The obvious question is "Why have those graphs been removed?"
Or don't you think we should ask that? Especially when we have been told repeatedly how much more at risk of infection and hospitalisation we fucking filth unvaccinated are.
When (up until they were removed) the daily updated RNZ Covid-19 data visualisations have told a completely different story for a few months now.
And what exactly are these…
…recent changes to the way the Ministry of Health reports data have affected some charts RNZ previously included in this page. These have been temporarily removed.
Are we (the fucking filth unvaxxed) 6% of the population and 6-7% of new Covid hospitalisations or not? Has there been barely any difference in the rates of unvaxed/vaxxed/boosted with regards to hospitalisations for the past few months… or not?
Because Town has been saying something completely different…
Dr Town says a key part of being able to respond to current and future outbreaks is having a clear picture of the impact of Covid-19, particularly among those who require hospital.
Preliminary data shows two thirds of people were admitted to hospital having Covid as the main cause rather than happening to test positive.
Town says for those that have been hospitalised with Covid and are not vaccinated, the data shows the rate is about six times higher.
still no idea what you are on about. I'm sure it's apparent to you but we can't mind read. All I'm getting is that RNZ have removed from graphics temporarily because MoH have changed something.
It's like you posted a link to a long article and expect me to parse your point. I'm not going to study graphs to try and figure out what you mean.
I'd suggest less of the rhetoric, and just explain in plain English what you are trying to convey.
The statistical basis for that conclusion is simple to understand. Basically older people are more succeptible to covid infection, they are also more likely to take a booster. Age unseparated statistics can not separate these two effects.
Unfortunately NZ doesn't release the data publicly in a form which allows independent verification of that (it runs into some privacy issues), and for some reason there are a whole cohort of people putting up spurious arguments claiming data manipulation of any (correctly) standardised figures which demonstrate that conclusion. But your more expert in that than me already.
Also mathematically there will always be a point where enough of the population is vaccinated that any who get sick are likely to be vaccinated.
Vaccination does not equal a cure.
It isn't difficult to understand.
If 0% of the population is vaccinated then 100% of the admissions will be unvaccinated.
If 100% of the population is vaccinated then 100% of the admissions will be vaccinated.
The wrong question to ask therefore is what percentage of admissions are vaccinated or unvaccinated.
It is more that you should ask what is the rate of admission for the remaining unvaccinated population compared to the vaccinated population. From that point it gets more complicated such as age profiles etc but it is a very good starting point.
Even more sad is the sheer number of people who have had serious adverse reactions and are being gaslit or declined exemptions. We have a young friend who ended up in hospital with heart issues, it was acknowledged by her doctors and medsafe that it was vaccine caused but the Ministry of Health still refused an exemption. She had the second one to keep her job (mortgage, young kids) and ended up in hospital again, still no exemption for the booster. This is a really common story. Our young friend declined the booster as she was aware that another shot could kill her. She is a nurse and has lost her job as a result. She is well now and could be working but for the shifting goalposts of what fully vaccinated is.
[delete]
[This site exists to explore political issues within the context of robust debate. It’s not here for people’s reckons. I’ve deleted most of your comment because it asserts fact on an important topic without providing any evidence.
You’ve made four claims that need evidence:
that you are more likely to be hospitalised with covid if you have had two or more shots.
that early covid vaccines didn’t prevent transmission
that early covid vaccines didn’t lessen risk of infection in an individual
that covid vaccines don’t lessen severity of infection.
Please now provide that evidence. Evidence here means:
1. explain each point in your own words, and
2. provide quotes, time stamps, or if using graphs, the name of the graph or some other way of understanding what you are referring to.
3. links.
The onus is on you to make it very clear what you mean and what the evidence is ie don’t expect other people to read a whole article to parse your meaning.
You are free on this site to argue anti-vax positions, but you have to provide evidence pre-emptively. We’re more than two years into the pandemic and most of us are sick of going over and over this without any substance.
Putting you in premod. Also making a note in the back end about this for future reference. If you waste my time on this I will ban you – weka]
"The graphs show clearly that you are more likely to be hospitalised with covid if you have had two or more shots"
That conclusion is not correct because the vaccinated and un-vaccinated populations as different in their ages. You are welcome to ask for clarification if this comment was unclear in some way.
This mRNA product is neither safe nor effective and it beggars belief they are still encouraging anyone to take it…nevermind those under 60 who are largely not at risk from Covid 19 disease.
You mean things you are quite likely to experience with any vaccination? It's a fairly unexceptional and temporary immune response to an inoculation but you seem to be trying to liken it to actual and extremely rare allergic reaction – why is that?
@weka what's the damage done from shortness of breath?
Shortness of breath is just one of the symptoms of myocarditis…a known, potentially serious, and sometimes fatal side effect of the Pfizer product. As described in the letter sent to medical professionals in late December last year.
Myocarditis and pericarditis are treatable. Outcomes are better the sooner you start treatment.
In the first few days after your vaccination, seek urgent medical attention if you experience:
new-onset chest pain (or an increase in severity of existing chest pain), discomfort or heaviness
shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
an abnormal heartbeat or a racing fluttering feeling or a feeling of skipped heartbeats
dizziness, feeling lightheaded or fainting may also occur with the symptoms above.
These are potential symptoms of myocarditis and pericarditis.
Unfortunately, despite many, many injection recipients having suffered these symptoms (over 6000*) prior to this December 2021 alert, medical 'professionals' were routinely dismissing these symptoms as 'anxiety' and sending them home. With no treatment.
Myocarditis and pericarditis are treatable. Outcomes are better the sooner you start treatment.
teh problem with your reasoning is that shortness of breath has many causes. Of those related to the vax, some will be symptoms of peri/myocarditis, some won't. No way have we had 6,000 cases of covid vax related carditis, so let's assume that most of those 6,000 cases aren't carditis.
Which brings me back to my original question. What damage is done by those that have shortness of breath post-vax (excluding carditis for the moment)?
I've said this to the anti-covid vax people here before: if there are significant numbers of people with adverse reactions that are credibly linked, then start making case studies. Set up websites and document what is happening in a way that the mainstream will take seriously.
No, random FB second hand reports don't count. First hand accounts needs to be documented in a systematic way.
Because atm, it looks like the serious cases of adverse reaction are getting lost in the hot air. If you truly believe that 6,000 people have had carditis sympoms and have been damaged by the vaccine, you need to provide evidence. If you think you have provided that evidence already then your own credibility is greatly dimished. I can't see it, and you apparently can't explain it.
btw, if you want to assert that 6,000 figure again, you need to provide direct evidence. I'm not reading a whole MoH page to try and parse it, I just don't have the time. Point to what you are referring to and explain it clearly or I will simply delete the whole post. I am completely and utterly sick of wasting my time explaining this, so will moderate to maintain some level of debate competency.
eg if you have added up some figures, then explain what you have done.
……….. We have a young friend who ended up in hospital with heart issues, it was acknowledged by her doctors and medsafe that it was vaccine caused but the Ministry of Health still refused an exemption. She had the second one to keep her job (mortgage, young kids) and ended up in hospital again, still no exemption for the booster. This is a really common story. Our young friend declined the booster as she was aware that another shot could kill her. She is a nurse and has lost her job as a result. She is well now and could be working but for the shifting goalposts of what fully vaccinated is.
First of all this is not a common true story, it is a story of urban myth mainly.
I have a far bit of skepticism about this. Mainly based on the experiences of two friends, one of whom has an allergic reaction, a known possibility to many injections, and the other who had diminished immunity because she was having treatment for cancer.
The first had special care taken because of her inbuilt susceptibility and she was offered and took the opportunity to have a different set of vaccines from those that were approved for the rest of us. These were acknowledged to be less effective but were on hand for cases such as hers. She has been able to keep up her job and did not need an exemption at any stage. This is similar to the acceptance of workers from overseas whose countries opted for different injection regimes from NZ.
The second had to have a different regime and timetabling and the oncologist worked very closely with MoH etc to get the correct regime and tweaks that took account of her diminished health and immune status. They were very keen for her to be well and not be put at risk from getting Covid.
I have heard stories as 'your young friend' and some are being classed as an urban myth. Certainly my flatmate who is a nurse and who has been nursing a large tertiary hospital all the way through has heard this before. I even raised with her some of the 'facts' about so-called large numbers of nurses leaving because of not wanting to have vaccinations but this had not been a real problem where she is nursing.
She says that when she started training through Poly/Uni it was a requirement that they have vaccinations prior to the course starting and maintain these throughout the duration and her hospital has regular reminders and vaccination days for its staff. They have a younger staff who mainly have been trained through Polytechs and Universities.
