able to continue working and supporting themselves with more flexible hours and roles, says Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway. The time-limited visa changes are: Stranded RSE workers will be able to work part-time (a minimum of 15 hours ...
The Government is making immediate short-term changes to visa settings to support temporary migrants already onshore in New Zealand and their employers, while also ensuring New Zealanders needing work are prioritised, Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. We are: Extending temporary work visas due to expire by the end of 2020 ...
Professor Peter Skelton CNZM has been appointed as Chief Freshwater Commissioner and Alternate Environment Court Judge Craig James Thompson as Deputy Chief Freshwater Commissioner for the newly established Freshwater Planning Process (FPP). Environment Minister David Parker today also announced the appointment of Chief Environment Court Judge Laurie Newhook as the ...
Auckland Queen’s Counsel Neil Campbell has been appointed a Judge of the High Court, Attorney‑General David Parker announced today. Justice Campbell graduated with a BCom and LLB (Hons) from the University of Auckland in 1992. He spent two years with Bell Gully Buddle Weir in Auckland before travelling to the United ...
The Associate Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration, Poto Williams, is seeking feedback on a proposal to better enable the development and operation of commercial film and video facilities in Christchurch. The Proposal, developed by Regenerate Christchurch in response to a request from Christchurch City Council, asks that powers under section ...
The Government has launched a bold plan to boost primary sector export earnings by $44 billion over the next decade, while protecting the environment and growing jobs. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today released Fit for a Better World – Accelerating our Economic Potential, a 10-year roadmap to unlock greater value ...
A new approach to prevent family harm that encourages greater collaboration across government and community groups is being celebrated at the opening of a new facility in Auckland. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today opened the Multi-Disciplinary Family Harm Prevention Hub Te Taanga Manawa in Lambie Road in Manukau. The facility ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Scott Morrison on Wednesday once again ruled out any consideration of moving to an “elimination” strategy for dealing with COVID-19. He told Triple M Melbourne: “You don’t just shut the whole country down because that ...
Al Jazeera’s documentary on the plight of migrant workers during covid-19 lockdown.ANALYSIS:By Ross Tapsell, of the Australian National University The recent police interrogations of six Al Jazeera journalists in Malaysia – five of whom are Australian – was not about shaping international reportage or a diplomatic rift. Rather, ...
By Barbara Dreaver, 1 NEWS Pacific Correspondent The Cook Islands government’s inaccurate and startling announcement yesterday about a tourism bubble opening with New Zealand as soon as next week has done more harm than good. Clearly a failed attempt at trying to force Jacinda Ardern’s hand into giving a date ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Buckland, Professor in Computer Security, Cybercrime, and Cyberwar, UNSW The Australian Cyber Security Growth Network (AustCyber) on Monday released a report modelling the potential impact of cyberattacks and sustained digital outages on Australia. The Digital Trust Report’s modelling suggests four weeks ...
“A month out from the start of RIMPAC, the US Navy led military wargames, peace groups are calling on Minister of Defence Ron Mark to pull the plug on NZ’s involvement this year with a special video message ” said Valerie Morse, member of the Cancel ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Duffy, Senior Lecturer and Researcher, Monash Business School, Director Corporate Law, Organisation and Litigation Research Group (CLOL), Monash University The revelations in the “palace letters” may well renew enthusiasm for an Australian republic, especially coming on top of recent controversies involving ...
Prepare to go much harder and much earlier if coronavirus appears in the community. Justin Giovannetti reports from parliament where plans have been released for swift regional lockdowns and managed-isolation for domestic cases if Covid-19 ever breaks out of border facilities. New Zealand hasn’t detected any community transmission of the Covid-19 ...
New National leader Judith Collins would scrap the RMA, change climate legislation and reject any asset tax, but is declining to offer further detail on her party's economic policies just yet. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Paton Gilmour, Research Scientist: Coral Ecology, Australian Institute of Marine Science Significant coral bleaching at one of Western Australia’s healthiest coral reefs was found during a survey carried out in April and May. The survey took a combined effort of several ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicholas Medland, Sexual health physician, epidemiologist, researcher. (President-elect and vice-president Australasian Society of HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine), UNSW People who expose a police officer or emergency worker to body fluids would be compelled to have their blood tested for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julian Webb, Professor of Law, University of Melbourne Ripples from the sexual harassment allegations against former High Court Justice Dyson Heydon continue to spread. This week, the Victorian government announced its intention to launch reviews into both sexual harassment in the state ...
ANALYSIS:By Bryan Bruce The selection of Judith Collins by her colleagues as the new leader of New Zealand’s opposition National Party is a last minute throw of the political dice that might just save the Right from splintering at the upcoming election. One of the problems of the political ...
Forest & Bird has won in the Supreme Court against a coal mining company trying to push through an opencast mine near Westport, in a ruling which has implications across the whole of New Zealand. “This is absolutely wonderful ...
New National Party leader Judith Collins has replaced Michael Woodhouse with Shane Reti as the party's spokesperson on health matters Judith Collins is seeking to put the past week of privacy breach scandals behind her, appointing Whangarei MP Shane Reti as National's new spokesperson on health and promoting him to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Pep Canadell, Chief research scientist, CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere; and Executive Director, Global Carbon Project, CSIRO Fossil fuels and agriculture are driving a dangerous acceleration in methane emissions, at a rate consistent with a 3-4℃ rise in global temperatures this century. Our ...
New National leader Judith Collins has stripped Michael Woodhouse of the health portfolio because of his involvement in the Covid-19 data leak saga, with Dr Shane Reti replacing him ...
An extract from the splendid new book Weed: A New Zealand Story, by James Borrowdale. Books editor Catherine Woulfe writes:Weed is a masterclass in longform feature writing, a clever hopscotch through history, statistics, law, chemistry and neuroscience. Plus it’s packed with people and their yarns. Not many writers could keep their ...
With the Prime Minister’s “no new taxes” pledge long gone, the Taxpayers’ Union is calling on the National Party to commit to scrapping the 500% increase to the Government’s waste levy if elected to Government Reacting to the Government’s ...
While there are increasing examples of a return to some lockdown measures, there is little evidence to demonstrate the success of a second lockdown, because it’s too early to tell, write Maximilian de Courten, Bojana Klepac Pogrmilovic and Rosemary V Calder of Victoria University, Melbourne.The World Health Organisation reported more than ...
E tū is making sure workers’ voices lead the way with the kick-off of a new health and safety programme for Māori, Pasefika, and migrant workers in manufacturing. Funded jointly by the union and a Workplace Injury Prevention grant from ACC, E tū’s ...
From 2005’s Wayne Anderson: Singer of Songs to new Tom Sainsbury comedy Sextortion, via a dead peacock, a trio of escaped circus lions and a sentimental wrist wallet.Orlando Stewart has never made a hit TV show.What he has done, dating all the way back to 2005’s Wayne Anderson: Singer of ...
Latest from the Beehive The government announced more funding for this and that – along with bigger levies for trash disposal – while the Nats were arranging for Crusher Collins to vie with Kindly Jacinda when voters determine who will lead the next government. Mind you, the Greens aren’t averse ...
The third annual Jonesie Awards were hosted at Parliament today, celebrating the best of the worst of Government waste. Watch the video at www.taxpayers.org.nz/2020_jonesies . New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “Every year, ...
Four New Zealand food writers share their thoughts on being non-white in a very white industry – and suggest what they think needs to change.Recently, The Spinoff published a piece by Jean Teng and Charlotte Muru-Lanning about the lack of diversity in New Zealand’s food media scene. It provoked much ...
