Open mike 06/01/2022

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, January 6th, 2022 - 175 comments
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175 comments on “Open mike 06/01/2022 ”

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  1. Tony Veitch (not etc.) 1
    6 January 2022 at 6:17 am

    The clusterfuck that is Australia at the moment.

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jan/04/a-shambolic-mess-the-only-example-australia-is-giving-the-world-now-is-how-not-to-manage-covid?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

    I have absolutely no doubt that if the Natz were in power, this is exactly what we would be now facing.

    I’m not religious, but thank God for our Labour government.

    With the new New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, in charge, the chief health officer, Kerry Chant, was sidelined as the new policy to “let it rip” was rolled out.

    In one previously unimaginable act, the premier, in a double act with Scott Morrison, announced a lifting of all restrictions including mandatory mask wearing and QR code check-ins.

    As case numbers exploded, a week after they were removed, QR codes and indoor mask wearing were reinstated – but the horse had bolted.

    • Ad 1.1
      6 January 2022 at 7:48 am

      +100

      Also the US White House has shifted from "contain" to "manage".

      Pretty much the definition of politics being pulled years later to align with reality. Heading for 1 million dead.

    • Blade 1.2
      6 January 2022 at 11:44 am

      Tony, I would wait until the fat lady sings before making assumptions like that. However, the Aussies made a dumb decision deporting Novak Djokovic. But, the Aussies know how to stand up to China…how to deal with foreign criminals and by the looks of it, not be swayed by famous people at the border. Our Labour government is incapable of any of that. Covid may not be the reason Labour lose the next election ( should they lose?).

      ps- I forgot to mention regional defence. Labour believes we are safe down here in Never Never Land, even though we have a dictator just up the road so to speak.

      • Gezza 1.2.1
        6 January 2022 at 12:36 pm

        Who is this dictator "just up the road so to speak", Blade?

      • Louis 1.2.2
        6 January 2022 at 2:27 pm

        Blade "Our Labour government" has proved itself more than capable, also, New Zealand has one of the best Covid19 responses in the world, under "Our Labour government". Facts back up Tony's post, not assumptions.

        • Blade 1.2.2.1
          6 January 2022 at 3:47 pm

          All I said, Louis, was Tony may be premature lauding the Labour governments Covid effort comparative to other countries. Tony MAY be basing his argument on our low Covid death rate. That may be a false measure when Kiwis start looking to get out of Stalag Aotearoa. If talkback is any measure, there seems to be many Poms ready to move back to Blighty. The main reason given is there is nothing certain in Aotearoa – things change constantly, or advice is contradictory. Then we have staff shortages in our main government sectors. Our supermarkets ( mine anyway) are starting to look decidedly Venezuelan. I have lost track at the number of overseas orders I have had cancelled because USPS and other postal services have stopped deliveries to New Zealand. The list is endless. I say the Labour government has been very lucky with their Covid response and our economy. In the end, in the cold light of day, we may have been better off with 2000 dead but a thriving economy; a less stressed population and overseas people seeing potential in NZ, instead of giving us a miss.

          • Tony Veitch (not etc.) 1.2.2.1.1
            6 January 2022 at 5:12 pm

            I'm sorry Blade, but most of what you wrote is just bollocks!

            Long term, 'Stalag Aotearoa' may become the norm. Have you, by any chance, heard of climate change? The old tourist industry is dead and is never coming back.

            Our supermarket shelves may look Venezuelan, but that too may become the norm. If we are to have any chance of staving off climate catastrophe, globalisation has to be scaled back.

            Finally, I've never yet heard someone argue in favour of 2000 dead – because that number of bodies, inevitably, would lead to a paralysis of business, as has happened in many countries.

            So I repeat, thank God for our Labour government.

            • RedLogix 1.2.2.1.1.1
              6 January 2022 at 5:23 pm

              inevitably, would lead to a paralysis of business, as has happened in many countries.

              Given the huge majority of COVID deaths are in people well past retirement age I'm not sure how that logic works.

              • mpledger …
                6 January 2022 at 7:17 pm

                In NZ, 2000 deaths would equate to 567,000 infections – say half of those are workers – than that is 10% of the workforce. They wouldn't all be sick at once but it would sure put small companies and short-staffed companies behind the 8-ball.

            • Graeme 1.2.2.1.1.2
              6 January 2022 at 7:54 pm

              Well empty supermarket shelves are happening right now in Australia, not from panic buying, there's nothing to buy, half the drivers are sick or isolating with / from covid. And early days yet.

              https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-06/supermarket-shortage-supply-chain-truck-driver-covid/100741392

              And they thought lockdowns were destroying the economy…

              • weka …
                6 January 2022 at 8:05 pm

                yikes. That explains this yesterday (I didn't get at the time why she posted it).

                https://twitter.com/Asher_Wolf/status/1478603498124054532

                • Graeme …
                  6 January 2022 at 8:33 pm

                  Yeah, once the essential goods supply chain starts falling over things can turn to custard very quickly and very comprehensively. I really hope Australia can keep it all together but they aren't in a good place and it's not getting better yet.

                  Thankfully we haven't gone there yet and have the luxury of being able to observe and plan.

                  • weka …
                    6 January 2022 at 8:44 pm

                    do you have a sense of how much of the current freight issue is sickness vs self isolating after a positive test?

                    • Graeme …
                      6 January 2022 at 9:06 pm

                      From the ABC article,

                      Yesterday the federal government removed regular COVID testing requirements for truck drivers in a bid to ease pressure on the strained testing regime.

                      "We need truck drivers to keep on trucking," Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.

                      "And that system is under strain because of the high case numbers.

                      "But that is the nature of Omicron, you have just got to keep pushing through."

                      So it's looking like they've removed the testing requirement for drivers so they keep working while they are infected. Looks like too many were testing positive, not because the testing regime was strained.

                      Fuck I hope this doesn't go bad

                    • weka …
                      6 January 2022 at 9:44 pm

                      same. Like many I have family in Oz, trying not to think to closely about it.

                      do we know what the rate of omicron is in Australia?

                    • RedLogix …
                      6 January 2022 at 9:52 pm

                      Traffic volumes here in Brisbane right down, lot's of people just staying at home regardless of what their status is. It's going to be an interesting few weeks, but Omicron peaks fast.

                      I'm going fishing in the local creek tomorrow. surprise

            • McFlock 1.2.2.1.1.3
              6 January 2022 at 8:34 pm

              Finally, I've never yet heard someone argue in favour of 2000 dead – because that number of bodies, inevitably, would lead to a paralysis of business, as has happened in many countries.

              But not just because of the deaths, or even the infections.

              I know folks overseas who have been mostly living in self-imposed lockdown for years. So that's their disposable income not going on theatres or bars. Then there are the others who work from home, but maybe not as productively.

              The let it rip crowd, especially those owning hospo businesses, seem to think that it means a return to the before-time. It just means our GDP turns even more to shit.

          • Stuart Munro 1.2.2.1.2
            6 January 2022 at 5:24 pm

            If talkback is any measure…

            Thankfully, it ain't.

          • Foreign waka 1.2.2.1.3
            6 January 2022 at 5:52 pm

            Re Supermarkets – Venezuelan would be a compliment. I have been to 4 (!) supermarkets today because any of these either lacked salad, greens in season – these are NOT imported products. Another had no, please read again, no meat on the shelf- at all. Also not an imported product. I have asked one of the staff and they said that the delivery truck is late. They would need 4 plus hanger to get the shop filled. But I can tell you what really is happening. Firstly, online shoppers get priority and any stock that is there will be gone by the time you get to the shop as picking is done outside shop hours. And secondly, the buying model is still on the now well outdated model of just in time. To be honest and I have been through the east of Europe in its darker days when war was a constant treat and even acted on, the supermarkets here look like these except when you go to the posh ones in town. But it won't be long when the veneer falters there too.

            As for this government, it is not really doing anything. Look at Law and order. How many people are getting killed every week and always children amongst them. Anybody with half a brain will ask why and conclude that NZ has a serious gang problem. But what are the answers of Kāinga Ora to those who are living next door to hell? Oh well you have to move. Just wait until the anger reaches crisis point.