I suggest that the requirements for an exemption may have needed a greater precision about what may have caused the heart problems than had been given to them and MOH may not have wanted to be giving exemptions to workers who could be able to infect at risk patients.
As there are openings for nursing experience that do not involve working in a hospital perhaps these could be explored and getting to talk to those who are able to put her on a track with a different set of anti covid injections could be looked at also. The need for injections and requirements is not likely to go away in the near future.
Because I am hearing it from several different anti vax angles, including overseas, different hospitals etc. It does not have the ring of truth or reasonableness about going ahead to have the vaccine even though apparently the Dr & Medsafe have warned against it & are powerless to stop the hardline MOH exemption juggernaut.
The other commentary about it also used the words a 'young friend' or 'young person'. I would not class a nurse who had gone through the Poly system 'a young person', possibly aged 20 or over. There are avenues that can be used to query a system and to ensure that one's own health is not damaged in a hospital setting. The NZ nurses that I have come across recently would not be cowed into having any procedure that had such deleterious affects. Parts of the nurses training covers taking issues further etc, advocating for patients etc.
So at the very least I would take this story with a grain of salt.
Hi Rosemary yesterday you inferred that Nicky Hager was not honest.
You also pretty much accused all our journalists working in the MSM of the same smear.
I hope you don't mind Rosemary if I ask you.
As the same allegations have been made against all MSM journalists by the deniers of Russian war crimes. And also because I have noticed that a lot of anti-vaxxer conspiracy theorists also believe the conspiracy theory that all journalists in the western media are colluding in inventing Russian war crimes.
What's your opinion. Do you think Russia's invasion of Ukraine was justified?
"During seasons when flu vaccine viruses are similar to circulating flu viruses, flu vaccine has been shown to reduce the risk of having to go to the doctor with flu by 40 percent to 60 percent."
Effective enough to be worthwhile.
The problem is predicting which flu variation to vaccinate against. Which makes flu vaccinations less effective overall.
During seasons when flu vaccine viruses are similar to circulating flu viruses, flu vaccine has been shown to reduce the risk of having to go to the doctor with flu by 40 percent to 60 percent.
Nice numbers. 40 – 60% failure too.
Is the current flu vaccine in NZ a good match to the current flu virus?
I am pro vax, pro mask wearing and pro socially isolating (which I am attempting to do now as cases soar).
What I don't understand is why they don't let unvaxed nurses work, if they have recently had covid? Like with the GP in Murupara.
The medic above obviously has his point of view but does he really represent everyone in the health service?
Met up with a young nurse who works in ICU recently and had just recovered from Covid. It is likely many nurses have had it and already have natural immunity.
I made the point at the time of the anti mandate protest that they shouldn't have got rid of Drs and Nurses who didn't want to be vaxed. They could have redeployed them to non contact roles, such as telehealth triaging as promised.
What I don't understand is why they don't let unvaxed nurses work, if they have recently had covid?
Afaik there is no way to know when any individual's immunity to covid wanes (post-infection or vaccination) and makes them more likely to transmit covid again.
Probably any nurses in this category can work, but have not applied.
I expect this GP has a slightly better grasp of the particular exception, but this only applies for 3 months.
To me this seems like one of those issues when, if you check back later on the outcome its extremely marginal if it effected anyone. Bit like trans-rugby players, there are none in NZ male or female AFAIK.
More people in hospital (at least in Auckland) with flu than with Covid.
how does that relate to my point that low nurse flu vax rates are "probably more to do with the relatively low efficacy rate of flu vaccine re transmission and people making their own choices about their own health"?
If the primary purpose of the flu vax in nurses (and other hospital staff) is to lessen the chance of infecting patients, then a low efficacy rate for that is going to affect a decision to vaccinate weighed up against perceived health risks from the vax.
The flu vax lowering hospital rates is more an issue for population wide vax rates.
My understanding is that 'flu vaccination is roughly comparable to Covid vaccination both in preventing an individual catching the disease, and in preventing an individual passing it on to others. NB: neither are anything close to the 100% mark.
The profile of individuals most at risk from 'flu is slightly different, but overlaps with the profile of individuals most at risk of Covid.
If it's not critical for nurses (and other allied medical professionals) to be immunized for 'flu (when hospitalizations for 'flu are 3:1 those from Covid), why is is critical for nurses to be immunized for Covid?
This seems off track. If the issue being discussed is why nurses don’t get the flu vax, I’m suggesting it’s because some at least don’t see the benefit. Covid is different because people want to keep their jobs.
It’s probably difficult for people who believe vaccination is entirely benign apart from a *very small number of adverse reactions to understand or accept that others believe differently despite not being anti vax.
[“It doesn’t work” banned for telling lies and because the mods are sick of how much time you take up. Will update when we’ve decided how long, but expect a long one – weka]
Back when vaccine mandates were first being considered and introduced, the Covid vaccine was far more effective at reducing hospitalisation than the flu vaccine, and also pretty effective at reducing transmission rates. Even now, a 3 dose course (aka 2 + booster) provides 80% protection against hospitalisation from Omicron compared to around 67% ("two thirds") against the specific 4 flu variants covered by the NZ vaccine.
The early 'flu vaccination did not have the prevalent strain. There is a later vax with more of the A strain. They do not always get the mix right. $38 for the later one.
Of course, you do realise that the flu season started earlier than expected, that the DHB staff are under enormous pressure (i.e., staff are rushed off their feet), and that the vaccination programme is in full swing still and has not yet been completed, don’t you?
At 1 July 1,103,776 flu shots had been given, which is already 95% of the total number of shots given in 2020.
Not clutching at anything, here. Simply pointing out that (even on your figures) a very hefty percentage of DHB staff do not take up the offer of free on-site 'flu vaccinations.
20% is not an insignificant number. And, yes the 'flu season was early and projected to be heavy – which is why DHB staff are included in the early availability of vaccinations (along with the high-risk elderly).
And querying how this is different to mandatory Covid vaccination – given that the figures are showing that hospitilization rates for 'flu outnumber Covid 3:1
And, that there are numbers (not saying that they're huge numbers) of medical staff who are unable to work in our 'overstretched' (if you don't like the word 'crisis') hospitals – because of their personal stance over Covid vaccination.
There appears to be a logical fallacy. Either both 'flu and Covid vaccination should be mandatory; or neither should be.
Dr Gary isn’t the smartest guy in the room. He has failed to mention how more than one million fully vaccinated NZers have caught COVID. That is a lot of unlucky people lol. He also forgets to mention that nurses and doctors can and do refuse the flu vaccine. I’m not aware that health professionals are suspended for refusing the flu vaccine.
Dr Gary could at least discuss the serious side effects from the Pfizer vaccine. He might be able to regain some of his lost credibility.
“Pfizer and Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccines were associated with an increased risk of serious adverse events of special interest, with an absolute risk increase of 10.1 and 15.1 per 10,000 vaccinated over placebo baselines of 17.6 and 42.2, respectively. Combined, the mRNA vaccines were associated with an absolute risk increase of serious adverse events of special interest of 12.5 per 10,000. The excess risk of serious adverse events of special interest surpassed the risk reduction for COVID-19 hospitalization relative to the placebo group in both Pfizer and Moderna trials (2.3 and 6.4 per 10,000 participants, respectively).”
It means something to Ross, obviously, but to me it means nothing except to show that Ross is wee bit biased and has not special knowledge or insight in this, but I already knew this. Unvaccinated people are more likely to be hospitalised, to end up in ICU, and to die from Covid-19.
How many times does it need to be explained to the hard of thinking that being vaccinated doesn't guarantee you won't catch something but it does drastically reduce the severity unless you have severe complications from pre-existing co-morbidities?
And SSRN is an upload site, it doesn't review content.
Give up Populuxe1. They don't want to know. Their brains have migrated to an alternate universe where fiction is fact and vice-versa. The chances of any of them returning to mother Earth any time in the near future – or any time at all – is fast fading.
How many times does it need to be explained to the hard of thinking that being vaccinated doesn't guarantee you won't catch something
How many times does it need to be explained that informed consent is a legal right and a must-have?
Meanwhile, the PM recently said that up to half of NZers have had COVID. That's a lot of fully vaccinated people who have been terribly unlucky. They could reasonably have expected to be "fully protected" because they were told, ad nauseum, that the vaccine was effective (that is, effective at preventing infection).
As with any vaccine, being up-to-date with your COVID-19 vaccinations may not mean you’ll be fully protected. However, it is highly effective if people have both doses (and a booster if you’re eligible).
Or not so highly effective. According to the latest figures from the Health Ministry, the group with the highest number of COVID cases is "Received booster at least 7 days before being reported as a case". That number is 717,476, including 3583 hospitalisations and 113 in ICU. A further 473,815 cases were "Fully vaccinated at least 7 days before reported as a case".
