The government is expected to push its three waters reforms – which would put drinking, storm and waste water management in the hands of four organisations – through Parliament this year. Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta is set to receive advice from the governance and accountability working group on how to address councils' concerns on Monday, after they were granted a seven-day extension.
The group's terms of reference include bottom-line requirements from the government that the water service entities give effect to Treaty of Waitangi, ensure "good governance" and board selection processes, ensure the entities remain in public ownership, and retain balance sheet separation. The latter is a financial term for the separation of ownership and control over assets being borrowed against, and would enable the water service entities to borrow much larger sums for repairing and improving water infrastructure.
Cabinet documents, from before the legislation was delayed, estimated the bill would take up to nine months. OIA documents show the delays to reform legislation announced in December mean the bill is expected to be introduced in "mid-2022". That would mean the bill would be still undergoing Parliamentary scrutiny during the October local body elections – something Mahuta had hoped to avoid.
"Previous conversations with you and other ministers have indicated a strong desire for the first Bill to be enacted around mid-2022, in advance of the local government elections. To meet this timeframe, we estimate the Bill will need to … be referred to select committee in December 2021, at the latest," a briefing to the Minister stated.
Great question. I think there's a couple out of the 67 who think it's a good idea. Aucklander's overwhelmingly oppose it. So it's not only a bad idea, it's a really unpopular one.
In the days before the invasion, Russian TV broadcast a session of President Putin's 30-member security council. The BBC includes a photo showing the immense distance between the top dog & the underdogs, along with profiles of the top underdogs…
Dr Ian Hyslop explains why it's urgent we address the social and political divisions that enabled the Parliament protest rather than "disparage the feral mob and order another latte"
Them's disparagin’ words, but Hyslop's article is a good read – ta.
However, it is also clear that this protest was about more than vaccination mandates – it was about Covid more generally, perhaps symptomatic of associated fatigue and frustration. It was also about disinformation, misinformation, and experiences or perceptions of social exclusion. The protest gathered an unusual and disparate group including alternative lifestyle adherents, some people affiliated with fundamentalist churches and, at the edges, radical Neo Nazi extremists. The conflation of individual freedom and national identity is reminiscent of the Trump phenomenon in the US and the rise of narrow right-wing populism globally: a populism often cynically supported by private capital.
The meme that this is a "division" rather than a small minority of the stupid, doesn't reflect reality. It gives the idea that they are a far bigger group than they really are.
Why didn't we hear about , "division" during the many times larger anti TPPA, anti AGW and gen zero protests.
Perhaps as those, unlike the Wellington one, were really supported by a significant number of people.
The current Wellington Pro Plague, along with the Pro Polluter protests are extremely noisy and disruptive, but certainly not reflective of the views of the overwhelming majority, who find the foolishness obvious.
By the way. Most of the people objecting to vaccine mandates, and travel restrictions, seem to be rather comfortable middle class Wallies. Workers and the ones at the dirty end of the Neo-Liberal stick, largely seem on side with protecting public health. About 300 to 2 in my workplace voted to make vaccination mandatory.
Democracy!
Blue collar workers, used to working together for the good of their community see the sense in mandates and other public health measures, to protect those close to them.
The there are, entitled brats, who have never had any concern for those around them…….
Is Putin trying to convince us that the Ukrainians are conducting false flag attacks on their own people?
Though Russian allegations of a false flag attacks may have convinced some people in the past over Syria. Putin's useful idiots in the West will have trouble spinning this story.
He is ' an American political scientist and international relations scholar, who belongs to the realist school of thought. He is the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago. He has been described as the most influential realist of his generation.
Mearsheimer is best known for developing the theory of offensive realism, which describes the interaction between great powers as being primarily driven by the rational desire to achieve regional hegemony in an anarchic international system. In accordance with his theory, Mearsheimer believes that China's growing power will likely bring it into conflict with the United States. He also holds U.S. interventionist foreign policy responsible for the crisis in Ukraine.'
Why wouldn't Putin try to convince us that the Ukrainians are conducting false flag attacks on their own people? You can be certain some will be convinced what he says is true and that will become The Word.
In the Herald today David Farrier alludes (again) to the weird things being said.
"I documented in real time Billy Te Kahika jnr's Facebook posts over that time (early Covid). Originally supporting Jacinda Ardern's reaction to Covid, within several months Billy became an entirely different beast, spouting conspiracy theories galore. He went into politics, failed miserably, and today is mostly raving about aliens on Facebook. Now Sue Gray — a more accessible, white face to the crazy — screams about dead children and vaccine deaths."
I don't know about Brian Tamaki and his "gangster mates."
Farrier references religious angle on the protest:
"Many of our biggest pentecostal and evangelical churches also drank the Kool-Aid, taking their adherents down an anti-science route that questioned whether Covid was real, or if masks worked. It's one thing for a church to deny evolution, it's another for it to deny modern science that will affect public health outcomes. "All those needles going into the arm, it's like they're trying to wear me down!" said the leader of one megachurch. "We do know it has not been fully approved by the FDA …" he raved on. He was wrong.
The media tended to focus on Destiny Church's Brian Tamaki, as he was the loudest and strangest, but it was City Impact Church pastor Peter Mortlock who drove to the Wellington "protest" to livestream his thoughts."
Tamaki seems to have aligned his cult with the 'Freedom & Rights coalition.' With that he is carrying on his permanent electioneering. The words are 'get rid of the government," the message is "pick me." Covid and vaccinations are merely handy handles.
Gangster mates? I don't know about that. I know a big body of loud motorbikes roaring in canyons of buildings sounds impressive to some. And threatening to others, what with the Headhunters, Mongrel Mob, Hell's Angels and so on references. No-one would believe that Tamaki wouldn't harness whatever is needed to make an impression.
Big guys, black gear, dark sunnies, staunch demeanour? It's like a parody of American gangster movies. It's a wonder Tamaki hasn't paid big bucks (from the people who willingly give him money to buy their way into heaven) to commission the Cohen Brothers to shoot a film about him.
A declaration of war against Europe was narrowly missed yesterday when bombs hit the training centre at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.
A strike at a Ukrainian nuclear power plant was my worst fear at the start of the invasion.
I have been listening to speech after speech from the UN, Nato and the US. Words will not be enough for Putin.
The situation is dire for the Ukrainians, food shortage, bombed hospitals, the Russian convoy. I am pleased to see that many Polish and German people have taken Ukrainian people into their home, (other near by countries as well). Poland and Germany have faced Russia in the past and will be affected economically and the threat of a nuclear explosion cannot be excluded. Germany and Poland have moved on since 1945 and they are now on the same side and they stand side by side being Nato members.
I suggest that one means of settling the Ukraine invasion would be to have a duel between the leader of the Russian forces and the Mayor of Kyiv. One on one.
Now I realise that David beat Goliath in the Biblical story but I would put my money on the Ukrainian representative in this encounter. His name is Vitali Klitschko. If that doesn't ring a bell try googling the name and see what his previous occupation was.
Hell, I wouldn't go for it if I was in my physical prime and 20 years old.
Actually I did mean the Russian military leader in the country rather than Putin. Not only is Vitali 19 years younger than Vladimir but he must be about 35 cm taller.
yes a fit 70 year black belt judoka would be dangerous to joe average but Kitschko is himself a former professional world champion boxer 20 years his junior.
Alwyn (and myself) indulging in pointless (and amusing) speculation about impossible events in the absence of impacting reality..i suspect.
And 70 year old muscles cant cash cheques written by 30 year old minds….as much as they wish they could.
"Alwyn (and myself) indulging in pointless (and amusing) speculation about impossible events in the absence of impacting reality".
Yes. Vitali, and his brother Wladimir, were both World Heavyweight Boxing Champions. I really doubt that any 70 year old politician, no matter his background would, survive.
And, unfortunately we aren't going to get rid of Putin that way. Still, one can always dream about him getting his comeuppance.
He was a wonderful wrist spinner …he basically won the Adelaide Ashes test single handed when Flintoff was England captain when Australia had no hope of winning.
He was an excellent commentator and everyone seems to agree that despite his huge success as a sportsman he was not up himself….very approachable and helpful
In all the tributes I have heard nobody has mentioned that he was also a very useful batsman….sorry batter.
Didn't hear any reference to him being a drugs cheat banned for 12 months for taking a weight-reducing diuretic either. But hey, lets remember "Warnie", the larrikin. Great cricketer, flawed individual.
Heart attack seems more likely – too soon, imho. A great sportsman and entertainer, I'll remember his appearance as a Shane Warne impersonator who marries Sharon in the Aussie sitcom Kath & Kim.
In August 2021, Warne contracted COVID-19 and was placed on a ventilator "to make sure there were no longer-lasting effects that Covid would have on me". He said he "had a thumping headache and I had one day where I had the shivers, but (was) sweating, like when you have the flu and that Australians 'would have to learn to live with the virus". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shane_Warne
Never a fan but to me, the real leading wicket taker over Muralitharan, despite the record book. Done for his mum's slimming pills but never his action.
Surrogacy is an emotive issue. Particularly for those who are unwillingly childless.
But an ethical and moral discussion has to be had about the wider and long term impacts regarding the 'manufacture' and 'production' of children.
Regarding the Australian couple above:
It has been a difficult journey for the couple to become parents.
"They have been together for 20 years, and after suffering for seven long years of primary infertility, multiple IVF rounds, surgeries and specialists, they began their surrogacy journey and made the decision to employ the help of a surrogacy agency in Ukraine," friend Kara Pangrazio said on a Mycause page set up to help the couple.
"As this situation is changing rapidly it is not yet known logistically how [bringing Alba home] will happen."
Alba, who is the genetic daughter of Jessica and Kevin, is currently in the NICU suffering a small bleed on the brain as well as underdeveloped lungs and intestines.
The surrogate mother is also receiving care in the hospital.
"Jess and Kev came to the decision of using a Ukrainian surrogacy programme after a lot of careful consideration, including the legality, wait times in years, ethics and costs," Pangrazio wrote on the Mycause page.
It would be good to have a list of those considerations compiled here.
Shulzhynska, a mother of two who used to work as a trolley bus conductor, went to a surrogacy clinic in 2013 because she desperately needed to pay back a bank loan. She was so broke that the clinic sent her money to buy the ticket to Kyiv.
She agreed to carry a baby for an Italian couple, and within two months it turned out she had four living embryos in her womb. The biological family decided to keep only one and the rest were removed surgically. In May 2014 Shulzhynska gave birth to a baby girl, which she gave away to the parents. She received a fee of €9,000.
Seven months later she went to a hospital with severe stomach pain. Doctors diagnosed cervical cancer. It took her almost a year to raise money for surgery. Shulzhynska suspects the cancer was caused by her surrogacy, although there is no proof of this. She has recently ordered crutches because her doctors plan to amputate her left leg, which is now affected by the spreading cancer.
In 2015, Shulzhynska filed a complaint against BioTexCom alleging damage caused to her health, which led to a criminal investigation that is ongoing.
Yuriy Kovalchuk, a former state prosecutor whose office oversaw a series of criminal investigations into BioTexCom in 2018 and 2019, says at least three other women went to law enforcement after having their wombs removed following surrogate pregnancies organised by the company.
From the limited evidence available, the abuse of surrogates and children born from surrogacy is strikingly apparent. To date, developed countries have fueled demand for corrupt and under-regulated surrogacy industries in developing countries around the world. This demand has given rise to powerful corporations that operate without fear of government oversight. As concepts of parentage continue to expand, so must international family law. The Hague Convention’s Experts’ Group is the most qualified international body to champion the regulation of the industry and the protection of women and children.
