If you ever wanted evidence of the power of the military industrial complex, the influence of the Israeli lobby and the involvement of the Saudis in US politics , here it is.
It is the armaments industries of Iran and Russia that will benefit the most: no one else in the world will be prepared to work around the sanctions now proposed by the US.
Israel already has Iran on its border since it controls Lebanon through Hezbollah, has military bases and strong influence over the government of Syria, and strong influence within the government of Iraq which may increase this weekend through the elections. This is a world now with Iran unconstrained.
Israel is no winner from this.
How Saudia Arabia would benefit when it is trying to get enough money together from oil sales to exit oil entirely – when this decision by Trump will collapse the oil price yet again – is something you will have to explain.
There are no winners in this decision.
There is certainly no Plan B from Trump.
It’s a decision made in his usual spite that he couldn’t stand a deal holding that his predecessor Obama had put in place.
Why would any other state – such as North Korea – go into a binding deal with this President after this action? President Trump kills international deals.
World peace is certainly not a winner in this decision.
President Trump has a faster and better chance of ending the human world than climate change.
It’s a decision made in his usual spite that he couldn’t stand a deal holding that his predecessor Obama had put in place.
That’s exactly what I thought as I listened to the dangerous buffoon pontificating just now.
He lurched between saying in one breath that the action against Iran was because of the desire for nuclear weaponry and then it was their support of terrrorism. Which is it?
And then he said something like that he would not stand for US cities being threatened with nuclear weapons and that the US would not be blackmailed. Isn’t that North Korea he’s talking about, not Iran?
– No UN reform
– Withdraw from Paris climate agreement
– Withdraw from Cuban agreement
– Withdraw from CPTPP
– Withdraw from Iran
It’s a pretty weird world when the United States shrinks from diplomatic leadership so fast that the last rational states of any leadership note still standing are France and Germany.
Trump said there will be “maximum sanctions” on Iran, and sanctions on anyone who doesn’t comply with US sanctions.
Trump is an utter fool. The Europeans won’t withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal. They will keep trading with Iran. Will Trump really impose sanctions on the Europeans to try and force them into line? He just might, he is that stupid. If he does try to force the Europeans into line, he’ll fail. If he doesn’t, he’ll be a blowhard laughing stock. Either way, US isolationism in this matter will simply underline the faltering power of the United States to unilaterally influence world affairs.
It is likely the European companies will comply with the US secondary sanctions. They mostly have far more to lose than continue trading with Iran, unless of course Iranian trade is their main business. For instance would Airbus sell Iran any aircraft if they then risked access to the US market.
However, Russian and Chinese companies won’t comply with US secondary sanctions if they are hit by them. China in particular may well impose their own secondary sanctions against US companies if that happens. It seems unlikely that China will by any more Boeing aircraft. Airbus will be the winner.
So the US withdrawal could easily trigger a wider trade war, and the US won’t necessarily be the winner.
Overall the main effect may be to strengthen the appeal of China as a fundamentally more reliable financial and trade partner. It is likely to spur the Chinese push to make the renminbi a global reserve currency.
So the US withdrawal could easily trigger a wider trade war, and the US won’t necessarily be the winner.
I, for one, hope like hell the US loses big time.
Can’t speak for anyone else, but the average American voter needs to be kicked over a steep cliff into oblivion – metaphorically speaking of course. They brought this appalling state of affairs on themselves and millions of innocents around the world will accordingly suffer.
I feel sorry for those who did not vote for Trump but where are they now? It looks like some sort of Civil War is the only solution if the US is going to regain any form of international respect. At the moment it deserves nothing but derision and disrespect and I suspect in the long run that is exactly what it is going to get.
Figure of speech Wayne. I said “some sort of” Civil War. It doesn’t follow it has to end up with one side fighting the other with guns although ummm… this is the US of A. (yes that is a bit naughty)
2 and half years away. Too long. God only knows what damage he will have done by then. 👿
Trying to conjure up an equivalence to National not accepting they lost a MMP election? Won’t work.
The concern re -Trump is that he is unfit to be a leader of anything let alone US President. In short, he’s a screw loose and incredibly ignorant. He also has traits in him that could be likened to Hitler or Mussolini. Of course a large portion of the American population are also a screw loose and incredibly ignorant. That is why they voted for him.
It is time they upgraded their generally poor educational systems then maybe these nut-bars wouldn’t get anywhere near the seats of power in the first place.
“Trying to conjure up an equivalence to National not accepting they lost a MMP election? Won’t work.”
No, I’m pointing out it looks like civil war because the left (in the USA) don’t/can’t/won’t accept Trump won the election
“The concern re -Trump is that he is unfit to be a leader of anything let alone US President.”
Says who? A media that doesn’t want him or the population that didn’t vote for him?
“In short, he’s a screw loose and incredibly ignorant.”
I suspect most of his act is mostly bluster
“He also has traits in him that could be likened to Hitler or Mussolini. Of course a large portion of the American population are also a screw loose and incredibly ignorant. That is why they voted for him.”
Or maybe because he said he’d lower unemployment and unemployment is lowering:
“It is time they upgraded their generally very poor educational standards then maybe these nut cases wouldn’t get anywhere near the seats of power in the first place.”
Thats quite an arrogant statement, right up there with deplorables, and a major reason why Trump won
Yes Trump shows the naked truth of US foreign policy. It has never been about peace, ask the Palestinians. He is a moron but his speech was written for him.
The problem now as ever is Israel emboldened to act and suck the US into furthering their Zionist ambitions.
Agreed. The consequence of secondary sanctions will be that US will wind up with no mates. That’s not really good for anyone except of course the corporate military industrial folks who, I’d wager, will be needing a change of shorts this morning.
This was new Secretary of State Pompeos testimoney last year during his confirmation for CIA director.
“With the information I’ve been provided, I’ve seen no evidence that they are not in compliance today,” he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
and again
“It was largely described in a 2007 National Intelligence Estimate, which said that U.S. spies “judge with high confidence that in fall 2003, Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program.”
That was ‘before Obama’
But the lies have already started
But some U.S. officials fear it will, and they cite a mistake by the White House press office Monday night, which issued a news release saying that Iran “has” a “robust, clandestine nuclear weapons program.”
The White House later corrected the statement on its website, but never sent out a corrected news release — blaming the mistake on a “clerical error.”
There are calls for the Government to bring in an empty home tax with tens of thousands of unused properties around the country and even more struggling to find housing.
In Auckland alone, more than 33,000 houses were registered as unoccupied in 2013 census data – some with residents away but more than two thirds listed as empty…..
……However Housing and Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford told Stuff the Government was not considering an empty homes tax.
“The Labour-led government has a comprehensive plan to address the housing shortage including cracking down on offshore speculators and changing rules around negative gearing,” Mr Twyford said.
Maybe occupancy can be added to the LIM Report and be compulsory information to be provided at time of sale (and obtaining a mortgage + insurance, of course).
There are quite a few older motels around that have become full time renters.
Normal Motels are rented on a day by day basis, but were always cheaper if you rented say for 2 weeks or more. If WINZ took a 6 month lease on a motel but provided the tentants it would be cheaper again.
Our PM will do her best, and at least admits there is a problem, growing as NZers return, migrants still come and we are now suffering a building skill shortage caused by short sighted Nat policies regarding education and training.
She has tried to get hidebound bureaucrats to be flexible and kind. And those Ministers concerned should pay close attention, as they will want to keep her confidence, and get the direction started.
NZers are stepping up to the plate, offering help, and those in ministries who have not enacted the memos are finding the public going to a listening ear at their local pollies office.
There will be big changes for those who will/can not change their attitudes.
This Government means to change things… it will be a snowball,,,, slow but gathering strength and speed as more come on board. So some bureaucrats earning over $300 000 need to be sure they are following the new directives.
A house next to me had the same tenants for 7 years and when they left , the house was put up for rent but was empty for about 6 weeks. Some work needed to be done as well.
You would have to know those that are long term “empty”, ie say 3 months or more.
Plus some homes are occupied by owners who have more than one home ( surprisingly common).
My own house was empty for a while when I was renting in another city for work on a 18 month contract .
I know a friend who rents from an elderly lady on the same site, she can be away staying with her family for 6 weeks at a time.
Bridges is doing a marvelous job of making sure NZF will never go with the Nats in the future by attacking Peters on the rise in overseas aid and diplomatic services budget.
(Incidentally, this brings NZ overseas aid to 0.28% of GDP as opposed to a world average of 0.4% and I seem to remember a UN target of 0.7%.)
Peters was scathing in reply to Bridges calling National’s reaction “myopic”.
And not explicitly supporting an electoral deal with Act means Bridges has a ballsy game thinking he can win an outright majority of seats with no coalition partners at all.
He said as much in a recent speech. He said 44% wasnt enough they needed to get more. He then pretended Nats are becoming an environmentally friendly party… but
Opposed end to offshore drilling
Opposes reduction in dairy cows
Opposes fuel tax rises under Labour
Etc
Etc
They are targeting the soft green party vote in wealthy national seats.
It has two purposes, trys to get Greens below 5% ( and become wasted vote, a very hard task though ) and of course adds to their party vote if they switch to national.
The winning double would be to get Greens and NZ First below 5%, say 4.5% each. Thats 9% wasted vote, plus the other groups that dont get above 5% could make the total wasted vote 12%.
44% then looks winnable, and the only strategy that makes sense with ‘no mates’
He says they will be environmental. You want them to be. You want less fucking over of the environment. But they had 9 years of fucking it over, you voted for them last year? And now you feel comforted that they will be more environmental cos Bridges says they will but there is no evidence before and since his statement that they have changed, at all.
By all means vote for them again but do not say it is cos they are being Greener
Like Labour and NZF wanted to bop capitalism on the nose but Robeetson is following the same NL/Cap “rules”
Nope, I don’t vote for National on their environmental policies
“He says they will be environmental.”
Good on them
“You want them to be.”
It’d be nice yeah
“You want less fucking over of the environment.”
Sure, as a generalisation
“But they had 9 years of fucking it over, you voted for them last year?”
They did some things well and some things not so well and yes i did vote for them
“And now you feel comforted that they will be more environmental cos Bridges says they will but there is no evidence before and since his statement that they have changed, at all.”
Thats a rather large jump from I’m for National becoming more environmental to “comforted that they will be more environmental cos Bridges says they will” don’t you think
“By all means vote for them again but do not say it is cos they are being Greener”
I’m not voting for them because they’re Greener
“Like Labour and NZF wanted to bop capitalism on the nose but Robertson is following the same NL/Cap “rules”
I recall it was Labour that bought in Rogernomics and no one from Labour has ever come out and repudiated it yet
Peters will never go with National. He is having far to much fun as the Supremo in the present Government. Once he gets his arse in the PM’s chair on the ninth floor when Ardern goes off they will never get him out of the office.
Can you imagine National allowing the leader of a minor party to threaten members of the Main party like Mahuta and Jackson that they will lose the Ministerial warrants if they don’t do what Peters tells them.