[Stop trolling! You know full well that even a highly effective vaccine doesn’t give absolute 100% protection in perpetuity. You also know full well that protection against infection, against severe illness & hospitalisation, and against death are protections with different levels of effectivity with different time frames (duration). Effectivity also depends on which variant one’s dealing with and these change (mutate) all the time. This is your only warning because Mods have no time to waste on trolls such as you – Incognito]
Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki has seemingly admitted he was responsible for organising more than 100 anti-mandate and government protests.
"One-hundred-and-sixteen protests later, yes I admit, I was behind them all," Tamaki said in a lengthy address to a crowd, which was recorded and posted on social media yesterday.
"I organised them, I dated them. Take that," he added to cheers from those as the event.
Poor man. Clearly addicted to the limelight and a narcissist of monumental proportions. He'd do and say anything (obviously) to stay in the spotlight. I'm surprised anyone takes any notice of him.
I think you were going to describe why the protests excluded Destiny. Was this the official psychological character assessment which fed into this decision?
In the early days of the Freedom Village there was a rather robust on line discussion about the high public profile sought by His Worshipfulness and his Apostles. Their influence was definitely not desired by the majority and they were considered a liability. As appropriate. Funnily enough, mask wearing was largely eschewed by the Freedom Villagers…apart from some obvious Apostles. Almost as if they didn't trust their god given immune systems to protect them from the lurgee. Or to hide their identity.
As I have been requesting for weeks now, please share these critical details. Its very important to understand who and why the organisers of multiple relatively peaceful and presentable prior protests were removed from influence on this protest.
Also, if shutting out these protesters, pushed them to arson. Maybe the arsonists did infiltate as alleged by Chantelle Baker, just not from police but TFRC (which is the group the video documented arsonist came from). Most people still think of TFRC as part of the protest.
One thing that stands out is that he didn't challenge the 1 in 5 trans people try to kill themselves argument, although his pointing out that asking questions doesn't cause suicide was important.
What is this hearing actually about? I'm just wondering why these people were gathered here to question and testify because usually this explains a lot about the perspectives of the people testifying and questioning (much more than any relevant facts or incidents they may put across or ask about).
Seems like directly challenging the professor may have alerted her that she was stitching herself up for a fool (at least for his audience).
Watched quite a lot of the hearing now. She was actually a fairly decent witness, apart from a couple of exchanges where she needlessly clashed with questioners. This clip could have been avoided by simply agreeing that her term was synonymous with women, instead it made twitter.
I don't think I understand the context enough to reason about which side is promoted by this notoriety. When the other side is asking a question then the witness doesn't usually get a chance to make a favourable response.
this whole thread from Jesse Singal is worth reading. He writes what she could have said instead, but then points out that even that reasonable approach would probably get her accused of transphobia (someone in replies says she was using the term woman as late as 2020, so it's possible she's been punished already).
He also makes the point about both sides being in bubbles and feeling affirmed by the exchange. This is as good an example of the implosion of civilisation as I've seen from the socio political side. Each side watches the same video and comes away with completely different affirmations of their own subjective reality.
So this 'law Professor' has no concept of basic biology, and seems unable to answer questions without resorting to labels. This is not a denial of trans people's existence, this is madness, plain and simple.
Can't tell if she is in sex denial. Both of them have weaponised semantics. He knows she is referring to trans men, and she knows he is referring to biological sex. Neither is willing to concede the other's point. It's a war.
Yes of course, but if we've got to the point where "people with the capacity for pregnancy" has replaced "women" in common vocabulary, and to question that is 'transphobic', then we have truly reached peak insanity.
yes. But it's important to understand what is going on specifically. There's a difference between a law professor not understanding basic biology, as opposed to her understanding but believing that gender trumps sex. The latter is what is most likely happening in NZ and it has already driven a lot of legal and governmental policy change. We need to know how to fight that, and calling smart people stupid won't work.
So gender ideology has permeated our instiutions and with it comes the denial of biological sex (reality).
And as you say Weka no challenging of the one in five figure of trans people trying to kill themselves.
My understanding is when people are suicidal the approach is risk management (because suicidality almost always passes as all feelings do) and good mental health treatment, including treating their depression (last I knew 66% of people who complete suicide were known to. have depression), bi polar, addiction, schizophrenia and rarer conditions such as body dysmorphic disorder, which has very high rates of suicide as do eating disorders. Treatment doesn't involve getting others to change thier world view and language. But treatment may involve teaching vulnerable people to learn good self regulation (e.g when they get triggered.).
Very interesting about body dysmorphic disorder commonly known as imagined ugliness disorder. The person presents with a fixed over valuted idea that a part of their body (or sometimes their whole body is ugly). They may have a small physical defect which is vastly magnified and thought of as grotesque. These people often seek out plastic surgery (think Micheal Jackson) and are rarely satisfied with the outcomes. No one goes along with the over valued idea of the person with BDD. Or encouragese or suggests plastic surgery (certainly a psychotherapist wouldn’t do this, but perhapse some desperate family members). Nor are any health professionals likely to facilitate plastic surgery.
good points. I was also thinking about the problems of promoting the idea that society hates trans people, alongside how trans people suicidality is discussed. We have suicide reporting guidelines for MSM, but these are largely ignored on SM. I'd be very surprised if the culture on places like trans reddit and Tumblr aren't a factor.
Building strong capacity for disagreement seems a necessary social skill as well as mental health one.
I don't think most people in society hate trans people at all. Many would say they have guts. I think back over the years re trans people when it was about one in thirty thousand people who were trans. so very rare. I think of the likes of Carmen, Georgina Beyer, and the Police Commissioner Bob Moodie, who started wearing Kaftans to work (so a cross dresser). I am sure these three NZders would have been on the receiving end of some harrassment, but basically they were allowed to get on and live the life they wanted to live. I think its fair to say Georgina Beyer is a highly respected NZder, because, basically I think most NZders believe in giving people a fair go.
Also if you look at the murder rate of trans people in NZ its very, very low. A blunt instrument I know but with murder its pretty black and white sadly.
I think the idea that everyone hates trans people is used to claim marginalized status and to justify giving the trans rights activists everything they demand, especially of course access to women's spaces. Also though "gender affirming" health care. I predict that there will be a tidal wide of ACC claims for the irreversible damage that puberty blockers, cross sex hormones and surgery are causing and will continue to cause until this madness is stopped. I note that a woman in the US is sueing the drug company because she was prescribed Lupron for endo metriosis and has been left with early menopause and infertility. Lupron is the drug currently being given to children with gender dysphoria.
A series of moves have been unveiled to try to combat gangs – including a new crime of firing a gun with intent to intimidate that comes with jail time.
Other changes announced by Police Minister Chris Hipkins and Justice Minister Kiri Allan this morning include:
• Expanding the range of offences where police can seize and impound cars, motorbikes and other vehicles
• Police and other enforcement agencies able to seize cash over $10,000 when found in suspicious circumstances
• Watches, jewellery, precious metals and stones, motor vehicles and boats added to list of high value goods prohibited for sale for cash over a specified value
• Work underway to strengthen sector-wide approach to address youth crime and reduce offending
• New targeted warrant and additional search powers to find and seize weapons from gang members during a gang conflict
If the SDs involved drove by a person's house and fired shots from a fire arm, then let them face the law.
If SDs come into large wealth that cannot be explained by legitimate earning means, and are involved in criminal enterprises, and are not declaring their 'earnings' for taxation purposes, then let them face the law.
But remember, Maurice, they have to face the law- trial by judge and jury, open court, the press, the public, with recourse to higher court appeals etc.
I am not impressed by your arguments that the far right will use such laws to repress the left.
History tells us that such laws are not needed. The repression, lawful or unlawfully based, will take place. The laws will be created, if needed, or existing ones, even now, will be dusted off and applied by a compliant judiciary and a complaisant, ignorant or frightened public.
Better to work hard to prevent authoritarian extremists from taking power………..
You might have to justify your consideration that we are entering an authoritarian extremist state….. and saying that the law change to make a similar crime of those discharging a weapon for intimidatory purposes outside a home to be equivalent to discharging one within a home is the first or further step towards an extremist right wing state, well you'll need to work hard to convince me.
The financial bits are the problem …. the firearm stuff is ALREADY well covered by the brand spanking new Arms law and indeed has always be covered by the Arms Act for yonks.
OK. So it's the financial bits. Now, how does that mean Social Democrats being called a gang under a far right government taking power, as you said in 7.1? And further, how do you justify saying this is already happening, as you allege in 7.1.1.1? Who, where, when, what laws?
"Protections in our Bill of Rights Act require the police to have real cause to suspect someone of offending before they can enter their home or take their property," Ghahraman said.
