It was a message to and for the man himself who’s been chomping at the bit to be allowed back on the field ploughing his favourite tracks. As long as he keeps his tracks straight and narrow, he’ll do just fine here with likeminded ploughers. You’ll be pleased to know he’ll be back tomorrow.
I enjoy Morrissey's 'the panel' rundowns. Yes, he embellishes but more often than not there's a grain of truth in his descriptions.
I gave up on the panel a long time ago because I was fed up with the "bob each way" attitude of the hosts, plus most of their guests. There were some exceptions eg. Joe Bennett who was a breath of fresh air but I don't think he participates any more.
National still whinging about slow vaccine roll out when GSK are saying they are developing a vaccine that will be effective against different variants.
Inadvertently found myself watching TV One's Breakfast show simultaneously with RNZ's Morning report. The currently standard question was wheeled out concerning the vaccine by both outlets – "what about people who refuse?" No mention of the more important problem that will inevitably hit with the vaccine roll-out – premature calls from National and 'business' to open everything up too early, thus putting at risk those still unvaccinated. Countering this coming avalanche of tripe is going to take up all Ardern's time and ability.
On the topic of the vaccination rollout, my tolerance level towards the anti-vaxxers has expired. They are scaring people away from vaccines in general and the Covid vaccines in particular. It's got to stop.
The softly, softly approach involving education and informing them is hogwash. Most of them are beyond rational comprehension.
Now is the time to enforce some form of punishment because they pose a real danger to the community. Denying them employment opportunities on the grounds they refuse to be vaccinated for Covid would be a good starting point.
If someone has been offered a free vaccine and they decline (without good medical reason), then I'd be all for charging them the full cost of all medical expenses incurred in treating them should they subsequently get the disease. Plus all the expenses for those they go on to infect.
For all vaccine-preventable diseases, not just covid.
I think punishment is looking at it the wrong way. There really isn't a problem while we retain strict border controls and MIQ / Isolation. When the vaccination programme is completed there will be a group of people not vaccinated with medical exemption, and a (hopefully small) group who have refused vaccination. As we relax border controls there will be concern about the period of effectiveness of the vaccine, but also concern about the possibility of new strains developing that may be partially resistance to the vaccine. Those who have not been vaccinated are effectively our coalmine canaries – they are more likely to become infected. In that scenario it may be reasonable to require them to be tested – public health experts would need to determine the frequency, but I would expect once a week to be not too intrusive while giving a reasonably early indication of community infection. In the event of community transmission, they may need to be isolated – again health experts would be able to determine such requirements on a scientific basis.. We do need to remember to be kind – most are likely to be victims of mis-information, and if there are now adverse side effects from the vaccine I would expect the number refusing the vaccine to reduce over time.
Some vaccine refusers are on the grounds of the vaccine being an unwanted and perceived to be unnecessary medical procedure. I'll hazard a guess many of those would refuse testing on the same grounds.
I think punishment is looking at it the wrong way.
Rubbish, Ed. Put the refusers up against the wall! Make an example of a few and the others will fall into line quick smart!
We do need to remember to be kind … 'kind' be damned! No room for kindness in this Apocalyptic world! For the Good of Society we must make the hesitant submit!
Interesting, don't you think, that Governments worldwide appear to be channeling Pilate and leaving the mandating of the experimental vaccines for Covid 19 up to employers. I guess Votes count more than actual leadership.
Even here in Godzone much of the discussion is about how NZBORA will protect an individuals right to bodily autonomy when balanced with the Public Good.
A bit silly really, leaving it up to employers to mandate these vaccines, as this is conveniently playing into one of the more extreme narratives of the weird Covid Conspiracy Club that this is all about The Corporations Taking Over.
But what is not being widely discussed is the fact that a considerable number of frontline medical staff are rejecting the Covid 19 vaccines.
A poll released in mid-December caused surprise in Germany — the country that has been at the forefront of the race for a vaccine with biotech company BioNTech — by showing that half of surveyed nurses did not want to be vaccinated, along with a quarter of doctors. Those worries came back to the fore this week when the head of one German state said only a third of healthcare workers in his state were willing to get the jab.
We will not escape this 'irrationality' here, as some of our frontline medical staff already have 'form' in this area.
Luckily we have people like Anne and Andre who will be more than happy to force these very experimental vaccines on their fellow Kiwis who choose the precautionary approach.
The whole point of not rushing out the vaccine is trust. At the moment, trust in the government is sky-high. That is why acceptance rates for the vaccine in NZ are running at 75-80%. Why blow that trust, and risk a European level of distrust (only 40% of French people will have the vaccine shot) if we have the luxury of time to take people with us?
Sabine. How about being the first regular commentator here on TS to ask themselves why a trained medical professional would risk all by refusing a vaccine?
Think about it. Trained medical professionals refusing a common vaccine (like the annual flu jab) and/or a brand new experimental vaccine for a novel viral disease. And trained medical professionals who have spent much of the past year in the Covid trenches.
One third of healthcare staff in a particular German state willing to get the jab.
There are lots of "trained medical professionals" and other super-smart folks who have nutty ideas of one flavour or another. Most of the time these nutty ideas are inconsequential.
There might even be some doctors who still smoke. Does that mean smoking is safe, or the data attributing 90% of lung cancers to smoking is significantly flawed? Nope. But I think you'll find the smoking rate is signficantly lower amongst "trained medical professionals" than the general population.
Likewise, I think you'll find vaccine hesitancy is lower among "trained medical professionals" than in the general population. A tiny minority of people with nutty ideas does not make a consensus of opinion amongst industry professionals, be it medicine or engineering.
The nearly one million New Zealanders who are hesitant about vaccinations should have their fears eased as more information about Covid-19 vaccinations comes to light, experts say.
