I've been watching last night's TDB podcast on the economy of 2022, in which Bomber orchestrates a foursome with commentary from Bernard, a prominent entrepreneurial economist, Simon, the lawyer National is using as finance spokesperson due to having nobody in their caucus with financial expertise, and Damien, the libertarian Stuff columnist ex-criminal.
Bomber asked Bernard if the current Minister of Finance would get a knighthood for creating a new class of wealthy property speculators. Bernard started by saying that he'd probably get one anyway. Nice evasion there.
Labour would probably say "No no, you mustn't think that. It was all an unfortunate accident!" That the kiwi middle class transformed itself into a landlord class is best framed the way Labour views it: "Elephant in the room?? Where? Can't see one, don't be ridiculous!"
Thatcher preached the gospel of mum & dad investors 40 years ago and the political left and right have been locked into collusion ever since, implementing her vision.
Vital that Labour never tells the truth about doing this! No worries, pretence is something that Labour excels at – perhaps the only thing. Having operated as the Alternative National Party for so long now, the people who believed Labour was the exact opposite of National are now all dead. So Sir Grant will happen due to his resolute practice of Thatcherism.
Then Bernard said everyone believes their home values will continue to double every two years, so they make economic planning decisions on that basis. BAU. Then he said it was unsustainable, and there ought to be a govt agency created to implement a policy of zero house price inflation. Noticing that something intelligent was happening, Bomber immediately called for a commercial break.
But it does raise the question of how you rationalise their adherence to neoliberalism along with National's – and in particular their coproduction of the enlarged landlord class.
Dennis, Thatcher went to war, did not believe in community, practiced austerity and raising taxes. This Labour Government has had to battle housing as every country World wide is doing. Singapore's approach is thought provoking, but they are able to make dictates. To say this Government is the same as National would be is a real stretch. Remember we are a democracy so the middle way tends to rule. When revolutions occur they seldom favour the poor, rule of law agreements between parties cities countries is the best we have managed. We tie it to Trade so we are hogtied.
Dunno about the Thatcher raising taxes bit. Misprint?
I agree there are significant tonal differences between Labour & National but the economic ideology is shared. I agree the middle way works best but it also preserves inertia and our global situation makes that lethal.
Here's the evidence of the impact of 30 years of global talkfests:
The Copernicus Climate Change Service said 2021 was the fifth-warmest year… The Copernicus data comes from a constellation of Sentinel satellites that monitor the Earth from orbit, as well as measurements taken at ground level… The 2021 average temperature was 1.1-1.2C above the pre-industrial level around 150 years ago.
carbon dioxide concentrations reached 414.3 parts per million last year, growing at a similar rate to 2020. But scientists remarked that methane levels in the atmosphere increased to reach an unprecedented approximately 1,876 parts per billion. The growth rate of methane was also higher than in 2020 – Copernicus said both rates were very high compared to the past two decades of satellite data… The increasing concentrations of these gases showed no signs of slowing down, concluded Vincent-Henri Peuch, Director of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service.
"These events are a stark reminder of the need to change our ways, take decisive and effective steps toward a sustainable society and work towards reducing net carbon emissions," Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, explains.
Depends which game it's best to be playing, eh? Rules are made to be broken, some folks think. When global climate changes, it's a game-changer world we find ourselves shifting into. Old mental patterns make us part of the problem.
We need to flex to adapt to the times we're in. Default dependency on democracy locks us into failure. Therefore those intent on surviving will shift out of that mindset. Whatever works will do.
That said, rules can be retained on a utility basis in contexts where they can be seen to still work okay. I reckon the best way forward is to combine pragmatic usage of stable systems (like law) with innovative & inventive alterations to them.
It puzzles me that you'd jump to that conclusion. As if you'd never heard of improvisation. As if you'd never noticed how well it works in real life.
As if you've never deduced that it works because it's context-driven. As if you're unaware that our changing global climate context requires us to improvise. As if you've never actually thought about that.
Anyway, it was Winston Churchill. Different geopolitical context, get it? Humanity can't progress when people default to failed ways of thinking. Get that head out of the sand!
The problem is that your framing is so puzzling, Dennis.
Evidence that democracy works clocks in at exactly zero. Prediction: retards will ignore the evidence and continue to believe in democracy.
The fact is Democracy has worked very well in numerous countries for a century or more. As evidenced by the number of democracies. Has worked better than 2 of the 3 the classic examples of Facism (Franco’s fascist state lasted until his death), & both Soviet-style & Mao-style Communism, for example.
Re your response to pat’s challenge to identify a better system:
It puzzles me that you’d jump to that conclusion. As if you’d never heard of improvisation. As if you’d never noticed how well it works in real life.
Democracies – particularly those that have employed capitalism – have thrived on improvisation. That’s how so much scientific & technological progress has been made in Western democracies. And improvisation also works well in societies that foster a DIY culture, at the national & individual level.
As if you’ve never deduced that it [democracy?] works because it’s context-driven. As if you’re unaware that our changing global climate context requires us to improvise. As if you’ve never actually thought about that.
Humanity can’t progress when people default to failed ways of thinking. Get that head out of the sand!
You’re barking up the wrong tree, imo. Because international global talkfest consensus decisions haven’t done enough to solve the GHG global warming-induced Climate Crisis is not down to a failure of Democracy as a system of government. Many nations that aren’t democracies have participated. There is NO World Democracy.
So, pat’s question was perfectly valid. If you think democracie won’t work for solving the climate crisis – what other system of government – for either the World or individual nations – do you propose as the alternative system of government which will?
Although autocracies, if they really grasp the nettle, might perhaps be more likely to enforce the industrial, social & lifestyle changes needed to sharply head off global warming on their populations – I’m not sure any (like China) have actually done so yet.
In my view people living in democracies are more likely to come up with the alternative lifestyles & produce the technical innovations needed to address the problems of climate change than autocracies or any other form of government.
what other system of government – for either the World or individual nations – do you propose as the alternative system of government which will?
I think that's the pertinent bit to respond to. Gezza, I take the point that my brevity provided insufficient framing.
First, a serious global crisis requires a serious global solution. Democracy has never been implemented at the global level. Few still expect the UN to deliver it.
Lateral thinking is required. In social change, that usually takes the forms I pointed out to Pat: invention & innovation. A suitable model is the one deployed to bring the Cold War to a successful conclusion, which I've discussed on various occasions here during the past seven years.
It was based on reciprocity & mutual benefits just like capitalism (trading, deals) and used a ratchet design mechanism for arms reduction which Reagan made famous with the slogan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trust,_but_verify
Nobody would think a computer game could end a war that had lasted decades, right? They proved it could, and did. Lateral thinking.
