Todays article about the Greens proposal of a guaranteed minimum income has been commented on by Rod Oram and I agree with him.
I am disappointed in labour. Despite all their fanfare to focus on poverty all they produced was an increase in the minimum wage. That did nothing for the very vulnerable on the bottom of the heap depended on a benefit that is too much to die of not enough to live on. The increase was good as long as it lasted, actual food inflation measured on price increases is at 3.5% for the last 3 months but this hasn't got the fuel tax increase of recent included.
Void of any ideas, we get to hear that the tax system is fair. Of cause it is for those who have a disproportionate slice of the pie, courtesy by the taxpayer no less.
BTW, what ever happened to the announced reduction of wages by 20% for the parliamentarians? Lets not talk about snout in the trough shall we. They think the public has forgotten. No they didn't.
…what ever happened to the announced reduction of wages by 20% for the parliamentarians?
Sorry to disappoint you Fw, but Parliamentary Services are still processing the change. Bureaucrats like to take their time with these things. Jacinda Ardern – or someone – expressed mild frustration about two weeks ago, so imagine its started or is about to start.
They will process this as long as it takes to get it out of the collective memory. Its like the story with reducing the number of seats from 120 to 100. Yeah Right.
Meanwhile, the Australian private "partner" skins the NZ taxpayer to get millions of our hard earned money as this government has not even read the fine print of the contract and they are now putting the dumb screws onto NZTA with the mega blow out of the Transmission gully, Water issues in Auckland that haven't been addressed for years (any political party) and they wont be the last to experience this, millions of taxpayer money syphoned by fraud from Americas cup team (IT is an issue for a millionaires cup?) and the stories keep going…
Walking the talk BS and it does not matter where you look, no wonder people take to the streets. It maybe for isolated issues but really there is an underlying (lying?? ok pun intended) issue.
Very helpful, lets see whether its implemented. People have taken a cut in hours(pay) or have lost their job since May I may point out. Meanwhile 200 000 are on a benefit.
This is what was achieved in health when David Clark was Minister. I wish the likes of Tova and Heather et al would inform themselves better………..this is from who is being described as an incompetent minister. And Yes I absolutely acknowledge his errors with the lockdown breach and taking ministerial responsibility
NZ’s largest ever investment in frontline mental health services
– Hiring 1600 new mental health workers which will result in 325,000 Kiwis a year receiving free access to improved mental health services
– NZ’s largest ever increase to DHB funding
– 3x the increases to health funding compared to what National delivered in 9 years
– Significant additional funding for disability support services
– Made GP visits $30 cheaper for 600,000 New Zealanders
– Brought in NZ’s long overdue medicinal cannabis regulations
– Free counselling for under 25’s
– Expanding telehealth and digital supports for mental wellbeing
– Delivered 80 new mental health workers in Canterbury schools (18 months earlier than promised)
– Extended free GP visits to under 14s
– Rolled out national bowel screening
– Opened Suicide Prevention Office
– Increased suicide prevention funding
– Established a national suicide bereavement counselling fund providing free counselling for people bereaved by suicide
– Tailored Māori and Pacific suicide prevention initiatives addressing New Zealand's persistently high suicide rates
– An expanded family and whānau suicide prevention information service
– More suicide prevention services in District Health Boards, including increased post-discharge support
– An improved suicide media response service, supporting responsible discussion about suicide across all media and social media.
– New research on improving health outcomes for Māori and Pacific peoples.
– Increased investment to develop innovative Pacific community health initiatives
– Established National Cancer Control Agency
– Developed Cancer Action Plan
– New Rheumatic fever prevention funding
– Largest ever investment in radiation therapy
– Extended the nurses in schools programme
– Expansion of mental health and addiction services for offenders
– $70 million investment for the building of mental health facilities at Hillmorton Hospital
– Significant hospital upgrades and funding increases to capital projects
– Fast-tracked new Dunedin hospital
– Large funding boosts to Pharmac
– Reimbursements for midwives working through Covid-19 response
– Boosted air ambulance network
– Rural locum relief for rural midwives
– More GP training placements in rural and regional areas
– New funding for AIDS research
– New funding for gender reassignment surgeries
– Strengthened NZ’s immunisation system
– Pay increases of between 12-15.9% for nurses, midwives, practitioners, community nurses, health care assistants & hospital aides
– Pay equity for mental health & addiction workers
– Initiated a wide-ranging review of our health & disability services
Would this have all happened without him? Not necessarily. He was the Associate Minister of Finance for the first 2 budgets and actively lobbied to ensure that funding was made in these areas.
Some of those are plans rather than results, which just plays into the opposition line about Labour's delivery. Also overplays the Minister's involvement. Just let him go.
If this list exaggerates health gains made during the two-and-a-half years that Dr David Clark was the Minister of Health, IMHO it's still a useful rebuttal to the frankly ludicious assertions made by some on this site that he was a do-nothing, MIA minister. Now I'll "let him go."
You left out the huge job getting the hospitals up to speed and accessing new equipment for the Covid response, thats why he was keep on because he did a bloody good job there, but look over there , fuck me he's riding a bike! Yeah like 5 million other Kiwis did.
Thanks anker for relisting this info from yesterday, many don't want to believe he achieved anything at all, and FACTs don't matter, sounds like I'm describing a Nat MP, but many here made that decision to ignore facts and portray their own misbeliefs.
Hi Gsays, just seen you question. To be honest, I did't compile this list. A very reliable contact of mine did. It sounds like you have some good information to say the pay rise was 6% over three years. That doesn't sound that great. I seem to remember there was a lot of toing and froing over it, so I will look into it.
I am not wanting to be a cheerleader for David Clark as such, but I think there was a witch hunt going on and its a little unfair. Just wanted to present a balanced picture.
Article in the Herald. today saying America are interested in hiring him
Unusual to see a judge advising a minister on how to do politics! The nexus where environment meets public interest and the economy will always produce allegations of bias when someone with a track record of partisan advocacy is given the power to decide who wins in a conflict situation.
Sage and Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods rejected Rangitira Development Ltd's application in June 2018 to mine a 12-hectare patch of conservation land at Te Kuha, near Westport.
Justice Clark said the coal mining company had alleged Sage was biased because of her "strong voice against coal mining generally".Sage opposed the mine while employed by Forest and Bird and had drafted submissions opposing it in the 1990s.
Since general principles are involved, this is a space to watch. Industry capture by means of lobbyists has been institutionalised in the USA for a long time and the public have been held to ransome. Now the boot's on the other foot, here.
Interesting to see that there's some part of this you don't understand: "A judge has advised Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage to handover future decisions on some mining projects after being accused of bias."
Could it be the relation between advised and advising? Third form English classes got taught they derive from the same root word when I was young – but maybe that was no longer standard practice by the time you entered college? Linguistic basics by then deemed too hard for English teachers to comprehend let alone students…
Back when I attended school in a cardboard box in middle of road, people did not even need to be taught that "a judge has advised Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage to handover future decisions on some mining projects" is not the same statement as "a judge advising a minister on how to do politics".
One is about being a Minister, the other about being a politician. Exercising a specific regulatory authority is far narrower than 'politics' as most humans understand the term.
Ok, Grasshopper. This would be a good headline “Judge advises Minister on how to do politics!”. As with many headlines nowadays, they are inaccurate and misleading, often deliberately and grossly. Your view reads like a headline.
Given that your premise is wrong, your comment becomes mostly nonsensical. My education and the foundation of my lacking language skills are not the reason for your nonsense. You are illogical.
Sacha's point above yours is good, since it addresses governance responsibilities – which then enables anyone else to see it as addressing a technical issue rather than being political. Rather than beating all around the bush, if you were sensing that relevance you ought to have said so. Simply pushing your subjective view of what is or is not politics achieves nothing, so long as you don't explain why you feel that the premise is wrong.
Finally, we agree that your premise was wrong, phew! It has taken you all day for the penny to drop; Sacha @ 9:59 am got it in one. I felt you were wrong, relatively speaking, but had to overcome subjective hurdles before it could crystallise in the subconscious and come to the fore to become the idea that you could see as your own.
Ah, not so fast to that conclusion! I don't agree my premise was wrong – I was simply acknowledging merit in Sacha's point. Thus there are two valid interpretations (corresponding to whether one prefers a wide take on politics that includes governance (the commonly-held perspective, and mine) or prefers a narrow view of it that excludes governance). Me, I've always been broadminded… 😇
How come you now are noncommittal and evasive? You enthusiastically asserted that the judge had advised the Minister how to do politics @ 3. Were you projecting again? Or simply trying to squeeze conform her advice into your own narrow but valid interpretation of politics without governance? Not a good verdict by the learned judge if it is open to such wide range of valid interpretations, IMHO.
Come now, I was honest in what I wrote. If you feel that is "noncommittal and evasive" that's your problem. Own your subjective reactions & feelings, why don't you?
I simply called it how I saw it. I see no point in your sustained effort to psychoanalyse me. It's not as if psychoanalysis were trendy: it lost its place as a predominant fashion trend in psychology long ago! And anyway, trying to make it all about the personality of commentators is not an appropriate way to conduct a political blog.
In other words you ascribed something to the judge’s advice that was never there? Because that’s how you saw it and that’s you called it? I’d call that making things up to suit your thinking AKA confirmation bias. Last time I checked, this was still very much en vogue so you are still trendy.
Personality comes through in behaviour and motivation, doesn’t it? I always wonder why people twist reality and what their motivation is. Often it is because they have an agenda, e.g. politicians, and sometimes it is ego-tripping. To label that “psychoanalysis” is fascinating but flawed. I don’t smoke cigars and don’t have a beard if that’s any consolation; your mind is safe. Newtonian mechanics is still very useful and taught at schools. As a Physics graduate you will appreciate the irony of that.
BTW, I’m not conducting a political blog, merely commenting and responding here and occasionally cleaning up 😉
Some people like defining words to suit themselves. Fine in their own back yard but rather useless in the public square. Villagers tended to shun them after a while.
A 20+ year 'conflicts of interest tail' must be both long and thin!
Third question: When judges 'advise' or 'suggest' (as opposed to instruct/direct) a course of action, are Ministers bound to follow? In any event, good that the application for a judicial review of Sage's decision has been dismissed, IMHO, and thanks for bringing this "win for conservation" to my attention.
Fourth question:
"Industry capture by means of lobbyists has been institutionalised in the USA for a long time and the public have been held to ransome. Now the boot's on the other foot, here."
