According to Taylor the Lucira test provides an accurate result at the level of PCR testing within 30 minutes (find out more about this test in the link below)
was offered to our government 18 months ago and they still haven't approved it:
"The Lucira test that we reacquainted the MoH with after a year and a half of having done nothing about it, gives a clinically approved, PCR equivalent result in 30 minutes."
And the government wants to conduct its own tests despite it being approved by a number of reputable countries already:
"Despite the number of technically advanced countries in the world that have approved Lucira, the ministry has decided they need to conduct more test of their own. Who knows how long those will take."
Honestly, I just shake my head at this. And this is the organisation who thinks they can administer RATS that we don't have enough of?
There was a guy from one of the testing organisations interviewed on ZB yesterday who was commenting on how the testing system is already under pressure and the Omicron thing has hardly started yet.
The Lucira test would take a lot of the burden off our testing system. But they aren't even approved yet despite the MOH knowing about them for ages.
"'In a community trial setting, Lucira™ Check-It results were compared with the Hologic Panther Fusion, which is considered a high-sensitivity molecular test due to its low Limit of Detection ("LOD"). Lucira's accuracy was 98%, correctly detecting 385 out of 394 positive and negative samples in comparison to the Hologic Panther Fusion, excluding ten samples with very low levels of virus (those with very high PCR cycle thresholds of 37.5 or greater) that likely no longer represented active infection. Comparative positive results agreed 97% of the time among this sample, and negative results agreed 98% of the time."
AZOVA offers the Lucira COVID-19 Home test kit with video observation and a travel pass for pre-departure testing. Take this test under video observation two days before the final leg of your flight to the UK. Testing is simple and takes only 15 minutes.
Take a pre-departure test within 2 days of departure from the U.S.
"The Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) authority allows FDA to help strengthen the nation’s public health protections against chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) threats including infectious diseases, by facilitating the availability and use of medical countermeasures (MCMs) needed during public health emergencies."
That seems to cover a wide range of products, and not related to how much they are or are not used.
It looks to me this provision allows them to fast-track products to help keep ahead of the curve.
It relates to vaccines and various things. I am not sure, but it may well be that the Pfizer vaccine is also in this category.
I understand that the “emergency use” provision is to by-pass the normal lengthily approval process that would probably delay many products to such an extent that the pandemic would be over before they could be used.
Actually, that is correct. For instance, the Pfizer vaccine for kids has been approved under the emergency use provisions:
All this shows is that "'emergency use" is not the same as "infrequent use" which is what you seemed to be saying previously, unless you also think the Pfizer vaccine is used infrequently….
So far as use in other countries goes, here is a youtube link fro the test in french:
TS, hasn’t it got through to you, they are shit, not fit for purpose, the virus has outflanked them. Not suitable for small scale testing ,only large town size testing where known failure assumption calculations can give an overview. They are like asking 3 people in a taxi who they will vote for and extrapolating that out to 5 million.
The Lucira Check It COVID-19 Test Kit is a single-use test kit intended to detect the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19. This test is authorized for over-the-counter (OTC) use with self-collected nasal swab samples in individuals with or without COVID-19 symptoms aged 14 and older, and in children aged 2-13 collected by an adult. This test is similar to a PCR test in that it utilizes a molecular amplification technology for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA.
Positive results are indicative of the presence of SARS-CoV-2. Individuals who test positive should self-isolate and seek additional care from their healthcare provider. Positive results do not rule out bacterial infection or co-infection with other viruses.
Negative results do not preclude SARS-CoV-2 infection. Individuals who test negative and continue to experience COVID-like symptoms should seek follow up care from their healthcare provider. Negative results are presumptive and confirmation with a molecular assay performed in a laboratory, if necessary, for patient management may be performed.
For use under the Food and Drug Administration’s Emergency Use Authorization only.
Test results can be reported through the LUCI secure portal, to relevant public health authorities in accordance with local, state, and federal requirements."
Staff at Twin Parks believe their current outbreak could have been avoided.
According to an email seen 9 NEWS, a decision was then made to give all residents in the home's West Wing a PCR test, the results alarmingly revealing at least 20 residents had contracted the virus.
Twin Parks said residents had been tested with two different brands of RATs to confirm their diagnosis, but they provided conflicting results.
Marie Antoinette explains why she doesn't understand the suffering of the poor in France.
Prime Minister Arden has just slapped down her Associate Minister of Housing for suggesting that rent control could be part of the solution to cruelly unaffordable rents.
"I hear nothing from that side….."
The Prime Minister explains why she is deaf to the suffering of renters.
'I hear nothing from that side': PM on defence over 'eye-watering' rent increases, 'skyrocketing price of living'
Unfortunately I can't find the article to link to, but they were predicting that rents will increase significantly in 2022. And the way things are going I think they are correct.
Thanks Patricia. Although interestingly, I heard an interview on One Zb the other day from a Barfoot & Thompson guy who said last month the market had changed and for the first time the vendors were more keen than the buyers, and possibly the market may have turned slightly to favor buyers more.
Centrist NZ Labour party is hostile to anyone coming from the left. A prime example is this fantastic speech by Chloe Swarbrick yesterday, followed by a bizarre hit piece here today.
Pointing out the difference between the rhetoric and the inaction is unacceptable, be happy with the tepid incrementalism, there is no alternative.
[lprent: Authors opinions are their own, in this case one from advantage. Read the policy about attributing author opinions to anything other than what they think. Plus (FFS) – Advantage does seem to spend a lot of time here telling the NZLP off.
Since you can’t appear to simply deal with an opinion without simply smearing it by implying that it is a NZLP hit, then I can’t see any reason to tolerate your stupidity. It is unacceptable. Banned for 4 weeks for being a complete fuckwit. ]
COVID fever fallout continues in Kaitaia. Christian school Abundant Life has been closed by the Ministry of Education due to insufficient available qualified staff. Principal Mark Tan–a previous Natzo would be MP, Mike Sabin was selected–has headed for the hills on a years sabbatical. Tan is anti vaccination and anti mandate. The Far North as ever needs better community leaders.
The police will clear parliament today. The response has been characterised by restraint and de-escalation in order to respect the right to protest and to not give anti-vaxxers the radicalising martyrdom moment many of them clearly want. But it is clear the protesters are not going to go peacefully and continued restraint risks escalation if reinforcement turns up and the crowd tries to storm parliament. The police can't afford to keep 100+ officers tied up 24×7 for weeks and I read in Stuff this morning they've called in 100 extra cops overnight.
The grounds will be cleared today and the whole area closed to the public for the next little while is my guess.
Looks that way, hopefully it doesn't descend into chaos. If it does expect protests to become more disruptive, looking at the forecast I suspect the better response is to let the incoming weather system do it…
The problem is they have a set of inchoate and impossible demands which when combined with threats against politicians and a decentralised organisational structure means there can be no peaceful meeting with the speaker to hand over a petition or something followed by a dispersal – in other words, the symbolic rituals of democracy are not going to be observed by a bunch of people who see themselves through an over-wrought lens of crusading martyrdom.
The idea you need a permit to protest is an oxymoron which I would have thought every liberty loving right winger would denounce – prising your liberty from your Cold dead hands and all that other stuff you hear ad nauseum from the freedom loving lectern lictors of the right.
Of course, when actually called to account to defend ancient liberties and rights in a free society, our righties always disappoint, revealing themselves as petty minded authoritarians obsessed with fussing over the detritus of process as a hollow substitute to defending what they hypocritically spout on every other occasion.
They staged a protest. It was (mostly) peaceful. Now they have a decision to make.
There are basically 2 kinds of protest – limited and unlimited time. The former is common (I've been on marches and the like, I bet many of us have). That was this Convoy, or so we thought. Drive, arrive, speak, leave.
The latter is a sit-in, an occupation. It can work, but usually for a specific, achievable goal (e.g. students at a campus, wanting a change in some college policy).
Is there any such goal here? None apparent. Coffee and a chat with the PM? So what are they staying for? No demands have been issued (of any plausible nature).
Mandates will end at some stage but only the utterly deluded think this protest will influence the decision in any way.
The right to protest is fundamental, and of course it is not the issue here. You are creating a straw man.
Would you like to engage with the points I made? What are the protesters’ demands, and should they be allowed permanent occupation and disruption until those demands are met? When does that ever happen at protests?
It's the hypocrisy I find amusing, accept your fucking mandate peasant when Sanc agrees with the mandate, let protests do whatever when Sanc likes the protest, plus bleating on about ancient liberties and rights. most "left" or "approved" protests are quite incoherent as well except for their leadership which is usually exceptional and eloquent.
The right to protest is fundamental, and of course it is not the issue here.
The right to protest is an issue here.
Disruption is part and parcel of peaceful protest. It occurs whenever large crowds gather. Therefore, is no excuse for denying people of their fundamental right.
I've protested for years, occupied buildings back in the day. The standard practise when the protest involved trespass (never involved threats to "hang 'em high", but this is a different crowd) was for people to decide whether or not they wished to be arrested. We literally discussed this at meetings. Then, when the tolerance of the authorities had expired, them that wanted to avoid arrest left, and the ones who were cool with it stayed. And we had lawyers set up to advise them, they all knew the process to expect, and they made their decision.
People don't have a right to camp on parliament's lawn in perpetuity. In my day, the Speaker was the nominated owner/occupier of Parliament grounds for trespass orders, and the streets are covered by various obstruction laws (in addition to the catch-all "disorderly behaviour").
This isn't a double standard. These are the rules left wing protestors have lived under for decades.
I've protested for years, occupied buildings back in the day. The standard practise when the protest involved trespass (never involved threats to "hang 'em high", but this is a different crowd) was for people to decide whether or not they wished to be arrested. We literally discussed this at meetings.
This protest gives me the impression that having a meeting was never really thought about, let alone having some common fundamentals agreed between the groups.
Someone said 'let's copy the Canadians, that seemed to work so well for them, we'll all drive to Wellington'.
Sounds of gas being filled, 'have I time to write some wonky written anti vax placards? yes! done, zoom, away we go.
The story could continue but suffice to say, they have not got even one tame MP to come to meet them let alone anything to give them that might have been released simultaneously to the media so everyone could see what they are about.
People have the right to protest, and people (even the PM) have the right to point out when protestors are being dicks.
The right to protest is not at issue here. What's at issue is the entitlement of fools who think they can jam up downtown traffic for days with zero repercussions.
Most protests, even smallish ones, involve some disruption. Disruption that is tolerated, but not a right. When it becomes more difficult to tolerate disruption than deal with it, the cops can and will arrest. And for some reason the tolerance of the authorities seems to change more according to who is protesting, rather than how – but that's another debate entirely.
No, their demands are not incoherent, they want an end to the mandates and reinstatement of the Bill of Rights. That is it. This is reasonable given that omicron evades the vaccine.
This is the first Labour Government to deliberately put people out of work and people are understandably unhappy about this. The powers that be refused to meet with them so they could hand over the paperwork so they are staying until things change.
This is a peaceful protest, the response from our elected officials is not.
The Bill of Rights doesn't need reinstating. It has never been rescinded.
Several court judgments have declared that the mandates are not a breach of the bill of rights and are a <i> justified limitation </i> on society. There is a larger public health purpose at play.
The evidence overseas of the death toll and strain on the health system should be all that is needed to understand what is at risk in New Zealand should the outbreak become even worse.
"…The powers that be refused to meet with them so they could hand over the paperwork…"
The powers that be being the people they are threatening to hang and subject to kangaroo courts, those powers that be? Not unreasonable then to not want to meet with people making regular death threats against you.
And what paperwork? A photocopy of Magna Carta and garbled re-write of the Grand Remonstrance?
Look, these people are breach of public health orders. No one is being deliberately put out of work, they are choosing not to comply with lawful vaccine mandates and the consequences of that. get the vaccine, keep the job.
they want an end to the mandates and reinstatement of the Bill of Rights. That is it.
People like Fran presume to decide what the protest is really about. Meanwhile the protesters decide it's about various other things. How inconvenient.
From their own words … It's about demanding other people don't wear a mask, it's about children being murdered by a vaccine, it's about making violent threats to journalists (any Bill of Rights for them?), it's about 1080, it's about loving Trump, it's about Counterspin, it's about Ardern being controlled by mysterious forces, and so on, and so on …
Again, those things may not be what you want to protest about, Fran. But you don't get to create your own reality.
If you had bothered to do some research you would know that the organisers were very clear about their purpose and have stayed on message. If you are only getting your information from the mainstream media then of course you would not know that.
My "research" is reading their own words, in their own social media, on their own signs. I bothered, which is why I quoted some of them in my comment.
If you are only getting your information by carefully not reading them, then of course you would not know that. Because – be honest now – you do not want to know.
Is Clarke Gayford in jail for drug dealing? That's "staying on message" – theirs.
You just needed to read the placards carried on the cars and at the protest to know what the message was……gradually throughout yesterday the few anti mandate signs disappeared and today we have had the wrongly spelled ones about PM and others going to be tried per the Nuremberg laws , how vaccine kills, and the stoic guy who waved a flag all day 'Natural immunity 99.6%'
I fully support the right of this unmasked, unvaccinated crowd to hold a protest on the steps of parliament for as long as they like, (until the fall sick and leave of their own free will in embarrassment.
But for goodness sake. At least tow away all their illegally parked vehicles.
I have been to several hikoi and protests at parliament and we never dared illegally park our vehicles.
Why do these right wing protesters get treated with kid gloves by the council parking authorities? When left wing protesters get pulled over and ticketed for the slightest infringement?
Some of the morons gathered in Wellington want the PM to be like Trump. She could be today.
Get up a posse of police and military, batons, tear gas, rubber bullets and a Bible. Proceed down the steps of Parliament. Deal to the mob and march the staunch march of someone in charge, along the road, round the corner to the Treasury. Wave the Bible in the air.
So many would, be overcame by such a display of authority injections may be needed to revive them.
Glad you're not authoritarian, Peter. Harbouring views about dumb peasants who need to be put in their place.
Did it ever occur to any of you superior types that it just might be the marginalised, that could, and in many cases, are, trying to express what they know of the danger authoritarianism poses?
agree KJT, more millions from the sirkey Govt. for the state snoops including life long immunity/anonymity for operatives and extended powers for Govt. Ministries–hardly a squeak out of anyone at the time
Yes.There are protests everywhere when Labour is in power.
I asked striking teachers why they never bothered when the Natz were not interested in raising their pay for 9 years ….their reply…we knew they wouldn't take any…notice.
Dumb peasants of course should not be put in their place – they should choose their own place.
For example they can choose to have all the top positions in fields like immunology and epidemiology in New Zealand. I mean in the past couple of years they have tried to convince me they know more than all the so called experts. I accept they might be marginalised by the fact they are treated as if they are talking shit. Big deal.
I appreciate they might be pissed off that their parents made them do things and they didn't always get their own way from when they were born. Now they are trying to express what they know of the danger authoritarianism poses from their life learning? This is their way of fighting back?
I don't care about that. The choice is to accept manipulative ignorant fuckwits leading other ignorant fuckwits running my world or not.
Someone should open up a mobile coffee shop and start offering the protesters free flat whites, but put a laxative in the coffee. That would get them going.
It's something that constantly bemuses me – people who tout clean green energy, when in fact it's either not clean and green, or the economic realities at present just don't stack up. Case in point:
''There aren't many options to recycle or trash turbine blades, and what options do exist are expensive, partly because the U.S. wind industry is so young. It's a waste problem that runs counter to what the industry is held up to be: a perfect solution for environmentalists looking to combat climate change.''
Talking of nuttiness…what are our fuel prices going to be when Marsden Point closes in a few months time? Labour could have expanded the refinery life, but Labour ministers didn't want to know.
There is nothing wrong with moving to green energy production. That is a sane thing to do. But as a rock climbing instructor will tell you, when traversing a rock face, always have three limbs making a solid grip before embarking on your next move. Sage advice.
''I thought the refinery was a private business.''
It is. And they shouldn't get a penny from the public purse. But this is a caring Labour gummint with lush funding for all occasions.
I would think this would be one of those occasions?
Quote:
''A Cabinet paper released in November revealed that Energy Minister Megan Woods had been willing to consider trying to save the refinery by underwriting its operations for a period of up to 10 years but that the option did not get the support of fellow ministers.''
The refinery is reaching the end of it's design life, and is also too small compared to overseas refineriesto be economic.
Keeping it open is more likely to increase, not reduce, overall energy costs.
And. Buying into the anti Green energy propaganda, by claiming Green energy is “not a perfect solution, so we should stay with hydrocarbons”, is the sort of bullshit the tobacco industry used. Worthy of Chris Bishop at his tobacco lobbyist, bullshitting best.
''There is nothing wrong with moving to green energy production. That is a sane thing to do. But as a rock climbing instructor will tell you, when traversing a rock face, always have three limbs making a solid grip before embarking on your next move. Sage advice.''
But. To carry on with it. The fossil fuel industry, and those you are quoting, want us to stay on the rock face, without ever going to the next pitch, until we lose our grip and fall.
