That's a good example not for more taxes but for a maximum income. And, no, it won't be set at 18 or 20 eggs but at 9 or 10. More than enough each but not so much that it automatically forces others into poverty.
BTW, the high taxes that we used to have were exactly that – a maximum income. Although they weren't really high enough to achieve that and the rich could, and still do, structure their income in such a way so as to avoid it thus proving that using taxes as an indirect income ceiling doesn't work.
That piece makes the mistake of starting out be buying into the false framing of the "tax is theft" crowd by only talking about transfers from individuals to individuals.
Seems to me the better framing is around contributing back to maintaining the society that made it possible to gather lots of eggs, so that it will remain possible to again gather lots of eggs next year and the year after and the year after. And just a fraction of the cost of maintaining society is ensuring everyone gets at least the minimum number of eggs to adequately get by on.
Holy F**k – Stuff is at it again today. The latest mountain out of a molehill offering is an opinion piece, the shabby wordsmithing of Thomas Manch! Today's propaganda installment reads almost as though the dastardly criminal Megan Woods took a poor sad Covid affected, wanderer down to a local Countdown with the express purpose of unleashing a pandemic on the public. Thank God the likes of al Jazeera and even the Guardian are capable of providing competent commentary because sure as hell, it is hard to find in the NZ media.
TS likes to have sources, not sauces aom. We might read or be told about one thing and find it is contested within the item, or there might be in it more contentious matter to be considered.
They're not fucking "oversights" for a start – I'm beginning to want to call them "criminal nuisance" on the part of the escapees. Do we really have to make an internment camp with barbed wire just so these jerks can handle a couple of weeks? .
I have read some of the WW2 stories of people in internment who weren't 'selected' and either were worked to death and/or starved to death. They were amazing and the ones who lasted through it all and wrote about it seemed to have developed great ways of coping with their great difficulties.
Two weeks in comparative comfort but very boring is hard for those who have never trained themselves to deny themselves anything. Religious people have had Lent and know what it's like and then the real pleasure from having stuff again.
In the internment camps they could find advantage from hardship in unexpected ways. Having large amounts of fleas on themselves and their barrack rooms was itchy and scratchy but it kept the horrid warders from coming in and searching and spoiling their lives further. People used to hoard little crusts of bread etc for the times when they were extra hungry and if these were found they would be thrown out. Refugees who came here after the war kept on doing this – a default position that they couldn't overcome poor things.
I now feel a bit of performance anxiety around social media posts. There hasn’t been a whole lot of thought going into them. But with Baby Yak taking off, I’m not sure what I’m going to do next. I did have a Mouse Town lined up, my niece’s pet mouse has a series of tunnels and things
The two-step plan is this:
Become leader of the opposition.
Get rolled as leader of the opposition.
The method seems to work on a bipartisan basis:
As far as I can tell the life story of David Shearer is one great long line of guitars, surfboards, friends, and all-round contentedness, interrupted only by a brief and grisly interval as leader of the Labour Party. After he was mercilessly defenestrated by his so-called friends, Shearer went to work in the relatively harmonious war-torn South Sudan. And you could just see the weight lifted.
Dunno how to shrink it into this space here, but he seems to be giving her the inside word on how to destabilise Labour – you can tell from the expressions on their faces.
He said the plan's framework was made up of five components: responsible economic management; delivering infrastructure; reskilling and retraining the workforce; a greener, smarter future; and building stronger communities.
That means marketing is now crucial. Framing so as to persuade Nats that it isn't actually socialism ain’t gonna be easy. Hooten may have to hire a pr specialist. He is one? Um… Well when your audience has been trained since childhood to call a spade a spade, you will have to outwit them somehow.
I know! Use Jim Bolger! He has already gone public with his view that neoliberalism failed. He could be authentic in selling `smart socialism' as a brand then, eh? Frame Labour's lame version as `dumb socialism' and the Labs will have no option other than telling the electorate "Actually, we're neoliberals, not socialists." Problem solved.
You can call it anything you like, e.g. post-neoliberal socialism, or dress it up anyway you like, but unless National has had an overnight epiphany, which in some cases means a transformative (AKA life changing) epiphany during a lie down and cuppa tea, then it still is neoliberalism. Marketing, my ass; look at what’s under the bonnet of the ‘red’ car that has come out of the panel beater’s workshop.
Nats are into transformative plastic surgery; viz Paula Bennett and are also concerned about upping their mental agility, they've a bit of furring, thickening of the veins etc. However free markets enable all sorts of remedies, bleach might be more efficacious than a cup of tea.
Nothing unusual, really, about Boag and her cronies exploiting gifts of personal data landing spontaneously in their laps…but the real issue here is why on earth rescue helicopter businesses were sent the information by the Mystery of Health in the first place. What possible purpose would be served by rescue services having this very specific information?
The former ARHT doctor struggled to see why the ARHT should be given the patient lists even if there were hundreds of cases across the country.
Early on when we were in level 4 lockdown … level 3 lockdown, the ambulance services were treating any patient who had respiratory symptoms as a possible Covid patient and wearing appropriate personal protective equipment. So actually knowing the identity and being sent a list of patients is just not helpful," McGuinness said.
Which obliges us to remember one of the earliest (and perhaps the most harmful) of Bloomfield's confused messaging.
Ambulance staff would not perform CPR on a confirmed Covid-19 case, Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield says.
This was a guideline adopted internationally, he said, and because the virus was spread via the respiratory system.
This was very quickly disputed by these 'ambulance staff'…
However, St John said it would continue to resuscitate patients in cardiac arrest and there had been no directive that CPR should not be done on suspected or confirmed Covid-19 cases.
"Like all ambulance services in New Zealand, Australia and internationally, we have issued additional instructions to ambulance officers when responding to cardiac arrest patients because of the increased risk of exposure to Covid-19 during resuscitation," a spokesman said.
"Guidance includes donning additional personal protective equipment (PPE) and alterations to the way that patients are resuscitated (for example, providing ventilation using specific devices and not through a face mask), to reduce the risk of transmission of viral infection, if present."
To my knowledge, Bloomfield has never revised that directive….
I can't find it but there was an article on RNZ with garbled quotes from Boag and one of them was she asked for the emails to be sent to her to make sure no one on Waiheke had Covid, why she had been receiving them through the whole pandemic. I'll try again to find it, was a very confusing bunch of excuses.
I'll definitely be interested in the thinking behind distributing that infromation to responders, and it will be documented somewhere. Another matter for the inquiry, but not the main event, imo.
Michael Woodhouse now admits he received information from Boag.
Did he receive the information on the 2 travellers from her?
Did he receive the information on the homeless an from her?
‘”This was confirmed for me as I wrote to Michael Heron QC last night to advise him that towards the end of June I had sent several emails to Michael Woodhouse comprising notification of a small number of then new Covid19 cases.”
Sounds like it.
Did Woodhouse use the leaked information?
And is Muller really telling us that his Health Spokesperson told him nothing about 4 emails he received from Boag between the 21st and 25th June?
Another 2 resignations needed.
Dirty Politics alive and kicking in the National Party.
Wait there’s more…
and likely as long as Mr Heron keeps investigating, the headlines will keep coming for a while yet, despite National’s attempts to deflect, minimise, bury and ignore.
