So the differential in the US electorate, consistently around 12 to 14% for months according to the polls, was really only 3%.
This is a disaster for the polling industry and for media outlets and analysts that package and interpret the polls for public consumption, such as FiveThirtyEight, The New York Times’ Upshot,and The Economist’s election unit. They now face serious existential questions.
The real catastrophe is that the failure of the polls leaves Americans with no reliable way to understand what we as a people think outside of elections—which in turn threatens our ability to make choices, or to cohere as a nation.
Assertions of public opinion are traditional in the media. It would be better if they were evidence-based. If polling can't provide reliable evidence, we need tech that does the job better – or we need to ditch the delusion that public opinion is unitary.
I reckon the public naturally subdivides into bodies of opinion. Sophisticated reporting would identify these. The media ought to have a go at that. They will claim it costs too much to do the job. If so, we all must consider the cost of an incoherent society.
The coming days and weeks will see careful analysis and less careful recrimination, but no one seems to know yet exactly what went wrong. But the answer almost doesn’t matter, unless you’re a professional pollster, because after two huge presidential flops, pollsters have lost the confidence of the press and public.
Expect two lines of defense. First, many pollsters insist that their polls are snapshots, not predictors … If their snapshots are so far off, though, where were they aiming the lens? Why bother? Second, the analysts will protest that they’re only as good as the polls, but who cares? Whatever the instructions on the bottle, the public uses opinion polls to try to understand what happens. If the polls and their analysts don’t offer the service that customers are seeking, they’re doomed.
Pollsters and analysts are unlikely to get much sympathy, especially today. But the train wreck of their industry has consequences that run deeper than its impact on their own professional lives, or even having set incorrect expectations for the presidential race. Much of American democracy depends on being able to understand what our fellow citizens think.
That has become a more challenging task as Americans sort themselves into ideological bubbles—geographically, romantically, professionally, and in the media they consume. Parties are now mostly ideologically homogeneous. We no longer spend much time around people who disagree with us. Public-opinion polling was one of the last ways we had to understand what other Americans actually believe. If polling doesn’t work, then we are flying blind.
This existential crisis doesn't just apply to the USA. Public life everywhere provides a common ground of culture, in which diversity co-exists with what is generally accepted as consensus reality. People need a sense of sharing things that matter, since confidence & trust are essential to enterprise, economy & well-being.
Competing cultural bubbles are obviously the trend of the times, but commonality will remain a vital ingredient of contemporary society. Focus on how to identify it is likely to become the next big thing.
Yeah I get that. Trouble is, that personal focus just degenerates society into a mad scramble to grab whatever is left.
Rather than a shitfight, people organise together to provide collectively. An economy forms, and politics is meant to do the organisation of democracy on an informed basis. When social trends focus on disinformation, we get incoherence.
Maybe it's that more people are deliberately full of shit. Trolling has taken on an art form and science these days. Make em confident – less turnout.
Bot armys can be readily seen today replying to Trump tweets. Swathes of them claiming to be aggrieved servicemen cheated out of an election and leaving US for Mexico (how ironic) as a result.
It's laughable it if wasn't so rife, dangerous, and unchecked.
That's a good point. I've been reading scifi stories of a dysfunctional future since the early 1960s and have no problem with a healthy subculture of dissidents. Nature balances order & chaos naturally – no reason we can't do the same.
It's just that we ought to tilt the balance back towards order when chaos threatens to get out of control. If bots get leverage, we need tech entrepreneurs to create counter-bots. No way will govts be able to do it. So people have to think about their common interests in co-creating a sane political culture that empowers sensible governance while preserving some anarchic diversity that will enable free enterprise to produce creative progress.
I like that septenary (?) division – wonder if it's viable in other capitalist democracies. Would be good to see social science research testing it here in Aoteroa.
Perhaps the most important aspect of the hidden architecture underlying political behavior is people's group identities. Social scientists have long recognized that people see their own groups as a strong source of self-esteem and a sense of belonging.
So here's the root of identity politics. Given that people have various group affiliations concurrent, we get a multipolar context created for each political person. Binary traditionalism does not encompass this reality.
Yes I see these seven categories as an elaboration of the core three political instinct model I've mentioned elsewhere.
Instead of the old left right binary that most people realise is past it's use by date, we should use a triplet: the system maintaining conservatives, the innovative expansionary liberals, and the re-distributive, justice seeking socialists.
If you look at the Hidden Tribes seven categories then three pairs of them neatly reduce down to the three above, leaving us moderates as seventh group annoyingly trying to be all things to everyone and rarely succeeding.
Language is so important..I find 'moderate' to be too soft/kind a word/label for those staunch defenders of doing s.f.a..the word is almost an underlining/endorsement of that not-do-much mindset…i think that 'incrementalist' is nearer the mark..'cos it describes what they want/are…d'yareckon..?
And our incrementalist-in-choef has just said she will not be increasing benefits…but she may do next winter what she did this winter….with the winter allowance thing…that's very ' moderate' of her..eh..?… How does that 'moderate' chant go..?..'what do we want..?'…'not very much'…'when do we want it..?'..'at some indetermined time in the future..'..f.f.s..!..eh..?..this is ardern exercising her mandate..eh..?..I think I'll just double-down on the f.f.s…!
It is the animal-eating 'moderates' who are destroying the land..fishing out the oceans..just to satisfy their addictions to eating animal flesh…they are the fucken radicals…prepared to destroy the world..fish out the oceans…just to be able to eat their ‘precious' flesh…how fucked up is that..?
So it's 'offensive' to tell those who are fucking over the world/oceans..that they are fucking over the world/oceans ..?…really .?..i actually find what they are doing to the world/oceans to be far more 'offensive'..than pointing those facts out to them..y'know..!..how actions speak much louder than words…?..so I guess 'offensive' must be in the eye of the beholder..
These surveys are always a bit silly in the way they insult the all-mixed-togetherness of individual thought and experience. I always remember the genius of Walt Whitman (and in Whitman it's good to remember the best of 'Murica at a time like this):
"Do I contradict myself? / Very well, then I contradict myself. / (I am large, I contain multitudes). / I concentrate toward them that are nigh."
Well they're only silly if you imagine everyone has to fit into a single isolated, hermetically sealed silo with no overlap or complexity. When doing the quiz I found many of the questions ambiguous, and answering them was a bit hit and miss. Yet the category it landed me in was accurate enough.
Whitman is right, at heart we are all a complex muddle of contradictions, and unexplored potentials … but one of the great tools humans have invented is our ability to use abstracted models to simplify reality into forms our limited minds can grapple with.
Managerialism in work places plays a part I think as well. I find it slightly amusing when people go on about the left being intolerant and PC when the biggest proponents of group-think and conformity are career managers who all are alike, been trained in the same things and can't handle disagreement and different opinions.
There are an increasing trend of HR people being lawyers as well so what is legal is more important that what is right.
When what is legal becomes the measure of morality it is an odd place to be.
"At the end of the day, if employers and horticulture want to attract hard workers, they have to offer them something that is worth their while.”
A large part of the problem is accommodation; most horticulture workers are not able to afford to do a short term 6 week job in one location, while also holding onto the home they live in elsewhere. From your RNZ link:
“We have 10 weeks of harvest. It is difficult for New Zealanders to come from out of town, to find accommodation just for a period of 10 weeks – and then there’s the issue of if they bring families, the issue of schooling and finding schooling for them for that time, and making sure they don’t fall though the cracks … Basically, adds pressure if you’re running your own business to have to do all that pastoral care too, which comes with the territory and we understand that.
