And sadly, based on the evidence of the past annoying, frustrating and restrictive 14 months, it seems more likely than not a final showdown between the Olympic Games organisers and coronavirus, will end with the Gold Medal going to Covid 19.
A poll taken with 100 days to go, showed 70 per cent of Japanese don't want the Games to go ahead.
If they don’t, athletes will be gutted after giving their all, so will exhausted officials. And this Olympholic will be disappointed.
But when the three values of Olympism are excellence, friendship and respect, leaving the Japanese people in peace would exemplify those qualities better than holding the Games amid medical mayhem.
Given the headine of that opinion article, for a moment I thought it might include a suggestion that NZ should offer to host the Olympics…
Given that likely most athletes and athlete support staff are probably under 60 or 70 and generally very healthy people, with some having already been exposed to the virus in the last year and developed antibodies, the likelihood of hospitalization or death for the participants is incredibly low I think.
Even those who are young, fit, and healthy really don't want to get covid. The risks of long term damage are very high. I've got a nephew that's got long covid who is young and was fit and healthy before getting covid, and now struggles with a lot of things.
lack Caps batsman Tim Seifert has been forced to remain in India after testing positive to Covid-19 just hours before he was due to leave the virus-ravaged country.
Seifert, who represented the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, failed both his pre-departure PCR tests and as a result has been taken into quarantine. New Zealand Cricket (NZC) issued a statement saying the keeper-batsman is experiencing moderate symptoms.
NZC Players Association boss Heath Mills told Newstalk ZB that Seifert is currently in a very anxious state under what are understandably stressful circumstances.
NZC chief executive David White said Seifert had returned seven negative tests in the 10 days leading up to his pre-departure protocols, and was confident he would be receiving the best of care from his franchise.
Sydney – International Olympic Committee Vice President John Coates was adamant Saturday that nothing could stop the Tokyo Olympics from going ahead, despite ongoing risks from COVID-19.
Asked if there was any scenario in which the games, which are due to start on July 23, could be cancelled or postponed again at this late stage, he replied: “No, there’s not.”
Most Japanese citizens think it's not the best time to hold this 'unnecessary' global sports competition. Maybe they're just being selfish, but I tend to agree with them.
Beyond the ferocious difficulties of organisation, the decision to hold the games at this time makes a staggering demand on the patience, bravery and public-spiritedness of Tokyo and Japan. Without any clear commitment to fun — and the fact that this is all happening precisely because humanity thrives on the unnecessary — that demand may prove excessive.
I hazard a guess that many Japanese are not keen on a large influx of people from all over the World, literally, including Covid hot beds. Keep in mind that Japan has one of the highest-aged populations in the world, if not the highest. I couldn’t see NZ opening up its borders and rolling out the welcoming carpet but we’d expect Japan to do so!?
Oh well, the dear Minister is 'dissapointed'. I guess that counts for 'strong' language and soon ACC will see that it is at fault and will help the dear Minister to be all happy again. Right? lol Tui.
ACC paid its executives $1 million in bonuses during peak Covid-19 austerity even though it followed "pay restraint" advice for its general staff.
And the corporation hasn't ruled out continuing to pay bonuses – which top $100,000 for some – even though the government has ordered a wage freeze on executive earners across the public service.
ACC's attitude has copped it a blow from its minister Carmel Sepuloni, who has sent a clear message to the board overseeing the accident compensation provider that it needs to look again at the bonus scheme.
good grief, when calling someone to have a' look again at hte bonus scheme' is considered a blow.
I honestly can 't wait for Mrs. Sepuloni to finally leave government and get a job in the private unregulated market .Like her predecessor Mrs. Paula Benefit she surely would qualify to sell property to the highest bidder. Seriously, just leave and give the job to someone who is actually able to be more then just a quota women who does as she is told, in this case as in all the other cases nothing.
The reason they have a Board of their own is that so the Minister can only 'signal' not direct the board, who likely has a CEO with operational control over things like bonuses.
Well she is politely signalling then, at best. . But then any reason to have ones mug in the news is a good one , and one needs to appear as to actually earn their wage. 🙂
Sabine, are you familiar with the song "Flowers of Scotland" where, after the battle of Bannockburn, the Scots sent the English king homeward "tae think again."
There are degrees of asking someone to reconsider their actions and decisions………
well as far as i know the English king/queen never really left scotland. So i guess they should ask some more, and maybe the do again in the near future.
You’re right, of course. Takes more than a fine tune and a good line to persuade the English monarchy to budge.
That's the thing about the uninvited guest. They tend to return, unbidden.
As for what Minister Sepuloni can do, reminds me of David Lange bemoaning his lack of power, being, in his words, not even able to sack a couple of painters outside his window who were smoking dope.
He, at least admitted that he is powerless. What i really dislike is this 'fly swatting' that amounts to nothing more then checking a box on a sheet of paper, to be returned for review. In the end it is meaningless, and they know it. So they may as well say nothing, stay invisible, collect their cheques. But this meaningless grandstanding is grating.
“In Budget 21, we have invested up to $55.6 million in a major upgrade of the technology, and another $10 million is earmarked to match population growth and catch up on breast screens missed due to Covid-19 lockdowns.”
Another link on same story with a little more detail. Congratulations to this Government for another good evidence-based decision and funding allocation.
Easton thinks that the present possibility is of regions being drained of younger people, full of retired older people, and with insufficient income to provide the services that are needed by these, mostly, non-earners. (I am not placing any negative on that description, just a fact, and remembering that the retired are living longer, becoming more dependent, and costing more as they age under our present medical and cultural processes.)
Easton refers to the limitations of the recently employed provincial growth boost. I think that we need now to look further at what can be done to enable regions to have a vitality with employment in a range of occupations. Development theory has dealt with this and I put two links below which seem to discuss this.
I think that one problem with reversing even changing that drift to Auckland may be that if businesses in the regions develop and can operate from elsewhere, a bigger company may buy them out and shift the business to Auckland.
It seems that there must be a firm reaction to that, with regions taking shares in businesses that support employment and prosperity in their area. They must be prepared to buy remaining shares if necessary to stop ownership and control passing from the region. That will slow or stop the drain of employment-rich businesses or specialist firms or entities from being taken over, bought out and being surgically removed from the home base and even from NZ. And of course this will increase the money flow in the regional economy, with benefits from the multiplier effect.