That's about 20%. One fifth. 1/5.
2/3 of healthcare workers in one German state refused the vaccine.
Of course you will remember the infamous Nigel Murray…DHB CEO extrordinaire? He came down all hard arse when he assumed the mantle of responsibility for the Waikato DHB…just had to raise the 53% flu jab rate from 2014 to the 75% quoted in the article from 2015. Makes a good read…has opinions from doctors, unions and the like about bullying and respecting and valuing staff.
And what was the surveyed hesitancy in the general german pop vs german "medical professionals"?
So it looks like 4 out of roughly 3,000 refused flu jabs, of which only one (who was not a clinician) was fired.
As for the yougov tracker results of 22 Jan (the guardian article), That seems to show Germans overall increasing acceptance of covid vaccines to well over a majority.
Much googling for your "2/3 of healthcare workers in one German state refused the vaccine " seems to have found only tangential references like this:
A poll released in mid-December caused surprise in Germany – the country that has been at the forefront of the race for a vaccine with biotech company BioNTech – by showing that half of surveyed nurses did not want to be vaccinated, along with a quarter of doctors.
Those worries came back to the fore this week when the head of one German state said only a third of healthcare workers in his state were willing to get the jab.
So is it 2/3 of all healthcare workers, or is it half of nurses and a quarter of doctors?
Because it seems that the German-wide results show nurses have about the same hesitancy as the general pop (yougov had it at ~50 in dec, data of the Irishtimes data) and doctors had a hesitancy rate of half that.
Gosh, it's almost as if the more medical knowledge one has, the less likely one is to "refuse" a vaccine.
"How about being the first regular commentator here on TS to ask themselves why a trained medical professional would risk all by refusing a vaccine?"
I have some questions, Rosemary.
I'm presuming you asked yourself that question: what was your answer?
Also, if we are to give credence to those people because they are trained medical professionals, what are we to think of the position taken by the other trained medical professionals; those who believe the vaccine to be necessary?
…why a trained medical professional would risk all by refusing a vaccine?
I know that in relation to the flu vaccine, the incidence of people becoming very ill after having the jab is so high that it has almost a given that a surprisingly high number of recipients will 'get as sick as they have ever been' within days of being vaccinated.
The research to support the safety of the flu vaccine is there for all to read…https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2019/03/13/richard-smith-who-is-most-likely-to-have-side-effects-to-flu-vaccination/… (/sarc since you probably won't read the article) and in the absence such hard 'evidence' medical professionals have to fall back on what they know best. Observations of themselves and their colleagues and patients. If you have not met anyone Robert, who can relate a "I'm never having another flu vaccine' tale, then I suspect you have been living a lonely existence in a deep cave. I am close to someone who has been eligible for a free flu shot since forever because of significant physical disability who has never been pressured to avail themselves. Even after having treatment for leukaemia. His GP and other doctors he has seen over the years have never once questioned his flu vaccine free status. I personally have observed at least half the residents of an elder care facility become very ill a few days after a mass flu vaccination session. A ridiculous number died. The oldies who refused the vaccine remained well. And so on.
Of course there are other reasons why nurses refuse flu shots. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5410084/ This makes for a good read…considering they note a 4-40% uptake of flu vaccines in the studied populations.
… if we are to give credence to those people because they are trained medical professionals, what are we to think of the position taken by the other trained medical professionals; those who believe the vaccine to be necessary?
You make a very good and valid point there Mr Guyton. I guess it comes down to personality, life experience and our right to reach our own conclusions based on the same 'evidence' and learnings received by those who choose the other path.
For instance…two people might attend the exact same degree course in agriculture or horticulture, achieve similar grades and have, after the same amount of time, attained similar levels of success in their subsequent careers.
One farms conventionally using agrichemicals and externally sourced fertilizers and imported feed such as palm kernel. Makes a profit. The other farms organically, perhaps bio -dynamically, and operates a completely self contained system. Also makes a profit.
Both of them 'believe' they are farming correctly.
We could extrapolate this metaphor and discuss the relative sustainability of each system…but maybe another time?
I don't know…and I have given this much thought over the years having come from a medical family. I do know that merely dismissing and disrespecting others for their differing viewpoints is not conducive to progress.
I do know that merely dismissing and disrespecting others for their differing viewpoints is not conducive to progress.
QFT
(/sarc since you probably won't read the article) … If you have not met anyone Robert, …, then I suspect you have been living a lonely existence in a deep cave.
I am sure Mr Guyton won't choose to take it personally. After all, he's proven himself to be perfectly capable of apparent disrespect and dismissiveness when defending his particular point of view. Any one who can spend the best part of a couple of days publicly defending his hero's shameful support of an elitist private school can handle a gentle jibe or two. Surely?
I'm not saying every version of vaccine scepticism is automatically outrageous – but a number are being exploited, notably by the likes of Billy TK, to mislead and radicalize vulnerable people on grounds as specious as nanite tracking devices, Gates or Soros world domination schemes, and apparently pedo rings.
These may be discarded without regret in the same way unsupported allegations are wont to be moderated in this forum.
For anyone looking for actual info on what's been happening in terms of side effects and vaccine reactions, the USA Today piece below is a pretty good summary.
tl;dr At the time the article was written, at least 22 million Americans had received at least one dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. Pfizer and Moderna are both the newfangled mRNA vaccines that have never been used before in either humans or animals AFAIK.
Of direct reactions that can reasonably be directly attributed to the vaccine, the worst were 50 cases of anaphylactic shock, all of whom rapidly recovered.