They – could of course adopt children in their home countries, all these couples that order babies from overseas birthing bodies, but that would then mean that they child is 'not theirs'.
I find it interesting that the only interest is in the babies, never mind the birthing bodies that are left behind in the war region.
But here is Tamati Coffey, 'father' of two babies from a surrogate mother and his bill to make it even easier to buy babies of birthing bodies for as little money as possible. Don't ever say these 'gender woo's' don't know what a women is when they need one. lol
However we can't blame Tamati Coffey for having his priorities straight, maybe there is is a future industry for Rotorua in the making, all the unproductive uteruses of uterus havers (specially the unemployed) can be put to work birthing for 'infertile people' such as he and his husband are as two men together – despite all the myth of those afflicted with gender woo – never conceived a child nor birthed even just one.
Personally i can see a future – a near future at that, where unemployed women could be compelled to 'donate eggs' – as work, be a 'surrgate mother' – as work, i.e. for pay as income, or sell 'surplus' breast milk for money as a form of income.. That and of course then also sex work which is work and thus…….:) its gonna be a lovely future for the things we used to call 'women' adult human female.
Mother-of-three Megan Golub said she and her partner had turned to NeoKare after she had struggled to breastfeed her third son Oliver.
After trying formula, "which was even worse", her partner Robin Gibb attempted to find breast milk from elsewhere.
…
The firm claims to be the only firm in Europe selling 100% breast milk products and said it helped premature babies and mothers with problems breastfeeding.
Marketing officer Jessica Preston defended the cost of what the company sells, with six 50ml bottles priced at a total of £45.
But as usual, the profit margin is greater in other demographics:
Running out of room to store it, the 24-year-old mum started to donate the milk to women who were struggling to produce milk on their own – until men began to approach Lamprou for her milk.
She said: “I then started to get some enquiries from men. It started with men who were interested in bodybuilding. They say it is good for building muscle mass.
“But then I started to get enquiries from men with fetishes.”
After realising there was quite a large market of men looking for breast milk, Lamprou decided to start selling the two litres of milk she was producing a day – and began charging male buyers €1 (89p) per ounce.
…As for the fetish usage of her breast milk, Lamprou said: “It was a bit strange at first giving breast milk to a guy with fetishes but as long as it is just that and not asked to show any part of my body, I don’t mind at all. I am open-minded.”
So open minded she participates in a fetish that reduces women to lactating bovines.
Yes, it already exist, but in my scenario a women aka human female adult (producer of ova ) can be compelled by a helpful Winz drone to get a 'job' in selling breast milk – they can feed their own kids some formula or so, get a job in -surrogacy for some people, they can get a job in selling eggs – its just a wee little surgery no harm done here no not at all, and / or sex work – its work, dignified work yes, it is, cause work is work and if you are able and fit and demand is there why won't you take it, and if you don't take it, here have some sanctions. I give it a few years.
This Bill amends five Acts and two sets of Regulations to simplify surrogacy arrangements, ensure completeness of information recorded on birth certificates (hah!), and provide a mechanism for the enforcement of surrogacy arrangements (the fact that this is necessary shows a fundamental flaw).
New Zealand law does not currently afford any automatic rights to the intending parents of a child born via surrogacy. At the time of birth, the child’s legal parents are the surrogate mother and partner, and a formal adoption process is required to complete the arrangement.(why is this necessary – have there been problems in the past?) This Bill affirms the intending parents’ automatic legal status at the point that custody of the child is transferred. It also enforces the legal obligations of intending parents if they refuse to take custody by making them liable for child support, (why is this necessary – have there been problems in the past?) even if they do not have custody of the child.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCROC), ratified by New Zealand in 1993, committed New Zealand to implementing the rights set out in the Convention. These include a child’s right from birth to know (all?)their parents and to be cared for by them (Article 7.1) and the right to seek and receive information of all kinds (Article 13(1)). This Bill requires the Registrar to also register information about the identity of the surrogate and any person who donated an embryo or cells for the pregnancy. (This isn't the case?) In this way, the Bill recognises the rights of children to know their genetic origins. (as long as it doesn't conflict with the fluidity that is gender identity?)
"They – could of course adopt children in their home countries".
Not in New Zealand they can't. From the reference below, which is a Government publication and is probably accurate we are told.
"Adoptions reached their highest number in Aotearoa New Zealand in the 1970s, with nearly 4,000 children adopted each year. The number of adoptions in Aotearoa has reduced over time, with only 125 adoptions granted by the New Zealand Family Court in 2020."
I was replying to Sabine, at comment 9.1. The quote in the first line is from Sabine's comment. As such my comment didn't really have anything to do with surrogacy but to the implication in Sabines comment that couples don't have to use surrogacy when they can simply adopt.
I do know a number of people who were adopted. I don't find them to have been any different to anyone else. I don't know any that were born via surrogacy, but that probably has more to do with my age than anything else. Adopting was a standard option when I was the age to be having children and I know people who followed that path. You can't really do it today though. Surrogacy was unheard of.
I understand you were answering Sabine, just wanted to know if you had thoughts on surrogacy. As Sabine linked, there is a bill currently at first reading.
It would be good to have a public discussion on what this really legislates for.
"Surrogacy was unheard of."
Whāngai has always been around, My mother (now in her eighties) and two other siblings were whāngai placements. It still happens, if not so often, with reliable accessible contraception and support.
I believe Sabine has a good grasp of the wider ramifications of surrogacy, and the justifications for it – hence the adoption comment.
Looking at the process for commercial surrogacy the ethical and moral considerations are numerous. I was hoping there would be a discussion around those points. eg. the risk of medication required for implants/egg retrieval causing cancer being borne by the surrogate/provider, the commodification of children, and women's bodies, the emotional and social impact of carrying/ having someone else carry a child, the economic situation that allows this exploitation, etc.
No. Emotionally it seems rather odd to me, but that is just an instantaneous and not a considered response. Neither I, nor anyone in my immediate family had any problems procreating. Mind you my eldest sister took it to extremes. She had 4 children under the age of 3 by the time she had her fourth wedding anniversary.
However I am not able to make any reasoned comment on the topic of surrogacy so I will keep out of the discussion.
"However I am not able to make any reasoned comment on the topic of surrogacy so I will keep out of the discussion."
Thanks, alwyn. I appreciate your reply.
I'm interested in your last statement. I would expect that anyone given information about a situation, would be able to make a 'reasoned comment' albeit with provisos.
I wonder if the emotive nature of childbearing and childlessness, and the obscuring factor of this makes this topic yet another that will not be sufficiently investigated and discussed before passing legislation.
I admit to being bored by the repetitive and circular nature of discussions around the vaccines and protests, and thought there might be some interest in examining another topic that has legislation being considered.
Not sure how adoption is handled in NZ. This article that Molly linked to was about a couple in OZ that bought a pregnancy off a low income women in the Ukraine, and that was what my comment is about.
Disclaimer: I can not have children. Physically am not able to have children. Did not buy a pregnancy of a low income women to make up for the not having children. Did look into adoption, but choose not to go that way. Had a surrogacy offered to me by my best friend, and did not choose to go ahead, mainly for these reasons. A. my genetic material may not interact well with hers. B. nine month pregnancy is a long time on a women and her existing children. C. Pregnancy does things to womens bodies. D. Post Partum Depression is a thing. E. What if something goes wrong and the mother suffers? Just a few of the issues.
Yes, i can see the lease of the reproductive body parts of the human adult female become a thriving business. It already is in India, Ukraine, Russia etc. During the first month of the lockdown there already was a wave of babies not being picked up by their 'parents' etc, and these babies suddenly got stuck with their birthing parents. Suddenly we know what women and mothers are.
It's good to read someone's thought processes about consideration of surrogacy, and the reasons why they decided against it.
Pregnancy is not a neutral body condition. It puts a woman's body under stress, even through good pregnancies, leaches calcium, and as you say makes changes that need to be accommodated during gestation and beyond. The emotional and social costs are harder to articulate, but they do exist even if they are ignored.
It is telling that you had a friend that offered, and also that as a friend, you declined.
I was fortunate enough to be able to have children, and not be in the position of yearning and despair that I can understand in others. I think I would be inclined to think like you, and refuse an offer of surrogacy for some of the reasons you have stated. My partner and I would have to grieve the loss of that role as parents, but along with other life obstacles, we'd have to move on.
Thanks for responding. We need the objective views of the reality, as well as the understandably heartfelt entreaties from those who use other women as incubators. That price list, huh?
Families Through Surrogacy, an international non-profit surrogacy organisation, has estimated the approximate average costs in different countries:
Profitable it will be. And if you take in mind that we actively promoting the 'changing' of ones sex, and that that change comes with castration/sterilization it will be a booming business once all these people realize that they can no longer have children.
Never mind the kids that we are going to chemically castrate thanks to puberty blockers and the likes. But they will profit of the good lawmaking of Tamati Coffey and can then offer a womb rental agreement to some ‘uterus haver’ for a child that they can neither father, or in the opposite birth.
And hence the need to legalise and regulate the market as the bill by noted 'father' of two children born to a 'birthing body' via a uterus lease agreement.
Actually for what its worth, Tamati Coffey could have saved himself a lot of work and put forward the Ferengi Rules about womb leases and prices / costs there of.
It is a profitable business. One article above states that couples pay $25,000 (I assume USD) to the business, the surrogate receives up to $10,000.
We have to view these arrangements objectively and dispassionately in order to identify whether they are both moral and ethical. Stripping away all emotive appeals, we are treating a woman's body as a manufacturing plant. Unlike a manufacturing plant, there are no replacement parts, or ways to avoid wear and tear. Also, we ignore the impact of pregnancy on a woman's life, especially one that results in no child for that woman.
Relating stories of euphoric or satisfied commercial surrogates, is the equivalent of using The Happy Hooker as justification for prostitution. The majority of women in commercial surrogacy are being exploited.
The issue of non-commercial surrogacy has other considerations to be discussed, but still – as you mention – carries risks.
Well they missed the chch earthquake memorial as they were more concerned about the lawns and the curtains,and noisy neighbours,and so they could pass urgent legislation in this Brave New world ensuring the sanctity of Freemartins.
The mandates are only as good as those who comply with them.
I expect scanning is down. Probably getting a booster as well. I got boosted late last week and when I left I thought, that better be the last one.
A lot of people would know family who are infected with Covid. Hard because some would want to help those with young children, but cannot risk being infected.
And an interesting perspective over the announced change to legislate for an independent sanctions policy (rather than piggybacking on UN sanctions, which NZ has previously done – of course, the UN security council will never sanction Russia)
Mandates have reached their full potential as far as preventing hospital admissions. Due to high infection rates no mandate is able to stop infections.
A lot of gaps in the papers these days where new stories are supposed to be ( ie they fill them with a link to a story all ready mentioned.
Im not sure of its covid related staffing problems or that the Ukraine situation has sucked all interest out of other stories and they are holding them back
The Society for Evidence Based Gender Medicine (and no, WPATH is not evidence based despite assumptions) have compared the newly released Swedish evidence reviewed policy with the draft of the updated WPATH due for release this year:
The National Academy of Medicine in France has issued a press release in which it cautions medical practitioners that the growing cases of transgender identity in young people are often socially-mediated and that great caution in treatment is needed. The Academy draws attention to the fact that hormonal and surgical treatments carry health risks and have permanent effects, and that it is not possible to distinguish a durable trans identity from a passing phase of an adolescent's development.