Regions could be encouraged to embrace an appellation approach and be jealous of their good name for producing something, produce or knowledge, and look to attract more of the same if it is sustainable and healthy as a category, ie I am not keen on going nuts about smart technology such as rockets and other possible warlike or out-of-brain space ventures.
Core-periphery imbalances and regional disparities figure prominently on the agenda of several disciplines, which result from their enormous impact on economic and social development around the world. In sociology, international relations, and economics, this concept is crucial in explanations of economic exchange. There are few countries that play a dominant role in world trade (sometimes described as the “Global North”), while most countries have a secondary or even a tertiary position in world trade (the “Global South”). Moreover, when we are discussing global, continental, regional, and national economies, we can present regions and even smaller territorial units (such as subregions, provinces, districts, or counties) which have higher wages than some underdeveloped areas within the same larger area in focus.
by T Ejdemo · 2021 — These theories made analytical modeling of the growth path possible, … While this development has been important for furthering our … the different amenities that make certain regions attractive places to live in. … (2007) outline four sources of such benefits, or agglomeration … Privacy Preference Center … There has been a long debate about the role of industry structure in the literature on why some regions successfully achieve economic growth, while other regions stagnate or decline. This paper provides an empirical analysis in which we, based on a cluster analysis, develop a taxonomy for regional growth. In a second part of the study, we explore how specialization and entrepreneurship are meaningful to discriminate between the different types of regions.
Our results suggest that regional entrepreneurship and industry diversity characterized by relatedness are key elements in understanding why some regions are leading while others lag behind. The suggested taxonomy is argued to contribute with a nuanced perspective that can enhance discussions about improvements of regional development policies and to further empirical analysis on the topic.
I’ve put the text that you copied & pasted in blockquote because it was normal font and indistinguishable from your own words, especially in long comments. Please pay more attention to proper formatting next time, thanks.
One has been the lack of specific skilled immigration this past year. Previously the regions were relying on this to fill the gaps created by the usual drift of young people into the cities.
Another is paradoxically that the CBD's have become less attractive during COVID and more people are working from remote locations than ever before. This means regional towns have more people around who aren't commuting, creating more local business for cafes, pubs and so on. A real shortage of chefs and hospo workers has resulted.
Plus I think a lot of Australians have woken up to something I've mentioned before – that many of their regional towns (not all I admit) are really attractive places to live and work. Low costs and good wages make for strong business and household prosperity. Hell if you're a trusted and respected local tradie, or have a well established business in many of these towns it's likely you're doing very nicely thank you. I know it changed our life living in Ballarat for just five years.
Yes, us humans always show a herd mentality following the first sheep to the greener grass on the other side of the hill. It must be some kind of inborn instinct.
That's the whole point BG – the Brian Easton was Aucklandcentic. The word though is that in the South Island Christchurch will boom, and Queenstown will be okay while there is snow? Or does it do well most of the time. It is dependent on international tourists by air though isn't it?
The facist Israeli forces are at it again with continued abuse against Palastinians with only a little bit of lip service from the west, no sanctions of note. No they save that for Russia and China and, and, and etc.
Like the Myanma regime, the Israelis do as they want with no meaningful opposition from the 5 eyes group or any other Western powers.
Yes, all this does is show for all the world to see, the nonexistent moral compass that the US political class operate with…and NZ Labour/National as well….
125 Democrats Say Military Aid to Israel Shouldn’t Depend on Human Rights Record
Government bills undergo months (sometimes years) of development and are lovingly crafted by professional legal drafters.
Loads of work goes on behind the curtain and sometimes the step-wise improvements feel like a dance of the seven veils, which doesn’t go down well with the restless mob of moaners.
Most MPs know drafting perfect law is a tough ask – and the first draft seldom catches all the complexities of real life. Almost no law can, but they try their best.
Pull the other one, mate! How hard can it be?
When a bill passes a first reading debate in Parliament the MPs are saying ‘we think the concept for this bill is worth exploring further’.
That’s all well and good – but it’s often afterwards that MPs really earn their pay trying to make a concept, however well-intentioned, work practically and effectively in the real world.
And the best people to help with that are often us – those from ‘the real world’.
Because the real world is a complex place and nothing beats experience.
This is why people should engage more in the political and democratic processes; voting once or not even and then moaning about it 24/7 for three full years doesn’t cut it.
A very wise explanation. The older you get the less perfect you expect anything human to be – you begin to be grateful for anything that's just 'good enough', much less 'better than what came before'.
The same with our Parliamentarians. None of them are perfect either, and it's not a job I'd have the balls to tackle. Democracy is about holding their decisions and actions to account – it’s not about tearing them down and denigrating them as persons.
That comment is one of the good insightful things that show up randomly on this blog Incognito. My repeat comment is that the 20th century ended with things in a mess so we have to do better in the 21st, ie now. And I don't think very many people take a real interest in understanding the issues and thinking of the whole population to be affected by policy.
My social policy classes at Massey included a statement that often the delivery of policy does not match the politician's intention. How one can get anything done intelligently and fairly in these days is a big question.
Is anyone here tracking The Long March 5B rocket as it hurtles home?
Suggestions for an accessible and easy to interpret website would be gratefully appreciated. One report had it landing up the road at Cape Maria van Diemen…would be all kinds of awesome to see this thing.
he OPCAT reports are not public. Stuff tried to obtain them from the Children’s Commissioner in January 2019 under the Official Information Act, a request that was declined.
New Assistant Māori Commissioner for Children Glenis Philip-Barbara, who has been in the job six months, says she was “horrified” by the report’s contents.
“I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be handcuffed while heavily pregnant or in labour and being robbed of those moments after having a baby, the most powerful moments of a woman’s life,” she said. “This is totally unacceptable, and we’ve told Corrections this.
“Disturbingly, we found women who were afraid to speak out about this degrading treatment for fear of being punished or losing their babies.”
Philip-Barbara says she advocates community-based mum and baby centres outside of prison walls and culture, as outlined in Corrections’ Hōkai Rangi strategy.
Current practice was a long way off, she said. “I can’t find an alignment between handcuffing women after labour and birth and a visionary strategy for wellbeing.
This is what I read of happening in the USA. I never thought we would adopt it here, but by hiring private firms to run our public institutions the practices that are used elsewhere are likely to be used. Meanwhile the government can say that is an operational matter, and lose all integrity on the way. How can we respect a government that runs our country in this careless way? Shameful on all of us, but good NZ people have been trying for ages to change things for the better.
