Not quite sure what you’re trying to say in reference to this article, but I have a lot of sympathy with James Morris’s comments. We won’t get the best people going into teaching until we stop treating them like rubbish
There’s a probable fallacy there. The best people go for the best money. Teachers aren’t paid the best money. Therefore current teachers aren’t the best…….. pfffft! Teachers teach for other reasons than cash alone.
I still remember my 1970 TTC tutor saying, as did one of the Greek philosophers, “”What? Teach and get paid, too?”
There is a bottom line though. I haven’t taught at school for seven years now but in my time conditions and stupid make-work bureaucracy along with troubled students were more damaging to retention than salary alone.
He seems to be criticising his own staff, among others, JanM. It could just be my reading of it but I gained the assumption he was saying we need better teachers than the ones we’ve got.
I’d very surprised if anyone went into teaching with anything but good intentions. That some (many) appear not be living up to their potential is surely grounds to examine why rather than leap to judgement all the time.
I was teaching full time in the 80s when part of the neoliberal transition was to change people’s attitudes to teachers from one of respected professionals to virtually the servants of parents, beholden and answerable to them, and the gradual takeover in many cases of school trustees in the Tomorrows Schools model served to hasten that attitude. That has gradually eaten away at the pride of teachers in their profession, and an unwillingness of many to enter it at all. Lower income compared to other professional bodies has only been a part of it.
Jan M you are so right. I was teaching through that time too, and an experience I had when Tomorrow’s Schools came in was the most traumatic of my career. As Principal of a small school in the Waikato, the School Committee became the Board of Trustees. They were anything but ‘trustees’. They did not learn, despite many episodes of training, that they were governors and not managers. They saw themselves with power and control, and as a consequence I suffered under their version of the truth. As teachers we have been sidelined, underpaid and denigrated for too long. I am still teaching, but only a day or two a week in a semi retired way.
It isn’t too much to say that we are the future of our country. We are the ones who will nurture the leaders and followers of the future. Admittedly we only have them for 6 hours a day, 5 days a week, but at primary school level at least, they look to us to guide their thinking, to inform their need for information and to give them a sense of culture and identity. This requires skill and understanding, among other things. In Norway teachers are highly trained and highly skilled. They, in turn, are highly respected and are left to do their best because the state and the people trust them to do the job they are tasked with. They are consequently well paid for their expertise.
Until that happens in NZ we are screwed. And I don’t think Hipkins is skilled enough to guide us through to that conclusion.
My observations while Teaching were; Teachers that didn’t try to be good Teachers were rare.
The ones that were not making the grade, were generally burnt out from stress caused by unrealistic expectations from above.
I’ve long though that sabbaticals, to refocus and reflect, and something similar to the police PERF scheme, for those who have had enough, should be available for Teachers.
I found the worst part was all the kids falling behind, and desperately needing help,that you hadn’t the time for, and couldn’t get any help for.
I’m not sure what your point is with the “good tradesman” analogy. If there isn’t enough money to attract and retain good teachers, there’s not a lot that a “good tradesman” is going to be able to do. Are education leaders just meant to magic up some teachers?
Stopping the ridiculing of teachers by the right-wing politicians of all parties that we’ve had for the last 30+ years will probably help get good teachers back.
The judgement in America on Monsanto’s Roundup should make all councils and schools cease its use immediately.
And supermarkets and garden stores should stop selling it today.
Let’s apply some pressure for them to put people before profits.
RNZ 10 March 2016 “Contractors told to wear masks when spraying.”. Sorry, on my phone so can’t provide link.
This tells of a minor shitstorm in the Garden City when it transpired that contractors spraying Roundup were told NOT to wear safety gear so as not to alarm the locals.
If memory serves, the Mayor was singularly unimpressed.
Meriel Watts has an international reputation for her work trying to raise awareness of the hazards of the ubiquitous herbicide….I’ll hazard few here have heard of her.
The agrochemical industry rules..take them on at your peril.
The best we can hope for is to demand that those responsible for enforcement of rules and regulations around spraying actually do their job.
Hah! In the case of the Waikato Regional Council…dream on.
And for anyone interested, RNZ News has an impressive archive of articles going back years on glyphosate and its history, concerns etc. This includes many other similar local NZ articles relating to the use of Round Up and similar here in NZ.
Yep shade works with most weeds if you can completely cover them with weed mat etc but that brings with it its own set of problems .What would be great would be a covering which would completely biodegrade in say three years …not sure its been invented yet though !!
Weston; plants that shade other plants were invented yonks ago 🙂
I’ve used wild chervil to completely shade out couch. Native trees shade out gorse and broom, given time. Shade. It’s a thing!
The great left-winger and egotist (they go together) William Cobbett (the real founder of Hansard’s in the UK’s 40 years dictatorship that followed the French Revolution) maintained you could dig out couch-grass . He put a team of men to dig up 7 acres. Next year, just as bad.
I use glyphosate all the time and would be reluctant to give it up. Always known the danger to smaller animals so I take seriously the WHO’s report. But, yet…
yep hard to take an effective weapon out of ones arsenal i agree sumsuch and unfortunate having to contribute to the coffers of giant corporations also especially corporations that are known to be the most evil on the planet !!I could cope with the weeds ok in my immediate environment but its weeds like the really horrible Climbing Asparagus that to my mind justify using poisons like glyphosate .Not to do so spells disaster for many areas of bush and coastal lands alike .Alas its already too late in my view .
Forest & Bird’s report ‘Cleaning Up: Fixing Compliance, Monitoring & Enforcement in the dairy sector’ audited all of the country’s effluent compliance monitoring performances for the 2016-17 year.
It found that councils across the country were inconsistent in how they monitored farms and were not fulfilling basic requirements, such as identifying all dairy farms within their region.
“In Forest & Bird’s view, these poorly performing councils do not take their dairy sector compliance, monitoring and enforcement obligations seriously, and will need some encouragement to improve their performance,” it said.
It found that three-quarters of New Zealand’s dairy farms were in eight regions that did not monitor 100 per cent of their farms. Last year, around 5000 farms were not monitored for dairy effluent compliance.
“This almost certainly means that many instances of serious non-compliance are likely to have gone undetected,” the report said.
yes and as for Waikato Regional Council – what a useless bunch – they gave wrong OIA info and then moan about how hard it is.
It found there were at least nine Waikato farms found to be seriously non-compliant in 2016-17 which had not been monitored for 10 years or more…
… However, Waikato Regional Council farming services manager Nicole Botherway said inspecting every Waikato dairy farm was not practical.
“It’s unrealistic to burden our ratepayers with the massive four-fold expense of extra staff and resources just because they live in a region with the most dairy farms in the country.”
Taranaki councils charge $300 to the farm owner for inspection, and then Fonterra charge another $300 per farm on what is essentially the same inspection.
So a double inspection too keep everyone happy.
Yes Fonterra inspect Dairy Sheds (Buliding standard, environmental and dairy hygiene).
They also inspect dairy farm records (supplemental feeds, nitrogen use, antibiotic and drug use, stock recording methods etc).
If you only knew. Fonterra have probably got the most robust inspection and compliance regime in the country. They stopped collecting milk on 70+ farms last year because the farmers hadn’t met their effluent and waterway fencing rules.
Fonterra make the councils and MPI look like amateurs.
“Fonterra make the councils and MPI look like amateurs.”
And of course MPI were totally on top of mycoplasma bovis – not. They are amateurs. Doesn’t make Fonterra infallible though – only takes one slip in a processing chain and there’s hell to pay.
No good reason why they should be stressed if they are compliant. That’s like turning off the burglar alarms in case the burglar gets distressed by them!
It was the noise of the helicopters that was causing stress… in both man and beast.
Being buzzed by a helicopter is no fun at all…even less fun when the helicopter is flying very low alongside and over a residential property spraying a hazardous substance.
In our case, the Waikato Regional Council refused to investigate or enforce the Standard. At the same time our home and property was being harassed and contaminated by a spraying helicopter…the WRC was using helicopters to conduct a pantomime monitoring of dairy effluent management.
We tried to find out if our rates were being used to pay for this monitoring to the same helicopter company that chemically trespassed our property. No go, as this was ‘commercially sensitive’ information.
“Corruption” is a word not lightly used….but it may be appropriate here.
“Even less fun when the helicopter is flying very low alongside and over a residential property spraying a hazardous substance”.
Off the topic a bit, don’t you think?
Illegal dairy effluent disposal and illegal use of agrichemicals. Both are the responsibility of the Regional Councils to monitor and enforce. In both areas of responsibility the WRC has a dismal record. It just so happens that the issue our family had with the aerial application of agrichemicals was very probably made worse by the WRC being compromised by contracting the same helicopter companies to do the effluent monitoring that they were legally obligated to ensre were applying agrichemicals in the required manner.
As other commenters have noted, Regional Councils are heavily populated by farming folk who seem obligated to protect their own.
It just so happens that the issue our family had with the aerial application of agrichemicals was very probably made worse by the WRC being compromised by contracting the same helicopter companies to do the effluent monitoring that they were legally obligated to ensre were applying agrichemicals in the required manner.
Which is why councils should do this stuff themselves rather than get private contractors.
And haul the national party into the dock to answer their charges of ‘turning a blind eye for the nine years allowing dirty dairying’ as they ficticiously made us into “A rockstar economy”
I read an interesting coment on fish games blind eye turning to the thousands and thousands of plastic shotgun waddings that must be shot into nz s water ways the other day .
Yeh who is with out sin and all that shit .
Not sure where your comment is sourced from, but here’s an actual news article from today citing an upcoming court case, ind in particular Fish and Game using drones to show evidence of consent breaches – using drones.
As i said just a comment i read online . But it would be fact if,your ever in a f and g meeting ask them what they are doing about the huge amount of plastic shotgun shooting would put into the environment.
If they clean up the worst farming practises I’m all for it but don’t think for one minute it is coming from anything more than self interest with fish and game .
These people release trout into rivers .trout decimate native species. (That bits just to illustrate that they are not eco warriors)
However, Waikato Regional Council farming services manager Nicole Botherway said inspecting every Waikato dairy farm was not practical.
Of course it’s practical – hire more people and get them well trained in the job.
Of course, that will tend to reduce unemployment and we may see wages rising which will inevitably have the capitalists that don’t like paying wages whinging as well as the farmers whinging from being found to have broken the law.
+100 yes compliance seems to be looking the other way a lot lately.
WDC also seem oblivious to what drainage plans are for by letting people do as they please. Then there’s the waterways issues all of their own making like effluent in whaingaroa harbour.
“The New Zealand Nursing Organisation (NZNO) have lodged a Kaupapa Inquiry Claim into pay disparity of Māori nurses which will be heard by the Waitangi Tribunal in October.
NZNO Kaiwhakahaere Kerry Nuku says the crown has breached its obligations to Māori in the health system under the Treaty of Waitangi.”
It was probably just as well this meeting wasn’t one for the Councillors to say their piece- just listen- with the strength of feeling in the room last night I don’t think Chris Laidlaw would’ve stood a chance, but at least he had the guts to show and I really hope he was squirming. I personally love the idea of going on a fare strike.
I think it came across very clearly that their was accessibility issues for a large number of people. I think the main problem was that it was hard to get across the scale of the problem – it came across as individuals having problems unique to themselves but it really is on a much bigger scale than that.
Buses are not just overcrowded but people are packed in really tightly, sardine tightly, and the drivers are in a tough position – overload the buses (which they seriously are) or leave people at stops when they have already been waiting 30, 40 or 50 minutes. And the people who check the buses for safety are nowhere to be seen even though there are continuous complaints about safety and overloading.
My driver on Friday looked absolutely shattered as we had a full bus for about 2/3 of the route – and that was before peak time. Driving with a full bus, a long way, (e.g. people have to exit the back door to let other people off and then get back on again because there was no other way to make room) requires a really high level of vigilance over a long period of time – and that level of vigilance takes a toll day-in/day-out over a long working day. The bus driver was doing clumsy things that were starting to get a bit risky and it’s not too hard to see that low risk things turning to high risk things as the drivers get worn down even more.
Thanks for this information. As mentioned in my reply to Kay at 5.1.2.1 below, I would really appreciate any info you recall on what was said if anything at the meeting re the 29 services to/from island Bay via Owhiro Bay/Brooklyn and via Southgate/Newtown. TIA.
I don’t remember any one particularly mentioning that route but there was a sticker wall where people could put up specific complaints. There were going to be collated and given to the WRC but they might be available to everyone.
Thanks for your reply. I really appreciate it. I got the impression the meeting probably focused more on the eastern suburbs issues – eg having to change buses to get to the hospital etc, late/no show buses etc.
