New climate change polling shows people are becoming less tolerant of those who build in harm's way, with the overwhelming majority expecting extreme flooding to increase.
It was also when shocking new data came out showing the sea level is rising twice as fast as previously thought in some parts of Aotearoa, making once-in-a century floods likely in some places every year in just 18 years.
Victoria University climate scientist Professor James Renwick said there was "a lot of confusion, and a need for education and clear messages about actions we can all take".
National's Climate Spokesperson Scott Simpson said it was a conversation New Zealand needed to be having, and it was better having it late than not at all.
Buller mayor Jamie Cleine said the region was already seeing the effects of climate change, and the approach to mitigating those needed to be multi-pronged.
"We've seen multiple serious floods now, tidal surge inundations, and two ex-tropical cyclone wind events all within the last, say, 10 years, so it's quite clear that the climate is changing and the intensity of the events is getting greater.
Nats Scott Simpson……the unaware Irony.! How many years….have critical thinkers…been trying to red flag this? Were his Nats EVER interested ? Mind boggling.
Birchfield was elected chairman of the West Coast Regional Council in 2019, after six terms as a councillor.
Birchfield denies human-caused climate change and sea-level rise, calling it "a gigantic fraud" and "the biggest rort in the history of human civilisation".He refused to accept a report to the regional council about future hazards to the region from sea-level rise, calling it "bullshit".When Kiwibank announced it would no longer do business with the fossil fuel industry, he accused them of "trying to destroy the economy."
He won't be happy until Westport is washed into the Tasman sea and it's former site a low lying lagoon, at which point he'll write a column for the Daily Blog blaming "wokism".
Power and roading infrastructure in the South Island takes a serious hit. Those sitting trapped in the dark can be sure, (though it may take a few days in some cases), that they will reconnected to the grid and the roads will be cleared.
As weather extremes get worse and closer together that certainty will disappear. As more and more of us get to sit in cold dark homes, for longer periods, cut off from our neighbours by floods and slips. and power outages.
There must come a realisation that there will be a time where the hits to power and roading infrastructure cannot be rebuilt.
When we reach that point, will BAU still continue?
Will we still allow our transportation system to be dominated by fossil fueled vehicles?
Will we still allow valuable crop lands to be ploughed under for intensive dairying conversions?
Will still be mining and importing coal?
Will Huntly coal fired power station still be operating?
When that time comes, will we try to mend our ways?
When that time comes, will it be far too late to make any difference what we do, will we find that the changes to the climate will be irreversible?
You know, if this was the Soviet Union you'd almost suspect the usually sycophantic media had got the memo that the Politburo thinks comrade Fosters inability to consistently hit his tractor production quotas is now a problem…
He refused to say what mask rules he would introduce however, only that he would listen to the experts. It was put to him that New Zealand could not move on from the virus while case numbers were rising.
Health problems accumulated as you grew older and there were many seniors with compromised immune systems who were worried they would be affected badly by the virus.
Indeed, there is increasing concern that with the likely more transmissible BA.5 variant on the rise and the surge in the number of daily cases reported last week, we are at the start of the second Omicron wave which could have a big impact on the over-60s.
Masks work and we need to think about how best to use this vital public health protection and how to ensure that mask policies are working well for everyone."
Has any NZ politician ever been given such a big platform to say nothing at all so as to remain as politically beige as possible? First he says he won't criminalize abortions despite the fact he also considers them to be murder, and now the guy can't even take a position that masks are useful protection against airborne viruses.
Luxon and the previous three Nat leaders have called for looser restrictions at every stage. They have now made tighter restrictions politically impossible and there is only one possible direction of travel – stay the same or loosen further. They have what they wanted all along, and as the consequences of that become clear, only the most brazen of liars and opportunists among them will reverse course and call for a tightening.
Also "not giving a shit" is different from "moving on". 300 people still dying from Covid daily in the UK (almost 50% worse than NZ's 17 average deathsper day on a per capita basis) in addition to the 182,000 who have already died. If Luxon thinks that's the model to follow then that says more about him than it does about the current government.
Now this is a global supply chain shortage issue which I can live with!
RTDs are one of the entry points into alcohol abuse (sweet mixers hiding the taste of alcohol) – having them off the shelves (because of a shortage of bourbon) seems to be a win for health.
yes, exactly. A wealthy industrialised country like NZ should totally take the opportunity of lowering art fert supplies and turn it into an umitigated disaster that collapses the economy.
🙄
What do you think will happen to NZ if we blithely try to keep BAU and art fert supplies don't recover? At the same time as we have crop failures globally and locally from increased frequency, climate induced, extreme weather events. Writing is on the wall for those that are paying attention. We have a window in which to transition well and by choice, before that choice is taken from us.
There is no evidence that fertiliser supplies won't recover when supply chains open up again and we do, in fact, produce our own at Kāpuni and Ravensdown among other places.
You do have this tendency to make sweeping statements about agriculture and power generation without demonstrating much understanding the technical or geographical practicalities.
This is pretty compelling stuff Nicky. Especially the part about lobby groups fighting change:
The thing I want to emphasise with climate and environment is that the main problem stopping change is not a lack of facts about the issues. The main thing stopping change is the continuous organised obstruction, delay and watering down of environment policy by well funded industry lobby groups. It is the fake community groups – Mothers for More Motorways-type groups – the paid spokespeople and publicity campaigns, the funding of biased experts, the full-time lobbyists, the corporate election donations, the law firms threatening to sue governments for introducing needed regulations and the rest of the mercenaries who help companies fight desperately needed change…..
Being investigative journalists in times of trouble By Nicky Hager
New Zealand author Nicky Hager was keynote speaker at Dataharvest, the European Investigative Journalism Conference, and highlighted the big issues needing urgent and lasting media attention.
I have admired and supported Hager's work for years, but like others on the Old Left have been disappointed to see him join (seemingly unquestioningly) the Team of Mainstream Media Personalities Standing Against (what we have reliably been informed is ) The Far Right.
…a US-inspired protest against covid policies that was used as movement building for the far right.
The protest was in February this year, when New Zealand anti-vaccine groups staged an action imitating the Canadian “freedom convoy” truck protest. Hundreds of people took over the Parliament sector of the city for four weeks, with effigies of people in nooses and being guillotined, and slogans about executing the Prime Minister. It had an ugly ending with protesters pelting the police with rocks and setting their tents on fire.
The most chilling part was the social media statistics. They revealed that more people were getting news about the parliament protest from right-wing and conspiracy social media than from all the mainstream news media combined.
(my bold)
It's concerning that Hager refers to the US as inspiring the Freedom Village protest, then also refers to the Canadian Trucker protest. Which is it? Or has Hager blindly accepted the line that the Canadian Truckers were also inspired and funded by 'US Far Right White Supremacist Misogynist whatevers…' ?
As yet I have seen no actual evidence, no paper trail (for which Hager is rightfully respected) to support these claims.
It was not "hundreds" of protestors in Wellington, it was thousands. But what is an order of magnitude or two between professional investigative journos?
I did not see the "effigies of people being guillotined" in the Wellington protest…I'd be grateful if someone could provide a photo or two to verify this…perhaps Hager is a tad confused and is remembering the 2012 Anti Asset Sales protest?
And no, Hager…the Wellington protest was overwhelmingly peaceful until the heavily armed and armoured police squad moved in with their super pepper spray and crowd control tech and provoked a riot. The rock throwing and the burning only began after the cops began their purge of what a sitting MP desribed as a "river of filth".
