Inventive tech works just like magic: it transforms reality. Green thinkers get uneasy about this, of course, since it's unnatural. Well, this ethical conundrum seems likely to feature in our trend towards a resilient global economy:
Kiwi scientists have helped discover a new gene described as a potential game-changer for cloning in global agriculture. The gene allows natural reproduction by cloning in plants, enabling highly desirable traits to be carried through to the next generation rather than lost when the plants reproduce through pollination. Named PAR, the new gene has been found to control parthenogenesis, a process whereby plant egg cells spontaneously grow into embryos without fertilisation.
For subsistence farmers in particular this would be revolutionary. Instead of always having to buy seed they would now be able to save their own and use it to grow plants with the same elite characteristics year on year without losing quality.
Normally, the PAR gene is triggered by fertilisation, but in plants that reproduce by apomixis – which does not require fertilisation – the PAR gene switches on spontaneously, so the egg cells are triggered to start dividing into a new embryo.
Framing to be deployed here is obvious: transcend the natural/unnatural binary. Both/and logic produces a third alternative between the binary. The third, novel, category is catalytic intervention.
Scientists in New Zealand have been working with scientists in the Netherlands – at research company KeyGene and Wageningen University & Research (WUR) – and Japan, at breeding company Takii, to identify ways to produce plant seeds that are genetically identical to the parent plant.
Plant of Food Research scientist Dr Ross Bicknell puts it like this…
"Now imagine being able to produce a whole crop made up of just those elite individuals. Cloning is not an unusual idea, we already use it for things like fruit trees, grapes and strawberries, but this will bring the advantages of cloning to the crops that support humanity".
Plants that naturally reproduce by apomixis were found to have a transposon – a small piece of DNA that can jump around the plant DNA – in the promoter of the PAR gene. The promoter regulates that gene's activity… The new findings have been published in the prestigious journal Nature Genetics.
the couple recently visited Robert and Robyn Guyton, who live in Riverton, Southland. After a Happen Films documentary on the Guytons' permaculture food forest five years ago, people flew across the world to visit the property
Watched the embedded 2016 video of Robyn's & Robert's Forest Garden. Very interesting.
Your place looks amazing, Robert. Beautiful creek too. Must be tremendously satisfying to see the place so well-developed after your years of hard yakker (that probably never felt like hard work) careful tending and experimentation.
I bet wild horses couldn't drag either of you away from such a wonderful, wild world home & self-sustaining environment.
What have you added to the property or forest garden since then?
Thanks Gazza; you are right, it'd take a meteor (don't look up!) to scoop me out of this comfy burrow!
We have expanded our boundary somewhat since that film was made; added a very large tunnel house for heat-loving plants (bananas, guava etc.) and extended the fruit-forest and shelter across the top of the rise. Mostly though, my planting "work" has happened off-site, on common-ground where I've quietly planted road, creek and estuary-sides with native trees, as well as groves of nut and fruit trees here and there. Also planted (with help) 14 apple orchards around the region, plus a few other regenerative projects. I've plans for several more in the near future. Oh, and planted a 100 metre "holloway" in the late winter – that's an exciting one for me – I've long wanted to create one of those 🙂 . There's the 6-hectare wetland also, Te Way Karori. That's 16 years old now. Plus the Community Forest Garden. I'm still adding fruit trees to that, though it's as jungly as our own home garden 🙂
Thanks, Dennis – I hadn't seen that article – Jordan & Antoinette are delightful people; we spent much of our time talking excitedly about the future 🙂
The Pope is calling people who choose not to have children selfish. I wonder if he's really more concerned about protecting his faith and Western civilisation from the far superior birth rate of Islam?
Interesting question about having children. I know people who hit middle age and wish they had had children. I know others who tell me if they had their life over again the last thing they'd want is children.
I had to grin about these quotes from Stuff's article on it:
Predicting that Francis’s criticism would upset a lot of people, one man joked: “Hey guys, check out the Vatican’s new atheism ad,” while another commented: “Childless virgin admonishes happy couples for their life choices.”
Crikey, I need to read more. The office of Pope certainly has had a few jibes thrown its way over the years. My favourite is the one about the Pope wearing his undies in the bath.
Pope Francis is obviously totally blinkered to the contradiction in his preaching on this subject while not being prepared to do away with the requirement that Catholic nuns and priests must be celibate.
The first Pope that has the gonads to abandon this ages-long dogmatic rule that seems to have no Biblical basis will probably be the one most worth listening to.
Its far better that people who aren't 100% keen on having kids ,dont have kids, nothings more damaging than being having parents that cant really be bothered with the long haul that parenting is.
Perhaps it is not the fact that they don't want children that makes them “selfish” (but “unselfish” in other respects), but that the fact that they are “selfish” makes them want to avoid the responsibility of parenting.
Maybe if they – the church, the politicians, and the pundits – who pontificate about the humans that don't want to have children, would advocate a regular payment – living wage for example – for people to have children, they would learn quickfast that 'selfish' is literally just short for 'can't afford'.
"CONCLUSION It is a shame that those who are most vocal about their loss of freedom almost invariably blame the loss on alleged conspiracies of persons in government. Our loss of freedoms are probably not the result of actions of evil people who are plotting the demise of democracy, but rather are due to negligent people in government (and it's nearly all of them) who willfully ignore the problem of overpopulation and the destructive consequences of this negligence. When people are denied their rights to participate in the decisions that affect their lives, they are predictably unpredictable, and history is full of examples of violence that has been precipitated by those who feel they have been disenfranchised. Such are some of the costs of overpopulation. Thus, several lines of evidence point to population growth as being a major causal factor in the decline of democracy in the United States, yet, as Garrett Hardin observes: (Hardin 1993) "No one ever blames it on overpopulation."
"The growth rate of Omicron is such that even if it is milder in most cases, cases can still rapidly add up and threaten the NHS. The UK has a healthcare system already struggling with decades of underinvestment and which was teetering on the brink after months of Delta. People seem to forget that nearly 20,000 people have already died from Covid in the UK since “freedom day” in July. The virus has been much more manageable, but that attrition has not been without consequence."
Kazakhstan's undergoing violent protests – but Russian paratroopers have been sent in as part of a 6-nation (former USSR country) peacekeeping force.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev had appealed for the intervention of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), a military alliance of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, blaming foreign-trained "terrorist" gangs for the violent protests.
Earlier, Kazakh police said forces had "eliminated" tens of rioters in the largest city of Almaty…
The unrest began as protests against the rising price of liquefied petroleum gas, a fuel used by the poor to power their cars, but has since turned into anti-government riots feeding off deep-seated resentment over three decades of rule by former president Nursultan Nazarbayev and his hand-picked successor.
Nazarbayev, 81, stepped down in 2019 but remains a political force and his family is believed to control much of the economy, the largest in Central Asia. He has not been seen or heard from since the protests began.
Nazarbayev's successor Tokayev said gangs were seizing buildings, infrastructure and weapons.
I think that some ancient part of us knows where our ancestors came from and sort of recognises it when we see it again in real life. I've always wanted to get to the Altai Mountains for some irrational reason – every time I see images I get an odd sense of deep familiarity.
Two books that include recipes and commentary on this part of the world that I have got out of our library several times each are
Kaukasis : a culinary journey through Georgia, Azerbaijan & beyond
by Olia Hercules
From the winner of the Observer's Rising Star Award and Fortnum & Mason Debut Food Book Award 2016 comes a celebration of the food and flavours of the Caucasus – bridging Europe and Asia and incorporating Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Iran, Russia and Turkey. Olia Hercules introduces us to more than 100 recipes for vibrant, earthy, unexpected dishes from across the region such as Plum fruit leather, Chestnut plov with pumpkin crust, Quince stuffed with lamb & carmalised shallots, Vine leaf dolma, Village breakfast, Khachapouri, Armenian "cognac" profiteroles and Red basil sherbet.
and
Samarkand by Caroline Eden and Eleanor Ford.
Not that I am a great cook…..I just like looking at the pictures and reading the travel text!
Almaty (formerly Alma Ata) the capital of Kasakhstan has a very important world primary health declaration named for it. Very appropriate in our times when we see the importance both of primary health care (GP care etc) in a public health model.
No doubt about there being breakthrough cases in vaccinated cases. I have read about several of these dying but not on the scale of the numbers of unvaccinated people dying from Covid.
Simon B, just as bad as Paul G as finance spokesman?
via Gerald Otto via NZ Herald.
Luxon's biggest mistake – Simon the economic dunce
Ha ha ha ha at last a well informed opinion shoots down Simon Bridges about inflation in the NZ Herald. Somebody pinned this to my door …
G 🙂
NZ Herald
By Craig Renny
OPINION:
Simon Bridges has done well over the past year. He has survived a brazen attack from his leader, and emerged as the latest National Party finance spokesman.
What he's clearly not done over this time is any economic study. That's what we can take away from his current attack on government investment.
Bridges believes government is the key driver of the current increasing inflation. "The more cash from government, the higher inflation will be," he states unequivocally.
But there's one small problem with Bridges' blunt-spoken truth. There's little real-world evidence to support that claim in a developed economy like New Zealand.
Evidence from an exhaustive study examining the relationship between fiscal policy and inflation found little relationship across 44 countries and 60 years of data.
This was particularly true of countries with a Reserve Bank like New Zealand. 2016 evidence from the US Federal Reserve Bank of St.Louis states that "across the board, we found almost no effect of government spending on inflation".
In recent economic history, the evidence supporting Bridges gets even thinner. Within the last decade in response to the Global Financial Crisis trillions of dollars were provided to financial institutions to keep them solvent.
The result – inflation fell during the five years after the crisis. Is this money somehow different to the money that is being spent now? Perhaps money only causes inflation if it goes to the wrong sort of person in National's view?
So what is actually going on?
Economists like to think about inflation in two flavours. The first of these, "demand-pull" occurs when demand for goods and services rises more quickly than the ability to produce them.