Each area seems to have their own specific problems, so we are putting together a collation of issues in our area and will be getting this to Metlink, Paul Eagle, WRC and WCC in the very near future. It may be that we should set up a local meeting to discuss our local issues. We are already in contact with Metlink in a co-operative, non-aggressive manner and so far, we seem to be making some headway/on the same wavelength with them at least on some issues, but time will tell.
I was there for most of it Rosemary. As a result of a discussion with a woman there about the decimation of buses at that hour back to my suburb I was offered a lift home so couldn’t turn down the offer! So I missed the latter bit with the bus driver and fare strike proposal but caught up with them on Morning Report.
Interesting to observe that every time a driver got up to speak they were loudly applauded. One noticeable thing throughout this farce is with very few exceptions, no one is blaming the drivers.
I’m looking forward to the meeting on the 23rd and hearing the GWRC spin on this. And audience reaction!
Thanks for that Kay. I was not able to get there yesterday as I found out about the meeting too late.
I would be really interested in any points raised at the meeting about the Island Bay services, primarily the No 29 services (via Owhiro Bay and Brooklyn OTOH and via Southgate and Newtown on the other hand), as I and others are very affected by the changes to these and we are in contact with Metlink etc on these issues.
@ VV Oops apologies, it’s Sunday the 26th. St Pats College, but I’ve seen both 2 and 3pm mentioned so got to confirm that.
During the open mike part certain bus routes were mentioned, being a Newtown meeting the majority of the comments seemed to refer to the Southern suburb routes. A fair bit got said about Houghton Bay, tbh the 29 probably was but I wasn’t concentrating that much, they’re not routes I ever use so it didn’t really register. My takeaway from it was a public expression of all the angry emails, phone calls, official complaints and posts/blogs/tweets that have been flying around for the past few weeks.
I’ve been out this avo so missed the interview- thanks for the link, will listen shortly 🙂
how do @veuto.
Route 29 is a shocker (From what I hear, alongside 23). My daughters friend now has 3 buses (i.e. 2 exchanges) to get where she wants to go whereas the old Houghton Bay served many people well.
By the way….I did reply to you the other day (I think re Ponter) OM 10th or 11th.
Once again, probably the best thing for GWRC to do would be to revert ot old route system, but that would be an admission of complete failure.
I tried to find out whether the Tramways Union, or ‘old hand’ drivers were consulted before, and while this new system was being designed – but to no avail.
The more I hear about this farce, the more I despair. And frankly the more surprised I am at Ponter. (Laidlaw you could make allowances for). It’s almost like a case study on how politicians and administration lose touch with reality.
Routes 29 and 23 are a total fuckup, route 18 is a complete fuckup, and route 20 ……..
Thanks OWT – and my apologies for not replying to your earlier reply to me re Daran Ponter. Things are a bit messy at the moment – I am sure that you know that ‘feast or fame’ situation where you have too much or too little on your plate and never a nice balance! C’est la vie.
Re reverting to the old system, I doubt that is possible due to legalities however.
It has actually crossed my mind as to whether Tranzit will last the distance financially. They must have spent a fortune on the new buses etc but I have heard on the grapevine that the costs associated with bringing in drivers from outside Wellington and covering their accommodation costs etc have been astronomical and unplanned …
My/our focus is on the other side of the South Coast to Houghton Bay – ie SW Island Bay, Owhiro Bay, Frobisher St area, Happy Valley. Our problems are slightly different to Houghton Bay etc so there could be some merit to keeping them separate – and as I said, Metlink has been quite cooperative to date particularly as one of the problems is something they want themselves so we are onside on that issue.
This is what you get when you start demanding people get censored. It’s always the left who have the most to fear from censorship because power is usually held in the hands of the monied powerful and they will always protect their own interests first
“From Alex Jones to alleged Russian trolls, major internet companies are increasingly policing content on their platforms. Max Blumenthal of the Grayzone Project says the partnership between Facebook and the Atlantic Council highlights “the merger of the national security state and Silicon Valley.”
Tinder to get temporary accommodation because they have no other options. Reports also suggest this practice isn’t limited to women.
Due to the hidden nature and often ill-defined boundaries of survival sex, it is difficult to regulate and therefore almost impossible to offer protection for women. This places them in highly precarious situations. Until the structural issues in our housing market are addressed, this is unlikely to change.
TOP is still alive.
From Gareth:
“…I’m pleased to say that discussions re the future of TOP are progressing well. As part of the groundwork for TOP to continue the Board has amended the party rules in order to better position the Party in its preparation for the 2020 election….”
Interesting appointment indeed. I just hope Lisa learns to ‘keep it zipped sweetie’ at times and lets her interviewees have a fair say. Must admit I was impressed by Simon Shepherd’s interview with Grant Robertson on The Nation this last weekend.
National Government while in power were most of the time wanting to sell NZ to the lowest bidder without a care.
Labour is right by encouraging NZ made industries to come back again.
We need for example to begin producing wolllen carpets again as we lost ournmillls to China and India during the gosmans own liberalist Ntional government selloff.
Woolen carpets do not cause global pollution as the plastic carpets we only make here now so when we throw the plastic carpets away guess where they go and how long it takes to break those plastic carpets down again?
250 years at least we are told it takes to break down the ‘nylon’ carpets and no-one has even considered this as the new threat to our environment, as all plastic and nylon must be stopped now before we are all screwed. Just look at what is inside plastic carpets that you all buy now because you dont have any large NZ carpet manufacturers now.
The Toxic Dangers of Carpeting:Are the Carpets in Your Home or Office a Health Hazard?
by SixWise.com
Walking across your soft, wall-to-wall carpet with bare feet may seem pleasant enough, and we won’t deny that it does feel cozy, but there are some unpleasant and downright dangerous things about carpeting that deserve attention.
In America, we love wall-to-wall carpeting–in fact, according to the Carpet and Rug Institute more than two-thirds of American floors have them–despite the fact that they contain toxic byproducts that are released into our homes and even inhaled and absorbed into our bodies.
Carpet Samples
It looks innocent enough, but carpets are made from synthetic fibers that have been treated with toxic chemicals that outgas into your home.
Carpets Emit Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in Your Home
Almost all carpet is made from synthetic fibers and those fibers have been treated with synthetic chemicals that “outgas” into your home. Here’s a list of some carpet “ingredients”:
Petroleum byproducts and synthetics (polypropylene, nylon, acrylic)
Soil and stain repellents
Vinyl or latex
PVC
Urethane
Antistatic sprays
Artificial dyes
Antimicrobial treatments
After being exposed to these chemicals and breathing them in or absorbing them through the skin, some people may feel symptoms such as headache, dizziness or nausea right away.
But often times, no symptoms are felt. In the long-term, however, no one knows for certain what the effects of these chemicals may be. The EPA has said that no cause-and-effect relationship between carpet emissions and health problems has been proven. However, says Mark Gold from Holistic Healing, “Please pay attention to this warning: Sucking down toxic chemicals may seem okay now, but you may pay a very heavy price in the future.”
For instance, carpets may contain:
Known carcinogens such as p-Dichlorobenzene. These chemicals may also cause hallucinations, nerve damage and respiratory illness in humans.
4-PC, the chemical that gives carpets their distinctive “new carpet smell” and is associated with eye, nose and upper respiratory problems.
Mothproofing chemicals, which contain naphthalene.
Fire retardants with PBDEs, which may cause damage to thyroid, immune system and brain development functions in humans.
Good morning The AM Show even if 5% of people brought elictric car’s that’s thousand of cars on the road our oil
Import bill will come down. Last year the number was 2% reliability is not a problem if you buy new the battery.s last at least 8 years so no problem there sell it and buy a new one that’s what people do If they can afford it
The left leaning tangata want Aotearoa to be the best place on Papatuanukue to raise all Mokopunas not matter whom they are we are all humans.
Veronica The Celine Dion show starting
singer is a very good singer Amanda I think you will go to the concert Ka pai
Ka kite ano. P.S I’m chasing our Mokopunas around at the minute
The Free Speech distraction is not really a big issues people are just using the topic to distract us from The real issues and that is privacy rights if big brother can snop into everyone electronica data that gives. To much power to the 00.1%,to do nasty things to the common tangata. And from what I see it’s not like we can trust the 00.1% to do the correct things with that power.
One just has to look at how some multi national companies lie there, – – – – off to protect the profits over humanity health the link is Below Ka kite ano
Google records your location even when you tell it not to p.S most people have the Internet to voice there opinions and if you get ignored well your views on reality don’t fit with the tangata of 2018
Here we go when service are included in the exporters importers market data the USA has a surplus with the Papatuanukue of 1.4 trillion so what are some of these services mone exchange face book Google so us see the USA is the wealthiest country on Papatuanukue they have not got there from losing in world trade its convenient to leave service data out of the stats link below Ka kite ano https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/aug/13/is-free-trade-always-the-answer
Ana to kai
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This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bruce Lieberman It seems like such a simple, straightforward, empowering idea: plant trees – a lot of trees – all over the world, and watch the planet’s temperature fall. Who doesn’t love a tree or two, even far more – the right ...
According to Newshub, Simon Bridges is open to joining a “grand coalition” with Labour as we hunker down to go into a month long lockdown. The idea is sound. Before now, the role of the opposition was to scrutinise and oppose. In the context of what almost amounts to a ...
Kia ora my name is Chloe Ann-King* and I am the founder of Raise the Bar, a campaign and non-profit that gives free legal aid, advocacy and tautoko to hospitality workers in Aotearoa. Right now all over our country hospo workers are being fired at will, having shifts cut or ...
We need to be lifting our game against COVID-19. You and I need to help those working to prevent the spread of COVID-19 while they’re trying to lift the testing and treatment efforts. We don’t want to be playing this game running backwards. Best to play it solidly forward, from ...
Prof Tony Blakely, Prof Michael Baker, and Prof Nick WilsonThe NZ Government must do more to clearly articulate its COVID-19 strategy: eradication or ‘flattening the curve’ mitigation. But to do so means understanding the maths and ethics of both these strategies. In this blog, we adapt our work for ...
A few days ago I was starting to write something about the pandemic, which now seems unconscionable. It took the form of a letter to an agony aunt:“Dear Deidre, I have an ugly confession. I am quite excited by Covid-19.”This is how the piece went:“I’m not a psychopath, honest. Although the ...
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Climate Feedback Article Review... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Reviews... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Story of the Week... In Just 10 Years, Warming Has Increased the Odds of DisastersThe likelihood of extreme events ...
Last week, the government announced a $12 billion initial package to support people during the pandemic. Today, the Reserve Bank is buying government bonds - effectively printing money - to keep up the money supply during the crisis. Normally such moves would have the right apoplectic. Instead, the National Party ...
I am a pundit, somebody who opines and comments on the news. There are no real qualifications to punditry though having a rudimentary way with words and good general knowledge helps. That is one reason there is a constant oversupply of would-be pundits and why it is quite hard to ...
I recently encountered the following prescription from a Faculty of Education at a leading New Zealand University. At first I wondered if it was another product of the postmodern generator (http://www.elsewhere.org/journal/pomo/), designed to create gibberish in the postmodern form, but I’m told it is real: The “schooled” society: Towards the ...
The coronavirus pandemic has of course had a major impact on individual lives and on societies as a whole. But, long after the crisis has passed (assuming it does), we will begin to realise that its real and lasting significance lies in the lessons it has taught us, if only ...
COVID-19 has plunged Aotearoa New Zealand (indeed, the world) into territory that, while maybe not totally unprecedented, certainly hasn’t been seen during the lifetimes of most of us here today. Our borders are closed to non-citizens, we’re being told not to gather in groups of more than 500 outside/100 inside, ...
For the last few weeks, I’ve been urging you to prepare yourself, your family, business, and community for Covid-19. Now it’s time for real action. Yesterday the director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield announced another 13 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand, bringing our total to date to 52. ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week, i.e., Sun, Mar 15, 2020 through Sat, Mar 21, 2020 Editor's Pick Now Isn’t the Time to Forget About Our Climate Change EffortsTasha Tilberg, Lindsey Wixson, and Liu Wen photographed ...
by Jan Rivers The article has been corrected to show that it was Ewen MacAskill, former Guardian journalist and not Luke Harding who travelled to meet Edward Snowden with journalist Glenn Greenwald and filmmaker Laura Poitras. Some of the Guardian’s well-known journalists who did not sign the protest letter are ...
by Cultural Worker Late March 2020 amidst the virus. With gigs crashing and burning all around it was without much hope that I called a long standing rest home booking: “ Hi, I’m supposed to be entertaining at your place this afternoon – is it still on?” “”If you don’t ...
Whenever people demand real change from their politicians, we're told that "politics is the art of the possible". The implication is that change isn't possible, so we'd better just get used to the sucky status quo. But now that there's a pandemic, a lot of things we were previously told ...
