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Open mike 10/10/2021

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, October 10th, 2021 - 131 comments
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131 comments on “Open mike 10/10/2021 ”

  1. Gezza 1
    10 October 2021 at 6:26 am

    MONGREL MOB LEADER THREATENS PETERS WITH LEGAL ACTION

    "Originally published by Māori Television

    A Mongrel Mob leader accused of helping a Covid-positive sex worker obtain documentation to travel to Northland has lashed out at the allegations and threatened legal action.

    …Hawke's Bay Mongrel Mob leader Harry Tam says the claims levelled by former Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters are not true. "If Winston said it, he needs to prove it… If he's not going to apologise, we will need to look at legal action," Tam said.

    Peters appeared on TV3's Newshub on Saturday morning levelling the allegations which had been circulating on social media and encrypted messaging app 'WhatsApp' on Friday night.

    "This person came here with a gang member assigned essential worker status, falsified the reason she was coming," Peters said. "[She] engaged with people at a hotel in Whangārei… and went to a marae up North which hid her from the public and, dare I say it, the police. The police got a warrant to arrest her."

    Peters claimed the Government found out about the situation "days and days ago".

    "How he got up North, that is very difficult to understand in terms of the permit system, but he brought in, under false premises, this woman with him. The rest, sadly, is catastrophic," Peters said.

    Tam told Te Ao Māori News that Peters was off the mark, while he had travelled to Tāmaki under a government exemption to support efforts to get gang members vaccinated, he travelled alone and had never been to Northland since arriving in Auckland.
    …
    Tam said mainstream media had been irresponsible in its coverage of the allegations first raised by a reporter at an impromptu press conference on Friday evening.

    'It's the media's job to check these things.'"

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-delta-outbreak-mongrel-mob-hit-back-at-winston-peters-over-northland-claims/63YJXDDR3A7PLZDK7O4XHVKZQQ/

    …………………..

    What a hoot. Will be interesting to see where this goes, if anywhere. Tam must not be short of money for lawyers….

    Reply
    • Forget now 1.1
      10 October 2021 at 7:28 am

      You missed out this paragraph while cutting around the photo; Gezza. It seems to be the core of the issue:

      Tam told Te Ao Māori News, Peters was off the mark, while he had travelled to Tāmaki under a government exemption to support efforts to get gang members vaccinated, he travelled alone and had never been to Northland since arriving in Auckland.

      “I didn’t bring anyone with me. Where did he get his information from? What is his source?’ he said.

      Peters may be too used to having parliamentary privilege! But he was not speaking in parliament, and he's not even an MP anymore. A reminder why it is important to cite sources, and always use the term; allegedly (however sarcastically), in any potentially defamatory statement based on hearsay. Particularly onsite where unfounded speculation may sometimes put TS at legal risk and waste mod time.

      Reply
      • Gezza 1.1.1
        10 October 2021 at 7:42 am

        I think you skimmed over my post too quickly, Forget now?

        That paragraph is in there. The only bit that isn’t is your quotation:

        “I didn’t bring anyone with me. Where did he get his information from? What is his source?’ he said.”

        which I figured readers could see when they clicked on the article link.

        Reply
        • Forget now 1.1.1.1
          10 October 2021 at 8:14 am

          The quote was the paragraph I was referring to; Gezza (the preceding paragraph was included for context – probably should have italicized for clarity). So your omission was intentional? I assumed that you had simply made a cut and paste typo.

          Just watched the original Peters interview, which was a bit embarrassing really. But he certainly wasn't being taken out of context. Relevant section starts at 1:30 mark on video. The interviewer goes out of his way to offer Peters a lifeline at 2:13 "How do you know all this?…", but he'd rather drown:

          "I am absolutely certain of my sources, otherwise I wouldn't be saying what I'm saying," said Peters, urging the media to verify the claims with officials.

          "Let them deny it, and they won't. But when the press was told yesterday at 6:30pm by Minister Hipkins that he didn't, that simply wasn't true. Frankly, we will never get through this crisis if we aren't transparent and honest."

          https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/10/gang-leader-harry-tam-denies-winston-peters-claims-he-helped-infected-woman-breach-covid-boundary-sparking-northland-lockdown.html

          Reply
          • Gezza 1.1.1.1.1
            10 October 2021 at 8:43 am

            Yes, I just watched the whole interview. Peters seems to have dug himself into a hole over the claims Tam & the infected exemption letter cheat travelled together. It remains to be seen whether Peters subsequently issues a correction and/or Tam actually initiates Legal proceedings.

            But, beyond that issue, Peters got in some solid body blows against the government for other shortcomings. In particular, that the Health Dept adopted completely the wrong strategy for prioritising Māori & Pasifika vaccinations in not involving Māori heath orgs in the rollout – a claim which is being made increasingly often in numerous media sources.

            Also in the very slow vaccine supplies we had to start off with.

            Reply
            • Jenny how to get there 1.1.1.1.1.1
              10 October 2021 at 12:17 pm

              ‘
              From the Left and the Right, and the Centre;

              Winston Peters is, a "political pro." (Amanda Gillies). A "political predator" (Mark Richardson). An "opportunist" (Duncan Garner).

              Peters is all these things.

              "Whenever there's civil unrest, when anything's going down no matter how small the group might be, Winston is in there politically grandstanding." M.R.

              https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2017/07/winston-peters-a-political-predator-mark-richardson.html

              The rough sleepers, drug users, sex workers, prisoners, the gangs, are the lowest and most alienated and marginalised sections of our New Zealand society.

              It was always known, (and feared), that if the virus got into these marginalised communities that the virus would be hard to contain and would spread like wildfire.

              I see the infections in the gangs as a symptom of the government's failure to control the virus, not the cause of it, as some like Peters are trying to make out.

              It is notable that these groups were not singled out for blame and scapegoating, until after the drop in alert level, which just as predicted by some experts, infection numbers reversed their decline and started rising again.

              Lockdowns are like herd immunity, the harder the Lockdown, the more people who practice it, even the few, who don't are protected.

              It will be interesting to see, (from an epidemioligist modeling point of view), if the irresponsible actions of the two alleged sex workers who travelled illegally throughout Northland on their business, spark off a major outbreak.

              In a time of national crisis scapegoating and blaming is dangerous and should have no place.

              Whatever the eventual outcome. Let us hope that this is the end of Winston Peters predatory and opportunistic brand of politics.

              Reply
    • dv 1.2
      10 October 2021 at 7:29 am

      Do you think Peters has been set up?

      Reply
      • Gezza 1.2.1
        10 October 2021 at 7:47 am

        Dunno. He’s a wily old fox. One would think he normally has his radar on for signs of that ?

        Reply
        • dv 1.2.1.1
          10 October 2021 at 8:14 am

          I am looking forward to the court case.

          Reply
          • Gezza 1.2.1.1.1
            10 October 2021 at 8:20 am

            Me too. Peters has form for allegations that aren’t subsequently backed up by him. But he usually makes them within the protection of the House.

            Reply
            • Puckish Rogue 1.2.1.1.1.1
              10 October 2021 at 10:06 am

              Must say that while I wasn't happy with the last election result it was the best result out of all the bad options

              Winston is a blight and I'd rather see National/Act stay in opposition if it meant Winston got back in

              Reply
      • Anne 1.2.2
        10 October 2021 at 11:01 am

        DV @ 1.2
        It's possible somebody was set up and it flowed from there. I commented along the lines yesterday that there were some nasty right-wing political buggers floating around the North in the past, and they're probably still there.

        Reply
    • Jenny how to get there 1.3
      10 October 2021 at 8:29 am

      Gezza

      10 October 2021 at 6:26 am

      MONGREL MOB LEADER THREATENS PETERS WITH LEGAL ACTION

      Tam must not be short of money for lawyers….

      In my (limited) recent interaction with the gangs, what struck me most forcefully about them was their poverty.

      Count me in; if Harry Tam has to set up a 'Give a Little' page, for a legal case against Peters.

      Reply
      • Puckish Rogue 1.3.1
        10 October 2021 at 8:57 am

        The lowest members are very poor, the leaders are not poor.

        Reply
        • Jenny how to get there 1.3.1.1
          10 October 2021 at 10:18 am

          Puckish Rogue

          10 October 2021 at 8:57 am

          The lowest members are very poor, the leaders are not poor.

          This may be true, it may not.

          Whatever.

          The fact is, even if Harry Tam is financially better placed than most of his gang's members, Tam would soon be reduced to absolute poverty in litigation with Winston Peters, who has far greater resources and the backing of some people with very deep pockets.

          For this reason I think Harry Tam, though he may want to, would be ill advised to take a case against Winston Peters.

          Reply
          • Puckish Rogue 1.3.1.1.1
            10 October 2021 at 10:27 am

            No it is true, no maybe about it.

            As far as I'm concerned I'd love to see these duke it out in court and, best case scenario, financially cripple both of them

            Reply
            • Jenny how to get there 1.3.1.1.1.1
              10 October 2021 at 5:47 pm

              ‘
              Jenny how to get there

              10 October 2021 at 8:29 am

              …..Count me in; if Harry Tam has to set up a 'Give a Little' page, for a legal case against Peters.

              Puckish Rogue

              10 October 2021 at 8:57 am

              The lowest members are very poor, the leaders are not poor….

              Jenny how to get there

              10 October 2021 at 10:18 am

              This may be true, it may not.

              Whatever…..