An honest investigative journalist would have also shown pictures of the unprovoked police brutality of the 10th of February, and how the riot cops on the 2nd March forced peaceful protestors from their tents and the common cops moved in behind to destroy and lay waste what had been carefully and lovingly built over the previous three plus weeks.
An honest investigative journalist would have shared with us his interviews with the Freedom Villagers, and how he realised that far from being generic "anti-vaxxers", many of them had willingly taken the Pfizer Product and been seriously negatively impacted.
An honest journalist would have noted that it was the total denial by the Ministry of Health, the Government and the "mainstream news" of these injuries that drove many to Wellington. And a professional investigative journalist would have commented that how it is totally bizarre the insistence that those who suffered heart injuries from the first or second shot (or anaphylaxis) had to have a second or third shot in order to keep their jobs.
Or perhaps, a good investigative journalist would have gone out there into the world and found out why so many of us have turned away years ago from the "mainstream news" providers (that he clearly believes should be our only source of truth) and prefer to find our own sources of information such as established scientific journals and Covid data sites.
Such a pity there are so few investigative journalists with the integrity to step outside the mainstream and actually speak kanohi ki te kanohi with those they seem happy to accuse.
"An honest journalist would have noted that it was the total denial by the Ministry of Health, the Government and the "mainstream news"…" Rosemary McDonald
Are you inferring Rosemary, that Nikki Hagar is not an honest journalist?
The supporters of Russia's war against Ukraine, also spread the same smear against our journalists, that they are all corrupt hacks toeing the Western MSM line.
…has Hager blindly accepted the line that the Canadian Truckers were also inspired and funded by 'US Far Right White Supremacist Misogynist whatevers… Rosemary McDonald
No, but my fear is that you have.
Nazi Hippies: When the New Age and Far Right Overlap
Both the New Age and the far right are drawn to conspiracy theories
Health Minister responds to doctors' claim 'catastrophic collapse' coming.
Health Minister Andrew Little spoke to Morning Report.
Corin Dann doesn't understand what Little says and keeps insisting it's a 'crisis'. Little describes the situation using words similar too, or meaning virtually the same, but Dann won't be happy until the word crisis is used.
This is starting up again; though probably too late now for this year's local body elections, and likely next year's general election too:
A youth-led campaign to lower the voting age to 16 is being heard in the Supreme Court today.
Make it 16 will have its case heard at the Supreme Court after failing in the group's efforts in the High Court and Court of Appeal in 2020 and last year…
Attorney General David Parker's position is that the earlier High Court decision was correct for declining the declaration Make it 16 seeks.
He said section 12 of the NZ Bill of Rights Act, which provides that every New Zealand citizen over the age of 18 can vote in parliamentary elections, settles any limitation in respect of the voting age.
However, that does rather ignore the Court of Appeal's statement from last year:
the Court of Appeal judgement found the Attorney-General had failed to “discharge the burden of proof” to justify the existing age limit.
Looking at the justification of limiting the rights of 16 and 17 year olds was required, the judgement found.
“The matter is intensely and quintessentially political involving the democratic process itself,” the judgement said.
“Further the matter is very much in the public arena already including being part of a recently announced review of electoral law. We choose to exercise restraint and decline the application for declarations.”
In a new judgement of the court, released on the Supreme Court's website on Wednesday, along with the granting of leave of appeal, it said "the approved question is whether the Court of Appeal was correct to dismiss the appeal".
The more relevant part of the BORA would seem to be Section (4), which is why Make It 16 are going for a declaration of inconsistency rather than a nullification. Though it seems more likely that it'll be kicked back down to the Court of Appeal given the wording of the Supreme Court's approved question. Everyone appears to recognize the inconsistency, but no one seems to want to do anything about it:
No court shall, in relation to any enactment (whether passed or made before or after the commencement of this Bill of Rights),—
(a) hold any provision of the enactment to be impliedly repealed or revoked, or to be in any way invalid or ineffective; or
(b) decline to apply any provision of the enactment—
by reason only that the provision is inconsistent with any provision of this Bill of Rights.
He'll either buy it at a cheaper price (probably won't use any of his own money to do it) or it'll be revealed just how over priced twitter is and the shareholders will be asking questions of the veracity of the boards statements
There are valid reasons why someone doesn't want/need/require all the shots and boosters and I'd rather have an unvaccinated or unboosted nurse looking after me than no nurse at all or nurses that are so burnt out that they might make mistakes
Apparently because nurses not staying in nursing once they get residency is an issue, but GPs don't do that enough for it to be a problem. My guess is they looked at some data from a Ministry and made the decision based on advice based on what's happening the real world. It's stupid politics given everything else that is going on, but is it a bad policy?
I mean, if you were a nurse in the UK, burnt out, hating living there, and you got the opportunity to immigrate to NZ and quit nursing and go work in a less stressful job, what's not to love?
So lets throw some figures around (the numbers don't matter so much as the gist of it)
Lets say100 nurses come in and 10% of nurses don't hang around so 10 nurses leave early meaning 90 nurses stay
Is it better to make it less desirable for nurses to work here in the hopes that those who do stay longer or is it better to make it easier and more desirable for nurses to come here
For example 150 nurses arrive, 20% leave early (just a figure I plucked since Ardern wouldn't tell us) but that still leaves 120 nurses
If nurses are in hot demand globally and we can't match other countries wages then surely it makes sense to do whatever else we can to attract nurses here?
The National Party used a recognisable part of a popular song by Eminem without the creator's permission to further their own political ambitions. They thought they could get away with it because it was "pretty legal". Got into big trouble and they have form.
One time I worked hard to create visual content for a project only to have it appropriated and used thereafter as their own by a certain taxpayer funded organisation beginning with T and ending in NZ. Still unhappy about it.
The future National government's coalition partner, ACT, does not respect culture in any form. While Baldrick (Chris Luxon) speaks of trading NZ to the world, Rimmer (David Seymour) is determined to halt our film and TV trade with the world. Fireworks to come.
Puckish Rogue continues a long line of chancers abusing other's content for their own means.
you could have riffed that of PR's casual, throw away joke, but instead you made it personal. Remember how mods don't like having their time wasted, and how flaming tends to irritate them?
I wanted to point out that PR had used someone else's specific joke written on another forum without attribution. Despite your assertion, it was not PR’s joke at all.
Here’s the quote:
All the nurses who want to come and live and work in New Zealand should simply declare they are really DJs, who just do nursing as a side gig.
The second comment explained why I took that position.
How is that wasting moderator's time?
[what you appear to be missing is that I was giving both you and PR a headsup to not start in on each other. Now I will make my point in BOLD.
Had you made the point you did in your last comment (your view, quote, link) there would have been no problem. The comment explains really clearly what you are on about and thus everyone reading and wanting to take part knows. Your FB-esque original comment looked like taking a pot shot at PR and it wasn’t possible to know what you were on about.
The wasting mod time is that here you are yet again arguing about moderation, something you have a history of. You could have asked early on where the boundaries are, but instead you expect me as a mod to do the extra mahi and explain ad nauseum.
It’s actually really simple: use your words to explain the political point you are making, do this at the start. Avoid taking pot shots at commenters. Stop arguing with the mods – weka]
Are DJs on the Green List and do they have to DJ for 2 years here before they can apply for Residency? And after that they can go into property development?
