Long Covid must be taken seriously as Omicron dominates – experts
Professor Harvey White, a cardiologist and director of the Green Lane Cardiovascular Research Unit, also warned that the development of long Covid should not be trivialised.
"You could have heart attacks or strokes in the future, or brain fog affecting your memory and thinking, or fatigue affecting your ability to work or take part in recreation."
The behaviour of Highlanders players who ignored requests from cabin crew to wear masks on a flight home from Wellington has been labelled "unacceptable".
A person on the flight, who wished to remain anonymous, said players were walking around the plane without wearing masks and some were continually asked to put their masks on, but ignored the cabin crew.
One player was said to have walked on the plane without a mask and ignored requests to put one on.
If a member of the crew deems behaviour disruptive, they have the right to take measures they think reasonable to prevent the passenger from continuing that behaviour. When the aircraft lands, their actions may include:
making the passenger leave the aircraft, possibly under police escort
refusing to carry the passenger on the remaining sectors of the journey shown on their ticket, and
reporting the incident on board the aircraft to the relevant authorities with a view to prosecuting them for any criminal offences that may have been committed.
At this point, you would think the seriousness does not need to be explained.
We are two years, six million deaths and countless cancelled events into a pandemic. New Zealand is at the height of its Covid-19 outbreak.
Yet there were still some Highlanders players who ignored requests to wear masks on their flight from Wellington last weekend, just days before it was revealed Covid-19 was in the camp.
For sure. Not only literally letting the side down, but they role model for kids ! Were they really that boofheaded? Hope theres some consequence for them.
Behind the Herald's paywall is a Hosking assertion that Luxon has made Ardern look out of touch. I bet he hasn't been able to prove it. I reckon she did it all by herself. He just happened to be standing around nearby at the time.
Trotter goes deeper:
Though they dare not admit it, the Neoliberals have lost control of the machine. All they are capable of now is presenting increasingly implausible explanations for why everything has gone so very badly wrong. https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2022/03/10/reports-of-labours-death/
National & Labour locked in a battle to the death, each trying to out-bland the other. Death via boredom. Nobody else notices because same old shit is normal.
But haven't you, as a sensible centrist, always argued for bland incrementalism? Nothing too drastic otherwise the pendulum might swing too far from safety.
I've presented here as a radical centrist. If I happen to accidentally advocate something sensible it's likely due to pragmatism – serving the cause of the common good does often involve pragmatic compromise in the middle ground.
The problem with the middle way is that incrementalism often doesn't solve a serious social problem in a suitable time-frame. Thus climate change. Radical action to prevent it caused sheeple to go "Gah!" and mill around nervously in the middle of the road with the whites of their eyes in a mass showing.
A radical wearing sheeple clothing can herd them towards the gate incrementally. Another could bark at them to get a hurry-up. So what we need from Labour & National is individuals capable of steering the bland majority in the right direction. That function could be performed by the Greens and ACT but they're both intent on also fronting as sheeple currently.
No need to worry though. Back to the future is getting another re-run via the free- trade deal with Britain. Sheeple can therefore hallucinate electric-powered tankers heading north full of mutton just like in the old days…
Biden fumbles ball, but hasn't quite dropped it yet:
So it was striking on Tuesday when first the Pentagon described a Polish offer to send planes to the US airbase in Ramstein as “untenable”, and then the deputy US secretary of state said the US had not been consulted about the plan. Part of the problem was that the Polish proposal was subtly but critically different to a scheme that had previously been discussed in private.
In its original, US-conceived iteration, the proposal was a trilateral deal whereby Poland would hand over the MiGs to Ukrainian pilots to fly into their homeland, and the US would then provide some substitute planes. Boris Johnson, an enthusiast, described the plan as “rent a MiG”.
So instead, in a game of diplomatic pass the parcel, Poland tweaked the proposals so the planes would be sent free of charge to the US airbase in Ramstein, Germany, rather than being flown out of Poland into Ukraine. The move would literally take Poland out of the line of Russia’s fire since the plan could be labelled as that of the US, Nato or the EU.
Poland also suggested other frontline Nato countries with MiG planes should match its plan, a proposal directed at Slovakia and Romania. If executed it would mean Ukraine had 70 extra planes at its disposal.
The Pentagon’s response – “it is simply not clear to us that there is a tangible justification for this” – was swift. Passing the parcel back, it said any decision to hand over planes ultimately rested with the Polish government, although it did not kill off the proposal altogether.
Buck-passing is a novel way to win a war, so I guess we have to credit the Democrats for clever tactics. Putin will be baffled, never having heard of pass the parcel. Explaining that it is actually a buck won't improve his advisor's standing either. Shuffling stuff around is confusing enough. Pretending to do so without actually doing it ramps up the effect.
Either way the public spat is a setback. Over the weekend the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, had said a plan involving planes was under active consideration. The upshot after this mini-debacle is Russia retains air superiority. Ukrainian pilots who were being trained in Poland to fly the planes are now grounded with no machines with which to defend their country.
Keeping Putin guessing is good. The uncertainty principle. Lulling him into a false sense of security by rolling over & playing dead. Who said Democrats are thick?
The episode may have lessons for both sides.
That's profound. It raises the hypothetical possibility of such lessons being learned. Back in the real world, action man looks glum. "What the hell am I meant to be doing??"
The possibility of making the MiG-29s available first appeared publicly on 27 February, when the EU made the unprecedented decision to provide military aid to a country outside the bloc. The first tranche of equipment for Ukraine is expected to amount to €500m (£417m), but up to €5bn is to be spent under the European Peace Initiative. It was then that the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said that aid for Kyiv would also include offensive weapons, including planes. At that point it became clear that the planes would only be MIG-29 and Su-25, because Ukrainian pilots only have experience with these machines.
Right, so a fortnight has passed while western political leaders have twiddled their thumbs, trying to figure out how to turn this plan into action.
I think they should just leave the MiG-29s on the border with the keys in the ignition and let Ukraine's farmers and their tractors do the rest. “Yuri! Do you see what I see???”
Good thinking, but it may not be required. Breitbart is reporting a u-turn by Poland's govt:
The Polish government confirmed on late Tuesday that it has made its entire fleet of MIG-29 fighter jets available “immediately and free of charge” to Ukraine.
Poland will send its entire fleet of MIG-29 fighter jets to the U.S. Air Force base at Rammstein in Germany, the Polish government said in a shock statement Tuesday evening… Although the MIG-29s are not the most advanced or effective fighters NATO could theoretically supply to Ukraine, they have the key advantage of being an airframe Ukraine already operates, so Ukrainian pilots, ground crews, and supply chains would be ready to operate donated aircraft straight away.
The deal the yanks were proposing was Poland gives fighters to the Ukraine, then the US helps out a nato partner to get new jets. That's two separate actions, so deniable as a "nato" move. The poles don't like it because the Russians will be very pissed at them.
The "deal" the poles tried to switch it to was the poles giving planes to the yanks who would give them to the Ukrainians. That's a multilateral action from nato nations, thereby an escalation in direct military assistance from nato. That escalates tensions in a big step rather than a cautious tiptoe to the brink, so increases the likelihood of mushroom clouds.
*ok, a bit harsh, but the line is a good one. Preferably yelled by someone in a tv show with a white house setting
Yeah I get that. Thing is, European nations can do their solo thing regardless of any NATO constraint, right? So it looked like Poland was doing so, plus presuming Germany would also, to help Ukraine.
Think of it as doing an end-run around the US blocking position. And re multilateral action from nato nations – don't we have to see formal declarations from NATO officials to believe that's happening? Yes!
So seems like unilateral helping of Ukraine by some European states is proceeding on the basis of expediency. Biden's paranoia re nuclear threat is understandable but his timidity re appropriate helping isn't…
Nah, Poland's offer was to send the planes to Rammstein (not the band).
That requires the explicit blessing of the yanks.
Whereas if the Ukrainians just fly the reflagged planes home from Poland, the yanks just go "gee, pal, you seem to be short a few aircraft. How'd that happen? Here, have some Gen4's on us, and be more careful next time".
True. What if the Poles get the Germans to host the planes temporarily though? In an airport of their own, I mean. Hypothetical at this stage.
I suspect the Poles may feel apprehension about dealing with Ukraine direct, lest Putin enter them onto his list of next invasions at #2. But you could be right.
I wonder how weak the German leader currently feels. His armed forces chief declared himself "pissed off" last week. I gather things are alarmingly run-down due to the peace dividend from the end of the Cold War. Caught between not liking deference to the USA and being realistic, I guess…
Oh, the poles definitely don't want to piss off russia too much. Especially if dolt45 gets re"elected", Nato ain't going to be much protection with him pissing in the pool.
Germany's a funny one. Chronic readiness problems, especially in the navy, from what I've read. But also some really interesting new equipment that is just coming to maturity and deployment – like the Puma IFV. And not in a "well, block A flies but can't fire the cannon" F35 or a "we can afford to make, like, six" way like the SU57.
Basically, so far shit like manpads and atms are defensive. NATO making a clear move to provide offensive weapons like jets is a step up, and the nuclear minefield is one place we really want potus to tread gingerly.
As it is, Russia's quick shunt "back to the USSR" with only state TV and no maccas might end up solving the Putin problem pretty quickly. Not sure where he can bail to in order to avoid doing a Ceaucescu, either.
About the butterfly mines the Russians dropped outside Mariupol to kill and injure fleeing civilians. A thread. 🧵 Once in 1986 in Peshawar, near the border of Afghanistan, when I was an alleged freelance journalist, a guy tossed a (deactivated) butterfly mine at my chest. 1/x pic.twitter.com/vAeBSvl8Yz
“We are here to help our Ukrainian brothers and sisters in any way we can,” Raed Al Saleh, the leader of the White Helmets, told me in an interview. Putin’s goal is to break the will of the civilian population, he said, and there are no limits to the savagery of his troops. “The Russian military has no principles. They respect no human rights. They have no standards or ethics,” Saleh said. “The Ukrainians are facing the most ferocious, unethical, criminal killing machine that exists in the world today, which we have been facing for the last seven years.”
[…]
There are some things the Syrians have learned not to do. Do not give GPS locations of medical facilities to the United Nations, which may claim it needs the information to keep them safe. The Russians will use that information to target them. Never let Moscow have any say or control over how humanitarian aid is distributed, even when it’s a U.N. program. The Kremlin will use that power to starve out civilian populations, as it is doing in Syria now.
The Russians have been fought to a standstill/crawl in the north west, north and north east and in the south east the strong defenses erected by the Ukrainians post 2014 are also holding out against attacks from the Donets region.
In the south the situation is a lot worse for the Ukrainians, since they can't simply defend fixed urban defense zones and conduct guerilla warfare against logistics lines. The Russians hold a major advantage there in manoeuvre warfare. The Russians are attacking from the breakaway republics west towards Mariupol and east towards Mariupol from the Crimea, whilst simultaneously attacking west towards Odessa and northwest to secure their flank (and capture significant nuclear and hydroelectric energy generation infrastructure) along the lower Dnieper river along a line running roughly Kherson to Zaporizhzhia.
The concern is that capturing Mariupol will allow the thrusts from the Donets and Crimea to link up and thence thrust north to outflank and unhinge the Ukrainian fixed defenses facing Donetsk and Luhansk. which would force the Ukrainians into the open and into a general retreat to the northwest that would be threatened with defeat in detail by a double envelopment from a thrust developed from Zaporizhzhia aimed at Kharkiv and also from Mariupol towards the direction of Izyum/Chuhuiv. This is why the Ukrainians will hang to Mariupol as long as possible. Similarly, the fall of Odessa would release significant Russian forces for an attack either along the axis Uman – Vinnytsia and then either towards Kyiv or Lviv (or possibly both) or more likely (in my opinion) towards Cherkasy to secure the west bank of the Dnieper, link up with the attack that should develop along the Kharkiv-Poltava direction and on to Kyiv along both banks of the Dnieper – the control of which will also significantly reduce Russian logistics problems.
All in all, the position of the Ukraine is grim unless they can somehow mount some sort of significant and successful counter attack in the Mariupol battle that achieves something more than a short term tactical success.
There are a number of elements wrong about your analysis.
The Russian army's biggest weakness that is being shown up in this War is their logistic capability. They are struggling to supply the large force to the West of Kiev even though it is only about 150 km from the border with Belarus. The reasons behind this is that the Russian army relies heavily on railways to move the bulk of troops and supplies and they have far less road transport available.
Down south they have made a lot of progress across the lower Dnieper river towards Odessa and have linked up to the East with their forces based in the Donbas it is true however the further they move the more tricky their supply problems become and it is complicated by the fact that there isn't as extensive East – West rail network in the South as there is in other parts of Ukraine.
What this means is that the Russian army is vulnerable to attacks against their extended supply columns and will not be able to bring as much power to bear against opponents the further they go in to Ukraine. If they do not capture Ukraine from the North and/or East in the next two weeks what happens down south isn't going to make much difference.
Ukraine also has the entire West of the country around Lviv to fall back on if needed which will make the Russians job of eliminating military threats almost impossible.
Its entirely possible the Russians are in no hurry to end the conflict in Ukraine and stalled convoys to Kiev are by design….they certainly dont appear to be under threat.
There's a headline on the Herald online today: "Top school failed to safeguard students, says complainant." It's to do with allegations over sexual harassment by a teacher.
Last week they had a story, " Top school…" something or other. Today's one is Tauranga Boys' College last week it was Westlake Girls' High.
They have a way of describing some schools as "top" schools.
I wrote to the Herald last year and asked them if they had a list on the wall of the office which classified schools. And if there was a list of institutions which were to be called "top" schools whenever they were referred to. I asked what criteria were used to determine which was a top school and which were just 'schools.'
