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.
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
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 ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Genterwocky After a hard days marching, Sir Doocey calls in at the Village Tavern For a pint of ale and a pork pie. The grim villagers stare at him. “Do not be travelling on the forest road,” warns a crusty old beak. “And why is that, antique peasant?” Grins Sir ...
Political conferences after a party returns to power are usually a chance for some healthy, even unhealthy backslapping. Yet National Party president Sylvia Wood’s address to its mainland representatives on Saturday hardly contained the unalloyed delight that one might have expected following National’s escape from the wilderness of opposition. Yes, ...
Comment: Almost half the world is voting in national elections this year and artificial intelligence is the elephant in the room. There are genuine fears AI-generated or AI-edited deepfakes will potentially manipulate election outcomes not just in the US and UK, but critically in countries such as India. For that ...
Ahead of the reality franchise’s return to New Zealand, allow us to introduce the eight brides and grooms. Chuck on a veil and tie back your man bun, because it’s time to say “I do” to a new season of Married at First Sight NZ. The reality TV “social experiment” ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Norton, Professor in the Practice of Higher Education Policy, Australian National University Every year on June 1, student debt in Australia is indexed to inflation. In 2023, high inflation pushed the indexation rate to 7.1%, the highest since 1990. This ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Changes in the May 14 budget will cut the student debt of more than three million people, wiping more than $3 billion from what people owe. The government will cap the HELP indexation rate ...
Asia Pacific Report The prosecutor’s office at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has appealed for an end to what it calls intimidation of its staff, saying such threats could constitute an offence against the “administration of justice” by the world’s permanent war crimes court. The Hague-based office of ICC Prosecutor ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk A women’s union in New Caledonia has staged a sit-in protest this week to support senior Kanak indigenous journalist Thérèse Waia, who works for public broadcaster Nouvelle-Calédonie la Première, after a smear attack by critics. The peaceful demonstration was held on ...
New Zealand Food Safety is monitoring overseas recalls of Indian packaged spice products manufactured by MDH and Everest due to concerns over a cancer-causing pesticide. ...
By Stephen Wright and Stefan Armbruster of BenarNews Fiji’s ranking in a global press freedom index has jumped into the top tier of countries with free or mostly free media after its government last year repealed a draconian law that threatened journalists with prison for doing their jobs. Fiji’s improvement ...
We might be in Invercargill but all anyone can talk about is Gore. Specifically, Salford Street. That’s where three-year-old Lachlan Jones lived, south of the centre of town, between the A&P Showgrounds and the Mataura River. Roughly 1.2 km away from the single level home he lived in with his ...
MONDAY I lined up the latest round of civil servants from city hall against the wall, and signalled for the firing squad to drop their rifles. I stepped up onto a wooden crate to look at the office workers in the eye. But that didn’t feel right, so I found ...
Keen hiker and second-year MSc student Liam Hewson wears two hats when he’s in the great outdoors. “The scientist in me appreciates nature and goes, ‘Oh, there’s that thing and there’s another thing,’ but then the tramper and the outdoorsy person in me thinks, ‘Cool bush.’” Born and bred in ...
After a long and illustrious career as a goal kicker, Dan Carter’s favourite way to unwind is… kicking goals. Why can’t he get enough of it? And what it’s like to watch him do it for an hour straight? A semicircle of people wielding cameras and phones has formed in ...
Dame Susan Devoy takes us through her life in television, including late night ER debriefs, her proudest CTI moment and the show she watches in secret. Quite aside from her four world champion squash titles, Dame Susan Devoy will likely go down in history as one of the best Celebrity ...
Hera Lindsay Bird reveals the best places in Ōtepoti to score more for your apocalypse-prep book hoard.Sometimes I get the feeling I’ve been killed in a car crash, and this second half of my life is just the brain unspooling itself, like one of those episodes of a hospital ...
ThreeNow’s new murder mystery series takes us on a dark, damp journey into the Australian wilderness.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. High Country is ThreeNow’s new Australian eight-part crime drama, set in a remote part of the Victorian highlands. It tells ...