It has taken international media to point out the obvious situation of local media supporting and enabling NZ National’s Covid attack lines ahead of public safety. A big clean out is due in this country. National’s dirty tricks are deeply embedded in the party culture, not an aberration.
So who did Woodhouse tell about four leaks from a known source that he knew enough not to share with media because of what they contained.
Does the National Party view of morality for Nikki Kay's 'moral obligation' to win the election include using illicitly gained information as Walker did?
Does the National Party view of morality for Nikki Kay's 'moral obligation' to win the election include not alerting the proper authorities to the distribution and access to such information as Woodhouse did not do in a timely with his 'cuddling couple' preferring to use it for political purposes in the House?
Does the National Party view of morality for Nikki Kay's 'moral obligation' to win the election include not alerting the proper authorities to the distribution and access to such information as Woodhouse did not do with the four emails (so far) from Michelle Boag?
Who can believe that senior members of the National Party be it leadership, leader's staff or party officials did not know?
This is indeed the time for the National Party to examine more closely the ethics of its MPs, staff and organisation- a few years in Opposition lockdown and isolation might help.
Aren't they lucky that Winston is in hospital at the moment!
May be over the years the National Party rot that Boag has managed it became normalised to her and she got away with it until she knew she had lost control and tried to shut it down but had no control over what Woodhouse or Muller would say.
If you take Boag and Walker out you have a Woodhouse and Muller credibility issue.
Muller needs to backbench Woodhouse and Kaye needs to come clean if Boag or Woodhouse sent her the emails and if she went to Muller.
Yes no surprises there with Woodhouse. No alarm bells for him about Michelle giving him confidential patient information on four occasions like “what the f..k Michelle’s why are you passing this stuff on?”……..or why do you a non clinical person have this information in the first place.
btw I think it is reasonable rescue helicopters ie their clinicians were give this. It’s a bloody pandemic, frontline staff are putting their lives at risk and I cannot think of a time when clinicians intensional you leaked notes although there was a famous whistle blower case in the 1990s. Rem
Yes, that's the killer line. Since June 21! Incredible. All while standing next to his boss, slamming the government and telling us how we needed the National "team".
Of the two options, I'm more inclined to believe he didn't tell Muller, than he did and Muller kept quiet. Like most National MPs, Woodhouse couldn't care less about his leader. Muller has no clout in that caucus at all.
Ha ha ha Observer……yes Michelle welcomed him with open arms, viewed his selfies and then penned her next missive to Michael Woodhouse……..
BTW has Woodhouse resigned yet? My husband just sent him a corker letter about his outrageous and despicable behavour towards Clare Curren with the toilet seat.
Told my husband who has yet to have a response from Woodhouse, that clearly he had other things on his mind and he would probably get to hubby's letter on the weekend…………happy days!
Spectacular announcement just now. Boag feeding Woodhouse stuff for weeks. Muller claiming just yesterday that there was no need to question his own MP's on whether or not they had anything to hide. All done and dusted he claimed, with the confessions of Walker and Boag. The great unravelling has only just begun.
Chris T criticizing the govt now and the quarantine facilities is just a pathetic distraction. I suggest you go to stuff and read the article by the pathologist that has just arrived in the country to take up a job and is in quarantine who says our system is the gold standard and one other countries should model themselves on.
You are making yourself look a little ridiculous here. A bit like Woodhouse with the homeless man
22 minutes was spent on his phone making use of the free internet outside the Supermarket and 15 minutes inside the Supermarket which leaves 33 minutes to walk there and back.
Chris don't you realize that people aren't pissed off with the Govt over this guy leaving isolation. They are very, very pissed off with the offender. Calling for jail time etc……………
Chris T criticizing the govt now and the quarantine facilities is just a pathetic distraction. I suggest you go to stuff and read the article by the pathologist that has just arrived in the country to take up a job and is in quarantine who says our system is the gold standard and one other countries should model themselves on.
You are making yourself look a little ridiculous here. A bit like Woodhouse with the homeless man
Yes. Because people disappearing for 70 minutes on one of the countries busiest streets, who are seen in a supermarket 5 minutes walk away and no more info, who are later found to be covid positive is merely a distraction.
Bit feeble Chris T – a lot's happened since that walkabout, but don't worry, there will be others, and Boag/Walker/Woodhouse/Muller et al. will be all over them.
Once there have been a few more quarantine and managed isolation 'runners', the media can start compiling stats on their political affiliations.
In other news:
“Skiiers [sic] are facing hour-long waits to get up Mt Hutt as traffic jams clog the access road.
All five car parks filled up before the mountain opened at 9am and police have been called to help with parking on surrounding streets.”
The current people in charge are fucking useless, another scum bag has now wandered off from a Hamilton hotel. If this Government doesn't pull it's finger out of it's arse we will end up in lockdown again.
Wouldn't be surprised if a few proposals don't appear to take up that wodge of power. Tiwai's huge demand has precluded a lot of other possibilities in the South. Coal replacement in dairy processing, transport, either directly electric power or hydrogen like you mention, and maybe a silica industry in Southland
By NZ law and international treaties its illegal for NZ to send a person back where they came from if that person is in danger of being killed if they're sent back. Unfortunately, this applies even for criminals.
But we can't do that to NZers as they have a right to be here and expect the government to look after them.
Of course, they don't have a right to break the rules and thus should be sent to prison. Considering how bad the possible consequences are from this guys actions that should be prison for a minimum of 21 years with solo confinement at the beginning.
As the potential exists for infection into the community, then the potential exists for someone to be infected by the escapee which could result in death.
Idiot in Hamilton cuts through fence at isolation hotel, goes out to buy booze. Now in custody.
As I mentioned before, if 6000 people are in isolation, and 99.9% follow the rules, that still leaves 6 who don't. As long as isolation continues (and it will for months) then these stories are inevitable. Fuckwits don't disappear, anywhere on earth.
He was arrested. The alternative headline is "man shot while trying to escape". People should probably think about that.
Incognito you surpass yourself! Great ideas – what did you have for breakfast?
You all might enjoy these pics from the past of jolly Oxford types. You can see where the joi de vivre of big teenage boys playing on an airport luggage carousel in NZ stems from.
This escapee at least had to cut through a fence to go walkies. It's not like he was a convicted child abusing murderer who walked out of the front door of a prison having obtained a false passport and shamed the then corrections minister and government by flying to Brazil.
But he was trying for possible mass manslaughter. After all, his actions of escaping quarantine could have been the death of many people including children.
So, yeah, he's as bad as the child abusing murderer.
Not at all, really, but the point of my original reply was putting the claim "isolation security is so shit" in some context, where actual convicted offenders, in actual prisons, can and do escape.
"Assault in hotel. Opposition demands to know why violent man was supplied with alcohol. Why were there no checks, says Woodhouse, adding something predictable about rocket science …"
What I am saying is maybe a bit of highlight should be put on how these people are being housed and looked after.
No, it wouldn't do that. The only thing that could be used as is as an attack line by the immoral right-wing against the government – which, of course, is what's been happening.
Just reported, another escapee, this time a quarantine facilty in Hamilton, the man in his 50s cut some cable ties on a fence to escape to the local bottle store
For me, the penalty for this should be to send the offenders back to wherever they came from, a strong message needs to sent, you're not welcome if you don't follow the rules.
The risk is too high to let these people potentially harm our safe haven that a Team of 5 million has so graciously worked towards.
