Everyone having a cuppa and lie down or just cancelling culture? I see latest Stuff headline that the bozo escaping the fence is waaaaaaaaaaaay worse than National leaking confidential patient details, unless they're that opinion writers own details no doubt.
Mosa posted this excellent al Jazeera article yesterday about how the New Zealand's media's endangered the country's health in conjunction with the Natz.
The article is worthy of a post in its own right. Here Glen Johnson describes the far right posturing of the media.
At the end of the article, he asks ‘Will the media hold the National Party to account?’
Your observation of Stuff’s headlines provides the answer.
"A case can be made that the nation's media, laundering many of the opposition's attack lines and big business talking points, have repeatedly endangered public health.
This was driven not only by the country's clutch of prominent Fox News-style commentators – Mike Hosking, Heather du Plessis-Allan and Duncan Garner – each of whom hawks anger and division to drive ratings, but by senior reporters and editors."
It's a counter to the multitude of opinion articles masquerading as fact (homeless man bs etc) that do attempt to influence NZers attitudes . Those articles put immense political pressure on the govt.I'm pretty sure without them we would have moved to level 1 at the time Bloomfield recommended.If we'd done that there would have been time to get the new testing regime securely implemented .
Wayne, of course it's an opinion piece. It said on the link supplied by Ed. It says on the article when opened as well.
It's not a good line to take, to criticise something for being what it is plain it is.
What critics should do, Wayne, is critique the opinion piece. Where is it deficient, partisan to the point of error and distortion?
I read it and was quite taken with the quality of the writing- the developed argument, the use of examples as evidence, the conclusions.
It's not enough to slag something for being partisan. By definition, in a binary political world, half of partisan writing should be OK.
So, my question is, having given some reasons as to why the article should be read in terms of style and approach, what are your concerns with its content?
"Clark, the country's most effective health minister in decades" – seems incontrovertial evidence that the thing was written by a Labour partisan out of touch with reality. Totally clueless about the functional role of the fourth estate in a democracy too. Note the binary framing.
I must be nearly impossible to agree on a measure for "most effective" – no Minister works outside the context of the government of which they form part. David Clark has been part of a government that knew Health needed a lot of remedial work – and that became clearer after they were elected, but it is also clear that Clark achieved more than just the essential – see https://www.labour.org.nz/progress-list and click on Health.
To put it another way, I think it would be hard to put many ahead of Clark; King had similar challenges (Covid apart) and similar advances in the field.
Can't comment on the Herald but Stuff not only produces overtly partisan opinion pieces (not leftist!) and frequently presents news which is so slanted, it should carry an 'opinion' warning.
Marie Leadbeater has had recent opinion pieces on West Papua and I think Rimpac. The readers submitted items are on the editorial page below the cartoon, and cover a wide variety of opinion topics.
They are well read, but everyone reading them knows they are that person's opinion. The readers will agree or not agree, and of course they articles often contain interesting factual information irrespective of the opinion within the item.
As for the libertarians, I presume you are thinking of John Roughan, who is on the staff (or at least was). Probably the most significant feature opinion writer on staff is Simon Wilson. I would say he votes Green based on what he writes.
No, there are probably not many Marxists writing in the paper, but would there even be 1000 Marxists in New Zealand as a whole?
The Al Jazeera article is an important critique of the National party reaction to the pandemic, which has bff even to take any angle to attack the govt, including leaking confidential patient information. It has revealed National as having no coherent response to the health situation. Barking at every car I think it is called. The media, with one or two exceptions have been the same. This undoubtedly put pressure on the govt who had to make the most crucial decisions very rapidly. Fortunately the govt were able to hold their nerve.
nzders appear to have seen through the hysterics of National and some media and labour led by Ardern are on course for a landslide victory. Well deserved and you must know this Wayne. Nothing National have done has earned the trust of nzders. We have all met people at parties who blow themselves up “we have the best summer house, wine, etc etc etc”. Or in Nationals case the best team. Boasting about being the best isn’t a policy it’s kinda pathetic. Nzders use to associate it with American show off. I am pleased that most of us see through that crap
Wayne why not discuss the substance of the opinion piece instead of trying to deflect the discussion into "everyone does opinion pieces"? Classic diversion tactic.
It's an opinion piece critiquing news reports. It has a point though- apart from politics we have seen in the business press numerous "News articles" which have largely been industry groups, demanding that the border be opened for their favoured group of employees or customers.
The dairy industry is a good example – it has repeated employer views extensively about the lack of workers but with no push back about the terms and conditions of the jobs ( many are short duration), why the industry has previously failed to train locals, why they are so "specialised" that a short term visa worker can do it on a minimum wage , what steps they have taken to attract local labour etc. It's as if a lot of the employer and right wing are allowed to operate in a question free zone.
He doesn't have the guts to discuss the substance of the article or to respond to anything anyone says about his empty and senseless attempt at dismissing it. Spray and walk away Wayne. Total slime.
I was pointing out the absurdity of an ex-National Party minister—a notorious one at that—hurling a loaded and demeaning epithet—"partisan"—at a serious and credible piece of journalistic analysis.
I'd like to dedicate this to you and Mrs Wayne, Wayne. And tell her no need to pull out the Elna (oops the pedal powered Singer) just yet, and Mrs Wayne's tablecloths are safe SO FAR.
And now that you're down with the kids running things these days, gimmee a hint, I need an exclusive. You were never 'on' with that old trout Michelle were ya? You know there's big talk of it and if the ragdoll media keep biting – you might have to front
Whoar – tell me ya weren't tho' eh?. (And just btw – not only do I have a deal on Remdesivir for you, but there's a few of the blue left for you)
Ed said it was an excellent article. Then you come along trying to dismiss that by saying it's merely "a partisan opinion article." So what? Nobody's saying it isn't.
If you don't agree with the contents of the article why don't you say why you don't agree? You're such a snake.
It was obviously biased. I agree with the critique of the Nats, but all that crap about the media fronting for them won't fool anyone with half a brain. Some in the media do favour the right, but most try to represent the broader public. 🙄
… Fox News-style commentators – Mike Hosking, Heather du Plessis-Allan and Duncan Garner – each of whom hawks anger and division to drive ratings…
Du Plessis-Allan and Garner were the Talentless Television Twosome from Tartarus in 2015…
HEATHER DU PLESSIS-ALLAN: Bad news today Dunc—One Direction’s broken up! DUNCAN GARNER: I don’t CARE. I really don’t. HEATHER DU PLESSIS-ALLAN:[suddenly uneasy, isolated] Heh, heh….
Trust Luke Malpass , the National shill for Stuff ("Coronavirus: How isolation breach trumps National's privacy botchup") to start the day with a WTF moment! Since when did a single wandering miscreant who immediately is fronting up to the Court attracted the opprobrium of most NZers trump the criminal acts of at least three political opportunists. As for Muller, how could he have acted in any other way, and why did he not act decisively 30 hours earlier, even if it might have been 'kinda legal? Why, even the announcement of a recycled RON took precedence over dealing with a miscreant MP when he was in front of the camera for his press presentation. If Stuff want to be paid for content – they will need to get their shit together, unless they intend to be a 'Trumpian' sponsored organ of the Party of Irrelevance.
Stuff have taken it off their front page, and I don't really mind them spouting RW garbage, if they spout LW garbage too. I pay a Stuff sub so keep an eye, they're fairly even. Great piece in Al Jazeera, "partisan", ha!!! Seems pretty factual to me.
What Malpass says about the dilemma is true. In fact it's what people have been saying on The Standard for ages. The balance between legal authority and health protection is a real challenge.
One week from today, Dr Mary L Trump’s controversial book, Too Much and Never Enough, will hit store shelves. Dr Trump, a trained clinical psychologist who earned a master’s and a doctoral degree from Adelphi University, has authored a 211-page exposé of how the Trump family “created the world’s most dangerous man”…
President Trump and his brother Robert Trump have been trying to stop the book’s publication since last month, by filing lawsuits to enforce a confidentiality agreement concerning a dispute over the estate of their father (and the author’s grandfather), Fred Trump Sr. But a New York State judge has so far refused to block the book’s publisher, Simon and Schuster, from releasing it to stores.
Dr Trump has been estranged from Donald Trump for years, and is the first member of the president’s family to break ranks with him and the rest of her relatives by writing a book about them.
Dr Trump, a trained clinical psychologist, says her uncle does meet all nine criteria needed to be diagnosed as a narcissist. But she writes that his mental problems are far more complicated than mere narcissism. “The fact is,” she explains, “Donald’s pathologies are so complex and his behaviors so often inexplicable that coming up with an accurate and comprehensive diagnosis would require a full battery of psychological and neuropsychological tests that he’ll never sit for.”
The good news is that Americans touted their system of democracy as the best for most of the 20th century, claiming that `anyone can become president', and anyone eventually did. Donald proved them right. Mentally-ill folk have equal rights, and seeing one get the top job is a genuine thrill for all true believers in democracy! 🥳
Before we go all gleeful about rediverting the Manapouri generation, let's take a moment for the shock and devastation this will cause to those families putting dinner on the table.
We are at our lowest economic ebb in a century, and this is simply a terrible blow for the people of Bluff, Invercargill, and Southland.
That's the likely outcome, because Transpower will be able to increase their charges because of the extra investment they will have to make in the lines to move the power northwards.
On the other hand, since Transpower is wholly owned by the government, I'm kinda OK with the money from increased energy costs going to the government. Kind of a wastrel tax. As long as provision is made for those at the bottom of the income scale to help them overcome the increased burden.
Right, so let's take the opportunity to get serious about sustainable industry for Southland.
I kinda like the idea of tasking Southland Institute of Technology with developing a range of electric vehicle conversion kits – preferably with a range extender option.
In the immediate future, upgrading the transmission lines to get Manapouri's power to the Waitaki basin is going to provide a bit of a helping hand for employment and business activity in the region, if it's managed well with that as a specific goal.
It would also be great to build a southern focus around Dunedin's engineering facilities like the Hillside rail workshop, set up fully carbon-free electric-powered factories, etc.
Let's not waste the chance by just reducing the power costs for corporate dairying expanding in mismatching environments.
If ever this government needed a reminder about the parasitical nature of multinational corporations, this brutal action while our economy is weakened by the effects of COVID 19……
If a decent interviewer like Pilger or Fisk had been asking the questions, this angle would have been the focus.
Gary Tong's interview was a measured and reasonable response, Shadbolt sounded like he'd had a very heavy night before, and managed to turn it into a Penny Simmons election advertisement. About what I'd expect out of him. If I have misinterpreted that, well I did have trouble following him and I was multitasking at the time.
Agree trickle…..my understanding is that Rio Tinto have been given heavily discounted electricity…..but the deal is secret….now they are blaming electricity prices for shutting up shop I think the public is entitled to know exactly what they are paying
Rio Tinto, Gina Reinhart, the woman who makes $2.5M every hour of every day and then suggested to the Australian Govt that she should be able to import workers from China who would work for $1 an hour, saving her company a fortune in labour costs
Those thousand folks do at least have the assurance that the newly-elected National MP for Southland will be available to explain to them how National will get them new jobs via business as usual.
So they just need to organise themselves into a queue at the door of his electorate office when it opens. Call the media to show the queue on the evening tv news, then interview them after they come out from getting the MP's explanation. The pertinent question would be what day they start their new job, so the media can report whatever common pattern emerges from the answers…
Most people directly affected will most likely live in the Invercargill electorate, not Clutha Southland. Last time Invercargill voted in a Labour MP was 2002, Mark Peck held the seat for the 1993 – 2002 terms (which is kind of remarkable, a big swing in 1993, I wonder if the boundaries were redrawn, or it was a rejection of Nats doubling down on neoliberalism).