            Unemployment, defined by work of 1 hr per week – the stats are a farce. Billions are squandered and many who have an education and are young enough will leave once the pandemic looses its grip and borders open.

            I am by upbringing and conviction left leaning but this government is anything but. Appeasement policies to keep the certain groups quiet and the rest just has to belief and pray.

            And yes to a certain degree some policies do look like the ostblock policies of decades past. Many will say that it is OK but this is only because they have never experienced what that means.

            • Blazer 1.2.2.1.3.1
              6 January 2022 at 9:07 pm

              You either live in ..Eketahuna…or are ..exaggerating.

              • Foreign waka …
                6 January 2022 at 9:42 pm

                Neither, Wellington – the capital city of NZ no less. And absolutely true. Shame on you to think that I lie to put a story out.

                I have lived here for almost 4 decades and never have seen something like it.

                Feel free and visit supermarkets around Wellington and make your own assessment. Compare also the ones around wealthy city dwellers and the less fortunate.

          • bwaghorn 1.2.2.1.4
            6 January 2022 at 7:20 pm

            How do know a plane full of poms has landed???

            You can here the whineing after the engines stop!!!!

            • Blade 1.2.2.1.4.1
              6 January 2022 at 8:40 pm

              How do you know the average kiwi is as thick as pig shit?

              When the Poms stop whining and disembark from their plane…they move into the top echelons of the union movement.

          • weka 1.2.2.1.5
            6 January 2022 at 8:10 pm

            putting aside for the moment that if we did live in Stalag Aotearoa the Poms wouldn't be allowed to leave (and it's a long way to tunnel even for the ingenious Brits).

            How is the USPS issue the NZ government's fault?

            How much of the supermarket issue is due to global supply chain issues?

            "In the end, in the cold light of day, we may have been better off with 2000 dead but a thriving economy"

            Wow. In order to be able to get quick deliveries from overseas and international tourism, you think it's ok to trade that for 2000 dead NZers?

            • Blade 1.2.2.1.5.1
              6 January 2022 at 8:34 pm

              ''How is the USPS issue the NZ government's fault?''

              It's not. But transport problems are about to hit Aotearoa big time, and indirectly that is going to put pressure on the government as our economy starts to stagnate. You can't sell non existent products. Or create products without raw materials.

              ''How much of the supermarket issue is due to global supply chain issues?''

              I would say the majority for many products. See above.

              ''Wow. In order to be able to get quick deliveries from overseas and international tourism, you think it's ok to trade that for 2000 dead NZers?''

              The dead don't need food, money, medicine or hope. The living do! A decision I hope we never have to make.

              I fear for people like you who may not be ready for WHAT may lie ahead, or be able to accept your life is about to get way worse. In fact I don't know if I am mentally prepared. It's been awhile since I had to do 'hard times.'

              • weka …
                6 January 2022 at 8:42 pm

                I fear for people like you who may not be ready for WHAT may lie ahead, or be able to accept your life is about to get way worse. In fact I don't know if I am mentally prepared. It's been awhile since I had to do 'hard times.'

                People like me? I write posts about the Powerdown and resiliency.

                What transport problems.

              • Blazer …
                6 January 2022 at 8:52 pm

                Do not fear Blade.

                Aotearoa is one of the best countries in the world to live in given your scenario.

                We have plenty of water,power,food and infrastructure to service our population.

                I think we can even survive without filipino farm workers and Indian truck …drivers.wink

                • Blade …
                  6 January 2022 at 8:57 pm

                  ''We have plenty of water,power,food and infrastructure to service our population.''

                  Maori will decide how much of that you receive, Blazer.

                  Be strong!

                  • Blazer …
                    6 January 2022 at 9:03 pm

                    Is that you Don…you brash,racist…bastard?laugh

                    [RL: Over the line. Take a day off.]

                    • Blade …
                      6 January 2022 at 9:09 pm

                      You always had trouble controlling that vicious Lefty temper. The good thing about blogs is they allow people to empty their hate filled souls. Let it out, son. I don't hold that against you.

                    • RedLogix …
                      6 January 2022 at 9:10 pm

                      Mod note

                  • Blazer …
                    6 January 2022 at 9:13 pm

                    To be blunt…Blade…I always temper my responses to you ,because I know you are not the sharpest knife in..the drawer.laugh

                  • weka …
                    6 January 2022 at 9:40 pm

                    and you can stop with the baiting over Māori. It's tedious and starting to look like deliberate trolling.

                    • Blade …
                      6 January 2022 at 10:46 pm

                      Weka, I'm not baiting over Maori. I know what's going on behind the scenes. I doubt you do. If you do, please advise what you know and we can debate the issue.

                      I have seen racism in Maori institutes. I have have watched Pakeha be denigrated for being white. And nobody from our gutless media down does anything…except agree Maori are always right. And then provide more taxpayer money.

                    • weka []
                      6 January 2022 at 10:56 pm

                      Irrespective of your personal views as just expressed, when you throw out racist tropes casually, it’s going to get moderation attention eventually. The idea that Māori control water,power,food and infrastructure in NZ is both factually wrong and had nothing to do with the conversation.

              • Louis …
                8 January 2022 at 5:28 am

                USPS has temporarily halted deliveries to a number of countries like Australia as well due to Covid19, so its not just New Zealand.

          • Blade 1.2.2.1.6
            6 January 2022 at 8:54 pm

            3 News:

            https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2022/01/covid-19-warning-omicron-will-overwhelm-us-within-a-week-if-it-takes-hold-in-new-zealand-experts-say.html

            This one is interesting. Usually the Left can rely on overseas votes at election time. But will that be the case this time? Will people forget?

            https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2022/01/kiwis-stranded-in-australia-losing-hope-after-being-locked-out-of-miq-room-release.html

            When people lose hope…the weirdest things happen.

          • Louis 1.2.2.1.7
            8 January 2022 at 5:44 am

            Luck has nothing to do with it Blade and there is nothing certain in the entire world that's struggling with a global pandemic. Would that talkback you are referring to have a decidedly right wing slant about it? imo I'm not sure that would be a true measure of anything, besides which, people are free to leave, if that is what they want.

  2. Dennis Frank 2
    6 January 2022 at 6:35 am

    Russian scientist measures Auckland plastic pollution:

    In late 2016 she spent a fortnight in waders collecting water and sediment samples from 18 streams from Slippery Creek in Papakura to a stream in Shakespear Regional Park in the north.

    That was the easy part. She then spent a further four months sifting plastic particles from organic matter for further analysis under a microscope and then a spectrometer to pin down their composition. The result was a paper on Microplastic pollution in streams spanning an urbanisation gradient, published in the journal Environmental Pollution.

    The good news. “We didn’t find very many microbeads,” she says. The purposefully designed microbeads in facial scrubs and cleansers were banned here in June 2018, following a consultation that saw more than 16,000 submissions in support of the ban and none opposed. While the ban makes sense, microbeads are not the major source of micro-plastic pollution in Auckland’s waterways.

    Instead her hunt revealed mostly fragments of plastic, almost 80 percent, followed by fibres and films. The mesh of her collection net was fine enough to capture any particles in water bigger than 15 microns (1 micron is one millionth of a metre). In the lab the micro-plastics ranged from 63 microns to 5000 microns. In all Nadia isolated 3309 particles via microscope and then confirmed their identity through spectroscopic analysis. The films were mostly acrylate polymers used in paints and coating materials, the fragments, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), common plastics found in everything from construction materials to cars.

    The bad news is that the concentration of micro-plastics in Auckland streams matches that found in much more densely populated northern hemisphere cities. On average Auckland’s waterways have between 17 and 303 particles of micro-plastic per cubic metre of water and between 9-90 items in each kilogram of sediment.

    https://www.newsroom.co.nz/microplastics-in-auckland-rival-rhine

  3. Sanctuary 3
    6 January 2022 at 6:40 am

    A lovely mini documentary from the fabulous Ash Sarkar on SUVs, with the meta that if you stop fighting culture wars long enough you can actually discover that even a businessman in a pinstrip suit in Kensiongton with no formed political views can agree that SUVs are a problem.

