Open mike 06/04/2022

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, April 6th, 2022 - 133 comments
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For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

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Step up to the mike …

133 comments on “Open mike 06/04/2022 ”

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  1. Tony Veitch (not etc.) 1
    6 April 2022 at 6:07 am

    I don’t think many people on the centre and right realise just how good our PM is at Question Time.

    Not only has she an impressive, a really impressive command of detail across many portfolios, she also has a witty tongue: for example, her parting shot –

    "I could speak at great length about what we have done in office to repair the damage of that time in office by the National Party, so if the member wants to ask more patsies, I would welcome it."

    https://ondemand.parliament.nz/parliament-tv-on-demand/?itemId=224240

    If the election in ’23 was based purely on the merit of the debating skill of Jacinda and Luxon, there would be no contest.

    Unfortunately, blind adherence on failed Chicago School economics means that the emotional and empty appeal of ‘tax cuts’ and ‘more money in the pockets of hard-working kiwis' will still be a factor.

    • Bearded Git 1.1
      6 April 2022 at 11:34 am

      Exactly right Tony V…she is excellent at PMQ. Contrast this with Luxon's chronically bad performance on Radio NZ’s Morning Report this AM.

      https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018837169/ukraine-invasion-luxon-wants-stronger-sanctions-ambassador-expelled

    • gsays 1.2
      6 April 2022 at 12:40 pm

      TBF, Robertson and Ardern are both adherents of that same failing neo-liberal experiment. Just a nicer spin put on it

      I would love to see this new Health Authority ditch the sub-contracting model favoured by the current DHB's and bring most roles- security, meals, grounds, laundry, in-house.

    • MickeyBoyle 1.3
      6 April 2022 at 1:41 pm

      I'll take results over rhetoric thanks.

    • Tony Veitch (not etc.) 1.4
      6 April 2022 at 2:15 pm

      Wednesday update: another embarrassing question time for Luxon.

      Reading from scripted questions which simply allowed the PM to catalogue the many achievements of her government.

      Though, to be fair – maybe the contrast is so marked because Luxon (who used to run an airline, don’t you know) is so appallingly bad.

      • mac1 1.4.1
        6 April 2022 at 2:42 pm

        Luxon got a serve from the PM who said she would not be lectured by a party (on new house builds) which built only 100 houses in 9 years and instead sold off state houses.

        She also reminded the House that National had children living in cars during last time in office.

        We must remember back to those times as to what National was like in its last term in office, and then consider how they would have dealt with pandemics and the other crises and issues which have come up since 2017.

        Then, having considered all that, ponder how bad it will be for us if National get back into office.

        I have, and I'm back into helping out in the party organisation, to work to get this government re-elected. I'd sincerely ask that all Standardistas do the same, in whatever party suits their style.

        • Tony Veitch (not etc.) 1.4.1.1
          6 April 2022 at 3:32 pm

          yes

        • alwyn 1.4.1.2
          6 April 2022 at 6:07 pm

          Did she tell the truth in any of her scripted comments?

          • mac1 1.4.1.2.1
            6 April 2022 at 9:31 pm

            Alwyn, you obviously didn't watch or listen. So why such a question?

            If you had watched, then you would have known that 1. she handled her questioners with skill and knowledge (if that is what you mean by 'scripted 🙂 ) and 2. she has now twice challenged Luxon to debate with her, 'toe to toe' today, and guess what? Luxon did not stay for or participate in the general debate.

            I am sure that Luxon would be able to point out the truth of her statements. I mean, he’s really good at deadpan reading out of prepared questions……

            • alwyn 1.4.1.2.1.1
              7 April 2022 at 9:28 am

              You never answered my question did you? Instead you quote some b**s about National building only a 100 houses in 9 years.

              The actual figures for their time in office, and I have included the fiscal years from 2009/2010 to 2017/2018 as being their term are as follows.

              2009/2010 372. Then for the following years they were 165, 123, 100, 173, 408, 732, 419, and in 2017/2018 841.

              !00 homes in 9 years? b**s. So that statement you have quoted was a lie. Were any of the other lines she parroted any closer to the truth?

              The numbers are from the bottom of page 3 of this document.

              https://kaingaora.govt.nz/assets/Publications/OIAs-Official-Information-Requests/July-2019/OIA-9-July-2019-number-of-state-houss-built.pdf

              • mac1 …
                7 April 2022 at 1:37 pm

                Alwynm I first read your OIA requst and thought I must have misheard ot misremembered the PM's words in Q1 yesterday. I didn't. What I quoted was correct. That is what the PM said.

                You have produced a document that refutes that. Your argument therefore is with the PM.

                looking at the figures in the OIA request, provided in July 2019, Labour built 2801 houses in six years from 2002-2008. National built 2953 state houses in 9 years 2008-17.

                Total state housing stock fell from a high of 69,489 in 2010, to 67,245 in 2015 and down to 64,607 in 2019.

                Figues from Kainga Ora for 31/12/21 state that 68,459 bedrooms have been provided by KO mostly state rentals, but also Lease, Community group and transitional housing.

                Like is difficult to compare with like. I presume that the OIA figures refer also to total bedroom numbers, as do the 2021 figures.

                So, numbers have come back up to within 1030 of the 2010 high.

                Putting aside Ardern's figures, there is a clear case to be made by the figures that you supplied and followed by the 2021 figures that numbers of state provided housing had dropped under National and have climbed back to 1000 by the end of 2021 and presumably have improved in 2022.

                • mac1 …
                  7 April 2022 at 1:58 pm

                  citation for the Kainga Ora figures above .https://kaingaora.govt.nz/assets/Publications/Managed-stock/Managed-Stock-December-2021-National-Summary.pdf

                  I should add, and this compounds the difficulty I am having comparing like with like, is that some 1700 housing 'units' are owned by, but currently untenanted, at 31/12/2021. These possibly should be added to the 'total housing portfolio administered by the state'.
                  https://kaingaora.govt.nz/assets/Publications/Vacant-properties/Vacant-Stock-December-2021-National-Summary.pdf

                • alwyn …
                  7 April 2022 at 7:00 pm

                  " Your argument therefore is with the PM"

                  Not really. It is now quite a long time since I did argue with a PM and then it was on the basis of "Yes Prime Minister but with respect I suggest that………..".
                  That was quite a number of years ago and I am not talking about anyone in the last decade or two.

