Did anybody see Garner on the AM show this morning? I couldn’t believe the crap I was hearing. Switched the TV on and Garner was waxing lyrically how this government has to seek out the best people to get the country up and running again, therefore should seek the best brain going John f**king Key.
Doesn't that prick realise that Key has the same political Neo-Liberal philosophy that has caused this pandemic.? Then the dick went on to say the government has to stop being politically "tribal" by seeking out the likes of the f**king spiv.
Talk about pot kettle and all that jazz.
Then the camera swung to that Cheshire cat grinning pea-brained prat called Richardson, fortunately, I managed to change channels to Aljeezera before I heard any snippets of bile and shit dribble from his mouth.
Yes and as a result I switched to Mayor Bill de Blasio's live presser from NY.
garner is like….. but key knows world leaders and blah blah.
I'm thinking world leaders will be like who the hell is john key?
But mention Jacinda and those same world leaders know who she is.
As for richardson and sport, I'm getting rather sick of hearing how we should all feel sorry for overpaid sports people having to take a pay cut and get a real job. Let's have a science or arts segment instead.
Jake Tapper wouldn't be looking to shoot the messenger would he? Meanwhile, is it Coumo as Governor or Di Blasio as Mayor who's responsible for slashing health care? Well…
While New York’s health system, already hobbled by years of neglect, buckled under the coronavirus outbreak, Cuomo wanted to cut $2.5 billion in state Medicaid funding, even though doing so would mean forfeiting $6.7 billion in federal aid. He wanted to slash state funding for education. As the pandemic eviscerates state revenue, he wanted to avoid any increase in taxes on the ultra-rich and instead balance the books by cutting muscle and bone from critical social services.
The quote from Di Blasio –
…only in the last really 48 hours or so do they [NYC Health Dept] feel they’ve seen evidence around the world, particularly a new study coming out of Singapore, that shows more evidence that this disease can be spread by asymptomatic people,” de Blasio responded.
But there's Democratic Party politics and an idea to give Coumo a leg up to position of Democratic Party nominee, which I guess goes hand in hand with bagging anyone associated with Sander's ongoing campaign…
And…encouraging offshore trusts until IRD wanted more than an A4 sheet in the wake of the “Panama Papers”, and 10, 000 or so promptly disappeared, and with them the Trust “Industry” our glorious ex leader personally helped establish.
Mr Key represented Finance Capital above all else during his time in politics. He is not required now, to put it politely.
"Did anybody see Garner on the AM show this morning?"
Nope – but I heard the screams of hilarity from the living room when he suggested John Key ride to our rescue. With JA doing a solid job, Garner was just trying to insert someone from National back into the frame. Plus showing his weakling desire to be 'led' by someone at every turn. I suggested Yanis Varoufakis as an alternative. Although Yanis might not be to everyone's taste, he'd have the virtue of understanding something about economies, history and human cultures – talents Key conspicuously lacks.
Key had the EQC to support his government financially with the Christchurch earthquakes. For the last 3 years the current government has been trying to give claimants closure.
Key has shown with his track record that he is not the person for the job to manage the huge impact Covid-19 is going to have on the NZ economy.
A letter by Fiona Farrell on the Spinoff, dated 5/4/2020. It’s about Ardern’s blend of pragmatism and kindness.
I got a photo from a mate this morning of a US soldier in WW2 carrying a donkey on his back across a grassy field. It seems the story is the donkey was being carried because it was a mine field.
Kindness.
The donkey was also being carried because a loose donkey wandering a minefield endangers the men about it.
Pragmatism.
It goes on. "The moral of the story is that in difficult times the first people you have to keep under control are the jackasses who don't understand the danger and do as they please."
If it is the picture I think it is then alas, it is untrue. The picture is from 1958 and the Algerian war, and it shows a member of the French Foreign Legion carrying a starving and exhausted donkey he had found. He took it back to his base, the Legionnaires nursed it back to health, and made it the base mascot.
Still a lovely story, but not quite the COVID parable as some would say.
Yeah, I wondered about that picture too Mac1 as the soldier in the background heading in a different direction is obviously a jackass. I think Murray was trying to illustrate with humour a valuable lesson for the times. Of course if this was an American comment, they would point out that no wonder the cheese-eating surrender monkeys never won a war they were too busy being kind and sympathetique . I know whom I prefer.
That one. Didn’t check the link as there was no explanation as to what I was being directed to. Sometimes attempts at being succinct are self-defeating.
Question about Newshub given Tova O'Brien's utterly hopeless performance yesterday – why is your political reporter at the health briefings? Accoring to the interwebs, you have a health report called Lucy Warhurst.
O'Brien seems incapable of escaping the gotcha obsessed, horse race analyst bullying cynicism that is apparently the normal culture of the press gallery. Surely you would get more intelligent questions from a properly informed health reporter?
The question is relevant to all news outlets really. I mean, why is Audrey Young writing the main update pieces for the Herald? Don't they trust their younger reporters like Emaa Russell? Do they think clinging to fossils from the 1980s accurately reflects their audience or something?
I don’t watch the commercial networks and I actively avoid anything to do with Tova O’Brien but aren’t all the press gallery journos at the daily Covid-19 updates?
As for Audrey, the way the Herald is going she’ll be the only on left on the payroll soon writing everything.
I've noticed that Jacinda Ardern gives O'Brien a subtle cold shoulder at her pressers. She will respond to her politely but briefly and move straight on to another journo before O'Brien gets a chance to respond.
Tova has no-one to blame but herself with her immature approach… as if its all about one up-man-ship.
I noticed at the press conference Ardern responded to O'Brien's question including "Tova" in the response. I thought it maybe was a bit of a way of highlighting who was asking such questions.
Goodness me Boris Johnson has been hospitalised in the UK with Coronavirus… Now, let's go find all those right wing British types who laughed like drains when that Iranian minister died.
NO ONE deserves to die of this virus, not the old the the young not those with co-morbidity and even not a twat conservative toff PM or an Iranian health minister. NO ONE.
Yes he is, NHS, which quite astounds me, as I've always not minded private hospitals for those that can afford it, coz I couldn't care less, but it's a bit cheeky of Johnson really, unless of course, public health really is a lot better.
Maybe Boris will have more respect for the NHS now? Back in September a father of a sick child gave him a message about using a hospital for a photo opportunity.
And the UK government a few weeks back toyed with the out of letting the virus spread to build herd immunity, while the elderly and immune compromised were to self isolate.
Looks like Sweden and The Netherlands are moving to ditch their (relatively) light-handed approach to social distancing and will move to more comprehensive lockdown measures. Both countries are seeing increasing mortality and exponential growth of infection.
Meanwhile discord between northern and southern Europe continues to grow. The Italians have reacted with fury to what they see as Dutch indifference to the crisis that has developed in Italy, Spain and France and the Spanish PM has again called for the Eurozone to issue so-called “Corona bonds” as part of a new Marshall Plan to kick start growth across the bloc.
One of the more stupid takes on NZ's response is to say "Look over there, let's do that", picking some other nation, chosen after doing minimal inquiry.
Popular picks: Want to go softer? Sweden. Want to go harder? Singapore.
Both are getting worse. Sure, they might end up doing better than average in the end, who knows? But let's dispense with the comforting illusion that there's some easy option out there.
OK I will just come out and say it Bill Gates is a predatory arsehole and the company through which he has made his vast fortune has done so thru the very worst sort of monopolistic dirty tricks that held back development of operating systems and foisted a basically broken expensive load of crap on almost all of our essential systems. Didnt watch the "Bill Gates recons on covid" posted by lprent. Not remotely interested.
Given the problems with developing vaccines for any corona type virus, immune enhancement etc, where the fix has been more dangerous than the disease coupled with the pharmaceutical industries less than stirling safety record I won't be lining up for a vaccine for this thing in a year to 18 months. The time frame is too short for adequate safety testing.
Did you actually read what I wrote? If you are keen to be a Guinea pig for something rushed through and not safety tested properly be my guest. No need to be rude to people who want to be sure the fix is not worse than the problem.
Hurt feelz or not, this ain't going to be business as usual, where the selfish among us who are unwilling to accept the risks of immunisation get to freeload on the backs of those who accept the risks for the well being of the herd.
Vaccines, like any other medical agent, have to undergo a rigorous and lengthy approval process to determine safety, tolerability, and effectiveness (does it work?). This is a step-wise process and trials with humans start with small groups. Depending on the urgency, some of these steps (trials) may be fast-tracked but this can lead to disappointing results down the track and even complete recall because of safety issues (e.g. severe adverse events, even deaths, in a minority of patients).
If C19 is going to circle the globe, wave after wave, for several years there will be a clear choice, isolation or vaccination. And pro-plague numpties who presently get to ride on the backs of others will have a choice too; vaccination, or if they don't and they're a threat to those who for valid medical reasons can't be vaccinated, isolation.
Are you for real. What if the answer kills more or creates more disease? Some world experts on vaccines are talking about this. Not anti vax or pro vax as is implied in your posts but about making sure we are doing the right thing. This is not simple and not binary.
I tried you point out that you can be a Guinea pig in different types of trials with different risk levels. I also tried to point out that these trials take time. No authority in its right mind will allow mass vaccination without at least some data to show safety, tolerability, and effectiveness. What I forgot to mention is that we might not see such a vaccine in the foreseeable future although there are lots of encouraging noises coming from experts. Until that time, we’ll have to rely on other strategies.
xanthe, I agree with your Gates comment and sentiment 100 percent, bravo! And absolutely wouldn’t go near anything gates is offering vaccine wise, the medicine is already available to cure but no big dollars for big pharma in it.
That accounts for the skin crawly feeling I had watching the two Gates clips on lptrents post.
And what's with the gesticulating? There's another rich blokey type featuring in American media at the moment who does that hand wavey thing. I wonder if they are related?
Along with the accolades presenting his organisation as the Saviours of the Third World, there are just as many sites critiquing and even damning it's Good Works.
You can be an arsehole and still do good. Not everything happens at the same point in time either, necessarily. There is no absolute Black & White, only shades of grey.
Yeah he is a rich prick and therefore by definition the lowest of the low – but unlike many of his kind he and his wife are in the process of giving away a large proportion of their wealth to those at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder, and doing it in a sensitive and sustainable way to improve living conditions and healthy outcomes for many. You can find out more about what the Gates Foundation is doing in places like Africa here:
That's true when that article was written. The "wealth" of all those 0.1%ers is actually paper wealth, based upon the value of the stocks they hold at the time. With the US stock market going through the roof at that stage it was very difficult not to continually increase your "worth". It will e a different story at the moment and a lot of Billionaires will suddenly be worth a whole lot less.
Nevertheless, the Gates giving of $45B US to overseas development aid is not an insignificant amount, and they are still giving.
Sure, $45 billion is not an insignificant amount, in fact it's an impossible amount of money for any one person to accumulate through 'hard work'. That some billionaires will be worth less due to stock market fluctuations does not effect their material holdings, for example a ostentatious $127 million dollar mansion (https://www.businessinsider.com/crazy-facts-about-bill-gates-house-2016-11?r=AU&IR=T). Billionaires should not exist period.
Well yes, the ideology that motivates Gates' philanthropy is better than that of the Kochs but that's not a particularly high bar. He still gets to use his unseemly wealth, and consequent power, to push his own ideological barrows, this is unacceptable in a supposed democracy. An example:
The Gates Foundation’s first significant foray into education reform, in 1999, revolved around Bill Gates’ conviction that the big problem with high schools was their size. Students would be better off in smaller schools of no more than 500, he believed. The foundation funded the creation of smaller schools, until its own study found that the size of the school didn’t make much difference in student performance. When the foundation moved on, school districts were left with costlier-to-run small schools.
Sure, one might even call it an exceptionally low bar. But even the schools thing was about trying to improve education for people, not to do as much as possible to make the world burn after he's dead.
The one thing Gates and the Kochs have in common is opposition to any kind tax that prevents their continued wealth-hoarding.
‘I’ve paid over $10 billion in taxes. … I’ve paid more than anyone in taxes, but I’m glad to — if I’d had to pay $20 billion, it’s fine. But when you say I should pay $100 billion, then I’m starting to do a little math about what I have left over. … I’m just kidding.’
He may be joking but he would still have roughly $6 billion after that. That's still too much for one person. An analogy of time to really fathom the figures; 1 milllion seconds ≈ 12 days, 1 billion seconds ≈ 32 years. No philanthropic largesse can justify the inequity.
Well, not really knobless obligay (as Nanny Ogg put it).
Yes, he's obscenely wealthy.
Yes, his company has been ripped on multiple times for a shoddy product and monopolistic practises.
But the man has spent a decade looking at infectious diseases and dealing with people in the full range of infectious disease management, from scientists to politicians to physicians to sufferers. I'd go with his reckons over pretty much anyone here when it comes to disease management and elimination.