Prices rise as demand outstrips supply. The second, "cost-push" occurs when increasing costs (like oil, energy, or transport) drive increased product prices.
Right now we've got a bit of both, but mostly the latter. Reducing government spending in New Zealand doesn't stop the ANZ Commodity Price Index being at a record high.
Reducing government investment won't undo the 50 per cent increase in the global oil price last year. Or the 850 per cent increase in global shipping prices since the start of the pandemic.
These increases, along with higher rental costs and building materials is what's driving current inflation. It's not government spending. In fact, well-targeted government spending – such as support for coastal shipping to buffer transport costs, or underwriting of affordable housing at scale, or building essential public transport can actually reduce future inflation.
Reducing government investment won't undo the 50 per cent increase in the global oil price last year. Photo / Duncan Brown.
National's economic analysis is wrong. In order to restore some economic and fiscal credibility, National should be explicit about exactly what it intends to cut when they use terms like "rein it in a bit" or "pull it back a tad".
Using throwaway terms like these suggests that either they don't know what to cut or don't want the public to know. Either of these should worry New Zealanders. Treasury has identified an infrastructure deficit of $75 billion. What is National's plan to deal with that? Make it bigger?
We have had successive governments try to cut their way to prosperity – Labour in '84, National in '91 and 2008. All it has done is create bigger and more expensive problems for our people and for our economy.
Let's be clear here, Bridges would need to cut billions of dollars of investment to slow the economy down to achieve his inflation goal. That means fewer health workers. Fewer teachers. Fewer police officers. Fewer state houses.
At the end of his recent article, Bridge's used US President Reagan's famous quote "are you better off than you were four years ago?".
Compared to four years ago in New Zealand unemployment is lower, wages are higher in real terms, and fewer children are living in poverty. We have a government that is tackling the backlog of underinvestment in essential public services. So in comparison to when Bridges was last in government, yes the country is in many ways truly better off.
The New Zealand economy is by no means perfect. There's plenty more the government should be doing. From tackling housing to embedding a productive, sustainable, and inclusive future there is lots for an effective opposition to get stuck into.
But to criticise what the government has done to date is to ignore that we have had one of the best economic and public health responses to Covid-19 on the planet.
Under President Reagan, spending by the US government rose by an average of 9 per cent each year. Next year total government expenses in New Zealand will fall by 6 per cent. Fair enough, I suppose – Bridges' celebration of a Big Government spender in an essay about cutting government spending makes about as much sense as the rest of his arguments.
The positive New Zealand economic forecasts mean that now is the time to set out a long term vision of how we emerge from the shadow of Covid-19. That needs to be transparent about what National intends to cut, and what evidence it has that it will make any difference to prices today.
• Craig Renny is an economist and director of policy for the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions
A pity you did not put that last little note up at the beginning?
"Craig Renny is an economist and director of policy for the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions". By the way there is a second "e" in his name.
You don't think that Mr Renney may be just a tiny bit biased by any chance? I can think of a lot of economists that really don't think as highly of the Government performance as he does.
Thank you Stephen Doyle for making the text available to readers who reject the Herald's paywall. This is so good I am sending it to some relations who still believe 'The Economy' needs National.
Simon and his platoon seem driven to use the same tactic every time they try to breach the castle walls, by hurling busy volleys of weak arguments against the strongest, best defended corners of the fort. It's so splendidly Monty Pythonesque.
Very interesting to hear the F-35A Lightning II is now the cheapest available new buy Western fighter, coming in now at US$77.9 million each – that price including a complete EW suite that comes built in with the aircraft. It is now a cheaper fly-away price than the Hornet, Gripen, late build F-16s or the F-15EX and way, way cheaper than the Rafale or Typhoon and all six of those competitors also require expensive external pods to aid targetting and give them any hope of survivng a modern air defense environment. And of course, the F-35A is the only fifth generation fully stealth capable jet in service anywhere by a long shot.
On top of that the cost of operating the jet is dropping – to around US $25,000 per hour.
Combined with the "Loyal Wingman" – the new fully AI unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) being developed by Boeing Australia in collaboration with the Royal Australian Air Force specifically for use with the F-35 which will only cost around US$4-6 million each and suddenly you've got a a really cost effective package. For example, one F-35A could use it's loyal wingmen to engage 4th generation fighters fully autonomously, where the stealthy UAV could either easily shoot them down at long range or completely out dogfight manned platforms, or use the UAVs to destroy anti-aircraft missile systrms while staying undetected, once again using completely autonomous AI to do so, before the F-35A even comes under any sort of threat.
That might all sound huge amounts, and they are, but it puts the aircraft into the price range of a country like NZ should we chose to recreate a strike wing given the rising tensions with China under Xi and actually represents a gigantic leap in capability for the cash. We are already spending 2.3 billion NZ Dollars on the P-8 purchase with little or no public opposition. That sort of money would get us 18-20 F-35s plus two UAVs each. In fact, the main cost would be the ongoing operating costs of the jets of around NZ 200 million per annum.
Sounds a lot?
As Janes Defence points out, we are already increasing defense spending pretty much on the quiet – up 11% in just one year to 5.19 billion NZ for 2021-22 so paying for, say, 20 F-35As and forty UAVs over fifteen to twenty years would not require a huge increase in the defense budget in percentage terms per annum…
I am not saying we ought to buy F-35s but whether it is one thing or another, we are going to be spending a lot more on defense over the next 20-25 years so we should start to getting used to the numbers involved.
Interesting comment. Despite all the haters, the F-35 program has evolved to being a very good aircraft and now well liked by anyone who actually flies it.
Also missed in much of the Omicron noise is that Australia and Japan have just inked a full on Defense Treaty aimed at full interoperability and exchange between the two nations armed services. (How much the world changes eh!) And of course both Australia and Japan already fly F-35's.
Also included is an agreement to share technology in a number of non-military areas, which in the long term could be the most significant outcome. Strategically this Treaty is a big win for both countries.
Perhaps Aotearoa could get one on hire purchase & pay it off slowly? We could use it on search & destroy missions against foreign fishing boats invading our zone.
Well if your idea is to rename New Zealand to something else in order to confuse people – I think you'll find the PLAN will see through the ruse after a while.
As long as it fools some of the people all the time & all of the people some of the time, no problem.
You can imagine the Chinese ambassador: "Madame PM, we are concerned that some of our pirate fishing boats have inexplicably not returned home. Not that they were actually fishing in your zone, of course! But just outside of the boundary. Does your tracking system explain this phenomenon?"
PM: "I had our people research this issue when you sent your official request for this meeting, with specification of the topic. It turns out that one of our aircraft was actually in the vicinity at the time of one such disappearance. The eyewitness reported that the sea just seemed to open up & swallow the boat. Scientists report these belches of methane bubble up from the sea floor every now & then. Bit of a worry, eh?"
Sooner or later an Australia FM is going to ask his NZ opposite number the pointed question "whose side are you on, and when are you going to step up?"
And with an economy that's almost as large as the state of Victoria, pleading poverty will not cut mustard.
Might be some awkwardness at this moment, what with the China led RCEP trade agreement of which both Australia and NZ have signed up having come into effect on the 1st of this month
It's been a money sink for years, at least it's beginning to mature – even if it's expensive to operate.
The problem is that to justify the development costs and delays, they kept promising more capabilities – not to mention rabbit holes like ALIS.
The sensors+stealth concept is incredibly useful, and the loyal wingman / flying arsenal options to work with it massively add to its capabilities.
But its legs are too short for a lot of jobs, it's still too fragile and expensive to get down and dirty where A10s like to play, and the operating costs will hit an already limited budget for pilots to keep their training hours up.
Desperation strikes deep! With the current score running at Oz 60,000 vs NZ 17 he ought to take my advice from yesterday & promote it as a cricket score. Dumb aussies would get delirious at being so far ahead.
Failing that inspirational move, Hoots will have been racking his tiny wee brains trying spin something out of nothing. Hope someone will entertain us with the result…
from Matthew Hooton on smugness (which we have had quite a bit here on the Standard before Delta arrived)
We're at risk of doing our smug hermit kingdom thing again.
As New South Wales in particular and Australia generally struggle against Omicron, we're celebrating dodging a DJ Dimension outbreak and having fewer than 250 new Delta cases in the community over the last week. The way we're going, we could soon be Delta-free.
But we've been here before in late 2020 and the first half of 2021, after beating the original strain. We then spent too much time gloating rather than getting ready for the next phase. The Government's Delta plan never advanced beyond confirming there would be an immediate level 4 lockdown after one case………….
on PCR testing
Even earlier, in September 2020, Heather Simpson and Brian Roche formally advised Covid Minister Chris Hipkins that "all efforts should be made to introduce saliva [PCR] testing as soon as possible", alongside nasal PCR testing.
They lamented that "on current plans, widespread introduction is still more than 2 months off, even though in other jurisdictions saliva testing, involving large numbers of tests per day, has been well established for several months".
Yet, another fifteen months later, saliva PCR tests still remain limited to some workers at the Auckland-Northland and international borders, in MIQ hotels and in Auckland health-care facilities.
Similarly, business leaders and the Opposition lobbied through 2021 for rapid antigen tests (RATs) to become available, both nasal and saliva.
Only in November did the Government finally bow to pressure and lift its inexplicable ban on technology widely used in the rest of the world.
While much less accurate than PCR tests, RATs give faster results. They're useful to more quickly detect community spread and for people who want a daily test.
the sense of lack of urgency
This lack of urgency has the feel of last winter. We look hubristically across the Tasman as Omicron rips through NSW and Victoria and feel superior to the dim-witted Aussies. Yet everyone knows Omicron is coming.
closing borders / lockdown policies
Completely closing the border is off the Government's agenda. It says it remains committed to its "Reconnecting New Zealanders to the World" programme, albeit on a slower timeline than originally announced – causing further fury among the hundreds of thousands of Kiwis trapped abroad for nearly two years without DJ Dimension's triple MIQ-lottery success.