Big shearing contractors used to get around this by provide free accommodation and food, but then this was always a part of what is always a highly nomadic work life.
how is it possible that orchardists cannot see that providing accommodation and meals will result in a better harvest. Is is possibly that the persons actually growing and tending the crop are not the decision makers?
The employers aren't even trying. I've been on the "Work the Seasons" list since lockdown stage four – only offer was some commercial cleaning – not what I did my my MA for. They're counting on the government proving as round-heeled as they have over the last few decades and giving them as many slave workers as they want.
You can easily imagine the discussions …'just get us through this season and it'll be back to BAU with a vaccine and open borders, no need to do anything radical, the industry wont survive otherwise'.
A corrupted business model, that survives on mean wages overwork and poor accommodation, with cries for support? Part of the "Too big to fail" pattern.
I'm more than happy to put my hand up for some work, have ample experience, and we broke a lot of harvest records on a lot of farms.
Is there affordable temporary accommodation making it worthwhile? No.
Is there enough money to justify an overpriced room? No.
Is the actual accommodation provided on a few farms comfortable? For many, not even close. Dorms of bunk beds. They could hardly have provided less.
Are the penalties, meetings, scrutiny and BS from WINZ worth it? No.
Will the farmers continue to plead victim and lose their crops rather than share the wealth? Yes.
For most of these answers I am generalising. There will always be exceptions to the rule. But it should not also be the fruit pickers responsibility to ensure fair conditions and pay before signing on for a job in NZ in 2020.
It's a non-trivial problem. Look at the cost of housing in this country; and for any business paying that substantial cost for an asset that may only be used for less than 20% of the year is a tough ask.
One of the constraints will be the high cost of compliance around this type of building; maybe the horticulture industry needs to get together with local govt to negotiate an special case building category for them.
And growers supply power, water, toilets, kitchen, laundry.
A smart grower would do catering, maybe for a nominal fee, to enable the workforce that wish to, to clock up longer hours without exhausting themselves. We used to pick all day and pack all night. Those with support got through it easily. We taking care of ourselves struggled to get the laundry to the laundromat, and the time to cook wasn't really there so we got worn out doing long hours on takeaways & junk. Various industries insist on catering for workers on larger jobs, where the work comes in pulses and is required to be done quickly and safely.
The whole hair pulling schtick by the industry is a bit tired. Pinching pennies and blaming the public. Sustainable business or bye bye.
That's a grand idea for seasonal workforces. It used to be fun too, back in the day – bit of fresh air, hard case fellow workers, dip in the river around dusk, a few folk plinking bunnies or fishing after work. Twas a whole culture the neoliberals destroyed.
Aye my father used to do shearing out the back of Feilding and remembers the change from farm owners to managers.
He oft mentioned one occasion when the shearing took a day longer on one farm than anticipated and the appointed farm manager of another farm took exception to his shearing starting a day later.
The farmer owner rung him up and said I always put on a BBQ and beers for the shearers when they finish and I'll be doing the same this year. If you have a problem with that come and see me. He had the shearers back.
Sadly many of those good employers – across NZ are gone – those that paid decent wages and looked after their staff unable to compete against the low wages paid by many others. When competitiveness relied on paying the lowest wages being a good employer wasn't always enough to continue to exist.
Fond memories. When I was 19 I did a summer working for a big contractor, Toby Smith, in based in a little West Otago town called Heriot. Now that was an experience …
Don't forget the Fringe Benefit Tax on supplied accommodation, more beauocracy for fuck all return for the Gummint, drop the requirement for seasonal work.
Keep in mind that the term 'exploit' is highly relative. For many people (mostly men) who are migrant workers around the world, the conditions they have to endure are awful by local standards, but are still way better than the choices on offer back home.
I learned this the hard way on a mining site some years back, when I idly passed judgement on the conditions the Fillipino workers on site had to put up with compared to my much plusher life. Well the senior Fillipino metallurgist I was talking with responded by educating me on some hard truths. We ended up rather good friends, both about the same age and with a lot in common as it turned out.
They may be better than conditions 'at home'…but they are not working in that labour market, they are working in our labour market….and they are exploited and by extension facilitate the exploitation of local labour.
Yes I get that. This is always the impact of mobile labour, it pulls down local standards and lifts them up for the families back home. Over time it tends to average out both countries, as painful as this process often is.
I'm not trying to defend this situation. In the long run the best answer here is for developing countries to catch up to the developed world, closing the gaps and reducing these mismatches. In the short term govts everywhere need to pay more attention to protecting these people and mitigating the excesses.
It would be better if, under a Labour government, their first priority were the prosperity of our own workers. Neoliberalism has driven the accommodation costs out of proportion, and the slave workers artificially depress local wages in that context. We ought to have a sinking lid on the foreign workers, if the goal of a thriving sustainable economy is anything more than a sound bite.
Maybe some 80% of the human race live in 'developing' nations. One of their main pathways to a better life is trading with the developed world, whether directly as migrant workers, or indirectly through their own local manufacturing and/or exports.
I don't think we can just slam the door on their opportunity to escape poverty.
How do you expect those countries to develop their economies if we artificially reduce our costs by exploiting their labour and education?…if you desire a single world economy (and therefore governance) then we had best have a vote on such….should such an entity occur then we would have the same standards worldwide and no need to seek better conditions elsewhere
What we rightly perceive as exploitation, may well be seen as opportunity by them. Both perspectives are true at the same time; how to reconcile them?
Like so many of the problems we face, this is global in scope cannot be effectively solved by the actions of single nations in isolation. So yes I do advocate for continued evolution of the global governance systems we have been developing since WW2.
"So yes I do advocate for continued evolution of the global governance systems we have been developing since WW2."
…and as we know that evolution has led to the mobile capital and labour that undermines local economies and fosters exploitation so in effect you are advocating for the exploitation to continue…as is I note, our Minister
perfection fallacy my arse…the globalists have had almost 40 years to mitigate the negative impacts of their agenda and not only have they failed they have accentuated them at every opportunity…..and people wonder why the likes of Trump can maintain 70 million votes?
Globalization has had winners and losers. Since WW2 it's pulled a vast number of people out of poverty. Here is a statistic that changed my mind when I read it, in the decade to 2013 around 230,000 people where connected to an electricity grid for the first time. Every day for a decade.
That's a staggering achievment, and transformed billions of lives.
At the same time, because there was only a rudimentary governance of the globalization process many new problems, such as climate change and inequitable labour treatment, remain to be addressed.
The answer to poor governance is better systems. Not to throw them out of the cot because our first attempt wasn't perfect.
So, in the decade to 2013 around (230,000 x 365 x 10 =) 0.84 billion "people where connected to an electricity grid for the first time."
While that may not have "transformed billions of lives", it certainly is "a staggering achievement". It's an interesting coincidence that the global population increased by roughly the same amount (0.83 billion) in the decade to 2013, while atmospheric carbon dioxide increased by a mere 5.6%. We're ‘laughing‘.
But there are two different things there…one is the right for foreign workers to come here to do jobs nzrrs don't want to…and hard to argue against that..and them getting those opportunities…but that does not mean they can be paid slave-wages…and charged for crap accommodation…eh..?…that is a different issue…best not to conflate the two..eh..?…it just muddies the water..
We're a small country – and wrecking our workers' lives to provide cheap labour to scumbag employers should not be allowed the phony figleaf of foreign aid. If we want to increase actual foreign aid though, go right ahead.