I don't think they printed my letter. (I do understand that online stories and headlines might not be in the print edition and so the letter may not have been relevant in the print environment.)
So what is a top school? A story comes up and someone whips through examination results? Checks out Education Review Office reports? Goes through results of sports competitions and representative team lists? Dips into their prejudice and pre-conceived notions baskets?
The funny thing is that searching the Herald site for 'top' schools easily brings up stories about sexual abuse, bullying of pupils, bullying of staff, drunk pupils, poaching top sports kids from other schools, fighting and assaults.
How many incidents of very concerning behaviour have to happen before a school isn't a top one? Is there a severity graph? How many decades of not having any untoward claims against it and how many mountains of positive achievement behind it before an ordinary, no adjectives needed school gets to graduate to being a 'top school'?
Today's story described the school as a "prestigious all-boys school." How much of the prestige is down to organs like the Herald continually defining it as a top school?
Good on you for asking that question of the Herald. You won't get an answer though because "top school" just means one that archetypal National-voting Herald readers would consider sending their kids to. It's a loose constellation of characteristics that may include but is not confined to: not many brown kids; in a suburb with relatively expensive houses as this is a form of triage that excludes non-professional parents; good aggregate exam results; offers a prestigious alternative to NCEA; has family connections; has a reputation for sporting prowess.
'Top' schools do not need to be private – extremely expensive housing in some suburbs is just as effective as an exclusionary device as private school fees. In both cases, wealthy parents are using their money to buy a supposed advantage for their kids over the kids of less wealthy parents. (These same parents probably believe they have a principled commitment to equality of opportunity.)
The proper response to this is to a.) attack excessive wealth and b.) ensure that the education system is so good that any supposed advantage gained by going to a 'top' school is illusory.
They could have bought half an insis computer nearly or some shares in South Canterbury Finance a lemon carrier a hospital computer system that doesn't work some Charter schools.
I don't know how long the west will be able to refrain from intervening in this conflict, despite the risks of a direct confrontation with Russia. The Russians are committing some dreadful human rights variations, and could be on the verge of pushing this conflict to another whole level.
For instance, Russian forces have just bombed a maternity hospital in Mariupol:
And yet they did (and still do ) in Syria…no western power will involve itself in direct military conflict with Russia unless they (Russia) cross the Rubicon….and I doubt even Putin is that foolish.
The US assistance was to one side in a civil war that did not involve direct confrontation with the Russian military….and was probably pre cleared with the Russians (as an anti ISIS move) not unlike the pre warning of the cruise missle strikes on the Homs airfield.
It would be interesting to see how manay companys have a 'don't get tested, just call in sick' procedure in place.
The milkman that i spoke to today basically states that night shifts had to be cancelled and others run at 2 – 4 staff where it should be double the staff.
Nevermind, it does not matter actually what we do, keep restrictions its fucked, undo restrictions and its fucked also – see the UK where cases are up again, as is hospitalisation and death. And Oh, yeah, its the 'Stealth' variant that is on the rise Omicron 2.0 with a much higher viral load. Some of the stats in my link above to the DK diary on Covid. https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/3/9/2084438/-28-MONTHS-LATER-The-Hidden-Toll-of-COVID-Not-Being-Discussed
Russia is being squeezed out of the capitalist system:
Last month, Russia's central bank more than doubled its interest rate to 20% in an attempt to stop the value of its currency from sliding further.
Fitch Ratings downgraded its view of the country's government debt, warning a default is "imminent"… The ratings cut – to C from B – is the second time this month Fitch has downgraded its view of Russia's ability to pay its debts.
The announcement from Fitch came after the US and UK said they will ban Russian oil, as they step up the economic response to the invasion of Ukraine. US President Joe Biden said the move targeted "the main artery of Russia's economy". Meanwhile, the European Union said it will end its reliance on Russian gas.
In recent days, rival ratings agencies Moody's Investors Service and S&P Global Ratings have also slashed their assessments of Russian sovereign debt. It means the country's sovereign debt is now considered to be below investment grade, or in "junk" territory, by three of the world's major ratings companies.
Harsh sanctions, plummeting exchange rates, depleted foreign reserves, a reliance on imports and the Poots responds to his economy being strangled by voluntarily cutting Russia’s export revenue. Genius.
At the cost of hyper inflation,and massive wealth destruction to all other economies.
BLOOMBERG ECONOMICS DROPPING AN INFLATION BOMB: "We now project the February CPI to show an increase of 8.0% year over year and top out in the vicinity of 9% in March or April." But if energy prices continue to rise "CPI could rise above10%."
What is being evidenced is the destruction now of wealth,mostly due to the finacialization of debt and assets exactly the same problem from the GFC.
Say for example the non return of leased Jets from Russia becomes a 10b$ liability,or the meltdown in the Nickel market in London became a 12b$ destruction of wealth,as the investment banks start to liquidate their positions to meet call obligations there will be a flow from equities to cash,a high wealth risk in pension fund etc,and increased cash hording.
not only western financial markets,China construction bank was a defaulter on calls in the LME nickel blow up.As was China's largest nickel manufacturer (and the worlds biggest stainless steel supplier) .
the margin calls were deferred until they could raise credit,they still had to pay the calls reversing an asset to a liability at higher margins.
NICKEL LATEST: JPMorgan rides to the rescue, helping China's Tsingshan secure new credit lines in meetings that ran into the early hours of this morning
Tsingshan is also a producer ie a miner,The short option on the global exchange was to protect its position (its risk) in case Nickel prices fell.The 8 billion$ position is now a debt which needs to be funded.As is the 4b$ position for the China construction bank.
"Chinese authorities directed Tsingshan’s domestic banks to offer more credit lines to the company, two of the people said. A majority of these new loans will be used for margin calls on its existing positions on the London Metal Exchange (LME), the people said."
CHART OF THE DAY: Russia is a major coal exporter. With buyers shunning its commodities, the rest of the market is on fire. As a result, the Asian benchmark price (high quality Newcastle coal) has nearly doubled to a fresh all-time high | #CoalTwitter#Ukrainepic.twitter.com/Xg9FK5zGPf
The real anger from everyday Aussies over the failure of the state in response to this event is getting loud.
Mind you, 40 odd years of radical far right liberalism and what do you expect. It can't do anything because it sold everything thing off to sociopaths (ooops I mean private business interests).
What of the PR propaganda. Based on fear. The minister continually declines and Q&A time to the media. If the minister cannot sell this ,what does that say of either/both the minister and the policy ??
From the link below the issues are mentioned BUT no mention on solutions or expected time frames that issues raised will be rectified. e.g. How and when will Buller's boiling of water be fixed by 3 waters as they will be included in the area of the South Is that aligns with Ngāi Tahu? Will this 3 water s halt any need "To boil" beaches closed due to discharge of Waste or storm water, pipes bursting ? We were sold the fear of these but NO MENTION of a guarantee going forward that such events will NOT happen under 3 waters. If 3 waters cannot guarantee that such events do not occur then this is NO better than the status quo. https://www.dia.govt.nz/Three-Waters-Reform-Programme
• Return water assets to councils.
• Allow councils to enter into voluntary “shared services” agreements, gaining the benefits of scale, while retaining local ownership and control.
• Establish 30-year central-local government agreements to plan water infrastructure upgrades tailored to specific regions.
• Share GST revenue with councils to fund infrastructure upgrades.
• Establish public-private partnerships to attract investment from financial entities such as KiwiSaver funds and ACC.
• Expand the exemption from domestic supply for a single dwelling to also include all small water suppliers supplying fewer than 30 endpoint users.
They should have skipped the first 5 paragraphs in the policy statement and stuck with the policy initiatives.
The strength in the policy is to use the gst on rates (around a billion) to fund council infrastructure spend.
Little explained part of the reasons, as I think this is all his ideas.
When the labour government gave money for DHBs to employ more nurses , some said thanks for the money but we will run it our way and use agencies, overtime instead.
Same again for the extra money for Mental health facilities , some DHBs just dragged the chain on even starting upgrades to existing facilities or building new. They just wanted to do it in their own time and at their own pace.
They had become little silos used to deflecting central government.
Another example was when the pandemic struck the Auckland Regional Public Health entity just wouldnt cooperate much with the MOD and had their own ways of doing infectious diseases which they preferred. A number of Auckland based covid stuff ups over MIQ and testing were directly on the ARPHA preferred way.
Have we had the year of delivery yet? Wasn't Grant Robertson heading up a new group (cant remember what it was called) to ensure things actually got done? Did that not get done?
When long time Labour man Phil Goff categorically states that it is poorly thought through, poorly structured and liable to manipulation in the future, you know you have problems.
Bryce Edwards has an interesting piece on 3 Waters today.
In dot-land, the dot is all there is, and all there is not. It is infinitesimally small and infinitely large, all at once. Must be time for another coffee …
Not at all. I think the added cost burden people would face due to Three Waters would not only impact them in the short-term but also over the long-term.
Well, that's not what the reform programme says. The reform programme says there will be long term savings, as well as much better water quality, a well as increased GDP.
Perhaps you don't believe it in the same way you don't believe in better housing for tenants, and the same way you don't believe in science.
In the report for Monday’s meeting, Council staff say the Government has not provided an opportunity to analyse alternative options for service delivery that may better meet the needs of communities than the proposal put forward.
They also say the Government needs to revisit its cost estimates to ensure the financial impacts of water reform are more accurate and transparent and that residents and ratepayers will not be saddled with unfair financial burdens over time.
The Council resolved on 9 December 2021 to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to work cooperatively with at least 21 other co-signing councils to convince the Government to reconsider its plans to reform water services across New Zealand.
And alternative options for service and delivery (that may better meet the needs of communities than the proposal put forward) are being overlooked or ignored
And here is Dr Bryce, fresh from promoting the anti-vax parliament protests, delivering a sustained attack on Nanaia Mahuta, calling for he resignation, no less.
The main beef is of course co-governance which betrays the real motives of Edwards and his allies. Can't let Maori make any decisions, they are not capable!
'Labour went into the 2020 election promising to break up the supermarket duopoly and bring down the price of food. This policy is now essentially dead.
See what he does created a policy that didnt exist so he could shoot it down. Their 'policy' was a market study- which is what it says in the manifesto
First electric ute recently driven in NZ. Our local free newspaper carried a report, including test drive by their reporter. It's double-cab. No price yet – it's due to market next summer: https://ldv.co.nz/product/ev-t60-ute/
The LDV electric Ute is useless, it is only two wheel drive and has about as much ground clearance a as normal car as the motor takes the place of the diff. It has a towing capacity of only ONE tonne , a small caravan at most and that halves its range which is already laughably short. Wide tyres and two wheel drive means that any water on any sort of slope on pretty much any surface makes it almost undriveable . It is greenwashing at its most egregious and the weight of wasted materials makes a joke of its supposed green credentials. Better wait for the next generation that’s fit for purpose.
True that. So, we need to eliminate everything that emits any form of carbon into the atmosphere. Or just a drastic reduction? Energy efficiency is important, of course, but so is overall energy consumption. Do we proceed in small incremental steps or should we wait for giant leaps (for mankind)? The nay-sayers seems to be binary boofheads of all or nothing and since it’s never all it becomes nothing by default.
I have heard variations of the rocket ‘dilemma’ before, i.e. by the time the rocket is ready for take-off it will be overtaken (literally) by newer (i.e. not just bigger propulsion rockets using combustion as the driving force), better, and fasters modes of space transportation/exploration. Life sucks when you’re a rocket scientist.
But as I've said on here before, utes were really good for getting sour looking individuals down to Parliament for the protest. There were many of them in the convoy that I saw with the 30-40 male demographic that seems to have a problem with female leaders, sorry I read that again, female anythings.
There are 100s of them around Wellington and as you say most are not farm or tradies vehicles. So low down ground clearance is not really important if the only gravel work it is going to do is from the tarseal then to the gravelled carpark at footie.
good grief. The issue isn't how many people use them for what, it's what the people who do need a 4WD and good towing capacity use them for in real life.
I live in the country. People tow shit, drive distances, and drive in situations where a 4WD is an asset.
Well then , it makes it just fine for the 90% of users who dont drive down farm tracks
When I worked in a business that needed a 4×4 for rough site tracks , I was given a Diahatsu Terios , was so light that plenty of times could go where a Landrover had trouble, only used the 4×4 feature ocassionally.
And most of the major manufacturers produce 2 wheel drives as well. So how does this EV compare with those vehicles. Nissan/Toyota/Ford/Mitsubishi/Mazda etc must think they have a market for their two wheel drives. Perhaps someone here can give an informed comparison rather than the opening words "They are useless…"
It depends what you use it for…i have a 2 wheel drive flat deck (not electric) that does what I need…in over 20 years i have only needed 4 wheel drive about 4or 5 times so the additional running/service costs of 4WD are not warranted…a capable EV 2WD would be a suitable replacement (depending on price and range) in my situation.
If you need 4WD capability then the same limitations will apply. once available ..range and price.
Back to the future: minister announces plan. Basically, it means healing the state broadcaster split of 1975…
The government has confirmed it is creating a new public media entity incorporating RNZ and TVNZ.Minister of broadcasting and media Kris Faafoi said the new broadcaster will be "an autonomous Crown entity" operational by July 2023, which will have both commercial and Crown funding. The new entity will be not-for-profit and will operate under a charter which will be set out in legislation due by the end of this year, Faafoi said. (Details of consultation carried out on a new charter for the new organisation were also published today)
It will have "complete editorial independence" andprovide news as a core service, while broadcasting on a range of platforms "including current radio and linear TV and those of third parties".