Now consider the zillions of dollars lying around doing nothing useful in a multitude of billionaire bank accounts. Gates & Buffet have been modelling philanthropy to target inequality etc – why not global warming? It's just a mental switch. When switched, seems obvious in retrospect & everyone wonders why it took so long to think of it.
Consider inventors as a reservoir of talent waiting to be used. Create a tournament for them to submit competing designs, use a panel of suitable political/economic/cultural experts to award prizes to winners by consensus. Design criteria to prioritise the best fixes most likely to work in practice would be essential…
Now you see what I have done here? I have reframed your question about types of governance into the relation of global problem to global solution. Such innovative mass psychology is the key.
consider the zillions of dollars lying around doing nothing useful in a multitude of billionaire bank accounts. Gates & Buffet have been modelling philanthropy to target inequality etc – why not global warming? It’s just a mental switch. When switched, seems obvious in retrospect & everyone wonders why it took so long to think of it.
Consider inventors as a reservoir of talent waiting to be used. Create a tournament for them to submit competing designs, use a panel of suitable political/economic/cultural experts to award prizes to winners by consensus. Design criteria to prioritise the best fixes most likely to work in practice would be essential…
Good idea. (How do you know Gates and Buffett aren’t already investing in climate change solutions, btw? I haven’t looked. Have you?)
Now you see what I have done here? I have reframed your question about types of governance into the relation of global problem to global solution. Such innovative mass psychology is the key.
What I see is that you have a good idea that you could simply have stated as such at the outset & not distracted yourself, pat, me, and possibly other readers, by a completely unnecessary peripatetic wandering around the completely irrelevant subject of democracy before you got there.
No, that's too likely to be a waste of time. Both mainstreamers!
the completely irrelevant subject of democracy
Had to do that due to it being the prevalent belief system. Only with continual focus on the mismatch between belief & reality can you hope to jolt them out of the habitual attachment. Einstein's dictum re insanity comes to mind: they keep doing global climate conferences in the hope that nations will implement output decisions in national policy. That continual policy implentation failure is rooted in democracy.
That’s got nothing to do with democracy & everything to do with international consensus decision-making which is not the same thing.
You should probably check out Gates & Buffett in case they are already doing something along the lines of what you suggest. How do they choose what projects to invest in?
But if not, having a good idea is fine, but getting it implemented is what counts. How do you propose to get it implemented? Who are you going to propose your idea to?
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on Thursday said his climate investment fund would pledge $1.5 billion for joint projects with the federal government to combat climate change if Congress passes a bipartisan infrastructure plan that funds clean energy technologies.
Wtf has that got to do with your suggestion, or the point you were making about innovation & inventions being needed to help address climate change?
AFAIK Democracies AND autocracies both domestically legislate to give effect to their signups to international agreements that require this to happen. (Whether they employ/enforce & honour that legislation might be another matter.)
Are you proposing to get democracies to legislate to make your suggestion, & inovation & invention compulsory?
Sorry, but I’m not wasting any more time & energy on your convoluted & hopelessly philosophically muddled approach to this topic Dennis. You’ve gone down a rabbit hole, imo.
Democracy doesn't work. We need decisiveness and positive action.
For that it is best to have one person in charge at the top of the pyramid and they rule and instigate action by those further down. Who carry out the dictates not of themselves but of those atop them. Carry out without deviation or variation based on personal interpretation.
For our first such sortie into getting rid of talkfests and prevarication and establishing firm, unequivocal, certain parameters for the society to operate under, I would suggest the first person to be our leader should be Kiwi Jong-un. I'm sure there is someone out there to fill that bill.
it is best to have one person in charge at the top of the pyramid and they rule and instigate action by those further down. Who carry out the dictates not of themselves but of those atop them. Carry out without deviation or variation based on personal interpretation.
Otherwise known as the Führerprinzip. The problem with this system is that absolute power often corrupts absolutely. And if the Führer is wrong or goes insane no one can do anything about it unless & until they kill them, or they kill themselves.
You mean that guy with the swishback & dark glasses. Christian. Good at telling people what to do. They even reward him with money. God's will be done!
One of the pitfalls National are going to have to avoid is being branded as Labour Lite. Their usual mantra of less spending = tax cuts is off the agenda given the Covid situation. If they propose more housing, more hospitals, schools and general infrastructure, Labour Lite. If they try do lift the poverty stats via Working for Families, Labour Lite. Climate change, Labour Lite.
National can never be branded Labour lite as long as the pandemic lasts.
National may pose as Labour lite for all they like, but history shows that voters would be making a big mistake to trust them to follow through.
Jim Bolger played the Labour lite card to win the 1990 election, promising to reverse a lot of the unpopular right wing neo-liberal policies of the Lange/Douglas administration. Bolger promised to stop the privatisations of state assets, promised to repeal the Superannuation Surcharge, promised students to cut student debt and user pays in tertiary education brought in by the Lange/Douglas administration.
All these reversals gave birth to the populist NZ First Party. Formed in revolt against National's reversals, NZ First acted to keep the Bolger administration in power as a support party. Despite their leader promising to never work with that man.
Luxton might try to promise the electorate that a National Party led administration, backed by NZ First and Act will handle the pandemic better than a Labour led administration. But no one would believe him.
The one place that shows that National stays true to their profit before people ethos and does not, can not, play the Labour Lite card is around the pandemic.
Despite the cost in deaths and sickness, private profit will always be prioritised over public health by National.
And this is the one defining issue of our time that separates National from Labour where there can be no hiding.
Agree Jenny, Nats constant "open up" cries show where their values lie. Like Scotty from Marketing, "Let it rip" Our family over in Oz are truly affected by that.
On a far more serious matter, I suspect Latham will enforce the follow on.
The bowlers’ workload yesterday wasn’t that great. BD’s batters will be a little shellshocked, and you want to take the weather out of the equation altogether.
Most test match captains do not enforce the follow on these days. But in this situation, with the NZ bowlers able to start fresh again this morning, and with such a massive lead, it makes sense to enforce it.
Follow on must be enforced. 300 plus run lead, fresh bowlers (less overs bowled than 50 over match) and the possibility of some inclement weather as it's NZ).
Interesting graph and an important one for NZ, thanks.
Makes sense given the Imperial College London study that shows the reduction in omicron severity is much greater in the vaccinated, compared to the unvaccinated.