              Puckish Rogue

              10 October 2021 at 10:27 am

              No it is true, no maybe about it…..

              Really?

              From the States:

              Why do drug dealers still live with their Moms

              ….It was John Kenneth Galbraith, the hyperliterate economic sage, who coined the phrase “conventional wisdom.” He did not consider it a compliment. “We associate truth with convenience,” he wrote,

              ….conventional wisdom in Galbraith’s view must be simple,
              convenient, comfortable, and comforting—though not necessarily true.

              ….if you were to have spent a little time around the housing projects where crack was so often sold, you might have noticed something strange: not only did most of the crack dealers still live in the projects, but most of them still lived at home with their moms. And then you may have scratched your head and said, “Why is that?”

              …the eminent poverty scholar William Julius Wilson, promptly sent Venkatesh into the field. His assignment: to visit Chicago’s poorest black neighborhoods with a clipboard and a seventy-question, multiple-choice survey. This was the first question on the survey:

              How do you feel about being black and poor?
              a. Very bad
              b. Bad
              c. Neither bad nor good
              d. Somewhat good
              e. Very good

              …..In reality, he now knew, the answers should have looked like this:
              a. Very bad
              b. Bad
              c. Neither bad nor good
              d. Somewhat good
              e. Very good
              f. Fuck you

              ….Sometimes the gangsters were annoyed by his curiosity; more often they took advantage of his willingness to listen. “It’s a war out here, man,” one dealer told him. “I mean, every day people struggling to survive, so you know, we just do what we can. We ain’t got no choice, and if that means getting killed, well shit, it’s what niggers do around here to feed their family.”

              ……Over the years the gang endured bloody turf wars and, eventually, a federal indictment.

              A member named Booty, who was one rank beneath J. T., came to Venkatesh with a story. Booty was being blamed
              by the rest of the gang for bringing about the indictment, he told Venkatesh, and therefore suspected that he would soon be killed. (He was right.)

              …..Booty was feeling guilty. He wanted to leave behind something that might somehow benefit the next generation. He handed Venkatesh a stack of well-worn spiral notebooks—blue and black, the gang’s colors. They represented a complete record of four years’ worth of the gang’s financial transactions. At J. T.’s direction, the ledgers had been rigorously compiled: sales, wages, dues, even the death benefits paid out to the families of murdered members.

              ……It would be the first time that such priceless financial data had fallen into an economist’s hands, affording an analysis of a heretofore uncharted criminal enterprise.

              ….Now, here’s what it cost J. T., excluding wages, to bring in that $32,000 per month:
              Wholesale cost of drugs $ 5,000
              Board of directors fee 5,000
              Mercenary fighters 1,300
              Weapons 300
              Miscellaneous 2,400
              Total monthly nonwage costs $14,000

              …..the money the gang took in went to its members, starting with J. T. Here is the single line item in the gang’s budget that
              made J. T. the happiest:
              Net monthly profit accruing to leader $8,500

              At $8,500 per month, J. T.’s annual salary was about $100,000—tax-free, of course…..

              https://myweb.ntut.edu.tw/~kmliu/freakonomics/3%20durg%20dealers%20live%20with%20moms.pdf

              As Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters was on $326,697 per year, and had to pay tax on that.

              If I had to guess, I would guess that Harry Tam would be getting way less than his American counterparts. But assuming, (just for argument's sake), that a New Zealand gang leader like Harry Tam had an analogous business plan and salary to match that of his American soul mates. Then Harry Tam might be able to match Winston Peters, in meeting the costs of litigation. Except for one difference, unlike Winston Peters, Harry Tam does not have the backing of secret wealthy donors, prepared to hide their donations in trusts and slush funds.

              New Zealand First Foundation scandal: Charged pair alleged to have deposited $740,000

              8 Oct, 2020 12:08 PM

              …..RNZ reported that the foundation collected donations of more than $500,000 from April 2017 to March 2019.

              During that period, the foundation reportedly spent more than $425,000 on campaign advertising expenses, political consultants' fees, renting and setting up a campaign HQ in Wellington, and running the party's website….

              https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/new-zealand-first-foundation-scandal-charged-pair-alleged-to-have-deposited-740000/HBLM4744WMXRUVT6MEOJTOM74Y/

              To the States again:

              ……for the [monthly] wages that J. T. paid his gang members:
              Combined wages paid to all three officers $2,100
              Combined wages paid to all foot soldiers 7,400
              Total monthly gang wages (excluding leader) $9,500

              …..So J. T. paid his employees $9,500, a combined monthly salary that
              was only $1,000 more than his own official salary. J. T.’s hourly wage
              was $66. His three officers, meanwhile, each took home $700 a
              month, which works out to about $7 an hour. And the foot soldiers earned just $3.30 an hour, less than the minimum wage. So the answer to the original question—if drug dealers make so much money, why are they still living with their mothers?—is that, except for the top cats, they don’t make much money. They had no choice but to live with their mothers. For every big earner, there were hundreds more
              just scraping along.

              https://myweb.ntut.edu.tw/~kmliu/freakonomics/3%20durg%20dealers%20live%20with%20moms.pdf

              It is clear to me that there is no way Harry Tam can afford the costs of litigation, to be able to take Winston Peters to court, not unless Tam received lots of small donations from thousands of ordinary New Zealanders.

              If Tam goes down the path of litigation, for him to have a 'Give a Little' page would be a necessity. Whether it would get much support is another question.. But I would flick him a $20.

              Reply
              • Stuart Munro …
                10 October 2021 at 6:02 pm

                Me too. I remember how he settled the MM in Dunedin – got them calmed down and stable and helping out their neighbours in South Dunedin.

                Then the Gnats wrecked all his work so they could pretend to be 'tough on crime'. Crime went up.

                Reply
                • Gezza …
                  10 October 2021 at 6:22 pm

                  Tam got the MM “calmed down” from what?

                  How did National “wreck all his work” exactly?

                  And who was committing the crime when it “went up”.

                  Reply
                  • Stuart Munro …
                    10 October 2021 at 8:19 pm

                    He was a social worker, back in the day. He took a not inconsiderable personal risk and approached the Dunedin chapter of the MM. Got them their welfare entitlements, found them housing. They stopped accepting prospects.

                    How did National “wreck all his work” exactly?

                    They found 'reasons' to back out of everything that he'd arranged.

                    who was committing the crime when it “went up”

                    Chiefly a new gang, ultra violent, forget their name but they lived near Ravensdown.

                    Reply
              • Gezza …
                10 October 2021 at 6:19 pm

                Is Harry Tam still living with his mum, Jenny?

                Reply
                • Jenny how to get there …
                  10 October 2021 at 7:31 pm

                  Gezza…

                  10 October 2021 at 6:19 pm

                  Is Harry Tam still living with his mum, Jenny?

                  I don't know, but I doubt it. The US has very weak welfare provision compared to New Zealand. I would guess that Tam and his family have a state home. At least I hope so.

                  The point I was trying to make; Despite the 'conventional wisdom' gangs don't make a lot of money.

                  I am also guessing, that because of our welfare safety net, New Zealand gangs are not as viciously murderous and criminaly mercenary as they are in the U.S.

                  Thank goodness.

                  Reply
              • Puckish Rogue …
                10 October 2021 at 6:58 pm

                That's your choice but maybe consider flicking the money to a charity instead

                Reply
      • Ross 1.3.2
        10 October 2021 at 9:08 am

        Count me in; if Harry Tam has to set up a 'Give a Little' page, for a legal case against Peters.

        Yeah, nah. Harry won't be taking any legal action. He knows he'd be cross-examined and would almost certainly be asked what he had to do to earn his gang patch.

        It's been reported that Harry is a convicted wife-beater. You can see why Winston won't be going to court anytime soon.

        Tam was convicted in 1994 of assaulting his wife and was sentenced to three months' periodic detention and six months' supervision.

        Mildon says she experienced abuse herself.

        "One time Harry attacked me in the middle of the night while I was in bed asleep and tried to strangle me. The police have evidence and photographs," she told Newshub.

        "Harry says I'm a liar and a violent, jealous woman, who beat him three times…. People accuse you of things they're actually doing themselves."

        https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/08/harry-tam-s-ex-on-alleged-abuse-intimidation-and-how-mongrel-mob-linked-rehab-funding-is-conflict-of-interest.html

        https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/ex-con-gets-corrections-department-policy-job/MIZR5J4QSBIJESQ3KIWOGNHXI4/

        Reply
        • aom 1.3.2.1
          10 October 2021 at 9:24 am

          What the hell does the information you provided have to do with the legal action that has been proposed?

          Unlike your proposition, the justice system is supposed to rely on evidence relevant to the case and to exclude the irrelevant history of the person who seeks a remedy for an alleged defamation.

          Reply
          • chris T 1.3.2.1.1
            10 October 2021 at 9:30 am

            You find it irrelevant and all cool. Others don't and all cool with that as well.

            Reply
            • Jenny how to get there 1.3.2.1.1.1
              10 October 2021 at 9:55 am

              Since we are bringing up the past criminal outrages, as apparently relevant to this case: Winston Peters is a politician who has, at various times in his career, opportunistically appealed to the worst racist views and paranoia of Pakeha New Zealand against Asians and even Maori to gain increased electoral support.

              At the height of Peters Asian bashing campaign, inflamed by Peters racist rhetoric, there were a number of unprovoked physical attacks and bashings of Asian New Zealanders one of the most notorious occuring in Queen Street.

