Roast the roots for tea. good coffee ersatz in times of hardship, but also nice tea and good for the liver. Small leaves are good in salad and bigger ones can be used in a boil up (if nothing else better is there). In Europe dandylions got patches on which they were planted for harvesting.
I am considering actually 'planting' some in a spot so that i can harvest the roots for tea.
Sugar is a natural preservative. You can not make jam/marmalade without sugar.
Unless you are happy to set it with a gelling agent such as gelatin, agar agar, quinoa seeds, yellow pectin / apple core, pear core or the skins thereof but then you have a shelf life of 3 days max, which is not what they are doing, they are stocking up the larder with preserves. Sugar binds water and thus prevents mold. Sugar and salt are the two natural preservatives that are easy to find and easy to use.
Also, it is jam, so how much would you put on a slice of toast?
A week ago John Key's opinions about Covid were all over the media. Relevant experience and expertise: none.
So this week the same media should be banging on his door and asking the tough questions about the Pandora papers and international finance. Something he actually does know about.
Our financial regulations were under the control of former money-trader Key for nearly a decade, in which time the Cook Islands finally abandoned the ghost of an independent currency and fully adopted the NZ$. I seem to recall the NZ$ was at one time during the Key regime, the 6th most traded in the world (though don't know from where to trawl out a link for that).
So it was with some interest that I read this BusinessDesk piece (unfortunately directly quoting violates their website policy). Paraphrasing; the Cook Islands, Samoa, & Vanuatu are specifically mentioned as tax havens or "soft regimes". NZ, and not Australia, is mentioned 4 times as a "venue for a country office"
A 2001 presentation for Latin American clients explored apparently legitimate ways Asiaciti could help a hypothetical Mexican businessman who held offshore assets that “have not been declared to Mexican revenue authorities” and who did not expect to need to bring the money back to Mexico.
It proposed shutting down existing structures in the Caribbean and instead setting up a trust in New Zealand that would own a company in Singapore, which would in turn hold the businessman’s offshore assets.
Asiaciti also promoted the use of a structure available in Samoa, known as “creditor controlled companies”, using legal loopholes to minimise or avoid tax in Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Russia and the US.
“The Samoa CCC can be an effective entity in which to accumulate foreign source income and to defer liability to domestic taxes,” Asiaciti staff said in a technical briefing note issued in July 2014.
From a folder in the attic, so to speak, which contains things that seemed to shed a little beam upon the lean and hungry look of yonder Cassius – and still do perhaps. Article by Tom Pullar-Strecker.
No New Zealand clients of Mossack Fonseca have been named, but it would be surprising if there weren't any.
The Inland Revenue Department is trying to negotiate access to the Panama Papers and has advised anyone with dodgy dealings that may be exposed to come forward before it knocks on their door. New Zealand journalists are also seeking access to the documents.
Anything else New Zealand needs to worry about?
New Zealand features as one of the 21 "tax havens" used by Mossack Fonseca and its clients, though Prime Minister John Key has rejected that label.
The issue is that New Zealand is the only country in the OECD where foreigners (other than Australians) can set up trusts without having to register their own identity or any material details of their trust's affairs, and they don't' have to pay tax here on their overseas profits.
I find it hard to see what these Pandora papers have to do with John Key. The main point of the "businessdesk" article is that the activities are going on in New Zealand today. You may like to consider the fact that Key retired as PM about 5 years ago and that we have had a Labour led Government for the last four years.
You really should be asking why they haven't done anything about it shouldn't you?
When I followed that link I happened to notice a reference to another of their stories. This was on Little's re-organisation of the Health system to centralise everything with the abolition of the DHBs.
The author of the article, Dr Powell, regards the proposal as an unmitigated disaster as far as I can see. It is a new organisation that is being promoted without any reason for it being promulgated. Oh well, what is another shambles to add to the current Governments record?
Much better to follow the science rather than read the Herald.
Having said that Michael Plank has just been interviewed on RadioNZ's Nine to Noon. He is not an epidemiologist, but is a mathematical modeller so his views need to be looked at in that light. The key point he made was that there is a great deal of difference in the outcomes between 80% and 90% vaccinated. 80% sounds like a waste of time. (I am assuming Plank's percentages are of the population over 12 years old-Ryan did not ask).
Portugal has vaccinated 88% of its ENTIRE population, and rising.
Assuming Portugal can achieve 90% of the entire population, why can't NZ? I think NZ should look at gradually opening the borders once we have achieved this, and NOT before.
Yeah, it's the effect of each person who gets it infecting, on average, X number of other people within say 2 weeks.
Reff of 3 means that starting with 1, then 1+3, then 1+3+9, then 1+3+9+27 (total 40) can have it within a couple of months.
Reff of 6 means 1, 1+6, 1+6+36, 1+6+36+216 (total 259) in the same period.
80% isn't a waste of time as such (the people will still get lower effects and infections), but we would need to stamp it out much harder and faster than if we were at 90+ vax of total population.
" I think NZ should look at gradually opening the borders once we have achieved this, and NOT before."
Are you seriously suggesting that you want to remain locked up forever? The chance of us reaching that percentage of the population, including our Maori communities, is only infinitesimally different from zero, at least in my opinion.
How would other business cope with that? Because that would be a huge change, and it would affect anyone else too, not just tech companies.
Maybe can we just start giving these guys such as Bezos from Amazon big tax write offs and other tax gifts to come here and create nothing much? that would be a good start.
It's certainly possible, but would work better as a minimum tax e.g. tax on profits but not less than 5% of turnover (to pick a random number out of the air), than as a replacement for income tax on profits, not least because that would incentivise industries with low or no wages if labour costs couldn't be offset against income before taxes were calculated/paid.
You could look at local (NZ) turnover versus local costs and tax the difference – but it has the obvious flaw of not taking into account costs incurred outside NZ that the local operation depends on to generate turnover. These are things like IT systems, R&D, manufacturing plants, etc.
Instead you could try splitting corporate tax into two components – a tax on profits and a social infrastructure contribution. The social infrastructure contribution recognises that no business in NZ can operate without education and healthcare systems for its workers, a viable police force and justice system, roads, energy distribution, etc, etc, etc.. You could set this contribution as a percentage of turnover – then adjust the tax on profits down accordingly so that most businesses aren't paying any more. And genuine start-up businesses might be able to get relief from making this contribution for a period of a few years.
Such a scheme would at least partially catch the big cheats who have the resources to pretend they make no profit here. A name like "social infrastructure contribution" sounds naff, but is actually important, because it is a piece of truth-telling that bypasses the unpleasant connotations of the word "tax".
Don't listen to Mike Hosking, but interested to hear if he comments on his admiration for the now resigned Gladys Berijklian today. Or John Keys's defence of secret trusts.
A Stuff investigation has found more than a third of child support paid by parents to Inland Revenue, totalling more than $900m in the past five years, has been intercepted before it gets to kids.
That’s because of a law that says if a primary caregiver is on a benefit, the Government is entitled to take the child’s support money to recoup the cost of welfare.
For these women, as their wages disappear, so does their child support.
And for the fathers who pay out, it's just another tax.
………..
And they say it creates a nonsensical two-tier system where kids whose mums are in paid work are allowed to keep the money, while the kids of beneficiaries are penalised.
“It’s a flawed and misconceived adult-centric mechanism that is bad for children,” says Children’s Commissioner Judge Andrew Becroft.
…….
Stay-at-home mum Nikki and her two preschool-aged children were thrown into poverty when she split with her ex-partner. He paid child support of around $300 a week, which the kids didn't receive, while she struggled to find a rental she could afford on the sole parent benefit.
“That money would have made my kids lives so much better, and it could have helped me to get back up on my feet faster,” she says. “They used to be able to have clothes … I can’t tell you how many meals I just didn’t eat so the kids could have a slightly nicer dinner, with vegetables.
“I was really lucky because I was offered a state house. I don’t even know what other people do. We lived in poverty because of it, and that doesn’t seem right.”
oh well, it is in the News, so maybe it gets discussed for a moment or two and then forgotten again.
There is a reason why our poor people, and their poor kids are poor. This is one of them.
An absolute travesty. Andrew Becroft has got to be one of the best Children's Commissioners that understands the way the State suffocates potential through abject poverty.
Oh come on!! Labour and Sepoloni, you need to remove this!! I have been a Labour supporter for Life, but that is shameful poverty caused by the State. Dickensian punitive rules for the poor and struggling need to end!! Just sent off a critical email!!
There was a bloke on the radio this morn imagining that some people might have to give the money back depending on the outcome of Peter Ellis,s appeal .Fat chance !! Alive or dead the likelihood of him getting any real justice is slim indeed .Still making legal history by appealing from the grave is something i guess .
The convictions of Peter Ellis never felt safe or convincing to me.
This was reinforced by 'A City Possessed', Lynley Hood's disturbingly good book on the subject.
The relationship between the investigation officer and a complainant's mum, the severe editing of children's evidence and the social environment the trial occurred in were all against a just trial.
I’m quite excited – or at least very pleased – that the Court has determined that a deceased person’s mana, or reputation – together with that of his whanau, continues to have standing following the death of someone who may have suffered a gross miscarriage of Justice. 🌴
Some good news on the self-contained saliva SARS-CoV-2 front!
With help from funding from the United States Government, MicroGem has developed a simple-to-use and fast saliva Covid-19 test called "Spitfire" and it could be ready for the market within weeks.
Discussions are already under way with MicroGem, University of Otago and district health boards about introducing it in New Zealand.
Users of the mobile test spit into a specially designed plastic receptacle which is then inserted into a box resembling a computer monitor and processed within 25 minutes. Usually, Covid-19 tests take two to three days…
The research and development of Spitfire was completed in the company’s Dunedin lab, with manufacturing completed overseas.
Removing the saliva testing from needing PCR lab time is a major advance, as it frees up those resources. Especially if the processing time can be shortened to 5 (theoretically, or even 10 practically) minutes as "The Boss" suggests in the accompanying South Today video.