Sending them back costs in itself. And anyway the men, I suppose but must not be sexist, are just showing typical NZ impudence about responsibility and booze and should blend in seamlessly when released.
Make them fund their own transport costs, if they can't, lock them up in complete isolation untill they're clear of infection and then release them into the normal prison population for at least 6 months, we need to send a clear message.
The people escaping seem to be encouraging others to follow suit as there appears to be no penalty that reflects the crime
A 50 year old that cant go 2 weeks without booze!! Almost gaurentees hes a kiwi born and breed. Maybe they should give them access to some 2.5 % beers, at their own cost.
Maybe we should have them sign a contract on their arrival and put up a bond that was returnable after their isolation was complete, the bond would cover the cost of chasing them down and the subsequent cost of 6 months in jail.
For me, the penalty for this should be to send the offenders back to wherever they came from, a strong message needs to sent, you're not welcome if you don't follow the rules
Back to where they came from, the quarantine hotel?
No, the country of origin, where ever they arrived from, they don't deserve the right to come here if they don't respect the rules and potentially spread the virus
Relistically, the penalties need to reflect the potential harm, someone could possibly become infected as a result of escaping and end up being a fatality, Murder of the first degree.
Alternatively, stop all new arrivals, but that's not really fair for the 99.9% of arrivals that do follow the rules
It may be indicative that he headed out for booze. Obviously we don't know in this particular case – but once you have several thousand people in quarantine there will be quite a number with significant substance dependency issues. It is showing just how difficult mass quarantine is. Though Toddy did indicate a while back that it's all simple – and he has 'business experience' so he must be right eh?
I know we all love easy, instant solutions, but they don't make good policy. Here is some relevant info from today's 1 pm briefing (Chris Hipkins):
– The Hamilton man is in police custody. He is due to appear in court later today.
– He tested negative for his day 3 test, after arriving from Sydney on 1 July.
Now, consider this. EVERY proposal about bubbles, opening borders, international students (etc) includes the idea that we can test people before they get on a plane. "Oh, make them have a test, and if it's negative, all good." Then we test them again when they arrive. That is the "safeguard" offered by everybody that says we should be gradually opening up.
This guy in Hamilton had a negative test. He's been here 9 or 10 days. Therefore, this one person breaking the rules means nothing, because we should be admitting thousands more like him. He has been tested. It was negative.
That is the reality of every – repeat, EVERY proposal to open up. Even a cautious, test and trace opening.
You either isolate or you don't. If we do, and ten escape, that is bad. If we don't, thousands escape. And their tests don't mean shit.
In a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange, the company said its strategic review had "shown the business is no longer viable given high energy costs and a challenging outlook for the aluminium industry."
The company has given Meridian Energy notice to terminate its power contract, which ends in August next year. It expects the wind-down of operations will be done by then.
It said it had had discussions with interested parties but could not secure a power contract that would have kept the smelter competitive and profitable.
Which is pretty much what they said last time and National came to their rescue with even more subsidies.
“We do believe that nothing has been left on the table but if we’re mistaken then the window is still available for a deal to be put on the table but the window for that is closing fast now that we have terminated our electricity contract with Meridian.
“We’ve got 1000 Southland people, good Southland people, who have been walking through our gates every day to produce some of the highest purity … aluminium in the world and it’s extremely disappointing that we couldn’t have achieved an outcome that will let us continue to keep operating.
So, that wold be the plea for more subsides from the government.
These absconders may have underlying addiction/mental health issues. Alcohol addiction, nicotine addiction, phobias such as being 'hindered' from being able to just be free and not held back from doing whatever. Drugs are freely available in the world and cheap as well in some countries. Are they being drug tested as some may be hanging out and wanting to get out to score. Apparently there was a disturbance in one of the hotels and police had to go in on two occasions to one person who was 'unhinged" and being stroppy and it was disclosed he/she had mental health issues.
Maybe a health check, blood tests done to see what is circulating in their systems once they get to their hotels so that if there is a substance reliance occurring they could be given the required medication for whatever they need to keep them docile for their stay. This health check could be written into their contract, as a condition for getting home to NZ prior to getting on the plane.
Its strange though that this absconding is only just happening now. One person does it and it becomes contagious and others want to do it too. Cutting through a fence is a sign of desperation though and that could be a booze/drug problem.
A man has been arrested at an Auckland Covid-19 isolation hotel after allegedly becoming abusive at staff.
It comes amid a turbulent week at similar facilities across the country, as three people face charges for absconding.
Auckland Police Superintendent Steve Kehoe said on Monday night a 21-year-old man who was in managed isolation at a hotel in Māngere was arrested after he allegedly became abusive to staff.
The Ministry of Health confirmed to the Herald it was at Naumi Hotel, Auckland Airport.
.
He's the kind of hard-living no-nonsense Maverick who gets the job done by cutting corners and bucking authority … and if those namby-pamby desk-sucking pen-pushers on the 9th floor of the Beehive don't like it then, Mister, they can just about swivel like a pig on this mid-digit.
Who’s the Oppo Leader who doesn’t give a frick
He’s a sex machine to all the chicks ? Muller ?
Damn right !!!
Who’s the cat that won’t cop out when there is danger all about ? Muller ?
Right on, Motherfucker !!!
Does anyone have a link to a good write up on what quarantine is like from the occupants perspective? What they are allowed to do, but also what their experience is like?
Various inmates (for want of a better word) have commented on social media and to the media in general, and they seem appreciative of the way they are looked after by staff. They understand the necessity for the rules and are happy to abide by them.
The handful of exceptions are either grossly ignorant or they have underlying problems.
Under level four we were allowed to go outside. It's not quite the same. I would have thought L4 might have given us a bit more tolerance for how people manage stress.
Also, L4 at home vs confined to a hotel room eating what you are given. It's not a huge hardship relative to many things, but it's not nothing either. My thinking is mostly around if there are gaps eg people needing to self medicate with alcohol and not being able to.
Under level 4 many people couldn't go outside for as long as the mandated breaks this crowd have.
They have a smoking area, and at least one person said she had access to alcohol (but not massive amounts).
And we did it for longer than a fortnight.
This isn't an alien situation that most of us can't understand – we all experienced something in that ballpark. People in mansions with spare rooms and large gardens maybe had it less, but they were still restricted. And some of us in small dwellings probably have less square footage than some decent hotel rooms.
Two weeks is tough. We know. Because most of us did it three tiimes in a row.
essential-only, remember? The folk in hotels get exercise sessions, and so did we, but we weren't supposed to be wandering on the beach cos we felt like it.
And that's not getting into specific circumstances, like maybe a "walk around the block" isn't an option for some people.
Some sort of resource kit so a person can have some control over their situation.
Without looking up the name change and over a decade imprisonment. Some years back I saw some footage on David Bain on how he got through the time he spent in prison.
"All I had to worry about was the next 5 minutes."
I have applied this in my own life when I have been very overwhelmed or have felt very badly treated.
It has worked for me with some medical procedures/issues and personal set backs.
Yes, I've seen mostly positive reports too. I know a lot of people struggled during lockdown (note: not the current managed isolation) but it was wonderful to see community efforts to help those with mental health and/or addiction issues go out of their way to help them. Some offered to go shopping for cigarettes and alcohol, some offered to phone for a chat etc. It was really encouraging.