Propaganda about the supposed inefficiencies and costs of more sustainable energy, is meant to keep the business model going as long as possible. Lessons fossil fuel suppliers have learnt from the tobacco and sugar industries.
But. To carry on with it. The fossil fuel industry, and those you are quoting, wants us to stay on the rock face, without ever going to the next pitch, until we lose our grip and fall.''
Everyone has an agenda in this sphere of activity. Of course the fossil fuel industry will fight for survival. That is fair and just. They will tell bs, just like the bs from the other side I have pointed out.
However, they know, and you should too, that the fossil fuel industry is a finite proposition. I still think it has decades to run, but it's dying as we speak.
Making the next move on the rock face demands a solid foothold. That is something the green energy movement cannot provide at the moment.
For example, this from Google:
''Mr Wilson said a study on EV battery life had recommended full factory replacements as a good, yet expensive, option. Estimates for a full factory replacement on a battery are $7,700 plus fitting for a 24KWH battery on a Nissan Leaf and $35,000 for an 85KWH battery on a Tesla.''
Yeah, a South Auckland family already having their choice of a cheap vehicle curtailed by new car import regulations would not be able to move to an electric vehicle.
Problem number two with electric cars:
The national grid ( including household electricals) will not be able to cope when electric car numbers meet a critical mass.
Now this is a debatable issue. But my point again – we don't have a reliable source of green energy that we can say wont cause issues…or if it does, such issues are easily fixed.
You have simply repeated BS from the anti more renewable energy side.
The cost of replacement batteries for an EV, for one, is immaterial, when the batteries now available will last longer than the normal life of the rest of the car.
The National grid is in the process of being upgraded. The cost will be a fraction of the ongoing costs of upgrades to our aging fossil fuel infrastructure, by the way.
Kicking the can down the road has gone on for too long.
We have the capability and should have been over 100% more renewable energy in the National grid, over a decade ago. Nationals power “reforms” and lack of action has put us back decades
''The cost of replacement batteries for an EV, for one, is immaterial, when the batteries now available will last longer than the normal life of the rest of the car.''
''The National grid is in the process of being upgraded. The cost will be a fraction of the ongoing costs of upgrades to our aging fossil fuel infrastructure, by the way.''
That's debatable again, and does not consider the upgrade of house power delivery capabilities for many homes. I have read about this and asked an electrician. Even the electrician and his partner couldn't agree on the issue.
I'm more than prepared to switch to greener energy…but for me it won't be until the bugs of delivery ad reliability and economy have been worked out
Currently, in Victoria, 10 kph over the speed limit will cost you $363 and some demerit points. While I lived there I once got a fine of about $100 for being 2 kph over the 100 kph limit on the Princes Highway from Melbourne to Geelong It is a multilane divided highway.
Mind you when I lived there the Northern Territory, outside the towns, had no speed limit at all. They went all soft in about 2007 though and brought in limits.
Our power was out pm for line work. Late joining in here. Travelled NZ Canberra 5 years ago, where we were met by my brother for a three hour drive to Dalmeny NSW, yes distances are close if 3 hours away. Later in our stay we had a one hour drive to meet friends for coffee!! Whole other world. Big vehicles too because…kangaroos.
I spent the last 18 months of my time in Australia touring the country. All our driving was on sealed roads mind. I knew damn well I shouldn't go on any of the outback tracks. We kept off the road at dawn and dusk. That was when the kangaroos were out and they were very dangerous. They moved so fast and so erratically. I have been told that if they saw 2 lights, your headlights, coming toward them they might jump between them and straight into the middle of your windscreen. With an adult red kangaroo weighing 40 – 50 kilos it would be a spectacular bang.
We loved being out in the outback and things like crossing the Nullabor. The stars are so amazingly bright out there with no settlements or atmospheric pollution.
On Tuesday there was a protest, majority peaceful, some nasty aggression from a minority, but overall nothing out of the ordinary.
On Wednesday the majority of protesters left. They had made their point and were a news headline. The remainder were given a day's grace. Meanwhile major disruption continued in central Wellington. The extra day was sufficient.
Today they are being moved on. Let's hope it does not get much worse. But there is no point saying "no need, they can leave Friday or Saturday or whenever". Clearly some have no intention of doing what protesters usually (and sensibly) do … declare victory and leave.
They have no clue what they are doing, because they live in echo chambers but cannot even agree on goals, never mind tactics. They could have scored a PR win, but they've chosen to alienate people instead. Nobody else to blame.
I also think they're politically naive when it comes to strategy, but they may be thinking that another set of headlines of them being arrested is useful to their movement eg see how repressive the state is, sign up to our movement here. And they might not be wrong.
(note the protest "leaders" are getting out of the way, leaving their followers to get arrested. Standard practice by far right agitators, always has been).
It sounds just like the 1981 protests about the Springbok tour. Even down to the protest leaders keeping out of the way. Standard practice by far left agitators, always has been.
Same place too. There were some major protests in Molesworth Street.
Oh, but it takes me back. As Mary Hopkins put it even earlier. "Those were the days my friends"
The deluded motley protestors/rabble seem to have funds for tents, petrol, time off work (if they are employed/employable). They have no regard for damaging Parliament grounds, or grossly inconveniencing people and businesses in Wellington. The anti-vaxxers among them could get infected with Covid and need medical/hospital treatment so will they accept drug interventions to assist their recovery despite not wanting the vaccine in their body? Will they be grateful to the state for the care they receive? Doubt it.
If you live in Wellington, or visit on occasion, I suggest you visit Shelley Bay. The occupation there has been going on for about 15 months now. It looks exactly like what you are describing.
And todays forecast is rain with a number of falling satellites.
Preliminary analysis show the increased drag at the low altitudes prevented the satellites from leaving safe-mode to begin orbit raising maneuvers, and up to 40 of the satellites will reenter or already have reentered the Earth’s atmosphere.
Yes I think rent controls could well be on the cards in the future, which is why I think some landlords are predicted to increase rents this year while they can. They can only increase once a year but I think they are making it a larger rise to compensate for the less mortgage interest being deductible and the uncertainty of future increases.
I increased the rent on my property to cover the mortgage interest portion I am no longer able to deduct. Tenant (of over 15 years) was very understanding and the rent is still lower by $100 a week compared to next door identical property that is rented out and managed by a real estate company.
I can't see rent controls happening in this term – especially given Ardern has explicitly ruled it out when Poto Williams floated it.
If it were announced, as a Labour/Greens policy – or even a GP bottom line for negotiations (not that the GP tend to do this) – I'd expect to see all rents take a very solid tick upwards in the expectation of a flat period.
The problem with rent controls is that it creates an incentive for rental owners to sell (especially if they see that they've taken the bulk of the capital gain out of the property already). If they're within the 10 year margin, then they may wait out a few years until they're in the 'free' zone.
And, when they sell, they're almost inevitably going to sell to owner-occupiers (not that that's a bad thing, in itself), but it reduces the rental housing stock.
Currently, there are literally 100s of applicants for each rental house coming available in Auckland (have friends who've been through the process of trying to find a new house). Reducing the housing stock available, increases this pressure: both on new rents (current tenant has left, so rent control no longer applies), and on the careful … selection … of the tenant (solo-mums or people with past credit issues need not apply)
And, when they sell, they're almost inevitably going to sell to owner-occupiers (not that that's a bad thing, in itself), but it reduces the rental housing stock.
Sounds like a house with people in it, will switch to a house with people living in it, which sounds fine in a housing crisis. But hopefully with controls, both the rent and the purchase of housing might become cheaper.
I don't think NZ has that much specific demand for rentals, everyone I know who rents would rather own, but can't afford it (paying so much in rent is one of the problems). They are not renting for the flexibility or lifestyle.
The rents a large proportion of people pay are the same or more than a mortgage….its getting the deposit and finance that is the…problem,and finding a house to buy without getting outbid by…investors.
If there is a mortgage on the house, then rent paid by tenants should be regarded as payment (or part-payment) of that mortgage. Tenants would effectively gain equity/part ownership of the house and receive a proportional share of its value when it was sold. A bureaucratic nightmare – but it might help end landlordism.
Hmm. I know a fair chunk of 20-somethings who really don't want to own a home – though they feeling a whole lot of FOMO because of house price rises.
Most of my peers wanted to travel in the 20s, or at least have mobility between cities; and spend their weekends partying, rather than doing house maintenance.
And, there are plenty of people who – regardless of the house prices, will never be in the financial position to put together a deposit and buy a house. Even at the high point of home ownership in the 1990s – there were a good 25% of households renting.
And, the shift from rental property to home ownership tends to reduce the number of people per dwelling: e.g. 3 bedroom property rented to 5 people (2 couples and a singleton) – bought and becomes owner-occupied with 3 people (a couple and a border; or a couple and 1 child).
"especially given Ardern has explicitly ruled it out when Poto Williams floated it."
The greatest challenge to the PM is not keeping that promise. After all she specifically ruled out penalties for people choosing not to get vaxxed. She promised no new taxes, and then introduced multiple new levies, amended the brightline test and changed tax deductibility rules for landlords.
No, the greatest challenge is thinking of yet another way to twist the English language to breaking point to actually introduce rent controls without calling them that. I have every confidence she will figure it out.
She said they weren't considering rent controls at the time of that Ryan Bridge interview last week. Who knows, they might well be considering them now.
I'd expect to see all rents take a very solid tick upwards in the expectation of a flat period.
That's already happening though. Up 5.8% in the past year according to Shaw's speech.
The problem with rent controls is that it creates an incentive for rental owners to sell (especially if they see that they've taken the bulk of the capital gain out of the property already). If they're within the 10 year margin, then they may wait out a few years until they're in the 'free' zone.
Let them sell. If they're the greedy bastards, better they get out of this sector. Government can buy them, or local bodies, or NGOs or any number of people who have a commitment to ending the housing crisis and won't rip people off.
And, when they sell, they're almost inevitably going to sell to owner-occupiers (not that that's a bad thing, in itself), but it reduces the rental housing stock.
Why inevitably? Government can probably regulate that anyway.
"Why inevitably? Government can probably regulate that anyway."
It's hard to see how the Government can regulate *who* you sell to!
And 'inevitably' to owners, since a rent-freeze would make it highly unlikely that investors (owning to rent) would be bidding.
Yes, you take the investors out of the bidding – but, unless there is massive new build going on (minimum of 10x the consents we're seeing ATM) – the prices will still be driven up by owner-occupier competition.
Every auction I've been to in the last 18 months (just locally in our neighbourhood – tire kicking to see what's happening) – has had 8-10 potential owner-occupiers seriously interested. There's a long way to go before that need/desire is mopped up by new builds.
It's hard to see how the Government can regulate *who* you sell to!
Why? If rentals have to be registered with Tenancy Services, then when they are put up for sale, the landlord is required to let TS know, and the Crown gets first dibs.
And 'inevitably' to owners, since a rent-freeze would make it highly unlikely that investors (owning to rent) would be bidding.
Ae, so we need those houses being sold by current landlords to be bought and kept out of the private market. Local and central govt, NGOs and Iwi, community land trusts etc, anyone that's not going to see it as an investment that needs a big capital gains. Housing as homes again.
Why? If rentals have to be registered with Tenancy Services, then when they are put up for sale, the landlord is required to let TS know, and the Crown gets first dibs.
The Crown literally doesn't have the money to buy every rental house that comes up for sale.
Also, do you want the headlines that we've already seen, over KO competing with first-time buyers!
The Crown needs to be adding to the housing stock, not competing to buy existing housing.
The Crown doesn't have to pay for every landlordee sale, they're can be the regulatory body that ensures rental numbers don't drop drastically (assuming this is an actual problem).
Also, do you want the headlines that we've already seen, over KO competing with first-time buyers!
That's largely an issue for Labour's messaging and public education team. Unless you are suggesting that KO shouldn't buy rentals instead of first home buyers.
The Crown needs to be adding to the housing stock, not competing to buy existing housing.
Why? What's wrong with shifting rentals out of the investor class into the hands of people who will prioritise tenants?
The Crown doesn't have to pay for every landlordee sale, they're can be the regulatory body that ensures rental numbers don't drop drastically (assuming this is an actual problem).
Well, who *will* pay for the sales? The various NGOs who do community housing are absolutely strapped for cash. Unless the government stumps up, I don't see where the money is to come from?
If the proposal is to take the properties at a government-mandated lower price under the Public Works Act (or something similar), I'd say that the government would fall. Too much of the voting class in NZ has very substantial amounts of their wealth locked up in housing.
Also, if there are restrictions on landlord sales, there's going to be a huge temptation to find ways around the restrictions (a bit like all of the ways around Muldoon's rent freeze in the 1980s).
A simple way is for another family member to 'buy' the rental property, and then lease it to the family member who wants it. Technically, no change in the 'rental' status, but practically the same as owner-occupier purchase.
A government policy to "shift rentals out of the investor class" is, I think, politically unsaleable to the NZ electorate.
Well, who *will* pay for the sales? The various NGOs who do community housing are absolutely strapped for cash. Unless the government stumps up, I don't see where the money is to come from?
KO, local govt, NGOs that do have funding, Iwi, Community Land Trusts, co-operatives, private buyers or organisations that are willing to commit to keeping the property out of the property market for a longer period of time and to accept rent caps. Lots of options appear when we centre values, in this case the provision of stable homes. Most of my suggestions need clear thinking people to set up models that can be easily replicated. This is what I mean about the importance of imagination. Once we can see how it can be done, then we can get on with organising it.
Also, if there are restrictions on landlord sales, there's going to be a huge temptation to find ways around the restrictions (a bit like all of the ways around Muldoon's rent freeze in the 1980s).
What kind of ways around?
A simple way is for another family member to 'buy' the rental property, and then lease it to the family member who wants it. Technically, no change in the 'rental' status, but practically the same as owner-occupier purchase.
Depends on whether they intend to maximise capital gains, and whether they intend to use high rents to generate income.
A government policy to "shift rentals out of the investor class" is, I think, politically unsaleable to the NZ electorate.
Yeah, but that's probably because you're looking at worst case or bad designs that I'm not suggesting.
Recent research showed a very large number of NZers want house prices to drop, and a big chunk of those want them to drop a lot, so I think the electorate would respond to creative and clearly communicated initiatives atm.
I don’t however believe that Labour are the people to do that, it’s not their forte. It needs to be driven by people that get it.
Depends on whether they intend to maximise capital gains, and whether they intend to use high rents to generate income.
It doesn't actually matter from the perspective of the net-loss to the rental system.
And 'depends' issues result in massive bureaucracy and/or avoidance as each one is litigated. We're already seeing this in the shift to 10-years for the bright line test, with variability depending on when/how much of the time a property has been rented (anecdata from a friend in the IRD)
Before the IRD got involved, it was really typical for families to rent out to family members for reduced rentals. IRD perceived this (probably correctly) as a tax avoidance measure (effectively resulting in a 'loss' against the property).
KO, local govt, NGOs that do have funding, Iwi, Community Land Trusts, co-operatives, private buyers or organisations that are willing to commit to keeping the property out of the property market for a longer period of time and to accept rent caps.
Realistically, I don't see any of the above having the capital to do this on any substantial scale. And, Local government, at least, are generally trying to divest themselves of community housing (and finding few buyers – KO and NGOs aren't interested).
While many NZers – especially those who bought houses 10 years or more ago, and don't have large mortgages – are would welcome a gentle downwards trend on house prices. I don't see that this proposal would in any way achieve this.
Realistically, we have an under-supply of houses for our population. [Setting aside these reported ghost houses]
The only thing which can fix this is building more accommodation (in multiple flavours – including tiny homes). I do see that the various bodies doing sustainable renting (KO, NGOs, etc.) have a role to play in adding to the housing stock – but driving up prices (if KO wins the auction, by definition the price is higher than it would have been for the next-lowest bid); or mandating sales at a lower price, is not a vote winner.
Also the current headlines about the appalling situation with KO refusing to evict socially disruptive/criminal tenants – does them no favours in encouraging the rest of NZ to believe that the government is a responsible landlord
Every auction I've been to in the last 18 months (just locally in our neighbourhood – tire kicking to see what's happening) – has had 8-10 potential owner-occupiers seriously interested. There's a long way to go before that need/desire is mopped up by new builds.
The problem Labour has is that its central premise is daft. Building houses for the private market will push prices up long before we get enough houses for there to be an excess. There are of course a lot of ways around that, and they all start with values. If you centre homes and families instead of the investor classes, then the solutions roll out in front of you.
For instance, they could regulate the emerging tiny home sector in favour of people that want to live in tiny homes. This takes a big pressure off rentals and increases the pool of homes available. Building a TH is quick and easy and can easily be done to standards. The govt and local govt need to get together and resolved the land rental issues that go with that. That's not happening in a good way, because too many people lack the imagination to know what to do. And because our values are still around things other than people.