    And man, does the “hedonistic treadmill” comment resonate – I spent a half day in Mangawhai the other day and my God, the hedonistic treadmill of the material culture of Pakeha NZ was so on display, and it is just so damn ugly.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtJECy7aHwc

    • Ad 3.1
      6 January 2022 at 7:58 am

      In NZ the diesels generate 44% of NZTAs income, but pedestrians and cyclists and electric cars deliver $0.

      Yet government directive is for more and more spent on public transport and active modes.

      Wouldn't be surprised if Minister Wood changed every single vehicle to have to pay RUC, by 2024. One consistent user-pays policy. Tradies and farmers in particular would appreciate the level playing field.

      And more urbanites get off their combustion-propelled asses.

      • alwyn 3.1.1
        6 January 2022 at 8:29 am

        Perhaps while we are about it we could take away Minister Wood's stretched BMW Limo and give him a bus pass instead?

        I guess that is never going to happen though. It would mean that he had to mix with the common people and he is far to important to have to do that.

      • lprent 3.1.2
        6 January 2022 at 8:32 am

        I wouldn't oppose RUC, provided they that process is as painless as using the AT parking app. However if you're going to do a tax change on transport, then it should be done correctly – and target where the costs go. That is mostly for road maintenance at various levels, handling accidents, and increasingly to ETS. There is also the relatively minor cost of installing new roading and transport routes.

        Wouldn't be a problem for this urbanite – I will only do a 1-2 thousand km per year in a 1500cc hybrid.

        Going to RUC, dropping fuel excise taxes on petrol to the same kinds of rates as for diesel and finally going fully digital on registration would free up more of my time and be a whole lot cheaper for me.

        Not sure how they would do RUC on bikes. But I do less than 1000km on the e-bike each year as well.

        However the RUC should be based entirely around max load axle weights and number of wheels to accurately reflect road maintenance costs and overspec roads to handle max high axle weight vehicles.

        That also means that other motorists should not subsidise trucks, SUVs, and overweight tradie vehicles.

        Personally I don't think that the tradies and farmers would like that much as it would likely increase their RUC rates for the current vehicles. The trucking industry will scream. However the costs for that can go straight on to the cost of goods and services provided – thereby leaning towards a a more efficient economy.

        But at least it would provide a more accurate economic framework for transport change in the future and remove paradoxical hidden transport subsidies.

        • Ad 3.1.2.1
          6 January 2022 at 8:38 am

          So little wear and tear from bicycles that RUC wouldn't be proportionate.

          Heavy truckers will want to see their 40%+ contribution spent as you suggested on road maintenance.

          • alwyn 3.1.2.1.1
            6 January 2022 at 9:06 am

            There may not be a great deal of wear and tear on the roads from bicycles but there are very large costs in actually providing the road surface for the cyclists to ride on. A new cycleway from Ngauranga to Petone in Wellington is estimated at $190 million for 4.5 kilometres. Should the cyclists pay for the building and maintenance of the route? If not, why not?

        • Dennis Frank 3.1.2.2
          6 January 2022 at 8:44 am

          provide a more accurate economic framework for transport change in the future and remove paradoxical hidden transport subsidies

          Making govt genuinely greener, but is Labour capable of that? Would be excellent. USA has retained such subsidies for a century. Oil, coal. I marvelled how they survived unscathed through the era when righteous rightist abhorrence of such achieved hegemony (Reagan's team) and deduced that pragmatic pork barrel politics will always defeat purist ideology.

        • alwyn 3.1.2.3
          6 January 2022 at 8:59 am

          Is your car always parked on private property and not on the roadway? Would it make any difference to you if all parking on public property had to be paid for?

          • lprent 3.1.2.3.1
            11 January 2022 at 5:23 pm

            It wouldn’t worry me at all – in fact personally I’d prefer to have all public parking metered – becausue that is effectively what I have right now.

            My car is usually parked in our apartment's garage (ie private property).

            Most of the places I go I am usually parked on private property (ie customer parking) or on metered parking which in Auckland I handle with the AT Parking App.

            BTW: We have metered parking outside our apartment building these days. It has massively improved the availability of parking. The overall cost of parking for my usage patterns is minimal.

            Right now, I have the car on the road because we have been short of a FOB required to drive it and we have stacked (ie one car behind another) in the garage. That is the current task on my post-lockdown list of tasks

            So AT metered parking at home or work. Not killing my budget.

      • Cricklewood 3.1.3
        6 January 2022 at 8:33 am

        The sooner they do that the better, can be calculated on vehicle size.

      • pat 3.1.4
        6 January 2022 at 8:47 am

        I expect that all vehicles will be required to have a GPS tracker installed with automatic billing in the not too distant future….Victoria have had a similar set up for their toll roads for sometime now.

        • Ad 3.1.4.1
          6 January 2022 at 8:49 am

          Nearly all big NZ private fleets do that now.

          • pat 3.1.4.1.1
            6 January 2022 at 8:53 am

            Then the infrastructure is already in place…it is only a question of time, post election 2023 perhaps.

          • Graeme 3.1.4.1.2
            6 January 2022 at 9:43 am

            How well does that work?

            Does that allow them to separate on and off highway usage. Quite significant for a farmer or contractor where a large proportion of usage is off highway.

        • bwaghorn 3.1.4.2
          6 January 2022 at 9:52 am

          Tracking every vehicle?

          Cant see that happening, I have know problem at but theres a lot paranoid and or dodgy people who wont wear it.

          • pat 3.1.4.2.1
            6 January 2022 at 9:59 am

            Yes, i imagine there will be resistance from some and there will be enforcement issues but I cant see an alternative especially if there is a drive to reduce petrol/diesel use.

            I expect the penalties for non compliance will overcome a lot of that resistance , though of course not all.

            • Robert Guyton 3.1.4.2.1.1
              6 January 2022 at 10:09 am

              The vaccine strategy!

              • pat …
                6 January 2022 at 10:13 am

                If you like…..you have an alternative?

                Non compliance to society's rules always carries penalty of some form….only the form the penalty takes varies , not the fact.

            • Graeme 3.1.4.2.1.2
              6 January 2022 at 10:11 am

              A lot of the resistance would evaporate if the system accurately separated on and off highway usage. Quite significant for farmers and like. Since some form of congestion or graduated charge would be part of the package this shouldn't be too hard, provided it works as it says on the box.

              The resistors will just pay maximum charge everywhere.

              • pat …
                6 January 2022 at 10:24 am

                Provided it works as described….and I envisage there will be instances when it dosnt, but assume they have those issues in Victoria as well, nethertheless it is the system they have,

            • RedLogix 3.1.4.2.1.3
              6 January 2022 at 10:17 am

              Ubiquitous surveillance being one of the better known end-points of the civilisations. Vernor Vinge

              A comment like yours above would have been torn to shreds here 10 years ago. I remember suggesting such things sarcastically and getting dumped on by everyone – the exact reaction I'd hoped for at the time. But now real life overtakes irony.

              It's all flipped, the authoritarian left on display here feels secure enough in it's political dominance that 'freedums' are sneered at knowingly, and the resisters are dismissed as paranoid, dodgy or 'anti-vax'.

              • Robert Guyton …
                6 January 2022 at 10:26 am

                It is striking, RedLogix, to find ourselves in the situation you describe, but description and interpretation are everything and very fluid substances. Seemingly sinister situations may or may not be what they seem. "Ubiquitous surveillance" sounds sinister, but ain't necessarily so: much discussion should be had on that very point but keeping it focussed and arriving at an unassailable point of view will be a challenge in these interesting times.