So some of his commenters jump into playing at the competing graphs game. Then we got Ethan Woke:
No reputable medical professional in the world is now claiming Omicron is a threat to public health. It just seems to be a rag tag bunch of cheerleaders, sycophants, pseudoscientists and those suffering from mass psychosis who seem to be fretting over this benign disease (actually just a laboratory artefact) and praying for another lockdown, while providing cover for the likes of prime ministers and dictators.
I wonder if his surname signifies he's an aspirational leader for the wokester tribe?
NSW having a terrible time hospitals are struggling health professionals burning out.
Because mainly the unvaxxed overloading the health system.
Can't link but govt stats show 63% of covid infected hospitalizations are unvaccinated yet only make up less than20% of the population.Partially vaccinated 18% fully vaccinated only 1.8% yet they make up nearly 80% of the population.
Yeah, have already noticed that pattern. Belief systems are inertial & when they are incompatible with reality then adherents deny reality. They deny evidence such as statistics.
Neuroscience has documented how this works – emotions prevail over logic. Emotional attachments to what people already think they know prevail over new info that conflicts with their knowledge.
Yes, yes, this all well-known & has been exploited by advertisers & propagandists for a century or more. But it doesn’t always apply to everything for everbody (Most Germans realised they were losing the war while the rabid Nazis were still choosing to believe Dr Goebels).
And it often doesn’t apply to those who are aware of their emotional responses but prefer to employ research, analysis, logic & reasoning to their decision-making. Which many females seem innately good at when shopping (think I’ll wait for the sales).
Not denying Covid impact on the health system with this.
I can reliably inform you, about the NZ system, that under staffing, under resourcing, poor planning and neo liberal, market driven politics have done way more damage to our hospitals.
Both National and Labour are responsible for this.
Until recently, I could read the vaccination status of those hospitalised in Stuff articles. Around New Year, it was approx. 50/50 Unvaxxed and not eligible/started their vax regime and fully vaxxed. I have not seen this since New Year.
Bradburys graph looks to show the unvaccinated hospitalization rate increasing 3 or 4 times.
That doesn't make much sense from what I can figure out. As many high risk people should be reduced in the unvaccinated group by having moved over into the vaccinated group by now.
New Yorkers should have plenty of antibodies in the population from previous waves – greater chance of immunity in population.
Omicron is a significantly weaker virus, causing less hospitalizations.
Are you suggesting that graph is fabricated? The Omicron variant has caused a large surge in N.Y. state active COVID-19 cases, currently ~1.7 million (and rising), which is nearly double the previous maximum of ~0.9 million active cases, in Feb. 2021.
Even with protection from vaccination, and/or prior infection (not relevant in NZ), plus improved treatments, a small spike in deaths is inevitable – more than 100 deaths per day (7-day moving average) over the last 6 days for N.Y. state alone .
Well goodness me would you look at those vaccination rates. 'D'ya thunk that might have something to do with it?'
Without the /s hat on I like the naming of the category Covid@home. Hopefully this refers to a programme of nursing in the community ie with GP/Nurse support.
We need Rogan to start yapping about this and perhaps the angry alt-covid choads will be convinced that that yet another miraculous off-label therapy, sculling your own piddle, is being suppressed.
From the article: On Saturday night, when asked about the guns and if he intends to bring them along when conducting the planned arrests, Key told The Daily Beast he is “never about violence.” “I will do it [the citizen arrests] lawfully, and the sheriffs will be with me,” he added.
The guy sounds like a bullshit artist to me. If he seriously plans to pull those guns out on state legislature premises or at governor’s residences this could get very amusing for everybody but him. But one suspects, from what he said above, that he won’t use his guns if nobody from law enforcement is interested in doing the same. And they won’t be.
He sounds like he’s a one man band though, joe. If he turns up alone, at State Capitols, or governors’ official residences, waving his guns (or flamethrower?) around, what do you think is likely to happen? I reckon he’ll find himself staring straight up the barrels of multiple law enforcement firearms & if he’s lucky he’ll be told to drop his firearms & get face down on the ground immediately. If he’s unlucky, he’ll get shot.
In China there is a Urine Therapy Association which claims thousand of members… Though urine has been believed useful for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes in several traditional systems, and mentioned in some medical texts, auto-urine therapy as a system of alternative medicine was popularized by British naturopath John W. Armstrong in the early 20th century.
Armstrong was inspired by his family's practice of using urine to treat minor stings and toothaches, by a metaphorical reading of the Biblical Proverb 5:15 "Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well", and his own experience with ill-health that he treated with a 45-day fast "on nothing but urine and tap water".
Starting in 1918, Armstrong prescribed urine-therapy regimens that he devised to many thousands of patients, and in 1944 he published The Water of Life: A treatise on urine therapy, which became a founding document of the field.
Does anyone have a link to a graph of NZ daily case numbers? Community cases mostly, but would be interested to see MiQ cases too. Want the trend over time.
The Christchurch City Council has sent The Freedom and Rights Coalition group, founded by Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki, a $14,117.47 invoice for costs it incurred during three protests in Cranmer Square and elsewhere in the city in November and early December. Another invoice will be sent to cover costs associated with Saturday’s protest in Hagley Park and on Riccarton Rd.
The council is also taking action to prevent the coalition and church from holding protests and weekly church services in Cranmer Square. The events, which include staging, portaloos and sound systems, are in breach of a council bylaw and possibly its District Plan too.
Good luck to the Christchurch City Council getting those paid. Apostle Tamaki will probably argue he didn’t personally organise the protests & he didn’t request the services the Council is trying to charge him for.
Will be interesting to see how this pans out though. Hope Stuff follows up the story with updates.
Having now read the story it seems Derek Tait a senior pastor at Destiny Church in Christchurch organised the protests. I expect the Freedom & Rights Coalition will still argue it didn’t request the traffic management & services provided. The police did. They’ll possibly suggest the council bills the police! 😀
That Christchurch City Council has fined Apostle Tamaki AND billed his coalition for traffic management services got a mention on 1ewes at 6 tonight. It also mentioned that Tamaki has denied attending a protest last Saturday & that he says he was attending a “family picnic”. 🙄 I’m sure his invitation was expressed that way. Slippery blighter.
My understanding is the loophole that Djok has used-a positive Covid test within 6 months of needing to be vaccinated-does not exist; this has been explicitly stated by the federal government. It was just the Victorian government and the tennis authorities who decided that this loophole worked and so granted the visa because they were both desperate for him to play in the Oz.
But ScoMo is so pathetic that he may do another u-turn (having already executed one in the Djok case) and allow Djok to play.
I hope this is the case because this is a sure-fire vote loser for him in the upcoming federal elections. Meanwhile Djok has become an icon of the extreme right and anti-vaxxers according to the Guardian today. He is going to get a lovely reception in Melbourne.