There are some reports of people getting rare diseases or dying from rare causes shortly after receiving the vaccination, but the rates of these incidences appear to be lower in the week or month after getting the vaccination than the normal background rate of how many random people would be expected to get those diseases in any given week or month. Just like the scare stories of very elderly Norwegian nursing home residents dying shortly after getting vaccinated, but it turns out that if anything, the death rate after vaccination is similar or possibly even lower than the normal death rate of those nursing home residents.
So, 22 million examples of people getting vaccinated against covid and the worst that can reasonably said is 50 cases of anaphylactic shock that rapidly recovered. The close comparison is 27 million Americans diagnosed with covid so far, of whom over 460,000 have died and nobody has even tried to work out how are long term disabled from long covid.
Nor is there even the slightest hint of there being any kind of common vaccination side effect that takes a longer time period to show up.
There is always going to be level of un-vaccinated and there is always going to be at least 10% of those who are vaccinated, who are not protected.
Those people will be at risk when the border opens and consequently people will die.
Closing the borders was Jacinda's easy decision. Reopening them, and with it, exposing at the very least, 10% of our population to the virus and potential death, is going to be a much much bigger decision for her.
I would imagine that incomers who can prove that they have been vaccinated would not need to be quarantined when the borders open. Those who are not vaccinated would still have to quarantine . Right ?
"Unemployment down to 4.9%, underemployment down, more people off benefits, Maori employment up:"
and yet…
"As at the end of December 2020, the number of working-age people on Jobseeker Support increased by 44.1 percent, compared with the December 2019 quarter. The proportion of working-age people receiving JS has been increasing since the December 2017 quarter."
then per Pats link above 12.6 % of working age people receive 'a' benefit of sorts. That would 389.000 odd people in Dec 20 up from Dec 19 which was 314.000 odd people.
As at the end of December 2020, the number of working-age people on Jobseeker Support increased by 44.1 percent, compared with the December 2019 quarter. The proportion of working-age people receiving JS has been increasing since the December 2017 quarter.
It really just depends how one reads these stats….right?
Houses consented ain't houses build. We discussed that already during the Key times when the then government regularly touted the consented builds as a proof of something. How many of these consented buildings will result in affordable houses?
Medsafe approving a vaccine that seems to work is the smartest thing they can do, just because we don't have a full breakdown now, does not mean we will have one in the future. Again, anyone thinking that this is over needs to readjust their thinking. We have just started. So yeah, approve the vaccine, get it in with a bit more urgency and start vaccinating please. As for us not needing it, so far we have been several times lucky that he virus did not escape managed isolation. How many more times do you think we will get lucky?
The labour party riding high today means nothing come election day in 2.5 years. Seriously. Ditto with the Nats. Who will take over from J.A? The same suits that could not win an election before they pushed her out?
Houses consented ain't houses build. We discussed that already during the Key times when the then government regularly touted the consented builds as a proof of something. How many of these consented buildings will result in affordable houses?
Sure, but …
Heslop said that consents indicate an intention to build, and most home construction was completed within a year or two after a consent was granted, although Covid-19 related delays might have affected some construction.
“Typically, high levels of new homes consented are followed by high levels of building activity in following quarters, which has wide benefits for the economy.”
Kiwibank chief economist Jarrod Kerr has estimated that the conversion rate of consents into new dwellings would be between 80 and 90 per cent. [original text is hyperlinked]
But for Westpac senior economist Satish Ranchhod, the data showed consents had continued to defy gravity and indicated a period of strong home building was on the cards over 2021. [my italics]
"Note: Late last year Auckland Council discovered there were serious errors in its reporting system which had the effect of significantly overstating the number of Code Compliance Certificates it was issuing for new dwellings. The errors have now been corrected, but their effect has been that earlier estimates of Auckland's new housing supply were overstated, which meant estimates of the region's housing shortfall were understated. The article above and the graph below are based on the corrected data."
NZ's balance of payments have been recording surpluses during the pandemic, largely due to the halting of international travel and the subsequent stopping the outflow of cash on holidays and jet fuel. meanwhile, unemployment has FALLEN despite the crippled tourism and tertiary education sectors.
So my questions are – has NZ been living beyond it's means with all that cheap travel for the middle class? And would we be better off in terms of our environment and economic resilience if we made international travel a much, much more expensive thing?
Its important to understand what these payment shifts are doing. Its also important to understand that they record aggregate behaviour not the actions of a coherent economic entity.
The balance of payments shift records the NZers working for overseas payments vs those paying for things overseas. This increases income going to NZers. But its the overall increase in GDP which drives unemployment and the major shift in spending is the governments large scale support for the economy which has most supported increased NZ savings rates (savings, like balance of payments, subtract from GDP) with stable employment.
On the other hand was any group living beyond its means, no the people most causing the overseas payments appear to have the ability to pay, and the export sector was not earning enough to make it up was occurring. But that situation can and has occurred to countries for decades and appears economically viable in many cases (including in New Zealand).
Maybe there is a case to be made for less access to air travel, but its not an economic case.
Great news, our family and many others will now benefit as we will no longer need to donate time and services to our local food bank. The Otara budget service, Sallys etc you are now not needed.
Those homeless will now be able to live in a new house consent.
The government can now take a holiday as there is nothing for them to do. 🥳
So today (unclear whether she was actually arrested or appeared via her own means) she was again in the court, the judge established her identity (albeit somewhat informally), and entered a not guilty plea based on previous documentation.
Preliminary appearance out of the way, court date for trial set for a couple of months later, and the system moves inexorably forward.
Hopefully she gets an actual lawyer between now and then.
She's just a 'vessel', huh? Cue Nikes and trackpants for the next comet that swings by. Not sure how to arrange the $5.75 in the pocket in NZ, maybe an American fiver and three quarters will be just fine.
She’s been called everything from a “wack job” to a “fucking bitch,” but only recently did she admit that she gets regular death threats, too.