Also off the agenda are lockdowns. Hipkins specifically said before Christmas that the Government's response to Omicron would be the red traffic light, with anything else an absolute last resort.
shit happening in OZ, or what it would look like here
It is clear from NSW, with 93 per cent of people aged 12 or over now fully vaccinated, that vaccination doesn't stop spread. Yesterday, from a population of 8.2 million, it reported 34,994 new cases and 207,667 active cases, with 1609 in hospital, 131 in ICU, 38 on ventilators and six more deaths.
The equivalent New Zealand numbers would be 130,000 active cases, 1000 in hospital, 80 in ICU, 24 on ventilators and four deaths. Around 22,000 new positive tests would have been reported
finish
This is not Armageddon. In the scheme of things, very few of us will be hospitalised or die. But Omicron will change the political and economic context of Covid, just as it has everywhere else. In the short-term, all other health care except for immediately life-threatening conditions will need to be suspended.
We'll all know lots of people who are sick. We really will need to be kind to one another. Let's start by not being too smug towards our cousins in Australia and our other friends beyond.
left out are the bits of how many tests we can do now, how many more we can do in the future according to Minstry of Health, and such.
As far as I am concerned, a broken watch is correct twice a day, and this is one of those times.
Thanks Sabine. Seems reasonable commentary to me. What, apart from all of it, do you really really disagree with?
For me, it's this little innocuous paragraph:
''Only in November did the Government finally bow to pressure and lift its inexplicable ban on technology widely used in the rest of the world.''
I have mused over this for ages and it just stumps me. The only rational answer I can come up with is Pfizer has us by the balls in some regard.
I, at one stage, thought Labour wanted full control over what Kiwis could and couldn't do regarding Covid – what I call the ''The Hive Mentality.' But I doubt even that explains things.
If someone can answer this question, all else about how this government operates regarding Covid will fall into place.
So he didn't actually end up getting to any point after all that beating around the bush. Bit of a fizzer, eh?
We really will need to be kind to one another.
Hoots is attempting one-upmanship on the PM. Notice how he carefully refrains from crediting her for her moral guidance. Instead he presents his endorsement as if it were a brilliant idea of his own. Not exactly plagiarism though. He's been careful to arrange the words articulating the sentiment differently.
No i don't think he is up-manning or anything the PM. He is however re-inforcing the idea that even a 'mild' omicron outbreak will break our health care sector and cause huge amounts of misery, and non of that will be offset by being jabbed once, twice, or even thrice.
And that maybe right now is the time to be nice, and courteous, not only as a slogan to shut others up, but as an active thing.
I went to see an emergency doctor today. call the clinic, all details over the phone, wait in car until called in, 30 second drive by appointment, script for stuff. Everyone stressed, fearful and apprehensive, so yeah, be kind to the people that are waiting for the shit to hit the fan, and maybe be less smug about the shit that we actually did not achieve, like keeping us covid free, returning our stranded citizens from overseas, building the houses we need for our homeless, feeding our hungry (thanks to volunteers and their foodbanks) and so on and so for.
but yeah, he surely must think what you think about him, because right, he is Matthew Hooton and thus he is on the right, and can only be kind and ask for kindness to upstage our dear Leader. Never mind, the health care sector that is underfunded, understaffed, under resourced, still, in fact is literally where it was when we first went into lockdown l4.
good grief. Seriously. Maybe the left needs to rediscover kindness and apply it generally and not only to those that it approves of. Who knows the doctor that is going to help you in the future might be someone from the right.
I've seen no evidence that boosters fail to work against omicron infection, Sabine, so dunno why you seem to believe that and if Hoots believes that too, he out to refer to evidence in what he writes.
While much less accurate than PCR tests, RATs give faster results. They're useful to more quickly detect community spread
If the govt didn't act on this basis, I presume Health dept advice disagreed with Hoots. I'm inclined to regard them as more credible than him. So he fails to score a point on that issue. Again, he offers no evidence.
People the world over are getting infected with Omicron, unjabbed, or double / triple jabbed. That is not to undermine the efficiancy of the jabs, i too am jabbed, this is a fact. So having a 90% vaccination rate will still have people get sick, will still see people in hospital. they will however not die or are likely not die. And that is what he is pointing out. Namely that the places in OZ that are currently suffering through and Omicron outbreak have high levels of vaccination.
We don't have the testing ability and the lab capacity to test everyone who would like to get tested – already. People at jobs that are high risk can not get as many tests as they like for that reason. We also dont' have the ability to self test in any shape or form due to lack of access to self tests. We can’t buy them, because we don't have them here in the country, yet they are used the world over. But i guess we are different to humans from the rest of the world so we need something more special, uniquely more suited to us Kiwis.
If you have tens of thousands of people get sick in no time all hitting the medical sector for tests, shit will hit the fan.
If you have tens of thousands of people getting sick in no time all hitting the hospitals shit will hit the fan.
If your hospitals are overflowing with people who have been jabbed but still got sick, and they are clogging your hallways, you better not think of dying of a heart attack.
But then, you can of course ignore what he says, and pretend it is a barely disguised hit job on our dear Leader, or you can have a look what is happening elsewhere and wonder if that too is just a hit job on their dear Leaders. See UK, See US, See France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Russia, US and so on and so forth. And of course we can blame all that on the people who are Jab hesistant. Or we can simply get comfortable with the idea that our current government does the best it can, and maybe let others decide if they want to buy a self test or not. I personally would invest in self tests, my partner and I go regular to testing as my partner is a high risk essential worker. We would both love being able to buy self tests before i get in a queue several hours long.
Okay, thanks, there's some evidence that vaccination doesn't prevent omicron infecting some people. Wasn't evident to me that he had a point to make about public health policy from that though.
Political commentary to ought to acknowledge the usual basis for govt decision-making (advice from departmental heads &/or other experts). Rightists struggle to grasp this elementary point for some reason. Since I normally criticise leftists, nice to be able to switch targets…
Again, the jabs simply will keep you alive at best, and maybe (a big maybe) protect you from long term covid.
so mask up
keep physically distance
sanitze
don't go out in crowds,
and also, have your will done if you have need for one as people who have done all of the above and have been jabbed also die.
I don't care about the political affiliations of anyone to be honest, as i consider all of our beige suits to be the same irrespective of pretend believes and creeds and that includes our current lot, and fwiw, i also don't need any of the current lot to prechew the information they think I should consume. But then, i don't consider myself on the right or the left.
Yes, we have the same situations with local councils. It's time pollies started using their owns brains when necessary and remember bureaucrats have as a general rule lost touch with reality and are only interested in protecting their fiefdom.
Usually me that criticises bureaucrats so I'd better flip to balance that! The gist that I get from what you & Sabine have written is that there's a lag between the science around omicron & public health policy. Since it normally takes a while for replication to confirm scientific discoveries, no surprise.
The other dimension is that some folks are more vulnerable than others (for various reasons) so the public health norm of one policy fits all is questionable.
Could be that Labour is stuck in 2020 modus operandi. I mean, they are probably aware that each wave of the pandemic has different biochemistry as its basis, but they can only act on Health Dept advice (with some variation thrown in if academic experts dissent from that). So policy gets stuck in limbo.
I guess the numbers hospitalised by omicron will be the determinant and we aren't there yet with that info…
the gist that I took from the article is that we should not get smug again, and i agree with that point.
A mild virus that hospitalizes thousands in a few day is never the less a health crisis, albeit it a less deadly one. And we should treat it at that, all of us.
People never let the facts get in the way of their ideology, Dennis. Sabine has just given me a lesson in this dark art of multifaceted language manipulation.
To be fair, Hoots has also given his own side many good serves. He basically called Sir John corrupt, and called for an inquiry into the PMs office. I do believe there may have been some politics behind that outburst.
I grew up with right and left commentary at the end of the daily news in Germany. Every day. A commentator to the left and the right gave their opinion on the events of the day.
Maybe we really need to go back to such a thing, and maybe we need to start to listening to what is said, and maybe we need to consider that not everything comes from a point of partisan political membership, but rather from a point of 'personal opinion', and then we as readers can decide what makes sense for us and what not. And chances are we understand that everyone can be right or wrong on any given issue, be they on the left, the right or un-affiliated.
But yeah, please Blade, can you elaborate on my dark art of multifaceted language manipulation.
Dennis Frank @ 11.2.1.2
He operated the same way when he was on RNZ's Monday morning political forum. He would start off appearing to extol the virtues of the government (or the PM/Cabinet Minister) and after about 30secs would move on to a rousing diatribe – the decibel level increasing with every word – on how bad they are and how we're all going to go to hell in a handbasket.
Pfizer has us by the balls in some regard? Surely you can find someone to tell you it's because Bill Gates came to New Zealand last year and did a deal with Jacinda Ardern. As part of the deal she gets $5 for every vaccine shot.*
That had her worth recently move from $25 million* in one week to $36 million the next.
Pfizer's squeeze is nowhere near as significant as whatever it is that has people in the country who are ready to believe bullshit and spread it with religious fervour.
When the sort of bizarre notions mentioned are put out by someone who then gets in their tractor and drives to town to protest about 'freedom'? When they are prisoner to such fucked-in-the-head beliefs?
Absolute nonsense, Pete. Billy Gates, fresh from the UN's World Food Systems Summit, is cornering world food supply. He's buying up farmland; controls McDonalds potato supply farms; owns 23billion in Monsanto shares and is a major player in Gingko Bioworks.
He has his hands full -on one hand trying to help third world nations with their farming initiatives and health…while on the other hand introducing companies that will do away with third world nations culture and introduce his corporate model.
I doubt he knows where Aotearoa is…or cares. He may make a fleeting visit when he controls our means of survival.
Crikey, Fair Trade will be shaking in their boots,eh?
If your local libraries offers access to Pressreader, the NZ Herald print edition is available there. Have found that much of what goes up online opinion-wise is either from that day or the next's print edition.