Faafoi confirmed TVNZ and RNZ will initially be subsidiaries of the new organisation. Faafoi had accepted advice from the Business Case Governance Group he appointed in March 2021, led by former NZ First MP Tracey Martin, ahead of the decision to create the new public media entity… A board will be appointed next month to oversee the detailed design of the new public media entity, Faafoi said. He said it would include RNZ and TVNZ staff and also "shop floor" representation of the broadcasters' staff.
Both were part of the NZ Broadcasting Corporation from 1962, until being split split into Radio New Zealand, Television One, and South Pacific Television in 1975.
The Muldoon government then merged TV One with South Pacific Television to form TVNZ in 1980; the National government privatised RNZ’s commercial stations in 1996; the Helen Clark Labour government restructured TVNZ into a Crown entity in 2003, with a remit to be a public broadcaster under a charter but also retain its commercial performance with advertising. It was a hard ask, and the following National government of John Key dumped the charter requirement.
And he appraises efficiency gains:
Combining the news and current affairs operations could extend the pair’s news-gathering reach in New Zealand and the world, although various radio and television news programmes would still require their own individual staff. An amalgamation of the podcast efforts by both would be sensible, for it is part of a growing information market.
I wouldn't blame the minister for lack of detail (blame the pandemic instead).
details are to be thrashed out in what the Government terms “phase two” of its establishment, which will take until at least January 2023 when the new entity’s board will be established.
Ralston is serious (but diffident) about back to the future:
can I at least suggest quickly coming up with a name for the new amorphous entity: perhaps NZBC? That name would complete the cycle of the last 60 years.
I'd go for something future-oriented – Multimedia Aotearoa would do.
South Pacific started as a stand alone new channel , it wasnt split from anything
I remember going to its studio , a large hall or something on the site of current TVNZ back when the existing only channel was operated out of the old 1YA building in Shortland St
The Radio side had their own building just off Queen St at Durham St W
Yep. I worked as an audio operator for the old AKTV2 in Shortland St. for 4 to 5 years in the 1960s. The new entity sounds like an upgraded version of the original. One positive aspect was the ability of staff to transfer from radio to TV or vice versa. For those who remember TV news reader, Jennie Goodwin for example, iirc she started her career in radio and transferred to TV ending up as one of the longest serving presenters.
A member of my extended family died today. A male aged 82 who reluctantly entered hospital because stents were leaking. Because of damaged lungs he had a great fear of Covid and took every precaution to keep himself safe. Tripled vaccinated / always masked up / not out in the community. Three tests during his stay were negative for Covid. Five days in to his hospital stay he had a major stroke. Three days after that he was diagnosed with Covid – today was his Day 2.
Filled my vehicle up 11:20 this morning diesel $2:51 returning past the same station $2.61. No wonder the motorway is like a Sunday morning. I get the impression that those living day to day are increasing in number. These fuel increases, from talking to some have not even made their way into the cost of goods yet🙁
I think the motorway is like a Sunday morning because a lot of people are working from home amid our biggest outbreak of a 1 in 100 year pandemic event.
Manukau where all the wealth and high incomes reside in 🙃.
The only BAU I have noticed re traffic volumes: is the school traffic. Where I work the office car park is used for school drop offs and pickups with 2 schools across the road, and at our local primary school traffic is as heavy as it has always been.
Yes, and that is because parents are dropping their kids to school directly instead of sending them on public transport. Another effect of the outbreak.
When the government passed the Zero Carbon Act in 2019, it established a "split gas" target, with separate budgets for carbon dioxide and methane. The logic here was that farmers were a powerful lobby group the government didn't want to annoy methane was a short-lived gas, so we should focus ...
For black youth in America, there can be only three ways out of the ghetto: athletics, music or drug dealing. And for every individual who succeeds in making it out, dozens more attach themselves to their celebrity crews in order to bask in the reflected glory, and partake of the ...
Grant Robertson is a big fan of British socialist folk-punk singer Billy Bragg. The finance minister even wrote an opinion column last year that started and ended with lyrics from Bragg’s iconic song “Between the Wars”, with its key line “Sweet moderation; Heart of this nation”. Robertson titled his column, ...
A Free Speech Union conversation Free Speech Union spokesperson Dane Giraud speaks to former Māori Party co-leader Marama Fox about the Māori presence at the recent parliamentary protests. Marama (who would be briefly trespassed by Speaker of the House Trevor Mallard) spent a number of days on the ground and ...
Nina Power discusses the collective political subject – what does it mean? She poses questions such as does a crowd think? Does a mob think or does it just act? What does it mean when we bring a group together to discuss something? Discussing the concept of the autonomous individual ...
Some defenders of Ukrainian neo-Nazis claim Nashi is a Russian neo-Nazi group or at least links the Kremlin to a neo-Nazi subculture. Image credit: Wikipedia Moving on in my critique of the article mentioned in the first post of this series (see Confusion about ...
Some people are still in the denial stage regarding the presence and role of neo-Nazis in Ukraine. OK, I can understand how people who don’t know the history behind this current war and are influenced by the wartime campaigns of virtue-signalling may hold to this denial stage. It’s not ...
Dawn Felagund over at The Silmarillion Writers Guild has been putting together an interesting look at the ways in which Tolkien fandom changed as a result of the Peter Jackson movies. In addition to the Tolkien Fanfiction Survey, she has been getting direct feedback from fans who were around ...
Australia went to the polls on Saturday, and while the preferences are still being counted, clearly voted for a change of government. Unfortunately, this being Australia, this meant swapping one coal-loving, refugee-hating racist for another. Which is perhaps why Labor's primary vote share decreased this election, with voters instead turning ...
Australia’s new PM Anthony Albanese faces an obvious dilemma, barely before he gets his feet under the desk. Australia is the world’s leading exporter of coal. Will the new Labor government prioritise the jobs for Queensland/NSW workers in its mining-dependent communities – or will Labor start to get serious about ...
From Public Housing To The Lodge: Anthony Albanese wins the Australian Federal Election, bringing the career of Scott Morrison and his boofhead Coalition government to an end. The defeat of the boofheads was the victory Australia had to have.CRIKEY! Those Aussies are pissed-off. To appreciate just how pissed-off they are ...
Jacinda Ardern’s trip to the United States this week has been months in the making. A stop in Washington DC is already locked in, but the Prime Minister’s recent positive test for Covid-19 has delayed the official announcement of a meeting with President Joe Biden. Reports now suggest Ardern is ...
This post is a response to a request from Peter Baillie. I don’t know him from Adam and I suspect he was attempting sarcasm but I offered to give him a response. I would welcome any comments or discussion he could add – but that is up to him. ...
In the wake of an otherwise unremarkable New Zealand Budget, I was not expecting to supply much in the way of political commentary. Why would I? The most notable aspect was Grant Robertson throwing a one-off $350 at anyone who earns less than $70,000 a year and who doesn’t ...
Finland, Sweden, Novorossiya, and Incorrect AnalysesSince Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Putin has made much of NATO's supposed expansion to the east. As I wrote on 1 April:Much has been made of Putin's apparent anger that Ukraine was on the verge of joining NATO.However, this has been over-stated by both Western ...
Hoopla And Razzamatazz: Putting the country into debt allows a Minister of Finance to keep the lights on and the ATMs working without raising taxes. That option may become unavoidable at some future time, for some future government, but that is not the present government’s concern – not in the ...
Speaking Truth To Power: Greta Thunberg argues that the fine sounding phrases of well-meaning politicians changes nothing. The promises made, the targets set – and then re-set – are all too familiar to the younger generations she has encouraged to pay attention. They have heard it all before. Accordingly, she ...
The Spiral of Silence Problem As climate communicator John Cook cleverly illustrates below, a big obstacle to raising awareness about climate change is the "spiral of silence," a reluctance to talk about it. There are many reasons for this reluctance we can speculate about. Perhaps people don't want to be ...
The informed discussion on the next steps in tax policy is about improving the income tax base, not about taxing wealth directly.David Parker, the Minister for Inland Revenue, gave a clear indication that his talk on tax was to be ‘pointy-headed’ by choosing a university venue for his presentation. As ...
A couple of weeks ago, Newsroom reported that the government was failing to meet its proactive release obligations, with Ministers releasing less than a quarter of cabinet papers and in many cases failing to keep records. But Chris Hipkins was already on the case, and in a recent cabinet paper ...
Why are the New Zealand media so hostile to the government – not just this government, but any government? The media I have in mind are not NZME-owned outlets like the Herald or Newstalk ZB, whose bias is overtly political and directed at getting rid of the current Labour government. ...
Dr Amanda Kvalsvig, Prof Michael Baker, Dr Jennifer Summers, Dr Lucy Telfar Barnard, Dr Andrew Dickson, Dr Julie Bennett, Carmen Timu-Parata, Prof Nick Wilson Kvalsvig A, Baker M, Summers J, Telfar Barnard L, Dickson A, Bennett J, Timu-Parata C, Wilson N. The urgent need for a Covid-19 Action Plan for ...
In this week’s “A View from Afar” podcast Selwyn Manning and I speculate on how the Ruso-Ukrainian War will shape future regional security dynamics. We start with NATO and work our way East to the Northern Pacific. It is not comprehensive but we outline some potential ramifications with regard to ...
At base, the political biffo back and forth on the merits of Budget 2022 comes down to only one thing. Who is the better manager of the economy and better steward of social wellbeing – National or Labour? In its own quiet way, the Treasury has buried a fascinating answer ...
by Don Franks Poverty in New Zealand today has new ugly features. Adequate housing is beyond the reach of thousands. More and more people full time workers must beg food parcels from charities. Having no attainable prospects, young people lash out and steal. A response to poverty from The Daily ...
Drought: the past is no longer prologue Drought management in the United States (and elsewhere) is highly informed by events of the past, employing records extending 60 years or longer in order to plan for and cope with newly emerging meterorological water deficits. Water resource managers and agricultural concerns use ...
The government announced its budget today, with Finance Minister Grant Robertson giving the usual long speech about how much money they're spending. The big stuff was climate change and health, with the former being pre-announced, and most of the latter being writing off DHB's entirely fictional "debt" to the the ...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson has delivered a Budget that will many asking “Is that all there is?” There is a myriad of initiatives and there is increased spending, but strangely it doesn’t really add up to much at all for those hoping for a more traditional Labour-style Budget. The headline ...
Last year, Cook Islands Deputy Prime Minister Robert Tapaitau stood down as a minister after being charged with conspiracy to defraud after an investigation into corruption in Infrastructure Cook Islands and the National Environment Service. He hasn't been tried yet, but this week he has been reinstated: The seven-month ...
A ballot for three member's bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Repeal of Good Friday and Easter Sunday as Restricted Trading Days (Shop Trading and Sale of Alcohol) Amendment Bill (Chris Baillie) Electoral (Strengthening Democracy) Amendment Bill (Golriz Ghahraman) Increased Penalties for ...
No Jesus Here.She rises, unrested, and stepsOnto the narrow balconyTo find the day. To greetThe Sunday God she sings to.But this morning His face is clouded.Grey and wet as a corpseWashed by tears.Behind her, in the tangled bedding,the children bicker and whine.Worrying the cheap furnitureLike hungry puppies.They clutch at her ...
After two years of Corona-induced online meetings in 2020 and 2021, this year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) will take place as a hybrid conference in both Vienna and online from May 23 to 27. To take hybrid and necessary hygiene restrictions into account, there (unfortunately) will be no ...
“Māori star lore was, and still remains, a blending together of both astronomy and astrology, and while there is undoubtedly robust science within the Māori study of the night sky, the spiritual component has always been of equal importance” writes Professor Rangi Matamua in his book Matariki – Te whetū tapu ...
The foibles of the Aussie electoral system are pretty well-known. The Lucky Country doesn’t have proportional representation. Voting for everyone over 18 is compulsory, but within a preferential system. This means that in the relatively few key seats that decide the final result, it can be the voters’ second, third ...
Julia Steinberger is an ecological economist at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. She first posted this piece at Medium.com, and it was reposted on Yale Climate Connections with her permission. Today I went to give a climate talk at my old high school in Geneva – and was given a ...
A/Prof Ben Gray* Gray B. Government funding of interpreters in Primary Care is needed to ensure quality care. Public Health Expert Blog.17 May 2022. The pandemic has highlighted many problems in the NZ health system. This blog will address the question of availability of interpreters for people with limited English ...
I have suggested previously that sometimes Tolkien’s writer-instincts get the better of him. Sometimes he departs from his own cherished metaphysics, in favour of the demands of story – and I dare say, that is a good thing. Laws and Customs of the Eldar might be an interesting insight ...
One of the key planks of yesterday's Emissions Reduction Plan is a $650 million fund to help decarbonise industry by subsidising replacement of dirty technologies with clean ones. But National leader Chris Luxon derides this as "corporate welfare". Which probably sounds great to the business ideologues in the Koru club. ...
Poisonous! From a very early age New Zealanders are warned to give small black spiders with a red blotch on their abdomens a wide berth. The Katipo, we are told, is venomous: and while its bite may not kill you, it can make you very unwell. That said, isn’t the ...
“The truth prevails, but it’s a chore.” – Jan Masaryk: The intensification of ideological pressures is bearable for only so-long before ordinary men and women reassert the virtues of tolerance and common sense.ON 10 MARCH 1948, Jan Masaryk, the Foreign Minister of Czechoslovakia, was found dead below his bathroom window. ...
Clearly, the attempt to take the politics out of climate change has itself been a political decision, and one meant to remove much of the heat from the global warming issue before next year’s election. What we got from yesterday’s $2.9 billion Emissions Reduction Plan was a largely aspirational multi-party ...