Ina Vanity Fair cover story, Ocasio Cortez — who is the youngest woman to have ever been elected into Congress — details how she has faced the near-constant threat of danger. According to Vanity Fair, one of her first death threats came barely one month into her first term representing New York’s 14th District. A Coast Guard lieutenant and self-proclaimed white nationalist was arrested hoarding a stockpile of guns with a plot to kill Ocasio-Cortez, vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and others. At the same time, the freshman congresswoman's basic rights to privacy were not respected when a right-wing outlet published paparazzi photos revealing her home address. Only after her office complained did the publication blur her address.
Tax cuts for the wealthy have long drawn support from conservative lawmakers and economists who argue that such measures will "trickle down" and eventually boost jobs and incomes for everyone else. But a new study from the London School of Economics says 50 years of such tax cuts have only helped one group — the rich.
The new paper, by David Hope of the London School of Economics and Julian Limberg of King's College London, examines 18 developed countries — from Australia to the United States — over a 50-year period from 1965 to 2015. The study compared countries that passed tax cuts in a specific year, such as the U.S. in 1982 when President Ronald Reagan slashed taxes on the wealthy, with those that didn't, and then examined their economic outcomes.
Per capita gross domestic product and unemployment rates were nearly identical after five years in countries that slashed taxes on the rich and in those that didn't, the study found.
That's why Trumpy gave himself and Bozo and Musky an all, a bigly xmas pressy in 2017 which will trickle down sometime soon. Just like the best amazing and beautiful Health care programme.
It appears that Labour is on a path to transform Education in NZ to become more generalist, which is a good thing, in my opinion. However, it may be culling too much of the good stuff in their zest. The consultation process seems flawed according to some stakeholders and indeed, I seem to have missed the critical political debate. What’s going on?
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TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Pacific Media Watch Earthwise hosts Lois and Martin Griffiths. Earthwise presenters Lois and Martin Griffiths on Plains FM 96.9 community radio talk to Dr David Robie, a New Zealand author, independent journalist and media educator with a passion for the Asia-Pacific region. David talks about the struggle to raise awareness ...
Pacific Media Watch Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who was held for 12 hours at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, says Israeli forces rounded up Palestinian journalists at the facility and made them kneel on the ground for hours, while naked and blindfolded. “The occupation forces handcuffed and blindfolded us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute chinasong, Shutterstock Electricity customers in four Australian states can breathe a sigh of relief. After two years in a row of 20% price increases, power prices have finally stabilised. In many places they’re ...
Chumbawamba have reportedly issued the deputy PM a cease-and-desist notice after he used their song 'Tubthumping' before his state of the nation speech. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
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Morrissey will be re-connected to Aotearoa-New Zealand as of tomorrow. Oh boy, how we have missed him!
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/124138004/aucklands-northcote-point-ferry-services-resume-after-two-and-a-half-year-wharf-closure
Yes we do, it's always nice have a little more balance in the conversation, which many find him good for encouraging.
It was a message to and for the man himself who’s been chomping at the bit to be allowed back on the field ploughing his favourite tracks. As long as he keeps his tracks straight and narrow, he’ll do just fine here with likeminded ploughers. You’ll be pleased to know he’ll be back tomorrow.
I enjoy Morrissey's 'the panel' rundowns. Yes, he embellishes but more often than not there's a grain of truth in his descriptions.
I gave up on the panel a long time ago because I was fed up with the "bob each way" attitude of the hosts, plus most of their guests. There were some exceptions eg. Joe Bennett who was a breath of fresh air but I don't think he participates any more.
We have.
And if one finds his linking to his own blog tiresome there's never any compulsion on anyone to read it.
His bullshit metre is far more attuned than many I believe.
I should, um, be so lucky as to have Morrissey's sense of humour and, ahhh, fun.
Hur, hur, hur, hur…
You may want to read the Policy, particularly the section on link-spamming. In addition, there’s case history that you seem to be unaware of.
National still whinging about slow vaccine roll out when GSK are saying they are developing a vaccine that will be effective against different variants.
Inadvertently found myself watching TV One's Breakfast show simultaneously with RNZ's Morning report. The currently standard question was wheeled out concerning the vaccine by both outlets – "what about people who refuse?" No mention of the more important problem that will inevitably hit with the vaccine roll-out – premature calls from National and 'business' to open everything up too early, thus putting at risk those still unvaccinated. Countering this coming avalanche of tripe is going to take up all Ardern's time and ability.
On the topic of the vaccination rollout, my tolerance level towards the anti-vaxxers has expired. They are scaring people away from vaccines in general and the Covid vaccines in particular. It's got to stop.
The softly, softly approach involving education and informing them is hogwash. Most of them are beyond rational comprehension.
Now is the time to enforce some form of punishment because they pose a real danger to the community. Denying them employment opportunities on the grounds they refuse to be vaccinated for Covid would be a good starting point.
If someone has been offered a free vaccine and they decline (without good medical reason), then I'd be all for charging them the full cost of all medical expenses incurred in treating them should they subsequently get the disease. Plus all the expenses for those they go on to infect.
For all vaccine-preventable diseases, not just covid.
Yes – beat me to it Andre.
I think punishment is looking at it the wrong way. There really isn't a problem while we retain strict border controls and MIQ / Isolation. When the vaccination programme is completed there will be a group of people not vaccinated with medical exemption, and a (hopefully small) group who have refused vaccination. As we relax border controls there will be concern about the period of effectiveness of the vaccine, but also concern about the possibility of new strains developing that may be partially resistance to the vaccine. Those who have not been vaccinated are effectively our coalmine canaries – they are more likely to become infected. In that scenario it may be reasonable to require them to be tested – public health experts would need to determine the frequency, but I would expect once a week to be not too intrusive while giving a reasonably early indication of community infection. In the event of community transmission, they may need to be isolated – again health experts would be able to determine such requirements on a scientific basis.. We do need to remember to be kind – most are likely to be victims of mis-information, and if there are now adverse side effects from the vaccine I would expect the number refusing the vaccine to reduce over time.