Unfortunately the whole of society is in the process of being downgraded by the Masters of the Universe. It says in an old Oxfam brochure that the 80 richest people have as much as the poorest 3.5 billion. By 2016 the richest 1% will own more than all the rest and tax dodging costs poor countries $160 billion every year.
These people are essentially wards of the state, irrespecitve of who the jailor is (private prison or state run), and the state has a duty to make sure these people – men and women – will get a decent and human treatment during their time locked up for what ever reason. After all the best out come for society is to not make these people any worse but rather help them to rehabilitate so that they become decent members of society.
Shackling a women to a bed while giving birth is not decent and humane treatment. It is torture. Schackling women so they can't change their blood soaked pads, is torture and physically dangerous it can lead to sepsis, etc etc etc.
But then the buck does not stop with government, right? Someone ese must be responsible, can't be government, and it certainly can't be a labour government. But it is.
Our society is not being downgraded by the 'masters of the universe' its being downgraded by our governments that allow this shit to happen, and who wash their hands like Pontius Pilates by blaming the contractor who does the deed for them.
To blame 'masters of the universe' as if we could not name these 'masters's is a cheap cop.
Btw, this has been going on for a while now in NZ, under National and Labour. So fuck em both for that bit of 'acceptable ' torture. Cause that is what it is, torture.
Sabine, I read this too, and was horrified. The practice is illegal and immoral. Unlike Minister Sepuloni, apparently, I hope Minister Kelvin Davis is able to bring some justice to these issues because it requires more than urging "to think again'.
I was engaged In a conversation today with a racist right-winger who accused Davis of being a do nothing, I hope that both you and she are wrong in your perceptions- else we are indeed in trouble.
I'm not accusing you of anything like I heard today, but I had three otherwise objectively decent people spouting the most vile and shameless racist bilge I've ever heard. I just hope they were trying to wind me up……. that's the kindest twist I can put on their talk.
I know you have no such thinking, but I hope you are wrong about possible outcomes in this 'shackling of a woman in childbirth'. I want you to be wrong as I want these three racists to be wrong in their acceptance of even worse racial violence.
For this behaviour to be acceptable, condonable and even thinkable is beyond decent human comprehension.
Sabine I don't understand you. I was talking about what group of officials, employed and enabled by whom. actually did this. I was not debating the actual amorality of behaviour. Do you actually read things thoroughly before venting here.
Yes, indeed. It takes some very callous people to do this and given that the ministers in change don't even make any statement reveals more that one likes to know.
This is such a disturbing report that I am really aghast. The very inclination of taking such action against a women who gives birth reminds me on those nazis who believed that there is such a thing as a "undermensch".
Women, have been 'untermenschen' for the longest time. Misogyny, racism, and classism allows for this type of torture.
No kindness and gentlenessness for incarcerated pregnant, birthing, nursing women. And the little new born urchins can learn from their first breath, that if they don't toe the line they will be in here next.
Labour – like National – , does not give a flying piece of fudge about the poor. hungry, homeless, or those in prison.
Here is a recent article from a very well respected science author Nicholas Wade on potential the origins of SARS-CoV2.
Neither the natural emergence nor the lab escape hypothesis can yet be ruled out. There is still no direct evidence for either. So no definitive conclusion can be reached.
That said, the available evidence leans more strongly in one direction than the other. Readers will form their own opinion. But it seems to me that proponents of lab escape can explain all the available facts about SARS2 considerably more easily than can those who favor natural emergence.
It’s documented that researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology were doing gain-of-function experiments designed to make coronaviruses infect human cells and humanized mice. This is exactly the kind of experiment from which a SARS2-like virus could have emerged. The researchers were not vaccinated against the viruses under study, and they were working in the minimal safety conditions of a BSL2 laboratory. So escape of a virus would not be at all surprising. In all of China, the pandemic broke out on the doorstep of the Wuhan institute. The virus was already well adapted to humans, as expected for a virus grown in humanized mice. It possessed an unusual enhancement, a furin cleavage site, which is not possessed by any other known SARS-related beta-coronavirus, and this site included a double arginine codon also unknown among beta-coronaviruses. What more evidence could you want, aside from the presently unobtainable lab records documenting SARS2’s creation?
And before anyone responds to this, I strongly suggest you to read the entire article and address the argument. There is a lot more detail, and good links than just the above quote. I've spent sometime reading this and it's references. Wade is a very experienced writer and would not be putting his name to this lightly.
The somewhat shocking bit of new information in this article I was not aware of previously is that these potentially dangerous experiments were being done at a very modest BSL-2 level of protection. Until now I had assumed they were using BSL-4, which did count firmly against the lab-leak hypothesis; but it turns out this was never the case.
…proponents of lab escape can explain all the available facts about SARS2 considerably more easily than can those who favor natural emergence.
Some of the very earliest analyses of the virus genome when the Chinese Government released the information to the world early last year was that it was clearly made in a laboratory. This narrative was very quickly replaced by the fantastical 'wet market' theory, and up until very recently any brave soul who has dared to venture back to that original evaluation has been immediately slapped down and accused of being a tin-foil-hat-wearing-nutbar-conspiracy theorist.
Wade is more; formally, than currently; a very well respected writer about science. He has no research background, and only a BA to back his notions up. Since 2014 he has mainly been notorious for misrepresenting others research to their great irritation.
Wade juxtaposes an incomplete and inaccurate account of our research on human genetic differences with speculation that recent natural selection has led to worldwide differences in I.Q. test results, political institutions and economic development. We reject Wade’s implication that our findings substantiate his guesswork. They do not.
We are in full agreement that there is no support from the field of population genetics for Wade’s conjectures…
This letter was submitted on behalf of more than 100 faculty members in population genetics and evolutionary biology (listed below).
So you'll have to forgive me not exposing myself to his nonsense. Because; so what?
Even if we concede the point; for the sake of argument, that SARS-CoV-2 was definitely genetically engineered and released by the Chinese government for some nefarious purpose (which seems unlikely – especially since their vaccines are so bad). Where does that get us in dealing with the pandemic?
But; yes, I am in full agreement that there is risky research being done with bioweapons RL. By many nations, including China (though if I was expecting them to release biological agents anywhere, it'd be; Xinjiang, rather than Wuhan). Do you think they'll stop if we ask nicely?
Or is this just more pre-preparation for a war between China and the "Anglosphere" (that word is my new pet hate).
You attack the messenger by minimising his credentials and ignoring his decades of experience.