I'd see the tiny homes as being more of a small town/city thing? Or outer edges of big cities. There simply isn't the land available for them in larger cities – Auckland, for example, has already been heavily subdivided for infill housing for the last 40 years – there's little free space available. [NB: this is also an issue for intensification – instead of having to buy (and have willing sellers) of, say, 3 properties, in order to put up an apartment/town house development; potential developers now have to buy 8-10 – which is exponentially harder/more expensive.
In my local suburb, solidly middle class Auckland (I bought there 30 years ago – couldn't afford to, today) – we're seeing sleepouts being added to already-tiny back gardens – and consequent run-off issues getting worse. So not a great ecological solution.
From what I have heard from the government, they seem to realise that rent controls are a stupid idea, as is reinforced by a lot of evidence, and economists.
For instance this article on the topic in "Stuff"the other day:
Or as is the case in Holland where social housing makes up most of the rentals, and rent controls are part of the mix. People have to wait up to seven years for a rental there:
“It seems like a deceptively simple thing to do: just stop rents rising and everything will be fine,” Eaqub said. “But it isn’t that simple, there are known consequences.
“It means that we are likely to have fewer new rentals. Look at San Fransisco or New York: the people who got rent-controlled flats, it was great for them. But slowing the supply of rental housing is bad for anyone else who tried to live in those places.”''
Or, in Holland, where social housing makes up a large percentage of rentals, and rent controls are in the mix, and where people have to wait up to seven years for a rental:
“Renting in the Netherlands is common among both locals and expats. Around 40% of Dutch people rent their homes. The country has a high level of social housing, with housing associations owning around 75% of rental properties.
Rents are assessed and controlled for low-value properties, and in some areas there are restrictions on who is allowed to live where, giving priority to those with a strong connection to the area, such as having been born there, having family in the area, or working nearby.”
I have been a landlord for many years and AFAIK the only 'cut' property managers get is the extra commission on the weekly rent. Any decision around the level of rentals is made by us and no-one else.
The government has essentially been "punishing'' landlords by creating unpleasant outcomes for being a landlord.
As classical conditioning suggests, punishment tends to reduce a given behaviour. In this case, classical conditioning theory would suggest that landlords would reduce the supply of houses for rent.
So for all the talk of progress on housing, Labour have delivered an increase in state rentals of 1.2%, and an increase in the waiting list of almost 400%.
Yes, and their failure on their 100000 houses promise.
So, the government hasn't really been helping the situation, on the supply side. And, from hearing the prime minister, Poto Williams, and Megan Woods, they all seem to realise that the supply side is where the problem is.
Well, if they're 'ghost' houses, then actually that's what's happened. The landlords are out of the rental housing game.
Whether they're doing Air BNB, holding for capital gain, holding for family members repatriating from overseas, or it's the family batch – the reality is that this housing stock is not available on the rental market – so they're no longer landlords.
Now, if you say that 'owning housing' is the best game in town (pretty much all in capital gains), then you probably have a good argument. It's difficult to see another investment that has had the same return over the last 5 years – and no sign that house prices have stopped rising (though the rate at which they're rising has slowed).
yes the 'war on landlords' meant landlords said they would sell up and get out….reality…just joking..still the best game in..town!
Comprenez?
They werelandlords; but are no longer renting out the house AKA ghost house (because of one of the other reasons, above). You don't have to sell the house to stop being a landlord.
This strikes me as an odd argument. Why did supply slow down? Regulate that as well.
Besides, from your link,
But the Green Party’s Chlöe Swarbrick believes it wasn’t the controls themselves which caused these problems.
“If you look at a place like San Francisco where some people say rent controls have reduced housing supply, it’s actually the loopholes in the rent controls that have enabled landlords to move their buildings to other uses easily,” she said.
When a landlord sells a property, it doesn't disappear (what economists call being fungible). It becomes the property of a homeowner, who may have been a renter before – not necessarily a bad outcome.
If it was a case that there was an endless circle where a landlord sells a house, a home owner buys that house and vacates their own house, the supply of houses would stay constant.
But that isn't always the case. Quite often a house will be purchased by a couple like my son and his partner who were living with us up until purchasing their house.
If the house that has been purchased is from a landlord who was renting to say a family of four, then the young couple, previously living with their parents, has just displaced a family of four.
So, this is one reason why the reason why a reduction in rental supply can actually be a big problem.
But that situation only exists because we don't have enough houses available to be homes. The solution isn't to let landlords dictate rent rates (because that is a clear conflict of interest), but instead to create more low cost housing.
And that shouldn't be building houses for the private market. If we want to get ahead of this, we have to build housing that isn't for speculation and investment. Social housing (central and local govt), Iwi and NGOs, community land trusts etc. This is the only way to stop house prices from rising.
yeah, sorry, should have been clearer. If we want housing to ever be affordable again, we have to increase the number of houses without adding them to the property market fire.
I doubt that stamp duties or levies would stop rises, but agree they would slow them.
Labour are in danger of stuffing this up badly. Hills has been hand picked by Jacinda, in my opinion because she needs a puppet in the mayoral seat to get 3 Waters over the line. He's a lightweight who will get eaten alive by the toxic Auckland Council culture.
Hills was handpicked by Labour. He had Goff's backing, and had a campaign team in place. Then he appears to have lost his bottle. Collins will be laughing out loud.
A young man dips his toe into the waters. Withdraws. Been there, done that. Nothing to do with 'bottle' or 'hand-puppeteering'.
I find that people's reckons tell us more about them than their target. True of my time, too.
Family reasons eventually predominated. But what my political opponents came up with…. well, some had obviously learnt their politics from some very unreasonable and vindictive people.
He didn't 'dip his toes in'. He's been working on this for months, putting a team together. The indications are he's got cold feet at the thought of either a) facing down the council toxins, or b) facing off against Collins.
If he is the only serious Labour/left wing candidate, there will be far less vote splitting on the left.
2. If he is the only serious Labour/left wing candidate, he will receive more funding and ground support.
3. City Vision would likely have backed Hills over Collins. Hills is woke and malleable. Collins is principled and independent. CV are a powerful force in Auckland local politics.
4. The most obvious one – Hills was a serious contender, supported by the endorsement of both Labour and the sitting mayor. He's gone.
Theoretically that's correct, but in practice most (if not all) western economies find a balance somewhere in between. I'm a supporter of private enterprise, but understand full well that we elect governments to govern, to plan, to protect the citizenry, to take care of the poor and needy, and to regulate the excesses of the market.
In fact there are many examples of precisely the opposite of what Shaw is saying. An example of socialising benefit is when wages increase and the government keeps the bracket creep. An example of privatising cost is the significant increase in public servants in recent years, paid for out of private sector taxes.
I think you missed his point. Maybe read or listen to the speech. He's talking about why we have the climate, eco, housing, poverty etc crises, that there is an underlying reason. He's not making a statement about all economic factors.
I've listened to the speech. He specifically contrasts the economic response to the pandemic against conventional economics (his example is the debt to GDP ratio, but he's talking more broadly). His point, which he builds on, is that a new approach is required, and that is one of considerably more government intervention. I think he's off his trolley, but he can't be accused on ambiguity.
An often noted delusion of right wingers is that work done by the State sector is a "cost" born by business".
The obvious example is State education. "A cost" when supplied by the State, and a benefit when the same work is done by a private company" is patently rediculous.
Resources and a countries capabilities depend on the work of everyone. Employees, State or private, are not, "a cost".
Soon, with essential workers, we will see again who are costs!
The "cost" of having State services is small, compared with the "cost" of not having them.
In fact, pointless jobs are far more common in the private sector. Someone even wrote a book about it.
If you consider State employed Teachers, Doctors, Health administrators, technicians, council staff, et al, a "cost" you are in cloud cockoo land. Their work contributes more value to our society and economy than most private business. In fact business couldn't survive without it. Try being in business without contract law.
The problem with the State service is recent Governments tried to run it like a private business, rather than a service. Cutting out and privatising essential parts. A problem the right wing contempt for the State sector is entirely responsible for. The Mangerial cult has taken over. Sidelining the competent technocrats trhat used to run them.
Funny the right wing insist we have to pay private sector managers a fortune to do their jobs. But oppose paying essential workers like Teachers and Hospital orderlies a decent wage.
"The "cost" of having State services is small, compared with the "cost" of not having them."
That isn't how accounting works.
The cost would be recorded as such:
Dr Cost
Cr Bank
That's money never to be seen again. So we should keep it to an absolute minimum. Meaning getting rid of all the PR spinners this government has added.
If you consider State employed Teachers, Doctors, Health administrators, technicians, council staff, et al, a "cost" you are in cloud cockoo land. Their work contributes more value to our society and economy than most private business.
The salaries paid for the various flavours of public servants are the cost. The resulting benefits of the essential work they do are shared across society. So an example of both costs and benefits being socialized – both sides of the ledger, as it were.
The problems arise when either the benefits fail to eventuate (dropping achievement standards in maths for example), or the costs increase for little or no benefit (spin doctors in the public service – to use Gypsy's example).
Of course, in all socialized services there are individual benefits as well (a good education is a privatized benefit to the student and/or their family, as well as being a general shared benefit across society).
But, as a general rule, when a socialized cost increases, the public should also look for an increased benefit to society.
Part of the issue with all of our western democracies is this mixing of socialized and privatized costs and benefits: e.g. when petrol goes up, it's not only a private cost; but, because the government charges taxes and levies on petrol, it's also a socialized cost – the government is gaining more revenue, but needs to show where this is being spent for the benefit of society.
Quite readable from GC (I do wish that werewolf would put a https on their links).
I don’t think that it likely that Putin is interested in doing the whole of pre-1914. Trying to control that number of ethnicities was a major headache for the tsarists and even more of an issue for a economy that is roughly the same size of New York city. The economies in Europe like Finland and the other baltic states plus Poland are rapidly growing and would be extremely hard to digest. Even the citizens of Ukraine appear to have no appetite for getting back in the rather anaemic Russian economy with its fragile oil state economy.
All fertile grounds for widespread insurgency and guerrilla warfare.
Putin was in East Germany as a intelligence officer when the Soviet Union was disintegrating. I’m pretty sure that he’d be aware of the futility of trying to hold a population used to a better standard of living that isn’t interested in being dominated by a foreign culture and political system.
You are what your hat says at the protest at Parliament: Gun City
Too many children are still there in the lines up near the front, including one on the shoulders of his mother…….makes me sad to see this. Concerned about getting the vaccination for your child but not concerned enough to keep them safe at the protest Even folk peacefully protesting have no guarantee that they will be safe, they cannot know the ideas of the leaders and ne'er do wells there Arp and Alpe and Counterspin. .
Winston looks like he might be trying to tap into the protest sentiment in Wellington. His tweets in the past 48 hours looks like he will be going after the anti-madate vote.
This is my favourite song on middle-class hypocrisy. It doesn't have the same impact as in the 80s when the Cambodian example of extreme collectivist uber-authoritarianism packed a real punch. I'm not sure if many remembers Pol Pot anymore.
Is anyone getting why people are angry at the derision directed at everyday people trying to express themselves? At their frustration?
I will reply to those who responded to my reply later, when I've lost some of this anger.
I'm grateful if something was corrected to allow me to post again. Thankyou
Not to forget that the band achieved some standing in 1981 for "appearing" in the NZ charts, with this song. Though it was never played on Ready to Roll for some reason 🤔
"Is anyone getting why people are angry at the derision directed at everyday people trying to express themselves? At their frustration"
Barking up the wrong tree, looking for empathy round this place. Too many elderly/retired, centrists, work from home, white collar professional types.
Just a day or so, in an OP, tourism jobs that have been lost in the disruptions were dismissed as low wage positions that NZ was better off without. May be true, but those jobs belonged to people that were putting food on the table and shoes on the feet of their children. People that are hurting now.
Sometimes the comfortable, authoritarian, righteous opinions expressed have you questioning what a socialist is nowadays.
My favourite observation on middle class hypocricy comes from Frankie Boyle. 'If anything I say offends you, be sure to Tweet your outrage on a phone made by an 8 year old.'
Kennedy's fun fact. When DKs were being prosecuted for obscenity by PMRC (Tipper Gore anyone?), the best witness they had was John Denver. He took apart the prosecution with his testimony concerning Rocky Mountain High.
An article from those exciting times, so far removed from where we are now.
"Ordinary people" are on the whole doing rather better at present.
Unemployment down, wages on the rise and a whole bunch of shockingly poor employers having to up their game.
The protesters are not "ordinary people". We are getting on with the job, with 100% of my essential workplace vaccinated, and masked and taking other precautions, where necessary.
The “ordinary people” around me, with only one or two exceptions amoungst several hundred, consider the protesters a bunch of dangerous ignorant clowns.
Stewart Island community is now split. May I suggest to the store owner that when these big noting chicken littles find importing supplies from the mainland too much of a hassle and decide to go back to the store, you tell them to piss off.
Meanwhile, in my neck of the woods ,the local chemist who’s always been open 24/7 is closing on a Sunday. Why? They have lost six staff – two who decided to go back to India.
And not far from the chemist is three upmarket flats. One which houses a JP I sometimes use for legal work. She is now looking for accommodation. Yeah, good luck with that.
And talkback is now carrying ads for reasonably high end jobs.
But the good news is we have a low Covid death rate.
But the good news is we have a low Covid death rate.
The sheer ignorance and callousness of this statement leaves me breathless!
Well, I'm sure Blade hasn't realised it yet, so let me be the first to point this out to him: dead people don't contribute much to the economy. They don't shop at H&Ms, they don't buy big macs or flat whites, they don't purchase petrol or take public transport.
Nearly a million people in the USA have ceased contributing to the economy, over 100,000 in the UK and so on.
So, for reasons well beyond the comprehension of Blade, the good news is that we have a low covid death rate!
''The sheer ignorance and callousness of this statement leaves me breathless!''
Emotional nonsense the Left are well known for.
''Dead people don't contribute much to the economy. They don't shop at H&Ms, they don't buy big macs or flat whites, they don't purchase petrol or take public transport.''
Neither do :
1- The mentally ill.
2- The unemployed.
3- Businesses that have closed.
4- People who can't wait to leave ''the cage.''
5- People on the breadline.
6- A new generation of under educated kids ( due to Covid and Lefty ideology).
Anyone who can add to the list, please do.
''Nearly a million people in the USA have ceased contributing to the economy, over 100,000 in the UK and so on.''
''They can absorb those numbers better ( US has158 million workers). We can't in my opinion.''
''So, for reasons well beyond the comprehension of Blade, the good news is that we have a low Covid death rate!''
What pisses me off with people like you is because I try to look at things in a reasonable unemotional way, I'm a heartless bastard.
We have done all we can do to protect ourselves going forward. What else can we do? Carry on peeping from behind the curtain?
Again, I'm sorry to have to point this out to you, but all of the above categories can be remedied. Death, on the other hand, tends to be a little more permanent.
As the Nigerian PM said, early in the pandemic, and something RW fwits cannot grasp, -:
"We know how to revive a dead economy, we've yet to learn how to revive a dead person."
Good for you. If you are double vaxxed and maybe had a booster, go for it. You have done all you can for your health. There has to be a balance between caution and actually getting on with life.
"A new generation of under educated kids ( due to Covid and Lefty ideology".
In real life, not your RW fantasy world, "A new generation" of kids that currently have jobs "due to covid and lefty idealogy".
1. As if the right wing ever cared about the "unproductive" mentally ill.
2. Ditto unemployed. Which is way down in the real world, see above.
3. Business closure rates overall are not greatly above normal. Some are not surprising in a pandemic. Countries with RW Governments have had the highest rates of business failures during covid.
Don't the RW believe in Capitalism? "Businesses which are unprofitable should be allowed to fail" to make way for more efficent businesses". In fact, in Northland, building, and other businesses are doing much better than normal. Aucklanders are spending in NZ not overseas. Cafes are pretty full.
4. "People who can't wait to leave the cage". Travel is a priveledge in normal times, only for a small proportion of New Zealanders. A fruit picker required to be available 365 days of the year on minimum wage, doesn't travel.
5. People on the "breadline" has dropped. See unemployment.
6. "Undereducated kids". Who now have jobs to aspire to! Nice to see local kids serving in local businesses and gaining apprenticeships. Spots that were formerly filled by backpackers, trained immigrants and temporary visa workers. Hell, the local growers have even had to offer minimum wage.
hardly. Some of the community are pissed at a local business owner and acting accordingly. I don't think this is lightly done, but there may well be history.
Where would you suggest that they start? I can't think of anything they have done except the pre-vaccine period of Covid 19 in the first part of 2020. Before March 2020 and since about October 2020 everything they have touched has turned to dross.
I was a target of criminal harassment on and off for 20 years. In my case it was covert and I had no idea who was responsible. I went to my Public Service bosses and they did nothing. I went to the police and they did nothing. I approached others for assistance and they also did nothing. It seemed like nobody cared. Years later I discovered the identity of the person responsible but still nobody did anything because by then… there had been too much water under the bridge.
The damage done took me many years to overcome and I now know she also did the same sort of thing to other people but with less consistency. The over-all damage she caused was immense.