What do you think Helen Clark would have done? Can you imagine her ignoring it and instead telling her local paper what he favourite songs are?
It doesn’t really matter of course. Both the Greens and New Zealand First will be dog tucker after the next election. They certainly won’t be missed.
NZFirst gone for sure but the Greens only need to fool one in twenty voters they’re an environmental party so I reckon they’ll be around for a few more years
Yep, they’ll be around as long as most of NZ is still above water despite rising sea levels and tourists flock to Franz Josef snowfield in winter months only.
He’s threatening them as the deputy prime minister. As such he is perfectly entitled to discipline any ministers as he has seniority over them.
If Michael Cullen had done the same then I doubt Clark would have an issue with it. Likewise, if Bill English had done the same I doubt John Key would have had a problem with.
We live in an MMP political environment now, do try and keep up.
What is with the MSM trying to claim some of the new government policy is all the work of Crusher Collins?
They are trying to position her as responsible for a lot of the work on having online retailers pay GST and looking into the petrol companies pricing policies.
It seems like National’s MSM cronies are trying to rewrite the history of the last 9 years of the National government to look like they actually did some stuff instead of all the delays in implementing stuff and ignoring of recommendations till they are to little too late.
Must have got the polling numbers back showing hitting back at oil companies and offshore retailers paying tax is very popular. So they are doing a #metoo
“MSM trying to claim some of the new government policy is all the work of Crusher Collins?”.
The reason is very simple. The work was done by people in the departments at Collin’s behest. It has simply been picked up by the new lot in the Beehive.
Whether Collins would have progressed the proposals if National had been returned is of course unknown, but irrelevant. The proposals are the work of the last Government however.
Didn’t you notice, and probably complain, about how National took over things being planned by the Clark led Government when they came in?
Actually if you look at what Parliament has been up to nearly everything has been a carryover from the English Administration. Labour simply weren’t ready for the election result they never expected.
Actually if you look at what Parliament has been up to nearly everything has been a carryover from the English Administration.
I know you RWNJs like to rake up the past and especially Roger Douglas at every opportunity but to go back to William Hobson is stretching it a bit, don’t you think, Alwyn?
That is actually rather a funny comment. Quite unlike you I must say.
It is a pity there are a few minor errors but a good first attempt.
If you knew your history you would have realised that Hobson died in 1842 and the first NZ Parliament was not until 1854.
But then you LWNJs never were very careful about the accuracy of your statements.
Following up on the issue at WINZ Central Hamilton.
I have just left their office having spoken with the manager after being challenged by the on site security guards for taking pictures of coned mobility parking.
I am positive (as much as I can be) that they understand there are serious issues and are making appropriate changes.
Spoke to someone a couple of weeks ago who had just wrote a complaint to Porirua Community Link (winz FYI) about not being able to park in the mobility parks.
Heh! I did ask today if there was someone in the Hamilton Central WINZ office with mobility issues….hence the coned mobility park…and was told no…
I know its really difficult sometimes to make the appropriate amount of fuss for fear of retribution, but there seems to be a high tolerance for access activism for the simple reason that so often those who fail to provide access or those who abuse access provisions made for those who need them largely do so out of sheer ignorance.
They simply have never, ever been forced to see things from the point of view of the person with the disability.
Sometimes kicking up a bit of shit is like doing them a favour….
“Today I helped a family member who had to take a Medical Certificate to the Hamilton central WINZ office.
In the past we’ve waited in the queue inside the building. Today we had to wait in a queue of 12 people standing outside on the footpath. One of the three security guards said he had been told to only let one person through the door when someone else left. The footpath cue included a very frail elderly lady and a person with one leg using crutches. It took around 40 minutes waiting on the footpath just to get into the building.
The five parking spaces directly outside were blocked with orange cones. I asked why and was told that only WINZ staff could park there.
The fact that any government department can treat people like this is truly shocking and humiliating.”
Many of us agreed, and for me it seemed ironic that on Friday our PM is exhorting WINZ to be kind to people seeking help, and on the following Monday we hear of shit like this happening.
Not. Good. Enough.
And not going to go unchallenged, not within the reach of my arm.
An email was sent to Sepuloni’s office which was sent on to Brendan Boyle, CEO of MSD. A follow up email from me,
“Thank you .
I am anticipating that this will be rectified today.
Tomorrow I will be onsite taking photographs and speaking with clients
waiting outside…if this is still happening.
I will also be ensuring that the parking spaces in front of the
building are available for client use, especially for those with
mobility issues.
Sincerely,
Rosemary McDonald”
So about 10 am this morning after a successful (yay!! 🙂 ) COF check on my Bus we were parked just up the road from WINZ, Central Hamilton.
There is nothing quite so off putting as a random person taking photographs.
Not of people, as the only person in sight was the security guard, but of five bright orange cones blocking the five ‘visitor only’ parking spaces…including the mobility park.
The security guard politely asked what I was doing and I said ‘photographing the coned carparks.’
This security guard was very quickly joined by another who proceeded to demand who I was and where was I from.
“I am a NZ Citizen doing a follow up to a report from Monday of blocked parking spaces and long waits for WINZ clients outside in the cold.”
“These carparks are for visitors.” said 2nd security guard. “Is that for visiting clients….” “No! Visitors to the office!”.
Fortunately, he could see how circular the discussion could have got so he disappeared inside to get the Manager.
TBH, I was not expecting to speak to management. I had to quickly gather my wits and prepare to do battle.
The battle, such as it was, appeared to have mostly been fought as the manager was polite, attentive, communicative and most importantly apologetic.
She was well aware of the complaints…and the following discussion indicated that there was at least one other complainant. Someone acting as a support person to a client had not been allowed inside with the client when they were finally allowed inside.
The manager was emphatically in agreement that this was a major departure from expected treatment of clients. The security guard was perhaps a little over zealous.
Thanks to Fireblade’s detailed description I was able to mention the amputee and the elderly lady (“Both of whom could have benefited greatly from the blocked mobility park.”) and the security guards only allowing some inside after someone had left. Cones were being moved as I left.
It transpires that about four weeks ago WINZ Hamilton Central had to leave their usual premises on Victoria St because of a leak in the roof. This building on Anglesea St was clearly not fit for purpose. Largely because of floor space.
I was taken inside to see for myself and I could see the problem. Better premises are being sought but in the meantime they are going to try to make the available space work better for clients.
Allowing too many people inside would cause privacy issues for the client speaking with the reception staff. Point taken, but the available space could be better utilised. A couple of the computer terminals for client use could go, and the reception desk moved back to allow more room inside for waiting clients.
A crew is coming to the office after 5pm tonight to do this.
I said I didn’t understand why, if clients attend the office by appointment only, would there have been so many people waiting? She agreed, and said that Monday was a particularly busy day. ” A lot if foot traffic.” was how she described it, so maybe some did not have appointments or had made appointments at short notice.
I asked about availability of toilets for clients and was told there is one available. I suggested that it would perhaps be more dignified if the toilets were sign posted and clients did not have to ask to use them. I also suggested (while I had a receptive ear ;-)) that there was a water cooler available and perhaps an area for children to play.
Without climbing high on my soap box with my megaphone,I hope I conveyed to the manager just how terribly disappointed I was hearing about this unacceptable treatment of WINZ clients within days of the PM heralding a culture change.
I mentioned Ashburton, and how I understood the Workplace Health and Safety issues, risk assessment and the like….but I also (drawing on the comments of others here the other day…take this as recognition :-)) pointed out that ‘security guards not much use against an armed person’, and it’d ‘be easier to wait outside at 5 pm if one wanted to harm WINZ staff’, and seriously…considering the ‘toxic culture that has built up around WINZ over the past decade its a miracle there has been only the one tragic incident’. There was more, but hopefully you’ll get the drift.
I think I have a fairly good BS detector, especially konohi ki kanohi, and I believe this manager was genuinely sorry that this happened. I got the decided impression that there is going to be change…please, gods…and if the attitude of this particular manager is indicative of anything then serious thought is going to be put into improving not only the physical environment but also the culture.
or, I was beguiled, hood winked, a victim of a charm offensive….
“Did TS go down for anyone else from about 11.30 to 12 this morning?” Yes.
Happens often for me…feel your pain at losing your work. Funny thing happened the other day as i was compiling an OIA request on this laptop. As I hit ‘send’ poof! gone! I found myself with an error message and when relogged into gmail all was lost as I had not saved the draft. Repeatedly kicked myself as this is not the first time this has happened. Half an hour later I happened to be checking something on my cheapy android phone when I noticed an extra item in the gmail…there it was…my draft OIA request! I will never, ever get the tech…
With all the amazing things this government was promising to accomplish by now I would have thought there would be more posts celebrating the wins of this government?
Why no post about light rail from south west to north west?
I’d be surprised if most politicians didn’t as like him or loathe him (I stooped supporting him a whiles back) he does get some dirt every now and then but yeah admitting to it isn’t good
This is the politics where imperialism is seen only as coming from one country, or one alliance of countries, and is contrasted to the “national sovereignty” of various regimes – no matter how autocratic, rather than in favour of the self-determination and autonomy of peoples. Lebanese journalist Joey Hussein Ayoub has given the name “essentialist anti-imperialism” to the same phenomenon: “defined solely in relation to [one’s] own governments rather than on the basis of a universal opposition to all forms of imperialism.”
Amar Diwarkar argues that this is not so much a conscious embrace of Fascist politics, but:
a tactical tolerance of the far-right’s nativist anti-establishment logic to accelerate the dissolution of the ruling order and bring about a transitional phase preceding social transformation. However, by eliminating the dimension of the international from its purview, what remains is a strikingly non-radical relativism. Its underlying logic is one that is infused with a colonial unconscious; a conviction that Western agency is the eternal subject and locus of motion – the prime mover of History.
The right wing contributions here are largely monosyllabic and occasionally a little more precocious e.g. ‘and so”, “so what”, “your point” etc.
It is that they all lack critical thinking and general IQ; or has Bridges made AI in the image of himself.
Seems to be one could waste a lot of time answering monosyllabic irritants who have no interest in conversation, only opposition. So they just carry on…
“meaning”
“and then?”
“says who”
I’m just going to ignore RW contributors unless they’re actually contributing to the debate, not obfuscating progress.
The RW contributors are just ‘diverting us from real conversation here’ as PR did when we were having a deep human conversation with Rosemary, and she was showing great humanity.
But PR just butted in, with some mindless jaba-jaba nonsense, that was a waste of consideration.
So it was just gribble to stop a deep from the heart conversation going on.
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. . Lock Down: Day 3 – A photo essay with observations . March 28: First day of the first weekend in Lock Down. It feels like it’s been weeks since only Level 3 was declared last Tuesday, only four days ago. Woke up this morning to RNZ; coffee; toast, ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week, i.e., Sun, Mar 22, 2020 through Sat, Mar 28, 2020Articles Linked to on FacebookSun, Mar 22, 2020In Just 10 Years, Warming Has Increased the Odds of Disasters by Chelsea Harvey, ...