But it also tells us that despite 13,000 hospo staff now apparently unemployed "…The staffing shortage was also unprecedented…"
Which, when taken alongside the extremely low unemployment rate at the moment, tells us that if given a choice in a tight labour market people will prefer to work almost anywhere else than in shitty, low paid hospo jobs with the long, unsociable hours that sort of work entails.
but cooks, waitresses, bar tenders, and the likes are actually skilled jobs anywhere on this planet but here in NZ. And it would even be harder to understand for some that not all of these jobs were badly paid, and not all of these jobs went to slave labour via slave masters.
Case in Point, dear Labour Doodah Tamati Coffey owns two hospitality venues in Rotorua, both a living wage employments, both have suffered/is suffering the same fate as many others in town. And this is repeated up and down the country,.
But yeah, that might be an inconvenient truth, as is the idea that people actually like working in the hospitality industry. But nevermind, just don't point out that especially in Auckland, lockdowns would have had way more to do with closures and people losing their jobs rather then people resigning to go be something else.
Last, no, not everyone can cook a good curry, or even just some proper Spaetzle, Knoedel und Schweinebraten. But i hear that a tin of spags on toast is a true NZ delicatessen, and you can make it for 2.50 NZD
Hospo is getting strangled from both sides of the balance sheet at present, and for the same reason on both sides.
No one wants to work there because what punters that are left can be difficult and you're a sitting duck for infection. The show's likely to be locked down at moments notice too, so not the most secure right now. So staff have found something else to do and are finding the better earnings, regular hours and not having to be public facing a much better life.
And the profitable customers aren't that keen on being in close contact with other people, so there's less turnover. Observing establishments near us they are much quieter and the customers are much quieter. People sitting on a beer and chips all afternoon. Even half price cocktails on a Saturday afternoon didn't liven the lace up, just got the same barflies more plastered quicker. Don't think they made much out of that exercise, but some spectacular wobbly boots late afternoon….All quiet and subdued however.
Some outfits are turning their businesses around and learning how to run with a different staffing model and work with what customers there are, others have packed it in.
And a lot aren't able to change and need a return to pre covid trade to survive.
"To get a visa at the moment, it’s incredibly tough, having to meet all the strict criteria," Mr Amos said.
"A border with Australia — it would be a fantastic start."
That, plus fast-tracking any potential visas that would bring workers into the region, would help.
"That’s working holiday, that’s the low essentials, you know, all those ones that can have people in tomorrow, picking up the slack that’s definitely needed."
Carl, having all the staff in the world isn't going to help you if you've got three times as many tables as punters, you're just going to lose money three times as fast.
Unfortunately the best thing that can happen for hospo profitability is to get the number of tables down to matching the number of punters that are out there, because punters aren't coming back until they feel safe. Which may not be in the foreseeable.
We're going to see a lot of hospo, entertainment / activity and discretionary retail business depart the scene this year. Just like their staff and customers.
We're going to see a lot of hospo, entertainment / activity and discretionary retail business depart the scene this year. Just like their staff and customers.
And chances are there will not be enough jobs to take up all these people – not everyone lives in Auckland, and chances are that Non Males will be the most affected. What i see here in Rotorua is a hunkering down mode by those that want to get through this, and a getting out quick for those that either are already down under or simply don't want to continue. Which is the right thing to do. But one of the most important things that i see is that those that would like to exit are still locked in leases that they can't break lest they loose even more money. And sadly we still have got nothing really there – legally speaking – for those that truly would want to get out.
Edit: If anyone thought that the fruit picking season was fucked beyond believe last year, hell, its gonna be a right shitshow when we are all more or less sick with Omicron. lol
I haven’t had time to have a deep think about this yet.
What happens in Chile and Latin America is a fascinating insight to the way other parts of the world are rejecting the economic policies of the last 40 years.
It's a very good insightful political analysis. Plenty of nuances to consider! My take is that this new leader, aged only 35, will succeed only if he has both vision & a coterie of competent establishment advisors. By vision I mean an overview of Chilean politics plus perception of a viable path into the future that can attract consensus.
One thing seems to be improving in the last few days.
Radio NZ appear to have stopped using their made up names for the main centres when doing the weather forecast on National Radio. They have gone back to Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin instead of the multi-syllable monstrosities they were using.
Come on, a simple test. How many of you can tell us, without asking google, what the made up Maori names were? And had anyone ever heard of any of them before they were stuck into the weather forecast.
The previous names (Maori) were for regions weren't they, rather than cities (there not being any, back in the day). I imagine some of those names were conferred by local Maori very early on in the piece, so I don't see why they aren't appropriate for use now and they sound great, to the un-jaundiced ear 🙂
Not to mention how many places have their Māori names alongside (or usually – er – under , because symbolism can be subtle, and not so subtle) the English names on signage etc. .
Pōneke is a transliteration of Port Nicholson, on RNZ I think they use Te Whanganui-a-Tara for Wellington.
There's some resistance to the name of Ōtautahi as it is named for an ancestor. Puāri was the name of another settlement on the Ōtākaro which is another good alternative
If you listen to the National program you will have heard all the names innumerable times but only 3 seem to have stuck. You don't seem to be a Pakeha who has been paying attention on that record, although I am sure you would be far ahead of most people.
I really don't believe that Maori had any names for the areas covered by the cities. Bits of them perhaps but nothing at all for the whole region. I have enquired whether people I know know what the names are. I don't find that anyone knew the names used for areas outside their own city.
Anyway, I hope RNZ continue with their recent practice and dump these made up names for good.
I really don't believe that Maori had any names for the areas covered by the cities. Bits of them perhaps but nothing at all for the whole region.
Good thing reality isn't based on your disbeliefs.
Ngāi Tahu have a very interesting atlas, Kā Huru Manu, where you can browse the original names for over 1,000 places in their rohe. Have a look and you might learn something:
I have, and it is very interesting. looking at the map of Christchurch all the items noted seem to be small features. There was nothing that covered the whole of Christchurch City however and most of the featured places in the area are around the harbour rather than in the city itself.
There was nothing that showed up on that map that is a fair representation of the whole city is there?
Correct, but if you were aware of even the European history of this land you would know many of the cities developed from multiple different settlements that later became joined, perhaps you've heard of suburb names, that's most often their origin.
As an old, white female, I'm happy that Maori names be used for place names. Just so long as old white people are not denigrated by others if they choose to stick with the English version because they're too old to change habits and find it all a bit confusing into anyway.
I think whichever order you do it you'd find yourself having missed the forecast for your area and be on to Wharekauri by the time you tune in/wake-up when you are waiting for an early morning forecast (4am or 5am) that lets you know if you can go round Te Taonui-a-Kupe (Kupe's big spear) while yachting.
The name Auckland first arose amongst the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It is derived from their having lived in or near a prominent grove of oak trees. The name Auckland literally means oak-land.
Just a quick thanks to everyone for their kind wishes regarding the cancer [A few Random Predictions Jan 1 post] … really appreciate the moral support.
Apologies for my late reply … Chemo unfortunately sometimes puts patients under what the oncology brigade colloquially call a "Chemo Fog" … essentially significant mental fatigue that lasts for a week or so … or sometimes on a more sporadic basis … a bit like being very absent-minded & having to summon all your mental energy just to think through otherwise very simple things … I've generally managed to avoid all that over the first 4 cycles, been in a surprisingly fit state … but definitely suffered from it since my last infusion on 31 Dec.
Just coming right over last few days … so apologies for delay.
I wish you all the best with your situation. Had a friend back in the '90s doing that (prednizone) & he got manic compulsively – when we visited it was like a different person. Dunno if natural options can help in such grim circumstances. Rosemary does clear brain fog normally though.
Do you know about herb Robert? I have plenty in my garden & render the leaves into tiny bits with a whizzer blade, keep them in a plastic bag in the freezer for food & green tea additive. Folks online testify to being healed from cancer by that.
ANZ senior economist tweets chart showing that current Melbourne & Sydney consumer spending is down to lockdown levels even though they've opened up and surrendered.
Opening up does not make things better, it makes things worse.
A Upper Harbour Local Board member has slammed the decision to remove 13,700 trees planted by the community in a North Shore reserve because of concerns they would obscure views.
Since 2018, local volunteers have contributed 3450 hours of their time, which equates to more than 443 days planting the trees at Sanders Reserve. The plants cost the council $16,813 and a sizeable number were provided by the Mayors Million Trees, Rotary, and Trees for Survival.
But following a local board decision, all 13,700 native trees planted on the upper and mid sections of the slope below the kiosk at the reserve were removed over the weekend by mowing.
The majority of the approximately 13,700 plants below the kiosk were planted in the 2019 and 2021 planting seasons.
The removal of the plants via mowing was done at a cost of $14,000.
Heard about this on talkback. We seem to be a country of unfathomable decisions.
I'm a lucky one, along with Gezza and Robert. I have a river and food forest…and a council that so far minds its own business. Which is just as well because two of my prized Paulowniatrees border council land.
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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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 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 ...
Pacific Media Watch Earthwise hosts Lois and Martin Griffiths. Earthwise presenters Lois and Martin Griffiths on Plains FM 96.9 community radio talk to Dr David Robie, a New Zealand author, independent journalist and media educator with a passion for the Asia-Pacific region. David talks about the struggle to raise awareness ...
Pacific Media Watch Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who was held for 12 hours at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, says Israeli forces rounded up Palestinian journalists at the facility and made them kneel on the ground for hours, while naked and blindfolded. “The occupation forces handcuffed and blindfolded us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute chinasong, Shutterstock Electricity customers in four Australian states can breathe a sigh of relief. After two years in a row of 20% price increases, power prices have finally stabilised. In many places they’re ...
Chumbawamba have reportedly issued the deputy PM a cease-and-desist notice after he used their song 'Tubthumping' before his state of the nation speech. ...