However the need for manufactured units is a bit of of a downside, especially with NZ being near the end of the world's supply chain. SHERLOCK was announced back in August and has already gained FDA approval – miSHERLOCK can be 3D printed in reusable handheld units which are cheaper and (apart from the necessary chemicals/ biologicals) don't rely so much on international shipping. There are also two other CRISPR based tests that were announced in September; DETECTR, and FELUDA, which may also have a place in rapidly-processed SARS-CoV-2 testing. But that will come down to the cost/ effectiveness calculations after independent testing which are not yet publicly available.
As compared to the standard WHO/CDC qPCR detection method, which consumes several hours for detection, CRISPR-based SHERLOCK, DETECTR, and FELUDA have emerged as rapid diagnostic tools for the detection of the RNA genome of SARS-CoV-2 within an hour with 100% accuracy, specificity, and sensitivity… The approval of SHERLOCK as the first CRISPR-based SARS-CoV-2 test kit by the FDA, for emergency diagnosis of COVID-19 patients, has given positive hope to scientists that sooner human trials of CRISPR-based therapy will be ratified.
Would be nice to get, my essential worker at home has been getting tested once a week now for weeks on end, and he feels like his brain is shrinking. He coveres a huge territory and cold potentially by himself infect the half of the north island should he become a carrier. It would be so lovely to have these available – and affordable.
If found guilty, since he has been one of those most responsible for promoting the conspiracy theories, and undermining public health, he should be sentenced to being breathed on by a Covid patient until he gets it.
The issue here (ww.stuff.co.nz/national/300418067/the-mothers-struggling-to-feed-their-babies-while-the-state-keeps-all-their-child-support) starts with "Why is the State involved?"
Wasn't it because breadwinners left their families destitute and without any support at all. It seems those who had custody of the children became supported by the State via the DPB and that this was to be recovered from the non-custodial parent. Any the excess was then to be paid to the custodial parent. Where both parents have a financially supportive income, the State is not required to be involved but binding agreements should be reached between the relevant parties.
The next question then might be be, "Why is the State not recovering maintenance payments from so many non-custodial parents?"
Can someone please explain three waters to me in two paragraphs. No links (I know how to google), and preferably keep the satire and sarcasm until after there’s a decent explanation.
Citizens and Ratepayers loose the ability to not spend money on water and sewage infrastructure.
Done by combining Council infrastructure into regional entities with professional management and board structures but with the minimum of elected representative control
Yep, but really most of the management and control hasn’t been that flash, hence we had Havelock North and the one just north of Dunedin. Also a very bad thing in Queenstown in 80’s. And a huge wave of issues coming up from Councils that have kicked the can down the road with maintenance over the last 40 years plus
Boards will be appointed by panels comprising Council and Iwi appointees.
Under the new Water Services Act the professional boards and management will be accountable, elected representatives won’t be for some reason
Watercare is the entity that manages the 3 Waters infrastructure of the combined Auckland City
Wellington leaky pipes, Auckland's ongoing problems with shortages, and Environment Canterbury (ECan) becoming a political football, nitrates leaching into Chch water supply.
Poor management/ cost-cutting mentality/ capture by special interests, is endemic.
The main problem we have had in Wellington is that our Mayor(s) and Councillors have, since about the 1986 election, been devoted to building glamorous White Elephants rather than worrying about the infrastructure of the City.
There isn't anything glamourous about the waste water system. Let's build enormously expensive cycleways for a few lycra- clad idiots. They are much more fun to waste the ratepayers money on. Well they are all collapsing.
Although I spotted a probably leak in a water main on the road outside my neighbour’s place last week. I meant to report it but got busy at home & forgot.
Driving in from the supermarket the next day (I exit via a different driveway to the entrance by our letterboxes) I noticed that the leak had quickly progressed to a very large puddle, with water gushing up in a plume about an inch higher than the water surface, & the road surface was collapsing into a hole.
I put the groceries away, went straight online to the Council website, & reported this.
Got an acknowledgement that it had been referred to water services, & a “ticket number”, within an hour, by email, which sayeth thusly:
………………………
“Your ticket has now been passed through for the attention of our Wellington Water team.
If you need to follow up with us please reply to this email or phone us on 04 499 4444 and quote reference number “SR-123456 etc.”
……………………..
A temporary patch job was done by the end of the same day. Next morning a truck crew was back on site at 8.30am. By early afternoon the problem had been permanently fixed, the hole filled in, & a professional-looking asphalt surface laid over top.
There’s also some issues around how the change will affect Councils balance sheets. At present these are underpinned by the valuation of the Councils infrastructure ‘assets’. Take them away and Council finances could get a bit wobbly. Government has wheeled out buckets of cash to solve the problem but there’s a bit of a gap between what Government is offering and Council valuations.
One problem with local democracy is chronic shortage of funds. There was a small Council somewhere north of Auckland that buried itself in debt with water supply problems. And the tales of council incompetence are endless
I think you are referring to Mangawhai WW "… the Mangawhai wastewater system with an estimated cost in October 2005 of $26.26 million that ballooned to a total cost of $63.2 million in July 2009."
"But there are plenty of successful variants of this in operation already."
What would be some examples?
Yes, improvement for Māori, this is really good. Still doesn't fix the LGA or sort out the wider democratic issues there including what happens when there is poor management. Local govt really is the lowest form of democracy.
Just off the top of my head some successfully corporatised entities are:
– All of Christchurch Holdings and its entities
– All of Dunedin Holdings and its entities
– Auckland Airport
– Auckland Film Studios
– Kainga Ora's development entities
– Airports which are half Crown and half local Government owned eg Dunedin.
And yes they have all had major dramas in their 20+year existence. And there are also plenty of failues.
You may not know that Watercare's remit already looks after northern Waikato's water beyond Auckland. It's made plenty of mistakes but since metering and regular pricing tweaks we are far more efficient users of water than we used to be. They are required by law only to charge what is required to produce safe water services.
To me what is missing from the reforms is a national water price regulator. They are after all forming a system at least as powerful as the supermarket duopoly or as powerful as AIAL and CIAL.
Indeed. The super-city model in Auckland is deeply flawed, and it has been made so much worse by the way some of the elected officers operate., however I refuse to believe it cannot be improved.
You are always going to have those people, and their values on councils, and dominating councils.
No one gets elected to local government saying they are going to put the rates up and dig up the streets for the next 10 years. Even an infrastructure focus is hard, voters want things they cam see, like street works and rec centres, not pipes in the ground
that's two failures of democracy. That needs fixing and centralising water infrastructure won't do that. Wasted opportunity. We could be improving democracy.
The last local government reform we had nationwide was in 2002, which softened the terrible 1989 reforms with tonnes of democratic consultative requirements resulting in lots of promises and no funding to do them.
The last regional reform we had was in Auckland in 2010 which under Labour promised better representation for Maori but under National-Act was turned into a deeply undemocratic beast.
We had a little reform last year which made it easier for Councils to make Maori wards
We are also due for very large reform by proxy with the three replacement acts to the Resource Management Act. Coming to a Parliament near you.
None of the above is going to rescue our rivers, guarantee well priced and quality drinking water, or stop it being wasted by agribusiness on its astonishing scale. Just check out the mess in Otago Regional Council.
It cost around $80m to fix those issues, which is not that much considering the government is claiming we need to spend $185Bn on water infrastructure over the next 30 years.
Most councils wouldn't be able to afford it without massive rates increases and asset sales, which they won't do.
I did hear of a council that needs almost zero infrastructure upgrades because they did a deal with fonterra who did it for them (guesses as to what the return side of that non-transaction might be), but this isn't like power poles where you can red-tag the worst and replace them one by one over years.
There's infrastructure that has been ignored because it was buried, infrastructure that should have been expanded with population and surface development but wasn't, and almost all of it is buried under other infrastructure so that you have to dig through/past/around them to reach what you want to repair/upgrade. And half the time it only comes to light with a burst or a sinkhole.
We’re not to bad in Queenstown now, there’s a long line of developers Council can bend over and rape and pillage.
A quite recent occurrence, 30 years ago some really scary shit going down. Generally into the lake or rivers. Arrowtown came close to being shut down in early 90’s. Untreated sewage being discharged from sewage ponds (not working at all) into river
Dr Te Maire Tau is chair of Te Kura Taka Pini (the Ngāi Tahu freshwater group)
"OPINION: When you get past the noise on all sides around the Government’s proposed reform of Three Waters services (drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater) the issues are simple. How do we ensure equitable, affordable, high-quality water services for everyone, while protecting human health and community assets?”
Government is proposing to take a huge future liability off councils.
Hardly an ,"assets grab".
But the storm of bad faith right wing opposition will prevent that, and we will end up with another, camel. “Ask yourself why National is so against the three waters policy. It is not to keep three waters under public control. National don’t even agree with public ownership. It is because with central Government under much greater scrutiny than council’s, makes future privatisation, subcontracting to their mates, polluting rivers and dodgy irrigation schemes much harder in future”.
Something that has arisen because so many councils, run by inept old boys clubs, have stuffed it up.
Not sure if the structure proposed is the answer, but business as usual is not working.
National's objections mostly consist of inaccurate memes and Mis information as usual.
As they cannot state their real reasons without the public seeing right through them.
Two minor additions which have caused some complaining – technically the infrastructure counts as assets, so removing them from the books may affect a council's borrowing ability, and the few places that arguably don't need to chlorinate e.g. Christchurch will lose the ability to make that decision themselves.
Longer term, there is always the possibility that National will change the deal and just sell the new entities.
On the other hand, professionally-managed water and funding and removing the arguments from long term planning.
Yeah, I dont get this big rush to centralization of public assets more localization with a firm govt structure to work within and ability to apply for and recieve funding from a fund for infrastructure is a far better answer better answer in my opinion…
Making these big entities is all fun and games until one day the National/Act partly or fully privatize it perhaps on the pretense of 'paying for covid' or decide to monetize it some other way.
Could see the Nats for example do something similar to Bradford reforms… keep the 'three waters' intact but then add another layer of 'retailers' who then charge for water at a local level and sell those off like the power companies.
Due to years of local government failures and resultant illness in their communities, central government is proposing removing council control of these three water systems. Instead, four regional authorities will be developed. Ownership/ control of these is being discussed with some heat and little light. Details are a bit thin on the ground. Ownership of the water itself rather than the distribution systems is a particularly fraught issue, but not directly part of the proposal as I understand it, at this time.