Together: In leading New Zealand through the Covid-19 Pandemic, the Prime Minister could do a lot worse than allow herself to be guided by the spirit of collective sacrifice and co-operation that animated the New Zealanders of 80 years ago. Most Kiwis alive today have had no opportunity to prove their ...
It is said that generals fight the last war. In the case of the early stages of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) they had learned from the Great Depression of the 1930s and they fought intelligently and successfully. Later their advice would be ignored in favour of the Austerians who ...
Solidarity Forever: All over the world, the arrival of the Covid-19 virus has exposed the fragility of the walls we erect around ourselves and our loved ones. It has shattered our illusions of autonomy and revealed to us how utterly dependent we all are on other human-beings. Finally, we see ...
Looking across the various arguments for/against the leading candidates to take the Democratic Nomination, you might honestly be very hard pressed to tell. There are a number of things that have now started happening since Amy Klobuchar and “Mayor Pete” Buttigieg both threw the towel in and immediately (and ...
by Daphna Whitmore Abortion is no longer in the Crimes Act in New Zealand. The law reform passed yesterday and now abortion is a medical matter between a woman and her doctor. Many women’s groups and progressive people have campaigned for reform for decades. The women’s liberation movement and some ...
Doug Specht, University of Westminster and Julio Gimenez, University of Westminster When fake news, misreporting and alternative facts are everywhere, reading the news can be a challenge. Not only is there plenty of misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic, climate change and other scientific topics floating around social media, you also ...
Michael Baker, University of Otago and Nick Wilson, University of OtagoWith some of the toughest border restrictions and a newly-announced NZ$500 million boost to health services, New Zealand is among a small number of countries with a strategy to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. New Zealand is also fortunate in ...
As expected, the government has introduced a sessional order to allow Parliament to operate during the pandemic. You can read it on the Order Paper here, but the short version is that questions and motions can be filed electronicly, select committees can work remotely, and the the Business Committee can ...
Axel Bruns, Queensland University of Technology; Daniel Angus, Queensland University of Technology; Timothy Graham, Queensland University of Technology, and Tobias R. Keller, Queensland University of Technology News and views about coronavirus has spread via social media in a way that no health emergency has done before. Platforms like Twitter, Facebook, ...
So you’ve recently returned from overseas, come into contact with someone who tested positive, got a bit of a dry cough yourself or perhaps just want to self isolate for 14 days to avoid other people who might have COVID-19. Here are a few tips and tricks to help get ...
Our Good Fortune: Precisely because she has never been an ideologue (she calls herself a “pragmatic idealist”) Jacinda Ardern has a political nimbleness and spontaneity which, when infused with her exceptional emotional intelligence, produces spectacular demonstrations of leadership. Jacinda's empathic political personality contrasts sharply with the less-than-sunny ways of her ...
The Abortion Legislation Bill has just passed its third reading, 68-51. NZ First MPs bailed because their referendum amendment didn't pass, but there were plenty of MPs to provide a majority without them. The bill is a long way from perfect - most significantly, it subjects pregnant people who need ...
As most of the world tries to suppress the coronavirus spread, some countries are going it alone – trying to manage the pandemic through so-called “herd immunity”. Herd immunity means letting a large number of people catch a disease, and hence develop immunity to it, to stop the virus spreading. ...
So, as I sit at home with a very, very slight headache (i.e. not at work when I would otherwise be so), the now familiar figure of Ashley Bloomfield reports eight new confirmed cases of COVID-19 including two in Waikato. A surprise, given that we had just twelve yesterday? No. ...
Many who advocated for, and voted for, the current Coalition – particularly those who voted Labour and the Green Party – expected to see a sea change in the reality of social services. A real, deep change of attitude, approach of process through which the system negotiates the difficult and ...
New Zealand’s border restrictions will come with significant job and business losses in the tourism sector, both at home and in the Pacific. But the new travel rules are absolutely necessary to protect the health of New Zealanders and people right across Pacific Islands, because New Zealand is a gateway ...
Professor Philip Hill and Associate Professor James UssherMost infectious diseases have an Achilles heel, the secret is to find it. The question is if we don’t have a drug or a vaccine for COVID-19, is there something else we can do to beat it? Some people estimate that, without ...
The Coalition Governments $12.1 billion economic package to help combat the financial effects of COVID-19 was generally well received across the board, even amongst many business leaders who would normally be critical of a Labour led Government.However there was one glaringly obvious exception, Simon Bridges. The so-called leader of the ...
With confirmed cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand up to 12, many influential people are writing open letters and opinion pieces and doing press conferences asking why we aren’t pulling out all the stops and testing thousands of people a day like they are in South Korea. The thing is, ...
by Daphna Whitmore The willingness to put human life before business shows that sometimes capitalism is capable of suspending its relentless drive for profit. For a short time it can behave differently. Flatten the curve is the public health message since COVID-19 suddenly overwhelmed the hospital system in northern Italy. ...
Worldwide, the 1918 influenza epidemic – wrongly called ‘Spanish’ flu – lasted about two years. However, it lasted about six weeks in New Zealand (remembered as ‘Black November’, because the dead turned a purplish-black). It is thought about 7000 Pakeha died and 2,500 Maori. The population mortality rate was about ...
In a world and a time when the worst off and most vulnerable have been asked, time and again, to foot the bill for the complete subjugating to the will of the 1% thanks to the GFC, at a point where the world as a whole is now seeing quite ...
With the economy already reeling from a crisis that’s barely begun, the Government today sought to provide reassurance to workers and businesses in the form of a massive phallic pun to insert much-needed cash into the private sector and help fight the looming pandemic. Here are the key components: $5.1 ...
I am a member of the working poor and so still need state welfare to make rent. So I had booked an appointment for yesterday with my caseworker at Work and Income New Zealand (WINZ) to apply for a transition to work grant. However the current health advice in New ...
Today the government announced a financial package to deal with the effects of the pandemic. So far, it looks good: an initial $500 million for health to deal with immediate priorities, wage subsidies for affected businesses, $585 a week from WINZ for people self-isolating who can't work from home, and ...
The COVID-19 situation in New Zealand is moving fast - and to avoid what we've seen overseas - the Government's response must be to move fast too. We're committed to keeping New Zealanders safe and well-informed every step of the way. ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is encouraging New Zealanders overseas to stay where they are amid the COVID-19 pandemic. "We are reaching a point where the best option for most New Zealanders offshore is to shelter in place, by preparing to safely stay where they are.” "This includes following the instructions ...
Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Foreign Minister Winston Peters is encouraging the tens of thousands of New Zealanders travelling overseas to consider sheltering in place, in light of COVID-19. “Since 18 March, we have been warning New Zealanders offshore that the window for flying ...
Ground-breaking law has passed that will decriminalise abortion and ensure women and pregnant people seeking abortions have compassionate healthcare. ...
The Green Party says that the measures announced by the Government today will help families and businesses to prioritise our collective health and wellbeing in the response to COVID-19. ...
As New Zealanders brace for a global downturn due to Covid-19, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says his Coalition Government’s rescue package "more significant" than any other he's seen around the world. The Coalition is to reveal a multi-billion-dollar stimulus plan on Tuesday afternoon designed to cushion the economic blow ...
We know some people are feeling anxious about COVID-19. While the situation is serious, New Zealand has a world-class health system and we’re well-prepared to keep New Zealanders safe. ...
Darroch Ball MP, Spokesperson for Law and Order A New Zealand First member’s bill drawn from the ballot today seeks to overhaul the youth justice system by instigating a system of demerit points for offences committed by young offenders. “The ‘Youth Justice Demerit Point System’ will put an end to ...
Hon. Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic DevelopmentThe Provincial Growth Fund is investing $6 million in a land-based aquaculture pilot to see whether yellowtail kingfish can be commercially farmed in Northland, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today.A recirculating land-based aquaculture system will be built and operated ...
Hon. Shane Jones, Minister for ForestryForestry Minister Shane Jones has announced two One Billion Trees programme grants of more than $1.18 million to help hapu and iwi in Northland restore whenua and moana.“Many communities around Aotearoa have benefited from One Billion Trees funding since the programme was launched ...
Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign AffairsAhead of the start of the criminal trial in the Netherlands on 9 March, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has reaffirmed the need to establish truth, accountability and justice for the downing of Flight MH17 ...
Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime MinisterThe Government is investing $19.9 million through the Provincial Growth Fund in a game-changing hydrogen energy facility in South Taranaki, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters announced today.“The development of alternative energy initiatives like this one is vital for the Taranaki region’s economy. ...
Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, Minister for Foreign AffairsForeign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says New Zealand is partnering with countries in the Pacific to ensure they are prepared for, and able to respond to the global threat of Coronavirus (COVID-19).“There are currently no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the ...
New Zealand will temporarily remove tariffs on all medical and hygiene imports needed for the COVID-19 response. Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Kris Faafoi said today that the New Zealand Customs Service will apply tariff concessions to all diagnostic reagents and testing ...
Minister of Finance Grant Robertson has clarified that the changes to the wage subsidy scheme announced yesterday mean that employers should be passing on the full subsidy to workers, except in the case where the person’s normal income is less than the level of the subsidy. “We still want employers ...
Medical face masks from the national reserve supply are now being distributed to District Health Boards, while at the same time local production is being ramped up. Yesterday more than 640,000 masks were sent to DHBS – that is an immediate two week supply, with more to follow in coming ...
The Government has made modifications to the wage subsidy scheme to ensure people don’t lose their jobs during the national lockdown. These changes will soften the impact of COVID-19 on workers, families and businesses, and position them to exit the lockdown and look to recovery, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. ...
Farmers whose herds were culled in response to the outbreak of Mycoplasma bovis will be able to minimise the tax treatment of their income in some circumstances. Revenue Minister Stuart Nash says Cabinet has agreed to change the law. It means farmers may be eligible to spread their income over ...
A $27 million dollar package, effective immediately, is being provided to social sector services and community groups to ensure they can continue to provide essential support to communities as we stay at home as a nation to stop the spread of COVID-19, Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni announced. “At ...
“The guilty plea today will provide some relief to the many people whose lives were shattered by what happened on March 15,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. “These guilty pleas and conviction bring accountability for what happened and also save the families who lost loved ones, those who were injured, ...
The Prime Minister is holding daily press conferences to update New Zealanders on the Government's response to COVID-19. Links to videos and transcripts of these updates below. These transcripts also include All of Government press conferences led by Director Ministry of Health's Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield. 25 March: Live update from the Prime ...
Frontline Police numbers have broken through the 10,000 mark for the first time in history as officers step forward to keep the community safe during the COVID19 lockdown. “Two Police graduations in Auckland and Wellington in the past week have been conducted in unprecedented circumstances,” Police Minister Stuart Nash said. ...
Urgent legislation has been passed to support the package of economic and social measures needed to recover from the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. “The COVID-19 Response (Taxation and Social Assistance Urgent Measures) Bill will cushion New Zealanders from the worst economic impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak,” said Revenue Minister ...
From tomorrow, Government support for farmers and growers affected by drought will be expanded and extended across the country, with access to Rural Assistance Payments (RAPS) available throughout the North Island, parts of the South Island and the Chatham Islands, Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni announced. “These challenging conditions have ...
Parliament has passed amendments to legislation that give the Secretary of Education stronger powers to act in the fight to limit the spread of COVID-19, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “They are part of a suite of changes passed under the COVID-19 Response (Urgent Management Measures) Legislation Bill,” Chris ...
Canada, Australia, Chile, Brunei and Myanmar have joined forces with New Zealand and Singapore by committing to keep supply chains open and remove any existing trade restrictive measures on essential goods, especially medical supplies, in the face of the Covid-19 crisis. Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker today welcomed ...
Immediate freeze on rent increases Tenancies will not be terminated during the lock-down period, unless the parties agree, or in limited circumstances Tenants who had previously given notice can stay in their if they need to stay in the tenancy during the lock-down period Tenants will still be able to ...
As New Zealand unites to lock-down in the fight against COVID-19, the Finance Minister is urging all businesses and workers to stay connected over the next four weeks. “We understand the extreme pressure many businesses are under right now. I know most business owners think of their workers as family ...
A State of National Emergency has been declared across the country as the Government pulls out all the stops to curtail the spread of COVID-19. “Today we put in place our country’s second ever State of National Emergency as we fight a global pandemic, save New Zealanders’ lives and prevent ...
Mr Speaker I wish to make a Ministerial Statement under Standing Order 347 in relation to the recent declaration of a State of National Emergency. Having considered the advice of the Director Civil Defence Emergency Management, the Minister of Civil Defence declared a State of National Emergency for the whole of ...