"you may want a fool responsible for your medical treatment, I don't"
I just want someone who is trained and competent to carry out whatever medical procedure I need. I know if I go into a hospital or medical practice right now, there is a big chance I will get covid from either other patients or medical staff (vacinated or unvacinated).
Do you not relize that the health system is on the brink of collapse? Everyday there are articles in Stuff about Drs and nurses on the brink. We are 4000 nurse down. If these nurses/drs were unvacinated and we had a war zone with sick people dying would you say I don't want these fools looking after these people?
If this was a war zone, all field medics would have had mandatory vaccinations by command order, so really not the best analogy. You really don't want infection roaring unchecked through territory with no sanitation or infrastructure.
Conchies that refused to join the medical corps, Merchant Navy or other options were put in jail. Where many were treated worse by the guards, than actual criminals.
Refusing to shoot people for moral reasons, and taking the consequences, is a commendable moral choice. Refusing to take sensible precautions to protect the health of your patients……. Is something that most of the conchies wouldn’t have agreed with.
One would have to question the General that as casualties stack up, keeps 700 nurses in a POW camp at home, because there was a question mark over the last item of their medical.
Sure then because I think the risk of covid has been massively overblown and I support those that don't want to/have objections to/are unable to have the injections I should also not go to the hospital if I break an arm or something, because its equivalent
The statistics from countries that didn't have as comprehensive a covid response as ours, prove that anyone who claims " risk of covid has been massively overblown" is divorced from reality.
How many of those deaths were actually caused by covid?
So yeah overblown.
But it made incredible profits for Big Pharma, the MSM had everyone glued to the screens (if it bleeds it leads) and it got Labour an overwhelming victory in the election
I think the arguement is relevant. It is about people who deny science, i.e. that its not posible to change your sex and that the evidence for puberty blockers is experimental at best.
Getting steadily worse over decades is hardly a sudden crisis.
In fact most of us were predicting it, for our proffesions for decades.
My own trades/Proffesions have an over thirty year training gap, since it was decided that bringing in already trained "skilled migrants" was cheaper than training our own kids.
I admit to a degree of shadenfraude, as those who cheer leaded the whole "reforms" and profited by the whole shemozzle, get bitten on the arse, as we predicted, so long ago.
"Getting steadily worse over decades is hardly a sudden crisis."
Yes, the point I was making was about the scale. The situation is far worse than 10 years ago.
"since it was decided that bringing in already trained "skilled migrants" was cheaper than training our own kids."
Training our own is preferable, but it takes time and we still may not have enough to allow for population growth. Bringing in trained migrants will likely always be part of the solution. Right now it needs to be a big part.
No. It doesn't, because it will just carry on the addiction. And the problem of adding more people when the infrastructure cannot possibly be expanded fast enough to keep up.
Unless we have willing trainees, and can train them in sufficient numbers, there is no option. Besides, having foreign trained nurses helps with cultural and professional diversity. It's a good thing.
Yes its been a problem for years. I posted recently an article by Dr Ian Powell who met with David Clark 5 and a half years ago and said there are three problems for the workforce……staff shortages, staff shortages and staff shortages.
I wish the media instead of harping on and on about the need for immigrant nurses would check out the requirements for Registration with the NZ Nursing Council. basically an applicant from a country where the education is in English, UK, Ireland, Singapore and USA and Canada where all conditions are met registration will be granted in 30 or so days. All other countries will have to prove scope and competencies and pass an IELTS exam, most don't. To grant immediate residency without registration would be foolhardy as all we would have is a number of Nurse Aides who like most immigrant Nurses be gone to Australia as soon as able.
Is it that you fear they will be more likely to pass covid on? Or you think they shouldn't be practicing if they don't agree with all medical procedures?
As psych nurse mentioned @ 13.2.1 no health care worker has died yet from attracting Covid-19 at work in NZ. To mandate a vaccinated workforce is helping a lot to keep it this way.
Anecdotally I've seen it spread through all different groups of people, vaccination status doesn't seem to be a deciding factor, but I'd be interested to know if we have evidence of only the unvaccinated being the superspreaders?? Highly vaccinated countries are getting high case numbers are they not?
Your second sentence is a slur on these health workers, as their job everyday requires sensible decision making.
USA. 67% vaccinated. Death rate 308/100k.
NZ 94% vaccinated. Death rate 31/100k.
It is even more striking if you compare highly vaccinated US states, with the Republican idiotvilles.
But surely masking up is all thats needed to protect us from the virus, especially if we're vaccinated, therefore the nurses just need to wear ppe and we're all good to go
Please tell us what happened in MIQ before there was a vaccine and how that compares with working in a healthcare setting. Just for good measure you may want to include a comparison of transmissibility of the current variants vs. the earlier ones that are relevant to MIQ.
My point is Incognito that prior to vaccines nurses worked MIQ. There are many health care settings but in MIQ and and at the Jet Park where covid cases went, nurses interacted with people,taking swabs, temparatures monitoring symptoms etc, with great care. They were also tested regularly.
Having attended an ED in the last few weeks where we were not asked if we were vacinnated, nor were we particularly isolated, nor tested for covid, I am unsure that there is that much difference
You know perfectly well why nurses (and doctors) who are not vaccinated (and masked) can't work in their profession …
We do?
Vaccine effectiveness studies have conclusively demonstrated the benefit of COVID-19 vaccines in reducing individual symptomatic and severe disease, resulting in reduced hospitalisations and intensive care unit admissions. However, the impact of vaccination on transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 needs to be elucidated.
This study showed that the impact of vaccination on community transmission of circulating variants of SARS-CoV-2 appeared to be not significantly different from the impact among unvaccinated people.
The scientific rationale for mandatory vaccination in the USA relies on the premise that vaccination prevents transmission to others, resulting in a “pandemic of the unvaccinated”.
Yet, the demonstration of COVID-19 breakthrough infections among fully vaccinated health-care workers (HCW) in Israel, who in turn may transmit this infection to their patients, requires a reassessment of compulsory vaccination policies leading to the job dismissal of unvaccinated HCW in the USA. Indeed, there is growing evidence that peak viral titres in the upper airways of the lungs and culturable virus are similar in vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.2,3
According to WHO some 180,000 Health Care workers worldwide died of Covid, contacted in the course of their work. In the UK some 900, NZ zilch. You should be eternally grateful to the NZ government for their response to the pandemic, I am. You can reference these figures on Google when you next find evidence to back up your conspiracies.
What conspiracies? I provided a link to a letter in The Lancet which suggests that Covid vaccine mandates for healthworkers are unjustified because studies show that it makes no difference whether the worker is vaccinated or not with respect to transmission or viral load. The writer provides references.
The Franco-Peredes Lancet letter from which you quote is not scientific research: Rosemary McDonald. Rather it is a comment on a study by Singanayaman et al (2021): Community transmission and viral load kinetics of the SARS-CoV-2 delta (B.1.617.2) variant in vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals in the UK: a prospective, longitudinal, cohort study. Who are not at all impressed with him in their response, given their pointed line about misinterpretation, in the paragraph immediately preceding their brief discussion of Franco-Peredes' comment:
Ultimately, one has to consider the totality of data on SAR estimates, which are generated using different methods and populations, each with their own particular strengths and limitations. The public health messages of our paper and media briefing (Science Media Centre, London, Oct 28, 2021) are thus complementary to the findings of Knol and colleagues. First, despite vaccination, the delta variant readily transmits in households, and unvaccinated people cannot therefore rely on the immunity of the vaccinated population for protection as they remain susceptible to infection, severe illness, and death. Second, increasing population immunity via booster programmes and vaccination of teenagers will help to increase the population-level protective effect of vaccination on delta-variant transmission. Third, direct protection of those at risk of severe outcomes, via vaccination and non-pharmacological interventions, remain necessary to contain the burden of disease. Fortunately, the vast majority of media coverage of our paper, comprising over 360 news stories to date, has conveyed these important messages without misinterpretation.