I’m here in lockdown with my flatmate and her two girls (6 and 2) and it. is. a time. They’re usually really active so to start with the only boardgame in the house is the copy of Guess Who that the 6 year old got for her birthday. Flatmate commented ...
The CV-19 (COVID) pandemic has seen the imposition of a government ordered national quarantine and the promulgation of a series of measures designed to spread the burden of pain and soften the economic blow on the most strategically important and most vulnerable sectors of society. The national narrative is framed ...
. . Lock Down: Day 2 – A photo essay with observations . March 27 – Day 2 of our Strange New World. The Park and Ride near my suburb, usually filled with hundreds of vehicles, had just… four; . . Another drive into Wellington City on a highway nearly ...
Fortune's Children: Under extraordinary pressure, the leader of the Government and the leader of the Opposition will each show us what they are made of. Have they been blessed with intelligence, grace, wit, poise, toughness, empathy and humour – and in what measure? More importantly, to what extent have they ...
If you’ve ever had the misfortune of having to rent a property on the open market in New Zealand, which is one of the most expensive in the entire world, you’ll likely be keenly aware of just how arrogant and entitled landlords and their real estate agents can be.Unfortunately for ...
Society-wise, aside from the specific morbidity shall we say of the medically-oriented aspects of this COVID-19 crisis, what is unfolding before the world is in more than one way an instructive study of humanity and reactions to a high intensity, high stress environment in real time. Friends, we are at ...
Right now low waged and insecure workers are feeling the economic brunt of the looming #Covid19 Recession. In response legal advocate Toby Cooper* and hospitality and worker’s rights advocate Chloe Ann-King, are putting together a series of legal blogs about your employment rights:In this legal blog we outline some ...
by Equipo Jurídico Pueblos and Gearóid Ó Loingsigh (25/03/2020) An escape plan in question On the night of March 21st and the early morning of the 22nd, the forces of the Colombian state stormed into the Modelo prison in Bogotá, murdering 23 prisoners and injuring 83, in response to the ...
When the government banned semi-automatic weapons in response to a terrorist atrocity, gun-nuts were outraged. Mired in toxic American gun culture, they thought owning weapons whose sole purpose was killing people was some sort of "constitutional right", a necessity for "defending themselves" against the government. Now, the Court of Appeal ...
Just before midnight on Wednesday March 25, Aotearoa New Zealand entered a countrywide alert level four lockdown. For at least the next four weeks, everyone who isn’t an essential worker is confined to their bubble. We are doing this to stop the explosive growth in people contracting and dying from ...
. . Lock Down: Day 1 – A photo essay with observations . Day one of the Level 4 nationwide lock-down (or, DefCon 4 as I sometimes cheekily call it) started at 11.59PM on 25 March. For a moment, most of the nation held it’s collective breath. In that brief ...
Broad, Sunlit Uplands: How those words fired my young imagination! Or, perhaps, it is more accurate to say: how those words fused, in my young mind, with the image printed on every packet of Fielder’s Cornflour. Always fascinated by history, especially modern history, I cannot hear Churchill’s wonderfully evocative words, even ...
. . 24 March 2020 9.46AM Number of covid19 cases in Aotearoa New Zealand: 102 . As of 11.59 on Thursday, most of New Zealand will go into “lock down”. People will be expected not to travel to work; not to socialise; and to stay home. I will not be ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections A respected research group, Project Drawdown, finds that deploying solutions consistent with meeting the Paris climate targets would cost tens of trillions of dollars globally. But crucially, those outlays would also yield long-term savings many times larger than the up-front costs. The new 2020 Drawdown ...
It will pass. What happens next? Not immediately, but longer term. There are many opinions, fewer certainties. Will it “change everything!” as many confidently, and contradictorily predict? In this post I look at how foresight can help bound some of the uncertainties so you can more objectively consider the future. ...
We’ve been meaning t write something on Cuba and the coronavirus but have just discovered a very good article on the subject in the US left publication Jacobin. The article looks at how Cuba, a poor country but one where capitalism has been done away with, is leading the way ...
In 2018, El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey - two British citizens who had purportedly been stripped of their citizenship by the British government - were captured while fighting for Isis in Syria. The British government then conspired to hand them over to the US, and agreed to provide evidence ...
Transformers: The disaster of the Great Depression was transformed into a new and fairer society by the democratic socialism of the First Labour Government. The disaster of the Covid-19 Pandemic offers a similar transformative possibility to the Labour-NZ First-Green Government. Seize the time, Jacinda! You will never have a better ...
Tamper with The System? Well, we already are. But there's a difference between accidentally trickling sand into a precision gearbox versus formulating a plan to alter it on the fly with improvements in mind. One action is more or less innocently unscrupulous, the other amenable to earning an easy ...
Associate Prof George Thomson, Louise Delany, Prof Nick WilsonWhile it is possible that New Zealand can use intense public health controls to eradicate COVID-19 from the country – we must also plan for other scenarios where thousands of New Zealanders are sick – including many urgently hospitalised.1 Better resilience ...
Kia ora my name is Chloe Ann-King* and I am the founder of Raise the Bar, a campaign and non-profit that gives free legal aid, advocacy and tautoko to hospitality workers in Aotearoa. Right now all over our country hospo workers are being fired at will, having shifts cut or being ...
We're about to do something unprecedented as a nation. We hope that by taking this extraordinary action before a single life in New Zealand has been lost to the deadly novel virus we will save tens of thousands of lives. Our lives. We'll do it together, in households, in isolation ...
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.”So writes the author of Ecclesiastes, a book in the Old Testament that’s counted as a ‘wisdom’ book and written as if by an unnamed king of Jerusalem. But who would have thought there would be a time ...
I was surprised when the prime minister described the Economic Response to Covid-19 package as the ‘largest peacetime government spend in New Zealand's history’. Reflecting – checking through history – I realised that the term ‘spend’ was crucial and the package had no income tax cuts. Even so, it has ...
Years ago the Argentine sociologist Carlos Weisman wrote a book titled “Living within our Means.” It was a critique of Argentine society that focused on the paradoxical question of why, in a land of plenty, there was so much economic instability, inequality, corruption and political turmoil. His conclusion was basically ...
Parliament will be leading by example and adjourning tomorrow after a special sitting to consider an epidemic notice and state of emergency. Day-to-day oversight of the government will be delegated to a select committee. But that's not the only overight mechanism. The OIA will still be law, and (so far) ...
Michael Baker, University of OtagoOverjoyed. That’s not a word epidemiologists normally use, but that’s how I felt after hearing Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s announcement about New Zealand’s COVID-19 shutdown of everything except essential services for at least four weeks from midnight on Wednesday. More than anything, I just ...
How much homelessness is caused by house hoarding? We're about to find out. The pandemic has destroyed tourism, which means that house hoarders who put their hoarded properties up as short-term tourist rentals are now offering them on the ordinary rental market:Property investors are pulling properties from Airbnb to offer ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bruce Lieberman It seems like such a simple, straightforward, empowering idea: plant trees – a lot of trees – all over the world, and watch the planet’s temperature fall. Who doesn’t love a tree or two, even far more – the right ...
According to Newshub, Simon Bridges is open to joining a “grand coalition” with Labour as we hunker down to go into a month long lockdown. The idea is sound. Before now, the role of the opposition was to scrutinise and oppose. In the context of what almost amounts to a ...
Kia ora my name is Chloe Ann-King* and I am the founder of Raise the Bar, a campaign and non-profit that gives free legal aid, advocacy and tautoko to hospitality workers in Aotearoa. Right now all over our country hospo workers are being fired at will, having shifts cut or ...
We need to be lifting our game against COVID-19. You and I need to help those working to prevent the spread of COVID-19 while they’re trying to lift the testing and treatment efforts. We don’t want to be playing this game running backwards. Best to play it solidly forward, from ...
Prof Tony Blakely, Prof Michael Baker, and Prof Nick WilsonThe NZ Government must do more to clearly articulate its COVID-19 strategy: eradication or ‘flattening the curve’ mitigation. But to do so means understanding the maths and ethics of both these strategies. In this blog, we adapt our work for ...
A few days ago I was starting to write something about the pandemic, which now seems unconscionable. It took the form of a letter to an agony aunt:“Dear Deidre, I have an ugly confession. I am quite excited by Covid-19.”This is how the piece went:“I’m not a psychopath, honest. Although the ...
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Climate Feedback Article Review... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Reviews... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Story of the Week... In Just 10 Years, Warming Has Increased the Odds of DisastersThe likelihood of extreme events ...
Last week, the government announced a $12 billion initial package to support people during the pandemic. Today, the Reserve Bank is buying government bonds - effectively printing money - to keep up the money supply during the crisis. Normally such moves would have the right apoplectic. Instead, the National Party ...
I am a pundit, somebody who opines and comments on the news. There are no real qualifications to punditry though having a rudimentary way with words and good general knowledge helps. That is one reason there is a constant oversupply of would-be pundits and why it is quite hard to ...
I recently encountered the following prescription from a Faculty of Education at a leading New Zealand University. At first I wondered if it was another product of the postmodern generator (http://www.elsewhere.org/journal/pomo/), designed to create gibberish in the postmodern form, but I’m told it is real: The “schooled” society: Towards the ...
The coronavirus pandemic has of course had a major impact on individual lives and on societies as a whole. But, long after the crisis has passed (assuming it does), we will begin to realise that its real and lasting significance lies in the lessons it has taught us, if only ...
COVID-19 has plunged Aotearoa New Zealand (indeed, the world) into territory that, while maybe not totally unprecedented, certainly hasn’t been seen during the lifetimes of most of us here today. Our borders are closed to non-citizens, we’re being told not to gather in groups of more than 500 outside/100 inside, ...
For the last few weeks, I’ve been urging you to prepare yourself, your family, business, and community for Covid-19. Now it’s time for real action. Yesterday the director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield announced another 13 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand, bringing our total to date to 52. ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week, i.e., Sun, Mar 15, 2020 through Sat, Mar 21, 2020 Editor's Pick Now Isn’t the Time to Forget About Our Climate Change EffortsTasha Tilberg, Lindsey Wixson, and Liu Wen photographed ...
by Jan Rivers The article has been corrected to show that it was Ewen MacAskill, former Guardian journalist and not Luke Harding who travelled to meet Edward Snowden with journalist Glenn Greenwald and filmmaker Laura Poitras. Some of the Guardian’s well-known journalists who did not sign the protest letter are ...
New Zealand can emulate the success of the US after the Great Depression by exploiting our own resources to turn the economy around quickly, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says. Mr. Peters told Magic Talk that New Zealand has an opportunity to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic a "superior, ...
All 45 New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) personnel are either on their way back to New Zealand, or already in the country, according to Defence Minister Ron Mark."Twenty-eight personnel arrived back in New Zealand last week and are in isolation at the Royal New Zealand Air Force base in ...