                  I now don't have to be extremely polite and I can describe her as I think she is, a liar. I wouldn't consider saying that " she handled her questioners with skill and knowledge" when was she did was lie.

                  I also wouldn't say "I am sure that Luxon would be able to point out the truth of her statements". The word you should be using is not "truth" by the way. It is "untruth" and it is actually not easy for him to do that. The rules of the House don't allow you to say, or even hint, that she is lying. The mad duck in the chair will kick you out.

                  I am disappointed these days in how people are so eager to accept things she says as being gospel. They aren't.

                  • mac1 …
                    8 April 2022 at 10:58 am

                    Alwyn, was there any follow up reaction from the opposition to the PM's figures?

                    I did hear on ThursdayQuestion Time Minister Megan Woods say something along the lines of if National while in government had built houses in the same volume as did Labour then there would be 22000 more houses today and that therefore 85% of the current waiting list would have been already housed.

                    • alwyn …
                      8 April 2022 at 2:19 pm

                      Follow up? Not that I know of and I don't think they would try if they couldn't do it instantly. I doubt that anyone would have both picked it up instantly and actually known what the answer would be on the spot. After all it had nothing to do with any of the questions they had been asking at the time.

                      You couldn't really bring it up now. Try thinking of a question that would be in line with the rules. If they didn't want to say anything Trevor would simply rule a question out of order on the grounds that "The PM is not responsible for the actions of the previous Government".

                      As for Woods remark! What is that meant to mean. I suppose National could ask whether she really thought National was to blame because they didn't allow for how terrible their successors were going to be? It might be accurate but again Trevor would say she wasn't responsible and shut them off.

                      It does sound like a pretty stupid comment from Woods though doesn't it?

                    • mac1 …
                      8 April 2022 at 4:46 pm

                      Alwyn, here is what she said, from Hansard. Question 12.

                      https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/hansard-debates/rhr/combined/HansDeb_20220407_20220407_16

                      "One of the points of both sadness and frustration for us as a Government, however, is that we are making up for the squandered opportunities of the previous Government. Not only did they end up with 1,500 fewer houses than they started with, but if they had built at the same rate as we did, there would be over 22,000 more public houses in New Zealand today, accounting for 85 percent of the current waiting list. So while we are pulling every lever, unfortunately we are playing catch-up for the gutting of public housing by the previous National Government."

                      That might better explain her point.

          • mac1 1.4.1.2.2
            6 April 2022 at 10:01 pm

            Alwyn, I've just read your reply to McFlock on Daily Review and what you said is so accurate. With appropriate revisions you wrote, "I think you will find that this is simply alwyn saying he doesn't like Labour or its leader." How perspicacious.

  2. tsmithfield 2
    6 April 2022 at 7:21 am

    For those who want to push the Russian narrative that the Bucha attrocities were faked:

    1. The atrocities have been geolocated to when the Russians were in control of Bucha.

    2. Drone footage showing a Russian tank firing on a civilian walking with a bike in Bucha.

    3. This DW report debunking Russian claims about "evidence" of staging.

    This situation is absolutely repellant, and probably only the tip of the iceberg I expect.

    • Sabine 2.1
      6 April 2022 at 8:08 am

      Good, that means now there is evidence that is more then just some grainy photos.

      And that means that with evidence at hand charges can be laid. Properly. As for war yes, war is repellent. The war in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Afghanistan, and so on and so forth. All repellent and all full of various atrocities against humans by humans.

      Maybe next time more effort is spend on actually preventing war – and that includes Nato and the US/UK/"free western world".

      • RedLogix 2.1.1
        6 April 2022 at 8:34 am

        Maybe next time more effort is spend on actually preventing war

        At present it is clear from their actions that neither the Russian nor Chinese regimes are in the least interested in this. As long as this remains the case then you need to distinguish between weakness and appeasement – and strength and deterrence.

        If you genuinely want to prevent war, then I have written to this many times over the years here – but no-one ever shows any interest.

        • weston 2.1.1.1
          6 April 2022 at 10:34 am

          Lol the old "I always you never " line

        • Jenny how to get there 2.1.1.2
          6 April 2022 at 11:05 am

          RedLogix

          6 April 2022 at 8:34 am

          Maybe next time more effort is spend on actually preventing war

          At present it is clear from their actions that neither the Russian nor Chinese regimes are in the least interested in this…….

          Just as you say Red, the Russian and Chinese regimes, may be least interested in stopping war, but neither were the Americans in Vietnam.

          But that interest in war can be changed.

          "1,2,3,4, We don't want your bloody war"

          "2,4,6, 8, Stop the killing, Stop the hate"

          America lost interest in prosecuting the war in Vietnam, not just because the US army got bogged down in the jungles of South East Asia, but because of a powerful anti-war protest movement in America.

          The same thing could happen in Russia.

          Thousands Detained At Anti-War Protests Across Russia

          Last Updated: March 06, 2022

          https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-1000-protesters-arrested-ukraine-invasion/31738786.html

      • Byd0nz 2.1.2
        6 April 2022 at 8:47 am

        Maybe next time more effort is spend on actually preventing war – and that includes Nato and the US/UK/"free western world".
        Agree, though one should include the UN and it’s member states, as they had the chance to address the legitimate concerns that Russia had and has regarding security issues, but instead of debating these concerns they chose to cave in to the US and it’s war diseased machine called NATO that the war mongers on this site clearly follow.

        • tsmithfield 2.1.2.1
          6 April 2022 at 9:09 am

          Instead of trying to deflect, minimise, and justify this situation, how about you and Sabine actually expressing revulsion for what is actually happening right now, without qualification.

          Really, Byd0nz, someone who tacitly tries to justify what Russia is doing in Ukraine is more of a war monger than anyone else who posts here as it is lending support for Russia's aggression.

          • Byd0nz 2.1.2.1.1
            6 April 2022 at 9:14 am

            Nowhere on any of my comments have I supported Putin, I have however expressed the hope that with the next Russian election, the people vote in the second most popular party, one that has been consistently against this war, that is the Communist Party. Let’s hope this comes to fruition.

