Last night as part of my preparation for the Epidemic Response Committee, I provided the Prime Minister with a complete picture of my activity outside my home during Alert Level 4.
That included the fact that on the first weekend of the Alert Level 4 lockdown I drove my family approximately 20 kilometres from our house in Dunedin to Doctor’s Point Beach for a walk.
This trip was a clear breach of the lockdown principles of staying local and not driving long distances to reach recreation spots.
As the Health Minister it’s my responsibly to not only follow the rules but set an example to other New Zealanders.
At a time when we are asking New Zealanders to make historic sacrifices I’ve let the team down. I’ve been an idiot, and I understand why people will be angry with me.
I’ve apologised to the Prime Minister for my lack of judgement and offered her my resignation.
In the interest of full disclosure, since the lockdown began I have also driven my family to a walking track approximately 2 kilometres from our house for a walk and gone for occasional runs, all of which were local and within the rules, and one bike ride which is already in the public domain.
“Yesterday evening the Health Minister advised me of his trip to a beach during the lockdown and offered his resignation,” Jacinda Ardern said.
“Under normal conditions I would sack the Minister of Health. What he did was wrong, and there are no excuses.
“But right now, my priority is our collective fight against COVID-19. We cannot afford massive disruption in the health sector or to our response. For that reason, and that reason alone, Dr Clark will maintain his role.
“But he does need to pay a price. He broke the rules.
“While he maintains his Health portfolio, I am stripping him of his role as Associate Finance Minister and demoting him to the bottom of our Cabinet rankings.
“I expect better, and so does New Zealand,” Jacinda Ardern said.
Ardern must be furious. Not only did Clark blatantly breach Level 4 rules and Ardern's requests (of the public), he seems to have sat on this since last Thursday. If he only informed Ardern last night as he states that's just about as bad as breaching the lockdown rules.
As Clark says, he’s been an idiot and has let the team down.
Hey Pete, what are your thoughts on Simon Bridges driving up and down the country and his apparent attitude that he's entitled to and he's going to keep doing it?
Well yes, that particular activity is indeed more likely to spread around whatever it is he's ailing from.
But in this particular thread I'm interested in exploring the difference in attitudes between one party that says 'shit, I screwed up and I've learned from it' and another party that says "I'm entitled and I'm gonna keep doing it'.
'shit, I screwed up and I've learned from it' – four days after the story started to come out requiring the Minister of Finance and Prime Minister to cover for him and make misleading if not false statements about his availability.
It was a series of screwups. In an interview on RNZ this morning Clark was still fudging around, saying he made "an error of judgement” – he made a series of errors of judgements – and saying after the bike ride blew up he “went back and discovered something else”.
Four days later he discovered his voice and told Ardern. That's put Clark's party in an embarrassing situation at time they need to be working on some big stuff.
Clark's competence as Minister of Health remains questionable.
Why don't you awnser Andre's question @ 1.1 Pete G?
In case you missed it:
… what are your thoughts on Simon Bridges driving up and down the country and his apparent attitude that he's entitled to and he's going to keep doing it?
And might I add:
Organising a photo op. in the middle of a supermarket with the store owner and a staffer and standing less than a metre away from both of them.
Reckon that's good role modelling? Don't you think as leader of the National Party he should apologise and offer to step down?
Lets face it mate even if you and your fellow trolls can’t:
If you apply the rules strictly to one senior politician then you have to apply the rules equally as strictly to all senior politicians.
"Clark's competence as Minister of Health remains questionable."
Which is as it should be and remains unchanged for all Ministers. Any Minister is of course also a politician, and needs to set a good example – and in that Clark failed, but there is nothing to indicate that his competence in the role of Minister of Health has changed due to his breaches of guidelines relating to travel. One of the areas where I think the government as a whole has excelled is in accepting scientific advice; the political dimension was placing saving of life and providing support to get through necessary lockdown – other countries have given greater political weight to "business as usual" Clark's mistake was essentially that he did not act as a responsible and good example. For that he is being rightly vilified.
I think there's an argument for key people to front up in person dealing with the pandemic. Some are doing that in Wellington, including Ardern, Robertson and a number of officials and police.
And despite some questions here I think that Leader of the Opposition is a key role, especially at a time of substantially increased Government powers.
But travelling back and forward from Tauranga to Wellington by car is an obvious risk and sends bad signals.
I think if Bridges deems his job in Wellington is important enough then he should have based himself in Wellington for the duration of the lockdown. That may have required one trip to get there.
As per Clark, when so many restrictions are put on all our lives, politicians must be seen to doing similar and not making their own rules.
But this is largely a diversion from today's topic started here. Minister of Health is one of the most critical jobs in the country right now, or at least it should be. Bridges has made himself look bad, Clark has made the Government look bad.
Do you think Clark's dumbfuckery (beach trip much more than the drive'n'bike episode) and the subsequent fallout has actually damaged the response to the crisis?
Personally I kinda think the actual result from a high profile person breaking the rules in a way that is very unlikely to increase risk or cause actual harm and can legitimately be viewed as trivial, but nonetheless getting slapped pretty hard for it, will likely have the actual result of reinforcing the idea that the rules are to be taken seriously.
All I see is one death, hospitals not at peak, good communication from the Govt, a competent leader, people making an effort, and a few whiners on the sidelines. Just my view.
Really have no sympathy let the heard sort it out, he was quite willing to let the old and sick die. I know you will all jump on me for saying this but I hope the Tory bastard dies a slow lingering death.
[You knew what you were saying was bad but you did it anyway!? If you want to keep your commenting privileges here, I would not make these kinds of utterly wrong judgement calls again, if I were you. No more warnings – Incognito]
Oh yes must not say nasty things about the tory bastards how many disabled deaths do they say they are responsible for, from memory about 130,000. Thousands living on the streets, shit wages and god help you if you have mental health problems but no don't call a spade a spade. just sit back and have another glass of wine and go tut tut.
You cannot hold the current leader of a party responsible for the decisions which were made by other PMs of that party.
Johnson has not been the PM for that long and a lot of his leadership hours have gone into Brexit. He was democratically elected. Now he has a double whammy with Covid-19, politically and personally.
Everyone is going to be affected with the repercussions of Covid-19.
No one likes to see the disabled, the homeless, the unwell or those not earning enough struggling.
Johnson is in ICU and you need to pull your head in and not blame him directly and reflect on your vile words.
I intend to not reply to you again over this topic.
Wow. Has he got any co-morbidities? How old is Boris?
I read an account of COVID-19 from a UK based friend of mine of Facebook and it sounds freaking awful. He is a fit young guy in his late thirties and was badly hit. His wife also caught it and she was fine though, almost aymptomatic. He says his kids didn't catch it but IMHO they probably did, but were totally asymptomatic.
Co-morbidities aside, once on a ventilator there is only a 30% chance of getting off it alive (just heard that from Chris Martenson update for today).
If he is lucky he will be given Vit C/Chaga mushroom/zinc/quercetin, but due to the vicious response any request will be met with this is unlikely. Could be that he has some kind of advance medical directive that might turn this situation for him, but otherwise it looks bad.
It is my understanding that when a person's heart rate, blood pressure and breathing are an issue, these are reasons for an ICU admission in regard to Covid-19.
I read an old study done in 1984 that Vitamin C assists with water on the lungs and that 80% who have pneumonia recover if they have as little as 250 mg per day. Quercetin is a good antihistamine.
I think the high death rate is once they are intubated(?) as in have the tube put down their throat, as that requires all sorts of sedation and catheters and renal support etc etc
Is Genghis Can't setting up Dr Fauci to be the fall guy? The narrative certainly seems to be getting set to paint Fauci as the deep state operative trying to underhandedly undermine the MAGAmoron Glorious Leader.
Hey Andre. Some of us have long since realised the futility of criticizing those on the right…its kind of like blaming a dog for barking or a cat for hunting. It's just who they are and what they do and an integral part of their nature.