It is one of those hypocritical things that right wing politicians say and then act otherwise. Councils should only do drinking water, sewerage, stormwater and roads.
Libraries, gardens, pensioner housing, electricity, holiday parks etc all should be done by the private sector.
Yet as these assets got sold off by those right wing politicians and businessmen who got themselves elected to councils did they move the money from selling those assets or from revenue generated if they kept them into maintaining and upgrading those essential systems.
Lots of projects to support private businesses – Hamilton's motor racing cost tens of millions of dollars, Napier Art Deco buses 1.3 million, sister sister projects to encourage trade such as Invercargills Chinese Gardens. I've never ever seen any of these projects that were actually originally instigated by councils themselves – they have always been proposed and driven by "business people" (sometimes elected and sometimes not) and the councils have to implement them.
So the councils have sold off many of their assets previously – or been forced to by wanky governments in the interests of privatisation) and don't have many assets left or income streams other than rates.
Meanwhile their under-investment in infrastructure – and often the removal of the more highly paid infrastructure knowing staff for lower paid newbies) is bringing them problems that they had every chance to prevent occurring but chose not to – despite saying that that is all councils should do.
I find it difficult to blame the council staff who fought many of these things and pointed out the need for them. Quite a few lost their jobs for standing up for this stuff.
3 Waters is about transferring control of drinking water, wastewater and stormwater (the 3 waters) from the democratically elected councils to four regional water entities.
It's essentially based on the 'economies of scale' argument, and is being promoted via a multi-million dollar advertising campaign and a $2.5bn compensation offer to Councils.
The plan has been roundly rejected by the vast majority of Councils (only 7 of he 67 are in support), and as the plan has failed to gain support, the government funded hyperbole has grown to a point of misinformation.
Councils elected by the minority of people who vote. Three waters reminds me of the Priorities piece earlier today.
"Indeed, the Māori way of viewing things is to see the inter-relationships, i.e. the links rather than the nodes of networks. An integrated way of mātauranga Māori and Western science and of seeing both together could be the way forward"
If this is what Mahuta is up to I'll stay interested.
That's a terrific sentiment. But a number of aspects of 3 Waters rings alarm bells with me, including the 'we know best' approach being adopted by Mahuta etc to public opposition, the propaganda and misinformation campaign, and the idea that somehow centralising the management of these services will deliver a better result.
Three waters could cost individual households heaps a new tax outside rates and income tax.
Councils who have already got high quality water will subsidise those councils who haven't invested in good water care.
Labour are now in big trouble with Covid not brought under control Labour's honeymoon is over.If National find a new leader who connects with people the next election is going to be a close run thing.
So now Labour's under real pressure this 3 waters has been widely rejected as unworkable.
Seems just about everyday there's another case popping up with someone going to hospital for unrelated reasons… seems Covid is pretty well embedded in some parts of Auckland seem to be asymptomatic or cases with minor symptoms for the most part.
Must be some much sickier people floating around surely… some of the negative quarantine hotel stories have probably made some very reluctant to seek help or get a test…
Anyone living on the proceeds of crime has to keep on getting out there and doing the crime.No wage subsidies for them .And along with that they would be very averse to getting tested and being questioned about their movements and contacts.
Yeah, I read that apperently he had a gun because he had suffered a 'home invasion' fucking ridiculous the guy is unhinged enough to carry it around in his car… take the time to assemble and load it then lean out the window and fire it at a car to 'scare' them… I'll bet P is involved somewhere along the line…
“Simpson appealed, saying his jail sentence was not the least restrictive outcome in the circumstances and he also should have received home detention.”
…
“Justice Gault said Judge Wharepouri … gave too much priority, when sentencing the brothers, to the fact Dekota Simpson fired the shot. ‘In the circumstances, and having regard to the further evidence on appeal, I consider that was an error’…”
“The actions of Mr Simpson and his brother put the victims and public in considerable danger, and had significant victim impact,” Justice Gault added. “But the Judge accepted that Mr Simpson did not intend to hurt the victims. The lead charge was commission of intentional damage.”
Justice Gault said Simpson’s firing of the shot was not the only relevant factor, but there was a marked difference in sentences for the Simpson brothers. “The further evidence on appeal adds weight to the importance of Mr Simpson’s rehabilitation and reintegration, and of avoiding imprisonment as far as possible.”
He said 19 months’ imprisonment was manifestly excessive. “A sentence of home detention also better reflects parity between Mr Simpson and his brother.”
………………………………
What could have gone wrong? He hit the car’s bumper. He could have disabled the driver & caused the family to crash. I think this sounds like a case where “the least restrictive outcome” perhaps shouldn’t be available as grounds for an appeal.
My pick was 25-50 a day in Auckland at Level 3, after last weeks decision.
By the time it goes to 100 a day later this month it will have spread around New Zealand and thus Auckland borders will end. And we will all have community spread at Level 2.
When hospitals cannot cope (sometime in Nov/Dec) we will go to Level 3 nationwide in December and allow Kiwis to come in for Christmas (as Victoria and NSW are doing from November 1).
Another day, another press conference, another whole lot of nothing about what the government is going to do to get through to the reluctants that are making it difficult to get to 90% vaccination among the eligibles (or even 95% plus of eligibles like Portugal has achieved).
Hardly, let it spread (and maxed out ICU capacity) is more effective than gift tokens and vaccine passports (if they can be obtained without proof of vaccination).
If the strategy is going to be let it rip goin' fowwud, I'm actually not hugely bothered about the effect that's going to have on the unvaccinated.
But it's going to awesomely fkn brutal on our medical staff, and on anyone in need of medical care while the letting it rip is actually ripping. So if that's the plan, I'd like to know what is going to be done to protect the staff and the other patients over that brutal time.
The only thing I can think of for that situation is the government issuing legislative instructions that when triaging needs to happen, unvaccinated covid patients are first on the list be triaged out.
Unfortunate news on your good cop/bad cop strategy for revitalising National. Gareth Morgan was contacted about proposing a vaccine segregated health system during the next election. But he said he doesn't want such an unpopular idea cast beside with his most logical proposal to euthanise everybodies household feline.
A new season of White Lotus is nearly upon us: more murder mystery, more sumptuous surroundings, more rich people behaving badly.Once more we get to identify with the experience of the pampered tourist or perhaps the poorly paid help; there's something in White Lotus for all New Zealanders.And unlike the ...
In 2016, Aotearoa shockingly plunged to fourth place in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. Nine years later, and we're back there again: New Zealand has seen a further slip in its global ranking in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). [...] In the latest CPI New Zealand's score ...
1. You’ve started ranking your politicians on how much they respect the rule of law2. You’ve stopped paying attention to those news publications3. You’ve developed a sudden interest in a particular period of history4. More and more people are sounding like your racist, conspiracist uncle.5. Someone just pulled a Nazi ...
Transforming New Zealand: Brian EastonBrian Easton will discuss the above topic at 2/57 Willis Street, Wellington at 5:30pm on Tuesday 26 February at 2/57 Willis Street, WellingtonThe sub-title to the above is "Why is the Left failing?" Brian Easton's analysis is based on his view that while the ...
Salvation Army’s State of the Nation 2025 report highlights falling living standards, the highest unemployment rates since the 1990s and half of all Pacific children going without food. There are reports of hundreds if not thousands of people are applying for the same jobs in the wake of last year’s ...
Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Correction: On the article The Condundrum of David Seymour, Luke Malpass conducted joint reviews with Bryce Wilkinson, the architect of the Regulatory Standards Bill - not Bryce Edwards. The article ...
Tomorrow the council’s Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee meet and agenda has a few interesting papers. Council’s Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport Every year the council provide a Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport which is part of the process for informing AT of the council’s priorities and ...
All around in my home townThey're trying to track me down, yeahThey say they want to bring me in guiltyFor the killing of a deputyFor the life of a deputySongwriter: Robert Nesta Marley.Support Nick’s Kōrero today with a 20% discount on a paid subscription to receive all my newsletters directly ...
Hi,I think all of us have probably experienced the power of music — that strange, transformative thing that gets under our skin and helps us experience this whole life thing with some kind of sanity.Listening and experiencing music has always been such a huge part of my life, and has ...
Business frustration over the stalled economy is growing, and only 34% of voters are confidentNicola Willis can deliver. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 12 are:Business frustration is growing about a ...
I have now lived long enough to see a cabinet minister go both barrels on their Prime Minister and not get sacked.It used to be that the PM would have a drawer full of resignations signed by ministers on the day of their appointment, ready for such an occasion. But ...
This session will feature Simon McCallum, Senior Lecturer in Engineering and Computer Science (VUW) and recent Labour Party candidate in the Southland Electorate talking about some of the issues around AI and how this should inform Labour Party policy. Simon is an excellent speaker with a comprehensive command of AI ...
The proposed Waimate garbage incinerator is dead: The company behind a highly-controversial proposal to build a waste-to-energy plant in the Waimate District no longer has the land. [...] However, SIRRL director Paul Taylor said the sales and purchase agreement to purchase land from Murphy Farms, near Glenavy, lapsed at ...
The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has been a vital tool in combatting international corruption. It forbids US companies and citizens from bribing foreign public officials anywhere in the world. And its actually enforced: some of the world's biggest companies - Siemens, Hewlett Packard, and Bristol Myers Squibb - have ...
December 2024 photo - with UK Tory Boris Johnson (Source: Facebook)Those PollsFor hours, political poll results have resounded across political hallways and commentary.According to the 1News Verizon poll, 50% of the country believe we are heading in the “wrong direction”, while 39% believe we are “on the right track”.The left ...
A Tai Rāwhiti mill that ran for 30 years before it was shut down in late 2023 is set to re-open in the coming months, which will eventually see nearly 300 new jobs in the region. A new report from Massey University shows that pensioners are struggling with rising costs. ...
As support continues to fall, Luxon also now faces his biggest internal ructions within the coalition since the election, with David Seymour reacting badly to being criticised by the PM. File photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Not since 1988 when Richard Prebble openly criticised David Lange have we seen such a challenge to a Prime Minister as that of David Seymour to Christopher Luxon last night. Prebble suggested Lange had mental health issues during a TV interview and was almost immediately fired. Seymour hasn’t gone quite ...