              Are you cool with that as well?

              Reply
              • chris T …
                10 October 2021 at 9:59 am

                Past drink driving charges for example amongst others don't count. They get included in hearings.

                I don't have an issue either way, but the pick and chose which can be brought up I find interesting.

                Reply
              • Puckish Rogue …
                10 October 2021 at 10:02 am

                Lets not go down that particular road again

                https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/70225493/could-the-chinese-sounding-names-stunt-be-labours-orewa

                'Leader Andrew Little has admitted he knew use of the figures would lead to calls of racism and that the analysis is crude.'

                Reply
                • Stuart Munro …
                  11 October 2021 at 11:54 am

                  This again?

                  It was and is a perfectly valid linguistic technique. The only reason it became a story is that lazy and incompetent reporters figured they had a stick they could use to beat the Left. Little may have many faults, but being motivated by racism to express concern about the out of control property speculation which has pushed housing out of reach of 60% of New Zealanders isn't one of them.

                  It has no more credibility than the antisemitism slur used on Corbyn – a political vehicle for the unelectable Starmer, and a way for Israeli intelligence to negate one of the few informed voices on the Palestinian question.

                  Reply
                • Jenny how to get there …
                  11 October 2021 at 9:46 pm

                  Tam is a Vietnamese name. So I guess Harry Tam triggers at least two of Winston Peters hates, Asians and gangs.

                  Reply
        • Puckish Rogue 1.3.2.2
          10 October 2021 at 9:48 am

          To earn a gang patch especially at the time he got his usually included rape of some description

          Not that I'm saying he did of course just that it was an accepted part of the culture he willingly chose to join.

          A rape culture one could say.

          https://teara.govt.nz/en/gangs/page-4

          http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/2838209/What-the-gang-patch-means

          Reply
        • joe90 1.3.2.3
          10 October 2021 at 12:15 pm

          He knows he'd be cross-examined and would almost certainly be asked what he had to do to earn his gang patch.

          Do you really believe the respondent's previous criminal history will counter any definitive proof that Peters made shit up?

          Reply
  3. Robert Guyton 3
    10 October 2021 at 8:04 am

    What an effective strategy to get a vax-reluctant community in a particular region, to get vaxxed, pronto, would claims of an invasion by a busy, Covid-infected sex-worker be.

    Reply
  4. Molly 4
    10 October 2021 at 8:11 am

    Concern raised (and ignored) regarding the current treatment path for children and young people with gender dysphoria:

    Top Trans Doctors Blow the Whistle on ‘Sloppy’ Care

    For nearly a decade, the vanguard of the transgender-rights movement — doctors, activists, celebrities and transgender influencers — has defined the boundaries of the new orthodoxy surrounding transgender medical care: What’s true, what’s false, which questions can and cannot be asked.

    They said it was perfectly safe to give children as young as nine puberty blockers and insisted that the effects of those blockers were “fully reversible.” They said that it was the job of medical professionals to help minors to transition. They said it was not their job to question the wisdom of transitioning, and that anyone who did — including parents — was probably transphobic. They said that any worries about a social contagion among teen girls was nonsense. And they never said anything about the distinct possibility that blocking puberty, coupled with cross-sex hormones, could inhibit a normal sex life.

    Their allies in the media and Hollywood reported stories and created content that reaffirmed this orthodoxy. Anyone who dared disagree or depart from any of its core tenets, including young women who publicly detransitioned, were inevitably smeared as hateful and accused of harming children.

    But that new orthodoxy has gone too far, according to two of the most prominent providers in the field of transgender medicine: Dr. Marci Bowers, a world-renowned vaginoplasty specialist who operated on reality-television star Jazz Jennings; and Erica Anderson, a clinical psychologist at the University of California San Francisco’s Child and Adolescent Gender Clinic.

    In the course of their careers, both have seen thousands of patients. Both are board members of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), the organization that sets the standards worldwide for transgender medical care. And both are transgender women.

    Earlier this month, Anderson told me she submitted a co-authored op-ed to The New York Times warning that many transgender healthcare providers were treating kids recklessly. The Times passed, explaining it was “outside our coverage priorities right now.”

    This is the US, where healthcare is not standardise, but the approach seems to be consistent.

    Reply
    • Puckish Rogue 4.1
      10 October 2021 at 9:09 am

      Interesting read.

      There certainly does seem to be an insistence on only reporting one side of the issue.

      I follow Blaire White on youtube and she brings up issues like this all the time and why shes for transitioning at 18 not younger.

      Her video on being pushed to do sex work was also eye opening:

      Reply
      • Molly 4.1.1
        10 October 2021 at 11:14 am

        Interesting video. Thanks, PR.

        Reply
        • Puckish Rogue 4.1.1.1
          10 October 2021 at 11:22 am

          A slight diversion but this guy is a former mma fighter, is a trainer, manager, cornerman, referee and commentates so he knows his stuff

          (A really good voice as well)

          This is his take on the latest trans fight, from a knowledgeable, insiders perspective.

          Reply
  5. weka 5
    10 October 2021 at 8:35 am

    Homegrown weekend entertainment, thread:

    Reply
  6. Jenny how to get there 6
    10 October 2021 at 8:41 am

    heart

    Reply
  7. Peter 7
    10 October 2021 at 8:52 am

    The Herald online has very regular stories about broadcasters. I don't click on them. Some I know are broadcasters even though I've never heard or seen them broadcast.

    Important stories: "Why I never eat bread," or "Shock over my cat," or "Worst time of the year for…"

    Kim Hill is a voice on the radio. I don't need to know what she eats for breakfast or some personal tragedy she went through just before her 4th birthday.

    Reply
    • Puckish Rogue 7.1
      10 October 2021 at 9:56 am

      Yes agreed or some personality does a clap back or something and its the most amazing thing ever, apparantly.

      Reply
  8. chris T 8
    10 October 2021 at 9:53 am

    Would never vote for the dude, but Seymour did a good job on Q and A there with an obviously biased Jack Tame.

    Was quite funny

    Reply
    • AB 8.1
      10 October 2021 at 10:29 am

      Seymour has a carefully cultivated pretense of being harmless, non-scary and well-intentioned. But before he appeared on the programme, Q&A did us the service of a tiki tour through the various gruesome far-right ghouls who have been his predecessors as former ACT's leaders. I had to leave the room, there is only so much loathing one person can process.

      Reply
      • chris T 8.1.1
        10 October 2021 at 11:10 am

        Did you just call ACT far right?

        Lol

        Sorry but that is funny. In so many ways it is unbelievable. You managed to both exagerate seeming opinions of Seymour while belittling the actual affect the far right nut jobs have on the rest of the worlds vulnerable at the same time.

        Let me guess. You think Ardern is far left?

        Reply
      • Patricia Bremner 8.1.2
        10 October 2021 at 12:56 pm

        yes AB He models on Key, a wolf in sheep's clothing.

        Reply
        • chris T 8.1.2.1
          10 October 2021 at 1:03 pm

          I think comparing Seymour to Key is a bit silly.

          Seymour is good, but not Key popularity

          Admit has the easy going thing on his side. But a bit

          Reply
          • Stuart Munro 8.1.2.1.1
            11 October 2021 at 11:59 am

            There are many possible grounds for comparing Seymour to Key. In disingenuousness they are probably about equal – but in terms of efficacy in achieving their nefarious objectives, Key rates highly, but Seymour doesn't rate at all.

            Reply
    • Puckish Rogue 8.2
      10 October 2021 at 10:43 am

      Just watched it and yes he had a slow start but finished strongly and did well, a nice touch to talk about breast cancer as well

      Reply
      • chris T 8.2.1
        10 October 2021 at 11:29 am

        Yeah. It hasn't been mentioned in media much, but would be interesting to know how many, not only breast cancer screenings, but also other cancer screenings have been turfed over Covid and how many mean it makes it too late.

        While idiot journalists still ask "How many deaths from Covid are acceptable?"

        Probably never will know.

        It is a stupid question given the circumstances whether it is asked to any party.

        Seymour basically just answered with "How many others are acceptable to avoid your imaginary number of Covid deaths?"

        Reply
        • Puckish Rogue 8.2.1.1
          10 October 2021 at 12:03 pm

          Yeah I don't like that line of questioning either.

          Like if the government lowered the speed limit on all roads to 10kms we'd probably have fewer deaths but we are all ok with (or at least accept) that certain numbers of people are going to die each year

          Reply
          • chris T 8.2.1.1.1
            10 October 2021 at 12:26 pm

            It is quite ugly and I admit I am probably being an arsehole. But we were talking about it at work the other day.

            I actually went for 650ish. (Would never say that as a politician as you would be screwed)

            Just an easy flu + car crash deaths a year.

            You could add all the cancer numbers of deaths on, but makes it too complicated.

            Obviously zero is better, but it is what it is and we have to accept/deal with the hand we are dealt

            Edit:And suicides

            Reply
            • Puckish Rogue 8.2.1.1.1.1
              10 October 2021 at 12:30 pm

              I'm sure all the politicians have a number to be under but I'm of the view that all the information is out there so get vaccinated or don't, mask up or don't, self isolate as much as possible or don't and lets all open up

              Reply
              • chris T …
                10 October 2021 at 12:37 pm

                I find it a bit weird that people think the govt and opposition parties don't take into account different loss of life acceptable or unacceptable into consideration every day.

                If they didn't they would be a bit shit considering their resources.