They can't really still ban or send Djokovic away can they? Regardless of what transgressions or wrong things they find they can't expel him. Why? Because there'd be riots against that.
But now there is another twist in the saga. Apparently he undertook not to travel for 14 days before travelling to Australia. But there now appear to be social media posts showing him in Belgrade on 26 Dec!
In his Australian traveller declaration, filed on 1 January, Djokovic declared “no” when asked: “Have you travelled or will you travel in the 14 days prior to your flight to Australia?”
The declaration is accompanied with a warning that giving false or misleading information is a “serious offence”, also punishable by civil penalties.
In documents filed to the federal circuit court, Djokovic said that on 1 January he authorised his agent to submit this declaration, before travelling to Melbourne from Spain via Dubai on 4 January.
In his interview with border force officials on 6 January, Djokovic confirmed the declaration was completed by his agent, “based on” his Tennis Australia-approved medical exemption, but was not asked in the interview about travel in the fortnight before arrival.
A Twitter post by a Portuguese tennis reporter, Jose Morgado, appears to show Djokovic was in Belgrade at Christmas, posing with the handball star Petar Djordjic.
And it is alleged he travelled from Belgrade to Spain during the period in question where he practiced before leaving for Australia. There was an item on Stuff (I think) yesterday about it but can't find it now.
Yes he traveled from Spain to Australia – it says so in the Guardian link. Frankly he is playing fast and loose with the rules, and one wonders just how valid that positive test was when we see him supposedly the next day unmasked and in public obviously in good health.
…the vast majority of Australians would cheer to the rafters if he was thrown out…
I think they would too. It must stick in the craw of so many of them seeing a “maskhole” gain entry when their partners/spouses, mums. dads, siblings, cousins and friends can't get back and they are fully vaccinated.
Geez, if I was an Aussie I would be literally smoking from head to feet with anger.
Yes. Judging by this ABC item, it looks like Aussies are pissed off. Setting aside the controversies swirling around him, its the fact he is unvaccinated which is bothering most:
brilliant documentary by Chinese-American director Jessica Kingdon, which slyly observes China’s transition from the world’s factory to a massive consumer society. It’s a film in the tradition of Koyaanisqatsi or Nikolaus Geyrhalter’s Our Daily Bread.
Shot in more than 50 locations in China, it splits more or less into three sections: factory workers, China’s growing middle class and the filthy-rich elite. There’s no voiceover or obvious narrative, just a stream of vignettes – at times an almost surreal compilation of images strung together… There’s a lot of humour in the sections on China’s middle class and super-wealthy. In one semi-excruciating scene pupils at a butler school are instructed in how to take crap from a boss: “No matter how he humiliates you, pretend to be obedient.”
Sports journalist Todd Balym tweeted: "Court documents show Novak Djokovic got his positive Covid test results shortly after 8pm on Dec 16 — so he knew he was Covid positive visiting kids & others the next 2 days. Court might've cleared him today, but public opinion will judge him as a selfish maskhole."
I smiled at the finish in Mark Reason's piece about Djokovic. He'd praised the attitude of Nick Kyrgios who'd said of the Serb , “At the end of the day, he is human. Do better.”
Then Reason finishes: "Let’s remember, in the name of Arthur Ashe, that the world and the tennis world can be a better place if we really put our hearts and minds to it. Let’s start by giving the person close to you a hug."
The day after you find you've got the virus and you're hugging kids at some event?
You are attempting to re-write history here. The right did not choose to go after Turei personally. She attempted to use her past personal circumstances for political purposes and she was found to have exaggerated her situation and in the process she denigrated the family of the father of her daughter. That is why she resigned from politics not because of anything others did to her. It was largely her own doing.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Pre-empting your usual derail Gosman. Feel free to hash this one out in OM. But I’m keeping an eye on unfounded assertions about Turei, so mind your manners (and use links to back up).
None of my comments about Turei are unfounded and my comment goes to the heart of your post as you were trying to imply Turei's policy proposals were the cause of her demise. In fact the media were generally supportive of her position and the right wing was no more aggressive in opposing them than any other set of Green party policy they disagreed with. The Greens got a massive boost in popularity as a result and it led directly to Ardern becoming the leader of the Labour party as they went even further behind National as they lost support to The Greens. It was only after her personal story unraveled as a result of people on the left (e.g. the family of the father of the daughter and the two Green party MP’s who resigned in protest at her actions) coming forward that she resigned.
One other commenter talked about Turei, and one responded to that. I've asked them to focus on the post and the GP in 2022//2023. I didn't bother asking you to do that because I knew you would just argue with me.
What element of the Turei situation that I have described do you disagree with? She misrepresented her position and the support she received from her daughters fathers family.
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David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Responding to an Auditor-General's report slamming failures in the administration of the 2023 General Election, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said: ...
The Taxpayers’ Union says the Beehive need to lead by example, following reports of more than $50,000 spent upgrading video conferencing equipment and furniture in the Prime Minister’s office. Taxpayers’ Union Campaign Manager, Connor Molloy, ...
An objective list of the 50 most powerful people in New Zealand, as judged by the Spinoff Editorial Board. It’s power list season, baby, and we want in on the action. Sure, there’s the rich list and the powerful “c-suite” list and the young people with power (hmmm) but here, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thalia Anthony, Professor of Law, University of Technology Sydney ShutterstockThis article contains information on deaths in custody and the names of deceased people, and describes ongoing colonial violence towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. First Nations people in Australia ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Simpson, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Macquarie University Netflix Baby Reindeer’s phenomenal success has much to do with its writer and lead, Richard Gadd, who plays Donny in a tender semi-autobiographical account of sexual abuse, harassment and stalking. Gadd’s story has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Collins, Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Newcastle KarolinaGrabowska/Pexels If you didn’t have food allergies as a child, is it possible to develop them as an adult? The short answer is yes. But the reasons why are much ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Moon, Professor of History, Auckland University of Technology Ans Westra, self-portrait, c. 1963. National Library ref AWM-0705-F They try but invariably fail – those writers who believe they are capable of encapsulating in prose or verse the essence of ...
Stewart Sowman-Lund looks at the growing concern around the world in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. What’s all this? When Covid-19 arrived on our shores in early 2020, some argued we were too slow, or crucially, ill-prepared for a pandemic. So ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Franco Montalto, Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering and Director, Sustainable Water Resource Engineering Laboratory, Drexel University Water runs into a storm drain in a Los Angeles alley on Aug. 19, 2023, during Tropical Storm Hilary.Citizen of the Planet/Universal Images ...
The inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones has turned up a new witness who says he saw two teenagers and a small child in a high vis vest in the area where the boy’s body was found the day he died. Lachie’s body was discovered face up ...
Stories from the tenancy trenches, featuring spider infestations, cupboard rats and same-sex discrimination. Lucy’s brother was living in a damp 1930s building in Mt Eden where “he had to tie the cupboard doors closed so the rats didn’t get in”. Although he shared custody of his six-year-old son, his property ...
Simeon Brown, Chris Luxon, and Wayne Brown climbed into a hole and announced a plan to solve Auckland’s water woes. This is how it’ll work. New Zealand’s pipes are munted. They’re cracked and leaking, and struggling to handle all the extra poos excreted by our rising population. It’s a big, ...
I knew Taika Waititi quite well when he was a kid. His mother lived in a tall narrow house in Aro St, and my youngest sister had a similar house two doors along. They were both single mums, they each had a son aged seven. Taika and my nephew Stepan ...
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What do a sombrero in Argentina and cognitive driving tests have in common? Don’t worry, we’re not setting up a bad joke. Hinengaro Clinic dementia clinician Gregory Winkelman has the answer on today’s episode of The Detail. “We ask a patient’s spouse or son or daughter: If you went to ...
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I've been watching last night's TDB podcast on the economy of 2022, in which Bomber orchestrates a foursome with commentary from Bernard, a prominent entrepreneurial economist, Simon, the lawyer National is using as finance spokesperson due to having nobody in their caucus with financial expertise, and Damien, the libertarian Stuff columnist ex-criminal.
Bomber asked Bernard if the current Minister of Finance would get a knighthood for creating a new class of wealthy property speculators. Bernard started by saying that he'd probably get one anyway. Nice evasion there.
Labour would probably say "No no, you mustn't think that. It was all an unfortunate accident!" That the kiwi middle class transformed itself into a landlord class is best framed the way Labour views it: "Elephant in the room?? Where? Can't see one, don't be ridiculous!"
Thatcher preached the gospel of mum & dad investors 40 years ago and the political left and right have been locked into collusion ever since, implementing her vision.
Vital that Labour never tells the truth about doing this! No worries, pretence is something that Labour excels at – perhaps the only thing. Having operated as the Alternative National Party for so long now, the people who believed Labour was the exact opposite of National are now all dead. So Sir Grant will happen due to his resolute practice of Thatcherism.
Then Bernard said everyone believes their home values will continue to double every two years, so they make economic planning decisions on that basis. BAU. Then he said it was unsustainable, and there ought to be a govt agency created to implement a policy of zero house price inflation. Noticing that something intelligent was happening, Bomber immediately called for a commercial break.
If interested, watch at 43 mins in: https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2022/01/10/7-30pm-tonight-the-working-group-1-hour-economy-special-with-bernard-hickey-simon-bridges-damien-grant/
We are all dead? Lol Not yet!! Might be true in another 10 years.
Okay. Sorry.
But it does raise the question of how you rationalise their adherence to neoliberalism along with National's – and in particular their coproduction of the enlarged landlord class.
Dennis, Thatcher went to war, did not believe in community, practiced austerity and raising taxes. This Labour Government has had to battle housing as every country World wide is doing. Singapore's approach is thought provoking, but they are able to make dictates. To say this Government is the same as National would be is a real stretch. Remember we are a democracy so the middle way tends to rule. When revolutions occur they seldom favour the poor, rule of law agreements between parties cities countries is the best we have managed. We tie it to Trade so we are hogtied.
Dunno about the Thatcher raising taxes bit. Misprint?
I agree there are significant tonal differences between Labour & National but the economic ideology is shared. I agree the middle way works best but it also preserves inertia and our global situation makes that lethal.
Here's the evidence of the impact of 30 years of global talkfests:
Evidence that democracy works clocks in at exactly zero. Prediction: retards will ignore the evidence and continue to believe in democracy.
Democracy dosn't work?….who should make the rules we live by?
God (which version)?…
Some foreign power?…
Alphabet Inc?…
Or perhaps we should forget about rules altogether?
forget about rules
Depends which game it's best to be playing, eh? Rules are made to be broken, some folks think. When global climate changes, it's a game-changer world we find ourselves shifting into. Old mental patterns make us part of the problem.
We need to flex to adapt to the times we're in. Default dependency on democracy locks us into failure. Therefore those intent on surviving will shift out of that mindset. Whatever works will do.
That said, rules can be retained on a utility basis in contexts where they can be seen to still work okay. I reckon the best way forward is to combine pragmatic usage of stable systems (like law) with innovative & inventive alterations to them.
Lol….so no idea then.
Democracy is crap but all the alternatives are worse….so somebody once said.
so no idea then
It puzzles me that you'd jump to that conclusion. As if you'd never heard of improvisation. As if you'd never noticed how well it works in real life.
As if you've never deduced that it works because it's context-driven. As if you're unaware that our changing global climate context requires us to improvise. As if you've never actually thought about that.
Anyway, it was Winston Churchill. Different geopolitical context, get it? Humanity can't progress when people default to failed ways of thinking. Get that head out of the sand!
The problem is that your framing is so puzzling, Dennis.
Evidence that democracy works clocks in at exactly zero. Prediction: retards will ignore the evidence and continue to believe in democracy.
The fact is Democracy has worked very well in numerous countries for a century or more. As evidenced by the number of democracies. Has worked better than 2 of the 3 the classic examples of Facism (Franco’s fascist state lasted until his death), & both Soviet-style & Mao-style Communism, for example.
Re your response to pat’s challenge to identify a better system:
It puzzles me that you’d jump to that conclusion. As if you’d never heard of improvisation. As if you’d never noticed how well it works in real life.
Democracies – particularly those that have employed capitalism – have thrived on improvisation. That’s how so much scientific & technological progress has been made in Western democracies. And improvisation also works well in societies that foster a DIY culture, at the national & individual level.
As if you’ve never deduced that it [democracy?] works because it’s context-driven. As if you’re unaware that our changing global climate context requires us to improvise. As if you’ve never actually thought about that.
Humanity can’t progress when people default to failed ways of thinking. Get that head out of the sand!
You’re barking up the wrong tree, imo. Because international global talkfest consensus decisions haven’t done enough to solve the GHG global warming-induced Climate Crisis is not down to a failure of Democracy as a system of government. Many nations that aren’t democracies have participated. There is NO World Democracy.
So, pat’s question was perfectly valid. If you think democracie won’t work for solving the climate crisis – what other system of government – for either the World or individual nations – do you propose as the alternative system of government which will?