In 2017 there was only a few hundred votes between the Nat MP and the L/NZF/G ones. Will be interesting to see who Labour stands this time.
You've been here long enough to know that I don't tolerate people making shit up about my views and politics. There is absolutely nothing in my comment about the Tiwai jobs, it's a comment about southern electorates and voting. I have even less time for this shit than normal because it's election year. How you respond to my comment now will determine how I moderate you in the future.
I just find the shifting of 1000 people at the very least losing their jobs in a small region into election chances of a party a tad distasteful on the same day the the 1000 find out their life might be screwed
On the other hand, the quantity of cheap power that is about to be unleashed could power many thousands of jobs – ones that don't send the profits off-shore.
Before we go all gleeful about rediverting the Manapouri generation, let's take a moment for the shock and devastation this will cause to those families putting dinner on the table.
How about – NO!
Redundancies happen all the time and I doubt that those thousand workers gave more than a moments thought to those who suffered them.
And, yes, the freeing up of that amount of electricity and the removal of the vast subsidies to a bunch of foreign bludgers is probably going to be beneficial to NZ.
Wayne, the Al Jazeera article is pretty balanced, fair and based on facts. What is wrong with that? Refreshing to read something like that after all the trump like media stuff doing its best to discredit the government in every way possible.
How do you feel about the sleaze permeating your party? Our PM has behaved with grace always. She has had every reason to go for Muller and co and the way they operate, but has not.
If she wanted a cup of tea and a lie down, like Muller, Hosking and co would have slaughtered her if that happened but poor Toddy was feeling the strain after a torrid few days.
The reports I heard was that he was a new arrival from India.
Remember, NZ imported nearly a million migrants over a decade, mostly to replace the massive migration out of NZ after 2011, around 400,000, at that time, nearl 10% of the population.
The exact one you described, it was a news report on the radio.
It's possible the person flying in from India was originally from Ubekistan or Florida or even NZ, but the assumption was that they were from India, given the population, of 2.2 Billion, say compared to NZ of 5 million
While I understand the face displayed on billboards Just is and it is tempting to want that, I think anyone breaking quarantine could be very vulnerable to vigilantism.
He also took selfies in the aisle and made phone calls using free wi-fi before returning to the hotel and waiting for police.
He tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday morning and is now facing charges, while the supermarket has been closed for cleaning and several people, including staff, are in isolation.
The man, speaking with the NZ Herald over the phone, reportedly said he felt "totally healthy and fine" and questioned his diagnosis, saying he had been given "no evidence" of actually having the virus…
When asked why he thought it was OK to leave the hotel, he reportedly said "no one told me anything".
He told the Herald that even people with Covid-19 are human, saying, "We are also people," but he didn't respond to questions about whether he thought he had put the public at risk by leaving the hotel.
FFS what did he think was going on? That the NZ government picks up everybody from the airport complete with minders and trucks them all off to a downtown hotel and pays their accommodation bill while they trot round sightseeing? I mean really?
If he's good enough to have a debit card and work a checkout then you think he'd be smart enough to work out that something was going on and he'd better pay attention.
People are dumb and shortsighted and stupid and devious and everything.
Don't trust anyone, you don't know what their motivations are. Plan for the worst, expect even worse.
Is this it? The organisation was such that an infected person walked out of quarantine/isolation? He could have gone to a couple of clubs, got into the spirit of things and over the next couple of weeks the virus could have started spreading over the Auckland area and Auckland could have been Melbourne?
If that is the case some people are not taking things seriously. They are not taking things seriously because they are dumb or they are simply not capable.
Am I over-dramatising it suggesting that some cock up of poor planning or poor carrying out of procedures could have ended up in lives being put at risk and millions and millions of dollars being the cost?
When you think about it – we are a bit of a wild west bunch quite often. It may seem refreshing and spontaneous and giving things a go to people, and yes sometimes. But a lot of it is rebellious, childish, self-centred, and lacking in self-discipline and not appreciating that there is a greater good out there. Everything can't revolve around self and immediate self-gratification – restraint is required from people old enough to be expected to be mature adults.
But then we make little effort to help parents socialise their children, and this simplistic approach to life carries from one generation to the next. No wonder we find our country now in a mess in the natural environment and the social environment as well, and those of us who have acquired some objective view have an uphill battle showing how the problems are linked. Being thoughtful adults isn't in the experience of many family lines dating from colonial times.
This person could have NZ citizenship and lived here for a number of years, so would be able to use all things you describe.
Have you been to India in the last decade? I only ask that as you assume that cos he's arrived from India, he has no concept of modern life, ie, credit cards and using self service, I think you'll find India is not that antiquated, in fact they probably designed some of that equipment, certainly some areas and states aren't that sofisticated.
Rio Tinto has bludged cheap power for decades, while thousands of our own people live in underheated, mouldy, dumps due to the high cost of electricity from the privatised power companies. Until such obvious inequities are seriously addressed they can sod off.
Just be aware that the actual energy cost is a bit under a third of a typical residential electricity bill. Transmission and lines charges are a bit over a third, retailer charges a sixth, GST a sixth, rats and mice the rest. So Meridian could give away the Manapouri power for free and it wouldn't reduce residential electricity bills much.
A broadly similar calculation would apply to Tiwai’s power bill. The costs of supplying the electricity are a major component, especially the costs involved in enabling some backup ability.
Having an aluminium smelter at one end of a long skinny network may not be a good idea in a post electricity reform and privatisation era.
Tiwai Point won't be paying any local distribution costs, they've got Transpower delivering right to their door. Their argument for getting reduced transmission charges from Transpower was basically that the spur line from Manapouri to Tiwai Point was just for them, so that was all they should pay for, and they didn't get much benefit from the rest of the grid so they shouldn't have to contribute to paying for it.
Some time back I had a stab at comparing their transmission bill to their electricity bill, from memory and published speculation about the various components, it appeared their transmission charges were about a quarter their electricity charges. From memory, the numbers were around a quarter billion to Meridian for the juice and 65 million to Transpower to get it to them
They also won't be paying retailer charges or GST or metering or any of the other rats and mice.
One big effect of the electricity market jiggery-pokery is over the last twenty years, the price per kWhr went from being roughly the same for residential, commercial and industrial customers, to big industrial users now paying maybe a third of what residential users pay, with commercial users somewhere in between.
edit
What about conceding a lower cost for electricity but they must accept responsibility as a company, to remove and deal with safely the Mataura and elsewhere dump of leftover stuff that produces ammonia gas if wet. They are not to offsell it to any other company, they are not to contract with some other company to remove it, they are to meet with government scientists and have big full and frank talks about the way to do this, using all known scientific information on dealing with it to cause it to be inert. This must be done within two years after discussions and satisfactory solution decided. The discussions to start from six months from now. There may be some machinery required to process the stuff and we could look at offering some assistance to pay for this, no GST something, something. We should throw ourselves into getting this done, and done right at reasonable terms and proceed apace, as the saying goes.
Get this done now while they are still here and operating, and left in a safe state. If they close down soon, it will be left sitting for us to deal with and we will never get these big boys back to the table. It is no use pontificating about what should happen, and that it isn't good environmentally.
And perhaps design some state housing that uses aluminium which is strong and light, and is going cheap at the moment on world markets, and we buy it at those prices and it is right in the country so should save some carbon costs.
Andre@6.2…
Power generation/supply/retail/wholesale is an artificial market created by National and unfortunately largely still supported by all parliamentary parties to satisfy the prevailing monetarist doctrine and structural neo liberalism NZ operates on. Meridian and the rest are creatures of legislation and prime examples of the penetration of state infrastructure by market forces and private capital.
The power companies of all stripes are essentially parasites on previously publicly owned and developed, hydro, thermal and fossil fuelled systems.
What has Rio Tinto contributed apart from environmental degradation, heavily subsidised jobs, and periodic blackmail?–even the Key Govt. gifted them further millions and Mr Key was meant to be a financial genius. Their last effort to get further concessions, despite employing a professional front organisation did not seem to get a lot of traction from locals anyway if meeting attendances and media impact are an indication.
@lprent – had a couple of comments just take a random walk into oblivion after hitting "submit comment". One just a few minutes ago in reply to Tiger Mountain just above, one last night. The one just now didn't have links or any even slightly controversial language.
edit: the redo of the reply to Tiger Mountain went through normally.
Lincoln Project: Slick about sick Trumpites and their doings and should rake in the shekels. Never ever trust them again, they say. Fair enough. But I don't trust anybody now. So what are they – hot air balloons with baskets touching the ground long enough to be filled with money which will rise and drift away for a distant destination?
Headline in today's Nelson Mail – 'Niece paints acid portrait of President'. I thought what a good art work that would be – some material with his face marked out with the facial contours sort of etched into it. It would make a good wall hanging of this epic leader, monumental. Think Han Solo Star Wars.
Yep, but fortunately for us his listener base is relatively small, for obvious reasons, he's only talking to an echo chamber, noboby with an IQ above their age listens to the Hosk.
Paddy Gower was in isolation for a day or so after using the same supermarket as the quarantine wanderer. He's tested negative and is now out and about again. What day did the dude go walk about? It seems a very short period of time for covid to develop enough to return a positive test. I think the risk is very low, but am curious how that is being managed. Is the idea that a true negative will be available within a few days?
It's a stunt caused by Gower's Loss of Relevance Condition or most likely he is even stupider than I ever thought as it's 3-4 days minimum for a conclusive test.
New Labour’s gamble that devolution would defang the independence movements in Britain’s Celtic nations seems to have dramatically backfired: instead, the result seems to be that London’s media pays far less attention to the currents threatening our union than they should. But more interesting than all of these poll results is the revelation that 27% of voters in England would back English independence from the United Kingdom.
So more than a quarter of the English electorate seem to be separatist. As political minorities go, that's substantial!
Quite apart from the defects already pointed out in the article – the only thing NZ has in quantity that Australia doesn't is snow. On the other hand they have more sun, more nightlife, more shopping , more….well everything. so why would they spend more here than we do there. Should reports like this even be issued. It doesn't reflect well on EY
Getting this ‘sponsored’ group on Facebook. Fairness in Focus.They are representing medical drug manufacturers. So why this name for a group of lobbyists?
Today's headline was "New Zealand ranks last out of 20 OECD countries for access to modern medicines."
So, how many OECD countries are there? 20? Are we bottom of the OECD countries for the number of modern medicines registered, the time it takes to access them and how many such medicines are publicly funded?
That's what they imply.
Well, folks, Colombia is number 37 to join, says Google.
It seems there are lies, damned lies and pharmaceutical statistics! Do we have fairness in Fairness in Focus's advocacy for the pharmaceutical companies?
The image gives the appearance that all those green pills are weighing the DNA down. Which may actually be close to the truth. I know DNA is twisted but that one seems to be trying to shake lose!
And what medical interventions are there to access? And which ones are available on public funds? And can we have these graded by price with their special aims and ailments listed as well? Also whether they are aids to cures, or suppressants able to prolong active life though not cure?
It might also ask what externally independently tested medications are available specialising in what afflictions? It seems like more hustling with us as chooks supposed to peck at anything the overlings choose to throw.
It is interesting that the police vetoed the request, Covid-19 reasons not referred to in this article, but because of their oft-heard wish not to allow any action that is not initiated by them, may have risk, and which does not assist them in some way.