The SpinoffBy Nalini Baruch, Ashia Ismail-Singer, Melissa Koh and Jennifer Yee Collinson
It is theoretically possible that Judith Collins could be the next Prime Minister but first she must prove she can wield the party into an effective, unified team. ...
Child Poverty Action Group is calling on the Government to nationalise early childhood education provision in response to the challenges presented by COVID-19 and reports of providers prioritising profits over quality of services. CPAG’s latest research ...
A new platform for Members, means 100% of contributions go towards making Spinoff journalism happen. Plus: A merch store!Kia ora,This is the biggest announcement we’ve had since the launch of The Spinoff Members a year ago.For many months now we’ve been ferreting away at a big overhaul of the way ...
Opinion - Judith Collins' first public remarks after becoming leader shows she means to continue in the same way she's always operated as a politician, writes Cat MacLennan*. ...
Finally! For as long as the Campaign Against Foreign Control (CAFCA) has existed - 45+ years - we have called for the closure of Rio Tinto's Bluff smelter (for example, see our historic Comalco comic at https://www.scribd.com/doc/25367862/Comalco-Comic ...
“We are absolutely thrilled with the government’s announcement that it will invest in recycling and change the waste levy. These are bold and important steps that will create employment in communities right throughout the country, reduce emissions ...
Carlson has long been one of our best comedians, and now the world can see it too, writes Sam Brooks. Last year, Urzila Carlson became the first comedian from our shores to perform her own Netflix special, a half hour episode of the Comedians of the World series. Now she’s ...
The US elections are in a bizarre and unsettling phase with President Donald Trump governing by tweets, spraying assaults on the medical profession and continuing to maintain the US has the Covid-19 pandemic under control. Really? No, as state after state (with the notable exclusion of New York) takes a ...
The AUT video … first of this year’s languags series.By Simon Smith of AUT News The Kiribati instalment in the AUT Pacific language video series – “Adapting to a changing world, shaping resilient futures” – has been released. The video, produced by Auckland University of Technology, is narrated in ...
The Government must develop a national plan to prevent and respond to family and sexual violence during and after a pandemic situation says Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner Saunoamaali’i Karanina Sumeo. She made the comments in a written submission ...
The Prime Minister says New Zealand has a robust plan in place to tackle any re-emergence of Covid-19 within our borders, Marc Daalder reports New Zealand is ready for a second wave. That's the message Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern wanted to get across in a speech to the nation on ...
Allegations of defamation led to a court-mandated apology by Mike Hosking to John Tamihere.This morning Michael Noel James Hosking IV delivered a court-mandated apology to Māori Party co-leader John Tamihere over defamatory comments made by Hosking in 2018.The comments relate to a $600,000 private shareholder payment from Whānau Ora contractor, ...
A new Māori organisation called Te Pātaka Inc is being established to continue providing kai and firewood to assist whānau experiencing hardship from COVID-19 in Te Tau Ihu (top of the South Island). Originally the eight Te Tau Ihu iwi in Marlborough, ...
Analysis by Josh Van Veen – The Democracy Project. New National Party leader, Judith Collins, with prominent Auckland Council (Manurewa-Papakura ward) councillor, Daniel Newman. “I’m with her,” Newman said on hearing of her successful appointment as Leader of the Opposition. When Parliament sits next Tuesday, the ...
LGNZ is welcoming the Government’s announcement of $124 million for onshore recycling and the expansion of the waste levy, but is calling on the Government to match the money with a strategic waste plan to ensure New Zealanders get the best bang for ...
In her first interview with Morning Report as National Party leader, Judith Collins outlined a minor reshuffle, said she's not particularly worried about diversity, and said Michael Woodhouse's fate will be decided today. ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.Today’s contentJudith Collins elected leader of the National Party Richard Harman (Politik): Why National finally called on Collins Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): Judith Collins should have been elected as ...
We are now at a crucial time of Climate Change history, since Covid 19 pandemic diverted our Governments from the beginning of the movement of marching together for saving our climate, and now time is upon us to continue our fight to save our ...
Despite changes made to original plans to ‘avoid’ the Hua o te AtuaUrupā, an iwi group says the Waikato Regional Theatre is still set to be built on their burial ground. A group of rangatahi from Kirikiriroa iwi Ngāti Wairere says a big part of the community wasn’t consulted on ...
Trade union activists will go from house to house asking Wellingtonians to pledge their vote in the general election to parties and candidates who support workers’ rights. Unions Wellington launches its election campaign at 6pm on Wednesday July ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maximilian de Courten, Health Policy Lead and Professor in Global Public Health at the Mitchell Institute, Victoria University The World Health Organisation reported more than 230,000 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday — the world’s largest daily increase during the pandemic. The surge ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lotti Tajouri, Associate Professor, Biomedical Sciences, Bond University You may remember when US President Donald Trump suggested exposing coronavirus patients to UV (ultraviolet) light – or “just very powerful light” – to help treat them. The use of UV light is not, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sebastian Leuzinger, Professor, Auckland University of Technology CC BY-NDClimate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Raynor, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Transforming Housing Project, University of Melbourne After 3,000 people in nine public housing towers in Melbourne were placed under the harshest coronavirus lockdown in Australia so far, acting Australian Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly referred to the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Geoff Bertram, Senior Associate, Institute for Governance and Policy Studies, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Another year, another round of hostage-taking by the owners of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter. As always, Rio Tinto has made the first move, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mia Martin Hobbs, Researcher, University of Melbourne Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods, out now on Netflix, tells the story of five Black US veterans who return to Vietnam to hunt for gold and recover the remains of their lost squad leader. Beginning ...
Huljich family sell quarter of Pushpay stake for $123.8m; US markets up on better-than-forecast US bank results; UK orders Huawei gear purged from 5G rollout 2027 ...
Hello, my name is Stewart Sowman-Lund and I’m the new editor of The Spinoff’s Live Updates. Thank you for having a read. If you have any feedback, please get in touch with me at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz.6.45am: Judith Collins, National leaderShortly before 10pm last night, Judith Collins was declared the new leader ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Dramatic leadership change for National, government rolls out millions more in business support, and several police raids ruled unlawful by IPCA.If you didn’t pay attention to the news yesterday from about 7.15am onwards, there’s a bit to catch up on. The ...
Analysis - For years Judith Collins has had her eye on the top prize and it took a complete leadership meltdown, just 10 weeks out from an election, for her National Party colleagues to give her what she's always wanted. ...
The Tiwai Point closure announcement has put the spotlight on a gnarly and potentially expensive problem in our electricity network - the gap between where a lot of our power is produced (the South) and where it is used (the North), not to mention the more than 5 percent of our ...
Four months stranded, four tickets cancelled, and two weeks in isolation - Merja Myllylahti shares her nightmarish story of getting home during a pandemic After a gruelling 54+ hours travel via Helsinki-Frankfurt-Dubai-Bangkok, I arrived back to Auckland on July 10 having being stranded in Finland for four months. At last luck was on ...
Nicholas Agar explains why relocating statues and erasing their names may be what the people they commemorate would have wanted Would Clive of India really want to have a town in Hawkes Bay named after him? I’m writing these words in a café in Clive, Hawkes Bay. Clive was named ...
Can we avoid the angst and embarrassment of another water crisis like the current one? Anthony Fowler takes a look. In the midst of the Covid-19 lockdown, Auckland’s water reservoirs dropped to levels not seen for a generation. WaterCare dusted off the drought management plan and we came out of ...