Maybe eliminating disease is just a folly of the uber wealthy. But it's a more worthy folly than putting shiny balls in the sky or funding conservative astroturf campaigns.
Yes his dedication to an admirable cause in disease eradication is objectively a good thing. He’s learning from experts in the field and his foundation celebrates their successes, which are not follies, and I do not dispute the content of his message, I just prefer our system, here, where the expert advice is dispensed through our MOH rather than say Alan Gibbs on Seven Sharp.
In any event, I will continue to insist that the existence of billionaires represents a broken system, and they are complicit in the inequity in their society. No one has earned a billion dollars.
BTW, I meant "folly" in the sense of rich people throwing money at things with more form than function in mind – that sort of foolishness of decorative buildings, rather than a doomed undertaking.
Ah, i get you. I won't dispute that, and probably should have read upthread more thoroughly, I was mostly reacting to being directed to a Gates Foundation website.
so much for what Wayne was saying yesterday that National would be doing exactly what the coalition are doing re Covid19. I don’t think so……..and for all of those citing Sweden as the great way forward, their death toll is rising more rapidly than their neighbours in Finland and Norway who are in a much tighter lock down……and it appears they are about to pull the plug on their lockdown lite
I did laugh at Dr Waynes comment that the Nats would have shut our borders sooner, the same party that gutted the border controls and let in that moth.
I note he equates forestry with agriculture, and while I feel for the poor buggers off work at the mo the glaring differences are live stock need constant care as opposed to pines . Most farm workers live on the job or travel to work singly as opposed to crew vans.
NOT the actual police. Just here for shits and giggles. Like means I’ve read it, not necessarily that I agree. Life's tough. Get a helmet. #TheGreaterGood
Scott Morison on Australia and their friends in the South Pacific. He is insisting on it being recognised by all that they need to commit to help fight Covid-19. He has to argue the case because it is over-riding the established callousness of the establishment to others around it, including NZs. Gosh all of a sudden they have to help; it must have been pointed out that there is a worthwhile cost-benefit to Oz to force these words out of their pursed-lips.
It is Australia’s duty – and in our national interest – to respond to the health and economic challenges caused by coronavirus in the Pacific
…As naturally as we are focused on ensuring Australia weathers the crisis, we must not lose sight of the immense challenge facing our Pacific friends.
A real friend is one that can be relied upon in a crisis. During Australia’s summer bushfire crisis, countries like Fiji and Papua New Guinea sent members of their defence forces to Australia to help with the emergency response. Governments and ordinary people in small countries like Vanuatu and Palau donated to Australian bushfire victims.
This is the time we can demonstrate our friendship to the Pacific island nations.
It is stated in this article that Australia is the region’s biggest aid donor. But that may be because for years China has been building relationships with Pacific Island countries and that makes Australia uneasy in a political points game.
The Pacific islands have grown as a strategic priority for China and the United States and its allies, including Australia, who are keen to lock in relationships with countries that control strategic waterways between the Americas and Asia.
Australia is the region’s biggest aid donor but Pacific islands have turned to China in recent years for budget assistance.
Not sure what'shapening in Auckland. I'm in the third day of quarantine in a Brisbane hotel after flying back from NZ (home is a boat not far from here and I can't afford the alternative – a Paihia hotel where I was staying at the time of the lockdown.) All quiet and reasonable amongst the 20 odd people coccooned here, but there are anecdotal reports of parties on the corridors of quarantine hotels elsewhere as well as waiters sevng glasses of wine to younger quarantiners (Sydney). Australia seems to have flattened the curve quite well, with NZ's cases per 1 mill. population just overtaking it today, but there are still a lot of inconsistencies. If there is a move to quarantining everyoneflying in to NZ it will have to be properly policed, with kindness, too. We understand the reasons here, but still feel like criminals!
As the main vector for infection in NZ seems to be returning international travelers he makes a reasonable point.
What do we do with those returning during lockdown – do we trust them to isolate but more importantly when we come out of lockdown and they continue to come in what do we do with them then ?
Muttonbird’s point is valid though. With the country in full lockdown it doesn’t actually matter who comes across the border. If we’re all doing what we’ve been asked to do arrivals can’t infect anyone. And there are hardly any flights arriving anyway. This close-the-borders narrative is just posturing from the usual suspects.
Posturing from the usual suspects, or manufacturing consent for very strict border quarantine once we get back to level 3 or 2?
Something it’s almost as if the Government is playing the opposition and media like a piano towards what’s going to happen 3 or 4 steps down the track.
Or everyone’s playing their role in managing this thing.
"What do we do with those returning during lockdown – do we trust them to isolate but more importantly when we come out of lockdown and they continue to come in what do we do with them then?"
People with symptoms are being quarantined (that's mandatory and monitored), not asked to self isolate. I'm guessing this will be true when we drop down a level or two. We're not going back to the old normal, we will need protocols that everyone understands for a long time.
Not sure I trust symptomless 20 somethings to obey protocols – I quite like the move by some of the countries overseas where they are tracking cellphones to provide some assurance of compliance.
Most people in their 20s won’t be parted from their cellphone for more than 5 minutes so quite an effective tool for tracking them.
If we knock this on the head soon and can lower our level to 3 or 2 the price of coming to nz has to be time in quarantine, if it takes two weeks so be it .
How long can it stay hidden from a test picking it up?
Last time I looked it was something like 4,000 people that would need to be quarantined. That's logistically a big move. They're probably in a better position to do that now than last week, and I assume the numbers are dropping.
I think I recall reading that the test can come out negative for 2 days or so after a person has been infected. That is actually a big problem, which means that huge amounts of testing will not achieve elimination. Only enforced isolation for the max time for symptoms to appear will achieve elimination.
(Unless you test the same person at about 6 days into isolation – that would accurately show the person to be uninfected. Re-test everyone after a 4-day interval in order to make testing accurate?)
it looks like a numbers game to me. Many people are assuming that every case of covid has to be caught and stopped. I think it's more about containing outbreaks, by dropping the transmission rate, and doing that in an imperfect world where one also has to take into account lots of complex factors eg the police required to monitor 6,000 people and quarantine them, those police have to be taken off other duties.
Everyone acting as if they have covid and not transmitting it seems a good baseline, no matter what other strategies are in place.
No, we're not. Most of us are staying at home, but plenty are still going to work. Many of of those are still going to supermarkets/chemist, and can have close contact with other people in their household
The people in actual quarantine aren't allowed to go out at all, can't go to the supermarket, cannot have any close contact with anyone (unless their health/disability care requires it). They are also being checked on by the police.
Here are the rules for people returning from overseas who have no symptoms. They have to self-isolate but aren't being quarantined.
I can't find the guidelines for people being quarantined, but this article from 26/3/20 talks about it a bit. My reading is that anyone arriving who has symptoms is quarantined i.e. the govt escorts them to a hotel and makes sure they stay there.
Bush also sought to clarify quarantine and triage measures for arriving passengers at Auckland airport.
“If you have any symptoms, you will be taken by health people to a place of quarantine. We have a number of hotel locations proximate to Auckland airport,” he said.
'Note also, "butchers" came up almost immediately. What the hell is the Nats' obsession with butchers? '
I think it's to do with the very significant dumping of stock and waste being experienced, I do admit to have a fair bit of sympathy I went to my local on the Wednesday before lockdown and they had been working under the assumption that the would be open through the whole period (with obvious restrictions on customers in the door) but only found out they were not considered essential at 11.30.
I think it's reasonable to ask questions of what is and isn't able to be open (or online) to inform decisions if we find ourselves in lockdown for > 4 weeks or in a repeat of lockdown later in the year.
Same here. In our case she was going to take my order over the phone – prepare the meat and place it in the freezer for when I could call down and pick it up. I cant see how this would be any different to that of the supermarket, except I wouldn't have to search through a pile of meat packages to find the one with three loin chops (3 in our household "bubble") rather than 2 or 4 if I'm lucky.
I had a quiet chuckle that the supermarket chain (Countdown?) accused of price hikes got away with a bit of double talk saying three factors affected their pricing, one being market forces.
Predatory price hikes and profiteering are the result of market forces lol
No, they aren't. They are the result of market forces (the actions of buyers and sellers) being constrained. In this case, the number of suppliers is being artificially constrained for no good reason.
Panic buying is a function of human behaviour, a behaviour that occurs in any type of economy. The difference is that in a market economy supply will match demand over time. Socialist economies just let people starve. (https://fee.org/articles/a-refresher-course-on-socialism-and-starvation/)
Your second link is unsubstantiated hyperbole from a survey of 2. Well done.
"There are literally only two variables on the capitalist chart…"
The equation price = supply v's demand is nuanced. There are other variables, such as who controls the supply. In the current situation, supply is controlled by fewer players than normal. That can't help either supply or prices, and it's a situation that should never have been allowed to exist.
Panic buying that increases demand is a market force that can increase short term prices.
So to say that there is no price gouging because prices are set, in part, by market forces is nonsense. Panic buying raises demand and that enables sellers to increase their prices. Simple market forces.
Wank all you want. Say there were only two complaints, all you want. The fact is people were perceiving price gouging before the drop in the number of suppliers, but well after panic buying set in. So take your defense of market forces and stick it where the hoarded toilet paper will eventually wipe it away.
"Panic buying that increases demand is a market force that can increase short term prices."
And in a market economy, supply then increases to meet demand.
"So to say that there is no price gouging because prices are set, in part, by market forces is nonsense."
It's just as well I didn't say that then.
"Panic buying raises demand and that enables sellers to increase their prices. Simple market forces."
Until supply chatches up and prices fall. Simple market forces. Unlike socilaist economies, where people starve.
"Say there were only two complaints, all you want. The fact is people were perceiving price gouging before the drop in the number of suppliers…"
Are a sample of 2, and purely anecdotal. I'm absolutely certain prices rose, becasue there was increased demand. Then supply caught up and the prices adjust. But no-ones starving.
Are a sample of 2, and purely anecdotal. I’m absolutely certain prices rose, becasue [sic] there was increased demand.
Is a sample of 2,100 also “purely anecdotal”? The answer is irrelevant, to you, because you’re “absolutely certain” that you’re right. Maybe you should share your knowledge with MBIE.
The issue of price gouging lead the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to create an email address for people to send in their concerns.
Since its launch one week ago, there have been over 2100 emails to the Price Watch inbox, a spokeswoman for MBIE said.
“MBIE is working hard to contact firms and understand the reasons for price increases,” she said.
"So to say that there is no price gouging because prices are set, in part, by market forces is nonsense."
It's just as well I didn't say that then.
No, the supermarket did. As usual, you are incapable of following a simple thread when it doesn't serve your purpose.
The idea that supply increases to meet demand omits the time lag that can mean literally terminal hardship in a fast-moving situation. Hence the empty shelves in supermarkets. Supply is not meeting demand for some items.
You refuse to match your market catechism with real-world observations.
You seem to think that you and your situation are somehow representative or can be extrapolated. You are wilfully blind and deaf to what other people are telling you. You patronise others with BS about “basic economics”. You clearly live in a tiny small bubble.
It's a fast moving situation. Any shortages lasted days, at most.
cf:
I shop regularly. There are very few items not in stock, and no essentials.
You can't even get your bullshit consistent. Are shortages in the past tense, or are they still happening?
And given a colleague was talking about the difficulty in finding any flour today, your "no essentials" is a joke.
No, the supermarket did."
So what?
Apparently, in reality goldfish have quite good memories. You, on the other hand, can't even keep track of a thread.
To recap:
supermarkets said they increased prices in response to market forces.
I said that market forces include increasing demand, such as panic buying.
You said it was because the govt limited the number of suppliers
I provided some evidence that people perceived price increases prior to the limitation on supplier numbers.
you quibbled about the evidence, but then followed on with the idea that supply increases to match demand
I said the problem with that is the lag time between supply meeting demand, which can have extreme repercussions
you forgot how the thread started and it apparently did not occur to you to reread it, because you're a bullshitting prick who pretends to be stupid when people take the time to confront his bullshit.
“You can't even get your bullshit consistent. Are shortages in the past tense, or are they still happening?”
Are you really that stupid? No, I suspect you just know you’re out of your depth. Shortages can be both present and past. They can be toilet paper one day, coca cola the next. In a market economy they correct themselves. In a socialist one, people starve.
“And given a colleague was talking about the difficulty in finding any flour today, your "no essentials" is a joke.”
Plenty of flour at Countdown St Lukes. More anecdotal bs from you and your colleagues.
“To recap:”
“You said it was because the govt limited the number of suppliers”
No, I said that was possibly a factor in why prices rise. (https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-06-04-2020/#comment-1698949) It is also a factor in many other things, such as lack of choice. If you think limiting competition in the supply of a product doesn't affect pricing, then I can understand why you're struggling.