The COVID-19 situation in New Zealand is moving fast - and to avoid what we've seen overseas - the Government's response must be to move fast too. We're committed to keeping New Zealanders safe and well-informed every step of the way. ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is encouraging New Zealanders overseas to stay where they are amid the COVID-19 pandemic. "We are reaching a point where the best option for most New Zealanders offshore is to shelter in place, by preparing to safely stay where they are.” "This includes following the instructions ...
Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Foreign Minister Winston Peters is encouraging the tens of thousands of New Zealanders travelling overseas to consider sheltering in place, in light of COVID-19. “Since 18 March, we have been warning New Zealanders offshore that the window for flying ...
Ground-breaking law has passed that will decriminalise abortion and ensure women and pregnant people seeking abortions have compassionate healthcare. ...
The Green Party says that the measures announced by the Government today will help families and businesses to prioritise our collective health and wellbeing in the response to COVID-19. ...
As New Zealanders brace for a global downturn due to Covid-19, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says his Coalition Government’s rescue package "more significant" than any other he's seen around the world. The Coalition is to reveal a multi-billion-dollar stimulus plan on Tuesday afternoon designed to cushion the economic blow ...
We know some people are feeling anxious about COVID-19. While the situation is serious, New Zealand has a world-class health system and we’re well-prepared to keep New Zealanders safe. ...
Hon. Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic DevelopmentThe Government is investing $36.8 million into waterfront and visitor projects that will help transform Whakatāne and the wider eastern Bay of Plenty region, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today.The investment in three projects, through the Provincial Growth Fund and ...
Businesses can start applying to their banks for loans under the Business Finance Guarantee Scheme set up to support the New Zealand economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We’re moving quickly to protect New Zealand businesses, jobs and the economy during this unprecedented global economic shock,” Finance Minister Grant Robertson said. ...
Work is underway looking at measures to speed up consents for development and infrastructure projects during the recovery from COVID 19, to provide jobs and stimulate our economy. Environment Minister David Parker said the COVID-19 pandemic is a serious global crisis that will have a wide ranging and lasting impact ...
Advance payments will be made to transport construction industry contractors to retain the workforce and ensure it is ready to quickly gear up to build projects which will be vital to New Zealand’s COVID-19 economic recovery, Transport Minister Phil Twyford announced today. He said keeping the workforce required to build ...
The Government has tasked a group of industry leaders to seek out infrastructure projects that are ready to start as soon as the construction industry returns to normal to reduce the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford and Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones say. The Infrastructure ...
Work to scale up the health system in preparation for COVID-19 was today outlined by Health Minister David Clark, as he reported back to the new Epidemic Response Committee. “We are well placed to contain the spread of COVID-19. We have taken early and decisive action at our borders, and ...
The Government is refining its COVID-19 essential business guidance to include the distribution of news publications for communities which are hard to reach. The Minister of Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media, Kris Faafoi, said the move was in recognition of the importance for New Zealanders who might be harder to ...
Following the successful conclusion of the Building Partner Capacity (BPC) mission at Taji, New Zealand defence personnel are returning to New Zealand from Iraq, in accordance with the Cabinet decision made in June 2019, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Ron Mark announced today. “New Zealand is very ...
The State of National Emergency to help stop the spread of COVID-19 has been extended for a further seven days, Minister of Civil Defence Peeni Henare said. The initial declaration on March 25 lasted seven days and can be extended as many times as necessary. “Since we went into isolation ...
New Zealand’s ability to go hard and go early in the fight against COVID-19 has been underpinned by strong Government finances and the growing economy heading into this global pandemic, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. The Treasury today released the Crown financial statements for the eight months to the end ...
Health Minister Dr David Clark says 36 new intensive care beds at Christchurch Hospital’s new Hagley building are being fast tracked so they are available for treatment of COVID-19 patients. The Ministry of Health is working with contractor CPB and Canterbury DHB to enable access to the hospital’s ICU, ...
The Government has fast-tracked up to $1 million to help Air New Zealand move urgent freight to and from New Zealand, with the first flight to Shanghai leaving tonight, Transport Minister Phil Twyford announced today. Phil Twyford says it’s crucial that trade in vital goods such as medical supplies and ...
New Zealand will temporarily remove tariffs on all medical and hygiene imports needed for the COVID-19 response. Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Kris Faafoi said today that the New Zealand Customs Service will apply tariff concessions to all diagnostic reagents and testing ...
Minister of Finance Grant Robertson has clarified that the changes to the wage subsidy scheme announced yesterday mean that employers should be passing on the full subsidy to workers, except in the case where the person’s normal income is less than the level of the subsidy. “We still want employers ...
Medical face masks from the national reserve supply are now being distributed to District Health Boards, while at the same time local production is being ramped up. Yesterday more than 640,000 masks were sent to DHBS – that is an immediate two week supply, with more to follow in coming ...
The Government has made modifications to the wage subsidy scheme to ensure people don’t lose their jobs during the national lockdown. These changes will soften the impact of COVID-19 on workers, families and businesses, and position them to exit the lockdown and look to recovery, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. ...
Farmers whose herds were culled in response to the outbreak of Mycoplasma bovis will be able to minimise the tax treatment of their income in some circumstances. Revenue Minister Stuart Nash says Cabinet has agreed to change the law. It means farmers may be eligible to spread their income over ...
A $27 million dollar package, effective immediately, is being provided to social sector services and community groups to ensure they can continue to provide essential support to communities as we stay at home as a nation to stop the spread of COVID-19, Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni announced. “At ...
“The guilty plea today will provide some relief to the many people whose lives were shattered by what happened on March 15,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. “These guilty pleas and conviction bring accountability for what happened and also save the families who lost loved ones, those who were injured, ...
The Prime Minister is holding daily press conferences to update New Zealanders on the Government's response to COVID-19. Links to videos and transcripts of these updates below. These transcripts also include All of Government press conferences led by Director Ministry of Health's Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield. 25 March: Live update from the Prime ...
Frontline Police numbers have broken through the 10,000 mark for the first time in history as officers step forward to keep the community safe during the COVID19 lockdown. “Two Police graduations in Auckland and Wellington in the past week have been conducted in unprecedented circumstances,” Police Minister Stuart Nash said. ...
Urgent legislation has been passed to support the package of economic and social measures needed to recover from the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. “The COVID-19 Response (Taxation and Social Assistance Urgent Measures) Bill will cushion New Zealanders from the worst economic impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak,” said Revenue Minister ...
From tomorrow, Government support for farmers and growers affected by drought will be expanded and extended across the country, with access to Rural Assistance Payments (RAPS) available throughout the North Island, parts of the South Island and the Chatham Islands, Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni announced. “These challenging conditions have ...
Parliament has passed amendments to legislation that give the Secretary of Education stronger powers to act in the fight to limit the spread of COVID-19, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “They are part of a suite of changes passed under the COVID-19 Response (Urgent Management Measures) Legislation Bill,” Chris ...
Canada, Australia, Chile, Brunei and Myanmar have joined forces with New Zealand and Singapore by committing to keep supply chains open and remove any existing trade restrictive measures on essential goods, especially medical supplies, in the face of the Covid-19 crisis. Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker today welcomed ...
Immediate freeze on rent increases Tenancies will not be terminated during the lock-down period, unless the parties agree, or in limited circumstances Tenants who had previously given notice can stay in their if they need to stay in the tenancy during the lock-down period Tenants will still be able to ...
As New Zealand unites to lock-down in the fight against COVID-19, the Finance Minister is urging all businesses and workers to stay connected over the next four weeks. “We understand the extreme pressure many businesses are under right now. I know most business owners think of their workers as family ...
A State of National Emergency has been declared across the country as the Government pulls out all the stops to curtail the spread of COVID-19. “Today we put in place our country’s second ever State of National Emergency as we fight a global pandemic, save New Zealanders’ lives and prevent ...
Mr Speaker I wish to make a Ministerial Statement under Standing Order 347 in relation to the recent declaration of a State of National Emergency. Having considered the advice of the Director Civil Defence Emergency Management, the Minister of Civil Defence declared a State of National Emergency for the whole of ...
People needing to travel on domestic flights, trains and Cook Strait ferries to get home before the country moves into level 4 lock-down tomorrow night will be able to continue using the passenger services until midnight on Friday, Transport Minister Phil Twyford said today. Domestic passenger services, particularly ferries, have ...
The Government, retail banks and the Reserve Bank are today announcing a major financial support package for home owners and businesses affected by the economic impacts of COVID-19. The package will include a six month principal and interest payment holiday for mortgage holders and SME customers whose incomes have been ...
Minister of Transport Phil Twyford has today announced details of the Government’s support package to keep key air freight moving and ensure New Zealanders retain access to essential goods during the four-week level 4 lockdown. “The Government is working with airlines and air freight operators to ensure New Zealand’s key ...
New Zealand moved up to COVID-19 Alert Level 3 – Restrict New Zealand to move up to COVID-19 Alert Level 4 – Eliminate, in 48 hours Two-staged approach to give people and businesses time to prepare Level 3, from tomorrow Non-essential businesses must close All events and gatherings must be ...
Good afternoon The Cabinet met this morning to discuss our next actions in the fight against COVID-19. Like the rest of the world, we are facing the potential for devastating impacts from this virus. But, through decisive action, and through working together, do we have a small window to get ...
The Government is announcing significant further support for the economy, workers and businesses as the country unites to prepare for Alert Level 4 in the fight against COVID-19. Cabinet today agreed to remove the cap on the Government’s wage subsidy scheme, which will inject a further $4 billion into the ...
The Government is backing the Reserve Bank’s latest action to support the economy by reducing longer-term interest rates, meaning lower costs for businesses and mortgage holders, and a lower currency to help our exporters. The Minister of Finance has signed a memorandum of understanding and a letter of indemnity with ...
The Government has asked the Commerce Commission to take account of the exceptional circumstances created by COVID-19 when monitoring business behaviour in coming weeks. “The purpose of my request to the Commerce Commission is to make sure businesses can work together in ways that will allow them to provide ...
The New Zealand Government has temporarily closed its High Commission in Bridgetown, Barbados and its Embassy in Yangon, Myanmar due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Due to the increasing scarcity of air links in and out of Bridgetown and Yangon, and the pressure COVID-19 is placing ...
Associate Health and Whānau Ora Minister Peeni Henare has today announced the Government’s plan to support Māori communities and businesses in the face of COVID-19. “Our Government’s $12.1 billion economic package will help many Māori whānau, workers and businesses, whether it’s through wage subsidies, income support and worker redeployment, or ...
The Government and the hospitality industry have worked together to produce guidelines to assist with managing and reducing transmission of COVID-19, Health Minister David Clark announced today. The guidelines developed between the Government, Hospitality New Zealand and SkyCity Entertainment Group, set out how the new restrictions on physical distancing and ...