You attack his credibility by raising a totally different issue
You fail completely to address any of the questions raised
You fail completely to propose any alternative argument to support your position
You openly admit you didn't read either the article or any of it's references.
And finally you attempt a distraction by raising the question of an intentional release of the virus of which neither Wade nor I made any mention of whatsoever.
Six serious strikes. I contemplated banning you, but consider this a final warning.
Neither the natural emergence nor the lab escape hypothesis can yet be ruled out. There is still no direct evidence for either. So no definitive conclusion can be reached.
And we may never know, leaving each 'side' to champion mutually exclusive hypotheses. But if both hypotheses are plausible, then it's common sense to consider how best to prevent a reoccurence via either hypothetical mechanism of origin.
And it's common sense for qualified scientists to continue to try to pin down the (most likely) origin of this pandemic, although some may be a bit distracted right now.
Since the publication of Wassenaar and Zou (2020) and Greger (2020), the Chinese government has banned the eating and trading of wildlife due to the coronavirus crisis. Differently from previous efforts to regulate the management of wildlife in China, the current ban is expected to have permanent effects as it becomes law in the next few months. Nevertheless, the proposed legislation has loopholes for trade in wild animals for medicinal uses (Wildlife Conservation Society, 2020). Moreover, there are many ways besides traditional Chinese medicine that humans would come in contact with bats hosting coronaviruses or other potential human pathogens.
Bat‐hosted viruses of many taxa infect wild animals, domestic animals and humans (Plowright et al., 2015). A few examples include filoviruses (Ebola and Marburg virus), henipaviruses (Hendra and Nipah virus) and coronaviruses (SARS‐CoV), all of which cause severe disease in recipient hosts and have the potential to become pandemic (Chua et al., 2000; Leroy et al., 2005; Janies et al., 2008).
Therefore, if the divergence between CoV RaTG13 and SARS‐CoV‐2 is perceived as too high to place the former as the immediate ancestor of the latter, this does not mean that the immediate ancestor of SARS‐CoV‐2 has to be a virus hosted by an animal other than a bat.
It is reasonable to assume that we have not yet identified the CoVs that are more similar to SARS‐CoV‐2 owing to sampling bias. This realizeation leads to increased demand for screening wildlife for viruses immediately associated with transmission events leading to human infections. This realization also strengthens increasing claims for more rigorous wildlife disease surveillance as a strategy to abate future zoonotic disease outbreaks (Watsa and Wildlife Disease Surveillance Focus Group, 2020). However, given that bat‐hosted viruses are frequently associated with emerging zoonoses (Plowright et al., 2015) and that SARS‐CoV‐2 is phylogenetically closer to bat‐hosted CoVs than to CoVs hosted by any other animal, we can place bats as priority targets in efforts to increase our knowledge about the world's virome in general and the emergence of SARS‐CoV‐2 in particular.
The natural emergence hypothesis should be pretty easy to confirm; after all we found the intermediate hosts for both the original SARS and MERS virus's. Considering the immense interest in doing so, the complete failure to find or confirm such a host for SARS-CoV2 after more than a year has passed is very striking indeed.
More striking is Wade's claim that SARS-Cov2 is rather feeble at infecting bats, despite it's already documented ability to leap to other species like minks with relative ease. This just adds more layers of mystery and stacks against natural emergence from bats ever further.
My conclusion, informed not just by Wade, but by numerous sources personal and scientific, is that SARS-CoV2 is exactly the kind of virus that we would expect to emerge from the Gain of Function experiments we know were being conducted at WIV. And what are we to make of data like this:
Steven Quay, a physician-researcher, has applied statistical and bioinformatic tools to ingenious explorations of the virus’s origin, showing for instance how the hospitals receiving the early patients are clustered along the Wuhan №2 subway line which connects the Institute of Virology at one end with the international airport at the other, the perfect conveyor belt for distributing the virus from lab to globe.
The moment this outbreak first became public in January 2020, an independent investigation team should have been immediately flown to Wuhan for a forensic, pockets out, in depth turning over of the books. Instead the CCP authorities have obstructed any useful investigation. Even the WHO trip early this year is widely understood to have fallen short of definitive or credible even.
Moreover a large segment of professional virologists worldwide are clearly implicated in a massive conflict of interest here; this event has the obvious potential to be a catastrophe for their profession. (Incidentally Vernor Vinge in his original Peace War trilogy written in the 80's clearly anticipated an event like this, as a result biologists were a deeply hated and outlawed group, with just a handful left driven into hiding.)
Moreover the while the US authorities were highly concerned about GoF research risks, and went to the extent of 'pausing' all such research. But the legislation had a loophole which allowed two individuals to bypass it:
This seems to mean that either the director of the NIAID, Dr. Anthony Fauci, or the director of the NIH, Dr. Francis Collins, or maybe both, would have invoked the footnote in order to keep the money flowing to Dr. Shi’s gain-of-function research.
It seems to me there's an international cast of individuals here who must know far more about what actually happened than we're being told. From the esteemed Fauci himself, through Daszak's blatant conflict of interest that he formally perjured himself about in Lancet, to Baric's professional links to Shi, through to the utterly opaque, obtuse responses from the CCP authorities, it's clear we're not getting straight answers.
And sometimes it’s the little slips that stick in my mind – right back in early January 2020 Xi XInping himself used the odd phrase “this demon virus”. And at the time I said to myself – what does he know?
Many people clearly believe that, and a subset of those people are attracted to ideas about various possible COVID-19 cover-ups and conspiracies involving the evil CCP, the conflicted Daszak, Baric and their ilk, the esteemed Drs Fauci and/or Collins, "a large segment of professional virologists worldwide", all of the above, and/or something/someone else altogether.
The natural emergence hypothesis should be pretty easy to confirm; after all we found the intermediate hosts for both the original SARS and MERS virus's.
How long did it take expert scientists to identify those intermediate hosts? In the case of SARS the 2021 paper that I linked to makes it clear that there was no intermediate host involved in the primary infection of humans – SARS was transmitted directly from bats to humans.
Less than 18 months into this pandemic we are faced with numerous conspiracy theories and misinformation. Rather than accepting or rejecting either of the two theories mentioned in Wade's analysis, I believe it's prudent to wait for further investigations led by expert scientists – perhaps (in the fullness of time) something along the lines of the Rogers Commission set up to inverstigate the cause of the space shuttle Challenger disaster.