            • tsmithfield 2.1.2.1.1.1
              6 April 2022 at 9:51 am

              If the communist party is against the war, I actually hope they do get into power in Russia. As much as communism is an anathema to me, they certainly can't be worse than the current situation.

              Do you seriously believe that Putin has any chance of losing given his ubiquitous control of everything in Russia? What do you think of the chance of "free and fair" elections over there?

              • joe90 …
                6 April 2022 at 10:02 am

                If the communist party is against the war,

                Nah, they're in.

                The Communist Party of the Russian Federation strongly condemns the heinous joint provocation of Ukrainian and Western politicians and demands a comprehensive thorough investigation not of staged fakes, but of numerous real crimes of Nazi Bandera, including the brutal torture of Russian military personnel.

                https://twitter.com/G_Zyuganov/status/1511444400290910213

              • Byd0nz …
                6 April 2022 at 11:11 am

                I don’t know if it will be the end of the Putin Regime, but let’s just wait and see how the voters react.

                despite GI Joe’s 2pence worth, the Communist Party believes in dialogue in the first instance to avoid conflicts, something NATO and the UN fail to grasp.

                • McFlock …
                  6 April 2022 at 2:44 pm

                  despite GI Joe’s 2pence worth, the Communist Party believes in dialogue in the first instance to avoid conflicts, something NATO and the UN fail to grasp.

                  First time I've ever heard someone claim the UN doesn't do enough talking

            • aj 2.1.2.1.1.2
              6 April 2022 at 10:09 am

              Another thoughtful article on the atrocities being committed in the Ukraine, but many minds are closed.

              Byd0nz, you should know by now that you can't deviate a mm from the mainstream line without being called a putin supporter, or being called on Whataboutism

              "Whataboutism" – a term created to extract western warmongers from the difficult position of having done All The Bad Things they accuse others of doing. When someone uses it on you, it means you just killed their argument and exposed their moral bankruptcy.

              The allegations at Bucha and western foreign policy

              It would of course, be morally wrong and deeply inappropriate to write off these allegations at face value. It is true that such claims should be taken seriously, investigated properly and be treated with the sensitivity they deserve especially in respect to the victims. However, at the same time the scenes of shock, outrage and repulsion in the western political discourse make a proper assessment of these events of course impossible at least in the short term. Undeniably so, the insight cannot be dismissed that such allegations are being politicized on a grand scale and even if not unfounded, are being utilized as a means of war propaganda. What has seemingly happened cannot be condoned if true, but one should always be mindful of the tactics which the West uses.

              https://english.dotdotnews.com/a/202204/05/AP624bf362e4b0adad9d2fb2aa.html

              • Byd0nz …
                6 April 2022 at 11:05 am

                thanks for that link and have read it and I do understand your comment below
                Byd0nz, you should know by now that you can't deviate a mm from the mainstream line without being called a putin supporter, or being called on Whataboutism

                "Whataboutism" – a term created to extract western warmongers from the difficult position of having done All The Bad Things they accuse others of doing. When someone uses it on you, it means you just killed their argument and exposed their moral bankruptcy.

                All to true, these people seem to misread the point one is making which backs up the above statement.

                thanks for your posts

        • Tricledrown 2.1.2.2
          6 April 2022 at 10:07 pm

          Crimea river Putin is s nasty meglomaniac

    • RedLogix 2.2
      6 April 2022 at 8:27 am

      Thank you for patiently this ts in a patient manner I could not have without invoking the wrath of Incog. You have done a fantastic job on Ukraine generally.

      My answer to the Russia apologists here is simple – on Feb 24 when Putin ordered his military over the Ukrainian border – he was from that moment on accountable for all blood, brutality and chaos that would inevitably flow. Everything else is semantics.

      • tsmithfield 2.2.1
        6 April 2022 at 8:39 am

        Thanks for the nice comments Red. You have been making great comments as well.

        I think it is important that we counter the sort of narrative that Russian apologists put up because I think it is a concerted strategy to minimise what is going on.

        You might enjoy this guy who is part of the military in Kiev. He gives regular short videos on the situation.

        In the video the link above connects with, he does a short Q & A video. He responds to a question from someone who identifies as a poor student who has nothing to contribute financially, but wants to know what he can do to help.

        The response given is that the student could look out for Russian misinformation and advised of several sites the student could report the misinformation so that it could be taken down.

        So, I guess we can all be doing something.

        • Anne 2.2.1.1
          6 April 2022 at 9:25 am

          I know you are right of centre and I am left of centre tsmithfield, but I have found your posts here helpful. It shows there are many facets of life where there is no real disagreement between us.

          It is disappointing Helen Clark lost her campaign to become UN Secretary General. No disrespect to the incumbent, but Helen planned to overhaul that bureaucracy and give it more teeth than it appears to have these days. That just might have helped to avoid the more horrific aspects of this war:

          https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/464711/ukraine-war-zelensky-tells-un-of-horrors-of-russian-invasion

          • tsmithfield 2.2.1.1.1
            6 April 2022 at 9:43 am

            Thank you Anne. I think there are issues like these that make our differing political perspectives seem quite trivial.

        • Tony Veitch (not etc.) 2.2.1.2
          6 April 2022 at 9:39 am

          I suppose the BBC can be considered a 'reliable' source of info on the war?

          If that is so, this short documentary on a Russian Special Elite force is damning indeed!

    • Ad 2.3
      6 April 2022 at 8:39 am

      I'm looking forward to Russian military leaders being put on trial for this.

      • tsmithfield 2.3.1
        6 April 2022 at 8:56 am

        It might be a bit easier to identify the direct culprits of this brutality as Anonymous has published the names of the Russian soldiers in Bucha.

      • Sanctuary 2.3.2
        6 April 2022 at 9:50 am

        It will never happen.

        It looks increasingly like the Russian will make some gains in the Donbas, seize Mariupol, declare victory, end active hostilities and sometime in the future annex all occupied territory to Russia after a fake plebiscite. They'll use their nuclear arsenal to threaten anyone who dares to challenge the de facto post bellum outcome of this war.