In the April email, the New Zealand police referred to other barriers: The cost "to bring yourself from the US" and deploying a team for an "unknown length of time" with "no possible guarantee of success".
"Thank you for your kind offer, but unfortunately we cannot take you up on it," the police concluded…
The response to that was: "We're the ones saying we'll pay for it. We're not asking them to do it. I don't think he even referenced Covid – they just don't want to do it."
It is sad that these people have lost their son who is drowned at the bottom of a lake, and we are in a pandemic now, but it appears that the police are in charge of this matter and have refused the parents from ever having the right to conduct their own operation, which of course should be done in a professional manner. Something must be done further about this, rather than just an outright refusal, there should be a possibility to be reviewed every six months for three times and then finally in two years, say.
We need a Risk and Recovery Unit outside the normal policing, and with more expertise and a wider framework. People in the field may be part-time employed by a few permanent and well-experienced operations managers (no generic employees). They would be trained in what to look for that might relate to legal proceedings, but they would go beyond the police yoke that seems bounded by demands from police management following best practice guidelines.
Another thing is sad – that a number of things malfunctioned and caused this tourist's death.
Tyler Nii, 27, a tennis coach, did not survive after a double parachute failure over Lake Wakatipu in January 2018.
His lifevest also failed to inflate. The tandem-jump instructor survived…
The Nii family still do not have a death certificate. It is unclear why.
They did have a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) report, but they considered it so inept and incomplete they thought it did not deserve to be called an investigation.
It had been a long fight just to be told anything by authorities, Kevin Nii said.
Was it an avoidable disaster, and if not, why not? This is part of a line of injuries and deaths in our great outdoorsy, risky, physical-oriented tourist business. And one not set up properly and thoughtfully. It is disgraceful that we have the number of accidents and deaths that we do.
When Labour wins the election and is back in power, then we should set up an agency as part of the ACC to check how things could be run better. And restore people's right to sue with a cap, for aspects that are beyond ACC's remit.
This means that the loose way that geonet measurements of volcanic activity are graded, and that there will be controls on say the White Island tourist activities accordingly. We know that business has difficulty limiting itself and turning down the dollars in any sector. This one makes much money from taking people to a 'muttering' volcano and needs to be given definite limits.
In the meantime it would be good if these people could be asked to stay in touch and first, that the police negative be replaced by a guarded positive if possible with an unconnected expert's opinion on whether it could be done safely whether it was likely to be successful or not, and second that the situation would be looked at by some authority, perhaps tourism who would check whether there was a Covid-19 window which facilitated it. We want our tourism to continue in a better form than previously, and we do not want to lose our better-paying people because of bad reports about our being casual and unreliable.
Pilot Arthur Dovey escaped unharmed, but a wing on his World War II Yak-3 aircraft was destroyed after hitting one of the cherry pickers during landing in 2018…
The repair bill for the destroyed wing was in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and Dovey wanted to recover those costs from show organisers.
Why should he have to go to High Court to get this paid for when it is obviously the Warbirds organisers at fault?
And is our self-congratulatory attitude undeserved about everything? Winning a farming award, and calling his animals bitches – how's that?
(Recently I read of a farmer who commented on how great cows were as animals, very patient, and docile, and they were all named. Still had to be culled in rotation, but there was one who had such a personality that she had acquired a special rating as hostess to visitors.)
Especially after we have to build high fences around all the facilities and have 24/7 police available to deal with those entitled individuals (luckily, there are not many yet, but surely the number is going to rise).
If this is a longer term thing, we should set up camp on an island for the new arrivals.
Now the police union are criticising the Govt because they have to guard these people in quarantine. They kinda have a point, why should the police guard these people? But maybe because all the fearmongering in the media the Govt has turned the level right up to 11?
NSW used the police and defence staff. Victoria used outsourced contractors. Look who has the massive outbreak and why.
We are using a mix of outsourced, defence and police. Oh and IIRC there was a comment for a security company spokesperson complaining about those people being low paid. Maybe the industry could fix that themselves.
Why can't the police work with the community instead of deciding who they want to protect and who not? Should we call in the Army?
I question why hospitals have to hire security guards? Protecting our public workers and places should be police work. Private people's cars and property should be protected but it seems that people anywhere generally seem to be down the list.
Wow, that guy sounds deranged. He's a republican though, so it's not surprising he knows nothing about the progressive wing of the Dems. He even names Harris and Warren as patron saints of progressives… what a joke.
A listing of 25 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 15, 2024 thru Sat, December 21, 2024. Based on feedback we received, this week's roundup is the first one published soleley by category. We are still interested in ...
Well, I've been there, sitting in that same chairWhispering that same prayer half a million timesIt's a lie, though buried in disciplesOne page of the Bible isn't worth a lifeThere's nothing wrong with youIt's true, it's trueThere's something wrong with the villageWith the villageSomething wrong with the villageSongwriters: Andrew Jackson ...
ACT would like to dictate what universities can and can’t say. We knew it was coming. It was outlined in the coalition agreement and has become part of Seymour’s strategy of “emphasising public funding” to prevent people from opposing him and his views—something he also uses to try and de-platform ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Are we heading ...
So the Solstice has arrived – Summer in this part of the world, Winter for the Northern Hemisphere. And with it, the publication my new Norse dark-fantasy piece, As Our Power Lessens at Eternal Haunted Summer: https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/issues/winter-solstice-2024/as-our-power-lessens/ As previously noted, this one is very ‘wyrd’, and Northern Theory of Courage. ...
The Natural Choice: As a starter for ten percent of the Party Vote, “saving the planet” is a very respectable objective. Young voters, in particular, raised on the dire (if unheeded) warnings of climate scientists, and the irrefutable evidence of devastating weather events linked to global warming, vote Green. After ...
The Government cancelled 60% of Kāinga Ora’s new builds next year, even though the land for them was already bought, the consents were consented and there are builders unemployed all over the place. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political ...
Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on UnsplashEvery morning I get up at 3am to go around the traps of news sites in Aotearoa and globally. I pick out the top ones from my point of view and have been putting them into my Dawn Chorus email, which goes out with a podcast. ...
Over on Kikorangi Newsroom's Marc Daalder has published his annual OIA stats. So I thought I'd do mine: 82 OIA requests sent in 2024 7 posts based on those requests 20 average working days to receive a response Ministry of Justice was my most-requested entity, ...
Welcome to the December 2024 Economic Bulletin. We have two monthly features in this edition. In the first, we discuss what the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update from Treasury and the Budget Policy Statement from the Minister of Finance tell us about the fiscal position and what to ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi have submitted against the controversial Treaty Principles Bill, slamming the Bill as a breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and an attack on tino rangatiratanga and the collective rights of Tangata Whenua. “This Bill seeks to legislate for Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles that are ...
I don't knowHow to say what's got to be saidI don't know if it's black or whiteThere's others see it redI don't get the answers rightI'll leave that to youIs this love out of fashionOr is it the time of yearAre these words distraction?To the words you want to hearSongwriters: ...
Our economy has experienced its worst recession since 1991. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, December 20 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above and the daily Pick ‘n’ Mix below ...
Twas the Friday before Christmas and all through the week we’ve been collecting stories for our final roundup of the year. As we start to wind down for the year we hope you all have a safe and happy Christmas and new year. If you’re travelling please be safe on ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the year’s news with: on climate. Her book of the year was Tim Winton’s cli-fi novel Juice and she also mentioned Mike Joy’s memoir The Fight for Fresh Water. ...
The Government can head off to the holidays, entitled to assure itself that it has done more or less what it said it would do. The campaign last year promised to “get New Zealand back on track.” When you look at the basic promises—to trim back Government expenditure, toughen up ...
Open access notables An intensification of surface Earth’s energy imbalance since the late 20th century, Li et al., Communications Earth & Environment:Tracking the energy balance of the Earth system is a key method for studying the contribution of human activities to climate change. However, accurately estimating the surface energy balance ...
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guests and , ...
“Like you said, I’m an unreconstructed socialist. Everybody deserves to get something for Christmas.”“ONE OF THOSE had better be for me!” Hannah grinned, fascinated, as Laurie made his way, gingerly, to the bar, his arms full of gift-wrapped packages.“Of course!”, beamed Laurie. Depositing his armful on the bar-top and selecting ...
Data released by Statistics New Zealand today showed a significant slowdown in the economy over the past six months, with GDP falling by 1% in September, and 1.1% in June said CTU Economist Craig Renney. “The data shows that the size of the economy in GDP terms is now smaller ...
One last thing before I quitI never wanted any moreThan I could fit into my headI still remember every single word you saidAnd all the shit that somehow came along with itStill, there's one thing that comforts meSince I was always caged and now I'm freeSongwriters: David Grohl / Georg ...
Sparse offerings outside a Te Kauwhata church. Meanwhile, the Government is cutting spending in ways that make thousands of hungry children even hungrier, while also cutting funding for the charities that help them. It’s also doing that while winding back new building of affordable housing that would allow parents to ...
It is difficult to make sense of the Luxon Coalition Government’s economic management.This end-of-year review about the state of economic management – the state of the economy was last week – is not going to cover the National Party contribution. Frankly, like every other careful observer, I cannot make up ...
This morning I awoke to the lovely news that we are firmly back on track, that is if the scale was reversed.NZ ranks low in global economic comparisonsNew Zealand's economy has been ranked 33rd out of 37 in an international comparison of which have done best in 2024.Economies were ranked ...
Remember those silent movies where the heroine is tied to the railway tracks or going over the waterfall in a barrel? Finance Minister Nicola Willis seems intent on portraying herself as that damsel in distress. According to Willis, this country’s current economic problems have all been caused by the spending ...
Similar to the cuts and the austerity drive imposed by Ruth Richardson in the 1990’s, an era which to all intents and purposes we’ve largely fiddled around the edges with fixing in the time since – over, to be fair, several administrations – whilst trying our best it seems to ...
String-Pulling in the Dark: For the democratic process to be meaningful it must also be public. WITH TRUST AND CONFIDENCE in New Zealand’s politicians and journalists steadily declining, restoring those virtues poses a daunting challenge. Just how daunting is made clear by comparing the way politicians and journalists treated New Zealanders ...
Dear Nicola Willis, thank you for letting us know in so many words that the swingeing austerity hasn't worked.By in so many words I mean the bit where you said, Here is a sea of red ink in which we are drowning after twelve months of savage cost cutting and ...
The Open Government Partnership is a multilateral organisation committed to advancing open government. Countries which join are supposed to co-create regular action plans with civil society, committing to making verifiable improvements in transparency, accountability, participation, or technology and innovation for the above. And they're held to account through an Independent ...
Today I tuned into something strange: a press conference that didn’t make my stomach churn or the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Which was strange, because it was about the torture of children. It was the announcement by Erica Stanford — on her own, unusually ...
This is a must watch, and puts on brilliant and practical display the implications and mechanics of fast-track law corruption and weakness.CLICK HERE: LINK TO WATCH VIDEOOur news media as it is set up is simply not equipped to deal with the brazen disinformation and corruption under this right wing ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Acting Secretary Erin Polaczuk is welcoming the announcement from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden that she is opening consultation on engineered stone and is calling on her to listen to the evidence and implement a total ban of the product. “We need ...
The Government has announced a 1.5% increase in the minimum wage from 1 April 2025, well below forecast inflation of 2.5%. Unions have reacted strongly and denounced it as a real terms cut. PSA and the CTU are opposing a new round of staff cuts at WorkSafe, which they say ...