People needing to travel on domestic flights, trains and Cook Strait ferries to get home before the country moves into level 4 lock-down tomorrow night will be able to continue using the passenger services until midnight on Friday, Transport Minister Phil Twyford said today. Domestic passenger services, particularly ferries, have ...
The Government, retail banks and the Reserve Bank are today announcing a major financial support package for home owners and businesses affected by the economic impacts of COVID-19. The package will include a six month principal and interest payment holiday for mortgage holders and SME customers whose incomes have been ...
Minister of Transport Phil Twyford has today announced details of the Government’s support package to keep key air freight moving and ensure New Zealanders retain access to essential goods during the four-week level 4 lockdown. “The Government is working with airlines and air freight operators to ensure New Zealand’s key ...
New Zealand moved up to COVID-19 Alert Level 3 – Restrict New Zealand to move up to COVID-19 Alert Level 4 – Eliminate, in 48 hours Two-staged approach to give people and businesses time to prepare Level 3, from tomorrow Non-essential businesses must close All events and gatherings must be ...
Good afternoon The Cabinet met this morning to discuss our next actions in the fight against COVID-19. Like the rest of the world, we are facing the potential for devastating impacts from this virus. But, through decisive action, and through working together, do we have a small window to get ...
The Government is announcing significant further support for the economy, workers and businesses as the country unites to prepare for Alert Level 4 in the fight against COVID-19. Cabinet today agreed to remove the cap on the Government’s wage subsidy scheme, which will inject a further $4 billion into the ...
The Government is backing the Reserve Bank’s latest action to support the economy by reducing longer-term interest rates, meaning lower costs for businesses and mortgage holders, and a lower currency to help our exporters. The Minister of Finance has signed a memorandum of understanding and a letter of indemnity with ...
The Government has asked the Commerce Commission to take account of the exceptional circumstances created by COVID-19 when monitoring business behaviour in coming weeks. “The purpose of my request to the Commerce Commission is to make sure businesses can work together in ways that will allow them to provide ...
The New Zealand Government has temporarily closed its High Commission in Bridgetown, Barbados and its Embassy in Yangon, Myanmar due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Due to the increasing scarcity of air links in and out of Bridgetown and Yangon, and the pressure COVID-19 is placing ...
Associate Health and Whānau Ora Minister Peeni Henare has today announced the Government’s plan to support Māori communities and businesses in the face of COVID-19. “Our Government’s $12.1 billion economic package will help many Māori whānau, workers and businesses, whether it’s through wage subsidies, income support and worker redeployment, or ...
The Government and the hospitality industry have worked together to produce guidelines to assist with managing and reducing transmission of COVID-19, Health Minister David Clark announced today. The guidelines developed between the Government, Hospitality New Zealand and SkyCity Entertainment Group, set out how the new restrictions on physical distancing and ...
Four stage Alert System for COVID-19 announced New Zealand moved up to COVID-19 Alert Level 2 – Reduce Contact New Zealanders over 70 and those with certain medical conditions told to stay at home as much as they can to reduce risk of contact with the virus Workplaces to implement ...
Kia ora koutou katoa I’m speaking directly to all New Zealanders today to give you as much certainty and clarity as we can as we fight Covid-19. Over the past few weeks, the world has changed. And it has changed very quickly. In February it would have seemed unimaginable to ...
New Zealand and Singapore have jointly committed to keep supply chains open and to remove any existing trade restrictive measures on essential goods, especially medical supplies, in the face of the Covid-19 crisis. Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker welcomed the commitment. “This is an important collective response, and ...
JOINT MINISTERIAL STATEMENT BY SINGAPORE AND NEW ZEALAND AFFIRMING COMMITMENT TO ENSURING SUPPLY CHAIN CONNECTIVITY AMIDST THE COVID-19 SITUATION The COVID-19 pandemic is a serious global crisis. As part of our collective response to combat COVID-19, Singapore and New Zealand are committed to maintaining open and connected supply chains. We ...
Travel restrictions, closing our border to almost all travelers came into force from 23:59 on Thursday 19 March 2020 (NZDT). All airlines were informed of these restrictions before they came into force. Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says “The transit of passengers between Australia and New Zealand has been agreed upon and ...
The Government has allocated $100 million to help redeploy workers affected by the economic impact of COVID-19, with the hard-hit region of Gisborne-Tairāwhiti to be the first helped, Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford, Forestry and Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Employment Minister Willie Jackson announced today. Phil Twyford ...
The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is ramping up support for Tairāwhiti’s wood processing sector to bolster the region’s economy at a time of heightened uncertainty, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. Following earlier announcements today of a regional support package for Tairāwhiti, Minister Jones has also announced a ...
The Coalition Government has stepped in to protect Air New Zealand with a significant financial deal that protects essential routes and allows the company to keep operating. The Government and Air New Zealand have agreed a debt funding agreement through commercial 24-month loan facilities of up to $900 million*. The ...
The Government has taken further measures to protect New Zealanders from the COVID-19 virus, effectively stopping all people from boarding a plane to New Zealand from 11:59pm today, except for returning New Zealanders, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. New Zealanders’ partners, legal guardians or any dependent children travelling with ...
The Government has reinforced its commitment to protecting the health of New Zealanders from COVID-19 through the cancellation of indoor events with more than 100 people. “Protecting the health of New Zealanders is our number one priority, and that means we need to reduce the risks associated with large gatherings,” ...
The New Zealand Government is advising New Zealanders not to travel overseas due to COVID-19, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “We are raising our travel advice to the highest level: do not travel,” Mr Peters said. “This is the first time the New Zealand Government has advised New Zealanders ...
Transport Minister Phil Twyford today outlined the first tranche of the $600 million aviation sector relief package announced earlier this week as part of the Government’s $12.1 billion COVID-19 economic response. The initial part of the aviation package aims to secure the operators of New Zealand’s aviation security system, and ...
Westpac is forecasting 200,000 jobs will be lost in NZ as a result of the response to the coronavirus pandemic. Chief economist Dominick Stephens estimates economic activity during the four week lock-down would decline by a third, despite the government and the Reserve Bank having “done a lot to calm ...
In our new series The Lockdown Letters, some of New Zealand’s best writers tell us what they’ve been up to in the days of Covid-19 alert level four. Today, Ōtaki author Renée.I have a wild tomato flopping all over the path down the back of the veg garden. I picked a ...
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level four. The country is shut down, apart from essential services. For updated official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this ...
Online criminals have been making the most of Covid-19 by preying on people’s fear and doubt. Here are some of the calling cards of these con artists.With most New Zealanders tucked up at home, digital devices are proving to be critical tools for staying connected with each other, making good ...
Author and illustrator Sarah Laing draws a rite of passage in The Lockdown.Reprinted with the permission of the author from Let Me Be Frank, Sarah Laing's blog devoted to "Reading. Writing. Parenting. Angsting." Let Me Be Frank is also the ...
As New Zealand adjusts to a month of lockdown, many pet owners have questions about their furry friends. Alex Casey had a chat with the SPCA – here’s what she learned.AC: My cat had a disgusting abscess on his tail and now has to get his stitches out. ...
Books editor Catherine Woulfe takes an energising walk around the lockdown block of New Zealand books. When the bubbles settled over us they settled over the books too. Libraries were the first to shut down, then the physical bookstores and finally, the hammer blow: online sales and indeed any notion of ...
Journalism commentator and former editor Gavin Ellis says media organisations play a vital role in keeping the community informed and, if possible, safe. They also have a crucial part to play in the maintenance of public order and morale, just as they did in the 1940s. With the country in ...
The country has millions of protective gowns, gloves and eyewear – midwives ask: Where are they? David Williams reports Two days into a national lockdown some midwives didn’t have any protective equipment, adding to concerns about safeguards for frontline health workers. On Friday, announcements were made by the Health Ministry ...
Convincing its citizens to take lockdown seriously will be a major challenge for Fiji’s government, writes Mandy De Vries. My husband, Howie, and I are lucky enough to live on the beautiful Coral Coast in Fiji. We started a tourism operation here two years ago which was, until recently, booming. ...
New Zealand’s businesses and government are far better prepared for the rapidly escalating global health and economic crisis than they were for the Global Financial Crisis in 2008-09 or the stock market crash in 1987, says Rob Campbell, one of the country’s most experienced corporate leaders. “Executive teams and boards ...
Covid-19 lockdown provides valuable time for planning a new business, as Dr Mary-Ellen Gordon explains You have a great idea for a business. You’ve been working to get it up and going. Then, just as you were starting to gain traction, the entire country and much of the rest of ...
Low-income workers whose jobs have disappeared thanks to Covid-19 will increasingly need to access benefit income. When this happens, however, they lose a tax credit for their children. As a direct result of the Covid-19 crisis, the Government has improved its rescue policies for business. We now need to see urgent ...
The strange energy of preparing for level four is over, now the dystopian reality has kicked in. Danyl Mclauchlan writes an essay about home life during a ‘cosy catastrophe’.We start by setting up our home workspaces, covering the kitchen table with such a thick mass of black cables and USB ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Scott Morrison will unvieil on Sunday a $1.1 billion set of measures to make Medicare telehealth services generally available during the coronavirus pandemic and to support mental health, domestic violence and community services. The “Medicare ...
How is Covid-19 spreading within the country? Newsroom is collating information as it's available to paint a picture of what's happening. There were 83 new cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand, down from the previous day's 85 new cases. Details of how many tests have been completed are now bing released ...
By RNZ News New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern spoke to her followers on Facebook today from her office in Premier House. Her chat lasted about 15 minutes and garnered more than 310,000 views. She discussed wage subsidies for full-time and part-time workers, personal protection equipment (PPE) supplies for ...
COMMENTARY:By Bob Howarth (self-isolating in Australia after his latest trip to Timor-Leste) After days of web surfing for Covid-19 coronavirus news around the Asia-Pacific, two areas that appear to need improving in some countries are official communication and fact checking. So here’s my two cents, rupiah, kina or ...
Whether it’s a robot uprising, a woman catfishing into the publishing world or a bunch of lovestruck islanders, NEON has you covered. Here’s what we’re bingeing on NEON for the foreseeable future.WestworldJust in time for lockdown, there’s a buzz-worthy show with endless discussion points coming out on a weekly basis. ...
There’s been a lot of talk about PPE of late – do we have enough, is it getting to the right people, and who exactly are the right people, anyway? Here’s the latest official advice.The Ministry of Health has now circulated updated advice on the appropriate use of PPE (personal ...
A month ago, not many had heard of Ashley Bloomfield. But as the Covid-19 response has ramped up, the director-general of health has become a calm, reassuring presence in a time of uncertainty and fear. Rachel Thomas profiles him, in a piece first published on RNZ.Today, Saturday, director-general of health ...
Jim Kayes tests the waters of social media to see how people are coping with being told to avoid their favourite pastime.“There is something ridiculously exhilarating about catching a fish. The thrill might have faded for the salty angler, but for this rookie, the novice still snagging fish hooks ...
The Government yesterday reassured us there are plenty of masks for front line staff dealing with the public. Yet it seems home care workers, who provide up-close personal care for tens of thousands of people every day, won’t be given them. Yesterday two documents hit my inbox. One was a ...
Hobson’s Choice spokesman Don Brash (a former leader of the National and ACT Parties) is not alone in challenging the justification for tribes claiming to have closed roads to protect their people against Covid. Deputy Prime Minister and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters – his remarks apparently ignored by ...
Preliminary results from a survey investigating how well-equipped Māori whānau in the South Island are to stay at home for extended periods show that the majority are prepared to manage their short-term needs, but have increasing anxiety about ...
"The risk of fraud and corruption is compounded during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. When quick decisions are necessary to move vast amounts of resources, bribery, fraud and corruption abound," says Suzanne Snively, Chair of Transparency International ...
By RNZ Pacific Guam remains the Pacific pandemic hot spot with the number of Covid-19 coronavirus cases climbing above 50. On Friday six people tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the total to 51. Thirteen of the cases are currently in hospital. READ MORE: Al Jazeera live updates – ...
By Mong Palatino Many Indonesian internet users have expressed anger over the decision of the House of Representatives (DPR) to test its 575 members for Covid-19. Indonesia has a population of more than 260 million. As of today, the country has 913 Covid-19 positive cases with 87 deaths. But ...
New Zealand has 78 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 and five probable cases, the Government has announced today, taking the total to 451. Civil Defence Emergency Management director Sarah Stuart-Black said 12 people are in hospital and two are in intensive care, including one on a ventilator. Twelve are in ...
New Zealand has 78 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 and five probable cases, the Government has announced today, taking the total to 451. Civil Defence Emergency Management director Sarah Stuart-Black said 12 people are in hospital and two are in intensive care, including one on a ventilator. Twelve are in ...