The last National MP who could legitimately claim a functioning moral compass was Waring.
Simon is a special case, really special, and his unfortunate deficits are for his party to manage.
Those on the left should, perhaps, show that we expect a higher standard from our elected representatives. Especially those who are at the forefront of a crisis.
While I'm of the view that Clark's drive'n'bike ride was in a broad grey area, his newly disclosed beach trip is clearly outside of guidelines. He has properly offered to resign, and the Prime Minister had made a measured response to that offer.
I get it that you want his head on a pike and are disappointed that hasn't happened, but it looks to me like your view is grossly distorted by your personal circumstances.
Go ahead and give up on the lot of them, if you sit down and honestly consider how things change under different governments in the circumstances and timeframes those different governments operate under and reach the conclusion that there genuinely is no difference.
But from my perspective, there is a clear difference in outcomes even while I'm disappointed in the glacial pace of progress. So my opinion is extremely low of those who do give up and then spend their time trying to undermine those who do have their hearts in the right place and are trying to do worthwhile things, however ineffectually.
No sympathy for Clark from me. Anyone can stuff up, but Politics 101 says you get in front of it, fess up, minimise the damage. The bike ride – mistake, minor story, finished. But that was the time to come clean about anything else. He didn't. That's incompetence.
So the PM has basically sacked him on a suspended sentence. Good.
"Clearly, New Zealand has gone quickly – but how early have we gone in comparison with other countries? Newsroom has compared New Zealand's response to that of six other countries that are similar in size, population, culture or region."
Yes Pat. A very interesting analysis. A must read. Seems to show NZ did the right thing and has the strongest case therefore for emerging post Level 4 into "normality."
Shame they didn't present the numbers in terms of per 1000 or some such. Raw numbers don't mean too much when populations and population density are so varied.
Yes, that's bizarre. All their graphs are raw numbers, so obviously NZ with its tiny population is going to be lower than everyone else, and obviously that doesn't mean anything other than that we have a small population. The cases and deaths per mil population in Pat's worldometer link is the relevant comparison figure.
not obvious at all…the tracking is from initial infection and its growth pattern….population size is only relevant in that analysis in the ultimate total numbers not r nought
That would be true if there were equal numbers of infection starting points in each country. But higher populations are generally correlated with higher numbers of travellers and therefore higher numbers of starting points brought in from outside.
the initial infection starts at one..or possibly a small cluster (flight or ship)…its path once identified is the critical factor…that may be impacted by pop density or lifestyle factors but not population size.
our initial detected infection was a single individual….as was the case in other countries. Now whether there were other undetected cases is likely however the data projects the pattern of growth from that point and it is the pattern that is key.
About half of our cases (I don’t have the exact numbers at hand) was brought into the country. The other half is close contacts. Only 2% appears to be community spread. With the number of travellers dropping off, the growth was highly likely to level off too.
true enough and also likely the case for other countries….but what measures countries put in place are the main differential factor, certainly in similar environments
Yeah that's fair. And Sweden and Aus have such different patterns that even dividing them by the relevant proportion would still have them significantly higher – and worsening – than NZ.
Especially if you take them as all charts should be taken – we're "roughly the same as" Singapore, rather than succumbing to the urge to read it as an actual scorecard that says "we're doing better than everyone". All things considered, we're handling it a bit better than most (touch wood). Good on the govt.
They do have a number per million so you can compare. Also some such as the uk and Sweden are only testing those in hospital. This means they are grossly under reporting. Looking at number of deaths gives a better comparison and idea of numbers.
The link Pat provided https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ has a table that can sorted by population factor. It's an excellent resource – one I've been watching for a while now.
Shortages of ventilators get the publicity. But putting someone on a ventilator requires a hefty supply of some heavy-duty substances and those are running short too. But there's been less attention to boosting the supply and cranking up the production might be even more difficult.
A great summary Macro. Yet his recent approval rating of his handling of Covid is up at about 47% and disapproval about 37%. (Don't remember where I read that.)
Pretty sure that is an outlying poll ianmac. While there was a little softening in disapproval after he belatedly changed tack from complete denial to some acceptance of danger facing the country that is slowly wearing off as the daily mismanagement of the crisis continues. It probaly also coincided with the final approval of the $1T “rescue” package
I think the poll you might be remembering is this one
This was the IBD/TIPP poll which gave him a 48% approval as opposed to a 44% disapproval rating. However, if you have a look at the myriad of polls run across the US on that question you can see that in almost all cases his disapproval rating is higher than his approval.
The running average of approval/disapproval by fivethirtyeight has him still at around 50% disapproval – the most favourable of his "presidency" but there are signs of growing disapproval in recent days. The running average takes a few days to reflect this trend.
When the virus final hits the states with predominant MAGAT* support I think even the most fervent Trumpkin will begin to have doubts.
I did see a funny reply on Twitter, that Bridges has slow internet coz he asked for it to be split into smaller increments, to keep it under the threshold.
I also use some spray on shopping that arrives in my flat – usually in paper bags that have not been used before. I leave most of it untouched for several hours, or put things that need to go in the fridge in bags I already have.
The virus does weaken over time, and most of it dies after a few hours. It can last on plastic and stainless steel up to 2-3 days.
I wash my hands a lot and wipe down stuff that can easily be wiped – but I think leaving things untouched for several hours, overnight, or for days (depending on what it is) is probably the way to go.
In case anyone else was wondering why the proportion of probable to confirmed cases rose significantly in recent days, it's because they have changed definitions and testing criteria.
If you're in a bubble with someone that's infected and you start showing symptoms, you're now unlikely to be tested and you're automatically listed as probable and basically considered confirmed for the purposes of follow-up and treatment.
Let's acknowledge it. If the Democratic Party had decided to anoint Sanders as the 'electable' one after the Nevada caucus, he would now have just as commanding a lead in delegates as Biden currently enjoys. 'Electability', or otherwise, was never an inherent attribute of the candidates themselves, it was a narrative constructed about them by people with agendas. In the case of the establishment Democratic Party, that agenda was to protect their existing wealth and future income streams from corporate donors against the threat of the Sanders policy programme. And now it all unravels as Trump's approval ratings increase (like all 'wartime' leaders) and Biden's manifest unfitness for the job becomes clear. Average bloke Joe Rogan with an extremely popular podcast now says he can't support Biden and would vote for Trump.The Democratic Party responds by blaming everyone other than themselves. Krystal and Sagar discuss here. Can you ever trust affluent, socially liberal centrists to do the right thing?
1.) Could you provide some evidence to back up your contention that Joe Rogan is a "racist misogynist"?
2.) Quoting Bernie out of context like "Paulina" has done is to grotesquely misrepresent him. "Paulina" sounds very like another liar, Elizabeth Warren.
Joe Rogans not a racist or a misogynist. You just disagree with him so you label him as such. He actually pretty good and has destroyed far more conservatives than he has liberals and socialists.
I'm sick of politicals using out of context messages to label people things. The left is as bad as the right on this.
Jacinda’s Easter Bunny’s essential occupation status has made a number of overseas media outlets. The comments section in one of the US ones was so full of praise for her. How they envy our good fortune.
A touch of brilliance from her to have a little bit of humour at this time.
I note that the National Party is going to absolutely do their best/worst to get elected….I believe DPF's April fools "joke" wasn't – simply a trial run of blatant lying targeting identified groups as a trial run for the election. I believe "third rail" dirty politics will be active in the election – big time.
The National Party has lots of money to spend on the election ( CCP donations? ). I see two "fluff" articles in The Guardian one written by Bridges ans the other by what appears to be a fawning sycophant of the National Party where among other things we get told that Labour and National are both like the US Democrat Party among many other bizarre assertions . Now I do not believe this was at the The Guardian's initiative and I am disappointed the articles were not marked as paid advertorials. A National Party happy to throw money buying space in a nominally left publication to try sow confusion and disinformation is a measure of how far they will go.