        The current Russian strategy now appears to be if the troublesome Ukrainians insists on not being "de-Natzified" and fighting furiously then they'll make sure it has no industry or economic base left when the active fighting stops.

        They'll then keep Ukraine fighting a low intensity, debilitating war in the east of their country designed to forever keep the country poor and leave the West to fume in public and rebuild energy and money laundering links in private. Whether or not Putin will still be around is an open question. If they can brazen it out he might hang on, or it may be convenient for the authoritarian oligarchs who run Russia to organise a coup and replace him with someone else so everyone can blame him and the west can move on with a new leader in the Kremlin, "someone they can work with."

        But there is no way under any scenario Russia will let it's generals or soldiery be put on trial in any western court for crimes committed in the Ukraine.

        • tsmithfield 2.3.2.1
          6 April 2022 at 10:19 am

          Yes, I am sure that is the Russian plan.

          However, it is not a slam dunk that this will happen:

          Firstly, the performance of the Ukranian military, the poor performance of the Russians, and the horror at the atrocities in Bucha is motivating the West to provide the heavy weaponary Ukraine needs to defeat the Russians (along with bountiful donations from the Russians themselves.

          For instance, the Czechs are providing tanks to Ukraine. The British is looking to provide anti-ship missiles so Ukraine can defend against the Russian ships firing cruise missiles. And I have also seen reports that the US is trying to facilitate the supply of weaponary the Ukranians know how to use.

          Secondly, waging war is expensive. This is where sanctions will start to bite in a big way so far as Russia's ability to sustain the fight for the long haul. Especially if Ukraine is provided with weapons that can cause them major damage.

          Finally, Another problem is that Russia is increasingly finding it difficult to replace the weapons they are using because a lot of the components are made in Ukraine. Ukraine is naturally unwilling to supply those components at the moment.

          • tsmithfield 2.3.2.1.1
            6 April 2022 at 10:34 am

            Here is a report on the effect of sanctions on the the ability for Russia to keep waging war.

            • Sanctuary 2.3.2.1.1.1
              6 April 2022 at 10:45 am

              The chief outcome of this war will be to expose Russia as an aggressive second class power with an outsized legacy nuclear arsenal of limited practical use that is a threat to all it's smaller neighbours but completely unable to compete with other first class powers.

              Putin’s miscalculation means he has reinvigorated NATO, got the world cheering German rearmament and paved the way for a wider anti-Russian alliance in eastern Europe.

              His only friend of substance will be China, and that will be a relationship akin to that of the crumbling Austro-Hungarian empire to the Germans in the Great War – the shots will be called in Beijing.

              • tsmithfield …
                6 April 2022 at 10:57 am

                Yes, I have said in previous posts that Russia just ends up as a vasal state for China out of this.

                I think Putin is so obsessed with Ukraine, and is overly focused on the short-term objective of not being seen to lose. But what ever happens, he has lost strategically. Russia will never be a great power again after this.

            • Francesca 2.3.2.1.1.2
              6 April 2022 at 12:35 pm

              In a globalised world, all sanctions and measures to punish can have unforeseen consequences .

              https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-oligarchs-seized-superyachts-may-become-environmental-hazard-experts-2022-3
              Incidentally, the ordinary Russian people are just loving seeing the almighty oligarchs getting their comeuppance

      • aj 2.3.3
        6 April 2022 at 4:25 pm

        I'm looking forward to all living military and political leaders being put on trial for all war crimes committed under their watch.

      • aom 2.3.4
        6 April 2022 at 4:49 pm

        Ad, you may be looking forward to Russian military leaders being put on trial. In addition to this, some of us want to see the US put on trial for the millions of people whose existence is being threatened by the starvation and the deliberate denial of life saving drugs. These sanctions are imposed without UN approval and enforced by the US and its proxies. Such sanctions are without doubt WAR CRIMES and like the alleged war crimes in Ukraine are ruthless. One can only assume that the western world turns a blind eye because the victims are not blue eyed Europeans.

        You might also consider which parts of the world have no skin in the NATO/Russian confrontation but will be consigned to premature deaths in the pile on to impose sanctions.

  3. Ad 3
    6 April 2022 at 8:40 am

    Day 3 in bed, binge-watching The Watchers on Netflix (recommended).

    • tsmithfield 3.1
      6 April 2022 at 8:51 am

      Part 2 of the final series of Ozark starts on 29th April as well for anyone who is into that.

    • weka 3.2
      6 April 2022 at 9:20 am

      I just finished Bel Air (TVNZ), that was good.

    • Tony Veitch (not etc.) 3.3
      6 April 2022 at 9:40 am

      I hope the nasty Omicron doesn't lay you too low Ad. Get well.

    • Ad 3.4
      6 April 2022 at 10:38 am

      My bad it's actually called Secret City.

    • Macro 3.5
      6 April 2022 at 10:47 am

      Make sure that you take it easy Ad. The fatigue stage is something else that has to be experienced to fully understand.

      On the subject of visual entertainment can I recommend a 2019 English comic drama. "years and years". Not sure if it is on Netflix but it is on dvd and maybe the library has a copy. Our local library here has it. It's very topical including refugees from Ukraine, and really good for political tragics such as us on TS. One of the teenagers communicates with her parents through a digital filter, and thinks that she is trans – transhuman and wants to become digital data.

      Something for all. 😏😊

    • Stephen D 3.6
      6 April 2022 at 11:50 am

      If you don't mind a bit of violence, and haven't caught up with Peaky Blinders, watch it. Some of the best TV ever!

  4. Right is Right 4
    6 April 2022 at 10:39 am

    I want some of that stuff you are on! You make Lala Land sound so cool!