Some vaccine refusers are on the grounds of the vaccine being an unwanted and perceived to be unnecessary medical procedure. I'll hazard a guess many of those would refuse testing on the same grounds.
I think punishment is looking at it the wrong way.
Rubbish, Ed. Put the refusers up against the wall! Make an example of a few and the others will fall into line quick smart!
We do need to remember to be kind … 'kind' be damned! No room for kindness in this Apocalyptic world! For the Good of Society we must make the hesitant submit!
Interesting, don't you think, that Governments worldwide appear to be channeling Pilate and leaving the mandating of the experimental vaccines for Covid 19 up to employers. I guess Votes count more than actual leadership.
Even here in Godzone much of the discussion is about how NZBORA will protect an individuals right to bodily autonomy when balanced with the Public Good.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/435569/covid-19-strong-argument-for-mandatory-vaccination-for-some-workers-law-expert
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018782231/air-nz-boss-reflects-on-tumultuous-year-in-charge
At around 4.26 minutes Foran is asked about the vaccine and whether Air NZ would demand employees be vaccinated. He hedges.
Retirement industry leader has no such qualms. Even in the complete absence of an available vaccine… .https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/retirement-village-operator-arvida-group-adopts-strict-new-covid-jab-hiring-policy/ATKEJO5FL7PFYMQGLRL753A4PA/ … confirmed anyone joining the workforce in any of its 32 facilities across the country would need to consent to be inoculated against the deadly virus.
A bit silly really, leaving it up to employers to mandate these vaccines, as this is conveniently playing into one of the more extreme narratives of the weird Covid Conspiracy Club that this is all about The Corporations Taking Over.
But what is not being widely discussed is the fact that a considerable number of frontline medical staff are rejecting the Covid 19 vaccines.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/10/coronavirus-covid-19-vaccine-hesitancy-us-health-workers
Not just in the US… https://www.ft.com/content/c576e15f-e5b1-4369-a5f0-073b4466036f [deleted spurious text that included an e-mail address, FFS – Incognito]
A poll released in mid-December caused surprise in Germany — the country that has been at the forefront of the race for a vaccine with biotech company BioNTech — by showing that half of surveyed nurses did not want to be vaccinated, along with a quarter of doctors. Those worries came back to the fore this week when the head of one German state said only a third of healthcare workers in his state were willing to get the jab.
We will not escape this 'irrationality' here, as some of our frontline medical staff already have 'form' in this area.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/unvaccinated-nurses-who-refused-flu-jabs-sent-home/PGLBECDRJ2VRG3R2QFH7CWJNNQ/
Luckily we have people like Anne and Andre who will be more than happy to force these very experimental vaccines on their fellow Kiwis who choose the precautionary approach.
MedSafe has now approved the Pfizer vaccine as safe.
No rush to roll it out, since we are in about the best pandemic position in the world.
The whole point of not rushing out the vaccine is trust. At the moment, trust in the government is sky-high. That is why acceptance rates for the vaccine in NZ are running at 75-80%. Why blow that trust, and risk a European level of distrust (only 40% of French people will have the vaccine shot) if we have the luxury of time to take people with us?
actually i don't have an issue with a nurse who refuses to get a work mandated jab to be sent home.
She gets the right to refuse a jab, and her workplace gets the right to refuse unjabbed people at the work place.
See, both have a choice. As for the nurse, she can always try and get a job where vaccinations are not required.
Sabine. How about being the first regular commentator here on TS to ask themselves why a trained medical professional would risk all by refusing a vaccine?
Think about it. Trained medical professionals refusing a common vaccine (like the annual flu jab) and/or a brand new experimental vaccine for a novel viral disease. And trained medical professionals who have spent much of the past year in the Covid trenches.
One third of healthcare staff in a particular German state willing to get the jab.
Think about that.
That just shows how effective scaremongering can be. Even when all the facts and evidence shows there's negligible risk to be concerned about.
What is it about 'trained medical professionals' you are not understanding Andre?
These are not the ignorant and uneducated hoi polloi (although as a supposed Leftie that group should be your first consideration).
These are those professionals who have been in the Covid trenches for a year now.
Refusing the vaccine.
You must be able to do better than merely trotting out the same tired, old lines.
Or do you believe that almost half of the doctors and nurses working in Germany are ignorant fuckwits?
Steve Brandenburg is a trained medical professional.
/
https://lawandcrime.com/crime/pharmacist-who-sabotaged-covid-19-vaccines-allegedly-believed-sky-was-shield-to-stop-people-from-seeing-god-fbi/
Of course! That proves it then! Almost half of the medical professionals in Germany are nutbars!
(Rolls eyes. Beats head on desk. Despairs of any reasoned or rational conversation to be had on this issue.)
meh.
There are lots of "trained medical professionals" and other super-smart folks who have nutty ideas of one flavour or another. Most of the time these nutty ideas are inconsequential.
There might even be some doctors who still smoke. Does that mean smoking is safe, or the data attributing 90% of lung cancers to smoking is significantly flawed? Nope. But I think you'll find the smoking rate is signficantly lower amongst "trained medical professionals" than the general population.
Likewise, I think you'll find vaccine hesitancy is lower among "trained medical professionals" than in the general population. A tiny minority of people with nutty ideas does not make a consensus of opinion amongst industry professionals, be it medicine or engineering.