Although autocracies, if they really grasp the nettle, might perhaps be more likely to enforce the industrial, social & lifestyle changes needed to sharply head off global warming on their populations – I’m not sure any (like China) have actually done so yet.
In my view people living in democracies are more likely to come up with the alternative lifestyles & produce the technical innovations needed to address the problems of climate change than autocracies or any other form of government.
what other system of government – for either the World or individual nations – do you propose as the alternative system of government which will?
I think that's the pertinent bit to respond to. Gezza, I take the point that my brevity provided insufficient framing.
First, a serious global crisis requires a serious global solution. Democracy has never been implemented at the global level. Few still expect the UN to deliver it.
Lateral thinking is required. In social change, that usually takes the forms I pointed out to Pat: invention & innovation. A suitable model is the one deployed to bring the Cold War to a successful conclusion, which I've discussed on various occasions here during the past seven years.
It was based on reciprocity & mutual benefits just like capitalism (trading, deals) and used a ratchet design mechanism for arms reduction which Reagan made famous with the slogan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trust,_but_verify
But the strategy was derived from a famous computer tournament in the early 1980s, [see here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Evolution_of_Cooperation%5D and that's the inventive bit.
Nobody would think a computer game could end a war that had lasted decades, right? They proved it could, and did. Lateral thinking.
Now consider the zillions of dollars lying around doing nothing useful in a multitude of billionaire bank accounts. Gates & Buffet have been modelling philanthropy to target inequality etc – why not global warming? It's just a mental switch. When switched, seems obvious in retrospect & everyone wonders why it took so long to think of it.
Consider inventors as a reservoir of talent waiting to be used. Create a tournament for them to submit competing designs, use a panel of suitable political/economic/cultural experts to award prizes to winners by consensus. Design criteria to prioritise the best fixes most likely to work in practice would be essential…
Now you see what I have done here? I have reframed your question about types of governance into the relation of global problem to global solution. Such innovative mass psychology is the key.
consider the zillions of dollars lying around doing nothing useful in a multitude of billionaire bank accounts. Gates & Buffet have been modelling philanthropy to target inequality etc – why not global warming? It’s just a mental switch. When switched, seems obvious in retrospect & everyone wonders why it took so long to think of it.
Consider inventors as a reservoir of talent waiting to be used. Create a tournament for them to submit competing designs, use a panel of suitable political/economic/cultural experts to award prizes to winners by consensus. Design criteria to prioritise the best fixes most likely to work in practice would be essential…
Good idea. (How do you know Gates and Buffett aren’t already investing in climate change solutions, btw? I haven’t looked. Have you?)
Now you see what I have done here? I have reframed your question about types of governance into the relation of global problem to global solution. Such innovative mass psychology is the key.
What I see is that you have a good idea that you could simply have stated as such at the outset & not distracted yourself, pat, me, and possibly other readers, by a completely unnecessary peripatetic wandering around the completely irrelevant subject of democracy before you got there.
I haven’t looked. Have you?
No, that's too likely to be a waste of time. Both mainstreamers!
the completely irrelevant subject of democracy
Had to do that due to it being the prevalent belief system. Only with continual focus on the mismatch between belief & reality can you hope to jolt them out of the habitual attachment. Einstein's dictum re insanity comes to mind: they keep doing global climate conferences in the hope that nations will implement output decisions in national policy. That continual policy implentation failure is rooted in democracy.
That’s got nothing to do with democracy & everything to do with international consensus decision-making which is not the same thing.
You should probably check out Gates & Buffett in case they are already doing something along the lines of what you suggest. How do they choose what projects to invest in?
But if not, having a good idea is fine, but getting it implemented is what counts. How do you propose to get it implemented? Who are you going to propose your idea to?
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on Thursday said his climate investment fund would pledge $1.5 billion for joint projects with the federal government to combat climate change if Congress passes a bipartisan infrastructure plan that funds clean energy technologies.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/12/bill-gates-pledges-1point5-billion-for-infrastructure-plans-climate-projects-.html
Huh?? You really don't believe that legislation to enact international agreements isn't part of democracy?? On what basis?
Wtf has that got to do with your suggestion, or the point you were making about innovation & inventions being needed to help address climate change?
AFAIK Democracies AND autocracies both domestically legislate to give effect to their signups to international agreements that require this to happen. (Whether they employ/enforce & honour that legislation might be another matter.)
Are you proposing to get democracies to legislate to make your suggestion, & inovation & invention compulsory?
Sorry, but I’m not wasting any more time & energy on your convoluted & hopelessly philosophically muddled approach to this topic Dennis. You’ve gone down a rabbit hole, imo.
Like the Ozzies? Ignore the "rule of law"?
Democracy doesn't work. We need decisiveness and positive action.
For that it is best to have one person in charge at the top of the pyramid and they rule and instigate action by those further down. Who carry out the dictates not of themselves but of those atop them. Carry out without deviation or variation based on personal interpretation.
For our first such sortie into getting rid of talkfests and prevarication and establishing firm, unequivocal, certain parameters for the society to operate under, I would suggest the first person to be our leader should be Kiwi Jong-un. I'm sure there is someone out there to fill that bill.
it is best to have one person in charge at the top of the pyramid and they rule and instigate action by those further down. Who carry out the dictates not of themselves but of those atop them. Carry out without deviation or variation based on personal interpretation.
Otherwise known as the Führerprinzip. The problem with this system is that absolute power often corrupts absolutely. And if the Führer is wrong or goes insane no one can do anything about it unless & until they kill them, or they kill themselves.
You mean that guy with the swishback & dark glasses. Christian. Good at telling people what to do. They even reward him with money. God's will be done!
One of the pitfalls National are going to have to avoid is being branded as Labour Lite. Their usual mantra of less spending = tax cuts is off the agenda given the Covid situation. If they propose more housing, more hospitals, schools and general infrastructure, Labour Lite. If they try do lift the poverty stats via Working for Families, Labour Lite. Climate change, Labour Lite.
Fascinating.
What a battle it will be…Labour lite vs National …lite!
National can never be branded Labour lite as long as the pandemic lasts.
National may pose as Labour lite for all they like, but history shows that voters would be making a big mistake to trust them to follow through.
Jim Bolger played the Labour lite card to win the 1990 election, promising to reverse a lot of the unpopular right wing neo-liberal policies of the Lange/Douglas administration. Bolger promised to stop the privatisations of state assets, promised to repeal the Superannuation Surcharge, promised students to cut student debt and user pays in tertiary education brought in by the Lange/Douglas administration.
All these reversals gave birth to the populist NZ First Party. Formed in revolt against National's reversals, NZ First acted to keep the Bolger administration in power as a support party. Despite their leader promising to never work with that man.