    [TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]

  5. Barfly 5
    6 April 2022 at 11:04 am

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/new-zealand-superannuation-maori-party-co-leader-rawiri-waititi-suggests-lowering-eligibility-age/ABLOZ5Q7EBVVWRHXFLEHQTLL2Y/

    He says that it should be 57 for Maori and I think he has a point however

    "• The gap between Māori and non-Māori period life expectancy has fluctuated, but over the
    long term narrowed. For the period 2012-14, period life expectancy at age 65 for Māori men
    was 15.4 years, and women 17.5 years. The non-Māori figures were 19.1 and 21.6 years,
    implying a gap for that period of 3.8 years for men and 4.1 years for women"

    https://actuaries.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/2-Longevity-RIIG-FINAL-Oct-19.pdf

    Now of course there are more ways to divide a population than by race I would be very confident to wager a fair portion of my puny wealth that rich people live longer than poor people and the same for disabled versus the abled. But as the co-leader of a race based party I can see why his priorities appear to be only for Maori outcomes.
    .

    • Jimmy 5.1
      6 April 2022 at 12:12 pm

      Perhaps men should get the pension sooner than women because women tend to live longer.

    • swordfish 5.2
      6 April 2022 at 2:40 pm

      .

      But it's not just the Māori Party … ethnic-based preferential treatment is very much the goal of Labour & Green Party elites & activists, heavily influenced by Critical Race Theory & its various bastardized ideological manifestations … (the doctrinal maxims handed down by Archbishops DiAngelo, Kendi, Applebaum, Coates & so on) …

      A highly, highly selective 'equity' … in which poorer Pakeha, Asians & other non-Polynesians are outrageously labelled "privileged" & systematically scapegoated into second-class citizenship, largely by stealth … with all the dire health consequences, lifestyle degradation & early death that that process entails.

      Quite possibly an inevitable corollary of an ultimately self-interested Professional Upper-Middle Class capture of the 'Left'.

    • Sanctuary 5.3
      7 April 2022 at 12:28 pm

      I would be happy enough to offer a reduced pension from 60 if a) it was means tested and b) normal super payments kicked in at a slightly older age, like 67 or 68.

  6. Sanctuary 6
    6 April 2022 at 11:19 am

    It's a big thank you to Ashley Bloomfield, he has achieved his opus magnum in public health and bigger, but perhaps not as important, stations are calling him after a well deserved break. He departs a hero of public health practitioners everywhere and one would imagine almost any public health related job he wishes will be his for the picking.

    I wonder what the bookies are offering on Ashley Bloomfield being on the Labour party list in 2023? Andrew Little does little except be grumpy, Jacinda may need a genial new health minister.

    Anyway, if he isn't doing politics it'll be arise Sir Ashley come new year mark my words.

    • Johnr 6.1
      6 April 2022 at 11:45 am

      Well said Sanctuary. Having a Sir Ashley would be a very welcome and well deserved honour, as opposed to, the all too often party donor business troughers.

    • Belladonna 6.2
      6 April 2022 at 8:10 pm

      AFAICR, when he was asked the question, about whether he'd like to be a politician, the answer was very much in the negative.
      I don't think he has any ambitions at all for a 'public' life after the last 2.5 yearrs.

  7. Woolly Mammoth 7
    6 April 2022 at 11:48 am

    Ad, tsmithfield and others: can you explain why the U.K is delaying a meeting of the UN Security Council?

    Nebenzia & co have have put out information contrary to the official western/Ukrainian line. Is it not in the best interests of us all to test the evidence presented in both narratives?

    • Ad 7.1
      6 April 2022 at 1:48 pm

      Trying to read UNSC politics right now is next to impossible with Russia toxic to all but China, French Presidential elections days away, and all the current non-permanent members studiously avoiding strong support of Europe right now.

      It's not a parlour game I want to observe.

  8. Byd0nz 8
    6 April 2022 at 12:02 pm

    why the U.K is delaying a meeting of the UN Security Council?
    Because they’re complicit in the NATO proxy war using Ukraine as a pawn to topple Russia, this being a last ditch attempt to keep the West as the drivers of World Order.

    they are pouring tax payers money in weaponry to keep their war going at the same time ignoring the well being and infrastructure badly needed by those tax paying vassals.

    • Barfly 8.1
      6 April 2022 at 12:19 pm

      Wow mate you excel yourself – so this is a NATO proxy war designed to topple Russia dam those NATO guys are so clever getting Ukraine to attack and invade Russia …oh hang on a minute….

    • Tricledrown 8.2
      6 April 2022 at 10:16 pm

      BydONZ.

      Putin didn't need to invaded now he is in danger of being toppledev.

      A corrupt regime poisoning murdering those who speak out.

  9. Reality 9
    6 April 2022 at 12:18 pm

    I hope the way the business sector and National/Act have prioritised their selfish demands over the health and well-being of people has not contributed to Ashley Bloomfield deciding to step down. Their constant lack of backing up and support for his recommendations would not have made his job easy. His calm, intelligent demeanour has been amazing in the midst of all that has been thrown at him to deal with.

  10. Francesca 10
    6 April 2022 at 12:23 pm

    A comprehensive look at the four different locations in Bucha.

    https://www.donbass-insider.com/2022/04/04/ukraine-the-massacre-of-bucha-a-ukrainian-timisoara/

    On the same day, 2 April 2022, the head of Kiev’s territorial defense, Sergei Korotkikh, nicknamed Botsman (who fought in the neo-Nazi Azov regiment), publishes several videos of the work of ‘his guys’. In the second video of his post, at 6 seconds you can clearly hear one of the guys asking if he can shoot the “men who don’t have blue armbands” (Ukrainian army armbands). To which his commander (Botsman) replies positively.

    Interesting that the guys in the "torture cellar," and some of those with their hands tied on the road, have visible white armbands(signalling non hostility to the Russian military in a Russian occupied area)

    Also has a video of war victims being buried in a mass grave outside the church.The video makes clear the dead are the victims of bombing from round about the 13th March, and says there are about 67 people buried

    Someone recommended Meduza as being reliable(read a pro western outlet …thought they'd been banned)

    Finally, to complete the picture, in an interview given to the media outlet Meduza (classified as a foreign agent in Russia), a woman living in Bucha and a member of the territorial defense (so not a pro-Russian), says herself that “the people lying on Yablonskaya died because of chaotic shooting”, and she does not report any cases of Russian soldiers shooting civilians during the time they controlled the city. Rather odd.

    So, to my mind , the Russians are in the wider sense, responsible for the carnage , by initiating the war , but they have not perpetrated all the deaths themselves by a long way., and I am highly suspicious of those deaths where the victims are wearing white armbands and have their hands tied behind their backs.