Less than 14 hours after Todd Muller announced his surprise resignation as National Party leader, Judith Collins has taken the helm of the opposition. Here's what you need to know. One of the National Party's longest-serving MPs and frequent leadership hopefuls, Judith Collins, has finally seized the top job. The ...
Judy Bailey (words) and Jane Ussher (photos) travel to the Hokianga to meet wellness author Wendyl Nissen: “I love being unattractive,” she writes. “It’s a personal goal.” “You have to try the sausage rolls,” says Wendyl Nissen. “That’s Bruce in there.” Bruce was one half of her much loved ...
The new woman on New Zealand Rugby’s board, Jennifer Kerr, is all about making a difference - and in many walks of life, she tells Ashley Stanley. On top of making headlines as only the second woman appointed to New Zealand Rugby’s board, Jennifer Kerr wants to add where she ...
Newly elected National leader Judith Collins has taken the job in unenviable circumstances, but she is unlikely to wallow as she tries to dethrone Jacinda Ardern, as Sam Sachdeva writes So much of Todd Muller’s ill-fated stint as National Party leader was defined by pain: the pain he caused Simon Bridges by ousting ...
Facebook’s perceived lack of trust might be damaging to news publishers, but the company itself has become ever more interwoven into the fabric of the news business, writes Emily Bell, director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University.Mark Zuckerberg and Noam Chomsky are strange bedfellows in this ...
The rules over the culling and hunting of Himalayan Tahr are causing consternation for both hunters and environmentalists The first court case may be over, but commentators say New Zealand's plan to deal with Himalayan Tahr is antiquated, and needs a serious refresh to avoid more butting heads in the future. ...
The new National leader has only a few weeks to turn the party’s fortunes around. But that’s what Labour’s new leader did in 2017. While there are obvious differences, there’s plenty Collins can draw from, writes Clint Smith, who was senior communications strategist under Andrew Little and Jacinda Ardern.It was ...
Open mike 02/09/2019 
The effects dark magic cast on Collins’ MPs has gotten so out of control that she’s beginning to fear it’s the work of someone else. When Judith Collins was finally elected leader of the New Zealand National Party last night, it was accompanied by a moving show of unity, as ...5 hours ago
Having lost yet another leader in quick succession, the National party was clearly so desperate to find a successor that they turned to someone whose earlier bids to become leader they had already twice rejected. It may not be clear why Judith Collins should suddenly have become National’s saviour after ...7 hours ago
For the third time in the past decade, the government is directly subsidising wage earners to get them through a tough patch. The Covid-19 wage subsidy scheme though dwarfs the previous two schemes that were implemented post the Christchurch and Kaikoura earthquakes: some figures put the number of New Zealanders ...8 hours ago
Supposedly the struggle against climate change is one of this government's priorities. But how can we assess whether government policies and targets are enough to meet that challenge? Are our policies working? Are our targets enough? On the latter question, whether or not they are consistent with the Paris Agreement ...9 hours ago
Judith Collins - National Party leaderThe National Party, after Todd Muller’s quick exit stage right, have chosen Judith Collins as their new leader in what can only be seen as a desperate attempt to regain some of the conservative voters they’ve lost in recent months.There are numerous pros and cons ...14 hours ago
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nz I would like to know how much difference we could ...14 hours ago
INT: NATIONAL PARTY CAUCUS ROOM – MORNING The sun is streaming in the window. On the table is a single jandal. A group of 3 National Party members walk into the room instantly spotting the jandal. Gerry: What’s that? Judith: What? Gerry: That jandal. What’s that. Shane: It’s a… jandal? ...16 hours ago
When Parliament sits next Tuesday, the Prime Minister will finally meet her match. Judith Collins and Jacinda Ardern are opposites in just about every respect. Yet they have the same basic appeal. Ardern and Collins are as much cultural icons as they are political leaders. Each represents a different side ...1 day ago
The toxic implosion of National thanks to an internal culture of screaming bullshit, most of it completely supercharged in the last decade by a feckless, moronic, “smile and wave” Banker (lauded as “a businessman who will sort out politics!”) who mainlined Neoliberal economics and was literally called, by his own ...1 day ago
. . The last 24 hours in Aotearoa’s New Zealand’s politics has provided more drama than a week’s worth of “Shortie Street” episodes combined and binge-watched. It began approximately around 5.30 last night (7 July) with a disclosure by Clutha-Southland MP, Hamish Walker that he had leaked a list of ...2 days ago
Read our latest newsletter here ...2 days ago
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Climate Feedback Article Review... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Review... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Story of the Week... Global temperatures could exceed crucial 1.5 C target in the next five years In this aerial view ...3 days ago
The Council of Disobedient Women There is a regular segment in the Speak Up For Women podcasts called “Absolutely Blasted Mad Moment of the Week”. Each podcast the speaker and the host discuss a recent event that is the most insane thing they have seen in the gender critical space ...4 days ago
TUESDAY JULY 14Yorkshire Airport (Prime, 7.30pm). Bloomin’ ’eck, behind the scenes at Leeds Bradford Airport. Apparently, there is plenty of “northern charm”, although reaction in the UK ranged from “brilliant” to “patronising”. It is narrated by Hugh Dennis, whose middle name might be “Arch”.WEDNESDAY JULY 15Queen: Live at Wembley (Prime, ...5 days ago
Check out Speak Up For Women’s new podcasts: Episode 3 In this episode Speak Up For Women spokeswoman Ani O’Brien (@aniobrien) is joined by Beth Johnson (@beth_nosnhoj) to discuss the proposal from Statistics NZ to change standard data collection policy to “gender by default” rather than sex. They discuss why the ...5 days ago
Reprehensible: There is much that could be said about Michael Woodhouse, but what would be the point? Any man who willingly involves himself in a situation as reprehensible as the one depicted in the above photograph has already vouchsafed all that decent people need to know about his character. That there have ...6 days ago
Some are surprised at this sudden brain implosion on the part of both Michelle Boag, former National Party President, and the National Party in general, in exposing the private, confidential details of COVID patients. Others…? Let’s be blunt: not so much. Too many of that Party have long operated with ...1 week ago
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters acknowledged today the heavy price of trying to lead the National Party today. ‘One’s sympathy goes out to Todd Muller and his family. Todd is a good man, unlike most of his colleagues he does ...2 days ago
We're keeping New Zealand moving, one progress-packed week at a time. Read below to find out how we're creating jobs, protecting the environment, looking out for the health of New Zealanders', and upgrading our critical infrastructure - and that's only this week. ...2 days ago
The Green Party is today unveiling part one of its plan for a fossil-fuel free Aotearoa, including an immediate ban on new industrial coal boilers. ...4 days ago
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has expressed his condolences regarding the passing of Niue’s former Premier, Sir Toke Talagi, which occurred today in Niue. “Sir Toke, who was also formerly Niue’s Foreign Minister, made a significant contribution to Niue over a long career. He served as a dedicated Premier of ...6 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Scott Morrison on Wednesday once again ruled out any consideration of moving to an “elimination” strategy for dealing with COVID-19. He told Triple M Melbourne: “You don’t just shut the whole country down because that ...31 mins ago
“A month out from the start of RIMPAC, the US Navy led military wargames, peace groups are calling on Minister of Defence Ron Mark to pull the plug on NZ’s involvement this year with a special video message ” said Valerie Morse, member of the Cancel ...5 hours ago