                • RedLogix …
                  6 January 2022 at 10:43 am

                  We're not too far off the point where tracking, recording and storing every moment 24/7 of everyone's life, everything we all say and do, can be done. It would have the remarkable effect of greatly reducing crime, especially those always difficult ones of a sexual nature where there is rarely independent evidence. Every act of sex would have a legal record of every moment that can be analysed by an AI to ensure legal consent was present at every moment for instance. Then we could change the rules retrospectively and get the 100% conviction rates desired. Well obviously we'd confine this to right wingers, white supremacists and the anti-vaxxers who annoy us – but think of all the crimes, frauds and conspiracies that currently go undetected that would be exposed by this. Finally the world might be a safe place.

                  Yes you can accuse me of an absurd argument here – but my point is that while 20 years ago this was science fiction, today's it's feasible. And there is a non-zero fraction of people who would embrace it.

                  What direction do you think surveillance technologies are heading in – toward more intrusiveness or less? And where do we draw the line?

                  • Blazer …
                    6 January 2022 at 10:51 am

                    Apparantly the measure is simply….'nothing to hide…nothing to…fear'!frown

                  • pat …
                    6 January 2022 at 11:08 am

                    Lol…I find it somewhat ironic that such a champion of 'mans technological advances' is now railing against such.

                    Which political party do you think will campaign against road use taxation via some form of monitoring?…the Greens perhaps?…. and should a party do so what alternative will they offer?….and ultimately what support will they receive?

                    Its easier all round to throw baseless emotive slurs into the mix

                    • RedLogix …
                      6 January 2022 at 11:13 am

                      I find it somewhat ironic that such a champion of 'mans technological advances' is now railing against such.

                      Do I need to explain that all tools can be used both constructively and destructively?

                    • pat …
                      6 January 2022 at 11:16 am

                      How about explaining a likely alternative….or explaining how observing a highly likely trajectory equates with 'authoritarianism'?

                    • Robert Guyton …
                      6 January 2022 at 11:17 am

                      "Do I need to explain that all tools can be used both constructively and destructively?"

                      Thumb-screws?

                    • RedLogix …
                      6 January 2022 at 11:19 am

                      Thumbscrews might well do as a useful woodworking clamp – in a pinch.devil

                    • pat …
                      6 January 2022 at 11:21 am

                      Apparently not

                    • Robert Guyton …
                      6 January 2022 at 11:29 am

                      Thumb-screws as a woodworking clamp?

                      That's stretching it!

                      🙂
                      Edit: No, yes, your “at a pinch” was very good – my (above) was muddled – I was thinking rack. I defer.

                    • RedLogix …
                      6 January 2022 at 11:30 am

                      @pat

                      You were the one advocating for all vehicle usage to be GPS tracked by government – it's over to you to justify it.

                      My alternative has always been consistent – developing and introducing the technologies that actually decarbonise are what's important and primary. Social engineering and ubiquitous control of people are secondary – and mostly not needed.

                      Notably whenever I try and talk about the former I get a queue of people here telling me how it cannot be done, yet the same people seem remarkably keen on the latter.

                    • pat …
                      6 January 2022 at 11:43 am

                      Advocating?…thats BS and you know it.

                      So you have no viable alternative nor can you justify the slur.

                      "Fuel taxes and road user charges could be abolished and drivers tracked by GPS if one of the options from a review of road taxes is adopted by the Government."

                      "The Government currently collects about $4 billion a year from fuel taxes and road user charges. The revenue is currently used to build and maintain roads, and other transport projects."

                      https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300283956/government-looks-to-phase-out-fuel-taxes-road-user-charges-under-transport-review

                      Not sure what world you live in but it bears little resemblance to the one i inhabit.

                    • RedLogix …
                      6 January 2022 at 11:54 am

                      bwaghorn said:

                      Tracking every vehicle?

                      You said:

                      Yes, i imagine there will be resistance from some and there will be enforcement issues but I cant see an alternative especially if there is a drive to reduce petrol/diesel use.

                      I expect the penalties for non compliance will overcome a lot of that resistance , though of course not all.

                      Maybe we could implement a triple rate RUC on back-pedalling. laugh

                    • pat …
                      6 January 2022 at 12:00 pm

                      expect

                      /ɪkˈspɛkt,ɛkˈspɛkt/

                      Learn to pronounce

                      verb

                      1. regard (something) as likely to happen.

                      advocate

                      noun

                      /ˈadvəkət/

                      1. 1.

                        a person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or policy.

                      Is english your second language?

                      …and your (politically) viable alternative to raise the 4 billion plus revenue?

                    • RedLogix …
                      6 January 2022 at 12:07 pm

                      You clearly spoke in support of universal vehicle tracking and stated:

                      I cant see an alternative

                      I'm happy for you to keep digging this hole as deep as you want – but I'm not wasting time and energy on this any further.

                    • pat …
                      6 January 2022 at 12:10 pm

                      Weak….you have no ability to support your position.

                  • Robert Guyton …
                    6 January 2022 at 11:13 am

                    What you are describing has moved very slowly, imo: I expected rapid implementation of "ubiquitous surveillance" especially when the first camera was installed on our village's main street (watching for the vandals who stole the ornaments off the big outdoor Christmas tree) but it all seems to have gone off the boil.

                    The screws perhaps, are being tightened slowly and I suspect, in an uncoordinated manner – these functions are very convenient for all!

                    In any case, we have all willingly signed-on for a raft of "behaviour markers" – from cellphones to bank cards. As I was asking (above) should we consider these actions sinister (from the implementors) or naive (from the users)?

                    I don't know that you left/right thread is as valuable as you think – the acceptance of greater surveillance doesn't seem to me to be driven by the examples you cite.

                    • RedLogix …
                      6 January 2022 at 11:18 am

                      The screws perhaps, are being tightened slowly and I suspect, in an uncoordinated manner – these functions are very convenient for all!

                      True. Implementing such a system all at once could only be done in a totalitarian state like the PRC has done. The western world sleep walks into it one easy step at a time, each one justified by the latest crisis.

                      I don't know that you left/right thread is as valuable as you think

                      Agreed – in the end it doesn't matter what your political leanings are, it's the power imbalance between the system and the individual that matters here. And yes there are plenty of other ways to illustrate this question beyond the intentionally provocative example I gave.

                    • Robert Guyton …
                      6 January 2022 at 11:28 am

                      "The western world sleep walks into it one easy step at a time, each one justified by the latest crisis."

                      Do you believe there's a political/industrial, co-ordinated, focussed, "party" driving the expansion of surveillance?

                      Or is circumstance/ease of doing business/convenience/love of novelty etc. causing the progress of the state of affairs?

                      In other words, who's causing this, the deliverer or the receiver?

                    • RedLogix …
                      6 January 2022 at 12:00 pm

                      Do you believe there's a political/industrial, co-ordinated, focussed, "party" driving the expansion of surveillance?

                      I mostly doubt there is 'smoky back-room full of the cabal's elite goons' meticulously planning their next step in world domination. That reduces the issue to a cartoonish us vs them depiction of good and evil.

                      The real question is where this line passes through each of our own hearts.

                    • Robert Guyton …
                      6 January 2022 at 12:36 pm

                      The line that passes through the heart of each of us?

                      That, and pathologies that exist "out there" and how we might protect ourselves from those.

                • Blazer …
                  6 January 2022 at 10:55 am

                  'ubiquitous/mass surveillance is'bad'…..'bulk collection'..however is…acceptable.cheeky

              • pat …
                6 January 2022 at 10:28 am

                Not sure what your point is?

                You wish to suggest that we wont have some form of road use taxation? (we already do)

                Or that societies dont penalise rule breakers?

        • Cricklewood 3.1.4.3
          6 January 2022 at 4:28 pm

          There's no need, Rucs as the are will work and im sure the system can be tidied up.

          Congestion can be done with a transponder if we decide to go in that direction.

    • Gypsy 3.2
      6 January 2022 at 10:07 am

      Given that the absolutely NOT fabulous Sarkar is 'literally a communist', if she doesn't get her own way, she'll probably try to crush all opposition in the usual communist fashion.