    • Bearded Git 10.1
      6 April 2022 at 2:09 pm

      Francesca-Are you saying the West/NATO are spreading propaganda? Perish the thought. After all this never happened once in 5 years of the Second WW.

      Wait a minute…..

  11. Stephen D 11
    6 April 2022 at 12:32 pm

    The Security Council is a mess. Russia, Ukraine, and the USA do not recognise the ICC.

    The chance of Putin or anybody being held accoutable are pretty much nil.

  12. Siobhan 12
    6 April 2022 at 12:38 pm

    I was interested to read about these Russian soldiers/mercenaries today.

    The terrible thing is I have never heard of them and their atrocities before ..but then I see the line…

    "Images taken yesterday show a soldier wearing the insignia of the paramilitary group which has been active in civil wars in Africa"

    and I am reminded, yet again, how little we care about other people who we deem to be less than..

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10687901/Russias-feared-Wagner-mercenaries-spotted-Ukraine-time-1-000-deployed.html

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagner_Group

  13. Woolly Mammoth 13
    6 April 2022 at 12:52 pm

    Stephen D – Is bringing the issue to the Security Council about holding "Putin or anybody" accountable or about trying to establish the truth of the matter?

    Russia has said it's a false flag and they have evidence to that effect. I don't know if that's true or false. Do they have the right to be heard or don't they?

    • Stephen D 13.1
      6 April 2022 at 2:11 pm

      If atrocities can be proven, Then someone should be accountable.

      But don't count on it.

  14. Ad 14
    6 April 2022 at 1:02 pm

    The resignation of Health Director General Ashley Bloomfield has spooky weirdness to it.

    He has nothing to go to. ie lost half a mil a year with not so much as a Director's appointment.

    He's centre and middle of the largest health restructure we've ever done, which he's leading, and none of it's ready except the Maori entity Board appointments.

    He's leaving when the pandemic remains the highest it's been in the entire two years.

    He did not see his own term out, nor the political term, nor have a successor in place for the Number 1 King job. Surely it would have been his for the taking.

    The thanks from the Prime Minister was sweet but brief and his own Minister Little has said nothing.

    And now there's this. The Treasury has just released its Investor Confidence Review into the Ministry of Health which collapsed into a D rating. The DHB's which Bloomfield had had ripped apart by his attack dog Lester Levy all actually were shown to be strong and should not have been attacked. There go the careers of the key leaders of Waitemata, Auckland, Counties Manukau, and Canterbury. No need to wonder why key managers don't want to stay in Health here.

    This is all set out in rigorous detail over three posts by Ian Powell previous Exec Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists. Each of them is detailed and worth the time to read. This degree of sustained bureaucratic knifing is rarely exposed.

    GUEST BLOG: Ian Powell – More than egg running down face; it’s an entire poultry farm’s yolk | The Daily Blog

    Treasury's evaluation results of Bloomfield's Departmental performance are all in black and white here, also going through all key Departments and all DHBs.

    Investor Confidence Rating Results Analysis: Round 1 and Round 2 (treasury.govt.nz)

    Granted we will see more blood spilled as all those DHB Board directors really air out their dirty laundry one by one.

    Like Ardern, Bloomfield looks like he was great in a crisis but when that started to wear off the truth of his actual operation has come out.

    I doubt too much more will come out from around him as his immediate circle will all be angling for the jobs that are in contest now, including his own.

    Wellington looks a shade darker today.

    • psych nurse 14.1
      6 April 2022 at 1:29 pm

      I would imagine all the failings you describe Ad could be attributed to one Chai Chuah the previous Director General. Didn't we dodge a bullet by not having a National appointed accountant in charge of health in the time of a pandemic.

    • weka 14.2
      6 April 2022 at 2:44 pm

      two simpler explanations.

      1. he's burned out (look at him)

      2. he can't support the government's current pandemic plan because it fails public health.

      or both.

      • aj 14.2.1
        6 April 2022 at 4:34 pm

        I think he's burned out. Do you recall the interview (about a year into the pandemic) where he spoke of the stress he felt carrying the burden of responsibility in those first hectic months? And the pressure hasn't let up. That takes a toll.

        I could see it in Chris Hipkins as well at the end of last year. I suspect many people throughout health and government are feeling drained, to say the least.

        • weka 14.2.1.1
          6 April 2022 at 8:42 pm

          I don't remember that but it makes sense.

          Ardern looks like she needs a break too.

    • McFlock 14.3
      6 April 2022 at 3:01 pm

      He's leaving at the end of July.

      Basically, after reading the links and then the previous posts in the DB link, I still have no idea what the dude is one about, let alone whether an alleged "coup" in one DHB is enough to be a career-ending debacle.

      But I suspect that the DG-Health job has been a particularly tough one over the last couple of years (in both workload and responsibility), and as a still-registered doctor I doubt Bloomfield will be on the dole queue any time soon.

      I wish him well.

    • Craig H 14.4
      6 April 2022 at 4:45 pm

      Maybe, but apparently the previous 3 Director-Generals of Health also didn't finish their 5 year terms, so it would almost be more unusual if he did finish the term.

  15. Poission 15
    6 April 2022 at 1:28 pm

    Christchurch has introduced changes to Airbnb et al.Often council changes have negative outcomes for many (cost plus) here this will provide positive outcomes while disadvantaging few.

    With over 2000 units in CHCH city,for short stay accommodation ,unconsented and paying residential rates (and probably residential insurance etc) not meeting the requirements of the building act,these units have an unfair disadvantage over entrenched accommodation providers.

    The possible outcomes are an increased rating income for CHCH,from existing inventory for those who remain.

    Even a minor change in inventory use will have a large outcome in CHCH,say for example if we see 10% become available on the rental market,this will be a 25% increase in rental listings,and if 10% become available on the housing market that increases inventory by 5%.

    Accommodation (motels etc) is around 35% down at present in CHCH,so there will be no short term constraints.