Michelle Uriarau (Mana Wāhine Kōrero) talks to Dane Giraud of the Free Speech Union LISTEN HERE Michelle Uriarau is a founding member of Mana Wāhine Kōrero – an advocacy group of and for Māori women who took strong positions against the ‘Self ID’ and ‘Conversion Practises Bills’. One of the ...
If we needed any confirmation, we have it in spades in today’s edition of the Herald; our supposedly leading daily newspaper is determined to do what it can to decide the outcome of the next election – to act, that is, not as a newspaper but as the mouthpiece for ...
Sean Plunkett, founding editor of the new media outlet, The Platform, was interviewed on RNZ's highly regarded flagship programme "Mediawatch".Mr Plunkett has made much about "cancel culture" and "de-platforming". On his website promoting The Platform, he outlines his mission statement thusly:The Platform is for everyone; we’re not into cancelling or ...
“That’s a C- for History, Kelvin!”While it is certainly understandable that Māori-Crown Relations Minister Kelvin Davis was not anxious to castigate every Pakeha member of the House of Representatives for the crimes committed against his people by their ancestors; crimes from which his Labour colleagues continue to draw enormous benefits; the ...
The Government promised a major reform of New Zealand’s immigration system, but when it was announced this week, many asked “is that it?” Over the last two years Covid has turned the immigration tap off, and the Government argued this produced the perfect opportunity to reassess decades of “unbalanced immigration”. ...
While the new fiscal rules may not be contentious, what they mean for macroeconomic management is not explained.In a pre-budget speech on 3 May 2022, the Minister of Finance, Grant Robertson, made some policy announcements which will frame both this budget and future ones. (The Treasury advice underpinning them is ...
Under MMP, Parliament was meant to look like New Zealand. And, in a lot of ways, it does now, with better representation for Māori, tangata moana, women, and the rainbow community replacing the old dictatorship of dead white males. But there's one area where "our" parliament remains completely unrepresentative: housing: ...
Justice Denied: At the heart of the “Pro-Life” cause was something much darker than conservative religious dogma, or even the oppressive designs of “The Patriarchy”. The enduring motivation – which dares not declare itself openly – is the paranoid conviction of male white supremacists that if “their” women are given ...
In case of emergency break glass— but glass can cut Fire extinguishers, safety belts, first aid kits, insurance policies, geoengineering: we never enjoy using them. But given our demonstrated, deep empirical record of proclivity for creating hazards and risk we'd obviously be foolish not to include emergency responses in our inventory. ...
After a brief hiatus, the “A View from Afar” podcast is back on air with Selwyn Manning leading the Q&A with me. This week is a grab bag of topics: Russian V-Day celebrations, Asian and European elections, and the impact of the PRC-Solomon Islands on the regional strategic balance. Plus ...
Last year, Vanuatu passed a "cyber-libel" law. And predictably, its first targets are those trying to hold the government to account: A police crackdown in Vanuatu that has seen people arrested for allegedly posting comments on social media speculating politicians were responsible for the country’s current Covid outbreak has ...
Could it be a case of not appreciating what you’ve got until it’s gone? The National Party lost Simon Bridges last week, which has reinforced the notion that the party still has some serious deficits of talent and diversity. The major factor in Bridges’ decision to leave was his failed ...
Who’s Missing From This Picture? The re-birth of the co-governance concept cannot be attributed to the institutions of Pakeha rule, at least, not in the sense that the massive constitutional revisions it entails have been presented to and endorsed by the House of Representatives, and then ratified by the citizens of New ...
Fiji signed onto China’s Belt and Road initiative in 2018, along with a separate agreement on economic co-operation and aid. Yet it took the recent security deal between China and the Solomon Islands to get the belated attention of the US and its helpmates in Canberra and Wellington, and the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Lexi Smith and Bud Ward “CRA” It’s one of those acronyms even many-a-veteran environmental policy geek may not recognize. Amidst the scores and scores of acronyms in the field – CERCLA, IPCC, SARA, LUST, NPDES, NDCs, FIFRA, NEPA and scores more – ...
In a nice bit of news in a World Gone Mad, I can report that Of Tin and Tintagel, my 5,800-word story about tin (and political scheming), is now out as part of the Spring 2022 edition of New Maps Magazine (https://www.new-maps.com/). As noted previously, this one owes a ...
Dr Jennifer Summers, Professor Michael Baker, Professor Nick Wilson* Summers J, Baker M, Wilson N. Covid-19 Case-Fatality Risk & Infection-Fatality Risk: important measures to help guide the pandemic response. Public Health Expert Blog. 11 May 2022. In this blog we explore two useful mortality indicators: Case-Fatality Risk (CFR) and Infection-Fatality ...
In the depths of winter, most people from southern New Zealand head to warmer climes for a much-needed dose of Vitamin D. Yet during the height of the last Ice Age, one species of moa did just the opposite. I’m reminded of Bill Bailey’s En Route to Normal tour that visited ...
In the lead-up to the Budget, the Government has been on an offensive to promote the efficiency and quality of its $74 billion Covid Response and Recovery Fund -especially the Wage Subsidy Scheme component. This comes after criticisms and concerns from across the political spectrum over poor-quality spending, and suggestions ...
Elizabeth Elliot Noe, Lincoln University, New Zealand; Andrew D. Barnes, University of Waikato; Bruce Clarkson, University of Waikato, and John Innes, Manaaki Whenua – Landcare ResearchUrbanisation, and the destruction of habitat it entails, is a major threat to native bird populations. But as our new research shows, restored ...
Unfinished: Always, gnawing away at this government’s confidence and empathy, is the dictum that seriously challenging the economic and social status-quo is the surest route to electoral death. Labour’s colouring-in book, and National’s, have to look the same. All that matters is which party is better at staying inside the lines.DOES ...
Radical As: Māori healers recall a time when “words had power”. The words that give substance to ideas, no matter how radical, still do. If our representatives rediscover the courage to speak them out loud.THERE ARE RULES for radicalism. Or, at least, there are rules for the presentation of radical ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters A brutal, record-intensity heat wave that has engulfed much of India and Pakistan since March eased somewhat this week, but is poised to roar back in the coming week with inferno-like temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius (122°F). The ...
The Green Party is again calling on the Government to review the economic response to COVID-19, as the Reserve Bank of New Zealand puts up the Official Cash Rate today to 2 percent. ...
The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand is welcoming the Government’s latest step toward electoral reform, which begins to fulfil an important part of the Co-operation Agreement between the two parties. ...
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY Mr Speaker, It has taken four-and-a-half years to even start to turn the legacy of inaction and neglect from the last time they were in Government together. And we have a long journey in front of us! ...
Today Greens Te Mātāwaka Chair and Health Spokesperson, Dr Elizabeth Kerekere, said “The Greens have long campaigned for an independent Māori Health Authority and pathways for Takatāpui and Rainbow healthcare. “We welcome the substantial funding going into the new health system, Pae Ora, particularly for the Māori Health Authority, Iwi-Partnership ...
Budget 2022 shows progress on conservation commitments in the Green Party’s cooperation agreement Green Party achievements in the last Government continue to drive investment in nature protection Urgent action needed on nature-based solutions to climate change Future budget decisions must reflect the role nature plays in helping reduce emissions ...
Landmark week for climate action concludes with climate budget Largest ever investment in climate action one of many Green Party wins throughout Budget 2022 Budget 2022 delivers progress on every part of the cooperation agreement with Labour Budget 2022 is a climate budget that caps a landmark week ...
Green Party welcomes extension to half price fares Permanent half price fares for Community Services Card holders includes many students, which helps implement a Green Party policy Work to reduce public transport fares for Community Services Card holders started by Greens in the last Government Budget 2022 should be ...
New cost of living payment closely aligned to Green Party policy to expand the Winter Energy Payment Extension and improvement of Warmer Kiwi Homes builds on Green Party progress in Government Community energy fund welcomed The Green Party welcomes the investment in Budget 2022 to expand Warmer Kiwi ...
Budget 2022 support to reduce homelessness delivers on the Green Party’s cooperation agreement Bespoke support for rangatahi with higher, more complex needs The Green Party welcomes the additional investment in Budget 2022 for kaupapa Māori support services, homelessness outreach services, the expansion of transitional housing, and a new ...
Green Party reaffirms call for liveable incomes and wealth tax Calls on Government to cancel debt owed to MSD for hardship assistance such as benefit advances, and for over-payments The Green Party welcomes the support for people on low incomes Budget 2022 but says more must be done ...
Our Government has just released this year’s Budget, which sets out the next steps in our plan to build a high wage, low carbon economy that gives economic security in good times and in bad. It’s full of initiatives that speed up our economic recovery and ease cost pressures for ...
A stronger democracy is on the horizon, as Golriz Ghahraman’s Electoral (Strengthening Democracy) Amendment Bill was pulled from the biscuit tin today. ...
Tomorrow, the Government will release this year’s Budget, setting out the next steps in our plan to build a high wage, low carbon economy that gives economic security in good times and in bad. While the full details will be kept under wraps until Thursday afternoon, we’ve announced a few ...
As a Government, we made it clear to New Zealanders that we’d take meaningful action on climate change, and that’s exactly what we’ve done. Earlier today, we released our next steps with our Emissions Reduction Plan – which will meet the Climate Commission’s independent science-based emissions reduction targets, and new ...
Emissions Reduction Plan prepares New Zealand for the future, ensuring country is on track to meet first emissions budget, securing jobs, and unlocking new investment ...
The Greens are calling for the Government to reconsider the immigration reset so that it better reflects our relationship with our Pacific neighbours. ...
Hamilton City Council and Whanganui District Council have both joined a growing list of Local Authorities to pass a motion in support of Green Party Drug Reform Spokesperson Chlöe Swarbrick’s Members’ bill to minimise alcohol harm. ...
Today, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a major package of reforms to address the immediate skill shortages in New Zealand and speed up our economic growth. These include an early reopening to the world, a major milestone for international education, and a simplification of immigration settings to ensure New Zealand ...
Proposed immigration changes by the Government fail to guarantee pathways to residency to workers in the types of jobs deemed essential throughout the pandemic, by prioritising high income earners - instead of focusing on the wellbeing of workers and enabling migrants to put down roots. ...
Ehara taku toa i te toa takatahi, engari taku toa he toa takimano – my strength is not mine alone but the strength of many (working together to ensure safe, caring respectful responses). We are striving for change. We want all people in Aotearoa New Zealand thriving; their wellbeing enhanced ...
The Green Party is throwing its support behind the 10,000 allied health workers taking work-to-rule industrial action today because of unfair pay and working conditions. ...
It is my pleasure to be here at TRENZ 2022. This is an event that continues to facilitate connection, collaboration and engagement between our businesses and key overseas markets. The conversations that happen here will play a crucial role in shaping New Zealand’s tourism recovery. That’s why TRENZ remains such ...
Māori businesses will play a vital role to help lift whānau Māori aspirations and dreams for a better life, while reinforcing New Zealand’s economic security. A successful Progressive Procurement initiative to diversify government spend on goods and services and increase Māori business engagement with government procurement is getting a further ...
The continued Budget 22 investment into the Cadetship programmes will ensure Māori thrive in the labour market, Minister for Māori Development Willie Jackson announced today. The Government will invest $25 million into the Cadetships programme, delivered by Te Puni Kōkiri. As the whole world struggles with rising inflation, the Government’s ...
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta and Minister of Defence Peeni Henare today announced the extension of the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) deployment to Solomon Islands, as part of the Pacific-led Solomon Islands International Assistance Force (SIAF). “Aotearoa New Zealand and Solomon Islands have an enduring and long-standing partnership,” Nanaia Mahuta said. ...
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta and Minister of Defence Peeni Henare today announced the extension of the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) deployment to Solomon Islands, as part of the Pacific-led Solomon Islands International Assistance Force (SIAF). “Aotearoa New Zealand and Solomon Islands have an enduring and long-standing partnership,” Nanaia Mahuta said. ...
Director-General, esteemed fellow Ministers, and colleagues, tēnā koutou katoa. Greetings to all. Aotearoa New Zealand is alarmed at the catastrophic and complex health crisis evolving in Ukraine. We reiterate our call for an immediate end to Russian hostilities against Ukraine. Chair, this 75th Session of the World Health Assembly comes at ...
As part of a regular review by the Department of Internal Affairs, the fees for New Zealand passports will increase slightly due to the decrease in demand caused by COVID-19. Internal Affairs Minister Jan Tinetti says that the Government has made every effort to keep the increase to a minimum ...
The Government is providing additional support to the Buller District Council to assist the recovery from the February 2022 floods, Minister for Emergency Management Kiri Allan announced today. “The Buller District has experienced two significant floods in short succession, resulting in significant impacts for the community and for Council to ...
New Zealand is a step closer to a more resilient, competitive, and sustainable coastal shipping sector following the selection of preferred suppliers for new and enhanced coastal shipping services, Transport Minister Michael Wood has announced today. “Coastal shipping is a small but important part of the New Zealand freight system, ...
Tēnā koutou katoa It’s a pleasure to speak to you today on how we are tracking with the resource management reforms. It is timely, given that in last week’s Budget the Government announced significant funding to ensure an efficient transition to the future resource management system. There is broad consensus ...
Education Minister Chris Hipkins and Associate Education Minister Kelvin Davis have welcomed the release of a paper from independent advisory group, Taumata Aronui, outlining the group’s vision for Māori success in the tertiary education system. “Manu Kōkiri – Māori Success and Tertiary Education: Towards a Comprehensive Vision – is the ...
The best way to have economic security in New Zealand is by investing in wāhine and our rangatahi says Minister for Māori Development. Budget 2022, is allocating $28.5 million over the next two years to strengthen whānau resilience through developing leadership within key cohorts of whānau leaders, wāhine and rangatahi ...