Then you have the National Party's media boosters – the Tova's , Hosk's Garner's and all yodeling "gotcha" every few minutes while they pretend ignorance of and have no interest of the garbage that the National Party gets up to.
Despite the fact that the borders to NZ should have been closed weeks ago, if for no reason other than that this virus was extremely unusual and puzzling to virologists ,Jacinda is still "thinking" about implementing quarantine at the border.
On http://www.20min.ch today there is an article saying that a cat and a tiger in the Broncs zoo , New York , have become infected with Covid 19…
“Thinking” doesn’t mean flicking a coin ad nauseam but collecting information, considering options and consequences, making decisions that are evidence-based, planning & preparing, et cetera.
I mean, from my understanding of applying the precautionary principle, and especially given the apparent seriousness of covid, shouldn't that be the question?
Depends on what the “it” is. From where I’m sitting and from what I know, border control has to tighten if and when we go down to a lower Alert Level and attempt to some level of ‘normalisation’. Otherwise, it would be like mopping up water off the floor while the tap is still running. The Devil is in the detail, as always. Jumping up & down demanding “just DO IT!” is not helpful.
the logistics of housing, feeding and monitoring thousands of people, rolling numbers over time. Not saying it can't be done, but it's not a small thing either. eg if the police do the monitoring, they will have to be taken off other duties.
Last time I looked we were quarantining anyone coming in with symptoms. Non-symptomatic people with appropriate self-isolation plans were checked and allowed to self-isolate. From memory the ratio was something like 1500 to 4,000 (someone can check that).
So make the logistics fit capacity? Limiting inbound flights would achieve that. With "half the world" in lock-down, why or how are people still flying anyway?
I would have stopped all incoming flights at the beginning and been done with it. Stuck in Azerbaijan? k.
Hmm I guess there are maybe some folks (quite a few) who are kinda glad I'm not NZs dictator in charge or some such 🙂
Arden just said there were tens of thousands of NZers travelling overseas at the time they started putting restrictions on the border.
The govt has an obligation to NZ citizens and residents, they can't just lock people out without a very good reason. A good reason might be an active epidemic that was killing lots of people here where there was no good way to prevent people coming in from not making that worse. Putting in a three tier system for Kiwis coming home seems entirely reasonable given the overall elimination strategy, and given they're increasing stringency over time as they are able to.
Bloomfield has just said that around half of the new cases are coming from existing clusters, and that not many are coming from new arrivals. Looks like the number of border cases has dropped a lot.
Bloomfield has just said that around half of the new cases are coming from existing clusters, and that not many are coming from new arrivals. Looks like the number of border cases has dropped a lot.
That’s good news. It is the community spread that we need to watch.
That's just silly. There are hundreds of thousands of people all around the world who were stuck because of the speed of developments overtoo their ability to move. They couldn't just jump on the nearest flight to getback 'home.' In NZ there were two hundred thousand foreign tourists, and another four hundred thousand temporary workers who weren't at 'home'. If their countries did what you suggested, they would be stuck here presenting an enormous potential health problem, let alone being exceptionally cruel. There aren't any easy answers.It's far better for all people 'stuck' in places like Azerbaijan or New Zealand to get back to their real 'homes' in a safe and humane way.
There are hundreds of thousands of people all around the world who were stuck because of the speed of developments overtoo their ability to move
uh-huh. And?
Sorry. But my sympathies wouldn't really have been lying with some tens of thousands of people from NZ who were able to hob nob around the world – many or most of whom would have had ways and means – I'm sure they'd have been fine. And if any needed consular assistance or whatever, then fine – such assistance could have been provided.
As for thousands here from other countries, they could have left or stayed according to their preference and their country's policy around inbound flights. (Don’t quite get your health problem angle.)
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people with no ways or means were on the streets right here in NZ with no home to go to.
So…tens of thousands extending their stay abroad so that a virus (or further instances of) wasn't introduced into the country, versus tens of thousands right here in dire need of shelter and protection from a virus. Hmm. Hard one.
Those abroad could have come back in dribs and drabs (availability of seats means tested perhaps?) in line with border capabilities set around quarantine measures.
btw – Wonder how many PMC types took last minute flights out of NZ just to avoid lockdown? I bet there's a few. Which is fine. But quarantine rules "since forever" have been that you can leave a quarantined area whenever you want and at the drop of a hat. Re-entering? Not so willy-nilly on that front, aye?
Well Janet you might be cleverer than Jacinda but have a look on Newsroom where they chart NZ success compared to that of similar sized countries. Even so easy to read graphs.
If NZ brings in compulsory quarantining,it will have to be done more carefully than here in Australia, which brought in compulsory quarantining for all people flying in to international airports 10 days or so ago. (but not for Queensland residents driving acrossthe border from NSW where there is definite evidence of community transmission – just 'self-isolation for 2 weeks'. My partner and I are in the 4th day of a compulsory quarantining in a Brisbane hotel after flying in from Auckland last Friday with 20 others (half kiwis, half Aussies). Our 'home' is a nearby boat. We were crammed into a bus from the airport sitting close together within the 1.5m Aussie physical distancing rules. All OK since in the hotel, but it is not set up for self-contained living. That means that although we have been quarantined, we are still exposed to doubtful food and supplies from outside which is dropped outside our door. We clean what we can, but how do we know who has been handling it? We could be infected ourselves. Also, anecdotal reports about young quarantiners having parties in their hotel corridors and even waiters serving glasses of wine (in Sydney). None of these issues are insurmountable, but it does mean that just switching over to blanket quarantining isn't easy. Some proper planning has to go into it.
Some people are being put up in 5 star hotels at the expense of the Government. Most of these rooms will not have anything but a coffee maker/hot water jug.
If NZ does the same for international arrivals, they should put them up in serviced apartments that have a small kitchenette.
Very good point, Indiana. Seld-contained motels with kitchenettes are far better and a lot cheaper than the sort of useless 5 star swanky hotels like the one that we arein. The quarantining must go both ways if ALL incoming passenegrs are to be quarantined, not just those withsymptoms or do not have prope self-isoation plans as is the current policy in NZ. if you can cook yourself you can order stuff from Countdown or whoever and ake sure you can clean what you order and not get infected.Also, the quarantining must be policed (with kindness – we are not criminals!) otherwise it will be a farce.
Hotels are probably much easier to manage logistically, but the meals thing is really important, including for families with kids. Can't live on toast and coffee for very long.
3 meals a day provided. Pretty crappy, but we won't starve. The point is we don't know who is preparing it – looks like it has been contracted out to a 'cheap' caterer. If it wasn't for the circumstances, we wouldn't think about it, but as we can't see or talk to the caterers or trust them to be virus free, we are basically sitting ducks!
The hotels that are offering quarantine faciities for the different state governments are closed to other guests so everything is closed down including their own kitchens. We haven't seen anyone since we got into the room. Can't get out or open the window. The food is left in bags outside the door and we have to wait for 10 seconds before retrieving them. We are not complaining, just emphasising that these circumstances are exceptional and everyone around the world, especially those in charge, are on a steep learning curve, so a bit of tolerance needed if things aren't perfect from the start.
"…these circumstances are exceptional and everyone around the world, especially those in charge, are on a steep learning curve, so a bit of tolerance needed if things aren't perfect from the start."
Spain, which has the biggest cluster of COVID-19 infections outside the U.S., will introduce universal basic income “as soon as possible” as part of its efforts to combat the economic effects of coronavirus, Economy Minister Nadia Calvino said on Sunday. Critically, the scheme is expected to be rolled out indefinitely.
so if spain feels that this is what is needed, so its good. As in germany where the government is picking up large parts of pay cheque by letting companies put people on Kurzarbeit aka short work (20hr) so that they keep staff and have their staff ready for when the country goes back to normal.