“I provided some evidence that people perceived price increases prior to the limitation on supplier numbers.”
Perceived. Yes.
“I said the problem with that is the lag time between supply meeting demand, which can have extreme repercussions”
But provided zero evidence.
You’re out of your depth in this, McFlock. Economics is a relatively simple discipline, so it’s hard to understand why you find it so difficult. Hardly surprising Incognito is trying to help you out.
The only way you drag people out of their depth is to drown them in bullshit.
I've already acknowledged that supply is one part of the price equation. You agreed that demand can also be a factor, yet you refuse to admit that this might be the case when it comes to panic-buying in NZ.
But I'm sure we can agree that there was an increase in demand via panic-buying. So did people panic-buy and the market failed to adjust its prices, or did people panic-buy and there was price gouging?
"I've already acknowledged that supply is one part of the price equation. You agreed that demand can also be a factor, yet you refuse to admit that this might be the case when it comes to panic-buying in NZ."
No. Panic buying does increase demand, for a short term.
"But I'm sure we can agree that there was an increase in demand via panic-buying."
Yes, which then likely leads to less demand later. Unless people always want 100 rolls of toilet paper inn their bathrooms.
"So did people panic-buy and the market failed to adjust its prices, or did people panic-buy and there was price gouging?"
If panic buying increases demand…
…and increased demand leads to increased prices…
…then panic buying can be a component in increasing prices.
But then the market adjusts. By increasing supply, increasing pricing, or both.
"…did the recent panic-buying increase prices in NZ?
That would have been answered by my comment " Panic buying does increase demand, for a short term." and then "If panic buying increases demand……and increased demand leads to increased prices……then panic buying can be a component in increasing prices." I thought that was fairly clear.
"In other words, did the simple economic theory play out in real life?"
Of course it does. In a truly free market. And then supply matches demand and prices reach equilibrium.
But when the government decides that Countdown can sell meat but not the local butcher, Countdown profits and the consumer loses.
The equivocations were exceptionally clear. Try addressing panic-buying, and only panic-buying, in a sentence without equivocation.
It's a simple theory. You should be able to report it's effects in a simple manner. Something like "The recent panic-buying in NZ did increase prices". Less than ten words. Go on, don't be a bullshitter all your life. You can do it.
"Panic buying that increases demand is a market force that can increase short term prices." <And in a market economy, supply then increases to meet demand>. (See how I agreed with you there?)
"Panic buying raises demand and that enables sellers to increase their prices. Simple market forces." <Until supply chatches up and prices fall. > (And there).
Panic buying does increase demand, for a short term.
"But I'm sure we can agree that there was an increase in demand via panic-buying." <Yes, which then likely leads to less demand later. Unless people always want 100 rolls of toilet paper inn their bathrooms.>
"So did people panic-buy and the market failed to adjust its prices, or did people panic-buy and there was price gouging?" <If panic buying increases demand……and increased demand leads to increased prices……then panic buying can be a component in increasing prices. But then the market adjusts. By increasing supply, increasing pricing, or both.> (Wow, not sure I could have clearer there!)
And remember I said this " The equation price = supply v's demand is nuanced. There are other variables, such as who controls the supply." Panic buying creates demand, but that is only one part of the equation. For example, let's say there was panic buying of toilet paper at a time of over supply. Would prices rise? I'll give you a lollipop for a correct answer. But I'll take it back again for the economics lesson.
"Without equivocation, did the recent panic buying in NZ result in price increases? "
You didn't read the quotes, did you? Ok, I'll simplify.
Panic buying increases demand. Increased demand increases prices IF not met by a corresponding increase in supply.
And there's the point. Let's say people panic purchased meat. At the same time the government limits the supply of meat by closing off a significant share of the supply side of the market. So demand exceeds supply, at least in part because of a silly intervention in the market. Prices will rise.
Got it now? As a general rule, the less governments interfere in a market, the better it perfroms. There are exceptions, but they tend to be where these is sub-optimal levels of competition.
"Although if you spend your time with your head up your arse, maybe you don't see other people and the only entertainment to be had is the sound of your own voice.."
Oh dear. I've demonstrated you total ignorance of basic economics and now your crying to mummy. How quaint.
lol dance away, fool. Products in which there was panic-buying.
Over what time period?
lols that's just fucking stupid.
The essay approach failed, now you're trying to bog down by drawing out enough information to allow you to evade the question.
It doesn't matter either way.
Just answer the fucking question. Ten words, easy answer, it's not as nuanced as you think. Did the recent panic-buying in NZ result in price increases?
Fuck, it can be answered in one word. I say "yes". Do you say "no"?
edt: ““A normal person…”
…would not be running away from a discussion about economics to discus whether I rembered a single post from 2 weeks ago.”
You’re not that challenging, dude. I can do both. You can’t even answer a simple question.
…would not be running away from a discussion about economics to discus whether I remembered a single post from 2 weeks ago!
[I’m having to draw a line in the sandpit before someone gets hurt and starts crying to his mummy. This thread is now closed as far as I’m concerned; it did not lead to anything or anywhere useful and it likely to spiral further downwards. No more comments from any of us, thanks – Incognito]
What the hell does that have to do with supply from supermarkets? The people in your 'anecdote' don;t have a food shortage, they have a money shortage.
McFlock doesn’t need anything from me but you don’t seem to realise this. I merely pointed out that you’re misleading and dishonest. Your reply on 16 March 2020 was only a few weeks ago. Has it refreshed your “selective” memory? Yes, I’m serious. Why do you ask? Did you miss a little wink such as this 😉 ? I’m so sorry.
Do you really sling so much bullshit that you don't remember who you throw it at multiple times, even a few weeks ago? Not a glint of a feeling of familiarity?
Although if you spend your time with your head up your arse, maybe you don't see other people and the only entertainment to be had is the sound of your own voice..
I was waiting for your lame excuse about selective amnesia. You have been commenting heaps here lately and yet you claim not to know the other commenters. Heard of McFlock, by any chance?
I’m pointing out how disingenuous you are, and it comes across in your commenting. The “interference” is coming from you; you have become an annoying little troll. How quaint.
And you expect me to remember the name of a poster for a single comment made two weeks ago?
lol
A normal person would have a glint of recognition, yeah. Maybe not remember every detail, but it should at least ring a bell. It's two weeks dude, not two decades.
People buy meat. It's food. They either buy it at a supermarket or a butcher. The lockdown is not under threat from people visitng a butcher any more than visiting a supermarket.
You are obviously unwilling to accept that the more people there are on the streets shopping at more outlets (where does it stop?) the more chance of community transmission.
Have they changed the rules for liquor stores recently?
Last I was aware, the only liquor stores that were open to walk-ins were in trust licensing areas where supermarkets can't sell alcohol. And those stores had such a problem with out-of-area people coming to buy spirits that they have restricted their sales to just wine and beer, like supermarkets.
While I don't disagree with what you have said, I feel there is a blind spot around supermarkets.
I would argue almost all the fresh produce in them is handled more than smaller, local businesses and victim to last century's supply chains.
I would love there to be a Pandemic Prepardeness section of the Food Control Plan for food producers/retailers to implement. When this happens again we are not at the behest of the duopoly, rather buying and supprting local primary producers.
And their screwing of suppliers, staff and customers.
I understand the idea was to keep the number of retail outlets in use to a minimum, from the point of monitoring and controlling virus spread.
Already wondering about Kaitia, where a supermarket worker has suspected CV19. All the shoppers, which may have been exposed, avoiding that shop and travelling elsewhere for their groceries.
I would love there to be a Pandemic Prepardeness section of the Food Control Plan for food producers/retailers to implement. When this happens again we are not at the behest of the duopoly, rather buying and supprting local primary producers.
Good idea.
Hoping they change a few others things too, like allowing natural health to be an essential service via online ordering instead of shutting it all down.
If the Ministry for Primary Industries has anything to do with it you can be sure that their only concern is for the welfare of big business. Natural health products etc are not in that category, as far as they are concerned, and are therefore unhealthy.
Some sarc in the above, but I have seen their heavy handed approach, in this area far too often to have any faith in them actually helping anything other than mainstream conventional products.
Why you had to tick the box that gave your consent to the information being made public before you could apply for the wage subsidy.
The ex employer will be having a lovely conversation with someone from the MSD audit team. Joyous times.
This idiot has also previously been jailed for 'pranks'.
A Dunedin man who admitted leaving dry-ice bottle bombs around Christchurch, injuring a cleaner and bringing the city to a standstill last August, has been jailed.
… a total of two years and three months imprisonment after pleading guilty to what his lawyer suggested was "a prank gone wrong''.
A tiger at the Bronx Zoo in New York City has tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19, and six other big cats are exhibiting symptoms consistent with the illness, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Sunday afternoon.
“It’s the first time, to our knowledge, that a [wild] animal has gotten sick from COVID-19 from a person,” says Paul Calle, chief veterinarian for the Bronx Zoo. The Malayan tiger, named Nadia, likely contracted the coronavirus from an infected—but unknown—asymptomatic zookeeper. “It’s the only thing that makes sense,” Calle says. The zoo has been closed to visitors since March 16.
Now is not the time to have a non-Covid health issue – especially for an old woman.
I have no idea if my throat is anything to worry about or if it will clear on its own. I have had a mildly irritated throat for a few weeks now. I can see a couple of white spots on my slightly swollen right tonsil. A couple of weeks ago I was sent antibiotics after a phone consult with a GP, who said normally she'd do a throat swab to check if it's bacterial.
So several days after completing the antibiotics, no change. Phoned the GPs receptionist saying maybe I need a face-to-face consultation. Generally the GPs are doing phone & video consults now. Problem is we get charged the normal consultation fee for phone/video consults, and if a throat swab is required, that would be an extra fee for a face-to-face consultation.
The receptionist said it was a difficult one and really didn't know the solution. So I have a face-to-face consultation booked, and will phone reception when I get into the GP car park.
I really don't want to be going to a medical facility at this time, but in my low moments I'm worried about what is wrong with my throat.
Stay strong Carolyn – if you're not in the most at risk group that is recently returned from overseas or close contact with someone in that group you have most likely just got a grotty sore throat.
Remember the vast proportion of people with symptoms in NZ are actually coming back with a negative test for Covid 19. Perhaps get them to give you a flu jab while you're there to avaoid the rush once we're out of lock down.
Thanks, SM. I think the possibility of me having THE virus is low if non-existent. My concern is, WTF else is wrong with my throat, and is it something to worry about?
I have been physical distancing for at least a month now, and in last few weeks getting groceries home delivered.
But I also don't want to be at a medical facility where the virus might be at large.
Still, I just want to know what I am dealing with.
Hey Caroline I've had a mildly raw throat for about 3 to 4 weeks now and went through a brief spell of sneezing but it never developed beyond that. Since it has happened to me a few times in the past couple of years I'm not worried. It eventually goes away.
Thanks, Anne. Normally I wouldn't worry about a bit of a sore throat, but I can see white spots on my tonsils, which usually is (bacterial) strep throat requires antibiotics. It didn't get worse or better after a course of antibiotics.
Anyway, I had the face-to-face consult at the GPs this arvo, which was interesting. He came to my car in the car park in full PPEs, gave me a face mask, and took me to an area outside the GPs' building, screened off with plastic sheeting.
He also thinks it looks like strep throat. He did a physical exam of my vitals, etc, and took a throat swab. Said he'd get back to me with the results – maybe have a break after the last antibiotics of a week or so, then try a different antibiotic.
Also, the nurse gave me a flu jab – my appointment for it a couple of weeks back was cancelled as they ran out of stock. I was waiting for them to send me a new appointment.
So I don't need to go back for a separate flu jab appointment. 😊
Can I wash the face mask and re-use it?
Edit: I had strep tonsils in Aussie in my 20s when I was travelling overseas. The GP was getting worried because the antibiotics weren’t improving it, and was saying I may need to be hospitalised. Fortunately, it cleared by the end of the course of antibiotics. But memory of this has been worrying me. And also why I know what strep tonsils looks like.
Depends on the fibre composition. Most are designed for single use, so may breakdown in water and lose effectiveness.
Do you sew? You could make your own if you have the supplies, 100% cotton fabric and some elastic. I use a paperclip to insert in bridge of the nose for a snug fit. The mask is like a pocket and you can insert a throw away filler for extra protection, like a folded up tissue.
I heard chatter before we went into lockdown that strep throat was going around. The more likely thing is that it is strep throat but it's always better to get things checked out.
I was happy initially with the phone consultation and having antibiotics delivered to me. Was disappointed that the antibiotics did not eliminate it – and that was the cause of my concern.