The ones who live in the draught, who pay for the door being open deserve the say on whether it shuts.
Many in island communities are finding their lives improving after tourism crashed. They're growing food and fishing, connecting through their communities again, and loving it.
But we are the white knights, riding in with our dollars to save the day. Maybe they don't need us so much as we need to believe we're superior.
Maybe you should ask them what they want. Telling people in poorer countries that they have to stay that way because it's morally superior is patronising to say the least.
Your common reasoned helicopter view Red Logix. Being all historical and theoretical doesn't deal with the here and now business of living and the conditions that are prevalent and make it unpleasant and often sad.
Your input tends not to help with solving problems. Your skill tends to the didactic and pontificating. Perhaps you could bring yourself to make suggestions to help with the here-and-now, real and existential problems impacting on real people in this country presently.
'fisheries expert Dr Glenn Simmons said they should all be sent home.
They did not bring enough money into the economy to justify the risk we were taking, illustrated by the two health workers taking the virus home with them after caring for 31 of the infected mariners, he said.'
"We send money overseas for the actual charter of these vessels and their wages are typically sent back to their home country. The species that they are harvesting is sent offshore semi-processed, and it's reprocessed into value added products offshore, and we don't capture that value either."
'New Zealand Merchant Service Guild general secretary Helen McAra said the reason for bringing in foreign crews was economic.'
"They earn very low wages compared to New Zealand conditions. They come from third world labour supply countries and I'd be surprised if they met the New Zealand minimum wage," she said.
'She said successive governments had swept the problem under the rug, but the pandemic had brought it back to light.'
Cheap camper vans, the opportunity to travel New Zealand (sans foreign tourists) between stints in seasonal work is an attractive option as a gap year.
Firstly, there are the issues of payment for work, and accommodation.
Then there are the issues around using overseas workers to avoid paying decent wages by NZ standards. Outsourcing exploitation.
After that, there is the question of whether reliance on cheap labour is stunting innovation – innovation in automation, but also innovation in how the jobs are designed and whether more secure employment can be established beyond just one employer in one industry. Many jobs have seasonal work, but not all seasonal jobs occur in the same season.
At least the movement of goods is one degree of separation away from actually having NZ employers underpay and overwork people.
I strongly suspect that half the time employers "need" to hire overseas staff, it's simply for the power being a visa sponsor gives them to get kickbacks (sorry, "accommodation costs") and otherwise abuse workers with lower odds of being reported for the violation. But that's just my cynicism showing.
McFlock, good to see some vineyards taking responsibility for their problems. I add further below at 2.6 .
What used to happen in our vineyards was for workers to work in both hemispheres but Covid-19 is really affecting that.
Your questions will need to be answered by employers as you say. Covid might have some beneficial effects in forcing employers and industries into addressing these employment issues.
This is a RNZ report from 2016 and when it is visited there are other links to support the idea that poor treatment of workers has been a long time here.
To counter this, some local Marlborough people in the industry had to set up an ethical employment system.
The effect of poor employer practice was manifold. It resulted in poor wages and conditions. Poor wages did not do much for the local economy. Vineyards locally are 80%+ owned outside of the area. Poor wages here but the profits went out of the region. Local housing became difficult to get rentals, and more expensive, with the pack of provision of housing by employers. Ethical employers were undercut and disadvantaged by unscrupulous employers. Health services got stretched and rough sleepers and cheap campers grew in numbers.
All for less than 50c a bottle on the price of a bottle of wine. Let the true costs of production be worn by producers and then by consumers, not by the workers and the local environment and society.
" Statistics New Zealand figures show despite the impact of covid-19, fruit exports are up. In the year to September 2020, fruit exports were worth $3.8 billion, an increase of 11 per cent on the same period last year."
'Despite lobbying the Government for more action in recruiting workers to the horticulture and viticulture sectors, there is little movement on Central Otago’s orchards and vineyards.
Alexandra-based industry recruiter Seasonal Solutions chief executive Helen Axby put the situation bluntly.'
Back in 1954 a visiting Prince from the UK observed that Maori were bit museum relic of the past and bit current day pet
Funny coz a few Maori visiting the UK on tours this century might well observe their royal family in similar terms. Presumbaly the ministry will advise the new FM not to say this out loud.
Grandad was a provincial bigwig and family lore has it that when grandma was asked to be part of the party greeting the 1954 touring royals she replied; "that woman and her family have had two of my sons so I'll be buggered if I'm going to curtsey to the bitch".
The Royal Family have done a great PR job for Britain. Without them to blame people might have to look at the source of their real toffy-nosed villains as Boris.
For a wee time they did get a satirical view – through the Pythons, but there is now some woke guy heading the BBC and tending to ban satire, comment, laughter etc. reflecting modern-day Puritanism. I think it is a determination of the upper-middle class to present themselves as better than the USA. Probably an achievable target.
Reading some of the stories of past Royals Pr.Andrew's behaviour would have been commonplace, without the common in his case. No doubt at the time it all seemed good fun to the men and glitsy to the women and teenage girls seeking 'the high life'.
Not a particularly pleasant family when it comes to the way they treated my Irish and Scottish forebears, even executed one of them at Grassmarket, Edinburgh. We lost a number of family members in WW1 & WW2 and got very little thanks for those sacrifices. Badly bred people with no morals IMHO ???
That's silly – blaming all on the Royal Family. The Brits have been keen pirates and colonists and class privileged since Adam was a cowboy. The East India company and Rhodes and… were all there with their tongues hanging out. John Buchan wrote many books representing the Brits as free-ranging colonials with an attitude of service to the great British nation of noble gits with strong chins and attractive uniforms. Also kidnapped male citizens off the street to serve in the Navy etc.
It is so refreshing to hear that something is being done about controlling Covid in the US. Biden has wasted no time in discussing a response to Covid with top health advisers in the US. Capacity in hospitals is nearing a crisis.
Biden has had unexpected loss and further loss. In 1972 his wife and infant daughter died in a car crash and in 2015 his son Beau died from a brain tumor.
NZs scientific community has been a treasure beyond anything that comes out of Treasury. A beautiful book has been issued for the connosieur, on NZ insects through Potton and Burton relating the story and works of an early independent scientist GV Hudson and showing his exquisite art in his coloured illustrations. He was a keen entomologist by age 10, and continued all his life after he came here from Britain about 1881. He worked at the Post Office with shift hours that enabled him to carry out his work. And he recommended daylight-saving time – which was apparently ridiculed then.
I would like to express my gratitude. Thanks Team. And I don’t consider any virus escape a ‘failure’. It is invisible, and it’s very easy for it to act like a stowaway despite your best efforts.
I’d like to think most New Zealanders are aware of how difficult (and crucial) your work must be.
Oct.28/20 https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-coronavirus-eighteen-ways-nz-can-beef-up-its-border/LND4I4UGBOGYDBEZQ6Z7UUNQXY/ In a new blog post, a team of Otago University public health argued it was now an "excellent time" for the newly-elected Government to carry out a systematic review to limit New Zealand's threat of more outbreaks. "The persisting occurrence of cross-border incursions of the pandemic virus – five since August 1, including a large outbreak in Auckland – highlights the need for such a review," wrote doctors Jennifer Summers and Amanda Kvalsvig, and professors Nick Wilson and Michael Baker.