No link, but this week (or last), there was story in the papers about the lock down woman who grabbed a selfie with the PM. If I remember correctly, she had been blogging about being in quarantine.
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TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
Te Rangi e tu nei (The sky above us) Te Papa e takoto nei (The land beneath us) Tatou katoa te hunga ora (To us all the living) Tena koutou katoa (Greetings) ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
RNZ News New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s security detail has cut a media briefing short over protesters in Auckland. He was holding a press conference yesterday after a walkabout with police to discuss concerns with businesses in the CBD. Luxon was talking with media when one of his security ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Austin, Lecturer in Theatre, The University of Melbourne There has never been an opening ceremony quite like it. For the first time in Olympic Games history, the ceremony took place outside a stadium arena. Despite a rainy and miserable Paris ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
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The Easter Bunny is real
https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2020/07/02/story-of-taxes-wealth-and-easter-egg-hunt.html
That's a good example not for more taxes but for a maximum income. And, no, it won't be set at 18 or 20 eggs but at 9 or 10. More than enough each but not so much that it automatically forces others into poverty.
BTW, the high taxes that we used to have were exactly that – a maximum income. Although they weren't really high enough to achieve that and the rich could, and still do, structure their income in such a way so as to avoid it thus proving that using taxes as an indirect income ceiling doesn't work.
That piece makes the mistake of starting out be buying into the false framing of the "tax is theft" crowd by only talking about transfers from individuals to individuals.
But only about a third of government revenue goes to social security and welfare, the rest goes to maintaining a functioning society.
Seems to me the better framing is around contributing back to maintaining the society that made it possible to gather lots of eggs, so that it will remain possible to again gather lots of eggs next year and the year after and the year after. And just a fraction of the cost of maintaining society is ensuring everyone gets at least the minimum number of eggs to adequately get by on.
Holy F**k – Stuff is at it again today. The latest mountain out of a molehill offering is an opinion piece, the shabby wordsmithing of Thomas Manch! Today's propaganda installment reads almost as though the dastardly criminal Megan Woods took a poor sad Covid affected, wanderer down to a local Countdown with the express purpose of unleashing a pandemic on the public. Thank God the likes of al Jazeera and even the Guardian are capable of providing competent commentary because sure as hell, it is hard to find in the NZ media.
Link please.
A Covid, a priest and a rabbi walk into a bar … https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/122086481/coronavirus-border-oversights-continue-as-covid19-walks-into-a-supermarket
The past, present and the future walk into a bar.
It was tense.
So tense that you could hear a particle drop.
Participle?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_particle
Sacha – reluctantly provided given that is has little merit in terms of useful discourse, however: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/122086481/coronavirus-border-oversights-continue-as-covid19-walks-into-a-supermarket.
It appears someone further up the Stuff food-chain was not too impressed as it 'disappeared' quickly.
TS likes to have sources, not sauces aom. We might read or be told about one thing and find it is contested within the item, or there might be in it more contentious matter to be considered.
They're not fucking "oversights" for a start – I'm beginning to want to call them "criminal nuisance" on the part of the escapees. Do we really have to make an internment camp with barbed wire just so these jerks can handle a couple of weeks? .
I have read some of the WW2 stories of people in internment who weren't 'selected' and either were worked to death and/or starved to death. They were amazing and the ones who lasted through it all and wrote about it seemed to have developed great ways of coping with their great difficulties.
Two weeks in comparative comfort but very boring is hard for those who have never trained themselves to deny themselves anything. Religious people have had Lent and know what it's like and then the real pleasure from having stuff again.
In the internment camps they could find advantage from hardship in unexpected ways. Having large amounts of fleas on themselves and their barrack rooms was itchy and scratchy but it kept the horrid warders from coming in and searching and spoiling their lives further. People used to hoard little crusts of bread etc for the times when they were extra hungry and if these were found they would be thrown out. Refugees who came here after the war kept on doing this – a default position that they couldn't overcome poor things.
Simon Bridges discovered the secret of happiness, and told Toby Manhire:
The method seems to work on a bipartisan basis:
That's awesome, I imagine David Clark is another happy chappy too.
What an embarrassment he is. National's "brains trust" (headed by Michelle Boag) must have thought there was no way but up after getting rid of him.
Incredibly, they were wrong.
Rosemary McLeod has a cool photo of Matt McCarten giving Michelle Boag advice: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/122075230/boag-and-walker-have-put-nats-regrowth-on-hold
Dunno how to shrink it into this space here, but he seems to be giving her the inside word on how to destabilise Labour – you can tell from the expressions on their faces.
Laxative tip.
So Todd's master plan is now in the pipeline, and it bears an uncanny resemblance to socialism: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=12346799
That means marketing is now crucial. Framing so as to persuade Nats that it isn't actually socialism ain’t gonna be easy. Hooten may have to hire a pr specialist. He is one? Um… Well when your audience has been trained since childhood to call a spade a spade, you will have to outwit them somehow.
I know! Use Jim Bolger! He has already gone public with his view that neoliberalism failed. He could be authentic in selling `smart socialism' as a brand then, eh? Frame Labour's lame version as `dumb socialism' and the Labs will have no option other than telling the electorate "Actually, we're neoliberals, not socialists." Problem solved.
You can call it anything you like, e.g. post-neoliberal socialism, or dress it up anyway you like, but unless National has had an overnight epiphany, which in some cases means a transformative (AKA life changing) epiphany during a lie down and cuppa tea, then it still is neoliberalism. Marketing, my ass; look at what’s under the bonnet of the ‘red’ car that has come out of the panel beater’s workshop.
Nats are into transformative plastic surgery; viz Paula Bennett and are also concerned about upping their mental agility, they've a bit of furring, thickening of the veins etc. However free markets enable all sorts of remedies, bleach might be more efficacious than a cup of tea.
'She's a Pretty Communist' Guy won't be having that.
Nothing unusual, really, about Boag and her cronies exploiting gifts of personal data landing spontaneously in their laps…but the real issue here is why on earth rescue helicopter businesses were sent the information by the Mystery of Health in the first place. What possible purpose would be served by rescue services having this very specific information?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12346999
The former ARHT doctor struggled to see why the ARHT should be given the patient lists even if there were hundreds of cases across the country.
Early on when we were in level 4 lockdown … level 3 lockdown, the ambulance services were treating any patient who had respiratory symptoms as a possible Covid patient and wearing appropriate personal protective equipment. So actually knowing the identity and being sent a list of patients is just not helpful," McGuinness said.
Which obliges us to remember one of the earliest (and perhaps the most harmful) of Bloomfield's confused messaging.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12322248
Ambulance staff would not perform CPR on a confirmed Covid-19 case, Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield says.
This was a guideline adopted internationally, he said, and because the virus was spread via the respiratory system.
This was very quickly disputed by these 'ambulance staff'…
However, St John said it would continue to resuscitate patients in cardiac arrest and there had been no directive that CPR should not be done on suspected or confirmed Covid-19 cases.
"Like all ambulance services in New Zealand, Australia and internationally, we have issued additional instructions to ambulance officers when responding to cardiac arrest patients because of the increased risk of exposure to Covid-19 during resuscitation," a spokesman said.
"Guidance includes donning additional personal protective equipment (PPE) and alterations to the way that patients are resuscitated (for example, providing ventilation using specific devices and not through a face mask), to reduce the risk of transmission of viral infection, if present."