                Ardern will have a nightmare figure, an acceptable figure and a easy win next election figure.

                She is a brainy chick

                Reply
                • Gezza …
                  10 October 2021 at 3:49 pm

                  “She is a brainy chick”
                  …………………………………

                  I see no evidence for that conclusion. While she is not stupid, she is mostly only concentrating on ONE thing – Covid. And she is voluble in deflecting & refusing to acknowledge any shortcomings in the strategies to date.

                  By now she SHOULD be well-versed in the numbers and the strategies, & she & Robertson have somehow got out of sync a time or two. Her other areas of responsibility she seems less familiar with & less on top of. Child povidy, anyone?

                  Reply
                  • Patricia Bremner …
                    10 October 2021 at 5:45 pm

                    Jacinda Ardern is well versed in what is needed going forward. She is acknowledged as an inspirational Leader, and our covid stats and GDP bear this out. You may not like her style, but to say "only covid" does not flatter you.

                    Child poverty is worse everywhere because.. Covid. Our biggest issue currently. You are doing what JK used to do.. attacking strength. I C U.

                    Reply
                    • Gezza …
                      10 October 2021 at 5:57 pm
                      1. Child povidy had got worse on her watch BEFORE Covid, Patricia.
                      2. Being “inspirational” is not the same thing as being “a brainy chick”.
                      3. I know she’s from the Wycaddo ruralities, so she’s got that lazy rural central Cow cocky diction, but God I wish she’d stop saying sumpthink, anythink, & nuthink, & would also learn to pronounce t’s as t’s & not d’s. Also not the hallmarks of “a brainy chick”.

                      Somebody has smartened up her te reo Māori pronunciation. Surely someine can take her aside now & smarten up her English pronunciation.

                    • Gezza …
                      10 October 2021 at 6:00 pm

                      🙄 *Someine = someone

              • McFlock …
                10 October 2021 at 8:33 pm

                The thing about the speed limit is that it won't save lives if people start to ignore it.

                For all of those causes of death mentioned, the government spends literally millions every year to try to stop people dying from them. But with covid's infection rate, it's not like we can half arse it and just have an "acceptable" number of dead. That shit spreads. Even with moderate controls, we need absurdedly high vax rates across the board to avoid literally thousands of deaths a year.

                Sure, number of people dying directly from covid under different circumstances is part of the decision-making matrix, but it's definitely not the only number. Turns out a healthy society is better for the economy than being a plagueland, even if the tory narrative doesn't agree.

                And the last couple of years raises the wider question about whether maybe we've been accepting preventable deaths because we were used to them and they were lower than 50 years ago, but actually we can do a lot better if we did things like border tests for influenza, rsv, and maybe a few others.

                Reply
  10. observer 10
    10 October 2021 at 11:49 am

    Stuff Comments continues to be the sewer of conspiracy theories and flat out fibs. Of course that is commonplace on social media (and blogs!) but Stuff is supposed to be a professional media outlet with moderation on their comments threads (as they claim). Sadly, they barely bother.

    Example: Tracy Watkins' column (itself bad enough) is open for lies comments. So we get rubbish like this –

    why was the prime minister a last minute cancellation on Friday for the press conference? No one was informed least of all the press gallery. She then surfaced in Rotorua only to once again disappear without informing anyone of her movements

    Yes, the PM of New Zealand mysteriously disappears and hides because it's a Conspiracy!11!!

    Anybody with Google (i.e anybody at all) could fact-check in 5 seconds and see where the PM has been. Then you chuck the pork pies in the bin. That is literally the job of the moderators employed by Stuff. Or rather, it should be. But they can't be arsed.

    Reply
    • Gezza 10.1
      10 October 2021 at 12:27 pm

      You did exceptionally well to find a Stuff article they were allowing comments on. These days they’re rarer than hens’ teeth.

      I don’t really understand your apparent apoplexy about the comments on Watkins column (tho I’d put her in the Sir John Key fangirl club) because from my perspective most Stuff journos have been afflicted by Jacindamania since she first rescued Labour from electoral oblivion & only a few of the opinion writers generally dare to criticise her.

      Reply
      • observer 10.1.1
        10 October 2021 at 12:40 pm

        The comments are not the column.

        (I don't agree with Watkins much either, but op-eds are like that, always gonna vary. Obviously not the issue here).

        The comment I quoted appears to have been removed now, after several hours, which illustrates how hopeless their system is. They only remove the lies after they are challenged – as I did in this case and I expect many others did too. Other misinformation remains and who has the time to spend their Sunday cleaning up the Stuff website? It is their job.

        They are legally and ethically the publisher, and moderating is a minimum requirement. "Opinion" is not a defence: "Ardern eats kittens" is an opinion, and also defamation.

        Reply
  11. joe90 11
    10 October 2021 at 12:32 pm

    The sprinkler lady has competition.

    Reply
  12. Gezza 12
    10 October 2021 at 12:42 pm

    “A man brutally attacked while walked home in Flaxmere says he felt a blow on his neck and ran and fell, not realising he had been stabbed. The man was then stabbed three more times on the back before he was able to get up and run again to an area with houses, where his calls for help were answered.

    Police and the man’s family are now appealing for help to find the alleged attacker behind the stabbing, which occured bout 5am on Saturday on Chatham Rd, near Chatham Park.

    The victim, a man in his 20s, told Hawke’s Bay Today he was walking home from a nightclub at the time.

    “I’m not too sure where he came from [the attacker], I just remembered seeing him by a truck and felt myself being hit,” he said. ‘I didn’t realise I was stabbed but I ran and fell – I think that’s when he stabbed my back up.'”
    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/hastings-man-stabbed-four-times-while-walking-home-in-flaxmere-tried-to-run-from-attacker/SNLRAVYNSCRCH225CDMU2INKCI/
    …………………………………….

    The police have a description & and are asking for any witnesses or those who might know something about this to contact them.

    Man, wtf is wrong with our little paradise bubble in the South Pacific? How do so many whackos or haters end up walking our streets?

    Reply
  13. joe90 13
    10 October 2021 at 12:53 pm

    Best explanation yet to why the government changed tack.

    The likely net result is countries such as Singapore, Australia and New Zealand will see less suffering and tragedy than Europe or the US saw last year. Exposing a vaccinated population to the virus is different because vaccines protect people from the most harmful effect of COVID-19 infections.

    Singapore, for example, has recorded 46,637 new cases in the last four weeks, but on Thursday only 297 required oxygen and 40 people were so sick they had to be in intensive care.

    Some people still die. Last week, Singapore recorded its 100th death related to COVID-19. As of Thursday, fatalities had reached 136. As those tents outside hospitals show, the surge in cases has put the health system under pressure.

    […]

    On Thursday, Singapore reported 3483 new infections. Teo believes the true number is likely twice that, or even more. People who don’t feel ill don’t get tested, he notes.

    Some 98.4 per cent of those who tested positive in the last 28 days had no, or mild, symptoms. But for 18 months people have been living in fear. Now policymakers have to change that messaging.

    “Australia and Singapore share many common experiences.” Teo says. “Since the pandemic began, our countries have done so well telling people that ‘you don’t want to be affected; it affects you, your household, the whole community’.

    “Now we’re saying, ‘even if you are infected, it’s OK, stay at home, stay isolated, recover and that will be all right for you’.

    https://www.afr.com/world/asia/singapore-s-immunity-trap-a-lesson-for-australia-20211007-p58y2y

    Reply
  14. Patricia Bremner 14
    10 October 2021 at 1:11 pm

    60 cases today. All but 3 in Auckland.

    How many are because of the "protest" a week ago? Throw the book at the "Apostle" and his mate because they are supposed to be planning another.

    The government should bring in the $4000 instant fines.. that caused a sudden drop in takers for protests in QLD and NSW.

    It may give our tractor friends food for thought about Novembers planned repeat.

    Reply
  15. chris T 15
    10 October 2021 at 1:20 pm

    OK truth.

    It is about time we had this. I don't care what you say or who you vote for. I don't care if you would never vote for another party out of some seird nutty principle I don't get.

    Rate the leaders NOW. (purely personal opinion)

    Ardern – 6/10

    Let's face it. She was a bit shit Monday and Tuesday getting the message across, when tcomunication has always been her greatest asset. Maybe her annoyed boyfriend will stop tweeting about it . And no matter how much you try to justify it, your vaccine roll out was one of the shittest in the world. And targets aren't bad.

    Collins 2/10

    Give it up love. Mate Your writing is on the wall so likely you might as well be holding the piece of chalk

    Seymour 9/10

    Would never vote for the dude, but winner on every day so far.. The fact he is even mentioned is interesting. Also did a good interview with one dumb journalist.

    Reply
    • Puckish Rogue 15.1
      10 October 2021 at 1:30 pm

      Ardern – 7/10 While I agree with your rating that she still manages to convince a helluva lot of people that she knows what shes doing and is in control of the situation means she gets a higher rating from me

      Collins – 1/10 The media hate her and won't give her the time of day (the fix is in) but National still shouldn't roll her

      Seymour – 8/10 Is doing very well but just needs a little more polishing

      The Greens – Conspicuous by their absence so no rating, would probably recommend that JAG never be interviewed on live tv ever again

      Reply
    • Gezza 15.2
      10 October 2021 at 2:40 pm

      I'll have to watch Seymour on Q+A before I rate any of them.