The decision to unilaterally repudiate the contract for new Cook Strait ferries is beginning to look like one of the stupidest decisions a New Zealand government ever made. While cancelling the ferries and their associated port infrastructure may have made this year's books look good, it means higher costs later, ...
Hi there! I’ve been overseas recently, looking after a situation with a family member. So apologies if there any less than focused posts! Vanuatu has just had a significant 7.3 earthquake. Two MFAT staff are unaccounted for with local fatalities.It’s always sad to hear of such things happening.I think of ...
Today is a special member's morning, scheduled to make up for the government's theft of member's days throughout the year. First up was the first reading of Greg Fleming's Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill, which was passed unanimously. Currently the House is debating the third reading of ...
We're going backwardsIgnoring the realitiesGoing backwardsAre you counting all the casualties?We are not there yetWhere we need to beWe are still in debtTo our insanitiesSongwriter: Martin Gore Read more ...
Willis blamed Treasury for changing its productivity assumptions and Labour’s spending increases since Covid for the worsening Budget outlook. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, December 18 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above ...
Today the Auckland Transport board meet for the last time this year. For those interested (and with time to spare), you can follow along via this MS Teams link from 10am. I’ve taken a quick look through the agenda items to see what I think the most interesting aspects are. ...
Hi,If you’re a New Zealander — you know who Mike King is. He is the face of New Zealand’s battle against mental health problems. He can be loud and brash. He raises, and is entrusted with, a lot of cash. Last year his “I Am Hope” charity reported a revenue ...
Probably about the only consolation available from yesterday’s unveiling of the Half-Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) is that it could have been worse. Though Finance Minister Nicola Willis has tightened the screws on future government spending, she has resisted the calls from hard-line academics, fiscal purists and fiscal hawks ...
The right have a stupid saying that is only occasionally true:When is democracy not democracy? When it hasn’t been voted on.While not true in regards to branches of government such as the judiciary, it’s a philosophy that probably should apply to recently-elected local government councillors. Nevertheless, this concept seemed to ...
Long story short: the Government’s austerity policy has driven the economy into a deeper and longer recession that means it will have to borrow $20 billion more over the next four years than it expected just six months ago. Treasury’s latest forecasts show the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s fiscal strategy of ...
Come and join myself and CTU Chief Economist for a pop-up ‘Hoon’ webinar on the Government’s Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) with paying subscribers to The Kākā for 30 minutes at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream to watch our chat. Don’t worry if ...
In 1998, in the wake of the Paremoremo Prison riot, the Department of Corrections established the "Behaviour Management Regime". Prisoners were locked in their cells for 22 or 23 hours a day, with no fresh air, no exercise, no social contact, no entertainment, and in some cases no clothes and ...
New data released by the Treasury shows that the economic policies of this Government have made things worse in the year since they took office, said NZCTU Economist Craig Renney. “Our fiscal indicators are all heading in the wrong direction – with higher levels of debt, a higher deficit, and ...
At the 2023 election, National basically ran on a platform of being better economic managers. So how'd that turn out for us? In just one year, they've fucked us for two full political terms: The government's books are set to remain deeply in the red for the near term ...
AUSTERITYText within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedMy spreadsheet insists This pain leads straight to glory (File not found) Read more ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi are saying that the Government should do the right thing and deliver minimum wage increases that don’t see workers fall further behind, in response to today’s announcement that the minimum wage will only be increased by 1.5%, well short of forecast inflation. “With inflation forecast ...
Oh, I weptFor daysFilled my eyesWith silly tearsOh, yeaBut I don'tCare no moreI don't care ifMy eyes get soreSongwriters: Paul Rodgers / Paul Kossoff. Read more ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob HensonIn this aerial view, fingers of meltwater flow from the melting Isunnguata Sermia glacier descending from the Greenland Ice Sheet on July 11, 2024, near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. According to the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE), the ...
In August, I wrote an article about David Seymour1 with a video of his testimony, to warn that there were grave dangers to his Ministry of Regulation:David Seymour's Ministry of Slush Hides Far Greater RisksWhy Seymour's exorbitant waste of taxpayers' money could be the least of concernThe money for Seymour ...
Willis is expected to have to reveal the bitter fiscal fruits of her austerity strategy in the HYEFU later today. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/TheKakaMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, December 17 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast ...
On Friday the government announced it would double the number of toll roads in New Zealand as well as make a few other changes to how toll roads are used in the country. The real issue though is not that tolling is being used but the suggestion it will make ...
The Prime Minister yesterday engaged in what looked like a pre-emptive strike designed to counter what is likely to be a series of depressing economic statistics expected before the end of the week. He opened his weekly post-Cabinet press conference with a recitation of the Government’s achievements. “It certainly has ...
This whooping cough story from south Auckland is a good example of the coalition government’s approach to social need – spend money on urging people to get vaccinated but only after you’ve cut the funding to where they could get vaccinated. This has been the case all year with public ...
And if there is a GodI know he likes to rockHe likes his loud guitarsHis spiders from MarsAnd if there is a GodI know he's watching meHe likes what he seesBut there's trouble on the breezeSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan Read more ...
Here’s a quick round up of today’s political news:1. MORE FOOD BANKS, CHARITIES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS AND YOUTH SOCIAL SERVICES SET TO CLOSE OR SCALE BACK AROUND THE COUNTRY AS GOVT CUTS FUNDINGSome of Auckland's largest foodbanks are warning they may need to close or significantly reduce food parcels after ...
Iain Rennie, CNZMSecretary and Chief Executive to the TreasuryDear Secretary, Undue restrictions on restricted briefings This week, the Treasury barred representatives from four organisations, including the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi, from attending the restricted briefing for the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. We had been ...
This is a guest post by Tim Adriaansen, a community, climate, and accessibility advocate.I won’t shut up about climate breakdown, and whenever possible I try to shift the focus of a climate conversation towards solutions. But you’ll almost never hear me give more than a passing nod to ...
A grassroots backlash has forced a backdown from Brown, but he is still eyeing up plenty of tolls for other new roads. And the pressure is on Willis to ramp up the Government’s austerity strategy. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
Hi all,I'm pretty overwhelmed by all your messages and emails today; thank you so very much.As much as my newsletter this morning was about money, and we all need to earn money, it was mostly about world domination if I'm honest. 😉I really hate what’s happening to our country, and ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 8, 2024 thru Sat, December 14, 2024. Listing by Category Like last week's summary this one contains the list of articles twice: based on categories and based on ...
I started writing this morning about Hobson’s Pledge, examining the claims they and their supporters make, basically ripping into them. But I kept getting notifications coming through, and not good ones.Each time I looked up, there was another un-subscription message, and I felt a bit sicker at the thought of ...
Once, long before there was Harry and Meghan and Dodi and all those episodes of The Crown, they came to spend some time with us, Charles and Diana. Was there anyone in the world more glamorous than the Princess of Wales?Dazzled as everyone was by their company, the leader of ...
The collective right have a problem.The entire foundation for their world view is antiscientific. Their preferred economic strategies have been disproven. Their whole neoliberal model faces accusations of corporate corruption and worsening inequality. Climate change not only definitely exists, its rapid progression demands an immediate and expensive response in order ...
Just ten days ago, South Korea's president attempted a self-coup, declaring martial law and attempting to have opposition MPs murdered or arrested in an effort to seize unconstrained power. The attempt was rapidly defeated by the national assembly voting it down and the people flooding the streets to defend democracy. ...
Hi,“What I love about New Zealanders is that sometimes you use these expressions that as Americans we have no idea what those things mean!"I am watching a 30-something year old American ramble on about how different New Zealanders are to Americans. It’s his podcast, and this man is doing a ...
What Chris Penk has granted holocaust-denier and equal-opportunity-bigot Candace Owens is not “freedom of speech”. It’s not even really freedom of movement, though that technically is the right she has been granted. What he has given her is permission to perform. Freedom of SpeechIn New Zealand, the right to freedom ...
All those tears on your cheeksJust like deja vu flow nowWhen grandmother speaksSo tell me a story (I'll tell you a story)Spell it out, I can't hear (What do you want to hear?)Why you wear black in the morning?Why there's smoke in the air? Songwriter: Greg Johnson.Mōrena all ☀️Something a ...
National has only been in power for a year, but everywhere you look, its choices are taking New Zealand a long way backwards. In no particular order, here are the National Government's Top 50 Greatest Misses of its first year in power. ...
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...
After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026. ...
In response to a new report from ERO, the Government has acknowledged the urgent need for consistency across the curriculum for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. ...
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...
Thank you for the invitation to speak with you tonight on behalf of the political party I belong to - which is New Zealand First. As we have heard before this evening the Kinleith Mill is proposing to reduce operations by focusing on pulp and discontinuing “lossmaking paper production”. They say that they are currently consulting on the plan to permanently shut ...
Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says Health New Zealand will move swiftly to support dozens of internationally-trained doctors already in New Zealand on their journey to employment here, after a tripling of sought-after examination places. “The Medical Council has delivered great news for hardworking overseas doctors who want to contribute ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has appointed Sarah Ottrey to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). “At my first APEC Summit in Lima, I experienced firsthand the role that ABAC plays in guaranteeing political leaders hear the voice of business,” Mr Luxon says. “New Zealand’s ABAC representatives are very well respected and ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced four appointments to New Zealand’s intelligence oversight functions. The Honourable Robert Dobson KC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, and the Honourable Brendan Brown KC has been appointed as a Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants. The appointments of Hon Robert Dobson and Hon ...
Improvements in the average time it takes to process survey and title applications means housing developments can progress more quickly, Minister for Land Information Chris Penk says. “The government is resolutely focused on improving the building and construction pipeline,” Mr Penk says. “Applications to issue titles and subdivide land are ...
The Government’s measures to reduce airport wait times, and better transparency around flight disruptions is delivering encouraging early results for passengers ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Improving the efficiency of air travel is a priority for the Government to give passengers a smoother, more reliable ...
The Government today announced the intended closure of the Apollo Hotel as Contracted Emergency Housing (CEH) in Rotorua, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. This follows a 30 per cent reduction in the number of households in CEH in Rotorua since National came into Government. “Our focus is on ending CEH in the Whakarewarewa area starting ...
The Government will reshape vocational education and training to return decision making to regions and enable greater industry input into work-based learning Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds says. “The redesigned system will better meet the needs of learners, industry, and the economy. It includes re-establishing regional polytechnics that ...
The Government is taking action to better manage synthetic refrigerants and reduce emissions caused by greenhouse gases found in heating and cooling products, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Regulations will be drafted to support a product stewardship scheme for synthetic refrigerants, Ms. Simmonds says. “Synthetic refrigerants are found in a ...
People travelling on State Highway 1 north of Hamilton will be relieved that remedial works and safety improvements on the Ngāruawāhia section of the Waikato Expressway were finished today, with all lanes now open to traffic, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“I would like to acknowledge the patience of road users ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds, has announced a new appointment to the board of Education New Zealand (ENZ). Dr Erik Lithander has been appointed as a new member of the ENZ board for a three-year term until 30 January 2028. “I would like to welcome Dr Erik Lithander to the ...
The Government will have senior representatives at Waitangi Day events around the country, including at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, but next year Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has chosen to take part in celebrations elsewhere. “It has always been my intention to celebrate Waitangi Day around the country with different ...