The moral of the story:
The powers-that-be allowed her to get away with the conduct and she therefore felt enabled to continue with impunity. And I see the same thing happening with these anti-vax/anti-mandate protesters. The more they are allowed to get away with, the more enabled they will feel, and the worse things could become.
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The December labour market statistics have been released, showing yet another increase in unemployment. There are now 156,000 unemployed - 34,000 more than when National took office. And having thrown all these people out of work, National is doubling down on cruelty. Because being vicious will somehow magically create the ...
Boarded up homes in Kilbirnie, where work on a planned development was halted. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 5 are;Housing Minister Chris Bishop yesterday announcedKāinga Ora would be stripped of ...
This week Kiwirail and Auckland Transport were celebrating the completion of the summer rail works that had the network shut or for over a month and the start of electric trains to Pukekohe. First up, here’s parts of the press release about the shutdown works. Passengers boarding trains in Auckland ...
Through its austerity measures, the coalition government has engineered a rise in unemployment in order to reduce inflation while – simultaneously – cracking down harder and harder on the people thrown out of work by its own policies. To that end, Social Development Minister Louise Upston this week added two ...
This year, we've seen a radical, white supremacist government ignoring its Tiriti obligations, refusing to consult with Māori, and even trying to legislatively abrogate te Tiriti o Waitangi. When it was criticised by the Waitangi Tribunal, the government sabotaged that body, replacing its legal and historical experts with corporate shills, ...
Poor old democracy, it really is in a sorry state. It would be easy to put all the blame on the vandals and tyrants presently trashing the White House, but this has been years in the making. It begins with Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan and the spirit of Gordon ...
The new school lunches came in this week, and they were absolutely scrumptious.I had some, and even though Connor said his tasted like “stodge” and gave him a sore tummy, I myself loved it!Look at the photos - I knew Mr Seymour wouldn’t lie when he told us last year:"It ...
The tighter sanctions are modelled on ones used in Britain, which did push people off ‘the dole’, but didn’t increase the number of workers, and which evidence has repeatedly shown don’t work. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, ...
Catching you up on the morning’s global news and a quick look at the parallels -GLOBALTariffs are backSharemarkets in the US, UK and Europe have “plunged” in response to Trump’s tariffs. And while Mexico has won a one month reprieve, Canada and China will see their respective 25% and 10% ...
This post by Nicolas Reid was originally published on Linked in. It is republished here with permission. Gondolas are often in the news, with manufacturers of ropeway systems proposing them as a modern option for mass transit systems in New Zealand. However, like every next big thing in transport, it’s hard ...
This is a re-post from The Climate BrinkBoth 2023 and 2024 were exceptionally warm years, at just below and above 1.5C relative to preindustrial in the WMO composite of surface temperature records, respectively. While we are still working to assess the full set of drivers of this warmth, it is clear that ...
Hi,I woke up feeling nervous this morning, realising that this weekend Flightless Bird is going to do it’s first ever live show. We’re heading to a sold out (!) show in Seattle to test the format out in front of an audience. If it works, we’ll do more. I want ...
From the United-For-Now States of America comes the thrilling news that a New Zealander may be at the very heart of the current coup. Punching above our weight on the world stage once more! Wait, you may be asking, what New Zealander? I speak of Peter Thiel, made street legal ...
Even Stevens: Over the 33 years between 1990 and 2023 (and allowing for the aberrant 2020 result) the average level of support enjoyed by the Left and Right blocs, at roughly 44.5 percent each, turns out to be, as near as dammit, identical.WORLDWIDE, THE PARTIES of the Left are presented ...
Back in 2023, a "prominent political figure" went on trial for historic sex offences. But we weren't allowed to know who they were or what political party they were "prominent" in, because it might affect the way we voted. At the time, I said that this was untenable; it was ...
I'm going, I'm goingWhere the water tastes like wineI'm going where the water tastes like wineWe can jump in the waterStay drunk all the timeI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayAll this fussing and fighting, man, you know I sure ...
Waitangi Day is a time to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and stand together for a just and fair Aotearoa. Across the motu, communities are gathering to reflect, kōrero, and take action for a future built on equity and tino rangatiratanga. From dawn ceremonies to whānau-friendly events, there are ...
Subscribe to Mountain Tūī ! Where you too can learn about exciting things from a flying bird! Tweet.Yes - I absolutely suck at marketing. It’s a fact.But first -My question to all readers is:How should I set up the Substack model?It’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask since November ...
Here’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s political economy on politics and in the week to Feb 3:PM Christopher Luxon began 2025’s first day of Parliament last Tuesday by carrying on where left off in 2024, letting National’s junior coalition partner set the political agenda and dragging ...
The PSA have released a survey of 4000 public service workers showing that budget cuts are taking a toll on the wellbeing of public servants and risking the delivery of essential services to New Zealanders. Economists predict that figures released this week will show continued increases in unemployment, potentially reaching ...
The Prime Minister’s speech 10 days or so ago kicked off a flurry of commentary. No one much anywhere near the mainstream (ie excluding Greens supporters) questioned the rhetoric. New Zealand has done woefully poorly on productivity for a long time and we really need better outcomes, and the sorts ...
President Trump on the day he announced tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China, unleashing a shock to supply chains globally that is expected to slow economic growth and increase inflation for most large economies. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 9 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 3Politics: New Zealand Government cabinet meeting usually held early afternoon with post-cabinet news conference possible at 4 pm, although they have not been ...
Trump being Trump, it won’t come as a shock to find that he regards a strong US currency (bolstered by high tariffs on everything made by foreigners) as a sign of America’s virility, and its ability to kick sand in the face of the world. Reality is a tad more ...
A listing of 24 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, January 26, 2025 thru Sat, February 1, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
What seems to be the common theme in the US, NZ, Argentina and places like Italy under their respective rightwing governments is what I think of as “the politics of cruelty.” Hate-mongering, callous indifference in social policy-making, corporate toadying, political bullying, intimidation and punching down on the most vulnerable with ...
If you are confused, check with the sunCarry a compass to help you alongYour feet are going to be on the groundYour head is there to move you aroundSo, stand in the place where you liveSongwriters: Bill Berry / Michael Mills / Michael Stipe / Peter Buck.Hot in the CityYesterday, ...
Shane Jones announced today he would be contracting out his thinking to a smarter younger person.Reclining on his chaise longue with a mouth full of oysters and Kina he told reporters:Clearly I have become a has-been, a palimpsest, an epigone, a bloviating fossil. I find myself saying such things as: ...
Warning: This post contains references to sexual assaultOn Saturday, I spent far too long editing a video on Tim Jago, the ACT Party President and criminal, who has given up his fight for name suppression after 2 years. He voluntarily gave up just in time for what will be a ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is global warming ...
Our low-investment, low-wage, migration-led and housing-market-driven political economy has delivered poorer productivity growth than the rest of the OECD, and our performance since Covid has been particularly poor. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty this ...
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.As far as major government announcements go, a Three Ministers Event is Big. It can signify a major policy development or something has gone Very Well, or an absolute Clusterf**k. When Three Ministers assemble ...
One of those blasts from the past. Peter Dunne – originally neoliberal Labour, then leader of various parties that sought to work with both big parties (generally National) – has taken to calling ...
Completed reads for January: I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson The Black Spider, by Jeremias Gotthelf The Spider and the Fly (poem), by Mary Howitt A Noiseless Patient Spider (poem), by Walt Whitman August Heat, by W.F. Harvey Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White The Shrinking Man, by Richard Matheson ...
Do its Property Right Provisions Make Sense?Last week I pointed out that it is uninformed to argue that the New Zealand’s apparently poor economic performance can be traced only to poor regulations. Even were there evidence they had some impact, there are other factors. Of course, we should seek to ...
Richard Wagstaff It was incredibly jarring to hear the hubris from the Prime Minister during his recent state of the nation address. I had just spent close to a week working though the stories and thoughts shared with us by nearly 2000 working people as part of our annual Mood ...
Odd fact about the Broadcasting Standards Authority: for the last few years, they’ve only been upholding about 5% of complaints. Why? I think there’s a range of reasons. Generally responsible broadcasters. Dumb complaints. Complaints brought under the wrong standard. Greater adherence to broadcasters’ rights to freedom of expression in the ...
And I said, "Mama, mama, mama, why am I so alone"'Cause I can't go outside, I'm scared I might not make it homeWell I'm alive, I'm alive, but I'm sinking inIf there's anyone at home at your place, darlingWhy don't you invite me in?Don't try to feed me'Cause I've been ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ star is on the rise, having just added the Energy, Local Government and Revenue portfolios to his responsibilities - but there is nothing ambitious about the Government’s new climate targets. Photo: SuppliedLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...
It may have been a short week but there’s been no shortage of things that caught our attention. Here is some of the most interesting. This week in Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt took a look at public transport ridership in 2024 On Thursday Connor asked some questions ...
The East Is Red: Journalists and commentators are referring to the sudden and disruptive arrival of DeepSeek as a second “Sputnik moment”. (Sputnik being the name given by the godless communists of the Soviet Union to the world’s first artificial satellite which, to the consternation and dismay of the Americans, ...
Hi,Back on inauguration day we launched a ridiculous RFK Jr. “brain worms” tee on the Webworm store, and I told you I’d be throwing my profits over to Mutual Aid LA and Rainbow Youth New Zealand. Just to show I am not full of shit, here are the receipts. I ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: on the week in geopolitics, including the latest from Donald Trump over Gaza and Ukraine.Health expert and author David Galler ...
In an uncompromising paper Treasury has basically told the Government that its plan for a third medical school at Waikato University is a waste of money. Furthermore, the country cannot afford it. That advice was released this week by the Treasury under the Official Information Act. And it comes as ...
Back in November, He Pou a Rangi provided the government with formal advice on the domestic contribution to our next Paris target. Not what the target should be, but what we could realistically achieve, by domestic action alone, without resorting to offshore mitigation. Their answer was startling: depending on exactly ...
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guest David Patman and ...
I don't like to spend all my time complaining about our government, so let me complain about the media first.Senior journalistic Herald person Thomas Coughlan reported that Treasury replied yeah nah, wrong bro to Luxon's claim that our benighted little country has been in recession for three years.His excitement rose ...
Back in 2022, when the government was consulting internally about proactive release of cabinet papers, the SIS opposed it. The basis of their opposition was the "mosaic effect" - people being able to piece together individual pieces of innocuous public information in a way which supposedly harms "national security" (effectively: ...
With The Stroke Of A Pen:Populism, especially right-wing populism, invests all the power of an electoral/parliamentary majority in a single political leader because it no longer trusts the bona fides of the sprawling political class among whom power is traditionally dispersed. Populism eschews traditional politics, because, among populists, traditional politics ...
I’ve spent the last week writing a fairly substantial review of a recent book (“Australia’s Pandemic Exceptionalism: How we crushed the curve but lost the race”) by a couple of Australian academic economists on Australia’s pandemic policies and experiences. For all its limitations, there isn’t anything similar in New Zealand. ...
Mr Mojo Rising: Economic growth is possible, Christopher Luxon reassures us, but only under a government that is willing to get out of the way and let those with drive and ambition get on with it.ABOUT TWELVE KILOMETRES from the farm on the North Otago coast where I grew up stands ...
You're nearly a good laughAlmost a jokerWith your head down in the pig binSaying, 'Keep on digging.'Pig stain on your fat chinWhat do you hope to findDown in the pig mine?You're nearly a laughYou're nearly a laughBut you're really a crySongwriter: Roger Waters.NZ First - Kiwi Battlers.Say what you like ...
This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Climate denial is dead. Renewable energy denial is here. As “alternative facts” become the norm, it’s worth looking at what actual facts tell us about how renewable energy sources like solar and wind are lowering the price of electricity. As ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Government’s move to increase speed limits substantially on dozens of stretches of rural and often undivided highways will result in more serious harm. ...
In her first announcement as Economic Growth Minister, Nicola Willis chose to loosen restrictions for digital nomads from other countries, rather than focus on everyday Kiwis. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to stand firm and work with allies to progress climate action as Donald Trump signals his intent to pull out of the Paris Climate Accords once again. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Government’s growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. “Just over a year ago this Government was elected by ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. “The Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,” says Mr ...
The Government is relaxing visitor visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting New Zealand, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Tourism Minister Louise Upston say. “The change is part of the Government’s plan to unlock New Zealand’s potential by shifting the country onto ...
The opening of Kāinga Ora’s development of 134 homes in Epuni, Lower Hutt will provide much-needed social housing for Hutt families, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I’ve been a strong advocate for social housing on Kāinga Ora’s Epuni site ever since the old earthquake-prone housing was demolished in 2015. I ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay will travel to Australia today for meetings with Australian Trade Minister, Senator Don Farrell, and the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF). Mr McClay recently hosted Minister Farrell in Rotorua for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministers’ meeting, where ANZLF presented on ...
A new monthly podiatry clinic has been launched today in Wairoa and will bring a much-needed service closer to home for the Wairoa community, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.“Health New Zealand has been successful in securing a podiatrist until the end of June this year to meet the needs of ...
The Judicial Conduct Commissioner has recommended a Judicial Conduct Panel be established to inquire into and report on the alleged conduct of acting District Court Judge Ema Aitken in an incident last November, Attorney-General Judith Collins said today. “I referred the matter of Judge Aitken’s alleged conduct during an incident ...
Students who need extra help with maths are set to benefit from a targeted acceleration programme that will give them more confidence in the classroom, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Last year, significant numbers of students did not meet the foundational literacy and numeracy level required to gain NCEA. To ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced three new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ...
Ki te kahore he whakakitenga, ka ngaro te Iwi – without a vision, the people will perish. The Government has achieved its target to reduce the number of households in emergency housing motels by 75 per cent five years early, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The number of households ...
The opening of Palmerston North’s biggest social housing development will have a significant impact for whānau in need of safe, warm, dry housing, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The minister visited the development today at North Street where a total of 50 two, three, and four-bedroom homes plus a ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced the new membership of the Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control (PACDAC), who will serve for a three-year term. “The Committee brings together wide-ranging expertise relevant to disarmament. We have made six new appointments to the Committee and reappointed two existing members ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora, good morning, talofa, malo e lelei, bula vinaka, da jia hao, namaste, sat sri akal, assalamu alaikum. It’s so great to be here and I’m ready and pumped for 2025. Can I start by acknowledging: Simon Bridges – CEO of the Auckland ...
The Government has unveiled a bold new initiative to position New Zealand as a premier destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) that will create higher paying jobs and grow the economy. “Invest New Zealand will streamline the investment process and provide tailored support to foreign investors, to increase capital investment ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced the largest reset of the New Zealand science system in more than 30 years with reforms which will boost the economy and benefit the sector. “The reforms will maximise the value of the $1.2 billion in government funding that goes into ...
Turbocharging New Zealand’s economic growth is the key to brighter days ahead for all Kiwis, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. In the Prime Minister’s State of the Nation Speech in Auckland today, Christopher Luxon laid out the path to the prosperity that will affect all aspects of New Zealanders’ lives. ...
The latest set of accounts show the Government has successfully checked the runaway growth of public spending, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. “In the previous government’s final five months in office, public spending was almost 10 per cent higher than for the same period the previous year. “That is completely ...
The Government’s welfare reforms are delivering results with the number of people moving off benefits into work increasing year-on-year for six straight months. “There are positive signs that our welfare reset and the return consequences for job seekers who don't fulfil their obligations to prepare for or find a job ...
Jon Kroll and Aimee McCammon have been appointed to the New Zealand Film Commission Board, Arts Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “I am delighted to appoint these two new board members who will bring a wealth of industry, governance, and commercial experience to the Film Commission. “Jon Kroll has been an ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has hailed a drop in the domestic component of inflation, saying it increases the prospect of mortgage rate reductions and a lower cost of living for Kiwi households. Stats NZ reported today that inflation was 2.2 per cent in the year to December, the second consecutive ...
Two new appointed members and one reappointed member of the Employment Relations Authority have been announced by Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden today. “I’m pleased to announce the new appointed members Helen van Druten and Matthew Piper to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) and welcome them to ...
The new minister of transport has opened the door for public consultation on at least some of the speed limit changes the government said would be automatic. ...
Officially, they’re called ‘memecoins,’ but Kōura Wealth founder Rupert Carlyon says the crypto world has another name for them: ‘shitcoins’.In digital finance, that phrase is used for tokens that have no true value – in essence, a money-grab.A few days before his inauguration, US President Donald Trump launched his own ...
Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was. Guy Williams has made a whole show off the joke that he is a “volunteer” journalist. So getting publicly owned by David Seymour while trying to act as a journalist is a good and timely reminder not to underestimate the nuance and ...
Many of Sāmoa’s beloved dishes are the result of cultural collaboration, writes Madeleine Chapman. All photos by Jin FelletIf you ever find yourself at a barbecue in a Sāmoan home, there’s 99% chance that sapasui (chop suey) will be on the table. For the past century, sapasui has ...
The funnyman takes us through his life in television, including Jono and Ben mayhem, live Telethon flubs, and funnelling all those experiences into his new comedy Vince. There’s an inciting incident in Three’s new comedy Vince where morning television presenter Vince Walters (Jono Pryor) is visiting sick kids in hospital ...