"Expanding police powers of search and seizure is an attack on these minimum standards. We know that Māori and Pasifika are many times more likely to be the subject of these searches – and that is just going to get worse because of today’s announcement."
and
The Government should also be addressing the underlying causes of crime, she said, "not more of the same simplistic solutions that we know do not work and risk harming communities".
The maximum stand down is 2 weeks, unless it's a punitive one, for quitting your job without a good reason or being sacked for misconduct, then it's 13 weeks, otherwise it's just the 2 weeks or 1 week if you're extra hard up.
Good to know. So its just 2 weeks after you explain to WINZ that your no longer a gang member and your on their books. Presumably this removes the previous mark on your file when you honestly explained to WINZ that you are a gang member today and they retracted services.
Or in the event that you quit your gang without a good reason or were sacked from the gang due to miss-conduct in which case its 13 weeks.
Luxon needs to be clear when he's doing stand-up and when he's not. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the guy isn't funny, because he is. It's just that it's way too difficult to know if what he's talking about is national party policy or just simply part of his comedy routine.
68. Yet Musk made his offer without seeking any representation from Twitter regarding its estimates of spam or false accounts. He even sweetened his offer to the Twitter board by expressly withdrawing his prior diligence condition.
Despite the big-noting, he signed a contract and then waived diligence. He’s on the hook.
Or worse. And whether or not his online fuckery was only ever about influencing stock prices in his favour.
In contract law, that is the normal remedy for breach of contract. It is called “expectation damages.” If Musk signed a deal to buy a thing for $54.20, and then he refused to pay and had no good reason for backing out of the deal, and the seller had to turn around and sell the thing to someone else for $25 instead, then the seller could go to court and demand that Musk pay the $29.20 difference.
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‘It has been said that figures rule the world. Maybe. I am quite sure that it is figures which show us whether it is being ruled well or badly.’ GoetheI was struck at a recent conference on equity for the elderly, how many presenters implicitly relied upon Statistics New Zealand. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveReporting on defence spending late last year, RNZ said the coalition government will have to make some tough calls this term to help the force address staff shortages and ageing infrastructure. “These are huge, huge amounts of government spending. It’s a significant proportion of the government’s ...
Peter Dunne writes – I am always wary when I hear that the Controller and Auditor-General has commented on or made recommendations to the government about an issue of public policy that does not relate strictly to public expenditure. According to the legislation, the role of the Controller ...
How Labour’s and National’s failure to move beyond neoliberalism has brought NZ to the brink of economic and cultural chaos Chris Trotter writes – TO START LOSING, so soon after you won, requires a special kind of political incompetence. At the heart of this Coalition ...
And why did the Crown not challenge the Tribunal’s jurisdiction? Gary Judd writes – Retired District Court Judge, David Harvey, has posted on his A Halflings View Substack an excellent summary of Justice Isacs’ judgment declining to uphold the witness summons issued by the Waitangi Tribunal ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result?As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and ...
Macklemore isn’t someone I’d usually think about. Sure I liked his big hit from a few years back, everybody did it was catchy and cool with some memorable lines. But if I was going to think of artists who might speak out on political matters or world events, he wouldn’t ...
Another week goes by in the Luxon government’s efforts to roll back the past 70 years of social progress. The school lunches programme is to be downgraded by $107 million, and women need bother their heads no longer about pay equity, let alone expect ACC to provide adequate sexual violence ...
Brrr, the first cold snap of the year. Hope you’re rugged up nice and warm. Here are some stories that caught our eye this week… This Week on Greater Auckland On Monday, we had a post from a new contributor, Connor Sharp, who dug into the public feedback ...
Almost all of the Wellington City Council’s recommended zoning changes to allow many more apartments and townhouses in its inner-suburbs have been approved.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guest on geopolitics, ...
Open access notablesA Global Increase in Nearshore Tropical Cyclone Intensification, Balaguru et al., Earth's Future:Tropical Cyclones (TCs) inflict substantial coastal damages, making it pertinent to understand changing storm characteristics in the important nearshore region. Past work examined several aspects of TCs relevant for impacts in coastal regions. However, ...
Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result? As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and always answered “yes”, with very few ...
Thus far May has followed on from a quiet April in the blogging department, but in fairness, it has been another case of doing what I am supposed to be doing, namely writing original fiction. Plus reading. So don’t worry – I have been productive. But in order to reassure ...
Buzz from the Beehive A new government agency will open for business on July 1 – the Social Investment Agency. As a new standalone central agency effective from 1 July, it will lead the development of social investment across Government, helping ministers understand who they need to invest in, what ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The ...
Alwyn Poole writes – After being elected to Parliament in 2008 the maiden speech of Hipkins was substantially around education policy. He was Labour’s spokesperson for education 2011 – 2017. He was Minister for Education from 2017 until February 2023. This is approximately 88% of the time Labour ...
Eric Crampton writes – A fashion industry group is lobbying for protections. They make the usual arguments and a newer one. None of it makes sense. An industry group says it pumped $7.8 billion into the economy last year – that’s 1.9 percent of New Zealand’s GDP. ...
In December 2006, Fiji's military leader Voreqe Bainimarama overthrew the elected government in a coup. He ruled Fiji for the next 16 years, first as dictator, then as "elected" Prime Minister. But now, he's finally been sent to jail where he belongs. Sadly, this isn't for his real crime of ...
Don't like National's corrupt Muldoonist "fast-track" law? Aotearoa's environmental NGO's - Greenpeace, Forest & Bird, WWF, Coromandel Watchdog, Coal Action Network Aotearoa, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining, and others - have announced a joint march against it in Auckland in June: When: 13:00, 8 June, 2024 Where: Aotea Square, Auckland You ...
Seymour describes sushi as too woke for school meals. There are no fish sushi meals recommended by the School Lunches programme. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Government will swap out hot meals for packaged sandwiches to save $107 million on school lunches for poor kids. MSD has pulled ...
I don't mind stealin' bread from the mouths of decadenceBut I can't feed on the powerless when my cup's already overfilled, yeahBut it's on the table, the fire's cookin'And they're farmin' babies, while slaves are workin'The blood is on the table and the mouths are chokin'But I'm goin' hungry, yeahSome ...
The Ardern Government’s chickens came home to roost yesterday with the news that the country is short of natural gas. In 2018, Labour banned offshore petroleum exploration, and industry executives say that the attendant loss of confidence by the industry impacted overall investment in onshore gas fields. Energy Resources Minister ...
Hi,If you’ve been digging through the newly launched Webworm store (orders are being dispatched worldwide as I type!) you’ll have noticed the best model we had was Calvin.This is Calvin.Calvin.Calvin is 7, and is the son of my producer over on Flightless Bird, Rob — aka “Wobby Wob”. Rob also ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Climate change is everywhere. And when something's everywhere it can feel like it's nowhere. So how do we get our heads ...
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
“Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes – I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes – Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes – The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline “Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
Cleo Paskal writes – WASHINGTON, D.C.: ‘Many of us have received phone calls from [the opposing camp] telling them if they join the camp they will be given projects for their wards and $300,000 [around US$35,000] each’, says former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani. The elections in Solomon Islands aren’t ...
With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
Placards and mourners outside the Kilbirnie Mosque following the Christchurch terror attack: MSD has terminated the Kaiwhakaoranga service, which has been used by 415 families since the attacks. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The Government’s pledge to only cut ‘back office’ staff rather than ‘frontline’ services is on increasingly shaky ground, with ...
There’s been a few smaller public transport announcements over the last week or so that I thought I’d cover in a single post. Fareshare I’ve long called for Auckland Transport to offer a way to enable employer-subsidised public transport options. The need for this took on even more importance ...
Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National Minister Matt Doocey, reflects poorly on Genter and ...
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 ...
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
New Zealand voted in favour of a resolution broadening Palestine’s participation at the United Nations General Assembly overnight, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The resolution enhances the rights of Palestine to participate in the work of the UN General Assembly while stopping short of admitting Palestine as a full ...
Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
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Small number of unprofessionals not wanted back.
https://twitter.com/psirides/status/1546802170627969024
Rationale
https://twitter.com/GaryPayinda/status/1546709254702497792
Exactly.
I should like to see that quote in big black letters on the front door of every medical facility in the country.
For someone at the coalface of a health system in crisis he sure has a lot of spare time to play on Twitter.
some of the best commentary and education about the pandemic is being done by medical people on twitter.
His tweeting isn't what I would call prolific.
Your comment is a cheap shot that is beneath you.
Speaking of Twitter….interesting screenshots here from RNZ's Covid 19 Visualistion page before they were
memory holedrevised.https://twitter.com/Greenli44101756/status/1546977876435959808
what's your point? Tova said something (what?), and someone else posts some graphics from RNZ that aren't there any more (saying what exactly?).