The alternative is to declare the case closed, one way or the other. It's crystal clear that Wade isn't prepared to do that. I applaud his integrity in that regard, and fully support his statement:
Neither the natural emergence nor the lab escape hypothesis can yet be ruled out. There is still no direct evidence for either. So no definitive conclusion can be reached.
I hope we can all agree on that. My personal preference is to wait until more (direct) evidence is available before 'passing judgement'. Maybe it serves some purpose not to wait, but that might have me veering into conspiracy theory territory, so I'll leave it there.
An odious step – essentially fascism – a secret collaboration between corporates and an unaccountable part of the state. That's not what we have an SIS for. Resignations in order.
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TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st CenturyThe SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims StuffSteve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
The government’s attack on Māori health this week is committing tangata-whenua to a premature death, says Te Pāti Māori. “The government have begun their onslaught on Māori health with the abolishment of the Māori Health Authority and smokefree laws in the same day” said health spokesperson and co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
Auckland Council is opposing a fast-track development backed by Sir John Kirwan and Spark NZ, because it doesn’t meet stringent new climate adaptation requirements The post Surf-data centre faces new 3.8C climate warming rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
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Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
The letters, which were published last week, were addressed to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, National Democrat Party (NasDem) Chairperson Surya Paloh, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) President Ahmad Syaikhu and United Development Party (PPP) Chairperson Muhammad Mardiono. In ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII has hosted members of the Green Party Caucus at Tuurangawaewae Marae in Ngaaruawahia. The audience follows the King’s Hui-aa-Motu on 20 January, where more than 10,000 people gathered to discuss national ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dr Rachael Potter, Research Associate and Lecturer in Work and Organisational Psychology, University of South Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Pregnant women and workers with children are often unfairly treated by their bosses and colleagues, despite laws to protect against workplace discrimination ...
Reacting to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s refusal to rule out introducing new taxes at the budget, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said: “Today’s refusal to rule out new taxes suggests the Government is nothing more ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne Aila Images/Shutterstock Aged-care workers will receive a significant pay increase after the Fair Work Commission ruled they ...
He’s bringing ‘Sophie’ back, yeah. Goodshirt’s ‘Sophie’ music video is one of the most instantly recognisable New Zealand music videos of all time. Featuring a woman listening to the song on headphones while her entire house is burgled behind her, the video won the New Zealand music award for Best ...
Following on from joe90's comment yesterday about the estimated under-reporting of COVID-19 deaths by country, including an estimated 10-fold under-reporting in Japan.
Given the headine of that opinion article, for a moment I thought it might include a suggestion that NZ should offer to host the Olympics…
Even though it will be a first not to have the Olympic Games due to a pandemic, the host country gets to decide as Covid is bigger than the IOC.
Given that likely most athletes and athlete support staff are probably under 60 or 70 and generally very healthy people, with some having already been exposed to the virus in the last year and developed antibodies, the likelihood of hospitalization or death for the participants is incredibly low I think.
Athletes can have fragile immune systems due to overworking their bodies.
Even those who are young, fit, and healthy really don't want to get covid. The risks of long term damage are very high. I've got a nephew that's got long covid who is young and was fit and healthy before getting covid, and now struggles with a lot of things.
https://www.sciencealert.com/young-adults-who-got-covid-19-show-lasting-cardiovascular-damage-in-study
Young athletes might only get one chance to go to the Olympics and it's the highlight of their careers. I think that is the overriding factor.
maybe ask him what he thinks about having covid as a young and healthy athlet.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/cricket-black-caps-batsman-tim-seifert-to-remain-in-india-after-testing-positive-for-covid-19/IIELVSZ72FPCDNJQUHPKXWDPGM/
Presumably the money on offer trumped any corona concerns prior to leaving for India.
Looks like we (and by ‘we‘ I mean ‘they‘) will find out.
Most Japanese citizens think it's not the best time to hold this 'unnecessary' global sports competition. Maybe they're just being selfish, but I tend to agree with them.
I hazard a guess that many Japanese are not keen on a large influx of people from all over the World, literally, including Covid hot beds. Keep in mind that Japan has one of the highest-aged populations in the world, if not the highest. I couldn’t see NZ opening up its borders and rolling out the welcoming carpet but we’d expect Japan to do so!?
Oh well, the dear Minister is 'dissapointed'. I guess that counts for 'strong' language and soon ACC will see that it is at fault and will help the dear Minister to be all happy again. Right? lol Tui.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/minister-whacks-acc-over-decision-to-pay-executives-bonuses-amidst-covid-19-austerity-moves/RXXJ75Z7TZAB2HUXORTHW7X77M/
good grief, when calling someone to have a' look again at hte bonus scheme' is considered a blow.
I honestly can 't wait for Mrs. Sepuloni to finally leave government and get a job in the private unregulated market .Like her predecessor Mrs. Paula Benefit she surely would qualify to sell property to the highest bidder. Seriously, just leave and give the job to someone who is actually able to be more then just a quota women who does as she is told, in this case as in all the other cases nothing.
Go home Mrs. Sepuloni. Just leave.
The reason they have a Board of their own is that so the Minister can only 'signal' not direct the board, who likely has a CEO with operational control over things like bonuses.
Well she is politely signalling then, at best. . But then any reason to have ones mug in the news is a good one , and one needs to appear as to actually earn their wage. 🙂
Now THAT'S the way to get round a pesky pay freeze.
+1
Sabine, are you familiar with the song "Flowers of Scotland" where, after the battle of Bannockburn, the Scots sent the English king homeward "tae think again."
There are degrees of asking someone to reconsider their actions and decisions………
well as far as i know the English king/queen never really left scotland. So i guess they should ask some more, and maybe the do again in the near future.
You’re right, of course. Takes more than a fine tune and a good line to persuade the English monarchy to budge.
That's the thing about the uninvited guest. They tend to return, unbidden.
As for what Minister Sepuloni can do, reminds me of David Lange bemoaning his lack of power, being, in his words, not even able to sack a couple of painters outside his window who were smoking dope.
He, at least admitted that he is powerless. What i really dislike is this 'fly swatting' that amounts to nothing more then checking a box on a sheet of paper, to be returned for review. In the end it is meaningless, and they know it. So they may as well say nothing, stay invisible, collect their cheques. But this meaningless grandstanding is grating.
Excellent!