To my knowledge, Bloomfield has never revised that directive….
I can't find it but there was an article on RNZ with garbled quotes from Boag and one of them was she asked for the emails to be sent to her to make sure no one on Waiheke had Covid, why she had been receiving them through the whole pandemic. I'll try again to find it, was a very confusing bunch of excuses.
I have not take Boag seriously as a human being since she commandeered that rescue helicopter to go pick up her forgotten passport.
The whole Pullar thing cast all involved in a remarkably poor light.
Beggars belief that anybody who aspires to public office would see association with such a one as a benefit.
Scratching dogs and fleas….
I'll definitely be interested in the thinking behind distributing that infromation to responders, and it will be documented somewhere. Another matter for the inquiry, but not the main event, imo.
The plot thickens….
Michael Woodhouse now admits he received information from Boag.
Did he receive the information on the 2 travellers from her?
Did he receive the information on the homeless an from her?
‘”This was confirmed for me as I wrote to Michael Heron QC last night to advise him that towards the end of June I had sent several emails to Michael Woodhouse comprising notification of a small number of then new Covid19 cases.”
Sounds like it.
Did Woodhouse use the leaked information?
And is Muller really telling us that his Health Spokesperson told him nothing about 4 emails he received from Boag between the 21st and 25th June?
Another 2 resignations needed.
Dirty Politics alive and kicking in the National Party.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12347017
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/420906/covid-19-privacy-leak-michael-woodhouse-says-he-received-emails-from-michelle-boag
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300053836/michelle-boag-leaves-national-party-after-leaking-patient-info-to-michael-woodhouse
Wait there’s more…
and likely as long as Mr Heron keeps investigating, the headlines will keep coming for a while yet, despite National’s attempts to deflect, minimise, bury and ignore.
It has taken international media to point out the obvious situation of local media supporting and enabling NZ National’s Covid attack lines ahead of public safety. A big clean out is due in this country. National’s dirty tricks are deeply embedded in the party culture, not an aberration.
So who did Woodhouse tell about four leaks from a known source that he knew enough not to share with media because of what they contained.
Does the National Party view of morality for Nikki Kay's 'moral obligation' to win the election include using illicitly gained information as Walker did?
Does the National Party view of morality for Nikki Kay's 'moral obligation' to win the election include not alerting the proper authorities to the distribution and access to such information as Woodhouse did not do in a timely with his 'cuddling couple' preferring to use it for political purposes in the House?
Does the National Party view of morality for Nikki Kay's 'moral obligation' to win the election include not alerting the proper authorities to the distribution and access to such information as Woodhouse did not do with the four emails (so far) from Michelle Boag?
Who can believe that senior members of the National Party be it leadership, leader's staff or party officials did not know?
This is indeed the time for the National Party to examine more closely the ethics of its MPs, staff and organisation- a few years in Opposition lockdown and isolation might help.
Aren't they lucky that Winston is in hospital at the moment!
Great questions.
Pity we don't have a media that will ask them.
Michael Woodhouse is on RNZ at 10.30 a.m.
Will Kathryn Ryan ask the important questions?
If Boag is releasing information that she kept Woodhouse informed, is she doing so because she is bitter and twisted and is seeking revenge?
Quite possibly.
two yes;s and a maybe
Or maybe the "problem" is that the inquiry has her email server?
May be over the years the National Party rot that Boag has managed it became normalised to her and she got away with it until she knew she had lost control and tried to shut it down but had no control over what Woodhouse or Muller would say.
If you take Boag and Walker out you have a Woodhouse and Muller credibility issue.
Muller needs to backbench Woodhouse and Kaye needs to come clean if Boag or Woodhouse sent her the emails and if she went to Muller.
Yes no surprises there with Woodhouse. No alarm bells for him about Michelle giving him confidential patient information on four occasions like “what the f..k Michelle’s why are you passing this stuff on?”……..or why do you a non clinical person have this information in the first place.
btw I think it is reasonable rescue helicopters ie their clinicians were give this. It’s a bloody pandemic, frontline staff are putting their lives at risk and I cannot think of a time when clinicians intensional you leaked notes although there was a famous whistle blower case in the 1990s. Rem
So Woodhouse did not tell Muller for over 2 weeks…….
Yes, that's the killer line. Since June 21! Incredible. All while standing next to his boss, slamming the government and telling us how we needed the National "team".
Of the two options, I'm more inclined to believe he didn't tell Muller, than he did and Muller kept quiet. Like most National MPs, Woodhouse couldn't care less about his leader. Muller has no clout in that caucus at all.
Agreed.
His behaviour over the two travellers to Wellington shows his priorities.
Ha ha ha Observer……yes Michelle welcomed him with open arms, viewed his selfies and then penned her next missive to Michael Woodhouse……..
BTW has Woodhouse resigned yet? My husband just sent him a corker letter about his outrageous and despicable behavour towards Clare Curren with the toilet seat.
Told my husband who has yet to have a response from Woodhouse, that clearly he had other things on his mind and he would probably get to hubby's letter on the weekend…………happy days!
AND what's more he had a ping at the leakage of the the self same health info as disgracefully shambollicly
Michael Woodhouse said he DELETED information sent from MBoag. LMAO. That little gem has set me up for the day.
"Subsequently."
To quote him.
"I recognised that the information in those emails was private so I did not share it with anyone else and I subsequently deleted them."
The key word is "subsequently".
He did not say "immediately."
If he received the emails on the 21 June and deleted them yesterday, he would have deleted them "subsequently".
Like 2 minutes after he was asked if Boag had provided information to him!
At the very least, Woodhouse needs to show a reply from him to Boag saying "WTF Michelle! Cease and desist, now!".
Preferably not one he came up with this morning. He'll need to fake the date stamp.
If he received the emails on the 21 June and deleted them yesterday, he would have deleted them "subsequently".
exactly ! We should assume thats what he has done.
Yes. He said that was what he did. Deleted last Monday/Tuesday after sitting on them since June.
So Woodhouse is now admitting Boag Leaked information to him as well
The story reads as though Boag has been at the bottom of all leakages, maybe just a red hearing to protect the real source.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/national-mp-michael-woodhouse-admits-receiving-similar-covid-19-leak-michelle-boag
No, Woodhouse claims he has another source as well.
“I can confirm that Michelle Boag is not the source of my previous information released by me in relation to the Government’s Covid-19 response.”
(obviously we can’t believe a word he says, but it doesn’t rule out another source)
Mr Heron needs to spend a few hours with him.
Quite possibly. There is clearly a mole there.
Woodhouse needs to explain why he sat on that information for over 2 weeks.
He brooded about it while he waited for it to hatch. He didn't know whether to get egg on someone's face or wait for it to fully develop.
Spectacular announcement just now. Boag feeding Woodhouse stuff for weeks. Muller claiming just yesterday that there was no need to question his own MP's on whether or not they had anything to hide. All done and dusted he claimed, with the confessions of Walker and Boag. The great unravelling has only just begun.
Don't ask if you want to be able to deny.
Have they worked out where the Countdown bloke actually went for 70 minutes yet, or is this beyond the current people in charge?
He went to Michelle Boag's apartment, where he had a cup of tea and a lie-down.
And shared his selfies?