Whānau Ora Commissioning Agencies will receive $166.5 million over four years to help whānau maintain and build their resilience as Aotearoa moves forward from COVID-19, Minister for Whānau Ora Peeni Henare announced today. “Whānau Ora Commissioning Agencies and partners will remain a key feature of the Government’s support for whānau ...
The development of sustainable, plant-based foods and meat alternatives is getting new government backing, with investment from a dedicated regional economic development fund. “The investment in Sustainable Foods Ltd is part of a wider government strategy to develop a low-emissions, highly-skilled economy that responds to global demands,” said Stuart Nash. ...
With New Zealand expecting to see Omicron cases rise during the winter, the Orange setting remains appropriate for managing this stage of the outbreak, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “While daily cases numbers have flattened nationally, they are again beginning to increase in the Northern region and hospitalisation ...
Justice Minister Kris Faafoi today announced appointments to the independent panel that will lead a review of New Zealand’s electoral law. “This panel, appointed by an independent panel of experts, aim to make election rules clearer and fairer, to build more trust in the system and better support people to ...
Honourable Dame Fran Wilde will lead the board overseeing the design and construction of Auckland’s largest, most transformational project of a generation – Auckland Light Rail, which will connect hundreds of thousands of people across the city, Minister of Transport Michael Wood announced today. “Auckland Light Rail is New Zealand’s ...
Boost to Māori Medium property that will improve and redevelop kura, purchase land and build new facilities Scholarships and mentoring to grow and expand the Māori teaching workforce Funding to continue to grow the Māori language The Government’s commitment to the growth and development of te reo Māori has ...
On the eve of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s trade mission to the United States, New Zealand has joined with partner governments from across the Indo-Pacific region to begin the next phase of discussions towards an Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF). The Framework, initially proposed by US President Biden in ...
As part of New Zealand’s ongoing response to the war in Ukraine, New Zealand is providing further support and personnel to assist Ukraine to defend itself against Russia’s unprovoked and illegal invasion, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “We have been clear throughout Russia’s assault on Ukraine, that such a ...
Budget 2022 is providing investment to crackdown on tobacco smuggling into New Zealand. “Customs has seen a significant increase in the smuggling of tobacco products into New Zealand over recent years,” Minister of Customs Meka Whaitiri says. This trend is also showing that tobacco smuggling operations are now often very ...
Prime Minister to lead trade mission to the United States this week to support export growth and the return of tourists post COVID-19. Business delegation to promote trade and tourism opportunities in New Zealand’s third largest export and visitor market Deliver Harvard University commencement address Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has congratulated Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Party on winning the Australian Federal election, and has acknowledged outgoing Prime Minister Scott Morrison. "I spoke to Anthony Albanese early this morning as he was preparing to address his supporters. It was a warm conversation and I’m ...
Tiwhatiwha te pō, tiwhatiwha te ao. Tiwhatiwha te pō, tiwhatiwha te ao. Matariki Tapuapua, He roimata ua, he roimata tangata. He roimata e wairurutu nei, e wairurutu nei. Te Māreikura mārohirohi o Ihoa o ngā Mano, takoto Te ringa mākohakoha o Rongo, takoto. Te mātauranga o Tūāhuriri o Ngai Tahu ...
Three core networks within the tourism sector are receiving new investment to gear up for the return of international tourists and business travellers, as the country fully reconnects to the world. “Our wider tourism sector is on the way to recovery. As visitor numbers scale up, our established tourism networks ...
The Minister of Customs has welcomed legislation being passed which will prevent millions of dollars in potential tax evasion on water-pipe tobacco products. The Customs and Excise (Tobacco Products) Amendment Act 2022 changes the way excise and excise-equivalent duty is calculated on these tobacco products. Water-pipe tobacco is also known ...
The Government is contributing $100,000 to a Mayoral Relief Fund to help the Levin community following this morning’s tornado, Minister for Emergency Management Kiri Allan says. “My thoughts are with everyone who has been impacted by severe weather events in Levin and across the country. “I know the tornado has ...
The Quintet of Attorneys General have issued the following statement of support for the Prosecutor General of Ukraine and investigations and prosecutions for crimes committed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine: “The Attorneys General of the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand join in ...
Morena tatou katoa. Kua tae mai i runga i te kaupapa o te rā. Thank you all for being here today. Yesterday my colleague, the Minister of Finance Grant Robertson, delivered the Wellbeing Budget 2022 – for a secure future for New Zealand. I’m the Minister of Health, and this was ...
Urgent Budget night legislation to stop major supermarkets blocking competitors from accessing land for new stores has been introduced today, Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Dr David Clark said. The Commerce (Grocery Sector Covenants) Amendment Bill amends the Commerce Act 1986, banning restrictive covenants on land, and exclusive covenants ...
It is a pleasure to speak to this Budget. The 5th we have had the privilege of delivering, and in no less extraordinary circumstances. Mr Speaker, the business and cycle of Government is, in some ways, no different to life itself. Navigating difficult times, while also making necessary progress. Dealing ...
Budget 2022 provides funding to implement the new resource management system, building on progress made since the reform was announced just over a year ago. The inadequate funding for the implementation of the Resource Management Act in 1992 almost guaranteed its failure. There was a lack of national direction about ...
The Government is substantially increasing the amount of funding for public media to ensure New Zealanders can continue to access quality local content and trusted news. “Our decision to create a new independent and future-focused public media entity is about achieving this objective, and we will support it with a ...
$662.5 million to maintain existing defence capabilities NZDF lower-paid staff will receive a salary increase to help meet cost-of living pressures. Budget 2022 sees significant resources made available for the Defence Force to maintain existing defence capabilities as it looks to the future delivery of these new investments. “Since ...
More than $185 million to help build a resilient cultural sector as it continues to adapt to the challenges coming out of COVID-19. Support cultural sector agencies to continue to offer their important services to New Zealanders. Strengthen support for Māori arts, culture and heritage. The Government is investing in a ...
It is my great pleasure to present New Zealand’s fourth Wellbeing Budget. In each of this Government’s three previous Wellbeing Budgets we have not only considered the performance of our economy and finances, but also the wellbeing of our people, the health of our environment and the strength of our communities. In Budget ...
It is my great pleasure to present New Zealand’s fourth Wellbeing Budget. In each of this Government’s three previous Wellbeing Budgets we have not only considered the performance of our economy and finances, but also the wellbeing of our people, the health of our environment and the strength of our communities. In Budget ...
Four new permanent Coroners to be appointed Seven Coronial Registrar roles and four Clinical Advisor roles are planned to ease workload pressures Budget 2022 delivers a package of investment to improve the coronial system and reduce delays for grieving families and whānau. “Operating funding of $28.5 million over four ...
Establishment of Ministry for Disabled People Progressing the rollout of the Enabling Good Lives approach to Disability Support Services to provide self-determination for disabled people Extra funding for disability support services “Budget 2022 demonstrates the Government’s commitment to deliver change for the disability community with the establishment of a ...
Fairer Equity Funding system to replace school deciles The largest step yet towards Pay Parity in early learning Local support for schools to improve teaching and learning A unified funding system to underpin the Reform of Vocational Education Boost for schools and early learning centres to help with cost ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benjamin Moffitt, Associate Professor, Australian Catholic University Many commentators tipped Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party (UAP) and Pauline Hanson’s One Nation to perform well this election by scooping up the “freedom” and anti-vax vote from voters angry about how the pandemic was ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matt McDonald, Associate Professor of International Relations, The University of Queensland Getty Before the 2019 federal election, many people expected Australia would vote for faster climate action. That, of course, didn’t happen. But just three years later, the climate election ...
The government is set to delay plans to improve the insulation of new homes in New Zealand, just days after including the measures in the much vaunted emissions reduction plan unveiled last week. The emissions reduction plan included a move to improve ...
The Reserve Bank has raised the official cash rate to 2% – but will that slay the inflationary beast roaming the countryside.? Point of Order doesn’t think so. Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr made the right belligerent noises as he fired the bullet today but he needed a fiscal -policy ...
We were pleasantly surprised to catch up on the latest announcement from Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta – jointly issued with Defence Minister Peeni Henare – about the extension of the New Zealand Defence Force deployment to Solomon Islands. This is being done as part of the Pacific-led Solomon Islands ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Griffin, Associate Professor, Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, The University of Queensland Shutterstock We’ve all become familiar with virus mutations over the course of the pandemic, and can all probably list off the COVID variants including Alpha, Delta and Omicron. ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has spoken with US TV host and comedian Stephen Colbert about the school shooting in Texas, as part of her trip to the United States. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tess Parker, Research Fellow, Monash University From February to May 2022, many places in Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia have seen record-breaking daily and monthly rainfall. Repeated periods of persistent and intense rain have caused devastating and widespread floods. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra New treasurer Jim Chalmers has been in multiple briefings since Sunday, and the message he sends in this podcast is that he is not going to try to gild the economic lily with the Australian ...
The Monetary Policy Committee today increased the Official Cash Rate (OCR) to 2.0 percent. The Committee agreed it remains appropriate to continue to tighten monetary conditions at pace to maintain price stability and support maximum sustainable employment. ...
A $30 million investment by the Government to improve coastal shipping services is great news for jobs, the economy and the environment, said the Council of Trade Unions. “A viable coastal shipping service has huge advantages for New Zealand, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Imogene Smith, Casual academic, provisional psychologist and Doctor of Psychology (Clinical) candidate, Deakin University Shutterstock For many dads, having a child is unplanned. What happens next can vary. One man said: We broke up and she called me soon ...
Coastal shipping has received a $30 million boost from the government, aimed at improving local supply chains and helping move freight off the roads. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carolyn Hill, Teaching Fellow, Environmental Planning, University of Waikato Getty Images A minor culture war has broken out over Auckland’s urban identity since Auckland Council responded to the government’s new housing rules: on one side, defenders of “special character” areas ...
New Zealand’s biggest company by capitalisation on the NZX, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare which sells its products in 120 countries, has supplied $880 million of hospital hardware over the past two years. That’s the equivalent of about 10 years’ hardware sales before COVID-19. This remarkable performance deserves the plaudits of ...
The Socialist Equality Group in New Zealand and the World Socialist Web Site will hold an online public meeting on Saturday, June 4, at 5:00 p.m. to launch the new book Pike River: The Crime and Cover-up , published by Mehring Books. ...
The Minister of Justice, Hon Kris Faafoi, announced on Tuesday morning the panel and terms of reference for the Independent Electoral Law Review. The voting age is at the top of the list of electoral laws the review will be considering. Make It ...
Ted Johnston, Coleader of New Conservative states “There are important changes needed to the Electoral laws, but we must beware Labour and National passing self-serving laws to further perpetuate their duopoly.” Our elections are just passing of the ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards. Political Roundup: Grant Robertson’s “sweet moderation” Grant Robertson is a big fan of British socialist folk-punk singer Billy Bragg. The finance minister even wrote an opinion column last year that started and ended with lyrics from Bragg’s iconic song “Between the Wars”, with its key line ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Aaron J. Snoswell, Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Computational Law & AI Accountability, Queensland University of Technology Shutterstock The first serious accident involving a self-driving car in Australia occurred in March this year. A pedestrian suffered life-threatening injuries when hit by a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Denis Muller, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Advancing Journalism, The University of Melbourne Wes Mountain/The Conversation, CC BY-ND The nightly television news coverage of the 2022 federal election was among the most juvenile and uninformative in 50 years. Given that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Holden, Clinical Associate Professor, University of Sydney Shutterstock It’s a common scenario: you decide to go out for dinner and fancy something different. So, you look to online reviews to help you make your dining choice. If you ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Hornsey, Professor, University of Queensland Business School, The University of Queensland Former Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s shock loss to an independent running on a climate action platform wasn’t a fluke event. “Teal” independents have ousted five of Frydenberg’s colleagues, all harvesting votes ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Holloway, Senior Research DECRA Fellow, Institute for Learning Sciences and Teacher Education, Australian Catholic University During the 2022 federal election campaign, schools barely rated a mention. While the Labor government’s cabinet will not be finalised until next week, we expect ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elaine Nash, PhD Candidate, University of South Australia Shutterstock There are many reasons to employ people living with intellectual disability. Most obvious is that it’s the right thing to do – it helps promote social justice, diversity, corporate social responsibility, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Debra Dudek, Associate professor, School of Arts and Humanities, Edith Cowan University Madman Australian writer and director Renée Webster’s new film How to Please a Woman turns much of what we think we know about sexual desire – especially for ...
Ardern's first event was a sit down with major American tourism media, as part of the drive to show the US market NZ is "open for business", and she will later meet meet with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane Kelsey, Professor of Law, University of Auckland The uncertainty over whether Jacinda Ardern might land a White House meeting and photo opportunity with US President Joe Biden was perhaps fitting, given the lack of clarity about one of their main topics ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The QUAD summit in Tokyo has praised Australia raising its ambition on climate change, after Anthony Albanese told fellow leaders his government would do more to assist Pacific countries address it. Albanese stressed Australia’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan includes “Word from The Hill”, where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation politics team. In this podcast Michelle and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benjamin Clark, Deputy Engagement Editor, The Conversation Politics can be slow-moving, until all of a sudden it isn’t. As political scientist Simon Jackman says in today’s episode of Below the Line, “politics is very non-linear. You get these steady, secular ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By D. Bondy Valdovinos Kaye, Lecturer, Queensland University of Technology On Sunday, popular American singer songwriter Halsey shared a video on TikTok with tinny music in the background, the on-screen text reading: Basically I have a song that I love that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Crowley, Adjunct Associate Professor, Public and Environmental Policy, University of Tasmania During Saturday’s election, 31.5% of the voters deserted the major parties, with a swag of female teal independents tipping Liberal MPs out of their heartland urban seats. By contrast, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rita Matulionyte, Senior Lecturer in Law, Macquarie University Shutterstock Mastercard’s “smile to pay” system, announced last week, is supposed to save time for customers at checkouts. It is being trialled in Brazil, with future pilots planned for the Middle East ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Stand by for something “reckless and dangerous”. That’s what former prime minister Scott Morrison said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese would be if he asked the Fair Work Commission ...