Three weeks in, and the 24/7 news cycle is not helping anyone feel calm and informed about the second Trump presidency. One day, the US is threatening 25% trade tariffs on its friends and neighbours. The reasons offered by the White House are absurd, such as stopping fentanyl coming in ...
This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Wherever you look, you'll hear headlines claiming we've passed 1.5 degrees of global warming. And while 2024 saw ...
Photo by Heather M. Edwards on UnsplashHere’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s politics and economy in the week to Feb 10 below. That’s ahead of live chats on the Substack App and The Kākā’s front page on Substack at 5pm with: on his column in The ...
Is there anyone in the world the National Party loves more than a campaign donor? Why yes, there is! They will always have the warmest hello and would you like to slip into something more comfortable for that great god of our age, the High Net Worth Individual.The words the ...
Waste and fraud certainly exist in foreign aid programs, but rightwing celebration of USAID’s dismantling shows profound ignorance of the value of soft power (as opposed to hard power) in projecting US influence and interests abroad by non-military/coercive means (think of “hearts and minds,” “hugs, not bullets,” “honey versus vinegar,” ...
Health New Zealand is proposing to cut almost half of its data and digital positions – more than 1000 of them. The PSA has called on the Privacy Commissioner to urgently investigate the cuts due to the potential for serious consequences for patients. NZNO is calling for an urgent increase ...
We may see a few more luxury cars on Queen Street, but a loosening of rules to entice rich foreigners to invest more here is unlikely to “turbocharge our economic growth”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Let us not dance daintily around the elephant in the room. Our politicians who serve us in the present are not honest, certainly not as honest as they should be, and while the right are taking out most of the trophies for warping narratives and literally redefining “facts”, the kiwi ...
A few weeks ago I took a look at public transport ridership in 2024. In today’s post I’m going to be looking a bit deeper at bus ridership. Buses make up the vast majority of ridership in Auckland with 70 million boardings last year out of a total of 89.4 ...
Oh, you know I did itIt's over and I feel fineNothing you could say is gonna change my mindWaited and I waited the longest nightNothing like the taste of sweet declineSongwriters: Chris Shiflett / David Eric Grohl / Nate Mendel / Taylor Hawkins.Hindsight is good, eh?The clarity when the pieces ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 16 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 10The Kākā’s weekly wrap-up of news about politics and the economy is due at midday, followed by webinar for paying subscribers in Substack’s ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 2, 2025 thru Sat, February 8, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
Today, I stumbled across a Twitter Meme: the ending of The Lord of the Rings as a Chess scenario: https://x.com/mellon_heads/status/1887983845917564991 It gets across the basic gist. Aragorn and Gandalf offering up ‘material’ at the Morannon allows Frodo and Samwise to catch Sauron unawares – fair enough. But there are a ...
Last week, Kieran McAnulty called out Chris Bishop and Nicola Willis for their claims that Kāinga Ora’s costs were too high.They had claimed Kāinga Ora’s cost were 12% higher than market i.e. private devlopersBut Kāinga Ora’s Chair had already explained why last year:"We're not building to sell, so we'll be ...
Stuff’s Political Editor Luke Malpass - A Fellow at New Zealand IniativeLast week I half-joked that Stuff / The Post’s Luke Malpass1 always sounded like he was auditioning for a job at the New Zealand Initiative.Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. For a limited time, subscriptions are 20% off. Thanks ...
At a funeral on Friday, there were A4-sized photos covering every wall of the Dil’s reception lounge. There must have been 200 of them, telling the story in the usual way of the video reel but also, by enlargement, making it more possible to linger and step in.Our friend Nicky ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is methane the ...
The Government’s idea is that the private sector and Community Housing Providers will fund, build and operate new affordable housing to address our housing crisis. Meanwhile, the Government does not know where almost half of the 1,700 children who left emergency housing actually went. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong ...
Oh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youOh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youSongwriters: Alexander Ebert / Jade Allyson CastrinosMorena,I’m on a tight time frame this morning. In about an hour and a half, I’ll need to pack up and hit the road ...
This is a post about the Mountain Tui substack, and small tweaks - further to the poll and request post the other day. Please don’t read if you aren’t interested in my personal matters. Thank you all.After oohing-and-aahing about how to structure the Substack model since November, including obtaining ...
This transcript of a recent conversation between the Prime Minister and his chief economic adviser has not been verified.We’ve announced we are the ‘Yes Government’. Do you like it?Yes, Prime Minister.Dreamed up by the PR team. It’s about being committed to growth. Not that the PR team know anything about ...
The other day, Australian Senator Nick McKim issued a warning in the Australian Parliement about the US’s descent into fascim.And of course it’s true, but I lament - that was true as soon as Trump won.What we see is now simply the reification of the intention, planning, and forces behind ...
Among the many other problems associated with Musk/DOGE sending a fleet of teenage and twenty-something cultists to remove, copy and appropriate federal records like social security, medicaid and other supposedly protected data is the fact that the youngsters doing the data-removal, copying and security protocol and filter code over-writing have ...
Jokerman dance to the nightingale tuneBird fly high by the light of the moonOh, oh, oh, JokermanSong by Bob Dylan.Morena folks, I hope this fine morning of the 7th of February finds you well. We're still close to Paihia, just a short drive out of town. Below is the view ...
It’s been an eventful week as always, so here’s a few things that we have found interesting. We also hope everyone had a happy and relaxing Waitangi Day! This week in Greater Auckland We’re still running on summer time, but provided two chewy posts: On Tuesday, a guest ...
Queuing on Queen St: the Government is set to announce another apparently splashy growth policy on Sunday of offering residence visas to wealthy migrants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, February 7:PM Christopher ...
The fact that Waitangi ended up being such a low-key affair may mark it out as one of the most significant Waitangi Days in recent years. A group of women draped in “Toitu Te Tiriti” banners who turned their backs on the politicians’ powhiri was about as rough as it ...
Hi,This week’s Flightless Bird episode was about “fake seizure guy” — a Melbourne man who fakes seizures in order to get members of the public to sit on him.The audio documentary (which I have included in this newsletter in case you don’t listen to Flightless Bird) built on reporting first ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk The 119th Congress comes with a price tag. The oil and gas industry gave about $24 million in campaign contributions to the members of the U.S. House and Senate expected to be sworn in January 3, 2025, according to a ...
Early morning, the shadows still long, but you can already feel the warmth building. Our motel was across the road from the historic homestead where Henry Williams' family lived. The evening before, we wandered around the gardens, reading the plaques and enjoying the close proximity to the history of the ...
Thanks folks for your feedback, votes and comments this week. I’ll be making the changes soon. Appreciate all your emails, comments and subscriptions too. I know your time is valuable - muchas gracias.A lot is happening both here and around the world - so I want to provide a snippets ...
Data released today by Statistics NZ shows that unemployment rose to 5.1%, with 33,000 more people out of work than last year said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney. “The latest data shows that employment fell in Aotearoa at its fastest rate since the GFC. Unemployment rose in 8 ...
The December labour market statistics have been released, showing yet another increase in unemployment. There are now 156,000 unemployed - 34,000 more than when National took office. And having thrown all these people out of work, National is doubling down on cruelty. Because being vicious will somehow magically create the ...
Boarded up homes in Kilbirnie, where work on a planned development was halted. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 5 are;Housing Minister Chris Bishop yesterday announcedKāinga Ora would be stripped of ...
This week Kiwirail and Auckland Transport were celebrating the completion of the summer rail works that had the network shut or for over a month and the start of electric trains to Pukekohe. First up, here’s parts of the press release about the shutdown works. Passengers boarding trains in Auckland ...
Through its austerity measures, the coalition government has engineered a rise in unemployment in order to reduce inflation while – simultaneously – cracking down harder and harder on the people thrown out of work by its own policies. To that end, Social Development Minister Louise Upston this week added two ...
This year, we've seen a radical, white supremacist government ignoring its Tiriti obligations, refusing to consult with Māori, and even trying to legislatively abrogate te Tiriti o Waitangi. When it was criticised by the Waitangi Tribunal, the government sabotaged that body, replacing its legal and historical experts with corporate shills, ...
Poor old democracy, it really is in a sorry state. It would be easy to put all the blame on the vandals and tyrants presently trashing the White House, but this has been years in the making. It begins with Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan and the spirit of Gordon ...
The new school lunches came in this week, and they were absolutely scrumptious.I had some, and even though Connor said his tasted like “stodge” and gave him a sore tummy, I myself loved it!Look at the photos - I knew Mr Seymour wouldn’t lie when he told us last year:"It ...
The tighter sanctions are modelled on ones used in Britain, which did push people off ‘the dole’, but didn’t increase the number of workers, and which evidence has repeatedly shown don’t work. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, ...
Catching you up on the morning’s global news and a quick look at the parallels -GLOBALTariffs are backSharemarkets in the US, UK and Europe have “plunged” in response to Trump’s tariffs. And while Mexico has won a one month reprieve, Canada and China will see their respective 25% and 10% ...
This post by Nicolas Reid was originally published on Linked in. It is republished here with permission. Gondolas are often in the news, with manufacturers of ropeway systems proposing them as a modern option for mass transit systems in New Zealand. However, like every next big thing in transport, it’s hard ...
This is a re-post from The Climate BrinkBoth 2023 and 2024 were exceptionally warm years, at just below and above 1.5C relative to preindustrial in the WMO composite of surface temperature records, respectively. While we are still working to assess the full set of drivers of this warmth, it is clear that ...
Hi,I woke up feeling nervous this morning, realising that this weekend Flightless Bird is going to do it’s first ever live show. We’re heading to a sold out (!) show in Seattle to test the format out in front of an audience. If it works, we’ll do more. I want ...
From the United-For-Now States of America comes the thrilling news that a New Zealander may be at the very heart of the current coup. Punching above our weight on the world stage once more! Wait, you may be asking, what New Zealander? I speak of Peter Thiel, made street legal ...
Even Stevens: Over the 33 years between 1990 and 2023 (and allowing for the aberrant 2020 result) the average level of support enjoyed by the Left and Right blocs, at roughly 44.5 percent each, turns out to be, as near as dammit, identical.WORLDWIDE, THE PARTIES of the Left are presented ...