While they acknowledged New Zealand had been a top performer at stamping out the virus, the experts offered a list of potential changes for the Government to consider. One was banning all travellers from countries with high levels of uncontrolled spread – such as the US, UK, India – until the prevalence of infection in travellers was low.
.
The Midwest remains the hardest-hit region based on the most cases per capita with North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska the top five worst-affected US states. Illinois emerged as the new epicentre in the Midwest, with the state reporting over 60,000 Covid-19 infections in the last seven days, the highest in the country, according to Reuters data. The state reported more than 12,454 new cases on Saturday, the highest single-day number so far.
Texas, which accounts for 10 percent of total US cases, is the hardest-hit state and became the first to surpass a million coronavirus cases in the United States on Saturday.
I don't think the general populace especially men, is self-disciplined and concerned enough to not need regular reminding about the simple things like masks and hand washing, (and noting where they go). (I have a notebook – my device is out of date I am sure.) Don’t know about the covid-19 heavy countries – I find hearing about US/UK (you suck!) is repetitive and boring now.
But caught this about Taiwan – perhaps they area good model. Haven't read it yet myself.
Listening to an OZ based scientist, Marco Herold, who is working on CRISPR techniques to detect covid.
They claim to be able to edit the dna of a blood sample, put it through their process and get a definitive result in 20 minutes, less than the time to checkin for an international flight.
Reckons it's 18 months from being viable at scale to work in an airport situation. Go you scientists !
Hooo-kaaay – I'm awfully curious about the applicability of the family of CRISPR DNA sequences and the gene-editing techniques developed around them, to detecting RNA virus infections.
Their press release certainly fails to shed any kind of technical light on the subject.
So forgive me for thinking this has a kind of Theranos whiff about it. Y'know, leveraging off a bunch of people with letters after their names putting out press releases with lots of sciencey words promising amazing things with a notable absence of actual detail.
Within a week they can train dogs to sniff for coronavirus in someone at an airport. Apparently it takes seconds and they get results as accurate as the current test – except that takes 24 hours to come back with a positive result.
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Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Two-thirds of the country think that “New Zealand’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful”. They also believe that “New Zealand needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful”. These are just two of a handful of stunning new survey results released ...
In today’s digital world, screenshots have become an indispensable tool for communication and documentation. Whether you need to capture an important email, preserve a website page, or share an error message, screenshots allow you to quickly and easily preserve digital information. If you’re an Asus laptop user, there are several ...
A factory reset restores your Gateway laptop to its original factory settings, erasing all data, apps, and personalizations. This can be necessary to resolve software issues, remove viruses, or prepare your laptop for sale or transfer. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to factory reset your Gateway laptop: Method 1: ...
“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
The allure of sport transcends age, culture, and geographical boundaries. It captivates hearts, ignites passions, and provides unparalleled entertainment. Behind the spectacle, however, lies a fascinating world of financial investment and expenditure. Among the vast array of competitive pursuits, one question looms large: which sport carries the hefty title of ...
Introduction Pickleball, a rapidly growing paddle sport, has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions around the world. Its blend of tennis, badminton, and table tennis elements has made it a favorite among players of all ages and skill levels. As the sport’s popularity continues to surge, the question on ...
Abstract: Soccer, the global phenomenon captivating millions worldwide, has a rich history that spans centuries. Its origins trace back to ancient civilizations, but the modern version we know and love emerged through a complex interplay of cultural influences and innovations. This article delves into the fascinating journey of soccer’s evolution, ...
Tinting car windows offers numerous benefits, including enhanced privacy, reduced glare, UV protection, and a more stylish look for your vehicle. However, the cost of window tinting can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article provides a comprehensive guide to help you understand how much you can expect to ...
The pungent smell of gasoline in your car can be an alarming and potentially dangerous problem. Not only is the odor unpleasant, but it can also indicate a serious issue with your vehicle’s fuel system. In this article, we will explore the various reasons why your car may smell like ...
Tree sap can be a sticky, unsightly mess on your car’s exterior. It can be difficult to remove, but with the right techniques and products, you can restore your car to its former glory. Understanding Tree Sap Tree sap is a thick, viscous liquid produced by trees to seal wounds ...
The amount of paint needed to paint a car depends on a number of factors, including the size of the car, the number of coats you plan to apply, and the type of paint you are using. In general, you will need between 1 and 2 gallons of paint for ...
Jump-starting a car is a common task that can be performed even in adverse weather conditions like rain. However, safety precautions and proper techniques are crucial to avoid potential hazards. This comprehensive guide will provide detailed instructions on how to safely jump a car in the rain, ensuring both your ...
Graham Adams writes about the $55m media fund — When Patrick Gower was asked by Mike Hosking last week what he would say to the many Newstalk ZB callers who allege the Labour government bribed media with $55 million of taxpayers’ money via the Public Interest Journalism Fund — and ...
Note: this blog post has been put together over the course of the week I followed the happenings at the conference virtually. Should recordings of the Great Debates and possibly Union Symposia mentioned below, be released sometime after the conference ends, I'll include links to the ones I participated in. ...
The following was my submission made on the “Fast Track Approvals Bill”. This potential law will give three Ministers unchecked powers, un-paralled since the days of Robert Muldoon’s “Think Big” projects.The submission is written a bit tongue-in-cheek. But it’s irreverent because the FTAB is in itself not worthy of respect. ...
One Could Reduce Child Poverty At No Fiscal CostFollowing the Richardson/Shipley 1990 ‘redesign of the welfare state’ – which eliminated the universal Family Benefit and doubled the rate of child poverty – various income supplements for families have been added, the best known being ‘Working for Families’, introduced in 2005. ...
Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
1. What was The Curse of Jim Bolger?a. Winston Peters b. Soon after shaking his hand, world leaders would mysteriously lose office or shuffle off this mortal coilc. Could never shake off the Mother of All Budgetsd. Dandruff2. True or false? The Chairman of a Kiwi export business has asked the ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
How will the recent wave of job cuts impact ethnic diversity in the media? In November last year, I was working a very busy day in the newsroom of a large online news site, interviewing whānau about their concerns over the imminent closure of one of the few puna reo ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ruth Knight, Researcher, Queensland University of Technology Have you ever felt sick at work? Perhaps you had food poisoning or the flu. Your belly hurt, or you felt tired, making it hard to concentrate and be productive. How likely would you be ...
Despite heavy criticism and an ongoing select committee process, the Police Minister says the Government will forge ahead with a ban on gang patches. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Whiting, Lecturer – Creative Industries, University of South Australia Shutterstock Everyone has a favourite band, or a favourite composer, or a favourite song. There is some music which speaks to you, deeply; and other music which might be the current ...
A new survey says ‘outlook not great’ for those charged with building infrastructure, while RMA changes delight farmers and depress environmentalists, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. First RMA changes announced ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olli Hellmann, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waikato Getty Images When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also ...
A leaked document shows the Canterbury/Waitaha arm of health agency Te Whatu Ora is scurrying to save $13.3 million by July. The “financial sustainability target”, which was “allocated” to Waitaha, is consistent with what’s happening in other districts, says Sarah Dalton, executive director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists. ...
A look at the state of the previous government’s affordable housing scheme, and what could come next.Remind me: What’s KiwiBuild again?First announced in 2012, KiwiBuild was a flagship policy of the Labour Party heading into both its 2014 and 2017 election campaigns. With Jacinda Ardern as prime minister, ...
Labour in opposition will be shocked to learn which party had six years in power but squandered any chance to make real change. Grant Robertson’s valedictory speech was a predictably entertaining trip down memory lane. The acid-tongued incoming Otago University chancellor administered a sick burn to the coalition government. He ...