Two more criminal gangs will be subject to the raft of laws passed by the Coalition Government that give Police more powers to disrupt gang activity, and the intimidation they impose in our communities, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. Following an Order passed by Cabinet, from 3 February 2025 the ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Justice Christian Whata as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Whata’s appointment as a Judge of the Court of Appeal will take effect on 1 August 2025 and fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Hon Justice David Goddard on ...
The latest economic figures highlight the importance of the steps the Government has taken to restore respect for taxpayers’ money and drive economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Data released today by Stats NZ shows Gross Domestic Product fell 1 per cent in the September quarter. “Treasury and most ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Minister of Education David Seymour today announced legislation changes to strengthen freedom of speech obligations on universities. “Freedom of speech is fundamental to the concept of academic freedom and there is concern that universities seem to be taking a more risk-averse ...
Police Minister, Mark Mitchell, and Internal Affairs Minister, Brooke van Velden, today launched a further Public Safety Network cellular service that alongside last year’s Cellular Roaming roll-out, puts globally-leading cellular communications capability into the hands of our emergency responders. The Public Safety Network’s new Cellular Priority service means Police, Wellington ...
State Highway 1 through the Mangamuka Gorge has officially reopened today, providing a critical link for Northlanders and offering much-needed relief ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“The Mangamuka Gorge is a vital route for Northland, carrying around 1,300 vehicles per day and connecting the Far ...
The Government has welcomed decisions by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and Ashburton District Council confirming funding to boost resilience in the Canterbury region, with construction on a second Ashburton Bridge expected to begin in 2026, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Delivering a second Ashburton Bridge to improve resilience and ...
The Government is backing the response into high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Otago, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says. “Cabinet has approved new funding of $20 million to enable MPI to meet unbudgeted ongoing expenses associated with the H7N6 response including rigorous scientific testing of samples at the enhanced PC3 ...
Legislation that will repeal all advertising restrictions for broadcasters on Sundays and public holidays has passed through first reading in Parliament today, Media Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “As a growing share of audiences get their news and entertainment from streaming services, these restrictions have become increasingly redundant. New Zealand on ...
Today the House agreed to Brendan Horsley being appointed Inspector-General of Defence, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Mr Horsley’s experience will be invaluable in overseeing the establishment of the new office and its support networks. “He is currently Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, having held that role since June 2020. ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the final regulations for the levy on insurance contracts that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand from July 2026. “Earlier this year the Government agreed to a 2.2 percent increase to the rate of levy. Fire ...
The Government is delivering regulatory relief for New Zealand businesses through changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act. “The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill, which was introduced today, is the second Bill – the other being the Statutes Amendment Bill - that ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed further progress on the Hawke’s Bay Expressway Road of National Significance (RoNS), with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board approving funding for the detailed design of Stage 1, paving the way for main works construction to begin in late 2025.“The Government is moving at ...
The Government today released a request for information (RFI) to seeking interest in partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned land with low farming and conservation value (excluding National Parks) Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced. “Planting trees on Crown-owned land will drive economic growth by creating more forestry jobs in our regions, providing more wood ...
Court timeliness, access to justice, and improving the quality of existing regulation are the focus of a series of law changes introduced to Parliament today by Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee. The three Bills in the Regulatory Systems (Justice) Amendment Bill package each improve a different part of the ...
A total of 41 appointments and reappointments have been made to the 12 community trusts around New Zealand that serve their regions, Associate Finance Minister Shane Jones says. “These trusts, and the communities they serve from the Far North to the deep south, will benefit from the rich experience, knowledge, ...
The Government has confirmed how it will provide redress to survivors who were tortured at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (the Lake Alice Unit). “The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that many of the 362 children who went through the Lake Alice Unit between 1972 and ...
It has been a busy, productive year in the House as the coalition Government works hard to get New Zealand back on track, Leader of the House Chris Bishop says. “This Government promised to rebuild the economy, restore law and order and reduce the cost of living. Our record this ...
“Accelerated silicosis is an emerging occupational disease caused by unsafe work such as engineered stone benchtops. I am running a standalone consultation on engineered stone to understand what the industry is currently doing to manage the risks, and whether further regulatory intervention is needed,” says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister ...
Mehemea he pai mō te tangata, mahia – if it’s good for the people, get on with it. Enhanced reporting on the public sector’s delivery of Treaty settlement commitments will help improve outcomes for Māori and all New Zealanders, Māori Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka says. Compiled together for the ...
Mr Roger Holmes Miller and Ms Tarita Hutchinson have been appointed to the Charities Registration Board, Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Louise Upston says. “I would like to welcome the new members joining the Charities Registration Board. “The appointment of Ms Hutchinson and Mr Miller will strengthen the Board’s capacity ...
More building consent and code compliance applications are being processed within the statutory timeframe since the Government required councils to submit quarterly data, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “In the midst of a housing shortage we need to look at every step of the build process for efficiencies ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey is proud to announce the first three recipients of the Government’s $10 million Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund which will enable more Kiwis faster access to mental health and addiction support. “This fund is part of the Government’s commitment to investing in ...
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Everyone having a cuppa and lie down or just cancelling culture? I see latest Stuff headline that the bozo escaping the fence is waaaaaaaaaaaay worse than National leaking confidential patient details, unless they're that opinion writers own details no doubt.
Is "White Jesus" an example of "cancel culture"? White washing Jesus?
Mosa posted this excellent al Jazeera article yesterday about how the New Zealand's media's endangered the country's health in conjunction with the Natz.
The article is worthy of a post in its own right. Here Glen Johnson describes the far right posturing of the media.
At the end of the article, he asks ‘Will the media hold the National Party to account?’
Your observation of Stuff’s headlines provides the answer.
"A case can be made that the nation's media, laundering many of the opposition's attack lines and big business talking points, have repeatedly endangered public health.
This was driven not only by the country's clutch of prominent Fox News-style commentators – Mike Hosking, Heather du Plessis-Allan and Duncan Garner – each of whom hawks anger and division to drive ratings, but by senior reporters and editors."
https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/zealand-media-endangered-public-health-200707103532946.html
Brutal. Enjoyed that, thanks.
This is exactly the type of piece parts of our MSM should be creating but it's all owned.
Over to you labour, grow a pair and fix it !
I would reform the media as a top priority.
At present New Zealanders are subjected almost totally to the views of the billionaire class.
The Jazeera link (which I have read) is not remotely a news item. It is a partisan opinion article.
The Herald always has opinion articles submitted by readers from right across the political spectrum. They are what they are and readers know that.
It's a counter to the multitude of opinion articles masquerading as fact (homeless man bs etc) that do attempt to influence NZers attitudes . Those articles put immense political pressure on the govt.I'm pretty sure without them we would have moved to level 1 at the time Bloomfield recommended.If we'd done that there would have been time to get the new testing regime securely implemented .
+1 Well said
Pity the corporate media never airs that view.
Instead it trots out the partisan view its sponsors want them to say.
The view of the deathcult called neoliberalism.
[Fixed error in user name]
Wayne, of course it's an opinion piece. It said on the link supplied by Ed. It says on the article when opened as well.
It's not a good line to take, to criticise something for being what it is plain it is.
What critics should do, Wayne, is critique the opinion piece. Where is it deficient, partisan to the point of error and distortion?
I read it and was quite taken with the quality of the writing- the developed argument, the use of examples as evidence, the conclusions.
It's not enough to slag something for being partisan. By definition, in a binary political world, half of partisan writing should be OK.
So, my question is, having given some reasons as to why the article should be read in terms of style and approach, what are your concerns with its content?
"Clark, the country's most effective health minister in decades" – seems incontrovertial evidence that the thing was written by a Labour partisan out of touch with reality. Totally clueless about the functional role of the fourth estate in a democracy too. Note the binary framing.
Let’s have a look a the list, shall we?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minister_of_Health_(New_Zealand)
Let's take decades to mean </= to 30 years in this instance.
The statement that "Clark, the country's most effective health minister in decades" is risible.
😀
Yeah, and the bloody media kept it a secret from us the whole time.
Past three decades, since 1990.
5 Ministers of Health over 30 months tenure- Coleman 36 months, Ryall 59 m., King 59 m., Shipley 36 m. David Clark 32 m.
4 with 20-30 months tenure- Helen Clark 20 m., Hodgson 25 m., English 26 m., Upton 29 m.
There's the field for thirty years. Who was the most effective Minister of Health?
Fine with me, but the original Q who was the country's most effective health minister in decades.
I must be nearly impossible to agree on a measure for "most effective" – no Minister works outside the context of the government of which they form part. David Clark has been part of a government that knew Health needed a lot of remedial work – and that became clearer after they were elected, but it is also clear that Clark achieved more than just the essential – see https://www.labour.org.nz/progress-list and click on Health.
To put it another way, I think it would be hard to put many ahead of Clark; King had similar challenges (Covid apart) and similar advances in the field.
Your comment is risible!
Never seen opinion pieces from marxists in the Herald. Plenty of shrieking libertarians. They even get regular columns.
…across the right of the political spectrum
Can't comment on the Herald but Stuff not only produces overtly partisan opinion pieces (not leftist!) and frequently presents news which is so slanted, it should carry an 'opinion' warning.
Marie Leadbeater has had recent opinion pieces on West Papua and I think Rimpac. The readers submitted items are on the editorial page below the cartoon, and cover a wide variety of opinion topics.
They are well read, but everyone reading them knows they are that person's opinion. The readers will agree or not agree, and of course they articles often contain interesting factual information irrespective of the opinion within the item.
As for the libertarians, I presume you are thinking of John Roughan, who is on the staff (or at least was). Probably the most significant feature opinion writer on staff is Simon Wilson. I would say he votes Green based on what he writes.
No, there are probably not many Marxists writing in the paper, but would there even be 1000 Marxists in New Zealand as a whole?
Where do you see Damian Grant, Wayne?
act party meetings?
The Al Jazeera article is an important critique of the National party reaction to the pandemic, which has bff even to take any angle to attack the govt, including leaking confidential patient information. It has revealed National as having no coherent response to the health situation. Barking at every car I think it is called. The media, with one or two exceptions have been the same. This undoubtedly put pressure on the govt who had to make the most crucial decisions very rapidly. Fortunately the govt were able to hold their nerve.
nzders appear to have seen through the hysterics of National and some media and labour led by Ardern are on course for a landslide victory. Well deserved and you must know this Wayne. Nothing National have done has earned the trust of nzders. We have all met people at parties who blow themselves up “we have the best summer house, wine, etc etc etc”. Or in Nationals case the best team. Boasting about being the best isn’t a policy it’s kinda pathetic. Nzders use to associate it with American show off. I am pleased that most of us see through that crap
Wayne why not discuss the substance of the opinion piece instead of trying to deflect the discussion into "everyone does opinion pieces"? Classic diversion tactic.
It's an opinion piece critiquing news reports. It has a point though- apart from politics we have seen in the business press numerous "News articles" which have largely been industry groups, demanding that the border be opened for their favoured group of employees or customers.
The dairy industry is a good example – it has repeated employer views extensively about the lack of workers but with no push back about the terms and conditions of the jobs ( many are short duration), why the industry has previously failed to train locals, why they are so "specialised" that a short term visa worker can do it on a minimum wage , what steps they have taken to attract local labour etc. It's as if a lot of the employer and right wing are allowed to operate in a question free zone.
He doesn't have the guts to discuss the substance of the article or to respond to anything anyone says about his empty and senseless attempt at dismissing it. Spray and walk away Wayne. Total slime.
Do you imagine Wayne, that the Herald would remotely consider publishing an opinion piece such as the excellent Eljazeera column? Really?