People often claim they just want Waitangi Day to be a celebration. At Waitangi, away from the headlined political acrimony and the marae ātea, celebrating is what most people are doing. The Spinoff Essay showcases the best essayists in Aotearoa, on topics big and small. Made possible by the generous ...
Is there anything more fashionable than a Māori get together? One of the best things about Northland is that nobody cares what they look like — probably because they’re all naturally more stylish than the rest of us, famously. Māori from the Far North, especially. In 27 degree heat, wearing ...
I’ve been in love with him since last July, but it’s only now in this tepid hotel room that I find myself wondering why. The first thing he does when we arrive is smoke a cone in the bathroom – he emerges, hacking up a lung, fists thrust into his ...
MONDAY“Name,” barked a representative of the lower orders.I regarded him with a look of stern disapproval, and told him from up high, “May I remind you that I have name suppression. I shall also thank you to ask with more respect as befits a former president of the Act Party, ...
Books of Mana: 180 Māori-Authored Books of Significance, edited by Jacinta Ruru, Angela Wanhalla and Jeanette Wikaira has just been released by Otago University Press. In this essay, Books are Taonga, Jeanette Wikaira explores her personal relationship to books and their value.For me, books are taonga. The knowledge ...
Get to know Tara, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Tara’s human for their support! Dog name: Tara Age: Two Breed: Mostly Border Collie and a little bit Catahoula Leopard dog If dog ...
Health NZ's CEO has resigned, but frontline healthworkers are sceptical that installing new leadership will make any difference to a system grappling with problems. ...
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Sigh….
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/covid-19-omicron-outbreak-sir-ian-taylor-speed-up-testing-wait-times-or-nz-will-grind-to-a-halt/AU7R2DQMMETPU3LHZHQHJWA4LI/
According to Taylor the Lucira test provides an accurate result at the level of PCR testing within 30 minutes (find out more about this test in the link below)
https://checkit.lucirahealth.com/
was offered to our government 18 months ago and they still haven't approved it:
"The Lucira test that we reacquainted the MoH with after a year and a half of having done nothing about it, gives a clinically approved, PCR equivalent result in 30 minutes."
And the government wants to conduct its own tests despite it being approved by a number of reputable countries already:
"Despite the number of technically advanced countries in the world that have approved Lucira, the ministry has decided they need to conduct more test of their own. Who knows how long those will take."
Honestly, I just shake my head at this. And this is the organisation who thinks they can administer RATS that we don't have enough of?
There was a guy from one of the testing organisations interviewed on ZB yesterday who was commenting on how the testing system is already under pressure and the Omicron thing has hardly started yet.
The Lucira test would take a lot of the burden off our testing system. But they aren't even approved yet despite the MOH knowing about them for ages.
I read the article and it says it has been tested in a number of countries and submitted to the FDA for approval.
I read they want to send kits to Tonga.
So tell me exactly which countries are actually using the tests on any significant…scale?
More about the test here. Approved for emergency use by the FDA according to this article:
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lucira-health-commits-2-million-at-home-molecular-covid-19-test-kits-on-amazon-301474800.html
From the article:
"'In a community trial setting, Lucira™ Check-It results were compared with the Hologic Panther Fusion, which is considered a high-sensitivity molecular test due to its low Limit of Detection ("LOD"). Lucira's accuracy was 98%, correctly detecting 385 out of 394 positive and negative samples in comparison to the Hologic Panther Fusion, excluding ten samples with very low levels of virus (those with very high PCR cycle thresholds of 37.5 or greater) that likely no longer represented active infection. Comparative positive results agreed 97% of the time among this sample, and negative results agreed 98% of the time."
So tell me exactly which countries are actually using the tests on any significant…scale?
From what I can see they are definitely widely used in the US: eg: this from the North Carolina Health department:
https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/about-covid-19/testing/approved-covid-19-home-tests
and they are accepted as proof being Covid-free pre-departure test for entry to the UK for example:
For instance:
https://www.azova.com/uk/deltavirgin/
Pre-departure Test
AZOVA offers the Lucira COVID-19 Home test kit with video observation and a travel pass for pre-departure testing. Take this test under video observation two days before the final leg of your flight to the UK. Testing is simple and takes only 15 minutes.
https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/05/04/1024450/at-home-covid-test-review-accuracy-binaxnow-lucira-ellume/
And have good reviews compared to the Ellume test used in Australia as the link above shows.
Taylor gives a list of other countries using them, so I suggest you read that article.
The article you posted said a number of countries had tested the kits,did not say they were using them.
You just posted that the FDA gave an emergency clearance ,so unlikely they have widespread…use.
You misunderstand what "emergency use" means. Here is what the FDA define "emergency use" to mean:
https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/mcm-legal-regulatory-and-policy-framework/emergency-use-authorization
"The Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) authority allows FDA to help strengthen the nation’s public health protections against chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) threats including infectious diseases, by facilitating the availability and use of medical countermeasures (MCMs) needed during public health emergencies."
That seems to cover a wide range of products, and not related to how much they are or are not used.
It looks to me this provision allows them to fast-track products to help keep ahead of the curve.
It relates to vaccines and various things. I am not sure, but it may well be that the Pfizer vaccine is also in this category.
I understand that the “emergency use” provision is to by-pass the normal lengthily approval process that would probably delay many products to such an extent that the pandemic would be over before they could be used.
Actually, that is correct. For instance, the Pfizer vaccine for kids has been approved under the emergency use provisions:
https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/covid-19-vaccines#authorized-vaccines
You said….' they are definitely widely used in the US:'-make up your…mind.
All this shows is that "'emergency use" is not the same as "infrequent use" which is what you seemed to be saying previously, unless you also think the Pfizer vaccine is used infrequently….
So far as use in other countries goes, here is a youtube link fro the test in french:
How many positive tests did it get right? At the moment I could be 99.99% right just saying that everyone I meet is negative.
The data I linked to above showed 94% accuracy with a false positive rate of 2%.
https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/covid-19-vaccines#authorized-vaccines
That compared favourably with the Australian Ellume test which had an accuracy of 95% but a false positive rate of 3%.
Could you give me a direct link. I don't know what you're trying to point me at as it's just a page of links.
Sorry, I pasted the wrong link.
Here it is:
https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/05/04/1024450/at-home-covid-test-review-accuracy-binaxnow-lucira-ellume/
sigh….just wondering, is Sir Ian considering a political career…and do the Natz have a safe seat available for him…next..year!
From interviews I have heard he has claimed to be a Labour fan-boy up until recently, anyway.
TS, hasn’t it got through to you, they are shit, not fit for purpose, the virus has outflanked them. Not suitable for small scale testing ,only large town size testing where known failure assumption calculations can give an overview. They are like asking 3 people in a taxi who they will vote for and extrapolating that out to 5 million.
Evidence? I thought a link to that would be appropriate.
We're not using them and we are one of the biggest private sector employers in the southern hemisphere.
Maybe because they are quite pricey compared to RAT tests. But a lot more accurate than RATS.
From this link:
https://checkit.lucirahealth.com/
"Indication for Use
The Lucira Check It COVID-19 Test Kit is a single-use test kit intended to detect the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19. This test is authorized for over-the-counter (OTC) use with self-collected nasal swab samples in individuals with or without COVID-19 symptoms aged 14 and older, and in children aged 2-13 collected by an adult. This test is similar to a PCR test in that it utilizes a molecular amplification technology for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA.
Positive results are indicative of the presence of SARS-CoV-2. Individuals who test positive should self-isolate and seek additional care from their healthcare provider. Positive results do not rule out bacterial infection or co-infection with other viruses.
Negative results do not preclude SARS-CoV-2 infection. Individuals who test negative and continue to experience COVID-like symptoms should seek follow up care from their healthcare provider. Negative results are presumptive and confirmation with a molecular assay performed in a laboratory, if necessary, for patient management may be performed.
For use under the Food and Drug Administration’s Emergency Use Authorization only.
Test results can be reported through the LUCI secure portal, to relevant public health authorities in accordance with local, state, and federal requirements."
No we are simply not buying into the bullshit hype, and are trusting our protocols.
Issue with rapid antigen tests has been exposed by a worrying spread of cases in a Melbourne aged care facility — as Australia's health watchdog looks into a number of complaints about the kits from across the nation.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/covid-19-omicron-outbreak-cases-tear-through-melbourne-aged-care-facility-after-dodgy-rat-results/EMOTVSTN3FWVRZJKNLVMBQWOPI/
Staff at Twin Parks believe their current outbreak could have been avoided.
According to an email seen 9 NEWS, a decision was then made to give all residents in the home's West Wing a PCR test, the results alarmingly revealing at least 20 residents had contracted the virus.
Twin Parks said residents had been tested with two different brands of RATs to confirm their diagnosis, but they provided conflicting results.
Reading that article, it is as much a damning inditement on vaccine efficacy as it is a comment on RATs, despite the headline.
…though we may reconsider that for some cases in light of isolation no longer being required for critical workers, as announced this morning:
Covid-19 Omicron outbreak: Critical workers given isolation exemption – NZ Herald
Cool. Looks like we will qualify for that.
Though I couldn’t see a link for where to apply in the article, which isn’t particularly helpful.
Tone deaf
(A history)
"We don't have any bread? Let them eat cake"
Marie Antoinette explains why she doesn't understand the suffering of the poor in France.
"I hear nothing from that side….."
The Prime Minister explains why she is deaf to the suffering of renters.
She can be deaf,dumb and…blind when she chooses to.
A house is not a home,when there's no one…living…there'
40,009 empty homes in Auckland 'earning' $6000 a week for the past year are not a cause for concern.
This is a disgrace, and a government could easily at least try to do something about it.
Unfortunately I can't find the article to link to, but they were predicting that rents will increase significantly in 2022. And the way things are going I think they are correct.
It was One Roof I think… they are loving property rises and predicted rents to rise steeply… a signal to their members?
Thanks Patricia. Although interestingly, I heard an interview on One Zb the other day from a Barfoot & Thompson guy who said last month the market had changed and for the first time the vendors were more keen than the buyers, and possibly the market may have turned slightly to favor buyers more.
Centrist NZ Labour party is hostile to anyone coming from the left. A prime example is this fantastic speech by Chloe Swarbrick yesterday, followed by a bizarre hit piece here today.
Pointing out the difference between the rhetoric and the inaction is unacceptable, be happy with the tepid incrementalism, there is no alternative.
[lprent: Authors opinions are their own, in this case one from advantage. Read the policy about attributing author opinions to anything other than what they think. Plus (FFS) – Advantage does seem to spend a lot of time here telling the NZLP off.
Since you can’t appear to simply deal with an opinion without simply smearing it by implying that it is a NZLP hit, then I can’t see any reason to tolerate your stupidity. It is unacceptable. Banned for 4 weeks for being a complete fuckwit. ]
😎
https://twitter.com/robsuisted/status/1491205881702535170?s=21
COVID fever fallout continues in Kaitaia. Christian school Abundant Life has been closed by the Ministry of Education due to insufficient available qualified staff. Principal Mark Tan–a previous Natzo would be MP, Mike Sabin was selected–has headed for the hills on a years sabbatical. Tan is anti vaccination and anti mandate. The Far North as ever needs better community leaders.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/northland-age/news/abundant-life-school-seniors-in-limbo-after-closure-of-senior-school/EQV4SIBUEO2QBQOBHHB6U4ZSKI/
The police will clear parliament today. The response has been characterised by restraint and de-escalation in order to respect the right to protest and to not give anti-vaxxers the radicalising martyrdom moment many of them clearly want. But it is clear the protesters are not going to go peacefully and continued restraint risks escalation if reinforcement turns up and the crowd tries to storm parliament. The police can't afford to keep 100+ officers tied up 24×7 for weeks and I read in Stuff this morning they've called in 100 extra cops overnight.
The grounds will be cleared today and the whole area closed to the public for the next little while is my guess.
Looks that way, hopefully it doesn't descend into chaos. If it does expect protests to become more disruptive, looking at the forecast I suspect the better response is to let the incoming weather system do it…
The problem is they have a set of inchoate and impossible demands which when combined with threats against politicians and a decentralised organisational structure means there can be no peaceful meeting with the speaker to hand over a petition or something followed by a dispersal – in other words, the symbolic rituals of democracy are not going to be observed by a bunch of people who see themselves through an over-wrought lens of crusading martyrdom.
So just arrest them all.
Repost
Sanctuary
2 June 2012 at 1:21 pm
The idea you need a permit to protest is an oxymoron which I would have thought every liberty loving right winger would denounce – prising your liberty from your Cold dead hands and all that other stuff you hear ad nauseum from the freedom loving lectern lictors of the right.
Of course, when actually called to account to defend ancient liberties and rights in a free society, our righties always disappoint, revealing themselves as petty minded authoritarians obsessed with fussing over the detritus of process as a hollow substitute to defending what they hypocritically spout on every other occasion.
Who is saying they need a permit to protest?
They staged a protest. It was (mostly) peaceful. Now they have a decision to make.
There are basically 2 kinds of protest – limited and unlimited time. The former is common (I've been on marches and the like, I bet many of us have). That was this Convoy, or so we thought. Drive, arrive, speak, leave.
The latter is a sit-in, an occupation. It can work, but usually for a specific, achievable goal (e.g. students at a campus, wanting a change in some college policy).
Is there any such goal here? None apparent. Coffee and a chat with the PM? So what are they staying for? No demands have been issued (of any plausible nature).
Mandates will end at some stage but only the utterly deluded think this protest will influence the decision in any way.
An observational comment. What your replied to was sanctuaries comment on this very same blog from 10 years ago regarding the right to protest.
Yes, I know. I can read.
The right to protest is fundamental, and of course it is not the issue here. You are creating a straw man.
Would you like to engage with the points I made? What are the protesters’ demands, and should they be allowed permanent occupation and disruption until those demands are met? When does that ever happen at protests?
I don't give a fig about your questions.
It's the hypocrisy I find amusing, accept your fucking mandate peasant when Sanc agrees with the mandate, let protests do whatever when Sanc likes the protest, plus bleating on about ancient liberties and rights. most "left" or "approved" protests are quite incoherent as well except for their leadership which is usually exceptional and eloquent.
The right to protest is an issue here.
Disruption is part and parcel of peaceful protest. It occurs whenever large crowds gather. Therefore, is no excuse for denying people of their fundamental right.
Lucky nobody is doing that.
I've protested for years, occupied buildings back in the day. The standard practise when the protest involved trespass (never involved threats to "hang 'em high", but this is a different crowd) was for people to decide whether or not they wished to be arrested. We literally discussed this at meetings. Then, when the tolerance of the authorities had expired, them that wanted to avoid arrest left, and the ones who were cool with it stayed. And we had lawyers set up to advise them, they all knew the process to expect, and they made their decision.
People don't have a right to camp on parliament's lawn in perpetuity. In my day, the Speaker was the nominated owner/occupier of Parliament grounds for trespass orders, and the streets are covered by various obstruction laws (in addition to the catch-all "disorderly behaviour").
This isn't a double standard. These are the rules left wing protestors have lived under for decades.
This protest gives me the impression that having a meeting was never really thought about, let alone having some common fundamentals agreed between the groups.
Someone said 'let's copy the Canadians, that seemed to work so well for them, we'll all drive to Wellington'.
Sounds of gas being filled, 'have I time to write some wonky written anti vax placards? yes! done, zoom, away we go.
The story could continue but suffice to say, they have not got even one tame MP to come to meet them let alone anything to give them that might have been released simultaneously to the media so everyone could see what they are about.
Ardern said while New Zealanders have a right to protest, it's not fair when the lives of the public are disrupted.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2022/02/prime-minister-jacinda-ardern-brushes-off-parliament-protest-stand-off-with-police.html
The right to protest doesn't cease when the tolerance of the authorities expires.
As you point out, there are laws in place to deal with any misbehaviour.
People have the right to protest, and people (even the PM) have the right to point out when protestors are being dicks.
The right to protest is not at issue here. What's at issue is the entitlement of fools who think they can jam up downtown traffic for days with zero repercussions.
Most protests, even smallish ones, involve some disruption. Disruption that is tolerated, but not a right. When it becomes more difficult to tolerate disruption than deal with it, the cops can and will arrest. And for some reason the tolerance of the authorities seems to change more according to who is protesting, rather than how – but that's another debate entirely.
Of course it is. The related disruption is being used as an excuse to cease it. When all that is required is to ensure the disruption is minimised.
This is a large grassroots group that have been largely very well behaved.
No, their demands are not incoherent, they want an end to the mandates and reinstatement of the Bill of Rights. That is it. This is reasonable given that omicron evades the vaccine.
This is the first Labour Government to deliberately put people out of work and people are understandably unhappy about this. The powers that be refused to meet with them so they could hand over the paperwork so they are staying until things change.
This is a peaceful protest, the response from our elected officials is not.
"Reinstatement of the Bill of Rights"
The Bill of Rights doesn't need reinstating. It has never been rescinded.