When I searched online, all the advice said antibiotics should be prescribed ASAP, partly because it stopped transmission to others. Some said that strep throat usually goes after after a week, with or without antibiotics.
In the northern hemisphere, the pre-Covid flu included some throat infections in their just finishing winter.
In retrospect, not sure what they will test for with my throat swab. We'll see.
The GP at the phone consultation said it could be a virus or bacterial, and that's, I think why they do a swab to check. She went with it most likely being bacterial, so prescribed antibiotics to see if that worked.
Yesterday "weka" claimed there was "no evidence" that there was a purge of human rights activists from Britain's doomed, discredited Labour Party. "weka" needs to read this….
[I’m not reading that. If you want to provide back up for your claim, then cut and paste the relevant bits. But I think we’ve already established that you were being fanciful. I fully accept that you personally believe it’s true, but thus far there isn’t any evidence to support that – weka]
How does that extract prove there will be a purge of human right activists? No where does it say that people can't campaign for Palestinian rights in a pretty forthright way. It simply says that Labour party members can't be anti-semetic.
Wayne as you may not have come across Morrissey previously a word of warning, he is a notoriously self involved equal opportunity troll, it's best not to try and engage with him.
Sorry, Morrissey, but I followed your debate with Weka and Incognito is right. All you were asked to do was to give the gist of the argument/evidence that was in the links you provided. You didn't.
Starmer offering to meet right wing Zionists in order to discuss how he might stamp out antisemitism is too many orders of weird for me to wrap my head around.
There's also quite a push against feminists in UK Labour btw.
Just as advocates of basic human rights for Palestinians within UK Labour get smeared as anti-semites, so feminists within UK Labour advocating for women's rights are being smeared as TERFs.
Different protagonists, same playbook. Fucking horrible on so many levels.
Starmer offering to meet right wing Zionists in order to discuss how he might stamp out antisemitism is too many orders of weird for me to wrap my head around.
Thanks bill. Of course, supporters of the Israeli regime are not interested in "stamping out antisemitism", they're concerned only with stamping out protest against Israel. Their never-ending attempt to conflate Israel with Judaism is a desperate and cynical strategy.
I couldn't really care less about Simon Bridges driving hundreds of km between Wellington and Tauranga. I'm sure he pees in his car and can change his own tyre.
But I do think it's hilarious that driving two km was an unforgivable outrage only 3 days ago.
Let's face it, the real question is: does Simon drive a car with his smiling face plastered on the side? Because that was Clark's real crime.
But nobody can sack Bridges except the National caucus, and they've had countless reasons to do that over the past two years. One more won't make any difference.
Clark was given a police warning for clearly violating explicit terms of the lockdown? No, none of the above, he was just photographed pushing the limits of a couple of gray areas in the NZ lockdown (how far to go for exercise and what exercise types should be undertaken).
Simon can't stand 2 metres away from them because he's in yet another of his arranged photo ops. Supermarket workers are the flavour of the month (and rightly so), so Simon's got to be seem associating with them. I bet he's never bothered before.
Flavour of last month? The photo dates from before the level 4 restrictions (24th March?). It may have been "dangerous and irresponsible", but not at the time actively illegal.
I am more concerned that he has no intention of stopping his unnecessary travel. Who could ever have predicted that a National leader would be so self-entitled and lacking empathy?
Not quite. Comes under "alternative ways of working required" in level 3. Although to be fair the message might not have been communicated in small enough words at that stage.
The issue with what Clark did was as much the activity he undertook as the driving. That's why in his apoligy he said "Even though I deliberately opted for an easy, local track, on reflection I realise I should have chosen a better option such as walking, running or cycling on the flat,"
Exactly – pleased to agree with you for once. That Scottish woman twice did an hour's drive (60km or so?) and had been warned by police. Clark drove only 2.5 km once, when there is actually no 2km rule, and Tova O'Brien hides all that in tonight's TV3 news, and tries to equate the two offences as being of equal hypocrisy.
Anyone who knows the details will see Tova for what she is. But why should she be permitted to spread such tendentious rubbish, presenting it as 'news'?
"The 2017-2018 flu season was the deadliest in more than four decades with 80,000 deaths caused by the flu, including 180 children. And it looks like the virus is back with a vengeance for winter 2019-2020, which is on track to be just as bad, as seen on this CDC graph."
This article was originally published in February 2018, and has been updated with the most recent CDC data for winter 2019-2020.
The flu vaccinations have been bought forward for vulnerable people – in my area older poeple were given it away from the medical centre and with social distancing.
But flu rates go down when people are in lock-down because it spreads in the same way as covid-19. Trying to stop covid-19 spreading helps stop the flu spreading.
Does anyone know how to get the data on this? Other than emailing the polling company, which I feel is unlikely to get a timely reply. There's not much point in knowing the margin of error for a given population sample when thereare no numbers stated!
It's interesting that Ardern seems to be better trusted by Australians than Aotearoans. Maybe something to do with the right-wing mouths in NZ being even more irrelevant over there than they are in this country.
Thanks Pat, that's exactly what I was looking for. Embarrassed to be so out of practice navigating that site, it's been a while since I have followed polling. Hopefully it was at least slightly difficult to locate and not a big blue link I missed.
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
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Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
The government’s attack on Māori health this week is committing tangata-whenua to a premature death, says Te Pāti Māori. “The government have begun their onslaught on Māori health with the abolishment of the Māori Health Authority and smokefree laws in the same day” said health spokesperson and co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
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Did anybody see Garner on the AM show this morning? I couldn’t believe the crap I was hearing. Switched the TV on and Garner was waxing lyrically how this government has to seek out the best people to get the country up and running again, therefore should seek the best brain going John f**king Key.
Doesn't that prick realise that Key has the same political Neo-Liberal philosophy that has caused this pandemic.? Then the dick went on to say the government has to stop being politically "tribal" by seeking out the likes of the f**king spiv.
Talk about pot kettle and all that jazz.
Then the camera swung to that Cheshire cat grinning pea-brained prat called Richardson, fortunately, I managed to change channels to Aljeezera before I heard any snippets of bile and shit dribble from his mouth.
Get rid of the telly. You’ll feel so much better.
No, they need to get rid of the likes of Garner. Radio Sport has gone, thank the Lord, but we're still afflicted with this dunce.
Even without Garner and all the rest of them TV in NZ is really shit.
Garner is only there because he is no good. If he did act as a journalist, he would not be tolerated.
All the more reason to ditch the black box monopolising your living room!
I pretty much have.
Yes and as a result I switched to Mayor Bill de Blasio's live presser from NY.
garner is like….. but key knows world leaders and blah blah.
I'm thinking world leaders will be like who the hell is john key?
But mention Jacinda and those same world leaders know who she is.
As for richardson and sport, I'm getting rather sick of hearing how we should all feel sorry for overpaid sports people having to take a pay cut and get a real job. Let's have a science or arts segment instead.
Here's the link for Bill, personally I feel he is doing a stellar job for NY.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73Q7PeE0HFM
Nah, he's not doing a stellar job.
https://twitter.com/Yair_Rosenberg/status/1246630962353639424
Jake Tapper wouldn't be looking to shoot the messenger would he? Meanwhile, is it Coumo as Governor or Di Blasio as Mayor who's responsible for slashing health care? Well…
While New York’s health system, already hobbled by years of neglect, buckled under the coronavirus outbreak, Cuomo wanted to cut $2.5 billion in state Medicaid funding, even though doing so would mean forfeiting $6.7 billion in federal aid. He wanted to slash state funding for education. As the pandemic eviscerates state revenue, he wanted to avoid any increase in taxes on the ultra-rich and instead balance the books by cutting muscle and bone from critical social services.
The quote from Di Blasio –
…only in the last really 48 hours or so do they [NYC Health Dept] feel they’ve seen evidence around the world, particularly a new study coming out of Singapore, that shows more evidence that this disease can be spread by asymptomatic people,” de Blasio responded.
But there's Democratic Party politics and an idea to give Coumo a leg up to position of Democratic Party nominee, which I guess goes hand in hand with bagging anyone associated with Sander's ongoing campaign…
Click bait headline
The article is about to wear or not to wear a face mask because they are now encouraging all people in NY to wear one.
Previously it was front line workers only, made me wonder if there was a supply issue at the time.
Currently there is still much debate over whether to wear one or not.
I still believe the Mayor is doing a great job, considering what he is up against, a deadly virus and an incompetent president.
But Key never sacked English when he got caught double dipping (after telling us to tighten our belts).
Duncan must be a idiot for putting forward such a weak leader!
Oh Dear
Sounds like you need a lie down and nice cup of tea.
Sirjongkyponyboy needed a nice cuppa after he tried to hammer a nail. He's over it now.
So we should go to the guy who set NZ up to be over-reliant on tourism?
Good call! /sarc
And…encouraging offshore trusts until IRD wanted more than an A4 sheet in the wake of the “Panama Papers”, and 10, 000 or so promptly disappeared, and with them the Trust “Industry” our glorious ex leader personally helped establish.
Mr Key represented Finance Capital above all else during his time in politics. He is not required now, to put it politely.
"Did anybody see Garner on the AM show this morning?"
Nope – but I heard the screams of hilarity from the living room when he suggested John Key ride to our rescue. With JA doing a solid job, Garner was just trying to insert someone from National back into the frame. Plus showing his weakling desire to be 'led' by someone at every turn. I suggested Yanis Varoufakis as an alternative. Although Yanis might not be to everyone's taste, he'd have the virtue of understanding something about economies, history and human cultures – talents Key conspicuously lacks.
Key had the EQC to support his government financially with the Christchurch earthquakes. For the last 3 years the current government has been trying to give claimants closure.
Key has shown with his track record that he is not the person for the job to manage the huge impact Covid-19 is going to have on the NZ economy.
He's a bit too keen on leaving bodies buried to have near the levers in an emergency.
https://thespinoff.co.nz/books/05-04-2020/lockdown-letters-10-fiona-farrell-being-strong-being-kind/
A letter by Fiona Farrell on the Spinoff, dated 5/4/2020. It’s about Ardern’s blend of pragmatism and kindness.
I got a photo from a mate this morning of a US soldier in WW2 carrying a donkey on his back across a grassy field. It seems the story is the donkey was being carried because it was a mine field.
Kindness.
The donkey was also being carried because a loose donkey wandering a minefield endangers the men about it.
Pragmatism.
It goes on. "The moral of the story is that in difficult times the first people you have to keep under control are the jackasses who don't understand the danger and do as they please."
If it is the picture I think it is then alas, it is untrue. The picture is from 1958 and the Algerian war, and it shows a member of the French Foreign Legion carrying a starving and exhausted donkey he had found. He took it back to his base, the Legionnaires nursed it back to health, and made it the base mascot.
Still a lovely story, but not quite the COVID parable as some would say.
Well spotted, Sanctuary. It looks indeed like a French 'casque'. The mate who sent it to me is ex-Navy so we'll forgive him……
That donkey looks really cute in the picture.
Yeah, I wondered about that picture too Mac1 as the soldier in the background heading in a different direction is obviously a jackass. I think Murray was trying to illustrate with humour a valuable lesson for the times. Of course if this was an American comment, they would point out that no wonder the cheese-eating surrender monkeys never won a war they were too busy being kind and sympathetique . I know whom I prefer.
This photo?
https://thestandard.org.nz/about-carrots-and-sticks/#comment-1697964
That one. Didn’t check the link as there was no explanation as to what I was being directed to. Sometimes attempts at being succinct are self-defeating.
Question about Newshub given Tova O'Brien's utterly hopeless performance yesterday – why is your political reporter at the health briefings? Accoring to the interwebs, you have a health report called Lucy Warhurst.
O'Brien seems incapable of escaping the gotcha obsessed, horse race analyst bullying cynicism that is apparently the normal culture of the press gallery. Surely you would get more intelligent questions from a properly informed health reporter?
The question is relevant to all news outlets really. I mean, why is Audrey Young writing the main update pieces for the Herald? Don't they trust their younger reporters like Emaa Russell? Do they think clinging to fossils from the 1980s accurately reflects their audience or something?
I don’t watch the commercial networks and I actively avoid anything to do with Tova O’Brien but aren’t all the press gallery journos at the daily Covid-19 updates?
As for Audrey, the way the Herald is going she’ll be the only on left on the payroll soon writing everything.
I've stopped watching TV3 News simply because of her. She thinks the news is all about her. Fuck you. Tova, grow up.
I've noticed that Jacinda Ardern gives O'Brien a subtle cold shoulder at her pressers. She will respond to her politely but briefly and move straight on to another journo before O'Brien gets a chance to respond.
Tova has no-one to blame but herself with her immature approach… as if its all about one up-man-ship.