Although our findings support Franco-Peredes’ conclusion that vaccination status should not replace social and physical public health mitigation practices, the above clarifications explain why our findings do not support his assertion that mandatory vaccination of health-care workers would not reduce nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 transmission.
The Franco-Peredes Lancet letter from which you quote is not scientific research: Rosemary McDonald. Rather it is a comment …
Yes. I did state that it was a letter I was quoting from in my comment. In your rush to prove me a fool, did you not read what I wrote?
Can you provide scientific proof that the Pfizer Product prevents infection and transmission of the Omicron variants? Or at least reduces infection and transmission sufficiently to justify exclusion of much needed health and disability workers?
And I'd like to see those scientific papers that show that the mRNA injections are safe and there will be no long term adverse effects from continual boosting?
(Full disclosure here…I was the paid carer of my tetraplegic partner from April 2020 when this payment was allowed because of home care worker shortage and fear of infection with carers going into multiple homes. This payment of course was stopped when both my partner and I chose not to partake of the Pfizer product. Stopped because…paying for the work I do would somehow increase the risk of infection? Who knows.? The properly triple jabbed carer sent out to merely sit with my man so I could do the shopping came to our home a day before testing positive and after a weekend partying out of town. She was symptomatic. Despite having already had Omicron in March…I too also developed a sore throat etc for a few days. I'm not sure what country you are living in, but around these parts its generally accepted that vaccination status means nothing in terms of getting infected, and those already vulnerable are still sadly falling off their perches despite being multiply jabbed. )
USA. 67% vaccinated. Death rate 308/100k.
NZ 94% vaccinated. Death rate 31/100k.
It is even more striking if you compare highly vaccinated US states, with the Republican idiotvilles.
Sigh. Have you not been following what has been happening in the US regarding healthcare? As much as healthcare might exist for the millions who cannot afford it in that obscene jealously protected private profit driven system. Compare apple with apples.
Japan has been doing quite well.
But what truly sets it apart from many places, particularly Asian neighbors like China, is it’s managed to limit deaths without mandates and with few restrictions. The constitution prevents imposing lockdowns backed by police actions, meaning that even during a state of emergency the government puts the onus on businesses and individuals to change their behavior.
Considering our much lower population density (a factor with an airborne disease) Japan has done much better than NZ…without the stick waving and vicious mandates.
And treating the population like helpless, mewling infants.
It is the anti vaccers and their apologists, like you who ignore complexity. Who cannot comprehend that sciencentific evidence is a jigsaw of many pieces. Not just one, or a few datapoints! or "aneqdotes".
And, of course you prefer you ignore the differences in neighbouring US States, where "other variables" have less effect than between NZ and the USA.
We all know why India has less deaths. If you do not have an excellent immune system in India, you won't survive to adulthood.
I point out that your simplistic comparison is flawed and show one example of how reality is much more complex – and you accuse me of ignoring complexity.
I don't know how you expect a constructive conversation on that basis.
Thank you for the link. I think you are seeing things that don't actually exist in this letter to the Lancet.
Yes, there was no difference in viral load or nasopharangeal levels of Covid19, between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. I think you then imply that it's ok for doctors to be unvaccinated when seeing patients.
This is overly simplistic in that viral load doesn’t necessarily equate with transmissibility.
This is one letter in a medical journal versus a large body of evidence backing vaccination for medical professionals to protect their patients.
Sorry out running right now can't easily do a decent search for you in the rain, but lots of clear evidence out there.
Sorry out running right now can't easily do a decent search for you in the rain, but lots of clear evidence out there.
And there's a lot of real world evidence that despite complying with mandates multiply 'vaccinated' medical staff are being infected with Covid and becoming symptomatic. And needing time off work.
Somewhere there will be data showing the % of folks who became infected, were symptomatic, needed hospitalisation and sadly died of/from/with Covid before the Magic Jabs were deployed.
It would be very interesting to compare those data with the data collected recently.
A pity RNZ has now removed the comparisons between unvaccinated, fully vaccinated and boosted with respect to new cases, hospitalisations and deaths…because before they were removed…the graphics were showing sweet f/a difference.
But Anne, I understand the only Dr in Muripara who refused the vacinne has been allowed bcak to work. Maybe the powers that be thought it was better to have a Dr rather than no Dr at all.
While I didn't provide a link for my brief comment about the Dr at Murupara, it is more or less as Rosemary said. Another reason to bring back unvaxed nurses is indeed if they have had covid in the last three months (likely if they are unvaxxed) as they will have natural immunity.
We are due to get a booster soon, which we will do, although I haven't taken the time to read how effective it is in providing immunity. I imagine it must provide some.
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Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Two-thirds of the country think that “New Zealand’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful”. They also believe that “New Zealand needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful”. These are just two of a handful of stunning new survey results released ...
In today’s digital world, screenshots have become an indispensable tool for communication and documentation. Whether you need to capture an important email, preserve a website page, or share an error message, screenshots allow you to quickly and easily preserve digital information. If you’re an Asus laptop user, there are several ...
A factory reset restores your Gateway laptop to its original factory settings, erasing all data, apps, and personalizations. This can be necessary to resolve software issues, remove viruses, or prepare your laptop for sale or transfer. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to factory reset your Gateway laptop: Method 1: ...
“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
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. ...
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. ...
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. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk this week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to ...
Asia Pacific Report Chief Mandla Mandela, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa and Nelson Mandela’s grandson, has joined the Freedom Flotilla in istanbul as the ships prepare to sail for Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. Mandela is also the ambassador for the Global Campaign to Return to ...
Pacific Media Watch Journalists who report on environmental issues are encountering growing difficulties in many parts of the world, reports Reporters Without Borders. According to the tally kept by RSF, 200 journalists have been subjected to threats and physical violence, including murder, in the past 10 years because they were ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
ACT's Rural Communities and Veterans spokesman Mark Cameron responds to cancellations and protests of ANZAC Day commemorations in Wellington. He says, "These pitiful attempts to detract from ANZAC Day are not at all indicative of the feelings of mainstream ...
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Nats Scott Simpson……the unaware Irony.! How many years….have critical thinkers…been trying to red flag this? Were his Nats EVER interested ? Mind boggling.
Birchfield and his like….somehow retain a following. Of similar dinosaurs. Reminds of a King Cnut.!
Or similar : ) ….
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cnut#The_story_of_Cnut_and_the_waves
He won't be happy until Westport is washed into the Tasman sea and it's former site a low lying lagoon, at which point he'll write a column for the Daily Blog blaming "wokism".
Well…that was a lol. : ) And maybe some gold be washed to the top ? A cunning plan !
Power and roading infrastructure in the South Island takes a serious hit. Those sitting trapped in the dark can be sure, (though it may take a few days in some cases), that they will reconnected to the grid and the roads will be cleared.
As weather extremes get worse and closer together that certainty will disappear. As more and more of us get to sit in cold dark homes, for longer periods, cut off from our neighbours by floods and slips. and power outages.
There must come a realisation that there will be a time where the hits to power and roading infrastructure cannot be rebuilt.