Several court judgments have declared that the mandates are not a breach of the bill of rights and are a <i> justified limitation </i> on society. There is a larger public health purpose at play.
The evidence overseas of the death toll and strain on the health system should be all that is needed to understand what is at risk in New Zealand should the outbreak become even worse.
"…The powers that be refused to meet with them so they could hand over the paperwork…"
The powers that be being the people they are threatening to hang and subject to kangaroo courts, those powers that be? Not unreasonable then to not want to meet with people making regular death threats against you.
And what paperwork? A photocopy of Magna Carta and garbled re-write of the Grand Remonstrance?
Look, these people are breach of public health orders. No one is being deliberately put out of work, they are choosing not to comply with lawful vaccine mandates and the consequences of that. get the vaccine, keep the job.
And this is the whole problem.
they want an end to the mandates and reinstatement of the Bill of Rights. That is it.
People like Fran presume to decide what the protest is really about. Meanwhile the protesters decide it's about various other things. How inconvenient.
From their own words … It's about demanding other people don't wear a mask, it's about children being murdered by a vaccine, it's about making violent threats to journalists (any Bill of Rights for them?), it's about 1080, it's about loving Trump, it's about Counterspin, it's about Ardern being controlled by mysterious forces, and so on, and so on …
Again, those things may not be what you want to protest about, Fran. But you don't get to create your own reality.
If you had bothered to do some research you would know that the organisers were very clear about their purpose and have stayed on message. If you are only getting your information from the mainstream media then of course you would not know that.
My "research" is reading their own words, in their own social media, on their own signs. I bothered, which is why I quoted some of them in my comment.
If you are only getting your information by carefully not reading them, then of course you would not know that. Because – be honest now – you do not want to know.
Is Clarke Gayford in jail for drug dealing? That's "staying on message" – theirs.
You just needed to read the placards carried on the cars and at the protest to know what the message was……gradually throughout yesterday the few anti mandate signs disappeared and today we have had the wrongly spelled ones about PM and others going to be tried per the Nuremberg laws , how vaccine kills, and the stoic guy who waved a flag all day 'Natural immunity 99.6%'
I fully support the right of this unmasked, unvaccinated crowd to hold a protest on the steps of parliament for as long as they like, (until the fall sick and leave of their own free will in embarrassment.
But for goodness sake. At least tow away all their illegally parked vehicles.
I have been to several hikoi and protests at parliament and we never dared illegally park our vehicles.
Why do these right wing protesters get treated with kid gloves by the council parking authorities? When left wing protesters get pulled over and ticketed for the slightest infringement?
The commissioner obviously read my missive to him yesterday.
I thought you rang him on his…mobile number.
No, he doesn't talk to ferals on his mobile…only his life coach.
Arresting mothers and the elderly isn't going to make it all go away.
I heard they took one protester away that was sitting in a wheelchair.
Just seen footage of a reasonably young girl catch a fist in the face from police.
They're going to really radicalize people… what a shit show. Fucking sad really.
Footage?
Some of the morons gathered in Wellington want the PM to be like Trump. She could be today.
Get up a posse of police and military, batons, tear gas, rubber bullets and a Bible. Proceed down the steps of Parliament. Deal to the mob and march the staunch march of someone in charge, along the road, round the corner to the Treasury. Wave the Bible in the air.
So many would, be overcame by such a display of authority injections may be needed to revive them.
Now that's a thought!
Glad you're not authoritarian, Peter. Harbouring views about dumb peasants who need to be put in their place.
Did it ever occur to any of you superior types that it just might be the marginalised, that could, and in many cases, are, trying to express what they know of the danger authoritarianism poses?
You are missing the point.
Peter is simply reminding us of exactly what Trump did:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_photo_op_at_St._John%27s_Church
Of course Ardern will not do that, nor should she, not would any reasonable person want her to be like Trump. But (if you still don't get the irony) …
the protesters with Trump flags want her to.
Where were all these "Freedom protesters" when National search and survaillance bill was passed?
And a fat "meh" from the so called "freedom and rights" advocates on TS when I posted on it at the time.
A much more draconian example of abuse of State power, than necessery measures to keep us safe during a pandemic.
agree KJT, more millions from the sirkey Govt. for the state snoops including life long immunity/anonymity for operatives and extended powers for Govt. Ministries–hardly a squeak out of anyone at the time
Yes.There are protests everywhere when Labour is in power.
I asked striking teachers why they never bothered when the Natz were not interested in raising their pay for 9 years ….their reply…we knew they wouldn't take any…notice.
Dumb peasants of course should not be put in their place – they should choose their own place.
For example they can choose to have all the top positions in fields like immunology and epidemiology in New Zealand. I mean in the past couple of years they have tried to convince me they know more than all the so called experts. I accept they might be marginalised by the fact they are treated as if they are talking shit. Big deal.
I appreciate they might be pissed off that their parents made them do things and they didn't always get their own way from when they were born. Now they are trying to express what they know of the danger authoritarianism poses from their life learning? This is their way of fighting back?
I don't care about that. The choice is to accept manipulative ignorant fuckwits leading other ignorant fuckwits running my world or not.
Someone should open up a mobile coffee shop and start offering the protesters free flat whites, but put a laxative in the coffee. That would get them going.
I am currently watching the live webcam on Radio NZ at parliament grounds. Its kind of facinating!.
Police showing patience, but persistence in holding the line, gradually making a little ground. Periodically arrests are being made…….
I lol'd at their "leader" ducking off to Invercargill to get "reinforcements"
To paraphrase Blackadder, he'll be right behind them – in his case, 994km behind them.
HDPA explains something many misguided acolytes of climate change either don't get, or are wilfully ignoring.
https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/heather-du-plessis-allan-drive/opinion/heather-du-plessis-allan-does-climate-change-really-matter-when-push-comes-to-shove/
It's something that constantly bemuses me – people who tout clean green energy, when in fact it's either not clean and green, or the economic realities at present just don't stack up. Case in point:
https://www.npr.org/2019/09/10/759376113/unfurling-the-waste-problem-caused-by-wind-energy
Quote:
''There aren't many options to recycle or trash turbine blades, and what options do exist are expensive, partly because the U.S. wind industry is so young. It's a waste problem that runs counter to what the industry is held up to be: a perfect solution for environmentalists looking to combat climate change.''
Talking of nuttiness…what are our fuel prices going to be when Marsden Point closes in a few months time? Labour could have expanded the refinery life, but Labour ministers didn't want to know.
And what of coal?
https://www.1news.co.nz/2021/03/15/nzs-coal-imports-highest-in-14-years-but-energy-minister-berates-acts-utterly-false-suggestion-why/
There is nothing wrong with moving to green energy production. That is a sane thing to do. But as a rock climbing instructor will tell you, when traversing a rock face, always have three limbs making a solid grip before embarking on your next move. Sage advice.
' Labour could have expanded the refinery life, but Labour ministers didn't want to know.'
I thought the refinery was a private business.
I also understand there was a takeover offer in play ,which had a covenant that the refinery had to close for it to…proceed.
''I thought the refinery was a private business.''
It is. And they shouldn't get a penny from the public purse. But this is a caring Labour gummint with lush funding for all occasions.
I would think this would be one of those occasions?
Quote:
''A Cabinet paper released in November revealed that Energy Minister Megan Woods had been willing to consider trying to save the refinery by underwriting its operations for a period of up to 10 years but that the option did not get the support of fellow ministers.''
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/127057188/no-last-minute-reprieve-for-marsden-point-oil-refinery
Make up your….mind.
There will be, a short break, while Blade finds out what David Seymour's position on the subject is, today!
Dave Seymour is now…yesterdays news. A little like this gummint at the next election.
Wishin' and hopin'
and thinkin'and prayin'That's how you start the ball rolling.
The refinery is reaching the end of it's design life, and is also too small compared to overseas refineriesto be economic.
Keeping it open is more likely to increase, not reduce, overall energy costs.
And. Buying into the anti Green energy propaganda, by claiming Green energy is “not a perfect solution, so we should stay with hydrocarbons”, is the sort of bullshit the tobacco industry used. Worthy of Chris Bishop at his tobacco lobbyist, bullshitting best.
You really should read:
''There is nothing wrong with moving to green energy production. That is a sane thing to do. But as a rock climbing instructor will tell you, when traversing a rock face, always have three limbs making a solid grip before embarking on your next move. Sage advice.''
Poor analogy.
But. To carry on with it. The fossil fuel industry, and those you are quoting, want us to stay on the rock face, without ever going to the next pitch, until we lose our grip and fall.
Propaganda about the supposed inefficiencies and costs of more sustainable energy, is meant to keep the business model going as long as possible. Lessons fossil fuel suppliers have learnt from the tobacco and sugar industries.
''Poor analogy.
But. To carry on with it. The fossil fuel industry, and those you are quoting, wants us to stay on the rock face, without ever going to the next pitch, until we lose our grip and fall.''
Everyone has an agenda in this sphere of activity. Of course the fossil fuel industry will fight for survival. That is fair and just. They will tell bs, just like the bs from the other side I have pointed out.
However, they know, and you should too, that the fossil fuel industry is a finite proposition. I still think it has decades to run, but it's dying as we speak.
Making the next move on the rock face demands a solid foothold. That is something the green energy movement cannot provide at the moment.
For example, this from Google:
''Mr Wilson said a study on EV battery life had recommended full factory replacements as a good, yet expensive, option. Estimates for a full factory replacement on a battery are $7,700 plus fitting for a 24KWH battery on a Nissan Leaf and $35,000 for an 85KWH battery on a Tesla.''
Yeah, a South Auckland family already having their choice of a cheap vehicle curtailed by new car import regulations would not be able to move to an electric vehicle.
Problem number two with electric cars:
The national grid ( including household electricals) will not be able to cope when electric car numbers meet a critical mass.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/102240245/power-network-may-struggle-to-deal-with-electric-vehicles
Now this is a debatable issue. But my point again – we don't have a reliable source of green energy that we can say wont cause issues…or if it does, such issues are easily fixed.
You haven't "pointed out BS from the other side".
You have simply repeated BS from the anti more renewable energy side.
The cost of replacement batteries for an EV, for one, is immaterial, when the batteries now available will last longer than the normal life of the rest of the car.
The National grid is in the process of being upgraded. The cost will be a fraction of the ongoing costs of upgrades to our aging fossil fuel infrastructure, by the way.
Kicking the can down the road has gone on for too long.
We have the capability and should have been over 100% more renewable energy in the National grid, over a decade ago. Nationals power “reforms” and lack of action has put us back decades
''The cost of replacement batteries for an EV, for one, is immaterial, when the batteries now available will last longer than the normal life of the rest of the car.''
That's debatable…but?
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/20/electric-car-batteries-what-happens-to-them
''The National grid is in the process of being upgraded. The cost will be a fraction of the ongoing costs of upgrades to our aging fossil fuel infrastructure, by the way.''
That's debatable again, and does not consider the upgrade of house power delivery capabilities for many homes. I have read about this and asked an electrician. Even the electrician and his partner couldn't agree on the issue.
I'm more than prepared to switch to greener energy…but for me it won't be until the bugs of delivery ad reliability and economy have been worked out
Waste turbine blades are 2/10ths of fuck all compared to the daily CO2 generated by Huntly.
What the government could do about it is have a more serious chat with the owners of Tiwai Point. MBIE and Minister Wood are being played.
Australians are fuming about their petrol prices hitting $2 a litre.
yea, but have you had a parking ticket or a speeding fine in australia?
In my case the answer is yes and ouch.
Currently, in Victoria, 10 kph over the speed limit will cost you $363 and some demerit points. While I lived there I once got a fine of about $100 for being 2 kph over the 100 kph limit on the Princes Highway from Melbourne to Geelong It is a multilane divided highway.
Mind you when I lived there the Northern Territory, outside the towns, had no speed limit at all. They went all soft in about 2007 though and brought in limits.
Alwyn you have to drive 3 times further to get anywhere in Australia not to mention the congestion in Australia's big cities where most people live.
So while fuel is cheaper per litre you will use a lot more fuel.
Then find a carpark and pay for the toll road as well.
That's why public transport is more widely used.
When I visited rellies in Aussie, I was met at the airport and told they ''lived just up the road.'' Two hours later we were home safe and sound.
Our power was out pm for line work. Late joining in here. Travelled NZ Canberra 5 years ago, where we were met by my brother for a three hour drive to Dalmeny NSW, yes distances are close if 3 hours away. Later in our stay we had a one hour drive to meet friends for coffee!! Whole other world. Big vehicles too because…kangaroos.
''Whole other world. Big vehicles too because…kangaroos.''
True, there is no comparison with their understanding of distance and ours.
While we like to think our nations are similar, there are still major differences, both good and bad between the two countries.
I spent the last 18 months of my time in Australia touring the country. All our driving was on sealed roads mind. I knew damn well I shouldn't go on any of the outback tracks. We kept off the road at dawn and dusk. That was when the kangaroos were out and they were very dangerous. They moved so fast and so erratically. I have been told that if they saw 2 lights, your headlights, coming toward them they might jump between them and straight into the middle of your windscreen. With an adult red kangaroo weighing 40 – 50 kilos it would be a spectacular bang.
We loved being out in the outback and things like crossing the Nullabor. The stars are so amazingly bright out there with no settlements or atmospheric pollution.
That sounds like getting met at Mangere and having to get to Mission Bay.
Mind you, given the way most New Zealand drivers behave, I'm not sure you would get there that fast and I wouldn't bet on making it safely.
It was a day of storms and our trip was perhaps made longer dodging all the branches that had come down.
Did they recognise you?
Was it Maloolabaa?
No, Perf.
Yep the tickets are expensive but luckily I only get about one a year, whereas I have to fill up with petrol about 50 times a year!
Have the Yanks hit a $1 yet? That would start another war…somewhere.
On the protests – it's pretty straightforward.
On Tuesday there was a protest, majority peaceful, some nasty aggression from a minority, but overall nothing out of the ordinary.
On Wednesday the majority of protesters left. They had made their point and were a news headline. The remainder were given a day's grace. Meanwhile major disruption continued in central Wellington. The extra day was sufficient.
Today they are being moved on. Let's hope it does not get much worse. But there is no point saying "no need, they can leave Friday or Saturday or whenever". Clearly some have no intention of doing what protesters usually (and sensibly) do … declare victory and leave.
They have no clue what they are doing, because they live in echo chambers but cannot even agree on goals, never mind tactics. They could have scored a PR win, but they've chosen to alienate people instead. Nobody else to blame.
I also think they're politically naive when it comes to strategy, but they may be thinking that another set of headlines of them being arrested is useful to their movement eg see how repressive the state is, sign up to our movement here. And they might not be wrong.
Judging by the social media noise, they blame each other more than anyone.
You can follow developments here:
https://twitter.com/Te_Taipo/status/1491493012404244483
(note the protest "leaders" are getting out of the way, leaving their followers to get arrested. Standard practice by far right agitators, always has been).
It sounds just like the 1981 protests about the Springbok tour. Even down to the protest leaders keeping out of the way. Standard practice by far left agitators, always has been.
Same place too. There were some major protests in Molesworth Street.
Oh, but it takes me back. As Mary Hopkins put it even earlier. "Those were the days my friends"
Anyone with any grasp of the history of the 1981 tour would know that leaders like John Minto were arrested (and assaulted) multiple times.
You probably know it too, but in a laughable attempt to score a point you lie, as usual.
I can only think of a single occasion when Minto was arrested.
You no doubt are an authority. When and where was he arrested on these "Multiple" occasions and what happened at each trial?
I certainly don't remember him leading from the front in Wellington.
Minto and co…are heroes who proved to be on the right side of…history.
The deluded motley protestors/rabble seem to have funds for tents, petrol, time off work (if they are employed/employable). They have no regard for damaging Parliament grounds, or grossly inconveniencing people and businesses in Wellington. The anti-vaxxers among them could get infected with Covid and need medical/hospital treatment so will they accept drug interventions to assist their recovery despite not wanting the vaccine in their body? Will they be grateful to the state for the care they receive? Doubt it.
If you live in Wellington, or visit on occasion, I suggest you visit Shelley Bay. The occupation there has been going on for about 15 months now. It looks exactly like what you are describing.
And todays forecast is rain with a number of falling satellites.
https://www.spacex.com/updates/
https://www.spaceweather.com/images2022/09feb22/kindex_starlink.jpg
spaceweather the constraint on today's technology.
Another geomagnetic CME will hit in the next few hours.
https://www.spaceweather.com/images2022/09feb22/justdetected.png
That's the sound of David Seymour's head exploding.
https://twitter.com/wekatweets/status/1491523178656505857
Yes I think rent controls could well be on the cards in the future, which is why I think some landlords are predicted to increase rents this year while they can. They can only increase once a year but I think they are making it a larger rise to compensate for the less mortgage interest being deductible and the uncertainty of future increases.
In which case I have zero sympathy for the ones doing that if they get burned.