I think you'll find vaccine hesitancy is lower among "trained medical professionals" than in the general population
I provided actual links McFlock. Perhaps you could trouble yourself to support your assertions?
For example… https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/124119830/coronavirus-vaccine-hesitancy-will-fade-as-more-information-comes-to-light–experts
The nearly one million New Zealanders who are hesitant about vaccinations should have their fears eased as more information about Covid-19 vaccinations comes to light, experts say.
That's about 20%. One fifth. 1/5.
2/3 of healthcare workers in one German state refused the vaccine.
Go figure. Please.
4 out of how many nurses refused the flu jab in your article?
And what was the surveyed hesitancy in the general german pop vs german "medical professionals"?
@McFlock. In the absence of a reply button.
4 out of how many nurses refused the flu jab in your article?
Must be a real handicap…not being able to look stuff up for yourself. However…https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/worker-fired-over-hospitals-hardline-vaccination-policy/E52E2A3Z2NXGKJBMKYBW4YSKXE/
Of course you will remember the infamous Nigel Murray…DHB CEO extrordinaire? He came down all hard arse when he assumed the mantle of responsibility for the Waikato DHB…just had to raise the 53% flu jab rate from 2014 to the 75% quoted in the article from 2015. Makes a good read…has opinions from doctors, unions and the like about bullying and respecting and valuing staff.
And what was the surveyed hesitancy in the general german pop vs german "medical professionals"?
You poor thing McFlock…so, well, incapable.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/22/covid-vaccine-acceptance-rising-across-europe-but-falling-in-parts-of-asia
(There's a graph with colour and everything.)
So it looks like 4 out of roughly 3,000 refused flu jabs, of which only one (who was not a clinician) was fired.
As for the yougov tracker results of 22 Jan (the guardian article), That seems to show Germans overall increasing acceptance of covid vaccines to well over a majority.
Much googling for your "2/3 of healthcare workers in one German state refused the vaccine " seems to have found only tangential references like this:
So is it 2/3 of all healthcare workers, or is it half of nurses and a quarter of doctors?
Because it seems that the German-wide results show nurses have about the same hesitancy as the general pop (yougov had it at ~50 in dec, data of the Irishtimes data) and doctors had a hesitancy rate of half that.
Gosh, it's almost as if the more medical knowledge one has, the less likely one is to "refuse" a vaccine.
Is that cos they've already caught it?
"How about being the first regular commentator here on TS to ask themselves why a trained medical professional would risk all by refusing a vaccine?"
I have some questions, Rosemary.
I'm presuming you asked yourself that question: what was your answer?
Also, if we are to give credence to those people because they are trained medical professionals, what are we to think of the position taken by the other trained medical professionals; those who believe the vaccine to be necessary?
Thanks.
…why a trained medical professional would risk all by refusing a vaccine?
I know that in relation to the flu vaccine, the incidence of people becoming very ill after having the jab is so high that it has almost a given that a surprisingly high number of recipients will 'get as sick as they have ever been' within days of being vaccinated.
The research to support the safety of the flu vaccine is there for all to read…https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2019/03/13/richard-smith-who-is-most-likely-to-have-side-effects-to-flu-vaccination/… (/sarc since you probably won't read the article) and in the absence such hard 'evidence' medical professionals have to fall back on what they know best. Observations of themselves and their colleagues and patients. If you have not met anyone Robert, who can relate a "I'm never having another flu vaccine' tale, then I suspect you have been living a lonely existence in a deep cave. I am close to someone who has been eligible for a free flu shot since forever because of significant physical disability who has never been pressured to avail themselves. Even after having treatment for leukaemia. His GP and other doctors he has seen over the years have never once questioned his flu vaccine free status. I personally have observed at least half the residents of an elder care facility become very ill a few days after a mass flu vaccination session. A ridiculous number died. The oldies who refused the vaccine remained well. And so on.
Of course there are other reasons why nurses refuse flu shots. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5410084/ This makes for a good read…considering they note a 4-40% uptake of flu vaccines in the studied populations.
… if we are to give credence to those people because they are trained medical professionals, what are we to think of the position taken by the other trained medical professionals; those who believe the vaccine to be necessary?
You make a very good and valid point there Mr Guyton. I guess it comes down to personality, life experience and our right to reach our own conclusions based on the same 'evidence' and learnings received by those who choose the other path.
For instance…two people might attend the exact same degree course in agriculture or horticulture, achieve similar grades and have, after the same amount of time, attained similar levels of success in their subsequent careers.
One farms conventionally using agrichemicals and externally sourced fertilizers and imported feed such as palm kernel. Makes a profit. The other farms organically, perhaps bio -dynamically, and operates a completely self contained system. Also makes a profit.
Both of them 'believe' they are farming correctly.
We could extrapolate this metaphor and discuss the relative sustainability of each system…but maybe another time?
I don't know…and I have given this much thought over the years having come from a medical family. I do know that merely dismissing and disrespecting others for their differing viewpoints is not conducive to progress.
QFT
Nice one, respectful and not at all dismissive.
I am sure Mr Guyton won't choose to take it personally. After all, he's proven himself to be perfectly capable of apparent disrespect and dismissiveness when defending his particular point of view. Any one who can spend the best part of a couple of days publicly defending his hero's shameful support of an elitist private school can handle a gentle jibe or two. Surely?
i have.
and i stand by my comment.
she does not have to get jab, and her boss does not have to keep her hired.
Punishment has been shown to be a poor incentive and wont address the problem.
In fact the threat of punishment will have the anti vaxers screaming from the hill tops that their civil rights have been infringed.
You don't shut them down or threaten them, you make sure you're louder than they are.