Chris T criticizing the govt now and the quarantine facilities is just a pathetic distraction. I suggest you go to stuff and read the article by the pathologist that has just arrived in the country to take up a job and is in quarantine who says our system is the gold standard and one other countries should model themselves on.
You are making yourself look a little ridiculous here. A bit like Woodhouse with the homeless man
Good on you anker, Chris is as bad Walker and Woodhouse, from the same mould
"Chris is as bad Walker and Woodhouse, from the same mould"
Lol
FFS
22 minutes was spent on his phone making use of the free internet outside the Supermarket and 15 minutes inside the Supermarket which leaves 33 minutes to walk there and back.
Hard luck Chris.
Apparently the supermarket is 5 minutes walk away.
Chris don't you realize that people aren't pissed off with the Govt over this guy leaving isolation. They are very, very pissed off with the offender. Calling for jail time etc……………
Your onto a loser here Chris….
I want to know if he has confirmed that the 22 minutes on the phone were calls to NZ Herald and RNZ. ?
Who did he send the selfies to?
Maybe he was calling Woodhouse or Walker to let them know "the jobs done"
He drove back to his electorate.
He leaked confidential information to news companies!!
Oh wait no that was the national party!!
I think the casino needs to check their footage.
Chris T criticizing the govt now and the quarantine facilities is just a pathetic distraction. I suggest you go to stuff and read the article by the pathologist that has just arrived in the country to take up a job and is in quarantine who says our system is the gold standard and one other countries should model themselves on.
You are making yourself look a little ridiculous here. A bit like Woodhouse with the homeless man
Yes. Because people disappearing for 70 minutes on one of the countries busiest streets, who are seen in a supermarket 5 minutes walk away and no more info, who are later found to be covid positive is merely a distraction.
I'm sure he was just picking up some drugs or sutin.
Or delivering drugs.
Bit feeble Chris T – a lot's happened since that walkabout, but don't worry, there will be others, and Boag/Walker/Woodhouse/Muller et al. will be all over them.
Once there have been a few more quarantine and managed isolation 'runners', the media can start compiling stats on their political affiliations.
In other news:
Oh the humanity.
Nah its not sticking Crusty, unlike…
Not good, and it should be criticized intelligently. Unfortunately, we don't have a credible Opposition party in this country.
The current people in charge are fucking useless, another scum bag has now wandered off from a Hamilton hotel. If this Government doesn't pull it's finger out of it's arse we will end up in lockdown again.
You really need to read up on the news before sounding off.
It's not hard, the details of his case are widely reported.
Have a lie down and a cuppa or a KitKat. You’re starting to sound like a National MP.
The army should be in charge! The police should be in charge! We're gonna have every bloody agency in charge soon, just to keep NZrs in a motel.
All that untapped electricity from Tiwai Pt should be used to charge them and zap hem into obeisance. If that doesn’t work, call Paul McKenna.
Ankle monitoring bracelets might work.
I think the very very public outing of the stale, pale male from Queenstown is a significant deterrence.
its.
If this Government doesn’t pull its finger……..
it’s
it’s not hard
Quite right, Ed. it's = abbreviation for 'it is', or 'it has'.
its = belonging to it.
As resident pedant, I was going to comment, but was pleased to see you raise the point.
Naki man's failure to properly control his apostrophes is utterly shambolic, and shows that he is utterly unfit to govern.
Way,way better than Shortland Street!
All that excess power that's coming Southland's way should be used to run a hydrogen plant for trucking fuel.
Thats an Interesting Idea.
They are doing one in taranki I just cant find the story again,
Wouldn't be surprised if a few proposals don't appear to take up that wodge of power. Tiwai's huge demand has precluded a lot of other possibilities in the South. Coal replacement in dairy processing, transport, either directly electric power or hydrogen like you mention, and maybe a silica industry in Southland
Woodhouse: “It was beyond my comprehension that anyone in the National Party could have done that.”
This unspeakable piece of work just said that on RNZ National. He is squirming under interrogation from Kathryn Ryan right now.
Transcript on the way, fellas!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Woodhouse#/media/File:Michael_Woodhouse.jpg
Looking forward to it, Morrissey.
The Nats Chinese spy dude has bit the bullet apparently and is standing down.
Has the mothership called him home? Is he needed in Hong Kong?
Lol
That's a positive move. Now when will Woodhouse stand down?
They could start a company with a fancy name that sounds all sort of legal:
Walker, Woodhouse & Yang
They could deal in ethics and suchlike.
Boag Key Walker Woodhouse Yang.
Legal ethics powerhouse.
At current rate it's not looking good for any Nat list candidates, or MPs. Sod all chance they’ll get enough Party votes to get any in off the list
Anyone missing the days when nothing happened on a Friday?![smiley smiley](https://cdn.ckeditor.com/4.11.3/full-all/plugins/smiley/images/regular_smile.png)
It's good that Yang is standing down. It's not good that as a result, the public will (probably) never know the full story.
Sorry, can't resist….
Tbf Friday has always been the day the current govt dump shit loads of dodgy stuff at about 5pm to stop it being in the news.
Helen and Key started the tradition, and the current lot are carrying it on.
Sure thing – keep your chin up.
Does that mean there are no Financial Donations coming Nationals way now
Or has he got his network up and running?
Very cynical of you, but quite possibly true.
Maybe, just maybe, Yang was the one with the mole in the MOH, and is worried about the potential fall out.
At the moment it's looking like "Rats leaving a sinking ship"
No. It means that those donations are less in the spotlight.
Nikki Kaye is lying very low through all this.
Waiting for her chance, before the election?
I don't think anyone wants it before the election. That's why they ended up with Todd.
Would anyone want the Leader role right now?
Let Todd take the fall
Prison for this.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/420919/man-arrested-after-cutting-through-fence-to-escape-hamilton-isolation-facility
Send them back to their place of origin, that way their free to do whatever they like, in another country.
All new entrants to NZ should be warned that is the penalty for NOT FOLLOWING THE RULES, no excuses.
I am not sure that is legal.
Prison.
No, probably not, but Laws can be changed in extraordinary circumstances.
Depends.
By NZ law and international treaties its illegal for NZ to send a person back where they came from if that person is in danger of being killed if they're sent back. Unfortunately, this applies even for criminals.
So we need to imprison them.
For enough time to act as a deterrent for others.
Name and shame them.
What if NZ is their place of origin?
Deportation is already part of the rules but it does need to be used more.
By place of origin I mean the place they arrived from, or more specifically the country they traveled from to get to the Safe Haven, NZ
But we can't do that to NZers as they have a right to be here and expect the government to look after them.
Of course, they don't have a right to break the rules and thus should be sent to prison. Considering how bad the possible consequences are from this guys actions that should be prison for a minimum of 21 years with solo confinement at the beginning.
As the potential exists for infection into the community, then the potential exists for someone to be infected by the escapee which could result in death.
21 Years sounds about right
Legally, we have to allow them home. No way around it nor should it even be considered.
Prison for these two…
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/420906/covid-19-privacy-leak-todd-muller-told-about-emails-on-tuesday
Idiot in Hamilton cuts through fence at isolation hotel, goes out to buy booze. Now in custody.
As I mentioned before, if 6000 people are in isolation, and 99.9% follow the rules, that still leaves 6 who don't. As long as isolation continues (and it will for months) then these stories are inevitable. Fuckwits don't disappear, anywhere on earth.
He was arrested. The alternative headline is "man shot while trying to escape". People should probably think about that.