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 ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
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Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
Auckland Council is opposing a fast-track development backed by Sir John Kirwan and Spark NZ, because it doesn’t meet stringent new climate adaptation requirements The post Surf-data centre faces new 3.8C climate warming rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...
The letters, which were published last week, were addressed to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, National Democrat Party (NasDem) Chairperson Surya Paloh, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) President Ahmad Syaikhu and United Development Party (PPP) Chairperson Muhammad Mardiono. In ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
Inventive tech works just like magic: it transforms reality. Green thinkers get uneasy about this, of course, since it's unnatural. Well, this ethical conundrum seems likely to feature in our trend towards a resilient global economy:
Framing to be deployed here is obvious: transcend the natural/unnatural binary. Both/and logic produces a third alternative between the binary. The third, novel, category is catalytic intervention.
Plant of Food Research scientist Dr Ross Bicknell puts it like this…
The EU and Monsanto will not like this.
"For subsistence farmers in particular this would be revolutionary. Instead of always having to buy seed they would now be able to save their own …"
Why do subsistence farmers have to buy seed?
Why can't they save their own already?
Blade hints at the answer.
How on earth did horticulturalists manage pre-corporation??? *sarc/question
Seems a very risky thing to tinker with, could end up stuck in a monoculture type situation eventually. That has disastrous consequences.
Great feature story on media spreading resilience lifestyles globally: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/459148/happen-films-how-a-couple-are-making-documentaries-to-change-the-world
Also including a cameo…
Watched the embedded 2016 video of Robyn's & Robert's Forest Garden. Very interesting.
Your place looks amazing, Robert. Beautiful creek too. Must be tremendously satisfying to see the place so well-developed after your years of hard yakker (that probably never felt like hard work) careful tending and experimentation.
I bet wild horses couldn't drag either of you away from such a wonderful, wild world home & self-sustaining environment.
What have you added to the property or forest garden since then?
Thanks Gazza; you are right, it'd take a meteor (don't look up!) to scoop me out of this comfy burrow!
We have expanded our boundary somewhat since that film was made; added a very large tunnel house for heat-loving plants (bananas, guava etc.) and extended the fruit-forest and shelter across the top of the rise. Mostly though, my planting "work" has happened off-site, on common-ground where I've quietly planted road, creek and estuary-sides with native trees, as well as groves of nut and fruit trees here and there. Also planted (with help) 14 apple orchards around the region, plus a few other regenerative projects. I've plans for several more in the near future. Oh, and planted a 100 metre "holloway" in the late winter – that's an exciting one for me – I've long wanted to create one of those 🙂 . There's the 6-hectare wetland also, Te Way Karori. That's 16 years old now. Plus the Community Forest Garden. I'm still adding fruit trees to that, though it's as jungly as our own home garden 🙂
Spellcheck made "Gezza" into "Gazza", sorry, and "Te Wai Korai" into "Way". For some reason, "edit" wouldn't work.
No worries, Robert. I just thought it was a chance slip of the keys. No apology needed.
Thanks, Dennis – I hadn't seen that article – Jordan & Antoinette are delightful people; we spent much of our time talking excitedly about the future 🙂
https://i.imgur.com/VRWuL3T.gif
Ooooh run way fast but I am brave!
The Pope is calling people who choose not to have children selfish. I wonder if he's really more concerned about protecting his faith and Western civilisation from the far superior birth rate of Islam?
Interesting question about having children. I know people who hit middle age and wish they had had children. I know others who tell me if they had their life over again the last thing they'd want is children.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/pope-calls-people-who-choose-to-have-pets-over-children-selfish/HR7SRKLHYQIWJ224PP46UO5TYM/
Stuff covered this yesterday too:
.https://thestandard.org.nz/daily-review-06-01-2022/#comment-1849101
I had to grin about these quotes from Stuff's article on it:
Crikey, I need to read more. The office of Pope certainly has had a few jibes thrown its way over the years. My favourite is the one about the Pope wearing his undies in the bath.
So where does that place the celibate church???
Pope Francis is obviously totally blinkered to the contradiction in his preaching on this subject while not being prepared to do away with the requirement that Catholic nuns and priests must be celibate.
The first Pope that has the gonads to abandon this ages-long dogmatic rule that seems to have no Biblical basis will probably be the one most worth listening to.
The 1st Pope that says , hay why cant woman be popes might be worthy of listening to. Till then fuckimm.
Its far better that people who aren't 100% keen on having kids ,dont have kids, nothings more damaging than being having parents that cant really be bothered with the long haul that parenting is.
Agree 100%.
Perhaps it is not the fact that they don't want children that makes them “selfish” (but “unselfish” in other respects), but that the fact that they are “selfish” makes them want to avoid the responsibility of parenting.
Maybe if they – the church, the politicians, and the pundits – who pontificate about the humans that don't want to have children, would advocate a regular payment – living wage for example – for people to have children, they would learn quickfast that 'selfish' is literally just short for 'can't afford'.
"CONCLUSION It is a shame that those who are most vocal about their loss of freedom almost invariably blame the loss on alleged conspiracies of persons in government. Our loss of freedoms are probably not the result of actions of evil people who are plotting the demise of democracy, but rather are due to negligent people in government (and it's nearly all of them) who willfully ignore the problem of overpopulation and the destructive consequences of this negligence. When people are denied their rights to participate in the decisions that affect their lives, they are predictably unpredictable, and history is full of examples of violence that has been precipitated by those who feel they have been disenfranchised. Such are some of the costs of overpopulation. Thus, several lines of evidence point to population growth as being a major causal factor in the decline of democracy in the United States, yet, as Garrett Hardin observes: (Hardin 1993) "No one ever blames it on overpopulation."
https://rewilding.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/DemocracyOverpopulation.pdf
6 pages of pertinent observation…..democracy is certainly in peril.
A counterpoint to the wishful thinking nonsence, some including on TS, are indulging in.
Omicron is spreading at an alarming rate, and there’s no solid evidence it’s ‘milder’ | William Hanage | The Guardian
"The growth rate of Omicron is such that even if it is milder in most cases, cases can still rapidly add up and threaten the NHS. The UK has a healthcare system already struggling with decades of underinvestment and which was teetering on the brink after months of Delta. People seem to forget that nearly 20,000 people have already died from Covid in the UK since “freedom day” in July. The virus has been much more manageable, but that attrition has not been without consequence."
Kazakhstan's undergoing violent protests – but Russian paratroopers have been sent in as part of a 6-nation (former USSR country) peacekeeping force.
Earlier, Kazakh police said forces had "eliminated" tens of rioters in the largest city of Almaty…
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/459159/russia-sends-paratroopers-to-kazakhstan-to-put-down-uprising
News clip from Al Jazeera:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M4SBjBxCcA
Yes. Dramatic events. Another analysis if you're interested.
Fascinating, a very important but virtually unknown part of the world.
a stunning part of this planet. Friends of mine travelled there by motorbike a few years back and came back with some stunning images.
I think that some ancient part of us knows where our ancestors came from and sort of recognises it when we see it again in real life. I've always wanted to get to the Altai Mountains for some irrational reason – every time I see images I get an odd sense of deep familiarity.
And they are very beautiful:
https://russiatrek.org/blog/nature/amazing-natural-beauty-of-the-altai-mountains/
https://www.vortexmag.net/en/altai-mountains-the-heart-of-russia/
It's where apples originated.
Their bread baking and ovens do it for me.
https://www.shutterstock.com/es/search/bread+kazakhstan
Two books that include recipes and commentary on this part of the world that I have got out of our library several times each are
Kaukasis : a culinary journey through Georgia, Azerbaijan & beyond
by Olia Hercules
and
Samarkand by Caroline Eden and Eleanor Ford.
Not that I am a great cook…..I just like looking at the pictures and reading the travel text!
Caroline Eden has written another book
https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel/2020/11/three-recipes-from-caroline-edens-new-central-asian-cookbook-red-sands
Almaty (formerly Alma Ata) the capital of Kasakhstan has a very important world primary health declaration named for it. Very appropriate in our times when we see the importance both of primary health care (GP care etc) in a public health model.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alma_Ata_Declaration
Like Red this part of the world has always called to me.
Grim reaper eliminates antivax Republican activist: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jan/06/kelly-ernby-california-prosecutor-dies-covid
Shot the dems are going to win the next election ,just because theres not enough Republicans left alive to vote them out.
Talk about the most cunning conspiracy ever. !!!
I'm irked by these gloating posts over unvaxxed people dying of COVID. They've always been selective little morality tales.
Because it's not like it's ONLY the unvaxxed who can die.
No doubt about there being breakthrough cases in vaccinated cases. I have read about several of these dying but not on the scale of the numbers of unvaccinated people dying from Covid.
The point is what would you think if the anti-vaxxers openly gloated about it?
Simon B, just as bad as Paul G as finance spokesman?
via Gerald Otto via NZ Herald.
Luxon's biggest mistake – Simon the economic dunce
Ha ha ha ha at last a well informed opinion shoots down Simon Bridges about inflation in the NZ Herald. Somebody pinned this to my door …
G 🙂
NZ Herald
By Craig Renny
OPINION:
Simon Bridges has done well over the past year. He has survived a brazen attack from his leader, and emerged as the latest National Party finance spokesman.
What he's clearly not done over this time is any economic study. That's what we can take away from his current attack on government investment.
Bridges believes government is the key driver of the current increasing inflation. "The more cash from government, the higher inflation will be," he states unequivocally.
But there's one small problem with Bridges' blunt-spoken truth. There's little real-world evidence to support that claim in a developed economy like New Zealand.
Evidence from an exhaustive study examining the relationship between fiscal policy and inflation found little relationship across 44 countries and 60 years of data.
This was particularly true of countries with a Reserve Bank like New Zealand. 2016 evidence from the US Federal Reserve Bank of St.Louis states that "across the board, we found almost no effect of government spending on inflation".