By Michelle Steven in Port MoresbyPacific New Guinea’s National Capital City Covid-19 Task Force team is preparing ahead should there be a possible coronavirus case during the 14-day lockdown. NCD Governor Powes Parkop told a media conference that the capital city would be in total lockdown with no public ...
Leading immigration lawyer Aaron Martin assesses the impact of the announcement of the epidemic notice for migrants. Immigration New Zealand announced that the government epidemic management notice relating to immigration matters comes into effect on 2 ...
Just a tiny handful of print publications will continue through the lockdown, with only daily newspapers specifically identified as being able to continue. Duncan Greive spoke to publishers of magazines and community newspapers about the impact on them and their communities.Publishers of magazines and community newspapers are reeling, after a ...
Just a tiny handful of print publications will continue through the lockdown, with only daily newspapers specifically identified as being able to continue. Duncan Greive spoke to publishers of magazines and community newspapers about the impact on them and their communities.Publishers of magazines and community newspapers are reeling, after a ...
Jacinda Ardern has pleaded with the Australian Prime Minister to make an exception to the rule that bars many of the 650,000 New Zealanders there from receiving a benefit. ...
In our new series The Lockdown Letters, some of New Zealand’s best writers tell us what they’ve been up to in the days of Covid-19 alert level four. Today, political commentator and essayist Morgan Godfery.I’M TWEETING AT 2AM.The responsible part of my brain is sending sleep signals. Inconvenient yawns. The ...
Take a vicarious roadie via Attraction, the novel by Ruby Porter that was longlisted for the country’s biggest fiction prize. Released last year, it’s now a slightly eerie snapshot of Aotearoa as we were. Attraction is a New Zealand road trip novel with a heavy dose of postcolonial guilt. Whitewashing, cultural ...
Iwi everywhere put support plans into action, focusing on their kaumātua, writes Kayne Ngātokowhā Peters. Iwi are ramping up support services to assist their people in need following the closure of Ministry of Social Development offices and the move to online and phone assistance from Work and Income. Central North Island ...
It’s been 10 years since the release of Dane Rumble’s solo album The Experiment. Josie Adams looks back on why New Zealand fell so hard and fast.At The Experiment’s launch, a decade ago yesterday, Dane Rumble had only one wish: “I just want to write the best album that I ...
"She blindfolded each of the children with a scarf, saying, ‘There’s going to be a surprise!'": a horror story set at a children's birthday party, by Dunedin writer Emma Neale. As soon as the last child arrived at Bevan’s ninth birthday party, the bashing began. Allan walloped Bevan with a ...
As New Zealand adjusts to our new normal, one thing from the old world remains – commercial breakfast radio. We tuned into the first morning of lockdown on the airwaves. In a time when the world seems completely upside-down, you can thankfully still count on commercial breakfast radio to be there ...
Dynamic Silver Ferns defender Jane Watson shares her heartrending and brave story in the final episode of the Pure As documentary series. The fading scar just below Jane Watson's left shoulder is the only clue to her until-now untold story, of the challenges that have tormented the netball world champion. The dynamic, tenacious ...
By now, everybody should know about staying in their bubble and leaving the house only for essential services and exercise, provided social distancing rules are followed. Does this mean people can still take the boat out, or go surfing? “Staying at home will save lives,” said Jacinda Ardern in a question ...
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here.New Zealand is currently in alert level four. The country is shut down, apart from essential services. For updated official government advice, see here.The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The ...
Donald Trump and Boris Johnson's response to coronavirus has revealed some disturbing attitudes towards segments of the population As New Zealand enters a period of indeterminate lockdown in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, we (and I mean us as a global population) have learned a lot about the importance of ...
As New Zealand entered national lockdown, The Spinoff commissioned social media polling company Stickybeak to measure the mood of the nation. Stickybeak co-founder David Brain reveals what the poll results show.As soon as the PM made her Monday afternoon announcement that the country was going to alert level three and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra All Australians arriving from overseas will be quarantined in hotels or other facilities under strict supervision for a fortnight, under the latest crackdown in the battle against the coronavirus. Announcing the measure after Friday’s meeting ...
By RNZ News As the number of Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic cases in New Zealand increases, daily demand for protective clothing for medical workers has come under pressure. On the second day of the country’s lockdown, the number of New Zealand’s Covid-19 cases has jumped by 85, with a man ...
Kiwibank Chief Economist Jarrod Kerr and Bernard Hickey 'Zoom' out to talk about the once-in-a-lifetime shock to the global economy this week and what it means for businesses and investors. Just as many other businesses are adjusting to the lockdown, so too are Kiwibank and Newsroom. Chief ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jon MacKay, Lecturer, Business Analytics, University of Auckland New Zealand and much of the world is now under an unprecedented lockdown. Public health experts say this is the best way to suppress the spread of the virus. But how long will such ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Allen Cheng, Professor in Infectious Diseases Epidemiology, Monash University According to Google Trends, the top globally trending topic this week is “orthohantavirus”, as spurious sites claim it’s the next pandemic on the horizon. Take it from me: it’s not. This baseless claim ...
As soon as the Prime Minister announced that the country had moved to a Level Three alert and would then move to a full Level Four lockdown, the only thing on most people's minds in downtown Wellington was how to prepare for living and working from home for at least ...
Two Cents' Worth hosts Bernard Hickey, Nikki Mandow and Gyles Beckford reflect on the most turbulent week in New Zealand’s economic history. They look at two new tools for business and online working advice that were built over a weekend to help deal with the Covid-19 crisis. They also talk ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Erica Mealy, Lecturer in Computer Science, University of the Sunshine Coast These past few weeks have shown the brittleness of Australia’s online systems. It’s not surprising the federal government’s traditionally slow-moving IT systems are buckling under the pressure. On Sunday, the federal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arindam Basu, Associate Professor, Epidemiology and Environmental Health, University of Canterbury The number of New Zealanders testing positive for COVID-19 will continue to rise despite the strict conditions of the four-week lockdown that began this week. As of today, there are 368 ...
Advocates say they’re drowning in complaints of exploitation brought on by the lockdown, Dileepa Fonseka reports Migrant associations and unions have been swamped with allegations that some employers have abused the Government’s wage subsidy scheme or skirted their obligations. Indian Workers Association spokesman Mandeep Bela said he had been “flooded” ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Fiona MacDonald, Senior Research Fellow, Victoria University For children, school is about more than just learning. This is even more the case for children living in disadvantage as many schools also provide vital food and a welcoming environment. As the COVID-19 pandemic ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Walker, Adjunct Professor, School of Communications, La Trobe University Leaders of the world’s largest economies came together at a virtual G20 this week to “do whatever it takes to overcome the coronavirus pandemic”. But the reality is that global capacity to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julie Sonnemann, Fellow, Grattan Institute Australian schools and teachers are preparing to shift classes online – some independent schools already have. Remote learning is likely to be the norm in the second term and possibly longer. Even if done well, there are ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dilan Thampapillai, Senior Lecturer, ANU College of Law, Australian National University The coronavirus and its attendant emergency measures are set to deliver a profound shock to the residential tenancy market. How it will work out is anybody’s guess, but it is looking ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katherine Gibney, NHMRC early career fellow, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity In three short months, more than half a million cases of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, have been reported worldwide. The US now has the highest number of COVID-19 ...
By Johnny Blades, RNZ Pacific journalist A 43-year-old woman has reportedly died due to the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic in Indonesian-administered West Papua province. It is the first recorded death from Covid-19 in the Papua region, and adds to fears that a looming surge in cases could overwhelm the health ...
By JC Gotinga in Manila Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief-of-staff General Felimon Santos Jr has tested positive for the Covid-19 novel coronavirus. Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana shared the information today with reporters covering defence issues. General Santos said yesterday that he was on home quarantine after coming ...
The Fold podcast returns for March into a media world transformed by the impact of Covid-19. Host Duncan Greive records a monopod to assess its impact.In last month’s edition of this podcast, The Spinoff editor Toby Manhire and I discussed RNZ’s Concert debacle. At the time, it was the biggest ...
As New Zealand faces the most brutal recession in living memory, the battle to preserve the core of the economy deepens. Companies are cancelling dividends to protect what cash they have, others are reaching for financial aid from their banks or the government. Yet for some businesses, notably the big ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s contentPublic health strategy Henry Cooke (Stuff): New model shows coronavirus could kill 80,000 Kiwis without lockdown Kate Newton (RNZ): Modelling shows ...
Shoppers are ignoring physical distancing rules, while rule-flouters face jail time in Sāmoa and the Cook Islands, writes Teuila Fuatai. Scenes from one of Fiji’s best-known fresh produce markets illustrate the difficulties of clamping down on Covid-19. Footage captured at the Sigatoka markets on Viti Levu on Thursday March 26 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Terry Goldsworthy, Associate Professor in Criminology, Bond University As coronavirus continues to affect all aspects of life, law enforcement agencies are playing a more pivotal role in enforcing new health and social regulations while ensuring society continues to function in a civil ...
This week in politics: Parliament authorises 'the biggest blank cheque in the history of the country', as the massive economic cost of Covid-19 starts to emerge. ...
Analysis by Keith RankinAustralia – exponential growth. Chart by Keith Rankin.Canada – exponential growth. Chart by Keith Rankin.New Zealand – exponential growth. Chart by Keith Rankin.Australian cases have been on an exponent growth path since late February, with no remission yet in sight. The good news ...
It turns out that treating allies like enemies and creating enemies out of rivals may not be a great approach to diplomacy when your problems are global – like Covid-19, writes Peter Bale After three years of crapping all over allies – like calling Germany a deadbeat over its Nato ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Fair, Adjunct Professor, School of Information Technology, Deakin University Borders, beaches, pubs and churches are closed, large events are cancelled, and travellers are subject to 14 days’ isolation – all at significant cost to taxpayers and the economy. But could telecommunications ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tauel Harper, Lecturer, Media and Communication, UWA, University of Western Australia Tonight, for the first time in its 12-year history, my weekly boardgame group will meet online, instead of our regular weekly in-person sessions. Tomorrow night, a planned dinner with friends has ...
Keith Rankin on Malthusian checksKeith Rankin.The 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic has all the visible hallmarks of a Malthusian pestilence, a necessary positive check visited upon an over‑abundant humanity. Indeed, that is a likely future interpretation of this event. It’s an important perspective which should be treated with both understanding ...