When we reach that point, will BAU still continue?
Will we still allow our transportation system to be dominated by fossil fueled vehicles?
Will we still allow valuable crop lands to be ploughed under for intensive dairying conversions?
Will still be mining and importing coal?
Will Huntly coal fired power station still be operating?
When that time comes, will we try to mend our ways?
When that time comes, will it be far too late to make any difference what we do, will we find that the changes to the climate will be irreversible?
What then?
Re Sri Lanka
First thing done by the 'current ' admin a couple of years ago was
CUT TAXES
Sound familiar.
You know, if this was the Soviet Union you'd almost suspect the usually sycophantic media had got the memo that the Politburo thinks comrade Fosters inability to consistently hit his tractor production quotas is now a problem…
Clustopher Luxon…saying how he thinks…well…maybe.
Experts…..
Has any NZ politician ever been given such a big platform to say nothing at all so as to remain as politically beige as possible? First he says he won't criminalize abortions despite the fact he also considers them to be murder, and now the guy can't even take a position that masks are useful protection against airborne viruses.
Luxon and the previous three Nat leaders have called for looser restrictions at every stage. They have now made tighter restrictions politically impossible and there is only one possible direction of travel – stay the same or loosen further. They have what they wanted all along, and as the consequences of that become clear, only the most brazen of liars and opportunists among them will reverse course and call for a tightening.
Yep. Clustopher (tip o' the hat..Blazer ! ) Luxon could be quite a dangerous man. Doesnt "quite" say….where he really is on these and other vitals.
That, and the rest of these Nact types…has indeed focused me. On doing my best to make sure they never get power in NZ.
Hence. Colours. Nailed. : )
Also "not giving a shit" is different from "moving on". 300 people still dying from Covid daily in the UK (almost 50% worse than NZ's 17 average deathsper day on a per capita basis) in addition to the 182,000 who have already died. If Luxon thinks that's the model to follow then that says more about him than it does about the current government.
Now this is a global supply chain shortage issue which I can live with!
RTDs are one of the entry points into alcohol abuse (sweet mixers hiding the taste of alcohol) – having them off the shelves (because of a shortage of bourbon) seems to be a win for health.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/129239817/global-bourbon-shortage-creates-lack-of-supply-of-cheap-rtds
excellent.
The fertiliser shortages might finally push us towards getting off that shit as well and into regenag.
You mean like Sri Lanka?
yes, exactly. A wealthy industrialised country like NZ should totally take the opportunity of lowering art fert supplies and turn it into an umitigated disaster that collapses the economy.
🙄
What do you think will happen to NZ if we blithely try to keep BAU and art fert supplies don't recover? At the same time as we have crop failures globally and locally from increased frequency, climate induced, extreme weather events. Writing is on the wall for those that are paying attention. We have a window in which to transition well and by choice, before that choice is taken from us.
There is no evidence that fertiliser supplies won't recover when supply chains open up again and we do, in fact, produce our own at Kāpuni and Ravensdown among other places.
You do have this tendency to make sweeping statements about agriculture and power generation without demonstrating much understanding the technical or geographical practicalities.
Agree Belladonna. They are addictive with all the sugar and alcohol.
RIP Monty Norman
Monty Norman, composer of iconic James Bond theme, dies at 94 (msn.com)
And from that great philosopher himself:
"Governments change. The lies stay the same."
-James Bond, 'GoldenEye'.
This is pretty compelling stuff Nicky. Especially the part about lobby groups fighting change:
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/nicky-hager-being-investigative-journalists-in-times-of-trouble
Being investigative journalists in times of trouble
By Nicky Hager
I have admired and supported Hager's work for years, but like others on the Old Left have been disappointed to see him join (seemingly unquestioningly) the Team of Mainstream Media Personalities Standing Against (what we have reliably been informed is ) The Far Right.
…a US-inspired protest against covid policies that was used as movement building for the far right.
The protest was in February this year, when New Zealand anti-vaccine groups staged an action imitating the Canadian “freedom convoy” truck protest. Hundreds of people took over the Parliament sector of the city for four weeks, with effigies of people in nooses and being guillotined, and slogans about executing the Prime Minister. It had an ugly ending with protesters pelting the police with rocks and setting their tents on fire.
The most chilling part was the social media statistics. They revealed that more people were getting news about the parliament protest from right-wing and conspiracy social media than from all the mainstream news media combined.
(my bold)
It's concerning that Hager refers to the US as inspiring the Freedom Village protest, then also refers to the Canadian Trucker protest. Which is it? Or has Hager blindly accepted the line that the Canadian Truckers were also inspired and funded by 'US Far Right White Supremacist Misogynist whatevers…' ?
As yet I have seen no actual evidence, no paper trail (for which Hager is rightfully respected) to support these claims.
It was not "hundreds" of protestors in Wellington, it was thousands. But what is an order of magnitude or two between professional investigative journos?
I did not see the "effigies of people being guillotined" in the Wellington protest…I'd be grateful if someone could provide a photo or two to verify this…perhaps Hager is a tad confused and is remembering the 2012 Anti Asset Sales protest?
And no, Hager…the Wellington protest was overwhelmingly peaceful until the heavily armed and armoured police squad moved in with their super pepper spray and crowd control tech and provoked a riot. The rock throwing and the burning only began after the cops began their purge of what a sitting MP desribed as a "river of filth".
An honest investigative journalist would have also shown pictures of the unprovoked police brutality of the 10th of February, and how the riot cops on the 2nd March forced peaceful protestors from their tents and the common cops moved in behind to destroy and lay waste what had been carefully and lovingly built over the previous three plus weeks.
An honest investigative journalist would have shared with us his interviews with the Freedom Villagers, and how he realised that far from being generic "anti-vaxxers", many of them had willingly taken the Pfizer Product and been seriously negatively impacted.
An honest journalist would have noted that it was the total denial by the Ministry of Health, the Government and the "mainstream news" of these injuries that drove many to Wellington. And a professional investigative journalist would have commented that how it is totally bizarre the insistence that those who suffered heart injuries from the first or second shot (or anaphylaxis) had to have a second or third shot in order to keep their jobs.
Or perhaps, a good investigative journalist would have gone out there into the world and found out why so many of us have turned away years ago from the "mainstream news" providers (that he clearly believes should be our only source of truth) and prefer to find our own sources of information such as established scientific journals and Covid data sites.
Such a pity there are so few investigative journalists with the integrity to step outside the mainstream and actually speak kanohi ki te kanohi with those they seem happy to accuse.
"An honest journalist would have noted that it was the total denial by the Ministry of Health, the Government and the "mainstream news"…" Rosemary McDonald
Are you inferring Rosemary, that Nikki Hagar is not an honest journalist?
The supporters of Russia's war against Ukraine, also spread the same smear against our journalists, that they are all corrupt hacks toeing the Western MSM line.
…has Hager blindly accepted the line that the Canadian Truckers were also inspired and funded by 'US Far Right White Supremacist Misogynist whatevers… Rosemary McDonald
No, but my fear is that you have.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00131857.2022.2061948
Denial much?
Europe reaches equality,
Euro/us$ parity,The Euro has now depreciated 14% TY and imported energy costs have increased by both demand inflation,and currency depreciation.
Lagarde and the ECB showing the risks with continued QE when inflation shock was not only a war levy.
https://twitter.com/RobinBrooksIIF/status/1546598034104098822?cxt=HHwWjIC9kfitz_YqAAAA
Health Minister responds to doctors' claim 'catastrophic collapse' coming.