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is seen some as its ‘silicon shield’ against invasion – but how will overseas expansion affect that protection? The post The state of Taiwan’s silicon shield appeared first on Newsroom. ...
There’s relief for building owners bending under the weight of earthquake strengthening rules – and costs – that came into force seven years ago. Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk has announced a scheduled 2027 review of the earthquake-prone building regulations will now start this year. Owners will also get ...
Opinion: It has been announced that nine percent of roles at Oranga Tamariki will be disestablished, presumably to help fund the tax cuts promised by the coalition Government. I am reminded of the graphics used to illustrate pandemic events, where five thousand people are standing in a field and then ...
After more than two sleepless days, running through savage terrain, Greig Hamilton didn’t know if he was going to finish one of the most gruelling psychological assaults in sport. He was metres away from the finish line, a yellow gate made famous in a Netflix documentary; a race he’d dreamed ...
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So the differential in the US electorate, consistently around 12 to 14% for months according to the polls, was really only 3%.
Assertions of public opinion are traditional in the media. It would be better if they were evidence-based. If polling can't provide reliable evidence, we need tech that does the job better – or we need to ditch the delusion that public opinion is unitary.
I reckon the public naturally subdivides into bodies of opinion. Sophisticated reporting would identify these. The media ought to have a go at that. They will claim it costs too much to do the job. If so, we all must consider the cost of an incoherent society.
This existential crisis doesn't just apply to the USA. Public life everywhere provides a common ground of culture, in which diversity co-exists with what is generally accepted as consensus reality. People need a sense of sharing things that matter, since confidence & trust are essential to enterprise, economy & well-being.
Competing cultural bubbles are obviously the trend of the times, but commonality will remain a vital ingredient of contemporary society. Focus on how to identify it is likely to become the next big thing.
Reading that was like reading a treatise on management speak.
Right now some of our cultural bubbles are pretty much this – trying to pay my rent and buy food.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2D-l1MauBmM
Yeah I get that. Trouble is, that personal focus just degenerates society into a mad scramble to grab whatever is left.
Rather than a shitfight, people organise together to provide collectively. An economy forms, and politics is meant to do the organisation of democracy on an informed basis. When social trends focus on disinformation, we get incoherence.
Maybe it's that more people are deliberately full of shit. Trolling has taken on an art form and science these days. Make em confident – less turnout.
Bot armys can be readily seen today replying to Trump tweets. Swathes of them claiming to be aggrieved servicemen cheated out of an election and leaving US for Mexico (how ironic) as a result.
It's laughable it if wasn't so rife, dangerous, and unchecked.
That's a good point. I've been reading scifi stories of a dysfunctional future since the early 1960s and have no problem with a healthy subculture of dissidents. Nature balances order & chaos naturally – no reason we can't do the same.
It's just that we ought to tilt the balance back towards order when chaos threatens to get out of control. If bots get leverage, we need tech entrepreneurs to create counter-bots. No way will govts be able to do it. So people have to think about their common interests in co-creating a sane political culture that empowers sensible governance while preserving some anarchic diversity that will enable free enterprise to produce creative progress.
Here’s an example: https://jvullinghs.medium.com/the-maker-movement-lessons-in-building-community-word-of-mouth-growth-and-product-design-d67798cca144
Yes , the maker culture feels like a real life incarnation of the 'Tinkers' that Vernor Vinge created for his Peace War trilogy
Then there is this interesting attempt to put them all through the sorting hat.
Just for giggles while munching my muesli I did the quiz. Predictably I came out a Moderate.
"Progressive Activist" for me
Note – you have to pretend you are an American to do this one.
I like that septenary (?) division – wonder if it's viable in other capitalist democracies. Would be good to see social science research testing it here in Aoteroa.
So here's the root of identity politics. Given that people have various group affiliations concurrent, we get a multipolar context created for each political person. Binary traditionalism does not encompass this reality.
perhaps forming bubbles (tribes) is a survival tactic in a chaotic time
Yes I see these seven categories as an elaboration of the core three political instinct model I've mentioned elsewhere.
Instead of the old left right binary that most people realise is past it's use by date, we should use a triplet: the system maintaining conservatives, the innovative expansionary liberals, and the re-distributive, justice seeking socialists.
If you look at the Hidden Tribes seven categories then three pairs of them neatly reduce down to the three above, leaving us moderates as seventh group annoyingly trying to be all things to everyone and rarely succeeding.
Language is so important..I find 'moderate' to be too soft/kind a word/label for those staunch defenders of doing s.f.a..the word is almost an underlining/endorsement of that not-do-much mindset…i think that 'incrementalist' is nearer the mark..'cos it describes what they want/are…d'yareckon..?
And our incrementalist-in-choef has just said she will not be increasing benefits…but she may do next winter what she did this winter….with the winter allowance thing…that's very ' moderate' of her..eh..?… How does that 'moderate' chant go..?..'what do we want..?'…'not very much'…'when do we want it..?'..'at some indetermined time in the future..'..f.f.s..!..eh..?..this is ardern exercising her mandate..eh..?..I think I'll just double-down on the f.f.s…!
And I find 'progressive activist' altogether too anodyne to describe childish idiots who would burn the world down in order to save it.
Or in other words, I can play your silly game too.
It is the animal-eating 'moderates' who are destroying the land..fishing out the oceans..just to satisfy their addictions to eating animal flesh…they are the fucken radicals…prepared to destroy the world..fish out the oceans…just to be able to eat their ‘precious' flesh…how fucked up is that..?
It is the animal-eating 'moderates'
Really? I've been mostly plant based for decades, since around when my partner did a three year naturopath course back in the early 80's.
I just don't see the need to be offensive about it like you seem compelled to be.
So it's 'offensive' to tell those who are fucking over the world/oceans..that they are fucking over the world/oceans ..?…really .?..i actually find what they are doing to the world/oceans to be far more 'offensive'..than pointing those facts out to them..y'know..!..how actions speak much louder than words…?..so I guess 'offensive' must be in the eye of the beholder..
These surveys are always a bit silly in the way they insult the all-mixed-togetherness of individual thought and experience. I always remember the genius of Walt Whitman (and in Whitman it's good to remember the best of 'Murica at a time like this):
"Do I contradict myself? / Very well, then I contradict myself. / (I am large, I contain multitudes). / I concentrate toward them that are nigh."
Well they're only silly if you imagine everyone has to fit into a single isolated, hermetically sealed silo with no overlap or complexity. When doing the quiz I found many of the questions ambiguous, and answering them was a bit hit and miss. Yet the category it landed me in was accurate enough.
Whitman is right, at heart we are all a complex muddle of contradictions, and unexplored potentials … but one of the great tools humans have invented is our ability to use abstracted models to simplify reality into forms our limited minds can grapple with.
It has me as progressive activist…I can't argue much with that…and there are 8 percent of us out there..
Managerialism in work places plays a part I think as well. I find it slightly amusing when people go on about the left being intolerant and PC when the biggest proponents of group-think and conformity are career managers who all are alike, been trained in the same things and can't handle disagreement and different opinions.
There are an increasing trend of HR people being lawyers as well so what is legal is more important that what is right.
When what is legal becomes the measure of morality it is an odd place to be.
[Sigh] Where to start?
Media that don’t report the news but massage it to manufacture opinion, consent, and dissent.
An audience/public that has selective hearing, binary & tribal attitudes, and wishful thinking.