Four stage Alert System for COVID-19 announced New Zealand moved up to COVID-19 Alert Level 2 – Reduce Contact New Zealanders over 70 and those with certain medical conditions told to stay at home as much as they can to reduce risk of contact with the virus Workplaces to implement ...
A recurring theme in contemporary literature is of the plague that appears suddenly from nowhere and takes hold of the world, destroying or severely damaging life in the process. In 2003 acclaimed author Margaret Atwood’s novel Oryx and Crake was ...
The Covid-19 crisis in media has claimed NZ’s biggest magazine publisher, Bauer Media.Bauer Media NZ is closing its doors permanently and with immediate effect due to the severe economic impact of Covid-19, staff have just been told via a Zoom meeting.CEO Brendon Hill was emotional as he informed staff of ...
NZ Gov't must lower road freight use because truck drivers will widely carry Covid 19 virus to our communities through open assess community transmission, and using rail less staff are used to move the same freight by comparison. Facts; Our Government ...
The government needs to step up and pay the next rates instalment to councils on behalf of property owners and businesses as part of its economic support package. People are facing unprecedented financial stress directly due to the measures implemented ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s contentEnforcing the lockdown, civil liberties Peter Dunne (Newsroom): Democracy on hold Heather Roy (Democracy Project): The Long Road Back to Full ...
More than 40 million masks are on the way to help protect frontline health workers after weeks of confusion and fear about the supply of Covid-19 equipment. ...
Tempers fray in Italy, Spain as lockdown fatigue sets in; Trump reveals modelling of up to 240,000 US deaths; US stocks slump on death fears and awful factory output statsDeath fears dominate: US President Donald Trump warned of up to 240,000 deaths from Covid-19 in the world's biggest economy, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tanya M. Smith, Professor in the Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University Within our extended primate family consisting of lemurs, monkeys, and apes, humans have the largest brains. Our closest living relatives, chimpanzees, weigh about two-thirds as much as us, ...
Here come the discounted share issues; Kathmandu plans $315m rights issue at 51 percent discount; Rod Duke says 'no thanks'; Treasury hikes borrowing plan by $12b to $25b in two weeks; Pay cuts for Mediaworks and Fletcher staffRaising cash: In a move that is likely to be widely replicated in ...
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level four. The country is shut down, apart from essential services. For updated official government advice, see here.The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The ...
This is the question burning in most New Zealanders' minds: What are the key indicators for decision making? How many new cases are required for the lockdown to continue? How many deaths? What is the plan when the lockdown ends? We understand that the ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Rising tide of hardship putting strain on services, big wage cuts coming at Fletchers, and fears many hospitality businesses won’t be viable after lockdown.We’re beginning to get a picture of how the Covid-19 economic shock will hit those living in ...
Businesses in lockdown are looking to a previously little-considered clause in many commercial lease contracts which makes it legal to not pay some or all of their rent. For thousands of business landlords and tenants all over New Zealand, April 1 was crunch day. April Fools was the first commercial ...
Was an epidemiologist excoriated for going off script or not being on top of the literature? David Williams reports It wasn’t exactly flattening the curve. A scientific spat over Covid-19 reached peak contrarian yesterday thanks to the country’s contrarian in chief, Mike Hosking. Following his (Hosking: “Very good”) Stuff opinion ...
Under Covid-19, how our crime situations develop will depend heavily on how our institutions and societies respond, writes Professor Elizabeth Stanley We talk a lot about fear in criminology. More precisely, we reflect on how our political, legal, economic and socio-cultural systems create conditions in which we fear certain people ...
When we rethink our economy and how we support citizens, we must end the 19th Century bias against those in relationships, writes the University of Auckland's Susan St John It is vital that all new welfare policies to cushion the Covid-19 downturn are consistent with desirable reform principles. But to ...
Jill Herron speaks with two stranded Czech travellers whose working holiday is over but who, like thousands of other foreign nationals, have nowhere to go. Roman Cermak is worried about his mum who works as a nurse in the Czech Republic. He’s also worried about his elderly grandmother as his ...
In the days ahead we face a choice as a nation - to behave out of fear, or out of courage, writes Elizabeth Kirkby-McLeod. Which will it be? Here’s a joke for our times: What should we do if we know the aliens are coming? Lower the interest rates. Perhaps ...
Having dealt with anxiety and body blows in her hockey career, Black Stick Rachel McCann has created a podcast that could help those struggling to find positivity in lockdown. During these long, monotonous and uncertain days of the Covid-19 lockdown, Black Stick Rachel McCann’s passion project could come into its own. ...
Anna Locker-Lampson is hoping against hope that the first readers and writers festival in Waipawa will go ahead. Between the Lines, the inaugural Readers and Writers Festival at Waipawa in the Central Hawkes Bay, is scheduled for July 23-26. We have yet to cancel. It’s with an undying optimism that ...
Pacific nations have rolled out strict responses to Covid-19, with several remaining Covid-19-free, Teuila Fuatai reports With no confirmed Covid-19 cases, Sāmoa is among several Pacific nations attempting to balance strict public health measures and regular activity. A two-week state of emergency, which reduced trading hours and public gatherings, is ...
Despite a surge in pre-lockdown adoptions, the SPCA is still housing plenty of animals and wondering what the future holds as families and owners feel the strain, reports Bonnie Sumner. When the national lockdown announcement was made on March 23, people began turning up to their local SPCA centre ...
Beyond the direct impacts on demography and genome, pandemics have had dramatic and far-reaching impact on human societies over history. What will be Covid-19's be? As governments around the world try to contain the pandemic of Covid-19, they often draw on experiences of past epidemics. The swift and (so far) successful ...
History warns that we should be wary of the misuse of power in the name of public health, writes Scott Hamilton.In the winter of 1913 a group of Māori appeared in the office of Arthur Manning, the mayor of Hamilton. The visitors had tight faces and dirty clothes. They had ...
The more people take part, the better it will be at spotting potential clusters of Covid-19. Siouxsie Wiles explains.You might have heard the prime minister and the director general of health mention in recent days something called FluTracking. What’s it all about? Here’s what you need to know.The FluTracking project ...
Auckland post-punk four piece Swallow the Rat embarked on a US tour just as Covid-19 started to really spread. Guitarist Brian Purington, originally from Austin, Texas, tells the story of a tour interrupted – and how he became one of New Zealand’s first 500 cases of Covid-19.Brian Purington and his ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sunanda Creagh, Head of Digital Storytelling As new, stricter measures intended to limit the spread of coronavirus were announced in NSW, Queensland and Victoria, many turned to Google to work out what they meant in practice. According to Google Trends, some of ...
By RNZ News New Zealanders in their 20s are the age group with the biggest numbers of Covid-19 and are “the vector for transmission”, says Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Ardern has thanked NZ for its efforts, but says it is still too early to say if the level four ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kristy Hess, Associate Professor (Communication), Deakin University The coronavirus pandemic has spawned a lexicon of its own. We have had to quickly incorporate words like “self-isolation” and “social distancing” into our everyday language to navigate it. “Essential service” is another one. In ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin I was concerned to read last night that Greta Thunberg and her father almost certainly have Covid19; however, because of very restrictive testing criteria used in Sweden, they have not been tested. And I heard yesterday, on a Radio New Zealand news bulletin, a story about ...
Support services have raised alarm bells over the lockdown, saying it could spark more cases of family violence in New Zealand. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said this afternoon that nearly half of the $27 million allocated for NGOs and community ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicole Blay, Research Fellow – workforce, Western Sydney University The number of people going to hospital with the coronavirus is expected to rise, putting a strain on our health and aged care services and their workforce. Australian undergraduate student nurses and those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Haiqing Yu, Associate Professor, School of Media and Communication, RMIT University China has gradually emerged out of its shadow of despair as the epicentre where the coronavirus pandemic started. Now, there is face saving required – as well as agenda-setting in the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Director, Health Program, Grattan Institute The growth in COVID-19 cases in Australia appears to have slowed across all states, through a combination of tighter border control and spatial distancing. With the number of new cases each day growing at a ...
The third in our new series of charts, graphics and data-visualisations by Chris McDowall, covering the Covid-19 epidemic within New Zealand. We’ll publish the latest set each day on The Spinoff.This work is entirely funded by the generosity of The Spinoff MembersInformation about confirmed and probable cases of Covid-19 in ...
The Government must stamp out Covid-19 but also answer questions, writes David Williams OPINION: It’s a national emergency, almost all Kiwis are locked down, and all arms of government must work as hard as they can to find, stamp out and eradicate Covid-19. But that doesn’t absolve those taxpayer-paid bureaucrats and ...
Paengawhāwhā (April) also known as Kaipō or Whetūkaupō (Deneb star) is the eleventh month of the Māori year and is a productive time. Get planting!Kia ora e te whānau, ngā mihi mahana o te marama a Paengawhāwhā.March and August are often our most challenging lunar cycles from my observation, and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Martina Doblin, Senior Research Fellow, Plant Functional Biology & Climate Change, University of Technology Sydney As the climate warms, the land we use for growing energy-intensive crops such as wheat and corn is becoming less productive. We need to find ways to ...
Helping Low Income Families cope in this time of crisis is critical to their survival says Peter Malcolm Spokesperson for Income Equality Aotearoa NZ Inc—“Closing the Gap” Families on low incomes need and deserve all the financial help they can ...
With neither a bang nor barely a whimper, barely one week ago New Zealand put being a long established and respected Parliamentary democracy on hold to become a virtual Police state in the ongoing fight against Covid-19, writes Peter Dunne We have settled into a life regime more restrictive ...
Almost a week into the level four lockdown and people are probably starting to feel a little cooped up. To help with this, some subscription services and brands have begun to make their products temporarily free. Here are just some of the things currently on offer.For those with the privilege ...
Life and health insurers are trimming their policy offerings in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, because some risks linked to the virus are deemed too great. Partners Life founder and risk expert Naomi Ballantyne said it was important consumers knew what they were covered for, particularly if they were ...
Life and health insurers are trimming their policy offerings in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, because some risks linked to the virus are deemed too great. Partners Life founder and risk expert Naomi Ballantyne said it was important consumers knew what they were covered for, particularly if they were ...
The housing market continued to perform well through the pre-lockdown period, with properties in all 16 major centres growing in value for the fourth consecutive month. The QV House Price Index data rose 6.1 percent in the year to March, with the average house price rising to $728,276. However, last ...
The District Court continues to operate during the AlertLevel 4 period to deal with priority proceedings as the need arises. For this purpose, there will be District Court Judges and Ministry of Justice staff available. The Chief District Court Judge ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Breunig, Professor of Economics and Director, Tax and Transfer Policy Institute, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University How would you feel if you were having a Zoom meeting with your accountant and they asked “how would you like to ...
Kathmandu has moved to strengthen its finances to counter the impact of the Covid-19 virus. The outdoors clothing retailer will raise $207 million through a sale of new shares, some of which will go to large investment funds, with the balance offered to existing shareholders. Group chief executive Xavier Simonet ...