Luxton might try to promise the electorate that a National Party led administration, backed by NZ First and Act will handle the pandemic better than a Labour led administration. But no one would believe him.
The one place that shows that National stays true to their profit before people ethos and does not, can not, play the Labour Lite card is around the pandemic.
Despite the cost in deaths and sickness, private profit will always be prioritised over public health by National.
And this is the one defining issue of our time that separates National from Labour where there can be no hiding.
Agree Jenny, Nats constant "open up" cries show where their values lie. Like Scotty from Marketing, "Let it rip" Our family over in Oz are truly affected by that.
Wont matter what national says, itll be austerity and sewage in the hospital walls if national gets back in.
On a far more serious matter, I suspect Latham will enforce the follow on.
The bowlers’ workload yesterday wasn’t that great. BD’s batters will be a little shellshocked, and you want to take the weather out of the equation altogether.
Why wouldn't you enforce the follow on? Batting first and last is how to make the most use of the available playing time.
Most test match captains do not enforce the follow on these days. But in this situation, with the NZ bowlers able to start fresh again this morning, and with such a massive lead, it makes sense to enforce it.
Follow on must be enforced. 300 plus run lead, fresh bowlers (less overs bowled than 50 over match) and the possibility of some inclement weather as it's NZ).
Short and sweet.
In a sea of disinformation and longwinded paranoid far right conspiracy theories. Martyn Bradbury employs the Kiss Principle.
Excellent piece by bomber.
Interesting graph and an important one for NZ, thanks.
Makes sense given the Imperial College London study that shows the reduction in omicron severity is much greater in the vaccinated, compared to the unvaccinated.
So some of his commenters jump into playing at the competing graphs game. Then we got Ethan Woke:
I wonder if his surname signifies he's an aspirational leader for the wokester tribe?
NSW having a terrible time hospitals are struggling health professionals burning out.
Because mainly the unvaxxed overloading the health system.
Can't link but govt stats show 63% of covid infected hospitalizations are unvaccinated yet only make up less than20% of the population.Partially vaccinated 18% fully vaccinated only 1.8% yet they make up nearly 80% of the population.
Yeah, have already noticed that pattern. Belief systems are inertial & when they are incompatible with reality then adherents deny reality. They deny evidence such as statistics.
Neuroscience has documented how this works – emotions prevail over logic. Emotional attachments to what people already think they know prevail over new info that conflicts with their knowledge.
Yes, yes, this all well-known & has been exploited by advertisers & propagandists for a century or more. But it doesn’t always apply to everything for everbody (Most Germans realised they were losing the war while the rabid Nazis were still choosing to believe Dr Goebels).
And it often doesn’t apply to those who are aware of their emotional responses but prefer to employ research, analysis, logic & reasoning to their decision-making. Which many females seem innately good at when shopping (think I’ll wait for the sales).
Not denying Covid impact on the health system with this.
I can reliably inform you, about the NZ system, that under staffing, under resourcing, poor planning and neo liberal, market driven politics have done way more damage to our hospitals.
Both National and Labour are responsible for this.
Until recently, I could read the vaccination status of those hospitalised in Stuff articles. Around New Year, it was approx. 50/50 Unvaxxed and not eligible/started their vax regime and fully vaxxed. I have not seen this since New Year.
Bradburys graph looks to show the unvaccinated hospitalization rate increasing 3 or 4 times.
That doesn't make much sense from what I can figure out. As many high risk people should be reduced in the unvaccinated group by having moved over into the vaccinated group by now.
New Yorkers should have plenty of antibodies in the population from previous waves – greater chance of immunity in population.
Omicron is a significantly weaker virus, causing less hospitalizations.
Are you suggesting that graph is fabricated? The Omicron variant has caused a large surge in N.Y. state active COVID-19 cases, currently ~1.7 million (and rising), which is nearly double the previous maximum of ~0.9 million active cases, in Feb. 2021.
Even with protection from vaccination, and/or prior infection (not relevant in NZ), plus improved treatments, a small spike in deaths is inevitable – more than 100 deaths per day (7-day moving average) over the last 6 days for N.Y. state alone .
Tasmania opened up 26 days ago with zero Covid cases.
Well goodness me would you look at those vaccination rates. 'D'ya thunk that might have something to do with it?'
Without the /s hat on I like the naming of the category Covid@home. Hopefully this refers to a programme of nursing in the community ie with GP/Nurse support.
We need Rogan to start yapping about this and perhaps the angry alt-covid choads will be convinced that that yet another miraculous off-label therapy, sculling your own piddle, is being suppressed.
https://twitter.com/JewishResister/status/1480407490034552832
Aha
So full of piss!!!
Or
A piss take???
Dude's got a car full of guns and a flamethrower and reckons he's off to all the blue states to see the governors.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/anti-vax-leader-traveling-country-with-guns-flamethrower-and-fake-badge-prepared-to-arrest-dem-governors
From the article:
On Saturday night, when asked about the guns and if he intends to bring them along when conducting the planned arrests, Key told The Daily Beast he is “never about violence.” “I will do it [the citizen arrests] lawfully, and the sheriffs will be with me,” he added.
The guy sounds like a bullshit artist to me. If he seriously plans to pull those guns out on state legislature premises or at governor’s residences this could get very amusing for everybody but him. But one suspects, from what he said above, that he won’t use his guns if nobody from law enforcement is interested in doing the same. And they won’t be.
Or not..
https://twitter.com/SenPolehanki/status/1255899318210314241
He sounds like he’s a one man band though, joe. If he turns up alone, at State Capitols, or governors’ official residences, waving his guns (or flamethrower?) around, what do you think is likely to happen? I reckon he’ll find himself staring straight up the barrels of multiple law enforcement firearms & if he’s lucky he’ll be told to drop his firearms & get face down on the ground immediately. If he’s unlucky, he’ll get shot.
Got trendy in the '90s – I saw a feature in Nexus. My reaction was ugh! Still is. Origin part-biblical: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urine_therapy
Pretty sure virgin boy eggs take the biscuit.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_boy_egg
Blech! I don't even do insects. Leave that to the hillbillies in Westland.
Novak wins his appeal…
'I want to stay': Novak Djokovic heads straight to Australian Open courts after huge legal victory | Stuff.co.nz
Does anyone have a link to a graph of NZ daily case numbers? Community cases mostly, but would be interested to see MiQ cases too. Want the trend over time.
there's this but it doesn't separate out community from MiQ
https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-data-and-statistics/covid-19-current-cases
this one is better but still the combined numbers
https://ig.ft.com/coronavirus-chart/?areas=nzl&areasRegional=usny&areasRegional=usnh&areasRegional=uspr&areasRegional=usdc&areasRegional=usfl&areasRegional=usmi&cumulative=0&logScale=0&per100K=0&startDate=2021-06-01&values=cases
RNZ has a good dashboard everything you want.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/450874/covid-19-data-visualisations-nz-in-numbers
perfect, thanks.