The obvious question is "Why have those graphs been removed?"
Or don't you think we should ask that? Especially when we have been told repeatedly how much more at risk of infection and hospitalisation we fucking filth unvaccinated are.
When (up until they were removed) the daily updated RNZ Covid-19 data visualisations have told a completely different story for a few months now.
And what exactly are these…
…recent changes to the way the Ministry of Health reports data have affected some charts RNZ previously included in this page. These have been temporarily removed.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/450874/covid-19-data-visualisations-nz-in-numbers
Are we (the fucking filth unvaxxed) 6% of the population and 6-7% of new Covid hospitalisations or not? Has there been barely any difference in the rates of unvaxed/vaxxed/boosted with regards to hospitalisations for the past few months… or not?
Because Town has been saying something completely different…
Dr Town says a key part of being able to respond to current and future outbreaks is having a clear picture of the impact of Covid-19, particularly among those who require hospital.
Preliminary data shows two thirds of people were admitted to hospital having Covid as the main cause rather than happening to test positive.
Town says for those that have been hospitalised with Covid and are not vaccinated, the data shows the rate is about six times higher.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/469078/covid-19-dr-ashley-bloomfield-gives-an-update-on-nz-s-omicron-response
No doubt there will be some weird statistical maths type stuff that explains this apparent anomaly.
I wish someone would explain it to me. Please.
still no idea what you are on about. I'm sure it's apparent to you but we can't mind read. All I'm getting is that RNZ have removed from graphics temporarily because MoH have changed something.
It's like you posted a link to a long article and expect me to parse your point. I'm not going to study graphs to try and figure out what you mean.
I'd suggest less of the rhetoric, and just explain in plain English what you are trying to convey.
The statistical basis for that conclusion is simple to understand. Basically older people are more succeptible to covid infection, they are also more likely to take a booster. Age unseparated statistics can not separate these two effects.
Unfortunately NZ doesn't release the data publicly in a form which allows independent verification of that (it runs into some privacy issues), and for some reason there are a whole cohort of people putting up spurious arguments claiming data manipulation of any (correctly) standardised figures which demonstrate that conclusion. But your more expert in that than me already.
Also mathematically there will always be a point where enough of the population is vaccinated that any who get sick are likely to be vaccinated.
Vaccination does not equal a cure.
It isn't difficult to understand.
If 0% of the population is vaccinated then 100% of the admissions will be unvaccinated.
If 100% of the population is vaccinated then 100% of the admissions will be vaccinated.
The wrong question to ask therefore is what percentage of admissions are vaccinated or unvaccinated.
It is more that you should ask what is the rate of admission for the remaining unvaccinated population compared to the vaccinated population. From that point it gets more complicated such as age profiles etc but it is a very good starting point.
https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/covid-19/hospitalization-rates-confirm-covid-vaccines-benefits
I understood the MoH chart is already a rate in that sense.
The graphs were good because they were worked out as per 100,000 rather than straight percentages so we were comparing apples with apples.
[deleted]
Even more sad is the sheer number of people who have had serious adverse reactions and are being gaslit or declined exemptions. We have a young friend who ended up in hospital with heart issues, it was acknowledged by her doctors and medsafe that it was vaccine caused but the Ministry of Health still refused an exemption. She had the second one to keep her job (mortgage, young kids) and ended up in hospital again, still no exemption for the booster. This is a really common story. Our young friend declined the booster as she was aware that another shot could kill her. She is a nurse and has lost her job as a result. She is well now and could be working but for the shifting goalposts of what fully vaccinated is.
[delete]
[This site exists to explore political issues within the context of robust debate. It’s not here for people’s reckons. I’ve deleted most of your comment because it asserts fact on an important topic without providing any evidence.
You’ve made four claims that need evidence:
Please now provide that evidence. Evidence here means:
1. explain each point in your own words, and
2. provide quotes, time stamps, or if using graphs, the name of the graph or some other way of understanding what you are referring to.
3. links.
The onus is on you to make it very clear what you mean and what the evidence is ie don’t expect other people to read a whole article to parse your meaning.
You are free on this site to argue anti-vax positions, but you have to provide evidence pre-emptively. We’re more than two years into the pandemic and most of us are sick of going over and over this without any substance.
Putting you in premod. Also making a note in the back end about this for future reference. If you waste my time on this I will ban you – weka]
"The graphs show clearly that you are more likely to be hospitalised with covid if you have had two or more shots"
That conclusion is not correct because the vaccinated and un-vaccinated populations as different in their ages. You are welcome to ask for clarification if this comment was unclear in some way.
.https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-13-07-2022/#comment-1899805
No it is not. Believe whatever you want but please do not spread lies in public.
No it is not. Believe whatever you want but please do not spread lies in public.
Yes Sacha. It is a common story. I have heard this myself from four people who have experienced similar.
Tell you what…you find the documentation that shows "chest discomfort" and "shortness of breath" as common reported side effects of any other vaccine.
In case you're not keeping up…https://www.medsafe.govt.nz/COVID-19/safety-report-44.asp#top10_bar
This mRNA product is neither safe nor effective and it beggars belief they are still encouraging anyone to take it…nevermind those under 60 who are largely not at risk from Covid 19 disease.
This woman is an expert.
what's the damage done from shortness of breath?
You mean things you are quite likely to experience with any vaccination? It's a fairly unexceptional and temporary immune response to an inoculation but you seem to be trying to liken it to actual and extremely rare allergic reaction – why is that?
OK. Reply button gone.
@weka what's the damage done from shortness of breath?
Shortness of breath is just one of the symptoms of myocarditis…a known, potentially serious, and sometimes fatal side effect of the Pfizer product. As described in the letter sent to medical professionals in late December last year.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2021/12/coronavirus-vaccine-linked-death-prompts-reminder-letter-from-ministry-of-health-to-doctors-report.html
And on the MOH website…https://www.medsafe.govt.nz/safety/Alerts/comirnaty-myocarditis-reminder.htm
These are potential symptoms of myocarditis and pericarditis.
Unfortunately, despite many, many injection recipients having suffered these symptoms (over 6000*) prior to this December 2021 alert, medical 'professionals' were routinely dismissing these symptoms as 'anxiety' and sending them home. With no treatment.
Myocarditis and pericarditis are treatable. Outcomes are better the sooner you start treatment.
* https://www.medsafe.govt.nz/COVID-19/safety-report-37.asp#dose2_bar
And in reply to my question to Sacha… here is the list of most commonly reported side effects for the flu shot.
Nope. No chest discomfort, irregular heartbeat, shortness of breath….
@Populuxe1
You mean things you are quite likely to experience with any vaccination?
Like the flu shot for instance?
https://www.medsafe.govt.nz/profs/PUArticles/March2020/Influenza-vaccine-2019-what-to-expect-this-year.html
If you know of other vaccines which can cause the symptoms of myocarditis at the rates reported for the Pfizer product then please share.
It's a fairly unexceptional and temporary immune response to an inoculation …
Tell that to the over 900 people diagnosed with vaccine induced myocarditis. And the 12958 poor bastards who reported "chest discomfort".
…but you seem to be trying to liken it to actual and extremely rare allergic reaction
Where did I liken it to an "allergic reaction"?
[please provide evidence for those figures. A link is not enough, see my unbolded comment below – weka]
teh problem with your reasoning is that shortness of breath has many causes. Of those related to the vax, some will be symptoms of peri/myocarditis, some won't. No way have we had 6,000 cases of covid vax related carditis, so let's assume that most of those 6,000 cases aren't carditis.
Which brings me back to my original question. What damage is done by those that have shortness of breath post-vax (excluding carditis for the moment)?
I've said this to the anti-covid vax people here before: if there are significant numbers of people with adverse reactions that are credibly linked, then start making case studies. Set up websites and document what is happening in a way that the mainstream will take seriously.
No, random FB second hand reports don't count. First hand accounts needs to be documented in a systematic way.
Because atm, it looks like the serious cases of adverse reaction are getting lost in the hot air. If you truly believe that 6,000 people have had carditis sympoms and have been damaged by the vaccine, you need to provide evidence. If you think you have provided that evidence already then your own credibility is greatly dimished. I can't see it, and you apparently can't explain it.
btw, if you want to assert that 6,000 figure again, you need to provide direct evidence. I'm not reading a whole MoH page to try and parse it, I just don't have the time. Point to what you are referring to and explain it clearly or I will simply delete the whole post. I am completely and utterly sick of wasting my time explaining this, so will moderate to maintain some level of debate competency.
eg if you have added up some figures, then explain what you have done.
mod note.
Nuff said.
mod note.
First of all this is not a common true story, it is a story of urban myth mainly.