When the nail goes crooked, it’s not the hammer’s fault.
"the culprits are Kiwis."
….well, so goes the whine from the Vineyard/Orchardist owner types.
https://www.odt.co.nz/rural-life/horticulture/vineyards-orchards-still-short-workers
And of course the local nat MP's are in up to their necks…
https://www.odt.co.nz/rural-life/horticulture/mps-push-crop-workers
Seems reminiscent of sir Key and ol "double dipper" Bill English…
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/312562/immigrants-needed-due-to-nzers%27-work-ethic,-drug-use-pm
Anyway. What I KNOW personally.And can vouch for… Please READ it. Very true
"At the end of the day, if employers and horticulture want to attract hard workers, they have to offer them something that is worth their while.”
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/kiwi-fruit-pickers-have-simple-message-growers-cry-labour-pay-us-more
The market will decide…..NZers wont be treated like shit OR slaves.
"At the end of the day, if employers and horticulture want to attract hard workers, they have to offer them something that is worth their while.”
A large part of the problem is accommodation; most horticulture workers are not able to afford to do a short term 6 week job in one location, while also holding onto the home they live in elsewhere. From your RNZ link:
Big shearing contractors used to get around this by provide free accommodation and food, but then this was always a part of what is always a highly nomadic work life.
how is it possible that orchardists cannot see that providing accommodation and meals will result in a better harvest. Is is possibly that the persons actually growing and tending the crop are not the decision makers?
The employers aren't even trying. I've been on the "Work the Seasons" list since lockdown stage four – only offer was some commercial cleaning – not what I did my my MA for. They're counting on the government proving as round-heeled as they have over the last few decades and giving them as many slave workers as they want.
You can easily imagine the discussions …'just get us through this season and it'll be back to BAU with a vaccine and open borders, no need to do anything radical, the industry wont survive otherwise'.
The way they talk about how desperate they are, I ought to have to fight them off with a stick. It's all PR.
A corrupted business model, that survives on mean wages overwork and poor accommodation, with cries for support? Part of the "Too big to fail" pattern.
Professional bludger's is what they are called IMHO ???
I'm more than happy to put my hand up for some work, have ample experience, and we broke a lot of harvest records on a lot of farms.
Is there affordable temporary accommodation making it worthwhile? No.
Is there enough money to justify an overpriced room? No.
Is the actual accommodation provided on a few farms comfortable? For many, not even close. Dorms of bunk beds. They could hardly have provided less.
Are the penalties, meetings, scrutiny and BS from WINZ worth it? No.
Will the farmers continue to plead victim and lose their crops rather than share the wealth? Yes.
For most of these answers I am generalising. There will always be exceptions to the rule. But it should not also be the fruit pickers responsibility to ensure fair conditions and pay before signing on for a job in NZ in 2020.
It's a non-trivial problem. Look at the cost of housing in this country; and for any business paying that substantial cost for an asset that may only be used for less than 20% of the year is a tough ask.
One of the constraints will be the high cost of compliance around this type of building; maybe the horticulture industry needs to get together with local govt to negotiate an special case building category for them.
I'm thinking tiny houses on wheels.
And growers supply power, water, toilets, kitchen, laundry.
A smart grower would do catering, maybe for a nominal fee, to enable the workforce that wish to, to clock up longer hours without exhausting themselves. We used to pick all day and pack all night. Those with support got through it easily. We taking care of ourselves struggled to get the laundry to the laundromat, and the time to cook wasn't really there so we got worn out doing long hours on takeaways & junk. Various industries insist on catering for workers on larger jobs, where the work comes in pulses and is required to be done quickly and safely.
The whole hair pulling schtick by the industry is a bit tired. Pinching pennies and blaming the public. Sustainable business or bye bye.
That's a grand idea for seasonal workforces. It used to be fun too, back in the day – bit of fresh air, hard case fellow workers, dip in the river around dusk, a few folk plinking bunnies or fishing after work. Twas a whole culture the neoliberals destroyed.
Aye my father used to do shearing out the back of Feilding and remembers the change from farm owners to managers.
He oft mentioned one occasion when the shearing took a day longer on one farm than anticipated and the appointed farm manager of another farm took exception to his shearing starting a day later.
The farmer owner rung him up and said I always put on a BBQ and beers for the shearers when they finish and I'll be doing the same this year. If you have a problem with that come and see me. He had the shearers back.
Sadly many of those good employers – across NZ are gone – those that paid decent wages and looked after their staff unable to compete against the low wages paid by many others. When competitiveness relied on paying the lowest wages being a good employer wasn't always enough to continue to exist.
Fond memories. When I was 19 I did a summer working for a big contractor, Toby Smith, in based in a little West Otago town called Heriot. Now that was an experience …
Don't forget the Fringe Benefit Tax on supplied accommodation, more beauocracy for fuck all return for the Gummint, drop the requirement for seasonal work.
Another industry that relies on imported labour to exploit…and the Minister's response indicates there is going to be no change.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018771933/questions-over-benefits-of-foreign-fishing-crews
Keep in mind that the term 'exploit' is highly relative. For many people (mostly men) who are migrant workers around the world, the conditions they have to endure are awful by local standards, but are still way better than the choices on offer back home.
I learned this the hard way on a mining site some years back, when I idly passed judgement on the conditions the Fillipino workers on site had to put up with compared to my much plusher life. Well the senior Fillipino metallurgist I was talking with responded by educating me on some hard truths. We ended up rather good friends, both about the same age and with a lot in common as it turned out.
They may be better than conditions 'at home'…but they are not working in that labour market, they are working in our labour market….and they are exploited and by extension facilitate the exploitation of local labour.
Thank you Pat, yes.
Yes I get that. This is always the impact of mobile labour, it pulls down local standards and lifts them up for the families back home. Over time it tends to average out both countries, as painful as this process often is.
I'm not trying to defend this situation. In the long run the best answer here is for developing countries to catch up to the developed world, closing the gaps and reducing these mismatches. In the short term govts everywhere need to pay more attention to protecting these people and mitigating the excesses.
as the RNZ link indicates our Gov. appears to have no such intention
Faafoi is totally down with giving the worst scumbags in NZ an unlimited extension of the systematic fraud that gives them access to slave workers.
Like Nash before him, he is completely self-serving, a scoundrel and a recreant to the founding values of the party that provides him his sinecure.
It would be better if, under a Labour government, their first priority were the prosperity of our own workers. Neoliberalism has driven the accommodation costs out of proportion, and the slave workers artificially depress local wages in that context. We ought to have a sinking lid on the foreign workers, if the goal of a thriving sustainable economy is anything more than a sound bite.
Maybe some 80% of the human race live in 'developing' nations. One of their main pathways to a better life is trading with the developed world, whether directly as migrant workers, or indirectly through their own local manufacturing and/or exports.
I don't think we can just slam the door on their opportunity to escape poverty.
How do you expect those countries to develop their economies if we artificially reduce our costs by exploiting their labour and education?…if you desire a single world economy (and therefore governance) then we had best have a vote on such….should such an entity occur then we would have the same standards worldwide and no need to seek better conditions elsewhere
What we rightly perceive as exploitation, may well be seen as opportunity by them. Both perspectives are true at the same time; how to reconcile them?
Like so many of the problems we face, this is global in scope cannot be effectively solved by the actions of single nations in isolation. So yes I do advocate for continued evolution of the global governance systems we have been developing since WW2.
"So yes I do advocate for continued evolution of the global governance systems we have been developing since WW2."