Back in 2023, a "prominent political figure" went on trial for historic sex offences. But we weren't allowed to know who they were or what political party they were "prominent" in, because it might affect the way we voted. At the time, I said that this was untenable; it was ...
I'm going, I'm goingWhere the water tastes like wineI'm going where the water tastes like wineWe can jump in the waterStay drunk all the timeI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayAll this fussing and fighting, man, you know I sure ...
Waitangi Day is a time to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and stand together for a just and fair Aotearoa. Across the motu, communities are gathering to reflect, kōrero, and take action for a future built on equity and tino rangatiratanga. From dawn ceremonies to whānau-friendly events, there are ...
Subscribe to Mountain Tūī ! Where you too can learn about exciting things from a flying bird! Tweet.Yes - I absolutely suck at marketing. It’s a fact.But first -My question to all readers is:How should I set up the Substack model?It’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask since November ...
Here’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s political economy on politics and in the week to Feb 3:PM Christopher Luxon began 2025’s first day of Parliament last Tuesday by carrying on where left off in 2024, letting National’s junior coalition partner set the political agenda and dragging ...
Half of Pacific children sometimes going without food is just one of many heartbreaking lowlights in the Salvation Army’s annual State of the Nation report. ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report is a bleak indictment on the failure of Government to take steps to end poverty, with those on benefits, including their children, hit hardest. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill which would restore decision-making power to local communities regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. The ‘Fluoridation (Referendum) Legislation Bill’ seeks to repeal the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 that granted centralised authority to the Direct General of Health ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Government’s move to increase speed limits substantially on dozens of stretches of rural and often undivided highways will result in more serious harm. ...
In her first announcement as Economic Growth Minister, Nicola Willis chose to loosen restrictions for digital nomads from other countries, rather than focus on everyday Kiwis. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Government’s growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. “Just over a year ago this Government was elected by ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. “The Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,” says Mr ...
The Government is relaxing visitor visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting New Zealand, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Tourism Minister Louise Upston say. “The change is part of the Government’s plan to unlock New Zealand’s potential by shifting the country onto ...
The opening of Kāinga Ora’s development of 134 homes in Epuni, Lower Hutt will provide much-needed social housing for Hutt families, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I’ve been a strong advocate for social housing on Kāinga Ora’s Epuni site ever since the old earthquake-prone housing was demolished in 2015. I ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay will travel to Australia today for meetings with Australian Trade Minister, Senator Don Farrell, and the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF). Mr McClay recently hosted Minister Farrell in Rotorua for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministers’ meeting, where ANZLF presented on ...
A new monthly podiatry clinic has been launched today in Wairoa and will bring a much-needed service closer to home for the Wairoa community, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.“Health New Zealand has been successful in securing a podiatrist until the end of June this year to meet the needs of ...
The Judicial Conduct Commissioner has recommended a Judicial Conduct Panel be established to inquire into and report on the alleged conduct of acting District Court Judge Ema Aitken in an incident last November, Attorney-General Judith Collins said today. “I referred the matter of Judge Aitken’s alleged conduct during an incident ...
Students who need extra help with maths are set to benefit from a targeted acceleration programme that will give them more confidence in the classroom, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Last year, significant numbers of students did not meet the foundational literacy and numeracy level required to gain NCEA. To ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced three new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ...
Ki te kahore he whakakitenga, ka ngaro te Iwi – without a vision, the people will perish. The Government has achieved its target to reduce the number of households in emergency housing motels by 75 per cent five years early, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The number of households ...
The opening of Palmerston North’s biggest social housing development will have a significant impact for whānau in need of safe, warm, dry housing, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The minister visited the development today at North Street where a total of 50 two, three, and four-bedroom homes plus a ...
The lead witness in Ngāi Tahu’s freshwater claim says the case raises an “existentialist question” for his people.“My greatest fear is that we will have our connection with our land and waterways extinguished,” Te Maire Tau (Ngāi Tahu/Ngāi Tūāhuriri) said in the Christchurch High Court, before Justice Melanie Harland. The university history ...
Over the past few weeks, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has had public tiffs with the leaders of both the Cook Islands and Kiribati.The issues: first Peters put foreign aid to Kiribati under review after President Taneti Maamau cancelled a meeting with him. Then this week, Peters accused the PM of ...
New Zealand employers are well-used to the constant evolution of employment and workplace health and safety law – but we think the scope of changes in this area may still surprise in 2025. In our view, the number of changes under active consideration and the potential practical impact of those ...
As New Zealand woke to Waitangi Day, 1600 athletes and their support crew began to descend on the sleepy west coast town of Greymouth, ready to take on the iconic multisport race, the Coast to Coast.Among the cars laden with kayaks, bikes and enough race food to feed a small ...
I collect sailing books, especially solo sailing adventures. I sail a lot and when in meetings, I think about sailing rather than focus on the dry PowerPoint presentations of earnest landlubbers. Just quietly, I also offer dead sailors drinks and occasionally good books over the side when I am at ...
Proposed changes to the Fisheries Act 1996 could see on-board cameras, introduced to protect endangered marine and seabird species, shut off from public view. Lyric Waiwiri-Smith explains.Minister for oceans and fisheries Shane Jones was in his element on Wellington’s waterfront on Wednesday morning. While waves crashed onto the rocks ...
The prime minister has had a bad week, and it’s barely Thursday. This week’s Luxon low points, ranked.8. Bad poll, part oneA Taxpayers’ Union-Curia Poll released on Monday showed that Labour, the Greens, and Te Pāti Māori could form a government. Christopher Luxon is down 3.8 points at ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 13 February appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Appiah Takyi, Senior Lecturer, Department of Planning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Street vending is a major economic activity in most of Ghana’s urban areas. The vendors bring everyday goods to residents and commuters at affordable prices in ...
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – The United States shares the pathologies of all dying empires with their mixture of buffoonery, rampant corruption, military fiascos, economic collapse and savage state repression.ANALYSIS: By Chris Hedges The billionaires, Christian fascists, grifters, psychopaths, imbeciles, narcissists and deviants who ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government has secured bipartisan support for a major new regime covering political donations and spending, after making significant concessions. The government agreed to increase the proposed threshold above which donations must be disclosed ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra With the election only months away, the Labor government finds itself suddenly battling with the Trump administration for an exemption from new US tariffs on steel and aluminium. The opposition has supported the effort, but ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julee McDonagh, Senior Research Fellow of Frailty Research, University of Wollongong PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock Ageing is a normal part of the life course. It doesn’t matter how many green smoothies you drink, or how many “anti-ageing” skin care products you ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bronwyn Carlson, Professor, Critical Indigenous Studies and Director of The Centre for Global Indigenous Futures, Macquarie University The Conversation, CC BY-SAAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people. Colonial commemorations ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Hazel, Associate Professor, School of Animal and Veterinary Science, University of Adelaide Masarik/Shutterstock In some overseas countries, pets can travel with their owners in a plane’s cabin, in a carrier under a seat. In Australia, pets must travel in the ...
A raft of proposed legislation changes to the media and screen industry have been announced this morning – we read through it all all so you don’t have to. What’s all this then? This morning the Ministry for Culture and Heritage released its draft proposed changes to media and screen ...
David Seymour's recent off-road parliamentary excursion led to a reprimand from the Speaker, who also said the rules didn't apply to this instance. What are the rules? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee Morgenbesser, Associate Professor, School of Government and International Relations, Griffith University, Griffith University Many Americans have watched in horror as Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, has been permitted to tear through various offices of the United States government in recent ...
By Patrick Decloitre,RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk French Minister for Overseas Manuel Valls has announced he will travel to New Caledonia later this month to pursue talks on the French territory’s political future. These discussions on February 22 follow preliminary talks held last week in Paris in “bilateral” mode ...
As Benjamin Netanyahu threatens to resume war, Hamas outlines widespread Israeli ceasefire violations in document sent to the mediators.By Jeremy Scahill and Sharif Abdel Kouddous of Dropsite News Hamas officials submitted a two-page report to mediators yesterday listing a wide range of Israeli violations of the Gaza ceasefire since ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Murray Print, Professor of Education, University of Sydney A federal parliamentary inquiry has just recommended civics and citizenship become a compulsory part of the Australian Curriculum, which covers the first year of school to Year 10. The committee also recommended a ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits of Aotearoa writers, and guests. This week: Claire Baylis, author of Dice and guest at the forthcoming HamLit programme at the Hamilton Arts Festival. The book I wish I’d writtenMy mind seems surprisingly unwilling ...
The courts should deal with illegal fishing, not the "court of public opinion", Shane Jones says, as he announces proposed changes to the Quota Management System. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Megan McElhone, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Monash University A London court has found Sam Kerr not guilty of the racially aggravated harassment of Metropolitan Police officer Stephen Lovell. As captain of the Australian women’s national soccer team, Kerr was widely condemned when ...
Could iwi and hapū be the unexpected solution to the government’s asset dilemma? David Seymour pressured the prime minister into an unwelcome conversation, and in the couple of weeks since the Act leader raised the issue in his state of the nation speech, privatisation has shifted from absent in the ...
Human rights advocates must uphold human dignity, rights and justice, while rejecting the discriminatory tactics we oppose, writes Taimor Hazou.Two weeks ago the Palestinian Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) launched a campaign inviting New Zealanders to call a hotline if they suspected an Israel Defence Force (IDF) soldier that had ...
Immigration New Zealand figures shows more people have been looking at the ETA and visitor visa pages on the website, however fewer people have applied to come or to extend their stay. ...
Light but steady rain at Pookden Manor when this was taken. A Flight of the local Sparrow Squadron flies in for lunch.
https://i.imgur.com/huFd7ZM.gif
More of a Sunday morning post (20 min long).
But my kind of influencers…
https://youtu.be/MgKugytvhk8
Roast the roots for tea. good coffee ersatz in times of hardship, but also nice tea and good for the liver. Small leaves are good in salad and bigger ones can be used in a boil up (if nothing else better is there). In Europe dandylions got patches on which they were planted for harvesting.
I am considering actually 'planting' some in a spot so that i can harvest the roots for tea.
I've always loved the cheeriness of dandelions, even when as a child we were digging out of the lawn with a butter knife.