Health Minister Andrew Little spoke to Morning Report.
Corin Dann doesn't understand what Little says and keeps insisting it's a 'crisis'. Little describes the situation using words similar too, or meaning virtually the same, but Dann won't be happy until the word crisis is used.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018849118/health-minister-responds-to-doctors-claim-catastrophic-collapse-coming
Corin Dann is just another right wing poodle imho
This is starting up again; though probably too late now for this year's local body elections, and likely next year's general election too:
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/voting-age-appeal-be-heard-supreme-court-today
However, that does rather ignore the Court of Appeal's statement from last year:
https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/04/13/fight-to-lower-voting-age-to-16-will-head-to-supreme-court/
The AG taking refuge in section 12 of the BORA also seems to contradict Section 21 (1) (i) of the Human Rights Act:
https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1993/0082/latest/DLM304475.html
The more relevant part of the BORA would seem to be Section (4), which is why Make It 16 are going for a declaration of inconsistency rather than a nullification. Though it seems more likely that it'll be kicked back down to the Court of Appeal given the wording of the Supreme Court's approved question. Everyone appears to recognize the inconsistency, but no one seems to want to do anything about it:
https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1990/0109/latest/whole.html
This is fantastic:
https://fortune.com/2022/07/11/elon-musk-twitter-meme-mocks-bots-court-delaware-showdown/
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FXW4J4xXgAAXFKs?format=jpg&name=small
He'll either buy it at a cheaper price (probably won't use any of his own money to do it) or it'll be revealed just how over priced twitter is and the shareholders will be asking questions of the veracity of the boards statements
Win-win all round
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/TWTR/
The old "don't talk about the bots let them pad the numbers trick" goes boom
Something about chickens and roosts springs to mind
Let them work:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/129197272/plea-by-unvaccinated-nurses-to-return-to-work#comments
Why would you want medical staff who don't comprehend, or refuse to follow, medical science, to be responsible for your health?
Apart from the added risk to patients that have immune issues.
There are valid reasons why someone doesn't want/need/require all the shots and boosters and I'd rather have an unvaccinated or unboosted nurse looking after me than no nurse at all or nurses that are so burnt out that they might make mistakes
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/nursing-shortage-nurses-broken-while-sector-faces-thousands-of-vacancies/L7NUXOPG4AB472OKXOH5QJSUMU/
Time for Ardern to support the nurses
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2022/07/pm-jacinda-ardern-suggests-migrant-nurses-put-off-by-needing-to-stay-in-role-for-two-years-perhaps-don-t-want-to-be-a-nurse-in-nz.html
You may want to have a fool responsible for your medical treatment. I don't!
Adern is correct.
Why bring in Nurses to help with the shortages, that don’t work as nurses for a couple of years. No point.
If this keeps up then you won't have either!
'Why bring in Nurses to help with the shortages, that don’t work as nurses for a couple of years. No point.'
A couple of years is better than no years or at all because, unless you've failed to notice, we're in a crisis
Maybe the nurses could claim to be DJs instead then they'd have no problems getting in
"No years at all" is the point.
If they won't even commit to two years, what is the point of bringing them in.
So why only nurses then, why not do the same for GPs
(Apart from sexism of course)
Apparently because nurses not staying in nursing once they get residency is an issue, but GPs don't do that enough for it to be a problem. My guess is they looked at some data from a Ministry and made the decision based on advice based on what's happening the real world. It's stupid politics given everything else that is going on, but is it a bad policy?
I mean, if you were a nurse in the UK, burnt out, hating living there, and you got the opportunity to immigrate to NZ and quit nursing and go work in a less stressful job, what's not to love?
So lets throw some figures around (the numbers don't matter so much as the gist of it)
Lets say100 nurses come in and 10% of nurses don't hang around so 10 nurses leave early meaning 90 nurses stay
Is it better to make it less desirable for nurses to work here in the hopes that those who do stay longer or is it better to make it easier and more desirable for nurses to come here
For example 150 nurses arrive, 20% leave early (just a figure I plucked since Ardern wouldn't tell us) but that still leaves 120 nurses
If nurses are in hot demand globally and we can't match other countries wages then surely it makes sense to do whatever else we can to attract nurses here?
I'd guess that 10% is quite a large shortfall for the health planners.
I thought the issue wasn't that nurses leaving NZ, but getting residency and not staying in nursing.
I also think NZ is a reasonably attractive place to try and get residency. I'm in favour of bonding and think we should use it more.
You ripped that joke off Farrar. What's the deal with RWNJs stealing other people's material?!
I'm surprised you actually recognize a joke
shall we take bets on who gets banned next if you two start having another go?
I'm pretty hot on this for three reasons:
Puckish Rogue continues a long line of chancers abusing other's content for their own means.
I guess some people create, and some incarcerate!
you could have riffed that of PR's casual, throw away joke, but instead you made it personal. Remember how mods don't like having their time wasted, and how flaming tends to irritate them?
I wanted to point out that PR had used someone else's specific joke written on another forum without attribution. Despite your assertion, it was not PR’s joke at all.
Here’s the quote:
– David Farrar
and link:
https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2022/07/pm_says_migrant_nurses_may_not_want_to_be_nurses.html
The second comment explained why I took that position.
How is that wasting moderator's time?
[what you appear to be missing is that I was giving both you and PR a headsup to not start in on each other. Now I will make my point in BOLD.
Had you made the point you did in your last comment (your view, quote, link) there would have been no problem. The comment explains really clearly what you are on about and thus everyone reading and wanting to take part knows. Your FB-esque original comment looked like taking a pot shot at PR and it wasn’t possible to know what you were on about.
The wasting mod time is that here you are yet again arguing about moderation, something you have a history of. You could have asked early on where the boundaries are, but instead you expect me as a mod to do the extra mahi and explain ad nauseum.
It’s actually really simple: use your words to explain the political point you are making, do this at the start. Avoid taking pot shots at commenters. Stop arguing with the mods – weka]
mod note.
Are DJs on the Green List and do they have to DJ for 2 years here before they can apply for Residency? And after that they can go into property development?
"you may want a fool responsible for your medical treatment, I don't"
I just want someone who is trained and competent to carry out whatever medical procedure I need. I know if I go into a hospital or medical practice right now, there is a big chance I will get covid from either other patients or medical staff (vacinated or unvacinated).
Do you not relize that the health system is on the brink of collapse? Everyday there are articles in Stuff about Drs and nurses on the brink. We are 4000 nurse down. If these nurses/drs were unvacinated and we had a war zone with sick people dying would you say I don't want these fools looking after these people?
'If these nurses/drs were unvacinated and we had a war zone with sick people dying would you say I don't want these fools looking after these people?'
This right here is what its all about
If this was a war zone, all field medics would have had mandatory vaccinations by command order, so really not the best analogy. You really don't want infection roaring unchecked through territory with no sanitation or infrastructure.
Not if they were hard up for medical personal
They would be drafted, and fully vaccinated when they were kitted out.
Ever heard of conscientious objectors?
Conchies that refused to join the medical corps, Merchant Navy or other options were put in jail. Where many were treated worse by the guards, than actual criminals.
10 March 2016, Families of NZ conscientious objectors sought to share and preserve stories, News, University of Otago, New Zealand
Refusing to shoot people for moral reasons, and taking the consequences, is a commendable moral choice. Refusing to take sensible precautions to protect the health of your patients……. Is something that most of the conchies wouldn’t have agreed with.