    Nationwide it would have substantive benefits ( without a single nail being used)

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/128264975/airbnb-slams-christchurchs-new-house-sharing-rules-as-most-restrictive-in-australasia

  16. tsmithfield 16
    6 April 2022 at 1:53 pm

    Hmmm it looks like Ukraine is about to get a major boost to both its air force and its battle tank forces.

    Poland has just signed a deal for purchase of both US tanks and warplanes.

    The significance of this purchase that Poland had been reluctant to give its current Soviet era tanks and Migs unless they could be upgraded by the US. So, this deal suggests Poland may release its older stuff to Ukraine.

    Looks like that is happening now, so Ukraine could soon have a major boost for ejecting the Russians

  17. Francesca 17
    6 April 2022 at 2:29 pm

    From your link (did you read it?)

    As part of the modernization of its military, Poland is also buying US-made F-35 stealth fighter jets in a deal signed in 2020. Those 32 warplanes are scheduled to begin arriving in Poland in 2026.

    2026 is a bit of a long wait!

    • tsmithfield 17.1
      6 April 2022 at 3:07 pm

      Yes. I noticed that as well. It was under the Ukraine page for CNN, so I assumed there was an implied deal being done.

      Not that we would necessarily know. I saw one of the US government guy saying they don't state everything they are giving Ukraine for obvious reasons.

    • Adrian Thornton 18.1
      6 April 2022 at 2:55 pm

      "Ukrainian soldiers reporting having found boxes of condoms in destroyed russian IFVs"…..you are off the fucking hook man, you, without even the slightest doubt in your mind, link us to a Ukrainian propaganda TV channel, a place where all opposition political new sources and political parties have been banned, WTF…is your bullshit detector completely broken…or did you turn it off yourself?

      I thought this was where serious political debate took place.

      Opposition political parties banned in Ukraine and ‘unified information policy’ imposed
      https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/03/21/opposition-political-parties-banned-in-ukraine-and-unified-information-policy-imposed/

    • JeremyB 18.2
      6 April 2022 at 3:32 pm

      Olympian sportsmen & women are supplied with condoms while in the Olympic village. So does this mean they came prepared to "gang rape girls"?

    • Byd0nz 18.3
      6 April 2022 at 3:43 pm

      Just the Red Army doing Red Army shit.

      you really are an ignorant dick head GI Joe. there is no Red Army, there is no Communist Russia.
      Maybe with the next election they may make a comeback being the second most popular party by far and with a big swing against Putins version of Capitalism. In the meantime, educate yourself

      • Francesca 18.3.1
        6 April 2022 at 4:43 pm

        And if Joe wants to go back to Red Army days, he might like to remind himself of the OUN's slaughter of jews, Poles, and Roma in the second world war, under the leadership of Stepan Bandera.That Bandera who is still revered in Western Ukraine today

        • aj 18.3.1.1
          6 April 2022 at 9:08 pm

          I was watching a Real Crime documentary a few days ago on SKY – Catching The Nail Bomber. (It's on Youtube)
          Just a Nazi doing Nazi shit.

          David Copeland:

          "I bomb the blacks, Pakis, degenerates. I would have bombed the Jews as well if I'd got a chance." Ryan writes that Copeland's first idea had been to bomb the Notting Hill Carnival after seeing images of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics bombing. When asked by police why he had targeted ethnic minorities, he replied, "Because I don't like them, I want them out of this country, I believe in the master race."

          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_London_nail_bombings#Political_views

    • Francesca 18.4
      6 April 2022 at 4:20 pm

      6 April 2022 at 2:31 pm
      Just the Red Army doing Red Army shit.

      Gosh, I remember that happening in Libya, where Gadaffi’s men were give viagra to enable them to be rape machines. .Remember that Joe?

      https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/apr/29/diplomat-gaddafi-troops-viagra-mass-rape

      oh, hang on

      Amnesty International also said it was unable to find evidence for the accusation that the Libyan government had given Viagra to its troops and encouraged them to rape women in rebel-held areas. Then-Secretary of State Clinton, among others, had contributed to this unproven myth.

      https://www.salon.com/2016/09/16/u-k-parliament-report-details-how-natos-2011-war-in-libya-was-based-on-lies/

      propaganda got to propaganda

      • Byd0nz 18.4.1
        6 April 2022 at 7:53 pm

        Exactly. Lies get found out later on, not that the Joe’s of this world get enlightened.

        Is the world better off for murdering Saddam Hussain. Ask the parents of depleted uranium child victims.

        same as Gadaffis’ Libya which had no foreign debt and where all were entitled to accommodation at a just rent. Talk about a war crime.

        keep up the good work Francesca

        • joe90 18.4.1.1
          6 April 2022 at 8:31 pm

          After Afghanistan, Chechnya, Georgia, and Syria, nothing the Russians have done in Ukraine comes as a surprise. And without doubt, you and your ilk's defence and deflection of Russia's crimes makes you complicit in their murderously indiscriminate brutality, cruelty and sexual violence.

          For shame.

          /

  19. Molly 19
    6 April 2022 at 2:33 pm

    Have found the updated (mātauranga Māori inclusive) Curriculum matrix for NCEA Level 6, and posting the link to the page and the pdf here for anyone interested:

    https://ncea.education.govt.nz/science/chemistry-and-biology?view=learning

    https://ncea-live-3-storagestack-53q-assetstorages3bucket-2o21xte0r81u.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/2021-11/CB%20Learning%20Matrix_1.pdf?VersionId=cvRzAyGel6WeB_xoxwhY7RPGwruXyVxl

    I've only briefly looked, but I already have concerns. Substitution of Te Reo Māori phrases and terms where there is no direct translation, thereby muddying language and concepts.

    eg. Under Big Idea

    (Mauri – 1. (noun) life principle, life force, vital essence, special nature, a material symbol of a life principle, source of emotions – the essential quality and vitality of a being or entity. Also used for a physical object, individual, ecosystem or social group in which this essence is located.)

    Mauri is present in all matter. All particles have their own mauri and presence as part of a larger whole, for example within a molecule, polymer, salt, or metal. When matter is broken into smaller particles each particle remains as part of the taiao, for example when a substance is burnt or dissolved the particles remain, with their own mauri. They do not just disappear.

    • joe90 19.1
      6 April 2022 at 2:46 pm

      They do not just disappear.