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/125074548/cervical-and-breast-cancer-screening-programmes-to-get-major-upgrade-with-budget-2021
Another link on same story with a little more detail. Congratulations to this Government for another good evidence-based decision and funding allocation.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/442169/long-awaited-cervical-screening-test-to-be-funded-by-govt
https://www.pundit.co.nz/content/why-are-we-moving-to-auckland
Brian Easton on Stats NZ scenario that Auckland and hinterland will continue to grow in population but the other areas of NZ could remain relatively static.
Easton thinks that the present possibility is of regions being drained of younger people, full of retired older people, and with insufficient income to provide the services that are needed by these, mostly, non-earners. (I am not placing any negative on that description, just a fact, and remembering that the retired are living longer, becoming more dependent, and costing more as they age under our present medical and cultural processes.)
Easton refers to the limitations of the recently employed provincial growth boost. I think that we need now to look further at what can be done to enable regions to have a vitality with employment in a range of occupations. Development theory has dealt with this and I put two links below which seem to discuss this.
I think that one problem with reversing even changing that drift to Auckland may be that if businesses in the regions develop and can operate from elsewhere, a bigger company may buy them out and shift the business to Auckland.
It seems that there must be a firm reaction to that, with regions taking shares in businesses that support employment and prosperity in their area. They must be prepared to buy remaining shares if necessary to stop ownership and control passing from the region. That will slow or stop the drain of employment-rich businesses or specialist firms or entities from being taken over, bought out and being surgically removed from the home base and even from NZ. And of course this will increase the money flow in the regional economy, with benefits from the multiplier effect.
Regions could be encouraged to embrace an appellation approach and be jealous of their good name for producing something, produce or knowledge, and look to attract more of the same if it is sustainable and healthy as a category, ie I am not keen on going nuts about smart technology such as rockets and other possible warlike or out-of-brain space ventures.
There is theory on this in Development Studies. This is an introduction to a piece on Core-Periphery Model from SpringerLink. https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-3-319-74336-3_320-1
A second piece from SpringerLink on Development theory. https://innovation-entrepreneurship.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s13731-021-00146-8
Exploring a leading and lagging regions dichotomy: does …
by T Ejdemo · 2021 — These theories made analytical modeling of the growth path possible, … While this development has been important for furthering our … the different amenities that make certain regions attractive places to live in. … (2007) outline four sources of such benefits, or agglomeration … Privacy Preference Center …
There has been a long debate about the role of industry structure in the literature on why some regions successfully achieve economic growth, while other regions stagnate or decline. This paper provides an empirical analysis in which we, based on a cluster analysis, develop a taxonomy for regional growth. In a second part of the study, we explore how specialization and entrepreneurship are meaningful to discriminate between the different types of regions.
Our results suggest that regional entrepreneurship and industry diversity characterized by relatedness are key elements in understanding why some regions are leading while others lag behind. The suggested taxonomy is argued to contribute with a nuanced perspective that can enhance discussions about improvements of regional development policies and to further empirical analysis on the topic.
I’ve put the text that you copied & pasted in blockquote because it was normal font and indistinguishable from your own words, especially in long comments. Please pay more attention to proper formatting next time, thanks.
Thanks Incognito. Thought I had – in a bit of a rush so missed some. I'm always pressing the wrong button lately.
Don’t press the belly button too soon 😉
That's a very Hawkes Bay policy concept you have there. 🙂
Is it working for them? Can it be done elsewhere that you can think of? How hard is it to get off the ground?
Sorry, I was just being sarcastic about branding knowledge by region.
Interestingly here in Australia the opposite is happening right now – the regions are booming and experiencing real skill shortages.
Why's that RL? Can you put your finger on the main reasons.?
Several.
One has been the lack of specific skilled immigration this past year. Previously the regions were relying on this to fill the gaps created by the usual drift of young people into the cities.
Another is paradoxically that the CBD's have become less attractive during COVID and more people are working from remote locations than ever before. This means regional towns have more people around who aren't commuting, creating more local business for cafes, pubs and so on. A real shortage of chefs and hospo workers has resulted.
Plus I think a lot of Australians have woken up to something I've mentioned before – that many of their regional towns (not all I admit) are really attractive places to live and work. Low costs and good wages make for strong business and household prosperity. Hell if you're a trusted and respected local tradie, or have a well established business in many of these towns it's likely you're doing very nicely thank you. I know it changed our life living in Ballarat for just five years.
At least that's my sense of it for the moment.
Yes, us humans always show a herd mentality following the first sheep to the greener grass on the other side of the hill. It must be some kind of inborn instinct.
The inborn instinct is fear of unknown experiences,such as plants (especially kale and brussel sprouts)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0010027713001807
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/12/why-babies-fear-plants/281954/
Doesn’t explain dating apps 😉
Very Auckland-centric post Grey…..the Queenstown Lakes district population is going bananas…..too far south to count?
That's the whole point BG – the Brian Easton was Aucklandcentic. The word though is that in the South Island Christchurch will boom, and Queenstown will be okay while there is snow? Or does it do well most of the time. It is dependent on international tourists by air though isn't it?
The facist Israeli forces are at it again with continued abuse against Palastinians with only a little bit of lip service from the west, no sanctions of note. No they save that for Russia and China and, and, and etc.
Like the Myanma regime, the Israelis do as they want with no meaningful opposition from the 5 eyes group or any other Western powers.
Yes, all this does is show for all the world to see, the nonexistent moral compass that the US political class operate with…and NZ Labour/National as well….
125 Democrats Say Military Aid to Israel Shouldn’t Depend on Human Rights Record
https://truthout.org/articles/125-democrats-say-military-aid-to-israel-shouldnt-depend-on-human-rights-record/
Loads of work goes on behind the curtain and sometimes the step-wise improvements feel like a dance of the seven veils, which doesn’t go down well with the restless mob of moaners.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/the-house/audio/2018794581/public-help-makes-good-bills-great-law
Pull the other one, mate! How hard can it be?
This is why people should engage more in the political and democratic processes; voting once or not even and then moaning about it 24/7 for three full years doesn’t cut it.
A very wise explanation. The older you get the less perfect you expect anything human to be – you begin to be grateful for anything that's just 'good enough', much less 'better than what came before'.
The same with our Parliamentarians. None of them are perfect either, and it's not a job I'd have the balls to tackle. Democracy is about holding their decisions and actions to account – it’s not about tearing them down and denigrating them as persons.
That comment is one of the good insightful things that show up randomly on this blog Incognito. My repeat comment is that the 20th century ended with things in a mess so we have to do better in the 21st, ie now. And I don't think very many people take a real interest in understanding the issues and thinking of the whole population to be affected by policy.