New Zealand won't ban Huawei equipment despite a move in the UK to purge the Chinese company's gear from its 5G networks. ...5 hours ago
Prepare to go much harder and much earlier if coronavirus appears in the community. Justin Giovannetti reports from parliament where plans have been released for swift regional lockdowns and managed-isolation for domestic cases if Covid-19 ever breaks out of border facilities. New Zealand hasn’t detected any community transmission of the Covid-19 ...6 hours ago
New National Party leader Judith Collins has replaced Michael Woodhouse with Shane Reti as the party's spokesperson on health matters Judith Collins is seeking to put the past week of privacy breach scandals behind her, appointing Whangarei MP Shane Reti as National's new spokesperson on health and promoting him to ...8 hours ago
Latest from the Beehive The government announced more funding for this and that – along with bigger levies for trash disposal – while the Nats were arranging for Crusher Collins to vie with Kindly Jacinda when voters determine who will lead the next government. Mind you, the Greens aren’t averse ...10 hours ago
It is theoretically possible that Judith Collins could be the next Prime Minister but first she must prove she can wield the party into an effective, unified team. ...11 hours ago
The Prime Minister says New Zealand has a robust plan in place to tackle any re-emergence of Covid-19 within our borders, Marc Daalder reports New Zealand is ready for a second wave. That's the message Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern wanted to get across in a speech to the nation on ...13 hours ago
Huljich family sell quarter of Pushpay stake for $123.8m; US markets up on better-than-forecast US bank results; UK orders Huawei gear purged from 5G rollout 2027 ...16 hours ago
The Tiwai Point closure announcement has put the spotlight on a gnarly and potentially expensive problem in our electricity network - the gap between where a lot of our power is produced (the South) and where it is used (the North), not to mention the more than 5 percent of our ...18 hours ago
Four months stranded, four tickets cancelled, and two weeks in isolation - Merja Myllylahti shares her nightmarish story of getting home during a pandemic After a gruelling 54+ hours travel via Helsinki-Frankfurt-Dubai-Bangkok, I arrived back to Auckland on July 10 having being stranded in Finland for four months. At last luck was on ...18 hours ago
Nicholas Agar explains why relocating statues and erasing their names may be what the people they commemorate would have wanted Would Clive of India really want to have a town in Hawkes Bay named after him? I’m writing these words in a café in Clive, Hawkes Bay. Clive was named ...18 hours ago
OPINION: Slick rhetoric and the inherent opacity of climate policy means most Kiwis have no clue how poorly we're doing on emissions reductions. ...18 hours ago
Can we avoid the angst and embarrassment of another water crisis like the current one? Anthony Fowler takes a look. In the midst of the Covid-19 lockdown, Auckland’s water reservoirs dropped to levels not seen for a generation. WaterCare dusted off the drought management plan and we came out of ...18 hours ago
Less than 14 hours after Todd Muller announced his surprise resignation as National Party leader, Judith Collins has taken the helm of the opposition. Here's what you need to know. One of the National Party's longest-serving MPs and frequent leadership hopefuls, Judith Collins, has finally seized the top job. The ...18 hours ago
Judy Bailey (words) and Jane Ussher (photos) travel to the Hokianga to meet wellness author Wendyl Nissen: “I love being unattractive,” she writes. “It’s a personal goal.” “You have to try the sausage rolls,” says Wendyl Nissen. “That’s Bruce in there.” Bruce was one half of her much loved ...18 hours ago
The new woman on New Zealand Rugby’s board, Jennifer Kerr, is all about making a difference - and in many walks of life, she tells Ashley Stanley. On top of making headlines as only the second woman appointed to New Zealand Rugby’s board, Jennifer Kerr wants to add where she ...18 hours ago
Newly elected National leader Judith Collins has taken the job in unenviable circumstances, but she is unlikely to wallow as she tries to dethrone Jacinda Ardern, as Sam Sachdeva writes So much of Todd Muller’s ill-fated stint as National Party leader was defined by pain: the pain he caused Simon Bridges by ousting ...18 hours ago
The rules over the culling and hunting of Himalayan Tahr are causing consternation for both hunters and environmentalists The first court case may be over, but commentators say New Zealand's plan to deal with Himalayan Tahr is antiquated, and needs a serious refresh to avoid more butting heads in the future. ...19 hours ago
Looking forward to seeing the results of Fonterra being taken to the Financial Markets Authority. Would have been better if Landcorp had done it, but at least someone has the heft to hold them to account.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12263812
Big companies can have big problems…whats so new about that.
Its a cooperative which HAS to take the milk …every day whether it wants it or not. It cant say during peak season, we are cutting volumes by 5% this month as the market for milk powder is weak or the cheese factory is past its production limit. No siree.
Ask sheep and beef farmers about the joys of not having a guaranteed buyer at the same price all year, and you have to pay to deliver to the works.
Why anyone would invest in these non-transacting Fonterra shares escapes me.
You're not a transacting shareholder, so have very limited rights and say over how the company is run, and you're giving your money to farmers, and Theo Spierings, to play with. They may pay you a dividend, in a good year, maybe. And your shares may hold their value, on a rising market with a string of good years.
Otherwise bend over and look like you're enjoying it.
This could become a telling commentary on New Zealand corporate and investor culture. Not holding my breath though.
Sterling work from Kirsty Johnston and Chris Knox behind the Herald paywall.
While the 'experts' have been rabidly and wrongly apportioning blame for the measles outbreak to the 'anti-vax' movement the real reasons for the declining immunisation rates have been largely ignored.
Those of us who have tried to point out that blaming so called anti vaxxers has simply made the situation worse have been dismissed…or worse.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/insight/audio/2018686731/nz-s-heart-breaker-rheumatic-fever-rates-on-the-rise
"Vaccination rates are dropping across the country as fewer families immunise their babies.
Now, in the midst of a measles epidemic, a Herald analysis of immunisation data finds just 77 per cent of six-month-olds are now getting their vaccines on time.
While the debate has been centred around the impact of the anti-vaxx movement, the numbers paint a different picture.
Plummeting vaccination rates are being driven largely by the failure to immunise babies born into poor or Māori families – not by parents deliberately opting out. "
Oh dear Rosemary … so you are an anti-vaxxer
[don’t start – weka]
Oh dear Rosemary … so you are an anti-vaxxer
Err…how do you arrive at that conclusion?
from the wording you use
'While the 'experts' have been rabidly and wrongly apportioning blame for the measles outbreak to the 'anti-vax' movement.
But of course thats my opinion on your wording . Can you correct my mistaken view?
People decline medical treatment or interventions all the time, thats OK.
What is a plague is those people who actively campaign to get others not to immunize, those are generally called anti -vaxxers
As I found further down about the 1990s massive epidemics , low immunization rates – the aim of the anti vaxxers- make epidemics spread.
Or to put it another way,
A 5 percent drop in childhood measles vaccination levels would cause annual measles cases to triple,
https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2017/07/small-drop-in-measles-vaccinations-would-have-outsized-effect.html
Stuff has a detailed series of articles issued today with some very good reporting,finding that it is the antivax movement ,and detailing the effects of the perpetrators .
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/114545019/antivaxxers-target-new-parents-while-others-nurse-their-critically-ill-kids
https://interactives.stuff.co.nz/2019/09/parent-trap-vaccination-measles-immunisation/
The question arises that should NZ call a measles emergency? Invocation of the Civil defence act emergency powers would enable suppression of the transfer of false information during an epidemic.The censor would be required to review any information imparted etc.