The document as a whole shows an "affirming care" approach, at any age or stuation.
It contains many non-evidence based statements:
Puberty blockers are considered to be fully reversible and allow the adolescent time prior to making a decision on starting hormone therapy.
There have been no long term follow up studies on this. Current indications are that there are significant detrimental health outcomes, including bone mineralisation, cardiac health and brain development.
Max Tweedle on the Spinoff denigrates the paltry number (14/yr @ $53k) of gender affirming surgeries for the current annual $748,000 surgery budget, and the $4.23 million as a reason for the Rainbow Ministry. (Government provides support via other ministries to NGOs that aren't quantified).
Detrans support is not mentioned in the article, or indeed on many NGO sites. When it is the bias is clear:
Usually “retransition” is the term that acknowledges that gender identity is a journey of exploration, and that it is possible to transition to a transgender identity or a cisgender identity multiple times.
The word “detransition” is most often used by anti-trans campaigners, who wish to stop people from accessing gender-affirming healthcare – either to affirm a transgender identity or a cisgender one.
Young people receiving 'affirming health care' in NZ are doing so on assumptive, non long-term evidence based data. They will carry the consequences of the failure of adults.
Will we require them to look and create their own support networks, on redditand elsewhere? Or will we recognise the reality that social, medical and/or surgical treatments during childhood and puberty are not benign and adjust treatment accordingly?
It is apparent to me that NZ is not only enthusiastically late to the party, we are going to stay till the hangover is guaranteed.
Thanks for posting this Molly. Good to have the update.
And the fear is with the Conversion Practices Bill, parents and possibly some health professionals may find them self being investigated by the police if they don't affirm/confirm the young persons gender identity.
I can't understand why people are up in arms about this.
"I can't understand why people are up in arms about this."
I have a comment in my head that contains a lot of swear words, but essentially I think they are 'Being Kind' instead of being aware, evidence-based, diligent and responsible.
NBHW emphasized the need to treat gender dysphoric youth with dignity and respect, while providing high quality, evidence-based medical care that prioritizes long-term health. NBHW also emphasized that identity formation in youth is an evolving process, and that the experience of natural puberty is a vital step in the development of the overall identity, as well as gender identity.
In light of above limitations in the evidence base, the ongoing identity formation in youth, and in view of the fact that gender transition has pervasive and lifelong consequences, the NBHW has concluded that, at present, the risks of hormonal interventions for gender dysphoric youth outweigh the potential benefits.
As a result of this determination, the eligibility for pediatric gender transition with puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones in Sweden will be sharply curtailed. Only a minority of gender dysphoric youth—those with the “classic” childhood onset of cross-sex identification and distress, which persist and cause clear suffering in adolescence—will be considered as potentially eligible for hormonal interventions, pending additional, extensive multidisciplinary evaluation.
For all others, including the now-prevalent cohort of youth whose transgender identities emerged for the first time during or after puberty, psychiatric care and gender-exploratory psychotherapy will be offered instead. Exceptions will be made on a case-by-case basis, and the number of clinics providing pediatric gender transition will be reduced to a few highly specialized centralized care centers.
Russia-Ukraine war: The staff members leaving the studio after resigning.
The entire staff of a Russian television channel resigned live on-air after declaring “no to war” in the final telecast. The decision was taken by the staff of TV Rain (Dozhd) after Russian authorities suspended its operations over its coverage of Ukraine war.
Natalia Sindeyeva, one of the channel's founders, said “No to war” in its last telecast as the employees staged a walkout from the studio. The channel later said in a statement that it has suspended the operation "indefinitely".
The video of mass resignation was shared by writer Daniel Abrahams on LinkedIn.
After the dramatic exit of the staff, the channel played the 'Swan Lake' ballet video, which was shown on state-run TV channels in Russia when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. The video has now gone viral on social media.
Really? Not saying men can't be pro-women's rights but surely to be a feminist you have to be active in that particular field.
Of course Chris, who ran an airline in case you didn’t know, brings up said airline as proof of his record as a feminist:
As you look at my record at Air New Zealand where we worked really hard to build women from 16 percent of the top 100 jobs up to 44 percent in a very short period of time
And good on him, this looks like affirmative action on steroids. I wonder if he will do the same for Maori, or will his voting base balk at that.
What is going on with the Covid testing and RAT roll out in Wellington?
"The concerning behaviour ranges from widespread verbal abuse aimed at staff to instances of members of the public striking the walls of testing shelters with staff inside, attempts to steal boxes of RATs, and at least one assault."
It's a surge, mate. It's the surge. This is NZ's worst time in the whole pandemic but here we are complaining about a few queues and some arseholes trying to steal tests to sell on the black market.
Yes we all knew ,so why were they so unprepared? and why open the borders in the growth phase of an epidemic,is it because the government is thick,very thick or total imbeciles?
Opening the borders is something you have been wanting for some time, surely? Not sure why you are questioning it now.
It might look to you they are unprepared because you can't buy a RAT for $50 a pop whenever you feel the need, but given pandemic response in not an exact science, I think they are doing remarkable well. The numbers certainly confirm that.
There is comparatively no disaster here, you seem to enjoy imagining or inventing one though.
I have been consistently arguing to hold the borders,Pandemic response is a known science and there are constraints,Vaccines alone are a losing strategy.This is textbook stuff.
The strategy is called Vaccines plus,it is very workable and cost efficient and has been well signalled.
I need to be very clear: vaccines alone will not get any country out of this crisis. Countries can and must prevent the spread of Omicron with measures that work today. It’s not vaccines instead of masks, it’s not vaccines instead of distancing, it’s not vaccines instead of ventilation or hand hygiene. Do it all. Do it consistently. Do it well.
Yeah, and NZ is doing all those health measures plus vaccines. It's exactly those things we are doing which differs from the rest of he world. It's those things that we are doing which makes the ACT, the far right, the anti-vax, and the anti-mandate people so angry.
All those things are exactly what this government and the country has done so well, but you are bagging them and us for it. I don’t understand.
Personally, I think that Pfizer booster slays Coronavirus. It almost literally knocked me off my feet the next day and my hunch is it turns the Covid lion into a mouse.
My partner's employer (an essential, sorry 'critical' industry) had their order of RAT tests, prioritised to the MoH by the supplier just last week. Not the first time.
The failure of the MoH to order and secure sufficient supply for this outbreak, is apparent.
The worms will live in every hostIt's hard to pick which one they eat the mostThe horrible people, the horrible peopleIt's as anatomic as the size of your steepleCapitalism has made it this wayOld-fashioned fascism will take it awaySongwriter: Twiggy Ramirez Read more ...
Hi,It’s almost Christmas Day which means it is almost my birthday, where you will find me whimpering in the corner clutching a warm bottle of Baileys.If you’re out of ideas for presents (and truly desperate) then it is possible to gift a full Webworm subscription to a friend (or enemy) ...
This morning’s six standouts for me at 6.30am include:Rachel Helyer Donaldson’s scoop via RNZ last night of cuts to maternity jobs in the health system;Maddy Croad’s scoop via The Press-$ this morning on funding cuts for Christchurch’s biggest food rescue charity;Benedict Collins’ scoop last night via 1News on a last-minute ...
A listing of 25 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 15, 2024 thru Sat, December 21, 2024. Based on feedback we received, this week's roundup is the first one published soleley by category. We are still interested in ...
Well, I've been there, sitting in that same chairWhispering that same prayer half a million timesIt's a lie, though buried in disciplesOne page of the Bible isn't worth a lifeThere's nothing wrong with youIt's true, it's trueThere's something wrong with the villageWith the villageSomething wrong with the villageSongwriters: Andrew Jackson ...
ACT would like to dictate what universities can and can’t say. We knew it was coming. It was outlined in the coalition agreement and has become part of Seymour’s strategy of “emphasising public funding” to prevent people from opposing him and his views—something he also uses to try and de-platform ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Are we heading ...
So the Solstice has arrived – Summer in this part of the world, Winter for the Northern Hemisphere. And with it, the publication my new Norse dark-fantasy piece, As Our Power Lessens at Eternal Haunted Summer: https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/issues/winter-solstice-2024/as-our-power-lessens/ As previously noted, this one is very ‘wyrd’, and Northern Theory of Courage. ...
The Natural Choice: As a starter for ten percent of the Party Vote, “saving the planet” is a very respectable objective. Young voters, in particular, raised on the dire (if unheeded) warnings of climate scientists, and the irrefutable evidence of devastating weather events linked to global warming, vote Green. After ...
The Government cancelled 60% of Kāinga Ora’s new builds next year, even though the land for them was already bought, the consents were consented and there are builders unemployed all over the place. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political ...
Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on UnsplashEvery morning I get up at 3am to go around the traps of news sites in Aotearoa and globally. I pick out the top ones from my point of view and have been putting them into my Dawn Chorus email, which goes out with a podcast. ...
Over on Kikorangi Newsroom's Marc Daalder has published his annual OIA stats. So I thought I'd do mine: 82 OIA requests sent in 2024 7 posts based on those requests 20 average working days to receive a response Ministry of Justice was my most-requested entity, ...
Welcome to the December 2024 Economic Bulletin. We have two monthly features in this edition. In the first, we discuss what the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update from Treasury and the Budget Policy Statement from the Minister of Finance tell us about the fiscal position and what to ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi have submitted against the controversial Treaty Principles Bill, slamming the Bill as a breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and an attack on tino rangatiratanga and the collective rights of Tangata Whenua. “This Bill seeks to legislate for Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles that are ...
I don't knowHow to say what's got to be saidI don't know if it's black or whiteThere's others see it redI don't get the answers rightI'll leave that to youIs this love out of fashionOr is it the time of yearAre these words distraction?To the words you want to hearSongwriters: ...
Our economy has experienced its worst recession since 1991. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, December 20 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above and the daily Pick ‘n’ Mix below ...
Twas the Friday before Christmas and all through the week we’ve been collecting stories for our final roundup of the year. As we start to wind down for the year we hope you all have a safe and happy Christmas and new year. If you’re travelling please be safe on ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the year’s news with: on climate. Her book of the year was Tim Winton’s cli-fi novel Juice and she also mentioned Mike Joy’s memoir The Fight for Fresh Water. ...
The Government can head off to the holidays, entitled to assure itself that it has done more or less what it said it would do. The campaign last year promised to “get New Zealand back on track.” When you look at the basic promises—to trim back Government expenditure, toughen up ...
Open access notables An intensification of surface Earth’s energy imbalance since the late 20th century, Li et al., Communications Earth & Environment:Tracking the energy balance of the Earth system is a key method for studying the contribution of human activities to climate change. However, accurately estimating the surface energy balance ...
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guests and , ...
“Like you said, I’m an unreconstructed socialist. Everybody deserves to get something for Christmas.”“ONE OF THOSE had better be for me!” Hannah grinned, fascinated, as Laurie made his way, gingerly, to the bar, his arms full of gift-wrapped packages.“Of course!”, beamed Laurie. Depositing his armful on the bar-top and selecting ...
Data released by Statistics New Zealand today showed a significant slowdown in the economy over the past six months, with GDP falling by 1% in September, and 1.1% in June said CTU Economist Craig Renney. “The data shows that the size of the economy in GDP terms is now smaller ...
One last thing before I quitI never wanted any moreThan I could fit into my headI still remember every single word you saidAnd all the shit that somehow came along with itStill, there's one thing that comforts meSince I was always caged and now I'm freeSongwriters: David Grohl / Georg ...