Introducing a new way to read The Spinoff every weekend. After nearly 10 years of being an online magazine, we’re finally embracing the weekend liftout. Despite our best efforts to convince you otherwise, writers and editors at The Spinoff don’t work weekend. It is through the sheer power of technology ...
Tip one: let yourself be nurtured by this big old man. Tip two: don’t ask him to adopt you. So, you’ve arrived at your first session with a new therapist. He tells you to make yourself comfortable and you opt for the tweed armchair, hoping it makes you look like ...
I didn’t know books could open you back up; that there were books that stayed with you, where reading was like a chemical event. I knew nothing.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.Not too long ago, I was listening to the American ...
Former Olympic swimmer James Magnussen has already started training for the Enhanced games, though says he won’t start taking performance enhancing substances until about nine months out from the competition. The Australian world champion was the first athlete to be announced by Enhanced, but he says the organisation has had ...
Everyone thinks he’s dead. Every day they expect his body to be washed up along the coast. Most likely up Karitane way, the way the tide’s running. But nobody’ll be too surprised if his body’s never found. Even in death he wouldn’t have wished for such attention. He would have ...
Council members voted 21 to 4 in favour of Ahluwalia returning to the Laucala campus following a much-awaited meeting in Vanuatu this week. It comes as USP and its two unions — the Association of the University of the South Pacific Staff (AUSPS) and the Administration and Support Staff Union ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicola Henry, Professor & Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Social and Global Studies Centre, RMIT University Shutterstock Following an emergency meeting of the National Cabinet this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a raft of measures to tackle the problem ...
Analysis - A poll showing the opposition is more popular than the government raises questions, politicians go through their 'trial by pay rise' and a Green MP loses her cool in the debating chamber. ...
The entire stretch of Tokomaru Bay on the East Coast will be subject to a joint customary marine title for two hapū, and extending up to four miles out to sea. A High Court judge has found the two groups, who during the case settled a dispute over boundaries for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Hall, Lecturer, Media & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University A longstanding feud between TikTok and Universal Music Group seems to have finally reached an end, with both parties signing a deal that will see Universal-backed music returned to the social media ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Siobhan O’Dean, Postdoctoral Research Associate, The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney After several highly publicised alleged murders of women in Australia, the Albanese government this week pledged more than A$925 million over five years ...
Political parties have now fully disclosed the donations they received last year - with National getting more than double the cash of any other party. ...
A Pacific regionalism expert has called out New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS military pact. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard de Grijs, Professor of Astrophysics, Macquarie University Bruno Scramgnon/Pexels All systems are “go” for tonight’s launch of China’s next step in a carefully planned lunar exploration program. Placed on top of a powerful Long March 5 rocket, the Chang’e 6 ...
National returned a massive donation the day after a Newsroom story linked the donors to a property being investigated for operating unlawfully as a migrant workers’ hostel. The party’s 2023 donation filings, released on Friday, show it returned a $200,000 donation from Buen Holdings on August 23. That was the ...
Pacific Media Watch New Zealand has slumped to an unprecedented 19th place in the annual Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index survey released today on World Press Freedom Day — May 3. This was a drop of six places from 13th last year when it slipped out of its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joshua Black, Political Historian and Administrator Officer, Australian Historical Association, Australian National University Australia has had its fair share of public record-keeping controversies in recent years. Some have been mere farce, as in the case of two formerly government-owned filing cabinets (containing ...
Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), a United Nations-affiliated organization dedicated to fostering peace through civilian-led initiatives, has issued a statement in response to the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. ...
A poem by Tessa Keenan, from AUP New Poets 10. Mātou These days we are a photograph; one of a farm strewn with cows that used to be bright harakeke or swamp. The kids point at it and say the sun sits behind a smudge (left by someone at Christmas); ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (Faber & Faber, $25)The masterful Irish writer ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. Key facts Marriages and civil unions In ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lennon Y.C. Chang, Associate Professor of Cyber Risk and Policy, Deakin University Taiwan stands out as a beacon of democracy, innovation and resilience in an increasingly autocratic region. But this is under growing threat. In recent years, China has used a variety ...