The country's banks are likely to take a significant hit to their profits from the Covid-19 virus, according to a new report. Business advisory firm KPMG's latest quarterly Financial Institutions Performance Survey for the final three months of last year showed bank profits had already fallen nearly 7 percent, $1.1 ...
Child Poverty Action Group applauds the Prime Minister's move to go hard and early to curb the spread of Covid-19. And we believe the Government needs to take the same approach when it comes to supporting those doing it tough during this ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By C Raina MacIntyre, Professor of Global Biosecurity, NHMRC Principal Research Fellow, Head, Biosecurity Program, Kirby Institute, UNSW Editor’s note: this is an edited version of a paper written in late March to outline the rationale for a short, sharp lockdown. The full ...
Anna Rawhiti-Connell's ode to Director-General Ashley Bloomfield - the balm for our furrowed brows When children ask me what I did during the great pandemic of the 2020s, I will tell them I participated in idolatry so egregious that the Golden Calf would’ve blushed a dusky shade of metallic rose. Every ...
The Single Object is a series exploring our material culture, examining the meaning and influence of objects that surround us in everyday life. Artist Bronwyn Holloway-Smith shares her obsession with the 30,000km long Southern Cross Cable that connects New Zealand to the internet and the rest of the world, and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephanie Collins, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Australian Catholic University To the young and healthy, our new “social distancing” rules may look unnecessarily draconian. If you’re in a demographic that’s low risk for coronavirus, it may be difficult to see the benefit of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dr Mette Hotker, Lecturer in Social Planning, RMIT University Most Australians know you never end up winning on the pokies. What Australians might not know is that the odds of winning a case against a poker-machine proposal in their local neighbourhood are ...
Sports journalist Jim Kayes was a weekend host for the canned Radio Sport channel - and reckons its demise and cuts to sports reporting nationally can in part be put down to snobbery and neglect. It was never my plan to cover sport but a busted knee saw it happen. ...
The number of Māori academic staff remains disproportionately low at New Zealand universities. Simon Day spoke to three newly appointed Māori professors at the University of Otago about why putting te ao Māori at the centre of their work is so important. Māori participation in tertiary education is steadily increasing. According ...
Wellington, 1 April - Rushing to deal with new vaping legislation during an unprecedented economic lockdown is not just folly, it is anti-democratic, according to a public submission by the New Zealand Initiative. While most businesses and public services ...
As the Covid-19 pandemic takes its toll on the New Zealand economy, Greenpeace is pushing back on industry lobbyists and politicians arguing for weakening and delaying environmental protections. The environment group says that now more than ever, we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Craig Jeffrey, Director and CEO of the Australia India Institute; Professor of Development Geography, University of Melbourne Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a 21-day lockdown for India’s 1.3 billion people. With just four hours’ notice, the government instructed everyone to ...
In the new series Final Mix, music journalist Yadana Saw chats with local musicians and listens to their latest tracks in the ultimate testing ground: the car. The first episode is with cross-Atlantic country maven Tami Neilson.“There’s before, and then there’s after.”It’s a prophetic lyric on Tami Neilson’s new album ...
With broader testing criteria coming into place, the Government is expecting to discover more Covid-19 cases within the community, Marc Daalder reports The Ministry of Health admitted on Wednesday afternoon that it was likely missing cases of Covid-19 spreading within the community because testing criteria were too narrow. "We still ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is slamming today’s announcement of $25 million — $10 million for local iwi groups and $15 million for Whānau Ora providers — and says that funding based on skin colour at a time when the nation needs to come ...
How is Covid-19 spreading within the country? Newsroom is collating information as it's available to paint a picture of what's happening. There were 61 new cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand today, up from the previous day's 58 new cases. Details of how many tests have been completed are now being ...
A non-profit group is signing up qualified health professionals - retired, out of the workforce or part-time - to join a kind-of Home Guard to fill areas of need in the health system during the pandemic. As we enter week two of the Level 4 Covid-19 alert, we need to preserve ...
Join Leonie Hayden as she works through the first four weeks of Scotty Morrison’s Māori Made Easy.Rāapa/WednesdayToday we’re practising our pronunciation of the letter ‘r’ and in order to do that, we’re going to practise Māori place names. These are probably the words we’ve been taught to pronounce incorrectly the most, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Kearnes, Professor, Environment & Society, School of Humanities and Languages, UNSW Public health messages about COVID-19 have been inconsistent and changed rapidly. Many have called for a unified source of expertise to guide responses to the crisis. However, with the federal, ...
Tim Pankhurst, chief executive of Seafood NZ and former leading newspaper editor, retires this week after 48 years in the workforce. He looks back on a final week like no other. A week ago before the world changed we were fishing at dawn on the shore of the Rangaunu Harbour ...
MPs and economists are calling for greater transparency on the use of welfare and business subsidies, as the Finance Minister outlines the economic challenge ahead for New Zealand.The financial fallout from the coronavirus pandemic is set to be markedly worse for New Zealand than that from the global financial ...
Open Mike 09/05/2018 
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by Don Franks Hi David, Nice hearing from you, I’m glad to hear you’re getting by okay in these grim times. You asked how’s it going for us back here in New Zealand. You would have heard that the whole country is locked down and with breaks for exercise and ...4 days ago
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Fortune's Children: Under extraordinary pressure, the leader of the Government and the leader of the Opposition will each show us what they are made of. Have they been blessed with intelligence, grace, wit, poise, toughness, empathy and humour – and in what measure? More importantly, to what extent have they ...5 days ago
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Right now low waged and insecure workers are feeling the economic brunt of the looming #Covid19 Recession. In response legal advocate Toby Cooper* and hospitality and worker’s rights advocate Chloe Ann-King, are putting together a series of legal blogs about your employment rights: In this legal blog we outline some ...6 days ago
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According to Newshub, Simon Bridges is open to joining a “grand coalition” with Labour as we hunker down to go into a month long lockdown. The idea is sound. Before now, the role of the opposition was to scrutinise and oppose. In the context of what almost amounts to a ...1 week ago
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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The scale of what we face right now is unlike anything we have ever seen before. Overcoming it is our common purpose. ...1 week ago
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Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.
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If you ever wanted evidence of the power of the military industrial complex, the influence of the Israeli lobby and the involvement of the Saudis in US politics , here it is.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/world/356918/trump-announces-us-withdrawal-from-iran-nuclear-deal
Cui bono?
1. Saudi Arabia
2. Israel.
3. The armaments industries.
and
4.Israel Folau and his mates, evangelical Christians.
Armageddon just got closer.
Morning Ed, Al Jazeera are streaming live at the moment from Tehran as Iran responds to Trump.
Thank you.
It is the armaments industries of Iran and Russia that will benefit the most: no one else in the world will be prepared to work around the sanctions now proposed by the US.
Israel already has Iran on its border since it controls Lebanon through Hezbollah, has military bases and strong influence over the government of Syria, and strong influence within the government of Iraq which may increase this weekend through the elections. This is a world now with Iran unconstrained.
Israel is no winner from this.
How Saudia Arabia would benefit when it is trying to get enough money together from oil sales to exit oil entirely – when this decision by Trump will collapse the oil price yet again – is something you will have to explain.
There are no winners in this decision.
There is certainly no Plan B from Trump.
It’s a decision made in his usual spite that he couldn’t stand a deal holding that his predecessor Obama had put in place.
Why would any other state – such as North Korea – go into a binding deal with this President after this action? President Trump kills international deals.
World peace is certainly not a winner in this decision.
President Trump has a faster and better chance of ending the human world than climate change.
It’s a decision made in his usual spite that he couldn’t stand a deal holding that his predecessor Obama had put in place.
That’s exactly what I thought as I listened to the dangerous buffoon pontificating just now.
He lurched between saying in one breath that the action against Iran was because of the desire for nuclear weaponry and then it was their support of terrrorism. Which is it?
And then he said something like that he would not stand for US cities being threatened with nuclear weapons and that the US would not be blackmailed. Isn’t that North Korea he’s talking about, not Iran?
– No UN reform
– Withdraw from Paris climate agreement
– Withdraw from Cuban agreement
– Withdraw from CPTPP
– Withdraw from Iran
It’s a pretty weird world when the United States shrinks from diplomatic leadership so fast that the last rational states of any leadership note still standing are France and Germany.
Cui bono, Exactly Ed.
Trump said there will be “maximum sanctions” on Iran, and sanctions on anyone who doesn’t comply with US sanctions.
Trump is an utter fool. The Europeans won’t withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal. They will keep trading with Iran. Will Trump really impose sanctions on the Europeans to try and force them into line? He just might, he is that stupid. If he does try to force the Europeans into line, he’ll fail. If he doesn’t, he’ll be a blowhard laughing stock. Either way, US isolationism in this matter will simply underline the faltering power of the United States to unilaterally influence world affairs.
It is likely the European companies will comply with the US secondary sanctions. They mostly have far more to lose than continue trading with Iran, unless of course Iranian trade is their main business. For instance would Airbus sell Iran any aircraft if they then risked access to the US market.
However, Russian and Chinese companies won’t comply with US secondary sanctions if they are hit by them. China in particular may well impose their own secondary sanctions against US companies if that happens. It seems unlikely that China will by any more Boeing aircraft. Airbus will be the winner.
So the US withdrawal could easily trigger a wider trade war, and the US won’t necessarily be the winner.
Overall the main effect may be to strengthen the appeal of China as a fundamentally more reliable financial and trade partner. It is likely to spur the Chinese push to make the renminbi a global reserve currency.
So the US withdrawal could easily trigger a wider trade war, and the US won’t necessarily be the winner.
I, for one, hope like hell the US loses big time.
Can’t speak for anyone else, but the average American voter needs to be kicked over a steep cliff into oblivion – metaphorically speaking of course. They brought this appalling state of affairs on themselves and millions of innocents around the world will accordingly suffer.
I feel sorry for those who did not vote for Trump but where are they now? It looks like some sort of Civil War is the only solution if the US is going to regain any form of international respect. At the moment it deserves nothing but derision and disrespect and I suspect in the long run that is exactly what it is going to get.
Anne
Civil War?
How about just winning the 2020 election, which is only 2 and half years away. That is normally how deficient leaders are dealt to in democracies.
Figure of speech Wayne. I said “some sort of” Civil War. It doesn’t follow it has to end up with one side fighting the other with guns although ummm… this is the US of A. (yes that is a bit naughty)
2 and half years away. Too long. God only knows what damage he will have done by then. 👿
Trump will win the next election
Fair and square 😉
It looks like civil war because those on the left can’t accept that Trump won
Trying to conjure up an equivalence to National not accepting they lost a MMP election? Won’t work.
The concern re -Trump is that he is unfit to be a leader of anything let alone US President. In short, he’s a screw loose and incredibly ignorant. He also has traits in him that could be likened to Hitler or Mussolini. Of course a large portion of the American population are also a screw loose and incredibly ignorant. That is why they voted for him.