Sparse offerings outside a Te Kauwhata church. Meanwhile, the Government is cutting spending in ways that make thousands of hungry children even hungrier, while also cutting funding for the charities that help them. It’s also doing that while winding back new building of affordable housing that would allow parents to ...
It is difficult to make sense of the Luxon Coalition Government’s economic management.This end-of-year review about the state of economic management – the state of the economy was last week – is not going to cover the National Party contribution. Frankly, like every other careful observer, I cannot make up ...
This morning I awoke to the lovely news that we are firmly back on track, that is if the scale was reversed.NZ ranks low in global economic comparisonsNew Zealand's economy has been ranked 33rd out of 37 in an international comparison of which have done best in 2024.Economies were ranked ...
Remember those silent movies where the heroine is tied to the railway tracks or going over the waterfall in a barrel? Finance Minister Nicola Willis seems intent on portraying herself as that damsel in distress. According to Willis, this country’s current economic problems have all been caused by the spending ...
Similar to the cuts and the austerity drive imposed by Ruth Richardson in the 1990’s, an era which to all intents and purposes we’ve largely fiddled around the edges with fixing in the time since – over, to be fair, several administrations – whilst trying our best it seems to ...
String-Pulling in the Dark: For the democratic process to be meaningful it must also be public. WITH TRUST AND CONFIDENCE in New Zealand’s politicians and journalists steadily declining, restoring those virtues poses a daunting challenge. Just how daunting is made clear by comparing the way politicians and journalists treated New Zealanders ...
Dear Nicola Willis, thank you for letting us know in so many words that the swingeing austerity hasn't worked.By in so many words I mean the bit where you said, Here is a sea of red ink in which we are drowning after twelve months of savage cost cutting and ...
The Open Government Partnership is a multilateral organisation committed to advancing open government. Countries which join are supposed to co-create regular action plans with civil society, committing to making verifiable improvements in transparency, accountability, participation, or technology and innovation for the above. And they're held to account through an Independent ...
Today I tuned into something strange: a press conference that didn’t make my stomach churn or the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Which was strange, because it was about the torture of children. It was the announcement by Erica Stanford — on her own, unusually ...
This is a must watch, and puts on brilliant and practical display the implications and mechanics of fast-track law corruption and weakness.CLICK HERE: LINK TO WATCH VIDEOOur news media as it is set up is simply not equipped to deal with the brazen disinformation and corruption under this right wing ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Acting Secretary Erin Polaczuk is welcoming the announcement from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden that she is opening consultation on engineered stone and is calling on her to listen to the evidence and implement a total ban of the product. “We need ...
The Government has announced a 1.5% increase in the minimum wage from 1 April 2025, well below forecast inflation of 2.5%. Unions have reacted strongly and denounced it as a real terms cut. PSA and the CTU are opposing a new round of staff cuts at WorkSafe, which they say ...
The decision to unilaterally repudiate the contract for new Cook Strait ferries is beginning to look like one of the stupidest decisions a New Zealand government ever made. While cancelling the ferries and their associated port infrastructure may have made this year's books look good, it means higher costs later, ...
Hi there! I’ve been overseas recently, looking after a situation with a family member. So apologies if there any less than focused posts! Vanuatu has just had a significant 7.3 earthquake. Two MFAT staff are unaccounted for with local fatalities.It’s always sad to hear of such things happening.I think of ...
Today is a special member's morning, scheduled to make up for the government's theft of member's days throughout the year. First up was the first reading of Greg Fleming's Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill, which was passed unanimously. Currently the House is debating the third reading of ...
We're going backwardsIgnoring the realitiesGoing backwardsAre you counting all the casualties?We are not there yetWhere we need to beWe are still in debtTo our insanitiesSongwriter: Martin Gore Read more ...
Willis blamed Treasury for changing its productivity assumptions and Labour’s spending increases since Covid for the worsening Budget outlook. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, December 18 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above ...
Today the Auckland Transport board meet for the last time this year. For those interested (and with time to spare), you can follow along via this MS Teams link from 10am. I’ve taken a quick look through the agenda items to see what I think the most interesting aspects are. ...
Hi,If you’re a New Zealander — you know who Mike King is. He is the face of New Zealand’s battle against mental health problems. He can be loud and brash. He raises, and is entrusted with, a lot of cash. Last year his “I Am Hope” charity reported a revenue ...
Probably about the only consolation available from yesterday’s unveiling of the Half-Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) is that it could have been worse. Though Finance Minister Nicola Willis has tightened the screws on future government spending, she has resisted the calls from hard-line academics, fiscal purists and fiscal hawks ...
The right have a stupid saying that is only occasionally true:When is democracy not democracy? When it hasn’t been voted on.While not true in regards to branches of government such as the judiciary, it’s a philosophy that probably should apply to recently-elected local government councillors. Nevertheless, this concept seemed to ...
Long story short: the Government’s austerity policy has driven the economy into a deeper and longer recession that means it will have to borrow $20 billion more over the next four years than it expected just six months ago. Treasury’s latest forecasts show the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s fiscal strategy of ...
Come and join myself and CTU Chief Economist for a pop-up ‘Hoon’ webinar on the Government’s Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) with paying subscribers to The Kākā for 30 minutes at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream to watch our chat. Don’t worry if ...
In 1998, in the wake of the Paremoremo Prison riot, the Department of Corrections established the "Behaviour Management Regime". Prisoners were locked in their cells for 22 or 23 hours a day, with no fresh air, no exercise, no social contact, no entertainment, and in some cases no clothes and ...
New data released by the Treasury shows that the economic policies of this Government have made things worse in the year since they took office, said NZCTU Economist Craig Renney. “Our fiscal indicators are all heading in the wrong direction – with higher levels of debt, a higher deficit, and ...
At the 2023 election, National basically ran on a platform of being better economic managers. So how'd that turn out for us? In just one year, they've fucked us for two full political terms: The government's books are set to remain deeply in the red for the near term ...
AUSTERITYText within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedMy spreadsheet insists This pain leads straight to glory (File not found) Read more ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi are saying that the Government should do the right thing and deliver minimum wage increases that don’t see workers fall further behind, in response to today’s announcement that the minimum wage will only be increased by 1.5%, well short of forecast inflation. “With inflation forecast ...
Oh, I weptFor daysFilled my eyesWith silly tearsOh, yeaBut I don'tCare no moreI don't care ifMy eyes get soreSongwriters: Paul Rodgers / Paul Kossoff. Read more ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob HensonIn this aerial view, fingers of meltwater flow from the melting Isunnguata Sermia glacier descending from the Greenland Ice Sheet on July 11, 2024, near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. According to the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE), the ...
In August, I wrote an article about David Seymour1 with a video of his testimony, to warn that there were grave dangers to his Ministry of Regulation:David Seymour's Ministry of Slush Hides Far Greater RisksWhy Seymour's exorbitant waste of taxpayers' money could be the least of concernThe money for Seymour ...
Willis is expected to have to reveal the bitter fiscal fruits of her austerity strategy in the HYEFU later today. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/TheKakaMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, December 17 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast ...
On Friday the government announced it would double the number of toll roads in New Zealand as well as make a few other changes to how toll roads are used in the country. The real issue though is not that tolling is being used but the suggestion it will make ...
The Prime Minister yesterday engaged in what looked like a pre-emptive strike designed to counter what is likely to be a series of depressing economic statistics expected before the end of the week. He opened his weekly post-Cabinet press conference with a recitation of the Government’s achievements. “It certainly has ...
This whooping cough story from south Auckland is a good example of the coalition government’s approach to social need – spend money on urging people to get vaccinated but only after you’ve cut the funding to where they could get vaccinated. This has been the case all year with public ...
And if there is a GodI know he likes to rockHe likes his loud guitarsHis spiders from MarsAnd if there is a GodI know he's watching meHe likes what he seesBut there's trouble on the breezeSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan Read more ...
Here’s a quick round up of today’s political news:1. MORE FOOD BANKS, CHARITIES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS AND YOUTH SOCIAL SERVICES SET TO CLOSE OR SCALE BACK AROUND THE COUNTRY AS GOVT CUTS FUNDINGSome of Auckland's largest foodbanks are warning they may need to close or significantly reduce food parcels after ...
Iain Rennie, CNZMSecretary and Chief Executive to the TreasuryDear Secretary, Undue restrictions on restricted briefings This week, the Treasury barred representatives from four organisations, including the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi, from attending the restricted briefing for the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. We had been ...
This is a guest post by Tim Adriaansen, a community, climate, and accessibility advocate.I won’t shut up about climate breakdown, and whenever possible I try to shift the focus of a climate conversation towards solutions. But you’ll almost never hear me give more than a passing nod to ...
A grassroots backlash has forced a backdown from Brown, but he is still eyeing up plenty of tolls for other new roads. And the pressure is on Willis to ramp up the Government’s austerity strategy. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
Hi all,I'm pretty overwhelmed by all your messages and emails today; thank you so very much.As much as my newsletter this morning was about money, and we all need to earn money, it was mostly about world domination if I'm honest. 😉I really hate what’s happening to our country, and ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 8, 2024 thru Sat, December 14, 2024. Listing by Category Like last week's summary this one contains the list of articles twice: based on categories and based on ...
I started writing this morning about Hobson’s Pledge, examining the claims they and their supporters make, basically ripping into them. But I kept getting notifications coming through, and not good ones.Each time I looked up, there was another un-subscription message, and I felt a bit sicker at the thought of ...
Once, long before there was Harry and Meghan and Dodi and all those episodes of The Crown, they came to spend some time with us, Charles and Diana. Was there anyone in the world more glamorous than the Princess of Wales?Dazzled as everyone was by their company, the leader of ...
The collective right have a problem.The entire foundation for their world view is antiscientific. Their preferred economic strategies have been disproven. Their whole neoliberal model faces accusations of corporate corruption and worsening inequality. Climate change not only definitely exists, its rapid progression demands an immediate and expensive response in order ...
Just ten days ago, South Korea's president attempted a self-coup, declaring martial law and attempting to have opposition MPs murdered or arrested in an effort to seize unconstrained power. The attempt was rapidly defeated by the national assembly voting it down and the people flooding the streets to defend democracy. ...
National has only been in power for a year, but everywhere you look, its choices are taking New Zealand a long way backwards. In no particular order, here are the National Government's Top 50 Greatest Misses of its first year in power. ...
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...
After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026. ...
In response to a new report from ERO, the Government has acknowledged the urgent need for consistency across the curriculum for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. ...
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...
Thank you for the invitation to speak with you tonight on behalf of the political party I belong to - which is New Zealand First. As we have heard before this evening the Kinleith Mill is proposing to reduce operations by focusing on pulp and discontinuing “lossmaking paper production”. They say that they are currently consulting on the plan to permanently shut ...
Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...
Kiwis planning a swim or heading out on a boat this summer should remember to stop and think about water safety, Sport & Recreation Minister Chris Bishop and ACC and Associate Transport Minister Matt Doocey say. “New Zealand’s beaches, lakes and rivers are some of the most beautiful in the ...