One would have to question the General that as casualties stack up, keeps 700 nurses in a POW camp at home, because there was a question mark over the last item of their medical.
Conscientious objectors don't get sent to front lines
Why would you go to a hospital if you don't believe what the doctors and scientists tell you?
Some doctors think boys can become girls.
Its not a accept everything or accept nothing situation.
It's impossible to take seriously anyone who insists on dragging any argument back to a single and not really equivalent issue.
Seriously?
Sure then because I think the risk of covid has been massively overblown and I support those that don't want to/have objections to/are unable to have the injections I should also not go to the hospital if I break an arm or something, because its equivalent
Labours on the wrong side of this, deal with it
The statistics from countries that didn't have as comprehensive a covid response as ours, prove that anyone who claims " risk of covid has been massively overblown" is divorced from reality.
Well you're on the wrong side of the science and evidence, so you deal with it
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
How many of those deaths were actually caused by covid?
So yeah overblown.
But it made incredible profits for Big Pharma, the MSM had everyone glued to the screens (if it bleeds it leads) and it got Labour an overwhelming victory in the election
Yeah right. All those people I know overseas whose family and friends died of covid, are just being "overblown".
Nope, not overblown, but severely underestimated.
https://ourworldindata.org/excess-mortality-covid
I think the arguement is relevant. It is about people who deny science, i.e. that its not posible to change your sex and that the evidence for puberty blockers is experimental at best.
All these people talking about a shortage of medical staff, a "crises" as if it has suddenly happened.
The shortage of GP' s, Nurses and other staff has been apparent for years.
Our local medical centre hasn't been fully staffed for over a decade.
"The shortage of GP' s, Nurses and other staff has been apparent for years."
Yes, of course, but the scale has changed significantly.
For example, according to the NZNO in 2012 the ADHB was short about 120 nurses. "NZNO organiser Craig Muir says, “These shortages are shocking."" In March 2022, the ADHB was short by 428 nurses.
I acknowledge these are two different sources, but if the data comparison is valid, that's a big change over the 10 years.
Getting steadily worse over decades is hardly a sudden crisis.
In fact most of us were predicting it, for our proffesions for decades.
My own trades/Proffesions have an over thirty year training gap, since it was decided that bringing in already trained "skilled migrants" was cheaper than training our own kids.
I admit to a degree of shadenfraude, as those who cheer leaded the whole "reforms" and profited by the whole shemozzle, get bitten on the arse, as we predicted, so long ago.
"Getting steadily worse over decades is hardly a sudden crisis."
Yes, the point I was making was about the scale. The situation is far worse than 10 years ago.
"since it was decided that bringing in already trained "skilled migrants" was cheaper than training our own kids."
Training our own is preferable, but it takes time and we still may not have enough to allow for population growth. Bringing in trained migrants will likely always be part of the solution. Right now it needs to be a big part.
No. It doesn't, because it will just carry on the addiction. And the problem of adding more people when the infrastructure cannot possibly be expanded fast enough to keep up.
"because it will just carry on the addiction."
Unless we have willing trainees, and can train them in sufficient numbers, there is no option. Besides, having foreign trained nurses helps with cultural and professional diversity. It's a good thing.
And your point is KJT.?
Yes its been a problem for years. I posted recently an article by Dr Ian Powell who met with David Clark 5 and a half years ago and said there are three problems for the workforce……staff shortages, staff shortages and staff shortages.
2009. Though I could look up almost any other year.
On solutions to the shortage of doctors in Australia and New Zealand | The Medical Journal of Australia (mja.com.au)
I wish the media instead of harping on and on about the need for immigrant nurses would check out the requirements for Registration with the NZ Nursing Council. basically an applicant from a country where the education is in English, UK, Ireland, Singapore and USA and Canada where all conditions are met registration will be granted in 30 or so days. All other countries will have to prove scope and competencies and pass an IELTS exam, most don't. To grant immediate residency without registration would be foolhardy as all we would have is a number of Nurse Aides who like most immigrant Nurses be gone to Australia as soon as able.
Absolutely. I want to know that the nurses looking after me are properly trained and qualified to NZ standards.
FFS yes lets bring these nurses back! It's desperate.
C'mon get real, its only desperate for plebs like us, the ruling class don't have to worry about it
Be kind
Aroha
Why would you want every layer of the public service staffed by people who don't have the wits or the fortitude to refuse to follow stupid orders?
So much stupidity all around!
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-high-court-rules-vaccination-mandates-for-educators-healthcare-workers-justified-dismisses-challenge/Q4NCC26OS7VOPOP72AR7TSYRJU/
Let them work?
NO!
Let them work?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkIJsnLBA4c
Done it.
Why not let them work Anne?
Is it that you fear they will be more likely to pass covid on? Or you think they shouldn't be practicing if they don't agree with all medical procedures?
They are more likely to pass covid on.
As well as being less likely to take other sensible precautions to protect their patients.
As psych nurse mentioned @ 13.2.1 no health care worker has died yet from attracting Covid-19 at work in NZ. To mandate a vaccinated workforce is helping a lot to keep it this way.
Anecdotally I've seen it spread through all different groups of people, vaccination status doesn't seem to be a deciding factor, but I'd be interested to know if we have evidence of only the unvaccinated being the superspreaders?? Highly vaccinated countries are getting high case numbers are they not?
Your second sentence is a slur on these health workers, as their job everyday requires sensible decision making.
"Anecdotally"???
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51235105
USA. 67% vaccinated. Death rate 308/100k.
NZ 94% vaccinated. Death rate 31/100k.
It is even more striking if you compare highly vaccinated US states, with the Republican idiotvilles.
"job everyday requires sensible decision making".
Which is why we don't need idiots, in medical care.
They did enough damage in parliament grounds.
You know perfectly well why nurses (and doctors) who are not vaccinated (and masked) can't work in their profession so don't pretend otherwise.
But surely masking up is all thats needed to protect us from the virus, especially if we're vaccinated, therefore the nurses just need to wear ppe and we're all good to go
Unless…
Masking up and regular testing. You know like what happened in MIQ before there was a vaccine
Please tell us what happened in MIQ before there was a vaccine and how that compares with working in a healthcare setting. Just for good measure you may want to include a comparison of transmissibility of the current variants vs. the earlier ones that are relevant to MIQ.
My point is Incognito that prior to vaccines nurses worked MIQ. There are many health care settings but in MIQ and and at the Jet Park where covid cases went, nurses interacted with people,taking swabs, temparatures monitoring symptoms etc, with great care. They were also tested regularly.
Having attended an ED in the last few weeks where we were not asked if we were vacinnated, nor were we particularly isolated, nor tested for covid, I am unsure that there is that much difference
You know perfectly well why nurses (and doctors) who are not vaccinated (and masked) can't work in their profession …
We do?
Vaccine effectiveness studies have conclusively demonstrated the benefit of COVID-19 vaccines in reducing individual symptomatic and severe disease, resulting in reduced hospitalisations and intensive care unit admissions. However, the impact of vaccination on transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 needs to be elucidated.
This study showed that the impact of vaccination on community transmission of circulating variants of SARS-CoV-2 appeared to be not significantly different from the impact among unvaccinated people.
The scientific rationale for mandatory vaccination in the USA relies on the premise that vaccination prevents transmission to others, resulting in a “pandemic of the unvaccinated”.