In recent economic history, the evidence supporting Bridges gets even thinner. Within the last decade in response to the Global Financial Crisis trillions of dollars were provided to financial institutions to keep them solvent.
The result – inflation fell during the five years after the crisis. Is this money somehow different to the money that is being spent now? Perhaps money only causes inflation if it goes to the wrong sort of person in National's view?
So what is actually going on?
Economists like to think about inflation in two flavours. The first of these, "demand-pull" occurs when demand for goods and services rises more quickly than the ability to produce them.
Prices rise as demand outstrips supply. The second, "cost-push" occurs when increasing costs (like oil, energy, or transport) drive increased product prices.
Right now we've got a bit of both, but mostly the latter. Reducing government spending in New Zealand doesn't stop the ANZ Commodity Price Index being at a record high.
Reducing government investment won't undo the 50 per cent increase in the global oil price last year. Or the 850 per cent increase in global shipping prices since the start of the pandemic.
These increases, along with higher rental costs and building materials is what's driving current inflation. It's not government spending. In fact, well-targeted government spending – such as support for coastal shipping to buffer transport costs, or underwriting of affordable housing at scale, or building essential public transport can actually reduce future inflation.
Reducing government investment won't undo the 50 per cent increase in the global oil price last year. Photo / Duncan Brown.
National's economic analysis is wrong. In order to restore some economic and fiscal credibility, National should be explicit about exactly what it intends to cut when they use terms like "rein it in a bit" or "pull it back a tad".
Using throwaway terms like these suggests that either they don't know what to cut or don't want the public to know. Either of these should worry New Zealanders. Treasury has identified an infrastructure deficit of $75 billion. What is National's plan to deal with that? Make it bigger?
We have had successive governments try to cut their way to prosperity – Labour in '84, National in '91 and 2008. All it has done is create bigger and more expensive problems for our people and for our economy.
Let's be clear here, Bridges would need to cut billions of dollars of investment to slow the economy down to achieve his inflation goal. That means fewer health workers. Fewer teachers. Fewer police officers. Fewer state houses.
At the end of his recent article, Bridge's used US President Reagan's famous quote "are you better off than you were four years ago?".
Compared to four years ago in New Zealand unemployment is lower, wages are higher in real terms, and fewer children are living in poverty. We have a government that is tackling the backlog of underinvestment in essential public services. So in comparison to when Bridges was last in government, yes the country is in many ways truly better off.
The New Zealand economy is by no means perfect. There's plenty more the government should be doing. From tackling housing to embedding a productive, sustainable, and inclusive future there is lots for an effective opposition to get stuck into.
But to criticise what the government has done to date is to ignore that we have had one of the best economic and public health responses to Covid-19 on the planet.
Under President Reagan, spending by the US government rose by an average of 9 per cent each year. Next year total government expenses in New Zealand will fall by 6 per cent. Fair enough, I suppose – Bridges' celebration of a Big Government spender in an essay about cutting government spending makes about as much sense as the rest of his arguments.
The positive New Zealand economic forecasts mean that now is the time to set out a long term vision of how we emerge from the shadow of Covid-19. That needs to be transparent about what National intends to cut, and what evidence it has that it will make any difference to prices today.
• Craig Renny is an economist and director of policy for the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions
A pity you did not put that last little note up at the beginning?
"Craig Renny is an economist and director of policy for the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions". By the way there is a second "e" in his name.
You don't think that Mr Renney may be just a tiny bit biased by any chance? I can think of a lot of economists that really don't think as highly of the Government performance as he does.
No more or less they way some commentators lap up anything written by Kirk Hope, Don Brash or Oliver Hartwich.
Thank you Stephen Doyle for making the text available to readers who reject the Herald's paywall. This is so good I am sending it to some relations who still believe 'The Economy' needs National.
Simon and his platoon seem driven to use the same tactic every time they try to breach the castle walls, by hurling busy volleys of weak arguments against the strongest, best defended corners of the fort. It's so splendidly Monty Pythonesque.
Just nicked it from Facebook.
Very interesting to hear the F-35A Lightning II is now the cheapest available new buy Western fighter, coming in now at US$77.9 million each – that price including a complete EW suite that comes built in with the aircraft. It is now a cheaper fly-away price than the Hornet, Gripen, late build F-16s or the F-15EX and way, way cheaper than the Rafale or Typhoon and all six of those competitors also require expensive external pods to aid targetting and give them any hope of survivng a modern air defense environment. And of course, the F-35A is the only fifth generation fully stealth capable jet in service anywhere by a long shot.
On top of that the cost of operating the jet is dropping – to around US $25,000 per hour.
Combined with the "Loyal Wingman" – the new fully AI unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) being developed by Boeing Australia in collaboration with the Royal Australian Air Force specifically for use with the F-35 which will only cost around US$4-6 million each and suddenly you've got a a really cost effective package. For example, one F-35A could use it's loyal wingmen to engage 4th generation fighters fully autonomously, where the stealthy UAV could either easily shoot them down at long range or completely out dogfight manned platforms, or use the UAVs to destroy anti-aircraft missile systrms while staying undetected, once again using completely autonomous AI to do so, before the F-35A even comes under any sort of threat.
That might all sound huge amounts, and they are, but it puts the aircraft into the price range of a country like NZ should we chose to recreate a strike wing given the rising tensions with China under Xi and actually represents a gigantic leap in capability for the cash. We are already spending 2.3 billion NZ Dollars on the P-8 purchase with little or no public opposition. That sort of money would get us 18-20 F-35s plus two UAVs each. In fact, the main cost would be the ongoing operating costs of the jets of around NZ 200 million per annum.
Sounds a lot?
As Janes Defence points out, we are already increasing defense spending pretty much on the quiet – up 11% in just one year to 5.19 billion NZ for 2021-22 so paying for, say, 20 F-35As and forty UAVs over fifteen to twenty years would not require a huge increase in the defense budget in percentage terms per annum…
I am not saying we ought to buy F-35s but whether it is one thing or another, we are going to be spending a lot more on defense over the next 20-25 years so we should start to getting used to the numbers involved.
Interesting comment. Despite all the haters, the F-35 program has evolved to being a very good aircraft and now well liked by anyone who actually flies it.
Also missed in much of the Omicron noise is that Australia and Japan have just inked a full on Defense Treaty aimed at full interoperability and exchange between the two nations armed services. (How much the world changes eh!) And of course both Australia and Japan already fly F-35's.
Also included is an agreement to share technology in a number of non-military areas, which in the long term could be the most significant outcome. Strategically this Treaty is a big win for both countries.
Perhaps Aotearoa could get one on hire purchase & pay it off slowly? We could use it on search & destroy missions against foreign fishing boats invading our zone.
Well if your idea is to rename New Zealand to something else in order to confuse people – I think you'll find the PLAN will see through the ruse after a while.
As long as it fools some of the people all the time & all of the people some of the time, no problem.
You can imagine the Chinese ambassador: "Madame PM, we are concerned that some of our pirate fishing boats have inexplicably not returned home. Not that they were actually fishing in your zone, of course! But just outside of the boundary. Does your tracking system explain this phenomenon?"
PM: "I had our people research this issue when you sent your official request for this meeting, with specification of the topic. It turns out that one of our aircraft was actually in the vicinity at the time of one such disappearance. The eyewitness reported that the sea just seemed to open up & swallow the boat. Scientists report these belches of methane bubble up from the sea floor every now & then. Bit of a worry, eh?"
Sooner or later an Australia FM is going to ask his NZ opposite number the pointed question "whose side are you on, and when are you going to step up?"
And with an economy that's almost as large as the state of Victoria, pleading poverty will not cut mustard.
It may happen, but unwise to adopt a stance until circumstances necessitate us doing so. Then the usual weighing of pros & cons will kick in…
Might be some awkwardness at this moment, what with the China led RCEP trade agreement of which both Australia and NZ have signed up having come into effect on the 1st of this month
https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20220102-asia-looks-to-china-centred-trade-bloc-for-virus-recovery
It's been a money sink for years, at least it's beginning to mature – even if it's expensive to operate.
The problem is that to justify the development costs and delays, they kept promising more capabilities – not to mention rabbit holes like ALIS.
The sensors+stealth concept is incredibly useful, and the loyal wingman / flying arsenal options to work with it massively add to its capabilities.
But its legs are too short for a lot of jobs, it's still too fragile and expensive to get down and dirty where A10s like to play, and the operating costs will hit an already limited budget for pilots to keep their training hours up.
Matthew Hooten is getting talkback going with his article in the Herald titled:
''Matthew Hooton: NZ Covid defences no more ready for Omicron than we were for Delta''
Unfortunately a paywall is stopping us being privy to this excellent commentary from the Right.
Desperation strikes deep! With the current score running at Oz 60,000 vs NZ 17 he ought to take my advice from yesterday & promote it as a cricket score. Dumb aussies would get delirious at being so far ahead.
Failing that inspirational move, Hoots will have been racking his tiny wee brains trying spin something out of nothing. Hope someone will entertain us with the result…
Bowled for a duck you reckon, Dennis?
here let me lend you a helping hand.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/matthew-hooton-nz-covid-defences-no-more-ready-for-omicron-than-we-were-for-delta/YUAIYIQZVPKFEDZNOIF2OB3DXY/
from Matthew Hooton on smugness (which we have had quite a bit here on the Standard before Delta arrived)
on PCR testing
the sense of lack of urgency
closing borders / lockdown policies
shit happening in OZ, or what it would look like here
finish
left out are the bits of how many tests we can do now, how many more we can do in the future according to Minstry of Health, and such.
As far as I am concerned, a broken watch is correct twice a day, and this is one of those times.
Thanks Sabine. Seems reasonable commentary to me. What, apart from all of it, do you really really disagree with?
For me, it's this little innocuous paragraph:
''Only in November did the Government finally bow to pressure and lift its inexplicable ban on technology widely used in the rest of the world.''