Three National MPs physically travelled to Wellington for their committee meeting today. Shane Reti from Northland, Louise Upston from Taupo and Simon Bridges from Tauranga.
Jesus, if this isn't flat out abuse of the wage subsidy scheme. Imagine being one of the only businesses allowed to still operate and you pretend you're on hard times.
Talk about diversions, we have a contributor wishing someone would die. Now our PM didn't have the foresight to Ask her Min of Health if there were any other instances of poor decision making, our Min of Health kept from the PM that he went on another trip as it wasn't evident to him until he reviewed his actions (my words) and we get what some National MP's have done. Take ownership of flaws/screw ups.
What many here IMO don't understand. People Vote for our PM, NOT Labour, People Vote for National NOT Simon Bridges.
"Now our PM didn't have the foresight to Ask her Min of Health if there were any other instances of poor decision making …"
Pretty sure that's exactly what she asked him and why he fessed up. In these situations its normal to ask if there are any other similar instances and also to ask for the Ministerial diary to be checked.
When he was asked by the PM when the bike ride emerged (I take it he was questioned ) this didn't trigger any recollection of his actions over the last week. Not having any idea what an MP/Minister includes in their diary, but I wouldn't think that such a trip would be included into his diary (as it was family related). Most of us know what the rules are and I gather all (But a few idiots/privileged) when in doubt take the conservative (I know many here don't like this term 😱) approach. i.e. when in doubt … don't – The ramification are too great.
The trip to the beach wouldn't have been in the diary, H, but hours put aside for personal matters would have been noted. That is, it wouldn't say what he did, just that he was off the clock for x number of hours. My presumption is that he was asked to fill in the blanks and when he thought back through his movements he realised he'd done more than just go out on the bike. At least he had the guts to be honest, and to tender his resignation. Plenty would have tried to bluff it out.
The Supreme Court’s Republican majority, in a case that is literally titled Republican National Committee v. Democratic National Committee, handed down a decision that will effectively disenfranchise tens of thousands of Wisconsin voters. It did so at the urging of the GOP.
The case arises out of Wisconsin’s decision to hold its spring election during the coronavirus pandemic, even as nearly a dozen other states have chosen to postpone similar elections in order to protect the safety of voters. Democrats hoped to defend a lower court order that allowed absentee ballots to be counted so long as they arrived at the designated polling place by April 13, an extension granted by a judge to account for the brewing coronavirus-sparked chaos on Election Day, April 7. Republicans successfully asked the Court to require these ballots to be postmarked by April 7.
All five of the Court’s Republicans voted for the Republican Party’s position. All four of the Court’s Democrats voted for the Democratic Party’s position.
This decision has far reaching implications for the forthcoming Election in November which could well be held under similar conditions as the current State Election in Wisconsin. Furthermore the current election includes election of a State Supreme Court appointment. The importance of this is further explained in the article here:
It’s also worth noting that, if Wisconsin had free and fair elections to choose its state lawmakers, Evers would most likely have been able to work with a Democratic legislature to ensure that Tuesday’s election would be conducted fairly. In 2018, 54 percent of voters chose a Democratic candidate for the state Assembly. But Republicans have so completely gerrymandered the state that they prevailed in 63 of the state’s 99 Assembly races.
There is far more at stake in Wisconsin, moreover, than one state Supreme Court seat. Wisconsin could be the pivotal swing state that decides the 2020 presidential election. The question of whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden occupies the White House next year could easily be determined by which man receives Wisconsin’s electoral votes.
I had been thinking that cleaning grocery items with bleach was going too far with shopping caution. It's enough of a juggling act getting it all from the trolley to car and home without the frozen or chilled stuff overheating and getting a weird consistency. Really rethinking that tonight.
Kids (finally) settled down, I wasn't up to much thinking so went on YouTube. A new episode of an old favourite: WTFIWWY. Which does mock people for clicks; yes, but they often fully deserve the derision, and there is a rule against covering stupidity that results in injury to others. But it didn't prove much respite against the pecking of the Crow this time.
The show's a week out of date by the time it gets out of Patron exclusivity, but not often addressing serious current issues, so that doesn't matter much to me. The toilet-seat lickers were bad enough, but this guy!
Warning – you may feel a strong desire to claw your own eyes out rather than view this:
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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Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
Bryce Edwards writes – 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 show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played.“Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I- Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
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 show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka KotahiThe fact that a ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st CenturyThe SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims StuffSteve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from 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 public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
"The Government 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 ...
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Statement from David Clark
Statement from the Prime Minister on Dr David Clark
Ardern must be furious. Not only did Clark blatantly breach Level 4 rules and Ardern's requests (of the public), he seems to have sat on this since last Thursday. If he only informed Ardern last night as he states that's just about as bad as breaching the lockdown rules.
As Clark says, he’s been an idiot and has let the team down.
Hey Pete, what are your thoughts on Simon Bridges driving up and down the country and his apparent attitude that he's entitled to and he's going to keep doing it?
For me his obvious electioneering in supermarkets is of more concern.
Well yes, that particular activity is indeed more likely to spread around whatever it is he's ailing from.
But in this particular thread I'm interested in exploring the difference in attitudes between one party that says 'shit, I screwed up and I've learned from it' and another party that says "I'm entitled and I'm gonna keep doing it'.
'shit, I screwed up and I've learned from it' – four days after the story started to come out requiring the Minister of Finance and Prime Minister to cover for him and make misleading if not false statements about his availability.
It was a series of screwups. In an interview on RNZ this morning Clark was still fudging around, saying he made "an error of judgement” – he made a series of errors of judgements – and saying after the bike ride blew up he “went back and discovered something else”.
Four days later he discovered his voice and told Ardern. That's put Clark's party in an embarrassing situation at time they need to be working on some big stuff.
Clark's competence as Minister of Health remains questionable.
I was meh about the bike ride but the 20 kms to the beach . Dumb fucker needs sacking when it's over.
“..fudging around..”
If you think that was fudge then I’m not asking you to do any baking for me.
Why don't you awnser Andre's question @ 1.1 Pete G?
In case you missed it:
And might I add:
Reckon that's good role modelling? Don't you think as leader of the National Party he should apologise and offer to step down?
Lets face it mate even if you and your fellow trolls can’t:
If you apply the rules strictly to one senior politician then you have to apply the rules equally as strictly to all senior politicians.
Before you pile in with troll accusations I suggest you read down the thread.
"Clark's competence as Minister of Health remains questionable."
Which is as it should be and remains unchanged for all Ministers. Any Minister is of course also a politician, and needs to set a good example – and in that Clark failed, but there is nothing to indicate that his competence in the role of Minister of Health has changed due to his breaches of guidelines relating to travel. One of the areas where I think the government as a whole has excelled is in accepting scientific advice; the political dimension was placing saving of life and providing support to get through necessary lockdown – other countries have given greater political weight to "business as usual" Clark's mistake was essentially that he did not act as a responsible and good example. For that he is being rightly vilified.
Is he in breach of his own Ministries advice?
Like this announcement from the National Party?
That's been covered here: Two Bubbles Bridges’ Big Day Out
I think there's an argument for key people to front up in person dealing with the pandemic. Some are doing that in Wellington, including Ardern, Robertson and a number of officials and police.
And despite some questions here I think that Leader of the Opposition is a key role, especially at a time of substantially increased Government powers.
But travelling back and forward from Tauranga to Wellington by car is an obvious risk and sends bad signals.
I think if Bridges deems his job in Wellington is important enough then he should have based himself in Wellington for the duration of the lockdown. That may have required one trip to get there.
As per Clark, when so many restrictions are put on all our lives, politicians must be seen to doing similar and not making their own rules.
But this is largely a diversion from today's topic started here. Minister of Health is one of the most critical jobs in the country right now, or at least it should be. Bridges has made himself look bad, Clark has made the Government look bad.