Just in case the affected voters and constituencies haven’t bothered to check how much funding they are being given in Budget 2022 (or how much they have lost in some cases), ministers have been letting them know in post-Budget press statements. At least, they have been letting them know when ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has called the way a New Zealand mother of two died in custody awaiting deportation from Australia was a disgrace and further evidence that the system is not just broken but responsible ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christian Moro, Associate Professor of Science & Medicine, Bond University Shutterstock You showered this morning, are wearing fresh clothes and having an otherwise normal day, when suddenly you notice that stench. Why do our armpits smell, and why more ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lucinda McKnight, Senior Lecturer in Pedagogy and Curriculum, Deakin University Pixabay The war in Ukraine is being described as the first social media war, even as “the TikTok war”. Memes, tweets, videos and blog posts communicate both vital information and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Stewart, John Bray Professor of Law, University of Adelaide Industrial relations issues were front and centre when federal Labor last won office from opposition in 2007. The backlash against John Howard’s “Work Choices” reforms cost both his government and his own ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Soutphommasane, Acting Director, Sydney Policy Lab & Professor of Practice (Sociology and Political Theory), University of Sydney The message from Saturday’s election result was clear: Australians want a political reset. And not just about issues such as government integrity and climate ...
The Education and Workforce Committee is calling for submissions on the Employment Relations (Extended Time for Personal Grievance for Sexual Harassment) Amendment Bill. This bill would extend the period of time available to raise a personal grievance ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kelly Menzel, Assistant Professor – First Nations Health, Bond University GettyImages Workplaces can be hostile, overwhelming and unwelcoming places for many First Nations Peoples. My research has explored how this is the case in many organisations, including universities. White organisations ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Breadon, Program Director, Health and Aged Care, Grattan Institute CDC/Unsplash Anthony Albanese campaigned on better pandemic management. Giving the vaccination program a shot in the arm will be his first test. Not long ago, every shipment of vaccines was ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Kingham, Professor, University of Canterbury Shutterstock/Tanya NZ The Dutch have long been recognised as leaders in cycling. Denmark is not far behind, with more bikes than cars in its capital Copenhagen. This is the result of many years of ...
Remaining in the orange traffic light setting is not a constraint or handbrake to accelerating business recovery, rebuilding, and planning for growth, says Auckland Business Chamber CEO Michael Barnett. “Businesses can do everything under Orange, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Breadon, Program Director, Health and Aged Care, Grattan Institute CDC/Unsplash Anthony Albanese campaigned on better pandemic management. Giving the vaccination program a shot in the arm will be his first test. Not long ago, every shipment of vaccines was ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Purdie, Senior Research Fellow, University of Otago Getty Images If your next car is not electric, then it must be much smaller than your last one. Scientists have warned that the world needs to halve emissions every decade to ...
Not many New Zealanders may have noticed what is happening in China or India – but their economies appear to be tracking in opposite directions. Those movements could have a powerful impact in turn on NZ’s economic fortunes. Point of Order is indebted to two remarkable pieces of journalism for ...
Northland District Commander Superintendent Tony Hill: Police agree with the findings of an IPCA report, which concluded a Police officer was justified in using force against a man during an arrest in Northland. On 27 May 2021, Police were witness ...
Napier man, Alister Robertson, says the lack of any proper funding in the Budget for the proposed Dementia Mate Wareware Action Plan is really disappointing and concerning. “This Budget announcement is very underwhelming. It’s hardly a wellbeing Budget ...
Tauranga City Council’s commissioners have resolved to write directly to Government Ministers to detail their concerns that a lack of alignment between agencies and legislation is impacting the planning and funding of urban development in New Zealand’s ...
The Office for Seniors has released a new guide that will help inform the best urban design practices to benefit older people. The Age friendly urban places guide is a technical resource targeted at local and central government urban planning practice ...
RNZ Pacific A commemoration has been held in French Polynesia to mark the 20th anniversary of the disappearance of a leading opposition politician in the Tuamotus. Boris Léontieff, who headed the Fetia Api party, was among four politicians travelling in a small plane on a campaign trip when it disappeared ...
Feedback from our consultation on the rules governing policyholder security in our insurance legislation will help to shape the final policy. An important purpose of New Zealand’s insurance legislation is to promote a financially sound insurance ...
E tū/NZNO/PSA media release After rallying around Aotearoa for a better pay offer, care and support workers and their unions are delivering their messages to Parliament in a petition signed by thousands in just 10 days. They will hand over the petition, ...
“Jacinda Ardern’s visit comes immediately on the heels of Joe Biden’s trip to Japan for a meeting of the ‘Quad’ - the US, Australia, India and Japan - that intends to dramatically increase militarisation of the Pacific region. Ardern’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Baron, Associate professor, Australian Catholic University ShutterstockI’m curious about what will happen if, hypothetically, someone moves with speed (that is) twice the speed of light? – Devanshi, age 13, Mumbai Hi Devanshi! Thanks for this ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Frank Bongiorno, Professor of History, ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National University Wes Mountain/The Conversation, CC BY-ND Political commentators often use the idea of a political spectrum from left to right as shorthand for understanding political ideologies, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patricia A. O’Brien, Faculty Member, Asian Studies Program, Georgetown University; Visiting Fellow, Department of Pacific Affairs, Australian National University; Adjunct Fellow, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington DC., Georgetown University The federal election has delivered a monumental win for Australia’s relations ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Hellewell, Research Fellow, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, and The Perron Institute for Neurological and Translational Science, Curtin University Shutterstock Loss or alteration of taste (dysgeusia) is a common symptom of COVID. It’s also a side effect of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Bell, Professor of Marine Biology, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Despite New Zealanders’ close connection with the oceans, very few will have heard of “temperate mesophotic ecosystems” (TMEs). Even fewer will appreciate their importance for coastal fisheries, and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Eleanor Cowan, Lecturer in Ancient History, University of Sydney Francesco Solimena, Death of Messalina (about 1704/1712)The GettyReaders are advised this story includes depictions of domestic violence and violence against women. Domestic violence was endemic in the Roman world. Rome ...
23 May US President Biden unveiled his long-awaited Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) in Tokyo tonight, supported by a small group of allies, including New Zealand’s Prime Minister Arden by zoom. “The low-key event was overshadowed by the elephant ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne AAP/Lukas Coch With 73% of enrolled voters counted, the ABC is calling 73 of the 151 House of Representatives seats for Labor, 54 for the Coalition, 15 Others ...
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/%E2%80%98take-it-seriously%E2%80%99-dunedin-covid-patient
Long Covid must be taken seriously as Omicron dominates – experts
Professor Harvey White, a cardiologist and director of the Green Lane Cardiovascular Research Unit, also warned that the development of long Covid should not be trivialised.
"You could have heart attacks or strokes in the future, or brain fog affecting your memory and thinking, or fatigue affecting your ability to work or take part in recreation."
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/463014/long-covid-must-be-taken-seriously-as-omicron-dominates-experts
No mild flu this. Absolutely needs awareness and precautions. And Vaccination !
https://www.odt.co.nz/sport/rugby/highlanders-flout-mask-rules
wtf ! Just boofheads. No role models for sure : (
I thought refusing to obey cabin crew instructions was a crime?
Hi.just home and seen this? Not sure if applies. But of course Highlanders ! Probably the worst aspect was CEO Roger Clark being onboard
“I was on the plane as well, so I did see a couple of guys that weren’t wearing them.”
Well….why didnt he say something?
https://www.odt.co.nz/sport/rugby/highlanders/players-did-not-take-life-and-death-situation-seriously
For sure. Not only literally letting the side down, but they role model for kids ! Were they really that boofheaded? Hope theres some consequence for them.
Behind the Herald's paywall is a Hosking assertion that Luxon has made Ardern look out of touch. I bet he hasn't been able to prove it. I reckon she did it all by herself. He just happened to be standing around nearby at the time.
Trotter goes deeper:
National & Labour locked in a battle to the death, each trying to out-bland the other. Death via boredom. Nobody else notices because same old shit is normal.
But haven't you, as a sensible centrist, always argued for bland incrementalism? Nothing too drastic otherwise the pendulum might swing too far from safety.
I've presented here as a radical centrist. If I happen to accidentally advocate something sensible it's likely due to pragmatism – serving the cause of the common good does often involve pragmatic compromise in the middle ground.
The problem with the middle way is that incrementalism often doesn't solve a serious social problem in a suitable time-frame. Thus climate change. Radical action to prevent it caused sheeple to go "Gah!" and mill around nervously in the middle of the road with the whites of their eyes in a mass showing.
A radical wearing sheeple clothing can herd them towards the gate incrementally. Another could bark at them to get a hurry-up. So what we need from Labour & National is individuals capable of steering the bland majority in the right direction. That function could be performed by the Greens and ACT but they're both intent on also fronting as sheeple currently.
No need to worry though. Back to the future is getting another re-run via the free- trade deal with Britain. Sheeple can therefore hallucinate electric-powered tankers heading north full of mutton just like in the old days…
One of Trotters better pieces.
Biden fumbles ball, but hasn't quite dropped it yet:
Buck-passing is a novel way to win a war, so I guess we have to credit the Democrats for clever tactics. Putin will be baffled, never having heard of pass the parcel. Explaining that it is actually a buck won't improve his advisor's standing either. Shuffling stuff around is confusing enough. Pretending to do so without actually doing it ramps up the effect.
Keeping Putin guessing is good. The uncertainty principle. Lulling him into a false sense of security by rolling over & playing dead. Who said Democrats are thick?
That's profound. It raises the hypothetical possibility of such lessons being learned. Back in the real world, action man looks glum. "What the hell am I meant to be doing??"
Right, so a fortnight has passed while western political leaders have twiddled their thumbs, trying to figure out how to turn this plan into action.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/09/clash-over-poland-and-us-missile-plans-reveals-tensions-in-escalating-war
I think they should just leave the MiG-29s on the border with the keys in the ignition and let Ukraine's farmers and their tractors do the rest. “Yuri! Do you see what I see???”
Good thinking, but it may not be required. Breitbart is reporting a u-turn by Poland's govt:
Why would you link to Breitbart?
Two day old news that isn't even true.
Two day old news that isn't even true.
How do you know? You expect readers to believe you automatically?? To invalidate that Breitbart report you need to produce evidence that it's invalid.
What that report makes clear is the unilateral decision of the Polish govt. So the control freaks in Biden’s admin are trying to forbid that move…
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/03/09/blinken-ukraine-poland-fighter-jets-00015747
Sigh. It's diplomacy, you doofus.*
The deal the yanks were proposing was Poland gives fighters to the Ukraine, then the US helps out a nato partner to get new jets. That's two separate actions, so deniable as a "nato" move. The poles don't like it because the Russians will be very pissed at them.
The "deal" the poles tried to switch it to was the poles giving planes to the yanks who would give them to the Ukrainians. That's a multilateral action from nato nations, thereby an escalation in direct military assistance from nato. That escalates tensions in a big step rather than a cautious tiptoe to the brink, so increases the likelihood of mushroom clouds.
*ok, a bit harsh, but the line is a good one. Preferably yelled by someone in a tv show with a white house setting
Yeah I get that. Thing is, European nations can do their solo thing regardless of any NATO constraint, right? So it looked like Poland was doing so, plus presuming Germany would also, to help Ukraine.
Think of it as doing an end-run around the US blocking position. And re multilateral action from nato nations – don't we have to see formal declarations from NATO officials to believe that's happening? Yes!
So seems like unilateral helping of Ukraine by some European states is proceeding on the basis of expediency. Biden's paranoia re nuclear threat is understandable but his timidity re appropriate helping isn't…
Nah, Poland's offer was to send the planes to Rammstein (not the band).
That requires the explicit blessing of the yanks.
Whereas if the Ukrainians just fly the reflagged planes home from Poland, the yanks just go "gee, pal, you seem to be short a few aircraft. How'd that happen? Here, have some Gen4's on us, and be more careful next time".
Interesting that you mention the band (in brackets) because they are popular in Russia but not with the Russian authorities.
I can see why.
It must be the lyrics, because their music is great.
Too "woke", amongst other things.
It's possible they're also just obvious enough for totalitarians to get the joke and therefore be pissed off. Unlike Laibach.
edit: although Laibach might have been a bit on the nose in this collaboration
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSHaVH9HhfI
True. What if the Poles get the Germans to host the planes temporarily though? In an airport of their own, I mean. Hypothetical at this stage.
I suspect the Poles may feel apprehension about dealing with Ukraine direct, lest Putin enter them onto his list of next invasions at #2. But you could be right.
I wonder how weak the German leader currently feels. His armed forces chief declared himself "pissed off" last week. I gather things are alarmingly run-down due to the peace dividend from the end of the Cold War. Caught between not liking deference to the USA and being realistic, I guess…
Oh, the poles definitely don't want to piss off russia too much. Especially if dolt45 gets re"elected", Nato ain't going to be much protection with him pissing in the pool.
Germany's a funny one. Chronic readiness problems, especially in the navy, from what I've read. But also some really interesting new equipment that is just coming to maturity and deployment – like the Puma IFV. And not in a "well, block A flies but can't fire the cannon" F35 or a "we can afford to make, like, six" way like the SU57.