I have mused over this for ages and it just stumps me. The only rational answer I can come up with is Pfizer has us by the balls in some regard.
I, at one stage, thought Labour wanted full control over what Kiwis could and couldn't do regarding Covid – what I call the ''The Hive Mentality.' But I doubt even that explains things.
If someone can answer this question, all else about how this government operates regarding Covid will fall into place.
i don't disagree, as i said twice a day…..
you said :
Unfortunately a paywall is stopping us being privy to this excellent commentary from the Right.
so i helped. Over and out.
Yes, and thanks again. Very well done.
So he didn't actually end up getting to any point after all that beating around the bush. Bit of a fizzer, eh?
Hoots is attempting one-upmanship on the PM. Notice how he carefully refrains from crediting her for her moral guidance. Instead he presents his endorsement as if it were a brilliant idea of his own. Not exactly plagiarism though. He's been careful to arrange the words articulating the sentiment differently.
No i don't think he is up-manning or anything the PM. He is however re-inforcing the idea that even a 'mild' omicron outbreak will break our health care sector and cause huge amounts of misery, and non of that will be offset by being jabbed once, twice, or even thrice.
And that maybe right now is the time to be nice, and courteous, not only as a slogan to shut others up, but as an active thing.
I went to see an emergency doctor today. call the clinic, all details over the phone, wait in car until called in, 30 second drive by appointment, script for stuff. Everyone stressed, fearful and apprehensive, so yeah, be kind to the people that are waiting for the shit to hit the fan, and maybe be less smug about the shit that we actually did not achieve, like keeping us covid free, returning our stranded citizens from overseas, building the houses we need for our homeless, feeding our hungry (thanks to volunteers and their foodbanks) and so on and so for.
but yeah, he surely must think what you think about him, because right, he is Matthew Hooton and thus he is on the right, and can only be kind and ask for kindness to upstage our dear Leader. Never mind, the health care sector that is underfunded, understaffed, under resourced, still, in fact is literally where it was when we first went into lockdown l4.
good grief. Seriously. Maybe the left needs to rediscover kindness and apply it generally and not only to those that it approves of. Who knows the doctor that is going to help you in the future might be someone from the right.
I've seen no evidence that boosters fail to work against omicron infection, Sabine, so dunno why you seem to believe that and if Hoots believes that too, he out to refer to evidence in what he writes.
If the govt didn't act on this basis, I presume Health dept advice disagreed with Hoots. I'm inclined to regard them as more credible than him. So he fails to score a point on that issue. Again, he offers no evidence.
https://www.deseret.com/coronavirus/2022/1/4/22866563/omicron-variant-evades-covid-19-vaccines-delta
https://www.dailysabah.com/life/science/omicron-evades-covid-19-vaccine-immunity-better-than-delta-study
https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/omicron-evades-immunity-better-than-delta-danish-study-finds-2022-01-03/
But then, you can of course ignore what he says, and pretend it is a barely disguised hit job on our dear Leader, or you can have a look what is happening elsewhere and wonder if that too is just a hit job on their dear Leaders. See UK, See US, See France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Russia, US and so on and so forth. And of course we can blame all that on the people who are Jab hesistant. Or we can simply get comfortable with the idea that our current government does the best it can, and maybe let others decide if they want to buy a self test or not. I personally would invest in self tests, my partner and I go regular to testing as my partner is a high risk essential worker. We would both love being able to buy self tests before i get in a queue several hours long.
Okay, thanks, there's some evidence that vaccination doesn't prevent omicron infecting some people. Wasn't evident to me that he had a point to make about public health policy from that though.
Political commentary to ought to acknowledge the usual basis for govt decision-making (advice from departmental heads &/or other experts). Rightists struggle to grasp this elementary point for some reason. Since I normally criticise leftists, nice to be able to switch targets…
Honestly i am not sure what you are reading and such, but if you did not know that Omicron is not stopped by the jabs, i suggest that you look over your reading materials as this has been touted absolutly everywhere. This here is from a month ago. https://www.wsj.com/articles/omicron-expected-to-be-dominant-strain-in-parts-of-europe-within-weeks-11638889781
Again, the jabs simply will keep you alive at best, and maybe (a big maybe) protect you from long term covid.
so mask up
keep physically distance
sanitze
don't go out in crowds,
and also, have your will done if you have need for one as people who have done all of the above and have been jabbed also die.
I don't care about the political affiliations of anyone to be honest, as i consider all of our beige suits to be the same irrespective of pretend believes and creeds and that includes our current lot, and fwiw, i also don't need any of the current lot to prechew the information they think I should consume. But then, i don't consider myself on the right or the left.
Even 30-40% effectiveness against infection means that omicron is prevented 30-40% of the time.
Not as high as against OG Covid, maybe, but a good hit for public health nonetheless.
Yes, we have the same situations with local councils. It's time pollies started using their owns brains when necessary and remember bureaucrats have as a general rule lost touch with reality and are only interested in protecting their fiefdom.
Usually me that criticises bureaucrats so I'd better flip to balance that! The gist that I get from what you & Sabine have written is that there's a lag between the science around omicron & public health policy. Since it normally takes a while for replication to confirm scientific discoveries, no surprise.
The other dimension is that some folks are more vulnerable than others (for various reasons) so the public health norm of one policy fits all is questionable.
Could be that Labour is stuck in 2020 modus operandi. I mean, they are probably aware that each wave of the pandemic has different biochemistry as its basis, but they can only act on Health Dept advice (with some variation thrown in if academic experts dissent from that). So policy gets stuck in limbo.
I guess the numbers hospitalised by omicron will be the determinant and we aren't there yet with that info…
@ Dennis Frank
the gist that I took from the article is that we should not get smug again, and i agree with that point.
A mild virus that hospitalizes thousands in a few day is never the less a health crisis, albeit it a less deadly one. And we should treat it at that, all of us.
People never let the facts get in the way of their ideology, Dennis. Sabine has just given me a lesson in this dark art of multifaceted language manipulation.
To be fair, Hoots has also given his own side many good serves. He basically called Sir John corrupt, and called for an inquiry into the PMs office. I do believe there may have been some politics behind that outburst.
What have i done?
I grew up with right and left commentary at the end of the daily news in Germany. Every day. A commentator to the left and the right gave their opinion on the events of the day.
Maybe we really need to go back to such a thing, and maybe we need to start to listening to what is said, and maybe we need to consider that not everything comes from a point of partisan political membership, but rather from a point of 'personal opinion', and then we as readers can decide what makes sense for us and what not. And chances are we understand that everyone can be right or wrong on any given issue, be they on the left, the right or un-affiliated.
But yeah, please Blade, can you elaborate on my dark art of multifaceted language manipulation.
Dennis Frank @ 11.2.1.2
He operated the same way when he was on RNZ's Monday morning political forum. He would start off appearing to extol the virtues of the government (or the PM/Cabinet Minister) and after about 30secs would move on to a rousing diatribe – the decibel level increasing with every word – on how bad they are and how we're all going to go to hell in a handbasket.
Anneabsolutely.
Pfizer has us by the balls in some regard? Surely you can find someone to tell you it's because Bill Gates came to New Zealand last year and did a deal with Jacinda Ardern. As part of the deal she gets $5 for every vaccine shot.*
That had her worth recently move from $25 million* in one week to $36 million the next.
Pfizer's squeeze is nowhere near as significant as whatever it is that has people in the country who are ready to believe bullshit and spread it with religious fervour.
When the sort of bizarre notions mentioned are put out by someone who then gets in their tractor and drives to town to protest about 'freedom'? When they are prisoner to such fucked-in-the-head beliefs?
*A farmer to me in our kitchen..
Absolute nonsense, Pete. Billy Gates, fresh from the UN's World Food Systems Summit, is cornering world food supply. He's buying up farmland; controls McDonalds potato supply farms; owns 23billion in Monsanto shares and is a major player in Gingko Bioworks.
He has his hands full -on one hand trying to help third world nations with their farming initiatives and health…while on the other hand introducing companies that will do away with third world nations culture and introduce his corporate model.
I doubt he knows where Aotearoa is…or cares. He may make a fleeting visit when he controls our means of survival.
Crikey, Fair Trade will be shaking in their boots,eh?
Regrettably consistent practise with NZ agriculture for 150 years. Except we were even faster going from forest to burn to agribusiness.
Our ag economy has one of the fewest number of major buyers in the world.
"Our ag economy has one of the fewest number of major buyers in the world."
Assume you mean we rely on a very few markets?….is that so uncommon?
With a GDP per capita ranking of around 20 that dosnt really provide too many options….Africa would love our produce…they just cant afford it.
And thats a problem thats likely to increase.
Not sure your correct there, cant find the video i watched yesterday, but this gives a hint on who is cornering food supplies.
https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3154982/china-food-security-why-it-important-and-what-caused
Well yes.
Manure is still spread by such voices, but their hands are always out for subsidies or help with disasters. ” personne and moi” really separated.
If your local libraries offers access to Pressreader, the NZ Herald print edition is available there. Have found that much of what goes up online opinion-wise is either from that day or the next's print edition.
This is an interesting story for two reasons. One, it puts number on the total number of jobs lost in hospo in the pandemic –
"…The Restaurant Association said late last year that an estimated 13,000 jobs in the sector had gone after about 1000 businesses shut…"
But it also tells us that despite 13,000 hospo staff now apparently unemployed "…The staffing shortage was also unprecedented…"
Which, when taken alongside the extremely low unemployment rate at the moment, tells us that if given a choice in a tight labour market people will prefer to work almost anywhere else than in shitty, low paid hospo jobs with the long, unsociable hours that sort of work entails.
i know it is really hard to understand for some,
but cooks, waitresses, bar tenders, and the likes are actually skilled jobs anywhere on this planet but here in NZ. And it would even be harder to understand for some that not all of these jobs were badly paid, and not all of these jobs went to slave labour via slave masters.