So who/what is being "held to ransome" here? Arthur?
Btw, that fourth question was genuine. I’m easily confused by business/financial/legal matters – were you suggesting that this decision represents the public (via its 'ministerial lobbyist' Sage?) holding industry to ransom? If so then that's great – good example of our government acting in the longer-term public interest.
No no just pointing out the analogy – capture by interest groups. I agree the judge seems to be acting in the public interest & wish commenters would focus on the things that matter: setting a precedent (?) and constitutionality of that. I get that idle chit-chat passes time, but would prefer blog commentary to elucidate…
Regarding the racist Nat mp and returnees being sent to Queenstown. He should be so lucky they're not coming back from China, as every one in national knows Chinese count two more than Indians.
When push comes to shove, how many colleagues does it take to force a minister out? Heather du Plessis-Allan believes enough is enough:
the reason I don't believe it is because on Monday I was told there were moves afoot to force David Clark to resign. I was told more senior members of government and former senior MPs were involved in a bid to strike a deal with him. I'm told they realised the damage his snafu was doing to them in the polls, and decided to cut him loose.
And if you want to know what a political deal looks like, read Judith Collins' book where she tells how John Key forced her to quit and maybe come back as a minister in a year. What did the PM say today? Clark might be allowed back as a minister after the election.
I can see why she's baffled. Could it be that Ardern made a team play? You know, like a rugby scrum where all bind to drive forward. She could have just secured agreement that Clark needed to be shown how to be a team player. Having all those other top ministers gang up on him to push him out would have made it clear that it wasn't personal animus from the PM. Smart thinking!
Does it really require that much imagining to believe Ardern is that smart?? I'm troubled by your pessimism. Maybe there will have to be more prosetylising in the Labour ranks, huh? O ye of little faith!
Irrelevant. The court's judgment is the issue. "In law, a judgment, also spelled judgement, is a decision of a court" according to Wikipedia. The judge decided to advise the minister. Perhaps our resident lawyer will opine upon the issue. Good question: is it unprecedented? Another: is it unconstitutional?
Nice diversion and thus irrelevant. I’m really starting to doubt your judgement. You are commenting and opining here, the judge isn’t. This could apply equally to your comments @ 3 and @ 5.
You are opining here. I can see it with even one eye closed, day in day out. Why deny it? Why cloud your judgement to suit your narrative? I’m losing faith in your opinion as well as judgement but you write good headlines.
Do you know what a judge’s professional opinion is called?
Dennis Frank you seem to be putting some of the topics in your own salt-grinder and turning and turning until the letters start dropping individually. Actually leaving them a bit chunky for someone else to chew on would be good. Is that possible?
My ‘needs’ haven’t changed all of a sudden but my faith in your judgement and opinion has been rocked severely. Why would I go on about somebody else’s opinion to you? It makes no sense and I wasn’t but for some reason you pretended I was. I don’t think you’re particularly ‘slow’ and I can only speculate on your reticence acknowledging the issue I was referring to all along.
why not, after all the Black Hills, sacred to the Lakota (if anyone cares about the things the first nations of the US thought sacred) were exploded to carve out the presidents that stole the land from the Lakota.
Todd Muller on Checkpoint last challenged by Lisa on his policies. Not very convincing?
Muller batted away questions over a perceived lack of policies.
"It's not that nothing has come out, I've made a number of announcements – particularly in terms of supporting business to get them back up on their feet … there's a lot in the can but we're 10 weeks out and I want to make sure we sequence it in the right way. I've got a speech next week which I'm sure you'll be interested in and a number, a series of announcements."
He said the party had a mixture of policies that were complete, and some which were still being worked on.
"A bit of both … there are certainly some that have been finalised and some that haven't been finalised … I'm not going to go through that with you on afternoon radio."
How many elections have we seen where National had NO policies to announce, just more of the same and their response is "look over there at the opposition policies" and then deliberately misinterpret them with usual slant of higher taxes or don't have the experience or Just Outright LIES.
Yes Just Us. Seemed amazing that the Key lot could get away with that. This time might be different because they will have to come up with a compelling counter argument to manage Covid19 aftermath. Questions are already being asked and just saying that this Government is a shambles won't wash – I hope.
Anybody arguing that this Govt is a Shambles has their head in the sand and are seriously politically biased.
NZ is the luckiest country in the world today, because of the Govts response to the virus, there is no room for criticism fron anyone who values their credibility.
Xi seems hellbent on destroying all the gains China has made over the last 30 years, and he is intent on war to preserve his power, just like every other failing dictator.
Not content with trying to (unsuccessfully) bully the rest of the world, they are once again trying to bully us. No more. Boycott their products.
Trump may be an idiot, but he is right when he says the UN and WHO are largely funded by the west yet whose interests do they represent? The UN is nowhere to be seen on the virus China unleashed on the world due to its lies and secrecy. About tome they suggested that the evil communist government starts making reparations, particularly to the developing world. But of course, as always it will be the nasty old west that does that.
The single biggest disaster of our time is China C19, yet all posters on here seem concerned about os that isiot Trump.
Not true. India will eclipse China economically within the next 20 years, and they are a well educated, democratic society that we have a long and strong relationship with.
It's not about 'going back', it's more about managing the evil influence of China going forward. Following the UK approach of accepting large scale immigration from Hong Kong would be economically and socially beneficial for NZ and send a clear message of which side of the line we stand.
Edit
China. We should start studying some of their sage's thoughts on how to conduct oneself so as to win the war before it even starts. I don't know whether it will succeed, but we should try to do something better than throwing our arms up in the air despairingly, or letting people just walk over us without a move to lessen the pressure. Sun Tzu has a lot to say and if only one out of a 100 is a good, new idea, the study time won't be wasted.
“If your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. If sovereign and subject are in accord, put division between them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected .”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
“Engage people with what they expect; it is what they are able to discern and confirms their projections. It settles them into predictable patterns of response, occupying their minds while you wait for the extraordinary moment — that which they cannot anticipate.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of Warhttps://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/1771.Sun_Tzu
And don't forget that Australia is not our friend yet we still find ways of interacting with them. China is on a path that is not good, is there some way we could change their course, using chaos theory? Some small variable that we could introduce at a time that's a tipping-point? Perhaps plan it out like tactics in a rugby game, seeing that has become our special interest. Rugby isn't just about being a boof-head though sometimes it seems so.
And just wonder whether we are the subject of some of Sun-Tzu’s moves ourselves. ‘..appear where you are unexpected’ – I didn’t expect the MP among our politicians?
Today's idiot decision makers in our tertiary education sector.Southern Technical Institute
This makes absolutely no sense at all.
Looks like government has provided money for a training course – heavy machinery driving 120 people funded
Minister says " his first priority is helping find work for New Zealanders who have lost their jobs due to Covid-19"
Course has been over subscribed
Half the course are people on temporary work permits ( need a status change or work placement to be allowed to stay)
Why on earth is the course not giving priority to unemployed New Zealanders. If there aren't enough living in the area then shift the course location or fund temporary relocation through WINZ..
It's absolutely barking mad. The taxpayer is paying for a course but not taking people who would otherwise be on a taxpayer funded benefit.
The organisation Rural Contractors New Zealand say they will be short of 1000 skilled tractor and heavy machinery drivers this summer and it is calling on the Minister of Agriculture to allow overseas workers in under the essential worker category.
Fuck em. Time for some industries to invest in training locals and increase their pay rates to attract and keep employees. Or go out of business if they are incapable of renegotiating their arrangements accordingly. Why should the rest of us prop up their profits?
Yes, longer term industries should fund their own training. Short term – with the crisis -it's probably a reasonable investment in changing work skills.
But STI must be brain dead – they should be required to take people who are eligible to work here, New Zealanders who have lost their jobs( or maybe who want to upgrade) rather than people who are on a short term cannot be used work permit. I'd like to think a "please explain" is already winging it's way from the ministers office.
nah, surely that can't be it. But maybe low pay, cold houses and the expense of moving is what is keeping people from not going for it.
usually when businesses complain of lack of skilled workers its code for 'our wages are so crap that we can only get people from countries were the wages are even crappier. please provide visas".
Alot of them are young fallas and fulesss one oe. Young kiwis chase the harvesting ,shearing seasons around the globe and foreign ones come here for the same . Most arnt full time jobs and are quit skilled . Any one can drive tractors ,even me , but operateing them with some of the gear they tow and on some of the terrain they they travel over is a another thing .
Did you tell james Cameron to get fucked and hire kiwis,
The courses are actually oversubscribed according to the story. How hard would it be to actually teach people who live here long term and would otherwise be on unemployment benefits.
Yep at the top end some of it is pretty skilled but that is not the object of this course – creating entry level people who can then move up or enable others already in the industry to move up. And some of the trainees are ex pilots – I'm sure an ex 747 pilot has the spatial skills to move up fairly rapidly … we just haven't previously trained any.
And james Cameron should also be pushed to have a training programme for locals rather than just a great big taxpayer funded bung.
It may come down to experience in the working world, with that I mean real work not carrier politics. It seems that a crisis shows shortcomings more pronounced.
Perhaps it can be treated like a vaccination. There is a dis-ease in NZ and to stop it becoming more advanced, give it a bit of a shot in the arm from education. Then perhaps we can concentrate on coping with the chronic illness we have of persisting in over-fattening ourselves on imported matter, and use home-grown product wherever possible. Have I been able to express this in a kindly but practical manner?
I thought this was a thoughtful message to people in general.
“We all commit our crimes. The thing is to not lie about them — to try to understand what you have done, why you have done it. That way, you can begin to forgive yourself. That's very important. If you don't forgive yourself you'll never be able to forgive anybody else and you'll go on committing the same crimes forever.”
― James Baldwin, Another Country
Well Florida's problem is just nature at work. There's a saying about Florida being where the retired 'snowbirds' go for the winter. And another 'Birds of same feather flock together'. So all the oldies go and mingle there and they must have a large proportion of older ages.
Now they have had 169,000 confirmed cases and 3,505 deaths. On 4 June new cases registered at 1419. On 18 June 3207, more than double new cases two weeks. The largest number of new cases registered was on 27 June 9,585 and then there was a drop which indicates a break in testing because it is so sharp. Latest confirmed new cases – (25/6-1/7 – 5004, 8942, 9585, 9530, 5266, 6093, 6563 = 50,983 in week. There is a potential for deaths in five figures from Florida alone. There won't be the room to bury such numbers, smoking chimneys common. RIP.