Open Mike 13/08/2018 
I’m here in lockdown with my flatmate and her two girls (6 and 2) and it. is. a time. They’re usually really active so to start with the only boardgame in the house is the copy of Guess Who that the 6 year old got for her birthday. Flatmate commented ...13 hours ago
The CV-19 (COVID) pandemic has seen the imposition of a government ordered national quarantine and the promulgation of a series of measures designed to spread the burden of pain and soften the economic blow on the most strategically important and most vulnerable sectors of society. The national narrative is framed ...19 hours ago
. . Lock Down: Day 2 – A photo essay with observations . March 27 – Day 2 of our Strange New World. The Park and Ride near my suburb, usually filled with hundreds of vehicles, had just… four; . . Another drive into Wellington City on a highway nearly ...22 hours ago
Fortune's Children: Under extraordinary pressure, the leader of the Government and the leader of the Opposition will each show us what they are made of. Have they been blessed with intelligence, grace, wit, poise, toughness, empathy and humour – and in what measure? More importantly, to what extent have they ...1 day ago
1 day ago
Society-wise, aside from the specific morbidity shall we say of the medically-oriented aspects of this COVID-19 crisis, what is unfolding before the world is in more than one way an instructive study of humanity and reactions to a high intensity, high stress environment in real time. Friends, we are at ...2 days ago
Right now low waged and insecure workers are feeling the economic brunt of the looming #Covid19 Recession. In response legal advocate Toby Cooper* and hospitality and worker’s rights advocate Chloe Ann-King, are putting together a series of legal blogs about your employment rights: In this legal blog we outline some ...2 days ago
by Equipo Jurídico Pueblos and Gearóid Ó Loingsigh (25/03/2020) An escape plan in question On the night of March 21st and the early morning of the 22nd, the forces of the Colombian state stormed into the Modelo prison in Bogotá, murdering 23 prisoners and injuring 83, in response to the ...2 days ago
When the government banned semi-automatic weapons in response to a terrorist atrocity, gun-nuts were outraged. Mired in toxic American gun culture, they thought owning weapons whose sole purpose was killing people was some sort of "constitutional right", a necessity for "defending themselves" against the government. Now, the Court of Appeal ...2 days ago
Just before midnight on Wednesday March 25, Aotearoa New Zealand entered a countrywide alert level four lockdown. For at least the next four weeks, everyone who isn’t an essential worker is confined to their bubble. We are doing this to stop the explosive growth in people contracting and dying from ...2 days ago
Tamper with The System? Well, we already are. But there's a difference between accidentally trickling sand into a precision gearbox versus formulating a plan to alter it on the fly with improvements in mind. One action is more or less innocently unscrupulous, the other amenable to earning an easy ...3 days ago
Kia ora my name is Chloe Ann-King* and I am the founder of Raise the Bar, a campaign and non-profit that gives free legal aid, advocacy and tautoko to hospitality workers in Aotearoa. Right now all over our country hospo workers are being fired at will, having shifts cut or being ...4 days ago
We're about to do something unprecedented as a nation. We hope that by taking this extraordinary action before a single life in New Zealand has been lost to the deadly novel virus we will save tens of thousands of lives. Our lives. We'll do it together, in households, in isolation ...4 days ago
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.”So writes the author of Ecclesiastes, a book in the Old Testament that’s counted as a ‘wisdom’ book and written as if by an unnamed king of Jerusalem. But who would have thought there would be a time ...4 days ago
According to Newshub, Simon Bridges is open to joining a “grand coalition” with Labour as we hunker down to go into a month long lockdown. The idea is sound. Before now, the role of the opposition was to scrutinise and oppose. In the context of what almost amounts to a ...6 days ago
Kia ora my name is Chloe Ann-King* and I am the founder of Raise the Bar, a campaign and non-profit that gives free legal aid, advocacy and tautoko to hospitality workers in Aotearoa. Right now all over our country hospo workers are being fired at will, having shifts cut or ...6 days ago
A few days ago I was starting to write something about the pandemic, which now seems unconscionable. It took the form of a letter to an agony aunt:“Dear Deidre, I have an ugly confession. I am quite excited by Covid-19.”This is how the piece went:“I’m not a psychopath, honest. Although the ...6 days ago
I am a pundit, somebody who opines and comments on the news. There are no real qualifications to punditry though having a rudimentary way with words and good general knowledge helps. That is one reason there is a constant oversupply of would-be pundits and why it is quite hard to ...7 days ago
The coronavirus pandemic has of course had a major impact on individual lives and on societies as a whole. But, long after the crisis has passed (assuming it does), we will begin to realise that its real and lasting significance lies in the lessons it has taught us, if only ...7 days ago
COVID-19 has plunged Aotearoa New Zealand (indeed, the world) into territory that, while maybe not totally unprecedented, certainly hasn’t been seen during the lifetimes of most of us here today. Our borders are closed to non-citizens, we’re being told not to gather in groups of more than 500 outside/100 inside, ...7 days ago
by Jan Rivers The article has been corrected to show that it was Ewen MacAskill, former Guardian journalist and not Luke Harding who travelled to meet Edward Snowden with journalist Glenn Greenwald and filmmaker Laura Poitras. Some of the Guardian’s well-known journalists who did not sign the protest letter are ...1 week ago
Looking across the various arguments for/against the leading candidates to take the Democratic Nomination, you might honestly be very hard pressed to tell. There are a number of things that have now started happening since Amy Klobuchar and “Mayor Pete” Buttigieg both threw the towel in and immediately (and ...1 week ago
Some fave speeches: ...1 week ago
Many who advocated for, and voted for, the current Coalition – particularly those who voted Labour and the Green Party – expected to see a sea change in the reality of social services. A real, deep change of attitude, approach of process through which the system negotiates the difficult and ...2 weeks ago
In a world and a time when the worst off and most vulnerable have been asked, time and again, to foot the bill for the complete subjugating to the will of the 1% thanks to the GFC, at a point where the world as a whole is now seeing quite ...2 weeks ago
With the economy already reeling from a crisis that’s barely begun, the Government today sought to provide reassurance to workers and businesses in the form of a massive phallic pun to insert much-needed cash into the private sector and help fight the looming pandemic. Here are the key components: $5.1 ...2 weeks ago
I am a member of the working poor and so still need state welfare to make rent. So I had booked an appointment for yesterday with my caseworker at Work and Income New Zealand (WINZ) to apply for a transition to work grant. However the current health advice in New ...2 weeks ago
The COVID-19 situation in New Zealand is moving fast - and to avoid what we've seen overseas - the Government's response must be to move fast too. We're committed to keeping New Zealanders safe and well-informed every step of the way. ...20 hours ago
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The scale of what we face right now is unlike anything we have ever seen before. Overcoming it is our common purpose. ...4 days ago
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is encouraging New Zealanders overseas to stay where they are amid the COVID-19 pandemic. "We are reaching a point where the best option for most New Zealanders offshore is to shelter in place, by preparing to safely stay where they are.” "This includes following the instructions ...5 days ago
New Zealand will temporarily remove tariffs on all medical and hygiene imports needed for the COVID-19 response. Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Kris Faafoi said today that the New Zealand Customs Service will apply tariff concessions to all diagnostic reagents and testing ...20 hours ago
Westpac is forecasting 200,000 jobs will be lost in NZ as a result of the response to the coronavirus pandemic. Chief economist Dominick Stephens estimates economic activity during the four week lock-down would decline by a third, despite the government and the Reserve Bank having “done a lot to calm ...29 mins ago
In our new series The Lockdown Letters, some of New Zealand’s best writers tell us what they’ve been up to in the days of Covid-19 alert level four. Today, Ōtaki author Renée.I have a wild tomato flopping all over the path down the back of the veg garden. I picked a ...1 hour ago
Author and illustrator Sarah Laing draws a rite of passage in The Lockdown. Reprinted with the permission of the author from Let Me Be Frank, Sarah Laing's blog devoted to "Reading. Writing. Parenting. Angsting." Let Me Be Frank is also the ...3 hours ago
Journalism commentator and former editor Gavin Ellis says media organisations play a vital role in keeping the community informed and, if possible, safe. They also have a crucial part to play in the maintenance of public order and morale, just as they did in the 1940s. With the country in ...4 hours ago
The country has millions of protective gowns, gloves and eyewear – midwives ask: Where are they? David Williams reports Two days into a national lockdown some midwives didn’t have any protective equipment, adding to concerns about safeguards for frontline health workers. On Friday, announcements were made by the Health Ministry ...4 hours ago
Convincing its citizens to take lockdown seriously will be a major challenge for Fiji’s government, writes Mandy De Vries. My husband, Howie, and I are lucky enough to live on the beautiful Coral Coast in Fiji. We started a tourism operation here two years ago which was, until recently, booming. ...4 hours ago
New Zealand’s businesses and government are far better prepared for the rapidly escalating global health and economic crisis than they were for the Global Financial Crisis in 2008-09 or the stock market crash in 1987, says Rob Campbell, one of the country’s most experienced corporate leaders. “Executive teams and boards ...4 hours ago
Covid-19 lockdown provides valuable time for planning a new business, as Dr Mary-Ellen Gordon explains You have a great idea for a business. You’ve been working to get it up and going. Then, just as you were starting to gain traction, the entire country and much of the rest of ...5 hours ago
Low-income workers whose jobs have disappeared thanks to Covid-19 will increasingly need to access benefit income. When this happens, however, they lose a tax credit for their children. As a direct result of the Covid-19 crisis, the Government has improved its rescue policies for business. We now need to see urgent ...5 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Scott Morrison will unvieil on Sunday a $1.1 billion set of measures to make Medicare telehealth services generally available during the coronavirus pandemic and to support mental health, domestic violence and community services. The “Medicare ...10 hours ago
How is Covid-19 spreading within the country? Newsroom is collating information as it's available to paint a picture of what's happening. There were 83 new cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand, down from the previous day's 85 new cases. Details of how many tests have been completed are now bing released ...13 hours ago
Jim Kayes tests the waters of social media to see how people are coping with being told to avoid their favourite pastime. “There is something ridiculously exhilarating about catching a fish. The thrill might have faded for the salty angler, but for this rookie, the novice still snagging fish hooks ...18 hours ago
The Government yesterday reassured us there are plenty of masks for front line staff dealing with the public. Yet it seems home care workers, who provide up-close personal care for tens of thousands of people every day, won’t be given them. Yesterday two documents hit my inbox. One was a ...19 hours ago
Hobson’s Choice spokesman Don Brash (a former leader of the National and ACT Parties) is not alone in challenging the justification for tribes claiming to have closed roads to protect their people against Covid. Deputy Prime Minister and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters – his remarks apparently ignored by ...19 hours ago
Preliminary results from a survey investigating how well-equipped Māori whānau in the South Island are to stay at home for extended periods show that the majority are prepared to manage their short-term needs, but have increasing anxiety about ...20 hours ago
New Zealand has 78 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 and five probable cases, the Government has announced today, taking the total to 451. Civil Defence Emergency Management director Sarah Stuart-Black said 12 people are in hospital and two are in intensive care, including one on a ventilator. Twelve are in ...21 hours ago
Jacinda Ardern has pleaded with the Australian Prime Minister to make an exception to the rule that bars many of the 650,000 New Zealanders there from receiving a benefit. ...1 day ago
Iwi everywhere put support plans into action, focusing on their kaumātua, writes Kayne Ngātokowhā Peters. Iwi are ramping up support services to assist their people in need following the closure of Ministry of Social Development offices and the move to online and phone assistance from Work and Income. Central North Island ...1 day ago
"She blindfolded each of the children with a scarf, saying, ‘There’s going to be a surprise!'": a horror story set at a children's birthday party, by Dunedin writer Emma Neale. As soon as the last child arrived at Bevan’s ninth birthday party, the bashing began. Allan walloped Bevan with a ...1 day ago
Dynamic Silver Ferns defender Jane Watson shares her heartrending and brave story in the final episode of the Pure As documentary series. The fading scar just below Jane Watson's left shoulder is the only clue to her until-now untold story, of the challenges that have tormented the netball world champion. The dynamic, tenacious ...1 day ago
Donald Trump and Boris Johnson's response to coronavirus has revealed some disturbing attitudes towards segments of the population As New Zealand enters a period of indeterminate lockdown in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, we (and I mean us as a global population) have learned a lot about the importance of ...1 day ago
Kiwibank Chief Economist Jarrod Kerr and Bernard Hickey 'Zoom' out to talk about the once-in-a-lifetime shock to the global economy this week and what it means for businesses and investors. Just as many other businesses are adjusting to the lockdown, so too are Kiwibank and Newsroom. Chief ...2 days ago
As soon as the Prime Minister announced that the country had moved to a Level Three alert and would then move to a full Level Four lockdown, the only thing on most people's minds in downtown Wellington was how to prepare for living and working from home for at least ...2 days ago
Two Cents' Worth hosts Bernard Hickey, Nikki Mandow and Gyles Beckford reflect on the most turbulent week in New Zealand’s economic history. They look at two new tools for business and online working advice that were built over a weekend to help deal with the Covid-19 crisis. They also talk ...2 days ago
Advocates say they’re drowning in complaints of exploitation brought on by the lockdown, Dileepa Fonseka reports Migrant associations and unions have been swamped with allegations that some employers have abused the Government’s wage subsidy scheme or skirted their obligations. Indian Workers Association spokesman Mandeep Bela said he had been “flooded” ...2 days ago
Shoppers are ignoring physical distancing rules, while rule-flouters face jail time in Sāmoa and the Cook Islands, writes Teuila Fuatai. Scenes from one of Fiji’s best-known fresh produce markets illustrate the difficulties of clamping down on Covid-19. Footage captured at the Sigatoka markets on Viti Levu on Thursday March 26 ...2 days ago
It turns out that treating allies like enemies and creating enemies out of rivals may not be a great approach to diplomacy when your problems are global – like Covid-19, writes Peter Bale After three years of crapping all over allies – like calling Germany a deadbeat over its Nato ...2 days ago
[lprent: Removed at commenter request. ]
Not quite sure what you’re trying to say in reference to this article, but I have a lot of sympathy with James Morris’s comments. We won’t get the best people going into teaching until we stop treating them like rubbish
How do you know that the best people aren’t going into teaching?
There’s a probable fallacy there. The best people go for the best money. Teachers aren’t paid the best money. Therefore current teachers aren’t the best…….. pfffft! Teachers teach for other reasons than cash alone.
I still remember my 1970 TTC tutor saying, as did one of the Greek philosophers, “”What? Teach and get paid, too?”
There is a bottom line though. I haven’t taught at school for seven years now but in my time conditions and stupid make-work bureaucracy along with troubled students were more damaging to retention than salary alone.
He seems to be criticising his own staff, among others, JanM. It could just be my reading of it but I gained the assumption he was saying we need better teachers than the ones we’ve got.
I’d very surprised if anyone went into teaching with anything but good intentions. That some (many) appear not be living up to their potential is surely grounds to examine why rather than leap to judgement all the time.