The army is needed to run these operations.
Another one then.
It is only inevitable while the isolation security is so shit btw
What should the response be to a person cutting through, or climbing, a fence?
Think it through first. Assess the manpower needed, and the rules they would be required to follow.
Why wasn’t the fence encrypted and/or password protected? Obviously, the Minister of Health is incompetent and needs to go.
Yeah! let's roll in the tanks and gun em down!
FFS macho boys.
Torture them with Vogon poetry or worse, with apologies and mea culpas from National MPs and Leaders.
Incognito you surpass yourself! Great ideas – what did you have for breakfast?
You all might enjoy these pics from the past of jolly Oxford types. You can see where the joi de vivre of big teenage boys playing on an airport luggage carousel in NZ stems from.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/luxury/mens-style/bad-behaviour-oxford-80s-new-book-photographer-dafydd-jones/
So Chris, no self responsibility, I thought that was one of the main planks of National Party policy.
I say we send the offenders straight back to their place of origin with no chance of reentry for at least 6 months, let them cover their own costs.
I wouldn't know
What I am saying is maybe a bit of highlight should be put on how these people are being housed and looked after.
But no.
Who cares.
This escapee at least had to cut through a fence to go walkies. It's not like he was a convicted child abusing murderer who walked out of the front door of a prison having obtained a false passport and shamed the then corrections minister and government by flying to Brazil.
But he was trying for possible mass manslaughter. After all, his actions of escaping quarantine could have been the death of many people including children.
So, yeah, he's as bad as the child abusing murderer.
Not in my book. Bad, potential for a very bad outcome, but nowhere near kiddie fiddling and murder. But each to their own and all that.
He was breaking the rules because he felt he was more important than those he was putting at risk – exactly the same as the child fiddling murderer.
Not at all, really, but the point of my original reply was putting the claim "isolation security is so shit" in some context, where actual convicted offenders, in actual prisons, can and do escape.
We all care, Chris, and I'm sure you do too (not sarc).
But the people trying to run this thing also care, and have to deal with problems that are more or less infinite.
A small one, relevant today: Should there be alcohol in isolation? How is addiction treated? What are the risks/consequences of cold turkey?
Nobody can answer that with a one-liner. And it's only item 74 on the agenda.
I can
Have someone going to the bottle store/shop for them and delivering it back.
Next headline:
"Assault in hotel. Opposition demands to know why violent man was supplied with alcohol. Why were there no checks, says Woodhouse, adding something predictable about rocket science …"
Apparently the idiot brought one bottle of wine and a 4 pack of beer.
I doubt they are a aggro Andy
Wrong, that's exactly what he was.
Again, read the details of his case before jumping to conclusions.
Being charged with intentionally damaging a 52-inch television belonging to the Distinction Hotel put's your doubt into perspective.
No, it wouldn't do that. The only thing that could be used as is as an attack line by the immoral right-wing against the government – which, of course, is what's been happening.
The percentage of people escaping from quarantine is
0.005%
That's a pretty small number
And one was infected, who disappeared for 70 minutes to who knows where apart from a supermarket, which would have taken about 25 minutes
You mean Mr 0.00166% whose whereabouts have been ascertained and remedial action taken?
All good.
Everything is obviously being handled brilliantly.
That does seem to be the obvious inference from infection rates around the world.
Chris I think you gloating is so shit btw.
Just reported, another escapee, this time a quarantine facilty in Hamilton, the man in his 50s cut some cable ties on a fence to escape to the local bottle store
For me, the penalty for this should be to send the offenders back to wherever they came from, a strong message needs to sent, you're not welcome if you don't follow the rules.
The risk is too high to let these people potentially harm our safe haven that a Team of 5 million has so graciously worked towards.
Should smear Covid on his continental breakfast and force feed it to him.
And then send them back to their place origin.
I think United Nations rules say people must allowed to return to their countries?
Sending them back costs in itself. And anyway the men, I suppose but must not be sexist, are just showing typical NZ impudence about responsibility and booze and should blend in seamlessly when released.
Make them fund their own transport costs, if they can't, lock them up in complete isolation untill they're clear of infection and then release them into the normal prison population for at least 6 months, we need to send a clear message.
The people escaping seem to be encouraging others to follow suit as there appears to be no penalty that reflects the crime
A 50 year old that cant go 2 weeks without booze!! Almost gaurentees hes a kiwi born and breed. Maybe they should give them access to some 2.5 % beers, at their own cost.
Let them eat cake!
With a set of wire cutters baked in.
I see they've named and shamed him and packed him off to prison, hope they do it to the other one .
That's kinda why they're here. They're kiwis…
About time an example was made of these 2 sets of selfish *******
Quarantine offenders and the National Party – both need a serious penalty to encourage them to play for the team.
Maybe we should have them sign a contract on their arrival and put up a bond that was returnable after their isolation was complete, the bond would cover the cost of chasing them down and the subsequent cost of 6 months in jail.
Back to where they came from, the quarantine hotel?
No, the country of origin, where ever they arrived from, they don't deserve the right to come here if they don't respect the rules and potentially spread the virus
Relistically, the penalties need to reflect the potential harm, someone could possibly become infected as a result of escaping and end up being a fatality, Murder of the first degree.
Alternatively, stop all new arrivals, but that's not really fair for the 99.9% of arrivals that do follow the rules
They are probably kiwi citizens
Prison is the solution.
Chis, saying they're probably NZ citizens doesn't mean they born here
Nearly 20% of NZ citizens have come here over the 12 yrs
In which case having their permanent residence/NZ citizenship stripped from them and sending them back should be an option.
So you are saying that kiwi citizens only have certain rights if they are born here?
Forgive me if I have the wrong end of the stick.
If I do have the right end, what is the point of people getting cictizenship?
And what year range are we talking?
Someone who is 30 and lived here 3 years is less of a real citizen than some 60 who has lived her since they were 2?
So your solution doesn't apply 80% of the time.
Even leading (or ex-) members of the National Party are NZ citizens, Chris T.
Yet they subvert our efforts.
Back to Queenstown in this latest case. Hellhole.
I hear Queenstown has greatly improved in recent months.
It may be indicative that he headed out for booze. Obviously we don't know in this particular case – but once you have several thousand people in quarantine there will be quite a number with significant substance dependency issues. It is showing just how difficult mass quarantine is. Though Toddy did indicate a while back that it's all simple – and he has 'business experience' so he must be right eh?
And what Observer said at 21 below.
How about we just dunk all returnees in orange dye that wears off in, say, 18 days.
Penalising all returnees isn't really a good option when you consder that the percentage of escapees to the number of retunees is extremely low
0.005%
Sounds like some libertarian alky prick who's not gunna be told wadda do by nobuddy. He better pay for the damaged tv. Wanker.
I know we all love easy, instant solutions, but they don't make good policy. Here is some relevant info from today's 1 pm briefing (Chris Hipkins):
– The Hamilton man is in police custody. He is due to appear in court later today.
– He tested negative for his day 3 test, after arriving from Sydney on 1 July.
Now, consider this. EVERY proposal about bubbles, opening borders, international students (etc) includes the idea that we can test people before they get on a plane. "Oh, make them have a test, and if it's negative, all good." Then we test them again when they arrive. That is the "safeguard" offered by everybody that says we should be gradually opening up.