I increased the rent on my property to cover the mortgage interest portion I am no longer able to deduct. Tenant (of over 15 years) was very understanding and the rent is still lower by $100 a week compared to next door identical property that is rented out and managed by a real estate company.
I can't see rent controls happening in this term – especially given Ardern has explicitly ruled it out when Poto Williams floated it.
If it were announced, as a Labour/Greens policy – or even a GP bottom line for negotiations (not that the GP tend to do this) – I'd expect to see all rents take a very solid tick upwards in the expectation of a flat period.
The problem with rent controls is that it creates an incentive for rental owners to sell (especially if they see that they've taken the bulk of the capital gain out of the property already). If they're within the 10 year margin, then they may wait out a few years until they're in the 'free' zone.
And, when they sell, they're almost inevitably going to sell to owner-occupiers (not that that's a bad thing, in itself), but it reduces the rental housing stock.
Currently, there are literally 100s of applicants for each rental house coming available in Auckland (have friends who've been through the process of trying to find a new house). Reducing the housing stock available, increases this pressure: both on new rents (current tenant has left, so rent control no longer applies), and on the careful … selection … of the tenant (solo-mums or people with past credit issues need not apply)
Sounds like a house with people in it, will switch to a house with people living in it, which sounds fine in a housing crisis. But hopefully with controls, both the rent and the purchase of housing might become cheaper.
I don't think NZ has that much specific demand for rentals, everyone I know who rents would rather own, but can't afford it (paying so much in rent is one of the problems). They are not renting for the flexibility or lifestyle.
The rents a large proportion of people pay are the same or more than a mortgage….its getting the deposit and finance that is the…problem,and finding a house to buy without getting outbid by…investors.
"Everyone I know who rents would rather own" – this!
If there is a mortgage on the house, then rent paid by tenants should be regarded as payment (or part-payment) of that mortgage. Tenants would effectively gain equity/part ownership of the house and receive a proportional share of its value when it was sold. A bureaucratic nightmare – but it might help end landlordism.
Hmm. I know a fair chunk of 20-somethings who really don't want to own a home – though they feeling a whole lot of FOMO because of house price rises.
Most of my peers wanted to travel in the 20s, or at least have mobility between cities; and spend their weekends partying, rather than doing house maintenance.
And, there are plenty of people who – regardless of the house prices, will never be in the financial position to put together a deposit and buy a house. Even at the high point of home ownership in the 1990s – there were a good 25% of households renting.
And, the shift from rental property to home ownership tends to reduce the number of people per dwelling: e.g. 3 bedroom property rented to 5 people (2 couples and a singleton) – bought and becomes owner-occupied with 3 people (a couple and a border; or a couple and 1 child).
But she didn't rule rent controls out. She said she wasn't considering them.
When pressed by Ryan Bridge several times on AM the other day, should refused to rule them out during her term as prime minister.
"especially given Ardern has explicitly ruled it out when Poto Williams floated it."
The greatest challenge to the PM is not keeping that promise. After all she specifically ruled out penalties for people choosing not to get vaxxed. She promised no new taxes, and then introduced multiple new levies, amended the brightline test and changed tax deductibility rules for landlords.
No, the greatest challenge is thinking of yet another way to twist the English language to breaking point to actually introduce rent controls without calling them that. I have every confidence she will figure it out.
She said they weren't considering rent controls at the time of that Ryan Bridge interview last week. Who knows, they might well be considering them now.
Ah yes, the true politicians answer.
Yes very clever! Not considering them at the time but next week, may consider them!
That's already happening though. Up 5.8% in the past year according to Shaw's speech.
Let them sell. If they're the greedy bastards, better they get out of this sector. Government can buy them, or local bodies, or NGOs or any number of people who have a commitment to ending the housing crisis and won't rip people off.
Why inevitably? Government can probably regulate that anyway.
It's hard to see how the Government can regulate *who* you sell to!
And 'inevitably' to owners, since a rent-freeze would make it highly unlikely that investors (owning to rent) would be bidding.
Yes, you take the investors out of the bidding – but, unless there is massive new build going on (minimum of 10x the consents we're seeing ATM) – the prices will still be driven up by owner-occupier competition.
Every auction I've been to in the last 18 months (just locally in our neighbourhood – tire kicking to see what's happening) – has had 8-10 potential owner-occupiers seriously interested. There's a long way to go before that need/desire is mopped up by new builds.
Why? If rentals have to be registered with Tenancy Services, then when they are put up for sale, the landlord is required to let TS know, and the Crown gets first dibs.
Ae, so we need those houses being sold by current landlords to be bought and kept out of the private market. Local and central govt, NGOs and Iwi, community land trusts etc, anyone that's not going to see it as an investment that needs a big capital gains. Housing as homes again.
The Crown literally doesn't have the money to buy every rental house that comes up for sale.
Also, do you want the headlines that we've already seen, over KO competing with first-time buyers!
The Crown needs to be adding to the housing stock, not competing to buy existing housing.
The Crown doesn't have to pay for every landlordee sale, they're can be the regulatory body that ensures rental numbers don't drop drastically (assuming this is an actual problem).
That's largely an issue for Labour's messaging and public education team. Unless you are suggesting that KO shouldn't buy rentals instead of first home buyers.
Why? What's wrong with shifting rentals out of the investor class into the hands of people who will prioritise tenants?
Well, who *will* pay for the sales? The various NGOs who do community housing are absolutely strapped for cash. Unless the government stumps up, I don't see where the money is to come from?
If the proposal is to take the properties at a government-mandated lower price under the Public Works Act (or something similar), I'd say that the government would fall. Too much of the voting class in NZ has very substantial amounts of their wealth locked up in housing.
Also, if there are restrictions on landlord sales, there's going to be a huge temptation to find ways around the restrictions (a bit like all of the ways around Muldoon's rent freeze in the 1980s).
A simple way is for another family member to 'buy' the rental property, and then lease it to the family member who wants it. Technically, no change in the 'rental' status, but practically the same as owner-occupier purchase.
A government policy to "shift rentals out of the investor class" is, I think, politically unsaleable to the NZ electorate.
KO, local govt, NGOs that do have funding, Iwi, Community Land Trusts, co-operatives, private buyers or organisations that are willing to commit to keeping the property out of the property market for a longer period of time and to accept rent caps. Lots of options appear when we centre values, in this case the provision of stable homes. Most of my suggestions need clear thinking people to set up models that can be easily replicated. This is what I mean about the importance of imagination. Once we can see how it can be done, then we can get on with organising it.
What kind of ways around?
Depends on whether they intend to maximise capital gains, and whether they intend to use high rents to generate income.
Yeah, but that's probably because you're looking at worst case or bad designs that I'm not suggesting.
Recent research showed a very large number of NZers want house prices to drop, and a big chunk of those want them to drop a lot, so I think the electorate would respond to creative and clearly communicated initiatives atm.
I don’t however believe that Labour are the people to do that, it’s not their forte. It needs to be driven by people that get it.
It doesn't actually matter from the perspective of the net-loss to the rental system.
And 'depends' issues result in massive bureaucracy and/or avoidance as each one is litigated. We're already seeing this in the shift to 10-years for the bright line test, with variability depending on when/how much of the time a property has been rented (anecdata from a friend in the IRD)
Before the IRD got involved, it was really typical for families to rent out to family members for reduced rentals. IRD perceived this (probably correctly) as a tax avoidance measure (effectively resulting in a 'loss' against the property).
Realistically, I don't see any of the above having the capital to do this on any substantial scale. And, Local government, at least, are generally trying to divest themselves of community housing (and finding few buyers – KO and NGOs aren't interested).
While many NZers – especially those who bought houses 10 years or more ago, and don't have large mortgages – are would welcome a gentle downwards trend on house prices. I don't see that this proposal would in any way achieve this.
Realistically, we have an under-supply of houses for our population. [Setting aside these reported ghost houses]
The only thing which can fix this is building more accommodation (in multiple flavours – including tiny homes). I do see that the various bodies doing sustainable renting (KO, NGOs, etc.) have a role to play in adding to the housing stock – but driving up prices (if KO wins the auction, by definition the price is higher than it would have been for the next-lowest bid); or mandating sales at a lower price, is not a vote winner.
Also the current headlines about the appalling situation with KO refusing to evict socially disruptive/criminal tenants – does them no favours in encouraging the rest of NZ to believe that the government is a responsible landlord
The problem Labour has is that its central premise is daft. Building houses for the private market will push prices up long before we get enough houses for there to be an excess. There are of course a lot of ways around that, and they all start with values. If you centre homes and families instead of the investor classes, then the solutions roll out in front of you.
For instance, they could regulate the emerging tiny home sector in favour of people that want to live in tiny homes. This takes a big pressure off rentals and increases the pool of homes available. Building a TH is quick and easy and can easily be done to standards. The govt and local govt need to get together and resolved the land rental issues that go with that. That's not happening in a good way, because too many people lack the imagination to know what to do. And because our values are still around things other than people.
I'd see the tiny homes as being more of a small town/city thing? Or outer edges of big cities. There simply isn't the land available for them in larger cities – Auckland, for example, has already been heavily subdivided for infill housing for the last 40 years – there's little free space available. [NB: this is also an issue for intensification – instead of having to buy (and have willing sellers) of, say, 3 properties, in order to put up an apartment/town house development; potential developers now have to buy 8-10 – which is exponentially harder/more expensive.
In my local suburb, solidly middle class Auckland (I bought there 30 years ago – couldn't afford to, today) – we're seeing sleepouts being added to already-tiny back gardens – and consequent run-off issues getting worse. So not a great ecological solution.
From what I have heard from the government, they seem to realise that rent controls are a stupid idea, as is reinforced by a lot of evidence, and economists.
For instance this article on the topic in "Stuff"the other day:
Or as is the case in Holland where social housing makes up most of the rentals, and rent controls are part of the mix. People have to wait up to seven years for a rental there:
https://www.expatica.com/nl/housing/renting/renting-a-property-in-the-netherlands-102925/
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/renting/124995569/explainer-what-are-rent-controls-and-would-they-actually-make-things-better-for-renters
From the article:
"Economist Shamubeel Eaqub agrees that rent controls might have the unintended effect of slowing down supply for the rental market.
“It seems like a deceptively simple thing to do: just stop rents rising and everything will be fine,” Eaqub said. “But it isn’t that simple, there are known consequences.
“It means that we are likely to have fewer new rentals. Look at San Fransisco or New York: the people who got rent-controlled flats, it was great for them. But slowing the supply of rental housing is bad for anyone else who tried to live in those places.”''
Or, in Holland, where social housing makes up a large percentage of rentals, and rent controls are in the mix, and where people have to wait up to seven years for a rental:
“Renting in the Netherlands is common among both locals and expats. Around 40% of Dutch people rent their homes. The country has a high level of social housing, with housing associations owning around 75% of rental properties.
Rents are assessed and controlled for low-value properties, and in some areas there are restrictions on who is allowed to live where, giving priority to those with a strong connection to the area, such as having been born there, having family in the area, or working nearby.”
https://www.expatica.com/nl/housing/renting/renting-a-property-in-the-netherlands-102925/‘
https://nltimes.nl/2021/04/24/7-year-waiting-list-get-social-rental-home-quarter-dutch-municipalities
Countries have rent caps…that are aligned with C.P.I and or inflation.
They make perfect sense.
Often the culprit when it comes to rent hikes is property managers who get a cut….not the owners.
I have been a landlord for many years and AFAIK the only 'cut' property managers get is the extra commission on the weekly rent. Any decision around the level of rentals is made by us and no-one else.
“Countries have rent caps…that are aligned with C.P.I and or inflation.
They make perfect sense.”
I don't agree with that.
The problem with that, and previous recent government moves such as removing rental deductibility etc is basic classical conditioning:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_conditioning
The government has essentially been "punishing'' landlords by creating unpleasant outcomes for being a landlord.
As classical conditioning suggests, punishment tends to reduce a given behaviour. In this case, classical conditioning theory would suggest that landlords would reduce the supply of houses for rent.
This seems to have been the case:
Otherwise, why are there 200000 ghost houses
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/119636091/200k-empty-ghost-houses-why-and-what-would-get-them-into-the-market
And why was the government housing over 4500 children in motels as at October last year? Likely more now I expect.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018818398/more-children-living-in-motels-as-housing-crisis-unrelenting
"Despite four years of Labour-led governments, the number of state house rentals available has remained largely static (2016 – 67,041 rentals; 2021 – 67,858) while the state house waiting list has soared from 5,000 to 24,546 with half of that number being Māori whanau."
So for all the talk of progress on housing, Labour have delivered an increase in state rentals of 1.2%, and an increase in the waiting list of almost 400%.
Unfortunately…yes. Not a good track record.
Yes, and their failure on their 100000 houses promise.
So, the government hasn't really been helping the situation, on the supply side. And, from hearing the prime minister, Poto Williams, and Megan Woods, they all seem to realise that the supply side is where the problem is.
You just stated there are 200,000 empty homes….where and why is there a supply problem?
One problem is that KO have been tearing down houses and displacing people well before they build replacements.
It is obvious why there are empty houses.
They earn way more than money in the bank and most other investments…just sitting there.
The Govt needs to disincentivise landlord investment in housing imo.
It needs to encourage home ownership and stop pandering to the parasitical FIRE economy.
Or the potential landlords just think the government has made it too much hassle to rent them out?
yes the 'war on landlords' meant landlords said they would sell up and get out….reality…just joking..still the best game in..town!
Well, if they're 'ghost' houses, then actually that's what's happened. The landlords are out of the rental housing game.
Whether they're doing Air BNB, holding for capital gain, holding for family members repatriating from overseas, or it's the family batch – the reality is that this housing stock is not available on the rental market – so they're no longer landlords.
Now, if you say that 'owning housing' is the best game in town (pretty much all in capital gains), then you probably have a good argument. It's difficult to see another investment that has had the same return over the last 5 years – and no sign that house prices have stopped rising (though the rate at which they're rising has slowed).
They are not landlords to start with.
yes the 'war on landlords' meant landlords said they would sell up and get out….reality…just joking..still the best game in..town!
Comprenez?
They are not landlords to start with.
yes the 'war on landlords' meant landlords said they would sell up and get out….reality…just joking..still the best game in..town!
They were landlords; but are no longer renting out the house AKA ghost house (because of one of the other reasons, above). You don't have to sell the house to stop being a landlord.
This strikes me as an odd argument. Why did supply slow down? Regulate that as well.
Besides, from your link,
If it was a case that there was an endless circle where a landlord sells a house, a home owner buys that house and vacates their own house, the supply of houses would stay constant.
But that isn't always the case. Quite often a house will be purchased by a couple like my son and his partner who were living with us up until purchasing their house.
If the house that has been purchased is from a landlord who was renting to say a family of four, then the young couple, previously living with their parents, has just displaced a family of four.
So, this is one reason why the reason why a reduction in rental supply can actually be a big problem.
But that situation only exists because we don't have enough houses available to be homes. The solution isn't to let landlords dictate rent rates (because that is a clear conflict of interest), but instead to create more low cost housing.
And that shouldn't be building houses for the private market. If we want to get ahead of this, we have to build housing that isn't for speculation and investment. Social housing (central and local govt), Iwi and NGOs, community land trusts etc. This is the only way to stop house prices from rising.
' This is the only way to stop house prices from rising.'
Its definately…not.
Stamp duties and levy's would stop them rising by lunchtime.
yeah, sorry, should have been clearer. If we want housing to ever be affordable again, we have to increase the number of houses without adding them to the property market fire.
I doubt that stamp duties or levies would stop rises, but agree they would slow them.
Why doesn't Labour generate a bit of interest in Auckland local government and have a proper runoff event between Richard Hills and Efeso Collins?
Politics abhors a vacuum, so get to it Labour before your lunch gets eaten.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/local-government/127676464/is-the-left-getting-left-behind-in-aucklands-mayoral-race
We sure need a candidate for the left to rally around in Auckland right now.
Labour are in danger of stuffing this up badly. Hills has been hand picked by Jacinda, in my opinion because she needs a puppet in the mayoral seat to get 3 Waters over the line. He's a lightweight who will get eaten alive by the toxic Auckland Council culture.
On Cue
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/local-government/127689982/auckland-mayoralty-richard-hills-drops-plans-to-run-for-top-job
It'a a bugger when your hand-picked puppet won't sit on your knee.
Or maybe he wasn'r, and this is now a dead reckon, which is why you can't say "On cue'.
Or in your pantomime is someone else directing the score?
Hills was handpicked by Labour. He had Goff's backing, and had a campaign team in place. Then he appears to have lost his bottle. Collins will be laughing out loud.
Crazy reckons all round, Gypsy.
A young man dips his toe into the waters. Withdraws. Been there, done that. Nothing to do with 'bottle' or 'hand-puppeteering'.
I find that people's reckons tell us more about them than their target. True of my time, too.
Family reasons eventually predominated. But what my political opponents came up with…. well, some had obviously learnt their politics from some very unreasonable and vindictive people.