My partner and I are more relaxed in our own. On the list to plant is chicory – the blue dandelion.
(But oh, the amount of sugar going in @ 5.10!)
Sugar is a natural preservative. You can not make jam/marmalade without sugar.
Unless you are happy to set it with a gelling agent such as gelatin, agar agar, quinoa seeds, yellow pectin / apple core, pear core or the skins thereof but then you have a shelf life of 3 days max, which is not what they are doing, they are stocking up the larder with preserves. Sugar binds water and thus prevents mold. Sugar and salt are the two natural preservatives that are easy to find and easy to use.
Also, it is jam, so how much would you put on a slice of toast?
I know. It's just been a while since I made jam, or cooked with sugar.
Also, have been without an oven for three years. Very impressed by all the cooking equipment shown, and somewhat envious.
One day, you come to the shop and we make jam 🙂
Whereabouts is this Molly?
looks east European or Turkey
I would think it is Turkey.
Sent by a friend, watched with my first coffee before hitting the news sites.
Azerbaijan appears at the beginning...I had to look it up on Wikipedia. More closely aligned with Turkey, as Sabine suggests.
Azerbaijan
The Pandora Papers:
A week ago John Key's opinions about Covid were all over the media. Relevant experience and expertise: none.
So this week the same media should be banging on his door and asking the tough questions about the Pandora papers and international finance. Something he actually does know about.
They won't, of course.
John Key was mentioned in the Panama Papers, a simlar huge leak of the criminal activities of wealthy politicians and financiers. (John Key is both).
I wouldn't be surprised if John Key's name pops up in the Pandora Papers, as well.
Even if the newshounds do try to sniff him out, they will probably find he has gone to ground.
John Key only politician directly named in Panama Papers …
https://thestandard.org.nz/why-was-john-key-singled-out-by-panama-papers-hacker/
Our financial regulations were under the control of former money-trader Key for nearly a decade, in which time the Cook Islands finally abandoned the ghost of an independent currency and fully adopted the NZ$. I seem to recall the NZ$ was at one time during the Key regime, the 6th most traded in the world (though don't know from where to trawl out a link for that).
http://www.paclii.org/ck/legis/num_act/caa2005200/
So it was with some interest that I read this BusinessDesk piece (unfortunately directly quoting violates their website policy). Paraphrasing; the Cook Islands, Samoa, & Vanuatu are specifically mentioned as tax havens or "soft regimes". NZ, and not Australia, is mentioned 4 times as a "venue for a country office"
https://businessdesk.co.nz/article/policy/nz-in-a-rogues-gallery-in-pandora-papers-disclosures
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/oct/03/offshore-provider-accused-of-failing-to-follow-money-laundering-rules
Being PM of NZ would be a great opportunity for some insider trading (via suitable untraceable third parties of course)
Depending on the character of the incumbent.
From a folder in the attic, so to speak, which contains things that seemed to shed a little beam upon the lean and hungry look of yonder Cassius – and still do perhaps. Article by Tom Pullar-Strecker.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/78614536/qa-panama-papers-fallout-has-only-just-begun?rm=m
I find it hard to see what these Pandora papers have to do with John Key. The main point of the "businessdesk" article is that the activities are going on in New Zealand today. You may like to consider the fact that Key retired as PM about 5 years ago and that we have had a Labour led Government for the last four years.
You really should be asking why they haven't done anything about it shouldn't you?
When I followed that link I happened to notice a reference to another of their stories. This was on Little's re-organisation of the Health system to centralise everything with the abolition of the DHBs.
https://businessdesk.co.nz/article/health/health-systems-ships-passing-in-the-night
The author of the article, Dr Powell, regards the proposal as an unmitigated disaster as far as I can see. It is a new organisation that is being promoted without any reason for it being promulgated. Oh well, what is another shambles to add to the current Governments record?
"You may like to consider the fact that Key retired as PM about 5 years ago"
This was also true a week ago.
The Herald appears to be paying a price for encouraging its columnists to white-ant the Covid response.
The sooner it goes belly-up and is replaced by something with a soupçon of actual journalism, the better.
Much better to follow the science rather than read the Herald.
Having said that Michael Plank has just been interviewed on RadioNZ's Nine to Noon. He is not an epidemiologist, but is a mathematical modeller so his views need to be looked at in that light. The key point he made was that there is a great deal of difference in the outcomes between 80% and 90% vaccinated. 80% sounds like a waste of time. (I am assuming Plank's percentages are of the population over 12 years old-Ryan did not ask).
Portugal has vaccinated 88% of its ENTIRE population, and rising.
Assuming Portugal can achieve 90% of the entire population, why can't NZ? I think NZ should look at gradually opening the borders once we have achieved this, and NOT before.
https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon
Yeah, it's the effect of each person who gets it infecting, on average, X number of other people within say 2 weeks.
Reff of 3 means that starting with 1, then 1+3, then 1+3+9, then 1+3+9+27 (total 40) can have it within a couple of months.
Reff of 6 means 1, 1+6, 1+6+36, 1+6+36+216 (total 259) in the same period.
80% isn't a waste of time as such (the people will still get lower effects and infections), but we would need to stamp it out much harder and faster than if we were at 90+ vax of total population.
" I think NZ should look at gradually opening the borders once we have achieved this, and NOT before."
Are you seriously suggesting that you want to remain locked up forever? The chance of us reaching that percentage of the population, including our Maori communities, is only infinitesimally different from zero, at least in my opinion.
Opening up means thousands of deaths. Unless you want thousands of deaths, we must remain closed. It's really that simple.
Closed borders are not the same as lockdowns, of course.
NZ has had arguably the world's best Covid response to date.
I think we can get over 90% using carrot and stick.
A must read on the Spinoff.
Time to do something about the tech giants.
https://thespinoff.co.nz/business/03-10-2021/we-regulate-big-oil-and-big-tobacco-its-time-to-do-the-same-for-big-tech/
Is it legally possible to tax turnover, not profit?
How would other business cope with that? Because that would be a huge change, and it would affect anyone else too, not just tech companies.
Maybe can we just start giving these guys such as Bezos from Amazon big tax write offs and other tax gifts to come here and create nothing much? that would be a good start.
of course, not give them free money or rebates. 🙂
need moar coffee.
It's certainly possible, but would work better as a minimum tax e.g. tax on profits but not less than 5% of turnover (to pick a random number out of the air), than as a replacement for income tax on profits, not least because that would incentivise industries with low or no wages if labour costs couldn't be offset against income before taxes were calculated/paid.
We do, its called GST.
You could look at local (NZ) turnover versus local costs and tax the difference – but it has the obvious flaw of not taking into account costs incurred outside NZ that the local operation depends on to generate turnover. These are things like IT systems, R&D, manufacturing plants, etc.
Instead you could try splitting corporate tax into two components – a tax on profits and a social infrastructure contribution. The social infrastructure contribution recognises that no business in NZ can operate without education and healthcare systems for its workers, a viable police force and justice system, roads, energy distribution, etc, etc, etc.. You could set this contribution as a percentage of turnover – then adjust the tax on profits down accordingly so that most businesses aren't paying any more. And genuine start-up businesses might be able to get relief from making this contribution for a period of a few years.
Such a scheme would at least partially catch the big cheats who have the resources to pretend they make no profit here. A name like "social infrastructure contribution" sounds naff, but is actually important, because it is a piece of truth-telling that bypasses the unpleasant connotations of the word "tax".
Not really workable. There are huge variations in turnover/profit ratio with different businesses.
For example, a law firm will have most of their turnover going to earnings, while a building company could have less than 10%.
It works for comparing diferent businesses, in the same industry to detect tax evasion, however
Don't listen to Mike Hosking, but interested to hear if he comments on his admiration for the now resigned Gladys Berijklian today. Or John Keys's defence of secret trusts.
Unlikely, that's what a journalist would do not captain rant.
He's on holiday this week. The guy standing in for him is much better to listen to.
More importantly, same ads though, I would assume.
“Hoskins on holiday this week.”
A planned holiday, or a "managed retreat?"
I think from memory he usually has the school holidays off.
Oh shit ,does that mean that him and her have kids, ??
Shouldn't be allowed
Mustn’t visit the sins of the parents on the offspring.
Sometimes kids turn out ok no matter what their parents are like.
Neve, for example, many NEVER crash a tractor.
And this shameful practice is still happening.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300418067/the-mothers-struggling-to-feed-their-babies-while-the-state-keeps-all-their-child-support
oh well, it is in the News, so maybe it gets discussed for a moment or two and then forgotten again.
There is a reason why our poor people, and their poor kids are poor. This is one of them.
That policy is shameful and needs to be removed faster than "medium term work programme".
Bloody with you on this one.
It's why back in the day people used to make private child support arrangements if they could, although I'd imagine they've cracked down on these.
The entire family break-up industry is a disgrace, it rips everyone off and leaves the kids vulnerable and worse off as a rule.
An absolute travesty. Andrew Becroft has got to be one of the best Children's Commissioners that understands the way the State suffocates potential through abject poverty.
Oh come on!! Labour and Sepoloni, you need to remove this!! I have been a Labour supporter for Life, but that is shameful poverty caused by the State. Dickensian punitive rules for the poor and struggling need to end!! Just sent off a critical email!!
There was a bloke on the radio this morn imagining that some people might have to give the money back depending on the outcome of Peter Ellis,s appeal .Fat chance !! Alive or dead the likelihood of him getting any real justice is slim indeed .Still making legal history by appealing from the grave is something i guess .
The convictions of Peter Ellis never felt safe or convincing to me.
This was reinforced by 'A City Possessed', Lynley Hood's disturbingly good book on the subject.
The relationship between the investigation officer and a complainant's mum, the severe editing of children's evidence and the social environment the trial occurred in were all against a just trial.
I’m quite excited – or at least very pleased – that the Court has determined that a deceased person’s mana, or reputation – together with that of his whanau, continues to have standing following the death of someone who may have suffered a gross miscarriage of Justice. 🌴
Some good news on the self-contained saliva SARS-CoV-2 front!