And Florida is a laid-back place about doing government honestly and properly. Carl Hiaasen has made his living from writing about their zeitgeist. If they cared about their visitors the government would have taken the oldies particularly, under their wing. They are worth billions to the state.
(To look at Florida and other state daily figures look up google and keywords – Florida covid-19 cases so far – which is shorter than the link address)
Note Idaho is shooting up percentagewise looking at chart further up – 467% new in last two weeks, but base numbers were low so at 1 July there were only 253 new confirmed cases. (6593 cases 91 deaths – recovered 4073)
Figures can differ between different reports. But the trend is the important thing, is it going sharply up, or plateauing, sloping down?
How did this idiot ever get elected, is the avg IQ in the US so low its not measurable
It is, IMO, the problem with telling people that their opinions are just as valid as everyone else's even when those opinions are not based upon fact or even logic.
Layers of irony here – someone in Seminole County saying "my body my choice". Not a choice given to members of the Seminole tribe forced out of Florida to exile in "Indian Territory" (Oklahoma) in the late 1850's.
Why would google have a 2020 date on a Herald article from 2001? I was looking up Laila Harre and came on a piece about smacking which I knew was historical stuff.
May 7, 2020 – Youth Affairs Minister Laila Harre has condemned the law allowing children to be smacked, calling it 'legalised violence. ' Under the Crimes Act, pa.
I don't know if you remember the 2008 election where this issue was quite possibly the reason Clark was not returned.
The level of hyperbole and misinformation from Key and the media was relentless, the Anti Smacking Bill, right idea, wrong time, a Green Bill that was attached to the Govt, should have been left till after the election.
I think the outcome would have been a lot different.
I was thinking if Trump has a hiccup one morning and decided he wants to send armed forces here and we have to accept them, they might do a Guam on us bringing their nasty bugs with them along with their warmongering. In the old historic days the crafties knew how to use germs. They would chuck infected bandages etc over the walls to spread disease. They mightn't have known all the science but they knew what havoc it would create. We don't want that do we!
I know your suggestion is an almighty piss take- but if if happened who would be in our corner?? It wouldn't be Aussie UK France Canada The EU ..such irony the only ones likely to complain would be China and Russia.
But those 131,000 people enjoyed their 'freedom'. Albeit a totally insane conception of freedom – the freedom to not give a flying f*ck about anyone else, and have them not give a flying f*ck about you.
Has anyone else come across an 'app' called 'Logmate'? I'm just curious because for what its ekshully doing, it really should be capable of running on the most back-level "smartfone" device anyone ever invented. NZTA requires it, or something like it.
But as you were….there are far more pressing matters for people to discuss (oops have a conversation with)
anyone who is engaged in, or thinking of engaging in the g-g-g-gig economy, and if we don't know already, NZTA has a spectacular record.
I had a runout rego payment to make to NZTA. I phoned up to make the payment and got put through to some system that asked me to use the the phone buttons & tones to put all the payment data in from cards etc. Absolutely no indication of what the system was or the level of security or anything else. The only other way to make the payment was by cheque- which was what they got. The nice very practical person that I spoke to at NZTA did say that an on the ground payment option (other NZTA fees can be paid at the NZPO) would be a good idea but it appears to have been squashed further up.
As a matter of principal I believe there should be a whole of government /local body answer to being able to pay these and other obligatory charges without the payer having to incur excessive fees or costs charged by banking systems rather than every little department having its own system..
Logmate looks like a system that records commercial drivers approved hours.
That's exactly what it is. Not that complicated one would have thought. Inputting small amounts of data to a database to ensure drivers are compliant with the regs.
I guess Logmate's developer is probably making a killing these days removing all references to "Master" and "Slave" from code.
Nah they are worried that quarantine will kill the locals coming there. And as far as I am concerned they are dead right – I wouldn't go near the place any more than I would catch a flight on the local plague airline.
Queenstown is a freezing cold, overpriced sh*thole contaminated by sleazy money-obsessed Tories. Fifty years ago it was one of the most beautiful places on the planet.
True I agree and Eichardts was a pub with a public bar where no woman would feel comfortable but dogs were allowed. Those were the days.It's always been on the shady side of the lake though.
Fifty years ago it was a freezing cold, overpriced sh*thole contaminated by sleazy money obsessed Tories too. Whakatipu is still one of the most beautiful places on the planet.
I did wonder if the ppl letting Boult know they'd be staying away are the owners of the flash houses up on the hills. Never mind Jim, they'll still pay their rates.
Queenstown would be a bit silly for a plane load of people straight from LA, London or Delhi. The risk to the returnee, and the Queenstown health system and population would be too great. We've got a 20 – 30 bed third level hospital here and it's a 1 – 2 hour helicopter ride to better care depending on what's required. Not to say we didn't get through the initial bit in March without too much drama. And yes it was ALL on here for a few weeks.
That's not to say that some Queenstown hotels couldn't be set up to take lower risk people in their second week. This would take the pressure off Auckland facilities and put some much needed cashflow into into hotels that are at present effectively shut and their staff unemployed. There's several large hotels that are seperate from the rest of town that would be easily set up and controlled.
If part charging becomes a thing there's quite a few higher end places that could do a quite nice couple of weeks for a price, This is probably how our tourism industry will operate in medium term so would be a good way of setting that up and learning how to do it.
Why on earth are we even taking "expressions of interest" from potential migrants when we have a queue of half a million and 200,000 registered as unemployed plus those who would like more work but who don't register? Don't we need to quash the endless expectation that there will be endless migration.
The article is by a black Muslim immigrant woman so I can fully understand why she would like her family to be in NZ and her kids to grow up here (despite our faults) rather than the States.
I wasn't commenting on that individual, rather on the number of people looking.
Although if they are from the UK and looking they could have voted to put in MMP when they had the referendum, told the lib dems to back Jeremy Corban for #10 with a very limited agenda to move brexit along, rather than voting for Boris and giving him a landslide. Stop voting for the tories and Farage. Then maybe they would have what we have . The US is more complex but there will be some similar levers.
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Dunedin’s summer thus far has been warm and humid… and it looks like we’re in for a grey Christmas. But it is now officially Christmas Day in this time zone, so never mind. This year, I’ve stumbled across an Old English version of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen: It has a population of just under 3.5 million inhabitants, produces nearly 550,000 tons of beef per year, and boasts a glorious soccer reputation with two World ...
Morena all,In my paywalled newsletter yesterday, I signed off for Christmas and wished readers well, but I thought I’d send everyone a quick note this morning.This hasn’t been a good year for our small country. The divisions caused by the Treaty Principles Bill, the cuts to our public sector, increased ...
This morning’s six standouts for me at 6.30 am include:Kāinga Ora is quietly planning to sell over $1 billion worth of state-owned land under 300 state homes in Auckland’s wealthiest suburbs, including around Bastion Point, to give the Government more fiscal room to pay for tax cuts and reduce borrowing.A ...
Hi,It’s my birthday on Christmas Day, and I have a favour to ask.A birthday wish.I would love you to share one Webworm story you’ve liked this year.The simple fact is: apart from paying for a Webworm membership (thank you!), sharing and telling others about this place is the most important ...
The last few days have been a bit too much of a whirl for me to manage a fresh edition each day. It's been that kind of year. Hope you don't mind.I’ve been coming around to thinking that it doesn't really matter if you don't have something to say every ...
The worms will live in every hostIt's hard to pick which one they eat the mostThe horrible people, the horrible peopleIt's as anatomic as the size of your steepleCapitalism has made it this wayOld-fashioned fascism will take it awaySongwriter: Twiggy Ramirez Read more ...
Hi,It’s almost Christmas Day which means it is almost my birthday, where you will find me whimpering in the corner clutching a warm bottle of Baileys.If you’re out of ideas for presents (and truly desperate) then it is possible to gift a full Webworm subscription to a friend (or enemy) ...
This morning’s six standouts for me at 6.30am include:Rachel Helyer Donaldson’s scoop via RNZ last night of cuts to maternity jobs in the health system;Maddy Croad’s scoop via The Press-$ this morning on funding cuts for Christchurch’s biggest food rescue charity;Benedict Collins’ scoop last night via 1News on a last-minute ...
A listing of 25 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 15, 2024 thru Sat, December 21, 2024. Based on feedback we received, this week's roundup is the first one published soleley by category. We are still interested in ...
Well, I've been there, sitting in that same chairWhispering that same prayer half a million timesIt's a lie, though buried in disciplesOne page of the Bible isn't worth a lifeThere's nothing wrong with youIt's true, it's trueThere's something wrong with the villageWith the villageSomething wrong with the villageSongwriters: Andrew Jackson ...
ACT would like to dictate what universities can and can’t say. We knew it was coming. It was outlined in the coalition agreement and has become part of Seymour’s strategy of “emphasising public funding” to prevent people from opposing him and his views—something he also uses to try and de-platform ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Are we heading ...
So the Solstice has arrived – Summer in this part of the world, Winter for the Northern Hemisphere. And with it, the publication my new Norse dark-fantasy piece, As Our Power Lessens at Eternal Haunted Summer: https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/issues/winter-solstice-2024/as-our-power-lessens/ As previously noted, this one is very ‘wyrd’, and Northern Theory of Courage. ...
The Natural Choice: As a starter for ten percent of the Party Vote, “saving the planet” is a very respectable objective. Young voters, in particular, raised on the dire (if unheeded) warnings of climate scientists, and the irrefutable evidence of devastating weather events linked to global warming, vote Green. After ...
The Government cancelled 60% of Kāinga Ora’s new builds next year, even though the land for them was already bought, the consents were consented and there are builders unemployed all over the place. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political ...
Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on UnsplashEvery morning I get up at 3am to go around the traps of news sites in Aotearoa and globally. I pick out the top ones from my point of view and have been putting them into my Dawn Chorus email, which goes out with a podcast. ...
Over on Kikorangi Newsroom's Marc Daalder has published his annual OIA stats. So I thought I'd do mine: 82 OIA requests sent in 2024 7 posts based on those requests 20 average working days to receive a response Ministry of Justice was my most-requested entity, ...
Welcome to the December 2024 Economic Bulletin. We have two monthly features in this edition. In the first, we discuss what the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update from Treasury and the Budget Policy Statement from the Minister of Finance tell us about the fiscal position and what to ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi have submitted against the controversial Treaty Principles Bill, slamming the Bill as a breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and an attack on tino rangatiratanga and the collective rights of Tangata Whenua. “This Bill seeks to legislate for Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles that are ...