Do you think Clark's dumbfuckery (beach trip much more than the drive'n'bike episode) and the subsequent fallout has actually damaged the response to the crisis?
Personally I kinda think the actual result from a high profile person breaking the rules in a way that is very unlikely to increase risk or cause actual harm and can legitimately be viewed as trivial, but nonetheless getting slapped pretty hard for it, will likely have the actual result of reinforcing the idea that the rules are to be taken seriously.
Nice to see Pete George and the MSM finally got something at their level of comprehension.
Not nice to see it took Clark 4 days to comprehend what he has done and front up to the PM.
All I see is one death, hospitals not at peak, good communication from the Govt, a competent leader, people making an effort, and a few whiners on the sidelines. Just my view.
And a very reasonable and fact-based view it is, I Feel Love.
Just heard on RNZ Boris Johnson moved to ICU.
The awful thing with Covid-19 is that day 7-10 it can seriously affect the lungs.
Really have no sympathy let the heard sort it out, he was quite willing to let the old and sick die. I know you will all jump on me for saying this but I hope the Tory bastard dies a slow lingering death.
[You knew what you were saying was bad but you did it anyway!? If you want to keep your commenting privileges here, I would not make these kinds of utterly wrong judgement calls again, if I were you. No more warnings – Incognito]
I find your comment to be unacceptable and the last sentence to be inappropriate.
Herd and not heard. I am not the greatest speller either.
What an horrible thing to hope for. One of the more disgusting comments I have ever read on here.
Here is hoping you and your family never are on the receiving end of what you are so happy to hope happens to others.
Not others just HIM.
Your comments say far more about you than anything else.
Oh yes must not say nasty things about the tory bastards how many disabled deaths do they say they are responsible for, from memory about 130,000. Thousands living on the streets, shit wages and god help you if you have mental health problems but no don't call a spade a spade. just sit back and have another glass of wine and go tut tut.
Refer to my comment above..
What you said was personal and disgusting. Not just nasty or calling a ‘spade a spade’.
from your reply it seems you are still quiet ok with your comment. Perhaps you should reflex on that – because in no way was it acceptable.
You cannot hold the current leader of a party responsible for the decisions which were made by other PMs of that party.
Johnson has not been the PM for that long and a lot of his leadership hours have gone into Brexit. He was democratically elected. Now he has a double whammy with Covid-19, politically and personally.
Everyone is going to be affected with the repercussions of Covid-19.
No one likes to see the disabled, the homeless, the unwell or those not earning enough struggling.
Johnson is in ICU and you need to pull your head in and not blame him directly and reflect on your vile words.
I intend to not reply to you again over this topic.
See my Moderation note @ 12:19 PM.
I hope he recovers, learns from the experience and becomes less of a prick.
Boris Johnson has been moved to ICU.
Link please
Edit: Don’t worry I have it
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2020/apr/06/coronavirus-live-news-boris-johnson-admitted-to-hospital-as-trump-again-touts-hydroxychloroquine
Boris Johnson moved to ICU, – The Independent
Wow. Has he got any co-morbidities? How old is Boris?
I read an account of COVID-19 from a UK based friend of mine of Facebook and it sounds freaking awful. He is a fit young guy in his late thirties and was badly hit. His wife also caught it and she was fine though, almost aymptomatic. He says his kids didn't catch it but IMHO they probably did, but were totally asymptomatic.
His mental age or his real age?
Co-morbidities aside, once on a ventilator there is only a 30% chance of getting off it alive (just heard that from Chris Martenson update for today).
If he is lucky he will be given Vit C/Chaga mushroom/zinc/quercetin, but due to the vicious response any request will be met with this is unlikely. Could be that he has some kind of advance medical directive that might turn this situation for him, but otherwise it looks bad.
Hes 55…and ICU dosnt necessarily mean ventilator as I understand it.
"BBC political correspondent Chris Mason said the prime minister was given oxygen late on Monday afternoon, before being taken to intensive care.
However, he has not been put on a ventilator."
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-52192604
yes just read that…though is 2 hours old….cant see anything newer
Yep, also latest news I found, too.
It is my understanding that when a person's heart rate, blood pressure and breathing are an issue, these are reasons for an ICU admission in regard to Covid-19.
I read an old study done in 1984 that Vitamin C assists with water on the lungs and that 80% who have pneumonia recover if they have as little as 250 mg per day. Quercetin is a good antihistamine.
RNZ just reported that he was conscious but on a ventilator.
I think the high death rate is once they are intubated(?) as in have the tube put down their throat, as that requires all sorts of sedation and catheters and renal support etc etc
Wow. Being on a ventilator is no small thing. It's literally 50/50 stuff for him right now if that's the case.
Apparently Dominic Raab looked white as a ghost when addressing the media. He of course will know more than us.
Can't help thinking Johnson has always underestimated this thing. Now he's got first hand experience of what it can do.
Is Genghis Can't setting up Dr Fauci to be the fall guy? The narrative certainly seems to be getting set to paint Fauci as the deep state operative trying to underhandedly undermine the MAGAmoron Glorious Leader.
https://www.salon.com/2020/04/06/are-trump-and-his-allies-setting-up-dr-fauci-as-the-pandemic-scapegoat/
When will Trump learn to work with people associated with the White House who know so much more than he does?
I saw what you raise in the link on Aljazeera TV on Sunday.
Fat chance of that!
What, and break a continuous 73 years of unrestrained narcissism reinforced by being encapsulated in a protective cocoon of paid suckups?
Hey Andre. Some of us have long since realised the futility of criticizing those on the right…its kind of like blaming a dog for barking or a cat for hunting. It's just who they are and what they do and an integral part of their nature.
The last National MP who could legitimately claim a functioning moral compass was Waring.
Simon is a special case, really special, and his unfortunate deficits are for his party to manage.
Those on the left should, perhaps, show that we expect a higher standard from our elected representatives. Especially those who are at the forefront of a crisis.
Or do we give up on the sorry lot of them?
While I'm of the view that Clark's drive'n'bike ride was in a broad grey area, his newly disclosed beach trip is clearly outside of guidelines. He has properly offered to resign, and the Prime Minister had made a measured response to that offer.
I get it that you want his head on a pike and are disappointed that hasn't happened, but it looks to me like your view is grossly distorted by your personal circumstances.
Go ahead and give up on the lot of them, if you sit down and honestly consider how things change under different governments in the circumstances and timeframes those different governments operate under and reach the conclusion that there genuinely is no difference.
But from my perspective, there is a clear difference in outcomes even while I'm disappointed in the glacial pace of progress. So my opinion is extremely low of those who do give up and then spend their time trying to undermine those who do have their hearts in the right place and are trying to do worthwhile things, however ineffectually.
No sympathy for Clark from me. Anyone can stuff up, but Politics 101 says you get in front of it, fess up, minimise the damage. The bike ride – mistake, minor story, finished. But that was the time to come clean about anything else. He didn't. That's incompetence.
So the PM has basically sacked him on a suspended sentence. Good.
So the PM has basically sacked him on a suspended sentence. Good.
No third time.
Maybe some MPs need to be electronically monitored. Then the full extent of the overstepping will be known. This could be done randomly.
"Clearly, New Zealand has gone quickly – but how early have we gone in comparison with other countries? Newsroom has compared New Zealand's response to that of six other countries that are similar in size, population, culture or region."
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2020/04/06/1117839/how-does-nzs-covid-19-response-stack-up-to-overseas
Forget the politicking
Yes Pat. A very interesting analysis. A must read. Seems to show NZ did the right thing and has the strongest case therefore for emerging post Level 4 into "normality."
Shame they didn't present the numbers in terms of per 1000 or some such. Raw numbers don't mean too much when populations and population density are so varied.
that info available here…
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
We can criticise the minutiae of our response but I know where Id rather be right now
Yes, that's bizarre. All their graphs are raw numbers, so obviously NZ with its tiny population is going to be lower than everyone else, and obviously that doesn't mean anything other than that we have a small population. The cases and deaths per mil population in Pat's worldometer link is the relevant comparison figure.