In this excerpt from her new memoir, Dame Susan Devoy remembers her turn as star contestant on the 2022 season of Celebrity Treasure Island. The most anxious time of every day was pre-elimination, when you knew this could be your final day on the show. I felt such contradictory emotions, ...
A week that began in triumph ended in an all-too-familiar disaster for the Green Party. Duncan Greive asks if there’s something in the mission that breaks its best and brightest. A long, strange week for the Green party began with a fantastic poll result. On one level this is hardly ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Vanuatu’s former prime minister and opposition MP Ishmael Kalsakau has stepped down — just two days after he confirmed he was the rightful opposition leader. Kalsakau, MP for Port Vila, confirmed to ABC’s Pacific Beat, and the Vanuatu Daily Post on Thursday that he ...
What’s to blame for the coalition’s choppy start? Six months in, and the mojo meter is in the doldrums. A new poll would put National out of power and sees its leader, Chris Luxon, sliding in popularity. How much is it about policy, how much coalition management and a perception ...
The striking report goes far beyond the proposed repeal of the Oranga Tamariki Act’s Treaty of Waitangi provision, and its impact should be felt far beyond the unique circumstances of the claim it addresses. Earlier this week, the Waitangi Tribunal released an interim report on the government’s proposed repeal of ...
The world has been experiencing a productivity slowdown, from which New Zealand has not been exempt. COVID-19 temporarily boosted labour productivity, but more recently, productivity has retreated. The overall trend since 2007 has been one of slow productivity ...
What’s more wasteful than spending $315k on syrup and machine maintenance? Trying to drum up a controversy about it.Cast your mind back to the pre-pandemic idylls of 2019. A “rat” was a disgusting rodent and not a self-administered plague test; the sixth Labour government was in power; and the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Professor of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Monash University, Monash University Ken stocker/Shutterstock In the wake of numerous killings of women allegedly by men’s violence in 2024, thousands of Australians have joined rallies across the country to demand action ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Henry Cutler, Professor and Director, Macquarie University Centre for the Health Economy, Macquarie University Oleg Ivanov IL/Shutterstock Waiting times for public hospital elective surgery have been in the news ahead of this year’s federal budget. That’s the type of non-emergency surgery ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Konstantine Panegyres, McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow, Historical and Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne Amna Artist/Shutterstock One of the earliest descriptions of someone with cancer comes from the fourth century BC. Satyrus, tyrant of the city of Heracleia on the Black Sea, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Rose, Professor of Sustainable Future Transport, University of Sydney LanaElcova/Shutterstock Electric vehicles are often seen as the panacea to cutting emissions – and air pollution – from transport. Is this view correct? Yes – but only once uptake accelerates. Despite the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giselle Natassia Woodley, Researcher and Phd Candidate, Edith Cowan University There is widespread agreement Australia needs to do better when it comes to gender-based violence. Anger and frustration at the numbers of women being killed saw national rallies over the weekend and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Graham, Lecturer in Economics, University of Sydney Mark and Anna Photography/Shutterstock As home ownership moves further out of reach for many Australians, “rentvesting” is being touted as a lifesaver. Rentvesting is the practice of renting one property to live ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sukhmani Khorana, Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture, UNSW Sydney Netflix The new season of Heartbreak High is garnering mixed reviews. Critics are writing about the racy story lines, comparing it to other coming-of-age series about teenage relationships and ...
Bob Carr intends to launch legal action against Winston Peters and Julie Anne Genter is facing a second allegation of bullying. Both sucked the air out of an announcement on education, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in ...
In 1995, Sally Clark went out on her own in a bold and unorthodox attempt to join an illustrious group of equestrian riders conquering the world. In the days of glovebox road maps, brick cell phones, and the hit song How Bizarre, Clark refused to follow Sir Mark Todd, Blyth ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Beaglehole, Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago niphon/Getty Images The number of people accessing medication for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Aotearoa New Zealand increased significantly between 2006 and 2022. But the disorder is still under-diagnosed and ...
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