I don't knowHow to say what's got to be saidI don't know if it's black or whiteThere's others see it redI don't get the answers rightI'll leave that to youIs this love out of fashionOr is it the time of yearAre these words distraction?To the words you want to hearSongwriters: ...
Our economy has experienced its worst recession since 1991. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, December 20 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above and the daily Pick ‘n’ Mix below ...
Twas the Friday before Christmas and all through the week we’ve been collecting stories for our final roundup of the year. As we start to wind down for the year we hope you all have a safe and happy Christmas and new year. If you’re travelling please be safe on ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the year’s news with: on climate. Her book of the year was Tim Winton’s cli-fi novel Juice and she also mentioned Mike Joy’s memoir The Fight for Fresh Water. ...
The Government can head off to the holidays, entitled to assure itself that it has done more or less what it said it would do. The campaign last year promised to “get New Zealand back on track.” When you look at the basic promises—to trim back Government expenditure, toughen up ...
Open access notables An intensification of surface Earth’s energy imbalance since the late 20th century, Li et al., Communications Earth & Environment:Tracking the energy balance of the Earth system is a key method for studying the contribution of human activities to climate change. However, accurately estimating the surface energy balance ...
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guests and , ...
“Like you said, I’m an unreconstructed socialist. Everybody deserves to get something for Christmas.”“ONE OF THOSE had better be for me!” Hannah grinned, fascinated, as Laurie made his way, gingerly, to the bar, his arms full of gift-wrapped packages.“Of course!”, beamed Laurie. Depositing his armful on the bar-top and selecting ...
Data released by Statistics New Zealand today showed a significant slowdown in the economy over the past six months, with GDP falling by 1% in September, and 1.1% in June said CTU Economist Craig Renney. “The data shows that the size of the economy in GDP terms is now smaller ...
One last thing before I quitI never wanted any moreThan I could fit into my headI still remember every single word you saidAnd all the shit that somehow came along with itStill, there's one thing that comforts meSince I was always caged and now I'm freeSongwriters: David Grohl / Georg ...
Sparse offerings outside a Te Kauwhata church. Meanwhile, the Government is cutting spending in ways that make thousands of hungry children even hungrier, while also cutting funding for the charities that help them. It’s also doing that while winding back new building of affordable housing that would allow parents to ...
It is difficult to make sense of the Luxon Coalition Government’s economic management.This end-of-year review about the state of economic management – the state of the economy was last week – is not going to cover the National Party contribution. Frankly, like every other careful observer, I cannot make up ...
This morning I awoke to the lovely news that we are firmly back on track, that is if the scale was reversed.NZ ranks low in global economic comparisonsNew Zealand's economy has been ranked 33rd out of 37 in an international comparison of which have done best in 2024.Economies were ranked ...
Remember those silent movies where the heroine is tied to the railway tracks or going over the waterfall in a barrel? Finance Minister Nicola Willis seems intent on portraying herself as that damsel in distress. According to Willis, this country’s current economic problems have all been caused by the spending ...
Similar to the cuts and the austerity drive imposed by Ruth Richardson in the 1990’s, an era which to all intents and purposes we’ve largely fiddled around the edges with fixing in the time since – over, to be fair, several administrations – whilst trying our best it seems to ...
String-Pulling in the Dark: For the democratic process to be meaningful it must also be public. WITH TRUST AND CONFIDENCE in New Zealand’s politicians and journalists steadily declining, restoring those virtues poses a daunting challenge. Just how daunting is made clear by comparing the way politicians and journalists treated New Zealanders ...
Dear Nicola Willis, thank you for letting us know in so many words that the swingeing austerity hasn't worked.By in so many words I mean the bit where you said, Here is a sea of red ink in which we are drowning after twelve months of savage cost cutting and ...
The Open Government Partnership is a multilateral organisation committed to advancing open government. Countries which join are supposed to co-create regular action plans with civil society, committing to making verifiable improvements in transparency, accountability, participation, or technology and innovation for the above. And they're held to account through an Independent ...
Today I tuned into something strange: a press conference that didn’t make my stomach churn or the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Which was strange, because it was about the torture of children. It was the announcement by Erica Stanford — on her own, unusually ...
This is a must watch, and puts on brilliant and practical display the implications and mechanics of fast-track law corruption and weakness.CLICK HERE: LINK TO WATCH VIDEOOur news media as it is set up is simply not equipped to deal with the brazen disinformation and corruption under this right wing ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Acting Secretary Erin Polaczuk is welcoming the announcement from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden that she is opening consultation on engineered stone and is calling on her to listen to the evidence and implement a total ban of the product. “We need ...
The Government has announced a 1.5% increase in the minimum wage from 1 April 2025, well below forecast inflation of 2.5%. Unions have reacted strongly and denounced it as a real terms cut. PSA and the CTU are opposing a new round of staff cuts at WorkSafe, which they say ...
The decision to unilaterally repudiate the contract for new Cook Strait ferries is beginning to look like one of the stupidest decisions a New Zealand government ever made. While cancelling the ferries and their associated port infrastructure may have made this year's books look good, it means higher costs later, ...
Hi there! I’ve been overseas recently, looking after a situation with a family member. So apologies if there any less than focused posts! Vanuatu has just had a significant 7.3 earthquake. Two MFAT staff are unaccounted for with local fatalities.It’s always sad to hear of such things happening.I think of ...
Today is a special member's morning, scheduled to make up for the government's theft of member's days throughout the year. First up was the first reading of Greg Fleming's Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill, which was passed unanimously. Currently the House is debating the third reading of ...
We're going backwardsIgnoring the realitiesGoing backwardsAre you counting all the casualties?We are not there yetWhere we need to beWe are still in debtTo our insanitiesSongwriter: Martin Gore Read more ...
Willis blamed Treasury for changing its productivity assumptions and Labour’s spending increases since Covid for the worsening Budget outlook. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, December 18 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above ...
Today the Auckland Transport board meet for the last time this year. For those interested (and with time to spare), you can follow along via this MS Teams link from 10am. I’ve taken a quick look through the agenda items to see what I think the most interesting aspects are. ...
Hi,If you’re a New Zealander — you know who Mike King is. He is the face of New Zealand’s battle against mental health problems. He can be loud and brash. He raises, and is entrusted with, a lot of cash. Last year his “I Am Hope” charity reported a revenue ...
Probably about the only consolation available from yesterday’s unveiling of the Half-Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) is that it could have been worse. Though Finance Minister Nicola Willis has tightened the screws on future government spending, she has resisted the calls from hard-line academics, fiscal purists and fiscal hawks ...
The right have a stupid saying that is only occasionally true:When is democracy not democracy? When it hasn’t been voted on.While not true in regards to branches of government such as the judiciary, it’s a philosophy that probably should apply to recently-elected local government councillors. Nevertheless, this concept seemed to ...
Long story short: the Government’s austerity policy has driven the economy into a deeper and longer recession that means it will have to borrow $20 billion more over the next four years than it expected just six months ago. Treasury’s latest forecasts show the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s fiscal strategy of ...
Come and join myself and CTU Chief Economist for a pop-up ‘Hoon’ webinar on the Government’s Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) with paying subscribers to The Kākā for 30 minutes at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream to watch our chat. Don’t worry if ...
In 1998, in the wake of the Paremoremo Prison riot, the Department of Corrections established the "Behaviour Management Regime". Prisoners were locked in their cells for 22 or 23 hours a day, with no fresh air, no exercise, no social contact, no entertainment, and in some cases no clothes and ...
New data released by the Treasury shows that the economic policies of this Government have made things worse in the year since they took office, said NZCTU Economist Craig Renney. “Our fiscal indicators are all heading in the wrong direction – with higher levels of debt, a higher deficit, and ...
At the 2023 election, National basically ran on a platform of being better economic managers. So how'd that turn out for us? In just one year, they've fucked us for two full political terms: The government's books are set to remain deeply in the red for the near term ...
AUSTERITYText within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedMy spreadsheet insists This pain leads straight to glory (File not found) Read more ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi are saying that the Government should do the right thing and deliver minimum wage increases that don’t see workers fall further behind, in response to today’s announcement that the minimum wage will only be increased by 1.5%, well short of forecast inflation. “With inflation forecast ...
Oh, I weptFor daysFilled my eyesWith silly tearsOh, yeaBut I don'tCare no moreI don't care ifMy eyes get soreSongwriters: Paul Rodgers / Paul Kossoff. Read more ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob HensonIn this aerial view, fingers of meltwater flow from the melting Isunnguata Sermia glacier descending from the Greenland Ice Sheet on July 11, 2024, near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. According to the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE), the ...
In August, I wrote an article about David Seymour1 with a video of his testimony, to warn that there were grave dangers to his Ministry of Regulation:David Seymour's Ministry of Slush Hides Far Greater RisksWhy Seymour's exorbitant waste of taxpayers' money could be the least of concernThe money for Seymour ...
Willis is expected to have to reveal the bitter fiscal fruits of her austerity strategy in the HYEFU later today. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/TheKakaMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, December 17 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast ...
On Friday the government announced it would double the number of toll roads in New Zealand as well as make a few other changes to how toll roads are used in the country. The real issue though is not that tolling is being used but the suggestion it will make ...
The Prime Minister yesterday engaged in what looked like a pre-emptive strike designed to counter what is likely to be a series of depressing economic statistics expected before the end of the week. He opened his weekly post-Cabinet press conference with a recitation of the Government’s achievements. “It certainly has ...
This whooping cough story from south Auckland is a good example of the coalition government’s approach to social need – spend money on urging people to get vaccinated but only after you’ve cut the funding to where they could get vaccinated. This has been the case all year with public ...
National has only been in power for a year, but everywhere you look, its choices are taking New Zealand a long way backwards. In no particular order, here are the National Government's Top 50 Greatest Misses of its first year in power. ...
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...
After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026. ...
In response to a new report from ERO, the Government has acknowledged the urgent need for consistency across the curriculum for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. ...
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...
Thank you for the invitation to speak with you tonight on behalf of the political party I belong to - which is New Zealand First. As we have heard before this evening the Kinleith Mill is proposing to reduce operations by focusing on pulp and discontinuing “lossmaking paper production”. They say that they are currently consulting on the plan to permanently shut ...
Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...
Kiwis planning a swim or heading out on a boat this summer should remember to stop and think about water safety, Sport & Recreation Minister Chris Bishop and ACC and Associate Transport Minister Matt Doocey say. “New Zealand’s beaches, lakes and rivers are some of the most beautiful in the ...
The Government is urging Kiwis to drive safely this summer and reminding motorists that Police will be out in force to enforce the road rules, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“This time of year can be stressful and result in poor decision-making on our roads. Whether you are travelling to see ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says Health New Zealand will move swiftly to support dozens of internationally-trained doctors already in New Zealand on their journey to employment here, after a tripling of sought-after examination places. “The Medical Council has delivered great news for hardworking overseas doctors who want to contribute ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has appointed Sarah Ottrey to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). “At my first APEC Summit in Lima, I experienced firsthand the role that ABAC plays in guaranteeing political leaders hear the voice of business,” Mr Luxon says. “New Zealand’s ABAC representatives are very well respected and ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced four appointments to New Zealand’s intelligence oversight functions. The Honourable Robert Dobson KC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, and the Honourable Brendan Brown KC has been appointed as a Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants. The appointments of Hon Robert Dobson and Hon ...
Improvements in the average time it takes to process survey and title applications means housing developments can progress more quickly, Minister for Land Information Chris Penk says. “The government is resolutely focused on improving the building and construction pipeline,” Mr Penk says. “Applications to issue titles and subdivide land are ...
The Government’s measures to reduce airport wait times, and better transparency around flight disruptions is delivering encouraging early results for passengers ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Improving the efficiency of air travel is a priority for the Government to give passengers a smoother, more reliable ...
The Government today announced the intended closure of the Apollo Hotel as Contracted Emergency Housing (CEH) in Rotorua, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. This follows a 30 per cent reduction in the number of households in CEH in Rotorua since National came into Government. “Our focus is on ending CEH in the Whakarewarewa area starting ...
The Government will reshape vocational education and training to return decision making to regions and enable greater industry input into work-based learning Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds says. “The redesigned system will better meet the needs of learners, industry, and the economy. It includes re-establishing regional polytechnics that ...
The Government is taking action to better manage synthetic refrigerants and reduce emissions caused by greenhouse gases found in heating and cooling products, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Regulations will be drafted to support a product stewardship scheme for synthetic refrigerants, Ms. Simmonds says. “Synthetic refrigerants are found in a ...
People travelling on State Highway 1 north of Hamilton will be relieved that remedial works and safety improvements on the Ngāruawāhia section of the Waikato Expressway were finished today, with all lanes now open to traffic, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“I would like to acknowledge the patience of road users ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds, has announced a new appointment to the board of Education New Zealand (ENZ). Dr Erik Lithander has been appointed as a new member of the ENZ board for a three-year term until 30 January 2028. “I would like to welcome Dr Erik Lithander to the ...
The Government will have senior representatives at Waitangi Day events around the country, including at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, but next year Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has chosen to take part in celebrations elsewhere. “It has always been my intention to celebrate Waitangi Day around the country with different ...
Two more criminal gangs will be subject to the raft of laws passed by the Coalition Government that give Police more powers to disrupt gang activity, and the intimidation they impose in our communities, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. Following an Order passed by Cabinet, from 3 February 2025 the ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Justice Christian Whata as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Whata’s appointment as a Judge of the Court of Appeal will take effect on 1 August 2025 and fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Hon Justice David Goddard on ...
The latest economic figures highlight the importance of the steps the Government has taken to restore respect for taxpayers’ money and drive economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Data released today by Stats NZ shows Gross Domestic Product fell 1 per cent in the September quarter. “Treasury and most ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Minister of Education David Seymour today announced legislation changes to strengthen freedom of speech obligations on universities. “Freedom of speech is fundamental to the concept of academic freedom and there is concern that universities seem to be taking a more risk-averse ...
Police Minister, Mark Mitchell, and Internal Affairs Minister, Brooke van Velden, today launched a further Public Safety Network cellular service that alongside last year’s Cellular Roaming roll-out, puts globally-leading cellular communications capability into the hands of our emergency responders. The Public Safety Network’s new Cellular Priority service means Police, Wellington ...
State Highway 1 through the Mangamuka Gorge has officially reopened today, providing a critical link for Northlanders and offering much-needed relief ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“The Mangamuka Gorge is a vital route for Northland, carrying around 1,300 vehicles per day and connecting the Far ...
The Government has welcomed decisions by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and Ashburton District Council confirming funding to boost resilience in the Canterbury region, with construction on a second Ashburton Bridge expected to begin in 2026, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Delivering a second Ashburton Bridge to improve resilience and ...
The Government is backing the response into high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Otago, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says. “Cabinet has approved new funding of $20 million to enable MPI to meet unbudgeted ongoing expenses associated with the H7N6 response including rigorous scientific testing of samples at the enhanced PC3 ...
Legislation that will repeal all advertising restrictions for broadcasters on Sundays and public holidays has passed through first reading in Parliament today, Media Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “As a growing share of audiences get their news and entertainment from streaming services, these restrictions have become increasingly redundant. New Zealand on ...
Today the House agreed to Brendan Horsley being appointed Inspector-General of Defence, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Mr Horsley’s experience will be invaluable in overseeing the establishment of the new office and its support networks. “He is currently Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, having held that role since June 2020. ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the final regulations for the levy on insurance contracts that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand from July 2026. “Earlier this year the Government agreed to a 2.2 percent increase to the rate of levy. Fire ...
The Government is delivering regulatory relief for New Zealand businesses through changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act. “The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill, which was introduced today, is the second Bill – the other being the Statutes Amendment Bill - that ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed further progress on the Hawke’s Bay Expressway Road of National Significance (RoNS), with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board approving funding for the detailed design of Stage 1, paving the way for main works construction to begin in late 2025.“The Government is moving at ...
The Government today released a request for information (RFI) to seeking interest in partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned land with low farming and conservation value (excluding National Parks) Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced. “Planting trees on Crown-owned land will drive economic growth by creating more forestry jobs in our regions, providing more wood ...
Court timeliness, access to justice, and improving the quality of existing regulation are the focus of a series of law changes introduced to Parliament today by Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee. The three Bills in the Regulatory Systems (Justice) Amendment Bill package each improve a different part of the ...
A total of 41 appointments and reappointments have been made to the 12 community trusts around New Zealand that serve their regions, Associate Finance Minister Shane Jones says. “These trusts, and the communities they serve from the Far North to the deep south, will benefit from the rich experience, knowledge, ...
The Government has confirmed how it will provide redress to survivors who were tortured at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (the Lake Alice Unit). “The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that many of the 362 children who went through the Lake Alice Unit between 1972 and ...
It has been a busy, productive year in the House as the coalition Government works hard to get New Zealand back on track, Leader of the House Chris Bishop says. “This Government promised to rebuild the economy, restore law and order and reduce the cost of living. Our record this ...
“Accelerated silicosis is an emerging occupational disease caused by unsafe work such as engineered stone benchtops. I am running a standalone consultation on engineered stone to understand what the industry is currently doing to manage the risks, and whether further regulatory intervention is needed,” says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister ...
Mehemea he pai mō te tangata, mahia – if it’s good for the people, get on with it. Enhanced reporting on the public sector’s delivery of Treaty settlement commitments will help improve outcomes for Māori and all New Zealanders, Māori Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka says. Compiled together for the ...
Mr Roger Holmes Miller and Ms Tarita Hutchinson have been appointed to the Charities Registration Board, Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Louise Upston says. “I would like to welcome the new members joining the Charities Registration Board. “The appointment of Ms Hutchinson and Mr Miller will strengthen the Board’s capacity ...
More building consent and code compliance applications are being processed within the statutory timeframe since the Government required councils to submit quarterly data, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “In the midst of a housing shortage we need to look at every step of the build process for efficiencies ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey is proud to announce the first three recipients of the Government’s $10 million Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund which will enable more Kiwis faster access to mental health and addiction support. “This fund is part of the Government’s commitment to investing in ...
New Zealand is providing Vanuatu assistance following yesterday's devastating earthquake, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. "Vanuatu is a member of our Pacific family and we are supporting it in this time of acute need," Mr Peters says. "Our thoughts are with the people of Vanuatu, and we will be ...
The Government welcomes the Commerce Commission’s plan to reduce card fees for Kiwis by an estimated $260 million a year, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.“The Government is relentlessly focused on reducing the cost of living, so Kiwis can keep more of their hard-earned income and live a ...
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Todays article about the Greens proposal of a guaranteed minimum income has been commented on by Rod Oram and I agree with him.
I am disappointed in labour. Despite all their fanfare to focus on poverty all they produced was an increase in the minimum wage. That did nothing for the very vulnerable on the bottom of the heap depended on a benefit that is too much to die of not enough to live on. The increase was good as long as it lasted, actual food inflation measured on price increases is at 3.5% for the last 3 months but this hasn't got the fuel tax increase of recent included.
Void of any ideas, we get to hear that the tax system is fair. Of cause it is for those who have a disproportionate slice of the pie, courtesy by the taxpayer no less.
BTW, what ever happened to the announced reduction of wages by 20% for the parliamentarians? Lets not talk about snout in the trough shall we. They think the public has forgotten. No they didn't.
Link?
For any comment that starts with "Todays article" it seems essential, yes.
https://www.msn.com/en-nz/finance/personalfinance/greens-poverty-plan-welcome-and-essential/ar-BB16guae
Thank you. Interestingly still (temporarily for 24 hours) paywalled on the Newsroom site itself: https://www.newsroom.co.nz/pro/greens-poverty-plan-welcome-and-essential
Sorry to disappoint you Fw, but Parliamentary Services are still processing the change. Bureaucrats like to take their time with these things. Jacinda Ardern – or someone – expressed mild frustration about two weeks ago, so imagine its started or is about to start.
Hi Anne
They will process this as long as it takes to get it out of the collective memory. Its like the story with reducing the number of seats from 120 to 100. Yeah Right.