I have a far bit of skepticism about this. Mainly based on the experiences of two friends, one of whom has an allergic reaction, a known possibility to many injections, and the other who had diminished immunity because she was having treatment for cancer.
The first had special care taken because of her inbuilt susceptibility and she was offered and took the opportunity to have a different set of vaccines from those that were approved for the rest of us. These were acknowledged to be less effective but were on hand for cases such as hers. She has been able to keep up her job and did not need an exemption at any stage. This is similar to the acceptance of workers from overseas whose countries opted for different injection regimes from NZ.
The second had to have a different regime and timetabling and the oncologist worked very closely with MoH etc to get the correct regime and tweaks that took account of her diminished health and immune status. They were very keen for her to be well and not be put at risk from getting Covid.
I have heard stories as 'your young friend' and some are being classed as an urban myth. Certainly my flatmate who is a nurse and who has been nursing a large tertiary hospital all the way through has heard this before. I even raised with her some of the 'facts' about so-called large numbers of nurses leaving because of not wanting to have vaccinations but this had not been a real problem where she is nursing.
She says that when she started training through Poly/Uni it was a requirement that they have vaccinations prior to the course starting and maintain these throughout the duration and her hospital has regular reminders and vaccination days for its staff. They have a younger staff who mainly have been trained through Polytechs and Universities.
I suggest that the requirements for an exemption may have needed a greater precision about what may have caused the heart problems than had been given to them and MOH may not have wanted to be giving exemptions to workers who could be able to infect at risk patients.
As there are openings for nursing experience that do not involve working in a hospital perhaps these could be explored and getting to talk to those who are able to put her on a track with a different set of anti covid injections could be looked at also. The need for injections and requirements is not likely to go away in the near future.
why do you think it's an urban myth?
Because I am hearing it from several different anti vax angles, including overseas, different hospitals etc. It does not have the ring of truth or reasonableness about going ahead to have the vaccine even though apparently the Dr & Medsafe have warned against it & are powerless to stop the hardline MOH exemption juggernaut.
The other commentary about it also used the words a 'young friend' or 'young person'. I would not class a nurse who had gone through the Poly system 'a young person', possibly aged 20 or over. There are avenues that can be used to query a system and to ensure that one's own health is not damaged in a hospital setting. The NZ nurses that I have come across recently would not be cowed into having any procedure that had such deleterious affects. Parts of the nurses training covers taking issues further etc, advocating for patients etc.
So at the very least I would take this story with a grain of salt.
Hi Rosemary yesterday you inferred that Nicky Hager was not honest.
You also pretty much accused all our journalists working in the MSM of the same smear.
I hope you don't mind Rosemary if I ask you.
As the same allegations have been made against all MSM journalists by the deniers of Russian war crimes. And also because I have noticed that a lot of anti-vaxxer conspiracy theorists also believe the conspiracy theory that all journalists in the western media are colluding in inventing Russian war crimes.
What's your opinion. Do you think Russia's invasion of Ukraine was justified?
Given that barely half of DHB staff have had 'flu vaccinations – it seems that the 'anti-vax' sentiment is much more widespread in reality.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/469464/only-54-percent-of-district-health-board-staff-have-had-a-flu-jab-ministry-of-health-figures-show
Probably more to do with the relatively low efficacy rate of flu vaccine re transmission and people making their own choices about their own health.
More people in hospital (at least in Auckland) with flu than with Covid.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/470546/middlemore-hospital-data-flu-cases-outnumber-covid-19-three-to-one
And, yes, I agree that people (even nurses) should be allowed to make their own choices about their own health.
And a far lower proportion vaccinated against flu, than against covid. Funny that!
And. Yes people should be able to make choices about their OWN health.
When it involves their patients health, however!
what's the efficacy rate of the current flu vaccine in protecting against transmission?
Vaccine Effectiveness: How Well Do Flu Vaccines Work? | CDC
Effective enough to be worthwhile.
The problem is predicting which flu variation to vaccinate against. Which makes flu vaccinations less effective overall.
That’s not about transmission though.
(there are other things we can also do to lessen needing to go to the doctor, like extending sick leave so people can sleep and rest when ill).
The link talks about reductions in transmission, also.
So, given that hospitalizations are 3:1 flu:Covid – surely you should support mandatory vaccination for 'flu for all DHB staff.
There would be less deaths from flu caught while in hospital, from infected staff.
Unlimited sick leave for medical staff would also help.
Thanks Belladonna.. Your comments are well made.
I am pro vax, pro mask wearing and pro socially isolating (which I am attempting to do now as cases soar).
What I don't understand is why they don't let unvaxed nurses work, if they have recently had covid? Like with the GP in Murupara.
The medic above obviously has his point of view but does he really represent everyone in the health service?
Met up with a young nurse who works in ICU recently and had just recovered from Covid. It is likely many nurses have had it and already have natural immunity.
I made the point at the time of the anti mandate protest that they shouldn't have got rid of Drs and Nurses who didn't want to be vaxed. They could have redeployed them to non contact roles, such as telehealth triaging as promised.
I thought they did redeploy staff where possible.
Afaik there is no way to know when any individual's immunity to covid wanes (post-infection or vaccination) and makes them more likely to transmit covid again.
Probably any nurses in this category can work, but have not applied.
I expect this GP has a slightly better grasp of the particular exception, but this only applies for 3 months.
To me this seems like one of those issues when, if you check back later on the outcome its extremely marginal if it effected anyone. Bit like trans-rugby players, there are none in NZ male or female AFAIK.
how does that relate to my point that low nurse flu vax rates are "probably more to do with the relatively low efficacy rate of flu vaccine re transmission and people making their own choices about their own health"?
If the primary purpose of the flu vax in nurses (and other hospital staff) is to lessen the chance of infecting patients, then a low efficacy rate for that is going to affect a decision to vaccinate weighed up against perceived health risks from the vax.
The flu vax lowering hospital rates is more an issue for population wide vax rates.
My understanding is that 'flu vaccination is roughly comparable to Covid vaccination both in preventing an individual catching the disease, and in preventing an individual passing it on to others. NB: neither are anything close to the 100% mark.
We actually have no way of knowing who passed on a ‘flu virus – since there is no testing carried out.
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/vaccines-work/vaccineeffect.htm
The profile of individuals most at risk from 'flu is slightly different, but overlaps with the profile of individuals most at risk of Covid.
If it's not critical for nurses (and other allied medical professionals) to be immunized for 'flu (when hospitalizations for 'flu are 3:1 those from Covid), why is is critical for nurses to be immunized for Covid?
This seems off track. If the issue being discussed is why nurses don’t get the flu vax, I’m suggesting it’s because some at least don’t see the benefit. Covid is different because people want to keep their jobs.
It’s probably difficult for people who believe vaccination is entirely benign apart from a *very small number of adverse reactions to understand or accept that others believe differently despite not being anti vax.
There are various reasons why health professionals refuse to get the flue jab:
Side effects from the vaccine (main reason)
Not liking needles
It doesn't work
Excellent natural immunity
Don't believe in it
Of course, my body my choice would likely be a justification, just as it's a fairly important justification for women choosing an abortion.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7238696/
https://bmcnurs.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12912-017-0215-5
[“It doesn’t work” banned for telling lies and because the mods are sick of how much time you take up. Will update when we’ve decided how long, but expect a long one – weka]
Or even the flu jab lol
Too funny. Banned for telling the truth. Try reading the links. And feel free to apologise.
“the mods are sick of how much time you take up”.
I’m sorry if the mods don’t like facts. Hopefully one day they will enjoy them.
[permanent ban for lying about vaccination, lying about moderation, and being a general arse – weka]
Back when vaccine mandates were first being considered and introduced, the Covid vaccine was far more effective at reducing hospitalisation than the flu vaccine, and also pretty effective at reducing transmission rates. Even now, a 3 dose course (aka 2 + booster) provides 80% protection against hospitalisation from Omicron compared to around 67% ("two thirds") against the specific 4 flu variants covered by the NZ vaccine.
The early 'flu vaccination did not have the prevalent strain. There is a later vax with more of the A strain. They do not always get the mix right. $38 for the later one.
Fourth time I post this link that shows that in 2020 the coverage was 77% across all DHBs.
https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/documents/pages/2020-dhb-health-care-worker-influenza-immunisation-coverage-feb21.pdf
Of course, you do realise that the flu season started earlier than expected, that the DHB staff are under enormous pressure (i.e., staff are rushed off their feet), and that the vaccination programme is in full swing still and has not yet been completed, don’t you?
At 1 July 1,103,776 flu shots had been given, which is already 95% of the total number of shots given in 2020.
https://www.health.govt.nz/news-media/news-items/21660-flu-vaccines-administered-last-week
It begs the question why you clutch at an alleged ‘anti-vax sentiment’ among DHB staff!?