My social policy classes at Massey included a statement that often the delivery of policy does not match the politician's intention. How one can get anything done intelligently and fairly in these days is a big question.
We're still in the game.
2:02pm NZT (2:02am UT) – Portugal, Lisbon
2:08pm NZT (2:08am UT) – Italy, Sicily
2:11pm NZT (2:11am UT) – Israel, Tel Aviv
2:11pm NZT (2:11am UT) – Saudi Arabia, Riyadh
2:14pm NZT (2:14am UT) – Australia, W.A Perth region
2:52pm NZT (2:52am UT) – New Zealand, North Island, Wellington
3:02pm NZT (3:02am UT) – Eastern Pacific (Forecast)
3:17pm NZT (3:17am UT) – Mexico, near Mexico City
3:22pm NZT (3:22am UT) – U.S.A, Florida near Orlando
3:37pm NZT (3:37am UT) – Portugal near Lisbon
3:39pm NZT (3:39am UT) – Morocco / Algeria border
3:45pm NZT (3:45am UT) – Libya, desert
3:47pm NZT (3:47am UT) – Sudan near Khartoum
3:50pm NZT (3:50am UT) – Ethiopia, near Addis Ababa
3:51pm NZT (3:51am UT) – Somalia, near Mogadishu
4:17pm NZT (4:17am UT) – Australia, northern Tasmania
4:20pm NZT (4:20am UT) – New Zealand, North Island, Northland.
4:48pm NZT (4:48am UT) – Mexico, near La Paz
4:52pm NZT (4:52am UT) – U.S.A, Texas, near Dallas
4:55pm NZT (4:55am UT) – U.S.A, Tennessee, Nashville
4:57pm NZT (4:57am UT) – U.S.A, Washington DC
https://www.haurakigulfweather.com/space
https://twitter.com/hashtag/LongMarch5B
edit: https://orbit.ing-now.com/satellite/48275/2021-035B/CZ-5B/
Is anyone here tracking The Long March 5B rocket as it hurtles home?
Suggestions for an accessible and easy to interpret website would be gratefully appreciated. One report had it landing up the road at Cape Maria van Diemen…would be all kinds of awesome to see this thing.
Cross posted…
https://twitter.com/SpaceTrackOrg/status/1391128833877626880
Just south of melbourne now,gaining 2km of altitude crossing Australia (363km)
Just past NZ at 366km altitude (41.2 s)
that is just shameful
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300300660/women-are-being-forced-to-give-birth-in-handcuffs-with-prison-officers-in-the-room
This is what I read of happening in the USA. I never thought we would adopt it here, but by hiring private firms to run our public institutions the practices that are used elsewhere are likely to be used. Meanwhile the government can say that is an operational matter, and lose all integrity on the way. How can we respect a government that runs our country in this careless way? Shameful on all of us, but good NZ people have been trying for ages to change things for the better.
Unfortunately the whole of society is in the process of being downgraded by the Masters of the Universe. It says in an old Oxfam brochure that the 80 richest people have as much as the poorest 3.5 billion. By 2016 the richest 1% will own more than all the rest and tax dodging costs poor countries $160 billion every year.
Nope, this has nothing to do with private firms.
These people are essentially wards of the state, irrespecitve of who the jailor is (private prison or state run), and the state has a duty to make sure these people – men and women – will get a decent and human treatment during their time locked up for what ever reason. After all the best out come for society is to not make these people any worse but rather help them to rehabilitate so that they become decent members of society.
Shackling a women to a bed while giving birth is not decent and humane treatment. It is torture. Schackling women so they can't change their blood soaked pads, is torture and physically dangerous it can lead to sepsis, etc etc etc.
But then the buck does not stop with government, right? Someone ese must be responsible, can't be government, and it certainly can't be a labour government. But it is.
Our society is not being downgraded by the 'masters of the universe' its being downgraded by our governments that allow this shit to happen, and who wash their hands like Pontius Pilates by blaming the contractor who does the deed for them.
To blame 'masters of the universe' as if we could not name these 'masters's is a cheap cop.
Btw, this has been going on for a while now in NZ, under National and Labour. So fuck em both for that bit of 'acceptable ' torture. Cause that is what it is, torture.
Sabine, I read this too, and was horrified. The practice is illegal and immoral. Unlike Minister Sepuloni, apparently, I hope Minister Kelvin Davis is able to bring some justice to these issues because it requires more than urging "to think again'.
I was engaged In a conversation today with a racist right-winger who accused Davis of being a do nothing, I hope that both you and she are wrong in your perceptions- else we are indeed in trouble.
I'm not accusing you of anything like I heard today, but I had three otherwise objectively decent people spouting the most vile and shameless racist bilge I've ever heard. I just hope they were trying to wind me up……. that's the kindest twist I can put on their talk.
I know you have no such thinking, but I hope you are wrong about possible outcomes in this 'shackling of a woman in childbirth'. I want you to be wrong as I want these three racists to be wrong in their acceptance of even worse racial violence.
For this behaviour to be acceptable, condonable and even thinkable is beyond decent human comprehension.
I'm deeply unimpressed myself – this needs some real strong sunlight shone on it.
Sabine I don't understand you. I was talking about what group of officials, employed and enabled by whom. actually did this. I was not debating the actual amorality of behaviour. Do you actually read things thoroughly before venting here.
Hi Sabine
Yes, indeed. It takes some very callous people to do this and given that the ministers in change don't even make any statement reveals more that one likes to know.
This is such a disturbing report that I am really aghast. The very inclination of taking such action against a women who gives birth reminds me on those nazis who believed that there is such a thing as a "undermensch".
Women, have been 'untermenschen' for the longest time. Misogyny, racism, and classism allows for this type of torture.
No kindness and gentlenessness for incarcerated pregnant, birthing, nursing women. And the little new born urchins can learn from their first breath, that if they don't toe the line they will be in here next.
Labour – like National – , does not give a flying piece of fudge about the poor. hungry, homeless, or those in prison.
An oldie but a goodie. The difference in accountability between the public and private sectors.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/ieditoriali-were-safer-if-jobs-are-on-the-line/TTOVRK6MC44V4XOVANZGYN26MA/
Here is a recent article from a very well respected science author Nicholas Wade on potential the origins of SARS-CoV2.