Meanwhile, the Australian private "partner" skins the NZ taxpayer to get millions of our hard earned money as this government has not even read the fine print of the contract and they are now putting the dumb screws onto NZTA with the mega blow out of the Transmission gully, Water issues in Auckland that haven't been addressed for years (any political party) and they wont be the last to experience this, millions of taxpayer money syphoned by fraud from Americas cup team (IT is an issue for a millionaires cup?) and the stories keep going…
Walking the talk BS and it does not matter where you look, no wonder people take to the streets. It maybe for isolated issues but really there is an underlying (lying?? ok pun intended) issue.
https://www.twitter.com/FoxyLustyGrover/status/1278407800817766401
Very helpful, lets see whether its implemented. People have taken a cut in hours(pay) or have lost their job since May I may point out. Meanwhile 200 000 are on a benefit.
Labour:
I Preferred Their Early Work
Tova on TV3 loves a scalp. I find it painful to watch her glee. She has had a great few weeks with David Clark and Simon Bridges.
She certainly can make a big deal out of SFA, she has a good nose for dirt.
This is what was achieved in health when David Clark was Minister. I wish the likes of Tova and Heather et al would inform themselves better………..this is from who is being described as an incompetent minister. And Yes I absolutely acknowledge his errors with the lockdown breach and taking ministerial responsibility
NZ’s largest ever investment in frontline mental health services
– Hiring 1600 new mental health workers which will result in 325,000 Kiwis a year receiving free access to improved mental health services
– NZ’s largest ever increase to DHB funding
– 3x the increases to health funding compared to what National delivered in 9 years
– Significant additional funding for disability support services
– Made GP visits $30 cheaper for 600,000 New Zealanders
– Brought in NZ’s long overdue medicinal cannabis regulations
– Free counselling for under 25’s
– Expanding telehealth and digital supports for mental wellbeing
– Delivered 80 new mental health workers in Canterbury schools (18 months earlier than promised)
– Extended free GP visits to under 14s
– Rolled out national bowel screening
– Opened Suicide Prevention Office
– Increased suicide prevention funding
– Established a national suicide bereavement counselling fund providing free counselling for people bereaved by suicide
– Tailored Māori and Pacific suicide prevention initiatives addressing New Zealand's persistently high suicide rates
– An expanded family and whānau suicide prevention information service
– More suicide prevention services in District Health Boards, including increased post-discharge support
– An improved suicide media response service, supporting responsible discussion about suicide across all media and social media.
– New research on improving health outcomes for Māori and Pacific peoples.
– Increased investment to develop innovative Pacific community health initiatives
– Established National Cancer Control Agency
– Developed Cancer Action Plan
– New Rheumatic fever prevention funding
– Largest ever investment in radiation therapy
– Extended the nurses in schools programme
– Expansion of mental health and addiction services for offenders
– $70 million investment for the building of mental health facilities at Hillmorton Hospital
– Significant hospital upgrades and funding increases to capital projects
– Fast-tracked new Dunedin hospital
– Large funding boosts to Pharmac
– Reimbursements for midwives working through Covid-19 response
– Boosted air ambulance network
– Rural locum relief for rural midwives
– More GP training placements in rural and regional areas
– New funding for AIDS research
– New funding for gender reassignment surgeries
– Strengthened NZ’s immunisation system
– Pay increases of between 12-15.9% for nurses, midwives, practitioners, community nurses, health care assistants & hospital aides
– Pay equity for mental health & addiction workers
– Initiated a wide-ranging review of our health & disability services
Would this have all happened without him? Not necessarily. He was the Associate Minister of Finance for the first 2 budgets and actively lobbied to ensure that funding was made in these areas.
Some of those are plans rather than results, which just plays into the opposition line about Labour's delivery. Also overplays the Minister's involvement. Just let him go.
If this list exaggerates health gains made during the two-and-a-half years that Dr David Clark was the Minister of Health, IMHO it's still a useful rebuttal to the frankly ludicious assertions made by some on this site that he was a do-nothing, MIA minister. Now I'll "let him go."
You left out the huge job getting the hospitals up to speed and accessing new equipment for the Covid response, thats why he was keep on because he did a bloody good job there, but look over there , fuck me he's riding a bike! Yeah like 5 million other Kiwis did.
Yep, hyperbole, deliberate character assassination.
Disappointing to see so many yesterday putting the BOOT in cos the media says so.
Thanks anker for relisting this info from yesterday, many don't want to believe he achieved anything at all, and FACTs don't matter, sounds like I'm describing a Nat MP, but many here made that decision to ignore facts and portray their own misbeliefs.
Hi anker, I am not taking issue with yr larger point, that Clark did get some stuff done.
I do dispute the 12 -15.9% payrise for nurses etc. Closer to 6% over three years.
What gives?
Hi Gsays, just seen you question. To be honest, I did't compile this list. A very reliable contact of mine did. It sounds like you have some good information to say the pay rise was 6% over three years. That doesn't sound that great. I seem to remember there was a lot of toing and froing over it, so I will look into it.
I am not wanting to be a cheerleader for David Clark as such, but I think there was a witch hunt going on and its a little unfair. Just wanted to present a balanced picture.
Article in the Herald. today saying America are interested in hiring him
I was really disappointed with his two lockdown breaches. I didn't buy into the bus throwing BS.
As an aside, the NZNO is in disarray, seemingly stuck between being a union and being a professional body. And not doing either to well.
It appears there are some high up in the Union who's loyalties lie close to the Ministry.
She's a grinning sadist with no apparent commitment to anything other than her own advancement.
Unusual to see a judge advising a minister on how to do politics! The nexus where environment meets public interest and the economy will always produce allegations of bias when someone with a track record of partisan advocacy is given the power to decide who wins in a conflict situation.
Since general principles are involved, this is a space to watch. Industry capture by means of lobbyists has been institutionalised in the USA for a long time and the public have been held to ransome. Now the boot's on the other foot, here.
It would be helpful if West Coasters came up with new industries rather than trying to resurrect mining.
Mining, milling, milking, managing, and moving. The NZ economy in a nutshell.
It would have been unusual if the judge had done that. Just as well she hadn’t, eh?
Interesting to see that there's some part of this you don't understand: "A judge has advised Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage to handover future decisions on some mining projects after being accused of bias."
Could it be the relation between advised and advising? Third form English classes got taught they derive from the same root word when I was young – but maybe that was no longer standard practice by the time you entered college? Linguistic basics by then deemed too hard for English teachers to comprehend let alone students…
Back when I attended school in a cardboard box in middle of road, people did not even need to be taught that "a judge has advised Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage to handover future decisions on some mining projects" is not the same statement as "a judge advising a minister on how to do politics".
One is about being a Minister, the other about being a politician. Exercising a specific regulatory authority is far narrower than 'politics' as most humans understand the term.
Whose interests does it serve to conflate them?
Ok, Grasshopper. This would be a good headline “Judge advises Minister on how to do politics!”. As with many headlines nowadays, they are inaccurate and misleading, often deliberately and grossly. Your view reads like a headline.
Given that your premise is wrong, your comment becomes mostly nonsensical. My education and the foundation of my lacking language skills are not the reason for your nonsense. You are illogical.
Sacha's point above yours is good, since it addresses governance responsibilities – which then enables anyone else to see it as addressing a technical issue rather than being political. Rather than beating all around the bush, if you were sensing that relevance you ought to have said so. Simply pushing your subjective view of what is or is not politics achieves nothing, so long as you don't explain why you feel that the premise is wrong.
Finally, we agree that your premise was wrong, phew! It has taken you all day for the penny to drop; Sacha @ 9:59 am got it in one. I felt you were wrong, relatively speaking, but had to overcome subjective hurdles before it could crystallise in the subconscious and come to the fore to become the idea that you could see as your own.
Ah, not so fast to that conclusion! I don't agree my premise was wrong – I was simply acknowledging merit in Sacha's point. Thus there are two valid interpretations (corresponding to whether one prefers a wide take on politics that includes governance (the commonly-held perspective, and mine) or prefers a narrow view of it that excludes governance). Me, I've always been broadminded… 😇
Of course, you disagree! Going back to the judge, which interpretation of politics did she use in her judgement?
Sorry, can't read her mind. Even if I could, would be presumptuous to try & interpret it. Trespassing in interior worlds is uncool. 😇
How come you now are noncommittal and evasive? You enthusiastically asserted that the judge had advised the Minister how to do politics @ 3. Were you projecting again? Or simply trying to
squeezeconform her advice into your own narrow but valid interpretation of politics without governance? Not a good verdict by the learned judge if it is open to such wide range of valid interpretations, IMHO.Come now, I was honest in what I wrote. If you feel that is "noncommittal and evasive" that's your problem. Own your subjective reactions & feelings, why don't you?
I simply called it how I saw it. I see no point in your sustained effort to psychoanalyse me. It's not as if psychoanalysis were trendy: it lost its place as a predominant fashion trend in psychology long ago! And anyway, trying to make it all about the personality of commentators is not an appropriate way to conduct a political blog.
In other words you ascribed something to the judge’s advice that was never there? Because that’s how you saw it and that’s you called it? I’d call that making things up to suit your thinking AKA confirmation bias. Last time I checked, this was still very much en vogue so you are still trendy.
Personality comes through in behaviour and motivation, doesn’t it? I always wonder why people twist reality and what their motivation is. Often it is because they have an agenda, e.g. politicians, and sometimes it is ego-tripping. To label that “psychoanalysis” is fascinating but flawed. I don’t smoke cigars and don’t have a beard if that’s any consolation; your mind is safe. Newtonian mechanics is still very useful and taught at schools. As a Physics graduate you will appreciate the irony of that.
BTW, I’m not conducting a political blog, merely commenting and responding here and occasionally cleaning up 😉
I’m bored now so TTFN.
Are you being honest when you claim to be honest?
Some people like defining words to suit themselves. Fine in their own back yard but rather useless in the public square. Villagers tended to shun them after a while.
Shamans tend to make weird sounds and speak in strange languages. The tribesmen are in awe. Until they realise it is just mostly ritualised BS.
Every village also has its idiot.
Is this the nexus where snarx meets slynex in praxis?
Yes, very good, I prefer to call it sparing
A 20+ year 'conflicts of interest tail' must be both long and thin!
Third question: When judges 'advise' or 'suggest' (as opposed to instruct/direct) a course of action, are Ministers bound to follow? In any event, good that the application for a judicial review of Sage's decision has been dismissed, IMHO, and thanks for bringing this "win for conservation" to my attention.