The Government is urging Kiwis to drive safely this summer and reminding motorists that Police will be out in force to enforce the road rules, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“This time of year can be stressful and result in poor decision-making on our roads. Whether you are travelling to see ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says Health New Zealand will move swiftly to support dozens of internationally-trained doctors already in New Zealand on their journey to employment here, after a tripling of sought-after examination places. “The Medical Council has delivered great news for hardworking overseas doctors who want to contribute ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has appointed Sarah Ottrey to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). “At my first APEC Summit in Lima, I experienced firsthand the role that ABAC plays in guaranteeing political leaders hear the voice of business,” Mr Luxon says. “New Zealand’s ABAC representatives are very well respected and ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced four appointments to New Zealand’s intelligence oversight functions. The Honourable Robert Dobson KC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, and the Honourable Brendan Brown KC has been appointed as a Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants. The appointments of Hon Robert Dobson and Hon ...
Improvements in the average time it takes to process survey and title applications means housing developments can progress more quickly, Minister for Land Information Chris Penk says. “The government is resolutely focused on improving the building and construction pipeline,” Mr Penk says. “Applications to issue titles and subdivide land are ...
The Government’s measures to reduce airport wait times, and better transparency around flight disruptions is delivering encouraging early results for passengers ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Improving the efficiency of air travel is a priority for the Government to give passengers a smoother, more reliable ...
The Government today announced the intended closure of the Apollo Hotel as Contracted Emergency Housing (CEH) in Rotorua, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. This follows a 30 per cent reduction in the number of households in CEH in Rotorua since National came into Government. “Our focus is on ending CEH in the Whakarewarewa area starting ...
The Government will reshape vocational education and training to return decision making to regions and enable greater industry input into work-based learning Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds says. “The redesigned system will better meet the needs of learners, industry, and the economy. It includes re-establishing regional polytechnics that ...
The Government is taking action to better manage synthetic refrigerants and reduce emissions caused by greenhouse gases found in heating and cooling products, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Regulations will be drafted to support a product stewardship scheme for synthetic refrigerants, Ms. Simmonds says. “Synthetic refrigerants are found in a ...
People travelling on State Highway 1 north of Hamilton will be relieved that remedial works and safety improvements on the Ngāruawāhia section of the Waikato Expressway were finished today, with all lanes now open to traffic, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“I would like to acknowledge the patience of road users ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds, has announced a new appointment to the board of Education New Zealand (ENZ). Dr Erik Lithander has been appointed as a new member of the ENZ board for a three-year term until 30 January 2028. “I would like to welcome Dr Erik Lithander to the ...
The Government will have senior representatives at Waitangi Day events around the country, including at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, but next year Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has chosen to take part in celebrations elsewhere. “It has always been my intention to celebrate Waitangi Day around the country with different ...
Two more criminal gangs will be subject to the raft of laws passed by the Coalition Government that give Police more powers to disrupt gang activity, and the intimidation they impose in our communities, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. Following an Order passed by Cabinet, from 3 February 2025 the ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Justice Christian Whata as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Whata’s appointment as a Judge of the Court of Appeal will take effect on 1 August 2025 and fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Hon Justice David Goddard on ...
The latest economic figures highlight the importance of the steps the Government has taken to restore respect for taxpayers’ money and drive economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Data released today by Stats NZ shows Gross Domestic Product fell 1 per cent in the September quarter. “Treasury and most ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Minister of Education David Seymour today announced legislation changes to strengthen freedom of speech obligations on universities. “Freedom of speech is fundamental to the concept of academic freedom and there is concern that universities seem to be taking a more risk-averse ...
Police Minister, Mark Mitchell, and Internal Affairs Minister, Brooke van Velden, today launched a further Public Safety Network cellular service that alongside last year’s Cellular Roaming roll-out, puts globally-leading cellular communications capability into the hands of our emergency responders. The Public Safety Network’s new Cellular Priority service means Police, Wellington ...
State Highway 1 through the Mangamuka Gorge has officially reopened today, providing a critical link for Northlanders and offering much-needed relief ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“The Mangamuka Gorge is a vital route for Northland, carrying around 1,300 vehicles per day and connecting the Far ...
The Government has welcomed decisions by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and Ashburton District Council confirming funding to boost resilience in the Canterbury region, with construction on a second Ashburton Bridge expected to begin in 2026, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Delivering a second Ashburton Bridge to improve resilience and ...
The Government is backing the response into high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Otago, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says. “Cabinet has approved new funding of $20 million to enable MPI to meet unbudgeted ongoing expenses associated with the H7N6 response including rigorous scientific testing of samples at the enhanced PC3 ...
Legislation that will repeal all advertising restrictions for broadcasters on Sundays and public holidays has passed through first reading in Parliament today, Media Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “As a growing share of audiences get their news and entertainment from streaming services, these restrictions have become increasingly redundant. New Zealand on ...
Today the House agreed to Brendan Horsley being appointed Inspector-General of Defence, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Mr Horsley’s experience will be invaluable in overseeing the establishment of the new office and its support networks. “He is currently Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, having held that role since June 2020. ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the final regulations for the levy on insurance contracts that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand from July 2026. “Earlier this year the Government agreed to a 2.2 percent increase to the rate of levy. Fire ...
The Government is delivering regulatory relief for New Zealand businesses through changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act. “The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill, which was introduced today, is the second Bill – the other being the Statutes Amendment Bill - that ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed further progress on the Hawke’s Bay Expressway Road of National Significance (RoNS), with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board approving funding for the detailed design of Stage 1, paving the way for main works construction to begin in late 2025.“The Government is moving at ...
The Government today released a request for information (RFI) to seeking interest in partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned land with low farming and conservation value (excluding National Parks) Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced. “Planting trees on Crown-owned land will drive economic growth by creating more forestry jobs in our regions, providing more wood ...
Court timeliness, access to justice, and improving the quality of existing regulation are the focus of a series of law changes introduced to Parliament today by Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee. The three Bills in the Regulatory Systems (Justice) Amendment Bill package each improve a different part of the ...
A total of 41 appointments and reappointments have been made to the 12 community trusts around New Zealand that serve their regions, Associate Finance Minister Shane Jones says. “These trusts, and the communities they serve from the Far North to the deep south, will benefit from the rich experience, knowledge, ...
The Government has confirmed how it will provide redress to survivors who were tortured at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (the Lake Alice Unit). “The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that many of the 362 children who went through the Lake Alice Unit between 1972 and ...
It has been a busy, productive year in the House as the coalition Government works hard to get New Zealand back on track, Leader of the House Chris Bishop says. “This Government promised to rebuild the economy, restore law and order and reduce the cost of living. Our record this ...
“Accelerated silicosis is an emerging occupational disease caused by unsafe work such as engineered stone benchtops. I am running a standalone consultation on engineered stone to understand what the industry is currently doing to manage the risks, and whether further regulatory intervention is needed,” says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister ...
Mehemea he pai mō te tangata, mahia – if it’s good for the people, get on with it. Enhanced reporting on the public sector’s delivery of Treaty settlement commitments will help improve outcomes for Māori and all New Zealanders, Māori Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka says. Compiled together for the ...
Mr Roger Holmes Miller and Ms Tarita Hutchinson have been appointed to the Charities Registration Board, Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Louise Upston says. “I would like to welcome the new members joining the Charities Registration Board. “The appointment of Ms Hutchinson and Mr Miller will strengthen the Board’s capacity ...
More building consent and code compliance applications are being processed within the statutory timeframe since the Government required councils to submit quarterly data, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “In the midst of a housing shortage we need to look at every step of the build process for efficiencies ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey is proud to announce the first three recipients of the Government’s $10 million Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund which will enable more Kiwis faster access to mental health and addiction support. “This fund is part of the Government’s commitment to investing in ...
New Zealand is providing Vanuatu assistance following yesterday's devastating earthquake, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. "Vanuatu is a member of our Pacific family and we are supporting it in this time of acute need," Mr Peters says. "Our thoughts are with the people of Vanuatu, and we will be ...
The Government welcomes the Commerce Commission’s plan to reduce card fees for Kiwis by an estimated $260 million a year, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.“The Government is relentlessly focused on reducing the cost of living, so Kiwis can keep more of their hard-earned income and live a ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour has welcomed the Early Childhood Education (ECE) regulatory review report, the first major report from the Ministry for Regulation. The report makes 15 recommendations to modernise and simplify regulations across ECE so services can get on with what they do best – providing safe, high-quality care ...
The Government‘s Offshore Renewable Energy Bill to create a new regulatory regime that will enable firms to construct offshore wind generation has passed its first reading in Parliament, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says.“New Zealand currently does not have a regulatory regime for offshore renewable energy as the previous government failed ...
A separate passport, citizenship and membership of the United Nations are only available to fully independent nations, Winston Peters' office says. ...
By Emma Andrews, Henare te Ua Māori Journalism Intern at RNZ News The New Zealand fuel company Z Energy is swapping out street names for “correct” kupu on service stops around the country, with the help of local hapū. When Z took over 226 fuel sites from Shell in 2010, ...
Summer reissue: Was it a false measurement, a full-blown conspiracy or just some mild incompetence? Mad Chapman uncovers the truth of Maddi Wesche’s final throw. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julie Old, Associate Professor, Biology, Zoology, Animal Science, Western Sydney University Dmitry Chulov, Shutterstock At this time of year, images of reindeer are everywhere. I’ve had a soft spot for reindeer ever since I was a little girl. Doesn’t everyone? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Grozdana Manalo, Career Services Manager (Education), University of Sydney hedgehog94/Shutterstock Getting casual work over summer, or a part-time job that you might continue once your tertiary course starts, can be a great way to get workplace experience and earn some extra ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ty Ferguson, Research associate in exercise, nutrition and activity, University of South Australia Peera_Stockfoto/Shutterstock It’s never been easier to stay connected to work. Even when we’re on leave, our phones and laptops keep us tethered. Many of us promise ourselves we ...
The NZ Media Council upheld the complaint under principle four: comment and fact On 5 September 2024, The Spinoff published a brief article titled Made in Palestine, found in 1970s Hastings, which highlighted an upcoming art exhibition featuring photographs of vintage cosmetic products labelled “Made in Palestine.” The piece, described ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kasey Symons, Lecturer of Communication, Sports Media, Deakin University We are well and truly in cricket season. The Australian men’s cricket team is taking centre stage against India in the Border Gavaskar Trophy series while the Big Bash League is underway, as ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Woods, Lecturer, Nursing, Faculty of Health, Southern Cross University FTiare/Shutterstock Summer is here and for many that means going to the beach. You grab your swimmers, beach towel and sunscreen then maybe check the weather forecast. Did you think to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Saman Khalesi, Senior Lecturer and Discipline Lead in Nutrition, School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, CQUniversity Australia Dean Clarke/Shutterstock The holiday season can be a time of joy, celebration, and indulgence in delicious foods and meals. However, for many, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ari Mattes, Lecturer in Communications and Media, University of Notre Dame Australia Late Night With The Devil. Maslow Entertainment Marketing is critical to the success of commercial films, and companies will often spend half as much again on top of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Francisco Jose Testa, Lecturer in Earth Sciences (Mineralogy, Petrology & Geochemistry), University of Tasmania The Conversation As a kid, it was tough for me to grasp the massive time scale of Earth’s history. Now, with nearly two decades of experience as ...
Opinion: The latest Trends in International Mathematics and Science report was announced earlier this month, yet it didn’t get the flurry of media attention and political hand-wringing that typically accompanies these announcements. This might be because it presented good news, or you could argue, no news; the results paint a ...
NewsroomBy Dr Lisa Darragh, Dr Raewyn Eden and Dr David Pomeroy
Te Pāti Māori has had to adopt a new way of debating, operating and even thinking in Parliament in response to the Government’s “onslaught” against te ao Māori, co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer says.In an end-of-year interview with Newsroom, the Te Tai Hauauru MP reflected on how 2024 has differed from her ...