This guy in Hamilton had a negative test. He's been here 9 or 10 days. Therefore, this one person breaking the rules means nothing, because we should be admitting thousands more like him. He has been tested. It was negative.
That is the reality of every – repeat, EVERY proposal to open up. Even a cautious, test and trace opening.
You either isolate or you don't. If we do, and ten escape, that is bad. If we don't, thousands escape. And their tests don't mean shit.
With National in self-imposed collapse has Rio Tinto read the writing on the wall?
Which is pretty much what they said last time and National came to their rescue with even more subsidies.
So, that wold be the plea for more subsides from the government.
Reading between the lines
Corporate Bludgers
Anyway, there's a bit of news around today, eh?
Memo to Roy Morgan: your latest poll is due, can you hold off until next week? Don’t want it buried …
Next week may turn out to be even worse for the National Party, this whole thing could completely unravel before their very eyes.
Lets hope
These absconders may have underlying addiction/mental health issues. Alcohol addiction, nicotine addiction, phobias such as being 'hindered' from being able to just be free and not held back from doing whatever. Drugs are freely available in the world and cheap as well in some countries. Are they being drug tested as some may be hanging out and wanting to get out to score. Apparently there was a disturbance in one of the hotels and police had to go in on two occasions to one person who was 'unhinged" and being stroppy and it was disclosed he/she had mental health issues.
Maybe a health check, blood tests done to see what is circulating in their systems once they get to their hotels so that if there is a substance reliance occurring they could be given the required medication for whatever they need to keep them docile for their stay. This health check could be written into their contract, as a condition for getting home to NZ prior to getting on the plane.
Its strange though that this absconding is only just happening now. One person does it and it becomes contagious and others want to do it too. Cutting through a fence is a sign of desperation though and that could be a booze/drug problem.
So anyway, turns out the Hamilton guy arrived from Sydney, and is from Queenstown, and is in custody.
So that's 3 separate knee-jerk talking points demolished … NSW bubble, bloody foreigners, and wet bus ticket.
It's as if armchair reckons won't solve everything after all.
288 new cases of Covid-19 reported in Victoria today.![sad sad](https://cdn.ckeditor.com/4.11.3/full-all/plugins/smiley/images/sad_smile.png)
26 linked to known outbreaks, 262 under investigation and none linked to returned travelers.
https://mobile.twitter.com/covidliveau/status/1281434824696201216
How long before ScoMoFo declares any kiwis testing positive are to be deported?
RNZ report on Hamilton booze buyer … my emphasis added:
"Police told the court that McVicar had been non-compliant while in isolation.
Community Magistrate Robyn Paterson said McVicar had been warned about his behaviour last Friday but then absconded on Thursday evening.
She said he had been particularly difficult to deal with in isolation and described his political beliefs as strong. …
She refused bail and remanded him in custody without plea to reappear in the Hamilton District Court on 15 July."
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/420941/man-charged-over-leaving-hamilton-isolation-facility-named
The gnatsys may have found their new candidate for Southland..
" described his political beliefs as strong. … "
What's the bet he favours personal liberty at the expense of the wellbeing of the wider community…which side of politics is that likely to be now?
TV1 news described him as a "Queenstown businessman" – which was enough to suggest everything you say, and more.
Is the mattress not up to his liking or does he want a bigger and better window view than anyone else and is the food to plain?
Maybe a billboard. NZ has eliminated community transmission and all New Zealander citizens and residents like it that way.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12347182
In custody till Tuesday.
It's shambolic! Why is Jacinda allowing people she's never met and has no control over to be abusive to staff?
Vote National and nobody in NZ will ever be abusive again, because Todd gets things done.
.
He's the kind of hard-living no-nonsense Maverick who gets the job done by cutting corners and bucking authority … and if those namby-pamby desk-sucking pen-pushers on the 9th floor of the Beehive don't like it then, Mister, they can just about swivel like a pig on this mid-digit.
Who’s the Oppo Leader who doesn’t give a frick
He’s a sex machine to all the chicks ?
Muller ?
Damn right !!!
Who’s the cat that won’t cop out when there is danger all about ?
Muller ?
Right on, Motherfucker !!!
Does anyone have a link to a good write up on what quarantine is like from the occupants perspective? What they are allowed to do, but also what their experience is like?
Various inmates (for want of a better word) have commented on social media and to the media in general, and they seem appreciative of the way they are looked after by staff. They understand the necessity for the rules and are happy to abide by them.
The handful of exceptions are either grossly ignorant or they have underlying problems.
stress, mental health issues, addiction, loneliness all come to mind as being pretty hard to manage in quarantine.
doesn't preclude someone also being a dick
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/420941/man-charged-over-leaving-hamilton-isolation-facility-named
Well, yeah – like for everyone who lived alone under level 4.
Here's a guy talking about doing it in April.
Under level four we were allowed to go outside. It's not quite the same. I would have thought L4 might have given us a bit more tolerance for how people manage stress.
Also, L4 at home vs confined to a hotel room eating what you are given. It's not a huge hardship relative to many things, but it's not nothing either. My thinking is mostly around if there are gaps eg people needing to self medicate with alcohol and not being able to.
Under level 4 many people couldn't go outside for as long as the mandated breaks this crowd have.
They have a smoking area, and at least one person said she had access to alcohol (but not massive amounts).
And we did it for longer than a fortnight.
This isn't an alien situation that most of us can't understand – we all experienced something in that ballpark. People in mansions with spare rooms and large gardens maybe had it less, but they were still restricted. And some of us in small dwellings probably have less square footage than some decent hotel rooms.
Two weeks is tough. We know. Because most of us did it three tiimes in a row.
Why couldn't L4 people go outside?
essential-only, remember? The folk in hotels get exercise sessions, and so did we, but we weren't supposed to be wandering on the beach cos we felt like it.
And that's not getting into specific circumstances, like maybe a "walk around the block" isn't an option for some people.
A 24 hr hotline for people in isolation or in quarantine free of charge.
I'm curious what support people are offered by the MoH. I know some people had a hard time in L4, I think this is worse.
Some sort of resource kit so a person can have some control over their situation.
Without looking up the name change and over a decade imprisonment. Some years back I saw some footage on David Bain on how he got through the time he spent in prison.
"All I had to worry about was the next 5 minutes."
I have applied this in my own life when I have been very overwhelmed or have felt very badly treated.
It has worked for me with some medical procedures/issues and personal set backs.
Yes, I've seen mostly positive reports too. I know a lot of people struggled during lockdown (note: not the current managed isolation) but it was wonderful to see community efforts to help those with mental health and/or addiction issues go out of their way to help them. Some offered to go shopping for cigarettes and alcohol, some offered to phone for a chat etc. It was really encouraging.
No link, but this week (or last), there was story in the papers about the lock down woman who grabbed a selfie with the PM. If I remember correctly, she had been blogging about being in quarantine.
Edit: https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2020/07/covid-19-woman-blogging-about-quarantine-ecstatic-as-she-meets-prime-minister-jacinda-ardern-upon-arrival-in-wellington.html
https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/10-04-2020/two-weeks-in-quarantine-at-home-in-an-auckland-hotel/
Not so long ago National was bleating that Jacinda and Labour were getting too much media coverage.
They can't complain now, because National has been in the media 24/7 recently and it's very likely to continue
Very good! Be careful what you wish for huh?