And before anyone responds to this, I strongly suggest you to read the entire article and address the argument. There is a lot more detail, and good links than just the above quote. I've spent sometime reading this and it's references. Wade is a very experienced writer and would not be putting his name to this lightly.
The somewhat shocking bit of new information in this article I was not aware of previously is that these potentially dangerous experiments were being done at a very modest BSL-2 level of protection. Until now I had assumed they were using BSL-4, which did count firmly against the lab-leak hypothesis; but it turns out this was never the case.
…proponents of lab escape can explain all the available facts about SARS2 considerably more easily than can those who favor natural emergence.
Some of the very earliest analyses of the virus genome when the Chinese Government released the information to the world early last year was that it was clearly made in a laboratory. This narrative was very quickly replaced by the fantastical 'wet market' theory, and up until very recently any brave soul who has dared to venture back to that original evaluation has been immediately slapped down and accused of being a tin-foil-hat-wearing-nutbar-conspiracy theorist.
As for the less than optimal laboratory security…https://www.the-scientist.com/the-nutshell/moratorium-on-gain-of-function-research-36564… there was a very good reason why the US government banned (in the US, anyhoo) the type of research that cold have led to the development of our Corona…
Hoping that one day our own Nicky Hager will write the book…
Wade is more; formally, than currently; a very well respected writer about science. He has no research background, and only a BA to back his notions up. Since 2014 he has mainly been notorious for misrepresenting others research to their great irritation.
https://cehg.stanford.edu/letter-from-population-geneticists
So you'll have to forgive me not exposing myself to his nonsense. Because; so what?
Even if we concede the point; for the sake of argument, that SARS-CoV-2 was definitely genetically engineered and released by the Chinese government for some nefarious purpose (which seems unlikely – especially since their vaccines are so bad). Where does that get us in dealing with the pandemic?
But; yes, I am in full agreement that there is risky research being done with bioweapons RL. By many nations, including China (though if I was expecting them to release biological agents anywhere, it'd be; Xinjiang, rather than Wuhan). Do you think they'll stop if we ask nicely?
Or is this just more pre-preparation for a war between China and the "Anglosphere" (that word is my new pet hate).
In this response:
Six serious strikes. I contemplated banning you, but consider this a final warning.
Moderation warning read.
What has Wade to say about yanker involvement in this germ lab?
Just a few things, e.g. a whole section has been dedicated to this:
4. The US Role in Funding the Wuhan Institute of Virology
Why don’t you read the linked article before you ask questions that can be answered simply by reading the linked article?
And we may never know, leaving each 'side' to champion mutually exclusive hypotheses. But if both hypotheses are plausible, then it's common sense to consider how best to prevent a reoccurence via either hypothetical mechanism of origin.
And it's common sense for qualified scientists to continue to try to pin down the (most likely) origin of this pandemic, although some may be a bit distracted right now.
Researchers analyze the host origins of SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses
Here's a link to the source paper:
The natural emergence hypothesis should be pretty easy to confirm; after all we found the intermediate hosts for both the original SARS and MERS virus's. Considering the immense interest in doing so, the complete failure to find or confirm such a host for SARS-CoV2 after more than a year has passed is very striking indeed.
More striking is Wade's claim that SARS-Cov2 is rather feeble at infecting bats, despite it's already documented ability to leap to other species like minks with relative ease. This just adds more layers of mystery and stacks against natural emergence from bats ever further.
My conclusion, informed not just by Wade, but by numerous sources personal and scientific, is that SARS-CoV2 is exactly the kind of virus that we would expect to emerge from the Gain of Function experiments we know were being conducted at WIV. And what are we to make of data like this:
The moment this outbreak first became public in January 2020, an independent investigation team should have been immediately flown to Wuhan for a forensic, pockets out, in depth turning over of the books. Instead the CCP authorities have obstructed any useful investigation. Even the WHO trip early this year is widely understood to have fallen short of definitive or credible even.
Moreover a large segment of professional virologists worldwide are clearly implicated in a massive conflict of interest here; this event has the obvious potential to be a catastrophe for their profession. (Incidentally Vernor Vinge in his original Peace War trilogy written in the 80's clearly anticipated an event like this, as a result biologists were a deeply hated and outlawed group, with just a handful left driven into hiding.)
Moreover the while the US authorities were highly concerned about GoF research risks, and went to the extent of 'pausing' all such research. But the legislation had a loophole which allowed two individuals to bypass it:
It seems to me there's an international cast of individuals here who must know far more about what actually happened than we're being told. From the esteemed Fauci himself, through Daszak's blatant conflict of interest that he formally perjured himself about in Lancet, to Baric's professional links to Shi, through to the utterly opaque, obtuse responses from the CCP authorities, it's clear we're not getting straight answers.
And sometimes it’s the little slips that stick in my mind – right back in early January 2020 Xi XInping himself used the odd phrase “this demon virus”. And at the time I said to myself – what does he know?
Many people clearly believe that, and a subset of those people are attracted to ideas about various possible COVID-19 cover-ups and conspiracies involving the evil CCP, the conflicted Daszak, Baric and their ilk, the esteemed Drs Fauci and/or Collins, "a large segment of professional virologists worldwide", all of the above, and/or something/someone else altogether.
How long did it take expert scientists to identify those intermediate hosts? In the case of SARS the 2021 paper that I linked to makes it clear that there was no intermediate host involved in the primary infection of humans – SARS was transmitted directly from bats to humans.
Less than 18 months into this pandemic we are faced with numerous conspiracy theories and misinformation. Rather than accepting or rejecting either of the two theories mentioned in Wade's analysis, I believe it's prudent to wait for further investigations led by expert scientists – perhaps (in the fullness of time) something along the lines of the Rogers Commission set up to inverstigate the cause of the space shuttle Challenger disaster.
The alternative is to declare the case closed, one way or the other. It's crystal clear that Wade isn't prepared to do that. I applaud his integrity in that regard, and fully support his statement:
I hope we can all agree on that. My personal preference is to wait until more (direct) evidence is available before 'passing judgement'. Maybe it serves some purpose not to wait, but that might have me veering into conspiracy theory territory, so I'll leave it there.
SIS to share data with selected private sector companies | RNZ News
An odious step – essentially fascism – a secret collaboration between corporates and an unaccountable part of the state. That's not what we have an SIS for. Resignations in order.
NZ Feminism background by Sue Kedgley. Details that a lot of people would not know, or may have forgotten.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/2018794740/sue-kedgley-50-years-at-the-feminist-coalface