I was teaching full time in the 80s when part of the neoliberal transition was to change people’s attitudes to teachers from one of respected professionals to virtually the servants of parents, beholden and answerable to them, and the gradual takeover in many cases of school trustees in the Tomorrows Schools model served to hasten that attitude. That has gradually eaten away at the pride of teachers in their profession, and an unwillingness of many to enter it at all. Lower income compared to other professional bodies has only been a part of it.
Jan M you are so right. I was teaching through that time too, and an experience I had when Tomorrow’s Schools came in was the most traumatic of my career. As Principal of a small school in the Waikato, the School Committee became the Board of Trustees. They were anything but ‘trustees’. They did not learn, despite many episodes of training, that they were governors and not managers. They saw themselves with power and control, and as a consequence I suffered under their version of the truth. As teachers we have been sidelined, underpaid and denigrated for too long. I am still teaching, but only a day or two a week in a semi retired way.
It isn’t too much to say that we are the future of our country. We are the ones who will nurture the leaders and followers of the future. Admittedly we only have them for 6 hours a day, 5 days a week, but at primary school level at least, they look to us to guide their thinking, to inform their need for information and to give them a sense of culture and identity. This requires skill and understanding, among other things. In Norway teachers are highly trained and highly skilled. They, in turn, are highly respected and are left to do their best because the state and the people trust them to do the job they are tasked with. They are consequently well paid for their expertise.
Until that happens in NZ we are screwed. And I don’t think Hipkins is skilled enough to guide us through to that conclusion.
My observations while Teaching were; Teachers that didn’t try to be good Teachers were rare.
The ones that were not making the grade, were generally burnt out from stress caused by unrealistic expectations from above.
I’ve long though that sabbaticals, to refocus and reflect, and something similar to the police PERF scheme, for those who have had enough, should be available for Teachers.
I found the worst part was all the kids falling behind, and desperately needing help,that you hadn’t the time for, and couldn’t get any help for.
I’m not sure what your point is with the “good tradesman” analogy. If there isn’t enough money to attract and retain good teachers, there’s not a lot that a “good tradesman” is going to be able to do. Are education leaders just meant to magic up some teachers?
Having good teachers certainly helps.
Eradicating poverty will help more.
Stopping the ridiculing of teachers by the right-wing politicians of all parties that we’ve had for the last 30+ years will probably help get good teachers back.
The judgement in America on Monsanto’s Roundup should make all councils and schools cease its use immediately.
And supermarkets and garden stores should stop selling it today.
Let’s apply some pressure for them to put people before profits.
https://amp.theguardian.com/business/2018/aug/11/one-mans-suffering-exposed-monsantos-secrets-to-the-world
RNZ 10 March 2016 “Contractors told to wear masks when spraying.”. Sorry, on my phone so can’t provide link.
This tells of a minor shitstorm in the Garden City when it transpired that contractors spraying Roundup were told NOT to wear safety gear so as not to alarm the locals.
If memory serves, the Mayor was singularly unimpressed.
Meriel Watts has an international reputation for her work trying to raise awareness of the hazards of the ubiquitous herbicide….I’ll hazard few here have heard of her.
The agrochemical industry rules..take them on at your peril.
The best we can hope for is to demand that those responsible for enforcement of rules and regulations around spraying actually do their job.
Hah! In the case of the Waikato Regional Council…dream on.
https://amp.rnz.co.nz/article/243ae6e8-0324-4a81-834c-6cd341dc85d9
Belated thanks for providing the link Pingau. Temporarily able to use a laptop, hence can check “reply”.
It would be really handy to learn how to’link’ from my phone..I can send links via email… but not to here.
Thanks again.
Here you are Rosemary
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/regional/298594/contractors-told-to-wear-masks-when-spraying
And for anyone interested, RNZ News has an impressive archive of articles going back years on glyphosate and its history, concerns etc. This includes many other similar local NZ articles relating to the use of Round Up and similar here in NZ.
Here is a link to their archive on this subject:
https://www.radionz.co.nz/search/results?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=glyphosate&commit=Search
Oops, I now realise the link that Pingau put up also covers the 10 March 2016 article. But the archive link is well worth looking at.
Come on Ed How the hell are we gonna control weeds like kikuyu an twitch to name a couple without roundup ??Im half serious
Steam!
Shade!
Yep shade works with most weeds if you can completely cover them with weed mat etc but that brings with it its own set of problems .What would be great would be a covering which would completely biodegrade in say three years …not sure its been invented yet though !!
Weston; plants that shade other plants were invented yonks ago 🙂
I’ve used wild chervil to completely shade out couch. Native trees shade out gorse and broom, given time. Shade. It’s a thing!
Newly emergent soft weeds i reckon would be gd to attack with steam kjt but wouldnt do much to the weeds i mentioned
The great left-winger and egotist (they go together) William Cobbett (the real founder of Hansard’s in the UK’s 40 years dictatorship that followed the French Revolution) maintained you could dig out couch-grass . He put a team of men to dig up 7 acres. Next year, just as bad.
I use glyphosate all the time and would be reluctant to give it up. Always known the danger to smaller animals so I take seriously the WHO’s report. But, yet…
yep hard to take an effective weapon out of ones arsenal i agree sumsuch and unfortunate having to contribute to the coffers of giant corporations also especially corporations that are known to be the most evil on the planet !!I could cope with the weeds ok in my immediate environment but its weeds like the really horrible Climbing Asparagus that to my mind justify using poisons like glyphosate .Not to do so spells disaster for many areas of bush and coastal lands alike .Alas its already too late in my view .
not good enough
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/106175169/waikato-council-slams-forest–bird-over-effluent-report–but-admits-it-made-the-error
yes and as for Waikato Regional Council – what a useless bunch – they gave wrong OIA info and then moan about how hard it is.
re cost of testing the farms for compliance.
I have some sympathy for the general rate payer,
So why don’t the councils charge a fee for the test.
Taranaki councils charge $300 to the farm owner for inspection, and then Fonterra charge another $300 per farm on what is essentially the same inspection.
So a double inspection too keep everyone happy.
Thankx Jimmy
Do Fonterra inspect and charge in other areas too?
Yes Fonterra inspect Dairy Sheds (Buliding standard, environmental and dairy hygiene).
They also inspect dairy farm records (supplemental feeds, nitrogen use, antibiotic and drug use, stock recording methods etc).
One does wonder just how accurate those records are.
If you only knew. Fonterra have probably got the most robust inspection and compliance regime in the country. They stopped collecting milk on 70+ farms last year because the farmers hadn’t met their effluent and waterway fencing rules.
Fonterra make the councils and MPI look like amateurs.
“Fonterra make the councils and MPI look like amateurs.”
And of course MPI were totally on top of mycoplasma bovis – not. They are amateurs. Doesn’t make Fonterra infallible though – only takes one slip in a processing chain and there’s hell to pay.
So they should; it’s their business!
Seems reasonable – user pays and all that.
Can’t argue with any of that.
However, Waikato Regional Council farming services manager Nicole Botherway said inspecting every Waikato dairy farm was not practical.
That’s hardly surprising as they stopped monitoring with helicopters.
Apparently, it was stressing out farmers.
https://www.waikatoregion.govt.nz/community/whats-happening/news/media-releases-archived/helicopters-grounded-for-now-but-monitoring-to-continue/
Good news though, the council has just voted to reintroduce aerial monitoring.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/105057893/Waikato-Regional-Council-vote-to-return-to-aerial-monitoring-of-dairy-farms
No good reason why they should be stressed if they are compliant. That’s like turning off the burglar alarms in case the burglar gets distressed by them!
It was the noise of the helicopters that was causing stress… in both man and beast.
Being buzzed by a helicopter is no fun at all…even less fun when the helicopter is flying very low alongside and over a residential property spraying a hazardous substance.
In our case, the Waikato Regional Council refused to investigate or enforce the Standard. At the same time our home and property was being harassed and contaminated by a spraying helicopter…the WRC was using helicopters to conduct a pantomime monitoring of dairy effluent management.
We tried to find out if our rates were being used to pay for this monitoring to the same helicopter company that chemically trespassed our property. No go, as this was ‘commercially sensitive’ information.
“Corruption” is a word not lightly used….but it may be appropriate here.
“Even less fun when the helicopter is flying very low alongside and over a residential property spraying a hazardous substance”.
Off the topic a bit, don’t you think?
You think?
Illegal dairy effluent disposal and illegal use of agrichemicals. Both are the responsibility of the Regional Councils to monitor and enforce. In both areas of responsibility the WRC has a dismal record. It just so happens that the issue our family had with the aerial application of agrichemicals was very probably made worse by the WRC being compromised by contracting the same helicopter companies to do the effluent monitoring that they were legally obligated to ensre were applying agrichemicals in the required manner.
As other commenters have noted, Regional Councils are heavily populated by farming folk who seem obligated to protect their own.
Which is why councils should do this stuff themselves rather than get private contractors.
I know, it was complete bollocks.
But when you’ve got a council stacked with farmers, they’re going to vote for their best interests.
This is where the government has to set policy and regulation.
And bring in decent jail terms for corruption.
There will be plenty of farmers in their 60’s who they will turn a blind eye on, to let them retire in peace over the next few years, takes time.
In other words they are letting their mates off the hook at high cost to the rest of us – no surprises there!
+111
They can retire in peace after they’ve done their jail term and had everything taken from them under the Proceeds of crime act.
Lefties calling for a big brother approach. !!!!
Mmmm – remember that next time you need a polceman!
Nope.
Just recognising that we need regulations and that those regulations need to be enforced.
bwaghorne;
And haul the national party into the dock to answer their charges of ‘turning a blind eye for the nine years allowing dirty dairying’ as they ficticiously made us into “A rockstar economy”
+100
Fish and Game used drones in the Hawkes Bay, with the footage used to useful effect. Well time regional councils did the same as a matter of course.
I read an interesting coment on fish games blind eye turning to the thousands and thousands of plastic shotgun waddings that must be shot into nz s water ways the other day .
Yeh who is with out sin and all that shit .
Not sure where your comment is sourced from, but here’s an actual news article from today citing an upcoming court case, ind in particular Fish and Game using drones to show evidence of consent breaches – using drones.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/363942/businessman-challenges-hawke-s-bay-council-on-damaging-feedlots
As i said just a comment i read online . But it would be fact if,your ever in a f and g meeting ask them what they are doing about the huge amount of plastic shotgun shooting would put into the environment.
If they clean up the worst farming practises I’m all for it but don’t think for one minute it is coming from anything more than self interest with fish and game .
These people release trout into rivers .trout decimate native species. (That bits just to illustrate that they are not eco warriors)
Of course it’s practical – hire more people and get them well trained in the job.
Of course, that will tend to reduce unemployment and we may see wages rising which will inevitably have the capitalists that don’t like paying wages whinging as well as the farmers whinging from being found to have broken the law.
+100 yes compliance seems to be looking the other way a lot lately.
WDC also seem oblivious to what drainage plans are for by letting people do as they please. Then there’s the waterways issues all of their own making like effluent in whaingaroa harbour.
” hire more people” – Thus increasing the rates… just saying’…
conundrum Robert?
At every turn, Pat. There are though, ways; South Port etc: invest wisely to lighten ratepayer’s (of which I am one) load 🙂
a thankless task
Well, we pat each other on the back…Pat.
sometimes twice
Someone’s gotta do it!
Life isn’t free despite what the RWNJs like to tell everybody.
Waikato Regional Council need to get out of the Office and sort out this problem, prosecute if necessary ?
Good news
“The New Zealand Nursing Organisation (NZNO) have lodged a Kaupapa Inquiry Claim into pay disparity of Māori nurses which will be heard by the Waitangi Tribunal in October.
NZNO Kaiwhakahaere Kerry Nuku says the crown has breached its obligations to Māori in the health system under the Treaty of Waitangi.”
http://www.maoritelevision.com/news/regional/maori-nurses-claim-on-pay-disparity-gets-tribunal-hearing
Isn’t this a factor of more Maori being involved in community nursing rather than the DHB’s?
Good news, marty. Hope they are successful.
For once, politicians have managed to unite a community.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/363927/wellington-bus-passengers-may-refuse-to-pay-fares-in-protest-at-new-service
https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/106209854/standing-room-only-at-fiery-meeting-as-wellingtonians-speak-out-on-capitals-buses
It was probably just as well this meeting wasn’t one for the Councillors to say their piece- just listen- with the strength of feeling in the room last night I don’t think Chris Laidlaw would’ve stood a chance, but at least he had the guts to show and I really hope he was squirming. I personally love the idea of going on a fare strike.
Was thinking of you Kay while listening to that on Natraf this morning… were you at the meeting?
I think the heroine of the night was the bus driver who spoke up and apologized.
I think it came across very clearly that their was accessibility issues for a large number of people. I think the main problem was that it was hard to get across the scale of the problem – it came across as individuals having problems unique to themselves but it really is on a much bigger scale than that.