I have to say, I find the write-ups on Stuff quite good. In general, the quality of material has noticeably increased, IMHO.
I now occasionally read an article on the NZH but they don’t do it for me. I guess, I’ve become a Stuffian.
Me too. Their coverage of the Covid 19 crisis has been excellent.
Spread the word: tell others to get Stuffed…
I noticed at the press conference Ardern responded to O'Brien's question including "Tova" in the response. I thought it maybe was a bit of a way of highlighting who was asking such questions.
Tova O'Brien is worse than useless. It's hard to find any context where she is not the worst person in the room, but it happened almost a year ago…
https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2019/05/these-people-are-representative-of-new.html
Goodness me Boris Johnson has been hospitalised in the UK with Coronavirus… Now, let's go find all those right wing British types who laughed like drains when that Iranian minister died.
NO ONE deserves to die of this virus, not the old the the young not those with co-morbidity and even not a twat conservative toff PM or an Iranian health minister. NO ONE.
Wonder if Boris is in a NHS Public Hospital?
Yes he is, NHS, which quite astounds me, as I've always not minded private hospitals for those that can afford it, coz I couldn't care less, but it's a bit cheeky of Johnson really, unless of course, public health really is a lot better.
Maybe Boris will have more respect for the NHS now? Back in September a father of a sick child gave him a message about using a hospital for a photo opportunity.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/video/2019/sep/18/boris-johnson-confronted-patient-father-nhs-waiting-times-video
And the UK government a few weeks back toyed with the out of letting the virus spread to build herd immunity, while the elderly and immune compromised were to self isolate.
That is one plan that would not have ended well.
He'll take it on the chin.
Looks like Sweden and The Netherlands are moving to ditch their (relatively) light-handed approach to social distancing and will move to more comprehensive lockdown measures. Both countries are seeing increasing mortality and exponential growth of infection.
Meanwhile discord between northern and southern Europe continues to grow. The Italians have reacted with fury to what they see as Dutch indifference to the crisis that has developed in Italy, Spain and France and the Spanish PM has again called for the Eurozone to issue so-called “Corona bonds” as part of a new Marshall Plan to kick start growth across the bloc.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52135814
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/05/sweden-prepares-to-tighten-coronavirus-measures-as-death-toll-climbs
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/05/spanish-pm-survival-eu-rests-response-coronavirus-crisis
Sadly, not surprising.
One of the more stupid takes on NZ's response is to say "Look over there, let's do that", picking some other nation, chosen after doing minimal inquiry.
Popular picks: Want to go softer? Sweden. Want to go harder? Singapore.
Both are getting worse. Sure, they might end up doing better than average in the end, who knows? But let's dispense with the comforting illusion that there's some easy option out there.
Singapore seems to be battling an increase in cases too now.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-06/is-capitalism-dying-or-just-in-isolation-coronavirus/12123874
OK I will just come out and say it Bill Gates is a predatory arsehole and the company through which he has made his vast fortune has done so thru the very worst sort of monopolistic dirty tricks that held back development of operating systems and foisted a basically broken expensive load of crap on almost all of our essential systems. Didnt watch the "Bill Gates recons on covid" posted by lprent. Not remotely interested.
So you and yours will be declining any covid 19 vaccination funded and fast-tracked through development, testing and manufacturing by Gates' wealth?
Given the problems with developing vaccines for any corona type virus, immune enhancement etc, where the fix has been more dangerous than the disease coupled with the pharmaceutical industries less than stirling safety record I won't be lining up for a vaccine for this thing in a year to 18 months. The time frame is too short for adequate safety testing.
No doubt those who have no choice but to rely on the herds' immunity will appreciate your rather lengthy and ongoing quarantining from the community.
Did you actually read what I wrote? If you are keen to be a Guinea pig for something rushed through and not safety tested properly be my guest. No need to be rude to people who want to be sure the fix is not worse than the problem.
Hurt feelz or not, this ain't going to be business as usual, where the selfish among us who are unwilling to accept the risks of immunisation get to freeload on the backs of those who accept the risks for the well being of the herd.
Unfortunately some human has to be the first for every vaccine.
Hats off to this dude. Signing up to the first human trials of an ebola vaccine and now coronavirus. Wow.
https://www.motherjones.com/coronavirus-updates/2020/04/first-he-volunteered-to-be-injected-with-the-ebola-vaccine-now-hes-doing-it-again-for-coronavirus/
Vaccines, like any other medical agent, have to undergo a rigorous and lengthy approval process to determine safety, tolerability, and effectiveness (does it work?). This is a step-wise process and trials with humans start with small groups. Depending on the urgency, some of these steps (trials) may be fast-tracked but this can lead to disappointing results down the track and even complete recall because of safety issues (e.g. severe adverse events, even deaths, in a minority of patients).
https://www.health.govt.nz/your-health/healthy-living/immunisation/vaccine-safety
If C19 is going to circle the globe, wave after wave, for several years there will be a clear choice, isolation or vaccination. And pro-plague numpties who presently get to ride on the backs of others will have a choice too; vaccination, or if they don't and they're a threat to those who for valid medical reasons can't be vaccinated, isolation.
Are you for real. What if the answer kills more or creates more disease? Some world experts on vaccines are talking about this. Not anti vax or pro vax as is implied in your posts but about making sure we are doing the right thing. This is not simple and not binary.
That's what the trials are for.
I tried you point out that you can be a Guinea pig in different types of trials with different risk levels. I also tried to point out that these trials take time. No authority in its right mind will allow mass vaccination without at least some data to show safety, tolerability, and effectiveness. What I forgot to mention is that we might not see such a vaccine in the foreseeable future although there are lots of encouraging noises coming from experts. Until that time, we’ll have to rely on other strategies.
xanthe, I agree with your Gates comment and sentiment 100 percent, bravo! And absolutely wouldn’t go near anything gates is offering vaccine wise, the medicine is already available to cure but no big dollars for big pharma in it.
Do tell?
Indeed I'm all 'internet ears'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmFnASfjH9Q&feature=youtu.be
I think its like this.
"…is a predatory arsehole…"
That accounts for the skin crawly feeling I had watching the two Gates clips on lptrents post.
And what's with the gesticulating? There's another rich blokey type featuring in American media at the moment who does that hand wavey thing. I wonder if they are related?
Along with the accolades presenting his organisation as the Saviours of the Third World, there are just as many sites critiquing and even damning it's Good Works.
I can stand those V-neck sweaters he’s wearing all the time. What a plonker!
Fvck's your problem with v neck sweaters?
You can be an arsehole and still do good. Not everything happens at the same point in time either, necessarily. There is no absolute Black & White, only shades of grey.
Yes, Bill appears to be trying to do some good after years of accumulating ill gotten gains by inflicting terrible operating systems on people.
Yeah he is a rich prick and therefore by definition the lowest of the low – but unlike many of his kind he and his wife are in the process of giving away a large proportion of their wealth to those at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder, and doing it in a sensitive and sustainable way to improve living conditions and healthy outcomes for many. You can find out more about what the Gates Foundation is doing in places like Africa here:
https://www.gatesfoundation.org/Where-We-Work/Africa-Office/Stories-from-the-Field
Except he continues to get wealthier? Not doing so well with that. I think taxes would be a more effective way of redistributing his obscene wealth.
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2018/12/11/18129580/gates-donations-charity-billionaire-philanthropy
That's true when that article was written. The "wealth" of all those 0.1%ers is actually paper wealth, based upon the value of the stocks they hold at the time. With the US stock market going through the roof at that stage it was very difficult not to continually increase your "worth". It will e a different story at the moment and a lot of Billionaires will suddenly be worth a whole lot less.
Nevertheless, the Gates giving of $45B US to overseas development aid is not an insignificant amount, and they are still giving.
Sure, $45 billion is not an insignificant amount, in fact it's an impossible amount of money for any one person to accumulate through 'hard work'. That some billionaires will be worth less due to stock market fluctuations does not effect their material holdings, for example a ostentatious $127 million dollar mansion (https://www.businessinsider.com/crazy-facts-about-bill-gates-house-2016-11?r=AU&IR=T). Billionaires should not exist period.
All true, but at least he's not doing a Koch Bros.
Well yes, the ideology that motivates Gates' philanthropy is better than that of the Kochs but that's not a particularly high bar. He still gets to use his unseemly wealth, and consequent power, to push his own ideological barrows, this is unacceptable in a supposed democracy. An example:
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-gates-education-20160601-snap-story.html
Sure, one might even call it an exceptionally low bar. But even the schools thing was about trying to improve education for people, not to do as much as possible to make the world burn after he's dead.
Ah, Noblesse oblige then.
The one thing Gates and the Kochs have in common is opposition to any kind tax that prevents their continued wealth-hoarding.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/bill-gates-im-happy-to-pay-20-billion-in-taxes-but-warrens-plan-will-make-me-do-a-little-math-on-what-i-have-left-over-2019-11-07
He may be joking but he would still have roughly $6 billion after that. That's still too much for one person. An analogy of time to really fathom the figures; 1 milllion seconds ≈ 12 days, 1 billion seconds ≈ 32 years. No philanthropic largesse can justify the inequity.
Well, not really knobless obligay (as Nanny Ogg put it).
Yes, he's obscenely wealthy.
Yes, his company has been ripped on multiple times for a shoddy product and monopolistic practises.
But the man has spent a decade looking at infectious diseases and dealing with people in the full range of infectious disease management, from scientists to politicians to physicians to sufferers. I'd go with his reckons over pretty much anyone here when it comes to disease management and elimination.
Maybe eliminating disease is just a folly of the uber wealthy. But it's a more worthy folly than putting shiny balls in the sky or funding conservative astroturf campaigns.
Nanny Ogg does have a way with words.
Yes his dedication to an admirable cause in disease eradication is objectively a good thing. He’s learning from experts in the field and his foundation celebrates their successes, which are not follies, and I do not dispute the content of his message, I just prefer our system, here, where the expert advice is dispensed through our MOH rather than say Alan Gibbs on Seven Sharp.
In any event, I will continue to insist that the existence of billionaires represents a broken system, and they are complicit in the inequity in their society. No one has earned a billion dollars.
true that. But I reckon Xanthe takes it too far.
BTW, I meant "folly" in the sense of rich people throwing money at things with more form than function in mind – that sort of foolishness of decorative buildings, rather than a doomed undertaking.
Ah, i get you. I won't dispute that, and probably should have read upthread more thoroughly, I was mostly reacting to being directed to a Gates Foundation website.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/120836583/coronavirus-national-calls-for-more-businesses-industries-to-reopen
so much for what Wayne was saying yesterday that National would be doing exactly what the coalition are doing re Covid19. I don’t think so……..and for all of those citing Sweden as the great way forward, their death toll is rising more rapidly than their neighbours in Finland and Norway who are in a much tighter lock down……and it appears they are about to pull the plug on their lockdown lite
I did laugh at Dr Waynes comment that the Nats would have shut our borders sooner, the same party that gutted the border controls and let in that moth.
The same party that knew about m bovis but did fuck all due to an upcoming election .
I note he equates forestry with agriculture, and while I feel for the poor buggers off work at the mo the glaring differences are live stock need constant care as opposed to pines . Most farm workers live on the job or travel to work singly as opposed to crew vans.
When I heard him prattle on about forestry my first thought was the boss will have his own ute, of course….
Meanwhile, in Britain…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQwylpsr7IE&feature=youtu.be
Please tell me the police bit is a joke.
Imagining all those people in their 50s who still carry childhood trauma from watching the fucking daleks from behind the couch.
It is. Daleks, however….
Sandford Police
@Sandford_Police
NOT the actual police. Just here for shits and giggles. Like means I’ve read it, not necessarily that I agree. Life's tough. Get a helmet. #TheGreaterGood
https://twitter.com/Sandford_Police
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f8kahmsJ-s&feature=youtu.be
Brilliant – thank you.
Thought it was a bit suspect because it was countryside with only a few houses. Bet a lot of Brits fell for it though. 😀
Sandford police as in Hot Fuzz?
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/05/thousands-to-be-paid-for-daytime-green-electricity-use-during-lockdown
Scott Morison on Australia and their friends in the South Pacific. He is insisting on it being recognised by all that they need to commit to help fight Covid-19. He has to argue the case because it is over-riding the established callousness of the establishment to others around it, including NZs. Gosh all of a sudden they have to help; it must have been pointed out that there is a worthwhile cost-benefit to Oz to force these words out of their pursed-lips.
It is Australia’s duty – and in our national interest – to respond to the health and economic challenges caused by coronavirus in the Pacific
…As naturally as we are focused on ensuring Australia weathers the crisis, we must not lose sight of the immense challenge facing our Pacific friends.