Actually I think you do shut them down – better not to let their stupidity infect others, or pretend that their position is tenable.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/opinion/114832273/jim-hubbard-cartoons
How can you tell who is anti-vax? Just say something critical about anti-vaxxers and wait for all the people to claim they're "not anti-vax, but … "
I'm not saying every version of vaccine scepticism is automatically outrageous – but a number are being exploited, notably by the likes of Billy TK, to mislead and radicalize vulnerable people on grounds as specious as nanite tracking devices, Gates or Soros world domination schemes, and apparently pedo rings.
These may be discarded without regret in the same way unsupported allegations are wont to be moderated in this forum.
For anyone looking for actual info on what's been happening in terms of side effects and vaccine reactions, the USA Today piece below is a pretty good summary.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2021/01/28/covid-19-vaccines-cdc-safety-data-pfizer-moderna-coronavirus/4281434001/
tl;dr At the time the article was written, at least 22 million Americans had received at least one dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. Pfizer and Moderna are both the newfangled mRNA vaccines that have never been used before in either humans or animals AFAIK.
Of direct reactions that can reasonably be directly attributed to the vaccine, the worst were 50 cases of anaphylactic shock, all of whom rapidly recovered.
There are some reports of people getting rare diseases or dying from rare causes shortly after receiving the vaccination, but the rates of these incidences appear to be lower in the week or month after getting the vaccination than the normal background rate of how many random people would be expected to get those diseases in any given week or month. Just like the scare stories of very elderly Norwegian nursing home residents dying shortly after getting vaccinated, but it turns out that if anything, the death rate after vaccination is similar or possibly even lower than the normal death rate of those nursing home residents.
So, 22 million examples of people getting vaccinated against covid and the worst that can reasonably said is 50 cases of anaphylactic shock that rapidly recovered. The close comparison is 27 million Americans diagnosed with covid so far, of whom over 460,000 have died and nobody has even tried to work out how are long term disabled from long covid.
Nor is there even the slightest hint of there being any kind of common vaccination side effect that takes a longer time period to show up.
how do you tell the anti-vaxxers from other people who don't vaccinate? Or remove livelihoods from all?
There is always going to be level of un-vaccinated and there is always going to be at least 10% of those who are vaccinated, who are not protected.
Those people will be at risk when the border opens and consequently people will die.
Closing the borders was Jacinda's easy decision. Reopening them, and with it, exposing at the very least, 10% of our population to the virus and potential death, is going to be a much much bigger decision for her.
I would imagine that incomers who can prove that they have been vaccinated would not need to be quarantined when the borders open. Those who are not vaccinated would still have to quarantine . Right ?
After all those in NZ that want to be vaccinated have been vaccinated, yes, that would be a reasonable position IMO.
That's probably a good solution. It will still be exposing 10% of the population to the virus
"6.8 percent of the working-age population receiving JS as at the end of December 2020"
https://www.msd.govt.nz/documents/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/statistics/benefit/2020/benefit-fact-sheets/benefit-fact-sheets-snapshot-december-2020.pdf
Another day in New Zealand 2021:
Unemployment down to 4.9%, underemployment down, more people off benefits, Maori employment up:
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA2102/S00014/employment-rises-on-back-of-strong-economy.htm
A record number of new houses consented in the last quarter:
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU2102/S00052/record-number-of-new-homes-consented-in-december-quarter-media-release.htm
The dairy payout is going for $7 per kilo of milk solids:
https://www.ruralnewsgroup.co.nz/rural-news/rural-general-news/dream-start-for-dairy-prices
Medsafe have approved the Pfizer vaccine, even though we're in such good public health condition that there's no pressure to roll it out:
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA2102/S00019/pfizer-vaccine-good-news-but-where-is-it.htm
The Climate Commission's proposals are welcomed as good for us, achievable and affordable:
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA2101/S00095/climate-change-targets-achievable-and-affordable-experts-say.htm
And while the National Party still struggle to rebuild themselves, this Labour government continues to ride high:
https://www.roymorgan.com/findings/8629-nz-national-voting-intention-january-2021-202102010459
"Unemployment down to 4.9%, underemployment down, more people off benefits, Maori employment up:"
and yet…
"As at the end of December 2020, the number of working-age people on Jobseeker Support increased by 44.1 percent, compared with the December 2019 quarter. The proportion of working-age people receiving JS has been increasing since the December 2017 quarter."
https://www.msd.govt.nz/documents/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/statistics/benefit/2020/benefit-fact-sheets/benefit-fact-sheets-snapshot-december-2020.pdf
Think a Mark Twain quote is in order
For women the unemployment % is 5.4 % vs men 4.5%. An increase of 0.9%. But i guess its ok.
In the year to the December 2020 quarter, there were 25,000 more unemployed people:
https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/labour-market-statistics-december-2020-quarter
then per Pats link above 12.6 % of working age people receive 'a' benefit of sorts. That would 389.000 odd people in Dec 20 up from Dec 19 which was 314.000 odd people.
As at the end of December 2020, the number of working-age people on Jobseeker Support increased by 44.1 percent, compared with the December 2019 quarter. The proportion of working-age people receiving JS has been increasing since the December 2017 quarter.
It really just depends how one reads these stats….right?
Houses consented ain't houses build. We discussed that already during the Key times when the then government regularly touted the consented builds as a proof of something. How many of these consented buildings will result in affordable houses?
Medsafe approving a vaccine that seems to work is the smartest thing they can do, just because we don't have a full breakdown now, does not mean we will have one in the future. Again, anyone thinking that this is over needs to readjust their thinking. We have just started. So yeah, approve the vaccine, get it in with a bit more urgency and start vaccinating please. As for us not needing it, so far we have been several times lucky that he virus did not escape managed isolation. How many more times do you think we will get lucky?