It is a partisan opinion article.
Thus speaketh an ex-National Party minister.
This is not robust debate, this is pathetic 🙁
I was pointing out the absurdity of an ex-National Party minister—a notorious one at that—hurling a loaded and demeaning epithet—"partisan"—at a serious and credible piece of journalistic analysis.
We could not have done without your help so a Bigly thanks to you 😉
No, it's thanks to you, my friend. You're correct in assessing my initial comment as a tad pathetic.
Respect!
serious and credible
Oh, I suspect the author was indeed serious about trying to con readers into believing it was a valid critique – but credible only to the credulous… 😉
Colour me "credulous" Dennis – you can lead a horse to water…
Dennis wasn’t fooled.
"right across the political spectrum"..from light blue to dark blue?
I'd like to dedicate this to you and Mrs Wayne, Wayne. And tell her no need to pull out the Elna (oops the pedal powered Singer) just yet, and Mrs Wayne's tablecloths are safe SO FAR.
Pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag
And smile, smile, smile,
While you've a lucifer to light your fag,
Smile, boys, that's the style.
What's the use of worrying?
It never was worth while
So pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag
And smile, smile, smile.
And now that you're down with the kids running things these days, gimmee a hint, I need an exclusive. You were never 'on' with that old trout Michelle were ya? You know there's big talk of it and if the ragdoll media keep biting – you might have to front
Whoar – tell me ya weren't tho' eh?. (And just btw – not only do I have a deal on Remdesivir for you, but there's a few of the blue left for you)
Ed said it was an excellent article. Then you come along trying to dismiss that by saying it's merely "a partisan opinion article." So what? Nobody's saying it isn't.
If you don't agree with the contents of the article why don't you say why you don't agree? You're such a snake.
Thanks for that
Really good article
It was obviously biased. I agree with the critique of the Nats, but all that crap about the media fronting for them won't fool anyone with half a brain. Some in the media do favour the right, but most try to represent the broader public. 🙄
Still battling for the underdog, eh Dennis – onya!
"Will the media hold the National Party to account?"
… Fox News-style commentators – Mike Hosking, Heather du Plessis-Allan and Duncan Garner – each of whom hawks anger and division to drive ratings…
Du Plessis-Allan and Garner were the Talentless Television Twosome from Tartarus in 2015…
Trust Luke Malpass , the National shill for Stuff ("Coronavirus: How isolation breach trumps National's privacy botchup") to start the day with a WTF moment! Since when did a single wandering miscreant who immediately is fronting up to the Court attracted the opprobrium of most NZers trump the criminal acts of at least three political opportunists. As for Muller, how could he have acted in any other way, and why did he not act decisively 30 hours earlier, even if it might have been 'kinda legal? Why, even the announcement of a recycled RON took precedence over dealing with a miscreant MP when he was in front of the camera for his press presentation. If Stuff want to be paid for content – they will need to get their shit together, unless they intend to be a 'Trumpian' sponsored organ of the Party of Irrelevance.
Stuff have taken it off their front page, and I don't really mind them spouting RW garbage, if they spout LW garbage too. I pay a Stuff sub so keep an eye, they're fairly even. Great piece in Al Jazeera, "partisan", ha!!! Seems pretty factual to me.
A lot of comments on a headline, but no link to the piece under it. Do people actually read the content before sounding off?
It is hardly an attack on the government. It provides context to the isolation problem.
What Malpass says about the dilemma is true. In fact it's what people have been saying on The Standard for ages. The balance between legal authority and health protection is a real challenge.
We now have an inside psych diagnosis of the Donald, from within his family: https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/mary-trump-book-niece-summary-highlights-too-much-and-never-enough-a9606671.html
The good news is that Americans touted their system of democracy as the best for most of the 20th century, claiming that `anyone can become president', and anyone eventually did. Donald proved them right. Mentally-ill folk have equal rights, and seeing one get the top job is a genuine thrill for all true believers in democracy! 🥳
Rio Tinto smelter in Bluff to go.
1000 jobs on the line.
Before we go all gleeful about rediverting the Manapouri generation, let's take a moment for the shock and devastation this will cause to those families putting dinner on the table.
We are at our lowest economic ebb in a century, and this is simply a terrible blow for the people of Bluff, Invercargill, and Southland.
After that, a fantastic opportunity to put a seventh of our national electricity supply to better use.
Bring on fully electrified public transport etc. If our govt finds a way past the last one's part-privatisation of the system.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/300052786/tiwai-point-to-close-1000-jobs-to-go
Guarantee if the price of power shifts it will be upwards.
If we let our broken 'market' have its way, yes.
That's the likely outcome, because Transpower will be able to increase their charges because of the extra investment they will have to make in the lines to move the power northwards.
On the other hand, since Transpower is wholly owned by the government, I'm kinda OK with the money from increased energy costs going to the government. Kind of a wastrel tax. As long as provision is made for those at the bottom of the income scale to help them overcome the increased burden.
More of a kinda poor people tax. Bloody wastrels, heating their kids' rooms.
Gotta harden 'em up for their walk to and from the mines. In the snow. Uphill both ways. With a howling gale right in their faces.
They have already had 3 years.
There is a limit on blaming not doing anything on the last lot.
I'd welcome them announcing de-privatisation of our electricity system. That might be what it would take, as the Nats knew.
Right, so let's take the opportunity to get serious about sustainable industry for Southland.
I kinda like the idea of tasking Southland Institute of Technology with developing a range of electric vehicle conversion kits – preferably with a range extender option.
In the immediate future, upgrading the transmission lines to get Manapouri's power to the Waitaki basin is going to provide a bit of a helping hand for employment and business activity in the region, if it's managed well with that as a specific goal.
The Southland Regional Development Agency is the primary conduit for the concepts.
They have representation from SRC, Invercargill Council, Gore, the two Trusts, Chamber of Commerce, the Polytech, and others.
It's not like they haven't seen it coming
It would also be great to build a southern focus around Dunedin's engineering facilities like the Hillside rail workshop, set up fully carbon-free electric-powered factories, etc.
Let's not waste the chance by just reducing the power costs for corporate dairying expanding in mismatching environments.
Sacha, it takes people and Governments to have the "vision" to believe it's possible and then make it happen.
The problem with today's world is that People with a vision are considered "Dreamers"
And Corin Dann fails to ask any tough questions of their spokesperson.
Predictable.
[Fixed error in user name]
Please add a link for those of us who missed the interview.
Link to the interview.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/audio/player?audio_id=2018754179
If ever this government needed a reminder about the parasitical nature of multinational corporations, this brutal action while our economy is weakened by the effects of COVID 19……
If a decent interviewer like Pilger or Fisk had been asking the questions, this angle would have been the focus.
Gary Tong's interview was a measured and reasonable response, Shadbolt sounded like he'd had a very heavy night before, and managed to turn it into a Penny Simmons election advertisement. About what I'd expect out of him. If I have misinterpreted that, well I did have trouble following him and I was multitasking at the time.
Shortages of labour on dairy farms in Southland workers will have to find new jobs.
Aluminium demand will stay depressed for many years the aircraft manufacturing industry will take years to recover.
So no future for Tiwae but Rio Tinto are blaming electricity prices.
Very good opinion Trickle.
Agree trickle…..my understanding is that Rio Tinto have been given heavily discounted electricity…..but the deal is secret….now they are blaming electricity prices for shutting up shop I think the public is entitled to know exactly what they are paying
Not secret. Criminally low. No time to find links right now but easy enough to find.
Rio Tinto, Gina Reinhart, the woman who makes $2.5M every hour of every day and then suggested to the Australian Govt that she should be able to import workers from China who would work for $1 an hour, saving her company a fortune in labour costs
Outright Greed.
Rio Tinto smelter in Bluff to go… 1000 jobs
Those thousand folks do at least have the assurance that the newly-elected National MP for Southland will be available to explain to them how National will get them new jobs via business as usual.
So they just need to organise themselves into a queue at the door of his electorate office when it opens. Call the media to show the queue on the evening tv news, then interview them after they come out from getting the MP's explanation. The pertinent question would be what day they start their new job, so the media can report whatever common pattern emerges from the answers…
Most people directly affected will most likely live in the Invercargill electorate, not Clutha Southland. Last time Invercargill voted in a Labour MP was 2002, Mark Peck held the seat for the 1993 – 2002 terms (which is kind of remarkable, a big swing in 1993, I wonder if the boundaries were redrawn, or it was a rejection of Nats doubling down on neoliberalism).
In 2017 there was only a few hundred votes between the Nat MP and the L/NZF/G ones. Will be interesting to see who Labour stands this time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invercargill_(New_Zealand_electorate)#Election_results
So the 1000 job loses and the rest directly working around the smelter aren't that big a deal?
Cool.
Great to see your priorities.
You weren't considerate to all the families directly/indirectly supported by a 5* hotel hosting returning kiwis in quarantine.
Priorities, you say. Have you checked for yours behind your fake outrage?
There's a thought.
Maybe they can convert the smelter to a 5 star hotel.
Heating wouldn't be an issue.
You've been here long enough to know that I don't tolerate people making shit up about my views and politics. There is absolutely nothing in my comment about the Tiwai jobs, it's a comment about southern electorates and voting. I have even less time for this shit than normal because it's election year. How you respond to my comment now will determine how I moderate you in the future.
I just find the shifting of 1000 people at the very least losing their jobs in a small region into election chances of a party a tad distasteful on the same day the the 1000 find out their life might be screwed
next time say that instead of making up shit about my beliefs.
Fair call. Will do.
ta.
Bro. I was about to say don't put your hand in the cage.
Yeah. Worked it out.
Just shows @ Ad. The gNatz should have gone to Specsavers. Woodhouse might have got himself a Musk instead of a Thiel. At least he does stuff.
On the other hand, the quantity of cheap power that is about to be unleashed could power many thousands of jobs – ones that don't send the profits off-shore.
How about – NO!
Redundancies happen all the time and I doubt that those thousand workers gave more than a moments thought to those who suffered them.
And, yes, the freeing up of that amount of electricity and the removal of the vast subsidies to a bunch of foreign bludgers is probably going to be beneficial to NZ.
Wayne, the Al Jazeera article is pretty balanced, fair and based on facts. What is wrong with that? Refreshing to read something like that after all the trump like media stuff doing its best to discredit the government in every way possible.
How do you feel about the sleaze permeating your party? Our PM has behaved with grace always. She has had every reason to go for Muller and co and the way they operate, but has not.
If she wanted a cup of tea and a lie down, like Muller, Hosking and co would have slaughtered her if that happened but poor Toddy was feeling the strain after a torrid few days.
This latest escapee from Isolation needs to be made an example of, bring the full force of the Law on him, 6 months in jail, no questions.
Make an example of him so that others may be deterred from attempting the same thing.
I'd like to say he was ignorant, but he new what he was doing. foreigners who simply don't give a shit.
If he was in managed isolation rather than quarantine, has to be an NZ citizen or resident rather than a foreigner.
Yes, but that doesn't mean he was born here.
The reports I heard was that he was a new arrival from India.
Remember, NZ imported nearly a million migrants over a decade, mostly to replace the massive migration out of NZ after 2011, around 400,000, at that time, nearl 10% of the population.
What reports did you hear?
Are you suggesting that only people born in New Zealand are New Zealanders?
No, you've misunderstood, NZ citizens, today, aren't necessarily born in NZ, you know, migrants gaining citizenship after meeting the criteria.