They're not all way out of line.
Ireland is 4.9 million
We're roughly 5.0 million.
Norway is 5.4 million
Singapore is 5.7 million
Denmark is 5.8 million
But yeah, Israel (9.2M), Sweden (10.3M) and Australia (25.7M) really need to be scaled otherwise the comparisons are kinda useless.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_population
not obvious at all…the tracking is from initial infection and its growth pattern….population size is only relevant in that analysis in the ultimate total numbers not r nought
That would be true if there were equal numbers of infection starting points in each country. But higher populations are generally correlated with higher numbers of travellers and therefore higher numbers of starting points brought in from outside.
the initial infection starts at one..or possibly a small cluster (flight or ship)…its path once identified is the critical factor…that may be impacted by pop density or lifestyle factors but not population size.
Our initial infections did not start with one. There are multiple clusters with independent initiating infections.
our initial detected infection was a single individual….as was the case in other countries. Now whether there were other undetected cases is likely however the data projects the pattern of growth from that point and it is the pattern that is key.
About half of our cases (I don’t have the exact numbers at hand) was brought into the country. The other half is close contacts. Only 2% appears to be community spread. With the number of travellers dropping off, the growth was highly likely to level off too.
true enough and also likely the case for other countries….but what measures countries put in place are the main differential factor, certainly in similar environments
oh…and timing…we went earlier than most
Yeah that's fair. And Sweden and Aus have such different patterns that even dividing them by the relevant proportion would still have them significantly higher – and worsening – than NZ.
Especially if you take them as all charts should be taken – we're "roughly the same as" Singapore, rather than succumbing to the urge to read it as an actual scorecard that says "we're doing better than everyone". All things considered, we're handling it a bit better than most (touch wood). Good on the govt.
I’d say luck comes into it too, and our geographical isolation.
True true.
They do have a number per million so you can compare. Also some such as the uk and Sweden are only testing those in hospital. This means they are grossly under reporting. Looking at number of deaths gives a better comparison and idea of numbers.
The link Pat provided https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ has a table that can sorted by population factor. It's an excellent resource – one I've been watching for a while now.
Be careful going down that track…
This is one of the funniest political interviews ever.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018741784/coronavirus-health-minister-admits-second-lockdown-breach
Not sure it's so funny when he's the Minister of Health. But I take your point.
Strange times indeed….Winston in the best interaction with the media possibly in his long career….
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018741786/coronavirus-government-charters-flight-for-kiwis-in-peru
The impossible can happen
Shortages of ventilators get the publicity. But putting someone on a ventilator requires a hefty supply of some heavy-duty substances and those are running short too. But there's been less attention to boosting the supply and cranking up the production might be even more difficult.
https://www.vox.com/2020/4/6/21209589/coronavirus-medicine-ventilators-drug-shortage-sedatives-covid-19
A great summary Macro. Yet his recent approval rating of his handling of Covid is up at about 47% and disapproval about 37%. (Don't remember where I read that.)
Pretty sure that is an outlying poll ianmac. While there was a little softening in disapproval after he belatedly changed tack from complete denial to some acceptance of danger facing the country that is slowly wearing off as the daily mismanagement of the crisis continues. It probaly also coincided with the final approval of the $1T “rescue” package
I think the poll you might be remembering is this one
https://www.investors.com/politics/americans-back-president-trump-on-coronavirus-crisis/
This was the IBD/TIPP poll which gave him a 48% approval as opposed to a 44% disapproval rating. However, if you have a look at the myriad of polls run across the US on that question you can see that in almost all cases his disapproval rating is higher than his approval.
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/trump-approval-ratings/?ex_cid=rrpromo
The running average of approval/disapproval by fivethirtyeight has him still at around 50% disapproval – the most favourable of his "presidency" but there are signs of growing disapproval in recent days. The running average takes a few days to reflect this trend.
When the virus final hits the states with predominant MAGAT* support I think even the most fervent Trumpkin will begin to have doubts.
*MAGA Trumpkin
Perhaps this could also apply to David Clark.
🙄
I think the horse has died Pete but you keep flogging it anyway.
Are you on a retainer Pete?
although not an essential service he can work from home.
Pete is a retainer.
And Simon Bridges and the Lady from Taupo.
I did see a funny reply on Twitter, that Bridges has slow internet coz he asked for it to be split into smaller increments, to keep it under the threshold.
A rough timeline from The Guardian of events leading up to Johnson’s admission to hospital.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/apr/06/the-strange-lead-up-to-boris-johnsons-admission-to-hospital
I don't know that Demonic anticipated the virus moving through this part of the herd.
I see NW is now banning reusable bags in store, personally we haven't been using them during the lockdown.
Instead I've been taking the washing basket to the supermarket, leaving it in the car, but packing the groceries in it.
A washing basket can handle quite a bit of weight and it's easy to wash or wipe down after use.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/120836693/new-world-shoppers-asked-to-leave-reusable-bags-in-the-car-during-lockdown
Edit, I also spray all the groceries with anti bac spray before returning home, call me paranoid, but it makes me feel safe 🙂
What are people supposed to do when they don't have a car?
Been wiping all shopping with soapy water, unsure if that's reasonable or paranoid…
You are not alone in having had to change your shopping habits.
A record for me changing any habit, (supermarket shopping).
People have stopped bumping into each other.
I also use some spray on shopping that arrives in my flat – usually in paper bags that have not been used before. I leave most of it untouched for several hours, or put things that need to go in the fridge in bags I already have.
The virus does weaken over time, and most of it dies after a few hours. It can last on plastic and stainless steel up to 2-3 days.
I wash my hands a lot and wipe down stuff that can easily be wiped – but I think leaving things untouched for several hours, overnight, or for days (depending on what it is) is probably the way to go.
In case anyone else was wondering why the proportion of probable to confirmed cases rose significantly in recent days, it's because they have changed definitions and testing criteria.
If you're in a bubble with someone that's infected and you start showing symptoms, you're now unlikely to be tested and you're automatically listed as probable and basically considered confirmed for the purposes of follow-up and treatment.
https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/what-are-probable-cases-and-why-are-they-rising/ar-BB12emuK?li=BBqdg4K&ocid=mailsignout
Very sensible. It saves wasting a test.
Let's acknowledge it. If the Democratic Party had decided to anoint Sanders as the 'electable' one after the Nevada caucus, he would now have just as commanding a lead in delegates as Biden currently enjoys. 'Electability', or otherwise, was never an inherent attribute of the candidates themselves, it was a narrative constructed about them by people with agendas. In the case of the establishment Democratic Party, that agenda was to protect their existing wealth and future income streams from corporate donors against the threat of the Sanders policy programme. And now it all unravels as Trump's approval ratings increase (like all 'wartime' leaders) and Biden's manifest unfitness for the job becomes clear. Average bloke Joe Rogan with an extremely popular podcast now says he can't support Biden and would vote for Trump.The Democratic Party responds by blaming everyone other than themselves. Krystal and Sagar discuss here. Can you ever trust affluent, socially liberal centrists to do the right thing?
A racist misogynist is just an average bloke?
https://twitter.com/TrefaultPaulina/status/1220779595110109184
1.) Could you provide some evidence to back up your contention that Joe Rogan is a "racist misogynist"?
2.) Quoting Bernie out of context like "Paulina" has done is to grotesquely misrepresent him. "Paulina" sounds very like another liar, Elizabeth Warren.
Joe Rogans not a racist or a misogynist. You just disagree with him so you label him as such. He actually pretty good and has destroyed far more conservatives than he has liberals and socialists.
I'm sick of politicals using out of context messages to label people things. The left is as bad as the right on this.