It's a mix of both Rosemary and you know it. Trying to hide behind the well known fact that poverty stricken families are also failing to have their children immunised does you no favour. This has long been the case and until these families are better educated and better informed it will always be the case.
Anti-vaxxers have a great deal to answer for, and I think it is about time the government rolled out a campaign to counter the pseudo scientific crap being spread across the internet. It might look impressive to the gullible of mind but it is still crap.
Babies and toddlers in particular are going to die due to this latest epidemic, and those peddling the anti-vax myths have to take their fair portion of the blame.
Anti-vaxxers have a great deal to answer for,
You're going to have to provide some evidence to back that up Anne. It is simply too easy to blame 'anti-vaxxers' for declining immunisation rates.
And are you assuming that these 'anti-vaxxers' are part of some organised group whose major mission is to convince parents that all vaccines are bad?
It is just as likely that the individuals who make up the 1300 claims of significant vaccine injury accepted by ACC since 2006 have whanau and friends who have been influenced by these events.
Seeing a previously 'normal' child now in a wheelchair being peg fed and having to be suctioned to clear secretions because of the vaccine induced brain damage sends a powerful message. Having our health authorities deny/dismiss that these adverse events happen….or worse…not warn parents that a very high fever and resulting seizures after a vaccination is not normal…is negligent.
Trouble is… with suppressing discussion about vaccine adverse events and casting all who have concerns about possible side-effects from vaccines into a pseudo criminal group who are personally responsible for every single case of measles that ends up in hospital you're simply going to drive the discussion underground.
Surely it would be better to be able to have open and transparent discussions…instead of resorting to name calling?
might do a post on this. Have you written about this Rosemary? I'll pull up our previous conversation, but was wondering if you'd published on this.
I got a copy of the Herald article, it's pretty clear where the issues lie.
compare it with the stuff articles.
https://interactives.stuff.co.nz/2019/09/parent-trap-vaccination-measles-immunisation/
Okay…so we have a bunch of trendy 'yummy mummy' midwives catering to the well heeled of Auckland. These are the folk with spare $$$ to be 'educated' about vaccines and immunisation.
How many of the un-vaccinated measles sufferers parents attended such a course?
Not many. If any.
From that Stuff article:
Herne Bay, one of the wealthiest places in the country has seen rates for all milestone ages fall from 93 to 84 per cent in two years.
A few kilometres across the city to the east in Glen Innes – among the bottom quarter of most deprived suburbs in the country in 2013 – rates rose about three percentage points in the same time.
We've had a decade of social-media-spread fear-mongering about vaccinations, and this data is backing it up – falling vaccination rates doesn't map to areas of social deprivation.
The reasons for not vaccinating vary, and in the most vulnerable populations access remains the core issue, not anti-vax material. Afaik this has been the position of the MoH for a long time.
This doesn't mean anti-vax material isn't also an issue, but railing against social media use while we could instead be urging the govt to increase access seems stupid.
ta. Interesting counterpoint, their graphs are hard going though.
5% decline rate @ 8 months.
Surely the lowest-hanging fruit – and possibly the difference between herd immunity and a nationwide outbreak.
Epidemic outbreaks spread throughout the population geometrically,not only those not vaccinated but the immune deficient.
Yeah, but the unvaccinated are the ones we can do something about.
1300 claims accepted since 2006 vs 759 cases in 6 months.
Climaction. I am almost at the point of begging here. Ffs can someone please find the New Zealand data that records the number of cases of measles and the number of deaths from measles each year since 1940…like this…https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/measles-deaths-by-age-group-from-1980-to-2013-ons-data/measles-notifications-and-deaths-in-england-and-wales-1940-to-2013
Then, perhaps, we can have the conversation as to whether or not it is acceptable to dismiss and diminish those who have suffered significant injuries due to vaccinations at a rate of over 100 per year.
Bearing in mind that the majority of cases of measles resolve with no lasting effects.
Have you considered asking statsnz or the ministry of health?
The very best I've found is this…https://surv.esr.cri.nz/PDF_surveillance/AnnualRpt/AnnualSurv/2017/2017AnnualNDReport_FINAL.pdf
….which thwarts my bid to gain stats back to 1940 because,
" Measles immunisation was introduced in 1969 [18]and measles has been a notifiable disease since June 1996. " Wtf? Not a notifiable disease until 1996? For the supposed Death Plague?
Grrr….the frustrating thing is that it is difficult to assess what has not been accurately measured. One has to wonder why the data has not been collected or collated into one document like the UK stats. No wonder we're left with readily discredited anecdata.
Calling Hanlon.
It's not the "death plague". It is, however, an infectious disease that kills a larger proportion of the people who get it than the vaccine that prevents it.
But no, I meant literally email or call the ministry of health or similar.
For deaths, try trawling the NZ yearbooks – they stop reporting measles deaths separately apparently in the early 1980s, though before then measles deaths are reported. Went to listing major causes of death.
Who's Hanlon?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon%27s_razor
"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."
I find stats pretty good to deal with. Not sure MoH is worth the hassle unless you know exactly who to ask.
It is, however, an infectious disease that kills a larger proportion of the people who get it than the vaccine that prevents it.
Ah. The Greater Good Argument. Small comfort for the child who loses The Lottery .
There should at least be acknowledgement of these injuries and proper compensation. In recognition of the sacrifice.
Compensation like ACC?
Better comfort than losing a "die from measles" lottery.
The greater good argument would be more sound if it did take into account people damaged by vaccines. At the moment there's a taboo on speaking their names. That's just shitty. Maybe the next greater good argument is that we can hide those people because it helps a better vaccine engagement. Meanwhile, we run a shitty neoliberal economy that sacrifices large numbers of people all the time, and the public debate around measles is hating on anti-vaxxers instead of expecting the MoH to do it's job better and make access to the MMR vaccine much easier.
Sometimes vaccine harm is emphasised while minimising e.g. measles harm. Not just deaths, but longer term conditions as well. And I doubt they'd get ACC coverage.
yeah ACC is a pretty discriminatory system.
The polarisation of the debate makes it hard to see all those people.
@McFlock re vaccine harm vs long term disability from measles.
1300plus accepted vaccine injury claims by ACC since 2006.
Rightfully treated as a Treatment Injury by ACC and a fluctuating (depending on the flag over the Beehive) rate of acceptance.
(If there as a way of posting the OIA reply here I would.)
If one could prove there were errors or omissions by medical personnel in treating a case of measles that led to a death or impairment then I guess give an ACC claim a shot. Nothing ventured.
Let's not start a side discussion on the inequities between ACC and MOH for supports for long term impairments.
1: all vaccines vs measles is not a reasonable comparison of harm – what's the ACC rate for the MMR vaccine specifically?
2: harm from vaccine preventable diseases in a vaccinated population will be significantly smaller than the harm from those diseases in an unvaccinated population. To judge the value of vaccines, it would be more logical to compare vaccine harm against disease harm in an unvaccinated population, no?
is anyone here arguing for an unvaccinated population?
Another variable is standard of living. Also access to health care if one gets sick.
Vaccine vs unvaxxed population seems to be at least reasonably doable, as opposed to guessing the disease prevalence at some sort of equilibrium level of vaccination where the number of opt-outers or delayers is balanced by the selfish who only vaccinate when there is a threat level they can understand, incorporating any other shortcomings in health literacy or systemic alienation that might be a barrier to primary healthcare.
I suspect such math would be more in line with economics than the real world, and with similar reliability.