    • weston 3.3
      6 January 2022 at 1:14 pm

      Ash Sakar,s ok i guess i watch her on tiskey sour like her male counterpart better dont like fake finger nails much isnt she just pointing out the obvious ? that the rich like to drive big cars ?havnt they always ?.Its pretty obvious the money arround in mangawhai for sure you hardly ever see an old bomb anymore .

    • Foreign waka 3.4
      6 January 2022 at 5:57 pm

      Sanctuary – 3:
      You should visit the Porirua area and you will find out very soon that it isn't the pakehas with the work materials on the back of their suv's driving around. Another one of the hate messages about "white people"?

  4. Blazer 4
    6 January 2022 at 8:20 am

    We care about human rights overseas but………….

    ' housing had become a “speculative asset” in New Zealand rather than a “home”, citing low interest rates coupled with an underdeveloped rental housing system with inadequate tenant protections.'

    Housing in New Zealand 'a human rights crisis', UN report says | Stuff.co.nz

  5. dv 5
    6 January 2022 at 8:32 am

    Auckland landlord ups rent $50 to $900 per week due to 'overwhelming response'

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/housing-affordability/300488823/auckland-landlord-ups-rent-50-to-900-per-week-due-to-overwhelming-response

    Got me curious about other high rents.

    Trade me shows 544 properties over 1000$ a week, the top is 5000$ pw

  6. Dennis Frank 6
    6 January 2022 at 8:34 am

    Food for thought… https://democracyproject.nz/2022/01/05/graham-adams-2022-arderns-plans-for-co-governance-with-iwi-face-rough-seas/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=graham-adams-2022-arderns-plans-for-co-governance-with-iwi-face-rough-seas

    Adams is pushing the Labour stealth agenda thesis:

    Jacinda Ardern — and her senior ministers Nanaia Mahuta and Andrew Little — appear to have adopted the tactics of the Cuban revolutionary leader Jose Marti, who wrote in 1895: “I have had to work quietly and somewhat indirectly, because to achieve certain objectives, they must be kept under cover; to proclaim them for what they are would raise such difficulties that the objectives could not be attained.”

    Already attracting attention overseas…

    The debate over giving matauranga Māori equal status with physics, biology and chemistry in the NCEA science syllabus — sparked by a letter in the Listener signed by seven eminent professors — has become so inflammatory that famous US and British public intellectuals, including scientists Richard Dawkins, Steven Pinker and Jerry Coyne, have pitched into the fray and made it into an international cause célèbre.

    Cool if true, but I bet Graham Adams is talking that dimension up. I haven't even noticed any advocacy in the media attempting to explain what part of matauranga Māori ought to be included in science. Can anyone here elucidate this?

    Here is a resource for insight: https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/2545-matauranga-maori-and-science

    Science and mātauranga Māori do not seek to do the same thing. Mātauranga Maori is knowledge – knowing about things (such as preparing poisonous karaka berries for eating). Science is about finding out why and how things happen (such as why and how karaka berries are poisonous and how preparation removes the poison).

    • Sanctuary 6.1
      6 January 2022 at 8:43 am

      Brycwe Edwards is running yet another site dedicated to the primary interest of right wing "think tanks" – scratching an income by grifting for cash from right wing business “sponsors”. Graham Adams starts with the big lie strawman and it goes downhill from there, but insincere race baiting is clearly thought to be a winning product to be pushed by a political right that has no economic solutions to the problems of the 21st century so seeks power by the jerking the levers of crude 20th century settler racism.

      • Bearded Git 6.1.1
        6 January 2022 at 9:25 am

        Bryce Edwards is a devious little weasel much beloved of the MSM-and so by definition tending towards the Right politically. One should always read carefully between the lines of anything he posts.

        • Patricia Bremner 6.1.1.1
          6 January 2022 at 10:45 pm

          What Bryce does not say is as important as his collection of supporting voices.

    • Ad 6.2
      6 January 2022 at 8:46 am

      The "road blocks" were done almost entirely in cooperation with NZPolice.

      The curriculum cooperation is consistent with a broad cultural shift across every single government department and quite uncontroversial.

      3 waters shifts assets and staff to delivery higher water quality. Thats it. The only guarantee is that the consumer outcomes will be higher than what local government controls delivered over a century.

      So Adam's is simply as tiresome aa Trotter on so called racial divides.

      The Ardern government has decided to spend its political capital somewhere useful and I congratulate them.

      • Jenny how to get there 6.2.1
        6 January 2022 at 9:13 am

        The government should be applauded for taking into account the concerns of local Iwi to protect their addmitted vulnerable communities, and supporting them with the state forces.

        Democracy and justice is not constrained to a narrow vote of the majority of the population every three years. (Sometimes the minority are right).

        The right to protest, trial by jury, enshrine democracy and justice at the micro level.

      • Corey humm 6.2.2
        6 January 2022 at 1:51 pm

        Spend it's capital somewhere useful LOL there's five motels across the road with me all full of people who live in them there are 200,000 empty homes in NZ that could house half a million people but the pm doesn't think it's an issue, every new build I see is an unoccupied town house unsuitable for families and even then they get snatched up as soon as they are brought and sit empty spending political capital on real solutions to housing instead of doing pr announcements about consents issues would be useful.

        Spending a small percentage or two of her capital on marijuana reform, labour are now to the right of the democrats and south Australia and obtaining medicinal marijuana is harder than ever but no capital spent there

        Then there's this thing called her being the minister of child poverty … No capital spent there in fact she should fire herself from that portfolio.

        Poor brown and poor white and everyone else need houses, a stronger safety net and the removal of the fear of the cops busting down their door and ruining their lives over a damn joint more than they need social engineering programs.

        You applaud the prime minister, I condemn the prime minister for only ever using her political capital to rule out doing anything substantial or to woke social engineer.

        She is a political coward and a conservative and the sooner she will be remembered only for COVID because otherwise she is a complete disappointment who got everyone's hopes up for change and then did nothing for two terms but manage the downward spiral of this country.

        • Blazer 6.2.2.1
          6 January 2022 at 2:11 pm

          ' there's five motels across the road with me all full of people who live in them there are 200,000 empty homes in NZ that could house half a million people but the pm doesn't think it's an issue, '

          Yes ,I've seen the empty houses issue blithely dismissed here because we 'don't have reliable data'.

          We know when Vancouver introduced a mere 1% levy on homes empty for 6 months or more without good reason,that there was a 25% reduction in empty homes ,quicksmart.

          23,000 living in motels,2billion plus Govt subsidies to landlords…!

          No problemo.

      • Foreign waka 6.2.3
        6 January 2022 at 6:11 pm

        ROFL….. Billions and billions have been already spend with nothing to show for. That will continue. Meanwhile law and order is something the pakeha invented, LOL

    • Blade 6.3
      6 January 2022 at 12:01 pm

      ''Can anyone here elucidate this?''

      Yes, no part, if you apply the definition of true Western Science. The problem science has when defending its rationale against Maori mysticism is Western science does not follow its own tenets. Funding and paid for outcomes has corrupted science in my opinion. But sciences worst crime is they are no longer interested in following the evidence once that evidence becomes uncomfortable to the status quo.

      Given that, why shouldn't Mātauranga Māori not consider itself an equal and viable alternative to Western science?

      • RedLogix 6.3.1
        6 January 2022 at 12:13 pm

        Best comment yet. yes

        Mātauranga Māori is a legitimate and valuable part of that vast human heritage of observational knowledge that was hard-won by humanity over millennia. No-one wants to discount or diminish it.

        But the only people who confuse it with modern science are those who either those who don't understand what science is, or are too gutless to say so.

        • Gezza 6.3.1.1
          6 January 2022 at 12:42 pm

          Exactly which Western sciences are you talking about when you talk about modern science?

          Our universities have been calling lots of fields of study "science" – particularly in the Arts and Social Sciences fields.

          My personal belief is that we are talking primarily about Maths+Physics+(maybe) Chemistry when we talk about modern science.

          All the others appear to me to be primarily observational sciences. And some of those are highly speculative.

          • RedLogix 6.3.1.1.1
            6 January 2022 at 12:57 pm

            Fair point.