Fourth question:
So who/what is being "held to ransome" here? Arthur?
http://hull-awe.org.uk/index.php/Ransom_-_Ransome
Yeah I did spot that one, but too late to edit. Comes of gardening when frost is on the ground. Even the beanie didn't prevent brain-freeze. 😒
Good way to weed out the pedants. 🙂
Sorry Dennis, couldn't help it
Btw, that fourth question was genuine. I’m easily confused by business/financial/legal matters – were you suggesting that this decision represents the public (via its 'ministerial lobbyist' Sage?) holding industry to ransom? If so then that's great – good example of our government acting in the longer-term public interest.
No no just pointing out the analogy – capture by interest groups. I agree the judge seems to be acting in the public interest & wish commenters would focus on the things that matter: setting a precedent (?) and constitutionality of that. I get that idle chit-chat passes time, but would prefer blog commentary to elucidate…
Back to 3rd form Englix for you.
Regarding the racist Nat mp and returnees being sent to Queenstown. He should be so lucky they're not coming back from China, as every one in national knows Chinese count two more than Indians.
When push comes to shove, how many colleagues does it take to force a minister out? Heather du Plessis-Allan believes enough is enough:
I can see why she's baffled. Could it be that Ardern made a team play? You know, like a rugby scrum where all bind to drive forward. She could have just secured agreement that Clark needed to be shown how to be a team player. Having all those other top ministers gang up on him to push him out would have made it clear that it wasn't personal animus from the PM. Smart thinking!
Too much imagination, this time.
Does it really require that much imagining to believe Ardern is that smart?? I'm troubled by your pessimism. Maybe there will have to be more prosetylising in the Labour ranks, huh? O ye of little faith!
My faith in your judgement is wavering.
Irrelevant. The court's judgment is the issue. "In law, a judgment, also spelled judgement, is a decision of a court" according to Wikipedia. The judge decided to advise the minister. Perhaps our resident lawyer will opine upon the issue. Good question: is it unprecedented? Another: is it unconstitutional?
This seems to be a reply to #3.
Oh yes, thanks. Mental wires got crossed. 🙄
Nice diversion and thus irrelevant. I’m really starting to doubt your judgement. You are commenting and opining here, the judge isn’t. This could apply equally to your comments @ 3 and @ 5.
Anyone can see the judge isn't opining here! The judgment was made in court. Why try to cloud the issue? Facing the fact works better. 🙄
You are opining here. I can see it with even one eye closed, day in day out. Why deny it? Why cloud your judgement to suit your narrative? I’m losing faith in your opinion as well as judgement but you write good headlines.
Do you know what a judge’s professional opinion is called?
Of course I'm opining here, just like most commentators who post here. What's with this sudden need of yours to keep stating the obvious??
Dennis Frank you seem to be putting some of the topics in your own salt-grinder and turning and turning until the letters start dropping individually. Actually leaving them a bit chunky for someone else to chew on would be good. Is that possible?
My ‘needs’ haven’t changed all of a sudden but my faith in your judgement and opinion has been rocked severely. Why would I go on about somebody else’s opinion to you? It makes no sense and I wasn’t but for some reason you pretended I was. I don’t think you’re particularly ‘slow’ and I can only speculate on your reticence acknowledging the issue I was referring to all along.
Let the voters decide in Clark's Dunedin electorate, that is what an election is for.
Micky's never been the same since Auntie Maxine brushed him off.
/
https://twitter.com/mtracey/status/1278513333675659264
Can I have some of what he is smoking?
why not, after all the Black Hills, sacred to the Lakota (if anyone cares about the things the first nations of the US thought sacred) were exploded to carve out the presidents that stole the land from the Lakota.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/rushmore-sioux/
Oh poor lil man, whats he to do with his white working male class economic anxiety.
Cain's since been hospitalised with COVID so perhaps Lakota will get the last laugh.
https://twitter.com/THEHermanCain/status/1278444266881273856
https://twitter.com/THEHermanCain/status/1274489632886075398
btw, some names to watch.
https://okcfox.com/news/local/trump-campaign-announces-top-surrogates-for-tulsa-rally
btw, some
Good idea not wearing masks to the political rally. Let them be hoist by their own petard.
Todd Muller on Checkpoint last challenged by Lisa on his policies. Not very convincing?
Especially from 4:40
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018753281/muller-on-rebuilding-bridges-we-ve-a-professional-relationship
ianmac 7
How many elections have we seen where National had NO policies to announce, just more of the same and their response is "look over there at the opposition policies" and then deliberately misinterpret them with usual slant of higher taxes or don't have the experience or Just Outright LIES.
Yes Just Us. Seemed amazing that the Key lot could get away with that. This time might be different because they will have to come up with a compelling counter argument to manage Covid19 aftermath. Questions are already being asked and just saying that this Government is a shambles won't wash – I hope.
Anybody arguing that this Govt is a Shambles has their head in the sand and are seriously politically biased.
NZ is the luckiest country in the world today, because of the Govts response to the virus, there is no room for criticism fron anyone who values their credibility.
Maybe Muller will be up to speed after the election.
Time to call time on China.
Xi seems hellbent on destroying all the gains China has made over the last 30 years, and he is intent on war to preserve his power, just like every other failing dictator.
Not content with trying to (unsuccessfully) bully the rest of the world, they are once again trying to bully us. No more. Boycott their products.
Trump may be an idiot, but he is right when he says the UN and WHO are largely funded by the west yet whose interests do they represent? The UN is nowhere to be seen on the virus China unleashed on the world due to its lies and secrecy. About tome they suggested that the evil communist government starts making reparations, particularly to the developing world. But of course, as always it will be the nasty old west that does that.
The single biggest disaster of our time is China C19, yet all posters on here seem concerned about os that isiot Trump.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12345158
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12345066
We brought them into world trade.
We utterly depend on them.
And there's no turning back.
Not true. India will eclipse China economically within the next 20 years, and they are a well educated, democratic society that we have a long and strong relationship with.
It's not about 'going back', it's more about managing the evil influence of China going forward. Following the UK approach of accepting large scale immigration from Hong Kong would be economically and socially beneficial for NZ and send a clear message of which side of the line we stand.
India might be a democratic society, but corruption is now institutionalised, no real difference between them and China.
why? finding it hard to buy somewhat more expensive goods made by us?
NZ goods you mean that last 10 times as long and not made of shit metal and spit.
pretty much yes. Made by us.
Edit
China. We should start studying some of their sage's thoughts on how to conduct oneself so as to win the war before it even starts. I don't know whether it will succeed, but we should try to do something better than throwing our arms up in the air despairingly, or letting people just walk over us without a move to lessen the pressure. Sun Tzu has a lot to say and if only one out of a 100 is a good, new idea, the study time won't be wasted.
“If your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. If sovereign and subject are in accord, put division between them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected .”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
“Engage people with what they expect; it is what they are able to discern and confirms their projections. It settles them into predictable patterns of response, occupying their minds while you wait for the extraordinary moment — that which they cannot anticipate.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/1771.Sun_Tzu
And don't forget that Australia is not our friend yet we still find ways of interacting with them. China is on a path that is not good, is there some way we could change their course, using chaos theory? Some small variable that we could introduce at a time that's a tipping-point? Perhaps plan it out like tactics in a rugby game, seeing that has become our special interest. Rugby isn't just about being a boof-head though sometimes it seems so.
And just wonder whether we are the subject of some of Sun-Tzu’s moves ourselves. ‘..appear where you are unexpected’ – I didn’t expect the MP among our politicians?
Today's idiot decision makers in our tertiary education sector.Southern Technical Institute
This makes absolutely no sense at all.
Looks like government has provided money for a training course – heavy machinery driving 120 people funded
Minister says " his first priority is helping find work for New Zealanders who have lost their jobs due to Covid-19"
Course has been over subscribed
Half the course are people on temporary work permits ( need a status change or work placement to be allowed to stay)
Why on earth is the course not giving priority to unemployed New Zealanders. If there aren't enough living in the area then shift the course location or fund temporary relocation through WINZ..
It's absolutely barking mad. The taxpayer is paying for a course but not taking people who would otherwise be on a taxpayer funded benefit.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/country/419923/heavy-machinery-driver-shortage-leads-to-plea-for-overseas-workers-to-be-allowed
Fuck em. Time for some industries to invest in training locals and increase their pay rates to attract and keep employees. Or go out of business if they are incapable of renegotiating their arrangements accordingly. Why should the rest of us prop up their profits?
Yes, longer term industries should fund their own training. Short term – with the crisis -it's probably a reasonable investment in changing work skills.
But STI must be brain dead – they should be required to take people who are eligible to work here, New Zealanders who have lost their jobs( or maybe who want to upgrade) rather than people who are on a short term cannot be used work permit. I'd like to think a "please explain" is already winging it's way from the ministers office.
Down below I see we have hit 200,000 unemployed
They may have found a lack of eagerness among hardworking kiwi families to subject themselves to a cheery southern winter.
nah, surely that can't be it. But maybe low pay, cold houses and the expense of moving is what is keeping people from not going for it.
usually when businesses complain of lack of skilled workers its code for 'our wages are so crap that we can only get people from countries were the wages are even crappier. please provide visas".
Alot of them are young fallas and fulesss one oe. Young kiwis chase the harvesting ,shearing seasons around the globe and foreign ones come here for the same . Most arnt full time jobs and are quit skilled . Any one can drive tractors ,even me , but operateing them with some of the gear they tow and on some of the terrain they they travel over is a another thing .
Did you tell james Cameron to get fucked and hire kiwis,
Senior digital screen production expertise is a limited pool. Most of the industry here are New Zealanders.
Driving tractors, on the other hand..
Pull your skirt down your ignorance is showing.
Classy.
I believe it’s called a kilt.
Ssshh. I wanted it to be a surprise.
😀
The courses are actually oversubscribed according to the story. How hard would it be to actually teach people who live here long term and would otherwise be on unemployment benefits.
Yep at the top end some of it is pretty skilled but that is not the object of this course – creating entry level people who can then move up or enable others already in the industry to move up. And some of the trainees are ex pilots – I'm sure an ex 747 pilot has the spatial skills to move up fairly rapidly … we just haven't previously trained any.
And james Cameron should also be pushed to have a training programme for locals rather than just a great big taxpayer funded bung.
It may come down to experience in the working world, with that I mean real work not carrier politics. It seems that a crisis shows shortcomings more pronounced.
Perhaps it can be treated like a vaccination. There is a dis-ease in NZ and to stop it becoming more advanced, give it a bit of a shot in the arm from education. Then perhaps we can concentrate on coping with the chronic illness we have of persisting in over-fattening ourselves on imported matter, and use home-grown product wherever possible. Have I been able to express this in a kindly but practical manner?