Thanks Poission-excellent. That has been bookmarked.
God will provide: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/127463307/council-sends-14000-traffic-management-bill-to-antigovernment-protesters
Good luck to the Christchurch City Council getting those paid. Apostle Tamaki will probably argue he didn’t personally organise the protests & he didn’t request the services the Council is trying to charge him for.
Will be interesting to see how this pans out though. Hope Stuff follows up the story with updates.
Having now read the story it seems Derek Tait a senior pastor at Destiny Church in Christchurch organised the protests. I expect the Freedom & Rights Coalition will still argue it didn’t request the traffic management & services provided. The police did. They’ll possibly suggest the council bills the police! 😀
That Christchurch City Council has fined Apostle Tamaki AND billed his coalition for traffic management services got a mention on 1ewes at 6 tonight. It also mentioned that Tamaki has denied attending a protest last Saturday & that he says he was attending a “family picnic”. 🙄 I’m sure his invitation was expressed that way. Slippery blighter.
My understanding is the loophole that Djok has used-a positive Covid test within 6 months of needing to be vaccinated-does not exist; this has been explicitly stated by the federal government. It was just the Victorian government and the tennis authorities who decided that this loophole worked and so granted the visa because they were both desperate for him to play in the Oz.
But ScoMo is so pathetic that he may do another u-turn (having already executed one in the Djok case) and allow Djok to play.
I hope this is the case because this is a sure-fire vote loser for him in the upcoming federal elections. Meanwhile Djok has become an icon of the extreme right and anti-vaxxers according to the Guardian today. He is going to get a lovely reception in Melbourne.
They can't really still ban or send Djokovic away can they? Regardless of what transgressions or wrong things they find they can't expel him. Why? Because there'd be riots against that.
But now there is another twist in the saga. Apparently he undertook not to travel for 14 days before travelling to Australia. But there now appear to be social media posts showing him in Belgrade on 26 Dec!
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/jan/11/australian-border-force-investigating-whether-novak-djokovic-made-false-travel-claim
And it is alleged he travelled from Belgrade to Spain during the period in question where he practiced before leaving for Australia. There was an item on Stuff (I think) yesterday about it but can't find it now.
Yes he traveled from Spain to Australia – it says so in the Guardian link. Frankly he is playing fast and loose with the rules, and one wonders just how valid that positive test was when we see him supposedly the next day unmasked and in public obviously in good health.
Pete: IMHO the vast majority of Australians would cheer to the rafters if he was thrown out-it is a vote winner for ScoMo.
The federal government has the power to throw him out-they control the borders.
…the vast majority of Australians would cheer to the rafters if he was thrown out…
I think they would too. It must stick in the craw of so many of them seeing a “maskhole” gain entry when their partners/spouses, mums. dads, siblings, cousins and friends can't get back and they are fully vaccinated.
Geez, if I was an Aussie I would be literally smoking from head to feet with anger.
Yes. Judging by this ABC item, it looks like Aussies are pissed off. Setting aside the controversies swirling around him, its the fact he is unvaccinated which is bothering most:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-12/novak-djokovic-in-australian-open-visa-limbo/100750800
So there's a
East converging on west, huh? But more authentically 19th century than our feeble Nat/Lab simulation. Butler school!
11 January 2022 at 12:55 pm
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/world-reacts-to-novax-court-document-damning-photos-expose-novak-djokovic/4OG4MUVZY4BUABENXMRV3JDG3M/
Will he or won't he play in the Australian Open?
I smiled at the finish in Mark Reason's piece about Djokovic. He'd praised the attitude of Nick Kyrgios who'd said of the Serb , “At the end of the day, he is human. Do better.”
Then Reason finishes: "Let’s remember, in the name of Arthur Ashe, that the world and the tennis world can be a better place if we really put our hearts and minds to it. Let’s start by giving the person close to you a hug."
The day after you find you've got the virus and you're hugging kids at some event?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/opinion/127474497/mark-reason-the-crazy-trial-of-novak-djokovic-and-why-nick-kyrgios-has-a-point
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/world-reacts-to-novax-court-document-damning-photos-expose-novak-djokovic/4OG4MUVZY4BUABENXMRV3JDG3M/
You are attempting to re-write history here. The right did not choose to go after Turei personally. She attempted to use her past personal circumstances for political purposes and she was found to have exaggerated her situation and in the process she denigrated the family of the father of her daughter. That is why she resigned from politics not because of anything others did to her. It was largely her own doing.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Pre-empting your usual derail Gosman. Feel free to hash this one out in OM. But I’m keeping an eye on unfounded assertions about Turei, so mind your manners (and use links to back up).
None of my comments about Turei are unfounded and my comment goes to the heart of your post as you were trying to imply Turei's policy proposals were the cause of her demise. In fact the media were generally supportive of her position and the right wing was no more aggressive in opposing them than any other set of Green party policy they disagreed with. The Greens got a massive boost in popularity as a result and it led directly to Ardern becoming the leader of the Labour party as they went even further behind National as they lost support to The Greens. It was only after her personal story unraveled as a result of people on the left (e.g. the family of the father of the daughter and the two Green party MP’s who resigned in protest at her actions) coming forward that she resigned.
Next time, make your comment more relevant to the post. It's not about Turei and what happened, it's about how the GP are now.
What is interesting is a number of posters on that thread have essentially reiterated the comments I made (but gone in to more detail).
again, this here is why I pre-empted the derail.
One other commenter talked about Turei, and one responded to that. I've asked them to focus on the post and the GP in 2022//2023. I didn't bother asking you to do that because I knew you would just argue with me.
Yeah right Gosman mansplaining your way out again have you anything better to do maybe you could look up Paula Bennetts accuser on Facebook.
The compare that to how Materia Turei was treated.
You would never accept the truth a true born to rule Narcissisy
What element of the Turei situation that I have described do you disagree with? She misrepresented her position and the support she received from her daughters fathers family.
Imagine what Shaw COULD have done.
So many years wasted.
Except at 7-10% for a term their members and supporters are simply content.
The Greens alone hold the Greens back.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Oh please your self-flattery is absurd.
In 2022 you've finally admitted something is deeply wrong. Everyone saw it but you.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Stay out of the post for the rest of the day. Can’t be bothered with your trolling.