Yep
This person flew in from India. What report have you seen that suggest he is a migrant, and if he is what is your point?
The exact one you described, it was a news report on the radio.
It's possible the person flying in from India was originally from Ubekistan or Florida or even NZ, but the assumption was that they were from India, given the population, of 2.2 Billion, say compared to NZ of 5 million
How long after moving to NZ does someone stop being a 'foreigner'?
When they’re sixth generation or older.
Then 1 yrs community service in hospitals.
Yep, and his face displayed on massive billboards so Everyone knows who he is.
While I understand the face displayed on billboards Just is and it is tempting to want that, I think anyone breaking quarantine could be very vulnerable to vigilantism.
No let him do some time in jail. And a fine.
Agreed.
Still annoyed though.
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. ~~ Albert Einstein.
Well said
Ha ha this is funny but sad. 32 year old man not grown out of stupid childhood, or perhaps reached his peak already and on the way down.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/man-escaped-auckland-isolation-says-hes-now-feeling-stressed-questions-positive-covid-19-test
He also took selfies in the aisle and made phone calls using free wi-fi before returning to the hotel and waiting for police.
He tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday morning and is now facing charges, while the supermarket has been closed for cleaning and several people, including staff, are in isolation.
The man, speaking with the NZ Herald over the phone, reportedly said he felt "totally healthy and fine" and questioned his diagnosis, saying he had been given "no evidence" of actually having the virus…
When asked why he thought it was OK to leave the hotel, he reportedly said "no one told me anything".
He told the Herald that even people with Covid-19 are human, saying, "We are also people," but he didn't respond to questions about whether he thought he had put the public at risk by leaving the hotel.
Self-pitying, self-centred juvenile twat.
Much, but that's how I interpreted his actions in the first place.
Before going into Isolation, the Govt officials make it Very Clear What the Responsibilities are, there is NO EXCUSE
Well he might be mentally challenged.
Nobody told him anything?
FFS what did he think was going on? That the NZ government picks up everybody from the airport complete with minders and trucks them all off to a downtown hotel and pays their accommodation bill while they trot round sightseeing? I mean really?
If he's good enough to have a debit card and work a checkout then you think he'd be smart enough to work out that something was going on and he'd better pay attention.
[Fixed error in e-mail address]
People are dumb and shortsighted and stupid and devious and everything.
Don't trust anyone, you don't know what their motivations are. Plan for the worst, expect even worse.
Is this it? The organisation was such that an infected person walked out of quarantine/isolation? He could have gone to a couple of clubs, got into the spirit of things and over the next couple of weeks the virus could have started spreading over the Auckland area and Auckland could have been Melbourne?
If that is the case some people are not taking things seriously. They are not taking things seriously because they are dumb or they are simply not capable.
Am I over-dramatising it suggesting that some cock up of poor planning or poor carrying out of procedures could have ended up in lives being put at risk and millions and millions of dollars being the cost?
When you think about it – we are a bit of a wild west bunch quite often. It may seem refreshing and spontaneous and giving things a go to people, and yes sometimes. But a lot of it is rebellious, childish, self-centred, and lacking in self-discipline and not appreciating that there is a greater good out there. Everything can't revolve around self and immediate self-gratification – restraint is required from people old enough to be expected to be mature adults.
But then we make little effort to help parents socialise their children, and this simplistic approach to life carries from one generation to the next. No wonder we find our country now in a mess in the natural environment and the social environment as well, and those of us who have acquired some objective view have an uphill battle showing how the problems are linked. Being thoughtful adults isn't in the experience of many family lines dating from colonial times.
👍 Yes
Also, the escapee should be Billed for his Isolation, the estimated cost of $4000 plus the cost of Police time identifying potential victims
Send them a message.
AND countdown should sue him for the cost of the cleaning and shut down.
Yes, make them responsible for their actions, this applies to everything in life.
Foreigners aren't necessarily the best at not giving a shit. We can do as well without even trying, often!
Yes, in fact, probably worse
What makes you think he's a foreigner, he knows how to use a self service checkout and obviously has a debit card, you won't find either in India.
This person could have NZ citizenship and lived here for a number of years, so would be able to use all things you describe.
Have you been to India in the last decade? I only ask that as you assume that cos he's arrived from India, he has no concept of modern life, ie, credit cards and using self service, I think you'll find India is not that antiquated, in fact they probably designed some of that equipment, certainly some areas and states aren't that sofisticated.
A Kiwi mate. Makes it worse.
Yes and No, being classified as a Kiwi today doesn't mean you born here.
Nearly 20% of Kiwi citizens today weren't born here, that's the result of a decade of high immigration.
Nothing new then.
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/maori-and-european-population-numbers-1838–1901
Rio Tinto has bludged cheap power for decades, while thousands of our own people live in underheated, mouldy, dumps due to the high cost of electricity from the privatised power companies. Until such obvious inequities are seriously addressed they can sod off.
does the govt hold any sort of bond to sort out the toxic waste
here is link from 2017.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/344491/toxic-smelter-waste-must-go-campaigner
Just be aware that the actual energy cost is a bit under a third of a typical residential electricity bill. Transmission and lines charges are a bit over a third, retailer charges a sixth, GST a sixth, rats and mice the rest. So Meridian could give away the Manapouri power for free and it wouldn't reduce residential electricity bills much.
https://www.meridianenergy.co.nz/your-home/pricing-and-rates/more-about-electricity-pricing
A broadly similar calculation would apply to Tiwai’s power bill. The costs of supplying the electricity are a major component, especially the costs involved in enabling some backup ability.
Having an aluminium smelter at one end of a long skinny network may not be a good idea in a post electricity reform and privatisation era.
No.
Tiwai Point won't be paying any local distribution costs, they've got Transpower delivering right to their door. Their argument for getting reduced transmission charges from Transpower was basically that the spur line from Manapouri to Tiwai Point was just for them, so that was all they should pay for, and they didn't get much benefit from the rest of the grid so they shouldn't have to contribute to paying for it.
Some time back I had a stab at comparing their transmission bill to their electricity bill, from memory and published speculation about the various components, it appeared their transmission charges were about a quarter their electricity charges. From memory, the numbers were around a quarter billion to Meridian for the juice and 65 million to Transpower to get it to them
They also won't be paying retailer charges or GST or metering or any of the other rats and mice.
One big effect of the electricity market jiggery-pokery is over the last twenty years, the price per kWhr went from being roughly the same for residential, commercial and industrial customers, to big industrial users now paying maybe a third of what residential users pay, with commercial users somewhere in between.
edit
What about conceding a lower cost for electricity but they must accept responsibility as a company, to remove and deal with safely the Mataura and elsewhere dump of leftover stuff that produces ammonia gas if wet. They are not to offsell it to any other company, they are not to contract with some other company to remove it, they are to meet with government scientists and have big full and frank talks about the way to do this, using all known scientific information on dealing with it to cause it to be inert. This must be done within two years after discussions and satisfactory solution decided. The discussions to start from six months from now. There may be some machinery required to process the stuff and we could look at offering some assistance to pay for this, no GST something, something. We should throw ourselves into getting this done, and done right at reasonable terms and proceed apace, as the saying goes.
Get this done now while they are still here and operating, and left in a safe state. If they close down soon, it will be left sitting for us to deal with and we will never get these big boys back to the table. It is no use pontificating about what should happen, and that it isn't good environmentally.
And perhaps design some state housing that uses aluminium which is strong and light, and is going cheap at the moment on world markets, and we buy it at those prices and it is right in the country so should save some carbon costs.
Andre@6.2…
Power generation/supply/retail/wholesale is an artificial market created by National and unfortunately largely still supported by all parliamentary parties to satisfy the prevailing monetarist doctrine and structural neo liberalism NZ operates on. Meridian and the rest are creatures of legislation and prime examples of the penetration of state infrastructure by market forces and private capital.
The power companies of all stripes are essentially parasites on previously publicly owned and developed, hydro, thermal and fossil fuelled systems.
What has Rio Tinto contributed apart from environmental degradation, heavily subsidised jobs, and periodic blackmail?–even the Key Govt. gifted them further millions and Mr Key was meant to be a financial genius. Their last effort to get further concessions, despite employing a professional front organisation did not seem to get a lot of traction from locals anyway if meeting attendances and media impact are an indication.
@lprent – had a couple of comments just take a random walk into oblivion after hitting "submit comment". One just a few minutes ago in reply to Tiger Mountain just above, one last night. The one just now didn't have links or any even slightly controversial language.
edit: the redo of the reply to Tiger Mountain went through normally.
The Lincoln Project are going hard after vulnerable senators, too.
Lincoln Project: Slick about sick Trumpites and their doings and should rake in the shekels. Never ever trust them again, they say. Fair enough. But I don't trust anybody now. So what are they – hot air balloons with baskets touching the ground long enough to be filled with money which will rise and drift away for a distant destination?
Headline in today's Nelson Mail – 'Niece paints acid portrait of President'. I thought what a good art work that would be – some material with his face marked out with the facial contours sort of etched into it. It would make a good wall hanging of this epic leader, monumental. Think Han Solo Star Wars.
(https://www.flickr.com/photos/coffeego/11303417565
But…but..affirmative something…
https://twitter.com/nick_kapur/status/1280150555667632129
ah yes the meritocracy
See Winston is in hospital for emergency surgery.
Too many dead rats?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12346737
Having his spleen vented?
Cute.
Florida man.
https://twitter.com/KwCongressional/status/1280816785827258368
https://twitter.com/KwCongressional/status/1280641525483999238
"KPop Agents" hyuck!!!! I see a new character for Sacha Baron Cohen coming up…
When the US stops interfering in other nations governance is when they can complain about other nations interfering in theirs.
I often have to edit away a couple of &nsp or something that produce double spacing each – lots of empty space at end. Why does it creep in so often?
I don’t know but in the comment above @ 11, there are 16 non-breaking spaces!!
Posted late last night so for those who missed reading this excellent story from Aljazeera.
" How New Zealand's media endangered public health "
This report from Glen Johnson of Aljazeera
https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/zealand-media-endangered-public-health-200707103532946.html
Thank you mosa.
Excellent article. I posted it earlier today and acknowledged your discovery of it the day before.
I'm the treasurer of the Whangaparaoa Labour Party LEC. A real battle in a blue electorate to drive up the party vote.
We are having a campaign launch dinner and fundraiser on 1 August. Link below.
https://tinyurl.com/y85txx9d
If you would like to help us increase the % of the party vote which we have in the last 2 elections, we would love to see you.
Mods, if this is inappropriate feel free to delete.
Sounds good. Not deletable surely, more delectable! Kia kaha.
Go well Stephen D!…I was once in charge of Whangaparaoa/Orewa end of what was then Rodney electorate,and acknowledge your situation.
Just found this interview with John Cambell, well worth the watch, relevent to the upcoming Cannabis Referendum.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/nationals-paula-bennett-greens-chl-e-swarbrick-go-head-over-cannabis-referendum
And here's another one on the same subject, but…
A warning, it's a Hosking rant
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?objectid=12344874&&ref=recommended
If that guy had a brain he'd be dangerous
Actually, he has a mouth and a megaphone, and he knows how to use these very well.
Yep, but fortunately for us his listener base is relatively small, for obvious reasons, he's only talking to an echo chamber, noboby with an IQ above their age listens to the Hosk.
Dirty Dairying is ruining this country
“If this farmer is the best of the best, the reputation of the dairy industry and New Zealand are in serious trouble.”