I thought this was a thoughtful message to people in general.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Baldwin (1924-1987)
Unemployment has reached 200 000 – this is double digit unemployment figures, and no end in sight.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/300048558/more-than-200000-new-zealanders-now-on-unemployment-benefits
https://tradingeconomics.com/new-zealand/employed-persons
The number of Covid 19 cases is just about to clock over to 11 million, a new record for new daily cases with US recording 56980 new cases on its own.
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
The stats indicate 92% recover and 8% don't
So much winning.
https://twitter.com/ObsoleteDogma/status/1278710192608247813
https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1278764469540265985
USA USA USA USA .
WORLD LEADERS
TRUMP IS GREAT.
Well Florida's problem is just nature at work. There's a saying about Florida being where the retired 'snowbirds' go for the winter. And another 'Birds of same feather flock together'. So all the oldies go and mingle there and they must have a large proportion of older ages.
It seems they had in 2010 about 5.5 million people over 55 years, which is when Covid-19 starts to weigh in. http://edr.state.fl.us/Content/population-demographics/data/Pop_Census_Day.pdf
Now they have had 169,000 confirmed cases and 3,505 deaths. On 4 June new cases registered at 1419. On 18 June 3207, more than double new cases two weeks. The largest number of new cases registered was on 27 June 9,585 and then there was a drop which indicates a break in testing because it is so sharp. Latest confirmed new cases – (25/6-1/7 – 5004, 8942, 9585, 9530, 5266, 6093, 6563 = 50,983 in week. There is a potential for deaths in five figures from Florida alone. There won't be the room to bury such numbers, smoking chimneys common. RIP.
And Florida is a laid-back place about doing government honestly and properly. Carl Hiaasen has made his living from writing about their zeitgeist. If they cared about their visitors the government would have taken the oldies particularly, under their wing. They are worth billions to the state.
(To look at Florida and other state daily figures look up google and keywords – Florida covid-19 cases so far – which is shorter than the link address)
Note Idaho is shooting up percentagewise looking at chart further up – 467% new in last two weeks, but base numbers were low so at 1 July there were only 253 new confirmed cases. (6593 cases 91 deaths – recovered 4073)
Figures can differ between different reports. But the trend is the important thing, is it going sharply up, or plateauing, sloping down?
Ahh, Carl Hiaasen, the best hours you can have between the covers!
STOP TESTING GODDAMMIT!!
Trump honestly believes the only reason the US has so many cases is cos they carry out more tests than any other country.
How did this idiot ever get elected, is the avg IQ in the US so low its not measurable
It is, IMO, the problem with telling people that their opinions are just as valid as everyone else's even when those opinions are not based upon fact or even logic.
Quick, someone find these lemmings a cliff.
https://twitter.com/StephBuffamonte/status/1278424931798331395
Yep, the good oll US of A, we have the right to behave stupidly, why do think we voted in Trump.
Meanwhile there are over 40 million unemployed right now.
You can see those protesters are all wet! Perhaps the devil made them do it.
Layers of irony here – someone in Seminole County saying "my body my choice". Not a choice given to members of the Seminole tribe forced out of Florida to exile in "Indian Territory" (Oklahoma) in the late 1850's.
Reopen the schools….what could possibly go wrong?
https://twitter.com/sfchronicle/status/1278543840367050757
University experiment confirms reopening problem.
https://twitter.com/WSJ/status/1278822040095645696
They got clued in that Keep America Great might not be the most effective slogan right now. So they went back to Make America Great Again. Oops.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-make-america-great-again-slogan-returns_n_5efe8471c5b6ca97091b9dd4
And dear Eric tried to have a crack at the Clintons over Ghislaine's arrest, bless his heart. Somebody get a Participation Trophy for that boy.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/eric-trump-ghislaine-maxwell_n_5efe9858c5b612083c5992da
The most reliable aspect of Covid-19 is more cases. A breakthrough, even a small one would be welcomed.
Why would google have a 2020 date on a Herald article from 2001? I was looking up Laila Harre and came on a piece about smacking which I knew was historical stuff.
Ban the smacks, says Laila Harre – NZ Herald
http://www.nzherald.co.nz › news › article
May 7, 2020 – Youth Affairs Minister Laila Harre has condemned the law allowing children to be smacked, calling it 'legalised violence. ' Under the Crimes Act, pa.
I don't know if you remember the 2008 election where this issue was quite possibly the reason Clark was not returned.
The level of hyperbole and misinformation from Key and the media was relentless, the Anti Smacking Bill, right idea, wrong time, a Green Bill that was attached to the Govt, should have been left till after the election.
I think the outcome would have been a lot different.
Breaking News
WHO is changing the name of Covid-19 to Trumpvirus-2020.
Cases: 2,837,189
Deaths: 131,485
Making America Great Again.
Certainly leading from the front.
I was thinking if Trump has a hiccup one morning and decided he wants to send armed forces here and we have to accept them, they might do a Guam on us bringing their nasty bugs with them along with their warmongering. In the old historic days the crafties knew how to use germs. They would chuck infected bandages etc over the walls to spread disease. They mightn't have known all the science but they knew what havoc it would create. We don't want that do we!
I know your suggestion is an almighty piss take- but if if happened who would be in our corner?? It wouldn't be Aussie UK France Canada The EU ..such irony the only ones likely to complain would be China and Russia.
But those 131,000 people enjoyed their 'freedom'. Albeit a totally insane conception of freedom – the freedom to not give a flying f*ck about anyone else, and have them not give a flying f*ck about you.
This item by Chris Trotter in Interest.co. from Jun.15/20
https://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/105493/chris-trotter-assesses-national-leader-todd-mullers-weekend-speech-suggesting-he-has
I was looking for Laila Harre's latest and she is mentioned here I think.
Just for some light relief …..
Has anyone else come across an 'app' called 'Logmate'? I'm just curious because for what its ekshully doing, it really should be capable of running on the most back-level "smartfone" device anyone ever invented. NZTA requires it, or something like it.
But as you were….there are far more pressing matters for people to discuss (oops have a conversation with)
anyone who is engaged in, or thinking of engaging in the g-g-g-gig economy, and if we don't know already, NZTA has a spectacular record.
I had a runout rego payment to make to NZTA. I phoned up to make the payment and got put through to some system that asked me to use the the phone buttons & tones to put all the payment data in from cards etc. Absolutely no indication of what the system was or the level of security or anything else. The only other way to make the payment was by cheque- which was what they got. The nice very practical person that I spoke to at NZTA did say that an on the ground payment option (other NZTA fees can be paid at the NZPO) would be a good idea but it appears to have been squashed further up.
As a matter of principal I believe there should be a whole of government /local body answer to being able to pay these and other obligatory charges without the payer having to incur excessive fees or costs charged by banking systems rather than every little department having its own system..
Logmate looks like a system that records commercial drivers approved hours.
That's exactly what it is. Not that complicated one would have thought. Inputting small amounts of data to a database to ensure drivers are compliant with the regs.
I guess Logmate's developer is probably making a killing these days removing all references to "Master" and "Slave" from code.
Thank your God I'm well out of it these days.
Why Queenstown for quarantine – I know it has hotels but the main hospital if needed is way over in Dunedin.
So Qtown don't want to be a quarantine centre but want their tourists back? Seems a tad inconsistent.
Nah they are worried that quarantine will kill the locals coming there. And as far as I am concerned they are dead right – I wouldn't go near the place any more than I would catch a flight on the local plague airline.
well then, don't go to Auckland, nor Rotorua. But i guess Queenstown is a little less NZ then the rest of NZ.
They are pretty low on my list as well. Gisborne here I come.
Queenstown is a freezing cold, overpriced sh*thole contaminated by sleazy money-obsessed Tories. Fifty years ago it was one of the most beautiful places on the planet.
True I agree and Eichardts was a pub with a public bar where no woman would feel comfortable but dogs were allowed. Those were the days.It's always been on the shady side of the lake though.
Hang on, the sheilas in the clean Swannies were nice girls.
Down memory lane here. The swannies, the dogs and the hunting , shooting fishing gear all part of that.
Fifty years ago it was a freezing cold, overpriced sh*thole contaminated by sleazy money obsessed Tories too. Whakatipu is still one of the most beautiful places on the planet.
I did wonder if the ppl letting Boult know they'd be staying away are the owners of the flash houses up on the hills. Never mind Jim, they'll still pay their rates.
I guess they don't get the concept of quarantine. They must be expecting to socialise with the returnees.
or with their wallets, at least.
But they think tourists won't? Fukcwits.
Queenstown would be a bit silly for a plane load of people straight from LA, London or Delhi. The risk to the returnee, and the Queenstown health system and population would be too great. We've got a 20 – 30 bed third level hospital here and it's a 1 – 2 hour helicopter ride to better care depending on what's required. Not to say we didn't get through the initial bit in March without too much drama. And yes it was ALL on here for a few weeks.
That's not to say that some Queenstown hotels couldn't be set up to take lower risk people in their second week. This would take the pressure off Auckland facilities and put some much needed cashflow into into hotels that are at present effectively shut and their staff unemployed. There's several large hotels that are seperate from the rest of town that would be easily set up and controlled.
If part charging becomes a thing there's quite a few higher end places that could do a quite nice couple of weeks for a price, This is probably how our tourism industry will operate in medium term so would be a good way of setting that up and learning how to do it.
theyve got their gov bailout…no need to play the game any more…it would be laughable if it wasnt so serious…Boult atypical
Why on earth are we even taking "expressions of interest" from potential migrants when we have a queue of half a million and 200,000 registered as unemployed plus those who would like more work but who don't register? Don't we need to quash the endless expectation that there will be endless migration.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/news/300047408/we-no-longer-feel-safe-in-the-us-new-zealand-presents-a-safe-haven-for-wouldbe-migrants
The article is by a black Muslim immigrant woman so I can fully understand why she would like her family to be in NZ and her kids to grow up here (despite our faults) rather than the States.
I wasn't commenting on that individual, rather on the number of people looking.
Although if they are from the UK and looking they could have voted to put in MMP when they had the referendum, told the lib dems to back Jeremy Corban for #10 with a very limited agenda to move brexit along, rather than voting for Boris and giving him a landslide. Stop voting for the tories and Farage. Then maybe they would have what we have . The US is more complex but there will be some similar levers.