Not clutching at anything, here. Simply pointing out that (even on your figures) a very hefty percentage of DHB staff do not take up the offer of free on-site 'flu vaccinations.
20% is not an insignificant number. And, yes the 'flu season was early and projected to be heavy – which is why DHB staff are included in the early availability of vaccinations (along with the high-risk elderly).
And querying how this is different to mandatory Covid vaccination – given that the figures are showing that hospitilization rates for 'flu outnumber Covid 3:1
And, that there are numbers (not saying that they're huge numbers) of medical staff who are unable to work in our 'overstretched' (if you don't like the word 'crisis') hospitals – because of their personal stance over Covid vaccination.
There appears to be a logical fallacy. Either both 'flu and Covid vaccination should be mandatory; or neither should be.
Of course, you were clutching; there’s no widespread anti-vax sentiment among DHB staff when it comes to the flu shot.
Nope, they have not yet taken the free shot, which doesn’t mean they won’t do it all. Logical fallacy there!
Over 20% of them didn't in the figures you quote.
Choosing not to have one vaccination doesn’t make a person anti vax. The term anti vax has a specific meaning, let’s not muddy it or water it down.
Dr Gary isn’t the smartest guy in the room. He has failed to mention how more than one million fully vaccinated NZers have caught COVID. That is a lot of unlucky people lol. He also forgets to mention that nurses and doctors can and do refuse the flu vaccine. I’m not aware that health professionals are suspended for refusing the flu vaccine.
Dr Gary could at least discuss the serious side effects from the Pfizer vaccine. He might be able to regain some of his lost credibility.
“Pfizer and Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccines were associated with an increased risk of serious adverse events of special interest, with an absolute risk increase of 10.1 and 15.1 per 10,000 vaccinated over placebo baselines of 17.6 and 42.2, respectively. Combined, the mRNA vaccines were associated with an absolute risk increase of serious adverse events of special interest of 12.5 per 10,000. The excess risk of serious adverse events of special interest surpassed the risk reduction for COVID-19 hospitalization relative to the placebo group in both Pfizer and Moderna trials (2.3 and 6.4 per 10,000 participants, respectively).”
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4125239
What does that mean?
It means something to Ross, obviously, but to me it means nothing except to show that Ross is wee bit biased and has not special knowledge or insight in this, but I already knew this. Unvaccinated people are more likely to be hospitalised, to end up in ICU, and to die from Covid-19.
How many times does it need to be explained to the hard of thinking that being vaccinated doesn't guarantee you won't catch something but it does drastically reduce the severity unless you have severe complications from pre-existing co-morbidities?
And SSRN is an upload site, it doesn't review content.
Give up Populuxe1. They don't want to know. Their brains have migrated to an alternate universe where fiction is fact and vice-versa. The chances of any of them returning to mother Earth any time in the near future – or any time at all – is fast fading.
Anne and Populuxe 1. I can only ….agree. Actually hard work trying to reason with them. As Reason…is N/A.
Good on you for trying.
How many times does it need to be explained to the hard of thinking that being vaccinated doesn't guarantee you won't catch something
How many times does it need to be explained that informed consent is a legal right and a must-have?
Meanwhile, the PM recently said that up to half of NZers have had COVID. That's a lot of fully vaccinated people who have been terribly unlucky. They could reasonably have expected to be "fully protected" because they were told, ad nauseum, that the vaccine was effective (that is, effective at preventing infection).
As with any vaccine, being up-to-date with your COVID-19 vaccinations may not mean you’ll be fully protected. However, it is highly effective if people have both doses (and a booster if you’re eligible).
Or not so highly effective. According to the latest figures from the Health Ministry, the group with the highest number of COVID cases is "Received booster at least 7 days before being reported as a case". That number is 717,476, including 3583 hospitalisations and 113 in ICU. A further 473,815 cases were "Fully vaccinated at least 7 days before reported as a case".
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300634325/covid19-surge-mask-use-boosters-more-effective-than-red-setting–pm
https://www.health.govt.nz/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-vaccines/how-covid-19-vaccines-work#:~:text=Pfizer%20is%20the%20preferred%20COVID,its%20safety%20and%20effectiveness%20profile.
https://www.health.govt.nz/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-data-and-statistics/covid-19-case-demographics
[Stop trolling! You know full well that even a highly effective vaccine doesn’t give absolute 100% protection in perpetuity. You also know full well that protection against infection, against severe illness & hospitalisation, and against death are protections with different levels of effectivity with different time frames (duration). Effectivity also depends on which variant one’s dealing with and these change (mutate) all the time. This is your only warning because Mods have no time to waste on trolls such as you – Incognito]
Mod note
Hmmm…I note Bill Hodge’s …and Wally Haumaha’s comments. Those who wish …could look at Mr Haumaha’s earlier interaction with The Bish.
Poor man. Clearly addicted to the limelight and a narcissist of monumental proportions. He'd do and say anything (obviously) to stay in the spotlight. I'm surprised anyone takes any notice of him.
I think you were going to describe why the protests excluded Destiny. Was this the official psychological character assessment which fed into this decision?
Rest assured, there are plenty of folk that will take Tamaki's utterances as gospel. Just coz it suits their narrative
Akin to the constant references to anti-vax/far right/nazi's in Wellington.
In the early days of the Freedom Village there was a rather robust on line discussion about the high public profile sought by His Worshipfulness and his Apostles. Their influence was definitely not desired by the majority and they were considered a liability. As appropriate. Funnily enough, mask wearing was largely eschewed by the Freedom Villagers…apart from some obvious Apostles. Almost as if they didn't trust their god given immune systems to protect them from the lurgee. Or to hide their identity.
As I have been requesting for weeks now, please share these critical details. Its very important to understand who and why the organisers of multiple relatively peaceful and presentable prior protests were removed from influence on this protest.
Also, if shutting out these protesters, pushed them to arson. Maybe the arsonists did infiltate as alleged by Chantelle Baker, just not from police but TFRC (which is the group the video documented arsonist came from). Most people still think of TFRC as part of the protest.
The dilemma of advocating for women's rights, when representatives from both sides of the political spectrum offer nothing of value.
Women are a political category defined by biological sex. This obfuscation is harmful.
https://twitter.com/ClayTravis/status/1546908189324607495?s=20&t=Qiw9ELB-8dnt3TclW8lUwA
One thing that stands out is that he didn't challenge the 1 in 5 trans people try to kill themselves argument, although his pointing out that asking questions doesn't cause suicide was important.
What is this hearing actually about? I'm just wondering why these people were gathered here to question and testify because usually this explains a lot about the perspectives of the people testifying and questioning (much more than any relevant facts or incidents they may put across or ask about).
Seems like directly challenging the professor may have alerted her that she was stitching herself up for a fool (at least for his audience).
agree, context always helps.
Looks like it's the Senate Judiciary Committee looking at abortion law/rights.
Here is yesterday’s video
https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/meetings/a-post-roe-america-the-legal-consequences-of-the-dobbs-decision
Watched quite a lot of the hearing now. She was actually a fairly decent witness, apart from a couple of exchanges where she needlessly clashed with questioners. This clip could have been avoided by simply agreeing that her term was synonymous with women, instead it made twitter.
I don't think I understand the context enough to reason about which side is promoted by this notoriety. When the other side is asking a question then the witness doesn't usually get a chance to make a favourable response.
this whole thread from Jesse Singal is worth reading. He writes what she could have said instead, but then points out that even that reasonable approach would probably get her accused of transphobia (someone in replies says she was using the term woman as late as 2020, so it's possible she's been punished already).
https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/1546916942866485248/photo/1
He also makes the point about both sides being in bubbles and feeling affirmed by the exchange. This is as good an example of the implosion of civilisation as I've seen from the socio political side. Each side watches the same video and comes away with completely different affirmations of their own subjective reality.
https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/1546941345067110402
True. I totally missed that she may need to hide her twitter identity after testifying any different.
do you remember roughly what time in the vid she talks about trans issues? I tried finding it but didn't have much luck hitting the right spot.
Its about 75% of the time line, near the 2 hour mark.
So this 'law Professor' has no concept of basic biology, and seems unable to answer questions without resorting to labels. This is not a denial of trans people's existence, this is madness, plain and simple.
Can't tell if she is in sex denial. Both of them have weaponised semantics. He knows she is referring to trans men, and she knows he is referring to biological sex. Neither is willing to concede the other's point. It's a war.
"He knows she is referring to trans men"
Yes of course, but if we've got to the point where "people with the capacity for pregnancy" has replaced "women" in common vocabulary, and to question that is 'transphobic', then we have truly reached peak insanity.
yes. But it's important to understand what is going on specifically. There's a difference between a law professor not understanding basic biology, as opposed to her understanding but believing that gender trumps sex. The latter is what is most likely happening in NZ and it has already driven a lot of legal and governmental policy change. We need to know how to fight that, and calling smart people stupid won't work.