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO2007/S00126/new-zealand-share-farmer-of-the-year-winner-a-profane-industry-poster-boy.htm
Bertie must be going for Arsehole of the Year as well.
He's got some stiff competition for that title.
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KBZpBJhW6g4/WZ6s1NVYTVI/AAAAAAAALqQ/BzPalgGWRkI5NlW8DRoBwtQSTjkZaD6aQCLcBGAs/s1600/John%2BBanks%2BAsshole.jpg
https://resources.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/l/f/i/z/s/image.related.StuffLandscapeSixteenByNine.1240×700.1lfi0o.png/1504501119377.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Woodhouse#/media/File:Michael_Woodhouse.jpg
Paddy Gower was in isolation for a day or so after using the same supermarket as the quarantine wanderer. He's tested negative and is now out and about again. What day did the dude go walk about? It seems a very short period of time for covid to develop enough to return a positive test. I think the risk is very low, but am curious how that is being managed. Is the idea that a true negative will be available within a few days?
It's a stunt caused by Gower's Loss of Relevance Condition or most likely he is even stupider than I ever thought as it's 3-4 days minimum for a conclusive test.
lol. I haven't kept up on the testing regime, but there does seem to be a lot of confusion out there about it.
Yep saw the article yesterday and wondered how Gower managed to get tested and recieve the results in the same day, how long was he in Isolation?
I'd like to see him in isolation for the full 2 wks just to drive home it's not acceptable to flaunt the rules for a story
Perhaps he is one of those exceptional accelerate students, and he achieved his 2 weeks' isolation in a matter of mere hours…
Think the media are classed as essential workers, so presumably would have been fast tracked.
probably found out he was in the supermarket before the iso-jumper even got there.
Or the test came back "yeah, nah, you're just a bit of a drama queen".
Anticipating the Exit, in which England declares independence from the UK… https://unherd.com/thepost/english-nationalism-the-dog-that-is-starting-to-bark/
So more than a quarter of the English electorate seem to be separatist. As political minorities go, that's substantial!
Well given that 54% of 33% is decisive, it's overwhelming! eh.
An attempt at analysis, at least.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/122073190/fact-check-could-a-transtasman-bubble-really-raise-nzs-gdp-by-88b-by-christmas
They're still counting the wrong things I see.
Bean counters only see beans, heaps of beans.
Neolib bean counters only see monsanto-ed, monoculture soy beans.
GM beans are the best!
everyone will starve and civilisation will collapse without them.
Quite apart from the defects already pointed out in the article – the only thing NZ has in quantity that Australia doesn't is snow. On the other hand they have more sun, more nightlife, more shopping , more….well everything. so why would they spend more here than we do there. Should reports like this even be issued. It doesn't reflect well on EY
[Fixed error in e-mail address]
Ha! Only Hooton, bailing frantically but in vain, is missing (in action.)
Maybe Hooten has jumped overboard and is swimming for his life Drowsy.
rats leaving a sinking ship and all that
Great! Cartoonists are better than journalists.
Very apt, one of things I like about this cartoonist is that he has no political bias, he makes fun of whoever gives him the opportunity.
Getting this ‘sponsored’ group on Facebook. Fairness in Focus.They are representing medical drug manufacturers. So why this name for a group of lobbyists?
Today's headline was "New Zealand ranks last out of 20 OECD countries for access to modern medicines."
So, how many OECD countries are there? 20? Are we bottom of the OECD countries for the number of modern medicines registered, the time it takes to access them and how many such medicines are publicly funded?
That's what they imply.
Well, folks, Colombia is number 37 to join, says Google.
It seems there are lies, damned lies and pharmaceutical statistics! Do we have fairness in Fairness in Focus's advocacy for the pharmaceutical companies?
For more information visit: https://www.fairnessinfocus.co.nz/…
Misleading propaganda.
They only looked at 20 countries, for starters. I have no time now to discuss the report. Maybe Stunned Mullet has something useful to add?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/114928875/new-zealands-access-to-funded-medicines-well-behind-the-rest-of-the-world–report
https://www.medicinesnz.co.nz/fileadmin/user_upload/IQVIA_ICOMM_Report__August_2019___1_.pdf
The image gives the appearance that all those green pills are weighing the DNA down. Which may actually be close to the truth. I know DNA is twisted but that one seems to be trying to shake lose!
And what medical interventions are there to access? And which ones are available on public funds? And can we have these graded by price with their special aims and ailments listed as well? Also whether they are aids to cures, or suppressants able to prolong active life though not cure?
It might also ask what externally independently tested medications are available specialising in what afflictions? It seems like more hustling with us as chooks supposed to peck at anything the overlings choose to throw.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/420829/californian-family-s-bid-to-recover-son-s-body-from-nz-lake-rejected
It is interesting that the police vetoed the request, Covid-19 reasons not referred to in this article, but because of their oft-heard wish not to allow any action that is not initiated by them, may have risk, and which does not assist them in some way.
In the April email, the New Zealand police referred to other barriers: The cost "to bring yourself from the US" and deploying a team for an "unknown length of time" with "no possible guarantee of success".
"Thank you for your kind offer, but unfortunately we cannot take you up on it," the police concluded…
The response to that was: "We're the ones saying we'll pay for it. We're not asking them to do it. I don't think he even referenced Covid – they just don't want to do it."
It is sad that these people have lost their son who is drowned at the bottom of a lake, and we are in a pandemic now, but it appears that the police are in charge of this matter and have refused the parents from ever having the right to conduct their own operation, which of course should be done in a professional manner. Something must be done further about this, rather than just an outright refusal, there should be a possibility to be reviewed every six months for three times and then finally in two years, say.
We need a Risk and Recovery Unit outside the normal policing, and with more expertise and a wider framework. People in the field may be part-time employed by a few permanent and well-experienced operations managers (no generic employees). They would be trained in what to look for that might relate to legal proceedings, but they would go beyond the police yoke that seems bounded by demands from police management following best practice guidelines.
Another thing is sad – that a number of things malfunctioned and caused this tourist's death.
Tyler Nii, 27, a tennis coach, did not survive after a double parachute failure over Lake Wakatipu in January 2018.
His lifevest also failed to inflate. The tandem-jump instructor survived…
The Nii family still do not have a death certificate. It is unclear why.
They did have a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) report, but they considered it so inept and incomplete they thought it did not deserve to be called an investigation.
It had been a long fight just to be told anything by authorities, Kevin Nii said.
Was it an avoidable disaster, and if not, why not? This is part of a line of injuries and deaths in our great outdoorsy, risky, physical-oriented tourist business. And one not set up properly and thoughtfully. It is disgraceful that we have the number of accidents and deaths that we do.
When Labour wins the election and is back in power, then we should set up an agency as part of the ACC to check how things could be run better. And restore people's right to sue with a cap, for aspects that are beyond ACC's remit.
This means that the loose way that geonet measurements of volcanic activity are graded, and that there will be controls on say the White Island tourist activities accordingly. We know that business has difficulty limiting itself and turning down the dollars in any sector. This one makes much money from taking people to a 'muttering' volcano and needs to be given definite limits.
In the meantime it would be good if these people could be asked to stay in touch and first, that the police negative be replaced by a guarded positive if possible with an unconnected expert's opinion on whether it could be done safely whether it was likely to be successful or not, and second that the situation would be looked at by some authority, perhaps tourism who would check whether there was a Covid-19 window which facilitated it. We want our tourism to continue in a better form than previously, and we do not want to lose our better-paying people because of bad reports about our being casual and unreliable.
That is a sad tale. And great ideas.
Thanks I feel love
Yes sad. Good if we can smarten up in our approach to all sorts of things.
Now looking at another sort of botch up – to a vintage plane this time. On Radionz.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/420846/warbirds-over-wanaka-head-grilled-in-high-court-over-crash
Pilot Arthur Dovey escaped unharmed, but a wing on his World War II Yak-3 aircraft was destroyed after hitting one of the cherry pickers during landing in 2018…
The repair bill for the destroyed wing was in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and Dovey wanted to recover those costs from show organisers.
Why should he have to go to High Court to get this paid for when it is obviously the Warbirds organisers at fault?
And is our self-congratulatory attitude undeserved about everything? Winning a farming award, and calling his animals bitches – how's that?
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO2007/S00126/new-zealand-share-farmer-of-the-year-winner-a-profane-industry-poster-boy.htm
(Recently I read of a farmer who commented on how great cows were as animals, very patient, and docile, and they were all named. Still had to be culled in rotation, but there was one who had such a personality that she had acquired a special rating as hostess to visitors.)
I'm confused as to why the cops can apparently stop people boating on Lake Wakatipu and deploying an underwater drone.
Australia is looking at capping arrivals and charging for quarantine stays.
https://www.theguardian.com./australia-news/2020/jul/09/nsw-may-cap-numbers-of-people-arriving-in-australia-and-charge-for-hotel-quarantine
This will provide cover for the same move here.
Especially after we have to build high fences around all the facilities and have 24/7 police available to deal with those entitled individuals (luckily, there are not many yet, but surely the number is going to rise).
If this is a longer term thing, we should set up camp on an island for the new arrivals.
Now the police union are criticising the Govt because they have to guard these people in quarantine. They kinda have a point, why should the police guard these people? But maybe because all the fearmongering in the media the Govt has turned the level right up to 11?
NSW used the police and defence staff. Victoria used outsourced contractors. Look who has the massive outbreak and why.
We are using a mix of outsourced, defence and police. Oh and IIRC there was a comment for a security company spokesperson complaining about those people being low paid. Maybe the industry could fix that themselves.
Why can't the police work with the community instead of deciding who they want to protect and who not? Should we call in the Army?
I question why hospitals have to hire security guards? Protecting our public workers and places should be police work. Private people's cars and property should be protected but it seems that people anywhere generally seem to be down the list.
Music to clippity-clopp ears.
/
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/505924-judd-gregg-the-coming-biden-coup
Wow, that guy sounds deranged. He's a republican though, so it's not surprising he knows nothing about the progressive wing of the Dems. He even names Harris and Warren as patron saints of progressives… what a joke.
Talking points are out.
https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1281039709683187714
Kia Ora
The Am Show.
There is no mystery its dirty politics the underbelly is shining in Aotearoa.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora
Newshub.
That's the way charge the fools who are putting the whole of Aotearoa at risk of the virus.
That's good news people going on holiday in small towns in Aotearoa.
Ka kite Ano.
Kia Ora
Te Ao Maori Marama.
That's is good to see some putea going to Wahine who have been negatively affected by the virus.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora
Newshub.
That's is great heaps of mahi for tradies.
A sugar tax is needed.
Ka kite Ano.
How exacrlty would a sugar tax help currently?
(Just curious)
Not curious just lazy Chris T.
https://youtu.be/qQfetkoGrpU
Kia Ora
Newshub.
Election time in Aotearoa.
Racist attacks on people by idiotic fools.
The Electric car market is going good.
Ka kite Ano.
Kia Ora
The Am Show.
It would be awesome to see Aotearoa stop burning coal and change to renewable energy.
Solar power installation subsidies would be great to.
Ka kite Ano.
Kia Ora
Newshub.
Yes vegetables are expensive.
Mystery creek field days is online That's the way of the future the Internet.
Ka kite Ano.
Kia Ora
Te Ao Maori Marama.
Yes Maori need to train for high paying mahi in the system minority cultures will be last unless the employer is Maori or of minority culture Pukana.
That's the way having cardiac arrests defibrillator on Te Marae.
We must remember what our Tipuna has achieved.
Ka kite Ano.