            In terms of the classic STEM subjects, mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology there is an increasing shift from hard data, to noisy imprecise data – and the tools to interpret it become more difficult not less.

            For example expressing concepts in most of physics can be done with rigor and formalism using mathematical tools. Much the same with chemistry, although statistical methods start to dominate. By the time we get to modern biological systems we no longer express much in deterministic equations, but a multitude of high order models and causal inferences. The tools shift and become harder to use but the modern world we live in is testament to it's astonishing success to date.

            The social sciences always had the legitimate vision of emulating the same success – but many have failed to grasp just how damned hard that was going to be. And far too many of it's practitioners lacked the deep mathematical and logical skills necessary to do it well – and this is really quite understandable. Student who are interested in people are not so often also interested in the abstractions of mathematics and logic necessary to design, implement and analyse their experiments well. Instead they tend to uncritically stuff their raw data into a stats package and trust that the pretty graphs outputted will get the paper published.

            As you say a lot of social science papers lack rigor, are rarely cited, lack repeatability and skepticism, are ideological and speculative. They aren't science either.

            • Robert Guyton 6.3.1.1.1.1
              6 January 2022 at 5:50 pm

              It's in the biological sciences that matauranga and science get overlaid and integrated..

      • Dennis Frank 6.3.2
        6 January 2022 at 12:44 pm

        Yeah, I'll echo RL, acknowledging your good response. My take is the Labour caucus decision to endorse mM (matauranga Māori) as a policy strategy exploits the dichotomy between the original concept of science (mostly knowledge/gnosis, publicised via reasoning from evidence) and the in-crowd definition that has emerged since the 19th century.

        As a physics grad I naturally defer to the mana around the latter. As an alternative thinker for even longer, I naturally see the inadequacies & deficiencies of the latter.

        Perversion of science via arbitrary or politically-biased funding decisions is way more obvious in the US scene, but is indeed apparent here too as you imply. And the question you ended with is indeed the key to advancing the policy. Unless sceptics pull finger & do some work rather than knee-jerk complaints, I have no real problem with mM. It needs to be contestable, but conservative laziness & lack of intellect could provide no contest.

        • Gezza 6.3.2.1
          6 January 2022 at 12:57 pm

          I have no real problem with mM. It needs to be contestable, but conservative laziness & lack of intellect could provide no contest.

          How do you mean Mātauranga Māori needs to be contestible?

          It is often wrapped up with mythological concepts as a means of facilitating memory.

          So for example the mātauranga around growing and harvesting harakeke (flax) is spoken about in Māoridom in terms of the plant being a whanau, with children at the centre of the plant, so flax leaves are cut from outside – the tūpuna leaves.

          https://eng.keitemohiokoe.tki.org.nz/Overview-of-Biology/Harakeke-1/Harvesting-harakeke

          • Dennis Frank 6.3.2.1.1
            6 January 2022 at 1:27 pm

            How do you mean Mātauranga Māori needs to be contestible?

            Contestable in designing legislation (select committee scrutiny), then in how the policy is implemented. I meant re the "debate over giving matauranga Māori equal status with physics, biology and chemistry in the NCEA science syllabus".

            We don't know enough to be more precise at this stage. So the thing will advance in credibility if it is framed for consensus. If framing is partisan, opposition gets more opportunity for leverage…

      • Gypsy 6.3.3
        6 January 2022 at 1:38 pm

        It's not an 'alternative'. Mataurangi Maori is not science, it is valuable observational knowledge which also happens to be intertwined with Maori spiritual concepts. Science attempts to explain natural observations with reference to the natural world. There are numerous observations of the natural world in the Bible, but that isn't science, and shouldn't be taught as such in schools. Nor should matauranga Maori.

      • Foreign waka 6.3.4
        6 January 2022 at 6:22 pm

        If this equates to the mathematical science that made it possible to get the mars voyage under way please bring the proof. Otherwise, in the field of science NZ will become the laughing stock internationally.

        I am aware that this sounds offensive but I can reassure you, this is what will be seen in the very competitive field of science. BTW Science always was competitive, never benevolent.

        Traditional lore is present in all cultures and is not called science.

        As for the assertion the science based on mathematics and literature to record this – it is distinctly not Western but middle eastern and Asian.

    • Gypsy 6.4
      6 January 2022 at 1:46 pm

      "Can anyone here elucidate this?"
      Sure.

      The infamous Listener letter was prompted by a Ministry of Education Technical Report (Ministry of Education, 2021a) which recommended:

      1. "Parity in the Māori school curriculum for mātauranga Māori with other bodies of knowledge
      2. Discussion and analysis within the NCEA of the ways in which science has supported the dominance of Eurocentric views, including science’s use as a rationale for colonisation of Māori and the suppression of Māori knowledge
      3. Discussion within the NCEA of the notion that science is a Western European invention and itself evidence of European dominance over Māori and other indigenous peoples."

      Matauranga Maori is a knowledge system that has valuable insights, but it's fundamental basis is Maori spirituality, and as such has no more place in the education curriculum than any other religious text with similar claims.

      • Dennis Frank 6.4.1
        6 January 2022 at 2:12 pm

        Righto. Thanks for that clarification! I agree with whoever wrote the report that the three recommendations are worth considering. Here's why:

        Re #1, such curriculum parity serves to implement Te Tiriti – inasmuch as the principle of racial parity can be read between the lines of that. Happy to concede that yourself & others may not be able to discern it lying there! Doesn't matter. Maori will. Plus sufficient numbers of pakeha who give credence to the spirit of the treaty (rather than the colonial artifact itself) to be politically crucial to our future.

        Re #2, that will serve as useful education to get participants up to speed on the ways science has been misused in governance – provided that suitable examples are both found and deployed in the instruction.

        Re #3, it seems supplementary to #2 and one may need a microscope to spot the difference between them. Americans would undoubtedly deem their exclusion culturally offensive. Some would likely call it racist (inaccurately).

        • Gypsy 6.4.1.1
          6 January 2022 at 4:06 pm

          " I agree with whoever wrote the report that the three recommendations are worth considering. "

          In a sociology context, not a scientific one.

          • Dennis Frank 6.4.1.1.1
            6 January 2022 at 4:50 pm

            a sociology context, not a scientific one

            Yes, insofar as the former is more relevant, but I really meant in a political context in general & Labour's collective interests in particular (whilst declaring I'm not a Labour supporter I do support their hamfisted attempts to make progress – in principle)… indecision

  7. Jenny how to get there 7
    6 January 2022 at 8:48 am

    The 'Little Parliament' strikes again.

    A victory for democracy, and justice.

    BLM protesters acquitted over pulling down of slave trader statue

    ……"We are ecstatic and stunned," said Rhian Graham, one of the four protesters cleared by a jury of criminal damage following a trial at Bristol Crown Court.

    https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/politics/1872531-uk-blm-protesters-acquitted-over-pulling-down-of-slave-trader-statue

  8. Dennis Frank 8
    6 January 2022 at 9:43 am

    Unreal, the shit going down in the USA…

    The girl, Arianna Delane, was reportedly asleep in a front room of a Houston apartment at around 3 a.m. when an unknown assailant fired several shots into the second-story unit, hitting her in the torso. She was left with a punctured lung and liver, and three broken ribs, a family friend told local outlet KHOU-11.

    ABC13 reporter Mycah Hatfield said the apartment where Arianna was wounded was the same one where members of Floyd’s family gathered to watch the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck until he died.

    Although Arianna’s mother rushed her to a hospital straight away, police reportedly did not arrive until around four hours after the incident, reported CBS DFW, a local outlet. Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said Tuesday that his department launched an internal affairs investigation into the response time.

    Derrick Delane told ABC13 he had reason to believe his home had been targeted, not simply unlucky. But Houston police have not yet identified any suspects.

    https://www.huffpost.com/entry/4-year-old-shot-in-houston-george-floyd-niece_n_61d5b2d3e4b0c7d8b8aaadaa

    • Gezza 8.1
      6 January 2022 at 12:44 pm

      Could just be coincidence. Gun crime is so rife in the US and Floyd had connections with drugs, so maybe his family do as well. Not enough information in that article to suggest anything particularly out of the ordinary or "unreal" to me.