It is time they upgraded their generally poor educational systems then maybe these nut-bars wouldn’t get anywhere near the seats of power in the first place.
“Trying to conjure up an equivalence to National not accepting they lost a MMP election? Won’t work.”
No, I’m pointing out it looks like civil war because the left (in the USA) don’t/can’t/won’t accept Trump won the election
“The concern re -Trump is that he is unfit to be a leader of anything let alone US President.”
Says who? A media that doesn’t want him or the population that didn’t vote for him?
“In short, he’s a screw loose and incredibly ignorant.”
I suspect most of his act is mostly bluster
“He also has traits in him that could be likened to Hitler or Mussolini. Of course a large portion of the American population are also a screw loose and incredibly ignorant. That is why they voted for him.”
Or maybe because he said he’d lower unemployment and unemployment is lowering:
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-05-04/black-unemployment-is-at-an-all-time-low-but-there-s-a-catch
“It is time they upgraded their generally very poor educational standards then maybe these nut cases wouldn’t get anywhere near the seats of power in the first place.”
Thats quite an arrogant statement, right up there with deplorables, and a major reason why Trump won
Don’t rubbish their education systems.
We used to hear how ours was world leading and hear the sneers and ‘what the hell’s that about?’ about theirs. Naturally we decided to copy them.
It’s American, it’s great and Hekia would find some data to prove it so it could be done here.
Agreed PR.
Give trump his due he sticks by his word, better or worse he does this better than most of our politicians do.
The middle east is a very disruptive area to negotiate, as they often do the opposite to what they said they would do.
Very deceptive political region they are.
Yes Trump shows the naked truth of US foreign policy. It has never been about peace, ask the Palestinians. He is a moron but his speech was written for him.
The problem now as ever is Israel emboldened to act and suck the US into furthering their Zionist ambitions.
Agreed. The consequence of secondary sanctions will be that US will wind up with no mates. That’s not really good for anyone except of course the corporate military industrial folks who, I’d wager, will be needing a change of shorts this morning.
This was new Secretary of State Pompeos testimoney last year during his confirmation for CIA director.
“With the information I’ve been provided, I’ve seen no evidence that they are not in compliance today,” he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
and again
“It was largely described in a 2007 National Intelligence Estimate, which said that U.S. spies “judge with high confidence that in fall 2003, Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program.”
That was ‘before Obama’
But the lies have already started
“30,000 empty homes in Auckland: Is it time to tax the owners?”
Newshub May 9, 2018
Maybe occupancy can be added to the LIM Report and be compulsory information to be provided at time of sale (and obtaining a mortgage + insurance, of course).
Related posts:
Ghost houses and the invisible hand
By: ANTHONY R0BINS June 16th, 2015
The ghost house epidemic and the invisible hand
By: ANTHONY R0BINS June 13th, 2016
The social damage wrought by homes as commoditites
By: ANTHONY R0BINS March 4th, 2017
Dealing with ghost homes
By: No Right Turn August 3rd, 2017
The Prime Minister has pledged that there will be no homeless living on the streets this winter.
Bravo
I would add to this – not when there are tens of thousands of perfectly good houses still standing empty.
Jacinda Ardern pledges shelter for all homeless people within four weeks
In motels and hotels I assume? At high costs? I am not advocating leaving them in the street
There are quite a few older motels around that have become full time renters.
Normal Motels are rented on a day by day basis, but were always cheaper if you rented say for 2 weeks or more. If WINZ took a 6 month lease on a motel but provided the tentants it would be cheaper again.
Thanks duke
Have you seen the numbers based on how it is being done now?
Our PM will do her best, and at least admits there is a problem, growing as NZers return, migrants still come and we are now suffering a building skill shortage caused by short sighted Nat policies regarding education and training.
She has tried to get hidebound bureaucrats to be flexible and kind. And those Ministers concerned should pay close attention, as they will want to keep her confidence, and get the direction started.
NZers are stepping up to the plate, offering help, and those in ministries who have not enacted the memos are finding the public going to a listening ear at their local pollies office.
There will be big changes for those who will/can not change their attitudes.
This Government means to change things… it will be a snowball,,,, slow but gathering strength and speed as more come on board. So some bureaucrats earning over $300 000 need to be sure they are following the new directives.
Its risky assuming they deliberately ’empty’
A house next to me had the same tenants for 7 years and when they left , the house was put up for rent but was empty for about 6 weeks. Some work needed to be done as well.
You would have to know those that are long term “empty”, ie say 3 months or more.
Plus some homes are occupied by owners who have more than one home ( surprisingly common).
My own house was empty for a while when I was renting in another city for work on a 18 month contract .
I know a friend who rents from an elderly lady on the same site, she can be away staying with her family for 6 weeks at a time.
Bridges is doing a marvelous job of making sure NZF will never go with the Nats in the future by attacking Peters on the rise in overseas aid and diplomatic services budget.
(Incidentally, this brings NZ overseas aid to 0.28% of GDP as opposed to a world average of 0.4% and I seem to remember a UN target of 0.7%.)
Peters was scathing in reply to Bridges calling National’s reaction “myopic”.
And not explicitly supporting an electoral deal with Act means Bridges has a ballsy game thinking he can win an outright majority of seats with no coalition partners at all.
He said as much in a recent speech. He said 44% wasnt enough they needed to get more. He then pretended Nats are becoming an environmentally friendly party… but
Opposed end to offshore drilling
Opposes reduction in dairy cows
Opposes fuel tax rises under Labour
Etc
Etc
They are targeting the soft green party vote in wealthy national seats.
It has two purposes, trys to get Greens below 5% ( and become wasted vote, a very hard task though ) and of course adds to their party vote if they switch to national.
The winning double would be to get Greens and NZ First below 5%, say 4.5% each. Thats 9% wasted vote, plus the other groups that dont get above 5% could make the total wasted vote 12%.
44% then looks winnable, and the only strategy that makes sense with ‘no mates’
Will be easier to get NZFirst under 5% than the Greens but Labour is helping by taking Green votes for themselves
In other words, turn MMP into FPP through underarm and middle finger actions.
I think, like gorse, possums rabbits and other undesirables, you’ll never get rid of the Greens but NZFirst will be gone eventually
The strongest and clearest endorsement of MMP and Democracy in NZ I’ve seen in ages, bravo!
You’re one of the finest advocates for National and ACT; please keep up the good work.
Tip of the hat to you as well
You’ve got manners and a sense of humour; what happened?
Buggered if know to be honest
🙂
Your forgetting NZF has the snake Jones in it . If Winston leaves next election it’s all on.
I don’t think the rural voters will forget NZFirsts betrayal and I’m pretty sure National will remind them every chance they get
Hopefully NZFirst is gone for good
What betrayal. Any one thick enough to think Winston could have gone with national after years of trying to destroy his party is to thick to vote
Good, Winston is a much better fit for Labour
PR how do you feel about the Nats becoming a more environmentally friendly party?
I’m for it
And so you fall for the ploy, again.
He says they will be environmental. You want them to be. You want less fucking over of the environment. But they had 9 years of fucking it over, you voted for them last year? And now you feel comforted that they will be more environmental cos Bridges says they will but there is no evidence before and since his statement that they have changed, at all.
By all means vote for them again but do not say it is cos they are being Greener
Like Labour and NZF wanted to bop capitalism on the nose but Robeetson is following the same NL/Cap “rules”
“And so you fall for the ploy, again.”
Nope, I don’t vote for National on their environmental policies
“He says they will be environmental.”
Good on them
“You want them to be.”
It’d be nice yeah
“You want less fucking over of the environment.”
Sure, as a generalisation
“But they had 9 years of fucking it over, you voted for them last year?”
They did some things well and some things not so well and yes i did vote for them
“And now you feel comforted that they will be more environmental cos Bridges says they will but there is no evidence before and since his statement that they have changed, at all.”
Thats a rather large jump from I’m for National becoming more environmental to “comforted that they will be more environmental cos Bridges says they will” don’t you think
“By all means vote for them again but do not say it is cos they are being Greener”
I’m not voting for them because they’re Greener
“Like Labour and NZF wanted to bop capitalism on the nose but Robertson is following the same NL/Cap “rules”
I recall it was Labour that bought in Rogernomics and no one from Labour has ever come out and repudiated it yet
Jacinda Ardern said she agreed with Jim Bolger’s assessment that neoliberalism had failed
https://www.google.co.nz/search?source=hp&ei=QU3yWpn5N4Gx0gS2qobYBQ&q=neoliberlsam+hasfailed+jacindaardern+&oq=neoli
So what, hes not infalible
Correct, but he has wisened up.
Or maybe hes gone senile
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/88438169/think-of-it-what-you-will-but-neoliberalism-works
Oscar Wilde
No need to question Bolger’s cognitive health, me thinks. There’s hope for all of us but some simply have a better chance.
Incognito,
PR is just having fun with wracking us up, PR doesn’t have a clue about the environment or how to save it.
Ignore it all as i do, and he/she will go away.
remember they tried a compassionate conservative line before as well. Look at how thin that was.
DOU see my response to Puck
Well good riddance to Act. Nasty bunch of tightly whities.
Questioning the billion dollar spendfest is the first agreeable thing Bridges has done.
Peters will never go with National. He is having far to much fun as the Supremo in the present Government. Once he gets his arse in the PM’s chair on the ninth floor when Ardern goes off they will never get him out of the office.
Can you imagine National allowing the leader of a minor party to threaten members of the Main party like Mahuta and Jackson that they will lose the Ministerial warrants if they don’t do what Peters tells them.
What do you think Helen Clark would have done? Can you imagine her ignoring it and instead telling her local paper what he favourite songs are?
It doesn’t really matter of course. Both the Greens and New Zealand First will be dog tucker after the next election. They certainly won’t be missed.
NZFirst gone for sure but the Greens only need to fool one in twenty voters they’re an environmental party so I reckon they’ll be around for a few more years
Yep, they’ll be around as long as most of NZ is still above water despite rising sea levels and tourists flock to Franz Josef snowfield in winter months only.
Labour will win in 2020 !!!
As the full knowledge of the Pike river mine disaster and the 11 billion hole are all reviled.
The nat’s will scuttle of their sinking ship pronto by then..
Stop calling me a fool
He’s threatening them as the deputy prime minister. As such he is perfectly entitled to discipline any ministers as he has seniority over them.
If Michael Cullen had done the same then I doubt Clark would have an issue with it. Likewise, if Bill English had done the same I doubt John Key would have had a problem with.
We live in an MMP political environment now, do try and keep up.
What is with the MSM trying to claim some of the new government policy is all the work of Crusher Collins?
They are trying to position her as responsible for a lot of the work on having online retailers pay GST and looking into the petrol companies pricing policies.
It seems like National’s MSM cronies are trying to rewrite the history of the last 9 years of the National government to look like they actually did some stuff instead of all the delays in implementing stuff and ignoring of recommendations till they are to little too late.
https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/comment-is-judith-collins-politically-immortal/ar-AAwY5vc?li=BBqdg4K
They did begin that work didnt they?