At long last, The Spinoff shells out for a nut ranking. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today.It recently came to The Spinoff’s attention ...
I was one of hundreds of people who lost my government job this week. Here’s exactly how it played out. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a ...
Summer reissue: One anxiously attentive passenger pays attention to an in-flight safety video, and wonders ‘Why can’t I pick up my own phone?’ The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up ...
Summer reissue: Why do those Lange-Douglas years cast such a long shadow 40 years on? The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today. First published June ...
An unrelenting faith in “swift transition” has driven Tauranga Whai to their first Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa championship. At a boisterous Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre, the visiting Tokomanawa Queens were blown away 90-71 in the final.Whai led by 20 points at halftime as their urgent movement and unflinching faith in three-point shooting from anywhere ...
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, Monday 23 December appeared first on Newsroom. ...
The Government’s social housing agency has backed out of a billion-dollar infrastructure alliance that would have built about 6000 new homes in Auckland – less than 18 months after signing a five-year extension.Labour says the decision to rip up the contract and sell off existing state houses could lead to ...
ByKoroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor New Zealand’s Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) says impending bad weather for Port Vila is now the most significant post-quake hazard. A tropical low in the Coral Sea is expected to move into Vanuatu waters, bringing heavy rainfall. Authorities have issued warnings to people ...
Cosmic CatastropheThe year draws to a close.King Luxon has grown tired of the long eveningsListening to the dreary squabbling of his Triumvirate.He strolls up to the top floor of the PalaceTo consult with his Astronomer Royal.The Royal Telescope scans the skies,And King Luxon stares up into the heavensFrom the terrestrial ...
Spinoff editor Mad Chapman and books editor Claire Mabey debate Carl Shuker’s new novel about… an editor. Claire: Hello Mad, you just finished The Royal Free – overall impressions? Mad: Hi Claire, I literally just put the book down and I would have to say my immediate impression is ...
Christmas and its buildup are often lonely, hard and full of unreasonable expectations. Here’s how to make it to Jesus’s birthday and find the little bit of joy we all deserve. Have you found this year relentless? Has the latest Apple update “fucked up your life”? Have you lost two ...
Despite overwhelming public and corporate support, the government has stalled progress on a modern day slavery law. That puts us behind other countries – and makes Christmas a time of tragedy rather than joy, argues Shanti Mathias. Picture the scene on Christmas Day. Everyone replete with nice things to eat, ...
Asia Pacific Report “It looks like Hiroshima. It looks like Germany at the end of World War Two,” says an Israeli-American historian and professor of holocaust and genocide studies at Brown University about the horrifying reality of Gaza. Professor Omer Bartov, has described Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza as an ...
The New Zealand government coalition is tweaking university regulations to curb what it says is an increasingly “risk-averse approach” to free speech. The proposed changes will set clear expectations on how universities should approach freedom of speech issues. Each university will then have to adopt a “freedom of speech statement” ...
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – COMMENTARY: By Caitlin Johnstone New York prosecutors have charged Luigi Mangione with “murder as an act of terrorism” in his alleged shooting of health insurance CEO Brian Thompson earlier this month. This news comes out at the same time as ...
Pacific Media Watch The union for Australian journalists has welcomed the delivery by the federal government of more than $150 million to support the sustainability of public interest journalism over the next four years. Combined with the announcement of the revamped News Bargaining Initiative, this could result in up to ...
MONDAY“Merry Xmas, and praise the Lord,” said Sheriff Luxon, and smiled for the camera. There was a flash of smoke when the shutter pressed down on the magnesium powder. The sheriff had arranged for a photographer from the Dodge Gazette to attend a ceremony where he handed out food parcels to ...
Media alert: Kim Hill has a selection of worthy topics today! I'm going for these
8.10 Emerson T Brooking: combatting Russia’s disinformation campaign
9.05 Michael Schur: The Good Place creator's quest to be perfect
10.05 David Wengrow: rewriting the history of humanity
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday
I wonder if Kim will invite John Mearsheimer on her show one week.
She managed Nils Melzer a few weeks ago, on the political persecution of Julian Assange.
I doubt Mearsheimer would be permitted under the current tidal wave of pro-west propaganda.
Update on Labour's big play for this year:
Poor policy, deceptive spin, dishonest consultation. 3 waters has it all.
And Councils?
Great question. I think there's a couple out of the 67 who think it's a good idea. Aucklander's overwhelmingly oppose it. So it's not only a bad idea, it's a really unpopular one.
Yet I believe rates will become untenable as they do catch-up.
In the days before the invasion, Russian TV broadcast a session of President Putin's 30-member security council. The BBC includes a photo showing the immense distance between the top dog & the underdogs, along with profiles of the top underdogs…
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60573261
The guy is suffering from paranoia imo.
Some good analysis of the whole anti mandate protests.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/convoy-politics-and-barbarians-at-the-gate?utm_source=Friends+of+the+Newsroom&utm_campaign=5534e58305-Week+In+Review+05.03.2022&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_71de5c4b35-5534e58305-47886425
Dr Ian Hyslop explains why it's urgent we address the social and political divisions that enabled the Parliament protest rather than "disparage the feral mob and order another latte"
Them's disparagin’ words, but Hyslop's article is a good read – ta.
The meme that this is a "division" rather than a small minority of the stupid, doesn't reflect reality. It gives the idea that they are a far bigger group than they really are.
Why didn't we hear about , "division" during the many times larger anti TPPA, anti AGW and gen zero protests.
Perhaps as those, unlike the Wellington one, were really supported by a significant number of people.
The current Wellington Pro Plague, along with the Pro Polluter protests are extremely noisy and disruptive, but certainly not reflective of the views of the overwhelming majority, who find the foolishness obvious.
By the way. Most of the people objecting to vaccine mandates, and travel restrictions, seem to be rather comfortable middle class Wallies. Workers and the ones at the dirty end of the Neo-Liberal stick, largely seem on side with protecting public health. About 300 to 2 in my workplace voted to make vaccination mandatory.
Democracy!
The Blue Collar Workers are accepting the mandates as they have to work and put food on the table and pay the rent.
The White Collar Workers have houses, assets and cash flow they are the ones jumping up and down and screaming.
That was them in the protest at Parliament right?
All those asset owners, jumping up and down screaming.
Maybe some of the "asset owning classes" were happy to finance aspects of it rather than "get their hands dirty"
"After all I didn't where I am today by getting my hands dirty" (hat tip to Reggie Perrin)
Blue collar workers, used to working together for the good of their community see the sense in mandates and other public health measures, to protect those close to them.
The there are, entitled brats, who have never had any concern for those around them…….
The divisions are divided.
please take this discussion to the Convoy post.
World leader who has ordered his nuclear forces to "High Combat Alert", loses touch with reality.
Really?
Is Putin trying to convince us that the Ukrainians are conducting false flag attacks on their own people?
Though Russian allegations of a false flag attacks may have convinced some people in the past over Syria. Putin's useful idiots in the West will have trouble spinning this story.
John Mearsheimer is not a 'useful idiot'.
He is ' an American political scientist and international relations scholar, who belongs to the realist school of thought. He is the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago. He has been described as the most influential realist of his generation.
Mearsheimer is best known for developing the theory of offensive realism, which describes the interaction between great powers as being primarily driven by the rational desire to achieve regional hegemony in an anarchic international system. In accordance with his theory, Mearsheimer believes that China's growing power will likely bring it into conflict with the United States. He also holds U.S. interventionist foreign policy responsible for the crisis in Ukraine.'
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mearsheimer
I have no idea who John Mearsheimer is. Or what he has to do with anything.
Apart from the glittering academic career which you have written of in your comment.
But it brings to mind a quote I once read;
As to whether, John Mearsheimer, (whoever he is), is a useful idiot, or a useless one, I have no idea.
Does he support war and oppression in foreign lands?
Why wouldn't Putin try to convince us that the Ukrainians are conducting false flag attacks on their own people? You can be certain some will be convinced what he says is true and that will become The Word.
In the Herald today David Farrier alludes (again) to the weird things being said.
"I documented in real time Billy Te Kahika jnr's Facebook posts over that time (early Covid). Originally supporting Jacinda Ardern's reaction to Covid, within several months Billy became an entirely different beast, spouting conspiracy theories galore. He went into politics, failed miserably, and today is mostly raving about aliens on Facebook. Now Sue Gray — a more accessible, white face to the crazy — screams about dead children and vaccine deaths."
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/david-farrier-5g-911-kiwis-sucked-in-by-conspiracy-theories/LBHDWH7W3JCNBIV3JFORMNIB3M/
It is undeniable that Billy Te Kahika Jnr and Sue Gray are believed, their stuff accepted as truth.
Peter what's the story on Brian Tamaki and all his Gangster Mates ?
I don't know about Brian Tamaki and his "gangster mates."
Farrier references religious angle on the protest:
"Many of our biggest pentecostal and evangelical churches also drank the Kool-Aid, taking their adherents down an anti-science route that questioned whether Covid was real, or if masks worked. It's one thing for a church to deny evolution, it's another for it to deny modern science that will affect public health outcomes. "All those needles going into the arm, it's like they're trying to wear me down!" said the leader of one megachurch. "We do know it has not been fully approved by the FDA …" he raved on. He was wrong.
The media tended to focus on Destiny Church's Brian Tamaki, as he was the loudest and strangest, but it was City Impact Church pastor Peter Mortlock who drove to the Wellington "protest" to livestream his thoughts."
Tamaki seems to have aligned his cult with the 'Freedom & Rights coalition.' With that he is carrying on his permanent electioneering. The words are 'get rid of the government," the message is "pick me." Covid and vaccinations are merely handy handles.
Gangster mates? I don't know about that. I know a big body of loud motorbikes roaring in canyons of buildings sounds impressive to some. And threatening to others, what with the Headhunters, Mongrel Mob, Hell's Angels and so on references. No-one would believe that Tamaki wouldn't harness whatever is needed to make an impression.
Big guys, black gear, dark sunnies, staunch demeanour? It's like a parody of American gangster movies. It's a wonder Tamaki hasn't paid big bucks (from the people who willingly give him money to buy their way into heaven) to commission the Cohen Brothers to shoot a film about him.
Sad people, some misogyny?
Every faction/side in Ukrania needs to take responsibility to ensure a nuclear power plant is not hit or damaged due to the conflict.
A declaration of war against Europe was narrowly missed yesterday when bombs hit the training centre at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.
A strike at a Ukrainian nuclear power plant was my worst fear at the start of the invasion.
I have been listening to speech after speech from the UN, Nato and the US. Words will not be enough for Putin.
The situation is dire for the Ukrainians, food shortage, bombed hospitals, the Russian convoy. I am pleased to see that many Polish and German people have taken Ukrainian people into their home, (other near by countries as well). Poland and Germany have faced Russia in the past and will be affected economically and the threat of a nuclear explosion cannot be excluded. Germany and Poland have moved on since 1945 and they are now on the same side and they stand side by side being Nato members.
Words don't mean jack shit to Putin he knows the UN and NATO are limp wristed.
I suggest that one means of settling the Ukraine invasion would be to have a duel between the leader of the Russian forces and the Mayor of Kyiv. One on one.
Now I realise that David beat Goliath in the Biblical story but I would put my money on the Ukrainian representative in this encounter. His name is Vitali Klitschko. If that doesn't ring a bell try googling the name and see what his previous occupation was.