…and as we know that evolution has led to the mobile capital and labour that undermines local economies and fosters exploitation so in effect you are advocating for the exploitation to continue…as is I note, our Minister
Ah the Perfection Fallacy. An oldie but ever so popular.
perfection fallacy my arse…the globalists have had almost 40 years to mitigate the negative impacts of their agenda and not only have they failed they have accentuated them at every opportunity…..and people wonder why the likes of Trump can maintain 70 million votes?
Globalization has had winners and losers. Since WW2 it's pulled a vast number of people out of poverty. Here is a statistic that changed my mind when I read it, in the decade to 2013 around 230,000 people where connected to an electricity grid for the first time. Every day for a decade.
That's a staggering achievment, and transformed billions of lives.
At the same time, because there was only a rudimentary governance of the globalization process many new problems, such as climate change and inequitable labour treatment, remain to be addressed.
The answer to poor governance is better systems. Not to throw them out of the cot because our first attempt wasn't perfect.
So, in the decade to 2013 around (230,000 x 365 x 10 =) 0.84 billion "people where connected to an electricity grid for the first time."
While that may not have "transformed billions of lives", it certainly is "a staggering achievement". It's an interesting coincidence that the global population increased by roughly the same amount (0.83 billion) in the decade to 2013, while atmospheric carbon dioxide increased by a mere 5.6%. We're ‘laughing‘.
But there are two different things there…one is the right for foreign workers to come here to do jobs nzrrs don't want to…and hard to argue against that..and them getting those opportunities…but that does not mean they can be paid slave-wages…and charged for crap accommodation…eh..?…that is a different issue…best not to conflate the two..eh..?…it just muddies the water..
@DMK
More accurate data on electricity as a measure of human progress:
https://ourworldindata.org/energy-access
We're a small country – and wrecking our workers' lives to provide cheap labour to scumbag employers should not be allowed the phony figleaf of foreign aid. If we want to increase actual foreign aid though, go right ahead.
The ones who live in the draught, who pay for the door being open deserve the say on whether it shuts.
We really need to get off the poor natives trope.
Many in island communities are finding their lives improving after tourism crashed. They're growing food and fishing, connecting through their communities again, and loving it.
But we are the white knights, riding in with our dollars to save the day. Maybe they don't need us so much as we need to believe we're superior.
Maybe you should ask them what they want. Telling people in poorer countries that they have to stay that way because it's morally superior is patronising to say the least.
No, using them as bargaining chips for poor business practise in NZ under the guise of 'a hand up' is patronising.
There are many ways to give aid that don't exploit socio-economic disparity.
Your common reasoned helicopter view Red Logix. Being all historical and theoretical doesn't deal with the here and now business of living and the conditions that are prevalent and make it unpleasant and often sad.
Your input tends not to help with solving problems. Your skill tends to the didactic and pontificating. Perhaps you could bring yourself to make suggestions to help with the here-and-now, real and existential problems impacting on real people in this country presently.
I tend to reply to people in the same manner they take with me.
But as for a lack of practical ideas, well that is easily countered. Even in this thread at 2.2.2.1 I did just that.
Agree Slave Labour and Artificially Inflated Accommodation Costs and That Is a FACT !!!
I think you might find that a lot of the boats are Georgian or Ukranian and leased by NZ fishing companies for our seasons.
Think Talleys, Sealord and Ngai Tahu.
'fisheries expert Dr Glenn Simmons said they should all be sent home.
They did not bring enough money into the economy to justify the risk we were taking, illustrated by the two health workers taking the virus home with them after caring for 31 of the infected mariners, he said.'
"We send money overseas for the actual charter of these vessels and their wages are typically sent back to their home country. The species that they are harvesting is sent offshore semi-processed, and it's reprocessed into value added products offshore, and we don't capture that value either."
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/covid-19-foreign-fishing-crews-not-worth-risk-expert
Absolutely !!
and those claimed 450 onshore jobs generate a claimed 725 million pa for the 'country'….wonder how much ends up in those 450 pay packets?
The very least they could get away with….
'New Zealand Merchant Service Guild general secretary Helen McAra said the reason for bringing in foreign crews was economic.'
"They earn very low wages compared to New Zealand conditions. They come from third world labour supply countries and I'd be surprised if they met the New Zealand minimum wage," she said.
'She said successive governments had swept the problem under the rug, but the pandemic had brought it back to light.'
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/429335/fishing-companies-don-t-want-to-hire-local-mariners-say
Cheap camper vans, the opportunity to travel New Zealand (sans foreign tourists) between stints in seasonal work is an attractive option as a gap year.
A shower, laundry and toilet block and the camper van to sleep in, I wish I was 20 years old again.
lol not all vinyards.
There are so many issues to unpack.
Firstly, there are the issues of payment for work, and accommodation.
Then there are the issues around using overseas workers to avoid paying decent wages by NZ standards. Outsourcing exploitation.
After that, there is the question of whether reliance on cheap labour is stunting innovation – innovation in automation, but also innovation in how the jobs are designed and whether more secure employment can be established beyond just one employer in one industry. Many jobs have seasonal work, but not all seasonal jobs occur in the same season.
Payment of decent wages in the horticultural industry is a sour topic, screwing workers in the horticultural industry is a sanctioned human right.
Same argument could be applied to any time goods are exported or imported between any two countries with different labour rates.
I agree with much of what you are saying, but we need to be careful about exactly what problem we are solving.
In case we accidentally solve another problem?
At least the movement of goods is one degree of separation away from actually having NZ employers underpay and overwork people.
I strongly suspect that half the time employers "need" to hire overseas staff, it's simply for the power being a visa sponsor gives them to get kickbacks (sorry, "accommodation costs") and otherwise abuse workers with lower odds of being reported for the violation. But that's just my cynicism showing.
McFlock, good to see some vineyards taking responsibility for their problems. I add further below at 2.6 .
What used to happen in our vineyards was for workers to work in both hemispheres but Covid-19 is really affecting that.
Your questions will need to be answered by employers as you say. Covid might have some beneficial effects in forcing employers and industries into addressing these employment issues.
what happened to all the workers freed up from tourism and hospo?
No idea. But at least some otherwise seasonal workers have job security.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/311418/wine-industry-worker-treatment-%27putting-sales-in-danger%27
This is a RNZ report from 2016 and when it is visited there are other links to support the idea that poor treatment of workers has been a long time here.
To counter this, some local Marlborough people in the industry had to set up an ethical employment system.
The effect of poor employer practice was manifold. It resulted in poor wages and conditions. Poor wages did not do much for the local economy. Vineyards locally are 80%+ owned outside of the area. Poor wages here but the profits went out of the region. Local housing became difficult to get rentals, and more expensive, with the pack of provision of housing by employers. Ethical employers were undercut and disadvantaged by unscrupulous employers. Health services got stretched and rough sleepers and cheap campers grew in numbers.
All for less than 50c a bottle on the price of a bottle of wine. Let the true costs of production be worn by producers and then by consumers, not by the workers and the local environment and society.
mac1 Thanks. Interesting, informative and helps to see the matter in the round.
" Statistics New Zealand figures show despite the impact of covid-19, fruit exports are up. In the year to September 2020, fruit exports were worth $3.8 billion, an increase of 11 per cent on the same period last year."
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/kiwi-fruit-pickers-have-simple-message-growers-cry-labour-pay-us-more
$3.8 …Billion?!
Pay. More. Whats so fkn hard about that?