      Conservation of mass, huh.

      • alwyn 19.1.1
        6 April 2022 at 6:06 pm

        Nah. They've just rediscovered quintessence, or the fifth element, also known as aether.

        In this case I guess it would be the ancient Greek version

        " Aether – personification of the sky or upper air breathed by the Olympians; son of Erebus and night or of Chaos and darkness. Greek deity – a deity worshipped by the ancient Greeks. "

        I doubt if they are really up to the medieval version which was supposed to provide the transmission of em radiation described as

        "aether, also known as the fifth element or quintessence, is the material that fills the region of the universe beyond the terrestrial sphere. The concept of aether was used in several theories to explain several natural phenomena, such as the traveling of light and gravity."

        Whichever one "mauri" is it is just as mythological and non-scientific as the various forms of "aether" turned out to be.

  20. Adrian Thornton 20
    6 April 2022 at 2:53 pm

    Here is a real journalist doing their job….

    • Stuart Munro 20.1
      6 April 2022 at 5:03 pm

      Meh – a celebrity motoring journalist telling one side of the story – and rather badly at that – Might as well listen to Mike Hosking. Reporting from the Donbas region – large numbers of local casualties. Well you will get that when you rise against your government and provide a springboard for hostile Russian forces.

      Are we to take it Adrian, that you are so blind you have no knowledge of the many Ukranians killed in Russia's phony war in Donbas? How about you show us some thus far never demonstrated evenhandedness and learn those numbers – or are we to suffer your pathetic pandering to Putin ad nauseum as usual?

    • Stuart Munro 20.2
      6 April 2022 at 8:12 pm

      13000 killed and 30 000 wounded as of 2019 – since we all know that you are too pathetic a Putin worshipping fascist to look for those numbers yourself.

      [This is getting far too personal, again. I don’t want to have to step in and break up shit fights, so why don’t you two stop replying and referring to each other for a few days. Hopefully, this will calm the mind & temper and lower the levels of acrimony between you two – Incognito]

      • Adrian Thornton 20.2.1
        6 April 2022 at 8:31 pm

        "since we all know that you are too pathetic a Putin worshipping fascist"…..find just one time when I have condoned or defended Putin..you won't you fucking idiot.

        I am getting a little tired of your unhinged always slightly hysterical ad hominem attacks on me… I am an easy guy to find on in internet, so why don't you contact me directly, and I will tell my address so you can come here and say that shit right to my face…or is saying this stuff just something you are only brave enough to do online when it doesn't mean nothing…as I suspect it is.

        [This is getting far too personal, again. I don’t want to have to step in and break up shit fights, so why don’t you two stop replying and referring to each other for a few days. Hopefully, this will calm the mind & temper and lower the levels of acrimony between you two – Incognito]

      • Incognito 20.2.2
        6 April 2022 at 9:22 pm

        Mod note

        • Stuart Munro 20.2.2.1
          9 April 2022 at 7:08 pm

          Noted.

          However – I have a policy of intolerance of fascists. Popper explains it best:

          This Paradox of Tolerance, as it came to be known, argues that intolerant behaviors, irrespective of any judgement of the values that underlie them, ought to be actively fought against in order to preserve an inclusive society.

          The Putin dupes are not progressives. They are really only Putin's version of the Hitler Youth. They don't know, and thus can neither argue nor explain a Russian viewpoint.

          Instead they resort to whataboutery, a tactic familiar to households with feuding four-year-olds "He did it first", they cry, a tactic that gets short shrift from experienced parents.

          The crowning arrogance is for Adrian to complain about being bullied. He or she is proudly championing a genocidal monster, at length, ad nauseum, on a progressive site. I should damned well hope they being bullied – until they desist.

          I'd've preferred if that function were undertaken by the Mods – but I don't set the policy.

          • Incognito 20.2.2.1.1
            9 April 2022 at 8:06 pm

            Thank you. Below is my reply intended for general audience as well.

            The kaupapa (aka ‘policy’) of this site is debating not bullying. The couple of Mods around here each have their own areas of expertise and special interest. Moderation is predominantly on poor/bad behaviour and not on content or topic; Mods can only skim the most obvious and blatant offences, because of limited time and because of lack of familiarity with the matter under discussion. This site is as lenient as possible to allow commenters as much freedom to debate each other as they wish.

            My advice is not to waste time on closed-minded ‘dupes’ and save your energy for commenters who are genuinely interested in debate even, or rather particularly, when you might not agree with them – debating people with whom you 100% agree is an oxymoron (aka echo chamber).

            • RedLogix 20.2.2.1.1.1
              9 April 2022 at 8:15 pm

              My suggestion is that we start a new daily post titled 'Special Operations Post for Putin Dick Suckers' and all their posts get moved there – where the rest of us can safely ignore them.

              It irks me that TS is wasting pixels on their drivel, but free speech and all.

              • Incognito …
                9 April 2022 at 8:37 pm

                Yup, nobody has ever said that free speech is as beautiful as the smell of roses at a moonlit night.

                Some here act as horny teenagers (M & F) masturbating at war porn as if their lives depend on it. It is pathetic, embarrassing and off-putting, IMHO.

                • KJT …
                  12 April 2022 at 3:47 pm

                  To me. The USA can do no wrong, fan boys, the ones who say if "you are not for us you are against us", AND the advocates for Putin, can be put in their own thread entitled "Baby Killer" fanboys!

                  There are people I work with now, who are very worried about relatives involved in several wars. It is not a joke!

                  I find the bloviating and War Porn, obnoxious.

  21. Peter 21
    6 April 2022 at 4:12 pm

    I know workers are needed for a range of jobs in the country. In the news today:

    "Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi last year launched the 2021 Resident Visa – a one-off pathway to residency for migrants affected by the pandemic.

    At the time it was estimated there would be 110,000 applications and 165,000 people would become residents through the scheme, in what was labelled the biggest change to immigration in recent history.

    Yet just over halfway into the application process being open, 86,000 applications covering close to 170,000 people have come in – already more than estimated. Applications opened in December and finish at the end of July."

    Housing. How will 165,000 people find houses? I’d heard there was a bit of a housing problem.