Basically, so far shit like manpads and atms are defensive. NATO making a clear move to provide offensive weapons like jets is a step up, and the nuclear minefield is one place we really want potus to tread gingerly.
As it is, Russia's quick shunt "back to the USSR" with only state TV and no maccas might end up solving the Putin problem pretty quickly. Not sure where he can bail to in order to avoid doing a Ceaucescu, either.
With it's ground assault increasingly bogged down, The Russian military turns to its tactic, honed in Syria, of bombing hospitals.
Isis, Neo-nazis, any pretext will do.
Russian–Syrian hospital bombing campaign
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian%E2%80%93Syrian_hospital_bombing_campaign#:~:text=These%20hospitals%20were%20Nabad%20al,Idlib%20province%20in%20May%202019.
A war crime here, a war crime there…
/
https://euromaidanpress.com/2022/02/28/russian-aircraft-drop-cluster-bombs-with-petal-mines-in-kharkiv-oblast/
“We are here to help our Ukrainian brothers and sisters in any way we can,” Raed Al Saleh, the leader of the White Helmets, told me in an interview. Putin’s goal is to break the will of the civilian population, he said, and there are no limits to the savagery of his troops. “The Russian military has no principles. They respect no human rights. They have no standards or ethics,” Saleh said. “The Ukrainians are facing the most ferocious, unethical, criminal killing machine that exists in the world today, which we have been facing for the last seven years.”
[…]
There are some things the Syrians have learned not to do. Do not give GPS locations of medical facilities to the United Nations, which may claim it needs the information to keep them safe. The Russians will use that information to target them. Never let Moscow have any say or control over how humanitarian aid is distributed, even when it’s a U.N. program. The Kremlin will use that power to starve out civilian populations, as it is doing in Syria now.
https://archive.ph/CVdit
Bombing hospitals and leveling cities is only the beginning.
The Ukrainians know they cannot afford to lose this fight.
Occupied Urkaine under Putin's oppressive rule, will most likely resemble Rutin's ally, Assad's rule in Syria.
Syria: Mass Deaths and Torture in Detention – YouTube
I also suspect Putin's been taking notes from Xi on what they're doing in the "Uygur Autonomous Region".
My probably ill informed quick take:
The Russians have been fought to a standstill/crawl in the north west, north and north east and in the south east the strong defenses erected by the Ukrainians post 2014 are also holding out against attacks from the Donets region.
In the south the situation is a lot worse for the Ukrainians, since they can't simply defend fixed urban defense zones and conduct guerilla warfare against logistics lines. The Russians hold a major advantage there in manoeuvre warfare. The Russians are attacking from the breakaway republics west towards Mariupol and east towards Mariupol from the Crimea, whilst simultaneously attacking west towards Odessa and northwest to secure their flank (and capture significant nuclear and hydroelectric energy generation infrastructure) along the lower Dnieper river along a line running roughly Kherson to Zaporizhzhia.
The concern is that capturing Mariupol will allow the thrusts from the Donets and Crimea to link up and thence thrust north to outflank and unhinge the Ukrainian fixed defenses facing Donetsk and Luhansk. which would force the Ukrainians into the open and into a general retreat to the northwest that would be threatened with defeat in detail by a double envelopment from a thrust developed from Zaporizhzhia aimed at Kharkiv and also from Mariupol towards the direction of Izyum/Chuhuiv. This is why the Ukrainians will hang to Mariupol as long as possible. Similarly, the fall of Odessa would release significant Russian forces for an attack either along the axis Uman – Vinnytsia and then either towards Kyiv or Lviv (or possibly both) or more likely (in my opinion) towards Cherkasy to secure the west bank of the Dnieper, link up with the attack that should develop along the Kharkiv-Poltava direction and on to Kyiv along both banks of the Dnieper – the control of which will also significantly reduce Russian logistics problems.
All in all, the position of the Ukraine is grim unless they can somehow mount some sort of significant and successful counter attack in the Mariupol battle that achieves something more than a short term tactical success.
There are a number of elements wrong about your analysis.
The Russian army's biggest weakness that is being shown up in this War is their logistic capability. They are struggling to supply the large force to the West of Kiev even though it is only about 150 km from the border with Belarus. The reasons behind this is that the Russian army relies heavily on railways to move the bulk of troops and supplies and they have far less road transport available.
Down south they have made a lot of progress across the lower Dnieper river towards Odessa and have linked up to the East with their forces based in the Donbas it is true however the further they move the more tricky their supply problems become and it is complicated by the fact that there isn't as extensive East – West rail network in the South as there is in other parts of Ukraine.
What this means is that the Russian army is vulnerable to attacks against their extended supply columns and will not be able to bring as much power to bear against opponents the further they go in to Ukraine. If they do not capture Ukraine from the North and/or East in the next two weeks what happens down south isn't going to make much difference.
Ukraine also has the entire West of the country around Lviv to fall back on if needed which will make the Russians job of eliminating military threats almost impossible.
Well, I don't often (in fact never) agree with Gossy, but I think (s)he's right on the mark here.
Logistics does not seem to be the Russian's strong point.
Its entirely possible the Russians are in no hurry to end the conflict in Ukraine and stalled convoys to Kiev are by design….they certainly dont appear to be under threat.
There's a headline on the Herald online today: "Top school failed to safeguard students, says complainant." It's to do with allegations over sexual harassment by a teacher.
Last week they had a story, " Top school…" something or other. Today's one is Tauranga Boys' College last week it was Westlake Girls' High.
They have a way of describing some schools as "top" schools.
I wrote to the Herald last year and asked them if they had a list on the wall of the office which classified schools. And if there was a list of institutions which were to be called "top" schools whenever they were referred to. I asked what criteria were used to determine which was a top school and which were just 'schools.'
I don't think they printed my letter. (I do understand that online stories and headlines might not be in the print edition and so the letter may not have been relevant in the print environment.)
So what is a top school? A story comes up and someone whips through examination results? Checks out Education Review Office reports? Goes through results of sports competitions and representative team lists? Dips into their prejudice and pre-conceived notions baskets?
The funny thing is that searching the Herald site for 'top' schools easily brings up stories about sexual abuse, bullying of pupils, bullying of staff, drunk pupils, poaching top sports kids from other schools, fighting and assaults.
How many incidents of very concerning behaviour have to happen before a school isn't a top one? Is there a severity graph? How many decades of not having any untoward claims against it and how many mountains of positive achievement behind it before an ordinary, no adjectives needed school gets to graduate to being a 'top school'?
Today's story described the school as a "prestigious all-boys school." How much of the prestige is down to organs like the Herald continually defining it as a top school?
It is our not so subtle class system in action.
Good on you for asking that question of the Herald. You won't get an answer though because "top school" just means one that archetypal National-voting Herald readers would consider sending their kids to. It's a loose constellation of characteristics that may include but is not confined to: not many brown kids; in a suburb with relatively expensive houses as this is a form of triage that excludes non-professional parents; good aggregate exam results; offers a prestigious alternative to NCEA; has family connections; has a reputation for sporting prowess.
'Top' schools do not need to be private – extremely expensive housing in some suburbs is just as effective as an exclusionary device as private school fees. In both cases, wealthy parents are using their money to buy a supposed advantage for their kids over the kids of less wealthy parents. (These same parents probably believe they have a principled commitment to equality of opportunity.)
The proper response to this is to a.) attack excessive wealth and b.) ensure that the education system is so good that any supposed advantage gained by going to a 'top' school is illusory.
Yes and under the "added value system " the Nats favoured, the "Top Schools" often failed in that arena as well.
"a bridge to sell"?
Is that the $800 million dollar boondoggle Wood was going to stick in the shadow of the current Auckland Harbour Bridge?
Given that they apparently spent at least $50 million on preparing for it before sanity prevailed there must surely be something there to sell.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
They could have bought half an insis computer nearly or some shares in South Canterbury Finance a lemon carrier a hospital computer system that doesn't work some Charter schools.
I don't know how long the west will be able to refrain from intervening in this conflict, despite the risks of a direct confrontation with Russia. The Russians are committing some dreadful human rights variations, and could be on the verge of pushing this conflict to another whole level.
For instance, Russian forces have just bombed a maternity hospital in Mariupol:
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/09/europe/russia-invasion-ukraine-evacuations-03-09-intl/index.html
They have confirmed using thermobaric weapons
https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-thermobaric-weapons-confirmed-ukraine/31745182.html
And now the possibility of Russia using chemical weapons is being flagged as a distinct possibility:
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-west-has-serious-concern-putin-could-unleash-chemical-weapons-on-kyiv-12561783
The world just can't stand by and allow this sort of barbaric action to continue.
And yet they did (and still do ) in Syria…no western power will involve itself in direct military conflict with Russia unless they (Russia) cross the Rubicon….and I doubt even Putin is that foolish.
Except this time it is a horror show being broadcast to the world.
Syria got plenty of coverage….and Ukraine a whole lot closer to Mother Russia.
Risk aversion will be paramount
Raqqa horror show …but no broadcast
What the the US walked into Syria and took their oil fields, or did you miss that?
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/oct/28/syria-us-troops-oil-fields-isis
The US assistance was to one side in a civil war that did not involve direct confrontation with the Russian military….and was probably pre cleared with the Russians (as an anti ISIS move) not unlike the pre warning of the cruise missle strikes on the Homs airfield.
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/06/the-us-warned-the-russians-ahead-of-syria-missile-strikes-official.html
Syria has been a testing ground for Russia to determine how far the west can be pushed without military response.
As I have said before the ultimate Russian objective is not military, it is economic.
You get the risk is nuclear war right? Then everyone loses.
an excellent dairy about Covid, and long Covid in particular for those that are interested in such things.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/3/9/2084438/-28-MONTHS-LATER-The-Hidden-Toll-of-COVID-Not-Being-Discussed
Agreed Sabine, so the "Mild" virus is a nasty beast, best avoided.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/128006089/fonterras-unvaccinated-workers-to-be-subject-to-daily-testing-programme
Seems Fonterra is one of the first employers to allow unvaccinated staff to continue to keep their job via daily testing.
It will be interesting to see how many more companies/employers will follow suit?
It would be interesting to see how manay companys have a 'don't get tested, just call in sick' procedure in place.
The milkman that i spoke to today basically states that night shifts had to be cancelled and others run at 2 – 4 staff where it should be double the staff.
Nevermind, it does not matter actually what we do, keep restrictions its fucked, undo restrictions and its fucked also – see the UK where cases are up again, as is hospitalisation and death. And Oh, yeah, its the 'Stealth' variant that is on the rise Omicron 2.0 with a much higher viral load. Some of the stats in my link above to the DK diary on Covid. https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/3/9/2084438/-28-MONTHS-LATER-The-Hidden-Toll-of-COVID-Not-Being-Discussed
We truly live in interesting times.
Nothing new there. Thats was always the option with wide latitude given to companies like them as they werent part of the 'compulsory' sector
Russia is being squeezed out of the capitalist system:
Harsh sanctions, plummeting exchange rates, depleted foreign reserves, a reliance on imports and the Poots responds to his economy being strangled by voluntarily cutting Russia’s export revenue. Genius.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-08/russia-to-restrict-some-raw-material-exports-but-omits-details
At the cost of hyper inflation,and massive wealth destruction to all other economies.
What is being evidenced is the destruction now of wealth,mostly due to the finacialization of debt and assets exactly the same problem from the GFC.
Say for example the non return of leased Jets from Russia becomes a 10b$ liability,or the meltdown in the Nickel market in London became a 12b$ destruction of wealth,as the investment banks start to liquidate their positions to meet call obligations there will be a flow from equities to cash,a high wealth risk in pension fund etc,and increased cash hording.
Would the collapse of western financial markets be considered an existential threat?
Some would suggest so.
not only western financial markets,China construction bank was a defaulter on calls in the LME nickel blow up.As was China's largest nickel manufacturer (and the worlds biggest stainless steel supplier) .
Dont think the supply of nickel will be an issue for China however….and the margin call has been deferred.
the margin calls were deferred until they could raise credit,they still had to pay the calls reversing an asset to a liability at higher margins.
And who knows what deals have been done with the Russian suppliers for forward contracts….the money will be recouped…and then some.
Tsingshan is also a producer ie a miner,The short option on the global exchange was to protect its position (its risk) in case Nickel prices fell.The 8 billion$ position is now a debt which needs to be funded.As is the 4b$ position for the China construction bank.
Whos likely to suffer more?….the holder of real resources or the holder of debt?
China has access to both.
Its a transfer of wealth from the 250th largest company(globally) to an investment bank.
Partially….
"Chinese authorities directed Tsingshan’s domestic banks to offer more credit lines to the company, two of the people said. A majority of these new loans will be used for margin calls on its existing positions on the London Metal Exchange (LME), the people said."
https://www.scmp.com/business/commodities/article/3169846/chinese-nickel-giant-tsingshan-secures-lifelines-lenders
'Will Ban'
But not yet, Phase out is the actual wording. By the end of the year, apparently
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-to-phase-out-russian-oil-imports
I think Russian LNG is a few years phase out , but only cant come in Russian ships, other flags are fine.
My precious…..
Very precious is Newcastle coal.
The real anger from everyday Aussies over the failure of the state in response to this event is getting loud.
Mind you, 40 odd years of radical far right liberalism and what do you expect. It can't do anything because it sold everything thing off to sociopaths (ooops I mean private business interests).
Without 3-Waters, Labour could so easily win the next election.
If you evaluate this government solely in such terms, rejecting Three Waters on top of:
– Rejecting Capital Gains and other tax reform,
– Shrinking Kiwibuild,
– No structural reforms to transport after multiple failures
– No structural reform to electricity after major blackout
– Not reacting to the Commission into State Care findings
– Not reforming the supermarket duopoly, or the fuel oligopoly, ,
would not be a good look.