      Reply
      • Gezza 15.2.1
        10 October 2021 at 3:32 pm

        Seymour started the interview with that goofy-looking grin. He shouldn't try to smile for the cameras when it doesn't come naturally. There's nothing wrong with just having an 'interested' look on one's face when the cameras start rolling for a tv interview.

        Ok. Jack Tame I rate as probably TVNZ's worst political interviewer. He wasted far too much time trying to get Seymour to name an acceptable number of Covid deaths, when no political leader is going to go there.

        He should have been thinking on his arse & asking Seymour questions related to ACT's strategic Covid plan. Like, HOW does he propose to get MOH to work with private industry over rapid antigen testing, vaccine rollouts, exactly what additional capacity for ICU has he calculated would become available & where from, & where would it go into place. That sort of thing.

        Corin Dann would leave Jack Tame in the dust. Q+A is rooted with Tame. That's why I've given up watching it altogether. They've send an overgrown boy to do an adult's job.

        Ratings:

        Ardern – 5/10. This week's announcements were a thoroughly confusing omnishambles. Not at all like the start of the Covid campaign last year when stuff was dropped in all our letterboxes & the messaging was expressly simple,comprehensive, & clear – at least in the English language versions. I think Ardern's credibility/ believability has taken a hit last week.

        Collins – 0/10. Dead woman walking. There is nothing Collins can do or say that will persuade anywhere near enuf voters that she would be an acceptable PM of this country. She's an unmitigated disaster for National, & everyone with a functioning brain knows it. Best thing Ardern & Labour have going for them.

        Seymour – 7/10. Actually currently probably IS the leader of the Opposition. Sounds credible, is able to make his plan sound sensible, is a good, clear communicator, handled Tame well – in fact he ended up owning the lad.

        Reply
        • Anne 15.2.1.1
          10 October 2021 at 6:44 pm

          He's a p***k Gezza. He dismembers the truth to the point where he doesn't even try to hide it because he knows the media will let him get away with it. I despair at the idiots out there in voter-land who seem unable to see through the shallow little toad.

          Reply
          • Gezza 15.2.1.1.1
            10 October 2021 at 7:21 pm

            A lot of that support is most likely waiting to rush back to National when Collins is rolled. As long as their next choice isn’t Bridges, or another loon.

            Reply
            • chris T 15.2.1.1.1.1
              10 October 2021 at 10:58 pm

              Your problem is with that is the last couple of polls show the nats are pretty much on their election numbers and it is Labour leaking the numbers.

              Reply
      • Gezza 15.2.2
        11 October 2021 at 1:28 am

        @ Chris T

        Not how it looks to me:

        Reply
  16. Ric 16
    10 October 2021 at 2:57 pm

    At the Public Health blog yesterday Prof Nick Wilson, Dr Jennifer Summers and Prof Michael Baker advocate for more and stricter regional borders including blocking minor roads with containers. They suggest regional areas of elimination and for now suppression in Auckland but perhaps back to elimination later.

    https://blogs.otago.ac.nz/pubhealthexpert/the-need-for-an-updated-strategic-approach-to-covid-19-control-in-aotearoa-nz/

    Reply
  17. Ed 17
    10 October 2021 at 4:00 pm

    I agree with Rod Jackson. If we all follow the rules, DELTA can be eliminated.

    "If you follow the rules, it works … the reason we didn't stamp this outbreak out was people didn't follow the rules," he said.

    Not mentioned is the undermining of public solidarity by the chattering classes, the Media and the Opposition.

    Don't believe Rod Jackson – Taiwan just did it.

    How?

    1. The government never quit.
    2. The public never quit.
    3. There was no chattering class undermining unity.
    4. Mandatory scanning
    5. Rapid anti-gen testing has increasingly become a part of daily life.
    6. Vaccinations
    7. Masks were mandated in all instances outside the home.

    The Long Road Back to Zero — Taiwan’s Covid Recovery

    Reply
    • Koff 17.1
      10 October 2021 at 4:33 pm

      Taiwan's big outbreak wasn't Delta – it was alpha. Also significant is which community the virus infects. Even Michael Baker thoughr that the level of compliance in South Auckland's most deprived wouldn't have improved if Auckland had stayed at level 4 any longer. Note that Victoria locked down hard and fast as well but has failed to quash the nasty virus because of significant lack of compliance and is now at the 1800 to 1900 cases per day level. Having said that, Singapore is getting over 3000 cases a day but hardly any serious illness or deaths with over 80% full vaccination and generally compliant population. It's not a great time to be in government and have to make such difficult decisions.

      Reply
      • greywarshark 17.1.1
        10 October 2021 at 4:40 pm

        Very true Koff – good to see the stats behind the info. Thanks.

        Reply
      • RedLogix 17.1.2
        10 October 2021 at 5:55 pm

        And note that Taiwan seem to have achieved this without extensive lockdowns. The really smart thing they seem to have done is ramp up their own domestic production of comfortable and effective facemasks.

        By paying attention to details, like non-scratchy materials, design to minimise fogging of eye glasses and loops that go around the back of the head rather than irritating the ears – plus of course high grade filtration – they've made it far easier for people to use them routinely and effectively.

        Reply
      • miravox 17.1.3
        10 October 2021 at 6:23 pm

        "Taiwan's big outbreak wasn't Delta – it was alpha"

        So far, it seems it seems they same tools have worked to both prevent the delta transmission as well as suppress the alpha outbreak.

        Taiwan has now had five brushes with Delta, including two sizeable outbreaks. Thus far it has prevailed, and in a sense, I’m breathing easier with that knowledge. But I’m still haunted by our lapse earlier this year and hope we don’t fall prey to our complacency once again.

        Reply
    • Grafton Gully 17.2
      10 October 2021 at 5:52 pm
      1. 95% Han Chinese
      2. Well educated
      3. United long term by resistance to CPC domination
      Reply
  18. greywarshark 18
    10 October 2021 at 4:24 pm

    UK public servant showed how to be true to the task. Chilcot looked into Tony Blair and saw right through him. But it took seven years.

    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/oct/05/sir-john-chilcot-obituary

    His seven-year-long inquiry into the conflict ruined the reputation of Tony Blair, Labour’s most successful leader since Clement Attlee, by exposing his subservient relationship with the US president, George W Bush, and confirming that the UK and the US had not exhausted the peace process when they went to war to topple the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

    That decision cost 179 British lives, and the death of around 150,000 Iraqis. The wrecked country subsequently saw the rise, and later fall, of the terrorist group Islamic State, and is still suffering from the impact of the war today.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Chilcot

    https://www.ft.com/stream/e563944f-58ae-46f6-ac21-c4a2b9c9a4e1

    Reply
  19. Gezza 19
    10 October 2021 at 4:36 pm

    Collins puts the boot in to Ardern…
    ……………………………………..

    “National Party leader Judith Collins is calling on the Prime Minister to “come out from the shadows” after several days of no-shows at previously daily press conferences.

    Collins says for neither Jacinda Ardern or any of her ministers being forced to front – especially today when the Ministry of Health announced 60 new Covid cases in a written statement – is poor timing as the outbreak slowly spreads around the North Island.

    “New Zealanders will be unsettled by the news – delivered via written statement – that we have 60 new community cases today and yet our Prime Minister did not even get one of her senior ministers to stand in for her at the podium.

    “National have been critical at times about the unnecessary press conferences that were held when case numbers were very low, but if Jacinda Ardern thought it necessary to speak directly to the media then, why now with 60 cases is she missing in action?

    “It is clear there are questions that Prime Minister Ardern does not want to be asked.”

    Collins said the Government needed to front foot the role of gangs in spreading Covid around New Zealand.”
    More…
    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-delta-outbreak-judith-collins-calls-on-jacinda-ardern-to-front-clearly-questions-pm-does-not-want-to-be-asked/C47MHT564MFYNSPU5XNSK4JF4E/

    Reply
    • observer 19.1
      10 October 2021 at 4:46 pm

      If Judith thinks Rotorua, Hawke's Bay, Gisborne etc are "the shadows", no wonder National lost so many seats in the provinces. Again, it's all performative, role play with no meaning … the alternative whinge is "why doesn't the PM get out of Wellington and meet real Kiwis?". Yawn.

      I suppose the next page in the tired old playbook is to claim that tomorrow's post-Cab only happens because National boldly demanded it, never mind that it happens every week.

      Reply
    • mac1 19.2
      10 October 2021 at 10:21 pm

      The stupid thing is that not long ago Collins et al. were complaining about the daily 1 pm updates were purely political stunts and now after Ardern has been out doing great work in the provinces getting people to buy into vaccination she's accused of not fronting.

      This opposition for opposition's sake, this contrarian mood, this exaggeration and dramatics has not not worked to convince the centre. The contrarian Right will not see National back into power. Now we read that National MPs are financially illiterate.

      I knew that when a National MP grumped about high country stations selling for good prices because it would put up the local body rates on farms…………..

      Reply
  20. Ad 20
    10 October 2021 at 5:18 pm

    Amazing to hear so many people complain about our "loose border", after so many businesses begged us to open up again.

    Looks like 60 is going to rocket up through the hundreds though.

    Hold tight Auckland.

    Reply
    • Herodotus 20.1
      10 October 2021 at 5:57 pm

      Where the f is the government ? no real contact with us for since Thursday, and look at what as happened since then. There are people moving thru boarders, how does someone cross the boarder on multi occasions, I thought that there would be only the actual move? This lack of govt contact is leaving opportunity for people to fill the void left open, which imo is reducing confidence in the govts efforts.