Jacinda’s Easter Bunny’s essential occupation status has made a number of overseas media outlets. The comments section in one of the US ones was so full of praise for her. How they envy our good fortune.
A touch of brilliance from her to have a little bit of humour at this time.
Be Warned
I note that the National Party is going to absolutely do their best/worst to get elected….I believe DPF's April fools "joke" wasn't – simply a trial run of blatant lying targeting identified groups as a trial run for the election. I believe "third rail" dirty politics will be active in the election – big time.
The National Party has lots of money to spend on the election ( CCP donations? ). I see two "fluff" articles in The Guardian one written by Bridges ans the other by what appears to be a fawning sycophant of the National Party where among other things we get told that Labour and National are both like the US Democrat Party among many other bizarre assertions . Now I do not believe this was at the The Guardian's initiative and I am disappointed the articles were not marked as paid advertorials. A National Party happy to throw money buying space in a nominally left publication to try sow confusion and disinformation is a measure of how far they will go.
Then you have the National Party's media boosters – the Tova's , Hosk's Garner's and all yodeling "gotcha" every few minutes while they pretend ignorance of and have no interest of the garbage that the National Party gets up to.
He was sucking up large to farmers in the farmers weekly this week . 1st time of ever seen wandering bridges in that paper.
Thought he was not going electioneering during the crisis!!?
Despite the fact that the borders to NZ should have been closed weeks ago, if for no reason other than that this virus was extremely unusual and puzzling to virologists ,Jacinda is still "thinking" about implementing quarantine at the border.
On http://www.20min.ch today there is an article saying that a cat and a tiger in the Broncs zoo , New York , have become infected with Covid 19…
https://www.20min.ch/wissen/news/story/Haustiere-koennen-sich-doch-mit-Corona-infizieren-17059973
Stop thinking Jacinda . just DO IT!
“Thinking” doesn’t mean flicking a coin ad nauseam but collecting information, considering options and consequences, making decisions that are evidence-based, planning & preparing, et cetera.
Is there a good reason not to do it?
I mean, from my understanding of applying the precautionary principle, and especially given the apparent seriousness of covid, shouldn't that be the question?
Depends on what the “it” is. From where I’m sitting and from what I know, border control has to tighten if and when we go down to a lower Alert Level and attempt to some level of ‘normalisation’. Otherwise, it would be like mopping up water off the floor while the tap is still running. The Devil is in the detail, as always. Jumping up & down demanding “just DO IT!” is not helpful.
the logistics of housing, feeding and monitoring thousands of people, rolling numbers over time. Not saying it can't be done, but it's not a small thing either. eg if the police do the monitoring, they will have to be taken off other duties.
Last time I looked we were quarantining anyone coming in with symptoms. Non-symptomatic people with appropriate self-isolation plans were checked and allowed to self-isolate. From memory the ratio was something like 1500 to 4,000 (someone can check that).
Numbers from five days ago
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12321689
See Koff's comment below about logistics.
So make the logistics fit capacity? Limiting inbound flights would achieve that. With "half the world" in lock-down, why or how are people still flying anyway?
I would have stopped all incoming flights at the beginning and been done with it. Stuck in Azerbaijan? k.
Hmm I guess there are maybe some folks (quite a few) who are kinda glad I'm not NZs dictator in charge or some such 🙂
Yes , especially the self-indulgent ones that chose not to hurry home but have the expensive holiday they paid for some time ago !
Arden just said there were tens of thousands of NZers travelling overseas at the time they started putting restrictions on the border.
The govt has an obligation to NZ citizens and residents, they can't just lock people out without a very good reason. A good reason might be an active epidemic that was killing lots of people here where there was no good way to prevent people coming in from not making that worse. Putting in a three tier system for Kiwis coming home seems entirely reasonable given the overall elimination strategy, and given they're increasing stringency over time as they are able to.
Bloomfield has just said that around half of the new cases are coming from existing clusters, and that not many are coming from new arrivals. Looks like the number of border cases has dropped a lot.
Good comment!
That’s good news. It is the community spread that we need to watch.
Thanks for the commonsense answer weka.
That's just silly. There are hundreds of thousands of people all around the world who were stuck because of the speed of developments overtoo their ability to move. They couldn't just jump on the nearest flight to getback 'home.' In NZ there were two hundred thousand foreign tourists, and another four hundred thousand temporary workers who weren't at 'home'. If their countries did what you suggested, they would be stuck here presenting an enormous potential health problem, let alone being exceptionally cruel. There aren't any easy answers.It's far better for all people 'stuck' in places like Azerbaijan or New Zealand to get back to their real 'homes' in a safe and humane way.
There are hundreds of thousands of people all around the world who were stuck because of the speed of developments overtoo their ability to move
uh-huh. And?
Sorry. But my sympathies wouldn't really have been lying with some tens of thousands of people from NZ who were able to hob nob around the world – many or most of whom would have had ways and means – I'm sure they'd have been fine. And if any needed consular assistance or whatever, then fine – such assistance could have been provided.
As for thousands here from other countries, they could have left or stayed according to their preference and their country's policy around inbound flights. (Don’t quite get your health problem angle.)
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people with no ways or means were on the streets right here in NZ with no home to go to.
So…tens of thousands extending their stay abroad so that a virus (or further instances of) wasn't introduced into the country, versus tens of thousands right here in dire need of shelter and protection from a virus. Hmm. Hard one.
Those abroad could have come back in dribs and drabs (availability of seats means tested perhaps?) in line with border capabilities set around quarantine measures.
btw – Wonder how many PMC types took last minute flights out of NZ just to avoid lockdown? I bet there's a few. Which is fine. But quarantine rules "since forever" have been that you can leave a quarantined area whenever you want and at the drop of a hat. Re-entering? Not so willy-nilly on that front, aye?
Well Janet you might be cleverer than Jacinda but have a look on Newsroom where they chart NZ success compared to that of similar sized countries. Even so easy to read graphs.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2020/04/06/1117839/how-does-nzs-covid-19-response-stack-up-to-overseas?utm_source=Friends+of+the+Newsroom&utm_campaign=fe1d7d9b0c-Daily+Briefing+03.4.20_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_71de5c4b35-fe1d7d9b0c-95522477
If NZ brings in compulsory quarantining,it will have to be done more carefully than here in Australia, which brought in compulsory quarantining for all people flying in to international airports 10 days or so ago. (but not for Queensland residents driving acrossthe border from NSW where there is definite evidence of community transmission – just 'self-isolation for 2 weeks'. My partner and I are in the 4th day of a compulsory quarantining in a Brisbane hotel after flying in from Auckland last Friday with 20 others (half kiwis, half Aussies). Our 'home' is a nearby boat. We were crammed into a bus from the airport sitting close together within the 1.5m Aussie physical distancing rules. All OK since in the hotel, but it is not set up for self-contained living. That means that although we have been quarantined, we are still exposed to doubtful food and supplies from outside which is dropped outside our door. We clean what we can, but how do we know who has been handling it? We could be infected ourselves. Also, anecdotal reports about young quarantiners having parties in their hotel corridors and even waiters serving glasses of wine (in Sydney). None of these issues are insurmountable, but it does mean that just switching over to blanket quarantining isn't easy. Some proper planning has to go into it.
yep, this.
Can you cook in your room?
Some people are being put up in 5 star hotels at the expense of the Government. Most of these rooms will not have anything but a coffee maker/hot water jug.
If NZ does the same for international arrivals, they should put them up in serviced apartments that have a small kitchenette.
Very good point, Indiana. Seld-contained motels with kitchenettes are far better and a lot cheaper than the sort of useless 5 star swanky hotels like the one that we arein. The quarantining must go both ways if ALL incoming passenegrs are to be quarantined, not just those withsymptoms or do not have prope self-isoation plans as is the current policy in NZ. if you can cook yourself you can order stuff from Countdown or whoever and ake sure you can clean what you order and not get infected.Also, the quarantining must be policed (with kindness – we are not criminals!) otherwise it will be a farce.