Steroids or not Putin is almost 70….dont think he'd go for it
Hell, I wouldn't go for it if I was in my physical prime and 20 years old.
Actually I did mean the Russian military leader in the country rather than Putin. Not only is Vitali 19 years younger than Vladimir but he must be about 35 cm taller.
lol…Putin a black belt judoka so in his younger years he might have given it a go….guess it depends on the size of the ego
A Black Belt at 70 years old and in good shape would still be dangerous.
Black Belt is not to be taken lightly.
Depends on the weight class.
yes a fit 70 year black belt judoka would be dangerous to joe average but Kitschko is himself a former professional world champion boxer 20 years his junior.
Alwyn (and myself) indulging in pointless (and amusing) speculation about impossible events in the absence of impacting reality..i suspect.
And 70 year old muscles cant cash cheques written by 30 year old minds….as much as they wish they could.
"Alwyn (and myself) indulging in pointless (and amusing) speculation about impossible events in the absence of impacting reality".
Yes. Vitali, and his brother Wladimir, were both World Heavyweight Boxing Champions. I really doubt that any 70 year old politician, no matter his background would, survive.
And, unfortunately we aren't going to get rid of Putin that way. Still, one can always dream about him getting his comeuppance.
Nope…but if he is using steroids theres always heart attack
A dance-off, live before a studio audience, to give Zelinskyy a chance at winning.
The question is what would they wear?
dancing Kozaks?
oMG Shane Warne has died aged 52. A real shock.
I didn’t follow cricket when he was playing, but a great cricket commentator.
Also the wicket keeper Rodney Marsh.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/mar/04/rod-marsh-the-baggy-green-brigadier-and-keeper-of-australian-test-cricket-culture
He was a wonderful wrist spinner …he basically won the Adelaide Ashes test single handed when Flintoff was England captain when Australia had no hope of winning.
He was an excellent commentator and everyone seems to agree that despite his huge success as a sportsman he was not up himself….very approachable and helpful
In all the tributes I have heard nobody has mentioned that he was also a very useful batsman….sorry batter.
Didn't hear any reference to him being a drugs cheat banned for 12 months for taking a weight-reducing diuretic either. But hey, lets remember "Warnie", the larrikin. Great cricketer, flawed individual.
Shane Warne died of being a terminal asshole.
Heart attack seems more likely – too soon, imho. A great sportsman and entertainer, I'll remember his appearance as a Shane Warne impersonator who marries Sharon in the Aussie sitcom Kath & Kim.
And, lest we forget, "I'm regrowing my own hair… Yeah Yeah!"
Given the suggested link between (long) COVID and impaired cardiovascular health, I wonder if the virus played a hand.
Nailed the race to the bottom today, and real classy with it, too.
Have some sense of decorum. Think of his kids.
Have some sense of decorum. Think of his kids. Ad
Too much hard living, covid statistic ?
NEWSFLASH: Autopsy reveals Shane Warne mostly cocaine.
Never a fan but to me, the real leading wicket taker over Muralitharan, despite the record book. Done for his mum's slimming pills but never his action.
52 is no age.
After recent stories of parents' distress on their babies trapped in the Ukraine – https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/aussie-parents-desperate-journey-to-reach-their-premature-baby-daughter-in-ukraine/NRLR564ON3CDLCRQAFSVKYGCRE/
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/four-irish-babies-born-to-surrogate-mothers-in-kyiv-evacuated-from-ukraine-1.4817766
https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/we-feel-blessed-relief-for-irish-couple-as-they-arrive-home-safe-from-ukraine-with-surrogate-newborn-baby-41384634.html
– I wondered why is the Ukraine used for surrogacy, and discovered around 2,000 – 2,500 babies are born to foreign couples each year. It's an industry.
Surrogacy is an emotive issue. Particularly for those who are unwillingly childless.
But an ethical and moral discussion has to be had about the wider and long term impacts regarding the 'manufacture' and 'production' of children.
Regarding the Australian couple above:
It would be good to have a list of those considerations compiled here.
The Guardian had a 2020 article on the difficulty that arose from 'products' being stuck during the first months of the pandemic.
Princeton has published a paper on international commercial surrogacy that concludes:
On the horizon we have tech solutions, that come with their own mountain of unexplored ethical and moral considerations. As Dr Hanna says @00:45:
Culturally, we have whangai, which may arise from either an intentional or unintentional pregnancy. Akin to non commercial surrogacy.
What re the thoughts here on TS regarding surrogacy?
The more I look into commercial surrogacy, the more exploitative and short-sighted it seems.
Not sure the same holds true for non-commercial surrogacy, but there's still wider impacts than birth.
They – could of course adopt children in their home countries, all these couples that order babies from overseas birthing bodies, but that would then mean that they child is 'not theirs'.
I find it interesting that the only interest is in the babies, never mind the birthing bodies that are left behind in the war region.
But here is Tamati Coffey, 'father' of two babies from a surrogate mother and his bill to make it even easier to buy babies of birthing bodies for as little money as possible. Don't ever say these 'gender woo's' don't know what a women is when they need one. lol
https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/bills-and-laws/bills-proposed-laws/document/BILL_115955/improving-arrangements-for-surrogacy-bill
However we can't blame Tamati Coffey for having his priorities straight, maybe there is is a future industry for Rotorua in the making, all the unproductive uteruses of uterus havers (specially the unemployed) can be put to work birthing for 'infertile people' such as he and his husband are as two men together – despite all the myth of those afflicted with gender woo – never conceived a child nor birthed even just one.
Personally i can see a future – a near future at that, where unemployed women could be compelled to 'donate eggs' – as work, be a 'surrgate mother' – as work, i.e. for pay as income, or sell 'surplus' breast milk for money as a form of income.. That and of course then also sex work which is work and thus…….:) its gonna be a lovely future for the things we used to call 'women' adult human female.
Good to see you back Sabine. Missed your commentary.
Human breast milk is already a commercial product.
Of course, it's all for a good cause:
But as usual, the profit margin is greater in other demographics:
https://www.wired.com/2011/05/ff-milk/
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/mother-selling-breast-milk-men-online-body-builders-fetishes-rafaela-lamprou-cyprus-a8237161.html
So open minded she participates in a fetish that reduces women to lactating bovines.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/d3599y/inside-hucow-the-fetish-that-imagines-women-as-cows
https://screenshot-media.com/visual-cultures/internet-culture/hucow-fetish-explained/
Read it and weep.
Yes, it already exist, but in my scenario a women aka human female adult (producer of ova ) can be compelled by a helpful Winz drone to get a 'job' in selling breast milk – they can feed their own kids some formula or so, get a job in -surrogacy for some people, they can get a job in selling eggs – its just a wee little surgery no harm done here no not at all, and / or sex work – its work, dignified work yes, it is, cause work is work and if you are able and fit and demand is there why won't you take it, and if you don't take it, here have some sanctions. I give it a few years.
"I give it a few years."
I'd like to say I think you are wrong, but given the current climate, I can see it happening.
(BTW, Hi Sabine!)
As for that bill:
My comments in bold italics.
"They – could of course adopt children in their home countries".
Not in New Zealand they can't. From the reference below, which is a Government publication and is probably accurate we are told.
"Adoptions reached their highest number in Aotearoa New Zealand in the 1970s, with nearly 4,000 children adopted each year. The number of adoptions in Aotearoa has reduced over time, with only 125 adoptions granted by the New Zealand Family Court in 2020."
https://www.justice.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Publications/Adoption-in-NZ-Summary-English.pdf
So no, I can't see it becoming a thriving industry.
alwyn, do you have a comment on surrogacy?
(Outcomes for standard adopted children are below average, independent of the adoptive family, which is another discussion in itself.)
I was replying to Sabine, at comment 9.1. The quote in the first line is from Sabine's comment. As such my comment didn't really have anything to do with surrogacy but to the implication in Sabines comment that couples don't have to use surrogacy when they can simply adopt.
I do know a number of people who were adopted. I don't find them to have been any different to anyone else. I don't know any that were born via surrogacy, but that probably has more to do with my age than anything else. Adopting was a standard option when I was the age to be having children and I know people who followed that path. You can't really do it today though. Surrogacy was unheard of.
I understand you were answering Sabine, just wanted to know if you had thoughts on surrogacy. As Sabine linked, there is a bill currently at first reading.
It would be good to have a public discussion on what this really legislates for.
"Surrogacy was unheard of."
Whāngai has always been around, My mother (now in her eighties) and two other siblings were whāngai placements. It still happens, if not so often, with reliable accessible contraception and support.
I believe Sabine has a good grasp of the wider ramifications of surrogacy, and the justifications for it – hence the adoption comment.
Looking at the process for commercial surrogacy the ethical and moral considerations are numerous. I was hoping there would be a discussion around those points. eg. the risk of medication required for implants/egg retrieval causing cancer being borne by the surrogate/provider, the commodification of children, and women's bodies, the emotional and social impact of carrying/ having someone else carry a child, the economic situation that allows this exploitation, etc.
"Thoughts on surrogacy".
No. Emotionally it seems rather odd to me, but that is just an instantaneous and not a considered response. Neither I, nor anyone in my immediate family had any problems procreating. Mind you my eldest sister took it to extremes. She had 4 children under the age of 3 by the time she had her fourth wedding anniversary.
However I am not able to make any reasoned comment on the topic of surrogacy so I will keep out of the discussion.
"However I am not able to make any reasoned comment on the topic of surrogacy so I will keep out of the discussion."
Thanks, alwyn. I appreciate your reply.
I'm interested in your last statement. I would expect that anyone given information about a situation, would be able to make a 'reasoned comment' albeit with provisos.
I wonder if the emotive nature of childbearing and childlessness, and the obscuring factor of this makes this topic yet another that will not be sufficiently investigated and discussed before passing legislation.
I admit to being bored by the repetitive and circular nature of discussions around the vaccines and protests, and thought there might be some interest in examining another topic that has legislation being considered.
Not sure how adoption is handled in NZ. This article that Molly linked to was about a couple in OZ that bought a pregnancy off a low income women in the Ukraine, and that was what my comment is about.
Disclaimer: I can not have children. Physically am not able to have children. Did not buy a pregnancy of a low income women to make up for the not having children. Did look into adoption, but choose not to go that way. Had a surrogacy offered to me by my best friend, and did not choose to go ahead, mainly for these reasons. A. my genetic material may not interact well with hers. B. nine month pregnancy is a long time on a women and her existing children. C. Pregnancy does things to womens bodies. D. Post Partum Depression is a thing. E. What if something goes wrong and the mother suffers? Just a few of the issues.
Yes, i can see the lease of the reproductive body parts of the human adult female become a thriving business. It already is in India, Ukraine, Russia etc. During the first month of the lockdown there already was a wave of babies not being picked up by their 'parents' etc, and these babies suddenly got stuck with their birthing parents. Suddenly we know what women and mothers are.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/15/the-stranded-babies-of-kyiv-and-the-women-who-give-birth-for-money
here from 2014 even with prices. lol
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-28679020
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/jul/29/up-to-1000-babies-born-to-surrogate-mothers-stranded-in-russia
Thanks, Sabine.
It's good to read someone's thought processes about consideration of surrogacy, and the reasons why they decided against it.
Pregnancy is not a neutral body condition. It puts a woman's body under stress, even through good pregnancies, leaches calcium, and as you say makes changes that need to be accommodated during gestation and beyond. The emotional and social costs are harder to articulate, but they do exist even if they are ignored.