Fair comment.
And as you say Weka no challenging of the one in five figure of trans people trying to kill themselves.
My understanding is when people are suicidal the approach is risk management (because suicidality almost always passes as all feelings do) and good mental health treatment, including treating their depression (last I knew 66% of people who complete suicide were known to. have depression), bi polar, addiction, schizophrenia and rarer conditions such as body dysmorphic disorder, which has very high rates of suicide as do eating disorders. Treatment doesn't involve getting others to change thier world view and language. But treatment may involve teaching vulnerable people to learn good self regulation (e.g when they get triggered.).
Very interesting about body dysmorphic disorder commonly known as imagined ugliness disorder. The person presents with a fixed over valuted idea that a part of their body (or sometimes their whole body is ugly). They may have a small physical defect which is vastly magnified and thought of as grotesque. These people often seek out plastic surgery (think Micheal Jackson) and are rarely satisfied with the outcomes. No one goes along with the over valued idea of the person with BDD. Or encouragese or suggests plastic surgery (certainly a psychotherapist wouldn’t do this, but perhapse some desperate family members). Nor are any health professionals likely to facilitate plastic surgery.
good points. I was also thinking about the problems of promoting the idea that society hates trans people, alongside how trans people suicidality is discussed. We have suicide reporting guidelines for MSM, but these are largely ignored on SM. I'd be very surprised if the culture on places like trans reddit and Tumblr aren't a factor.
Building strong capacity for disagreement seems a necessary social skill as well as mental health one.
I don't think most people in society hate trans people at all. Many would say they have guts. I think back over the years re trans people when it was about one in thirty thousand people who were trans. so very rare. I think of the likes of Carmen, Georgina Beyer, and the Police Commissioner Bob Moodie, who started wearing Kaftans to work (so a cross dresser). I am sure these three NZders would have been on the receiving end of some harrassment, but basically they were allowed to get on and live the life they wanted to live. I think its fair to say Georgina Beyer is a highly respected NZder, because, basically I think most NZders believe in giving people a fair go.
Also if you look at the murder rate of trans people in NZ its very, very low. A blunt instrument I know but with murder its pretty black and white sadly.
I think the idea that everyone hates trans people is used to claim marginalized status and to justify giving the trans rights activists everything they demand, especially of course access to women's spaces. Also though "gender affirming" health care. I predict that there will be a tidal wide of ACC claims for the irreversible damage that puberty blockers, cross sex hormones and surgery are causing and will continue to cause until this madness is stopped. I note that a woman in the US is sueing the drug company because she was prescribed Lupron for endo metriosis and has been left with early menopause and infertility. Lupron is the drug currently being given to children with gender dysphoria.
How cool is this – Powelliphanta – being found at a new site in the Manawatu.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/local-focus-mysterious-giant-snails-found-in-totara-reserve-regional-park/2A6MORL37BYTZHWUVGA3JIDNJ4/?c_id=1&objectid=12537435&ref=rss
So, putting a cautious toe in the water…. what do people think of the new anti-gang laws.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/bid-to-crackdown-on-gangs-chris-hipkins-and-kiri-allan-announce-new-laws/RQOAFPZNCIJXBIFZBG5SWX5UKQ/?c_id=1&objectid=12537767&ref=rss
Perfect – Police can never have enough power.
Will Social Democrats be designated as a "gang" if the far right ever take power?
If the SDs involved drove by a person's house and fired shots from a fire arm, then let them face the law.
If SDs come into large wealth that cannot be explained by legitimate earning means, and are involved in criminal enterprises, and are not declaring their 'earnings' for taxation purposes, then let them face the law.
But remember, Maurice, they have to face the law- trial by judge and jury, open court, the press, the public, with recourse to higher court appeals etc.
I am not impressed by your arguments that the far right will use such laws to repress the left.
History tells us that such laws are not needed. The repression, lawful or unlawfully based, will take place. The laws will be created, if needed, or existing ones, even now, will be dusted off and applied by a compliant judiciary and a complaisant, ignorant or frightened public.
Better to work hard to prevent authoritarian extremists from taking power………..
Exactly – just as we are already seeing?
You might have to justify your consideration that we are entering an authoritarian extremist state….. and saying that the law change to make a similar crime of those discharging a weapon for intimidatory purposes outside a home to be equivalent to discharging one within a home is the first or further step towards an extremist right wing state, well you'll need to work hard to convince me.
The financial bits are the problem …. the firearm stuff is ALREADY well covered by the brand spanking new Arms law and indeed has always be covered by the Arms Act for yonks.
OK. So it's the financial bits. Now, how does that mean Social Democrats being called a gang under a far right government taking power, as you said in 7.1? And further, how do you justify saying this is already happening, as you allege in 7.1.1.1? Who, where, when, what laws?
Have you not been following the present Party Contributions saga?
Some of the concerns rather nicely covered by G. G. here:
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2022/07/government-s-gang-package-national-act-want-more-action-greens-concerned-new-police-powers-attack-on-rights.html
"Protections in our Bill of Rights Act require the police to have real cause to suspect someone of offending before they can enter their home or take their property," Ghahraman said.
"Expanding police powers of search and seizure is an attack on these minimum standards. We know that Māori and Pasifika are many times more likely to be the subject of these searches – and that is just going to get worse because of today’s announcement."
and
The Government should also be addressing the underlying causes of crime, she said, "not more of the same simplistic solutions that we know do not work and risk harming communities".
It's a start.
Targeting the money is good but also look at what government benefits the crims are on as well
The other big one is advertising ie patches, needs to be a push to ban gang patches
What are you saying? That government benefits shouldn't be given to criminals?
Gangs should be made illegal
Members of the gangs should not be entitled to any government assistance.
Define "gang". This should be interesting.
No.
I already know who I'd declare illegal.
You want to be side tracked by irrelevance be my guest.
Start with the biggest and oldest and then work you way down the ladder.
It's not irrelevant. You have to be able to legally define a gang before you can ban them. I just want to see you try because you think it's so easy.
Anyone who wears a tie to work, drives an Audi rather fast and drinks craft beer while talking loudly? Seems like a workable definition. Or maybe not.
Oy, lay off the craft beer. Next you'll be coming for the home brewers!
You don't think the obligatory WINZ standdown period, after somebody leaves a gang, might make it very hard for people to leave gangs?
Better than a jail sentence
Your quite the reformist aren't you.
The maximum stand down is 2 weeks, unless it's a punitive one, for quitting your job without a good reason or being sacked for misconduct, then it's 13 weeks, otherwise it's just the 2 weeks or 1 week if you're extra hard up.
Good to know. So its just 2 weeks after you explain to WINZ that your no longer a gang member and your on their books. Presumably this removes the previous mark on your file when you honestly explained to WINZ that you are a gang member today and they retracted services.
Or in the event that you quit your gang without a good reason or were sacked from the gang due to miss-conduct in which case its 13 weeks.
Are you being flippant, or do you believe what you're saying?
I'm being exactly as serious as Rogue One is.
PR believes what they're saying 100 percent…
Agree. Lets start with the criminal gangs that have destroyed, or are trying to harm the lives of the most people in NZ.
When have police not! abused extra powers they have been given?
I see Luxon has not learned from Key.
Key is known for saying "Explaining is losing"
Luxon has had to explain "Soft Businesses " and "Over Covid, the world has moved on"
Suzy tested him… and later after consultations?
He explained again in a Stand up.
Luxon needs to be clear when he's doing stand-up and when he's not. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the guy isn't funny, because he is. It's just that it's way too difficult to know if what he's talking about is national party policy or just simply part of his comedy routine.
Is it good when a complaint against you cites numerous examples of your own injudicious internet blathering?
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22084453-twittermuskcomplaint
Surely unlikely the deal will be enforced.
Great test for US Supreme Court.
Despite the big-noting, he signed a contract and then waived diligence. He’s on the hook.
Billionaire popcorn time.
Looks like he was actively sabotaging Twitter to take them down.
If Twitter lose will they sue for damages?
Sure looks like they were taking notes throughout.
I have no sympathy for Musk.
Or worse. And whether or not his online fuckery was only ever about influencing stock prices in his favour.
In contract law, that is the normal remedy for breach of contract. It is called “expectation damages.” If Musk signed a deal to buy a thing for $54.20, and then he refused to pay and had no good reason for backing out of the deal, and the seller had to turn around and sell the thing to someone else for $25 instead, then the seller could go to court and demand that Musk pay the $29.20 difference.
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-07-11/the-price-of-not-buying-twitter