Case in Point, dear Labour Doodah Tamati Coffey owns two hospitality venues in Rotorua, both a living wage employments, both have suffered/is suffering the same fate as many others in town. And this is repeated up and down the country,.
But yeah, that might be an inconvenient truth, as is the idea that people actually like working in the hospitality industry. But nevermind, just don't point out that especially in Auckland, lockdowns would have had way more to do with closures and people losing their jobs rather then people resigning to go be something else.
Last, no, not everyone can cook a good curry, or even just some proper Spaetzle, Knoedel und Schweinebraten. But i hear that a tin of spags on toast is a true NZ delicatessen, and you can make it for 2.50 NZD
Hospo is getting strangled from both sides of the balance sheet at present, and for the same reason on both sides.
No one wants to work there because what punters that are left can be difficult and you're a sitting duck for infection. The show's likely to be locked down at moments notice too, so not the most secure right now. So staff have found something else to do and are finding the better earnings, regular hours and not having to be public facing a much better life.
And the profitable customers aren't that keen on being in close contact with other people, so there's less turnover. Observing establishments near us they are much quieter and the customers are much quieter. People sitting on a beer and chips all afternoon. Even half price cocktails on a Saturday afternoon didn't liven the lace up, just got the same barflies more plastered quicker. Don't think they made much out of that exercise, but some spectacular wobbly boots late afternoon….All quiet and subdued however.
A lot of management of small / mid sized outfits are having to fill in, watched the owner next door waiting tables the other day and realise just how hard it is to do well, he totally fucked the orders up and had to get some pointers off his staff how to do it.
Some outfits are turning their businesses around and learning how to run with a different staffing model and work with what customers there are, others have packed it in.
And a lot aren't able to change and need a return to pre covid trade to survive.
Carl, having all the staff in the world isn't going to help you if you've got three times as many tables as punters, you're just going to lose money three times as fast.
Unfortunately the best thing that can happen for hospo profitability is to get the number of tables down to matching the number of punters that are out there, because punters aren't coming back until they feel safe. Which may not be in the foreseeable.
We're going to see a lot of hospo, entertainment / activity and discretionary retail business depart the scene this year. Just like their staff and customers.
And chances are there will not be enough jobs to take up all these people – not everyone lives in Auckland, and chances are that Non Males will be the most affected. What i see here in Rotorua is a hunkering down mode by those that want to get through this, and a getting out quick for those that either are already down under or simply don't want to continue. Which is the right thing to do. But one of the most important things that i see is that those that would like to exit are still locked in leases that they can't break lest they loose even more money. And sadly we still have got nothing really there – legally speaking – for those that truly would want to get out.
Edit: If anyone thought that the fruit picking season was fucked beyond believe last year, hell, its gonna be a right shitshow when we are all more or less sick with Omicron. lol
Nice wee thread on a suffragette. Perspective on climate action. Harder to hide out or be on the run these days.
https://twitter.com/goodybcampbell/status/1479063400491765765?s=21
Who needs rights when you can just declare yourself a male and be done being that other thing that everyone can be?
I haven’t had time to have a deep think about this yet.
What happens in Chile and Latin America is a fascinating insight to the way other parts of the world are rejecting the economic policies of the last 40 years.
http://www.kiwipolitico.com/2022/01/indigenous-socialism-with-a-chilean-face/
It's a very good insightful political analysis. Plenty of nuances to consider! My take is that this new leader, aged only 35, will succeed only if he has both vision & a coterie of competent establishment advisors. By vision I mean an overview of Chilean politics plus perception of a viable path into the future that can attract consensus.
One thing seems to be improving in the last few days.
Radio NZ appear to have stopped using their made up names for the main centres when doing the weather forecast on National Radio. They have gone back to Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin instead of the multi-syllable monstrosities they were using.
Come on, a simple test. How many of you can tell us, without asking google, what the made up Maori names were? And had anyone ever heard of any of them before they were stuck into the weather forecast.
Can’t hold two ideas in your head at the same time. Says it all really.
The previous names (Maori) were for regions weren't they, rather than cities (there not being any, back in the day). I imagine some of those names were conferred by local Maori very early on in the piece, so I don't see why they aren't appropriate for use now and they sound great, to the un-jaundiced ear 🙂
Yes.
Kirikiriroa for Hamilton – lived there twenty years ago and would see the name around the city
Tāmaki Makaurau
Hamilton?
Pōneke
Ōtautahi
Ōtepoti
Had to check the macrons, got the mostly right by ear.
"And had anyone ever heard of any of them before they were stuck into the weather forecast."
Good grief man, does your anyone include Māori? Pākehā who've been paying attention? Anyone that's learned a smattering of te reo?
Not to mention how many places have their Māori names alongside (or usually – er – under , because symbolism can be subtle, and not so subtle) the English names on signage etc. .
Pōneke is a transliteration of Port Nicholson, on RNZ I think they use Te Whanganui-a-Tara for Wellington.
There's some resistance to the name of Ōtautahi as it is named for an ancestor. Puāri was the name of another settlement on the Ōtākaro which is another good alternative
https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/te-reo-maori/122813289/tautahi–the-story-behind-christchurchs-informal-te-reo-name
Well they certainly don't use Poneke.
If you listen to the National program you will have heard all the names innumerable times but only 3 seem to have stuck. You don't seem to be a Pakeha who has been paying attention on that record, although I am sure you would be far ahead of most people.
I really don't believe that Maori had any names for the areas covered by the cities. Bits of them perhaps but nothing at all for the whole region. I have enquired whether people I know know what the names are. I don't find that anyone knew the names used for areas outside their own city.
Anyway, I hope RNZ continue with their recent practice and dump these made up names for good.
Good thing reality isn't based on your disbeliefs.
Ngāi Tahu have a very interesting atlas, Kā Huru Manu, where you can browse the original names for over 1,000 places in their rohe. Have a look and you might learn something:
https://www.kahurumanu.co.nz/atlas
I have, and it is very interesting. looking at the map of Christchurch all the items noted seem to be small features. There was nothing that covered the whole of Christchurch City however and most of the featured places in the area are around the harbour rather than in the city itself.
There was nothing that showed up on that map that is a fair representation of the whole city is there?
It's almost like Māori had their own reasons for how they named places that didn't included cities that didn't even exist.
Lol 'made up names'. What do you think Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin are?
Correct, but if you were aware of even the European history of this land you would know many of the cities developed from multiple different settlements that later became joined, perhaps you've heard of suburb names, that's most often their origin.
As an old, white, male, Pakeha, I’d be happy to have Aotearoa as our country name. Also use all Māori names where appropriate. (Everywhere)
As an old, white female, I'm happy that Maori names be used for place names. Just so long as old white people are not denigrated by others if they choose to stick with the English version because they're too old to change habits and find it all a bit confusing into anyway.
"Auckland" isn't a "made up name"?
Let's dump it, if it turns out to be!
and when that's been done, we need the weather forecast to start with te taitonga and work its way up ngā motu. It makes sense.
I think whichever order you do it you'd find yourself having missed the forecast for your area and be on to Wharekauri by the time you tune in/wake-up when you are waiting for an early morning forecast (4am or 5am) that lets you know if you can go round Te Taonui-a-Kupe (Kupe's big spear) while yachting.
English made it up via mispronunciation:
Ironic given Auckland has more than its fair share of tree murderers.
I don't listen to RNZ news very often 😇
Hamilton – Kirikiriroa
Tauranga – Tauranga
Rotorua – Rotorua
Whanganui – Whanganui
Hastings – Heretaunga
to name a few
.
Just a quick thanks to everyone for their kind wishes regarding the cancer [A few Random Predictions Jan 1 post] … really appreciate the moral support.
Apologies for my late reply … Chemo unfortunately sometimes puts patients under what the oncology brigade colloquially call a "Chemo Fog" … essentially significant mental fatigue that lasts for a week or so … or sometimes on a more sporadic basis … a bit like being very absent-minded & having to summon all your mental energy just to think through otherwise very simple things … I've generally managed to avoid all that over the first 4 cycles, been in a surprisingly fit state … but definitely suffered from it since my last infusion on 31 Dec.
Just coming right over last few days … so apologies for delay.
I wish you all the best with your situation. Had a friend back in the '90s doing that (prednizone) & he got manic compulsively – when we visited it was like a different person. Dunno if natural options can help in such grim circumstances. Rosemary does clear brain fog normally though.
Do you know about herb Robert? I have plenty in my garden & render the leaves into tiny bits with a whizzer blade, keep them in a plastic bag in the freezer for food & green tea additive. Folks online testify to being healed from cancer by that.
Herb Robert's bound to clear brain fog and improve inner-eye sight at the same time (just my reckon 🙂
https://www.juliasedibleweeds.com/general/healing-with-herb-robert/
Wiki gives this saint as origin of the name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_of_Molesme
but that's not the same as the herbalists's source which I researched years ago – an Archbishop of Paris in the 13th century.
You hang in there and keep commenting here Swordfish you're a good unit.
Goodluck hope you knock the bugger off.
ANZ senior economist tweets chart showing that current Melbourne & Sydney consumer spending is down to lockdown levels even though they've opened up and surrendered.
Opening up does not make things better, it makes things worse.
Humans, the dumbest, most violent, idiotic, self destructive thing this planet created. We really don't deserve anything nice.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/13700-native-trees-planted-in-north-shore-reserve-destroyed-to-keep-view/T572GUDSO357JUF553TEEFDX74/
You can add this to the list of moronic human behaviour.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/127434869/frustration-levels-huge-as-dumping-continues-to-plague-op-shops
absolutely bonkers.
Don't know if the Herald is being slack or the council, but I'm not seeing a reason given in that article.
more here,
https://twitter.com/JonTurnerNZ/status/1478876078001188864
Heard about this on talkback. We seem to be a country of unfathomable decisions.
I'm a lucky one, along with Gezza and Robert. I have a river and food forest…and a council that so far minds its own business. Which is just as well because two of my prized Paulownia trees border council land.