"$18.90 per hour "
https://job-bank.workandincome.govt.nz/find-a-job/details.aspx?JobId=482356
'Despite lobbying the Government for more action in recruiting workers to the horticulture and viticulture sectors, there is little movement on Central Otago’s orchards and vineyards.
Alexandra-based industry recruiter Seasonal Solutions chief executive Helen Axby put the situation bluntly.'
"Nothing has changed."
No shit Sherlock….
"$18.90 per hour "
PAY more…
Link for above..
https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/central-otago/no-change-seasonal-worker-shortage
Back in 1954 a visiting Prince from the UK observed that Maori were bit museum relic of the past and bit current day pet
Funny coz a few Maori visiting the UK on tours this century might well observe their royal family in similar terms. Presumbaly the ministry will advise the new FM not to say this out loud.
The Royal Family definitely hasn't changed in the last 200 years still a bunch of toffee nosed old farts.
Grandad was a provincial bigwig and family lore has it that when grandma was asked to be part of the party greeting the 1954 touring royals she replied; "that woman and her family have had two of my sons so I'll be buggered if I'm going to curtsey to the bitch".
The Royal Family have done a great PR job for Britain. Without them to blame people might have to look at the source of their real toffy-nosed villains as Boris.
For a wee time they did get a satirical view – through the Pythons, but there is now some woke guy heading the BBC and tending to ban satire, comment, laughter etc. reflecting modern-day Puritanism. I think it is a determination of the upper-middle class to present themselves as better than the USA. Probably an achievable target.
Especially Innocent Andy ?
Reading some of the stories of past Royals Pr.Andrew's behaviour would have been commonplace, without the common in his case. No doubt at the time it all seemed good fun to the men and glitsy to the women and teenage girls seeking 'the high life'.
Not a particularly pleasant family when it comes to the way they treated my Irish and Scottish forebears, even executed one of them at Grassmarket, Edinburgh. We lost a number of family members in WW1 & WW2 and got very little thanks for those sacrifices. Badly bred people with no morals IMHO ???
That's silly – blaming all on the Royal Family. The Brits have been keen pirates and colonists and class privileged since Adam was a cowboy. The East India company and Rhodes and… were all there with their tongues hanging out. John Buchan wrote many books representing the Brits as free-ranging colonials with an attitude of service to the great British nation of noble gits with strong chins and attractive uniforms. Also kidnapped male citizens off the street to serve in the Navy etc.
I've always thought the royal family would make a good natural history museum display on the hazards of inbreeding.
It is so refreshing to hear that something is being done about controlling Covid in the US. Biden has wasted no time in discussing a response to Covid with top health advisers in the US. Capacity in hospitals is nearing a crisis.
Biden has had unexpected loss and further loss. In 1972 his wife and infant daughter died in a car crash and in 2015 his son Beau died from a brain tumor.
Yes Treetop he seems a more inclusive sensitive being. Though his “Spread the Faith” mantra? Which faith?
Faith in people having faith in him to keep them alive.
Also Biden is getting advice from top US scientists. I can see a military operation of sorts from 21 January 2021.
They have a long road ahead of them in the USA.
NZs scientific community has been a treasure beyond anything that comes out of Treasury. A beautiful book has been issued for the connosieur, on NZ insects through Potton and Burton relating the story and works of an early independent scientist GV Hudson and showing his exquisite art in his coloured illustrations. He was a keen entomologist by age 10, and continued all his life after he came here from Britain about 1881. He worked at the Post Office with shift hours that enabled him to carry out his work. And he recommended daylight-saving time – which was apparently ridiculed then.
http://books.scoop.co.nz/2020/11/08/our-insect-world/
I would like to express my gratitude. Thanks Team. And I don’t consider any virus escape a ‘failure’. It is invisible, and it’s very easy for it to act like a stowaway despite your best efforts.
I’d like to think most New Zealanders are aware of how difficult (and crucial) your work must be.
https://twitter.com/covid19nz/status/1325599690612596738
Covid-19 – how can we reduce the risks in NZ?
Nov.9/20 https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/430166/covid-19-foreign-fishing-crews-not-worth-the-risk-expert
Oct.28/20 https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/429335/fishing-companies-don-t-want-to-hire-local-mariners-say
Oct.28/20 https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-coronavirus-eighteen-ways-nz-can-beef-up-its-border/LND4I4UGBOGYDBEZQ6Z7UUNQXY/
In a new blog post, a team of Otago University public health argued it was now an "excellent time" for the newly-elected Government to carry out a systematic review to limit New Zealand's threat of more outbreaks.
"The persisting occurrence of cross-border incursions of the pandemic virus – five since August 1, including a large outbreak in Auckland – highlights the need for such a review," wrote doctors Jennifer Summers and Amanda Kvalsvig, and professors Nick Wilson and Michael Baker.
While they acknowledged New Zealand had been a top performer at stamping out the virus, the experts offered a list of potential changes for the Government to consider.
One was banning all travellers from countries with high levels of uncontrolled spread – such as the US, UK, India – until the prevalence of infection in travellers was low.
.
10 million have/had it in the USA. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/430191/us-surpasses-10-million-covid-19-cases-amid-surging-third-wave-of-infections
…The grim milestone came on the same day as global coronavirus cases exceeded 50m…
The Midwest remains the hardest-hit region based on the most cases per capita with North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska the top five worst-affected US states.
Illinois emerged as the new epicentre in the Midwest, with the state reporting over 60,000 Covid-19 infections in the last seven days, the highest in the country, according to Reuters data. The state reported more than 12,454 new cases on Saturday, the highest single-day number so far.
Texas, which accounts for 10 percent of total US cases, is the hardest-hit state and became the first to surpass a million coronavirus cases in the United States on Saturday.
Do you think that people would take Covid more seriously were the actual number of deaths known?
I don't think the general populace especially men, is self-disciplined and concerned enough to not need regular reminding about the simple things like masks and hand washing, (and noting where they go). (I have a notebook – my device is out of date I am sure.) Don’t know about the covid-19 heavy countries – I find hearing about US/UK (you suck!) is repetitive and boring now.
But caught this about Taiwan – perhaps they area good model. Haven't read it yet myself.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/the-detail/story/2018771675/should-nz-copy-taiwan
Listening to an OZ based scientist, Marco Herold, who is working on CRISPR techniques to detect covid.
They claim to be able to edit the dna of a blood sample, put it through their process and get a definitive result in 20 minutes, less than the time to checkin for an international flight.
Reckons it's 18 months from being viable at scale to work in an airport situation. Go you scientists !
Hooo-kaaay – I'm awfully curious about the applicability of the family of CRISPR DNA sequences and the gene-editing techniques developed around them, to detecting RNA virus infections.
Their press release certainly fails to shed any kind of technical light on the subject.
So forgive me for thinking this has a kind of Theranos whiff about it. Y'know, leveraging off a bunch of people with letters after their names putting out press releases with lots of sciencey words promising amazing things with a notable absence of actual detail.
It is possible – New kind of CRISPR technology to target RNA, including RNA viruses like coronavirus
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/03/200316141514.htm
Within a week they can train dogs to sniff for coronavirus in someone at an airport. Apparently it takes seconds and they get results as accurate as the current test – except that takes 24 hours to come back with a positive result.
Colin Craig is going for $700,000 in damages from Cameron Slater.
Beautiful system.
Graig is only able to go after Slater because he has the money to do it. Most people do not have the money to take civil action so the snakes win.