Rosemary, you or someone else could try this link and then have a chat to Stats NZ to ask for the measles stats using the offer of help in the pop-up on the lower right hand side of the page Sorry, I am not available to do this as while I sometimes still read TS, I am rarely interested in commenting here these days.
<a href="https://www.stats.govt.nz/topics/births-and-deaths?
Thanks vw. I just might send them an email…or…make an OIA to the Misery of Health. It disturbs me greatly that this guy Rainger/Ranger is saying..
" The fatality rate for measles was one in 1000, Rainger said, and as the numbers rose the likelihood of a fatality did too. "
…when, unlike the data from the UK showing the number of deaths per 1000 cases to be many times lower, there is no readily available pool of NZ stats to support such a claim.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/115469156/auckland-measles-outbreak-arphs-criticises-misinformed-antivaxxers-as-number-of-cases-passes-800
I've suggested this previously, but IMHO when the annual death rate from measles cases is low (maybe not comparatively low, but low in an absolute sense – 1 in 1000 is a low rate in absolute terms), off a historically low annual number of cases (due to vaccination programmes), then that annual death rate it will bounce around a bit.
For the last 28 years, NZ's annual death rate from measles has been VERY low (zero; not bouncing around at all), so for the last 28 years NZ's annual death rate from measles has been the same or lower than that in the UK, because for some of those years the UK has also had no deaths from measles, while in other years it has had a few deaths, including in 1999 when the UK's rate of death from cases of measles (3 deaths from ~2400 cases) was higher than NZ's annual death rate during our biggest 'recent' measles epidemic (in 1991), and much higher than in NZ during every year since 1991.
To begin to understand why there was roughly 1 death for every 1000 cases of measles in NZ in 1991, the first port of call might be health workers/administrators/managers in the thick of it – there must quite a few still around. There was probably a health review commissioned, possibly some academic analysis too. But the reasons could include, or even be largely due to, chance, just as it was probably chance that the UK had a higher annual death rate from measles in 1999 than NZ has had for a very long time.
There may be some risk to patient safety, in terms of health sector/worker preparedness/familiarity in treating serious (life-threatening) cases of measles associated with this year's outbreak, given that there hasn't been a major outbreak for 28 years. But, hopefully, some will remember.
After all, "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it "
Tbh, I wouldn't try to attach too much significance to year-to-year differences in annual rates of death from measles in or between developed countries. There will have been an enormous amount of medical/academic research on this by 1000s of health professionals and researchers, and I doubt that they have missed something I'm likely to spot, and/or are trying to cover up some glaring statistical anomaly.
This is an informative brief presentation by a medical doctor who thinks the death rate from measles is 3-4 per thousand, which seems very high (hence ‘don’t attach too much significance’, etc.) There's also a nice (Australian) comparison of the risks associated with contracting measles and the risks associated with being vaccinated for measles – very helpful.
http://www.ncirs.org.au/mmr-vaccine-decision-aid/comparing-risks-measles
How many of the damaged are from the measles vaccine? 1% of the damaged a year? 5%?
Think we need some perspective on this stat you are throwing round
See here…https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-02-09-2019/#comment-1651769
Thanks Rosemary. I was hoping the MSM would address this. Pity it's behind a paywall. This has long been the issue, that the lowering numbers of vaccination in NZ are in part due to poor access to healthcare. The people who choose intentionally to not vaccinate are still afaik a small % of the population. I'd like to see some research done on that.
Thanks weka.
This is the sole reason I coughed up the $$$ to read work like this from a journalist I respect.
I have linked on more than one occasion here on TS to the same databases the writers use. The data tells a different story to the one promulgated by the angry ranty DHBs who were embarrassed by their falling vaccination rates.
It was back in March that Dr Nikki Turner attempted to counter the 'its all the fault of the anti vaxxers!!!' framing that these DHB numpties were promoting at the Select Committee…https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/384112/hospital-bosses-want-anti-anti-vax-campaign
Sigh.
There are two major issues that I see here…the most significant is deprivation and difficulty accessing reliable health care in some communities. Only true transformational governance will ease this. It might alsoaddress that true indicator of our third world health status….rheumatic ever and the two hundred deaths per year from preventable heart damage.
The other issue is the fact that some New Zealand children have been injured by vaccines. Not many, but a significant enough number to be relevant to any discussion about vaccine efficacy and safety. We are not allowed to discuss these incidents without a barrage of abuse and accusations of being anti- vax and hence pro-plague.
I suggest that folk go out of doors into their communities and speak with the parents of these vaccine damaged children.
(And I'm not talking about bloody autism.)
I see it similarly. Also, the people choosing not to access from informed consent (so not necessarily the anti-vaxers, although overlaps), often have a good enough standard of living so that if their child gets the measles or whooping cough they're more able to provide optimal care for that child (thus decreasing the chances of complications). I'd love to see some research on that too, but it's another of the taboo subjects.
"speak with the parents of these vaccine damaged children."
Oh dear. I cant see how campaigning against vaccination is allowed on this site. Personal choice is fine as for all medical interventions
The facts are
"The death rate for measles is about one-to-three people in every thousand. An estimated 10 per cent of cases require hospital treatment, and up to 30 per cent of people will develop complications, including pneumonia, diarrhoea and ear infections."
Thats only one of the diseases we vaccinate for as measles is covered by MMR Measles , Mumps,
Rubella is particularly nasty for unborn children leading to severe abnormalities
No surprise here: "The number of rubella cases has fallen dramatically since the vaccine became available in 1969. "
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/111238229/people-have-forgotten–past-measles-epidemics-killed-hospitalised-hundreds
https://www.immune.org.nz/diseases/rubella
[perhaps you need some time out to reread the Policy. You were warned by me as a mod, and Rosemary asked you why you were calling her an anti-vaxxer, and you’ve ignored both of those and just carried on with misrepresenting her position. I don’t want to have to spend moderator time today reading your comments to see if you’re still passive-aggressive flaming. 2 day ban – weka]
I cant see how campaigning against vaccination is allowed on this site.
Are you accusing me of campaigning against vaccinations because I suggest folk go and speak with the families of those 1300 plus people who have been vaccine injured in the past 13 years in NZ?
Really???
"The death rate for measles is about one-to-three people in every thousand.
Errr….https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/measles-deaths-by-age-group-from-1980-to-2013-ons-data/measles-notifications-and-deaths-in-england-and-wales-1940-to-2013
Clearly shows much lower death rate in the UK.
Perhaps we should be asking ourselves why a supposedly first world country like NZ anticipates such a high death rate from what used to be a nasty but usually survivable childhood illness.
Perhaps we should also talk about our shameful rates of other third world diseases.
Maybe death rates are sometimes higher during measles epidemics because public health services are stretched thinner. That may have contributed to the comparatively high rate of death (1 death in 1000 cases) during NZ's 1991 measles epidemic (7000 cases).
In NZ, no deaths have been attributed to measles since 1991, so a big shout out to GPs and other health workers (and of course to parents who took advantage of free vaccinations for their children) for that excellent result.
If the current measles outbreak is restricted to one or two thousand NZers then maybe the health service will be able to prevent any measles-related deaths, but I'm guessing that health spokespersons don't want to appear too confident about that, for fear of vaccination rates falling still further.
In NZ, no deaths have been attributed to measles since 1991, so a big shout out to GPs and other health workers (and of course to parents who took advantage of free vaccinations for their children) for that excellent result.
For the life of me I cannot find similar data for NZ…ie…number of cases of measles and number of deaths from measles per year.