A real friend is one that can be relied upon in a crisis. During Australia’s summer bushfire crisis, countries like Fiji and Papua New Guinea sent members of their defence forces to Australia to help with the emergency response. Governments and ordinary people in small countries like Vanuatu and Palau donated to Australian bushfire victims.
This is the time we can demonstrate our friendship to the Pacific island nations.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2020/mar/31/scott-morrison-calls-the-pacific-our-family-the-covid-crisis-is-australias-chance-to-prove-that
It is stated in this article that Australia is the region’s biggest aid donor. But that may be because for years China has been building relationships with Pacific Island countries and that makes Australia uneasy in a political points game.
The Pacific islands have grown as a strategic priority for China and the United States and its allies, including Australia, who are keen to lock in relationships with countries that control strategic waterways between the Americas and Asia.
Australia is the region’s biggest aid donor but Pacific islands have turned to China in recent years for budget assistance.
A World Health Organization (WHO) spokeswoman said New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Fiji and Guam can test for COVID-19, but other countries need to send specimens to Australia, New Zealand or the United States for testing.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-pacific/china-and-australia-target-pacific-with-coronavirus-aid-idUSKBN21J4WG
Vanuatu – Pray for them – all hell is going to break for them on top of Covid 19. Donate to Oxfam would help as they try to reach out.
https://www.oxfam.org.nz/news-media/media-releases/cycloneharold/
I don't get this from Gower. We're all in quarantine right now, dip-shit.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2020/04/patrick-gower-on-coronavirus-quarantine-border-arrivals-now-or-waste-our-sacrifice.html
Ardern said yesterday that the government would be implementing stricter border quarantines soon.
Not sure what'shapening in Auckland. I'm in the third day of quarantine in a Brisbane hotel after flying back from NZ (home is a boat not far from here and I can't afford the alternative – a Paihia hotel where I was staying at the time of the lockdown.) All quiet and reasonable amongst the 20 odd people coccooned here, but there are anecdotal reports of parties on the corridors of quarantine hotels elsewhere as well as waiters sevng glasses of wine to younger quarantiners (Sydney). Australia seems to have flattened the curve quite well, with NZ's cases per 1 mill. population just overtaking it today, but there are still a lot of inconsistencies. If there is a move to quarantining everyoneflying in to NZ it will have to be properly policed, with kindness, too. We understand the reasons here, but still feel like criminals!
As the main vector for infection in NZ seems to be returning international travelers he makes a reasonable point.
What do we do with those returning during lockdown – do we trust them to isolate but more importantly when we come out of lockdown and they continue to come in what do we do with them then ?
Muttonbird’s point is valid though. With the country in full lockdown it doesn’t actually matter who comes across the border. If we’re all doing what we’ve been asked to do arrivals can’t infect anyone. And there are hardly any flights arriving anyway. This close-the-borders narrative is just posturing from the usual suspects.
Posturing from the usual suspects, or manufacturing consent for very strict border quarantine once we get back to level 3 or 2?
Something it’s almost as if the Government is playing the opposition and media like a piano towards what’s going to happen 3 or 4 steps down the track.
Or everyone’s playing their role in managing this thing.
"What do we do with those returning during lockdown – do we trust them to isolate but more importantly when we come out of lockdown and they continue to come in what do we do with them then?"
People with symptoms are being quarantined (that's mandatory and monitored), not asked to self isolate. I'm guessing this will be true when we drop down a level or two. We're not going back to the old normal, we will need protocols that everyone understands for a long time.
Not sure I trust symptomless 20 somethings to obey protocols – I quite like the move by some of the countries overseas where they are tracking cellphones to provide some assurance of compliance.
Most people in their 20s won’t be parted from their cellphone for more than 5 minutes so quite an effective tool for tracking them.
If we knock this on the head soon and can lower our level to 3 or 2 the price of coming to nz has to be time in quarantine, if it takes two weeks so be it .
How long can it stay hidden from a test picking it up?
Last time I looked it was something like 4,000 people that would need to be quarantined. That's logistically a big move. They're probably in a better position to do that now than last week, and I assume the numbers are dropping.
I think I recall reading that the test can come out negative for 2 days or so after a person has been infected. That is actually a big problem, which means that huge amounts of testing will not achieve elimination. Only enforced isolation for the max time for symptoms to appear will achieve elimination.
(Unless you test the same person at about 6 days into isolation – that would accurately show the person to be uninfected. Re-test everyone after a 4-day interval in order to make testing accurate?)
it looks like a numbers game to me. Many people are assuming that every case of covid has to be caught and stopped. I think it's more about containing outbreaks, by dropping the transmission rate, and doing that in an imperfect world where one also has to take into account lots of complex factors eg the police required to monitor 6,000 people and quarantine them, those police have to be taken off other duties.
Everyone acting as if they have covid and not transmitting it seems a good baseline, no matter what other strategies are in place.
bingo
"We're all in quarantine right now, dip-shit."
No, we're not. Most of us are staying at home, but plenty are still going to work. Many of of those are still going to supermarkets/chemist, and can have close contact with other people in their household
The people in actual quarantine aren't allowed to go out at all, can't go to the supermarket, cannot have any close contact with anyone (unless their health/disability care requires it). They are also being checked on by the police.
Here are the rules for people returning from overseas who have no symptoms. They have to self-isolate but aren't being quarantined.
https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-novel-coronavirus-health-advice-general-public/covid-19-self-isolation-close-contacts-and-travellers
I can't find the guidelines for people being quarantined, but this article from 26/3/20 talks about it a bit. My reading is that anyone arriving who has symptoms is quarantined i.e. the govt escorts them to a hotel and makes sure they stay there.
https://thespinoff.co.nz/business/26-03-2020/covid-19-live-updates-march-26-nz-commences-life-under-lockdown/
Todd McKlunk needs to re-read the definition of arbitrary.
I'd say there are very few inconsistencies.
Note also, "butchers" came up almost immediately. What the hell is the Nats' obsession with butchers?
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/413542/more-industry-and-small-businesses-could-reopen-national
'Note also, "butchers" came up almost immediately. What the hell is the Nats' obsession with butchers? '
I think it's to do with the very significant dumping of stock and waste being experienced, I do admit to have a fair bit of sympathy I went to my local on the Wednesday before lockdown and they had been working under the assumption that the would be open through the whole period (with obvious restrictions on customers in the door) but only found out they were not considered essential at 11.30.
I think it's reasonable to ask questions of what is and isn't able to be open (or online) to inform decisions if we find ourselves in lockdown for > 4 weeks or in a repeat of lockdown later in the year.
Q/ "What [is behind] the Nats obsession with butchers?"
A/ Peter Leitch
Same here. In our case she was going to take my order over the phone – prepare the meat and place it in the freezer for when I could call down and pick it up. I cant see how this would be any different to that of the supermarket, except I wouldn't have to search through a pile of meat packages to find the one with three loin chops (3 in our household "bubble") rather than 2 or 4 if I'm lucky.
I agree about the butchers. The other point is that butchers etc provide competition to the supermarkets, something that would surely be a plus.
Providing competition is normally a good idea, but during a quarantine-style lockdown????
You have to be an economy-focused, blinkered right-winger.
I had a quiet chuckle that the supermarket chain (Countdown?) accused of price hikes got away with a bit of double talk saying three factors affected their pricing, one being market forces.
Predatory price hikes and profiteering are the result of market forces lol
Nicely put!
No, they aren't. They are the result of market forces (the actions of buyers and sellers) being constrained. In this case, the number of suppliers is being artificially constrained for no good reason.
Panic buying a week before lockdown.
Complaints about price hikes before the lockdown started (i.e. when the other stores were open). price = supply vs demand.
There are literally only two variables on the capitalist chart, and you forgot half of them.
Panic buying is a function of human behaviour, a behaviour that occurs in any type of economy. The difference is that in a market economy supply will match demand over time. Socialist economies just let people starve. (https://fee.org/articles/a-refresher-course-on-socialism-and-starvation/)
Your second link is unsubstantiated hyperbole from a survey of 2. Well done.
"There are literally only two variables on the capitalist chart…"
The equation price = supply v's demand is nuanced. There are other variables, such as who controls the supply. In the current situation, supply is controlled by fewer players than normal. That can't help either supply or prices, and it's a situation that should never have been allowed to exist.
Panic buying that increases demand is a market force that can increase short term prices.
So to say that there is no price gouging because prices are set, in part, by market forces is nonsense. Panic buying raises demand and that enables sellers to increase their prices. Simple market forces.
Wank all you want. Say there were only two complaints, all you want. The fact is people were perceiving price gouging before the drop in the number of suppliers, but well after panic buying set in. So take your defense of market forces and stick it where the hoarded toilet paper will eventually wipe it away.
"Panic buying that increases demand is a market force that can increase short term prices."
And in a market economy, supply then increases to meet demand.
"So to say that there is no price gouging because prices are set, in part, by market forces is nonsense."
It's just as well I didn't say that then.
"Panic buying raises demand and that enables sellers to increase their prices. Simple market forces."
Until supply chatches up and prices fall. Simple market forces. Unlike socilaist economies, where people starve.
"Say there were only two complaints, all you want. The fact is people were perceiving price gouging before the drop in the number of suppliers…"
Are a sample of 2, and purely anecdotal. I'm absolutely certain prices rose, becasue there was increased demand. Then supply caught up and the prices adjust. But no-ones starving.
Is a sample of 2,100 also “purely anecdotal”? The answer is irrelevant, to you, because you’re “absolutely certain” that you’re right. Maybe you should share your knowledge with MBIE.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/120837204/coronavirus-massive-jump-in-the-price-of-highdemand-products-data-shows
"no one's starving".
You really don't live in the real world, do you.
No, the supermarket did. As usual, you are incapable of following a simple thread when it doesn't serve your purpose.
The idea that supply increases to meet demand omits the time lag that can mean literally terminal hardship in a fast-moving situation. Hence the empty shelves in supermarkets. Supply is not meeting demand for some items.
You refuse to match your market catechism with real-world observations.
Incognito
"Is a sample of 2,100 also “purely anecdotal”?
When it's a complaints hot line, yep, it is.
KJT
"You really don't live in the real world, do you. "
Yes I do. No-one is starving in NZ as a result of food shortages.
McFlock
No, the supermarket did."
So what?
"The idea that supply increases to meet demand omits the time lag that can mean literally terminal hardship in a fast-moving situation."
It's a fast moving situation. Any shortages lasted days, at most.
"Hence the empty shelves in supermarkets. Supply is not meeting demand for some items."
I shop regularly. There are very few items not in stock, and no essentials.
"You refuse to match your market catechism with real-world observations."
That's rich, coming from someone who displays a total lack of understanding of basic economics.
Here’s some more ‘anecdotal’ evidence for you.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/120810190/coronavirus-hungry-families-at-breaking-point-halfway-through-lockdown
You seem to think that you and your situation are somehow representative or can be extrapolated. You are wilfully blind and deaf to what other people are telling you. You patronise others with BS about “basic economics”. You clearly live in a tiny small bubble.
cf:
You can't even get your bullshit consistent. Are shortages in the past tense, or are they still happening?
And given a colleague was talking about the difficulty in finding any flour today, your "no essentials" is a joke.
Apparently, in reality goldfish have quite good memories. You, on the other hand, can't even keep track of a thread.
To recap:
“You can't even get your bullshit consistent. Are shortages in the past tense, or are they still happening?”
Are you really that stupid? No, I suspect you just know you’re out of your depth. Shortages can be both present and past. They can be toilet paper one day, coca cola the next. In a market economy they correct themselves. In a socialist one, people starve.
“And given a colleague was talking about the difficulty in finding any flour today, your "no essentials" is a joke.”
Plenty of flour at Countdown St Lukes. More anecdotal bs from you and your colleagues.
“To recap:”
“You said it was because the govt limited the number of suppliers”
No, I said that was possibly a factor in why prices rise. (https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-06-04-2020/#comment-1698949) It is also a factor in many other things, such as lack of choice. If you think limiting competition in the supply of a product doesn't affect pricing, then I can understand why you're struggling.
“I provided some evidence that people perceived price increases prior to the limitation on supplier numbers.”
Perceived. Yes.
“I said the problem with that is the lag time between supply meeting demand, which can have extreme repercussions”
But provided zero evidence.
You’re out of your depth in this, McFlock. Economics is a relatively simple discipline, so it’s hard to understand why you find it so difficult. Hardly surprising Incognito is trying to help you out.
The only way you drag people out of their depth is to drown them in bullshit.
I've already acknowledged that supply is one part of the price equation. You agreed that demand can also be a factor, yet you refuse to admit that this might be the case when it comes to panic-buying in NZ.
But I'm sure we can agree that there was an increase in demand via panic-buying. So did people panic-buy and the market failed to adjust its prices, or did people panic-buy and there was price gouging?