Beyond COVID, and without Three Waters, they would go to the 2023 election with:
– Extension of National's Bright Line Test
– Expansion of Kainga Ora
– Gun reform
– State health entity merger
– Merging state broadcasters into new agency
I think this Labour government would admit that they aren't structural reform experts. They've made most of their differences elsewhere.
What of the PR propaganda. Based on fear. The minister continually declines and Q&A time to the media. If the minister cannot sell this ,what does that say of either/both the minister and the policy ??
From the link below the issues are mentioned BUT no mention on solutions or expected time frames that issues raised will be rectified. e.g. How and when will Buller's boiling of water be fixed by 3 waters as they will be included in the area of the South Is that aligns with Ngāi Tahu? Will this 3 water s halt any need "To boil" beaches closed due to discharge of Waste or storm water, pipes bursting ? We were sold the fear of these but NO MENTION of a guarantee going forward that such events will NOT happen under 3 waters. If 3 waters cannot guarantee that such events do not occur then this is NO better than the status quo.
https://www.dia.govt.nz/Three-Waters-Reform-Programme
https://www.dia.govt.nz/diawebsite.nsf/Files/three-waters-reform-programme-2021/$file/transforming-the-system-for-delivering-three-waters-services-the-case-for-change-and-summary-of-proposals-30-june-2021.pdf
I'm still waiting for Seymore and Luxon's alternative.
Act policy today is to localise the assets.
They should have skipped the first 5 paragraphs in the policy statement and stuck with the policy initiatives.
The strength in the policy is to use the gst on rates (around a billion) to fund council infrastructure spend.
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA2203/S00078/drop-co-governance-of-three-waters.htm
How come when ACT had a big say in the Super City creation they created the 3 Waters governance model in Watercare Service Ltd
Combines water assets from 8 council entities into 1 …check
Makes the councils 100% owners but not direct control…check
Appointed board doesnt own but has full control of these assets…check
Same as the health reforms: time to make the customer promise that my health outcomes will improve as a result of the reforms.
Little explained part of the reasons, as I think this is all his ideas.
When the labour government gave money for DHBs to employ more nurses , some said thanks for the money but we will run it our way and use agencies, overtime instead.
Same again for the extra money for Mental health facilities , some DHBs just dragged the chain on even starting upgrades to existing facilities or building new. They just wanted to do it in their own time and at their own pace.
They had become little silos used to deflecting central government.
Another example was when the pandemic struck the Auckland Regional Public Health entity just wouldnt cooperate much with the MOD and had their own ways of doing infectious diseases which they preferred. A number of Auckland based covid stuff ups over MIQ and testing were directly on the ARPHA preferred way.
Have we had the year of delivery yet? Wasn't Grant Robertson heading up a new group (cant remember what it was called) to ensure things actually got done? Did that not get done?
Three Waters is the Nats best policy.
along with the no evictions policy at KO, absolute gold that one.
Pretty sure if there was a referendum on Three Waters it would sail through.
Problem is noisey farmers are so petrified of losing control of the ability to pollute for profit they'll moan on and on until it is sunk.
When long time Labour man Phil Goff categorically states that it is poorly thought through, poorly structured and liable to manipulation in the future, you know you have problems.
Bryce Edwards has an interesting piece on 3 Waters today.
Where is your link to that “interesting piece”?
Move eyeballs to the 2'o'clock position its in the feed column.
I can’t, I have blinkers on. And I read & reply in backend.
1 dimensional observations in a 6d world,are often constraints in time and space.
That’s too much for my one-track mind. I need links to connect the 1D dots.
There is an infinite space between the dots,a troublesome problem in a linear world called lineland.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatland#/media/File:Houghton_EC85_Ab264_884f_-_Flatland,_cover.jpg
In dot-land, the dot is all there is, and all there is not. It is infinitesimally small and infinitely large, all at once. Must be time for another coffee …
https://www.taxpayers.org.nz/three_waters_poll
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/11/newshub-reid-research-poll-half-of-new-zealand-doesn-t-support-three-waters-reforms.html
Meh. Curia polls to order.
It's telling that the unsure vote is so significant and I think it shows the strength of the misinformation campaign conducted by farming interests.
2 seperate polls with similar results….and both some months ago (and apart) before a lot of negative publicity, including latest council rejections.
Makes one wonder what your comment "Pretty sure if there was a referendum on Three Waters it would sail through." could be based on.
I think the individual added cost burden people would face due to Three Waters would turn many off.
That is typical of the short term thinking which has dragged this country down for several decades now.
Not at all. I think the added cost burden people would face due to Three Waters would not only impact them in the short-term but also over the long-term.
Well, that's not what the reform programme says. The reform programme says there will be long term savings, as well as much better water quality, a well as increased GDP.
Perhaps you don't believe it in the same way you don't believe in better housing for tenants, and the same way you don't believe in science.
https://newsline.ccc.govt.nz/news/story/three-water-reform-model-flawed-says-mayor
Consequently
https://ccc.govt.nz/services/water-and-drainage/water-reform
So the modelling is in question.
And alternative options for service and delivery (that may better meet the needs of communities than the proposal put forward) are being overlooked or ignored
Indeed, councils up and down the county have overlooked and ignored service and delivery which meets the needs of communities for decades now.
Time for a different approach.
3 waters isnt a rivers and streams farm pollution issue
Its urban supply drinking water and sewage disposal along with stormwater
I imagine nitrate leaching and water borne pathogens from farms comes under drinking water?
No . Regional councils cover the land use side of farming .
Its a water treatment issue . They cant even keep easily treated infectious organisms out of the water supply
Doesnt mean to say the 3 waters isnt a European scale answer unsuited for our spread out country. Wind down the scale and it should work out
And here is Dr Bryce, fresh from promoting the anti-vax parliament protests, delivering a sustained attack on Nanaia Mahuta, calling for he resignation, no less.
The main beef is of course co-governance which betrays the real motives of Edwards and his allies. Can't let Maori make any decisions, they are not capable!
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-can-three-waters-be-salvaged-or-will-nanaia-mahuta-have-to-go/CALGH4AB2RSRS63YLOKA7UQZM4/
Hes now a shock jock journalist pretending hes an academic, he used to be a proper political scientist.
Now its like the Business Round Table funds his little University group
https://democracyproject.nz/about/
You got it. Opaque too.
Almost like the antithesis of democracy, when you think about it.
Bryce always cut and spliced other opinions to back up his current hypothesis.
Not any more . hes become a full no facts based commentator now
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/on-the-inside/463012/opinion-supermarkets-win-in-the-end
'Labour went into the 2020 election promising to break up the supermarket duopoly and bring down the price of food. This policy is now essentially dead.
See what he does created a policy that didnt exist so he could shoot it down. Their 'policy' was a market study- which is what it says in the manifesto
First electric ute recently driven in NZ. Our local free newspaper carried a report, including test drive by their reporter. It's double-cab. No price yet – it's due to market next summer: https://ldv.co.nz/product/ev-t60-ute/
The LDV electric Ute is useless, it is only two wheel drive and has about as much ground clearance a as normal car as the motor takes the place of the diff. It has a towing capacity of only ONE tonne , a small caravan at most and that halves its range which is already laughably short. Wide tyres and two wheel drive means that any water on any sort of slope on pretty much any surface makes it almost undriveable . It is greenwashing at its most egregious and the weight of wasted materials makes a joke of its supposed green credentials. Better wait for the next generation that’s fit for purpose.
Bullock trains?
too much methane.
True that. So, we need to eliminate everything that emits any form of carbon into the atmosphere. Or just a drastic reduction? Energy efficiency is important, of course, but so is overall energy consumption. Do we proceed in small incremental steps or should we wait for giant leaps (for mankind)? The nay-sayers seems to be binary boofheads of all or nothing and since it’s never all it becomes nothing by default.
Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
A rocket can take us a quarter of a million miles in a few days, but takes a decade to build from scratch.
I have heard variations of the rocket ‘dilemma’ before, i.e. by the time the rocket is ready for take-off it will be overtaken (literally) by newer (i.e. not just bigger propulsion rockets using combustion as the driving force), better, and fasters modes of space transportation/exploration. Life sucks when you’re a rocket scientist.
Use horses instead of cattle for your ute replacement needs. Cooch Windgrass showed the way.
https://horses.extension.org/what-is-the-carbon-footprint-of-a-horse-compared-to-an-automobile/
My folks knew a farmer years ago who used a bren gun carrier on the farm.
Do they make an EV version of the Bren gun carrier?
Asking for a farming friend.
No, but an interesting threshold will be when tanks and IFVs go electric. Actual farm ute EVs will be well before that, though.
yes and no.
I'd be surprised if most utes get their towbar used even annually, and there's the old joke about how often they leave tarmac, too.
It's not a farm vehicle. But most utes aren't farm vehicles. Heck, 91% of them aren't even work vehicles.
But as I've said on here before, utes were really good for getting sour looking individuals down to Parliament for the protest. There were many of them in the convoy that I saw with the 30-40 male demographic that seems to have a problem with female leaders, sorry I read that again, female anythings.
There are 100s of them around Wellington and as you say most are not farm or tradies vehicles. So low down ground clearance is not really important if the only gravel work it is going to do is from the tarseal then to the gravelled carpark at footie.
yup.
Lots of compensation going on in car yards, by the look of it.
good grief. The issue isn't how many people use them for what, it's what the people who do need a 4WD and good towing capacity use them for in real life.
I live in the country. People tow shit, drive distances, and drive in situations where a 4WD is an asset.
The issue is whether the current electric vehicle is a realistic substitute for a ute.
Which means how and where most of them are used is an important part of addressing that issue.
Well then , it makes it just fine for the 90% of users who dont drive down farm tracks
When I worked in a business that needed a 4×4 for rough site tracks , I was given a Diahatsu Terios , was so light that plenty of times could go where a Landrover had trouble, only used the 4×4 feature ocassionally.
Those big butch utes are all show and no go.
And most of the major manufacturers produce 2 wheel drives as well. So how does this EV compare with those vehicles. Nissan/Toyota/Ford/Mitsubishi/Mazda etc must think they have a market for their two wheel drives. Perhaps someone here can give an informed comparison rather than the opening words "They are useless…"
It depends what you use it for…i have a 2 wheel drive flat deck (not electric) that does what I need…in over 20 years i have only needed 4 wheel drive about 4or 5 times so the additional running/service costs of 4WD are not warranted…a capable EV 2WD would be a suitable replacement (depending on price and range) in my situation.
If you need 4WD capability then the same limitations will apply. once available ..range and price.
Thanks for that Pat.
Back to the future: minister announces plan. Basically, it means healing the state broadcaster split of 1975…
Bill Ralston's history of the thing:
And he appraises efficiency gains:
I wouldn't blame the minister for lack of detail (blame the pandemic instead).
Ralston is serious (but diffident) about back to the future:
I'd go for something future-oriented – Multimedia Aotearoa would do.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv-radio/128018813/success-of-tvnzrnz-merger-will-all-come-down-to-money
South Pacific started as a stand alone new channel , it wasnt split from anything
I remember going to its studio , a large hall or something on the site of current TVNZ back when the existing only channel was operated out of the old 1YA building in Shortland St
The Radio side had their own building just off Queen St at Durham St W
Yep. I worked as an audio operator for the old AKTV2 in Shortland St. for 4 to 5 years in the 1960s. The new entity sounds like an upgraded version of the original. One positive aspect was the ability of staff to transfer from radio to TV or vice versa. For those who remember TV news reader, Jennie Goodwin for example, iirc she started her career in radio and transferred to TV ending up as one of the longest serving presenters.
To avoid people going apeshit (again), this is an informative article on an interesting change of how the data are acquired and reported: https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2022/03/the-actual-number-of-covid-19-deaths-revealed-as-government-changes-reporting-approach.html
Cause of death it seems even in normal times is a complicated thing.
The simple answer it seems is there are usually a number of interelated causes of death
For most they die of 'old age' and covid seems to be an accelerator in that
A member of my extended family died today. A male aged 82 who reluctantly entered hospital because stents were leaking. Because of damaged lungs he had a great fear of Covid and took every precaution to keep himself safe. Tripled vaccinated / always masked up / not out in the community. Three tests during his stay were negative for Covid. Five days in to his hospital stay he had a major stroke. Three days after that he was diagnosed with Covid – today was his Day 2.
Patricia 2, that is a sad outcome for your family.
It appears even the modellers got the hospitalisation rate wrong The B2a heavy viral load is sooo infectious.
Sadly this type of situation occurs where staff and systems are pressured and the peak wave is high.
That is no comfort at this time sadly. Our son and his neighbour are struggling with throat and cough issues and overwhelming tiredness.
Decrypting crypto.
Kinda racist, but that's a South African for you.
Filled my vehicle up 11:20 this morning diesel $2:51 returning past the same station $2.61. No wonder the motorway is like a Sunday morning. I get the impression that those living day to day are increasing in number. These fuel increases, from talking to some have not even made their way into the cost of goods yet🙁
I think the motorway is like a Sunday morning because a lot of people are working from home amid our biggest outbreak of a 1 in 100 year pandemic event.
$2.61 for diesel…ouch, what part of the country?
Manukau where all the wealth and high incomes reside in 🙃.
The only BAU I have noticed re traffic volumes: is the school traffic. Where I work the office car park is used for school drop offs and pickups with 2 schools across the road, and at our local primary school traffic is as heavy as it has always been.
Yes, and that is because parents are dropping their kids to school directly instead of sending them on public transport. Another effect of the outbreak.
Last i saw here in Canty was about 5 days ago …$2.25 and that caused an expletive or two.