      One to watch – for the outcome of the internal investigation into the police delay in attending, though.

  9. Anker 9
    6 January 2022 at 11:42 am
    • A question for all you well informed covid vaccination people (hopefully you don’t mind me picking your brains…
    • we are booked to get our booster soon. Have had two Pfizer to date. A friend of mine told me in passing you are better to get a different vaccine for your third jab.
    • Anyone know.?
    • I have not be following covid so much, just doing all the stuff to be safe for self and others (especially the medical people)
  10. joe90 10
    6 January 2022 at 11:47 am

    Of course Soimom is a fan of the multimillionaire representing the second-poorest state in the union who denied his own constituents desperately needed relief in a pandemic.

    Because poor people.

    spit

    https://twitter.com/nastywoman60/status/1476557623885451270

    Why Grant Robertson should listen to US Senator Joe Manchin

    Simon Bridges05:00, Jan 06 2022

    […]

    The reason is that, in an evenly divided senate of 100, Manchin’s fellow Democrat, President Joe Biden, needs his support to pass the sweeping $2 trillion (yes, trillion) Build Back Better plan​.

    Manchin, though, on the eve of Christmas, decided to vote against the bill. His view is that the US already has high inflation, that inflation is hurting workers and families in his state, and that all the spending in the proposal would simply fuel that inflation.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/127437830/why-grant-robertson-should-listen-to-us-senator-joe-manchin

    • Nic the NZer 10.1
      6 January 2022 at 12:58 pm

      Simon managed to mention the last time inflation was even higher than present. It was due to a GST increase price adjustment imposed by National.

      He also mentions that wages grew by only 2.4% and below inflation but fails to note the likely implication of that is that the increase will likely not be sustainable and will be a short term price adjustment.

      Maybe try again when you figure out how to get most people above inflation pay raises, Simon.

      • Foreign waka 10.1.1
        6 January 2022 at 6:51 pm

        The only way to do that is with two implementations:

        Remove GST on rates (its a tax on the tax)

        Remove GST on fresh vegetables and bread

        Monitor all prices whether retailers increase their margins and impose Tax penalties if they do.

        This would make a real difference to the vast majority of people, working or on a benefit. It is color blind, race neutral and helps children the most.

    • joe90 11.1
      6 January 2022 at 12:12 pm

      Stewart rows it back.

      “I do not think J.K. Rowling is antisemitic. I did not accuse her of being antisemitic,” Stewart said. “I do not think the Harry Potter movies are antisemitic. I really love the Harry Potter movies, probably too much for a gentleman of my considerable age.”

      Stewart added, “I cannot stress this enough. I am not accusing J.K. Rowling of being antisemitic. She need not answer to any of it. I don’t want the Harry Potter movies censored in any way. It was a lighthearted conversation. Get a fucking grip.”

      https://archive.li/Awjzq

      https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/campaign-against-antisemitism-defends-j-k-rowling-jon-stewart-goblin-claims-1278891/

    • weka 11.2
      6 January 2022 at 6:55 pm

      I don't get it, possibly because I've not see the films nor read the book. Are the goblins in the film true in imagery to the descriptions of the goblins in the books?

      • arkie 11.2.1
        6 January 2022 at 7:19 pm

        I haven’t read the books but some have argued the imagery of the films seems to have played on antisemitic stereotypes of bankers:

        It is not often that I am stopped in my tracks. But the press photography from the new Gringotts wing of Warner Bros’ Harry Potter Studio tour positively shrieked with antisemitic tropes; the long-nosed goblin, his natty suit, clawed fingers caressing a pile of gold coins. When I positioned a Gringotts shot alongside a series of cartoons from Nazi Germany’s Der Stürmer, it did not seem out of place.

        https://www.thejc.com/comment/comment/harry-potter-is-gringotts-picture-antisemitic-1.482785

        • weka 11.2.1.1
          6 January 2022 at 7:54 pm

          I get that bit, just wasn't sure if the books are the same (and whether JKR is responsible for the film imagery). I'm guessing there is some similarity (the film just didn't make this up), but everyone is talking as though we've all read the books and seen the film.

      • Sabine 11.2.2
        6 January 2022 at 7:39 pm

        goblins are beings that live underground, are associated with minind, minting and gold. Generally referred to as small, cunning, some what mean tempered, and involved in 'banking'.

        https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Goblin

        Description

        Physical appearance

        Goblins were short and fair-skinned, as they spent very little time outside. They had very long fingers and feet, dome-shaped heads and were slightly larger than house-elves. Griphook, one of the hundreds of goblins working at Gringotts, had a bald head, pointed nose, and pointed ears. Some had dark, slanted eyes, and some goblins even wore pointed hats.[4]

        Now one can argue that the fact that the Goblins are the bankers is 'anti semitic' per se. However, the words above are the words from her book.

        the goblins in the film looked like that

        https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Goblin?file=Griphook.png

        now according to John Steward his words were taken out of context, 'fuck news week' he said, and fwiw, i honestly believe that if he would have thought that about the Goblins that he would have been in a really good position to point that out 20 Years ago when the films were first relieved as host of the Daily Show.
        https://dobrzen.com/jon-stewart-shreds-newsweek-for-claiming-he-accused-j-k-rowling-of-antisemitism-you-used-to-mean-something/

        Maybe this really is just another thing that poeple want to be truth about the witch from scotland who believes that non males used to be called something, something particular that no one really can't quite remember anymore.

        and again with trigger warning, the daily fail reporting where the left dare not go to

        https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10370787/Jewish-charity-defends-J-K-Rowling-Harry-Potter-anti-Semitism.html

        But Jewish fans were quick to note that the author has consistently called out anti-Semitism in recent years; including as a frequent critic of Jeremy Corbyn during his leadership of the Labour Party and when she refused to join a cultural boycott of Israel.

        And Dave Rich, director of policy at Jewish charity the Community Security Trust, told MailOnline that Rowling had been 'very supportive' of the Jewish community.

        He said: 'JK Rowling has been very supportive of the Jewish community in recent years and tweeted repeatedly against antisemitism, so it is hard to imagine that she used anti-semitic caricatures in her books. Sometimes a goblin is just a goblin.'

        Comedian David Baddiel also waded in, adding: 'The goblins in Harry Potter need to be seen not in a simplistic #teamRowling vs #antiteamRowling way but in a many-centuries long, deeply subconsciously embedded cultural context.'

        Author and literature expert Nicholas Jubber told MailOnline: 'Rowling appears to have followed traditions in British fantasy literature. The old German word, 'kobold', gave us the word 'cobalt', signalling the association of these creatures with mining for precious ores. So it makes sense that goblins would be linked with vaults and underground storage.'

        One could argue that the description of goblins is based on old – very old anti semitism that goes back to medieval times, but for what its worth, i don't think that JKR really did go there.

        So either someone tried to use John Stewart to smear an accomplished but opinionated and unimpressed author of the best selling books series, or John Stewart did try to smear the very opinionated author of a best selling book series and he got a call from her lawyer. And i would bet a dollar that she is way richer then he is. Take your pick.
        Last, i hope that the NZ Herald has it in them to also print the fact that John Stewart is saying NO i did not say nor mean that. (not holding my breath though)

        • weka 11.2.2.1
          6 January 2022 at 7:56 pm

          One could argue that the description of goblins is based on old – very old anti semitism that goes back to medieval times

          I was wondering if they arose originally because of anti-semitism in the middle ages, but google didn't help.

          • Sabine 11.2.2.1.1
            6 January 2022 at 8:07 pm

            In the german story telling a kobold (goblin) is a magic small being. Can be good, can be mean, depending on the situation. Is often blamed for mechanical failure. Is associated with metals, mining, minting, hording. A mixture of a dwarf and an elf. A person, that should you cross one, you have to be honest with, show no fear, and above all don't try to bs your way out if you are having issues with them. Small but mighty, easily annoyed, angered, dread full temperament. Kobolde in german story telling are many things, but they are always small, cunning, not easily frightened, full of magic, and should never be taken for fools.