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/saliva-test-developed-dunedin-quick-and-simple-use
Removing the saliva testing from needing PCR lab time is a major advance, as it frees up those resources. Especially if the processing time can be shortened to 5 (theoretically, or even 10 practically) minutes as "The Boss" suggests in the accompanying South Today video.
However the need for manufactured units is a bit of of a downside, especially with NZ being near the end of the world's supply chain. SHERLOCK was announced back in August and has already gained FDA approval – miSHERLOCK can be 3D printed in reusable handheld units which are cheaper and (apart from the necessary chemicals/ biologicals) don't rely so much on international shipping. There are also two other CRISPR based tests that were announced in September; DETECTR, and FELUDA, which may also have a place in rapidly-processed SARS-CoV-2 testing. But that will come down to the cost/ effectiveness calculations after independent testing which are not yet publicly available.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8450312/
Thanks – very encouraging developments for rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA.
My sinuses say thankyou
Would be nice to get, my essential worker at home has been getting tested once a week now for weeks on end, and he feels like his brain is shrinking. He coveres a huge territory and cold potentially by himself infect the half of the north island should he become a carrier. It would be so lovely to have these available – and affordable.
September 1: "A man has been charged with filing false candidate donations and obtaining a total of $15,000 by deception.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/300396557/man-accused-of-filing-false-electoral-donations-obtaining-by-deception
October 4: Billy Te Kahika Jr to have jury trial for fraud, Electoral Act charges
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/billy-te-kahika-jr-to-have-jury-trial-for-fraud-electoral-act-charges/NYIIR5KZGAXB6VRO2QAEBWXRJI/
If found guilty, since he has been one of those most responsible for promoting the conspiracy theories, and undermining public health, he should be sentenced to being breathed on by a Covid patient until he gets it.
"until he gets it."
I don't think he'll ever "get it". He's too impervious to logic……….. Is that what you meant?
The issue here (ww.stuff.co.nz/national/300418067/the-mothers-struggling-to-feed-their-babies-while-the-state-keeps-all-their-child-support) starts with "Why is the State involved?"
Wasn't it because breadwinners left their families destitute and without any support at all. It seems those who had custody of the children became supported by the State via the DPB and that this was to be recovered from the non-custodial parent. Any the excess was then to be paid to the custodial parent. Where both parents have a financially supportive income, the State is not required to be involved but binding agreements should be reached between the relevant parties.
The next question then might be be, "Why is the State not recovering maintenance payments from so many non-custodial parents?"
Ode to FJK.
https://twitter.com/NewsroomNZ/status/1444376929239511044?s=20
😀 👍🏼
Can someone please explain three waters to me in two paragraphs. No links (I know how to google), and preferably keep the satire and sarcasm until after there’s a decent explanation.
Citizens and Ratepayers loose the ability to not spend money on water and sewage infrastructure.
Done by combining Council infrastructure into regional entities with professional management and board structures but with the minimum of elected representative control
Kind of like Watercare in Auckland
so they're taking management and infrastructure out of council control? Who is appointing managers and boards?
Don't know what Watercare is.
Yep, but really most of the management and control hasn’t been that flash, hence we had Havelock North and the one just north of Dunedin. Also a very bad thing in Queenstown in 80’s. And a huge wave of issues coming up from Councils that have kicked the can down the road with maintenance over the last 40 years plus
Boards will be appointed by panels comprising Council and Iwi appointees.
Under the new Water Services Act the professional boards and management will be accountable, elected representatives won’t be for some reason
Watercare is the entity that manages the 3 Waters infrastructure of the combined Auckland City
Wellington leaky pipes, Auckland's ongoing problems with shortages, and Environment Canterbury (ECan) becoming a political football, nitrates leaching into Chch water supply.
Poor management/ cost-cutting mentality/ capture by special interests, is endemic.
The main problem we have had in Wellington is that our Mayor(s) and Councillors have, since about the 1986 election, been devoted to building glamorous White Elephants rather than worrying about the infrastructure of the City.
There isn't anything glamourous about the waste water system. Let's build enormously expensive cycleways for a few lycra- clad idiots. They are much more fun to waste the ratepayers money on. Well they are all collapsing.
Same in Auckland.
same everywhere.
Got it in one there, alwyn.
Although I spotted a probably leak in a water main on the road outside my neighbour’s place last week. I meant to report it but got busy at home & forgot.
Driving in from the supermarket the next day (I exit via a different driveway to the entrance by our letterboxes) I noticed that the leak had quickly progressed to a very large puddle, with water gushing up in a plume about an inch higher than the water surface, & the road surface was collapsing into a hole.
I put the groceries away, went straight online to the Council website, & reported this.
Got an acknowledgement that it had been referred to water services, & a “ticket number”, within an hour, by email, which sayeth thusly:
………………………
“Your ticket has now been passed through for the attention of our Wellington Water team.
If you need to follow up with us please reply to this email or phone us on 04 499 4444 and quote reference number “SR-123456 etc.”
……………………..
A temporary patch job was done by the end of the same day. Next morning a truck crew was back on site at 8.30am. By early afternoon the problem had been permanently fixed, the hole filled in, & a professional-looking asphalt surface laid over top.
So, big ups WCC Water Team. 👍🏼 🐧
There’s also some issues around how the change will affect Councils balance sheets. At present these are underpinned by the valuation of the Councils infrastructure ‘assets’. Take them away and Council finances could get a bit wobbly. Government has wheeled out buckets of cash to solve the problem but there’s a bit of a gap between what Government is offering and Council valuations.
why not instead fix the Local Government Act so that local authorities are required to meet specific standards and be responsive to local needs?
What are the regional boundaries being proposed?
I mean, isn't the Havelock North fuck up a function of values and who was on council?
Labour's response is to centralise and semi-privatise, instead of taking the opportunity to improve democracy.
Semi-privatise?! I hope not.
One problem with local democracy is chronic shortage of funds. There was a small Council somewhere north of Auckland that buried itself in debt with water supply problems. And the tales of council incompetence are endless
those problems still need solving.
I think you are referring to Mangawhai WW "… the Mangawhai wastewater system with an estimated cost in October 2005 of $26.26 million that ballooned to a total cost of $63.2 million in July 2009."
https://www.interest.co.nz/bonds/60974/heavily-indebted-and-disgraced-kaipara-district-council-raises-fears-over-bailing-out
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/council-takes-former-ceo-to-court-over-wastewater-scheme-6064764
They are improving democracy by proposing getting Maori represented to 50% on water for the first time in NZ.
It’s certainly looking like corporatisation. But there are plenty of successful variants of this in operation already.
Long way to go on this one, but status quo isn't an option.
"But there are plenty of successful variants of this in operation already."
What would be some examples?
Yes, improvement for Māori, this is really good. Still doesn't fix the LGA or sort out the wider democratic issues there including what happens when there is poor management. Local govt really is the lowest form of democracy.
Just off the top of my head some successfully corporatised entities are:
– All of Christchurch Holdings and its entities
– All of Dunedin Holdings and its entities
– Auckland Airport
– Auckland Film Studios
– Kainga Ora's development entities
– Airports which are half Crown and half local Government owned eg Dunedin.
And yes they have all had major dramas in their 20+year existence. And there are also plenty of failues.
You may not know that Watercare's remit already looks after northern Waikato's water beyond Auckland. It's made plenty of mistakes but since metering and regular pricing tweaks we are far more efficient users of water than we used to be. They are required by law only to charge what is required to produce safe water services.
To me what is missing from the reforms is a national water price regulator. They are after all forming a system at least as powerful as the supermarket duopoly or as powerful as AIAL and CIAL.
Indeed. The super-city model in Auckland is deeply flawed, and it has been made so much worse by the way some of the elected officers operate., however I refuse to believe it cannot be improved.
No, that wasn't what caused it. There was a long government investigtion.
https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/environmental-health/drinking-water/government-inquiry-havelock-north-drinking-water-outbreak/government-inquiry-havelock-north-drinking-water-outbreak-implemented-recommendations
are you saying it was on the MoH?
The reports, and resultant reform and legislative actions are available to you. No need to speculate.
You are always going to have those people, and their values on councils, and dominating councils.
No one gets elected to local government saying they are going to put the rates up and dig up the streets for the next 10 years. Even an infrastructure focus is hard, voters want things they cam see, like street works and rec centres, not pipes in the ground
that's two failures of democracy. That needs fixing and centralising water infrastructure won't do that. Wasted opportunity. We could be improving democracy.
The last local government reform we had nationwide was in 2002, which softened the terrible 1989 reforms with tonnes of democratic consultative requirements resulting in lots of promises and no funding to do them.
The last regional reform we had was in Auckland in 2010 which under Labour promised better representation for Maori but under National-Act was turned into a deeply undemocratic beast.
We had a little reform last year which made it easier for Councils to make Maori wards
We are also due for very large reform by proxy with the three replacement acts to the Resource Management Act. Coming to a Parliament near you.
None of the above is going to rescue our rivers, guarantee well priced and quality drinking water, or stop it being wasted by agribusiness on its astonishing scale. Just check out the mess in Otago Regional Council.
It cost around $80m to fix those issues, which is not that much considering the government is claiming we need to spend $185Bn on water infrastructure over the next 30 years.
Most councils wouldn't be able to afford it without massive rates increases and asset sales, which they won't do.
I did hear of a council that needs almost zero infrastructure upgrades because they did a deal with fonterra who did it for them (guesses as to what the return side of that non-transaction might be), but this isn't like power poles where you can red-tag the worst and replace them one by one over years.
There's infrastructure that has been ignored because it was buried, infrastructure that should have been expanded with population and surface development but wasn't, and almost all of it is buried under other infrastructure so that you have to dig through/past/around them to reach what you want to repair/upgrade. And half the time it only comes to light with a burst or a sinkhole.
if the money is there via three waters why can't that money be there via another system?
Funnelling central govt money to the councils who neglected their water supplies for decades?
Watch that lolly scramble.
We’re not to bad in Queenstown now, there’s a long line of developers Council can bend over and rape and pillage.
A quite recent occurrence, 30 years ago some really scary shit going down. Generally into the lake or rivers. Arrowtown came close to being shut down in early 90’s. Untreated sewage being discharged from sewage ponds (not working at all) into river
bonusses to having a huge tourist industry on your waterways, I guess. Chamber of commerce incentive to sort it.