"I've already acknowledged that supply is one part of the price equation. You agreed that demand can also be a factor, yet you refuse to admit that this might be the case when it comes to panic-buying in NZ."
No. Panic buying does increase demand, for a short term.
"But I'm sure we can agree that there was an increase in demand via panic-buying."
Yes, which then likely leads to less demand later. Unless people always want 100 rolls of toilet paper inn their bathrooms.
"So did people panic-buy and the market failed to adjust its prices, or did people panic-buy and there was price gouging?"
If panic buying increases demand…
…and increased demand leads to increased prices…
…then panic buying can be a component in increasing prices.
But then the market adjusts. By increasing supply, increasing pricing, or both.
No don't dodge the question, did the recent panic-buying increase prices in NZ?
In other words, did the simple economic theory play out in real life?
"…did the recent panic-buying increase prices in NZ?
That would have been answered by my comment " Panic buying does increase demand, for a short term." and then "If panic buying increases demand……and increased demand leads to increased prices……then panic buying can be a component in increasing prices." I thought that was fairly clear.
"In other words, did the simple economic theory play out in real life?"
Of course it does. In a truly free market. And then supply matches demand and prices reach equilibrium.
But when the government decides that Countdown can sell meat but not the local butcher, Countdown profits and the consumer loses.
The equivocations were exceptionally clear. Try addressing panic-buying, and only panic-buying, in a sentence without equivocation.
It's a simple theory. You should be able to report it's effects in a simple manner. Something like "The recent panic-buying in NZ did increase prices". Less than ten words. Go on, don't be a bullshitter all your life. You can do it.
" The equivocations were exceptionally clear. Try addressing panic-buying, and only panic-buying, in a sentence without equivocation."
Aready done. On numerous occasions.
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-06-04-2020/#comment-1699118
"Panic buying that increases demand is a market force that can increase short term prices." <And in a market economy, supply then increases to meet demand>. (See how I agreed with you there?)
"Panic buying raises demand and that enables sellers to increase their prices. Simple market forces." <Until supply chatches up and prices fall. > (And there).
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-06-04-2020/#comment-1699301
Panic buying does increase demand, for a short term.
"But I'm sure we can agree that there was an increase in demand via panic-buying." <Yes, which then likely leads to less demand later. Unless people always want 100 rolls of toilet paper inn their bathrooms.>
"So did people panic-buy and the market failed to adjust its prices, or did people panic-buy and there was price gouging?" <If panic buying increases demand……and increased demand leads to increased prices……then panic buying can be a component in increasing prices. But then the market adjusts. By increasing supply, increasing pricing, or both.> (Wow, not sure I could have clearer there!)
And remember I said this " The equation price = supply v's demand is nuanced. There are other variables, such as who controls the supply." Panic buying creates demand, but that is only one part of the equation. For example, let's say there was panic buying of toilet paper at a time of over supply. Would prices rise? I'll give you a lollipop for a correct answer. But I'll take it back again for the economics lesson.
[cuts and pastes theoretical generalisations and equivocations]
You really do like to paste hundreds of words when just ten would do.
Without equivocation, did the recent panic buying in NZ result in price increases?
No ifs, buts, cans, or mights. Just answer the simple question with an equally simple answer. Bypass the waffle and bullshit, just be honest for once.
Don’t expect honesty from Paddington. For example, Paddington claimed they’d “never heard of Climaction” and pretended not to know that Climaction was a commenter here. Yet, Paddington replied to Climaction only a few weeks ago https://thestandard.org.nz/different-responses-to-the-covid-virus-pandemic/#comment-1691901 and late last year https://thestandard.org.nz/listening-to-left-wing-dissent/#comment-1673721. I know what’s coming next 😉
"Without equivocation, did the recent panic buying in NZ result in price increases? "
You didn't read the quotes, did you? Ok, I'll simplify.
Panic buying increases demand. Increased demand increases prices IF not met by a corresponding increase in supply.
And there's the point. Let's say people panic purchased meat. At the same time the government limits the supply of meat by closing off a significant share of the supply side of the market. So demand exceeds supply, at least in part because of a silly intervention in the market. Prices will rise.
Got it now? As a general rule, the less governments interfere in a market, the better it perfroms. There are exceptions, but they tend to be where these is sub-optimal levels of competition.
Dude, it's not difficult. Just write around ten words.
I'll even write a few helpful words for you:
"The recent panic-buying in NZ", "led to", and "price increases". Feel free to replace "led to" with "did not lead to".
You can do it. Just write a clear, no-bullshit sentence.
""The recent panic-buying in NZ", "led to", and "price increases". Feel free to replace "led to" with "did not lead to". "
In what market? In which product? Over what time period?
I can well understand your desire to simplify things, but as I said an ealrier post, there are nuances.
"Although if you spend your time with your head up your arse, maybe you don't see other people and the only entertainment to be had is the sound of your own voice.."
Oh dear. I've demonstrated you total ignorance of basic economics and now your crying to mummy. How quaint.
https://thestandard.org.nz/phasing-into-phase-4/#comment-1694361, which was 23 March 2020, which is exactly one week after you replied to Climaction, whom you had never heard of, or so you claimed. How quaint.
You are incapable of answering a simple basic question that has got nothing to do with “basic economics” but everything with your belligerence.
lol wriggle on, moron. The NZ market.
lol dance away, fool. Products in which there was panic-buying.
lols that's just fucking stupid.
The essay approach failed, now you're trying to bog down by drawing out enough information to allow you to evade the question.
It doesn't matter either way.
Just answer the fucking question. Ten words, easy answer, it's not as nuanced as you think. Did the recent panic-buying in NZ result in price increases?
Fuck, it can be answered in one word. I say "yes". Do you say "no"?
edt: ““A normal person…”
…would not be running away from a discussion about economics to discus whether I rembered a single post from 2 weeks ago.”
You’re not that challenging, dude. I can do both. You can’t even answer a simple question.
"A normal person…"
…would not be running away from a discussion about economics to discus whether I remembered a single post from 2 weeks ago!
[I’m having to draw a line in the sandpit before someone gets hurt and starts crying to his mummy. This thread is now closed as far as I’m concerned; it did not lead to anything or anywhere useful and it likely to spiral further downwards. No more comments from any of us, thanks – Incognito]
See my Moderation note @ 7:00 PM.
"Here’s some more ‘anecdotal’ evidence for you."
What the hell does that have to do with supply from supermarkets? The people in your 'anecdote' don;t have a food shortage, they have a money shortage.
Geez, read the thread.
"and late last year "
A few weeks ago and late last year? Are your serious? Still running interference for McFlock I see.
McFlock doesn’t need anything from me but you don’t seem to realise this. I merely pointed out that you’re misleading and dishonest. Your reply on 16 March 2020 was only a few weeks ago. Has it refreshed your “selective” memory? Yes, I’m serious. Why do you ask? Did you miss a little wink such as this 😉 ? I’m so sorry.
Do you really sling so much bullshit that you don't remember who you throw it at multiple times, even a few weeks ago? Not a glint of a feeling of familiarity?
Although if you spend your time with your head up your arse, maybe you don't see other people and the only entertainment to be had is the sound of your own voice..
"Your reply on 16 March 2020 was only a few weeks ago. "
And you expect me to remember the name of a poster for a single comment made two weeks ago? Yeah, you're running interference.
I was waiting for your lame excuse about selective amnesia. You have been commenting heaps here lately and yet you claim not to know the other commenters. Heard of McFlock, by any chance?
I’m pointing out how disingenuous you are, and it comes across in your commenting. The “interference” is coming from you; you have become an annoying little troll. How quaint.
lol
A normal person would have a glint of recognition, yeah. Maybe not remember every detail, but it should at least ring a bell. It's two weeks dude, not two decades.
The 'quarantine style lockdown' is precisely the time for competition. It's not just about pricing, it's also about supply, quality, and choice.
Come on Paddingdumb, what is the purpose of the lockdown or have you forgotten already?
People buy meat. It's food. They either buy it at a supermarket or a butcher. The lockdown is not under threat from people visitng a butcher any more than visiting a supermarket.
You are obviously unwilling to accept that the more people there are on the streets shopping at more outlets (where does it stop?) the more chance of community transmission.
If I go to the supermarket to buy meat, I am one person on the street. If I go to the butcher to buy meat, I am one perosn on the street.
You missed the 'at more outlets' bit. Probably just didn't see it.
Gabby, it doesn't change anything. If it really did, liquor shops wouldn't be open.
Have they changed the rules for liquor stores recently?
Last I was aware, the only liquor stores that were open to walk-ins were in trust licensing areas where supermarkets can't sell alcohol. And those stores had such a problem with out-of-area people coming to buy spirits that they have restricted their sales to just wine and beer, like supermarkets.
They are classed as an essential service apparently in areas where alcohol is not available at the supermarket.
Meat and bread is available at the supermarket so no need for butchers or bakers for a few weeks.
"Last I was aware, the only liquor stores that were open to walk-ins were in trust licensing areas where supermarkets can't sell alcohol. "
And those liquor outlets are minutes away from supermarkets who DO sell alcohol.
"Meat and bread is available at the supermarket so no need for butchers or bakers for a few weeks. "
Which reduces choice, competition. Which is what this discussion is about.
Given the time span and complexity, I think the Government has done well.
Butchers being closed when dairies are open, is fair comment.
However the need to limit opportunities for spread, immediately needed fast decisions, and to do the details later.
I think the Government were discussing these issues without any prompting from National's bad faith.
Online deliveries may be safer option, though. Giving more online delivery capability for at risk, people..
While I don't disagree with what you have said, I feel there is a blind spot around supermarkets.
I would argue almost all the fresh produce in them is handled more than smaller, local businesses and victim to last century's supply chains.
I would love there to be a Pandemic Prepardeness section of the Food Control Plan for food producers/retailers to implement. When this happens again we are not at the behest of the duopoly, rather buying and supprting local primary producers.
Much as I dislike the supermarket duopoly.
And their screwing of suppliers, staff and customers.
I understand the idea was to keep the number of retail outlets in use to a minimum, from the point of monitoring and controlling virus spread.
Already wondering about Kaitia, where a supermarket worker has suspected CV19. All the shoppers, which may have been exposed, avoiding that shop and travelling elsewhere for their groceries.
Kaikohe
Good idea.
Hoping they change a few others things too, like allowing natural health to be an essential service via online ordering instead of shutting it all down.
If the Ministry for Primary Industries has anything to do with it you can be sure that their only concern is for the welfare of big business. Natural health products etc are not in that category, as far as they are concerned, and are therefore unhealthy.
Some sarc in the above, but I have seen their heavy handed approach, in this area far too often to have any faith in them actually helping anything other than mainstream conventional products.
they initially said no to small growers then changed their minds.
Someone told Simon he needed to have a butcher's and he misunderstood
Farmers?
Sometimes I think our species is way too stupid to survive this.
https://twitter.com/AmarAmarasingam/status/1246658639785492480
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/11332762/four-more-5g-masts-attacked-conspiracy-theory-coronavirus/
OMG!
Takes stupid to another level.
Is this the type of action that should be taken?
https://youtu.be/snMl0XcSzOU
Oh look, binary fuckwit touches itself.
/
There's a few of these vids appearing on anti-muslim white supremacist sites, most fake of course, filmed before the lockdowns.
No.
Duh.
Darwinism at its finest.
Hell pit hell!
https://player.vimeo.com/video/403323528?
https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2020/04/05/right-wing-pastor-avoid-covid-19-vaccines-since-theyre-from-the-pit-of-hell/
More xtian lunacy.
https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1246619114472222721
https://twitter.com/soapachu/status/1246793653294686208
It's been many years since I practised any religion. I forgot the extent to which being bad in bed is seen as a virtue by some weirdos.
God wouldn't allow true believers to be infected at woship/fundraising.
Dang…. wow! Wtf is wrong with people and where do you find this stuff Joe? Lmao
What a Prick
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/413544/covid-19-woman-says-employer-applied-for-wage-subsidy-after-making-her-redundant
Why you had to tick the box that gave your consent to the information being made public before you could apply for the wage subsidy.
The ex employer will be having a lovely conversation with someone from the MSD audit team. Joyous times.
Margaret Mahy thought up a story that has elements of what we are going through now. Have a listen to this great storyteller and wonderful woman.
ProductionShed.TV: "Down the Back of the Chair" – TVNZ DVD Margaret Mahy's Rumbustifications
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62gnJ78oDYU
ffs
https://twitter.com/SheWhoRises/status/1246876644314357761
well as Javanka said "it is OUR stockpile".
No doubt they'll do their best to make a goodly part of the $500 billion bailout theirs, too.
https://twitter.com/voxdotcom/status/1246915555099058178
edit: shameless
They were the ones purchased by Germany that were re-diverted to the US? Got them for nothing I s'pose cos the Germans had already paid for them.