Buses are not just overcrowded but people are packed in really tightly, sardine tightly, and the drivers are in a tough position – overload the buses (which they seriously are) or leave people at stops when they have already been waiting 30, 40 or 50 minutes. And the people who check the buses for safety are nowhere to be seen even though there are continuous complaints about safety and overloading.
My driver on Friday looked absolutely shattered as we had a full bus for about 2/3 of the route – and that was before peak time. Driving with a full bus, a long way, (e.g. people have to exit the back door to let other people off and then get back on again because there was no other way to make room) requires a really high level of vigilance over a long period of time – and that level of vigilance takes a toll day-in/day-out over a long working day. The bus driver was doing clumsy things that were starting to get a bit risky and it’s not too hard to see that low risk things turning to high risk things as the drivers get worn down even more.
Hi mpledger.
Thanks for this information. As mentioned in my reply to Kay at 5.1.2.1 below, I would really appreciate any info you recall on what was said if anything at the meeting re the 29 services to/from island Bay via Owhiro Bay/Brooklyn and via Southgate/Newtown. TIA.
I don’t remember any one particularly mentioning that route but there was a sticker wall where people could put up specific complaints. There were going to be collated and given to the WRC but they might be available to everyone.
Thanks for your reply. I really appreciate it. I got the impression the meeting probably focused more on the eastern suburbs issues – eg having to change buses to get to the hospital etc, late/no show buses etc.
Each area seems to have their own specific problems, so we are putting together a collation of issues in our area and will be getting this to Metlink, Paul Eagle, WRC and WCC in the very near future. It may be that we should set up a local meeting to discuss our local issues. We are already in contact with Metlink in a co-operative, non-aggressive manner and so far, we seem to be making some headway/on the same wavelength with them at least on some issues, but time will tell.
I was there for most of it Rosemary. As a result of a discussion with a woman there about the decimation of buses at that hour back to my suburb I was offered a lift home so couldn’t turn down the offer! So I missed the latter bit with the bus driver and fare strike proposal but caught up with them on Morning Report.
Interesting to observe that every time a driver got up to speak they were loudly applauded. One noticeable thing throughout this farce is with very few exceptions, no one is blaming the drivers.
I’m looking forward to the meeting on the 23rd and hearing the GWRC spin on this. And audience reaction!
Thanks for that Kay. I was not able to get there yesterday as I found out about the meeting too late.
I would be really interested in any points raised at the meeting about the Island Bay services, primarily the No 29 services (via Owhiro Bay and Brooklyn OTOH and via Southgate and Newtown on the other hand), as I and others are very affected by the changes to these and we are in contact with Metlink etc on these issues.
Kara Lipski was also interviewed by Jesse Mulligan this afternoon and mentioned Island Bay but in passing only. A good interview. If you missed it, here is the link – https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2018657859/wellington-bus-passengers-revolt
If you – or mpledger – can help by letting me know anything you heard that would be really helpful.
PS – Is the next meeting on Aug 23 or 26?
@ VV Oops apologies, it’s Sunday the 26th. St Pats College, but I’ve seen both 2 and 3pm mentioned so got to confirm that.
During the open mike part certain bus routes were mentioned, being a Newtown meeting the majority of the comments seemed to refer to the Southern suburb routes. A fair bit got said about Houghton Bay, tbh the 29 probably was but I wasn’t concentrating that much, they’re not routes I ever use so it didn’t really register. My takeaway from it was a public expression of all the angry emails, phone calls, official complaints and posts/blogs/tweets that have been flying around for the past few weeks.
I’ve been out this avo so missed the interview- thanks for the link, will listen shortly 🙂
Cheers Kay. I appreciate that info.
how do @veuto.
Route 29 is a shocker (From what I hear, alongside 23). My daughters friend now has 3 buses (i.e. 2 exchanges) to get where she wants to go whereas the old Houghton Bay served many people well.
By the way….I did reply to you the other day (I think re Ponter) OM 10th or 11th.
Once again, probably the best thing for GWRC to do would be to revert ot old route system, but that would be an admission of complete failure.
I tried to find out whether the Tramways Union, or ‘old hand’ drivers were consulted before, and while this new system was being designed – but to no avail.
The more I hear about this farce, the more I despair. And frankly the more surprised I am at Ponter. (Laidlaw you could make allowances for). It’s almost like a case study on how politicians and administration lose touch with reality.
Routes 29 and 23 are a total fuckup, route 18 is a complete fuckup, and route 20 ……..
I think some OIAs are in order too
Thanks OWT – and my apologies for not replying to your earlier reply to me re Daran Ponter. Things are a bit messy at the moment – I am sure that you know that ‘feast or fame’ situation where you have too much or too little on your plate and never a nice balance! C’est la vie.
I actually heard Ponter on Afternoons with Jesse Mulligan on RNZ about 16/17 July and thought he sounded reasonably sensible and clued up –
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/361929/wellington-bus-network-changes-cause-lengthy-delays-for-some
Link to the actual recording of the interview is at the bottom of the article.
In hindsight I think he was absolutely right when he was reported the next day as saying that a further six months’ was needed to get things sorted before the changes were implemented.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/362028/regional-council-says-revised-capital-bus-service-will-improve
Re reverting to the old system, I doubt that is possible due to legalities however.
It has actually crossed my mind as to whether Tranzit will last the distance financially. They must have spent a fortune on the new buses etc but I have heard on the grapevine that the costs associated with bringing in drivers from outside Wellington and covering their accommodation costs etc have been astronomical and unplanned …
My/our focus is on the other side of the South Coast to Houghton Bay – ie SW Island Bay, Owhiro Bay, Frobisher St area, Happy Valley. Our problems are slightly different to Houghton Bay etc so there could be some merit to keeping them separate – and as I said, Metlink has been quite cooperative to date particularly as one of the problems is something they want themselves so we are onside on that issue.
“the best people” seem to be awfully fond of their recording devices. Cohen. Omarosa. How many more of them are still doing it?
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/08/12/politics/omarosa-manigault-newman-john-kelly/index.html
Question for the day: if they really are out to get you, is it still paranoia?
About that white supremacist rally on their orange idol’s lawn …
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/protesters-outnumber-nazis-unite-the-right-ii-washington-dc_us_5b7042efe4b0bdd0620a179a
Maybe they’re starting to get a glimmering of what a bunch of pathetic losers they are.
8lol loving it
Pretty heartening to see the US white nationalists significantly outnumbered by the counterprotesters.
So far all peaceful.
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/08/12/us/unite-the-right-charlottesville-anniversary/index.html
Might be staying peaceful coz it looks like there’s around 10 cops for every one of the precious white snowflakes.
This is what you get when you start demanding people get censored. It’s always the left who have the most to fear from censorship because power is usually held in the hands of the monied powerful and they will always protect their own interests first
“From Alex Jones to alleged Russian trolls, major internet companies are increasingly policing content on their platforms. Max Blumenthal of the Grayzone Project says the partnership between Facebook and the Atlantic Council highlights “the merger of the national security state and Silicon Valley.”
Homeless women just a piece of meat
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=12105982
Tinder to get temporary accommodation because they have no other options. Reports also suggest this practice isn’t limited to women.
Due to the hidden nature and often ill-defined boundaries of survival sex, it is difficult to regulate and therefore almost impossible to offer protection for women. This places them in highly precarious situations. Until the structural issues in our housing market are addressed, this is unlikely to change.
TOP is still alive.
From Gareth:
“…I’m pleased to say that discussions re the future of TOP are progressing well. As part of the groundwork for TOP to continue the Board has amended the party rules in order to better position the Party in its preparation for the 2020 election….”
lol
does that mean the party funder has greater say over policy and strategy, or less?
Potential coalition partner for National and they have already done the groundwork at the last Election ?
Yemen
Still
Getting
Bombed
too soon?
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/act/saudi-bus-bombing-marks-a-new-low-in-yemen-20180810-p4zwsm.html
Lisa Owen to replace John Campbell on Checkpoint
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/363990/lisa-owen-to-replace-john-campbell-on-checkpoint
Interesting appointment indeed. I just hope Lisa learns to ‘keep it zipped sweetie’ at times and lets her interviewees have a fair say. Must admit I was impressed by Simon Shepherd’s interview with Grant Robertson on The Nation this last weekend.
National Government while in power were most of the time wanting to sell NZ to the lowest bidder without a care.
Labour is right by encouraging NZ made industries to come back again.
We need for example to begin producing wolllen carpets again as we lost ournmillls to China and India during the gosmans own liberalist Ntional government selloff.
Woolen carpets do not cause global pollution as the plastic carpets we only make here now so when we throw the plastic carpets away guess where they go and how long it takes to break those plastic carpets down again?
250 years at least we are told it takes to break down the ‘nylon’ carpets and no-one has even considered this as the new threat to our environment, as all plastic and nylon must be stopped now before we are all screwed. Just look at what is inside plastic carpets that you all buy now because you dont have any large NZ carpet manufacturers now.
http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/05/03/22/the-toxic-dangers-of-carpetingare-the-carpets-in-your-home-or-office-a-health-hazard.htm
The Toxic Dangers of Carpeting:Are the Carpets in Your Home or Office a Health Hazard?
by SixWise.com
Walking across your soft, wall-to-wall carpet with bare feet may seem pleasant enough, and we won’t deny that it does feel cozy, but there are some unpleasant and downright dangerous things about carpeting that deserve attention.
In America, we love wall-to-wall carpeting–in fact, according to the Carpet and Rug Institute more than two-thirds of American floors have them–despite the fact that they contain toxic byproducts that are released into our homes and even inhaled and absorbed into our bodies.
Carpet Samples
It looks innocent enough, but carpets are made from synthetic fibers that have been treated with toxic chemicals that outgas into your home.
Carpets Emit Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in Your Home
Almost all carpet is made from synthetic fibers and those fibers have been treated with synthetic chemicals that “outgas” into your home. Here’s a list of some carpet “ingredients”:
Petroleum byproducts and synthetics (polypropylene, nylon, acrylic)
Soil and stain repellents
Vinyl or latex
PVC
Urethane
Antistatic sprays
Artificial dyes
Antimicrobial treatments
After being exposed to these chemicals and breathing them in or absorbing them through the skin, some people may feel symptoms such as headache, dizziness or nausea right away.
But often times, no symptoms are felt. In the long-term, however, no one knows for certain what the effects of these chemicals may be. The EPA has said that no cause-and-effect relationship between carpet emissions and health problems has been proven. However, says Mark Gold from Holistic Healing, “Please pay attention to this warning: Sucking down toxic chemicals may seem okay now, but you may pay a very heavy price in the future.”
For instance, carpets may contain:
Known carcinogens such as p-Dichlorobenzene. These chemicals may also cause hallucinations, nerve damage and respiratory illness in humans.
4-PC, the chemical that gives carpets their distinctive “new carpet smell” and is associated with eye, nose and upper respiratory problems.
Mothproofing chemicals, which contain naphthalene.
Fire retardants with PBDEs, which may cause damage to thyroid, immune system and brain development functions in humans.
Good morning The AM Show even if 5% of people brought elictric car’s that’s thousand of cars on the road our oil
Import bill will come down. Last year the number was 2% reliability is not a problem if you buy new the battery.s last at least 8 years so no problem there sell it and buy a new one that’s what people do If they can afford it
The left leaning tangata want Aotearoa to be the best place on Papatuanukue to raise all Mokopunas not matter whom they are we are all humans.
Veronica The Celine Dion show starting
singer is a very good singer Amanda I think you will go to the concert Ka pai
Ka kite ano. P.S I’m chasing our Mokopunas around at the minute
The Free Speech distraction is not really a big issues people are just using the topic to distract us from The real issues and that is privacy rights if big brother can snop into everyone electronica data that gives. To much power to the 00.1%,to do nasty things to the common tangata. And from what I see it’s not like we can trust the 00.1% to do the correct things with that power.
One just has to look at how some multi national companies lie there, – – – – off to protect the profits over humanity health the link is Below Ka kite ano
Google records your location even when you tell it not to p.S most people have the Internet to voice there opinions and if you get ignored well your views on reality don’t fit with the tangata of 2018
Google records your location even when you tell it not to this is the link to the post above Ka kite ano
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/aug/13/google-location-tracking-android-iphone-mobile
Here we go when service are included in the exporters importers market data the USA has a surplus with the Papatuanukue of 1.4 trillion so what are some of these services mone exchange face book Google so us see the USA is the wealthiest country on Papatuanukue they have not got there from losing in world trade its convenient to leave service data out of the stats link below Ka kite ano
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/aug/13/is-free-trade-always-the-answer
Ana to kai
Good evening Newshub beeb busy with my favourite charity some music link is Below