It is telling that you had a friend that offered, and also that as a friend, you declined.
I was fortunate enough to be able to have children, and not be in the position of yearning and despair that I can understand in others. I think I would be inclined to think like you, and refuse an offer of surrogacy for some of the reasons you have stated. My partner and I would have to grieve the loss of that role as parents, but along with other life obstacles, we'd have to move on.
Thanks for responding. We need the objective views of the reality, as well as the understandably heartfelt entreaties from those who use other women as incubators. That price list, huh?
While I sympathize with the Ukraine we don't hear much about what the USA & Israel are doing in Palestine do we and that's been going on since 1948.
All right. I'll bite.
What has the USA been doing in Palestine. Just the USA and just Palestine.
Facts please, and supported by evidence.
Guessing this is on the wrong thread?
Children as a manufactured commodity has to be the most disgusting industry yet invented by humans.
Yet NZ is looking to legislate for it, without discussing or considering the wider ramifications.
Poor democracy practice.
Profitable it will be. And if you take in mind that we actively promoting the 'changing' of ones sex, and that that change comes with castration/sterilization it will be a booming business once all these people realize that they can no longer have children.
Never mind the kids that we are going to chemically castrate thanks to puberty blockers and the likes. But they will profit of the good lawmaking of Tamati Coffey and can then offer a womb rental agreement to some ‘uterus haver’ for a child that they can neither father, or in the opposite birth.
And hence the need to legalise and regulate the market as the bill by noted 'father' of two children born to a 'birthing body' via a uterus lease agreement.
Actually for what its worth, Tamati Coffey could have saved himself a lot of work and put forward the Ferengi Rules about womb leases and prices / costs there of.
https://memory-beta.fandom.com/wiki/Womb_rental_agreement
It is a profitable business. One article above states that couples pay $25,000 (I assume USD) to the business, the surrogate receives up to $10,000.
We have to view these arrangements objectively and dispassionately in order to identify whether they are both moral and ethical. Stripping away all emotive appeals, we are treating a woman's body as a manufacturing plant. Unlike a manufacturing plant, there are no replacement parts, or ways to avoid wear and tear. Also, we ignore the impact of pregnancy on a woman's life, especially one that results in no child for that woman.
Relating stories of euphoric or satisfied commercial surrogates, is the equivalent of using The Happy Hooker as justification for prostitution. The majority of women in commercial surrogacy are being exploited.
The issue of non-commercial surrogacy has other considerations to be discussed, but still – as you mention – carries risks.
Live long and prosper, Sabine.
So is 18,000 new infections per day as a rolling average the trigger to reverse the vaccine mandates?
Or is it the deaths per day?
Or maybe it's the limits to hospital ICU capacity, even without the strike?
Or is it how many minutes of national tax will be required to restore a child's slide on the parliamentary forecourt?
When will Ardern be able to set out specifically what the measures are by which the vaccine mandate will be determined that it can be removed?
We have 10 days left before the commemoration of the Christchurch massacre, and 20 days before ANZAC Day.
Get a wriggle on Government and show you can do more than emote.
'Are we there yet !?'
At 20,00 a day average the answer is … we don't even know where we are going.
I don't think so Barfly. Keep your head down. We are, for at least 6 weeks.
Agreed
The infection rate is probably underdone,due to the use of RATS and under reporting as say Dunedin or australia experienced.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-omicron-outbreak-20-residents-tested-positive-at-dunedin-aged-care-facility/J52V45MHZPNBQEJZ73S6HLGNXI/
The sharp drop of cases overseas is also a good example with the CDC only using PCR tests in its figures.
Here the death toll is now 73,and may exceed the road and workplace fatalities combined,with around a busload of fatalities a week to Anzac day.
Australia is tracking to exceed the death toll of Gallipoli by Anzac day,(in a shorter time period)
The government needs to start to look coherent again by the time the Christchurch and ANZAC memorials come around.
I'm glad I'm not in the Labour caucus right now. It must be miserable.
Well they missed the chch earthquake memorial as they were more concerned about the lawns and the curtains,and noisy neighbours,and so they could pass urgent legislation in this Brave New world ensuring the sanctity of Freemartins.
Polls dont reflect you 'concerns' Mr Ad
The curia one which I watch because it comes out every month has seen a rise every month since the Nov dip ( covid lockdowns) from 44.8 in Oct
But we know you just want to fluff Luxons pillows but dont dare do so here
You should try the New Zealand First caucus.
The mandates are only as good as those who comply with them.
I expect scanning is down. Probably getting a booster as well. I got boosted late last week and when I left I thought, that better be the last one.
A lot of people would know family who are infected with Covid. Hard because some would want to help those with young children, but cannot risk being infected.
By Matariki anyone who even mentions 'Vaccine Mandate' will have 18 skyrockets strapped to them and sent towards the Pleiades.
The 20+ thousand a day is our testing limit. Take it at that and do what you will with it.
As I once heard Muldoon say "You win some – you loose some"
Now that Apple has left Russia, Apple Maps has put Crimea back in Ukraine
ROFL
Interesting that Switzerland has abandoned 200 years of neutrality, and come out in support of Ukraine.
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/neutral-swiss-adopt-sanctions-against-russia-2022-02-28/
And an interesting perspective over the announced change to legislate for an independent sanctions policy (rather than piggybacking on UN sanctions, which NZ has previously done – of course, the UN security council will never sanction Russia)
https://thediplomat.com/2022/03/russias-invasion-of-ukraine-will-change-new-zealands-foreign-policy/
Reply to Ad @ 10.3.1
Omicron does not give a rats arse about mandates.
Mandates have reached their full potential as far as preventing hospital admissions. Due to high infection rates no mandate is able to stop infections.
Governance mechanisms in water management don't usually attract this degree of analysis from the NZHerlad.
Three waters reform: Working group frustrated by government bottom lines – NZ Herald
The TLDR version is:
8 October local government election car crash.
It was done by RNZ and they just reprinted it
A lot of gaps in the papers these days where new stories are supposed to be ( ie they fill them with a link to a story all ready mentioned.
Im not sure of its covid related staffing problems or that the Ukraine situation has sucked all interest out of other stories and they are holding them back
The Society for Evidence Based Gender Medicine (and no, WPATH is not evidence based despite assumptions) have compared the newly released Swedish evidence reviewed policy with the draft of the updated WPATH due for release this year:
https://twitter.com/SEGMtweets/status/1498842485908463629
France has also updated their protocol, following the Netherlands, Finland, Denmark and Sweden.
And where are we?
https://patha.nz/Guidelines
The document as a whole shows an "affirming care" approach, at any age or stuation.
It contains many non-evidence based statements:
There have been no long term follow up studies on this. Current indications are that there are significant detrimental health outcomes, including bone mineralisation, cardiac health and brain development.
Max Tweedle on the Spinoff denigrates the paltry number (14/yr @ $53k) of gender affirming surgeries for the current annual $748,000 surgery budget, and the $4.23 million as a reason for the Rainbow Ministry. (Government provides support via other ministries to NGOs that aren't quantified).
Detrans support is not mentioned in the article, or indeed on many NGO sites. When it is the bias is clear:
Young people receiving 'affirming health care' in NZ are doing so on assumptive, non long-term evidence based data. They will carry the consequences of the failure of adults.
Will we require them to look and create their own support networks, on redditand elsewhere? Or will we recognise the reality that social, medical and/or surgical treatments during childhood and puberty are not benign and adjust treatment accordingly?
It is apparent to me that NZ is not only enthusiastically late to the party, we are going to stay till the hangover is guaranteed.
Thanks for posting this Molly. Good to have the update.
And the fear is with the Conversion Practices Bill, parents and possibly some health professionals may find them self being investigated by the police if they don't affirm/confirm the young persons gender identity.
I can't understand why people are up in arms about this.
"I can't understand why people are up in arms about this."
I have a comment in my head that contains a lot of swear words, but essentially I think they are 'Being Kind' instead of being aware, evidence-based, diligent and responsible.
'Affirming health care' is a solution looking for a problem and creating one. The new Swedish guidelines states their approach clearly:
I wonder about reposting this week day early on in the day. Any chance of this
Despite state repression and censorship.
Anti-war feeling in Russia is growing.
The war in the Ukraine will be won/lost in Russia
Any alternative view or not towing the state line your life is put in danger.
Lost a comment.
Too many links?
yep. You can put some links in a reply.
Comment is visible now.
Sorry. Thanks for that.
Really? Not saying men can't be pro-women's rights but surely to be a feminist you have to be active in that particular field.
Of course Chris, who ran an airline in case you didn’t know, brings up said airline as proof of his record as a feminist:
And good on him, this looks like affirmative action on steroids. I wonder if he will do the same for Maori, or will his voting base balk at that.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2022/03/christopher-luxon-absolutely-a-feminist-wants-more-diversity-and-inclusion-in-national.html
What is going on with the Covid testing and RAT roll out in Wellington?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-omicron-outbreak-testing-staff-abused-assaulted-amid-rats-desperation/SPEGT6ZLS545BZ6SJ4MS2WMJYA/?c_id=1&objectid=12508734&ref=rss
Just a symptom of a large scale testing stuff up, Hipkins and Verall need to be stood down.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/127944619/covid19-gobsmacking-queues-at-christchurchs-rat-collection-site
It's a surge, mate. It's the surge. This is NZ's worst time in the whole pandemic but here we are complaining about a few queues and some arseholes trying to steal tests to sell on the black market.
Big fucking deal.
Do you remember what happened in other counties?
Yes we all knew ,so why were they so unprepared? and why open the borders in the growth phase of an epidemic,is it because the government is thick,very thick or total imbeciles?
Opening the borders is something you have been wanting for some time, surely? Not sure why you are questioning it now.
It might look to you they are unprepared because you can't buy a RAT for $50 a pop whenever you feel the need, but given pandemic response in not an exact science, I think they are doing remarkable well. The numbers certainly confirm that.
There is comparatively no disaster here, you seem to enjoy imagining or inventing one though.
I have been consistently arguing to hold the borders,Pandemic response is a known science and there are constraints,Vaccines alone are a losing strategy.This is textbook stuff.
https://twitter.com/WmHaseltine/status/1492529219905200128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1492529219905200128%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2FWmHaseltine2Fstatus2F1492529219905200128widget%3DTweet
The strategy is called Vaccines plus,it is very workable and cost efficient and has been well signalled.
https://www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj.o1
Yeah, and NZ is doing all those health measures plus vaccines. It's exactly those things we are doing which differs from the rest of he world. It's those things that we are doing which makes the ACT, the far right, the anti-vax, and the anti-mandate people so angry.
All those things are exactly what this government and the country has done so well, but you are bagging them and us for it. I don’t understand.
Personally, I think that Pfizer booster slays Coronavirus. It almost literally knocked me off my feet the next day and my hunch is it turns the Covid lion into a mouse.
Here let me put it another way.
https://twitter.com/DGBassani/status/1499845795918589952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1499847526769467393%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es2_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2FDGBassani2Fstatus2F1499847526769467393widget%3DTweet
My partner's employer (a
n essential, sorry 'critical' industry) had their order of RAT tests, prioritised to the MoH by the supplier just last week. Not the first time.The failure of the MoH to order and secure sufficient supply for this outbreak, is apparent.
What a surprise. National Party members were inside the protest meeting with the anti-vax rabble. Maureen Pugh knows all about it.
Luxon knew nothing, of course.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/462799/national-mp-party-members-were-meeting-with-parliament-protesters