Yet, the demonstration of COVID-19 breakthrough infections among fully vaccinated health-care workers (HCW) in Israel, who in turn may transmit this infection to their patients, requires a reassessment of compulsory vaccination policies leading to the job dismissal of unvaccinated HCW in the USA. Indeed, there is growing evidence that peak viral titres in the upper airways of the lungs and culturable virus are similar in vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.2,3
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(21)00768-4/fulltext
According to WHO some 180,000 Health Care workers worldwide died of Covid, contacted in the course of their work. In the UK some 900, NZ zilch. You should be eternally grateful to the NZ government for their response to the pandemic, I am. You can reference these figures on Google when you next find evidence to back up your conspiracies.
Of or with?
of/from
…find evidence to back up your conspiracies.
What conspiracies? I provided a link to a letter in The Lancet which suggests that Covid vaccine mandates for healthworkers are unjustified because studies show that it makes no difference whether the worker is vaccinated or not with respect to transmission or viral load. The writer provides references.
You offer un- referenced figures and slurs.
The Franco-Peredes Lancet letter from which you quote is not scientific research: Rosemary McDonald. Rather it is a comment on a study by Singanayaman et al (2021): Community transmission and viral load kinetics of the SARS-CoV-2 delta (B.1.617.2) variant in vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals in the UK: a prospective, longitudinal, cohort study. Who are not at all impressed with him in their response, given their pointed line about misinterpretation, in the paragraph immediately preceding their brief discussion of Franco-Peredes' comment:
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(21)00761-1/fulltext
Original study (a bit dated now because; delta, rather than; omicron, SARS-CoV-2 variant):
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(21)00648-4/fulltext
The Franco-Peredes Lancet letter from which you quote is not scientific research: Rosemary McDonald. Rather it is a comment …
Yes. I did state that it was a letter I was quoting from in my comment. In your rush to prove me a fool, did you not read what I wrote?
Can you provide scientific proof that the Pfizer Product prevents infection and transmission of the Omicron variants? Or at least reduces infection and transmission sufficiently to justify exclusion of much needed health and disability workers?
And I'd like to see those scientific papers that show that the mRNA injections are safe and there will be no long term adverse effects from continual boosting?
(Full disclosure here…I was the paid carer of my tetraplegic partner from April 2020 when this payment was allowed because of home care worker shortage and fear of infection with carers going into multiple homes. This payment of course was stopped when both my partner and I chose not to partake of the Pfizer product. Stopped because…paying for the work I do would somehow increase the risk of infection? Who knows.? The properly triple jabbed carer sent out to merely sit with my man so I could do the shopping came to our home a day before testing positive and after a weekend partying out of town. She was symptomatic. Despite having already had Omicron in March…I too also developed a sore throat etc for a few days. I'm not sure what country you are living in, but around these parts its generally accepted that vaccination status means nothing in terms of getting infected, and those already vulnerable are still sadly falling off their perches despite being multiply jabbed. )
USA. 67% vaccinated. Death rate 308/100k.
NZ 94% vaccinated. Death rate 31/100k.
It is even more striking if you compare highly vaccinated US states, with the Republican idiotvilles.
Sigh. Have you not been following what has been happening in the US regarding healthcare? As much as healthcare might exist for the millions who cannot afford it in that obscene jealously protected private profit driven system. Compare apple with apples.
Japan has been doing quite well.
But what truly sets it apart from many places, particularly Asian neighbors like China, is it’s managed to limit deaths without mandates and with few restrictions. The constitution prevents imposing lockdowns backed by police actions, meaning that even during a state of emergency the government puts the onus on businesses and individuals to change their behavior.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-17/how-japan-achieved-one-of-the-world-s-lowest-covid-death-rates
Considering our much lower population density (a factor with an airborne disease) Japan has done much better than NZ…without the stick waving and vicious mandates.
And treating the population like helpless, mewling infants.
Japans population doesn't need "stick waving" because they follow sensible precautions without it.
Coronavirus manners in Japan (japan-guide.com)
Japanese do not have to be told not to make other people sick.
Unlike a proportion of our population. Who need to be treated like "mewling" moaning infants. Because they are!
That is deeply flawed comparison that pretends vaccination rate is the only variable that is different between the the US and NZ. In fact despite their relatively low total vaccination rate the US death data is not very different from many other similar developed nations.
The story is far more complex than you are pretending. For example India has a very similar vaccination rate to the US at 66%, but a far lower total death rate according to the OurWorldinData link above.
That is only one piece of evidence, of many.
It is the anti vaccers and their apologists, like you who ignore complexity. Who cannot comprehend that sciencentific evidence is a jigsaw of many pieces. Not just one, or a few datapoints! or "aneqdotes".
And, of course you prefer you ignore the differences in neighbouring US States, where "other variables" have less effect than between NZ and the USA.
We all know why India has less deaths. If you do not have an excellent immune system in India, you won't survive to adulthood.
I point out that your simplistic comparison is flawed and show one example of how reality is much more complex – and you accuse me of ignoring complexity.
I don't know how you expect a constructive conversation on that basis.
psych nurse that is a shocking statistic. Really shocking
Hi, Rosemary
Thank you for the link. I think you are seeing things that don't actually exist in this letter to the Lancet.
Yes, there was no difference in viral load or nasopharangeal levels of Covid19, between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. I think you then imply that it's ok for doctors to be unvaccinated when seeing patients.
This is overly simplistic in that viral load doesn’t necessarily equate with transmissibility.
This is one letter in a medical journal versus a large body of evidence backing vaccination for medical professionals to protect their patients.
Sorry out running right now can't easily do a decent search for you in the rain, but lots of clear evidence out there.
Sorry out running right now can't easily do a decent search for you in the rain, but lots of clear evidence out there.
And there's a lot of real world evidence that despite complying with mandates multiply 'vaccinated' medical staff are being infected with Covid and becoming symptomatic. And needing time off work.
Somewhere there will be data showing the % of folks who became infected, were symptomatic, needed hospitalisation and sadly died of/from/with Covid before the Magic Jabs were deployed.
From memory, 80% of those infected in 2020 had no symptoms…. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/08/more-than-80percent-of-people-with-coronavirus-had-no-symptoms-uk-study.html
It would be very interesting to compare those data with the data collected recently.
A pity RNZ has now removed the comparisons between unvaccinated, fully vaccinated and boosted with respect to new cases, hospitalisations and deaths…because before they were removed…the graphics were showing sweet f/a difference.
But Anne, I understand the only Dr in Muripara who refused the vacinne has been allowed bcak to work. Maybe the powers that be thought it was better to have a Dr rather than no Dr at all.
You seem to understand very little because you didn’t do any research, did you?
Why don’t you Google it and let us know what you find? BTW, it is Murupara.
Ouch! Are you ok Incognito? Did I touch a nerve?
While I didn't provide a link for my brief comment about the Dr at Murupara, it is more or less as Rosemary said. Another reason to bring back unvaxed nurses is indeed if they have had covid in the last three months (likely if they are unvaxxed) as they will have natural immunity.
We are due to get a booster soon, which we will do, although I haven't taken the time to read how effective it is in providing immunity. I imagine it must provide some.
Maybe the powers that be thought it was better to have a Dr rather than no Dr at all.
At the time he was suspended, he had been restricted to carrying out consultations via Telehealth due to not being immunised against Covid-19.
Because of his recent recovery from Covid-19, he has received a three-month exemption from the Covid-19 order and is able to practise
https://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/article/news/murupara-doctor-back-practice