Nothing coming out of Trump's America surprises me anymore including the above proposition.
Judge not amused by Supermarket Sneezer
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/supermarket-cougher-refused-bail-tested-virus
Fortunately turns out the idiot didn't have COVID-19 as he'd previously claimed. Pleaded guilty to offensive behaviour.
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/supermarket-cougher-pleads-guilty-negative-virus
Hopefully a lesson to similar fuckwit pranksters.
This idiot has also previously been jailed for 'pranks'.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/398916/Christchurch-bottle-bomber-jailed
Oh joy.
A tiger at the Bronx Zoo in New York City has tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19, and six other big cats are exhibiting symptoms consistent with the illness, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Sunday afternoon.
“It’s the first time, to our knowledge, that a [wild] animal has gotten sick from COVID-19 from a person,” says Paul Calle, chief veterinarian for the Bronx Zoo. The Malayan tiger, named Nadia, likely contracted the coronavirus from an infected—but unknown—asymptomatic zookeeper. “It’s the only thing that makes sense,” Calle says. The zoo has been closed to visitors since March 16.
Several domestic animals had previously tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, including a Pomeranian and a German shepherd in Hong Kong, a domestic cat in Belgium.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/04/tiger-coronavirus-covid19-positive-test-bronx-zoo/
Now is not the time to have a non-Covid health issue – especially for an old woman.
I have no idea if my throat is anything to worry about or if it will clear on its own. I have had a mildly irritated throat for a few weeks now. I can see a couple of white spots on my slightly swollen right tonsil. A couple of weeks ago I was sent antibiotics after a phone consult with a GP, who said normally she'd do a throat swab to check if it's bacterial.
So several days after completing the antibiotics, no change. Phoned the GPs receptionist saying maybe I need a face-to-face consultation. Generally the GPs are doing phone & video consults now. Problem is we get charged the normal consultation fee for phone/video consults, and if a throat swab is required, that would be an extra fee for a face-to-face consultation.
The receptionist said it was a difficult one and really didn't know the solution. So I have a face-to-face consultation booked, and will phone reception when I get into the GP car park.
I really don't want to be going to a medical facility at this time, but in my low moments I'm worried about what is wrong with my throat.
Stay strong Carolyn – if you're not in the most at risk group that is recently returned from overseas or close contact with someone in that group you have most likely just got a grotty sore throat.
Remember the vast proportion of people with symptoms in NZ are actually coming back with a negative test for Covid 19. Perhaps get them to give you a flu jab while you're there to avaoid the rush once we're out of lock down.
Thanks, SM. I think the possibility of me having THE virus is low if non-existent. My concern is, WTF else is wrong with my throat, and is it something to worry about?
I have been physical distancing for at least a month now, and in last few weeks getting groceries home delivered.
But I also don't want to be at a medical facility where the virus might be at large.
Still, I just want to know what I am dealing with.
Hey Caroline I've had a mildly raw throat for about 3 to 4 weeks now and went through a brief spell of sneezing but it never developed beyond that. Since it has happened to me a few times in the past couple of years I'm not worried. It eventually goes away.
Thanks, Anne. Normally I wouldn't worry about a bit of a sore throat, but I can see white spots on my tonsils, which usually is (bacterial) strep throat requires antibiotics. It didn't get worse or better after a course of antibiotics.
Anyway, I had the face-to-face consult at the GPs this arvo, which was interesting. He came to my car in the car park in full PPEs, gave me a face mask, and took me to an area outside the GPs' building, screened off with plastic sheeting.
He also thinks it looks like strep throat. He did a physical exam of my vitals, etc, and took a throat swab. Said he'd get back to me with the results – maybe have a break after the last antibiotics of a week or so, then try a different antibiotic.
Also, the nurse gave me a flu jab – my appointment for it a couple of weeks back was cancelled as they ran out of stock. I was waiting for them to send me a new appointment.
So I don't need to go back for a separate flu jab appointment. 😊
Can I wash the face mask and re-use it?
Edit: I had strep tonsils in Aussie in my 20s when I was travelling overseas. The GP was getting worried because the antibiotics weren’t improving it, and was saying I may need to be hospitalised. Fortunately, it cleared by the end of the course of antibiotics. But memory of this has been worrying me. And also why I know what strep tonsils looks like.
Yay glad you ended seeing the Dr.
Depends on the fibre composition. Most are designed for single use, so may breakdown in water and lose effectiveness.
Do you sew? You could make your own if you have the supplies, 100% cotton fabric and some elastic. I use a paperclip to insert in bridge of the nose for a snug fit. The mask is like a pocket and you can insert a throw away filler for extra protection, like a folded up tissue.
Hope that helps 🙂
Thanks, Cinny.
I can sew, sort of. Thanks for the links. Will keep them for possible future use. Depends on getting the components.
I heard chatter before we went into lockdown that strep throat was going around. The more likely thing is that it is strep throat but it's always better to get things checked out.
Thanks, mpleger. Useful to know.
I was happy initially with the phone consultation and having antibiotics delivered to me. Was disappointed that the antibiotics did not eliminate it – and that was the cause of my concern.
When I searched online, all the advice said antibiotics should be prescribed ASAP, partly because it stopped transmission to others. Some said that strep throat usually goes after after a week, with or without antibiotics.
In the northern hemisphere, the pre-Covid flu included some throat infections in their just finishing winter.
In retrospect, not sure what they will test for with my throat swab. We'll see.
The GP at the phone consultation said it could be a virus or bacterial, and that's, I think why they do a swab to check. She went with it most likely being bacterial, so prescribed antibiotics to see if that worked.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01YrXUChqCI&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEpfvTdR5-U&feature=youtu.be
Attention: "weka"
Yesterday "weka" claimed there was "no evidence" that there was a purge of human rights activists from Britain's doomed, discredited Labour Party. "weka" needs to read this….
https://members5.boardhost.com/xxxxx/thread/1586088704.html
[I’m not reading that. If you want to provide back up for your claim, then cut and paste the relevant bits. But I think we’ve already established that you were being fanciful. I fully accept that you personally believe it’s true, but thus far there isn’t any evidence to support that – weka]
Morrissey,
How does that extract prove there will be a purge of human right activists? No where does it say that people can't campaign for Palestinian rights in a pretty forthright way. It simply says that Labour party members can't be anti-semetic.
Wayne as you may not have come across Morrissey previously a word of warning, he is a notoriously self involved equal opportunity troll, it's best not to try and engage with him.
It doesn't, of course.
The letter from Starmer, to the Board of deputies of British jews, says about anti-Semitism – He will tear out the poison by it's roots.
Of course, if one thinks anti semitism isn't a poison, then that stance is going to conflict and cause some people a lot of issues.
To the "Friends of Israel"contingent supporting Palestinian rights is "anti-semitic"
Attention: "Morrissey"
You fool!
Weka never claimed such a thing but asked you to provide the evidence that you had omitted from your comments.
I’ll leave the moderation to weka.
Sorry, Morrissey, but I followed your debate with Weka and Incognito is right. All you were asked to do was to give the gist of the argument/evidence that was in the links you provided. You didn't.
Starmer offering to meet right wing Zionists in order to discuss how he might stamp out antisemitism is too many orders of weird for me to wrap my head around.
There's also quite a push against feminists in UK Labour btw.
Just as advocates of basic human rights for Palestinians within UK Labour get smeared as anti-semites, so feminists within UK Labour advocating for women's rights are being smeared as TERFs.
Different protagonists, same playbook. Fucking horrible on so many levels.
Starmer offering to meet right wing Zionists in order to discuss how he might stamp out antisemitism is too many orders of weird for me to wrap my head around.
Thanks bill. Of course, supporters of the Israeli regime are not interested in "stamping out antisemitism", they're concerned only with stamping out protest against Israel. Their never-ending attempt to conflate Israel with Judaism is a desperate and cynical strategy.
I agree Bill
I couldn't really care less about Simon Bridges driving hundreds of km between Wellington and Tauranga. I'm sure he pees in his car and can change his own tyre.
But I do think it's hilarious that driving two km was an unforgivable outrage only 3 days ago.
Let's face it, the real question is: does Simon drive a car with his smiling face plastered on the side? Because that was Clark's real crime.
Well Scotland's Chief Medical officer may disagree with you regard flouting of lockdown rules.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/scotland-s-chief-medical-officer-resigns-after-flouting-lockdown-rules-20200406-p54hdq.html
But nobody can sack Bridges except the National caucus, and they've had countless reasons to do that over the past two years. One more won't make any difference.
lol it's funny when you and Bill agree.
So, to repeat myself:
Ha! I’m sure Tova and HDPA will be all over this.
To be fair, Tova did just ask the PM about it at the press conference.
Ardern's response was (translated from poli-speak) …. "definitely not commenting but feel free to read between the lines of this non-comment".
Bridges was certainly in his own bubble.
Simons Bridges behaviour is irresponsible and unnecessary. He certainly is an arrogant little man with self-entitlement issues.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/413566/bridges-defends-wellington-to-tauranga-commute
Simon Bridges should be in quarantine to protect New Zealanders. Standing this close is dangerous and irresponsible.
https://www.twitter.com/NorthPolitics/status/1246607870927355904
Simon can't stand 2 metres away from them because he's in yet another of his arranged photo ops. Supermarket workers are the flavour of the month (and rightly so), so Simon's got to be seem associating with them. I bet he's never bothered before.
Flavour of last month? The photo dates from before the level 4 restrictions (24th March?). It may have been "dangerous and irresponsible", but not at the time actively illegal.
I am more concerned that he has no intention of stopping his unnecessary travel. Who could ever have predicted that a National leader would be so self-entitled and lacking empathy?
Not quite. Comes under "alternative ways of working required" in level 3. Although to be fair the message might not have been communicated in small enough words at that stage.
The issue with what Clark did was as much the activity he undertook as the driving. That's why in his apoligy he said "Even though I deliberately opted for an easy, local track, on reflection I realise I should have chosen a better option such as walking, running or cycling on the flat,"
Exactly – pleased to agree with you for once. That Scottish woman twice did an hour's drive (60km or so?) and had been warned by police. Clark drove only 2.5 km once, when there is actually no 2km rule, and Tova O'Brien hides all that in tonight's TV3 news, and tries to equate the two offences as being of equal hypocrisy.
Anyone who knows the details will see Tova for what she is. But why should she be permitted to spread such tendentious rubbish, presenting it as 'news'?
Anybody know if amidst the Covid 19 emergency the usual flu is being tracked globally?
Because it looks like a bad one in the States and was tracking steeply up in early January
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-flu-killed-80000-last-season-fight-it-with-these-10-proven-cures-2018-09-30
"The 2017-2018 flu season was the deadliest in more than four decades with 80,000 deaths caused by the flu, including 180 children. And it looks like the virus is back with a vengeance for winter 2019-2020, which is on track to be just as bad, as seen on this CDC graph."
This article was originally published in February 2018, and has been updated with the most recent CDC data for winter 2019-2020.
If this is the sort of moronic analysis Collins believes then there shouldn’t be too much to worry about if Bridges is rolled and she takes over:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/120815679/heres-how-coronavirus-will-change-us-judith-collins
Well it seems its not an exact science as flu is not a notifiable disease in most parts of the US
Estimates of flu deaths for the 2019-20 season are between 24 to 63,000 up until March 28
and in that same period 400,000-730,000 hospitalisations
You would have to hope this tapers off before Covid19 peaks, because that is quite an additional burden
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/preliminary-in-season-estimates.htm
The flu vaccinations have been bought forward for vulnerable people – in my area older poeple were given it away from the medical centre and with social distancing.
But flu rates go down when people are in lock-down because it spreads in the same way as covid-19. Trying to stop covid-19 spreading helps stop the flu spreading.
Cracker Dickens' bio.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000h0qj
Sketches by Boz
[US] Ol' Snippy tip….Melania Trump to address nation to rally people. ask them to pray etc. Healing theme, approx time period next couple of weeks.
Does anyone know how to get the data on this? Other than emailing the polling company, which I feel is unlikely to get a timely reply. There's not much point in knowing the margin of error for a given population sample when thereare no numbers stated!
It's interesting that Ardern seems to be better trusted by Australians than Aotearoans. Maybe something to do with the right-wing mouths in NZ being even more irrelevant over there than they are in this country.
http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/8333-net-trust-score-political-leaders-march-20-2020-202003190756
http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/8351-reasons-for-trust-distrust-of-political-and-business-leaders-march-2020-202003270641
Thanks Pat, that's exactly what I was looking for. Embarrassed to be so out of practice navigating that site, it's been a while since I have followed polling. Hopefully it was at least slightly difficult to locate and not a big blue link I missed.