A pity, or we could have made a true comparison.
Of course the parents of fully vaccinated children cannot claim credit for there having been no deaths due to measles because their children, being vaccinated, will not have got measles. The UK data refers to deaths from actual measles.
I still don't understand why here in NZ there were a reported 7 deaths from around 7000 notified cases of measles while in the UK in the same year (1991) there was 1 death from 9680 notified cases.
There is something seriously wrong with our health system.
higher mortality among Māori and Pacifica people?
I would guess there is a big variation over time though, so your idea about getting all stats over decades makes sense.
Because it's smallish numbers.
Pretty good confidence interval generator here.
Which statistical test to go by for these numbers is an esoteric discussion of which I know nothing. The point is that the lower confidence bound for the 7/7000 death rate for any given test is slightly lower than the upper bound for the 1/9680 rate (bear in mind the comparison numbers are in different magnitudes).
Does this mean there isn't some systemic difference? No. Just that we can't say for sure that either system is better than another, based on the samples we have to work with.
The rate ratios indicate there might me some difference using Byars, but it's not a binary "no difference/significant difference" situation. The intervals are pretty wide, and the gap is pretty narrow.
I freely admit to a superficial understanding of statistics, and the deep stuff you're directing me towards has given me a headache.
I will consult my stats and data advisor later.
I didn't follow that either. Do you mean that in any year there can be a wide variation because of the small numbers?
Basically, yeah.
I'm not a stats engineer (more a data tradie lol) but the gist is that we're looking at whether the difference is actually a difference in the ability of each system, or is it just broadly what we'd expect from identical systems with reasonable variation in outcomes. E.g. if the car accident rate lowered from year to year, is this just random noise in the system or have things actually improved?
So the statisticians created probability tests for different circumstances. Some are p-values, personally I prefer CIs. p-values hurt my brain, and people love to view their significance as binary "care or do not care about result", whereas things are more subtle than that.
So using Byars, our 7/7000 equals a rate of 1 per 1000 with a lower bound of 0.4/1000 and upper of 2/1000.
1/9680 gives a rate of 0.1/1000, with a CI range of 0.001/1000 to 0.57/1000. Obviously one rate is ten times the other as observed, but because the CIs overlap we can't be reasonably sure that the results won't be swapped the next time each health service faces an outbreak.
Now, they only just overlap so there might be something there if we look more closely with larger samples, but at this stage it's not a given either way.
A chart example of NZ child assault deaths is here. The numbers bounce about, the rates bounce about, but because the confidence intervals are so wide there probably isn't any real difference between them all. Even the lowest rate might just be an outlier, because we have so many datapoints so that might just be the way 95% CI (or 1:20 odds) rolled that time.
edit:
BTW, my math tends to fold in on itself and deliver garbage, so if anyone wants to check it please do. If I’m in a hurry or multitasking, I still find my code screws up because the alligator teeth point the wrong direction when looking for high-low pass filters lol
you know my eyes started glazing over when you said p values right?
I'm assuming (loosely) that it's probably both the maths and there are factors affecting actual rates (NZ being different from the UK). Having the long term yearly rates would be useful.
If it's any consolation, I spent 20 minutes trying to make sure my conversion of rates per ten thousand to rates per thousand went the right direction 🙂
I got Matt to check my maths recently for a post where I was working with millions and tens of thousands. I was only out by a factor of 10. That would still have been fairly embarrassing, lol.
mod note above.
When we were trying to have an inclusive nation and counting people as citizens not human resources, there were very strong moves against TB, and there were health buses that would travel to areas where you could go for vaccination against polio. These two diseases are not totally beaten but we need now the same sort of initiative to get measles down and under control again. Capice?
It is wrong for government and the Dept of Health to do the contract thing and lay the problem at overworked DHBs feet. The policies of the government have resulted in numbers of incoming people bringing more disease and health problems with them. Since the welfare budget was severely cut in 1991 it has never been adequate for families wellbeing, and without that income, and with fewer state houses for lower-income people we have a rolling, rising problem.
The PM himself said he was planning on having a low-wage economy, it takes a boofhead not to see that we are not extending services to people whose needs have been neglected. And lack of quality welfare leads to lack of quality in a country's achievements and standards.
thats not correct. Waiheke, Herne bay and the coromandel are leading the trend down, and they aren’t poverty stricken.
the science is settled on immunisation. Defending the “right to choose” to vaccinate is akin to defending the right opt out of Climate change prevention measures because of the chance of personal adverse outcomes. Humanity is at stake hear. Vaccine damage occurs at an infinitesimal rate compared to the occurrence of infectious diseases during an outbreak.
Herd immunity needs around 90% vaccinated rate (according to science). No reason why the 5% or so of the population that choose to not vaccinate shouldn't be allowed to.
Writing off the people who have been damaged doesn’t help convince anti-vaxxers btw, it makes things worse.
so when vaccinations are at 88% of the population, that 88% should be imperilled because of the poor choices of, at that point, a critical 5%?
Good to know that 5% of the population should be allowed to make choices that can adversely affect the other 95%, and shouldn’t be made to feel bad about it either
Climaction. Defending the “right to choose” to vaccinate is akin to defending the right opt out of Climate change prevention measures because of the chance of personal adverse outcomes.
Weird conflation…but nevermind…it is to be expected from certain groups who have an almost religious zeal when presenting their particular views.
So, and correct me if I'm wrong, those individuals who choose not to vaccinate because of well founded concerns over adverse effects are to blame for 'imperilling' the 88% who are vaccinated.
Excuse me…but if the vaccine is effective (as well as safe) how can the unvaccinated possibly imperil the fully vaccinated?
And how dare you dismiss the experiences of those who have been significantly adversely affected by a vaccine.
How dare I not subscribe to your views that your hurt is of greater meaning than the families of those poor defenceless children suffering from preventable disease they are too young to be immunised against? Interesting value pyramid you live within.
Vaccines are effective and safe. How many of the “vaccine damaged” 1300 since 2006 were from the measles vaccine? A critical part of your stat missing there when denying that not vaccinating kids by choice has no bearing on a measle outbreak
Vaccines are effective and safe. How many of the “vaccine damaged” 1300 since 2006 were from the measles vaccine?
Bear with me a minute. This is very difficult to ascertain as this report…
https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/documents/topic_sheets/adverse-event-summary.pdf …is at odds with the ACC data I obtained through an OIA. The above document states that between 2005 and 2009 that " Of the 4,757 reports, 174 (3.6%) meet the criteria of a serious report." Peculiar as ACC data shows 299 accepted claims for vaccine injury during the same period.
There is a wee chart in the Adverse Events Summary that does indicate which particular vaccine is being 'blamed' for the adverse event. MMR accounts for 25 of the 174 of the total 'serious' reports.
25/174 over a 5 year period. Or 5 a year. Out of how many vaccines delivered? 57000, assuming a 7% redux on births in 2016.
One in every 11500 could cause a severe reaction. Almost as unlucky as getting struck by lightning at 1 in 12000.
But lightning isn’t contagious and there is an actual choice about being outside. There isn’t a choice if you are too young to be immunised.
The discrepancy in numbers between the two might be an administrative lag between date of vaccination, onset of adverse event, reporting date, and the date that ACC made its decision.
Additionally, there might be some differences in criteria – adverse events are any event within X period of the vaccination, while ACC might have different causal threshold.
As for 25 serious reports, "serious" includes "hospitalisations", so I suggest the number of MMR-correlated incidents in that five year period has been thoroughly outstripped by hospitalisations in the current outbreak. Probably several times over by now.