Na. Ngai Tahu sitting across the table with arms folded and a stern look
🙂
Dr Te Maire Tau is chair of Te Kura Taka Pini (the Ngāi Tahu freshwater group)
"OPINION: When you get past the noise on all sides around the Government’s proposed reform of Three Waters services (drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater) the issues are simple. How do we ensure equitable, affordable, high-quality water services for everyone, while protecting human health and community assets?”
https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/126548058/three-waters-reforms-are-an-opportunity-to-share-our-strengths-working-together
Government is proposing to take a huge future liability off councils.
Hardly an ,"assets grab".
But the storm of bad faith right wing opposition will prevent that, and we will end up with another, camel. “Ask yourself why National is so against the three waters policy. It is not to keep three waters under public control. National don’t even agree with public ownership. It is because with central Government under much greater scrutiny than council’s, makes future privatisation, subcontracting to their mates, polluting rivers and dodgy irrigation schemes much harder in future”.
Something that has arisen because so many councils, run by inept old boys clubs, have stuffed it up.
Not sure if the structure proposed is the answer, but business as usual is not working.
National's objections mostly consist of inaccurate memes and Mis information as usual.
As they cannot state their real reasons without the public seeing right through them.
+1
This is an excellent summary.
Two minor additions which have caused some complaining – technically the infrastructure counts as assets, so removing them from the books may affect a council's borrowing ability, and the few places that arguably don't need to chlorinate e.g. Christchurch will lose the ability to make that decision themselves.
Longer term, there is always the possibility that National will change the deal and just sell the new entities.
On the other hand, professionally-managed water and funding and removing the arguments from long term planning.
jfc. Longer term as in next time National are in power? So short term really if we are talking about water.
Yeah, I dont get this big rush to centralization of public assets more localization with a firm govt structure to work within and ability to apply for and recieve funding from a fund for infrastructure is a far better answer better answer in my opinion…
Making these big entities is all fun and games until one day the National/Act partly or fully privatize it perhaps on the pretense of 'paying for covid' or decide to monetize it some other way.
Its a daft idea for a bunch of reasons.
Could see the Nats for example do something similar to Bradford reforms… keep the 'three waters' intact but then add another layer of 'retailers' who then charge for water at a local level and sell those off like the power companies.
The three waters are:
Due to years of local government failures and resultant illness in their communities, central government is proposing removing council control of these three water systems. Instead, four regional authorities will be developed. Ownership/ control of these is being discussed with some heat and little light. Details are a bit thin on the ground. Ownership of the water itself rather than the distribution systems is a particularly fraught issue, but not directly part of the proposal as I understand it, at this time.
Everyone wants brilliant drinking water and great systems for dealing with storm and waste water so they don't impact on waterways, lakes and ocean.
But no-one wants to pay.
It is one of those hypocritical things that right wing politicians say and then act otherwise. Councils should only do drinking water, sewerage, stormwater and roads.
Libraries, gardens, pensioner housing, electricity, holiday parks etc all should be done by the private sector.
Yet as these assets got sold off by those right wing politicians and businessmen who got themselves elected to councils did they move the money from selling those assets or from revenue generated if they kept them into maintaining and upgrading those essential systems.
Lots of projects to support private businesses – Hamilton's motor racing cost tens of millions of dollars, Napier Art Deco buses 1.3 million, sister sister projects to encourage trade such as Invercargills Chinese Gardens. I've never ever seen any of these projects that were actually originally instigated by councils themselves – they have always been proposed and driven by "business people" (sometimes elected and sometimes not) and the councils have to implement them.
So the councils have sold off many of their assets previously – or been forced to by wanky governments in the interests of privatisation) and don't have many assets left or income streams other than rates.
Meanwhile their under-investment in infrastructure – and often the removal of the more highly paid infrastructure knowing staff for lower paid newbies) is bringing them problems that they had every chance to prevent occurring but chose not to – despite saying that that is all councils should do.
I find it difficult to blame the council staff who fought many of these things and pointed out the need for them. Quite a few lost their jobs for standing up for this stuff.
3 Waters is about transferring control of drinking water, wastewater and stormwater (the 3 waters) from the democratically elected councils to four regional water entities.
It's essentially based on the 'economies of scale' argument, and is being promoted via a multi-million dollar advertising campaign and a $2.5bn compensation offer to Councils.
The plan has been roundly rejected by the vast majority of Councils (only 7 of he 67 are in support), and as the plan has failed to gain support, the government funded hyperbole has grown to a point of misinformation.
It's a dog of an idea.
Councils elected by the minority of people who vote. Three waters reminds me of the Priorities piece earlier today.
"Indeed, the Māori way of viewing things is to see the inter-relationships, i.e. the links rather than the nodes of networks. An integrated way of mātauranga Māori and Western science and of seeing both together could be the way forward"
If this is what Mahuta is up to I'll stay interested.
That's a terrific sentiment. But a number of aspects of 3 Waters rings alarm bells with me, including the 'we know best' approach being adopted by Mahuta etc to public opposition, the propaganda and misinformation campaign, and the idea that somehow centralising the management of these services will deliver a better result.
Three waters could cost individual households heaps a new tax outside rates and income tax.
Councils who have already got high quality water will subsidise those councils who haven't invested in good water care.
Labour are now in big trouble with Covid not brought under control Labour's honeymoon is over.If National find a new leader who connects with people the next election is going to be a close run thing.
So now Labour's under real pressure this 3 waters has been widely rejected as unworkable.
The Charge Brian Tamaki petition at https://www.change.org/p/nz-police-commissioner-charge-brian-tamaki-over-the-illegal-protest?redirect=false has topped 40,000 signatures.
Signatures pouring in. With a bit of luck they will be at 100,000 by end of day.
97,444 by 7pm tonight.
The prejudice and fear of people who can count beyond ten will decide the final number, not "luck".
Freedom, Freedom, Freedom,
Shout the angry anti vacs',
Sick of signs of Freedom fools,
With misinformation cracks.
Well here's a Freedom sign,
It will help you for your breath,
Go you and get vaccinated,
That is Freedom from your death.
Seems just about everyday there's another case popping up with someone going to hospital for unrelated reasons… seems Covid is pretty well embedded in some parts of Auckland seem to be asymptomatic or cases with minor symptoms for the most part.
Must be some much sickier people floating around surely… some of the negative quarantine hotel stories have probably made some very reluctant to seek help or get a test…
Gang members and transients find it hard to participate in "civilised" society. Contact tracers and cops have their work cut out for sure.
Anyone living on the proceeds of crime has to keep on getting out there and doing the crime.No wage subsidies for them .And along with that they would be very averse to getting tested and being questioned about their movements and contacts.
What the hell is going on in the heads of our judges? A guy fires a shotgun at a family in a car and gets home detention?
NZ is going to get like that movie "The Purge" shortly.
Auckland motorway road rage shooter's jail term thrown out, gets home detention instead – NZ Herald
Yeah, I read that apperently he had a gun because he had suffered a 'home invasion' fucking ridiculous the guy is unhinged enough to carry it around in his car… take the time to assemble and load it then lean out the window and fire it at a car to 'scare' them… I'll bet P is involved somewhere along the line…
“Simpson appealed, saying his jail sentence was not the least restrictive outcome in the circumstances and he also should have received home detention.”
…
“Justice Gault said Judge Wharepouri … gave too much priority, when sentencing the brothers, to the fact Dekota Simpson fired the shot. ‘In the circumstances, and having regard to the further evidence on appeal, I consider that was an error’…”
“The actions of Mr Simpson and his brother put the victims and public in considerable danger, and had significant victim impact,” Justice Gault added. “But the Judge accepted that Mr Simpson did not intend to hurt the victims. The lead charge was commission of intentional damage.”
Justice Gault said Simpson’s firing of the shot was not the only relevant factor, but there was a marked difference in sentences for the Simpson brothers. “The further evidence on appeal adds weight to the importance of Mr Simpson’s rehabilitation and reintegration, and of avoiding imprisonment as far as possible.”
He said 19 months’ imprisonment was manifestly excessive. “A sentence of home detention also better reflects parity between Mr Simpson and his brother.”
………………………………
What could have gone wrong? He hit the car’s bumper. He could have disabled the driver & caused the family to crash. I think this sounds like a case where “the least restrictive outcome” perhaps shouldn’t be available as grounds for an appeal.
My pick was 25-50 a day in Auckland at Level 3, after last weeks decision.
By the time it goes to 100 a day later this month it will have spread around New Zealand and thus Auckland borders will end. And we will all have community spread at Level 2.
When hospitals cannot cope (sometime in Nov/Dec) we will go to Level 3 nationwide in December and allow Kiwis to come in for Christmas (as Victoria and NSW are doing from November 1).
Key has got his way.
pardon? Key has not been in power fora very long time, the current government has made this determination.
Elimination was important.
Sounds to me like like the government's thrown in the towel.
Another day, another press conference, another whole lot of nothing about what the government is going to do to get through to the reluctants that are making it difficult to get to 90% vaccination among the eligibles (or even 95% plus of eligibles like Portugal has achieved).
Suggestion: Don't watch the press conferences.
I don't. I just check the written live blogs every now and then in between doing other stuff on my confuser.
Hardly, let it spread (and maxed out ICU capacity) is more effective than gift tokens and vaccine passports (if they can be obtained without proof of vaccination).
If the strategy is going to be let it rip goin' fowwud, I'm actually not hugely bothered about the effect that's going to have on the unvaccinated.
But it's going to awesomely fkn brutal on our medical staff, and on anyone in need of medical care while the letting it rip is actually ripping. So if that's the plan, I'd like to know what is going to be done to protect the staff and the other patients over that brutal time.
The only thing I can think of for that situation is the government issuing legislative instructions that when triaging needs to happen, unvaccinated covid patients are first on the list be triaged out.
Unfortunate news on your good cop/bad cop strategy for revitalising National. Gareth Morgan was contacted about proposing a vaccine segregated health system during the next election. But he said he doesn't want such an unpopular idea cast beside with his most logical proposal to euthanise everybodies household feline.
Thankfully New Zealand hasn't instituted an apartheid system yet, but the ugly way some smart people are talking, perhaps we're not far off..