The labour party riding high today means nothing come election day in 2.5 years. Seriously. Ditto with the Nats. Who will take over from J.A? The same suits that could not win an election before they pushed her out?
Sure, but …
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/real-estate/124150087/record-building-consents-reaching-levels-that-could-surpass-their-1970s-heyday
The Medsafe approval is provisional.
This may be of interest
"Note: Late last year Auckland Council discovered there were serious errors in its reporting system which had the effect of significantly overstating the number of Code Compliance Certificates it was issuing for new dwellings. The errors have now been corrected, but their effect has been that earlier estimates of Auckland's new housing supply were overstated, which meant estimates of the region's housing shortfall were understated. The article above and the graph below are based on the corrected data."
https://www.interest.co.nz/property/108816/more-1000-new-homes-month-were-built-auckland-year-november-and-numbers-are-rising
And are we still issuing work visas for such skilled occupations as call centre workers?
Dont know but we are for readylawn layers
NZ's balance of payments have been recording surpluses during the pandemic, largely due to the halting of international travel and the subsequent stopping the outflow of cash on holidays and jet fuel. meanwhile, unemployment has FALLEN despite the crippled tourism and tertiary education sectors.
So my questions are – has NZ been living beyond it's means with all that cheap travel for the middle class? And would we be better off in terms of our environment and economic resilience if we made international travel a much, much more expensive thing?
Its important to understand what these payment shifts are doing. Its also important to understand that they record aggregate behaviour not the actions of a coherent economic entity.
The balance of payments shift records the NZers working for overseas payments vs those paying for things overseas. This increases income going to NZers. But its the overall increase in GDP which drives unemployment and the major shift in spending is the governments large scale support for the economy which has most supported increased NZ savings rates (savings, like balance of payments, subtract from GDP) with stable employment.
On the other hand was any group living beyond its means, no the people most causing the overseas payments appear to have the ability to pay, and the export sector was not earning enough to make it up was occurring. But that situation can and has occurred to countries for decades and appears economically viable in many cases (including in New Zealand).
Maybe there is a case to be made for less access to air travel, but its not an economic case.
Great news, our family and many others will now benefit as we will no longer need to donate time and services to our local food bank. The Otara budget service, Sallys etc you are now not needed.
Those homeless will now be able to live in a new house consent.
The government can now take a holiday as there is nothing for them to do. 🥳
The name Justin Bergman will be known as one of the stupidest people in NZ.
Justin Bergman accused of invading race track at Wellington Cup Day – NZ Herald
I would have liked to see the jockeys giving him a good thrashing on their way past.
No name suppression for this chap. Wonder why? Hasn't even entered a plea.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/124054407/alleged-hell-hacker-accused-of-cracking-online-pizza-ordering-website
No name suppression for the bloke in my comment 6 above either.
But…. permanent name suppression and no conviction when guilty of killing someone.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/124138932/businessman-escapes-conviction-after-fatal-crash-that-killed-north-canterbury-father
Justice is blind. Yeah, right
A sequel to [day before] yesterday's court appearance by someone who claims to not be a legal entity, lol.
So today (unclear whether she was actually arrested or appeared via her own means) she was again in the court, the judge established her identity (albeit somewhat informally), and entered a not guilty plea based on previous documentation.
Preliminary appearance out of the way, court date for trial set for a couple of months later, and the system moves inexorably forward.
Hopefully she gets an actual lawyer between now and then.
She's just a 'vessel', huh? Cue Nikes and trackpants for the next comet that swings by. Not sure how to arrange the $5.75 in the pocket in NZ, maybe an American fiver and three quarters will be just fine.
Awesome to get another public holiday next year. Big ups there Prime Minister.
And also great to see that like Easter it will be set around its own calendar rather than the Gregorian.
Nice to have the PM grant a public holiday on ones birthday! Feel rather honoured.
All class.
/
https://twitter.com/mtracey/status/1356457875158294530
https://twitter.com/mtracey/status/1356444011351994370
https://twitter.com/mtracey/status/1356450738881331204
Also need to know that AOC has been the subject of many death threats.
Who knew.
Tax cuts for the wealthy have long drawn support from conservative lawmakers and economists who argue that such measures will "trickle down" and eventually boost jobs and incomes for everyone else. But a new study from the London School of Economics says 50 years of such tax cuts have only helped one group — the rich.
The new paper, by David Hope of the London School of Economics and Julian Limberg of King's College London, examines 18 developed countries — from Australia to the United States — over a 50-year period from 1965 to 2015. The study compared countries that passed tax cuts in a specific year, such as the U.S. in 1982 when President Ronald Reagan slashed taxes on the wealthy, with those that didn't, and then examined their economic outcomes.
Per capita gross domestic product and unemployment rates were nearly identical after five years in countries that slashed taxes on the rich and in those that didn't, the study found.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tax-cuts-rich-50-years-no-trickle-down/
Goddamned reality and its well-known liberal bias…
Clearly the tax cuts have not been big enough.
Exactly!
That's why Trumpy gave himself and Bozo and Musky an all, a bigly xmas pressy in 2017 which will trickle down sometime soon. Just like the best amazing and beautiful Health care programme.
It appears that Labour is on a path to transform Education in NZ to become more generalist, which is a good thing, in my opinion. However, it may be culling too much of the good stuff in their zest. The consultation process seems flawed according to some stakeholders and indeed, I seem to have missed the critical political debate. What’s going on?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/124143562/in-an-age-of-digital-disinformation-dropping-level-1-media-studies-in-high-schools-is-a-big-mistake
According to some, one of the problems is a lack of “curriculum leadership” but not surprisingly, the MoE disputes this.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/435774/experts-urge-overhaul-of-school-system-following-falling-student-achievement
Changes to the history curriculum are the topic of Micky’s post today.