How are you managing food atm then?
Hotels are probably much easier to manage logistically, but the meals thing is really important, including for families with kids. Can't live on toast and coffee for very long.
3 meals a day provided. Pretty crappy, but we won't starve. The point is we don't know who is preparing it – looks like it has been contracted out to a 'cheap' caterer. If it wasn't for the circumstances, we wouldn't think about it, but as we can't see or talk to the caterers or trust them to be virus free, we are basically sitting ducks!
ooh, that's not good. You think it's not the normal hotel kitchen staff?
The hotels that are offering quarantine faciities for the different state governments are closed to other guests so everything is closed down including their own kitchens. We haven't seen anyone since we got into the room. Can't get out or open the window. The food is left in bags outside the door and we have to wait for 10 seconds before retrieving them. We are not complaining, just emphasising that these circumstances are exceptional and everyone around the world, especially those in charge, are on a steep learning curve, so a bit of tolerance needed if things aren't perfect from the start.
"…these circumstances are exceptional and everyone around the world, especially those in charge, are on a steep learning curve, so a bit of tolerance needed if things aren't perfect from the start."
thread
https://twitter.com/DavidVidecette/status/1246785553900724224
The Aussie High Court has just quashed George Pell's sex abuse convictions. No reasoning given yet.
boys will be boys?
'Murica
https://twitter.com/zellieimani/status/1246952030855364614
No sew face mask.
https://archive.li/leYFe/acf2b4c2270a644d63c8fe69d4b0b8e1fc9635a7/scr.png
Saw on 1 News Cardinal Pell has had his conviction quashed.
My thoughts go out to the person who tried to seek justice for having been offended against and that they have been second guessed.
Another consequence of sexual offending is that a conviction can be appealed. There needs to be stringent checks and balances for such appeals.
Now's the time.
Spain, which has the biggest cluster of COVID-19 infections outside the U.S., will introduce universal basic income “as soon as possible” as part of its efforts to combat the economic effects of coronavirus, Economy Minister Nadia Calvino said on Sunday. Critically, the scheme is expected to be rolled out indefinitely.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/isabeltogoh/2020/04/06/spain-to-roll-out-permanent-universal-basic-income-soon/#1df26d05316f
I wonder if that fits within the current EU framework?….I suspect it cannot
The EU pretty much said ' Do what you must to keep your people safe'. so yes, it can.
https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/french-foreign-policy/europe/news/article/european-solidarity-in-the-face-of-covid-19
so if spain feels that this is what is needed, so its good. As in germany where the government is picking up large parts of pay cheque by letting companies put people on Kurzarbeit aka short work (20hr) so that they keep staff and have their staff ready for when the country goes back to normal.
Thats a good point
Ardern explains the three phases.
around -24m mark of the livestream
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/413652/watch-live-number-of-new-covid-19-cases-drops-to-54
Three National MPs physically travelled to Wellington for their committee meeting today. Shane Reti from Northland, Louise Upston from Taupo and Simon Bridges from Tauranga.
What's Shane Reti's excuse? The pidgeons take too long to fly?
Maybe the broadband National claim to have delivered for us wasn't so hot. Even in National seats.
Steven Joyce must resign.
Hope Reti runs into Hone's roadblock.
Waiting for the week long chorus from the media,.
Arrogant fuckwits.
And that explains why none of them were terribly keen to have a go at Clark about the issue at Committee today.
Probably treating it like a party caucus thing. Leader has to do the disciplining.
Who will discipline Bridges?
This is one aspect of being in the opposition where you can ride it out.
So Reti and the Taupo person drive all the way to Wellington to go to a Zoom meeting???
I see you do not mean zoom to Wellington, you mean zoom in Wellington.
I cannot see anyone from Taupo on the Epidemic Response Committee.
Louise Upston is the MP for Taupo.
tracking spread.
https://twitter.com/comingupcharlie/status/1247330309525274624
Jesus, if this isn't flat out abuse of the wage subsidy scheme. Imagine being one of the only businesses allowed to still operate and you pretend you're on hard times.
Shame on these operators.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/120876197/new-world-stores-will-withdraw-claims-for-wage-subsidies
the city ones are taking the piss. Some of those small town four squares probably need it though, the drop in tourism will be hitting them hard.
Talk about diversions, we have a contributor wishing someone would die. Now our PM didn't have the foresight to Ask her Min of Health if there were any other instances of poor decision making, our Min of Health kept from the PM that he went on another trip as it wasn't evident to him until he reviewed his actions (my words) and we get what some National MP's have done. Take ownership of flaws/screw ups.
What many here IMO don't understand. People Vote for our PM, NOT Labour, People Vote for National NOT Simon Bridges.
"Now our PM didn't have the foresight to Ask her Min of Health if there were any other instances of poor decision making …"
Pretty sure that's exactly what she asked him and why he fessed up. In these situations its normal to ask if there are any other similar instances and also to ask for the Ministerial diary to be checked.
When he was asked by the PM when the bike ride emerged (I take it he was questioned ) this didn't trigger any recollection of his actions over the last week. Not having any idea what an MP/Minister includes in their diary, but I wouldn't think that such a trip would be included into his diary (as it was family related). Most of us know what the rules are and I gather all (But a few idiots/privileged) when in doubt take the conservative (I know many here don't like this term 😱) approach. i.e. when in doubt … don't – The ramification are too great.
The trip to the beach wouldn't have been in the diary, H, but hours put aside for personal matters would have been noted. That is, it wouldn't say what he did, just that he was off the clock for x number of hours. My presumption is that he was asked to fill in the blanks and when he thought back through his movements he realised he'd done more than just go out on the bike. At least he had the guts to be honest, and to tender his resignation. Plenty would have tried to bluff it out.
"Plenty would have tried to bluff it out."
Like, for four days?
No, like Simon.
and the fullah from Northland and the Dame from Taupo.
The horse is still dead and you still can't stop flogging it can you Pete?
To assist those who don't understand the concept of keeping within your bubble
ps Hope the EPL has completed (Liverpool win BUT more important another team escapes relegation)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRNzn1lBZt0
West Ham, Villa and Norwich.
heh
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EU9ilqOX0AE_VVa?format=jpg&name=small
Thanks for being awesome, Honor Blackman.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IADBMkC0Cw
Just lost the reply buttons again. Tried shift+F5 as advised the other day, and nothing changed.
Edit: Posting this brought them back.
American democracy is in deep trouble .
https://www.vox.com/2020/4/6/21211378/supreme-court-coronavirus-voting-rights-disenfranchise-rnc-dnc
This decision has far reaching implications for the forthcoming Election in November which could well be held under similar conditions as the current State Election in Wisconsin. Furthermore the current election includes election of a State Supreme Court appointment. The importance of this is further explained in the article here:
Judith offers advice to Bubbles Bridges and the National Party road rebels gang.
https://www.twitter.com/JudithCollinsMP/status/1247442485338460160
I had been thinking that cleaning grocery items with bleach was going too far with shopping caution. It's enough of a juggling act getting it all from the trolley to car and home without the frozen or chilled stuff overheating and getting a weird consistency. Really rethinking that tonight.
Kids (finally) settled down, I wasn't up to much thinking so went on YouTube. A new episode of an old favourite: WTFIWWY. Which does mock people for clicks; yes, but they often fully deserve the derision, and there is a rule against covering stupidity that results in injury to others. But it didn't prove much respite against the pecking of the Crow this time.
The show's a week out of date by the time it gets out of Patron exclusivity, but not often addressing serious current issues, so that doesn't matter much to me. The toilet-seat lickers were bad enough, but this guy!
Warning – you may feel a strong desire to claw your own eyes out rather than view this:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/metro.co.uk/2020/03/23/man-licks-toiletries-supermarket-asking-scared-coronavirus-12441271/amp/