            Rumpelstilzchen is a bit of a goblin.

  12. Peter 12
    6 January 2022 at 12:28 pm

    Kind of funny if the only Australian courts Djokovic gets access to are the law courts.

  13. Gezza 13
    6 January 2022 at 1:29 pm

    Here are the pooklets videoed on 2 & 3 January 2022. They've just started turning blue in front and on the underside. It always seems to happen suddenly, almost overnight.

    https://vimeo.com/662802938

    And here they are when I first videoed them on 8 December 2021, then about a week old:

    https://streamable.com/5ryqvs

  14. Blazer 14
    6 January 2022 at 2:49 pm

    Natz finance spokesperson Simon Bridges should do some research on Manchin…

    Why Grant Robertson should listen to US Senator Joe Manchin | Stuff.co.nz

    Manchin has done virtually zero to help West Virginians.

    Senator Joe Manchin has a net worth of $5million, according to Ballotpedia.

    He reportedly makes $174,000 annually from his job in the government.

    When the Senator is not working, he can typically be found aboard his $250,000 boat.

    Joe Manchin’s Dirty Empire (theintercept.com)

    • Stuart Munro 14.1
      6 January 2022 at 5:46 pm

      Well – that explains Simon's (JLR was my Chinese bagman) approval.

      • Blazer 14.1.1
        6 January 2022 at 8:40 pm

        Well when I heard Simon was the Natz shadow finance minister,I realised Robertson would have a walk in the park.

        I still remember Simons shitty deal with Anadarko…talk about N.F.I!

        • Stuart Munro 14.1.1.1
          6 January 2022 at 8:52 pm

          We may joke about him – but we really need an opposition that would compel the govt. to lift their game.

          Robertson needs to be coming up with a few solutions to improve the housing affordability crisis irrespective of the abysmal quality of opposition members.

          • Blazer 14.1.1.1.1
            6 January 2022 at 8:54 pm

            No argument there Stuart…the housing crisis could be solved by 'lunchtime' imo.

  15. McFlock 15
    6 January 2022 at 9:10 pm

    lols
    dude tweeting that a disease is nothing to worry about, as 96% of people are asymptomatic or have only mild symptoms. Good body of evidence. Passes the initial wikipedia test. That disease?

    Polio.

    https://twitter.com/kevpluck/status/1478996570653691904

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  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #15
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  • Feline Friends and Fragile Fauna The Complexities of Cats in New Zealand’s Conservation Efforts

    Cats, with their independent spirit and beguiling purrs, have captured the hearts of humans for millennia. In New Zealand, felines are no exception, boasting the highest national cat ownership rate globally [definition cat nz cat foundation]. An estimated 1.134 million pet cats grace Kiwi households, compared to 683,000 dogs ...

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    5 days ago

  • Or is that just they want us to think?
    Nice guy, that Peter Williams. Amiable, a calm air of no-nonsense capability, a winning smile. Everything you look for in a TV presenter and newsreader.I used to see him sometimes when I went to TVNZ to be a talking head or a panellist and we would yarn. Nice guy, that ...
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  • Fact Brief – Did global warming stop in 1998?
    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 in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Did global warming stop in ...
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  • Arguing over a moot point.
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  • No Longer Trusted: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
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  • Mortgage rates at 10% anyone?
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  • Sad tales from the left
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  • In Whose Best Interests?
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  • Don’t Question, Don’t Complain.
    It has to start somewhereIt has to start sometimeWhat better place than here?What better time than now?So it turns out that I owe you all an apology.It seems that all of the terrible things this government is doing, impacting the lives of many, aren’t necessarily ‘bad’ per se. Those things ...
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    6 days ago

  • Auckland faces 25% water inflation shock
    Three Waters became a focus of anti-Government protests under Labour, but its dumping by the new Government hasn’t solved councils’ funding problems and will eventually hit the back pockets of everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 8:06 am today are:The Government ...
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  • Small accomplishments and large ironies
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  • The Song of Saqua: Volume VII
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  • Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
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  • Government commits $20m to Westport flood protection
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    16 hours ago

  • Taupō takes pole position
    The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
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  • Cost of living support for low-income homeowners
    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners.  “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
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  • Government backing mussel spat project
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    20 hours ago

  • Government focused on getting people into work
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    22 hours ago

  • Clean energy key driver to reducing emissions
    The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
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    23 hours ago

  • Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forward
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  • Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic Partnership
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  • Government consults on extending coastal permits for ports
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    2 days ago

  • Inflation coming down, but more work to do
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    2 days ago

  • School attendance restored as a priority in health advice
    Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
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    2 days ago

  • Unnecessary bureaucracy cut in oceans sector
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    2 days ago

  • Patterson promoting NZ’s wool sector at International Congress
    Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector.    "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
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  • Removing red tape to help early learners thrive
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  • RMA changes to cut coal mining consent red tape
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  • McClay reaffirms strong NZ-China trade relationship
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  • Prime Minister Luxon acknowledges legacy of Singapore Prime Minister Lee
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.   Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
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  • PMs Luxon and Lee deepen Singapore-NZ ties
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    4 days ago

  • Antarctica New Zealand Board appointments
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    4 days ago

  • Finance Minister travels to Washington DC
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  • Pet bonds a win/win for renters and landlords
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  • Long Tunnel for SH1 Wellington being considered
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  • New Zealand condemns Iranian strikes
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  • Huge interest in Government’s infrastructure plans
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    7 days ago

  • Health Minister thanks outgoing Health New Zealand Chair
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board.   “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti.  “I have asked her to ...
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  • Roads of National Significance planning underway
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  • Navigating an unstable global environment
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  • NZ welcomes Australian Governor-General
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
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  • Pseudoephedrine back on shelves for Winter
    Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
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    7 days ago

  • NZ and the US: an ever closer partnership
    New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
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    1 week ago

  • Joint US and NZ declaration
    April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
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  • NZ and US to undertake further practical Pacific cooperation
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research.   “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
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  • Government redress for Te Korowai o Wainuiārua
    The Government is continuing the bipartisan effort to restore its relationship with iwi as the Te Korowai o Wainuiārua Claims Settlement Bill passed its first reading in Parliament today, says Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith. “Historical grievances of Te Korowai o Wainuiārua relate to 19th century warfare, land purchased or taken ...
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    1 week ago

  • Focus on outstanding minerals permit applications
    New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals is working to resolve almost 150 outstanding minerals permit applications by the end of the financial year, enabling valuable mining activity and signalling to the sector that New Zealand is open for business, Resources Minister Shane Jones says.  “While there are no set timeframes for ...
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    1 week ago

  • Applications open for NZ-Ireland Research Call
    The New Zealand and Irish governments have today announced that applications for the 2024 New Zealand-Ireland Joint Research Call on Agriculture and Climate Change are now open. This is the third research call in the three-year Joint Research Initiative pilot launched in 2022 by the Ministry for Primary Industries and Ireland’s ...
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    1 week ago

  • Tenancy rules changes to improve rental market
    The coalition Government has today announced changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to encourage landlords back to the rental property market, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “The previous Government waged a war on landlords. Many landlords told us this caused them to exit the rental market altogether. It caused worse ...
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    1 week ago

  • Boosting NZ’s trade and agricultural relationship with China
    Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay will visit China next week, to strengthen relationships, support Kiwi exporters and promote New Zealand businesses on the world stage. “China is one of New Zealand’s most significant trade and economic relationships and remains an important destination for New Zealand’s products, accounting for nearly 22 per cent of our good and ...
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    1 week ago

  • Freshwater farm plan systems to be improved
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    1 week ago

  • New Fast Track Projects advisory group named
    The coalition Government has today announced the expert advisory group who will provide independent recommendations to Ministers on projects to be included in the Fast Track Approvals Bill, say RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones. “Our Fast Track Approval process will make it easier and ...
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    1 week ago

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