A far cry from 1300 being a meaningful figure in relation the number involved in this outbreak
Australia has 99 % vacination rate. No vacination,no playgroup,kindy or school.How simple is THAT.This is a major failure of Government public health policy.
Spot on Rosemary, the consequences of regional differences in vaccination rates in NZ, due to socioeconomic, cultural and other factors, seem to mirror trends seen in Europe.
Measles in Europe: record number of both sick and immunized (lessons for NZ?)
“This means that gaps at local level still offer an open door to the virus,” says Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab. “We cannot achieve healthier populations globally, as promised in WHO’s vision for the coming five years, if we do not work locally.”
1990s epidemics were greater , many thousands caught the disease. What happened then.. really dont think there was some sort of national emergency proclaimed
"
In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed, Jim Bolger was prime minister, and New Zealand was sick with measles.
Vaccination coverage was low and the highly infectious disease was ripping through the population. Estimates vary, but as many as 40,000 to 60,000 people likely got sick, according to a previous version of the immunisation handbook, put out by the Ministry of Health.
Seven people died, including four unimmunised children. Six years later, in 1997, a second, smaller epidemic struck. There were 2169 cases around the country. About 950 people were hospitalised across both events, according to the 2011 handbook.
"People have forgotten what used to happen when we didn't have such high vaccination rates," said Dr Jill Sherwood, a public health medicine specialist at ESR, a Crown Research Institute."
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/111238229/people-have-forgotten–past-measles-epidemics-killed-hospitalised-hundreds
Seems as though the reseachers say without immunisation the cases reach into the tens of thousands.
Because there's absolutely nothing else threatening the wellbeing of the country right now, the most tech-literate Government ever!1 has decided that it's a good time to do some pearl-clutching about adult content on the Internet.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/08/porn-crackdown-the-government-s-moves-to-stop-kids-accessing-adult-material.html
are you objecting to the way they are doing this, or that they are doing it at all?
There's a measles epidemic, men and boys are killing themselves in greater numbers than ever before, people are sleeping in cars, carbon emissions are increasing, water quality is declining, so of course it's time for a bit of "won't someone think of the children" dead-cat distraction.
Here are some things that have my spidey sense tingling:
" Five draft laws have been proposed to the Minister by Family First "
–oh neat, Family First. Just who I need advice on matters of sexuality and freedom of expression.
" Directing the state department of education to take a direct role in educating parents of enrolled students on the harms of pornographic material. "
–telling parents what to think doesn't sound outside the department's purview AT ALL.
"Options being looked at include: R18 access to porn websites: Residents will have to provide age ID to have access "
–hands up who trusts the NZ government to secure an enormous digital collection of identity documentation?
Valid point about family first lobbying ministries, but the real question should be, with the large number of children regularly accessing hardcore pornagraphy, especially that which is degrading and exploitative of women, and the persistence of rape culture, misogyny and brutal disrespect to them in our society, can we afford not to impose restrictions on who gets to view it?
Those too are valid points. But in the real world we also have to acknowledge two things:
1. The NZ Government is technically illiterate. It wouldn't have the foggiest idea how to block some people's access to parts of the Internet without screwing other parts of the Internet up for everyone.
2. One person's perversion is another person's expression of identity. If the Government blocks (for example) trans or non-binary porn for people who are over the legal age of consent, it will be a disaster.
Perhaps you could characterise both points as parts of the same problem – it’s crazy to trust the imposition of morality on the Internet to wealthy, able-bodied, old, white, straight, cisgender technophobes.
Adult people can perve their hearts out for all I care, but the issue is children having free access and the damage it does not only to the viewer, but those who form relationships or encounter them in the present and future.
In the old days you found a mag on the common or under your dads bed, and that was your exposure to porn, but this digital media age has much worse content, viewed by many many more people.
I'm not a prude, nor do I have the solution, though I think for the safety and mental well being of our younglings, something should be done, whatever it is.
Not a sausage from the Kremlin admitting that it was a Soviet one, too.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier marked the 80th anniversary of Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland in Warsaw on Sunday by asking for forgiveness for "Germany's historical guilt."
"My country unleashed a horrific war that would cost more than 50 million people — among them millions of Polish citizens — their lives. This war was a German crime," the president said in a speech before Polish President Andrzej Duda, US Vice President Mike Pence, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, as well as representatives of 30 other countries.
https://www.dw.com/en/german-president-asks-for-polish-forgiveness-on-wwii-anniversary/a-50247207
very good point Joe90
The Russians' fond belief that they were hapless, peace-loving victims of WW2 is something Putin's trying to reinforce, so chances of an admission of guilt = 0.
I thought Soviet mass-murder of Poles was accepted as canon after Krushchev's "Secret Speech"?
These days, as far as Russia's concerned the war started on 22 June 1941. Quibbling about who did what before that is for bigoted, ant-Slavic westerners who want to undermine the heroic Soviet achievement because they're embarrassed at their own countries' dismal failure to contain the Nazi threat. It's going down a treat inside Russia – not so much in Poland, Finland, the Baltic Republics or Romania, mind…
Point.
Sudden stratospheric warming reaching stratospheric heights.
http://ds.data.jma.go.jp/tcc/tcc/products/clisys/STRAT/gif/pole10_sh.gif
Warming seems to have paused Ozone mass loss.
The response to the Bridges National Cancer "Plan" recently seemed to be heavily commented on in MSM.
An actual Cancer Plan published yesterday seemed to have a muted response, except for the expected rapid denigrating response from National. "Too little. Too late." Strange for a National Party after 9 long years?
Unless the government already had such a 'cancer plan' in the pipeline before National presented theirs, you have to wonder why they let National and the MSM set the agenda in the first place. Who said that that was the problem de jour, that everyone has to address this week? It's important, to be sure, but why not focus on your own legislative agenda?
David Simon has the wingnuts exercised.
Kia Ora Newshub.
Aotearoa is no Australia just because they like using the big stick userly it is used on the people who are down and out. Aotearoa can come up with a smart solution to the measles problem in Aotearoa.
The old health system was the best in the Papatuanuku in value for money and services. My experience with the health system is not good at all I seen the way that they discriminated against me and my mokopuna. I don't trust anyone in that system
Ma Te wa the Kiwi build is a good move by the Coalition government to fix the last lots Houseing short they were serving themselves rubbing there hands together reaping the capital gains cause by shonkys short.
Dorain is a powerful force from Tawhirimate and Papatuanuku we need to heed our scientists warning and drop carbon out of our lives as fast as possible.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
Its great that our Prime Minister is taking to Ngāti Porou about our Awa Tangaroa and the state of the Fisheries on the East Coast to resolve the issues that were agreed appon in the 1980s
Ka pai Chris these loan sharks cost Maori and Pacific tangata heaps of money with their huge interest charged on their loans to people who can least afford to pay it back Eco Maori dislike these people .
Tangata whenua do value our ENVIRONMENT more than western society's do we know that we are part of all things in our environment be it whenua Tangaroa or Tawhirimate.
The Tangata Whenua O Australia are being discriminated against by the Australian Crown its a very sad situation that they are in WTF it that common Tangata whenua Australia its no who's in the hinaki its who hasn't been to jail what a waste of great talenteEd tangata. Shane Phillips Ka pai with your mahi
Ngāti Manawheno it's great to see our tamariki preforming it's better for Eco Maori to see all our Wahine stepping up to the hard mahi in Aotearoa.
Ka kite Ano.