      Reply
      • Ad 20.1.1
        10 October 2021 at 6:10 pm

        Auckland's rapidly heading for 90% first shot so Ardern and team are taking the show to the provinces and boonies where the resisters are. Makes good sense to me.

        Reply
        • Herodotus 20.1.1.1
          10 October 2021 at 6:25 pm

          We are approaching 150 cases since Thursday. Case in Katikati, A very close contact to the Northland person with Covid and there where abouts is unknown. Should those in Northland be concerned or is the MIA understood to be within Auckland? So the PM is in the East Cape taking the show to the provinces, what of a plan for those other areas that need a boost, what are the plans for them ? Is our government only 1 person and the rest are surplus, IMO the governments should have sufficient talent to cover the PM's absence ? Or are the current events beyond the govt ?

          There has been little development previously that that still warranted government announcements at 1:00, yet now nothing?

          Reply
  21. Koff 21
    10 October 2021 at 5:29 pm

    Collins and Seymour can hardly complain about rising case numbers. They want to 'learn to iive with the virus'. It's here in all its glory. They should enjoy its presence.

    Reply
  23. Grafton Gully 23
    10 October 2021 at 6:16 pm

    It was always going to spread here and so far the government's measures have protected us from an overloaded hospital system and the threat of social conflict due to the disproportionate effect of covid on the underclass, elderly, Maori and Pasifika.

    Reply
    • Gezza 23.1
      10 October 2021 at 6:30 pm

      I think that’s a fair assessment.

      The early Māori & Pasifika vaccine rollout inadequacies were becoming a potential source of real anger & potential conflict but thank goodness sane heads have prevailed on all sides & things are looking much improved with some innovative approaches to getting vaccines to the actual communities concerned, after MOH finally started really listening to – and properly talking with – whanau/aiga/community leaders.

      Reply
  24. DS 24
    10 October 2021 at 6:57 pm

    Put the entire North Island in level 4 for a fortnight, and cut off the South Island. It's not going to stop the gang muppets, but it'll keep everyone else safe.

    Reply
  25. joe90 25
    10 October 2021 at 7:04 pm

    Einsteins.

    Reply
    • Graeme 25.1
      10 October 2021 at 9:29 pm

      Yep, parr for the course…

      I had a National candidate come in the shop one election trying to tell me how great their proposed tax cuts were going to be for me. I replied that it it would be nice to be paying tax. After a bit of bluster implying that I was some weirdo that actually enjoyed paying tax the penny dropped and he departed, very swiftly. But the expression at moment of comprehension was unforgettable.

      Reply

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    Last year, in the early stages of the pandemic, the Prime Minister’s “team of five million” performed well; team discipline was maintained and we all worked well together. This year, however, has been a different story; team discipline has weakened, and many people have on numerous occasions behaved badly and ...
    Bryan GouldBy Bryan Gould
    3 days ago

  • Climate Change: Another legal victory
    Across the world climate change activists have been going to court, seeking to make their governments act to protect future generations. And hot on the heels of victories in the Netherlands and Germany, there's been another one in France: A French court has ordered the government to make up ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • Invasion Of The (Covid) Body Snatchers.
    It's Here! They're Here! We're Here! Help! It’s as if we’re all living through a Covid version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. What has become of Jacinda? Where have they taken her closest Cabinet colleagues? The people on the stage of the Beehive Theatrette look the same, but they ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 days ago

  • NZ Politics Daily: 15 October 2021
    Today’s NZPD testimonial from Associate Professor Grant Duncan, Massey University, Auckland “The NZ Politics Daily email is very helpful in giving me a quick overview of current events and opinion. It allows me to pick out important or informative columns that I may otherwise have missed. I recommend NZ Politics Daily to anyone ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago

  • Missing From The Anti-Covid Action.
    The Invisible Man: Where has the NZ Council of Trade Unions been during the Covid-19 Pandemic? Why hasn’t its current president, Richard Wagstaff (above) become a household name during the pandemic? Up there with Ashley Bloomfield, Michael Baker, Shaun Hendy and Siouxsie Wiles? WHERE HAVE THE UNIONS BEEN during the Covid-19 ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 days ago

  • “Go West, Young Virus”
    The Auckland Coronavirus Outbreak potters along, not helped by the perception that the Government is disturbingly enthusiastic about “managing the virus” or loosening the border. Health Minister Andrew Little said today he envisages 90% vaccination rates (which we don’t have) eventually leading to 5,000 cases in Auckland a week… ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    4 days ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #41, 2021
    How to fill a glass and thereby drink— from a fire hose So far this year, New Research has published listings for 3,291 papers concerning climate change from one aspect or another. Each edition includes two dozen or so articles describing freshly and directly observed effects of global waming. These ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • Climate Change: UKanians supports cuts
    The Guardian reports a study on emissions reduction policy from the UK, which found that UKanians overwhelmingly support stronger action than their government: The UK public backs a carbon tax on polluting industries, higher levies on flying and grants for heat pumps in order to tackle the climate crisis, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • Media Link: “A View from Afar” on PRC-Taiwan tensions.
    In this week’s podcast Selwyn Manning and I discuss the upsurge in tensions between the PRC and Taiwan and what are the backgrounds to and implications of them. You can check the conversation out here. ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago

  • Labour’s 2023 election manifesto
    This morning Health Minister Andrew Little effectively unveiled Labour's 2023 election manifesto: 5,000 cases a week in Auckland alone: Thousands of people will be infected with Covid-19 every week even with vaccination levels at 90 per cent, and hospitals face being overwhelmed once restrictions are eased and borders opened, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • Don't Blame James.
    Emissions Impossible! So, don’t be too hard on poor James Shaw. His pathetic little To-Do list is, indeed, totally inadequate to the crisis. But, you know what? He’ll be lucky to get half of the items ticked-off. There’s just too many entrenched interests – not the least of whom are ...
    Bowalley Road
    4 days ago

  • The “Pulpit of Strewth”
    Barry Soper is one half of one of one of those right-wing husband-and-wife duos in which the Herald seems to specialise. In today’s issue, he has a piece that doesn’t quite reach the heights (or depths) of a Hoskings-style anti-government hostility, but which does provide an interesting example of the ...
    Bryan GouldBy Bryan Gould
    4 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the epic fails of Kris Faafoi
    Ever since Winston Peters first breathed life into this government in 2018, its own branding has been all about social justice and how we all need to be “kind” to each other. Somehow, Kris Faafoi must have missed the memo. His performance in the immigration portfolio (in particular) has neither ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    4 days ago

  • NZ Politics Daily: 14 October 2021
    Today’s NZPD testimonial from Mike Treen, Advocate, Unite Union “Please continue your incredible work compiling these news digests. As someone operating in the fields of advocacy for workers and the broader social justice areas it is invaluable to be able to check what is happening in the media relating to the issues I have to deal ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago

  • Overconfident Idiots: Why Incompetence Breeds Certainty
    This is a re-post from the Thinking is Power website maintained by Melanie Trecek-King where she regularly writes about many aspects of critical thinking in an effort to provide accessible and engaging critical thinking information to the general public. Please see this overview to find links to other reposts from Thinking is Power. ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Climate Change: Abandoning ambition
    When Labour was first elected to power in 2017, they promised us "[an] ambitious plan to take real action on climate change". Four years and a lot of foot-dragging later, they've finally released that plan. And its not what was promised. Where to begin? Firstly, they've taken the Climate Change ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • Young adults worldwide have blunt message for governments: ‘We don’t trust you.’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk Elizabeth Marks describes herself as “a psychologist who works on difficult problems.” Her past research aimed at helping people cope with challenging health conditions, apt training, it appears, for taking on climate change issues. A few years ago, she altered ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Making ‘Second Age’ Hobbits Work: Amazon Series Speculation
    Time for a good old-fashioned fandom furore. The Tolkien fandom hasn’t had a proper one of those since the Great Nudity Scandal of October 2020… so it clearly must be time to pontificate from on-high about a television series we still know vanishingly little about. This time the subject ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago

  • NZ Politics Daily: 13 October 2021
    Today’s NZPD testimonial from Dr Lara Greaves, Political scientist, University of Auckland: “I love the NZ Politics Daily emails as they help me to keep on top of current events. It’s incredibly easy to skim through and follow the links. I really appreciate these as it means that I am exposed to a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    5 days ago

  • The Data and Statistics Bill and the OIA
    The government introduced a new Data and Statistics Bill today to modernise and replace the 45-year old Statistics Act. Part of the Bill re-enacts the existing confidentiality regime (with one exception), which while a secrecy clause isn't an especially controversial one. Another part is aimed at removing "outdated" (inconvenient) limits ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • Graham Adams: The debate over the $55 million media fund erupts again
    RNZ’s Mediawatch and a video clip viewed 42,000 times keep the topic of the Public Interest Journalism Fund fizzing. Graham Adams reports.   A week ago, the NZ Taxpayers’ Union posted a short video clip of the exchange in Parliament between Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins in which the National ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    6 days ago

  • Multiple sclerosis: the link with earlier infection just got stronger – new study
    Scott Montgomery, UCL For most of the time since the first description of multiple sclerosis (MS) in 1868, the causes of this disabling disease have remained uncertain. Genes have been identified as important, which is why having other family members with MS is associated with a greater risk of developing ...
    SciBlogsBy Guest Author
    6 days ago