He didn't 'dip his toes in'. He's been working on this for months, putting a team together. The indications are he's got cold feet at the thought of either a) facing down the council toxins, or b) facing off against Collins.
So why is Collins laughing then, if he was no competition?
2. If he is the only serious Labour/left wing candidate, he will receive more funding and ground support.
3. City Vision would likely have backed Hills over Collins. Hills is woke and malleable. Collins is principled and independent. CV are a powerful force in Auckland local politics.
4. The most obvious one – Hills was a serious contender, supported by the endorsement of both Labour and the sitting mayor. He's gone.
So not handpicked by Jacinda, then.
Efeso Collins will make a great mayor.
Hills was handpicked by Jacinda. He had Labour's backing, and Goffs. He seems to have not had the intestinal fortitude.
If Goff instead chooses to run, Efeso should have a crack anyway. He's going to need the practise.
https://twitter.com/wekatweets/status/1491522639101239297
So the hard left propose socializing both cost and benefit; and the hard right propose privatising both cost and benefit.
Theoretically that's correct, but in practice most (if not all) western economies find a balance somewhere in between. I'm a supporter of private enterprise, but understand full well that we elect governments to govern, to plan, to protect the citizenry, to take care of the poor and needy, and to regulate the excesses of the market.
Oh, I agree. Sorry, I should have made it clear that this was a rather tongue-in-cheek comment/analysis.
In fact there are many examples of precisely the opposite of what Shaw is saying. An example of socialising benefit is when wages increase and the government keeps the bracket creep. An example of privatising cost is the significant increase in public servants in recent years, paid for out of private sector taxes.
I think you missed his point. Maybe read or listen to the speech. He's talking about why we have the climate, eco, housing, poverty etc crises, that there is an underlying reason. He's not making a statement about all economic factors.
I've listened to the speech. He specifically contrasts the economic response to the pandemic against conventional economics (his example is the debt to GDP ratio, but he's talking more broadly). His point, which he builds on, is that a new approach is required, and that is one of considerably more government intervention. I think he's off his trolley, but he can't be accused on ambiguity.
You consider the public sector is, a cost?
An often noted delusion of right wingers is that work done by the State sector is a "cost" born by business".
The obvious example is State education. "A cost" when supplied by the State, and a benefit when the same work is done by a private company" is patently rediculous.
Resources and a countries capabilities depend on the work of everyone. Employees, State or private, are not, "a cost".
Soon, with essential workers, we will see again who are costs!
"You consider the public sector is, a cost?"
Ah, that's rather self evident. And when it comes to the spin doctors (who this government have increased by alarming numbers ) they are a wasted cost.
"Self evident".
I see where your lack of economic comprehension is coming from.
Oh dear.
Cost.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/433638/13-percent-rise-in-cost-of-public-servants-salaries
Cost.
https://www.publicservice.govt.nz/our-work/workforce-data/remuneration-pay/workforce-costs/
Of course the public sector is a cost. And it's growing like topsy, and becoming increasingly arrogant and incompetent (https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/127682814/when-did-our-public-service-get-so-arrogant.)
Typical of right wingers.
Failed accounting 101. A ledger has two sides.
The "cost" of having State services is small, compared with the "cost" of not having them.
In fact, pointless jobs are far more common in the private sector. Someone even wrote a book about it.
If you consider State employed Teachers, Doctors, Health administrators, technicians, council staff, et al, a "cost" you are in cloud cockoo land. Their work contributes more value to our society and economy than most private business. In fact business couldn't survive without it. Try being in business without contract law.
The problem with the State service is recent Governments tried to run it like a private business, rather than a service. Cutting out and privatising essential parts. A problem the right wing contempt for the State sector is entirely responsible for. The Mangerial cult has taken over. Sidelining the competent technocrats trhat used to run them.
Funny the right wing insist we have to pay private sector managers a fortune to do their jobs. But oppose paying essential workers like Teachers and Hospital orderlies a decent wage.
"The "cost" of having State services is small, compared with the "cost" of not having them."
That isn't how accounting works.
The cost would be recorded as such:
Dr Cost
Cr Bank
That's money never to be seen again. So we should keep it to an absolute minimum. Meaning getting rid of all the PR spinners this government has added.
You are good at digging holes and falling into them Gypsy….don't know whether anyone can get you out of this…one.
Having reading comprehension difficulties?
The salaries paid for the various flavours of public servants are the cost. The resulting benefits of the essential work they do are shared across society. So an example of both costs and benefits being socialized – both sides of the ledger, as it were.
The problems arise when either the benefits fail to eventuate (dropping achievement standards in maths for example), or the costs increase for little or no benefit (spin doctors in the public service – to use Gypsy's example).
Of course, in all socialized services there are individual benefits as well (a good education is a privatized benefit to the student and/or their family, as well as being a general shared benefit across society).
But, as a general rule, when a socialized cost increases, the public should also look for an increased benefit to society.
Part of the issue with all of our western democracies is this mixing of socialized and privatized costs and benefits: e.g. when petrol goes up, it's not only a private cost; but, because the government charges taxes and levies on petrol, it's also a socialized cost – the government is gaining more revenue, but needs to show where this is being spent for the benefit of society.
Good points.
I'd also add that increased spending does not, ipso facto, lead to better outcomes. In fact the recent record of government spending on a range of issues tends to suggest a fair degree of poor quality spending. Kiwibuild is one example, where the government spent $8m buying back houses no-one wanted, and spend "$2 billion setting up a government department and building 500 houses".
Indeed no. The 'let's throw money' at it approach, almost never results in better outcomes.
From the sidebar. Gordon Campbell trying to make sense about the situation in the Ukraine.
http://werewolf.co.nz/2022/02/gordon-campbell-on-the-crisis-what-crisis-over-ukraine/
FWIW I still think Putin’s long game is to recreate pre 1914 Russia.
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/map-russian-empire-1914
Quite readable from GC (I do wish that werewolf would put a https on their links).
I don’t think that it likely that Putin is interested in doing the whole of pre-1914. Trying to control that number of ethnicities was a major headache for the tsarists and even more of an issue for a economy that is roughly the same size of New York city. The economies in Europe like Finland and the other baltic states plus Poland are rapidly growing and would be extremely hard to digest. Even the citizens of Ukraine appear to have no appetite for getting back in the rather anaemic Russian economy with its fragile oil state economy.
All fertile grounds for widespread insurgency and guerrilla warfare.
Putin was in East Germany as a intelligence officer when the Soviet Union was disintegrating. I’m pretty sure that he’d be aware of the futility of trying to hold a population used to a better standard of living that isn’t interested in being dominated by a foreign culture and political system.
You are what your hat says at the protest at Parliament: Gun City
Too many children are still there in the lines up near the front, including one on the shoulders of his mother…….makes me sad to see this. Concerned about getting the vaccination for your child but not concerned enough to keep them safe at the protest Even folk peacefully protesting have no guarantee that they will be safe, they cannot know the ideas of the leaders and ne'er do wells there Arp and Alpe and Counterspin. .
Good grief the beige brigade is there…….many guys wearing those unfortunate shirts reminiscent of the 1980s cricket supporters.
If you don’t like beige, then look the other way lol
As for the protest, let’s hope there are more this year. Terrible policies cannot be justified.
But the beige after-image stays and stays…
Winston looks like he might be trying to tap into the protest sentiment in Wellington. His tweets in the past 48 hours looks like he will be going after the anti-madate vote.
Is there 5% in it for him?
never say never with that dude.
https://youtu.be/7sF8rkSPDH8
This is my favourite song on middle-class hypocrisy. It doesn't have the same impact as in the 80s when the Cambodian example of extreme collectivist uber-authoritarianism packed a real punch. I'm not sure if many remembers Pol Pot anymore.
Is anyone getting why people are angry at the derision directed at everyday people trying to express themselves? At their frustration?
I will reply to those who responded to my reply later, when I've lost some of this anger.
I'm grateful if something was corrected to allow me to post again. Thankyou
Not to forget that the band achieved some standing in 1981 for "appearing" in the NZ charts, with this song. Though it was never played on Ready to Roll for some reason 🤔
https://nztop40.co.nz/chart/singles?chart=2965
Yes I have that on vinyl along with some other albums of the Dead Kennedys.
Middle class hypocricy you got it in one.
"Is anyone getting why people are angry at the derision directed at everyday people trying to express themselves? At their frustration"
Barking up the wrong tree, looking for empathy round this place. Too many elderly/retired, centrists, work from home, white collar professional types.
Just a day or so, in an OP, tourism jobs that have been lost in the disruptions were dismissed as low wage positions that NZ was better off without. May be true, but those jobs belonged to people that were putting food on the table and shoes on the feet of their children. People that are hurting now.
Sometimes the comfortable, authoritarian, righteous opinions expressed have you questioning what a socialist is nowadays.
My favourite observation on middle class hypocricy comes from Frankie Boyle. 'If anything I say offends you, be sure to Tweet your outrage on a phone made by an 8 year old.'
Kennedy's fun fact. When DKs were being prosecuted for obscenity by PMRC (Tipper Gore anyone?), the best witness they had was John Denver. He took apart the prosecution with his testimony concerning Rocky Mountain High.
An article from those exciting times, so far removed from where we are now.
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/jello-biafra-dead-kennedys-ice-t-pmrc-oprah-winfrey-show-video/?amp
"Ordinary people" are on the whole doing rather better at present.
Unemployment down, wages on the rise and a whole bunch of shockingly poor employers having to up their game.
The protesters are not "ordinary people". We are getting on with the job, with 100% of my essential workplace vaccinated, and masked and taking other precautions, where necessary.
The “ordinary people” around me, with only one or two exceptions amoungst several hundred, consider the protesters a bunch of dangerous ignorant clowns.
Stewart Island community is now split. May I suggest to the store owner that when these big noting chicken littles find importing supplies from the mainland too much of a hassle and decide to go back to the store, you tell them to piss off.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/127541835/customer-backlash-for-grocery-store-owners-on-stewart-island
Meanwhile, in my neck of the woods ,the local chemist who’s always been open 24/7 is closing on a Sunday. Why? They have lost six staff – two who decided to go back to India.
And not far from the chemist is three upmarket flats. One which houses a JP I sometimes use for legal work. She is now looking for accommodation. Yeah, good luck with that.
And talkback is now carrying ads for reasonably high end jobs.
But the good news is we have a low Covid death rate.
The sheer ignorance and callousness of this statement leaves me breathless!
Well, I'm sure Blade hasn't realised it yet, so let me be the first to point this out to him: dead people don't contribute much to the economy. They don't shop at H&Ms, they don't buy big macs or flat whites, they don't purchase petrol or take public transport.
Nearly a million people in the USA have ceased contributing to the economy, over 100,000 in the UK and so on.
So, for reasons well beyond the comprehension of Blade, the good news is that we have a low covid death rate!
''The sheer ignorance and callousness of this statement leaves me breathless!''
Emotional nonsense the Left are well known for.
''Dead people don't contribute much to the economy. They don't shop at H&Ms, they don't buy big macs or flat whites, they don't purchase petrol or take public transport.''
Neither do :
1- The mentally ill.
2- The unemployed.
3- Businesses that have closed.
4- People who can't wait to leave ''the cage.''
5- People on the breadline.
6- A new generation of under educated kids ( due to Covid and Lefty ideology).
Anyone who can add to the list, please do.
''Nearly a million people in the USA have ceased contributing to the economy, over 100,000 in the UK and so on.''
''They can absorb those numbers better ( US has158 million workers). We can't in my opinion.''
''So, for reasons well beyond the comprehension of Blade, the good news is that we have a low Covid death rate!''
What pisses me off with people like you is because I try to look at things in a reasonable unemotional way, I'm a heartless bastard.
We have done all we can do to protect ourselves going forward. What else can we do? Carry on peeping from behind the curtain?
We are in complete agreement!
I’m sad to hear that, Tony. Enough said.
Again, I'm sorry to have to point this out to you, but all of the above categories can be remedied. Death, on the other hand, tends to be a little more permanent.
As the Nigerian PM said, early in the pandemic, and something RW fwits cannot grasp, -:
"We know how to revive a dead economy, we've yet to learn how to revive a dead person."
And again I cannot seem to get through to you that:
A- A death count is only one vector of an overall Covid response.
B- The indirect death toll over the coming years may be just be as high as if our government had taken a similar Covid response to other countries.
C- Having no quality of life, or watching your business fail, is a living death.
You say all the above categories can be remedied. That is true…but will they? Do we have the resources or the political will to do that?
I stopped in Ellerslie today after work. It was packed. Restaurants and bars full. First time I've been unable to find a park in two years.
We are not peeping from behind the curtain.
Good for you. If you are double vaxxed and maybe had a booster, go for it. You have done all you can for your health. There has to be a balance between caution and actually getting on with life.
Great, but I don’t like the way you are claiming, “we are hiding behind the curtain”.
If you get out there you will see it's just not true.
In real life, not your RW fantasy world, "A new generation" of kids that currently have jobs "due to covid and lefty idealogy".
1. As if the right wing ever cared about the "unproductive" mentally ill.
2. Ditto unemployed. Which is way down in the real world, see above.
3. Business closure rates overall are not greatly above normal. Some are not surprising in a pandemic. Countries with RW Governments have had the highest rates of business failures during covid.
Don't the RW believe in Capitalism? "Businesses which are unprofitable should be allowed to fail" to make way for more efficent businesses". In fact, in Northland, building, and other businesses are doing much better than normal. Aucklanders are spending in NZ not overseas. Cafes are pretty full.
4. "People who can't wait to leave the cage". Travel is a priveledge in normal times, only for a small proportion of New Zealanders. A fruit picker required to be available 365 days of the year on minimum wage, doesn't travel.
5. People on the "breadline" has dropped. See unemployment.
6. "Undereducated kids". Who now have jobs to aspire to! Nice to see local kids serving in local businesses and gaining apprenticeships. Spots that were formerly filled by backpackers, trained immigrants and temporary visa workers. Hell, the local growers have even had to offer minimum wage.
hardly. Some of the community are pissed at a local business owner and acting accordingly. I don't think this is lightly done, but there may well be history.
With National and Labour now neck and neck, I want to see a true gamechanger budget out of Robertson in May.
In New Zealand: New Opposition Leader Christopher Luxon boosts support for National to 35%; now ahead of Labour on 33% – Roy Morgan Research
Show us you can do more than crisis.
"Show us you can do more".
Where would you suggest that they start? I can't think of anything they have done except the pre-vaccine period of Covid 19 in the first part of 2020. Before March 2020 and since about October 2020 everything they have touched has turned to dross.
I would suggest they start with tax, before National guts them with it.
Pugh!
More than crisis?
Do you understand, "crisis"?
It’s not, “little bit of crisis”, it’s global pandemic!
Poor Maureen – she does post silly things then doubles down with an excuse that makes her seem rather dim.
Unbelievable. I guess Simon Bridges was right.
West Coasters have a 'special' reputation in prison, not hard to see why
Yep as we say at work, "she's done a Twyford!"
Seems more like 'doing a Boag' to me.
So I recently opened the live feed – when the the Krishnas get deployed?
Drums & cymbals, beige brigade… is this turning into a violent version of the rugby sevens?
No reason except for awesome guitar playing:
Again no reason except it might just put a smile on your face and make you feel just a little bit better about life:
Fantastic PR and I won't spoil the fabbo bit of nice
big noting at the end. He is really elegant looking and at playing.
Might actually be the greatest guitar player and singer of all time, easily in the top ten
Two of my favourites. Campbell used to give guitar lessons to the stars.
The way Alice talked about him and the story of the traffic camera photo always brings a smile to my face
Talkback has spoken. We want Kiri Allan to replace Nashy.
Mikey on Nashy pulling the plug and hitting the road.
https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/mike-hosking-breakfast/video/mikes-minute-when-the-going-gets-tough-the-govt-runs-for-the-hills/
… and Councillor Richard Hills just cleared the path for Efeso Collins to run.
Now we just need Goff to get his shit together.
Or failing that, Efeso just runs against Goff anyway.
Excellent point, well made.
https://twitter.com/GinaRangi/status/1491549692609515522
A very cross Bernard Hickey.
https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/10-02-2022/this-too-will-pass-says-ardern-of-the-anti-mandate-fury-but-will-it-really
Can’t understand why the protesters have been handled so carefully.
And Hickey has good reason to be cross.
I was a target of criminal harassment on and off for 20 years. In my case it was covert and I had no idea who was responsible. I went to my Public Service bosses and they did nothing. I went to the police and they did nothing. I approached others for assistance and they also did nothing. It seemed like nobody cared. Years later I discovered the identity of the person responsible but still nobody did anything because by then… there had been too much water under the bridge.
The damage done took me many years to overcome and I now know she also did the same sort of thing to other people but with less consistency. The over-all damage she caused was immense.
The moral of the story:
The powers-that-be allowed her to get away with the conduct and she therefore felt enabled to continue with impunity. And I see the same thing happening with these anti-vax/anti-mandate protesters. The more they are allowed to get away with, the more enabled they will feel, and the worse things could become.
Nip it in the bud now before it is too late.