Must have got the polling numbers back showing hitting back at oil companies and offshore retailers paying tax is very popular. So they are doing a #metoo
Touche
It is the only #metoo the Nats woukd do
“MSM trying to claim some of the new government policy is all the work of Crusher Collins?”.
The reason is very simple. The work was done by people in the departments at Collin’s behest. It has simply been picked up by the new lot in the Beehive.
Whether Collins would have progressed the proposals if National had been returned is of course unknown, but irrelevant. The proposals are the work of the last Government however.
Didn’t you notice, and probably complain, about how National took over things being planned by the Clark led Government when they came in?
Actually if you look at what Parliament has been up to nearly everything has been a carryover from the English Administration. Labour simply weren’t ready for the election result they never expected.
I know you RWNJs like to rake up the past and especially Roger Douglas at every opportunity but to go back to William Hobson is stretching it a bit, don’t you think, Alwyn?
That is actually rather a funny comment. Quite unlike you I must say.
It is a pity there are a few minor errors but a good first attempt.
If you knew your history you would have realised that Hobson died in 1842 and the first NZ Parliament was not until 1854.
But then you LWNJs never were very careful about the accuracy of your statements.
Not bad
Holy mackerel I feel old.
Of Prime Minister Ardern’s top 10 favourite songs, I only knew 6 of them.
http://spy.nzherald.co.nz/spy-news/these-are-jacinda-s-fave-nz-songs/
I think this qualifies her as cool. To me at least.
This seems appropriate
Following up on the issue at WINZ Central Hamilton.
I have just left their office having spoken with the manager after being challenged by the on site security guards for taking pictures of coned mobility parking.
I am positive (as much as I can be) that they understand there are serious issues and are making appropriate changes.
Full report in a couple of hours.
Fireblade was not the only complainant.
Good stuff Rosemary, I hope you get somewhere with it.
Read a timely article from John Tamihere today, he touched a bit on what’s been discussed and leans more towards your POV…
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12047397
Well done Rosemary. We have to help the Government defeat the hard core well paid bureaucrats. Yes John Tamihere had it right!!
Hey I just read this.
Spoke to someone a couple of weeks ago who had just wrote a complaint to Porirua Community Link (winz FYI) about not being able to park in the mobility parks.
Heh! I did ask today if there was someone in the Hamilton Central WINZ office with mobility issues….hence the coned mobility park…and was told no…
I know its really difficult sometimes to make the appropriate amount of fuss for fear of retribution, but there seems to be a high tolerance for access activism for the simple reason that so often those who fail to provide access or those who abuse access provisions made for those who need them largely do so out of sheer ignorance.
They simply have never, ever been forced to see things from the point of view of the person with the disability.
Sometimes kicking up a bit of shit is like doing them a favour….
On Monday evening Fireblade wrote
“Today I helped a family member who had to take a Medical Certificate to the Hamilton central WINZ office.
In the past we’ve waited in the queue inside the building. Today we had to wait in a queue of 12 people standing outside on the footpath. One of the three security guards said he had been told to only let one person through the door when someone else left. The footpath cue included a very frail elderly lady and a person with one leg using crutches. It took around 40 minutes waiting on the footpath just to get into the building.
The five parking spaces directly outside were blocked with orange cones. I asked why and was told that only WINZ staff could park there.
The fact that any government department can treat people like this is truly shocking and humiliating.”
Many of us agreed, and for me it seemed ironic that on Friday our PM is exhorting WINZ to be kind to people seeking help, and on the following Monday we hear of shit like this happening.
Not. Good. Enough.
And not going to go unchallenged, not within the reach of my arm.
An email was sent to Sepuloni’s office which was sent on to Brendan Boyle, CEO of MSD. A follow up email from me,
“Thank you .
I am anticipating that this will be rectified today.
Tomorrow I will be onsite taking photographs and speaking with clients
waiting outside…if this is still happening.
I will also be ensuring that the parking spaces in front of the
building are available for client use, especially for those with
mobility issues.
Sincerely,
Rosemary McDonald”
So about 10 am this morning after a successful (yay!! 🙂 ) COF check on my Bus we were parked just up the road from WINZ, Central Hamilton.
There is nothing quite so off putting as a random person taking photographs.
Not of people, as the only person in sight was the security guard, but of five bright orange cones blocking the five ‘visitor only’ parking spaces…including the mobility park.
The security guard politely asked what I was doing and I said ‘photographing the coned carparks.’
This security guard was very quickly joined by another who proceeded to demand who I was and where was I from.
“I am a NZ Citizen doing a follow up to a report from Monday of blocked parking spaces and long waits for WINZ clients outside in the cold.”
“These carparks are for visitors.” said 2nd security guard. “Is that for visiting clients….” “No! Visitors to the office!”.
Fortunately, he could see how circular the discussion could have got so he disappeared inside to get the Manager.
TBH, I was not expecting to speak to management. I had to quickly gather my wits and prepare to do battle.
The battle, such as it was, appeared to have mostly been fought as the manager was polite, attentive, communicative and most importantly apologetic.
She was well aware of the complaints…and the following discussion indicated that there was at least one other complainant. Someone acting as a support person to a client had not been allowed inside with the client when they were finally allowed inside.
The manager was emphatically in agreement that this was a major departure from expected treatment of clients. The security guard was perhaps a little over zealous.
Thanks to Fireblade’s detailed description I was able to mention the amputee and the elderly lady (“Both of whom could have benefited greatly from the blocked mobility park.”) and the security guards only allowing some inside after someone had left. Cones were being moved as I left.
It transpires that about four weeks ago WINZ Hamilton Central had to leave their usual premises on Victoria St because of a leak in the roof. This building on Anglesea St was clearly not fit for purpose. Largely because of floor space.
I was taken inside to see for myself and I could see the problem. Better premises are being sought but in the meantime they are going to try to make the available space work better for clients.
Allowing too many people inside would cause privacy issues for the client speaking with the reception staff. Point taken, but the available space could be better utilised. A couple of the computer terminals for client use could go, and the reception desk moved back to allow more room inside for waiting clients.
A crew is coming to the office after 5pm tonight to do this.
I said I didn’t understand why, if clients attend the office by appointment only, would there have been so many people waiting? She agreed, and said that Monday was a particularly busy day. ” A lot if foot traffic.” was how she described it, so maybe some did not have appointments or had made appointments at short notice.
I asked about availability of toilets for clients and was told there is one available. I suggested that it would perhaps be more dignified if the toilets were sign posted and clients did not have to ask to use them. I also suggested (while I had a receptive ear ;-)) that there was a water cooler available and perhaps an area for children to play.
Without climbing high on my soap box with my megaphone,I hope I conveyed to the manager just how terribly disappointed I was hearing about this unacceptable treatment of WINZ clients within days of the PM heralding a culture change.
I mentioned Ashburton, and how I understood the Workplace Health and Safety issues, risk assessment and the like….but I also (drawing on the comments of others here the other day…take this as recognition :-)) pointed out that ‘security guards not much use against an armed person’, and it’d ‘be easier to wait outside at 5 pm if one wanted to harm WINZ staff’, and seriously…considering the ‘toxic culture that has built up around WINZ over the past decade its a miracle there has been only the one tragic incident’. There was more, but hopefully you’ll get the drift.
I think I have a fairly good BS detector, especially konohi ki kanohi, and I believe this manager was genuinely sorry that this happened. I got the decided impression that there is going to be change…please, gods…and if the attitude of this particular manager is indicative of anything then serious thought is going to be put into improving not only the physical environment but also the culture.
or, I was beguiled, hood winked, a victim of a charm offensive….
But I’m hoping not. 🙂
Rosemary, Thank You xx
Well done Rosemary excellent insight there thanks.
The world needs more people like you. Thank you.
Did TS go down for anyone else from about 11.30 to 12 this morning?
I lost a comment with information gathered and links. Damn.
“Did TS go down for anyone else from about 11.30 to 12 this morning?” Yes.
Happens often for me…feel your pain at losing your work. Funny thing happened the other day as i was compiling an OIA request on this laptop. As I hit ‘send’ poof! gone! I found myself with an error message and when relogged into gmail all was lost as I had not saved the draft. Repeatedly kicked myself as this is not the first time this has happened. Half an hour later I happened to be checking something on my cheapy android phone when I noticed an extra item in the gmail…there it was…my draft OIA request! I will never, ever get the tech…
Yes briefly. Couldn’t bring up the site, but did lunch and it was up again later.
Hate it when that happens. You need this
Lazarus: Form Recovery – Add-ons for Firefox
With all the amazing things this government was promising to accomplish by now I would have thought there would be more posts celebrating the wins of this government?
Why no post about light rail from south west to north west?
Couple of years to get consents and a few more to build.
That’s why.
Ad…the light rail project will surely be fast-tracked?
Ridiculous questions Tuppence.
I know right. Ridiculous because there haven’t been any achievements. You and I both thought opposition was a tough gig right haha!
You are a total Troll
Why flatter him with your attention?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12048134
He said “too much tweeting maketh a twat”.
Hes learnt from KFC that if you mess up, own it in a self deprecating way and you can move on
Dunno about that, but we just learned that the guy who wants the nats to avoid dirty politics follows the slug on twitter.
I’d be surprised if most politicians didn’t as like him or loathe him (I stooped supporting him a whiles back) he does get some dirt every now and then but yeah admitting to it isn’t good
The dude is supposedly leader of the opposition. Monitoring the deranged fringes of social media is what his staff are there for.
Fancy Bridges exposing his true self by choosing “Like” for an anti Gayford rumour online at Whaleoil. Claims it was mistake but really???
His denial is plausible but it’d also be a good idea if he didn’t anything similar for a while
Yes Puck. Plausible but for such a clever chap who points a preciser finger at others, somewhat less plausible.
Well we’ve all fallen victim to fat thumb syndrome I’m guessing, I mean i don’t tweet or follow anyone on twitter
The Red-Brown “zombie plague”: how fascist ideas are becoming popular on the Left – PART ONE
By DAPHNE LAWLESS, May 9, 2018
The right wing contributions here are largely monosyllabic and occasionally a little more precocious e.g. ‘and so”, “so what”, “your point” etc.
It is that they all lack critical thinking and general IQ; or has Bridges made AI in the image of himself.
Seems to be one could waste a lot of time answering monosyllabic irritants who have no interest in conversation, only opposition. So they just carry on…
“meaning”
“and then?”
“says who”
I’m just going to ignore RW contributors unless they’re actually contributing to the debate, not obfuscating progress.
What?
DB Brown, Yes I will as well….. They just want attention.
DB brown
The RW contributors are just ‘diverting us from real conversation here’ as PR did when we were having a deep human conversation with Rosemary, and she was showing great humanity.
But PR just butted in, with some mindless jaba-jaba nonsense, that was a waste of consideration.
So it was just gribble to stop a deep from the heart conversation going on.