  • Hit hard by the pandemic, researchers expect its impacts to linger for years
    Sora Park, University of Canberra; Jennie Scarvell, University of Canberra, and Linda Botterill, University of Canberra   The impacts of COVID-19 on Australian university researchers are likely to have consequences for research productivity and quality for many years to come. According to an online survey of academics at the University ...
    SciBlogsBy Guest Author
    6 days ago

  • Covid and free speech
    by Don Franks Some commentators have likened the struggle against Covid 19 to the world war experience. To those of us not alive in those times, that comparison can only be academic. What the anti virus battle reminds me of much more is an industrial strike. In my twenties and ...
    RedlineBy Admin
    6 days ago

  • “Angry Blowhards”
    In today’s Herald, their excellent columnist, Simon Wilson, takes to task those “shouty” people whom he further describes as “angry blowhards”. They are those whose prime reaction to the pandemic is anger – an anger they seamlessly (and perhaps unwittingly) transfer from the virus to the government. The basis for ...
    Bryan GouldBy Bryan Gould
    6 days ago

  • Looking Forward To 2022.
    Future Tense? Okay, so that’s where we are in 2022. Living in a New Zealand where all the usual rules of politics once again apply. And, guess what? Jacinda’s government, once again, isn’t doing very well – not very well at all.LET’S PLAY A GAME. Let’s pretend we’re half-way through ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on Covid mandates, and the Covid pill
    The cliché about “living with Covid” will not mean life as we’ve known it, Jim. Vaccination is fast becoming a condition of employment, and also a requirement to participate in aspects of social life, such as travel, attending bars, cafes, and concerts etc. These protective measures enjoy a high level ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    6 days ago

  • NZ Politics Daily: 12 October 2021
    Today’s NZPD testimonial from Prof Alan Bollard, Professor of Practice at the School of Government, Victoria University of Wellington; Chair of the Infrastructure Commission: “NZ Politics Daily” provides a great public service – a quick and unbiased way to check policy announcements and analysis every morning.” Anyone can sign up to NZPD ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    6 days ago

  • Legal Beagle: A submission on the COVID-19 Public Health Response Amendment Bill (No 2)
    I have made a submission on the COVID-19 Public Health Response Amendment Bill (No 2).In preparing it, I looked at the Hansard for the first reading debate, and got name-dropped as someone likely to make a submission. So, of course I did. I focus on a small bit of the ...
    Public Address
    6 days ago

  • Hard News: More tales from the Medicinal Cannabis Scheme
    You may have read last week that two years after the publication of regulations for medicinal cannabis – and three years after the enabling legislation – two local products from a local manufacturer have finally met the minimum quality standards for prescription. You may also be interested to know that ...
    Public Address
    7 days ago

  • Climate Change: Real action requires government
    Over the weekend someone pointed me at a journal article on "The Poverty of Theory: Public Problems, Instrument Choice, and the Climate Emergency". Its a US law journal article, so is a) very long; and b) half footnotes (different disciplines have different norms), but the core idea is that the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago

  • Climate Change: Not doing our bit
    Last month the US and EU announced they would push an agreement to cut methane emissions by 30% (from 2020 levels) by 2030 at the upcoming climate change conference in Glasgow. The good news is that New Zealand is looking at joining it. The bad news is that that won't ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago

  • Delta’s Week Of Doom.
    Classic Shot: Are the Prime Minister’s formidable communication skills equal to the task of getting her government’s anti-Covid campaign back on track?IF JACINDA ARDERN thought last week was bad, the week ahead promises to be even worse. Sixty community cases of Covid-19, one of the highest daily totals so far ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago

  • Urgent measures needed to allow the safe re-opening of Auckland schools
    Dr Rachel Webb, Dr Jin Russell, Dr Pip Anderson, Dr Emma Best, Dr Alison Leversha and Dr Subha Rajanaidu* In this blog we describe the range of urgent measures that are needed to facilitate a safe return to schools in Auckland and other regions of the country where there is ...
    SciBlogsBy Public Health Expert
    1 week ago

  • Children live online more than ever – we need better definitions of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ scree...
    Kathryn MacCallum, University of Canterbury and Cheryl Brown, University of Canterbury   The pandemic has fundamentally altered every part of our lives, not least the time we spend on digital devices. For young people in particular, the blurred line between recreational and educational screen time presents new challenges we are ...
    SciBlogsBy Guest Author
    1 week ago

  • Putting Aotearoa on the map: New Zealand has changed its name before, why not again?
    Claire Breen, University of Waikato; Alexander Gillespie, University of Waikato; Robert Joseph, University of Waikato, and Valmaine Toki, University of Waikato   Our names are a critical part of our identity. They are a personal and social anchor tying us to our families, our culture, our history and place in ...
    SciBlogsBy Guest Author
    1 week ago

  • Speaker: Yes, of course festival organisers will follow the law on vaccination
    On Tuesday 5 October the New Zealand Government announced that proof of COVID-19 vaccination would be a requirement to attend large events this summer.It took a few days for event owners to absorb the information and understand the implications. By the end of the working week, most of the big ...
    Public Address
    1 week ago

  • NZ Politics Daily: 11 October 2021
    Today’s NZPD testimonial from Jim Hubbard, Cartoonist “NZ Politics daily is a go to for cartoonists, or should be.  Political reporting enmasse like this gives cartoonists and political junkies a smorgasbord to get their teeth into. Essential and I daresay vital reading for those who care about the future of NZ.” Anyone can sign ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    1 week ago

  • 2021 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #41
    Listing of articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, October 3, 2021 through Sat, October 9, 2021 The following articles sparked above average interest during the week: VFX Artist Reveals how Many Solar Panels are Needed to Power the ENTIRE World, Will you fall ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • The Night of Parmenides: accepted
    A bit of good news on the writing front. My 3900-word short story, The Night of Parmenides, has been accepted by SpecFicNZ for their upcoming Aftermath anthology, to be published in early 2022. This is my first published short story to be explicitly set in my home-town of ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago

  • The Virus, the Politician, and the gang member
    . . . . . References Newshub Nation: Gang leader Harry Tam denies Winston Peters’ claims he helped infected woman breach COVID boundary, sparking Northland lockdown Te Ao News: ‘Apologise!’ Mob leader slams Peters’ Covid, Northland allegations Stuff media: Covid-19 – Search for contact of Northland case ‘extraordinarily frustrating’ CNBC: ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    1 week ago

  • Rapid kits, responses, and openings: watch motivations, or catch something worse with Covid…
    Last week was probably a high point for many armchair “experts”, fresh from their high after some deep inhaling of the various musings and fumings, of an actually very smug, and very insualted John “Things all work for me…” Key, former Prime Minister and FOREX trader, had blitzed the ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    1 week ago

  • Bollocks
    It would appear we have an unwelcome presence in town.Positive wastewater results had been detected in Hamilton and Palmerston North on October 6 and 7. There are 26 cases in hospital, seven of these are in ICU or high dependency units (HDU).One of the people in hospital is in Palmerston ...
    Left hand palmBy lurgee
    1 week ago

  • World-leading?
    So, the Herald has found someone, as we can see from today’s issue, who is able to explain why we should not claim to have been “world-leading” in our response to the covid epidemic. It seems that we have been kidding ourselves when we celebrated our low total number of ...
    Bryan GouldBy Bryan Gould
    1 week ago

  • Why Is Labour So Frightened Of “Mr Stick”?
    Force Multiplier: Why are Ardern and her ministers so loathe to put a bit of stick about? The “emergency” legislation eventually enacted to authorise the measures needed to combat the Covid-19 pandemic failed to confer upon the New Zealand Government the unequivocal authority that subsequent events showed to be so ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago

  • The Need for an Updated Strategic Approach to Covid-19 Control in Aotearoa NZ
    Prof Nick Wilson, Dr Jennifer Summers, Prof Michael Baker* The NZ Government appears to have drifted into an unclear strategic approach to Covid-19 control. In this blog we outline one potential way forward: a regional strategic approach that considers “regional suppression” and “regional elimination”. To maximise the success of this ...
    SciBlogsBy Public Health Expert
    1 week ago

  • Mairon: The Actual Source for the Blasted Name
    Long-time Tolkien geeks – or those bemused enough to run across a certain internet phenomenon – might know that ‘Sauron’ is not actually the real name of the Lord of the Ring. ‘Sauron’ is just an abusive Elvish nickname, meaning ‘the Abhorred.’ Sauron’s actual name, at least originally, ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago

  • Forced Re-entry
    The elimination of Covid strategy is not so much defeated but changing circumstances means that policy has to evolve. Our elimination stance was never sustainable or at least it would not be until the rest of the world also eliminated Covid-19. Elimination of the virus was a strategy we adopted ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago

  • Repeal this unjust law
    Yesterday the Supreme Court ruled on National's unjust "three strikes" law, and found that the sentence it required was (in the case in question) so disproportionate as to "shock the conscience" and violate the Bill of Rights Act ban on disproportionately severe treatment or punishment: The Supreme Court has ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago

  • Climate Change: Preparing for the flood
    The Christchurch City Council has published new "coastal hazards" data, indicating which places are under threat from sea-level rise. And its not good news: Parts of Christchurch and Banks Peninsula are likely to become unhabitable [sic] as the city council figures out how to adapt to sea level ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago

  • The Virus, Not The Government
    I wonder if Mike Hosking ever reads the paper in which he appears so regularly? If he does, he might have noticed a report in today’s Herald about the problem that could face churches in Auckland if a vaccine passport becomes mandatory for those wishing to attend church services. The ...
    Bryan GouldBy Bryan Gould
    1 week ago

  • NZ Politics Daily: 8 October 2021
    Today’s NZPD testimonial from Bill Ralston, Media consultant and columnist: “NZ Politics Daily provides an invaluable service for journalists, politicians, businesspeople, decision makers and the public at large by providing an easily accessible, exhaustive, link to every significant political story in the country’s media that day. It’s a gem of a service ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    1 week ago

  • Open letter to Michael Barnett, Julie White, et al
    . . Congratulations,  Mr Barnett, Ms White, and your business colleagues. It appears that we will end up having to “live” (ie, get sick, end up in hospital, perhaps in ICU, intubated on ventilators, and possibly dying as our lungs fail) with covid19. But at least businesses will open up. ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    1 week ago

  • Introducing Mr Stick.
    MR STICK: You media types think the people of this country have changed, but you’re wrong. We’re the same tough bastards we’ve always been. Put a bit of stick about – and listen to us cheer!JOSEPHINE MUCH-ADOO: Kia ora, everyone, and welcome to “Introducing”. Today we are very pleased to ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #40, 2021
    "Old" research There's little point in trying to best this excellent article describing the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics by Ars Technica authors Jennifer Ouelette and John Timmer, each having a gift for concisely on-target, accessible science journalism. Here at New Research we'll punt and quote the The Royal Swedish Academy of ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 weeks ago

  • Standing on one leg is a sign of good health – and practising is good for you too
    Dawn Skelton, Glasgow Caledonian University Research shows that people’s ability to stand on one leg is an indicator of health and that getting better at standing on one leg can add to fitness and potentially lifespan. Being able to stand on one leg is linked to increased levels of physical ...
    SciBlogsBy Guest Author
    2 weeks ago

  • Climate Change: More dishonesty over the CCR
    Last month the Emissions Trading Scheme turned into a farce, when the government flooded the market with credits in a failed and wasteful attempt to Keep Carbon Prices Low. When I asked about the background of this policy Climate Change Minister James Shaw sent me one of the most egregious ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 weeks ago

  • Schrödinger’s Wraith: The Status of the Witch-King of Angmar, 15th-25th March, T.A. 3019.
    My recent re-read of The Lord of the Rings reminded me of one of the vaguer head-scratchers in Tolkien. The status of the Witch-King of Angmar between his death at the Battle of Pelennor Fields and the Destruction of the One Ring ten days later… was he, in the ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    2 weeks ago

  • How rainbow colour maps can distort data and be misleading
    Philip Heron, University of Toronto; Fabio Crameri, University of Oslo, and Grace Shephard, University of Oslo   The choice of colour to represent information in scientific images is a fundamental part of communicating findings. However, a number of colour palettes that are widely used to display critical scientific results are ...
    SciBlogsBy Guest Author
    2 weeks ago

  • Gordon Campbell on Korea’s march to global cultural domination, plus a K-pop playlist
    So far, South Korea’s culture industries seem to be pandemic proof. They’re also winning huge global audiences, and not merely large domestic ones. In recent years, South Korea’s TV series (Squid Game, Descendants of The Sun) and movies ( Parasite, Oldboy, The Handmaiden) have become global hits. However, it has ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    2 weeks ago

  • In a lockdown, where does work end and parenting begin? Welcome to the brave new world of ‘zigzag...
    Candice Harris, Auckland University of Technology and Jarrod Haar, Auckland University of Technology   All parents work. The difference lies in the breakdown between their paid and unpaid workloads. That equation is influenced by many things, including education, qualifications, age, ethnicity, financial status, number and age of dependants, gendered and ...
    SciBlogsBy Guest Author
    2 weeks ago

Older posts

  • New Zealand increases climate aid contribution
    Government commits $1.3 billion over four years to support countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change At least 50 percent of funding will go to the Pacific as it adapts to the impacts of climate change The increase means New Zealand now meets its fair share of global ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 hours ago

  • Super Māori turnout for Super Saturday
    Māori have put a superb effort into mobilising to get vaccinated over Super Saturday, with thousands rolling up their sleeves to protect themselves, their whānau and communities from COVID-19, Associate Health Minister Peeni Henare says. “It was absolutely outstanding that 21,702 Māori got vaccinated on this one day alone with 10,825 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago

  • Language assists Tagata Niue to thrive
    Despite the uncertain times we face with the challenges of COVID-19, our cultural knowledge, values and language remain constant, helping us progress towards goals in life, said  the Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio. This year, the Niuean community in New Zealand decided on the theme, “Kia tupuolaola e ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago

  • New Zealand Ambassador to France announced
    Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta today announced the appointment of Caroline Bilkey as New Zealand’s next Ambassador to France and the OECD. “Aotearoa New Zealand and France have a shared history, and enjoy a strong, collaborative partnership. This includes a strong trade and economic relationship, a shared commitment to support ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Govt welcomes nurses’ pay settlement
    The Government is welcoming news that a new employment agreement for nurses working in public hospitals has been settled. “I am very pleased that the hard work of the Nurses Organisation and District Health Boards has led to a settlement that both can support,” Health Minister Andrew Little said today. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Judge of the High Court appointed
    Māori Land Court Judge Layne Harvey has been appointed a Judge of the High Court, Attorney‑General David Parker announced today. Justice Harvey graduated with an LLB from the University of Auckland in 1992 and commenced employment as a law clerk with Simpson Grierson in Auckland that same year. In 1997 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Kiwis to have their say on plan to reduce waste
    New Zealanders are invited to have their say on proposals for a new waste strategy and options for new waste legislation. “Reducing waste is one of the issues all New Zealanders – especially younger Kiwis - care deeply about,” Environment Minister David Parker said today “New Zealand is one of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Next steps in action plan for indigenous rights kicks off
    Minister for Māori Development Willie Jackson has today meet with more than 30 national Māori organisations in an online hui, kicking off the process to develop a plan for New Zealand to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (the Declaration). The previous National Government signed ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Iwi-led housing solutions build homes for the future
    Whai Kāinga, Whai Oranga will open on 20 October, to receive applications for investment through Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga – Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and Te Puni Kōkiri The $730m fund combines investment from Budget 2021 ($380m) and the Māori Infrastructure Fund ($350m) - the largest investment seen ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • E whakarite ana Te Kāwanatanga i ngā tūāpapa mō tewhakamaumahara ki Te Petihana Reo Māori ka t...
    I te rā nei, i pānuihia e te Minita mō Manatū Taonga, ko Carmel Sepuloni, rāua ko te Minita Whanaketanga Māori, ko Willie Jackson, ā tērā tau, ka whakanuia rawatia te 50 o ngā tau mai i te whakatakotoranga o te petihana mō te Reo Māori me te huanga mai ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • E whakarite ana Te Kāwanatanga i ngā tūāpapa mō twhakamaumahara ki Te Petihana Reo Māori ka t...
    I te rā nei, i pānuihia e te Minita mō Manatū Taonga, ko Carmel Sepuloni, rāua ko te Minita Whanaketanga Māori, ko Willie Jackson, ā tērā tau, ka whakanuia rawatia te 50 o ngā tau mai i te whakatakotoranga o te petihana mō te Reo Māori me te huanga mai ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Government green lights rapid antigen testing
    Some of the country’s largest businesses have put in an order for 300,000 approved rapid antigen tests for their workforce, after working at pace with the Government on a new scheme unveiled by Associate Minister of Health and Research, Science and Innovation Ayesha Verrall. A coalition of around 25 businesses ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Government lays foundations as Māori Language Petition commemorations take shape for 2022
    Taiaha hā! Taiaha hā! - Te kairangi o te reo hoki mai ki taku tikanga, ki taku taumata, ki taku reo, ki taku ao. He reo whai tikanga, he reo whai mana, he reo whai tangata koe. Ki te whāngaihia te reo Māori he ao tēnā, ki te kore he ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Major contract awarded to power NZ Battery investigation
    A consortium of specialist firms has been awarded a major contract to advance the New Zealand Battery Project’s feasibility investigation into a pumped hydro storage scheme at Lake Onslow, the Minister of Energy and Resources Megan Woods has announced. “This contract represents a major milestone as it begins the targeted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Additional Funding for Foodbanks and Social Agencies
    The Government has approved $13.55m from the Covid Response and Recovery Fund to support foodbanks and social sector agencies, Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni has announced. “Foodbanks and social agencies across Auckland are doing a great job supporting their communities and the Government is today providing them with more ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Generating a new generation of guardians
    The Government is supporting a Whakatōhea-led project undertaking landscape scale restoration in forests and around vulnerable rivers within the Eastern Bay of Plenty, Minister of Conservation Kiri Allan says. “The Whakatōhea Tiaki Taiao project will employ four people to undertake pest and weed control, ecosystem restoration and monitoring over three ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Parts of Waikato, Northland staying at Alert Level 3
    The parts of Waikato that have been in Alert Level 3 and Northland will remain in Alert Level 3 for a few more days, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. Auckland remains at Alert Level 3, Step 1. “Based on the latest public health information, ministers have decided that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • New courthouses for Tauranga and Whanganui
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  • Convention on Biological Diversity COP 15, Virtual High-Level Segment
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  • Speech : Pacific Public Sector Fono – Friday 8th October 2021
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  • Compelling case made for modernising local government
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